Chapter 110
Chapter 110
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 110
Chapter Title: Nucleus of the Demonic Realm (4)
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The grotesque sound of metal slicing through flesh. The stench of rotting meat burning away. On a battlefield where nothing made sense.
Even after so much time had passed, the two Masters were swinging their swords with an even more terrifying momentum than before.
And spurred on by them, the Alliance's Master, Rock Arnold, was living up to his reputation in spectacular fashion.
'Good, its flesh is steadily dwindling. A little more, and we can kill that monster.'
The flesh was steadily decreasing. Even though it kept regenerating endlessly, they were cutting it away far faster.
Any other Master might have faltered, but the Sword Ghost and Sword Radiance—who didn't just love to cut but were obsessed with it—were even more fired up.
To them, the endlessly multiplying flesh was the perfect training dummy to test the limits of their swordsmanship.
Even as time wore on and their stamina flagged, their sword edges never dulled. If anything, they sharpened even more fiercely.
At the same time, Cain's death force was slowing its regeneration. A maddening synergy that was killing off the flesh bit by bit.
The chunks of flesh that fell to the ground and rotted away were naturally being absorbed by Cain. He could definitely feel it.
'My death force is growing stronger. Does that mean this flesh holds a power similar to my own death force?'
Only now did Cain start to understand why the Nucleus of the Demonic Realm had been chasing him. They wielded the same power.
In other words, if they hunted each other, they could grow this power even further. But why hadn't it come for him before?
Though that part puzzled him... Cain shook off the distraction, unwilling to let doubts rattle his focus.
"This is ridiculous...!!"
"Where the hell did these demonic beasts come from?!"
"What? Demonic beasts?"
But just as the assault seemed to be going smoothly, a gap suddenly opened up. Demonic beasts had dropped from the sky out of nowhere.
Of course, they were just wild goblins, easily dispatched... but the problem was, there was more than one.
Instead of the fallen flesh chunks turning into death force for absorption, bones and new meat sprouted from them, birthing monsters.
I see. Rather than strengthening the enemy, it's burning all its power to aim for mutual destruction.
Since Cain could clearly sense and absorb the death force, he immediately grasped the Nucleus's scheme.
Of course, separately from that, the sight of fallen flesh turning into demonic beasts wasn't exactly ideal.
"Damn it, we're getting pushed back. What do we do now?!"
"No choice, Rock. You'll have to handle the demonic beasts."
"Sounds good."
Surprisingly, Arnold nodded right away in agreement with Cain. He knew it deep down himself.
Right now, in terms of raw attack power alone, he couldn't keep up with Sword Radiance and Sword Ghost...
Arnold stopped targeting the flesh and began slaughtering the demonic beasts it was spawning en masse.
"Rock's taking on the demonic beasts!"
"Yeah, that damn rockhead's bought us some breathing room."
"But Sis, at this rate, we'll end up letting it escape again."
"I know."
Scadi and Chris had swung their swords far beyond their limits, but they couldn't completely overcome human boundaries.
The stamina they'd briefly forgotten was already hitting rock bottom. They had maybe ten minutes left before they couldn't swing anymore.
They had to somehow finish off that accursed flesh within that time. Otherwise, all this would be for nothing.
"Even that rockhead's hitting his stamina limit. He's kept up with us only because he's such a tough bastard..."
"Got any bright ideas? This might be our last shot, Blackguard."
"Yeah, I do."
Cain nodded gravely. He'd thought they had the upper hand all this time, but it seemed like wishful thinking.
They'd sliced away so much flesh, drenching the ground in blood until it was a sea of red, cutting and cutting relentlessly.
Yet the Nucleus of the Demonic Realm was still alive and kicking. And now it was even spawning demonic beasts directly.
No wonder it was called the Nucleus of the Demonic Realm. He'd thought they could kill it if they just fought carefully, but no.
"I'll burn every last drop of my power. And for that, you all need to buy me time."
"That includes making sure it doesn't run, right?"
"What a reckless order."
"If it doesn't work, it doesn't."
At Cain's provocative shout, Scadi and Chris let out weary laughs and raised their swords again.
Who said it won't work?
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The Demonic Realm.
Its very name was ominous, born from the world's hatred and rage. The fury of those crushed by sheer power.
Those who'd lost their homes, their precious young, and ultimately even themselves.
And when that hatred didn't scatter like chaff but clumped together, it birthed the thing called the Demonic Realm.
Ironically, even that Demonic Realm had persisted only due to the Empire and Alliance's standoff.
In any case, born of hatred's bloodline, it always harbored loathing.
Kill them all.
But I'm not strong enough.
I need more power.
Even with its beast-like intellect, it clearly knew its current strength couldn't exact revenge.
So it had to grow stronger for vengeance, for slaughter. That's when it noticed Cain.
The ominous black power Cain wielded. Similar in essence, but far more potent.
What is that?
I don't know. But...
I want it. I need it!
For the first time, the Demonic Realm—driven only by murderous intent—felt desire. And necessity.
To devour that power, it needed flesh to seize. And immense strength to fight and win.
It had never felt such intense longing for any Master or grand mage.
To claim that desire, the Demonic Realm began to move of its own accord. It formed a body that could move,
crafted jaws to devour and guts to digest and absorb power. Thus, it became a monster.
But even expending all its power, the foe wouldn't go down easily. It had nearly died in the counterattack.
"Enough already, just die!!"
"This bastard's tough as hell...!!!"
The Nucleus of the Demonic Realm, incarnation of all that pent-up hatred and rage, was a handful even for Masters.
But put another way, only powerhouses on the level of Masters could buy time against the Nucleus.
Yet despite their desperate stand, it targeted only one: Cain Blackguard.
That long-coveted ominous black power suddenly erupted like a volcano.
Cain Blackguard was drawing out and focusing all his power. What emerged was a colossal sword.
The power it craved appeared before it, yet it felt only threat. Getting hit by that would mean true death.
"Where do you think you're running?!"
But every time it tried to flee, the two Masters buzzed around like flies, getting in the way.
It had strength to kill Masters if given time, but that time was sorely lacking.
At last, the ominous black sword boiling toward the sky like a volcano crashed down like lightning onto it.
BOOM! With a deafening roar, the massive black aura cleaved the Nucleus of the Demonic Realm clean in half in an instant.
Everyone witnessed the overwhelming sight. Scadi and Chris, of course—and even Arnold and the Alliance knights.
The moment the ominous black aura split the Nucleus in two, the writhing flesh stopped dead, as if by magic.
"Ugh..."
Conversely, Cain—who had expended all his death force—wasn't unscathed. He lost consciousness and collapsed.
The Empire's two Masters slumped in exhaustion from the prolonged battle. Wasn't this the perfect chance?
Rock Arnold valued honor... but above all, he was a soldier loyal to the Alliance, always thinking of it first.
Of course, Arnold was worn from the fights too, but far better off than the fallen Cain.
"...Better drop those pointless thoughts, rockhead."
"That damn Empire Sword Ghost... Still conscious, huh?"
"Of course. How could I sleep easy not knowing what you'd pull?"
"The Empire-Alliance alliance was only until that monster was slain. Now that it's dead... what's left to hold us together?"
Scadi clicked her tongue at Arnold's words. Fair point—if she were in his shoes, this was the golden opportunity.
Even if it meant all-out war, if he judged killing Cain necessary, that was that.
And regrettably, Cain was worth igniting war over. He'd already proven his worth firsthand.
Yet Arnold, who'd been agonizing up to that point, finally let out a sigh and sheathed his sword.
"Didn't expect that. Thought you'd go for the kill in the Alliance's name."
"If that man hadn't stepped in, I'd have lost most of my men."
"Just paying my debt."