Chapter 283
Chapter 283
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 283
Chapter Title: Duel of the Transcendents
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With the help of Hwirateon, Seowoojin raced across the great plains at a speed that felt like true flight.
He considered using 'Swiftness' as well but held back to conserve a bit of his chaos energy.
'This speed is plenty fast as it is, and I might have to jump straight into battle the moment I arrive.'
He didn't think he'd lose to a guy named Yudain.
But he couldn't afford to let his guard down.
He might struggle against some completely unexpected ability, like what had happened with Kratos or Baron.
"No matter how busy I am, it's best to save what I can."
Seowoojin didn't know much about Yudain.
In fact, not just him—even Yohan's intelligence guild had extremely limited information.
It was because he was an apostle with such minimal activity.
All that was known about Yudain was his name, gender, and that he was a swordsman who had reached the transcendent realm.
No one knew what abilities he used or the exact extent of his power.
He seemed like a being that existed only in rumors, shrouded in mystery.
Yudain was veiled in that much secrecy.
'They sure pinpointed his location well.'
Seowoojin marveled inwardly.
Just learning the guy's position showed how exceptional Yohan and his intelligence guild were.
If used properly, they could be nearly as efficient as Crusiel.
"Well, that's a problem for later. Right now, there's something else I need to handle."
Seowoojin let out a sigh.
Building his own intelligence network and capturing apostles were important tasks.
But the top priority now was stopping that mage from Leninstang.
Diarok.
'How do I deal with this guy?'
Killing him wasn't an option.
That would be the easiest way, but wasting such a powerful asset with his own hands was out of the question.
'The whole reason I'm trying to prevent this war is to preserve this world's strength as much as possible.'
Killing someone in the transcendent realm under those circumstances?
That was the kind of thing apostles would do.
"So in the end, I just have to subdue him... This is going to be a headache."
He knew full well how powerful Diarok was from Freyja's thorough explanations.
That was exactly why he was agonizing over it.
It didn't seem like it would be easy.
'Mages are weak up close, right?'
Seowoojin recalled the heroes with magic-based classes.
Jin Taesung and Kim Taejin were prime examples.
Thinking about their combat styles, close range definitely seemed advantageous.
'Regular mages lack physical prowess.'
It was different for the heroes.
As their levels rose, their physical abilities improved alongside everything else.
Combat jobs, non-combat jobs, melee dealers, ranged dealers—it didn't matter.
The gap was just that much, but the higher the level, the tougher the body.
But that wasn't true for this world's true mages.
They focused on contemplation and exploration to elevate their realm, expanding their mental worldview.
Inevitably, physical growth was neglected.
'If I target that weakness well, I might win unexpectedly easily.'
From what he'd heard, Diarok specialized in fire magic.
Omnidirectional destruction spells that didn't distinguish between single-target and area-of-effect.
'Close combat is the way to go.'
Of course, there would be guards protecting Diarok.
But for him, that was nothing to worry about.
'As long as it's not someone in the transcendent realm guarding him.'
Seowoojin nodded.
He had roughly decided how to handle Diarok.
Of course, things might not go as planned, but he could worry about that when the time came.
'I'm not a god. I can't predict every variable and make a perfect plan.'
For now, a rough framework and direction would suffice.
Seowoojin kicked off the ground with a satisfied expression.
He had a good feeling about it.
Somehow, he thought things would work out.
"Let me wrap this up quick and head b...ack?"
Seowoojin, who had been sprinting across the plains, came to a halt.
He stopped dead—
As if inertia didn't exist.
Moving at such speed, he halted in an instant, rooted to the ground.
Defying the laws of physics, Seowoojin stopped in place and hardened his face as he activated 'Divine Dragon Eye.'
Whoooosh—
His senses exploded outward, absorbing all information from the surroundings.
"...What's that?"
About 5 km ahead, there was a small city.
According to Yohan's information, it was the small town where the apostle Yudain was hiding.
And right now, a battle was raging there.
"What the hell is this?"
Demonic energy and mana.
He could clearly feel devastating attacks of world-shaking power clashing between two beings in the transcendent realm.
"I need to hurry."
Seowoojin's form vanished at a speed incomparable to before.
* * *
"Innocent Flame!"
A pillar of pure white flame erupted from the ground.
It was like a volcano exploding, spewing brilliant white lava.
Kwarrr rumble—
Its diameter reached a full 10 meters, its height impossible to gauge.
A natural disaster incarnate.
Everything touched by the pure white flames burned, melted, and even evaporated into nothingness.
All but one.
The apostle named Yudain.
"Split."
Craaaack—!
Black light burst forth.
And at the same moment, the flame pillar was precisely sliced from top to bottom.
Diarok's eyes narrowed.
He hadn't expected his magic to shatter so easily.
"You've grown quite a bit in the meantime, huh? Been kissing up to the Demon King or something?"
The mocking sneer was meant to provoke Yudain.
But he showed no change in expression, merely sheathing the sword he had swung down.
"...What a boring guy."
Diarok made a displeased face and asked him,
"Tell me, Yudain. Why are you here?"
Diarok knew him.
They had clashed several times before, lives on the line.
The last time was just three years ago.
That day, Yudain had lost to Diarok and barely escaped with his life.
So he thought he wouldn't see him for a while...
"And all this time, you've been hiding here like a rat?"
"I've been waiting for you, Diarok."
A cold voice devoid of any emotion.
Yudain asked in his usual mechanical, curt manner,
"Waiting for me?"
Diarok chuckled.
"Don't tell me it's for some ridiculous revenge from that day."
A smirk spread across his face.
"Admit it already, Yudain. You'll never beat me, not even in your next life."
Their past battles proved it amply.
Eight fights, eight victories.
Diarok's record against Yudain.
The guy had never once beaten him.
"This time will be different."
"You always say the same thing."
It was the fourth time.
Hearing those words.
Diarok erased his smile and glared at Yudain with eyes full of murderous intent.
Then he spoke.
"Today, I'll drag out your guts and burn every last one."
A chilling declaration.
Yudain completely ignored it, of course.
"Count Bsatian."
Diarok called out to Bastian, who was frozen in shock behind him.
"It's Bas—Bastian."
Even in this moment, correcting his name showed considerable nerve.
Diarok chuckled softly and nodded.
"Your name doesn't matter. Take the soldiers and retreat."
"...Retreat, you say?"
Bastian finally wiped the shock from his face and asked with a grave expression.
"Don't say you'll help. You won't be any use."
It was a battle between two in the transcendent realm.
No matter if there were tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of regular soldiers, they couldn't help.
Bastian knew this well, so he nodded.
"I obey."
"Withdraw at least 10 km. That's the minimum for safety. Farther if possible."
10 km?
He couldn't even imagine what kind of battle that implied.
Overwhelmed by an inexplicable fear, Bastian didn't hesitate and pulled back his forces.
The commanders who had witnessed the scene firsthand hurriedly moved their troops to avoid getting caught up.
That was when the soldiers were frantically retreating.
"Inferno Cannon."
An uncontrollable blaze erupted from Diarok's palm.
The fireball shot out like a shell toward Yudain, igniting everything around it.
Grass, earth—even the air.
Everything unable to withstand the extreme heat evaporated without a trace.
"No chance."
Yudain swung his sword upon seeing it.
This time, a horizontal slash from left to right.
Boom—!
An explosion rang out.
Unlike Innocent Flame, Inferno Cannon didn't cleave easily.
It merely detonated the instant the blade touched it.
The blast was so massive that even the soldiers kilometers away felt their skin blister red.
But neither paid attention to the soldiers.
They didn't have the mental bandwidth, focused solely on the enemy before them.
Kwarumble—!
Crack—!
Flames exploded, slashes flew.
The battle raged so fiercely that the surrounding landscape changed in an instant.
Diarok's expression hardened.
'This guy...'
He had never lost to him once.
He knew Yudain was strong, but he believed the apostle could never catch up.
But this time felt different.
Just as Yudain had said moments ago, blocking his sword was growing increasingly burdensome.
"Did you pick up some lucky artifact or something?"
How else could he have grown this strong?
He hadn't expected an answer.
And as predicted, Yudain said nothing.
Instead, an aura brimming with demonic energy tore through the wall of flames and came plummeting down from above.
"...Damn it."
He couldn't block it.
Casting a spell capable of stopping that sword would take at least ten seconds.
He had no such luxury now.
'Dodge!'
That was possible.
But there was a problem.
Dodging the sword like this meant sacrificing one arm.
No matter how fast he moved, he couldn't outpace Yudain's blade.
'Grk—!'
In a split second chopped into dozens of moments, Diarok calculated countless scenarios and gritted his teeth.
'I'll give it up.'
Losing an arm was better than having his head split.
Diarok poured mana into his left arm and raised it overhead.
Riiiip—!
It felt like the mana barrier was tearing.
Slowly, agonizingly slow.
The 18 layers of mana barrier, conjured in an instant, shattered one by one.
One, two... up to seventeen.
The moment the blade touched the final remaining barrier.
Screeeeeam—!
Someone flew in at a speed unbelievable for a human.
Kabooooom—!
An explosion erupted right before their eyes.