Chapter 127
Chapter 127
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 127
Chapter Title: Demon King Descent (2)
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【Kraaaah! How dare you! How dare you!】
The Demon King's crimson, sinister eyes, filled with rage, pain, and humiliation, fixed on me as I flew toward him.
My body froze under that venomous, overwhelming gaze, and breathing became labored.
The tier difference blocked all attacks stemming from that gap in power. But it couldn't fully erase the inherent intimidation. This was because I was feeling the virtual pressure as if it were real.
It was like an instinctive fear. The body instinctively braking itself upon sensing death—a beneficial reaction.
Fortune had just emptied its savings into a desperate gamble, so it offered little help. But that didn't matter.
'My role isn't to kill that Demon King right here and now.'
I couldn't kill it from the start. How could I take down a deity? Even wrapped in all those absurd debuffs, it was still stronger than a legendary-grade calamity upon descent.
A gamble with Self-Mastery? Impossible without staking everything Fortune had. And I'd already poured it all in last time, leaving it unable to even grant minor luck now.
Besides, this wasn't a fake deity conjured like a clone via ability. It was the real deal—a true god.
That didn't mean the clone was fake. It undoubtedly held mythic tier and commensurate power.
It was just pathetically weak compared to the real thing. Even if Self-Mastery elevated me to an unreachable realm, the clone couldn't use a single proper ability—it was half-baked.
The puppeteer's control stripping its reason wasn't the issue. That was simply how it was designed.
Proof? This title hadn't activated until now.
This mythic-grade title had never triggered before. I earned it after slaying Azazel's largest fragment.
Its effect was simple: massive bonuses against all things when facing gods.
'Why didn't it trigger against the clone?'
No idea. But it was undoubtedly helping me now.
Power surged into my body. It felt just like when I faced the puppeteer's giant puppet on Basement Level 5.
Impossible under normal circumstances, but Godslayer's massive buffs made it possible.
S-rank hunter level. As Pride and Infinite stats hit C-grade, that much power welled up.
My current stats were E-grade. A six-tier leap in power flooded my body, granting a bit more freedom of movement.
I steadied my mind and moved my body. Since it was just instinctive emotion halting my flesh, regaining mental control let me move freely.
And so, I arrived at the colosseum. I gazed at Gamigin, who had finally yanked out Longinus in fury.
【Kraaaah! Longinus! A heavenly holy relic! How can such a worthless insect possess a supreme relic like this!? Moreover, Heaven should have banished Longinus to a place eternally beyond reach!】
As demon kings from the demonic realm opposing Heaven's angels, they seemed to know of Longinus.
Gamigin gripped Longinus as if to shatter it, then hurled it at me.
【Better to rip apart the worm who inflicted this humiliation on me than cling to something I can't have with greed.】
That's why it knew it couldn't steal Longinus from me.
I recovered Longinus and was startled.
The seal lifts with demonic blood? But after landing a critical hit on the Demon King and absorbing its blood, only 0.3%? That explained why it wouldn't unlock with mere demonkin or low-rank demons.
To expect even 0.1%, I'd need to strike a demon's true body and absorb its power. Startup was hellish, and unsealing was no easier.
I checked Self-Mastery's remaining time without stowing Longinus in my inventory.
Even with mythic title buffs, I could only wield this immense power for less than a minute.
The problem? Even this immense power was just one more bug to that great and mighty Demon King.
'Longinus wounds don't recover instantly, as expected.'
I figured even a deity like a Demon King couldn't heal wounds from a holy relic's power right away. Otherwise, it wouldn't be the spear capable of slaying gods. Sealed or not.
But it would heal. No doubt. For it, erasing pain and mending wounds came before revenge on me.
And sure enough.
【Annoying. So annoying. Pain—a fresh sensation I haven't felt in ages. But one I never want to feel again.】
Unique Ability-Domain Deployment: Dirge of the Dead Things
A black domain unfurled around it. Vast and expansive, incomparable to my Domain of Destiny's Frost—it enveloped the entire Holy Kingdom beyond the colosseum.
The brilliantly shining sun vanished, the bright sky was erased, replaced by pitch darkness and thick demonic energy.
A song echoed. Gloomy, chilling, malevolent music.
Not a song for the living, but for the dead and those about to die. And not even to console the dead—it was a song voicing the Demon King's excitement at devouring them.
My body grew heavy. Even with S-rank hunter power, I couldn't escape this domain's influence.
Naturally, as the domain deployed and the song resounded within, ordinary people convulsed and collapsed one by one.
It started near Gamigin. The spirits and flesh of the fallen civilians were absorbed by it. More precisely, it devoured the deaths they felt and experienced.
-Kuhhh!
The robbed and devoured spirits and flesh revived. As mindless undead.
【Fresh deaths. Fitting for those who trust in such nauseatingly lofty beings.】
Its wounds healed. Simultaneously, the penalties and restraints on it began lifting bit by bit.
I grimaced, but it was expected.
I don't consider myself a villain. Nor a saint.
I have the mindset to sacrifice the few for the many without hesitation if needed.
'Sorry.'
Our trump card. The only way to kill that mighty god was this.
Unless one of the gods watching over this Holy Kingdom descended at great personal cost.
The hand to slay it? None other than the calamities in the underground.
I activated Longinus's startup. Cooldown aligned perfectly with Time Acceleration, rapidly building charge.
【Where do you think you're going!】
As expected, Gamigin wouldn't go down easy. Undead swarmed toward me in sync with its music.
It didn't approach personally while healing. I'd banked on that.
"Belial!"
A puppet dropped from the sky before the hundreds of undead. Wings unfurled, spreading worthless power.
"You vermin who dare defy Heaven's great laws. Rest now."
This side could be left as is. Nearly a minute passed; Longinus charged to 5%. I hurled it again.
Kwaang!
【Twice won't work. Not even an archangel wielding it—just a mortal worm. I didn't expect you to use a great holy relic properly, but this is pathetic. A pearl necklace on a pig. To wield the weapon all gods fear so feebly.】
Blocked. Longinus trembled, caught in demonic energy. I'd hoped for more blood absorption, but failure.
Self-Mastery expired too. Used pointlessly, but no regrets.
"I've bought all the time I need."
I looked down. At a place no one had noticed, a place no one dared approach—a single figure stood there.
"Nibelung!!"
Our crucial move. Nibelung—the would-be cardinal framed and left to rot for decades in the underground prison. Yet still wielding immense skill, sustained by divine power without dying.
"It's over! Begin!"
Nibelung promptly imbued divine power. Into the descent magic circle the puppeteer created for Gamigin's arrival.
Once the Demon King's descent was confirmed, we were at a loss and could only sigh.
Obviously. The foe was a god. A mythic-tier being lording arrogantly over all from the mental realm.
Even weakened by descent, no Stage-1 insects could land a punch.
No way to win. That's when we devised using Nibelung.
Honestly, without him, we couldn't even attempt this plan.
"Farewell, great Demon King who governs cruel death. To a darkness perfectly suited for you."
Excluding him from the saintess fight hid his identity but also freed time for preparations.
During the Spirit Charge's three-plus days, what he and I prepared.
Interfere with the descent circle to summon the Demon King elsewhere. And the summon spot...
"Go play nicely with the calamities. I'll come fetch you."
Basement Level 5.
To install a matching summon circle there and link it with seals breaking magic circles per floor. Thinking of sneaking back into that hell on foot still made my head spin.
Bright light swept away the darkness from the magic circle.
【What are you doing...!】
Foolish to let your guard down after one hit.
"Did you think I'd face a great Demon King relying solely on Longinus?"
Light devoured the darkness. It resisted, but futile.
Descent (summon) circle and Gamigin were linked. Naturally—it manifested here via that circle.
Forced summon via its own circle? No resisting that.
Well, if it were another circle, it'd have shattered and escaped already.
In the end, the great Demon King was forcibly summoned to Basement Level 5 in vain.
The darkness faded. Death subsided. The eerie dirge ceased.
"Halfway successful, at least."
It had recovered some power and tier, but disappointingly, the one on Basement Level 4 was also a mythic-tier calamity.
"Gonna need resolve to face the other two calamities."
Even if it escaped, two more calamities remained.
I turned my gaze. The colosseum was a mess. Most knights who challenged the Demon King and over 80% of spectators had become undead.
Amid it, the saintess and disciple—who'd debuffed knights from the Demon King's side—fled the instant it vanished.
Pure chaos left behind.
"Gotta grab what I came for."
I crossed the chaos and picked up the holy relic neatly placed before the altar.
Holy Grail. The second relic obtained so easily. A massive, headache-inducing ordeal, but we'd gained plenty.
"Now, time to catch the puppeteer."