Chapter 239
Chapter 239
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 239
Chapter Title: The Burning World
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 239.
The world burst into flames.
Would the Great Caldron Boiling Hell described in Buddhism be like this?
Black flames devoured everything without a shred of mercy.
Holy Knights, soldiers, priests.
They showed no regard for status or the presence of holy power.
They simply incinerated anything blocking the path, reducing it to ash.
“Uwaaaaaah!”
“S-Save meee!”
Those who burned up in an instant were the lucky ones.
Soldiers who couldn’t were writhing on the ground, screaming in agony from the excruciating burning pain until they died.
No one who touched the Infernal Blaze survived.
It was merely a difference between dying quickly or slowly.
Everything turned to ash and died.
“B-Block it! Block it, I say!”
Those who were away from the Infernal Blaze recoiled in horror.
The Holy Knights ordered them to block the flames, but that was impossible.
In the end, even the Holy Knights who had only been shouting from the rear were reduced to handfuls of ash.
“W-What is that?”
Briatt, watching from the rear, shot to his feet and cried out.
His eyes were filled with shock.
Just one move.
No lengthy preparation needed.
He had simply swung his hand lightly.
Yet the result was anything but light.
“M-My forces…!”
At least five thousand were dead.
No, it might even be close to ten thousand.
Was it possible to inflict that much damage with a single attack?
‘Only a Demon King could!’
Briatt opened his mouth, having reached that thought.
“That bastard is the Demon King! The Demon King has already descended! Kill him! We must kill him!”
It was less a shout and more a desperate wail.
Those who saw it let out hollow laughs.
“The Demon King…?”
The descent hadn’t even truly begun yet.
If the Black Being were the real Demon King, he wouldn’t have spared Oien and the soldiers earlier.
No, he wouldn’t have killed the Dragon Lady and the Apostles before that.
The soldiers’ morale plummeted at the sight of their Supreme Commander screaming and forgetting such simple facts.
“Supreme Commander.”
At that moment, Oien opened his eyes and called to him.
“Yes, Sir Oien! You, called the Knight in White—surely you can defeat that Demon King? Lead the Holy Knights and slay him at once!”
Pathetic.
He had thought this Supreme Commander, who died fleeing alone, might be different, but cornered, he showed the same cowardice.
“If the Black Being is the Demon King…”
Oien stared straight at Briatt and spoke.
“Do you think we can handle him with our numbers alone?”
Even all the nations of the continent united couldn’t guarantee victory against a Demon King.
That’s why they summoned heroes from other worlds, wasn’t it?
To block a Demon King with just 130,000 troops?
It was no different from ordering them to commit suicide.
Only then did Briatt realize his mistake, chilled by Oien’s icy tone.
He quickly looked around.
Not only his escorting Holy Knights but even the soldiers were glaring at him coldly.
“…Even if he’s not the Demon King, he’s still an enemy of the God of Light and His Holiness the Holy King!”
Briatt spun his head quickly and invoked the names of the God of Light and the Holy King this time.
An absolute value held by all the people of Aier.
“Block him! Block him even if it means dying! Then you shall be embraced in the God of Light’s bosom!”
Morale didn’t rise.
Not even the power of faith could overcome the fear of death.
How were they supposed to block a being who massacred nearly ten thousand with one strike?
No one stepped forward, all hesitating, when the black flames vanished as if by magic.
And through that gap emerged the Black Being.
Seo Woo-jin was slowly advancing.
The ground covered in black ash crunched under his feet.
Crunch— crunch—
Though it shouldn’t have been audible, it felt like everyone could hear Seo Woo-jin’s footsteps.
“Oien.”
A cold voice escaped Seo Woo-jin’s lips.
“Step forward. I need to hear your excuses.”
* * *
“It’s nearly complete.”
A rare emotion crossed the Lion’s face.
Ecstasy.
The project he had kept secret from the Apostles and pursued alone was finally nearing its peak.
“Baek Si-woo.”
At the Lion’s words, Baek Si-woo opened his eyes, which had been closed.
Flash—!
Eyes gleaming with black demonic energy.
“How does it feel?”
At the Lion’s question, Baek Si-woo slowly turned his head to inspect his body.
It looked very different from before.
His short black hair had become long white hair reaching his waist, and his skin was deathly pale.
But the most dramatic change wasn’t his appearance.
“Not bad.”
Power filled his entire body.
It was an insult to even compare it to before.
“Demonic energy does seem superior to mana, for sure.”
Mana was pure, but demonic energy was destructive.
In terms of raw power, demonic energy far surpassed mana.
“Considering the effort to acquire that demonic energy, it’s still not enough.”
The Lion had poured immense effort into raising Baek Si-woo’s level.
Using Benoien’s abilities, he had supplied endless monsters and demonic beasts of Ruler-grade or higher, and even fed him precious mana crystals.
Thanks to that, Baek Si-woo had surpassed level 100, reaching the superhuman realm.
Now, he was a monster even the Lion couldn’t guarantee victory against.
But to position Baek Si-woo as the Demon King, one thing remained.
“Having a lot of demonic energy alone won’t make the Apostles acknowledge you as Demon King.”
That was obvious.
Baek Si-woo lacked the dignity of a king.
If pushed to the forefront now, they’d see him as just a powerful Apostle, nothing more.
Baek Si-woo tilted his head.
With this much power, he could defeat even that Seo Woo-jin—yet it wasn’t enough?
“There’s still more to do?”
‘Can’t I just crush them with strength and dominate?’ he thought as he asked.
Reading Baek Si-woo’s inner thoughts, the Lion scoffed.
“You’re strong, but there are Apostles who surpass you.”
Three of them, in fact.
Zenonia, Ardethos, and Gorn.
Of course, Zenonia had vanished after clashing with Seo Woo-jin, but they were far beyond Baek Si-woo’s current level.
“To make them submit, you need power and dignity befitting a king.”
“What must I do?”
Baek Si-woo asked.
The Apostles meant nothing to him.
Only one mattered.
Defeating Seo Woo-jin was enough.
He would break his limbs, skin him alive, and rip out his throat.
He’d watch and laugh as Seo Woo-jin begged for mercy, wailing in pain.
To do that, he needed to grow even stronger.
Apostles, heroes, Demon Kings—none should dare lift their heads before his power.
‘A splendid fall, indeed.’
Seeing the once-most-revered hero reduced to such a wretched state pleased the Lion.
The more Baek Si-woo’s soul corrupted, the higher the chance of his plan succeeding.
“Go north.”
“…North?”
Baek Si-woo frowned at the Lion’s words.
“Explain in detail so I can understand.”
“Beyond the Massive Guardian in the north lies a frozen demonic realm. There sleeps the kin of the sixth king.”
The strongest demonic beast on the surface, Kratos.
It was a being on another level from ordinary kin or demonic beasts.
A mythical beast bearing the title of king, despite being an animal.
In terms of dignity, it ranked above even the extinct divine beasts.
The sixth Demon King wasn’t called the king of all beasts for nothing.
“Kill it and take its power.”
The Lion said.
Unlike Pandemonium’s rulers, it still bore a king’s dignity as a beast.
Absorbing its power would give Baek Si-woo the minimum qualifications to become a king.
“Simple enough.”
Baek Si-woo wore a confident expression.
Surpassing level 100, he had attained strength on another dimension.
With the ‘demonic sword’ gifted by the Lion, he was certain he could behead any king or emperor.
“Tell me the location. I’ll go rip off its head and drink its blood right now.”
His voice dripped with thick killing intent.
“There’s a kingdom called Sion in the continent’s north. At its northernmost point lies the Massive Guardian fortress. Kratos sleeps beyond it.”
At the Lion’s words, Baek Si-woo’s eyebrow twitched.
“Did you just say Sion?”
A very familiar kingdom name.
“You’ve heard of it, then.”
Of course. Sion was a famous nation on the continent, for better or worse.
Considering its size, its notoriety was considerable, so it wasn’t strange that Baek Si-woo knew it.
“Yeah. A place I can never forget.”
It was the kingdom supporting Seo Woo-jin.
‘He said he learned from some Sword Ghost there.’
Taught so well that Seo Woo-jin had gained strength beyond his station.
“Lion.”
Baek Si-woo spoke to the Lion in a sinister tone.
“Before killing this Kratos or whatever, I have one thing I want to do.”
Killing intent poured out like dripping blood.
“As long as it doesn’t delay the schedule, I don’t mind. What is it?”
When the Lion asked, Baek Si-woo grinned and answered.
“I need to erase a kingdom.”
“…Sion?”
“Yeah, Sion. I plan to wipe it off the map.”
The Lion nodded after a moment’s thought.
Causing that much trouble wouldn’t delay things much.
“But why?”
“It reeks of him. I can’t just pass by a place like that. I’ll kill everything.”
Every last ant in Sion.
With Baek Si-woo’s power, it was possible.
“Fine. The Sword Ghost worries me a bit, but with you and me together, it’ll be okay.”
Banslain was strong, but he couldn’t withstand their combined assault.
The rest were negligible.
“So, when do we depart?”
Baek Si-woo fidgeted eagerly, as if ready to leave immediately.
“In a week. Stabilize the newly acquired demonic power first.”
He had absorbed a new mana crystal just days ago.
Converting that massive mana into demonic energy took time.
Pushing it recklessly could waste all their efforts, so caution was key.
“A week…”
Baek Si-woo bared his teeth in a grin.
“I hope that day comes soon.”
When Sion falls and all his connections die.
What face would Seo Woo-jin make?
Baek Si-woo could hardly contain his excitement for that day.
He wanted to see that bastard’s despairing face as soon as possible.
‘Wait for me, Seo Woo-jin.’
Baek Si-woo ground his teeth, radiating killing intent.
The Lion watched with deep satisfaction.