Chapter 274
Chapter 274
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 275
Chapter Title: Half-Demon Han Shin
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Han Shin.
The name known only to the queen in this land... and now this man before her knew it too.
As the saying goes, the true name of 'Beta'—the one she was currently at war with—was indeed Han Shin.
However, Han Shin had only ever revealed his name once.
Back when he betrayed the previous Beta and devoured her.
"Answer me. How do you know that name?"
Killing intent surged forth.
Pure rage alone was enough to freeze the world solid.
The real deal—a fairy folk.
He'd never seen one before.
To think he'd encounter a member of a near-extinct race here.
They could warp reality itself through their emotions, just as the rumors said.
And moreover...
At least level 90 or higher.
Having faced only the strongest foes since his regression, he'd grown numb to such threats, but by human standards, this was a monster worthy of the top tier.
If he insisted on a head-on fight without any tricks, his odds of victory were around 10%.
Impressive.
The mere existence of a chance to win was astonishing.
Before his regression, it had taken years of desperate struggle to reach this point.
Now, he'd surpassed it in mere months.
...Anyway.
Alpha's reacting strongly to Han Shin's name.
It was as good as Beta confessing it himself.
With their hostile relationship, outrage was inevitable.
But if Han Shin was truly playing the role of 'Beta' here, that meant he'd become a half-demon.
Proof lay in how he'd grown stronger by devouring other half-demons.
He'd abandoned his humanity.
Reduced to a puppet of the creator...
He hadn't reached true demon status yet, but it was only a matter of time.
He'd need to dig deeper later, but first, he had to get past this situation.
"Han Shin is my enemy."
"Your enemy?"
"Isn't that answer enough?"
"Hmm."
The queen crossed her arms, pondering for a moment.
The answer satisfied her.
But not all her doubts were dispelled.
At stage 3, all prior memories vanished.
One fully established as a new existence.
They shouldn't retain any memories from their human days either.
Yet he called him an enemy.
"Do you retain memories from your human days?"
What was her angle?
Park Chan-woo's mind raced.
From her tone, it seemed memories weren't supposed to persist at this stage.
Crusio and the queen had pegged him as a 'stage 3 rare type,' so reaching this point meant losing human memories too.
Having reasoned it out, he replied.
"To some extent."
An utterly vague response.
Not absent, nor fully intact.
A way of speaking that could amplify her misconceptions.
The sharp killing intent began to soften.
Queen Alpha smirked and replied.
"Truly a 'rare type.' What's your name?"
"Park Chan-woo."
"Park Chan-woo. Go to the battlefield with Crusio. Kill and devour Beta's followers. Prepare for tomorrow's 'Final War.'"
"The war ends tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow decides who between me and Beta claims dominance on the 'Holy Night.' We have to settle it one way or another. After victory, enjoy the 'Holy Night' with me, Park Chan-woo."
Holy Night.
It seemed to refer to the 'fourth night.'
Whoever won tomorrow would enter the fourth night and seize control.
In other words...
This confirms it's an Abyss created by the Demon Lord of Karmic Flames.
It felt like a 'laboratory' too.
He didn't know what the demon lord aimed to achieve with these half-demons, but it was undeniably vile.
However...
'Enjoy the fourth night'?
For humanity, it was a night impossible to enjoy.
To suggest enjoying it...
Should he eliminate both Alpha and Beta?
If both die, who knows what the Demon Lord of Karmic Flames might unleash.
That demon lord had crossed lines from the start.
No telling what horrors it might summon.
It was the type to call something worse if they both perished.
Better to stick with known enemies for navigating the fourth night.
He nodded slowly.
"Understood."
Crusio, with his elephantine bulk, was a stage 2 half-demon.
And far chattier than expected.
"Beta's a traitor. Even though the previous Beta cherished him, he betrayed and devoured her."
"So he wasn't always Beta?"
"Haha! When he first arrived here, he was just a stage 1 half-demon. But he had a unique trait."
"What was that?"
"He could draw in avatars. After devouring the previous Beta, he started pulling in half-demons too."
"No ability to turn avatars into half-demons?"
The bizarre events on Hallasan.
All avatars had turned half-human, half-demon.
Park Chan-woo suspected Han Shin was the cause.
"That's the queen's power."
"I see."
...Han Shin drew in avatars, and the queen turned them into half-demons.
A maddening combo.
If weighing sins, the queen was overwhelmingly worse, but that didn't absolve Han Shin.
Sorting his thoughts, he asked.
"What stage is the queen?"
He'd just learned half-demons had stages.
Crusio answered casually.
"Stage 4."
"Do you know what changes with each stage?"
"...You're stage 3 and don't know that?"
"My memories are hazy."
"Hm, that tracks."
Lucky he was straightforward.
Crusio continued.
"Stage 1 half-demons have just fully become 'half-demons.' Stage 2 devour countless others to gain 'authority.' At stage 3, they regain their prior form and break free from the creator's suppression."
Indeed.
Half-demons grew stronger only by devouring others.
Yet they could defy even their contracted creator's will.
The very existence of such half-demons was news to him.
"Stage 4?"
"They can wield their contracted creator's power freely."
"So anyone at stage 4 can use the creator's power? Creators vary, though."
"Of course not all stage 4s are equal. It depends on the creator's rank."
"What creator is the queen contracted with?"
"Don't know. And don't ask."
"Are there ranks among them too?"
Questions poured out like bullets.
It was a riveting topic.
A paradigm shift that could upend the avatar perspective entirely.
Frankly, as humiliating as it was... he hadn't imagined it.
That an avatar contracted with a creator could ignore its will and wield its power freely.
Something only possible in half-demon form.
True demons became complete puppets.
"I've heard stage 5 lets you surpass your creator and become a creator yourself."
"No stage 5 half-demons yet, then."
"Once this war ends, the queen will ascend to that glory."
A half-demon becoming a creator surpassing their own.
Was that even possible?
At stage 4, the queen could wield a 'creator's'... a demon lord's power at will.
"Has Beta reached stage 4 too?"
"...Dunno. He's a rare type."
"How's Beta different from other half-demons?"
Suddenly!
Crusio halted in place.
Then stared ahead and spoke.
"...Enemies."
Dozens of half-demons approached from afar.
"Great Beta. A new stage 3 half-demon has appeared in Alpha's camp."
"......"
Beta—Han Shin—raised his head from the throne of bloodstained ivory.
He silently regarded the reporting half-demon.
-Devour it.
-Devour it. Devour it!
...A headache hit.
Like maggots gnawing his brain.
Ravenous hunger pressed down on him too.
Devouring the half-demon before him might sate it, but Han Shin frowned and shook his head.
"Send Susan to handle it."
"Yes!"
"I'm conserving strength for tomorrow's 'Final War.' No one disturb me after."
"Understood!"
The half-demons withdrew hastily.
Now alone in the vast cavern, Han Shin gazed at the sky.
A twisted smile formed.
"...Interesting."
Demon Lord of Karmic Flames.
The bastard who dragged him here.
During the second night, Han Shin had revived by devouring his 'doppelganger.'
After various upheavals, the demon lord found him and settled him here.
【A truly special specimen. You might even reach stage 5.】
With those words, he was cast in.
To survive, Han Shin killed and devoured other half-demons, growing stronger.
He even knew what the demon lord planned with them.
He's obsessed with boosting his prestige.
Discovering something new or succeeding in unique experiments brought great honor.
These half-demon experiments were the demon lord's first.
But Han Shin was no ordinary half-demon.
Lord of the Moon Aheta had perished, and his half-demon transformation stemmed from devouring the doppelganger.
A complete rare type... no, a special type.
"I'll devour you too."
He openly warned the Demon Lord of Karmic Flames.
This land was hell.
Only the strong survived.
No way he'd let the one who tossed him here live unscathed.
Devouring Beta had improved things somewhat, but tomorrow's 'Final War' loomed.
Queen Alpha was no pushover.
Still, it was fine.
Once tomorrow passed...
Just get through tomorrow.
I'll bid farewell to this wretched place.
And return to the Earth he missed so dearly.