Chapter 273
Chapter 273
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 273
Chapter Title: The Shame of Demon God Belial
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One blade, two severings.
The man who cleaved the mutated half-human half-demon in twain was slowly approaching them.
He had appeared out of nowhere, without any presence at all, overwhelming the entire scene in an instant.
Gulp!
"He's not another half-human half-demon, is he...?"
Han Min-oh muttered worriedly.
And he wasn't the only one staring at the man with eyes filled with fear.
The majority of the Awakened were already exhausted from the relentless assaults of the half-human half-demons.
In this situation, facing an even stronger monster's attacks would leave them without any confidence of survival.
'A true master.'
Lee Hyuk-soo immediately recognized the man's prowess.
It was just one sword stroke, but the inner energy radiating from it was beyond imagination.
Even he, who had honed his blade his entire life, felt it as a realm worlds apart.
If that sword turned toward him, could he even block it?
'...No, I couldn't.'
Their levels were different.
It was a sword that severed not just existence, but space itself.
A realm Lee Hyuk-soo had yet to reach.
A master several stages higher, at the very least!
Where on earth had such an expert popped up from?
Just like Han Min-oh said—another half-human half-demon... or perhaps...
'An evolved form of one.'
If so, the worst possible enemy.
Of course, through countless battles, Lee Hyuk-soo had grown stronger.
Steeper than any other Awakened by far.
Yet still, the man felt impossibly distant.
"You've seen my sword, I take it."
The approaching man said with a faint smile.
He looked utterly relaxed, as if out for a casual stroll.
Lee Hyuk-soo tensed up, assuming a guarded stance.
Anyone who roamed Halla Mountain like it was their own backyard might be connected to all this chaos.
"M-Master! Run! Th-that thing's a monster!"
In that instant, Han Min-oh stepped in front of Lee Hyuk-soo.
He had sensed something off when the man cut down the snake, but as he drew closer, his instincts screamed that this was an uncontrollable force.
The approaching man, Chiwoo, was inwardly surprised.
He had been wandering Halla Mountain under Park Chan-woo's orders.
Rescuing any potential survivors was his assigned role.
And while investigating the mountain, he had run into Lee Hyuk-soo's group.
At first, he thought they were just random stragglers.
"Not bad. You've got some real talent."
The young punk in front of him had perfectly read and blocked his aura wave.
And that was just the start.
He was reacting to the flow of energy coursing through Chiwoo's body.
Beyond sharp eyes, he was hypersensitive to mana itself.
Moreover, the kid behind him had grasped the profound secrets contained in his sword at a single glance.
This wasn't just swordsmanship expertise.
Both of them had the talent to ascend to the Hall of Myriad Gods if brought to the Mountain of Cultivators.
That sparked his curiosity.
"...!!!"
"......"
He deliberately released his killing intent.
Aimed precisely at the two men blocking his path.
Yet they couldn't move.
Even breathing required Chiwoo's permission.
Then Chiwoo raised his sword.
To test their reactions against a supreme master's blade in this extreme situation.
"Guhhh...!!!"
Veins bulged across Han Min-oh's entire body. His skin flushed red and purple.
Blood streamed from his nose, and burst blood vessels filled his eyes.
A single thought dominated his mind.
I'm going to die.
Definitely going to die.
There was no escaping it.
The monster before him could wipe them all out as easily as breathing.
But...
'Counter...!'
He possessed a one-strike-kill sword, his ultimate trump card.
Counter turned the opponent's power against them.
The concept was simple, but it demanded perfectly reading their movements and energy flow—a pinnacle technique of the highest difficulty.
Not to mention, thanks to his contract with an 'ancient existence,' it had been upgraded to 'Hidden' rank.
If he could land it, even a overwhelmingly powerful foe would take a devastating hit.
Clang!
'...Got it!'
The opponent was ignoring Han Min-oh.
With death-defying resolve, he thrust his sword, and the man responded in kind.
That triggered the counter...
"Impressive technique. But you're still lacking. You're still 'closed' off."
...It didn't work.
With swords locked, the man simply eyed him calmly.
His entire body began trembling violently.
The mana from Chiwoo's sword had splintered into hundreds of thousands of threads, seizing control of Han Min-oh's body.
The real problem was his 'eyes.'
They were so sharp that the overwhelming mana flows were unprocessable, sending shockwaves like his brain was frying.
"I left just enough open that you could handle it on purpose. But like that, you'll never reach the pinnacle. Open yourself."
Open what?
He felt like he was burning alive.
That was when it happened.
"...Hm?"
Chiwoo tilted his head, shifting his gaze.
A sword had already slipped toward his side.
Lee Hyuk-soo's blade.
A grin!
"Fun bunch."
What was this?
Unyielding will or something?
But both had moved under his killing intent.
One had deliberately 'closed' himself off, the other...
'Slipped through the gap in my energy field.'
Chiwoo was puzzled inwardly.
Was there a gap?
Of course, no matter how densely one spread their energy, gaps were inevitable.
Tiny ones imperceptible to humans, at least.
Even Chiwoo couldn't detect them.
No one but Park Chan-woo.
It couldn't have been intentional exploitation of such a gap.
'...He created one?'
If so, even more absurd.
It meant reading the energy's grain and reversing it.
In other words...
One could read all the world's energies.
And the other...
'Can control energy.'
Their resolve was impressive too.
Guys who knew how to grow strong would soar faster than anyone.
Chiwoo released his killing intent.
"Hahk! Hahk! Uweeeek!"
"......"
In a flash, Han Min-oh collapsed to the ground, vomiting.
Lee Hyuk-soo's form staggered too.
Cold sweat poured down his back like a waterfall.
"There are no enemies left here you can handle. If you want to go down, now's your chance."
"......Who the hell are you?"
Lee Hyuk-soo asked, and Chiwoo shrugged.
"A servant of the Great One's will."
"The Great One?"
"Well? What's it gonna be? Head to your deaths, or turn back down the mountain now?"
Chiwoo addressed the group.
Then...
"I-I'm going down!"
"Climbing higher is suicide!"
Most of the Awakened fled toward the base of the mountain.
With the snake dead, the path down had opened.
Chiwoo nodded.
Wise choice.
But some weren't so wise.
"Han Min-oh. You go down and report the mountain's situation."
"...I'll die with you, Master."
Lee Hyuk-soo sighed at the resolute reply.
Now it was just the two of them.
Chiwoo read their eyes.
Even after that ordeal, their gazes hadn't died.
A strange sense of mission that feared no death.
'This is a world under the Heavenly Demon's watchful eye.'
All 'Creation Abysses' in Valhalla's lands connected to here, Earth.
Moreover, the witches and dragons were doing everything to eradicate Earth's Creation Abysses.
On Park Chan-woo's orders, no less.
Thus, 'Earth' was land he cherished.
He saw immense potential in it.
If the Heavenly Demon chose Earth over the Mountain of Cultivators...
...Then nurturing Earth's talents was naturally his duty too.
'Definitely extraordinary talent.'
Chiwoo nodded inwardly.
Talent rare even on the Mountain of Cultivators.
No, among the arhats he'd seen climbing the mountain, none surpassed these two.
If there were more humans with such gifts...
"Perfect timing to kill some boredom. Follow me."
"Why should we follow you?"
Lee Hyuk-soo's hostile tone.
That temper seemed innate.
Chiwoo chuckled.
"Didn't you say you were climbing the mountain? I'm heading up too, so come along."
And during that time, he figured he'd help awaken their talents as a bonus.
Park Chan-woo ascended Halla Mountain.
Yet no one noticed his presence.
Not the half-human half-demons, nor the entity behind it all.
'Non-Existence.'
With Chiwoo and Hanmir acting separately, Park Chan-woo climbed alone.
Allowing 'Non-Existence' to activate fully.
Though leveling up was gradually giving it some presence, his current level was still far too low to fully manifest it.
'The Karmic Flame Demon King has nested on Halla Mountain.'
It grew clearer the higher he climbed.
The bastard was planning to build a nest here.
He could guess why it was gathering incarnations and forcibly turning them into half-human half-demons.
'It's treating Earth like a vessel for gu poison.'
Gu poison.
Confine venomous creatures like snakes, centipedes, toads, and insects in a jar, leave them for ages, and one ultimate venomous gu emerges victorious.
The Karmic Flame Demon King was releasing incarnations into Earth's jar to forge a single ultimate gu.
In this Earth, where he resided, no less.
Beyond the Creation Abyss, it sought to claim all of Earth in its grasp.
Soon, Park Chan-woo stood at Halla Mountain's summit.
And at the same moment, he saw it.
'Black hole.'
The Abyss entrance people called a black hole.
An ultra-massive Abyss even Adora hesitated to invade.
Up close, it was a Creation Abyss... yet not.
'The Shame of Demon God Belial.'
At a glance, it was an ordinary glass vial.
Kim Byung-han had stolen it from someone.
Park Chan-woo had half-forcibly taken 'Belial's Shame' from Kim Byung-han, but it had never reacted until now.
Because the vial was 'empty.'
He read the glass vial's description again.
If this was reacting, it meant...
The one holding the real 'Shame of Demon God Belial' was nearby.
And as far as he knew, there was only one such person.
"......Han Shin."