Chapter 247
Chapter 247
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 247
Chapter Title: Cultivator's Mountain (21)
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“Is that truly the truth?”
Chiu asked in an agitated tone.
Even Park Chan-woo was inwardly shocked.
A creator wasn't enough—they had to be a Demon King, too.
“Y-yes, it is. I saw it with my own eyes!”
Anton nodded desperately.
Chiu's expression hardened further.
“These mad bastards... they really went and did it.”
In that instant, a thick killing intent spread in all directions.
“Gah! Hack!”
His body trembled violently.
Anton gasped for breath in utter terror.
I'm... I'm gonna die!
It felt like the Grim Reaper himself stood before him.
He had known from the moment they pulled him out of prison that this man was no ordinary fellow.
But had there ever been someone in the pantheon who exuded such pure, dense killing intent?
Just his anger alone felt like it could suffocate him.
Yet this shouldn't have been possible.
Anton was once an Arhan of the Gangsi Sect.
Though demoted to mere test supervisor at the entrance, he was still a formidable expert in his own right.
And yet, he couldn't even twitch under this killing intent.
A master.
No, a supreme master.
…Of course, this wasn't his first encounter with such an opponent.
He had once felt killing intent of a similar caliber enveloping his entire body.
On the same level as the clan head...?
It was the day he had secretly contracted with the Demon Lord Gangsi and was dragged before the Gangsi Sect's clan head.
Anton had fainted outright before that overwhelming killing intent.
...How could a mere Arhan from the outskirts possibly match the clan head?
Chiu soon quelled his anger and asked again.
“Where in the Gangsi Sect is it hidden?”
“In the hideout... Only I can access it while I'm alive.”
“Couldn't they have moved it already?”
“N-no. To preserve the corpse, it has to stay in that specially treated location.”
A lie to save his skin?
Or the truth?
Chiu scrutinized Anton's tone, eyes, and every gesture before concluding it was the latter.
Tiny, subtle habits couldn't be hidden.
They stood out even more when speaking truth or lies.
As an assassin, he was specialized in such things, including torture.
“Successor. Doesn't seem like a lie.”
Park Chan-woo nodded and turned to Anton.
“What's the Demon King's epithet?”
“I-I don't know that either.”
“One of the 72 Demon Kings, right?”
“Yes. That's what I heard for sure. But I couldn't identify it just from the appearance...”
“Hmm.”
If true, it was shocking.
The 72 Demon Kings.
The super-monsters that ruled the Abyss.
One capable of destroying the world single-handedly, reduced to a corpse on this mountain.
But if a Demon King had died, the entire Abyss should have been in uproar.
All demons should have been buzzing about it.
Demon merchants, especially sensitive to such rumors, would have spilled it immediately.
Dagon would have mentioned it ages ago.
I've never even heard of a Demon King dying in the past.
Demon Kings were on another level entirely.
Even if Moon Lord Aheta wielded influence comparable to a Demon King, it was limited to the 'night'.
One-on-one, it was like a three-year-old child versus an adult—an unbridgeable gap.
Naturally, even at the end of the previous era, no one had ever heard of a Demon King being slain.
“Successor. Even if we don't kill Anton, there's no way for him to sneak out of the mountain.”
“Why not?”
“Warps only open at set times, under strict surveillance. The moment he tries to leave, he'll be caught and tracked.”
To leave Cultivator's Mountain, one had to use the designated warps.
External warps couldn't intervene, nor could doors be forced open.
This included the warp to 'Valhalla's Land'.
“So we have to hide him somewhere on the mountain.”
“Yes. But... is there a spot on the mountain that can evade the Gangsi Sect's eyes?”
“Isn't there one place?”
“...Even hiding in the secret realm won't be easy.”
“Avici Hell would be impossible to find.”
“...!”
The deepest part of the secret realm.
Nowhere was better for hiding something than the 'Avici Hell' they had emerged from.
The problem was its name: once entered, escape was impossible.
Park Chan-woo was the only one who had found the way out.
In other words.
If something happened to him, Anton would meet his end inside Avici Hell too.
“A-Avici Hell? Where's that?”
The ominous name sent chills down his spine.
Anton asked in alarm, but got no answer he wanted.
Instead, Park Chan-woo muttered softly.
“Guess I need to find Arisa.”
“...You're asking me to tell you a secret path into the secret realm?”
Late evening.
Arisa's face stiffened as she regarded the visitors who had sneaked into the Sanctuary of the Sword.
At first, she thought, Have they finally decided to join us? and felt a spark of hope.
But seeing Anton with them left her stunned.
And now they wanted a path to the secret realm, too.
Not the one every secret realm native knew, but a cautious, hidden passage.
“And you're bringing the grave criminal Anton along?”
The problem remained Anton.
Rumors that he had created a demon Gangsi had spread across the entire mountain.
So had news of his conviction and imprisonment.
She didn't know how they'd sprung him, but taking him to the secret realm would turn it upside down.
Park Chan-woo replied.
“We'll put him in Avici Hell.”
“...”
Arisa was speechless at this even more alarming proposal.
But... if it was true, it was a golden opportunity.
A chance to prove these two had emerged from Avici Hell.
The only hitch was risking danger for that alone.
Arisa looked up at the sky.
A dark night.
The mountain's silence suggested Anton's disappearance hadn't spread yet.
Or they were searching discreetly.
But if word got out that she'd helped hide him...
They'd crush the thorn in their side—the secret realm.
And if her involvement leaked, it could doom the entire secret realm.
Yet the path to the secret realm from mid-mountain was known only to her.
What to do?
There was no real dilemma.
She should refuse, obviously.
“The Gangsi Sect used a creator's corpse to make a Gangsi.”
“...What?”
Arisa blinked at Park Chan-woo's words.
Her body went rigid at this claim, incomparable to turning ordinary demons into Gangsi.
It was utter madness.
Park Chan-woo glanced at Anton, who nodded vigorously.
“I-it's true. The Gangsi Sect killed a creator from the cradle and used the corpse to craft a Gangsi. I hid it at the top floor of the Tower of Mystery.”
“The Gangsi Sect...?”
It blatantly crossed the line.
If this came out, the other clans wouldn't sit idle.
The Gangsi Sect would suffer irreparable damage.
Then Anton slyly asked Park Chan-woo.
“Um... by the way, what happened to that Demon Lord Gangsi...?”
“Destroyed it.”
“Gah...! Cough! Cough!”
He hacked as if choking.
It was simply unbelievable.
“D-did you really climb the tower intact? All the way to the 150th floor?”
“Yeah.”
“B-but the Demon Lord Gangsi was on the 100th floor. I don't even know what came after that.”
“A hidden piece unlocked.”
“Ahh...”
A hidden piece even he didn't know about.
Still, it was hard to accept.
Reaching the Demon Lord Gangsi was impossible.
Even Chiu, who seemed to possess power rivaling the clan head, had quit at the 73rd floor.
Then... how strong was this man, really?
Having grasped the gravity from their conversation, Arisa spoke up.
“Is there proof left to verify this?”
“There's a research log.”
“...If you can reach the upper mountain and contact 'Mirmun Clan', we could make this public. With a witness and evidence, they'd surely help.”
Of the nine clans, 'Mirmun Clan' was the most righteous on the mountain.
With Anton as witness and the log as proof, they'd judge fairly.
But first, they had to reach the upper echelons.
And hide Anton until then.
“...Follow me. We don't have much time.”
Arisa took the lead and dashed off.
After trudging through the sticky marsh for a while longer, a small cave appeared.
Passing through it led to the secret realm.
“Lady Arisa?”
“What brings you to the secret realm so late...?”
Two Arhans guarded the cave's end.
Arisa gestured behind her.
“Important guests here to meet Father discreetly.”
“Ah, then we saw nothing.”
The Arhans hurried away.
Park Chan-woo, Chiu, and Anton emerged behind her.
“Seems your father wields considerable influence in the secret realm.”
“...This is my decision alone, so no need to meet Father.”
Arisa shook her head at Park Chan-woo's words.
It was just an excuse to fool the guards.
After that, Arisa ran ahead, guiding Park Chan-woo and the others all the way to Avici Hell.
The door is shut.
Avici Hell lay at the secret realm's deepest point.
As expected, the massive iron door stood firmly closed.
No one could open it, and it had never been opened.
Countless barriers blocked even approaching it.
Soon, Chiu strode forward and stood before the door.
He placed his hand on the handle and applied force.
Rumble...!
“...!!”
...The door began to open.
Avici Hell's door!
Inside was pitch darkness, not a single inch visible.
So it really was true...!
The absurd claim of emerging from Avici Hell was fact.
Otherwise, no one could open this door.
Meaning these two had deep ties to the Absolute Demon Lords imprisoned five thousand years ago.
And moreover.
On the door's inner side.
Twelve names were inscribed there.
Twelve Heavenly Kings...?
The Absolute Demon Lords' names?
Among them, at the forefront, a strangely familiar name caught her eye.
First Heavenly King, Chiu...?
...The same as the man who just opened the door.
Looking closer, faint words hovered above their names.
As if marking their master.
She'd never heard of Absolute Demon Lords having a master.
Arisa involuntarily glanced at Park Chan-woo, etching the inscription in her mind.
Heavenly Demon...