The World’s Fate: The Decisive Clash, Its Ending
"Grrk!"
However, he could not save his wives. Some of the tentacles that had sprouted from the ground lashed out like whips, slamming into his body.
He had managed to block it with the Holy Shield — Aegis — but the impact was so overwhelming that he couldn’t withstand it and was forced to be driven backward.
"Get back! Get back!"
The tentacles were now targeting Great Archangel Gabriel as well. Yet she had already poured most of her power into Yu Ji-ho, so even as she drew her bow with all her might, the arrows she released were no longer the fierce, piercing bolts they had once been.
She had poured her heart and soul into mastering archery, but now both her holy power and stamina had plummeted to dangerous levels.
"Gabriel!"
"Damn it, they’re after Gabriel!"
"Damn it!"
Ouriel, Raphael, and Michael lifted the last of their holy power, casting spells or swinging their weapons, trying desperately to intercept the tentacles that were aiming for Gabriel. But the tentacles kept erupting endlessly from the ground, blocking every path.
Jason and Griffith, the traitorous mages who had betrayed Jae-hyun like the rotten dogs they were, immediately bolted the moment they saw their luck turning.
"Typical cowardly humans."
Lord of the Dragon looked at the pair with disgust as they fled in panic, but Yu Ji-ho had no time to care whether they ran or stayed.
His wives were all right there in front of him, entangled in those twisted black tentacles. There was no room in his vision for anything else.
"Damn it!"
Yu Ji-ho swung the Holy Sword with everything he had left, but at that exact moment the tentacles shifted from simple plant stems into razor-sharp blades and began to parry his blows one after another.
Normally he could have bisected them with a single slash, but now he was barely functioning — less than 0.5% of his former strength.
"Grrk!"
His body had no power behind it, so even his weakest strikes felt like nothing. He was pushed back again.
"You’re putting up quite a fight."
A grinning Demon Lord Laylana now stood before him in the form of a young girl.
"Laylana!"
Yu Ji-ho’s blood ran cold the instant she moved. The opponent was still at full power — a foe he had no hope of winning against.
She was unlikely to attack a weakened him out of spite, but the fact that she was moving at all meant Irene and the Saintess Lucrezia could as well.
Laylana’s childish laughter rang out as she appeared in front of him. "Ahahaha~"
"Irene and Lucrezia can wait. Worry about killing the Demon King instead, Jae-hyun."
"The Demon King…? N-no way?!"
Yu Ji-ho had suspected it all along, but he still hadn’t wanted to believe it was true.
If the Demon King Kim Jae-hyun was still alive, he had no path left.
"What a dramatic entrance, Laylana."
A voice he and his companions had never wanted to hear echoed in their ears.
Creak.
The great gate swung open. And there, striding through it, appeared a single man.
A pair of colossal wings, like those of a majestic bird, rose from his back. The left wing was pitch-black as night, but the right was brilliant, pure white.
"Kim Jae-hyun!"
"The Demon King!"
Right in front of them stood the Demon King himself.
He had always had black hair and red eyes, but his form was no longer that of a human. When Irene and Laylana had assumed their usual human appearance, it had been the same — but the moment their true forms surfaced, demon wings would sprout from their backs. His right wing, however, remained pure white, as befitting the master of both holy power and demonic energy.
The sight of him looking so utterly whole sent despair crashing over Yu Ji-ho’s entire party. Especially the wives tied up in those tentacles — their faces drained of all color.
"That blow just now was quite impressive. I never expected you to take down even a 10% clone of mine. Well done."
Yu Ji-ho let out a hollow laugh at Jae-hyun’s words. He had no more moves left.
He could no longer run. Even if he tried, where would he go? Without the Holy Sword, he had no way to shake off pursuit.
"Your power was immense, yet you only used 10%?"
"Hehe, isn’t that standard? When facing the final boss, you strike him down once, then immediately reveal the hidden power you’ve been saving."
Yu Ji-ho finally understood he had been completely mocked.
"H… ha ha… No way… I never imagined you’d be this strong. I thought that last time was just a clone of yours."
He had never seen Jae-hyun’s full power, only that of the clone who had visited the Imperial Palace of Habsburg. And even then he hadn’t known it was a clone — he had only felt the overwhelming strength of that sealing formation.
Now that he realized the clone had held back on purpose, the realization burned worse than anything else.
"You dared to toy with me like this… Unbelievable… I have no strength left to resist. Hah… Wasting all that power on some silly trick like this…"
His words were hollow, but inside he knew the gap between the Demon King’s strength and his own was beyond measure. Even if he threw his absolute strongest attack at the Demon King’s true form, it would be blocked in an instant.
Everything had been in Jae-hyun’s hands the entire time.
Lucretia, who had spread her goddess wings and now stood beside the wives still entangled in the tentacles, smiled down at them.
"I believe the bet is mine. Your fate has been sealed."
Wearing a beautiful white wedding dress — a sexy, modified version — she looked down at the terrified women.
Yu Ji-ho’s wives lowered their heads in despair. Even in this situation they still didn’t blame him. The opponent had simply been too strong.
But then the tentacles began to move, dragging them toward Jae-hyun, and their faces turned deathly pale.
They were lined up before him. Jae-hyun reached out, grabbed their hair, and examined each face one by one.
"I like this one."
He examined Rachel, Ruina, Silvia, and Kim Da-gyeom in that order, his expression one of genuine satisfaction. Especially his gaze lingered longest on Kim Da-gyeom.
"Especially you. I like you the most."
As he spoke, his hand — now bound by the tentacles he had created — slid down toward Da-gyeom’s backside, stroking her jeans-clad ass.
"S-stop! Don’t! Get away!"
Da-gyeom thrashed and screamed in fear. At only twenty-two, she had lived in a relatively safe modern South Korea, unlike the other wives who had survived sixty years of a world where monsters and dark armies slaughtered people without mercy.
"Da-gyeom!"
Yu Ji-ho lunged toward Jae-hyun the moment he saw his wife’s ass being groped by the Demon King’s tentacles. But it was already too late.
"Kyaaaaah!"
"Ugh!"
The Great Archangels suddenly collapsed, lifeless. Even the dragons and all the angels fell powerlessly.
"Augh!"
Finally, even Gabriel was seized by the tentacles. In that exact same instant.
Wham!
Her long, snow-white legs kicked Yu Ji-ho in the stomach. The Holy Armor he wore was too damaged to provide real protection, so he felt an agony that threatened to tear him apart inside. He vomited blood and crumpled to the ground.
"Kyaah!"
"Husband!"
"Ji-ho!"
His wives screamed his name, oblivious to his bloodied state.
Laylana, the Demon Lord who had delivered the kick, spread her massive black wings and landed lightly on the ground.
"You’re ruining Jae-hyun oppa’s well-deserved moment. Please don’t interrupt."
A cold, mocking smile curved her lips as she looked down at Yu Ji-ho with those brilliant blue eyes.
"Grrrk… damn it…"
Yu Ji-ho felt utterly pathetic. His wives were all captured by the enemy. According to Jae-hyun and Lucrezia’s warning, they would soon become Jae-hyun’s women and bear his children.
"Irene."
"Yes, oppa."
Irene’s cold smile vanished the moment she heard her husband’s voice. A pure, innocent smile replaced it as she answered. She was cold and mocking toward men outside their bond, but with Jae-hyun she remained the same sweet, pure girl from her youth.
Playing innocent…
Lucretia had the same thought for a split second, then quickly shook it off and waited for Jae-hyun’s next command.
"First, we need to tame these bitches. Take that fool and lock him away with his holy weapons stripped from him. Seal his power completely."
"Understood."
Yu Ji-ho let out a hollow laugh, still sprawled on the ground.
"You’re not even killing me right away… What other humiliation are you planning?"
"Is it obvious? I’m simply letting you know exactly what happens when you dare target what’s mine in front of me. Proof of it: wait in the prison. I’ll show you how I tame these women."
"Damn it…"
Yu Ji-ho felt only despair. He accepted his defeat. He regretted, over and over, turning the Demon King into his enemy — the first time he had ever been in such a hopeless situation.
But it was too late.
The battle between the Demon King and the ancient hero had ended with the Demon King’s victory. All that remained for him now was a miserable fate and death itself.
And the fate of this world had come to an end as well.
Jason and Griffith had fled the moment they saw their chance. The others were all captured. Resistance was now impossible.
The world was truly over.