Chapter 146
Chapter 146
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 146
Chapter Title: Final Battle
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Aorum stretched his body.
Before he knew it, traces of battle littered the area around him.
Even after reverse-summoning the five hundred spirits, his body still felt heavy and sluggish.
It was due to the long stretch of boredom.
He couldn't even remember the last time he'd truly cut loose.
Aorum knew exactly what he lacked.
Tension.
This stiffness came from the absence of tension.
There were no enemies in the Fox Den that could threaten him.
"......Finally, you've come."
......But now, one had appeared.
A being that put him on edge.
He could sense it.
Intense waves of mana.
The total amount of mana was less than his own, but the spells it wielded defied the laws of mana capacity.
Probably...... a power close to divine force.
It meant his ability to refine and utilize mana with utmost efficiency had reached the realm of art.
And that was not all.
He's enchanted the holy sword.
He had seen it.
Clearly seen it.
The form of heavenly punishment enveloping the holy sword.
However, the Fox Den's holy sword was a tool meant solely to strike down demons.
It had no other functions, nor could any be added.
To begin with, 'mana enchantment' was a feat impossible by common sense.
Magic operated by igniting mana.
Imbuing and sustaining ignited mana somewhere else was an entirely different matter.
It couldn't even be called 'magic' anymore.
Similarly.
The one who turns the impossible possible. But I am the same.
Aorum could perform a similar feat.
He couldn't use magic, but instead, he wielded spirits to achieve magic-like effects.
"Spirits."
Whoosh!
Countless spirits were summoned to his hand and began to gather.
If the challenger's, the Ten-Tailed Fox's miracle was 'mana enchantment,' then Aorum's miracle was 'spirit endowment.'
He could endow spirits onto any part he desired, strengthening his abilities.
And not only that.
"Become a sword."
Roar!
The spirits merged and transformed into a single form.
Soon, the spirits became a 'sword.'
......Like this, Aorum could use spirits to forge a 'spirit sword.'
It was a sight that would horrify any ordinary spiritist.
Spiritists could at best summon and command spirits.
Transforming spirits into other forms or using them to reinforce the body was beyond their wildest imagination.
This should be fun.
A clash of miracles against miracles.
A moment he eagerly anticipated.
Aorum hadn't moved a single step from this spot until the Ten-Tailed Fox overcame every trial.
He had waited for her to come to him and issue the challenge.
Would this new challenger, the 'Ten-Tailed Fox,' rise to the final battle?
You'll be different from Yoo Jin-seo.
Yoo Jin-seo had never done such a thing.
She had always been too busy fleeing.
Don't disappoint me.
If by some chance this new challenger fled as well, Aorum planned to shatter the Fox Den.
He would slaughter every fox and forcibly claim ownership of the 'Fox Den,' then step out into the world.
And destroy it all.
Aorum looked up at the sky.
For a fleeting moment, his eyes met those of the divine beast.
Tempting.
This desire was a rarity for him.
Aorum was one who seized everything through his own achievements.
He had never once thought to steal what belonged to others.
Yet that divine beast stirred his greed.
For some reason, that 'divine beast' felt like the answer he had been seeking.
Yes, it was as if...... he could become a 'king.'
As if he could become the true master of the foxes, something that surpassed even the Ten-Tailed Fox.
So, he intended to take it.
Along with the Ten-Tailed Fox's heart.
Preparations were complete.
With Yoo Jin-seo's full support, he had finally earned the faith of everyone in the Fox Den.
Not just the holy sword users, but the other foxes as well.
Including Hoya and the aides, as well as the foxes watching from afar.
"...Let's take down Aorum together."
Yoo Jin-seo said.
Her eyes burned with resolve.
Aorum. For the first time, she intended to stand against that wondrous Nine-Tailed Fox.
If they failed anyway, there was no afterward.
Aorum would inevitably kill Yoo Jin-seo.
Having come this far, they couldn't just sit idly by and accept defeat.
But Park Chan-woo shook his head.
"I'll do it alone. Everyone, withdraw beyond the domain."
"...Aorum is a demon far more powerful than you imagine. The spirits he commands are on a completely different level from ordinary ones. You can't face him alone."
Yoo Jin-seo said with concern.
However, he knew.
That Aorum's spirits were anything but ordinary.
Mutant strains evolved alongside Aorum over a long time.
Ordinary spirits had weak egos. They obeyed the summoner but followed orders to the letter.
Adapting or improvising was impossible for them, but Aorum's spirits handled everything on their own.
"Aorum will come alone."
But Park Chan-woo was certain.
That Aorum wouldn't summon spirits to interfere.
On the contrary, he would fuse with them to become an even more powerful being.
Signus had reported it directly, so there was no worry about spirit interference.
Only.
Aorum is stronger than imagined.
Aorum's most terrifying aspect was that 'spirit endowment.'
Endowing spirits onto himself to grow endlessly stronger.
Humanity's subjugation of Aorum was a distant future event.
After Nine-Tailed Fox Yoo Jin-seo became the Fox Den's master and enchanted all of humanity, she gathered the strongest humans, led by 'Han Shin,' for a direct assault.
Nine elites, carefully selected and vetted.
Of them, only four returned alive after facing Aorum.
The raid party's average level exceeded 80.
Han Shin and Yoo Jin-seo had likely surpassed level 90 at the time.
Even the strongest raid party struggled against just Aorum.
Park Chan-woo had to face that monster alone.
That this kind of subjugation was possible became known later.
By maximizing the holy sword's functions and gaining followers, he could wield power comparable to Aorum's.
But it was theoretically possible, not practically.
Because.
"I'll fight alone."
In the midst of everyone's blind faith, he had to fight solo.
No matter how much Yoo Jin-seo enchanted all of humanity, the top elites were different.
Especially 'Han Shin' would never trust her.
That scum was obsessed with attention.
His obsession went beyond enchantment; he'd insist on going alone.
The Fallen Saintess Yoo Jin-seo wouldn't yield either.
Right now, it's possible.
Only in this situation where they believed him to be the Ten-Tailed Fox.
At this point before Yoo Jin-seo fully fell.
Before she saw humanity as mere offerings to exploit.
Only in this chaotic moment, with nothing but Aorum's subjugation on their minds, could Park Chan-woo face Aorum fully.
Yoo Jin-seo's pupils trembled faintly.
"But......"
"Believe in me."
She would be worried, of course.
But he couldn't reveal the 'hidden scenario.'
If he said it granted him power matching Aorum's, their faith in the 'Ten-Tailed Fox' would shatter.
For a moment, Park Chan-woo and Yoo Jin-seo's eyes met.
Soon, Yoo Jin-seo nodded.
"...I believe you."
......Frankly, it was far from the Yoo Jin-seo Park Chan-woo knew.
Was this really the mad saintess who nailed humans to crosses and tortured them to death?
The one who led people into the hellish Abyss, reveling in their agonized screams?
If we kill Aorum and clear the Fox Den, all the foxes will vanish with it.
They were deeply mistaken.
They believed he would save the foxes and lead them out.
But Park Chan-woo's thoughts were different.
He had no intention of letting the foxes out into the world.
He had already experienced how horrific their rampages were.
That pure evil was on another level from even the incarnations.
He would never allow the foxes to escape.
He planned to let them meet their end with the Fox Den.
Shaking his head, Park Chan-woo delivered his final words.
"Believe in me. I am the savior of the Fox Den."
The savior of the Fox Den, not the foxes.
The distinction was clear.
At the same time, all the foxes and people slowly withdrew from the 'domain.'
Left alone, Park Chan-woo steadied his breath.
The time had come.
Shoooo!
Aorum's domain unfolded.
A blue curtain enveloped Park Chan-woo.
Soon, the entire scene changed.
A dense forest, utterly unlike any trial he'd faced before.
A babbling brook and a small hut-like house.
...This was Nine-Tailed Fox Aorum's territory.
Step.
Step.
Park Chan-woo turned toward the approaching presence.
From afar, Aorum advanced, having endowed himself with all his spirits.
The monster that, in the distant future, ten holy sword users and nine top elites including Yoo Jin-seo had combined forces to defeat.
He had to take down that monster alone.
The top elites who faced 'Aorum' back then were all traumatized.
-No, that guy's a monster that grows endlessly.
-Never again! I never want to fight that thing again.
-...He was pretty good.
Even the arrogant Han Shin had acknowledged him.
He never would have if it was just a high-level brute.
It meant his pure skill was an insurmountable wall.
Honestly, it was the first time Park Chan-woo had seen Han Shin acknowledge an 'Abyss monster.'
A pure skill master.
Word was his swordsmanship was on par with Han Shin's, or even superior.
Of course, this was before Han Shin reached his peak, but even then, Han Shin's sword arts were phenomenal enough for 'ancient beings' to recognize.
His talent and sense for the sword had been prodigious from the start, unmatched by any.
So, how could he not be curious?
Will my sword reach him?
Park Chan-woo was a mage.
But at the same time, he was a swordsman.
...Their stat levels were now comparable.
All that remained was the realm of 'pure skill.'
Soon.
"Ten-Tailed Fox. Entertain me."
Thud!
Aorum stood before him.