Chapter 71: System Reward

The Ancient One's face remained calm, even as the soul in her grasp wailed and whispered in hellish agony. She was utterly unmoved.

Magical energy surged around her, and in the next instant, golden magic circles adorned with mysterious runes materialized before her.

Soon, under the effect of this immense magical power, a rift opened in space. Through it, Noah could clearly see what lay beyond.

A barren wasteland.

Endless desolation.

Yellow sand swept violently through the air, everything appeared bleak and broken, and orange flames burned in the distance. Noah knew immediately this was Hell.

Had she just ignored the dimensional barriers altogether?

Noah was stunned. The scene before him was both terrifying and surreal. But what shocked him even more was the figure that soon appeared on the other side of the rift.

A rotund man in an absurdly pristine white suit.

Noah almost did a double take.

Satan.

The Ancient One's expression remained composed as she called out to him softly, "Satan."

Noah couldn't believe it. This ridiculous-looking fat man was the ruler of Hell, Mammon's father Satan himself.

To be honest, this was not how Noah had pictured him. In his mind, Satan should have looked more like Karthus, the Deathsinger from League of Legends—dark, eerie, and wreathed in ominous energy. Instead… he got this.

But then again, Noah reminded himself that Satan had always looked this way in the original material.

Swallowing his nerves, he realized something this was a meeting of titans. And he? He was just a small fry caught in the crossfire.

No one paid him any attention. Satan's gaze remained fixed on the Ancient One and the soul in her grasp.

A smug grin stretched across his face as he finally spoke.

"Oh! Dear Sorcerer Supreme, you personally opened a portal between realms. Does that mean you approve of my little idea of spreading my influence in your world?"

The Ancient One's expression did not change. She merely tightened her grip on Mammon's soul, causing his wails to grow louder.

"Satan, spare me the pretense," she said coolly. "You know exactly what your son has done."

Satan blinked, feigning innocence. "Oh, my dear Supreme Sorcerer, I assure you, I have no idea what my son has been up to! Could it be that this little brat of mine has caused some… mischief?"

The Ancient One sighed, as if losing patience. "Fine, if that's how you want to play it, then let's skip the talk. I'll close this portal, and you can go back and figure out how to have another son. This one stays."

Noah's eyes widened.

Satan's face immediately darkened.

It was clear he hadn't expected the Ancient One to be this blunt. She wasn't negotiating she was stating a fact.

Noah couldn't help but admire it. This was the attitude of a true guardian of Earth.

This was the way a Sorcerer Supreme handled things.

Your son came to my world and caused trouble?

Now you want to play dumb?

Fine. Keep pretending I'll keep him. Problem solved.

But Noah also realized something else: Satan wasn't just worried about his son. With the way things were going, every single demon still lurking on Earth was about to be purged.

Satan's expression flickered, but he recovered quickly. A second later, the jovial smile returned.

"Now, now, Supreme Sorcerer, there's no need for hostility," he said, chuckling. "I truly had no idea what he was up to. You see, without divine assistance, crossing dimensions requires reincarnation. And without Heaven's aid…"

"He had it," the Ancient One interjected. "I just dealt with an angel Gabriel."

Satan blinked. "My, my… an angel cooperating with a demon?" He let out a theatrical gasp. "What is the world coming to?"

"You can drop the act, Satan," the Ancient One said dryly. "I don't care about your business with Heaven. That's between you and them. I only called you here to take your son back. If you refuse, next time you won't need to because you'll just be waiting for him in Hell."

Her voice was still calm, but the finality in her words was chilling.

This was not a threat.

This was a fact.

Satan's face briefly twisted in frustration. But then, to Noah's amazement, he simply laughed.

And just like that, the anger disappeared.

With a practiced, charming smile, he said, "My dear Supreme Sorcerer, I must apologize for this unfortunate misunderstanding. You are absolutely right I have failed to properly manage my own realm. As such, I take full responsibility for my son's actions."

Noah almost choked.

Did Satan just admit he was a bad ruler?

He was practically questioning his own authority and yet he did it with absolute confidence.

The Ancient One arched an eyebrow. "Oh? And what exactly does 'taking responsibility' mean to you?"

Satan grinned. "I am willing to fully cooperate with your next course of action. In fact, I shall personally recall all demons still on Earth. You have my word."

Noah's eyes widened.

What a devious move!

By recalling his own demons, Satan could prevent them from being destroyed a far worse fate than simply being forced back to Hell.

And not only that, but by agreeing to "help," he was essentially weaponizing Earth's magical forces against Heaven instead.

He was shifting the burden of battle entirely onto the angels.

This guy is ruthless.

But Noah had no time to dwell on it. Because at that moment, his system pinged again.

"Mission Report: Extraction of the unknown power in the Spear of Longinus completed."

"Mission Reward Updated: The mysterious power within the Spear of Longinus."

"The host will now obtain this mysterious power, which will be transformed into personal magic."

"Reward: Substantial increase in magic power. No training required the power is already yours."

Noah's jaw dropped.

He was getting raw magical power from the Spear of Longinus without having to train for it?

What kind of absurd cheat code was this?

But then another thought hit him.

Wait… this spear was called the "God Slaying Spear" for a reason, right?

Could it be that it actually held some kind of divine god killing property?

If that were true, had he just thrown away something far more valuable than just magic power?

Noah sighed. No point dwelling on it now.

At that moment, he noticed the Ancient One looking at him. He immediately straightened up.

"I assume you now know who I am?" she asked, a small smile on her face.

"Yes, respected Sorcerer Supreme," Noah replied respectfully. "I've read about you in some books."

"Good." The Ancient One nodded. "Heir of Ravenclaw, I believe we have much to discuss. Now that the annoying distractions are gone, we can begin."

"As you wish, Sorcerer Supreme." Noah bowed slightly.

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