Chapter 433: The Start of the War (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 433: The Start of the War (4)
Archdemon.
A name referring to the mythical monsters under the command of Malefis.
A theologian once claimed that the Archdemons were, in fact, gods in their own right, but he was branded a heretic by the majority of religious orders and sent to the gallows.
A long time has passed since then, but research on Archdemons has seen little progress.
Like other gods, they were beings of myth, so very few delved into their study with any seriousness.
Only their names were passed down through oral tradition.
The Demon of Time, Bireciel.
The Demon of Dreams, Lulucia.
And the Demon of Massacre, Urzekion.
* * *
CRUUUUNCH—!!!
A massive slash, formed from an Aura Blade, split the cliff in two.
Emerging unscathed from the chaos, Kang Hyun-woo observed Dermier with a cool gaze.
Unlike Lavinia, who used an authority of the mental type, his seemed to be a pure amplification of physical strength and aura.
Tsk.
For Hyun-woo, this was the most troublesome type of opponent.
The Blessing of the Demon Hunter could block debuff-type authorities, but it was rather helpless against enhancement-types.
This reminds me of Gawain...
Of course, this opponent was several cuts above Gawain.
Atop the shattered rock, Kang Hyun-woo readjusted his grip on his sword.
Though both had drawn out their full power, the situation hadn't changed much.
Dermier had been strengthened by the demon's authority, and Hyun-woo by the Blessing of the Demon Hunter; they had each achieved an equal increase in power.
Despite this, Dermier did not recklessly close the distance as he had before.
He showed overt wariness toward Hyun-woo's completely transformed presence.
...Disgusting.
The sacred divinity radiating from Kang Hyun-woo elicited an instinctual revulsion in Dermier, the successor to Urzekion, the Demon of Massacre.
Furthermore, the black flames blooming on Hyun-woo's sword made Dermier flinch in spite of himself, like a wild wolf before a campfire.
And then there was the foreign divine power seeping from the pure white ring.
A human wielding three types of divine power at once... That's impossible.
It was nothing short of blasphemy.
It meant he was serving three gods simultaneously.
There was no way the gods would stand for such an atrocity. He should have been struck down by divine punishment long ago, or at the very least, branded a heretic by the various religious orders and hunted down.
“Looks like you've got a lot on your mind.”
“...”
Kang Hyun-woo looked down at Dermier and smirked.
Despite the taunt from someone much younger, Dermier merely narrowed his eyes, showing no other reaction.
He was a knight who had weathered countless real battles; he wouldn't fall for such a cheap and obvious provocation. Instead, just like Hyun-woo, he continued his observation, coolly analyzing his opponent's strength.
...The fact that he killed Lavinia is proof that he has a way to overcome her authority. Once her authority is neutralized, Lavinia is just a slightly powerful black mage.
He possessed a means to nullify an Archdemon's authority, wielded three types of divine power, could cast tactical-level magic on his own, and had swordsmanship on par with his own.
Listing it all out, Dermier could only find it absurd.
Is he some kind of hero from the myths?
The ultimate knight, favored by the gods, who wields a power more foreign than any other.
Only then did Dermier understand the reason for the unknown hostility he had felt in his heart the moment he first faced Kang Hyun-woo.
This fight was the prelude to a great holy war.
A sacred mission bestowed upon him, an apostle of Lord Malefis, to stop the blasphemous hero who sought to prevent the resurrection of this world's true master.
In that instant, the look in Dermier's eyes changed.
As if he had cast aside all unnecessary emotions, an eerily quiet fighting spirit enveloped his entire body.
Seeing this, the smile vanished from Kang Hyun-woo's lips.
A deathly, murderous silence descended.
—!
The two men kicked off the ground simultaneously, rushing toward each other.
The blood-red Aura Blade, exuding a gloomy energy, once again clashed with the golden Aura Blade, which shone like a sacred light.
KRA-KOOOOM!!!
But the aftershock was incomparably more intense than before.
The beautiful eastern plains were instantly turned into a wasteland. The small and large hills were obliterated without a trace.
Even so, the storm of their sword strikes raged on, endlessly lashing out at one another.
CLAAANG—!!!
Facing an impossible barrage of five slashes coming from different directions at once, Kang Hyun-woo made the bold choice to press inward.
Dermier thought he was aiming for an opening, but that was a misjudgment.
Hyun-woo never thought he could create an opening with something so simple. He knew full well that recklessly entering his opponent's territory would only result in him paying a harsh price.
Even with the Blessing of the Demon Hunter activated, Dermier had also grown much stronger with the power of an Archdemon.
Unless he took the risk of using Extreme Blood, Hyun-woo was bound to be pushed back in a contest of strength.
But that was only if they clashed head-on like brutes.
Shwiiiiik—
“?!”
In that moment, Hyun-woo's sword flowed like water along his opponent's trajectory and struck the flat of the blade.
Unaware of the principle of using a small force to deflect a great one, Dermier's concentration wavered for a moment, and his ironclad stance crumbled.
[Thought Transcendence]
The moment the greatsword struck the ground, time seemed to slow, and everything except Hyun-woo began to move as if in slow motion.
Simultaneously, his brain, drained of mental power from the aftereffects of the tactical-level magic, screamed in agony. Nevertheless, Hyun-woo's gaze was fixed on only one thing.
He was hunting for Dermier's opening.
His concentration was so tenacious it could be called fanatical.
KIIIIIIING—!!!!
As time resumed its flow, the Heaven-Shattering Demonic Sword, having greedily absorbed the Vajra Qi, let out an ear-splitting roar.
There was no time to swing the sword.
For the sake of the fastest possible strike to sever the enemy's life, Hyun-woo simply thrust his sword toward his opponent's vital point.
WHOOOOSH—!!!
A golden afterimage flared in the air.
Formless Sword Art, Heavenly Light.
The moment the tip of the Heaven-Shattering Demonic Sword reached Dermier's solar plexus, Kang Hyun-woo was certain of his victory.
But as if to mock him...
KSHHHHK...!!!
“?!!”
An opaque barrier covered Dermier's solar plexus, generating an incredible repulsive force.
Even a thrust clad in Aura Blade couldn't pierce the barrier.
But Hyun-woo had no time to be shocked by that fact.
BOOOOOM!!!
A massive repulsive force, incomparable to the last, exploded outward in all directions.
Caught in the shockwave, Kang Hyun-woo was flung back hundreds of meters in an instant. As he soared through the night sky, another shadow fell over his vision.
It was Dermier.
“You seemed to be enjoying yourself, like a duck to water.”
Rumble-rumble-rumble—
You've got to be kidding me...!!
Kang Hyun-woo was horrified.
Not only had Dermier caught up to his speed after being blasted away, but an even more powerful energy than before was beginning to condense around his sword.
In that fleeting moment, hundreds of hypotheses on how to block that strike formed in Hyun-woo's mind.
But not a single one had a success rate of even twenty percent.
Hyun-woo cursed inwardly.
This was no time to play nice.
Woooong—
“Ugh...!”
His hopelessly tangled magic circuits were forced into operation. Thanks to this, he was looking at being bedridden for several days.
But even with such a risk, this was a moment where he desperately needed magic.
Six-layered barrier. Maximum strength!
“Just die already.”
Dragonia Swordsmanship, Sixth Form.
The instant a barrier, along with his Protective Aura, enveloped Kang Hyun-woo's entire body, a red meteor fell toward him.
Dragon Crash.
—!!!!!
*
Urzekion, the Demon of Massacre.
An Archdemon with the authority to amplify the energy within its body by absorbing the blood of others. On a battlefield where corpses piled up like mountains, it was a being that wielded a truly nightmarish power.
It could strengthen not just demonic energy but also aura. The barrier that had blocked Kang Hyun-woo's thrust was an aura shield reinforced by consuming the blood he had collected.
For the record, the reason Dermier had ordered the execution of straggling soldiers was simply to replenish his blood supply.
The marching speed was just an excuse.
It's over.
Landing on a nearby hill, he looked down at the thick cloud of dust settling below.
The strike, which had consumed a significant amount of blood, had undoubtedly pierced his opponent's defenses and claimed his life.
As proof, beyond the dust, he could sense no presence, no magic.
Not even divine power.
If he were still breathing, he would have no choice but to use divine power to heal his wounds. Without it, all he could do was die a slow death.
“...A pity.”
Dermier wore an expression full of dissatisfaction.
He had genuinely coveted the talent that was Kang Hyun-woo.
He had marveled at the monstrous talent that allowed someone so young to be his equal, and he was surprised to learn that he was the stuff of mythical heroes.
But not anymore.
He was dead.
If we had crossed swords a few years from now, I couldn't have guaranteed victory. And I certainly wouldn't have been able to win without taking some damage, like I did now.
Looked at coolly, he should have been pleased to have eliminated a formidable future enemy in advance.
But at the same time, an undeniable competitive spirit flared within him.
What would it have been like to face him in his completed form?
Grip—
Urzekion, the Demon of Massacre.
True to the name, his successor, Dermier, was one of the most notorious battle maniacs in the Empire.
...I must exclude personal feelings during a mission.
Using the demon's power had made him somewhat emotional, but he hadn't lost his grip on reason.
Dermier decided to take solace in the fact that he had found the one who killed Lavinia.
More importantly, the priority now was to return to the main camp and reorganize the army.
Of course, losing a few soldiers wouldn't mean losing the war, but since they needed as many sacrifices as possible, any further loss of troops had to be avoided.
“Tsk, to think I have to use such rabble as sacrifices.”
Human sacrifice to the gods had existed since ancient times.
And just as humans were picky eaters, gods too had their own particular tastes.
Of course, there were many gods who didn't accept sacrifices, but Malefis was not one of them.
“If it weren't for the order to prioritize quantity over quality, I wouldn't have cared how many died. This has become a nuisance. Still, the Grand Duke and the Princess should make for decent enough sacrifices—”
“Says who?”
“?!”
In that moment, a voice that should never have been heard brushed past Dermier's ear.
A moment of shock led to a fatal mistake, and he had to pay the price.
Slice—
“Kuhk...?!”
Dermier hastily put distance between them.
He clutched the wound to stop the gushing blood.
Spurt—
But that wouldn't bring back his severed left arm.
No matter how hard he pressed, blood poured from the wound like a broken faucet.
Dermier's face twisted into a more savage expression than ever before.
“How... How in the world...?!!”
He glared at Kang Hyun-woo, who had appeared with a battered body, and unleashed his killing intent.
An overwhelming pressure crushed the air, but Kang Hyun-woo simply wiped the blood splattered on his face with the back of his hand, not even blinking.
His eyes, fixed on Dermier, were as cold as winter frost.
“First, the left arm.”
As if mocking the disarmed Dermier, Kang Hyun-woo deliberately stomped on the left arm rolling on the ground.
