Chapter 408
Chapter 408
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 408
Chapter Title: The Temple of the Demon World (2)
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The 15th Demon King, Tanuin, who had once reigned at the pinnacle of the Demon World as a great lord, only to fall into ruin due to a mere curse.
He had been sealed away in this temple of unknown origin for an incredibly long time.
He had been on the verge of helplessly succumbing—thanks to a desperate measure akin to self-destruction, he avoided immediate exploitation by that bastard for the moment. But unless the foe gave up, it was merely buying some time, not a true escape.
After all, Demon Dragon Duke Crushaier was a being hailed as the world's greatest in black magic and all forms of sorcery.
Yet even as the duke meticulously executed his plans, the fallen former Demon King could do nothing.
He could only endlessly stew in his resentment, nurturing his malice while forcibly clinging to his fading consciousness, impotently watching it all unfold.
"Cough... Wh-where... is this...?"
But was this fate?
On a day when he finally felt his limits approaching, an utterly unexpected opportunity came to him.
He discovered that one of the humans dragged in as a sacrifice possessed a very peculiar ability.
'That's neither magic nor a spell. It's an incredibly alien power that renders the laws of the world meaningless... Which makes it all the more promising.'
The ability to separate one's consciousness and bestow it elsewhere.
Even he, the former Demon King, had barely noticed it—thanks to becoming the embodiment of malice through that curse.
The busy Demon Dragon Duke seemed oblivious, and the temple itself, which appeared somewhat incomplete, showed no reaction to this power.
'This is my last chance. It will consume all my remaining strength just to attempt it, but it's worth the risk.'
And so, the 15th Demon King Tanuin... no, the lingering thought of what had once been Tanuin, took a gamble.
Gathering every last scrap of his dwindling consciousness, he infused his curse into the human's outward-projecting mind.
Perhaps due to a sense of kinship from their similar plights, the process was easier than expected.
In the end, it wasn't a bad deal for Ken, the ability's wielder, either.
Thanks to it, the 「Thought Projection」 that would have otherwise wandered aimlessly and naturally dissipated gained direction. He even obtained the supreme vessel of "a fragment of the Demon King's remains" that the Demon Dragon Duke had failed to reclaim.
"Ugh, my head... Where am I? What the hell... Ah? Those devil-worshipping bastards!"
Of course, he had to endure a slight side effect as payment, but that was unavoidable.
Thus, reborn in a body forged from the Demon King's remains, he instinctively headed toward the Dark Nest's lair.
Even with incomplete memories, the desire to rescue his original body from his first 「Thought Projection」 still burned in his heart.
...Though the curse's influence undoubtedly played a role.
In truth, the curse's desire aligned closely with that.
The difference? It planned to devour Ken whole upon his return to the temple.
If successful, it would reclaim its lost body fragment, revive its depleted consciousness using that ego as fuel, and disrupt the temple's seal targeting "Tanuin" by deliberately mixing in the "impurity" of "Ken."
Of course, even fallen as he was, he had once been a Demon King—no one could deny that—so he never worried about his will being consumed in reverse.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [————!] And now, over twenty years later.
A bit late, but its scheme was finally paying off.
'Back to one. Devour. Become the complete one!'
Right after Ken, unknowingly influenced by the Demon King's curse, entered the temple's interior.
Chaos in the seal binding the curse allowed it to finally break free from the depths below.
It couldn't fully escape the temple yet, but absorbing Ken would solve that soon enough.
'Finally, revenge again. Kill the Demon Dragon. Revival. Demon King!'
The curse's fragmented thoughts writhed in a jumble as it raced toward the final key to its liberation.
It instinctively knew delaying could bring the Demon Dragon Duke back, ruining everything, so its movements held no hesitation.
For complete revival!
For bloody vengeance against those who reduced it to this state!
"Ugh, I figured it'd be rough, but this is way worse than I thought...!"
Wooong— Woong!
Roar—!
...Of course, encountering this unforeseen variable was unavoidable.
A grumbling human voice accompanied heavy mechanical whirs.
The Demon King's curse, surging forward like a tidal wave, turned its gaze to a mosquito-like thing buzzing around, sucking up the curse since earlier.
It had initially planned to ignore it like a bug crushed en route, but "that thing" couldn't be dismissed so easily.
Left alone, it would cling like a leech, endlessly draining the curse!
The stolen power wasn't much, but its presence was infuriating.
In the end, the Demon King's curse decided to deal with it first, despite the hassle.
An ominous feeling from that tiny creature heavily influenced the choice.
But Hesperon was equally troubled, far beyond just clashing with the curse.
"Ahaha... Blind spot. Makes sense—with this gap in rank and existence density, no amount of supreme skills could suck up all that power instantly."
Hesperon grimaced bitterly while busily flying in his Titan suit, wielding the Black Flame Dragon.
In simple terms, the idea was sound, but the size difference was too vast.
Just as a single leech sucking multiples of its body weight in blood couldn't bleed out a hippo.
Especially when the blood clung thickly like honey through a straw.
'Theoretically possible, but it'd take forever... Ken won't last that long. Better find another way?'
He'd hoped to power up using the curse as fodder this time.
The gains weren't bad given the foe's level, but neutralizing it quickly was crucial.
He thought himself perfect for the job, yet now he was stumped.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [————!] Was it overconfidence in the matchup?
The rapidly shifting situation left no room for stray thoughts.
"Kgh?"
In the blink of an eye.
Jet-black smoke ballooned, engulfing the area and wrapping around Hesperon in his Titan suit.
Ignoring the suit covering all but his right arm, a will forming the Demon King's core boldly invaded the irritant.
-Die.
A curt word—more intent than language—carrying horrific power.
This primal dark emotion, too raw for a curse, burrowed into Hesperon as bottomless malice.
'Can't block it at my level. Still...!'
Death raced through his body.
But 「Right Arm of Craving」 and 「Curse Predator」 devoured the intruding curse whole.
「Clear Mirror Still Water」 stabilized his mind, while 「Toughness」, 「Super Recovery」, and others aided his body in succession.
Having anticipated and prepared, the curse inflicted no damage.
"Curses are useless against m—Kgh, this?"
...If it had been a pure "curse."
Even as a mere aggregate of curse now, it had once ascended to Demon King.
That attack struck fatally against Hesperon, who had relied solely on matchup.
💥 CRITICAL HIT! 💥 《The entity has suffered lethal damage. 「Instant Death Immunity」 activates, nullifying the death sentence.》
《For the next 24 hours, 「Instant Death Immunity」 is sealed.》
"Cough!"
Bright red blood trickled from his mouth.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Cough! Haa."
Dry coughs brought blood surging up his throat.
A throbbing headache and body aching like it'd been pummeled.
Hesperon grimaced, barely steadying his wobbling frame.
"Ugh, this is trouble..."
He wiped the blood from his mouth and glanced aside with a groan.
<High-Energy Exposure Alert!> <Energy Overload Alert!> <Titan Component Damage: 18%> <Partial Systems Down. Energy Efficiency Reduced.> <Stored Anti-Magic Energy Rapidly Depleting.> <Crisis Detection Protocol Activated.> <...> 'One hit insta-kills me, and this much damage to Titan?'
His HUD flooded with warning messages.
All danger signals, but now meaningless.
Another hit, and it was truly over.
'...Word-spirit type ability? Ridiculous. After centuries as a curse, only instincts should remain, yet it still wields advanced techniques?'
He shook his head, frowning.
The sender had calculated thoroughly before dispatching him.
He'd thought 「Right Arm of Craving」 + 「Curse Predator」 viable, but he'd underestimated a "Demon King-grade curse."
'Without Titan, even immunity wouldn't have saved me—I'd be paste. A Demon King was near-divine before falling; tackling that without transcendence was greedy.'
Reality check obtained.
Matchups meant nothing against rank gaps.
Embarrassing after charging in cockily.
"Tch, wrong place... Not my league."
Hesperon smacked his lips at the Black Flame Dragon wreathing his body in black fire.
Regrettable, but his role ended here.
Without insurance, better retreat before a real death.
'Sigh, sorry for this guy too. Brought him to an all-you-can-eat buffet, only for a single dessert plate.'
Linked by 「Chain of Oath」, they shared growth.
If he'd reached transcendence—or even proper pinnacle—he'd have gained far more.
Now, just regret...
Clink—
Then.
A faint chain rattle echoed in his mind.
'Wait. ...「Chain of Oath」?'
Something tickled his thoughts.
A strong sense of déjà vu stimulated his instincts.
Rumble— Boom!
The curse's fog rampaged again, but he had no attention for it.
Maxing Titan boosters to evade, he desperately grasped the mental itch.
Calmly analyzing what he'd missed.
'「Chain of Oath」 reacting. Why now? To what?'
The skill linked subjects and objects—people, items, energy—regardless.
Person: Riley the crown princess.
Item: Titan, sealing orb, etc.
Energy: Black Flame Dragon of 「Right Arm of Craving」.
That was all, so what had he missed...?
'Wait. Hesperon is the user, but I have multiple bodies, one soul. What about contracts via other bodies?'
Clang— Clink—
His honed instincts screamed.
The solution to this crisis was right here.
He just hadn't realized it.
Thoughts accelerated; the world slowed.
'Contract, soul, subject, avatar...'
In near-frozen time, Hesperon's eyes deepened.
Things previously invisible faintly appeared.
'Yeah, no need to overthink. I've always been just one 'Han Seonghyeon'.'
Why react now?
Simple, upon reflection.
'Miyamoto Ken and that curse blob are practically one now.'
And Ken swore loyalty to Hela.
Via tangled skills and domination, ensuring no stray thoughts.
That's why he still resisted.
Not intended for this, but his soul was effectively pledged to him.
'And Hela and Hesperon are the same person...?'
Naturally, a lord-vassal bond formed between Ken and Hesperon.
Plus, that thing raging to merge completely with Ken...
'Strictly speaking, it's my subordinate too!'
Forced logic.
But the causality was real now—what could he do?
In "mystery," karma held binding power beyond all else.
Hesperon halted his full retreat.
The black fog closed in rapidly, but he ignored it.
Clink— Clink—
Chains resounded in his mind.
The sound of bonds, audible only to him.
As Hesperon recognized it, the karmic chain linked them.
Rank wasn't always absolute.
Sometimes bonds made it profoundly relative.
Like now.
Despite the vast gap, an unshakeable lord-vassal hierarchy formed.
And with that karma vivid—
Clank—
Using 「Chain of Oath」, he felt it naturally.
The leash of that horrific monster was now in his hand.
Of course, full subjugation was impossible.
The rank gap remained vast, even with hierarchy.
But other things were feasible.
"Yeah, now I can finally eat properly."
Hesperon's lips curled.
The Black Flame Dragon peeking over his shoulder grinned slyly too.
———!
Immediately after.
A super-leech that could swallow hippos whole savagely swept the space ahead.