Chapter 136
Chapter 136
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 136
Chapter Title: Burning Hell-2
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[Welcome to ‘Burning Hell-2.’]
‘……What the hell is this?’
I arrived in hell, utterly bewildered. An absurd choice confronted me.
[Kim Cheonjae’s Group]
[Please select the story progression for the eleventh round of ‘Land of Ruin.’]
A. Beelzebub becomes the king of hell.
B. Lucifer becomes the king of hell.
No matter which of the two becomes king of hell, what we have to deal with is the same?
I was so flabbergasted I had nothing to say.
All the screens had frozen.
I glanced at the group members, and they all wore the same stunned expressions as me.
I hadn’t explained this choice to them before since I’d never seen it myself.
‘……We’re screwed.’
I had no idea what to pick. Whatever I chose, it was the worst-case scenario.
Jeongwoo looked at me and winked his right eye.
Blink. Blink.
Twice.
‘……Well, Lucifer becoming king is probably the better flow for us.’
The known path is easier to navigate than the unknown one.
I winked back at him twice. He nodded.
A signal to go with choice B.
“……”
[Choice - B]
[Kim Cheonjae’s group has selected choice B.]
[Proceeding with the story flow of ‘Lucifer becomes the king of hell. (B)’]
Boom!
An explosion rang out. I turned to see angels and demons locked in fierce combat. We quickly huddled together and assessed the surroundings.
Angels charged toward the massive doors leading to Lucifer’s throne,
while demons fought desperately to block them.
Judging by their demonic forms, they were Beelzebub’s minions.
Elephants and alligators larger than giants spewed dark auras as they clashed with the angels.
Their armed gear was at least S+ rank or higher.
It was leagues beyond the foes we faced in the seventh round.
The demons had been waiting for us, forming ranks and deploying various tools.
They stacked walls high and hid behind them, unleashing magic and arrows. Some even wielded cannons that looked human-made.
The good news was they didn’t have anything as advanced as Mechnia’s tech.
Raphael bellowed.
“Cross the gates of hell!”
The angelic host unleashed holy auras in unison and soared toward the doors.
A massive alligator swung a tree-trunk-sized axe, sending angels flying in one stroke.
Whoosh—
The matching elephant smashed the ground with its steel-wrapped fists, scattering debris everywhere.
Boom!
As the angels hesitated under their assault,
I kicked off the ground and charged.
“I’m going!”
Thud-thud-thud-thud.
I moved so fast my footsteps echoed. In an instant, I slipped under the elephant and grabbed a demon corpse, hurling it at its groin.
Whoosh—
[Corpse Explosion]
Boom!
The giant elephant roared in agony.
Roooaaar—!
Jeongwoo followed up, swinging his sword wide to sever the elephant’s trunk.
Whoosh—
Splat!
Its body was so massive that just the trunk falling made the ground quake.
Thud!
Michael shouted loudly.
“Angelic Hymn!”
With his cry, light poured from the heavens. Baby angels spun around, sprinkling light dust on the demons.
Lesser demons curled up tight. The giant elephant, struck full-force by the holy spell, lost life force in a flash.
Seizing the moment, I swung my scythe high and crushed its head.
[‘Scythe of Judgment’ activated.]
[Finishes off enemies with less than 15% life force in one hit.]
Crush!
The giant elephant’s health bar turned gray. Its body toppled slowly backward. I leaped lightly to the opposite side.
Nearby demons yelled.
-Run, everyone! We’ll get crushed!
-You fucking bastard, is that Kim Cheonjae? That human who hunts demons!
-Uwaaaah! Quit yapping and run!
As the giant elephant fell backward,
Boom!
It crushed dozens of demons. Our enemy numbers dropped thanks. Staring at the countless demons, I quietly chanted a spell.
“Recall.”
[Summoning all summons under Kim Cheonjae to this location.]
* * * * *
It didn’t take long to clear the demons guarding the throne entrance.
With the angels fighting alongside us, we had very little to worry about.
Unlike the seventh round, no surprises cropped up, making it a breeze.
Once all enemies were down, Michael asked me.
“Impressive. Hard to believe it’s human power.”
“……I told you, I’m the ‘Opener.’”
“The Opener…. You truly are as strong as God intended.”
“Stop calling me ‘that guy’ and use my name. Cheonjae. Kim Cheonjae.”
“……Understood. Kim Cheonjae.”
I grinned and shrugged. Raphael flew over, seeing us, and threw an arm around my shoulder.
“You two made up?”
Michael swatted her hand away with a snort.
“Made up? As if!”
“Then what?”
“How could an angel and a human make up? Besides, Kim Cheonjae and I aren’t on bad terms.”
“Oh really? Back in the corridor, you looked ready to devour him.”
“……Never happened.”
Unlike Raphael’s giggling, Michael’s face soured. No surprise—he was the prickliest among the prideful archangels. He’d hate battlefield jokes.
We arrived at the gates of hell, and Uriel shouted.
“Raphael! We need healing!”
Raphael swung her serpent staff through the air, and her light spread wide in a donut shape, swirling around to embrace us.
Warm.
My health bar filled rapidly. Not just my body—even the tiny scratches on my armor vanished.
I let out an awed sigh.
“Wow….”
Incredible.
As all angels recovered, Raphael dispersed the donut of light.
Uriel raised her spear high overhead again and bellowed for all to hear.
“Open the gates!”
[The second flow of the eleventh story begins.]
[The path to ‘Lucifer’s Throne’ opens, and hell’s demons grow stronger.]
[All players, please standby until the gates of hell open.]
Uriel and her soldiers clung to the hell gates, pushing bit by bit.
So heavy that hundreds per door barely budged it an inch.
Michael and Raphael glanced at Uriel, conversing. I stood nearby, eavesdropping.
“Raphael.”
“Yeah?”
“He says he guarded the gate alone while we were gone.”
“……Uriel alone? What about the other archangels?”
“Heard Metatron stayed with him in the corridor. If not for him, we might not have made it back to heaven….”
A gap wide enough for one person slipped open, and demons poured out.
Different from the ones we’d seen—spikes like horns covered their bodies. Same look, just more horns.
-Kyaaack!
One demon sent multiple angels tumbling. The inner ones were far stronger than the outer guards.
Uriel focused a glowing aura on her spear tip and hurled it into the gates.
“Light!”
Rumble—.
Her spear flew with thunderous roar, exploding inside the gates.
Boom!
Blindingly bright head-on. We all turned away, eyes shut.
Even shielded by hands, it dazzled.
Uriel’s spear, shaking and illuminating, gradually lost its glow. She shoved the gates with vigor, yelling.
“Entering the throne!”
Angels flew inward. Michael followed.
Raphael approached us.
“Be careful from here on.”
I nodded.
“Yes.”
* * * * *
[*There is no way back once inside the gates of hell. Please enter only after fully preparing.]
A warning signaling the eleventh round’s dangers.
We were ready. Just had to move forward.
“Let’s go.”
Everyone matched my pace.
Deeper darkness greeted us inside the gates.
The ground was coated in unidentified black liquid. Blood stench suggested demon blood, likely from materials used in Lucifer’s resurrection.
Uriel shook her spear again, lighting the surroundings.
What we thought was ground were monster corpses. Unlike the horned demons Uriel had slain earlier.
Monsters from other realms, not hell—goblins, bugbears, lowly stuff.
‘Definitely sacrifices.’
Angels advanced unfazed toward Lucifer’s throne.
“Jeongwoo, Sora, stick right behind me. Be ready to bolt if needed.”
“……Got it.”
“Yeonhee, you and Michael guard the rear.”
Yeonhee nodded.
“Okay.”
The deeper we went, the thicker the darkness grew. Uriel’s spear light shrank.
Like a candle flame slowly dying.
Vision narrowed.
Just a bit farther to the castle entrance for Lucifer’s throne,
but Michael halted, issuing a stop order.
“‘Opener.’ Can you really destroy the hourglass?”
“……Yes.”
“If you fail, we all perish.”
“I’d perish too—why would I lie?”
“……”
Anxiety flickered in Michael’s eyes. No clue why he was saying this now, but trusting or not was his call.
Raphael twirled her staff at him.
“What’s wrong?”
“……Just occurred to me.”
“What?”
“What if these humans here colluded with the demons to trap us?”
“……What?”
His suspicion irked me instantly. Fatigue made my anger boil over.
“Hey, that’s a bit much, don’t you think?”
“……A bit much?”
“Yeah. We freed you from Titan’s gut, came to hell, undid Raphael’s seal. And now? Trapping you?”
“……”
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
As I snapped, Raphael looked troubled and cut in.
“Enough. Michael, Kim Cheonjae. Both of you, stop.”
“……”
“No, we started this, let’s finish. Michael, if you don’t trust us now, what’ll you do?”
Michael drew his sword.
“As you said, we’ll finish it. Then press on.”
I met his gaze, raising my scythe high.
“You wanna end it with me?”
“If you’re Lucifer’s minion.”
“I said I’m not.”
“Then prove it. That you’re not Lucifer’s minion.”
[Archangel Michael prepares to swing his holy sword.]
Thinking he’d lost it, I focused aura on my scythe to block.
Ares, Gawain, and Park Gyuhwan glared murderously at him.
The heavenly host tensed, watching us.
“Michael, you really want to fight me?”
“……No. Kim Cheonjae, I’ll say it again. If. You. Are. Lucifer’s minion. We end it.”
“……If I’m Lucifer’s minion, we end it?”
“Yes.”
He didn’t want to fight,
but if I was Lucifer’s minion, we’d end it.
Michael glanced behind me, raising his sword overhead.
“Darkness vanishes before light.”
“……?”
I followed his gaze behind me. Nothing. Just my shadow from Uriel’s light.
“The light I create will drive out deep darkness and bring a new world.”
“……”
“Another darkness hiding in the shadows. This sword will punish it.”
“……”
So that’s it.
Another darkness hiding in the shadows.
I lowered my scythe and spread my arms.
“Come.”
Jeongwoo and the others panicked. I stared calmly at Michael.
Whoosh—
The holy sword cleaved the air.
I didn’t flinch, eyes locked. The blade, thick as a man’s forearm,
-Swish
Passed my head,
Boom!
embedding in the ground.
-Kieeeek!
A demon screech from behind. I turned—Beelzebub, hidden in my shadow, thrashed his hand.
“Damn you, Michael!”