Chapter 183
Chapter 183
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 183
Chapter Title: Celestial Wing
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Briani stared at the bracelet on Seo Woo-jin's wrist.
It was something she had given him.
A magic item imbued with Celestial Wing, a spell on the level of a grand sorcerer.
Seeing it, Briani let out a hollow chuckle.
"Indeed, that thing should let you show the overwhelming power you were talking about."
Even Seo Woo-jin before reaching his current realm had been able to overwhelm the Apostles for a brief moment thanks to Celestial Wing.
But what if he used it now?
She couldn't even imagine how strong he would become.
Of course, it came with tremendous aftereffects, but its effectiveness was undeniable.
"Still, are you sure about this? Using it will hurt quite a bit."
Could it really be summed up as just painful?
If Seo Woo-jin weren't a hero, the aftereffects might have even killed him.
"...You'll have to take responsibility for what comes after."
He would probably lose consciousness.
Even having ascended to the superhuman realm, it didn't seem like he could adapt to Celestial Wing.
"Don't worry about that. I'll take responsibility and bring you back to the capital myself."
"Then I'll trust you."
As Seo Woo-jin smiled and replied, he sensed a fragment of demonic energy hurtling toward him at tremendous speed.
Clang-!
Karaniel blocked it.
This was possible because he hadn't let his guard down even while talking.
A sharp pain shot through his wrist.
It was just a single fragment of demonic energy, yet its power surpassed imagination.
"Can't hold back, huh?"
Seo Woo-jin masked the pain and forced a smile as he spoke.
But no answer came.
The creature didn't even let out a single cry, which was eerie.
"If you want to fight that badly, then let's do this properly."
Seo Woo-jin assumed his stance.
Then he turned to Briani beside him.
"If things go wrong, I leave it to you?"
"I told you not to worry."
Seo Woo-jin smirked at Briani's smiling face and channeled his chaos energy into the bracelet.
Celestial Wing.
The spell activated.
Whoosh-!
Wings sprouted.
At the same time, an immense power surged forth without end.
The sense of omnipotence he felt only during Demon King Transformation enveloped his entire body.
"Ha, haha...."
Laughter escaped his lips.
With this much power, time authority or Behiarmos—
He could crush them all.
'Hurry.'
Celestial Wing had a time limit.
He didn't need maximum output, so he'd dialed it down a bit; that left him roughly 6 to 7 minutes.
He had to finish it within that time.
Seo Woo-jin flapped his wings and soared into the air.
Whoosh-!
Chaos energy tore through space, and his form shifted.
Karaniel came slashing down.
Like a judgment from above, straight down.
Behiarmos belatedly raised an arm to block the attack.
Slice-!
The sword blade cut through the arm like tofu.
Along with black, sticky blood, the creature's arm fell to the ground.
But as expected, it began rewinding time to regenerate the arm.
"You think I'll just watch?"
A gray, massive aura erupted like an explosion with a roar.
The size of a decent building.
Even Seo Woo-jin was startled by the sheer power contained within the aura as it pulverized the severed arm.
Flash-!
The creature's flesh, which had regenerated even after burning in oblivion flames, was annihilated.
Just as Seo Woo-jin had said, the overwhelming power shattered even its authority.
He felt Behiarmos flinch.
An experience it had never had before, no doubt.
Its flustered state was palpable.
"Can't regenerate anymore, huh."
Seo Woo-jin grinned.
He felt good knowing his prediction had been spot on.
"Then let's end this. No point dragging out a long fight."
To be precise, it was because of the time limit.
But Seo Woo-jin had no intention of prolonging the battle anyway.
Berserk.
The heavier, fiercer, faster chaos energy rampaged wildly through his mana circuits.
Circulating through his body in an instant countless times, the chaos energy poured toward Behiarmos with berserk momentum, true to its name.
KABOOM-!!!
The forest couldn't withstand the explosion of chaos energy and vanished.
The heart of Demon Realm Heldein.
The domain of the sacred tree and holy ground of the Dark Elves.
It all turned into flat, empty land.
"...Impressive."
Seo Woo-jin was awed.
He had just gone all out to sever its lifeline.
Yet Behiarmos was still alive.
Though most of its body had been annihilated, leaving only its head and part of its chest.
Even so, it writhed, still clinging to life.
Its vitality was astounding to the point of exhaustion.
"Still, time to finish it."
Seo Woo-jin slowly approached Behiarmos, collapsed on the ground.
It thrashed desperately to rise.
But with both arms and legs gone and most of its torso annihilated, it was impossible.
Seo Woo-jin stood right next to its head.
"...You're really strong, aren't you?"
Briani's voice came from behind.
"Thanks to this bracelet the Grand Duke gave me earlier."
Without Celestial Wing, he couldn't have unleashed such overwhelming might.
So she deserved credit for bringing Behiarmos to this state.
"How much time left?"
"About a minute now."
"It's almost up. Should I finish it right now?"
Briani asked.
Seo Woo-jin thought for a moment and shook his head.
"Handle the finishing blow for me."
"Huh?"
Briani's eyes widened at the unexpected request.
"What do you mean?"
"My contribution is plenty anyway. Even if I don't kill it myself, I should still level up."
He explained, but she still looked confused.
"Why go to the trouble...?"
Wouldn't it be simpler to kill it himself and get more experience?
"If Celestial Wing wears off right after leveling up, it'll be a pain."
He hadn't used maximum output, so he wouldn't pass out or teeter on death's door...
But the pain would still be intense.
Better to level up during the aftereffects and fully recover.
Once Seo Woo-jin explained further, Briani finally nodded.
But a problem remained.
"Can I even kill it?"
It was a wreck, but with her power, she couldn't one-shot it.
"It'll be fine. Its authority seems gone."
It was a miracle it was still alive.
No sign of its time authority activating.
"Worst case, it might take a while, but you can definitely kill it, right?"
Even if it could use time authority, killing something with just a head that couldn't resist was doable.
It would just take time, as Seo Woo-jin said.
"Just don't take too long. That thing hurts like hell."
Briani chuckled at his quip.
"I'll do my best."
Honestly, she'd lost face today.
She'd boasted confidently and told him to leave it to her, but in the end, Seo Woo-jin had done everything.
Her big talk felt like a black mark now.
She couldn't afford to embarrass herself further.
Briani resolved to unleash her maximum power and end Behiarmos in one go.
"Alright then... Ack!"
As he tried to say the time was almost up, the wings vanished, and excruciating pain hit.
He'd moderated the output, yet his mind went white with agony.
"N-Now...!"
As Seo Woo-jin trembled and spoke, Briani immediately drew up her mana.
Not her space-dominating ability, but pure mana.
Everything she had honed countless times until reaching the superhuman realm.
The mana surged above her palm, forming a small circle.
Hummmm-
Space warped.
Not due to her ability.
It was the pressure from mana so densely compressed it was awe-inspiring.
The fist-sized orb quickly grew to the size of a head.
Moments later, it expanded to human size, then kept growing.
2 meters, 5 meters, 10 meters...
A vast curtain of mana that seemed to blanket the sky.
Following Briani's gesture, it descended toward Behiarmos.
No shocking explosion occurred.
It simply pulverized everything it touched.
Behiarmos's body was no exception.
Crumble-
Its remaining head and partial torso scattered like dust.
And then,
Flash-!
A brilliant light burst from Seo Woo-jin's writhing body amid the pain.
"Guhhh... Huh?"
Seo Woo-jin, gritting his teeth against the pain, froze.
Suddenly, the agony that had felt like it was burning his whole body vanished clean.
He looked up.
His vision filled with pitch-black void.
"You leveled up."
Briani had apparently finished Behiarmos in one shot.
The time he'd felt the pain wasn't that long, after all.
Though subjectively, it had felt eternal.
Seo Woo-jin sighed in relief and sank to the ground.
His body should be fully restored, yet he felt utterly drained.
"This really never gets easier."
The aftereffects always made him curse every time.
"...But I can't not use it."
It had already saved his life multiple times.
Sure, he'd brushed death thanks to it, but better than actually dying, right?
He'd benefited greatly from Celestial Wing this time too, so no more complaints.
"Save the idle thoughts for later. Let's solve what I've been curious about first."
Seo Woo-jin stood.
"It should be around here somewhere."
The Otherworld Demon King Chronicle was quite large.
Emitting a faint glow too, it couldn't hide in this void-filled space.
"Ah, found it."
As expected, the Otherworld Demon King Chronicle wasn't far.
He spotted the book floating midair, proudly announcing its presence, and walked toward it.
"I hope this answers some of my questions."
What is a hero?
What is a Demon King?
And what am I?
Martes's explanation had been far too lacking.
He hoped this intriguingly named book, Otherworld Demon King Chronicle, would provide answers.
"The qualification thing is a bit iffy, though..."
If his guess was right, that was already resolved.
Seo Woo-jin stood before the massive Otherworld Demon King Chronicle.
He reached out.
Previously, his hand had passed through like an illusion...
But this time,
Thud.
It touched.
And something astonishing happened.
[Unauthorized Demon King's contact detected.]
[Verifying qualifications.]
[Analyzing.]
[Type: Identified as Category 13.]
[Granting new user access.]
A stiff mechanical voice began echoing in his mind.