Chapter 169
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 173
Chapter Title: Date with the Demon King (3)
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The cracks in the shattered space fell away like puzzle pieces, revealing the abyss beyond. The wildly distorted timeline thrashed about chaotically, creating gaps before collapsing around the points of misalignment.
The barren wasteland at the center rumbled violently and literally exploded.
"...Tch!"
I clicked my tongue as I gazed at Rubias, who evaded being targeted.
She had held out for quite a while, but unfortunately, it looked like she was finally reaching her limit.
"Cough! Hack... Haa, haa... You there. You are truly... heartless and cold. To shatter a woman's wish so ruthlessly."
"If you weren't the Demon King, I wouldn't have gone this far. So your current state is something you brought on yourself."
"Is that so..."
Rubias smiled bitterly and wiped the blood from her face with her trembling hand.
"How lamentable. Is this also fate? Even I, who commands space-time, cannot do anything about it. Ah, cursed law of causality..."
The pathos in her recitation slowly but surely swelled into something more.
"Grrr...!"
The latent power of Kubel within me surged out uncontrollably, growling like a beast in response to the threatening aura.
"Hoo... Very well, I'll admit it. Perhaps I took this too lightly."
Her face twisted as if she were crying or laughing. She spread her wings wide and shook off the blood.
"I thought if I relied on the kindness I secretly glimpsed in you, if I appealed to your heart pretending to be affectionate, I could escape these shackles. That way... even a little, I could feel what it's like to be a woman in love. Yes, like an ordinary housewife from the marketplace."
"......"
"But yes... if this is the natural order, I must follow it. If it's fate, I'll walk it gladly. If that's where my love, joy, and pleasure lie... then we must kill each other."
Kwaaaaa!!
Demonic energy surged like waves, sweeping the area and gouging the earth.
"I have no choice but to respond. It's the only driving force in my life."
Immediately after, Rubias's figure blurred.
"...!!"
My superhuman instinct whispered to me.
She was now behind me, or beside me, or above—existing in all places at once.
Transcending time and space, she could manifest anywhere.
"Kwaaaah!!"
Roaring like a cornered beast, I swung my hook-like claws in every direction.
The motion was instantaneous, not mere empty swings but backed by materialized power.
A massive, razor-sharp claw shimmered like a heat haze, enveloping my hands.
It was neither mana nor aura—a concept made manifest, no different from a divine sword.
Zuaaaak!
It could cleave even time and space.
"Hoo, so that's Kubel's power. Impressive. Unlike my expectations, this should be quite the enjoyable fight."
"Kaaaaah!"
I whipped my hand around at the voice coming from behind.
The wasteland cracked open with fissures, and rifts tore through space, but Rubias was no longer on the trajectory.
"...!!"
In that instant, my instinct flashed.
"Don't die! Kang Han-gil!"
Rubias materialized at point-blank range—practically in my arms—and swung her fist toward my solar plexus.
My hair stood on end from the punch brimming with demonic energy and power.
Kwaaaaang!
A ferocious shockwave rippled outward in concentric circles across the vast wasteland.
"Hoo, you blocked it? And this is... a turtle shell?"
Rubias smirked with interest, but I had no intention of letting her watch at her leisure.
"Grrwaaak!"
"Hahaha! You're truly beast-like! Your wild allure is all the more captivating!"
She dodged effortlessly and put some distance between us, eyeing my right hand with narrowed eyes.
My right hand was overlaid with a power resembling a turtle shell—like a shield.
It shimmered transparently like a mirage but boasted the toughness to block any attack in the world.
"Hmm... So it's not limited to mimicking wolves? As the power of the beast god Kubel, you can imitate the bodies of all sorts of beasts... Intriguing."
"Huff, huff... It's not mimicking. It's manifesting."
"Hmm? It looks no different on the surface."
"It's the difference between heaven and earth."
Ududuk! Ppududuk!
"...Huh."
As the mere shimmering haze swirled around my entire body and gradually materialized, Rubias let out a small exclamation.
"Is that possible too? Overlaying power onto the body... No, for that form, 'donning the power' might be more accurate? And that's... a horse? No, a wolf? Looking closer, it seems mixed with a tiger too... I see. I understand."
She nodded, grinned, and tilted her head up to meet my gaze as I grew larger bit by bit.
"Selecting only the strengths of various beasts and wrapping them around the body... Fitting for a divine power. Plenty strong and useful."
"Hoooooo...!"
My form, fully cloaked in materialized power, was utterly monstrous.
Prioritizing pure functionality: legs combining parts from various beasts, bulging muscles filling every inch of my body, and a wolf's maw protruding like a beastly helmet.
To a third party's eyes, it might look like a human half-swallowed by a wolf-headed monster, with only the face peeking out from the throat.
"Hehe. Hard to tell who's the demonkin now. Humans would faint dead away at the sight."
"Shut up."
My shamanic tattoos blazed fiercely, scattering embers.
Feeling vitality surge through my body, I grinned savagely and charged at her without hesitation.
Kwaaaang!
"Kuhup!?"
Rubias, struck squarely, spat blood and wore a look of bewilderment.
"What is this...?"
She barely regained her stance and stared at me with genuine shock.
"Just now... you fixed the phenomenon?"
"Tch, you saw through that right away?"
"Hahat... Ahahaha! You're handling the power better than I thought! To think you'd block me from using my own power! I'm truly astonished!"
Kwaaaaaa─!!
Her aura expanded in an instant as she bared her fangs with overt killing intent.
"I acknowledge you! Kang Han-gil! You are my true adversary! From now on, without any mercy, I'll crush you with my full power!"
"Tch...!"
I gritted my teeth, sensing her space-time power shoving aside my beastly domain—which had dominated the area like a beast's territory—and enveloping everything like a curtain.
I had hoped she'd remain careless until the end, but unfortunately, things wouldn't go that easily.
"......"
I glanced at the party battling the high demons.
Fortunately, thanks to Cecilia's holy spells, Arpe's buffs, and Weller's magic, they held an overwhelming advantage.
However, the demons were holding on tenaciously, so it didn't seem like it would end quickly.
The longer it dragged on, the more disadvantageous it would be for us, so we needed a swift resolution.
-Arpe! Forced awakening!
-...! Yes!
Immediately, countless instruments floated around Arpe, and a solemn, poignant melody began to play.
"─!!"
A beautiful voice layered lightly atop it.
"Hup...!?"
I panicked at the unexpected situation.
It was my first time experiencing Arpe's forced awakening, and it was on an entirely different level from the standard buffs I'd imagined.
"Grr, grrrraaaa!"
Kubel's power expanded in an instant. The soul containing it ascended a level, shattering the horizons of my cognition.
And in that newly expanded space, instinct and savagery began to fill every corner.
Reason, values, and ethics melted away, oozing limply downward.
"Kyaaaaah!!"
I desperately held on to avoid completely losing my reason, but I couldn't stop my beast-transformed body from moving on pure instinct.
Chwaaak!
"Hup!?"
My claws doubled in length in an instant and slashed through the air, severing Rubias's power and carving a shallow wound into her body.
"Kkukuku...! Hahahahaha! Excellent! Perfect! So thrilling! A true life-or-death struggle where even a moment's carelessness could cost your life! It's been ages since I felt this sense of crisis!"
Kuwaaaa! Buuuuong-!
As she laughed and unleashed her power in earnest, the very properties of space began to warp.
Some areas clung with sticky viscosity like spiderwebs, others lost all friction making it hard to even stand, and some turned into vacuums where breathing was impossible.
My legs were trapped in slowed time, I couldn't perceive situations flowing within my halted vision, and my arms flowed at different speeds, throwing off my sense of balance.
"Grrrraaaa!!"
But my transcendent instincts and intuition detected approaching threats and crises with prophetic clarity, while my unbelievable physical prowess effortlessly evaded them all.
Uuduk! Ppuduk! Kwajak!
In the process, Kubel's power manifested chaotically—like a tattered robe flapping wildly, producing over a dozen silhouettes in a split second.
'Oh...!'
Even as I desperately clung to my reason, I marveled at the ways to wield the power that were utterly impossible at my current level—ways I wouldn't even have conceived of.
It wasn't just overlaying body parts.
Breathing techniques, special sensory organs, internal organs, nerves, centers of gravity from various beasts.
Countless changes rippled through my body inside and out, to the point where my sense of self was in question.
'This might be an opportunity...'
Honestly, with the power's infinite applications, finding the optimal use was quite difficult. But now the answer was right there—no reason not to follow it.
Exact imitation was impossible, of course, but even partial emulation would greatly boost my combat power.
"Hahahahaha! So enjoyable!"
Kwajik!
Of course, that was a concern for after I survived.
What a monstrous bastard.
Not sure if the Absolute Ring Set even took any damage.