Chapter 420: Witch of the Curse (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 420: Witch of the Curse (3)
Blessing of the Demon Hunter.
It was a Unique-grade skill that granted various buffs when encountering a demon or a related entity, such as enhanced physical abilities, resistance to demonic energy, and resistance to demonic authority.
Although it offered no help on the magical side of things, it still undeniably boosted his combat power exponentially.
Kang Hyun-woo stared through the thick, settling dust, clenching his fist with a sense of unease.
‘…I definitely aimed to blow her head off, but a strange repulsive force cut the attack’s power in half.’
It had been a strike imbued with Gwongang.
But far from her head exploding, Lavinia had only been sent flying backward. And it didn't seem like her physical durability was all that high, either.
The moment he’d met Lavinia, Kang Hyun-woo had instantly assessed her overall level.
A 6th Circle Mage.
She was clearly a mage of a higher caliber than him, but he hadn't been nervous.
He already had experience defeating a 6th Circle Mage.
However, when Lavinia transformed into her demonic form, he felt a strange sense of dissonance. Even the executives of Belmoras had used demonic authority, but they had never transformed into demons themselves.
Contract and succession.
Kang Hyun-woo understood the difference in how the two groups, Belmoras and Malefis, used demonic power.
‘…If I’d known this would happen, maybe I should have saved it instead of absorbing it right away.’
A wave of regret washed over him.
If he hadn't taken Bireciel's Essence with the Prajna Divine Pill, he might have been able to wield the power of a great demon as completely as Lavinia did.
But it was too late for regrets now.
And he had no time to be lost in other thoughts.
—!!!
At that moment, something shot out from within the dust cloud.
With his superhuman kinetic vision, Kang Hyun-woo identified it.
‘…A tail?’
The tail, extending like a tentacle, shot toward the space between his eyes at nearly the speed of sound.
The thought of deploying a barrier didn't even cross his mind. It would have been shattered in an instant anyway.
Kang Hyun-woo reflexively twisted his head.
Shhhlick!
But the tail changed its trajectory, grazing his face as it passed.
Droplets of blood scattered in the air.
Whoosh—
As Kang Hyun-woo grimaced and quickly put distance between them, enormous wings spread out, parting the dust cloud to either side.
Lavinia emerged from beyond it, a sly smile on her face as she slowly licked the blood from her tail.
“Hah…”
A hot breath escaped her sensual lips, expressing a mixture of emotions.
Not a trace of anger could be found in Lavinia, whose eyes had even glazed over as if in a trance.
There was only appetite and lust.
“…I’ve decided.”
Shk!
Lavinia’s fingernails grew abnormally long.
They resembled claws.
“I’ll cut off your arms and legs to use as ingredients, and I’ll let you live the rest of your life as my sex slave with only your torso remaining.”
“I’d rather bite my tongue off and die than have sex with a decrepit old hag.”
“…Come to think of it, a sex slave doesn’t need eyes, does he?”
A strange tension and silence followed.
—!!
Immediately after, the figures of the two vanished simultaneously.
Closing the distance in an instant, Kang Hyun-woo threw a punch while Lavinia swung her claws.
The impact sent a deafening roar and a gale-force wind whipping in all directions. Despite the cavern having been fortified, it shook precariously, as if it would collapse at any moment.
Yet, neither of them paid it any mind. They simply exchanged blows at an incredible speed.
Lavinia, a black mage, engaging Kang Hyun-woo in close combat might seem foolish at a glance.
But this was all part of her plan.
Under normal circumstances, it might be different, but right now, Lavinia’s body was possessed by Lulucia. And the body of a great demon held power that could overwhelm even an Aura Master.
Furthermore, having fought more fiercely than anyone to reach her current position, Lavinia also possessed the necessary knowledge and combat sense for close-quarters fighting.
On top of that, she had already completed an abnormal enhancement of her body by placing a curse on herself.
Although the side effects would leave her bedridden for a while, at this moment, such things didn't matter.
Lavinia dodged Kang Hyun-woo’s punch and smoothly delivered a kick.
KABOOM!!!
The incredible force of the kick sent Kang Hyun-woo flying backward, even though he had guarded against it.
But Lavinia closed in on him at an even greater speed.
“How long do you plan on just blocking?”
The moment a sly smile bloomed on Lavinia’s lips, a massive amount of demonic energy began to gather around her fist.
She couldn't wield Aura, but that was of no importance to her.
In the first place, Aura was merely a technique independently developed by humanity to fight against demons and magical beasts.
Demonic energy, on the other hand, was a power that existed on a higher plane than Aura.
“You’re not allowed to die, understand?”
“?!”
Wooooong—!!!
The gathered demonic energy compressed further according to Lavinia’s will.
Amidst the torrent of savage, wild energy, Kang Hyun-woo raised his Vajra Qi.
Immediately after, Lavinia swung her abnormally swollen arm.
KRAAANG!!!
Like a battering ram smashing through a castle gate, Kang Hyun-woo was sent flying backward at tremendous speed, crashing straight into the wall.
Thud, cruuumble—
The impact finally caused the ceiling, which had been barely holding on, to collapse. Kang Hyun-woo was buried under a pile of debris.
As dust spread out like ripples and a strange silence descended, Lavinia licked the bright red blood that stuck to her fingers.
The sensation of tearing flesh and breaking bone.
The feeling had been so vivid in her hand that she couldn't suppress her laughter.
“Hehe, that’s one arm down.”
Lavinia looked at her now-clean fingers and licked her lips as if in regret.
There were many ways for black mages to overcome their lifespans, but she had chosen the method of absorbing the essence of others.
Of course, there were various ways to steal essence, and the one Lavinia enjoyed most was, without a doubt, sex.
The others were cannibalism and vampirism.
“Is he a descendant of a demigod? How can blood taste this good?”
Lavinia didn't spare her praise.
Kang Hyun-woo’s blood was truly of the highest quality.
If the long-extinct vampires had tasted his blood, they would have treated it like a drug.
“If just a few drops of blood are this good, I wonder what his thick flesh and rich semen will be like…”
The anticipation blooming in Lavinia’s eyes showed no sign of fading.
If anything, it only grew deeper with time.
“…But before that.”
Lavinia’s gaze shifted to Melissa, who lay unconscious on the ground.
Her murderous eyes glinted as they shimmered.
“I should deal with the traitor first, shouldn’t I?”
“Says who.”
BOOM!!!
At that moment, Kang Hyun-woo burst out from the collapsed debris.
Seeing him, Lavinia tilted her head, looking slightly surprised.
“If you’d just stayed still, I would have cut it off before you felt any pain. Ah, or perhaps you enjoy being hit?”
“No.”
Crack, creak.
Kang Hyun-woo casually loosened up his body and took a stance.
“My hobby is beating up old hags who don’t act their age.”
There was no trace of a smile on his face.
He was as cold as a sharply honed sword. Feeling a strange sense of unease at his appearance, Lavinia retracted her claws.
Even with his left arm shattered, an immeasurable fighting spirit surged from him.
“…If you surrender quietly even now, I’ll just cut off one arm and one leg and be done with it. I might even give you the position of my lover instead of a sex slave. I absorbed the essence from the other guys and killed them right away, but I’ll cherish you for a long, long time. How about it?”
“I’m about to puke up my dinner, so cut the disgusting crap. What are you, some old hag from a porn site?”
“…”
Grind—
A vein popped on Lavinia’s smooth forehead.
It was the first time she had ever heard the term ‘old hag from a porn site’ [Halkas], but it made her feel inexplicably foul.
“Hoo… Fine. Maybe you’ll change your mind once I destroy your other arm.”
“Arm?”
Kang Hyun-woo chuckled softly and raised his mangled left arm. A bone was protruding through the flesh.
It was clearly a severe injury to anyone who saw it.
But without batting an eye, Kang Hyun-woo grabbed the arm and—
Crack, pop, snap—grind—
—casually set the bone back into place.
Of course, that alone wouldn't heal the wound, so Lavinia smiled mockingly at him.
However, there was one thing she had overlooked.
Reality doesn't always go as expected.
Kang Hyun-woo moved his left arm as if it had never been injured. In fact, the torn skin and swollen bruises had vanished.
“A compound fracture certainly takes a bit of time to heal. Hurts like hell, too.”
The Blessing of the Demon Hunter dramatically increased all physical abilities.
And that effect included enhanced natural healing.
Lavinia showed a flicker of surprise but immediately unleashed her killing intent and charged toward Kang Hyun-woo.
In response, Kang Hyun-woo also took his starting stance and threw a punch toward her incoming claws.
Seeing this, Lavinia sneered inwardly.
‘Just a moment ago, all he could do was block, and now he thinks he can fight back?’
She had been momentarily surprised by his instant recovery, but that was all.
With a victorious smile, Lavinia swung her claws, intending to slice off Kang Hyun-woo’s wrist, fist and all.
But the moment her eyes met his, she was once again seized by that unidentifiable sense of unease.
And then.
Shatter!!
“……Huh?”
Her claws, upon colliding with Kang Hyun-woo’s fist, shattered into pieces and scattered like a window dropped on the floor.
Lavinia couldn't hide her bewilderment at a result so contrary to their previous exchanges.
And Kang Hyun-woo didn't miss the opening, instantly closing the distance between them.
Crackle!!
A red electric current began to overflow from Kang Hyun-woo’s entire body. At that moment, his crimson-dyed Gwongang erupted with a fierce momentum and flew toward the enemy before him.
Crimson Cloud Thunder Art, Crimson Cloud Thunder Fist.
KRRRRRUMBLE!!!
With the force of Kang Hyun-woo’s punch, a storm of red lightning raged in all directions.
Lavinia was sent flying without even letting out a proper scream.
A wave of pain so intense it made her vision blur washed over her, but she forced herself to stay conscious and correct her posture.
But Kang Hyun-woo was faster.
“W-Wait—”
Kang Hyun-woo ignored Lavinia’s desperate plea and reached out his hand once more.
His momentum was like a bolt of lightning striking down from the heavens.
Crimson Cloud Thunder Art, Crimson Cloud Crushing Palm.
RUUUMBLE!!!
With a violent explosion of lightning energy, Lavinia smashed through the cavern wall and went soaring through the air.
She finally came to a stop after tumbling several times across the distant plain.
“Keuk, hack!! Blegh…!!”
Lavinia tried to get up in a hurry, but her body wouldn't obey.
She could only tremble in extreme pain, vomiting up a gush of thick, tar-like blood.
“Gack, gurgle…!!”
‘I-I’m not healing…’
Even if her arm were severed, she was someone who could recover as if nothing had happened, but right now, her healing was strangely slow.
It felt as if all her internal organs were being twisted and crushed.
“You’re not looking so good, grandma.”
“You, you…!!”
In that time, Kang Hyun-woo had walked over leisurely.
Lavinia glared at him as if to kill him, but in reality, she was breaking out in a cold sweat, panicking.
‘I-I can’t die like this…!’
This was a plan she had painstakingly worked on for twenty years.
To die here, just days before its completion.
“…No. Absolutely not!!!”
Kiiiiing!!!!
At that moment, Lavinia’s demonic eyes began to glow intensely with a strange light.
She believed the only reason Kang Hyun-woo could resist her mental domination was because he had absorbed the essence of a great demon.
That was why she had been fighting him with physical attacks until now.
By repeatedly making eye contact at close range, she had succeeded in gradually chipping away at his mental barrier.
And now, it was time to reap the rewards.
Finally, sacrificing ten years of her life to activate her authority, Lavinia was certain of her victory the moment her eyes met Kang Hyun-woo’s.
But she didn't know.
“Why, why…?”
That the world does not always turn according to one’s will.
Seeing Kang Hyun-woo still staring at her with killing intent, she felt a horror that could not be described in words.
“So.”
Ting—
[‘Blessing of the Demon Hunter’ resists mental domination.]
[‘Blessing of the Demon Hunter’ resists the Curse of the Succubus.]
“Are you done struggling now?”
Shing—
Kang Hyun-woo murmured in a flat voice as he drew the Heaven-Shattering Demonic Sword.