Chapter 279
Chapter 279
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 278
Chapter Title: Finding the Archmage
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The Archmage that Han Shin knew was cunning to the point of being downright vicious.
He struck from behind at the most unexpected moments.
He was a sneaky bastard who never stepped out in front.
It started from the very beginning, when the Moon Lord Aheta had prepared an elixir for him in the 'Dungeon-Type Abyss,' and the Archmage snatched it away.
No, perhaps even before that, the Archmage had been tormenting him.
But Han Shin had never once caught a glimpse of the Archmage's true form.
Yet here, right before his eyes, a demifiend was swinging a sword imbued with 'Heavenly Punishment.'
'Isn't this too frivolous for an Archmage?'
If this guy was the Archmage, Han Shin would have found and beheaded him long ago.
A guy like this wouldn't get exposed so easily.
So, was there no Archmage on this land after all?
"Who engraved that Heavenly Punishment magic on your sword?"
"I did. It's my unique power!"
Screeech!
Crucios's sword bent toward Han Shin like a whip.
It wasn't just an optical illusion—the blade was truly curving.
Swinging his sword in completely unpredictable paths at random was Crucios's ability.
'I'll kill him. I'll win!'
Crucios was confident.
No demifiend who had reached stage three had ever blocked this 'curving sword' he had awakened.
It shattered perceptions.
Ordinary thinkers could never imagine a sword bending, and even if they knew, they couldn't predict where it would curve.
'For Alpha!'
The Alpha Queen was the most ideal demifiend.
There was no need to drag this out to the final war.
Today, right here, he just needed to kill Beta.
The lightning power imbued in the sword was that overwhelming. It had a ferocious aura, as if the overlord of thunder itself dwelled within. Even Beta would be torn to shreds if he took it head-on.
"You use some interesting abilities."
Clack!
...But it didn't connect.
At the moment it came within inches, his entire body froze solid.
'Those eyes...'
The instant Crucios looked into Beta—Han Shin's—eyes.
He couldn't move.
All the mana in his body felt frozen solid.
His left eye was a mana-reading magic eye.
But his right eye was a soul-reading death spirit eye.
"We think we move by thinking, but..."
Han Shin shook his head with a smile.
Physical movement was the function of the nervous system.
The signal from toe to brain took 0.02 to 0.03 seconds.
From seeing with the eyes, processing in the brain, to muscle response, it took 0.15 to 0.3 seconds.
The stronger the Awakener, the faster the neural transmission speed—up to 1.5 times quicker.
Thus, one might think all movement begins with 'neural signals.'
However.
Han Shin, bearer of the death spirit eye, thought differently.
Before the signals were sent, what sent them wasn't the brain.
"The soul moves before the body. I can see the soul's movements."
"Nonsense!"
Crucios dismissed it outright.
No one could see souls and read movements from them.
The very concept of a soul was vague at best, and if you could predict movements, that was 'foresight.'
The realm of the sixth sense.
Thus, it was sophistry.
Yet Han Shin shrugged and continued.
"Casting magic is slower than physical movement. That's why mages often 'enchant' spells like this in advance. It's hard to cope with things that happen in a split second."
Han Shin reached out his hand.
And grasped the sword—'Heavenly Punishment.'
Zzzzt!
Szzzzzz!
Han Shin's hand blackened and burned.
"They prepare magic ahead of time, imprinting their own mana and unique patterns. But... this 'Heavenly Punishment' unfolds in a completely different way from your mana pattern."
The user was different.
This ivory tribesman before him wasn't the Archmage.
That was Han Shin's final conclusion.
And that was why he was the natural predator of mages.
He read mana with his magic eye and patterns with his death spirit eye.
He could know the outcome and move faster than the minimum time needed for a spell to manifest, making it impossible for their magic to ever touch him.
He could foresee the results even earlier than the mage casting the spell.
So.
Who was the user of this 'Heavenly Punishment'?
'Hmm.'
Han Shin released his grip on Heavenly Punishment.
He understood it was a different user, but the problem was the 'mana pattern' engraved on it.
'What kind of mana pattern is this...?'
It was overly complex.
He couldn't even tell how many spells were layered into this one magic.
Moreover, the user's mana itself was far too refined.
Its density was sufficient to call it divine power, and a basic spell had transformed into an authority-like force.
Thanks to that, one thing was certain.
'...This is the Archmage's magic.'
This 'Heavenly Punishment' undoubtedly belonged to the Archmage.
For some reason, the bastard had only used Heavenly Punishment.
A guy that stubborn might have kept evolving it over time.
But his actual form was nowhere to be seen.
He had merely used this ivory tribesman to demonstrate it.
Why?
For the Alpha Queen's victory?
As if.
Given the Archmage's past actions, he wouldn't approve of this war here. He'd want to smash it all.
'It's me.'
Now he got it.
The Archmage's target was him—Han Shin.
He was trying to lure him in.
There were no presences felt nearby.
But he was surely watching from somewhere.
What did he plan to do once Han Shin was drawn in?
...Whatever.
'Doesn't matter.'
Han Shin's goal was the Archmage too.
The Archmage was here in this place.
All he had to do was find him and slaughter him.
Just find him.
Smirk!
'Archmage. So you are an incarnation after all.'
This was more fun than the war with the Alpha Queen.
Entering this place proved the Archmage was a demifiend.
Only demifiends could enter.
No matter how skilled a mage he was, without being a demifiend, entry was impossible.
...An incarnation, a demifiend, yet he had ruined the Moon Lord and hindered him.
What a contradictory bastard.
A hypocrite.
But thanks to that, Han Shin was certain of his victory.
This land was made for his triumph.
No one superior to him as a demifiend could win here.
Soon, Han Shin's eyes turned to Crucios.
"You'd better talk. Or your soul will burn away."
"...!!"
Han Shin didn't kill Crucios.
Instead, he extracted information about him.
He learned that Crucios was the Alpha Queen's confidant and originally a stage-two demifiend.
In other words.
'The Archmage intentionally evolved Crucios. Probably because Crucios was the first to find the Archmage.'
Traveling together meant the Alpha Queen had approved it.
Her approval meant the Archmage had revealed himself before the Queen.
With twelve royal guards, at least ten or more had confirmed the Archmage.
'The Alpha Queen can read demifiend emotions and distinguish truth from lies.'
Thus, the Archmage wouldn't have lied before her.
If he had, she would have killed or devoured him.
Having reasoned this far, Han Shin spared Crucios.
Crucios was the 'first observer.'
The Archmage.
He possessed a strange talent for hiding his presence and aura.
Otherwise, the Moon Lord Aheta would have found him during the Night Progression.
'As long as the first observer Crucios lives, you can't fully erase your presence either, Archmage.'
Where was he hiding?
The game of hide-and-seek began.
News of Beta's movements quickly reached the Alpha camp as well.
The Queen furrowed her brow.
To think he'd move before the final war even began.
But he wasn't actively attacking the Alpha camp either.
"What is Beta trying to do?"
"...It doesn't seem like his goal is you, Your Majesty. He's demanding a trade."
"A trade?"
The Queen tilted her head at her subordinate's words.
Beta, who hadn't listened to a single word until now.
That selfish bastard suddenly demanding a trade.
"Let's hear what the trade is, then."
"He's demanding the name and appearance of the one who was with Crucios."
"...The reason?"
"He didn't say."
It was incomprehensible.
Why demand Park Chan-woo's name and appearance?
But Park Chan-woo had been massacring the Beta camp alongside Crucios.
"What does he offer in return?"
"He says he'll let us live."
"What?"
"In tomorrow's final war, he'll let us live."
"He's out of his mind."
"He also mentioned what happens if we refuse."
"No need to hear more. Tear the messenger apart."
Grind!
The Queen gnashed her teeth.
Beta, that mad bastard, had truly lost it.
Daring to spout such nonsense to her.
Moreover, Park Chan-woo was the one helping her massacre the Beta camp.
The day before the final war.
If she sold out info for such a ridiculous trade, her allies' morale would plummet.
It was probably aimed at that from the start.
Beta—Han Shin—was a sly bastard through and through.
'I'll kill him for sure.'
The Queen's rage pierced the heavens.
The demifiend sent to relay the trade offer was killed.
The trade fell through.
He had expected it, but... this was a problem.
'No time.'
Han Shin frowned.
He had scoured the entire area, but no sign of the Archmage.
He was clearly hiding somewhere, but impossible to find.
Moreover, neither Crucios nor the Queen's group would spill any info.
"Gaaahhh!"
Crucios kept screaming nonstop.
He was undergoing horrific torture.
But he absolutely wouldn't talk.
Park Chan-woo was his benefactor.
He had shared his core and enabled him to reach stage three, proving himself.
"...Time to end the fun."
Tsk.
Han Shin clicked his tongue.
It had been quite an entertaining game, all things considered.
From the moment he devoured Beta, the game was essentially over.
He had dragged it out to the 'final war' just to kill the Queen at her strongest and devour her core.
But then the Archmage appeared.
With less than 24 hours left.
'If I don't find him here and now, there might never be another chance.'
The Archmage had bankrupted Aheta.
Han Shin was convinced of it.
In truth, Han Shin had participated in the 'Third Night.'
He just hadn't revealed himself.
After devouring the doppelganger in the 'Second Night' and becoming a demifiend, he had no desire to help Aheta, who hadn't saved him, so he stayed quiet.
No, in fact... Han Shin had been hunting incarnations.
For some reason, after becoming a demifiend, he could sense their locations.
Yet as Aheta's incarnation himself, he vaguely realized who had cornered Aheta.
Other creators thought Aheta had broken rules, leading to the Demon God Gremory's forced bankruptcy.
'The Archmage was deeply involved in Aheta's bankruptcy. He's at least an incarnation of the Demon God.'
Perhaps the Archmage himself was the Demon God Gremory's incarnation.
Thus, he had to find him no matter what.
Here, the Demon God's influence wouldn't reach.
If he didn't kill him now, there might be no next chance.
With that thought, Han Shin grew urgent.
"Stop him!"
"It's Beta!"
"Beta's here!"
The Alpha camp erupted in chaos.
Han Shin had appeared out of nowhere.
But toward the demifiends of the Alpha camp trying to block him, Han Shin opened his mouth.
"Stop."
In that instant.
"Wh-what is this...!"
"My heart...!"
"The God's blessing?!"
The 'dual contract' engraved in their hearts—what they believed to be the God's blessing—floated into the air.
Plop!
All the demifiends' movements halted.