Chapter 90
Chapter 90
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 90
Chapter Title: Demon-Sealing God
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Gatekeeper Azos.
One of Valhalla's greatest warriors was now staring at the figure before him, tension etched across his face.
A body as thick as they come.
A possessor of solid muscles, his upper body fully exposed.
The warrior in the golden helmet was awaiting the challengers.
"Azos. It's been a while."
The warrior in the golden helmet spoke in a voice as heavy as could be.
"......You're not the one in charge of this trial, are you? Why are you here?"
Azos swallowed hard.
A chill ran down his spine.
The warrior before him wasn't overseeing the eighth trial.
Or more precisely, he was closer to the overseer who managed all the trials.
A warrior with a special role, like the palace gatekeeper.
A place only the most exceptional among Valhalla's warriors—those with genius-level talent—could reach.
Azos continued.
"...Guardian Warrior of the Khan."
He was one of the twelve Guardian Warriors.
The strongest warriors who protected the Great Khan.
Naturally, his rank was higher than that of a mere palace entrance guard.
Thud!
The Guardian Warrior slammed his greatsword—nearly as big as his own body—into the ground.
"I am the one in charge of the eighth trial, Azos."
"Do you know what the trial entails and say that?"
"A battle to the death! We fight until one of us—you or I—dies."
It was only natural that the trials grew harder the closer one got to the Khan.
But this was far more extreme than anything before.
A fight where they killed or were killed.
Kill or be killed.
As the Guardian Warrior spoke confidently, as if to say how could I not know, Azos opened his mouth, tense.
"Why the sudden change in the trial's rules?"
"This is the path to the Great Khan. It can't be too easy."
"Guardian Warrior. Battlefields are full of variables. Embracing those variables with flexible thinking leads to victory."
"Words from the Khan himself."
The Guardian Warrior nodded.
There was no way he didn't know the Great Khan's words.
Valhalla's warriors weren't fools who only knew how to fight; the Khan had always emphasized 'variables' to guard against that.
"This challenger has simply found a new answer. No need to twist things to block him, is there?"
"A new answer, you say. Meaning you?"
Azos didn't respond to the Guardian Warrior's question.
Silence was affirmation.
He'd simply lost the bet and submitted.
For a moment, the Guardian Warrior turned his gaze.
Then he looked at the challenger, Park Chan-woo, standing behind Azos.
"Azos. Did you intentionally lose to that challenger?"
"......Do you think I'd do something like that?"
Azos denied it, his face serious.
He could stake his warrior's pride and confidence on it.
It wasn't intentional; the opponent was just that good.
"Doesn't make sense. For a Valhalla warrior to claim slavery over a mere bet."
The Guardian Warrior was one of the overseers managing all floors.
He'd been watching since the challenger entered the Khan's palace.
Naturally, he couldn't comprehend Azos's defeat.
Judging it intentional, he'd stepped in himself.
"...Watch your words. I'm no slave."
But the remark was too harsh; Azos's expression darkened fiercely.
It struck at a warrior's pride.
No matter that the other was a Guardian Warrior, he couldn't just take it lying down.
As killing intent surged, the Guardian Warrior smiled.
"We'll see if he's qualified enough to command a Valhalla warrior as a slave once we fight."
As if Azos alone couldn't even face him.
Tap—
The moment the Guardian Warrior tossed his greatsword into the air and caught it.
A ten-level gap.
A monster at the tail end of the eleventh tier.
At that level range, even a single level difference was stark.
'It'd take five Azoses to even match him.'
Park Chan-woo clenched his fist.
At lower levels, experience and skill could cover some ground.
But at 99 versus 109, such practical edges had already peaked.
In short, they meant nothing.
Especially past level 100, it became a whole other dimension of monster.
It'd take five Azoses just to tangle with one Guardian Warrior.
And if the Guardian Warrior was right on the verge of a breakthrough, five wouldn't even cut it.
"If you're scared, you can run. Slave."
The Guardian Warrior acted leisurely.
But that was the level of difference.
The eighth trial was a battle to the death.
Running was the smart play.
Forfeiting was an option too.
He'd already earned 140 million contribution points just getting this far.
He could still land a big blow on Aheta.
Park Chan-woo's mind raced.
'The Guardian Warrior appeared to cancel Azos's oath.'
The reason for the Guardian Warrior's sudden arrival.
Because the trials were too easy?
As if.
A pretext.
Just an excuse.
What he was really after was something else.
Azos's oath!
Killing the one bound by that oath.
'He's after me.'
In a full fight, he'd be the first target.
The monster's greatsword would slice him like paper.
No blocking it. No winning it.
Once the oath broke, the gatekeeper could just return to his post.
Certain.
Provoking Azos was smoke and mirrors.
The Guardian Warrior had no intent to kill Azos.
He was filled only with the thought of killing the challenger, Park Chan-woo.
What to do.
Accepting the fight meant death.
Then—
"Azos. Stab yourself with the spear."
"...!!!"
Stab!
Azos's eyes widened, but under absolute obedience, he couldn't refuse the command.
The moment Park Chan-woo's order ended, Azos thrust the spear shaft into himself.
"Hup!"
A short scream, and blood gushed out in a spurt.
Watching this, the Guardian Warrior spoke gravely.
"...Human. What trick are you pulling now?"
"If the Guardian Warrior approaches me, next is the heart."
"What?"
"Stab the heart. Die on your own."
"Hah......"
The Guardian Warrior let out a hollow laugh.
Park Chan-woo's command was far from a battle to the death.
Die on your own? Wasn't that admitting defeat?
But the Guardian Warrior couldn't move easily.
'He figured it out.'
The human seemed to have caught on to the fight's true purpose.
Provoking Azos to start the battle, then killing the challenger human.
Impressive. Smarter than expected.
But.
A bit short.
"Human. No matter if the oath was forged by the Messenger of Oaths, it doesn't extend to commands like 'die on your own.'"
Right.
The oath staked on life with the Messenger of Oaths was limited to 'lowering levels for battle.'
Upon defeat, follow within the palace—that was all.
No clause on how far that obedience went.
Obey.
Follow commands.
But only within reason.
Only feasible orders could be carried out.
Something extreme like 'end your own life' was impossible.
Blatantly undoable.
'He watched closely, alright.'
The Guardian Warrior even knew about the oath made with the Messenger of Oaths.
He'd seen it from the start, so he spoke with certainty.
However.
The Guardian Warrior knew one thing but not two.
"Azos. Do you think so too?"
"......I'll die."
Azos said with a gloomy face.
He'd even heard the word 'slave' that crushed a warrior's pride.
Yet here he was, agreeing to carry out the absurd order to die without fighting.
But Azos's soul was fully pledged.
He obeyed perfectly, even earning a title for it.
Within this palace, Park Chan-woo's commands were absolute.
'Buy time first. Kill his will to fight.'
Park Chan-woo's plan was simple.
Back at the entrance facing gatekeeper Azos, the trial was 'fight and win.'
He'd won with words then, and Azos passed him.
Same here.
Slay the Guardian Warrior.
Killing the Guardian Warrior's battle spirit was the same vein, no?
Might be wordplay, might be wrong, but worth a shot.
Soon, the Guardian Warrior showed disappointment.
"...Azos. You're no warrior. Bound by a mere oath, willing to die on a human's command?"
"He is no ordinary human, Guardian Warrior."
"No ordinary human?"
He looked utterly ordinary.
No, from his view, below ordinary.
A frail body and shallow mana.
Lamentable challenger level.
Not even worthy of meeting the Great Khan's eyes.
No ordinary human?
"He is......"
Azos hesitated.
He didn't know Park Chan-woo's true identity either.
But one thing was certain: a being from beyond the zero realm, in an abyss deeper than the abyss.
What Azos had seen there was uniformly abnormal.
Gods. Or god-like entities.
Before the current Abyss.
Or born with the Abyss.
Now sealed, bizarre and wicked.
If defining this human challenger, only those words came to mind.
"Demon-Sealing God......"
Shhhhhhh.
It was then.
Suddenly.
...The surrounding air grew chillingly heavy.
"...!"
Sensing something, the Guardian Warrior quickly leaped back.
At the same time.
Splurt!
A black hand burst from near Azos's heart.
Thump! Thump!
The black hand gripped Azos's heart.
Squelch!
The black hand crushed Azos's heart.
Then, fragments of the burst heart and a flood of blood began enveloping Azos.
Soon, black energy filled Azos's eyes, and his entire body turned pitch black.
"...What the hell was that."
The Guardian Warrior spoke in a meaningful tone.
He was tense now.
At the sudden situation.
And at Azos, who had abruptly changed.
It wasn't just appearance.
The mana quantity and quality, the wildly surging aura—it felt like a completely different entity.
Grrr, grrrrrr!
Azos let out a beastly growl.
"You're...... not...... Azos......!"
How could he call that 'existence' a Valhalla warrior or gatekeeper Azos?
A monster. One that even he, a Guardian Warrior, had to tense up for.
Kyaaaargh!
Azos unleashed a monstrous screech.
And then.
Crack—
Crack-crack!
Suddenly, red fissures appeared across Azos's body.
The red cracks spread instantly over his entire form.
Crunch! Crunch-crunch!
"...?!"
He shattered into pieces, crumbling to dust.
The astonishing scene came after.
The black-and-red dust swirled and began clinging to Park Chan-woo.
Soon, the dust writhed on his skin, merging with him.
"...What have you done, human."
Killing intent filled the Guardian Warrior's voice.
It looked like he'd absorbed Azos.
In this hair-trigger moment.
Park Chan-woo couldn't help but frown inwardly.
His gaze wasn't on the Guardian Warrior or Lee Hyuk-soo.
As if ignoring them entirely, he stared at the empty space to the side.
Where his gaze fell.
...A strange message floated there.
However, Park Chan-woo hadn't offered Azos as a sacrifice.
He couldn't have.
The oath was only to obey him within the 'Khan's Palace.'
Azos wasn't fully 'his.'
Of course, with the 'Chalice of the Demon-Sealing God,' he could have offered even Dragon God Sepiro, easing conditions—but no.
Much less equipping and synchronizing with a warrior like Azos?
He'd offered countless sacrifices to the God of Offerings before, but never like this.
Even more shocking.
'God of Offerings. Have you finally come to your senses?'
...The God of Offerings had taken Azos as a sacrifice on its own.