Chapter 137
Chapter 137
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 137
Chapter Title: The Immortal Returns
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Michael's sword pierced straight through Beelzebub's chest. The moment I thought it was a perfect strike, Beelzebub's body scattered into countless flies, dispersing in every direction.
“Kyahaha! See you later!”
The angels swung their swords this way and that, trying to catch the flying flies. Uriel also unleashed holy light to attack them.
It was pointless.
There were far too many flies to even identify which one was the real body.
I tried sensing with my aura, but they scattered in all directions, making it impossible to pin down.
Michael ground his teeth in frustration.
“Beelzebub….”
I pulled Michael's sword from the ground and tossed it back to him.
“Calm down.”
“……Sorry, Kim Cheonjae. I had no choice if we were going to trick him.”
“It’s fine. I understood what you were saying from midway through.”
As Beelzebub vanished, the darkness receded bit by bit, and the surroundings grew brighter. The light pouring from the tip of Uriel’s spear felt stronger, too.
He was using the same ability as before, yet the visibility had changed this drastically.
Ahead of us loomed the castle leading to Lucifer’s throne.
It was called the “Demon Castle” in name only—its exterior was a massive skull. They said it was a fragment that fell from God’s body on the day Hell was born.
‘Whatever….’
In-game lore was up to the operators’ whims, so I didn’t put much stock in it.
Step. Step. Step. Step.
Lost in thought, I arrived at the Demon Castle before I knew it. Under Uriel’s command, the heavenly host scattered in all directions, surrounding the castle.
The demons inside the Hell Gate weren’t putting up much resistance, which made me suspect they had some scheme we didn’t know about.
“……Michael.”
“Speak.”
“If the three of you combined your powers, could you stand against Lucifer?”
He shook his head the instant my question ended. I’d half-expected that response, but not this immediate.
“Impossible.”
“What about Beelzebub?”
“Can’t say for sure, but we’d have the edge.”
“……Okay.”
Beelzebub: possible.
Lucifer: impossible.
That let me roughly calculate the power difference between Beelzebub and Lucifer.
The three archangels could output power on par with Beelzebub.
Which meant Lucifer was stronger—exactly how much, I didn’t know, but I could guess the upper limit. Factoring in the strength of the Lucifer I’d faced in the VR game gave me a rough idea.
[‘Archangel Raphael’ focuses her mind.]
[Her power creates a barrier around the area.]
[Time remaining: 00:59:58]
Raphael swung her staff wide and slammed it into the ground.
Boom!
“Let’s begin!”
Dazzling light rained down from the sky, illuminating the surroundings.
The pitch-black darkness retreated.
[Round 11, Flow 2, begins now.]
[Please find the hourglass inside the ‘Hell Castle’ within the time limit.]
The angels flew toward the castle. They advanced through the massive skull’s eyes, nose, and mouth.
Uriel charged into the left eye,
Michael into the right eye,
and we headed straight for the skull’s mouth.
Dash dash dash!
“Kim Yeonhee! Michael! Stick closer!”
The two who’d fallen behind sped up and pressed right against my back.
Flap flap flap!
Wingbeats echoed from inside the castle. Michael fired a flare to light it up.
Boom!
The flare exploded in a flash, and hundreds of gargoyles took flight.
Park Gyuhwan shot forward low to the ground like a spider, swinging his sword.
“One Stroke Two Cuts.”
Slash—
-Kieeeek!
Several gargoyles dropped to the ground in a single stroke.
“I’ll handle this!”
I nodded and charged straight through the densest cluster of gargoyles.
“Don’t fall behind.”
“Got it!”
Gawain patted Park Gyuhwan on the back as he passed. We exchanged smiles—like friendly rivals.
“Don’t die.”
“Damn it, you don’t die either.”
* * * * *
In a small room filled only with darkness stood a massive hourglass glowing with golden light.
Behind it emerged a familiar demonic face: a male with black skin and two horns.
Lucifer.
He caressed the hourglass’s surface with a bitter smile.
“……Not yet?”
Weeeeng—
A single fly buzzed up to the hourglass. Darkness gathered like it was being sucked into a black hole, and the fly burst, revealing Beelzebub.
“Whew—Lucifer!”
“Them?”
“They’re already inside the castle.”
“……What’s your plan now?”
Beelzebub shrugged with an annoying smirk.
“What plan? Kill them all.”
“……By yourself?”
“No, impossible without your help.”
“I’m still sealed. I need more time.”
“Hmm…. What about Gabriel?”
Lucifer pointed to the bottom of the hourglass.
“She’s almost done.”
Inside, sand poured over the unconscious golden angel, Gabriel.
“Kill her, and you can get out?”
“Yeah, if no one interferes, smashing this damn hourglass is nothing.”
Beelzebub flicked his finger, tapping the hourglass.
“Gabriel dying or Michael finding this place—which happens first?”
Lucifer gazed down at Gabriel expressionlessly, exhaling a long breath. He just stared for a long while.
As Beelzebub gave up waiting and turned to leave,
Lucifer spoke.
“Beelzebub.”
“Quick answer. What?”
“Michael won’t find us before Gabriel dies.”
“……Good.”
“But.”
“But?”
“……That human, Kim Cheonjae, worries me. He’s ruining all our long-awaited plans.”
“……”
Beelzebub nodded in agreement. Lucifer clenched his fists, touched the ground, and said to him,
“Beelzebub, go to the underground prison and bring that one out.”
“……You mean that guy? The one who invaded Hell alone….”
Lucifer curled his lips in an evil smile.
“……Yes, him. By now, he should be fully consumed by the darkness.”
* * * * *
The deeper we went, the more intense the prickling energy became. A damp, cave-like smell assaulted my nose. At times, a nauseating stench hit us,
but by now, I’d grown so used to it that it didn’t faze me.
Gawain lit his blade with fire to illuminate the path ahead.
Whoosh!
We followed close behind as he ran. Ares slowed to cover the rear and said to me,
“Someone’s following us from behind.”
“……Who?”
“Don’t know. But from the killing intent, they’re no ally.”
I kept running and unleashed my aura. The presence was too far for me to detect.
“Can you handle it alone?”
“Don’t know, but if you order it, I’ll take them on.”
For a Myth-class being to react like that meant the enemy was no pushover.
“How far back is this guy you sensed?”
“Hard to say exactly, but one thing’s clear: if we keep going, they’ll catch us soon.”
“They’re keeping pace with us?”
“……Faster.”
Was there a demon with that kind of speed? To catch up to us, they’d need insane mobility.
Jeongwoo sped up to run beside me and said,
“Want me to check it out?”
“……No. You’re key to this round—can’t afford to lose you.”
“Then we ignore them and keep going?”
“……No, that won’t work. If they learn where we’re headed, it complicates things.”
Hoo—
I waved my hand and slowed to a stop. Everyone was breathing hard, chests heaving.
“Everyone, battle ready.”
If we had to fight anyway, we’d end it fast.
Think of it as a warm-up before the real battle.
Ares gave an awkward smile and said,
“I could handle it alone, you know.”
“……No. We can’t lose you.”
“Is this one coming that strong?”
I didn’t know.
But my gut told me otherwise. My instincts had never been wrong.
Which meant the unknown enemy heading our way was likely extremely powerful.
Thud thud thud thud.
The ground rumbled.
Its footsteps echoed through the cave. No—through the castle.
We waited tensely. Yoo Sora injected Jeongwoo and Michael’s arms.
Their bodies bulked up, buffed with powerful effects.
“Should I do Cheonjae too?”
I shook my head.
“No, I’m good.”
It’d make me stronger, but the side effects? No thanks. That shot left you dazed like you were drunk for at least thirty minutes.
Jeongwoo and Michael, being physical types, reacted differently….
Boom!
The ground shook violently.
Everyone was so battle-hardened now that they just lowered their stances without overreacting.
Ares, guarding the rear, muttered low.
“……It’s here.”
No sooner had he spoken than a beast burst through the darkness.
-Kieeeek!
“Huh?”
A familiar face. Less animal, more humanoid. Covered in thick scales, with those wings—what were they?
Size of a bear.
Black scales everywhere. Two long, outstretched wings evoked a dragon. Slender like a snake, but a face resembling a human.
It swiped its forepaw at us in threat.
Whoosh—
I ducked,
and
Boom boom boom!
Its claws raked the wall, crumbling it.
I rolled forward to dodge.
It growled, glaring at me. Michael and Ma Jeongwoo gauged distance, weapons ready.
Ares and Gawain flanked it, prepping attacks.
I circled the unknown creature slowly, probing it. An aura I’d felt before—not demonic, more human-like. But laced with sinister, dark power.
“……It’s you.”
“Grrr.”
“I went out of my way to avoid the sub-story to not run into you.”
“Grrr….”
“And yet, we meet here.”
“……Grr!”
Ma Jeongwoo yelled at me, having heard the exchange.
“Kim Cheonjae! You know what that thing is?!”
“……Yeah.”
“What is it? Some hidden archdemon?”
Archdemon?
Sure, with that aura pouring off it, Jeongwoo could think that. Thick, ominous aura on par with the archdemons we’d faced.
Dark power that instilled fear in enemies.
“……It’s not a demon.”
“What?”
“Not a demon—a human.”
I aimed my scythe at the monster. Now I understood why it looked like a dragon.
Proof it had put up a final stand against the demons in that twisted storyline.
I took one more step toward the dragon and spoke.
“……We meet again. The legendary hero who called himself ‘The Opener.’ No—villain, the immortal Kim Jeongjae.”