The Demon Legion Commander Rex felt a surge of curiosity at the sight of the unfamiliar golem.

*Whirrr-clunk, whirr-clunk…*

A silver, four-legged metal golem was busily moving around, sucking up dust from the floor. Golden trimmings lined its metallic body, and a faint blue light pulsed occasionally along its edges.

*Interesting. This kind of shine is rare.*

"It would make a nice addition to my weapon collection."

Rex, who had a passion for collecting weapons, felt greed stir in his gaze. The golem moved with an impressive smoothness—he couldn’t guess how it had been crafted.

*Have I ever seen a golem like this before?*

The golems he knew were all clunky, made from stone and rock, moving in awkward, rigid motions.

Yet, here was a light, nimble golem, hopping around as it cleaned.

*I’ll take this one.*

Rex reached out, intending to grab the golem. However—

*Smack!*

“??”

The golem raised one of its front legs and swatted his hand away.

For a moment, Rex was taken aback.

What was that?

It was as if the golem was slapping away his hand like it was filthy. Even someone like Rex, not particularly sensitive, could sense a peculiar displeasure in the golem's action.

Rex couldn’t understand it.

He wasn’t angry just yet…

*Did it just swat my hand away?*

The position of Demon Legion Commander wasn’t something handed out casually. Only the most formidable demons, those who had demonstrated supreme strength, could attain it. Every movement he made held substantial force.

His reflexes were exceptional, too.

When the metal golem reacted to his reach, Rex instinctively responded in kind.

But the result?

*Slap!*

Rex looked down at the back of his hand.

His tough, red skin was now slightly swollen.

“??”

When something is too unbelievable to accept, the mind stalls.

Then, as he gradually pieced together what had just happened, rage set in.

“!!”

A deep crease formed on Rex’s brow.

Did it just strike me?
A mere servant of Selena’s dared to hit me?

Already short-tempered, Rex’s patience snapped. However, a slow grin crept over his face.

Why?

Because he intended to make Selena pay for this insolence. He’d turn this metal golem into scrap and take it with him—then she'd surely beg for forgiveness.

With that thought, he extended his arm again.

This time, he wasn’t just reaching to grab it.

This was a punch.

Yes, this was a strike meant to obliterate the golem.

*How dare you!*

However—

*Smack!*

“??”

His hand was even more swollen than before.

“What?”

A dumbfounded sound escaped Rex’s mouth.

Again—

*Smack!*

“?!”

This… this thing!

*Smack!*

“!!”

Rex’s eyes began to burn red. Smoke and embers seeped from between his clenched teeth.

*Huff, huff.*

It was the prelude to his berserk state.

The berserk fury of Demon Legion Commander Rex?
Not even the Demon King could easily quell it.

Just as his pride took a final blow and Rex was about to unleash his rage—

“What brings you here?”

The ruler of the succubus territory, Selena, made her appearance.

Riding a circular metallic platform.

Strange, floating metal boxes hovered around her.

“?”

Rex was briefly taken aback by Selena’s uncharacteristic appearance, but soon, his lips twisted into a slow grin. His vertically slit pupils scanned her from head to toe.

“Is this any way to greet a guest?”

“I don’t recall inviting you.”

“Kuhuhu.”

Even as a fellow Legion Commander, there was an obvious disparity between them.

Rex spoke to her informally, while Selena addressed him respectfully.

This was partly due to the limitations of her succubus nature. Even with the title "Queen" in her species’ name, a succubus was still a succubus.

Rex, on the other hand, was a high-ranking demon with strong orcish bloodline traits. Additionally, his natural talents made him far superior, so the hierarchy was clear.

“In any case, please refrain from making a scene here. Let’s go inside.”

“Kuhuhu. Fine, I’ll come inside.”

Rex shot a greedy look at the metal golem and followed Selena inside.

“...”

As he followed her into the fortress, his expression grew more peculiar.

Hmm?

“...”

The interior was so different from what he was accustomed to that it left him unsettled.

Doors opened automatically without any guards. Instead of stairs, there was a lift that instantly took him to the higher floors.

*Floating magic?*

No, that wasn’t right. The levitation spells he knew weren’t nearly this refined. Besides, with his high magic resistance, such magic wouldn’t work on him anyway.

And then there were the optimal lighting, humidity, and temperature.

The comfortable environment, unimaginable in the harsh Demon Realm, only added to his bewilderment.

When she muttered something under her breath, the entire building seemed to react, executing her commands as if it were alive.

Barrier walls opened automatically to create new paths, while metal arms emerged from the walls to hand her reports as she walked.

A living building?

The thought crossed his mind.

Sitting in the reception room, sipping the tea that had automatically been brought to him, all kinds of thoughts swirled in his head.

He wanted it.

*With a fortress like this, even my father would be envious.*

His desire grew even stronger.

He rubbed the back of his swollen hand while watching her closely.

*Yes, a fortress like this is wasted on Selena.*

It didn’t make sense for someone ranked lower than him to live in such a place.

Comparing it to the castle in his own domain only strengthened his conviction.

He slammed his hand down onto the reception table.

*Bang!*

“Do you realize that one of your servants attacked me?”

He’d meant to smash the table, but to his surprise, it didn’t budge. Nonetheless, he kept his composure and bellowed in fury.

“Are you challenging me?”

Go ahead—be afraid. You know what happens when you cross me!

However, things didn’t go exactly as he expected.

While Selena seemed taken aback, she was glancing around at something else, not at him.

Wait, what was that?

The same golem that had swatted his hand away?

“Ah! Don’t kill him! Even though he looks like that, he’s still the Demon King’s direct descendant…”

Did I just hear that right?
Did this insane woman just imply that killing me was an option?

Seeing Selena, who barely looked at him, Rex finally lost it.

Fine. I’ll beat her into submission.

The golem? The fortress? She’ll hand them all over willingly.

No, with this level of insult, maybe I’ll just kill her outright…

With a berserk grin, he swung his fist toward Selena’s face.

This time, it was on a different level.

Of course, his berserk mode wasn’t like the average demon’s.

A crimson aura swirled around his outstretched arm.

*Die.*

He repeated the word in his mind as he struck.

[Alert: Level-1 Protected Individual is under threat.]
[Eliminating the threat.]
[Switching to combat mode.]

*Clink-clank*
*Vrrrrm*

The golem’s frame expanded, and red lights glowed menacingly as long metallic appendages extended from its body.

Rex felt as if time had slowed down. But even within that slowed perception, the golem seemed to move with unnerving ease.

*Crash!*

“Ugh!”

Before he could even land on the ground after being swatted away by the golem’s metal arm—

[Eliminating the target.]

“W-wait…!”

*Flash!*

A blinding light filled his vision, and everything went dark.

Thud—

With his upper body separated, Rex was no longer moving.

“Kyaaa!”

A wave of shock ripped through the reception room, with winds blowing through the gaping hole in the wall.

*Vrrm-clank*

The metal robot quickly reverted to its original form, and the walls rebuilt themselves in moments.

But Selena’s mind was still reeling.

“W-what…?”

Thud—

She collapsed, her legs giving out.

The son of the Demon King had just been killed.

…

But as that thought settled, her gaze fell upon the golem that had taken out a Demon Legion Commander with a single blast.

Hmm...?

…

She took a deep breath.

Maybe this could actually work out in her favor…

“Ah…”

At this point, she didn’t even want to think anymore.

She had one more reason to stay on the good side of the Emperor of the Universe and the Pirate King.

---

In the dimensionally distorted passageway…

The boundary between colors was blurred, like spilled paints swirling together, and the outlines of objects wavered as if they might dissolve into the void.

Dimensional pathways were inherently dangerous places. A single misstep could lead to eternal wandering as a dimensional castaway.

That’s why fighting in a dimensional pathway was usually unthinkable.

*Boom-crash*

[Die.]
-Kiiiiiiiieeeek!

*Thud*

A massive silver tree root emerged, pinning a colossal monster to the wall of the dimensional pathway, where it quickly disintegrated.

Whether it was sent to another dimension, lost in spacetime, or annihilated completely, no one could say for sure.

The place was that dangerous.

But—

-Kiiiiiiiieeeek!

Thud

Another giant silver root surged forward, ensnaring a massive beast, which was then flung against the walls of the dimensional passage. The creature collided with the boundary, and its form began to flicker and disintegrate as it slipped into the unknown, either vanishing into another dimension or possibly being destroyed altogether.

Despite the constant threat, the silver giants maintained their formation, battling relentlessly against the onslaught of monsters pouring through the portal. Each step was a dance of survival as the giants pushed forward with coordinated movements, their silver bodies gleaming like a storm against a sea of darkness.

Hidden in the shadows, an assistant from the Sephiroth clan supported the giants by eliminating lower-level beasts.

"Be careful!"

A hissing creature tried to strike her from behind. With quick reflexes, she unleashed a burst of silver flame, knocking the monster back. Even though she was only a lower-ranking member, she fought fiercely alongside her more powerful allies.

Why is this happening? she thought, bracing against yet another attack.

They had been tracking a simple root disturbance. But suddenly, the portal had filled with chaotic creatures, and a brutal fight had erupted in the forbidden realm of dimensional passages.

Initially, the battle was small, manageable. But as the chaotic beasts kept emerging in greater numbers, Sephiroth reinforcements were continually called in, and the conflict escalated into a full-scale dimensional clash.

Massive, mutated monsters stormed the battlefield: a colossal turtle-like creature that spat out waves of smaller beasts, and a grotesque, gaping-mouthed behemoth that inhaled everything in its path indiscriminately.

As both sides poured more forces into the fight, the scene became one of utter chaos. The Chaos creatures attacked with reckless abandon, as if driven by a vendetta. Meanwhile, the Sephiroth clan, disturbed by the ferocity of the attacks, committed even more resources to uncover the reasons behind this assault.

What began as a simple pursuit had now spiraled into an uncontrollable war, and no one could predict how it would end. The dimensional passage was now a tumultuous battleground, and every new moment brought greater destruction as the two forces clashed without relent.