Chapter 161
Chapter 161
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 161
Chapter Title: The Lion Apostle
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‘This looks dangerous.’
The Lion’s eyes changed.
Unlike the eerie, deeply sunken gaze until now, madness and killing intent flashed through them, giving off a chilling vibe.
Confirming that, Seo Woo-jin gave a slight smile.
‘I can handle it.’
An overwhelming demonic energy pressed down on him, but it didn’t matter.
His Chaos Energy endured it with ease and was even pushing back the Lion’s demonic energy bit by bit.
“You bastard…….”
The Lion seemed to realize he was being pushed back, his eyebrows twitching.
“What’s wrong? Not going your way?”
Seo Woo-jin sneered, and the enraged Lion’s demonic energy exploded outward.
Kwaaaaaang-!
Ashen winds transformed into tens of thousands of blades, surging toward Seo Woo-jin with the intent to tear him apart.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
Seo Woo-jin’s ‘Karaniel’ began to dance.
Clang-!
The Lion’s wind blades scattered harmlessly.
Craaaack-!
Seo Woo-jin’s sword dance, infused with Half Slane and Brutal Sword Intent, dominated the entire surrounding space in an instant.
“You scum!”
In the blink of an eye.
In that short time, the Lion’s fury was completely erased by Seo Woo-jin’s ‘Karaniel’, not even leaving a trace.
Hearing the Lion’s roar, Seo Woo-jin’s smile deepened.
‘As expected…….’
It was doable.
Not quite a walk in the park, but far from impossible.
Just a slightly tough opponent.
To the current Seo Woo-jin, the Lion was only that much.
“Reaching the Transcendent Realm really makes a huge difference from before.”
Seo Woo-jin spoke to the Lion, who was now on even higher alert than before.
But no reply came.
The Lion wore a cold expression, as if he had no intention of conversing further.
“Tch.”
Seo Woo-jin clicked his tongue.
He’d planned to toy with him a bit more and rattle his nerves, but it seemed that was the end of it.
‘Well, that’s enough.’
He’d gotten a good read on the enemy’s level.
And he was confident he could take him.
‘Now all that’s left is…….’
To fight with everything he had.
Seo Woo-jin readjusted his grip on ‘Karaniel’ and drew up his Chaos Energy.
Woooong-
A gray, murky aura rose, different from before.
It wasn’t brilliant or beautiful.
But it carried an unprecedented power that could cleave through anything.
Boom-!
Seo Woo-jin stomped the ground.
The forest shook, and dead leaves rustled down like parsas-.
Thanks to using ‘Swiftness’ as well, Seo Woo-jin became a streak of light, charging through the scattering leaves like rain.
Kwaaaang-!
The air, unable to withstand the speed, compressed and exploded.
And as Seo Woo-jin brushed past the Lion, he swung ‘Karaniel’.
Slash-!
He felt it.
Flesh parting, bones severing.
‘I cut him!’
Seo Woo-jin was certain ‘Karaniel’ had sliced the Lion.
But he couldn’t let his guard down.
Heightening his vigilance even more, he checked behind him.
“Hup!”
Seo Woo-jin inhaled sharply.
Then he urgently leaned back.
At the same moment, ashen demonic energy came rushing in like a tidal wave.
Kwa-gwagwagwa-!
Even though he dodged in time, the skin on Seo Woo-jin’s face split open with a crack-.
‘Kuhuk!’
He swallowed a groan inwardly.
His skin, now tougher than steel since reaching the Transcendent Realm, tore like paper.
‘I definitely cut him.’
Seo Woo-jin leaped back and checked the Lion once more.
Drip drip-
Black blood dripped in spots.
As Seo Woo-jin had predicted, the Lion was panting with one arm severed.
The blade of ‘Karaniel’ had precisely lopped off the bastard’s left arm.
Confirming that, Seo Woo-jin let out a hollow chuckle.
‘Even in that moment, he launched an attack like that?’
It was no force to underestimate.
If his reaction had been even 0.1 seconds slower, there might’ve been a hole blasted right through his head.
‘Pure luck.’
Maintaining his vigilance without slacking off had been a stroke of genius.
Seo Woo-jin swallowed dryly as he eyed the Lion’s distorted expression.
The bastard’s fighting spirit hadn’t waned in the slightest.
No, it was swelling even larger.
Mixed with hatred and killing intent toward Seo Woo-jin, it exuded a colossal malice without end.
‘Hoo-’
He steadied his breathing.
The oppressive pressure weighing on his body eased a little.
‘He’s strong.’
The Lion was strong.
The level he’d gauged before the real fight even started had been just the tip of the iceberg.
Seo Woo-jin roughly wiped the blood trickling down his cheek, his eyes sinking deep.
“You’re called the Lion, right?”
Seo Woo-jin asked.
No answer came this time either, but he pressed on regardless.
“Among those followers, how strong are you? What number are you?”
Seo Woo-jin had seen a total of three Apostles so far.
Gerald, Reina, and Luonvali.
And all three were dead.
But not a single one had been killed by Seo Woo-jin alone.
He didn’t even know who killed Gerald, Reina had required Half Slane’s help, and Luonvali had only fallen after ‘Demon King Transformation’.
This was the first time he’d fought on equal footing purely with his own power.
If he could objectively gauge the Lion’s strength, it could be a great way to assess the enemies’ levels.
But as if reading Seo Woo-jin’s mind?
Or simply refusing to engage in more talk?
The Lion’s lips remained tightly shut, showing no sign of opening.
“Well, I wasn’t expecting an answer anyway.”
Seo Woo-jin smirked.
“Let’s see how long you can keep your mouth shut.”
He had no intention of dragging the fight out.
The Lion was stronger than expected, but that changed nothing.
Seo Woo-jin had plenty of hidden power himself.
And here, it was just him and the Lion—no one else.
“Yeomra.”
Unlike the previous red glow, gray Chaos Energy gathered on ‘Karaniel’.
A skill that drained life force with a mere graze, eventually leading to death.
He couldn’t use it in front of others, but now there was no reason to hold back.
Seo Woo-jin kicked off the ground and horizontally slashed with ‘Karaniel’ cloaked in ‘Yeomra’.
Craaaaack-!
The ashen winds erected a solid wall to block it, but it scattered without lasting even a second.
“Learning impaired?”
Even without any skills, the Lion’s ashen winds had shattered pathetically before.
Now, with ‘Yeomra’ active.
Seo Woo-jin sliced through the winds easier than cutting tofu and strode forward like the Grim Reaper himself.
“Urk!”
The Lion belatedly gritted his teeth and tried to dodge, but it was too late.
‘Karaniel’ was already lunging for his remaining right arm.
“Gale Murder!”
The ashen winds formed into awls and shot toward Seo Woo-jin.
Each one packed terrifying power.
But Seo Woo-jin didn’t dodge.
“Magic Nullification Proclamation.”
A domain was declared from Seo Woo-jin’s mouth.
Kuuuung-!
All energy within a 100-meter radius froze under Seo Woo-jin’s Chaos Energy.
With a clang-, the ashen awls halted in place.
“…What?”
Seeing that, the Lion couldn’t keep his mouth shut and spat out a cry of shock.
Then, realizing what skill Seo Woo-jin had used, his eyes widened.
And ‘Karaniel’ severed the Lion’s last remaining arm.
Slash-!
“Kuuk!”
A groan of agony burst out.
The Lion had lost both arms.
Without them, he couldn’t fight properly with just his legs and head.
Seo Woo-jin stepped back, thinking they could finally have a proper talk.
But,
The Lion didn’t seem to care that both his arms were gone.
His mind was entirely fixated on the ‘Magic Nullification Proclamation’ Seo Woo-jin had used.
“You, you dare to use Their power!”
‘Magic Nullification Proclamation’ was a noble authority exclusive to the rulers of Pandemonium.
Infinite power to minions, absolute restraint to foes.
The proof of kingship, the dignity of overlords……and he dared to……
“Dare? What’s that about?”
Seo Woo-jin let out an incredulous chuckle at the Lion’s reaction.
Blind fanaticism.
Excluding the insane Luonvali, Gerald and Reina had shown the same demeanor as the Lion.
What exactly was this Demon King that inspired such absolute faith?
‘From what I’ve seen, he’s just a strong thug, no different.’
What grand purpose was there in destroying this world?
Just a lunatic lost in blood and slaughter.
‘…Not that I’m one to talk.’
Seo Woo-jin made an awkward face.
After all, he’d acted the same way during his own ‘Demon King Transformation’.
“You of all people…….”
The Lion was still in shock, repeating himself.
“Why are you so surprised? Didn’t you expect this to some extent?”
The Lion flinched at Seo Woo-jin’s words.
“Gray this, apocalypse that—it was you who said all that. Doesn’t that mean you already knew who I am?”
“I…….”
The Lion hesitated.
Just as he said, he’d had an inkling of Seo Woo-jin’s identity.
“So? What am I, then?”
Horns sprouted from Seo Woo-jin’s head.
Six black wings emerged from his back, wrapping around his body, and his skin began covering itself in an exoskeleton tougher than a wyrm’s scales.
“Answer me.”
Having completed ‘Demon King Transformation’, Seo Woo-jin asked once more.
And the Lion……
Trembled.
* * *
“Are you alright?”
Eileen supported Half Slane as she asked worriedly.
“Heh heh, no need to worry.”
His whole body was trembling as he spoke, utterly unconvincing.
“By the way, where did that black thing go?”
At the end, after unleashing his all-out attack, Half Slane had briefly lost consciousness.
With no time to think about what came after, he hadn’t even checked his own condition.
But upon coming to, the ‘black presence’ was already gone.
“I’m not sure.”
Eileen shook her head.
She truly didn’t know.
He’d simply stared at her for a moment before vanishing.
She bit her lip.
‘It was like I wasn’t even worth noticing.’
Eyes that deemed her not even worth killing.
Even trash discarded by the roadside would evoke more emotion.
Eileen couldn’t help feeling pathetic and furious.
“Don’t be so hasty. You’re doing plenty well as it is.”
Sensing her mood, Half Slane patted her shoulder in comfort.
“…Thank you.”
She bowed her head in gratitude.
“But…….”
Half Slane, who’d been smiling warmly, suddenly scanned the surroundings and spoke.
“Where’s that kid?”
Eileen’s expression hardened.