Chapter 150
Chapter 150
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 150
Chapter Title: The Demon King Has Descended
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It was just after I stepped into Evan’s room.
A pitch-black puddle formed in the center of the ceiling, and soon, black droplets trickled down the walls.
It was just like a brushstroke.
The room, which hadn't been small, was soon cloaked in complete darkness. Evan, who had let me in, had vanished.
Hahahaha-.
A faint, distant laugh echoed.
I blinked my strained eyes against the sudden darkness and grumbled.
“It’s a nice day out, why draw the curtains? What are you, a child of darkness?”
While spouting nonsense, I calmly scanned my surroundings.
Simply painting the walls black couldn't make it this dark… It seemed Evan had used some kind of ability.
The space I was standing in felt incredibly vast.
Indeed, my senses weren't confined to a small room but spread out far and wide in all directions.
I walked silently through the dark space.
After about twenty paces, a churning darkness from my right lunged at me.
*Swoosh-!*
I dodged it without difficulty and threw a counterpunch. The darkness collapsed like scattered ink, but there was no sense of impact, like hitting muddy water.
And from beyond the darkness, a voice spoke.
“You’d do well to answer my questions honestly from now on.”
Evan’s voice came from all around.
It was hard to pinpoint his exact location, as if it were echoing in a cave.
“And if I don’t want to?”
“You’ll be trapped in here forever.”
“How terrifying. Go on, ask.”
“How did you know I was a Lesser Lord?”
“A gut feeling.”
“……”
“I just have good instincts.”
As another laugh echoed, I drew upon the power of the Divine Beast.
‘…….’
But even activating the [Snake’s Eyes] didn't dispel the surrounding darkness.
‘Ah.’
Only then did I realize.
It wasn't just dark; the walls on all sides were painted black.
My initial feeling that it was like a brushstroke hadn't been wrong.
In that case, having good night vision was meaningless. What I needed to see was the flow of ki.
I immediately focused my fiery energy into my eyes, entering the Fire Eyes state.
*Fwoosh-.*
Come to think of it, this was the first time I had used Snake’s Eyes and Fire Eyes simultaneously, but it unfolded more naturally than I expected.
As predicted, I could see the black currents of ki swirling all around me.
Turbid and malevolent demonic energy was twisted together like a skein of thread.
It was a formation so complex that most people wouldn't even attempt to unravel it, but…
‘…….’
For me, who had undergone my second eldest sister's grueling training, it wasn't a particularly difficult problem.
I easily found the core of the barrier and immediately came up with a way to break it.
*Crrrack-.*
I clenched my fist, gathering my vital energy.
The total amount of internal energy surging within me was still far too small to be called an ocean, but it had grown to the size of a respectable lake.
‘I should be able to use it now.’
The latter forms of the White Sun Eclipse's initial stage, that is.
The phrasing “latter forms of the initial stage” sounds a bit idiotic, but anyway…
Since my regression, I had only used up to the sixth form of the White Sun Eclipse.
From the seventh form to the final one, the immense consumption of internal energy and the considerable strain on my body had made me hesitant to even try.
But now, it was fine.
My body had been tempered to a certain degree.
And my internal energy was no longer lacking.
The only form I probably couldn't use right now was the final one, the tenth form.
The one I considered my ultimate technique.
*Swoooosh-.*
The moment the fiery energy erupting from my solar plexus enveloped my entire body, I felt Evan's gaze on me from beyond the darkness.
The biggest drawback of the latter forms was the time they took to prepare.
Because of that, it was still difficult to execute them at will in a head-on confrontation where every second, every move, counted.
*Papabat!*
Numerous hands reached for me from the darkness, but they were all repelled by the powerful wave of energy radiating from my body.
I had devised a way to circumvent the major weakness of this powerful technique.
During the time I focused my power, I would release fiery energy from my entire body to form a Flame Veil.
Of course, the massive consumption of internal energy was why I hadn't been able to use it until now.
‘Now.’
The moment my internal energy reached its peak concentration, I took a large step forward.
Though unintentional, I felt the space tremble as if I had performed a Tremor Step.
White Sun Eclipse, Seventh Form.
Twin Flame Force.
Two fists, embodying the essence of releasing force, struck the empty air.
*KWWAAAAAANG!*
The two points of impact where my fists landed.
The shockwave transmitted inward spread like a wave of energy and eventually met. Naturally, the point where they met buckled, unable to withstand the force, and shattered from within.
*CR-CR-CR-CRACK-!*
The black walls shattered like glass, and…
Beyond them, I saw Evan sitting on his bed with a dumbfounded expression.
“…What the-”
I quickly closed the distance to the bewildered Evan.
Evan hastily came to his senses and drew his sword.
“……”
The moment I saw that, I intentionally slowed my attack slightly.
*Clang!*
A fist wrapped in martial energy is difficult to wound with a blade. At least, that's the case unless the opponent is a master of swordsmanship.
Moreover, this room wasn't particularly large, making it unsuitable for freely wielding a sword.
Which meant it didn't take long for me to grab Evan by the collar.
He quickly grabbed my wrist, but it was as futile as a trapped animal's struggle.
I slammed Evan onto the bed.
*Crack….*
Unable to fully absorb the impact, the bed collapsed.
“Cough…!”
Evan, too, let out a ragged breath.
In that instant, I drew his sword and my Seven Sins Sword, then drove them into the bed, crossed right before his throat.
*Thud!*
So precariously that the slightest movement would slit his throat.
“…Pfft.”
But then, out of nowhere, he burst out laughing. The pain in his back couldn't have been minor, yet Evan looked amused.
Did he still have a trick up his sleeve?
I tilted my head and looked down at him, but he showed no signs of struggling.
“…Tossing me onto the bed… how considerate of you.”
“I couldn’t just cause a ruckus in the middle of the day.”
“What? Ah.”
Realizing his room was on the second floor, Evan burst into laughter.
Then, his bewitching eyes turned to me.
“Ah, that was fun. You can kill me now.”
“……”
“You… you’re far more interesting than I thought. Dying by your hand might not be so bad.”
I thought he would put up more of a fight, but his attitude was surprisingly nonchalant.
I could easily slit his throat by pressing down on the hilts, but…
Instead, I asked.
“When did you awaken as a Lesser Lord?”
“You even know about the awakening?”
“Just answer the question. If you don’t want to get hurt.”
“Oh. Does that mean you’ll let me live if I answer your questions nicely?”
“Depending on your answers, I might postpone it a bit.”
“Well then, I’d better answer faithfully, shouldn't I?”
Evan said with a grin.
“I awakened last night.”
“…You mean you died last night?”
“That’s right. It was an unexpected death.”
“By whom, and how?”
I didn't expect him to answer this willingly, but I threw the question out anyway.
Surprisingly, Evan replied with a smirk.
“By a cultist. I let my guard down and kicked the bucket.”
“A cultist?”
“Well, to be precise, I died in a trap set by a cultist. Let me give you a piece of advice: the research wing is already a lost cause.”
I watched Evan chuckle for a moment, then pulled out one of the swords.
Evan let out a slight sigh. His posture suggested the pressure had eased a little.
“Next question. What happened to the original Evan?”
“The original Evan?”
“The Evan I knew.”
“Aha.”
Evan said with a slight smile.
“He’s already dead, of course.”
I walked over to Evan and gripped the hilt of the remaining sword.
If I struck now, his defenseless neck would be severed, but…
“……”
I didn't. I simply pulled the sword out.
“…What?”
Evan touched his neck, looking bewildered, as if checking to see if his head was still attached.
“Weren't you going to kill me?”
“If I was going to kill you, I would have done it at the start. Why do you think I’m keeping you alive?”
“To extract information about the cult?”
“That’s part of it.”
“Hmm… I don’t know.”
“It’s because you used Raven earlier.”
Evan froze.
“Raven is a complex sword style. It’s not something you can use immediately just by seeing it over someone's shoulder.”
In a crisis, most people revert to their most familiar movements.
And Evan, facing a life-or-death situation, responded with Raven without hesitation.
That was where my question arose.
Evan smiled and said.
“So? You saw a glimpse of the Evan Helvin you knew in me, so you’re going to watch the situation a little longer, is that it?”
“Killing you is easy. I can do it anytime. But if I get rid of you now, it’ll leave a bad taste, so I want to be sure.”
In fact, there was one more reason I felt something was off.
“Of course, it’s possible that upon awakening as a Lesser Lord, you absorbed all of the original Evan’s memories, knowledge, experiences, and skills. But that wouldn’t explain the commotion last night.”
“Last night?”
“Smashing Talis to a pulp. You beat that guy up because the Helven family was insulted, right? If you were a true Lesser Lord, you wouldn't have given a damn what happened to some family.”
“……”
“At this point, I’m curious too. What exactly is your state right now?”
Evan let out a short laugh.
“Asking something like that. I guess you don’t know much about Lesser Lords after all.”
“……”
“Fine. I’ll tell you. First, there is no ‘original Evan.’ If you have to put it that way, I am the Evan you knew.”
The guy had a perpetual smirk on his face, making everything he said sound flippant, but this time, his tone was serious.
As I stared at him, Evan continued his explanation.
“Did you think that when one awakens as a Lesser Lord, the original personality disappears and another one takes its place? Like being possessed by an evil spirit.”
“Isn't that how it works?”
“You’re wrong.”
“Still, you’re too different from the Evan I knew.”
At that, Evan’s expression suddenly turned serious.
“People change.”
“…That’s not wrong, but changing this much in a day or two is strange.”
“From your perspective, perhaps. But don’t you think ten years is enough time for a person to change?”
“What’s this about ten years all of a sudden?”
“When you awaken as a Lesser Lord, the memories of evil etched into your bloodline resurface. The total amount of memory isn't fixed; it varies slightly depending on the emotions you held right before death.”
“……”
His words reminded me of what High Priest Juan had shouted.
- And you have granted him the most horrific death imaginable. Haha! Evan Helvin will be reborn as the greatest Lesser Lord!
‘Hmm…’
So the more wretched the death, the more of those ‘memories of evil’ are awakened?
If so, Evan's current behavior made a certain amount of sense.
How should I put it?
His bland demeanor, as if the venom had been drained from him.
From the sound of it, his death must have been rather sudden… He wouldn't have had time to savor any deep, lingering emotions.
If that was the reason fewer ‘memories of evil’ were awakened, and why his mind was relatively less corrupted…
…Of course, it was too early to jump to conclusions.
I couldn't just take the information he was giving me at face value.
However…
It was hard to deny his statement that ten years could change a person.
Because I myself was living proof of it.
In any case, the biggest question had been answered, but a new one had also emerged.
I looked at Evan and asked.
“Why were you acting like someone who wanted to die right away?”
“……”
“The fact that your identity as a Lesser Lord was exposed was because I exploited your weakness well, but your response afterward was pathetic. After being subdued, you immediately admitted defeat and told me to kill you.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“The cultists I knew were far more tenacious than you. Even if they knew the gap between them and their opponent, they would charge at an enemy of the cult without any regard for their own lives. Like rabid dogs.”
“……”
Evan smiled faintly, then answered.
“Because it’s meaningless.”
“What do you mean?”
I stared at Evan in silence.
Meanwhile, he got up and walked to the window.
“Why did I act as if I had no lingering attachment to life? Simple. Because I’m a dead man walking.”
“What?”
“To be precise, everyone currently at the academy is.”
Evan shrugged and laughed.
“Want a piece of advice? Get out of the academy right now. If you’re lucky, you might be able to escape.”
“What are you talking about?”
“What do you think? It means this place is already hell.”
Evan looked at me and said.
“You said you had questions about the cult. Judging by your tone, you seem to have a vague idea of what’s happening here, but you’re a little late.”
Evan turned his gaze out the window.
The sky was just beginning to set, the world was stained red, and a river flowed leisurely by. The low laughter of the academy students was a pleasant sound to the ears.
Evan admired the scene as if it were a painting, then spoke.
“Because the Demon King has already descended.”