"Well, this guy's actually pretty smart. He didn't show up in his true form... just a mere puppet."

Pointing at the corpse slowly turning to sand, Ink Ash explained softly, a faint smile creeping onto his face.

You even dared to play with me? Next time we meet... you'd better watch out, kid~!

Shaking the evil-grinning Ink Ash vigorously, Lily—who’d grown impatient waiting—called out loudly, "Master... Master? Master!"

"What? Can’t you see I’m thinking?"

Tapping his disciple’s head, Ink Ash shot her a displeased glare.

"Um... I wanted to ask, what should we do next?"

"Easy. Grab the stuff and bail."

Clapping his hands, Ink Ash explained plainly.

"But... that final gate requires only one victor to remain, right?"

Pointing to his own head with a serious expression, Ink Ash began steering his disciple down a dubious path again.

"Idiot, think outside the box! We can’t just stick to rules—we break them. If it won’t open? We force it open ourselves."

"Wow... I get it! Master, you’re so smart!"

Blinking adoringly, Lily exclaimed, her perspective broadened once more.

"Of course!"

Gladly accepting the praise, Ink Ash kicked Valen—who’d been utterly ignored—and said coldly, "Hey, you. Get up. Stop playing dead."

"I... *cough*... Thank you for saving me, sir. Valen is eternally grateful!"

Scratching his head awkwardly, Valen stood and bowed sincerely, unembarrassed at being caught.

"Not bad. I’ll share some loot later?"

"No, no... surviving is blessing enough. I wouldn’t dare ask!"

"Good. Since you’re sensible, I won’t kill you..."

Frozen in place, Valen didn’t think he was joking. Relief warred with hurt. "Uh... even as a nobody, hearing that stings my pride."

Hurt as he was, fresh from a life-or-death ordeal, he wasn’t naive enough to draw his sword over dignity—that’d be stupid. Their next topic... was truly terrifying.

Danger gone, Lily’s bubbly nature resurfaced as she chattered, "Oh right! Master, where were you all that time?"

"Oh, fought some hybrid monstrosity. Wasted time."

Remembering the stingy creature that dissolved into light without leaving a corpse, Ink Ash scowled.

Suddenly recalling his sky-diving entrance, Lily pressed, "Weird... you didn’t come through the main gate?"

"Tch. Accused me of cheating. Blocked my portal. Took serious effort!"

Of course, the Great Demon King’s casual retelling glossed over the formal alert: "Warning! This anomaly exceeds the Tower of Babel’s capacity. Energy critical... Initiate final protocol: seal all exits!"

Well, he wasn’t just here to stomp noobs—he was the type who’d even take down admins when serious.

Amidst swirling debris, Ink Ash blasted a hole in the gate and strode through. "Well then~ let’s see what treasures this place really holds..."