Chapter 61
Chapter 61
Chapter 61
Rigos (3)
As spear and shield collided, the defensive spells surrounding Rudian began to peel away one by one.
-As expected, there are limits to simple spells alone.
A sense of frustration could be felt from Adi.
Of course, Adi's database contained stronger spells, but they all exceeded the maximum amount of magic that Rudian could accommodate.
Due to the magic relay system that went from Diablo to Rudian, then back to Adi, spells that transcended Rudian's maximum magic storage capacity in one go could not be used.
-If only there was even one terminal...!
'Once this matter is over, we can retrieve it, so endure it!'
Rudian comforted Adi while withstanding the pressure of the spear.
Either way, Rigos' spear was gnawing away at the defensive spells moment by moment, crushing toward Rudian's heart.
If things continued this way, defeat would be certain, but...
TSSPAT!
Like magical lightning sparking, green particles began flowing out from Rudian's body.
"...Was there hidden power?"
Rigos looked at Rudian, who kept pulling out something like an onion layer after layer, with a disgusted gaze.
Rudian met that gaze and shouted.
"And it's a very trump card power at that."
What Rudian had trained over the years wasn't just his body and swordsmanship.
Another power he possessed.
One of the powers of the seven-colored world that formed an axis of the worldview - psionic energy.
In other words, psychic powers.
Spacetime regression!
Spacetime Regression!
As the psychic power activated, the green particles seeped directly into the barrier and began combining their strength.
Then it could be seen that Rigos' charging spear noticeably slowed down.
"Psionic energy? And it's the time series at that!"
"This is a finishing move I kept very well hidden, you bastard!"
In fact, Rudian, who knew the true usage of the green world, had secretly obtained power from other systems besides telekinesis.
One of the true authorities of the green world was that the user could freely acquire any psychic power system they desired!
Knowing this, Rudian had obtained the most powerful system among psychic powers - the spacetime series, and had packaged it to those around him as simple telekinesis.
'If Matheus Kepler found out, he'd try to kill me, wouldn't he?'
The spacetime regression that Maria used in the original work was enough to reflect even the strike of a holy sword that ignored causality.
Of course, with Rudian's current power, slowing down and neutralization were about the limit.
But at least in the current situation, that alone was sufficient.
CRACK! CRACK!
Very slowly, the certain hit, certain kill ability of Rigos' spear was neutralized by Rudian's psychic power and began to slowly change trajectory.
"GRGH!"
Rigos poured all his strength into trying to hold onto the changing trajectory.
However, with the final barrier surrounding Rudian - the Aegis of Athena - still remaining, Rigos' power wasn't sufficient to correct the trajectory that had been altered once.
'This is the last chance!'
Rigos' spear slowly grazed past Rudian's waist.
That brief moment was nothing short of the last opportunity for Rudian.
'A simple aura blade won't be able to finish this.'
Even with Diablo's power bestowed, it only resulted in recoverable serious injuries.
To inflict fatal wounds on a Demon King's body, power beyond that was needed.
'If an aura blade, the purest crystallization of power, doesn't work...'
What if that idea was reversed?
One answer that Rudian had derived over the past 10 years.
That was to converge the power of all attributes into one.
WHIRRRRR!
Based on Diablo, Rudian fused all the attributes he possessed.
Magic, which forms the basis of magic and aura.
Psionic energy, which forms the basis of psychic powers.
Demonic power, the source of dark magic and demons.
And even the outer force - the power of the outer realm that Rudian had only recently managed to handle.
Power didn't need to be pure.
It just needed to be strong.
"HUH? What is that!"
Diablo's blade shining with all sorts of mixed colors.
But feeling the heterogeneity of that power, Rigos was greatly alarmed.
Blue, white, black, green, and various colors mixed together in a form close to chaos, but precisely because of that, he instinctively knew that this strike was dangerous to a degree incomparably different from before.
Rigos gritted his teeth and struck his spear toward the incoming sword.
"Do you think this body would fall to that!"
Sorcery and chaos collided.
The black spiral spear advanced with momentum to pierce through everything, but as soon as it touched Diablo's blade, it began scattering into particles like dust from the spear tip.
'Now!'
The moment Rigos was greatly flustered seeing his spear being carved away, Rudian didn't miss that opportunity.
KWAJIK!
Diablo's blade crossed over the spear shaft and simultaneously cut through Rigos' armor and body.
"KRAAAAAAAAK!"
Unlike before, various types of power burrowed into his body like parasites, hindering recovery.
The pain was so intense that Rigos let out a pained scream for the first time.
At the same time, the circular dome he had spread with his authority naturally shattered and began to scatter.
***
-The outcome has been decided.
Seeing Rigos' authority disappearing, Leviathan calmly watched the battlefield and observed the situation.
As the authority disappeared, the restrictions of causality clung to Rudian and Rigos again, and accordingly, Rudian felt the endlessly surging power suddenly blocked like a faucet with its valve shut.
"GRGH, GRRRGH!"
Rudian only had his power blocked, but Rigos, who had suffered fatal wounds, was in an even worse situation.
Half of his upper body was blown away and the authority he had built up over tens of thousands of years was crumbling into powder and scattering.
"Just what is that power of chaos..."
Rigos cried out bitterly toward Rudian.
"How can such power exist!"
"I don't know either."
Rudian replied with a bitter smile.
"I just somehow managed to do it."
In fact, Rudian's attack just now was a dangerously reckless attempt, close to self-destruction.
Demonic power and magic, psychic powers and outer force... The reason all these powers could fuse without going berserk was entirely because Diablo, a transcendent medium, existed.
If powers of different natures could be simply fused, the profession of magician would never have appeared in the world at all.
Rudian said, feeling the fatigue that came up belatedly.
"Disappear quietly, Rigos. You have been defeated."
"......"
The expression of Rigos, who was calmly looking at his own wounds, didn't look that resentful.
"I lost."
COUGH!
Rigos spat out dark red blood and quietly uttered these words.
"I'm sorry, Asmodeus."
WHOOSH!
"I wanted to win..."
Rigos calmly uttered those words and completely vanished, turning to dust.
Whether he mentioned Asmodeus' name at the end out of regret, or if there was another reason, remained unclear.
In any case, for the end of a Demon King who had reigned in the demon realm for over ten thousand years, it was an excessively hollow sight.
"WHEW..."
After Rigos completely vanished, Rudian, whose tension was released, unknowingly knelt down and collapsed.
It was due to a temporary feeling of exhaustion from drawing too much power at once.
'...I want to smoke a cigarette.'
Since becoming Rudian, he had completely cut ties with tobacco, but after such intense battles, he sometimes missed cigarettes.
-Hoho, magnificent.
Before Rudian's eyes, a snake's head incomparably larger than the previous phantom had revealed itself.
-I think I understand why Raphael shows such interest.
"......"
Rudian maintained silence and slowly stood up from his position.
'I was careless.'
The matter wasn't completely finished yet.
If Leviathan in front of him were to break the promise, it wouldn't be an ordinary troublesome matter.
-Keep your promise, Leviathan. You wouldn't be greedy with just fragments of power remaining, would you?
Diablo, also recognizing this point, was glaring at Leviathan with fierce momentum.
-Hoho, I'm not so lacking in faith.
-Hmph, to mention the word faith between us.
-Think as you wish.
Leviathan unexpectedly kept the promise obediently.
The orb slowly floated up and approached this way.
As Rudian received it, Leviathan blinked his red eyes and approached right up to Rudian.
-And there was one more thing we promised.
That promise was something they had agreed to discuss after Rigos died.
Now that Rigos was gone, Leviathan revealed his true feelings without reservation.
Undisguisable rage was burning in the red snake's pupils.
-Kill Baal. Then I will give you the trump card legacy I've hidden.
***
Baal.
One of the Seven Seats who dominated the demon realm, and among the seventy-two Demon Kings, the one who proudly maintained the number one position in the demon realm hierarchy.
Since it wasn't particularly surprising, Rudian responded calmly to Leviathan.
"The grudge seems deep."
-Of course. That bastard is the main culprit who stabbed me in the back.
-......
Diablo listened to Leviathan's words in silence.
-If not for that bastard, would I have been driven out by the rebellion of other bastards including mere Iblis?
"That's a valid point."
No matter how powerful a Demon King Iblis was, he naturally paled in comparison to the Seven Seats.
Especially ten thousand years ago.
-Baal, that damned traitor who wouldn't be satisfying even if chewed up, instigated other demons and drove out the remaining seats! Mammon, Belphegor, and I were helplessly caught in that bastard's scheme!
-What was Lucifer doing?
-He disappeared around the same time as you. I suspect he was sealed like you.
-Sealing...
Diablo trailed off.
He seemed lost in thought as if something else came to mind, but Rudian, who knew the original work, remained silent.
Talking about Lucifer here would only increase resentment anyway.
-Since the demon realm has invaded the middle realm anyway, war with Baal is unavoidable. Will you accept my proposal?
"Wait a moment."
Rudian waved his hand and fell into thought for a moment.
Striking Baal and driving out the demon forces might look the same at first glance, but they were completely different matters.
'Baal hasn't come to the middle realm yet, after all.'
If they drove out Asmodeus and Marbas within the empire, all that remained were the Demon Kings of the Kingdom of Rohans and the Ergon Kingdom.
If they eliminated those bastards too, it would essentially be the same as preventing Chapter 1 of - the Second Heaven Demon Great War - in advance.
Of course, wars between nations would be unavoidable, but considering the damage the continent suffered from the Second Heaven Demon Great War in the original work, it was a sufficiently bearable level.
'Moreover, I can reduce the damage from that war through my intervention...'
Rudian pondered.
To kill Baal, he had to choose one of two options.
Either call him here, or Rudian himself cross over to the demon realm.
Whichever choice he made, a difficult future awaited.
But if he had to make a choice...
"It might take quite a while. Would that be alright?"
-A while... Would it take about a thousand years?
"Ah, no. Not that long."
To realize the difference in time perception between humans and Demon Kings in this way.
"It might take about 50 years."
-Ooh, you'll kill Baal in just 50 years?
"......"
-Yes, if you can destroy Rigos with just 10 years of training, I can place my expectations in you. Humans are a species with short lifespans but rapid growth.
He was placing somewhat excessive expectations, but honestly, killing Baal right now would be impossible.
In the original work, it started with them already having crossed over through the demon gate, and Abel killed Baal after fierce bloody battles, but not now.
What Rudian was thinking of was when they reached Chapter 4, when the god-demon would try to cast off all restrictions.
By that time, Rudian, having grown sufficiently, could obtain the power to kill Baal.
"If you agree to wait for that period, I'll kill Baal."
-Good!
Leviathan shrank small as he had been seen within Rigos' barrier.
Then, the moment he changed to the size of an ordinary snake, he bit Rudian's wrist.
"......?"
As a tingling sensation was felt from his wrist, Rudian felt some heterogeneous power flowing in through his wrist.
It wasn't poison.
But it wasn't particularly tremendous energy either.
"What is... This?"
-All my remaining power is gathered in that orb anyway.
On the bite mark left by Leviathan, strangely, a circular snake pattern symbolizing Leviathan was engraved.
-What I engraved on you is a 'mark.'
"A mark?"
-The proof of 'envy' among the Seven Seats, a crest that I acknowledge you as my successor.
"......?"
In the current era, the Seven Seats system had essentially become meaningless.
Toward the puzzled Rudian, Leviathan uttered shocking words that would make Rudian's eyes flash.
-If you have this, you can command my full strength that I've hidden until the last moment... My fourteen legions hidden in another realm. If you use those bastards well, they will be of great help in the war against Baal!