Chapter 26
Chapter 26
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: The Deepest Darkness
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“Come on.”
Dershion urged me to cast a light magic spell.
I felt like I could pass out any second, but I was just as curious.
For now, I pushed rest aside and decided to check if I’d gained a legendary trait.
“……Light.”
Srrk.
A light bloomed above my index finger.
The moment I saw it, only one emotion hit me.
‘……Beautiful.’
Whether it was the effect of the [Prodigy of Magic] trait, my magic had always been flashier than others’.
But the light before me now wasn’t something you could describe that way.
It was a light that filled my chest just by looking at it……
Yes, this was light in the truest sense.
“Ooh…… Th-this is!”
Dershion gasped in a trembling voice, feeling something similar to me. No, he seemed even more moved than I was, the one who’d cast it.
His eyes were turning red.
It wasn’t strange. He was a man who’d devoted his life to this light.
“……Khup.”
Realizing his state too late, Dershion turned away. From his breathing, he was trying to compose himself.
Once he seemed calm enough, he suddenly started walking forward.
He flung the door open and spoke low without looking back.
“……Rest here for a bit. I’ll be right back. If you want to sleep, use this room.”
“……Yes.”
With that, Dershion left the room.
Left alone, I lay down on the sofa in the corner.
My head was a mess. I needed to sort my thoughts.
‘So this is……’
Srrrng.
Still unable to believe it, I cast the light spell again while lying down. But the light rotating gracefully above my head was the same as before.
Beautiful and noble.
“Fuck…….”
Only now that I was alone did the emotions I’d been suppressing burst forth. If I loosened up even a little, I’d break down crying.
And it made sense.
I’d just gained a legendary trait.
If it were just any legendary trait, I wouldn’t be this overwhelmed.
This was a light-related trait I’d aimed to make my main attribute. And it was a precious ‘growth-type’ trait at that.
Growth-type traits meant exactly what they sounded like—they could grow.
They could evolve one grade higher: common to rare, rare to heroic, heroic to legendary.
In other words.
‘……Mythic.’
I’d essentially gained a mythic trait.
One on par with [Prodigy of Magic].
Of course, growth wasn’t easy.
Each growth-type trait had its own conditions, and for the one from the [Essence of Light], I’d need to hunt an enormous number of demons or take down a demon legion commander to evolve it.
But so what? This already surpassed my original plan.
My plan had been to get a heroic trait from the [Essence of Light] and evolve it to legendary.
Two mythic traits…… I’d never even dreamed of it.
“Ha…… Haha.”
What a ridiculous guy I was. Only now was I truly feeling hope.
I’d sworn to kill Baal and return to my original world…… but only now.
“……What the hell am I doing.”
I’d admit what I needed to.
Honestly, I hadn’t expected to kill Baal.
I’d just been fooling myself with self-rationalization all this time.
A normal guy from South Korea taking down the demon legion’s supreme commander? No way that could happen.
That was my real thought.
“You fucking bastard…….”
Pathetic. The me who always acted confident in front of everyone was actually the biggest coward.
A weakling who only lied to himself.
But humans are animals that grow endlessly. We’ve evolved and become the apex predators of the modern world.
In that sense.
“……Let’s do this.”
I vowed not to be like that anymore. I resolved to truly kill him.
It wasn’t just emotional. With two mythic traits raising my ceiling and building a solid foundation…… it was possible.
Killing Baal, returning to my original world—it wasn’t a pipe dream anymore.
With that fact firmly in mind, I forced myself to sleep.
Because the moment I opened my eyes would be my first real step.
My desperate struggle in this goddamn world started now.
***
“Mm.”
“You’re awake.”
When I woke, Dershion was sitting on the sofa opposite me.
He’d apparently been waiting for me to stir. It felt burdensome.
“……How long did I sleep?”
“Over two hours, probably.”
“I see.”
Not too long considering how exhausted I was.
The party was probably over by now.
“Then I’ll head out.”
I couldn’t stay here longer, so I moved to leave.
Suddenly, Dershion grabbed my wrist.
“You can’t go yet.”
“Pardon?”
I looked at him puzzled, but he spoke as if it were obvious.
“You haven’t seen the true light yet.”
The true light? Didn’t I get the legendary trait for that?
“Come on. The elders are waiting for you.”
“Why are they waiting for me? Where are we going?”
“You’ll see when we get there.”
I had no idea what he was planning, but his forceful attitude left me no choice but to follow.
We ascended the ever-shifting stairs to the top floor of the magic tower.
It was entirely clad in stone, and the space expansion magic was top-notch—the lobby where I’d taken the evaluation was just as vast.
But it was an empty space, impossible to guess its purpose.
“Why are we…….”
As I started to ask.
“Ugh.”
A strange smell assaulted my nose. It wrinkled my face involuntarily, a nauseating stench that numbed my senses.
‘……What’s that smell?’
It started the moment we arrived, so the source had to be here. I searched for it, but oddly.
Nothing stood out. Just a peculiar pattern on the floor caught my eye.
I stared at it, entranced.
It was massive, covering the entire floor, with runes densely packed around the edges. In the center circle, like a marker, was a shape of two overlapping triangles—
‘……A hexagram?’
Chills ran down my spine.
Why the hell was a hexagram drawn on the floor?
“Hey, what’s th—”
“Elders. Prepare the ritual.”
Before I could finish, Dershion spoke first. As if waiting for his cue, Aldeon’s elders began to appear.
Thud, thud.
They were all carrying something with practiced efficiency, like they’d rehearsed countless times.
‘……That’s.’
I examined what they held.
No need to look closely. I knew instantly.
It was the third piece of info I’d meant to learn before leaving the tower.
‘Artifacts.’
Aldeon’s light-attribute artifacts.
From low-grade ones to top-tier ones you couldn’t buy with money.
Dozens of artifacts were placed on the floor one by one.
That’s when the tinnitus started.
Beee—!
Since entering this world, it had only rung once before.
When my ‘Intuition’ from Soul Imprint warned me.
Extreme unease surged.
I didn’t know what, but one thing was clear.
I was in danger as great as when that silver-hair swung a sword at my neck. No, judging by the tinnitus volume, this was worse.
Honestly, I didn’t get it.
‘……A situation more dangerous than losing my life?’
What danger went beyond death?
But no time to think.
I had to escape fast.
The moment I stepped to do so.
Thud, thud.
“For the light of Aldeon.”
There was 7th Elder Ollie Didan saluting Dershion, and behind him, people rubbing their eyes.
“Yawn…… Huh? First place, thought you weren’t coming, what’re you doing here?”
“Yoo Han, dawn class today?”
These were people who should be deep asleep after the party.
This felt like the scale was growing…… My unease intensified.
“Get out! Now!”
I yelled and bolted.
Fortunately, Dershion wasn’t looking our way. He just stared at the preparing elders with mad eyes.
“What the sudden…….”
“I said get out, hurry!”
Before things worsened, I grabbed Lief’s wrist and sprinted for the exit.
The others were quick; they’d follow without explanation.
That’s what I thought.
[Too late.]
Boom!
Dershion’s voice pierced my mind as the stone door slammed down from above.
I scanned for another exit, but not even a small window.
Completely sealed.
“……What the hell is this?”
Dershion slowly turned.
His voice, laced with mana, rang out.
[……Yoo Han, I’m so proud of you. Thanks to you fully absorbing the essence, we’ve advanced the plan far ahead of schedule.]
Beeee—!
The tinnitus grew louder, but Dershion’s voice cut through it.
[Yes, you asked how to see the true light…… I’ll tell you now.]
Boom! Boom! Boom……!
My heart pounded wildly. Not from awakening effects, purely from dread.
[They say light shines brighter in darkness. Remember?]
His words to me flashed in my mind.
- I’d planned to give it to you. Just a lot of prep first.
- I received a ‘revelation.’
- You can figure it out from basics.
-……Aldeon pursues the true light.
Rrrumble……
Meanwhile, the elders’ cart was placed in the hexagram’s center, and with the intensifying stench, my eyes went to it.
Inside were the mage who died during evaluation and men in Asteron-embossed armor, all mixed together.
All rotting, flesh falling off.
I’d wondered why Asteron left Aldeon alone for two months. I’d been wrong.
……They’d taken action—by killing them all?
“……Allen? That’s Allen……?”
“What the hell……?”
“You crazy fuck, Dershion!!”
The disciples’ outrage erupted.
I let it slide from one ear while calmly piecing together the info.
His words to me, the hexagram, the sacrifices in the cart. And light magic’s property of growing stronger against demons.
“……Light shines brighter in darkness. So.”
I got it.
Dershion Pigma. What he was planning.
“You’ll summon darkness?”
He planned to open a path to the demon world here, at the magic tower’s top.
To see the ‘true light’ they obsessed over.
[Uhahaha! As expected of my prized pupil! Grasping the profound meaning already!]
Dershion laughed like a man freed of all burdens.
And then.
[But…… not the darkness you think.]
He floated midair to the hexagram’s center.
At the same time.
Tssstss!
Dense mana poured from him, red vapors rising from the sacrifices.
The hexagram absorbed it all.
‘I have to stop it.’
That thought was brief. Dershion dropped a more shocking line.
[……For I summon the deepest darkness.]
……What?
For a moment, I forgot to stop it and froze.
Did I hear wrong?
“……What did you just say?”
Dershion didn’t answer.
[O evil of the abyss! Your path lies here! The light shall judge you!]
He just chanted the forbidden incantation he shouldn’t.
Whoooosh—.
The air grew heavy, pressing on my shoulders, intense demonic energy flooding from the reddened hexagram.
Crack, craaack……!
The immense power cracked space itself.
It was absurd.
“……Ha, haha. Knew you were crazy, but…….”
I hadn’t realized how insane.
What gave him that confidence?
Today, as I whipped my weak self.
Dershion Pigma was trying to manifest the demon legion’s supreme commander. ‘Baal’ right here.