Chapter 102: Soohyun’s Madness
Chapter 102: Soohyun’s Madness
I wet my constantly drying lips with my tongue. But before I could even compose myself, the two massive downpours of power collided without a shred of mercy.
Rumble…!
A magnificent roar echoed all around. Looking at him, I saw a relaxed expression, arms crossed. It was a stark contrast to me, who was swallowing nervously with every passing moment. I wondered if the battle was already decided, but my lofty pride would not allow me to back down. No matter what anyone said, the Colossus of Ruin was my ultimate technique. If I retreated here, I would have no face to show Lady Lilith. I strained harder, pouring more of my magic into it. And it seemed to have some effect, as for a moment, I saw my meteor shower overwhelming his swords.
However….
“Haaaaaaargh!”
I couldn't help but let out a pained scream. With every single impact, a violent shockwave turned my insides to mush. Why? How? The questions raced through my mind, but I barely managed to pull myself together. I had clearly seen my magic overwhelming that human bastard, so I thought I just had to hold on a little longer…
“?!”
The moment I raised my head again, I was struck dumb with despair.
The sight of the meteor shower and the storm of swords colliding was, in a word, spectacular. But right now, I was in no position to appreciate it.
Was the sight of me overwhelming him a lie? My meteors exploded the instant they touched the swords and were annihilated. And yet, his Flame Swords stubbornly endured the explosions, pushing toward me and consuming the space around me with every passing moment. No, they weren't just enduring. They were magnificently burning my meteors away.
At that moment, I coughed up a mouthful of blood. At the same time, a sense of futility washed over me as the strength drained from my entire body. Could it be? Was my body breaking down from overexerting my mana, and was the barrier those human bastards set up long ago activating? Of all times, why now…!
My plan was to finish him in an instant and deal with the consequences, but instead, I was the one being pushed back. And the restrictions, arriving sooner than expected, made me even more frantic. In that moment of distraction, the thought ‘Oh, shit’ flashed through my mind before I even realized it. And the result of that fleeting moment of carelessness plunged me into even deeper despair.
Fwoooosh…!
The swords, burning so clearly and purely, were rapidly pushing back my magic, intent on erasing my very existence. The moment I withdrew my power, my body would be crushed without even a handful of ash remaining. In my desperation, I drew upon even more of my magic. I still couldn't accept the fact that I was losing to a human.
Feeling the Magic Power churning through my body, I concentrated it in both hands. My true desire, however, was to flee immediately. If I used Dark Assimilation, I might save my life if I was lucky. Yet part of me still refused to accept defeat and clung to my pride. Even knowing I would die if I remained, the years I had lived as a Demonkin Count would not permit a single step backward.
But as I watched my meteors vanish one by one, their places taken by the burning swords, that pride began to flicker and die.
At some point, while watching the relentless flood of Flame Swords, I felt the space behind me go empty. I was in the middle of a tempestuous clash, yet the back of my neck felt terribly cold. No way... is it over? Did he burn through my entire Colossus spell?
“Farewell.”
The human's cold voice was the last thing I heard before countless swords, blanketing the heavens and the earth, rushed toward me. My pride, which had held on until the very end, finally took a step back only when faced with imminent death. As they lunged to tear my body apart, I squeezed my eyes shut and drew upon the last dregs of darkness latent within me.
….
…….
……….
“Hah, haah.”
When I slowly opened my eyes, I saw a new, intact ceiling. At the same time, thunderous noises echoed from the floor above. The moment the first blow landed, I had instinctively chosen to flee. Spatial movement through darkness. I'd cast it in an instant, so I only managed to move down two floors. I was still inside the laboratory, but a wave of relief washed over me, knowing my body hadn't been torn to shreds by that horrifying technique.
“Cough…!”
Once again, a mouthful of blood came up my throat. I wanted to rest. But several of his swords had already struck my body. I felt the searing pain of my body burning, but the thought that the humans might track me down forced me to my feet. There has to be a secret room somewhere on the first floor of this lab….
Scrape, scrape.
I dragged myself along for some time, nearly pulling one leg behind me. When I reached my destination, I found the door standing wide open. It was not only this room. Had he dealt with everything here before going upstairs? Smiling at the thought that nothing would obstruct me, I entered and felt around the floor beside the door. It had to be here somewhere. It had to be.
“Dammit!”
I'd been feeling around the floor for over ten minutes, but I still couldn't find it. I was getting desperate. Quickly, quickly, before they come. Just then, my hand, sweeping across the ground, brushed against something that felt out of place. Thinking I'd finally found it, I lunged for the floor…
Tssss, fwoosh.
“……”
The sound of something burning. Right, the aftereffects of his attack must still be lingering in my body. I should just ignore it and hurry….
“Hooo.”
“……”
“A noble Demonkin Count fled, and now you’re sweeping the floor? I never imagined it. Are you cleaning?”
I heard him chuckling. Perhaps I knew from the very beginning. But I didn't want to admit it, so I forced myself into self-delusion. Maybe I'd wanted to avoid him all along.
“I'm not going to let you off just because you're trying to do a good deed now.”
I slowly turned my head. And there he was, casually smoking a cigarette.
*
I laughed at the sight of him scraping frantically at the floor. I was saving it for later, but I just couldn't resist pulling out a cigarette right now.
“I really didn't think you'd actually run. That Dark Assimilation is pretty useful, huh? Then and now, you've always been good at one thing: running away.”
“Human… how… in the world….”
Belphegor barely managed to breathe, clearly exhausted. I took a drag from my cigarette and slowly closed the distance between us. The closer I got, the more Belphegor scrambled backward, shuffling his feet awkwardly as he tried to retreat. Suddenly, I felt a twinge in my lower abdomen, and it began to throb. This situation was bringing me an immense thrill.
“De... Demonic Sword, Skurepf, su—”
“Whoa, whoa.”
The moment I saw him trying to summon his sword, I shot forward like lightning and kicked his hand. The newly summoned sword flew far away, anticlimactically. Belphegor, his face drained of all color, could only stare up at me blankly.
I raised my foot and brought it down, grinding it into his head.
“Beg.”
“Kugh.”
“You’re a Demonkin bastard, lower than an insect. Beg for your life. Maybe I’ll spare you.”
“Kill me.”
Seeing his defiant tone, a strange light glinted in my eyes. Belphegor, looking as if he'd already given up, let out a dry laugh and continued.
“I admit that your power is great. But before them, you are nothing but an insect… They will avenge me. Then you will meet the same end I have.”
“Who? The Lilith you adore so much? Or Astaroth? Satan? Baal? Asmodeus? Lucifer?”
“Kuk… I don’t know how a bastard like you knows the names of the veiled lords of the Demon Realm. But… Gack!”
While he was talking, I lifted my foot and crouched down. Then I drove my fist straight into his mouth. I felt something shatter against my knuckles as fragments of his teeth went flying.
“Too bad. They were all already killed by humans.”
“Yoo! Don’ fuck wif me! Dey… dey’ve neber deshended into da human worl’!”
“You can’t even speak properly, but you still talk back. Listen, punk. Don’t think those bastards from the Demon Realm you worship are so great. I’m telling you this because I’ve killed every one of them before.”
Belphegor looked into my eyes, and his expression wavered. Demonkin lied as naturally as they breathed, so they possessed an ability to judge whether another person was sincere or lying. It was not absolute, but deceiving or lying to a Demonkin was nearly impossible.
“I… I can’t beliebe it.”
Even so, he continued shaking his head. The Demonkin I had listed had died only during my first run. Yet my words, backed by the experience of actually killing them, were also true. After judging my sincerity, Belphegor was deeply shaken by claims he would normally have dismissed with a snort.
I looked at him, my eyes wide, and opened my mouth.
“I’m not lying. Ah, you’re the Devil of Sloth, so you must serve Lilith, right? Killing Lilith was definitely a lot of fun. She was one of the few female devils… I enjoyed myself. That bitch’s body was fucking incredible.”
At Lilith’s name, sparks seemed to fly from Belphegor’s eyes. It was true that they were alive during this second run. It was also true that I had killed them and committed those acts during my first run. Unable to reconcile those two truths, Belphegor released a seething groan. I continued in a smooth, oily voice.
“Kugh….”
“You know what it was like? She got stark naked in front of all the humans and got on her knees. And she rubbed her hands together, begging for her life. 'Please forgive me~' was it? That bitch pathetically begged for her life, even as her own subordinates were dying.”
“Haaaaaaargh!!!!”
“As expected of the Demon Realm’s official whore, she was tight as hell. Taking every human there wasn’t enough; she even shook her ass and tried to seduce them herself… whoops.”
“Haaaaaaargh!!!! Haaaaaaargh!!!!”
He screamed and lunged at me with his head. I pulled my hand back slightly, cackled, and slapped him across the face. Smack! With a sharp crack, his head whipped to the side. I grabbed Belphegor by the hair and lifted him up.
His face showed he was no longer sane, but I was no different—I was just as much of a madman right now. A conversation between two madmen. I yanked his head up, then slammed it hard into the ground.
Thud!
“Why. Why are you so angry? You guys are all the same.”
“Why… why do yoo hate me so mush…?”
His voice was a wheeze, like air leaking from a balloon, but I could understand every word. I put on an expression of profound sadness and lifted Belphegor's face.
“You're asking because you really don't know? Really?”
“Wha’ grudge do yoo hab against me…?”
Thud!
I slammed his head down again. He gave a strangled “Gack,” and his entire body trembled violently. I continued in a sorrowful tone. I had never once forgotten what happened back then.
“This is how I remember it. It all started when you did that to Dayeon. Yes. After that, I wanted to kill you so badly it drove me insane. You know, Dayeon was one of the few kind people who smiled at me back then.”
Thud!
“But after what you did to her… after she learned she was pregnant with a Demonkin child, she took her own life. That bright, cheerful girl killed herself.”
Thud!
“Burning with vengeance, I came after you. My brother tried to stop me, but I was blind with rage. That was probably the first time I ever acted on my own. But... I fell for one of your despicable tricks, got caught in a trap, and was captured.”
Thud!
“I can endure the humiliation I suffered then. It was my own damn fault for getting caught. But you were not after me. You gathered the Users on your side and every Demonkin lord you knew, then concentrated your attack on my Hyung when he came to rescue me.”
Thud!
“Yes. My Hyung died in that battle. Even then, he was determined to save his worthless little brother. He threw away his life and the lives of the comrades who followed him. Hyung saved me in the end, but paid for it with his life.”
Thud!
“Gaaaaah….”
I paused and yanked Belphegor's hair up even higher. I could see his face was mashed into an unrecognizable pulp. I spat right onto that handsome face of his.
“But our ill-fated connection didn’t end there. You barely escaped with your life then… and by the time we met again, you had become a Demonkin Duke. And… and you… her…”
The thought of Han Soyoung made the dam of emotions I had held back, emotions I had never shown to anyone, burst forth more violently than ever. Rage, pain, sorrow, frustration, despair. All those negative emotions.
“I grasped the end. And I wished for it desperately, so desperately. But I couldn't get what I wanted. It was only after listening to the angels that I realized I had been played by you all that time. Do you have any idea? Do you know what I went through, living just to seize that chance? And after getting that chance, with just one step left to go, when I lost all hope, do you have any idea what that felt like….”
He was already foaming at the mouth. His face was caked in blood, and the horns he always flaunted so arrogantly had long since been shattered. But, despite all that, he was still alive. Seeing his nostrils flare, I roared and slammed his face violently into the floor again.
“Do you have any idea how I felt, having to see those things, having to carry them in my heart, living every day tormented by guilt?”
“Gack… gack….”
“Do you? Huh? It's all your fault. If it weren't for you….”
Thud!
“It's because of you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you! You goddamn bastard!”
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! CRUNCH!
“Gack… grrrgle….”
I roughly threw him aside and got back to my feet. My breathing had become ragged. But, as if possessed, I placed my foot on his head once more. Savoring the feeling for a moment, I spoke in a dry voice.
“I'm glad. I'm so glad I met you here. I am truly, sincerely grateful that I can kill you here. So let's end it now. This wretched, ill-fated connection between you and me.”
Belphegor could no longer answer. But I didn’t want an answer. And then, I put my weight into the foot pressing down on his head.