The Fate of the World — Its Conclusion
And so began the clash between Kim Jae-hyun—history’s strongest Demon King, the first of human origin and a former Hero—and Yu Ji-ho, the ancient Hero who had once shone eight thousand one hundred and twenty-three years in the past.
This was no mere duel between Demon King and Hero. It was a battle for the fate of the world itself, fought by two beings who shared the same homeland. The victor would rule everything.
Jae-hyun’s gaze left Ji-ho and settled on Rachel, Ruina, Silvia, Kim Da-gyeom, and Gabriel.
“Quite the lovely little flock of women.”
His eyes lingered especially often on Kim Da-gyeom, and she flinched under the weight of that stare. She was still dressed as she had been on Earth—crisp white blouse and jeans. The denim clung to the elegant lines of her lower body, leaving the ripe curve of her hips and the long, beautiful sweep of her legs fully on display.
Disgusting.
Watching Jae-hyun eye his wives—Kim Da-gyeom above all—with such naked lust made Ji-ho’s stomach turn. He himself had designs on Jae-hyun’s wife Irene, true enough, but that did nothing to make an enemy leering at his own women any more pleasant. Given half a chance, he would have driven a blade straight through those eyes so they could never look at his women with that filthy hunger again.
“You’re going to die here, Demon King.”
As he spoke, Ji-ho’s gaze shifted to the youngest of the three women behind Jae-hyun—an eight-year-old girl with golden hair and blue eyes. Seria’s body, now occupied by the Demon King Laylana. One way or another, Seria was still his descendant, born of the blood of the wives he loved. That Jae-hyun had not only killed her but desecrated her flesh like this was something Ji-ho could never forgive. The chaos already tearing across the continent alone proved that Demon King Kim Jae-hyun was an evil that should never have been allowed to exist in this world.
“Heh. Is that so?”
Jae-hyun answered with a cold smile—and in the next instant, his figure vanished.
Smack— smack— smack— smack— smack—
“Ahk!”
“Ugh!”
“Nnnh!”
“Hahk!”
“Ahn!”
Sharp cracks rang out from the backsides of Rachel, Ruina, Silvia, Kim Da-gyeom, and Gabriel all at once. They staggered, clutching at the sudden sting. By the time anyone could react, Jae-hyun was already standing where he had been a moment before, a frigid sneer curling his lips as he looked at Ji-ho.
“You’ve got yourself some fine stock. Those firm little asses—every last one of them looks built to bear children beautifully. And the Archangel bitch is surprisingly sturdy herself.”
His wives and Gabriel flushed with shame under the crude mockery. The realization that Jae-hyun had not merely spoken but laid hands on them as well drove the killing intent in Ji-ho’s eyes to a boiling point.
Behind Jae-hyun, Irene, Lucretia, and Laylana sensed the true battle was about to begin and withdrew from the field.
Shuuuuuuu!
The instant they vanished, a colossal barrier sealed itself around Pandemonium, capital of the Dark Empire. Lucretia’s defensive veil, unfurled with the Wings of the Goddess, layered together with the barriers raised by the Great Archdemons Irene and Laylana. A city wrapped in walls of light and walls of darkness both.
By the time the barrier locked into place, Ji-ho already had his sword leveled at Jae-hyun and was drawing power into himself. The humiliated women, his companions, and the vast host of dragons and angels at his back all poured their strength into him. Countless currents of power converged on Yu Ji-ho. That was precisely why he had brought so many dragons and angels—to gather the might of countless powerhouses and unleash a single, ultimate strike capable of bringing down the Demon King.
Kuuuung!
Demon King Kim Jae-hyun answered in kind. A vast tide of darkness erupted from his entire body as he raised both the Holy Sword and the Demonic Sword.
Shwaaaaa!
Immense darkness poured from the Demonic Sword; immense light poured from the Holy Sword. The two forces intertwined and fused into something entirely new—a power history had never known, the mingled strength of holy power and demonic energy, called Holy-Demonic Energy.
That really is an enormous power…!
For a moment Ji-ho had wondered whether the Demon King before him might be a clone or some kind of puppet. The sheer magnitude of the force now rolling off him erased every doubt. The Kim Jae-hyun standing there was the real one.
Good!
Tremendous power began to coil along Ji-ho’s blade. From the ramparts, watching through the barrier, Laylana recognized the attack at once. It was the same strike that had once brought her down. Before that blow she—stronger than he had been then—had been helpless. But this was not the same attack she had faced.
“He’s gotten stronger.”
Laylana could see it clearly. The technique was incomparably more powerful than the one used against her. The total volume of energy he was drawing in far exceeded what he had taken then, and Ji-ho’s own skill had grown sharper still. Using their battle as a foundation, his monstrous capacity for growth had pushed him to another level entirely. That was the nature of otherworldly Heroes—they grew far faster through combat with the strong than through ordinary training. She had seen it when Jae-hyun himself was still a Hero, and Ji-ho’s growth rate left her just as astonished.
The Archangel’s sword and the sacred armaments answered their wielder’s strength; the stronger Ji-ho became, the more devastating their power. There was no question—this strike dwarfed anything she had endured.
“I thought the same when he used it on Laylana. It really does remind me of the Spirit Bomb from Dragon Ball.”
Jae-hyun remarked on the technique Ji-ho was preparing with sudden, casual irrelevance.
“You’re right. I did take inspiration from the Spirit Bomb.”
Ji-ho admitted it without hesitation. A finishing move forged from the borrowed strength of comrades, of Earth, of countless lives across the cosmos. Drawing on that idea, he had devised a method of concentrating his companions’ power into a single ultimate blow. Fold in his own strength on top of that, and he had believed it would be more than enough to fell Demon King Kim Jae-hyun.
“Interesting.”
Jae-hyun could already gauge how devastating the technique would be. He showed no intention of dodging. If anything, he meant to meet it head-on.
Kuuuuung—
From the Holy Sword and Demonic Sword in Jae-hyun’s hands, light and darkness fused into Holy-Demonic Energy, compressing to a single point until it became a blow of overwhelming force. A true one-strike, one-kill confrontation.
Everything rides on this one blow!
Ji-ho had no idea how Irene and Lucretia would react once Jae-hyun fell, so he had already prepared an escape. The sacred boots—Holy Boots: Tararia—would let him shift through space and flee. But mere teleportation meant nothing if they could track him. He needed a situation in which pursuit was impossible, and for that he needed the Holy Sword. With its power he could recover far faster; with it in hand he would become strong enough to defeat even Laylana in single combat. And if he used the Holy Sword to veil their presence after fleeing with Tararia’s power, he could buy the time to heal in safety. Then this world would fall into his hands. Without their Demon King as a center, the Forces of Darkness would turn on one another in civil strife. Topple Kim Jae-hyun alone, and Ji-ho would effectively become master of the world.
“We’ve talked long enough. Let’s end this.”
Demon King Kim Jae-hyun and the ancient Hero Yu Ji-ho moved as one, each driving his blade toward the other.
Kuuuuung!
Ji-ho hurled the ultimate strike forged from every scrap of his companions’ power. Jae-hyun answered with a crushing blow drawn from Holy Sword and Demonic Sword alike. And then the result of their clash was decided.
KWA-GWA-GWANG!
When the two attacks collided, they locked for a moment in a grinding stalemate. In the end, however, Jae-hyun’s strike of Holy-Demonic Energy could not withstand the concentrated might of countless powerhouses pouring through Ji-ho, and it began to unravel. Jae-hyun had wielded the two strongest armaments in existence—but Ji-ho had drawn on every sacred relic he possessed save Tararia itself, and beyond that he had pulled in the power of his companions’ Archangel armaments and holy treasures as well. The legendary weapons were no exception. He had staked everything on a single blow, while Jae-hyun had held something back. That difference decided the duel.
“Strong.”
Jae-hyun spoke the word as he watched Ji-ho’s attack slowly force his own power aside—and then a colossal force swallowed his entire body.
KWAAAAAANG!
Jae-hyun’s body shattered into fragments and crumbled away. A hollow, anticlimactic end for Demon King Kim Jae-hyun.
“Haha…”
Ji-ho felt the Demon King’s presence vanish and knew he had fallen. Kim Jae-hyun was finally down. It felt almost absurdly empty. There had been no fierce exchange of blows—only one ultimate strike against a Demon King who had answered with a single massive surge of power.
Demon King… you grew far too arrogant.
Arrogant tyranny was the hallmark of Demon Kings. As dark overlords who ruled every force of darkness, they were creatures of boundless pride, and Ji-ho decided that pride was the reason he had won. If the Demon King had simply crushed them with the overwhelming combat ability he had shown while molesting Ji-ho’s wives earlier, they would have lost. Instead he had deliberately chosen a contest of finishing moves—and that was how Ji-ho had been able to claim victory.
“Honey!”
“Ji-ho!”
His four wives rushed toward him at once—Rachel, Ruina, Silvia, Kim Da-gyeom. Watching those beautiful, beloved women race to his side, Ji-ho smiled. They had poured nearly all their strength into him and had almost nothing left, yet the sight of them running to him was still unbearably precious. There was no time for a tearful embrace, though. He had to find the Holy Sword, seize it, and get out of this place as fast as possible.
But as he reached out to locate the Holy Sword, something felt wrong.
It’s… gone?
The lingering residue of Holy-Demonic Energy—the vast fusion of light and darkness the Demon King had left behind—had muddied his senses at first. Now his face hardened. He could not feel the Holy Sword’s presence anywhere on this field.
KWAAAAANG!
In that same instant, countless black tentacles erupted from the ground and seized Rachel, Ruina, Silvia, and Kim Da-gyeom as they ran toward him.
“Ah—ahh!”
“Kyaa! What is this?!”
“N-no—I don’t want this!”
“Th-this feels disgusting!”
His wives screamed as the tentacles coiled around their bodies. Ji-ho spun, desperate to save them, and tried to swing the Archangel’s sword even though its power was all but spent.