Chapter 147
Chapter 147
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 147
Chapter Title: Endless Battle
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A battle that seemed without end.
“Hoo.”
Even Go Yohan had to catch his breath.
And then.
“......”
A flinch.
A battle that made even the demons recoil.
“D-don’t fall back!”
“Get lost!”
“Aaaagh!”
Even the demons were shoving and clashing like ordinary humans.
“I-is this even possible?”
It was a sight that stirred deep emotions in any who beheld it.
Monsters who butchered humans without a second thought, now struggling just to stand against each other.
Tremble, tremble.
To see them shaking in fear just like themselves.
But the demons couldn’t even flee easily.
Squelch.
Black lava raining down from the sky.
Writhing.
Black roots bursting from the earth, forming a prison that trapped them and expanded the territory at the same time.
There was only one escape for them.
“Die!”
Go Yohan—the sole shining being.
Splash!
But the outcome was obvious.
A demon with three horns was nothing more than a fragile fly that couldn’t withstand a single blow from Go Yohan, who had nearly regained his full power.
Gulp.
This was familiar to both Go Yohan and the demons.
“G-goddamn it....”
A sight all too familiar.
Travania’s demon slayer, knight of illusions, zealot and war god.
“T-to think we have to face that monster again....”
But things grew even worse.
“...It’s gone.”
“What?”
“Gone, you stupid demon bastard!”
They had been able to launch a massive operation against Michael in Travania precisely because that monstrous Michael was, at his core, just a mortal human.
A monster unfit for the word “human,” but ultimately a mortal who couldn’t kill demons.
Rumble.
Yet now, the demons struck down by that one blow crumbled into black ash and vanished.
Swish.
Those sky-blue eyes turned toward the muttering demons.
“...Huh?”
By the time they sensed something amiss, it was too late.
Splatter!
Half their face exploded under some immense pressure, scattering into the air.
“Kaaaaagh!”
Being a demon allowed it to survive and scream.
Splash!
But then it scattered into ash alongside the demon standing beside it.
In the demon’s dying gaze, amid its comrades turning to ash first.
Smirk.
He was smiling.
As if this moment was pure bliss.
As if this very instant.
“Ahh.”
Was the reason for his existence.
“Goddess.”
Crack.
Go Yohan stomped the ground.
Until now, he had only faced a handful of demons in black gates, but in truth, demon invasions happened just like this.
Devouring surrounding areas through the Demon King’s horns embedded in various places, turning them into their domains.
Those places had become complete demonic realms, impossible to conquer by any means, so everyone had given up on them.
But there was one exception.
“Aaah!”
Michael alone had entered those places and succeeded in destroying the Demon King’s horns.
“Goddess!”
In fact, for Michael—no, for Go Yohan—the battles until now had been more of a headache.
Hiding their identities, multiplying like cockroaches, building their forces.
Their insidious tactics and ruthless methods of corrupting humans had been more exhausting for Go Yohan.
For Go Yohan.
Rumble!
This suited him better.
Sweeping them away.
Overwhelming them with raw power, simply smashing and shattering.
That was the kind of fight Michael excelled at most.
“Your knight has returned.”
Lava bubbled up from the cracks in the split earth.
*
*
*
-Shout it together! Defect!
“Defect! Defect!”
“Great Leader!”
“True Ruler!” “For Lord Go Yohan!”
The North Korean residents were forming bizarre ranks in response to Yongyong’s slogans.
Tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands strong, following a small group through the dark, dank land—it evoked the image from a fairy tale.
“Aaah!”
The Pied Piper.
Even Yongyong couldn’t comprehend it.
No matter how urgent the situation, their madness was beyond understanding.
The only one who could make sense of the scene.
“No need to rush.”
Was Kim Se-hyun.
Kim Se-hyun, leading nearly hundreds of thousands, glanced back briefly.
The line was so long it was exposed to beasts and demons alike.
“......”
Yet they didn’t dare attack.
A massive number of humans? It would be like a grand buffet to them.
They could have inflicted heavy casualties by striking the flanks and fleeing.
But the reason they didn’t.
‘It’s this madness.’
Was the madness that had overtaken the North Korean residents.
It wasn’t ordinary madness.
-Say defect!
“Say...? Defect?”
-Yeah, shout! Defect!
“Defect!”
-Shout! North!
“North!”
The ridiculous chanting.
‘Magic and curses are blending into their voices, giving them power.’
Yun Seung-ah, Lee Ha-yeon.
A kind of magical madness created by the apostles’ power.
And on top of that.
Rooooar!
It intertwined with the great curse dwelling in Kim Se-hyun, amplifying its force even further.
The North Korean residents were already brainwashed, their mental structures on the verge of total collapse.
Their bodies, deprived even of meals, had become perfect vessels for the curse to take root.
“Aaah, great Lord Go Yohan!”
And the curse that took hold was blind loyalty to Go Yohan.
No.
‘Replacement.’
It had simply replaced whatever entity already occupied their minds with Go Yohan.
And that implanted Go Yohan in their heads connected once more to the magic and curse, amplifying further.
Hummm!
Successfully forming a massive barrier.
Towering.
Finally, Kim Se-hyun’s group arrived at the gate they had entered through.
Still open, held ajar by some force, refusing to close.
“Advance toward the gate of salvation.”
Kim Se-hyun said.
“Defect?”
“Yes.”
Pfft.
Even Kim Se-hyun, exasperated, let out a dry chuckle.
“Defect.”
“Defect!”
As if they were Pokémon or something.
Their minds seemed filled only with defection and Go Yohan.
Nod.
Kim Se-hyun nodded, and some of the Association players with her began guiding them.
Gates might inspire fear.
‘Have to admit, it’s efficient.’
But this madness couldn’t be stopped by anything.
Swish, swish.
The North Korean residents hurled themselves into the gate without hesitation.
That was when.
“You there, you’re not going.”
“Def...ect?”
“Cut the crap.”
Kim Se-hyun raised her sword.
Crimson blood.
And then.
“W-why is this happening? We...”
“You weren’t permitted to survive from the start.”
“...! What!”
“Party officials, right?”
“...!”
The group singled out by Kim Se-hyun’s words began glancing around and backing away.
“Anyone even remotely involved in this incident.”
Shing.
The blood-red blade began to gleam brighter.
“Those who’ve sucked the people dry to line their own pockets until now.”
The list was already prepared long ago.
For this very purpose.
“His orders were clear: don’t let a single one through.”
“Party scum! Kill them!”
The players erupted with power simultaneously, charging at Kim Se-hyun.
Slice.
But Kim Se-hyun was already past them, on the other side.
Splatter!
Blood rained down.
This was merely the beginning.
Shing.
The Taehan combat priests were already drawing weapons, approaching the group to administer judgment.
“Yohan isn’t a god to scum like you.”
For this reason, no one else had been assigned to the operation.
It would look like a massacre to some eyes.
But Kim Se-hyun, who knew their true nature full well, could declare with certainty.
This was.
“Commencing purification.”
Purification.
*
*
*
“Ah.”
Go Yohan stopped, sensing something.
A dizzying mind.
His hazy consciousness was clearing.
Not due to any external influence.
‘Goddess.’
Go Yohan had deliberately numbed his reason and clouded his mind himself.
One of the techniques he had self-taught through countless long battles.
To protect his mind, which wore down and fatigued unlike his body.
‘How much time has passed?’
He had no clear sense of time’s flow.
But one thing was certain.
Beeeeeeep.
The speakers that had been blaring insane defection chants were now emitting only eerie noise.
That was the signal.
‘They’ve snapped out of it.’
That was when.
-Over 80% defection complete.
A voice that felt nostalgically familiar, though he didn’t know why.
“Seung-ah.”
Yun Seung-ah’s voice.
-All preparations finished. Shall we wait longer?
Go Yohan shook his head.
How nice it would be if he could save everyone.
But this was war.
Rumble!
And there were appropriate timings.
He had already done everything possible.
The Demon King’s horn was trembling.
“Now you notice?”
It also meant time was running out.
“Seung-ah. The rest is up to the Goddess.”
May fate guide them.
If luck held, they would survive; if not, nothing could be done.
But one thing he could say for certain.
‘Those who brought you pain.’
Words dedicated to those fading lives.
“I’ll kill every last one.”
Human or demon alike.
Revenge.
A vow to see it through, no matter what.
-The Captain tried to save even those who couldn’t be saved.
Without Go Yohan, the entire North Korean populace would have become sacrifices.
-Worry not.
He wasn’t worried.
“Yeah.”
But he answered.
“Begin.”
That was when.
Roooooooarrrrrrrrr!
A massive vibration spread across North Korea, as if a gigantic earthquake had struck.
In this moment, in the world of his divine eyes, Go Yohan could see it clearly.
The enormous black threads enveloping North Korea.
And atop them.
Kwaaa!
More threads connecting from elsewhere.
This was.
“All the black gates that appeared worldwide.”
Black gates across the world.
“Connect them to North Korea.”
Drawing them all to this place.
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