Chapter 279
Chapter 279
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 279
Chapter Title: The Beast Split in Two
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The body, massive like a colossal beast, had been cleaved in half.
The tough muscles had been sliced through as easily as paper.
It was hard to believe a human could be bisected so effortlessly.
And not just any human—this was a being who had reached the realm of Superhuman.
Yet it had happened.
‘Karaniel’ had sliced Baron in two as if cutting through air.
Thud—
The trembling halves of his body collapsed to either side.
There was no bleeding.
The cut surfaces had been cauterized by the burning aura.
All that lingered was the foul stench of searing flesh.
Seowoojin stared down at it for a moment before furrowing his brow.
‘Too easy.’
Within the domain of the ‘Chaos World,’ Seowoojin’s power, amplified by ‘Celestial Wing,’ was nothing short of miraculous.
It couldn’t compare to ‘Demon King Transformation,’ but even this level left no one who could stand against him.
And yet, even accounting for that, it had been far too easy.
He wouldn’t have felt this way if he’d killed Mardetain.
But his opponent was Baron.
A powerhouse on par with Xenonia or Ardethos.
There was no way such a foe would perish so anticlimactically.
And above all...
‘My level isn’t rising.’
He had slain a being in the Superhuman realm.
Seowoojin’s own level was far from low, so explosive growth was unlikely, but it should have risen by at least 2 or 3 levels.
Yet it hadn’t budged even once.
“There’s only one thing this means.”
He channeled his chaos energy.
Then, without hesitation, swung ‘Karaniel’ downward.
Slash—!
He intended to dice Baron’s corpse into pieces.
But ‘Karaniel’ ended up slashing empty ground.
Because the bisected body that had been lying there moments ago had vanished.
“Hmm...”
He’d half-expected this.
“So you’re not dead after all?”
Seowoojin’s gaze shifted to one side.
There stood Baron’s two halves, swaying unsteadily as they stood apart.
A grotesque sight beyond words.
‘What, some kind of zombie?’
The corpse, split from crown to groin, wobbling upright—it was so macabre it almost drew a hollow laugh.
But right now, what mattered wasn’t how grotesque Baron looked.
His body was rapidly merging back into one.
‘Super regeneration?’
No, this wasn’t some low-tier concept like that.
This was closer to time reversal than regeneration.
Just like that holy knight nearby, spouting words backward under the influence of the ‘Chaos World.’
Baron’s time was flowing in reverse.
“This is a real pain.”
Seowoojin had witnessed something similar once before.
Kratos.
The awe-inspiring recovery that monster had demonstrated was eerily akin to what Baron was displaying now.
“Whew—”
If Baron truly possessed recovery on Kratos’s level, then even Seowoojin couldn’t kill him.
If he couldn’t do it even in ‘Demon King Transformation,’ there was no chance now.
‘Though it’s not confirmed yet.’
He’d know for sure after fighting a bit longer.
Until then, he’d throw everything he had at killing the bastard.
The ‘Chaos World’ granted him near-infinite power for the time being, so dealing with Baron wasn’t all that hard.
“Grrrrrr...”
Just as Seowoojin finished his deliberations...
Baron completed his recovery, restored to his full body.
A low roar filled with agony and rage echoed out.
“All better?”
Seowoojin bared his teeth in a grin toward him.
“You bastard...”
He looked ready to charge at any second.
But Baron held back from rash action.
Having just experienced his body being split in two, it was only natural.
“‘King of Chaos.’ I laughed off what the Lion said, but it’s real.”
He ground his sharp fangs, glaring at Seowoojin.
“‘King of Chaos,’ whatever. I couldn’t care less about prophecies like that. All I want is to kill you Apostles and that Demon King, then go home.”
The one who brings the end of the world, or whatever nonsense.
Seowoojin had no intention of doing anything so tiresome.
What was the point? No gain, just effort.
“Fate is like that. You can’t escape it just because you don’t want to.”
“Why are you suddenly playing the wise sage? You look like some Udyr knockoff.”
Seowoojin chuckled at the words from Baron, who was a beast through and through.
It didn’t suit his appearance—not even a little.
“And I don’t believe in fate anyway.”
Life was too harsh to waste worrying about such things.
“...Is that so?”
Baron stared at Seowoojin for a moment, then suddenly called out to Mardetain.
“Mardetain.”
“Urgh.”
The man staggered toward Baron.
His once-ornate priestly robes were long since rags, and his body was covered in severe wounds.
Thanks to his ‘Blood Seed,’ there was no bleeding, but anyone could see he wasn’t in normal condition.
“Regrettable, but we retreat for today.”
“...Baron.”
Mardetain’s eyes widened, as if asking what he meant.
“If we don’t kill him today, the plan falls apart!”
“No choice. Better than dying like dogs here.”
Baron readily admitted he couldn’t beat Seowoojin.
No reason to keep fighting here, then.
There were plans more important than the war Iyer was waging under Mardetain’s control.
To carry them out, he couldn’t die here.
“Damn it!”
Mardetain scowled and spat curses unbecoming of the Saint King.
But having decided to drop the mask, he showed no restraint.
“No helping it. We’ll have to abandon Iyer...”
“You must be joking.”
Seowoojin cut Mardetain off.
Then scoffed in disbelief.
“Listen to this crap. Who said I’d let you go?”
Seowoojin had no intention of letting them escape.
At least one of them.
Even if he couldn’t confirm whether Baron could be killed, Mardetain—he would kill for sure.
“Why did I come all this way? I deserve something for my trouble, right?”
He was done just watching.
Maintaining the ‘Chaos World’ was draining his chaos energy massively, so it was time to end this.
Rrrrrumble—!
The world stirred.
The chaos-filled world twisted time and space at its whim, relocating Mardetain.
This was Seowoojin’s will.
“Wh-what?”
Mardetain’s eyes bulged.
His position kept shifting against his will.
He thrashed to escape somehow.
Drew up demonic energy to shatter his surroundings, kicked off the ground.
But it was futile.
When he came to his senses, he was right in front of Seowoojin.
“You mad bastard!”
Twisted holy power erupted alongside demonic energy.
Seowoojin merely flicked his hand toward it.
That was enough.
The ‘Chaos World’ warped space, scattering Mardetain’s energy like dust.
And...
Now it was Seowoojin’s turn to move.
He didn’t use ‘Karaniel.’
He simply raised his foot again.
“You’re not dying easy.”
Thinking of all the trouble this guy had caused, irritation surged first.
From Seong Yura to the war in Iyer.
So much unnecessary hassle because of Mardetain’s schemes.
Especially killing thousands of soldiers—it weighed on Seowoojin too.
No matter the justification, no matter how deserving they were.
Slaughtering that many like bugs—it couldn’t leave no psychological scar.
He’d only endured because ‘Demon King Transformation’ made him a bit more cold-hearted.
Seowoojin kicked Mardetain squarely.
KABOOM—!
The impact sounded like a massive explosion, unbelievable for a mere kick.
“Stop!”
Baron shouted and charged belatedly, but Seowoojin ignored him.
He reached out toward Mardetain, who spewed blood and soared into the air.
Crunch—!
The ankle in his grip snapped like dry kindling.
“You worm!”
Enraged, Mardetain bellowed and unleashed demonic energy at Seowoojin.
“Wrath of the Gods!”
Normally, it would have been a radiant beam of holy power crashing down.
But Mardetain’s holy magic, tainted by demonic energy, was an ominous black.
A colossal black beam like a pillar plummeted toward Seowoojin.
“Wrath of the Gods, my ass.”
This was Seowoojin’s domain.
No matter how powerful the technique, unpermitted energy couldn’t invade.
Seowoojin swung the gripped Mardetain like a baseball bat.
CRAAASH—!
The black beam shattered.
No— Mardetain shattered too.
Having blocked his own technique with his body, he was a bloody mess on the verge of death.
“Let go!”
Baron finally arrived, slashing at Seowoojin’s back with elongated claws.
RIIIP—!
The momentum tore space to shreds—formidable.
Seowoojin activated a skill without dropping his guard.
“Sky Sword.”
‘Karaniel’ began to multiply.
Two blades, five, ten, a hundred.
In an instant, a hundred ‘Karaniels’ swirled behind Seowoojin, blocking Baron.
CLANGCLANGCLANGCLANGCLANG—!
Hundreds of clashes in a single second.
Claws severed, regenerated—over and over.
“Gah!”
Baron had no choice but to fall back.
His claws and fingers were all sliced off, hands drenched in blood.
“You wait your turn.”
Seowoojin glanced at Baron, then lifted his foot.
CRUNCH—!
“GAAAAH! You bastard, I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you dead!”
One leg not just crushed but severed—Mardetain thrashed, spewing curses.
Twisted holy power and ‘Blood Seed’ strained to heal him again, but it was impossible.
Chaos energy had already infiltrated his body, ravaging from within.
Just containing its spread took all his strength.
Seowoojin shook his head at Mardetain writhing on the ground like a maggot.
He’d thought brutalizing him would feel satisfying, but it didn’t.
It just felt like tormenting a weakling who couldn’t even fight back properly.
“Tch.”
Clicking his tongue, Seowoojin looked at Freya.
“Got any last questions?”
She startled, having stared blankly.
But she shook her head.
“What’s the point now? No questions left. No grudges either.”
Her gaze on Mardetain was ice-cold, her voice devoid of emotion.
“I see.”
Seowoojin nodded as if understanding, then stomped down on Mardetain’s neck.
Snap.
No grand technique, no stirring final words, no spine-chilling curse.
Seowoojin simply crushed Mardetain like one would a bug.
[Level up.]