Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: Coming Late (Season 1 Complete)
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A few minutes earlier.
"......That’s how it happened."
Foolishly, I had been entertaining some idiotic notions.
"You’re saying everything up until now has just been an illusion?"
I had assumed it was simply a matter of exceptional regeneration—beheading it, slicing it in half, even incinerating its entire body to ashes, and yet the thing stood there unscathed.
I had overestimated it far too much.
"If it were just a mere illusion, you would have noticed long ago, Cyan. It’s as real as any living being with substance."
"Not a clone, but not the main body either. But calling it nothing more than a hallucination—what the hell does that mean?"
"It’s similar to your Transform, yet different. It makes something with real substance appear like itself."
In other words, think of it as a puppet in a costume.
To sum it up, everything I’d killed so far was just a "living puppet" shaped like a demon.
Its true body was akin to a wooden marionette come to life, now merely disguised on the outside as a demon.
"That demon can create life like Delatros and control it as it desires."
So even if I killed one, a new puppet would appear, making it look like it had revived. A simple trick that made you think the supposedly dead thing had come back to life.
It didn’t have regeneration or revival abilities.
"......So you’re saying I’ve been played by that piece of trash."
"Well, you could see it that way."
I’ll kill it.
I’ll kill that bastard with my own hands.
"So how do I kill it for good? Where’s the main body? Wouldn’t taking that out solve everything?"
"Its main body is in the demon realm. No matter how pissed you are, please hold back from ripping open a hellgate."
"Tch, lucky bastard."
Ah, but the demon realm might be a bit much.
Opening the gates to the demon realm would cause a ton of headaches, so I’d rather avoid that if possible.
Maybe I should settle for visiting and wrecking it next time I get a chance to go there. I can’t just destroy the world out of anger.
"So how do we deal with it? If the main body’s in the demon realm and it can keep pumping out these puppets, is there even a way?"
"There’s no perfect answer to taking it down. Its closest weaknesses are that it can only act at night and control just one puppet at a time."
Hmm, active only at night and limited to one puppet, huh.
That’s pretty annoying.
No matter how many I kill, it sends endless new puppets, and it doesn’t even have a clear weakness.
"What if we seal it?"
"No good. A full barrier like a seal would just make it create a new puppet and return, as if it were dead."
And seals don’t even work. Plus, judging by its magic, even hurling it into outer space wouldn’t stop it from coming back...
‘So seals are out too.’
Maybe even more troublesome than Delatros himself?
Of course, if I went to the demon realm to kill the main body, it’d be a pushover. But opening the demon realm gate makes that a non-starter.
"One surefire way is shoving it through the spatial rift where it leaks mana from the demon realm, but I don’t know the rift’s location. And spotting it with the naked eye is tough."
"Through a spatial rift?"
"Yes, but you’d need to escalate it to a ‘fissure’ level to pull it off. So that method’s out—let’s find another—"
Impossible, sure. Finding a pinprick-sized rift in this vast world would be no joke.
‘A spatial rift, huh.’
......Wait a second.
Listening to her, that scene from before flashed in my mind.
What I’d seen when I looked up at the sky to summon rain.
Why hadn’t I thought of this sooner? It wasn’t an instant kill, but it was perfect.
"Hey."
"What is it?"
"What does a spatial rift look like? If it’s visible to the naked eye, how does it appear?"
"......Well, just that spot would look blurry. Special mana wavelengths or sounds make it visible—"
"Then finding the exact spot where it’s leaking mana is all it takes. Simpler than I thought."
"What are you talking about? Do you even know where—"
"I know where it is. And I know you know too but aren’t telling me."
-Click.
I’d figured out how to deal with it and was about to head back when Elena suddenly grabbed my wrist.
She must’ve pieced together what I was planning.
Well, that explains her panic.
Honestly, even I thought it was insane, but no better ideas came to mind.
"......That method would work, sure. But in your current state—"
"No problem."
Didn’t matter.
She was right—my condition wasn’t great.
"No problem? You took more mental damage than when you forced that teleport earlier. Push too hard and you could end up a vegetable—"
Physical damage was negligible, but the failed teleport plus that 6th-circle spell had drained my mental strength to zero.
"I said no problem."
"......Pardon?"
But that wouldn’t be an issue.
"Once a day, I can fully recover even rock-bottom mental strength."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ With that, the perspective shifts back to the present.
"Kuhk."
Plunging the holy sword into my heart hurt like hell, but damn, it worked.
Temporary loss of consciousness. My sense of body fading into the distance.
⚙ ITEM – EQUIPMENT ⚙ 『Hero's Holy Sword』 ※Ultimate weapon against demons. It incinerates all magic touching its blade—even if it's a demon god, it simply cleaves through. ※A sword only the Hero can wield. Others are devoured by its holy power. I’d survived tens of kilometers away unscathed, tanked continent-burning magic head-on without a scratch, and now this had pushed me to death’s door.
No wonder they call it the Hero’s Holy Sword.
"What a joke. You finally snap out of it and decide to commit suicide? I don’t know how you even have that sword, but using it to harm yourself?"
"Ugh......! Grr, definitely... With this, I can make you... vanish for a while......"
Truth be told, slashing it with this holy sword would’ve worked too.
That puppet’s linked to the main body via mana. The holy power would flow along it, dealing decent damage.
‘......That’s why the demon lord said it was no big deal.’
Same for any holy-powered attack.
Summoned beasts with holy power wouldn’t kill it, but could wound it enough to keep it away for a bit.
But that was just a temporary fix.
"Knowing that, why self-harm? You’re definitely plotting something......"
"Spot on. And here’s the plot."
I can’t banish it from this world forever.
-Fwosh!
"Wha—"
-Krunch!
"......Congratulations. You’re only the second to push me to Phase 2."
So let’s make sure it never sets foot in this realm again.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ 【“Death, I will reject you.” – Passive [★]】 - Death, I reject thee.
※Attribute: Light / Range: None / Max Targets: 1
※Special: (Cooldown: 24 hours)
▷The incantation of regression crafted by Time's Transcendent. Auto-activates when user's HP hits 0. Revives user at full health.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 2.
-Rumble!
The surrounding air began to change.
Soon, even the atmospheric flow shifted, and the animals on the island fled en masse.
"Th-this power?!"
-Boom! Crash!
A sudden massive energy storm of raging red light.
Red lightning crackled around it.
"Graaaah......!"
The storm generated at Cyan’s center, its massive waves soon blasting everything nearby.
-Krunch! Crunch!
Intense, overwhelming mana erupted—too fierce even to breathe.
Thus, the drizzle turned to a downpour, thunderclouds blanketing the moonlit sky.
"Ugh, ugh......"
"Hey, can you move? We’re getting out of here. Getting caught in that’ll leave us with nothing but bones."
Louise, barely enduring in the brutal storm, was scooped up by the suddenly appearing Smarion.
‘Good, no more obstacles.’
-Krunch! Crunch!
Confirming that, Cyan no longer needed to suppress her overflowing power.
‘This is full recovery? Power surging beyond anything I’ve felt.’
-Kaboom!
"Kuh?!"
Unleashing the surging red mana freely, a bomb-like shockwave hit, completely shattering the floating island.
Lucky it was uninhabited with few lifeforms.
Anything living there probably vaporized in the blast...
-Crackle!
"Impossible! How can the guy who stabbed himself with a holy sword unleash mana like that?!"
Yet the demon survived the massive explosion.
Or rather, the puppet caught in it vanished, replaced by a new one.
"A demon with this much power...... No, impossible. Foolish! That guy couldn’t have returned!"
The flying demon emerging from the smoke was stunned by the scene.
Stabbed through the heart with a holy sword—
No demon, no matter how strong, survives that.
This sword was made by Time's Transcendent Diavela for the future.
A blade crafted to slay demons.
Even if that demon somehow had it, why did self-stabbing it make it stronger?
"No such future exists—"
-Fwosh!
"Gahk?!"
"You’ve been yapping about the future nonstop. Think you’re Time's Transcendent or something?"
No time for such thoughts now.
-Whoosh!
Cyan appeared before the demon in an instant, grabbing its throat with one hand and ascending into the sky.
‘Keep going up.’
Through the storm, piercing thunderous clouds, Cyan flew higher.
No plans to stop here.
Give it leeway, and it’d figure out her intent, escape—fine now, trouble later.
End it here.
"Y-you damn monster bitch......!"
Thus, Cyan accelerated further.
"Monster? No, I’m a demon."
"Don’t spout nonsense!"
-Crackle!
Of course, the demon wouldn’t take it lying down.
To escape Cyan, it unleashed magic, risking self-entrapment—dozens, no, hundreds of spells.
"What’s this crap?"
-Fwosh!
"Grr?! That technique again......!"
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ [Mana Cancel (Magic Cancel) – AoE Magic] ※Attribute: Darkness / Range: 100m / Max Targets: ∞
▷Cancels all magic below 6th circle in range.
But Cyan wouldn’t just watch.
The magic circles decomposed instantly, leaving only black particles floating.
‘Louise...! Can you hear me?!’
Cyan called out to Louise from the sky.
(Cyan?)
‘Get up here somehow! Hurry before it’s too late!’
(O-okay, I’ll try.)
-Whoosh!
"Lady Cyan......!"
Then, a red dragon burst through the clouds.
"D-dragon?! No way, you’ve already—"
Injured but flying up somehow. Just that, yet the demon gripped by Cyan seemed rattled.
-Crackle!
"Damn it......! You cursed freaks!"
In the end, the demon chose self-destruction.
A massive magic circle dwarfing the previous one formed in the air.
‘6th-circle magic. So it can use it too.’
Like Cyan’s earlier spell—aimed to obliterate her and Louise.
‘Mana Cancel won’t break it. Then—’
Mana Cancel couldn’t counter it.
But another way could.
"Louise, now! Dragon Fear at the sky!"
"G-got it!"
-Kraaaah!
Louise’s Dragon Fear activated first.
Not mana-based magic, but innate dragon ability—even a roar produced similar effects.
"Damn......! Why’s the activation so damn slow?!"
"As if trash like you could delay-cancel. Think you can instant-cast like me?"
"Kuh......! What bullshit—"
The dragon’s roar echoed skyward. Cyan fixed her eyes on the moon.
‘......Right after Louise screams.’
Why Dragon Fear specifically?
That’s when she’d seen it.
[......The moon shook?]
The moon had blurred unnaturally.
Right after Louise’s scream.
‘If my guess is right, the world’s rift is right there—’
-Shhhk.
"There!"
The moon shook again.
That’s where Elena’s "spatial rift" was.
"Grr, kuu......! You filthy lizard bastard......!"
"Shut up. You dare yap like that?"
-Thwack!
"Gek?!"
Cyan kicked the demon skyward.
At full speed, straight toward the rippling moon.
"Don’t worry, I won’t kill you. Wouldn’t want your puppet lingering here..."
Cyan kicked off the air, accelerating.
"So—"
"H-heok?!"
"—join that ugly puppet..."
-Swoosh!
Cyan’s voice synced with a fist to its face.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ 【Heavenly Demon Divine Art 5th Form – 『Absolute Fist』】 ※Attribute: Physical / Range: 5m / Max Targets: 1
▷Controls qi in the fist to sever the target’s core. Absolute Fist damage is hard to heal and strikes spirits directly.
-Thwack!
"......Get lost to your world!"
"Kyak?!"
Absolute Fist sent the demon flying higher.
-Crack!
Cracks spiderwebbed through the air.
"Guh, gahk?! Wha-what?!"
Normally, physical force can’t crack space—distort it at best.
"How... cracks in space—damn it! It figured out the rift’s location?!"
But not this time.
-Crack! Crackle!
Behind the flying demon, space fractured endlessly.
The cracks widened...
"Th-this damn—!"
-Kaboom!
"Damn it—!!"
The rift ballooned to fissure size, sucking the demon in like a black hole.
It screamed, struggling, but magic wouldn’t activate.
Effects of Cyan’s attack.
‘Absolute Fist won’t damage the main body much, but magic’s out for a while.’
-Rumble!!!
"Gaaaah......!"
The demon was finally absorbed into the fissure.
Fissures seal after sucking in their quota, unless maintained by special devices—like portals.