Chapter 247
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 247
Step by step.
I climbed the high stairs, drawing closer to the silhouette of the key.
Vwooom—
The Key of Darkness pulsed with a demonic energy so potent it made my skin crawl. With every step I took, the pressure of the darkness enveloping my body intensified.
That key was no mere collection of power; it was the crystallization of a desperate wish and a single-minded obsession for a grand cause. The energy it radiated didn't just crush my physical form—it felt as if it were encroaching upon my very soul.
Chwaaa—
The pressure reached a fever pitch. As I pushed through the demonic energy that raged like a gale of blades, a sensation like my entire body being torn to shreds washed over me.
“Kuhk.”
Though the agony was unbearable, I didn't stop. I forced myself up the stairs.
As I drew closer to the key…
Ssss—
My fingertips finally began to disintegrate into particles of demonic energy, scattering into the air. My body was melting away like a mirage. My physical form could no longer withstand the pressure; it had begun to collapse.
Where my flesh dissolved, black particles gathered to take its place. Under the influence of the overwhelming energy, Roen's body of blood and bone was transforming into something of a higher dimension.
I bit my lip, watching my limbs be replaced by these new particles.
Is this what the High Priest meant by being reborn as a new being?
Even as I watched myself drift further and further from humanity, I did not stop.
Chrrrr—
My flesh was stripped away by the blade-like winds, only to be reconstructed into demonic matter. My mortal form vanished, replaced by something entirely different. The body that had been defined by limits and restrictions was gone, reborn as a crystallization of demonic energy and darkness.
By the time I reached the key, not a single trace of the former Roen remained.
It was like the Ship of Theseus.
Now that every particle of my body had been scattered and my form reshaped from pure demonic energy… could Roen still be called Roen?
Now that even my brain—the seat of thought and memory—had been replaced by new particles… was I truly the same person I was before?
What had become of my soul?
Vwooom—
As my entire being sublimated into the power of another dimension, the pressure from the key no longer felt overwhelming. I had hated the key for forcing this pain and these choices upon me, but now, I couldn't even feel that resentment.
Instead, I wanted to take it. I wanted to possess it.
A desire bloomed unbidden in my heart.
With the power this key holds... I can do anything.
With the near-infinite, supreme demonic energy dwelling within it, I could bring all of creation to its knees if I so wished. I was born of the ruler's bloodline, and having earned the right, I had been reborn.
Now was the time to claim that right.
Clasp—
I grasped the key.
At that exact moment—
Flash—
A black flash filled my vision. The last remnant of my consciousness was completely disintegrated, replaced by new particles of demonic energy.
Shaaa—
The moment Roen's body was made completely new, a savage energy suddenly consumed my entire being, and a voice echoed in my mind.
[At last... the time has come.]
Something was burrowing into me, clawing for control of my body.
In that instant, I realized the true nature of this succession ritual. My mind, which had been clouded by the lust for the key’s power, snapped back into focus.
I addressed the unknown voice echoing in my head.
“You were after my body from the start, weren't you?”
[Yes. I have waited a long time, my descendant, my successor. Now, I shall step forward myself to finish what remains. You... shall remain in a corner of your consciousness and witness the completion of our great, ancient cause.]
The owner of the voice coveting my body was the being who had orchestrated everything up to this point, including the ritual itself.
The Demon God.
The succession ritual wasn't about inheriting the power left by the Demon God; it was a process for his lingering consciousness to select and transfer into a suitable vessel.
The successor was nothing more than a puppet for the Demon God to exert his influence on this land once more.
He was no different from King Kaim, the successor of the immortals, who had tried to steal Jeremy's body in his lust for eternal life. The only difference was the grander scale and the terrifying perfection of the plan.
I pushed back against the Demon God's consciousness as it encroached on my mind and forced my mouth open.
“Demons... you all think alike, don't you?”
As I resisted, the being who had expected to easily seize my mind and body spoke in a voice laced with sudden anger.
[...What are you? The master of the body and the master of the soul are not one and the same?]
His tone was tinged with unease, as if this was a variable he hadn't anticipated.
“Why? Does that pose a problem for you?”
Normally, he would have replaced not just the body but also the brain—where the soul resides—with particles of demonic energy, completely obliterating the original soul.
But contrary to his expectations, my soul was not bound to Roen's body.
I am a transmigrator. A soul from another world inhabiting this vessel.
It seemed that even a Demon God could not have foreseen something so inexplicable. I bit my lip hard, rousing my fading consciousness, and challenged him.
“Then... let's fight.”
We would see who truly took control of this body.
*
Vwooom—
A sinister and powerful demonic energy erupted from the key, spreading throughout the entire meteor crater.
Watching the succession ritual from a distance, Carmilla's face hardened.
“Amur, doesn't something seem off?”
“What do you mean?”
“The ritual. Roen... I can't feel the successor's presence anymore.”
The successor's presence had vanished, consumed by the key's demonic energy. Although a thick fog of energy near the altar obscured her view, something was clearly wrong. It wasn't just his demonic energy; even the strength of his iron will seemed to have disappeared.
Amur, who had been watching the ritual with his arms crossed, spoke.
“Weren't you listening earlier? They said he would be reborn as a new being through the ritual. It's only natural for the successor's old presence to fade.”
“A new being... Does that include his soul and personality?”
If not just his body but his very soul and personality were changing, wouldn't that make him a completely different person?
To Carmilla's question, Amur replied after a moment of silent thought.
“That might be for the best. His human nature was ill-suited to lead the demons. It's better for that part of him to disappear than for him to suffer, torn between conscience and duty.”
Though his words were blunt, Amur wore a bittersweet expression. It seemed he had grown fond of Roen.
“...”
It was then, as everyone watched the ritual.
Pzzzt—
From beyond the fog on the high stairs, bolts of black demonic lightning suddenly began to rain down in all directions.
KRA-KOOM!
“Kuaaargh!”
A few nearby demons were instantly vaporized as the demonic lightning grazed them.
Flash—
A black beam of light then shot out toward the crater where other demons were gathered.
KABOOM!
A black sphere formed with a massive explosion. Thousands of demons caught in the blast evaporated in an instant.
Amur's eyes widened at the sight.
“Is his demonic energy running rampant?”
“Hey, shouldn't we stop this? What's going on?!”
As a startled Carmilla panicked at the unexpected turn of events, a man named Gilean answered.
“The successor is likely fighting for control of his body.”
“With whom?”
Gilean replied with a smirk.
“Who else? The Demon God, our master.”
“......!”
“His resistance seems stronger than expected. I wonder how this ritual will turn out.”
KRA-KOOM!
Even as they spoke, demonic lightning continued to pour from the black rift in the sky. The lightning, influenced by the key's energy, struck the demons who had been fighting amongst themselves, vaporizing them on the spot.
The power of the attack was truly devastating.
“Shouldn't we stop it? We'll all die at this rate!”
The lightning didn't distinguish between friend or foe. If struck by lightning of such immense power, it was uncertain if even the Venerables would survive.
Gilean looked up at the high altar.
“It would be difficult to stop the successor in his current state, even if all of us combined our strength.”
The successor had proven his strength and proceeded with the ritual, possessing the necessary sins and the right of succession. He had accepted the demonic energy and blood of the twelve tribes into his body and killed the High Priest who guarded the seal, completing the ritual perfectly.
Through this legitimate process, the successor was now in direct contact with the Demon God's lingering consciousness.
His body had already transcended the limits of the material plane and reached a new dimension. He was now a powerful conduit connecting worlds. For this moment, he possessed the power of an unprecedented absolute being.
It was questionable whether the nine Venerables could win against such a being, even if they joined forces.
Gilean sighed, looking at the rift in the sky and the clear shape of the key.
Normally, the successor's soul should have been extinguished, and the Demon God should have seized control of the body.
Who would have thought the successor would fight the Demon God's consciousness for control for this long?
Gilean felt fortunate that he had decided to postpone his own plans to take Roen's body. Having finished his thought, Gilean exhaled a black mist and cast a barrier spell.
“For now, let's do our best to block it.”
*
KRA-KOOM!
“Kuaaargh!”
Flash—
As the ritual progressed, the indiscriminate attacks grew more violent. Cracks began to appear in Calvador's barrier of Dragon Language, Yungraom's gravity barrier, and Gilean's black mist barrier.
Gilean wiped away a bead of cold sweat, rubbing his trembling arm.
Truly overwhelming power.
A barrier of Dragon Language cast by a dragon, and a gravity barrier, which held a natural advantage in spatial manipulation—and yet, the successor's indiscriminate attacks were tearing through them, as well as Gilean's own master-level barrier magic.
He didn't know how much longer they could hold on.
The demons who had gathered near the crater had long since fled. The other Venerables, who were lending their demonic energy to maintain the barriers, also felt their strength waning.
“Tch, we have to stop him, even if it means killing him!”
Fwip—
Unable to bear it any longer, the celestial Yunok and the dwarf Ryuton flew toward the key where the ritual was taking place, intending to kill the successor. What was the point of the succession ritual if everyone died? It was better to survive, even if it meant ruining the great cause.
However—
Flash—
As if sensing their killing intent, a black flash shot down from the sky, clearly aimed at the two of them. The flash tore through their powerful barriers in an instant and snuffed out their lives.
Two Venerables, dead in a heartbeat, turned to black ash. Residual demonic energy from the lightning still crackled over the piles of remains.
Pzzzt— Pzzzt—
Carmilla frowned at the two corpses.
“Those morons. Don't they know what the successor's Authority is?”
The Authority to rule over space. And he was now wielding it as a being sublimated to another dimension, having transcended the limits of a physical body.
If he intentionally manipulated his Authority, he could tear through any barrier. What they were barely blocking with their layered defenses was just a fraction of his rampaging power.
The only reason they were still alive was that the successor had no intention of breaking their barriers. To charge at him with such clear killing intent... they deserved to be struck down.
Of course, I understand how they felt.
At this rate, all the demons might be swept away by those attacks before the ritual even ended. They probably intended to settle things before that happened.
But now it's too late.
Now, all they could do was pray that the struggle for control between the Demon God and the successor would end as quickly as possible.
Chrrr—
Carmilla drew even her own precious blood to support the barrier, her mind drifting back to the past. The memory of the underworld invasion.
Damn it. I should have just killed him back then.
Carmilla could have killed Roen anytime she wanted. She had kept him alive partly because of Gilean's orders, but ultimately, it was because of her own whim. Instead of sparing him because she liked him, she should have killed him and made him her thrall.
This great cause, whatever. What wealth and glory am I even trying to gain at this point?
Just as Carmilla was grumbling to herself—
Shhhk—
A figure walked up to her.
“What? Piss off if you don't want to die!”
The figure continued to approach despite Carmilla's warning. She pushed back the hood that was pulled low over her face.
Carmilla's brow furrowed as she recognized the person.
“You're...”
A girl with a familiar face. A girl she had seen during the battle in the underworld.
Ciel, with a grimly determined expression, made a request to Carmilla.
“Please... send me over there.”