Chapter 295
Chapter 295
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 295
Chapter Title: The Fourth Night (14)
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It's crumbling away.
Everything is.
It was a position he'd barely claimed.
The 'Manager of the Night' that even he, who had failed to become a Demon King, had finally achieved!
After it was dramatically accepted at the Demon God Council, for long ages he had rigorously defended his seat.
Any who eyed his position or tried to trample the trials of the 'Night' were thoroughly executed.
He believed he would soon ascend even to the throne of a Demon King.
That was Aheta's dream.
A dream he'd harbored since his days as an ordinary demon.
In this Abyss, mere averageness could never ensure survival.
To adapt to the harsh Abyss, one needed 'qualifications' above all.
'Where did it all go wrong?'
His memories, his soul—they were crumbling.
At last, he faced a perfect, flawless end.
But he couldn't accept it.
This kind of ending.
This utterly hollow full stop.
...Why did this Abyss make him feel so pathetic?
'Was it all just greed?'
He'd only wanted to climb higher.
To reach the pinnacle of the Abyss and live at ease.
It was the dream of every demon.
Their desire to grow stronger was purely for survival.
They lived under the whims of Demon Kings' gestures, Demon Gods' breaths, and the Nine Lords' wills—fated to die anywhere, anytime.
They were mere expendables, sacrificed to suppress other races.
Aheta was no different.
Even becoming the Moon's Lord or the Night's Manager changed nothing in how he was treated.
Ignored, scorned, and arbitrarily resurrected to be used at will.
'Even my death isn't mine to control...!'
Vain. Empty.
That was when it happened.
Before Aheta.
A single blue light appeared.
"...My loyal servant."
It was the Commander-in-Chief of Death, Anubis.
But his form was different from before.
"Ah..."
Much clearer.
Shining brightly.
Just like in the old days, when he was 'Urbis,' the god of light and life.
"Ahe."
He was no longer his subordinate.
Ahe, the one bearing a divine name!
Yet his divinity must have been wholly stolen away.
"I... I didn't steal your light and life. I merely... found you in the depths."
Ahe gazed at him silently.
Aheta couldn't tell what that light meant.
Resentment?
Anger?
Or perhaps sorrow.
"If I hadn't found you and brought you back, you... would never have returned from the Abyss. The place you were—it was the edge of the depths, right against the rift."
He found himself making excuses unbidden.
But it was the truth.
Ahe, once the god of light, had fallen and crawled at the bottom of the depths.
Because the Demon Gods had stripped him of his light and life.
"I... I gathered them for you. Those who worship you. I placed them with you in the Temple of Death. Because I thought your plight was similar to mine...!"
Commander-in-Chief of Death.
Aheta had revered him.
For his fallen state, forcibly taken and corrupted, seemed so much like Aheta's own.
Aheta had been the same.
He had originally been the sole child of a Demon King called the 'King of Wolves.'
But his tribe and father were brutally slaughtered by the Demon Gods, and afterward, Aheta had hidden his identity, devoting himself to growing stronger.
"...I just wanted to see my father again."
Ah.
He'd forgotten.
After becoming the Night's Manager.
He'd lost sight of what he truly desired.
It was only natural.
"...The Demon Gods even erased my memories."
When the Demon Gods had delegated the role of Night's Manager to him.
They had recognized his true identity.
Why else would they entrust such a vital position to someone who hadn't even become a Demon King?
Because he was the descendant of the 'King of Wolves,' hailed as the strongest among Demon Kings.
He remembered now.
There, Aheta had seen.
His father's hide.
Worn as a cape by one of the Demon Gods.
"Ahe. Do you want to know? Which Demon God took your light... and which took your life— the one draped in my father's hide as a mantle."
It all fit together.
Why he'd ended up like this.
The root of it all was one.
"Gremory."
Gremory, who had declared his bankruptcy.
Gremory had stripped away the Night's authority and forcibly reclaimed all his powers.
No matter the rule-breaking, it was excessive.
Now he understood.
Suddenly, Ahe's light flickered brightly.
"You'll accept even someone like me...?"
It meant he'd offer comfort.
Despite being mortal enemies.
As expected of one once called the god of light and life.
Even in death, his dignity endured.
That was when it happened.
Beyond the cluster of light, a figure appeared.
...The Archmage.
"I've lost completely."
Aheta shook his head upon seeing Park Chan-woo.
There was no way to win.
They'd clashed countless times, yet he'd never won even once.
Still, one question lingered.
"For your child to become 'Urbis,' you'll have to oppose Agumos and Gremory. They won't abandon what they've built with 'light' and 'life.' Can that kid really do it?"
The value of light and life was astronomical.
Surpassing all treasures of the Abyss.
That's why the Demon Gods had targeted Ahe.
Yet Park Chan-woo shared some connection with Gremory.
Perhaps an incarnation, or something deeper.
Then.
Whoosh!
...Ahe entrusted everything to Park Chan-woo.
Saying it was fine even if the child didn't become Urbis.
Aheta, entering Ahe's embrace, clicked his tongue.
"What a soft-hearted fool."
Ahe might be able to let it go, but Aheta couldn't.
He didn't want to pretend it never happened.
Especially since...
Agumos and Gremory were issues, but after this point, the Karmic Inferno Demon King wouldn't leave that primordial god alone.
The primordial god was also deeply tied to Park Chan-woo.
Moreover, the fact that the Karmic Inferno Demon King had forcibly revived him grated.
Just transfer memories?
As if.
The bastard had used his authority to seal Aheta's soul.
After brief deliberation, Aheta made his choice.
"Since you've beaten me fair and square, I'll give you a gift in return."
Aheta's entire body turned to dust.
In that instant.
The same message appeared before everyone's eyes.
"The fourth night is ending?"
"This easily?"
It was a natural reaction.
Unlike previous nights with massive casualties, this one had just been gambling in the casino.
Kaboom!
Rumble!
That was when it happened.
Suddenly, the entire casino began to shake.
"W-What?"
"He's sacrificing himself again?"
"Is he insane?"
Everyone was floored.
It felt like the nightmare of the third night repeating.
Back then, how they'd agonized over the message about Aheta sacrificing himself.
Now, the Karmic Inferno Demon King was trying to descend right after taking the manager role for the first time.
He was a full-fledged Demon King.
This wouldn't pass quietly like with Aheta.
This time, perhaps all participants would be wiped out.
As everyone tensed up.
Shwaaaaa!
Torrential rain poured from the sky.
With the ferocity of a storm.
But it didn't take long to realize it wasn't ordinary rain.
An upset occurred.
A massive twist no one had foreseen.
'Gastric juices.'
The Demon King's gastric juices raining from the sky.
A familiar sight.
In the half-demons' world, the liquid that forcibly evolved half-demons was this very gastric juice.
The problem was the volume.
After Aheta died, a black light had suddenly surged up, piercing the sky in an instant, shattering the barrier and punching a hole through it.
The sudden damage had forced even the descent to be canceled.
The Karmic Inferno Demon King now had to pour all his effort into repairing that barrier.
With his body severely damaged, fixing it before the other Creators noticed was priority one.
...For a moment, it didn't make sense.
'Why would Aheta...?'
Did he harbor resentment for being turned into a zombie?
Was that why he'd unleashed everything at the end to breach the barrier?
If that black light had rushed toward Arcana, it might have been dangerous.
'Did he help me?'
The thought crossed his mind, but he immediately dismissed it.
There was no reason for Aheta to help him.
"...What the hell happened? Why isn't the Karmic Inferno Demon King dealing with that dragon?"
Han Shin muttered beside him.
Park Chan-woo had been thinking the same.
If the Karmic Inferno Demon King descended after this, it could be a headache.
He had even attempted it.
Swoosh!
Then, Lee Hyuk-soo returned after finishing his battle.
With the game over, he'd returned to his original spot.
"..."
Lee Hyuk-soo stared rigidly at his greatsword.
The shadow that had suddenly surged.
He never imagined the ancient being, the Lion King, would save him.
Clap!
Park Chan-woo clapped to draw attention.
Lee Hyuk-soo's turn was over.
Two games remained.
The last would be Park Chan-woo's, but he wasn't the one to fight right now.
He looked at Han Shin and said,
"Han Shin, your turn."
"..."
"If you understand, let's continue the game."
In an instant, Han Shin's expression hardened.