Chapter 425
Chapter 425
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 425
Chapter Title: Masquerade (3)
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“Ugh... At this rate, I might not even die a natural death...”
Crawling out from the rubble of the shattered wall, his body a total wreck, Ken let out a deep sigh.
The boundless power that had filled his entire body was now completely gone, vanished without a trace.
If I pushed it, I could probably hold out a bit longer.
But there was no need to act recklessly when his body was crumbling at an accelerating rate as time passed.
Besides, there was no reason to go that far anymore.
“Whew, so those guys are really members of that Masquerade group?”
As he brushed the dust off his body, Ken's gaze turned toward the eye of the storm that had erupted in the distance.
Four shadowy figures who had suddenly ripped through space and barged in.
They had to be the reinforcements—no doubt about it—sent by his employer, who had told him to hold out just a little longer somehow!
“But... I never imagined the backup would be on this level.”
Their numbers weren't all that impressive.
However, considering their caliber, it was absurd how much firepower was gathered in one place.
Three opponents I can't even gauge properly, just like the Executioner... and the other one is stronger than me.
For such monsters to all belong to a single organization and move as one...
What the hell was this secret group called Masquerade, anyway?
Honestly, he could've believed it if someone said they were secretly plotting world domination.
His employer alone—the one who had summoned him from the demon world and put him to work—had the ability to peer into global intelligence right from his seat.
For Ken, who had unwittingly become a newbie in that organization against his own will, it was impossible not to care.
And a saint? No way it's that Saint of Outerica I know... right?
Was it because he was a demon himself?
Among the masked vampire and the others, the one radiating a brilliant halo and thick divine power stood out even more to him.
They probably wouldn't try to purify him now that he was on their side, sword in hand.
“Kahahahat! Don't hold back—eat 'em up good!”
At that moment, a booming laugh pierced his ears from the site where momentum was surging wildly.
Followed by a massive shockwave accompanied by an enormous explosion.
Ken twisted his body to disperse it, furrowing his brow.
...That laugh sounds awfully familiar.
It wasn't just the laugh.
The tone felt intimately familiar too, differing only in voice.
So much so that it reminded him of the three-headed friend he'd just gone on a life-risking adventure with.
...Nah, must be my imagination.
Ken stared blankly at the hulking, muscle-bound brute who had swung a fist out of nowhere, then nodded slightly.
Yeah, definitely his imagination.
There was no way that fluffy-furred, adorable pup could be such a hideous barbarian.
Having lived in the demon world for about twenty years and fully immersed in demonic sensibilities, Ken turned his gaze away.
Toward the spot where the demon he'd been fiercely trading blows with until moments ago had received a massive preemptive strike.
***
The four avatars dispatched under the banner of Masquerade.
There was good reason for sending such overwhelming force.
This place was a stage the Reverse Heaven Society had prepared as a trap from the start.
Instead of sending just enough manpower and risking ruin from their hidden trump card, it was better to throw in every available hand to ensure no scheme could work.
They're already somewhat exposed from their activities on Earth anyway.
A perfect opportunity had arisen to showcase their power to some degree.
It would also help in fully absorbing the 'Burning Torch.'
...Though now that their leader's gone and they're practically in shambles, it feels a bit awkward.
Still, something was better than nothing.
To continue global operations against the Reverse Heaven Society, they needed that faction's existence.
With a substantial number of members and even transcendents mixed in, there would surely be ways to use them once absorbed.
“Hm?”
Among the dispatched avatars, one tilted his head.
Harley, the paragon mercenary who hopped between dimensions meddling in every trouble spot, and who had already clashed with demons several times before—a seasoned demon hunter.
It was a good call to swing first without hesitation, given the foe's nature and the perfect excuse...
[Heh, you're tough. No, this is beyond tough. What the hell are you? Are you even a living being?]
Why were there finger-sized holes in his shoulder?
If he hadn't instinctively twisted away on reflex, it would've been his heart instead of his shoulder.
Of course, wounds like this were nothing to Harley, but the problem was he couldn't even figure out when or how the attack had come while experiencing it firsthand.
“Jeez, first time for this. Not only did you fool my senses and dodge, you even counterattacked?”
[That's my line. To evade a fatal blow in that instant and limit it to mere scratches. Impressive—truly splendid!]
“Huh? Fatal blow? Scratches?”
Harley, who had activated not just Bio Aura and Stamp of the Fighting King but even Mad Emperor Heart Technique (Revised) to heighten his senses to the extreme, blinked.
Of course, the holes already etched into his shoulder had vanished without a trace.
[......? What? You regenerated from my attack that quickly?]
Not even a drop of the spilled blood remained, fully absorbed without a hint.
Even the Executioner couldn't help but be taken aback by the sight.
Of course, among the prey he'd hunted so far, those without regeneration were the rarer breed.
Some had regenerated from mere scraps of flesh in an instant, so that said it all.
But even those crumbled helplessly against my attacks.
Even if he couldn't crush equals with sheer 'rank.'
That was the privilege he'd gained climbing to archdemon in another world—one that let him challenge even the immortal divine seats.
Yet the foe stood there unscathed...
“Ugh, that barely even filled me up. Fuel efficiency's in the toilet. If I start losing muscle mass, that's gonna be a problem.”
The Executioner's lips twitched at the grumbling voice.
With it, fighting spirit crept over his earlier fluster.
Flame-like energy erupted from his body, scorching the surroundings in an instant.
[Heh heh heh... Yes, that's more like it. Good—very good!]
This was the kind of fight he'd craved from the start.
A brutal clash hurling every ounce of power, where lives, souls, and convictions collided.
Normally, he restrained his unique skill, relying mainly on the strength he'd built as a demon.
He'd used it just now as mockery and warning against the ambusher, but not with true intent to kill.
The reason was simple.
[Puhahat! Yes, now we won't end this pathetically!]
No one but the Reverse Heaven Society leader had withstood him unleashing his unique skill fully.
He was even thrilled to face an opponent who could draw out all his abilities.
The next instant.
The Executioner, erupting with volcanic momentum and bursting into laughter, vanished.
And simultaneously.
“Huh?”
Splurt—
Harley's chest split open as he reflexively twisted, blood spraying forth.
Four deep gashes carved across the body of the Ultimate Evolved Lifeform that would emerge unscathed from a nuclear blast's epicenter.
And it didn't end there.
Riiip—slash! Crack—snap!
Tough skin peeled away under blazing destructive energy.
Sinewy muscles tore from hands that warped space itself.
Fingers severed by something sharp, wrist hacked off before regeneration could finish.
[Oh ho? Even this? Then how about this! Dodge it too. Come on, come on!]
“Grr! This guy's having the time of his life all by himself?”
Amid the storm of onslaughts, Harley couldn't counter or even properly evade...
But he still gained something.
By maxing his senses and enduring blow after blow, he'd finally pinpointed exactly what was hitting him.
Don't tell me.
Of course, that was partly thanks to the other avatars watching from a third-party view.
Heinz 2nd's brow twitched as he used Insight to analyze the karmic distortions around them.
Harris did the same, deploying Observer of the Milky Way and nature-affinity skills to read air currents.
“...Time stop?”
Heinrich murmured lowly, brow furrowed.
Reborn as a higher-dimensional angel, his opened eyes detected the world's unnatural anomaly.
In time imperceptible to cognition, where all halted, one exception moved freely.
That being paused, fiddling with Harley's blood on its fingertip.
[Heh! Incredible. You reacted in the split second my attack connected?]
Of course, Harley's own rank wasn't low, so the ability wasn't fully effective.
The instant attacks touched him, the Executioner's triggered 'time stop' failed to fully apply.
But that alone won't catch him.
Now he understood the foe's earlier nonchalance.
Beyond combat utility, using it in danger allowed safe escape anytime—no wonder no sense of crisis.
“Tch, fighting so boringly? All that talk, but your moves are total cheap shots...”
[Oops, got too carried away. Forgive me. Since returning to Earth, only the leader could handle my full power. Been pent up. Even potentials are hard to meet now that he banned infighting.]
Well, growing that far in another world meant massive karma intake.
His own Avatar showed unique skills' infinite potential.
If it reached divine authority via sanctity...
Thanks to this, one more intel gained. There are more potentials, huh?
Handling attacks in stopped time proved they weren't ordinary.
Details could come gradually.
As he pondered, the Executioner, having scanned the observing avatars after the brief probe, spoke casually.
[All rested? Let's get serious. Hm, taking you all at once might be tough... but whatever. No second chance like this. Pushing limits to test boundaries—great experience!]
Overflowing with confidence, he even prepared for a group assault.
Watching his attitude twisted their guts.
His ability was impressive, sure—but looking down on them was another matter!
Though we planned that from the start!
Ganging up on the few—'piling on'—was a time-honored tactic proven by history and tradition.
Its efficiency made it worth using when conditions allowed, a belief unchanged.
But...
...Yeah, like he said, this is experience too? Not easy to find foes of that level with such dangerous powers.
If gains came from it, tweaking the plan was fine.
His true rival was the far stronger Reverse Heaven Society leader.
Now was for grinding EXP and leveling—not rushing stages.
Diverse experience is prime combat value. ...And with eyes watching, optics matter.
Decision made.
Let Harley handle it solo until he landed one solid hit.
Hiss—screeech!
Stepping forward slowly, his body heated up, steam rising.
Accompanied by a metallic groan like twisting steel.
His frame had grown to loom over the opponent.
“Hng! Enough messing—let's do this for real! Body's finally warmed up!”
[Hm? You alone? Fine by me.]
Gazing at the striding Harley, the Executioner's eyes flicked to the other avatars.
Mouth said one thing, but they clearly nagged at him.
To Harley, even that felt like mockery.
“Heh heh... Buddy, wanna hear a life truth?”
Dark crimson energy surged from his body.
An alien aura that corrupted mere proximity—not vital force or aura.
Pure 'madness' from the abyss, squeezed out like wringing the Seed of Madness—suppressed via every control means until now—began eroding the surroundings.
“Nothing's as humiliating as getting owned after flapping your tongue all cocky!”
Boom—!
Harley's massive frame charged forward in an instant.
[Irrelevant to me.]
Simultaneously, the Executioner activated his unique skill.
————!
The world slowed like a slo-mo video.
And when all finally froze.
In this halted realm, only he—the 'Eternal Archdemon'—moved.
Hm, without my unique skill, winning head-on would've been tough. This reality-defying horror must be the source of his divinity?
The beast-masked freak was upon him, but he didn't flinch.
No means for the foe to harm him now.
Impressive, I'll grant—but matchup-wise, that alone can't beat me.
Honestly, facing such an absurd body was new even for him.
To take space-rending attacks and merely get scratched...
How dense must its composition be, how resistant to external interference, to allow that!
And it regenerated quickly too.
His best efforts only severed a wrist—despite one-sided advantage, no feel for when it'd exceed regen.
But time is infinite for me. Keep pounding, and it'll break eventually.
Energy blazed from the Executioner's grip.
Manipulating it in frozen time burdened him too, but no choice.
Otherwise, not even proper wounds.
The anomaly hit then.
As he neared the suspended giant, attack ready.
Something made his eyes twitch.
Ha?
The lion mask enveloping the head.
Through its eyeholes gleamed a pair of crimson-and-emerald orbs.
Staring straight at him.
How?!
With a sly, viscous smirk in their slightly upturned gaze.