Chapter 77. The Power of the Demon King (2)
Horakti was dumbfounded.
Just moments ago, the guy hadn't even been able to maintain his form, let alone dodge mana spheres.
Yet now, he was clutching the back of Horakti's proud neck, slamming him to the ground, and issuing threats.
“How do you use the Demon King's power?”
But the question itself was absurd.
A guy who could subdue him this easily didn't even know how to properly wield the Demon King's power?
That meant he'd overpowered Horakti using only the strength he already possessed.
“……!”
That realization quickly turned to rage, and Horakti began to unleash his true power.
“You filthy worm……!”
In an instant, light flashed from his body, and Horakti's form vanished completely.
“What the—?”
Jeonghyeon turned around to see Horakti spreading enormous bird-like wings against the backdrop of the setting sun, gazing down at him.
Sunlight filtering through his feathers created a dramatic backlight, enhancing Horakti's majestic presence.
Pretty good showmanship.
“If you thought I was merely swift of foot, you've made a grave mistake.”
In Horakti's hand was a long staff that hadn't been there before.
At its tip gleamed a tiny blade.
Appraisal.
Epic Weapon
The sword of Demon King Horakti.
A sword that can traverse space at will.
One of the six swords of the Demon King, with no limits to the spaces it can cross.
“The spaces I can traverse are……!”
Horakti vanished into thin air before finishing his sentence.
The sudden disappearance let the harsh sunlight flood Jeonghyeon's eyes.
“Tch!”
The moment he squinted—
“Jeonghyeon! Behind you!”
Horakti had teleported directly behind him in a flash, channeling mana into the blade at the end of Wanderer of Spirits and thrusting it forward.
“Is that all space teleportation can do?”
In that split second, without even turning, Jeonghyeon extended his arm and caught the staff in his hand.
“?!”
As Horakti yanked back in panic, Jeonghyeon spun with the momentum.
His Blood Dissector was now aimed at Horakti's throat.
“Tch!”
Whoosh!
Horakti teleported again.
“Your instincts are sharp!”
This time he aimed for Jeonghyeon's flank, but once more, Jeonghyeon seemed to anticipate it perfectly, blocking the attack path with his sword.
“How……!”
Whoosh!
Once, twice.
Over ten times he teleported to strike, but Jeonghyeon found no openings.
“What the hell is going on!?”
As the flustered Horakti pulled back to analyze the situation—
Tap.
Something touched his back.
A dark crimson mana reeking of blood.
It was Jeonghyeon.
“Damn, you're flitting around like a hyperactive fly.”
Jeonghyeon smacked the back of Horakti's head with a resounding crack!
“Gah!”
“Think zipping around makes you untouchable? Can't even end it.”
Horakti, his will to fight broken, clutched his throbbing skull and turned to stare at Jeonghyeon.
He didn't look like he'd used any special ability.
“Blood Dissector…… shouldn't have that kind of power……!”
Indeed, Blood Dissector had no such ability.
“Of course not. It's just my instincts.”
Horakti couldn't even muster a hollow laugh at Jeonghyeon's words.
A joke? Mockery?
Neither, unfortunately.
“I was pretty damn good in my past life, y'know?”
Jeonghyeon slowly walked toward the teleporting beastkin Demon King at a human pace.
“Space hops like that? I can track 'em on instinct.”
As Jeonghyeon said, he'd faced countless foes with spatial movement abilities.
His physical prowess and mana, vastly enhanced by the Demon King's arrangement, had revived his past-life senses.
Kim Jeonghyeon, the Sword Master who once reached Demon King Malekith.
His intuition and senses could grasp enemies within kilometers in an instant.
“So quit running and answer me already.”
Jeonghyeon kicked off the ground and leaped.
No teleportation—yet his figure vanished like an arrow, reappearing before Horakti's eyes.
Tap.
He hooked Horakti's slender leg, tripping him.
Boom!!
Just like before, he grabbed the back of Horakti's neck and slammed him into the ground.
***
“Life's a bitch……”
Horakti, faceplanted on the ground, muttered a curse under his breath.
He'd ambushed right after the guy became Demon King, before he could grow stronger!
Yet here he was, getting wrecked.
This was too much.
“How do you use the Demon King's power? It's not just boosting physical stats, right?”
Like déjà vu, Jeonghyeon twisted Horakti's neck again, pinning him.
Preventing even spatial movement.
“I don't know. Just kill me.”
Suddenly, Horakti's feathers drooped limply.
“What the hell? What's with this bird?”
Jeonghyeon loosened his grip in confusion.
Nus reluctantly released Horakti's neck, but the utterly depressed Demon King just headbutted the dirt and lay still.
“Hey. Birdbrain. Get up.”
Jeonghyeon, the enemy, was poking him instead.
“Don't wanna. Kill me. I quit being Demon King.”
Only Jeonghyeon and Nus vaguely noticed Horakti sniffling.
Life doesn't go according to plan, they say.
But I didn't expect it to derail this badly.
Jeonghyeon found himself comforting the sniveling bird-headed Demon King.
“Hey…… uh…… being weak ain't a crime.”
“Fuck! What do you know! You get my pain?!”
Horakti whipped around, bellowing at Jeonghyeon.
“I thought becoming Demon King would let me shine! The other Demon Kings are already carving up Afraksas! I barely survived waiting for the final Demon King, and now he's this strong! What am I? Just upgrade fodder?!”
His rant poured out like machine-gun fire, noisy as dawn birdsong.
“Kill me! Just kill me!”
Seeing that outburst, a thought flashed through Jeonghyeon's mind.
Do I really have to fight? Force it? I can use Malekith's power via the Demon King's arrangement, but do I need to go all out and kill him now?
“Is there any real need?”
Jeonghyeon stored Blood Dissector back in his inventory.
No will to fight.
“I said kill me. If this is some ploy to toy with me with petty nonsense……”
The bird-headed Demon King only gathered denser mana.
Jeonghyeon faced him and said something he'd likely never heard.
“How about teaming up?”
“……”
“……”
“……What?”
“Like you said, you and Malekith are weaklings among the five Demon Kings…… And I'm the brand-new weakest one.”
“……”
Horakti seemed intrigued. Jeonghyeon's mind spun like a storm dragon.
“……Something's brewing.”
Philip noticed first and took the initiative.
“Jeonghyeon is attempting dialogue! Everyone, cease fighting!!”
His shout carried an oppressive force, making everyone unconsciously drop their stances.
The effect naturally hit the monsters summoned with Horakti too.
“Grk……?”
The beastkin soldiers, sensing the sudden pressure and seeing their lord dominated, lowered their weapons without thinking.
“Let's talk. Us weaklings together.”
Jeonghyeon approached Horakti and extended his hand.
“……Halt your attacks for now.”
At Horakti's command, the beastkin fully stopped.
“Good. Nice. Knew you'd play ball.”
“Good?”
“Means great. Real good.”
“Speak first. What do you want?”
Horakti asked directly.
“What do you think?”
Jeonghyeon grinned slyly.
“Mercy…… perhaps?”
“……”
This birdbrain still hasn't clocked the situation……
Obviously, as a weakling with spirit comparable to Malekith, survival must be brutal.
Overconfident or clueless?
As Jeonghyeon stayed dead serious, Horakti finally spoke again.
“Or perhaps a strategic alliance to check the other Demon King forces.”
“I acknowledge it. As Demon King, I lack territory and power. But that's mere physical valuation. Outward appearances aren't objective measures.”
Listen to this bird running his beak.
Long-winded meant scared.
Fancy words or not, it was admitting weakness.
“As you know, I'm a Demon King from another dimension. The others are surely all in Afraksas, right?”
“Indeed. I've never seen one gathering power from another dimension.”
“Conversely, the other Demon Kings don't know my forces or scale well.”
“Not true.”
“Then?”
Instead of answering, Horakti pulled a tiny rod from his robes.
Swish.
He swung it through the air; it extended with a click, forming a long staff.
At its tip shimmered a short blade of ethereal blue.
“My sword. Wanderer of Spirits' ability is teleportation. All Demon Kings already sense your existence and forces. They simply lack the dimensional travel to match this scale.”
Oh ho?
An irrepressible smile spread across Jeonghyeon's face. Dimensional travel? Way better than expected.
Even other Demon Kings struggled with it, yet Horakti moved his entire army.
“Blood Dissector's power is surely slaughter. Top-tier physical attack sword. Combined with my ability, our forces would swell instantly.”
True. Free dimensional hops plus carving with Blood Dissector? Nothing out of reach.
“What about the other Demon Kings' weapons?”
“Information is capital. You think I'd give it up easily?”
Hmm. Got some spine for a birdbrain.
“I can read intentions to some degree.”
“Oh yeah? Sorry, thought 'birdbrain' since you're one.”
“……A simple lie to probe motives.”
Horakti gripped his staff, mildly offended.
Jeonghyeon didn't flinch.
“Joking. My kind jokes like that.”
Don't panic. Panic and he notices.
Though sweating bullets inside.
“……I see.”
Horakti bought it innocently.
Smart or naive?
Lucky beastkin were tolerant of other races' traits.
“Then, what do you want in return?”
Horakti answered Jeonghyeon's question more readily than expected.
“I want only one thing.”