For demons, nothing was more intoxicating than power. Power, violence, slaughter, conquest—this was all they had. Every time they invaded another world, watching their enemies tremble and scream in agony before their might, the demons felt pure joy.
But now, the figure before them made them feel something else entirely—fear.
"Splurt!!!"
A demon collapsed to the ground, thrashing its arms as if trying to fight back. The next moment, however, the black steel giant brought his foot down, crushing its head into a mess of bloody pulp.
His fists were clenched, his body drenched in demon blood. Within the monstrous helmet, more hideous than any demon's face, gleamed a cold, murderous light. Demon flesh and gore clung between the cracks of his gauntlets, sending shivers of terror through even these merciless killers.
And yet, the demons still did not retreat.
Because this was their home, this was Hell. Behind them was the Sanctuary. There was nowhere to run—only a fight to the death!
"Roarrrrrrr!!!!"
A towering demon bellowed and spread its arms, lunging at the steel giant. The latter merely lowered his head, wrapped his arms around the demon's waist, and charged forward—smashing it into the wall with a dull, thunderous crash. The massive body flattened against the wall, even crushing some unlucky demons behind it into pulp. The steel giant paid no attention. He grabbed the demon's gaping jaws and wrenched down hard.
"Riiip!!"
The demon's lower jaw tore off under brute force. The giant's other hand clenched tight, crushing the upper half of its head like a tomato.
In that moment, the demons looked at the black figure and finally felt… an indescribable terror.
Just standing there, he seemed like a beast bent on destroying the entire world, jaws open wide, ready to devour everything until nothing remained…!!
"———————!!!"
Terror reached its limit. The demons abandoned their resistance. Screaming, they fled, their ranks collapsing, vanishing into the air. Duanmu Huai watched them coldly, snorted, and tossed aside the corpse in his hand.
And it wasn't only demons who trembled at the sight.
"Th-this… this is the power of an alien?"
The commander of the Allied Resistance Forces stared at the screen, pale as paper, swallowing hard. He had thought the aliens won battles through superior technology and firepower. But now, seeing Duanmu Huai kill demons barehanded, forcing them to flee in terror, the shock and fear surpassed even what the demons had inspired.
In truth, in the Allied Resistance command center, many staff members slipped away. At first, they had cheered to see the human-killing demons torn apart. But as Duanmu Huai continued his bloody advance, even they began to feel real fear of this terrifying steel warrior. A few young clerks even fainted on the spot, just from watching that blood-drenched figure on the screen.
On the other side, only a few of the girls remained.
Besides Olgis, who sat quietly as always, only Anne was still there. Lorena and Guleya had already tapped out, admitting they couldn't stomach it any longer. Like viewers at a B-grade gore film, they had simply walked out—except this was worse than any gore film.
Not everyone liked blood-and-guts spectacles.
Anne sat on the sofa, covering her eyes with her hands while peeking through her fingers. When the terrifying parts came, she screamed, then clamped her eyes shut again.
"Olgis, is it over?"
"Yes, Master's battle is finished."
Hearing Olgis's answer, Anne opened her eyes again, excitement lighting up her face as she focused on the screen.
At that moment, Duanmu Huai had finally reached the Sanctuary deep within Hell.
"So this is the Sanctuary…"
Looking at the scene before him, Duanmu Huai raised an eyebrow. He had expected a temple or shrine for the All-Father's Life Sphere. Instead, what lay before him was a circular platform. Several pillars stood upon it, each holding a different colored orb of light. At the center was a large orb of gold and purple, surrounded by smaller ones.
"Yes! That is the All-Father's Life Sphere!!"
Dr. Hayden's voice rang in his ears, trembling with emotion at the sight.
"Bring it to Urdak, and the All-Father can be reborn!"
"Hmph…"
Duanmu Huai walked up to the basketball-sized golden orb, lifted it, and studied it closely.
"And then? What will the All-Father do? Give the Demon King another beating, then sigh in regret and seal it away again?"
"This..."
Hayden had no answer. Truthfully, he had no idea what the All-Father would do once revived.
"I don't trust the All-Father. And I certainly don't trust demons."
Duanmu Huai sneered as he turned the Life Sphere in his hands. Don't joke with me. Haven't the Necrons and the C'tan taught enough of a lesson?
The C'tan had once been nothing but lazy star-feeding spirits. But when the Necrons built them bodies to fight the Old Ones, the C'tan turned on them, dooming the entire race to undeath as machines.
Aliens are never to be trusted.
The All-Father had nothing to do with humanity. Even if he sealed away demons, that didn't mean he would protect mankind. As an Inquisitor, Duanmu Huai acted with humanity as his sole priority. Anything that threatened humanity—whether Chaos Gods, C'tan, All-Fathers, or demons—was to be annihilated.
That was the Inquisition's purpose: to protect human souls, to uncover and destroy every threat facing the Imperium and humanity.
Anything that endangered humanity had to be purged.
The All-Father was no exception.
In fact, ever since learning from the Mech Queen's memories that the All-Father had spared the Demon King, merely sealing it away, Duanmu Huai had marked him as an enemy. Mercy to the enemy was cruelty to oneself. If the All-Father hadn't been so foolish—refusing to kill his own creation—mankind wouldn't have suffered demonic invasion and ruin.
So the All-Father and the Demon King were guilty alike. Both had to be destroyed.
As for their quarrel? That wasn't his concern.
The Inquisition cared only for humanity's survival. The feuds of alien beings were irrelevant.
Therefore…
"I will claim the All-Father's power, and wipe out both the Mechkin and the demons together!"
Duanmu Huai finally made his decision.
"What?!!"
Dr. Hayden's voice burst out in shock. Anne, too, widened her eyes in surprise, staring curiously at the screen—though more for the spectacle than anything.
"You—you cannot do that!"
"Why not? I don't trust the All-Father. If mankind wants victory, we must rely on our own strength."
As he spoke, Duanmu Huai glanced at his system. Right on cue, a notification appeared.
[Hidden Advancement Quest 'Power of Destruction'—Final Choice Activated]
[Choose to Absorb the Life Sphere's Power]
[Choose to Destroy the Life Sphere Completely]
"You'll never succeed!!!"
Dr. Hayden's frantic shriek rang in his ears.
"The Life Sphere contains the All-Father's memories, power, and soul—his very essence of consciousness. No one can harness it. You're only a mortal. If you try, the All-Father's will shall consume you—you'll become nothing but his vessel! Foolish mortal, do not let arrogance drive you to defy a god's will!"
Well well, you're not even pretending anymore, huh?
"I'm impressed, Dr. Hayden. You sure know a lot. I wouldn't have guessed a human-born 'doctor' like you had such detailed knowledge of the All-Father's secrets."
"Uh..."
Hayden was struck silent. In the ARC command, staff turned their suspicious eyes toward the battered robot. What he had just revealed far exceeded the limits of human knowledge. So how did he know so much? Why had he hidden it?
And… was this robot truly Dr. Hayden at all?
Though Hayden was right—Duanmu Huai had no skill to directly extract power from the Life Sphere—he wasn't worried. That was the system's job.
Many quests worked the same way. A mission might say "shut down the machine," but the panel was covered in incomprehensible buttons. How did players do it?
Easy—[Press E to Shut Down].
Crafting weapons worked the same way: open the blueprint, click the materials, auto-assemble. What game actually taught you gunsmithing?
Now that the system had given him options, all Duanmu Huai had to do was choose. The system would handle the rest.
So then—absorb, or destroy?
Ignoring Hayden's screams, Duanmu Huai calmly studied the choices before him.
Absorbing was tempting. After all, this was the All-Father's power. Even if its strength was uncertain, it would be no weaker than the C'tan.
But Hayden had a point too. Duanmu Huai was only human. Could he really endure the flood of the All-Father's memories and power?
If this were just a game, he would have chosen without hesitation. Gamble a little, maybe your bicycle turns into a motorcycle. But in reality, he had to be cautious.
Destroying the Life Sphere was the safer choice. Yet he couldn't be sure—if he shattered it, would the demons also vanish?
So then… which should he choose?
(The End of this Chapter)