Chapter 488
Chapter 488
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 488
Chapter Title: Chapter 488
-----------------------------------------------------------------
```html
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 488
Chapter Title: The End of Delusion (4)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
In that fleeting instant.
A profound silence descended, as if the entire world had come to a halt.
The sole thought that flashed through the minds of the cultivators charging toward the Seongcheon Yun Clan was one and the same.
By a stroke of bizarre coincidence, the minds of everyone present had miraculously aligned.
'What... is this?'
At first, it was utterly incomprehensible.
...No, not quite.
Truth be told, grasping it wasn't all that hard.
As cultivators who honed their chakras and nurtured their mental images, failing to sense such a vivid mental pulse was simply inconceivable.
It wasn't incomprehension so much as...
'Unbelievable' was the more fitting word.
'Feels like I'll suffocate any second. What the hell...!'
An invisible storm of will erupted from the city's heart like a tsunami, surging outward in all directions.
Before this force that engulfed the entire area in a blink, their vaunted resistance and ironclad mental barriers proved worthless.
—Stop. Just a single word.
Yet that imposed intent seared into their minds, dousing their surging battle fervor like ice water, leaving it to fizzle pathetically.
Far from advancing, they couldn't even manage a step—their breaths choked off entirely.
A few tried resisting the compulsion, but their efforts didn't last.
"Haa... haa... Damn! The gaze...!"
"Guhhh! It's watching us! What the hell is it?!"
Paradoxically, the lower-realm cultivators fared better.
Those suddenly convulsing with bizarre reactions were all the elite powerhouses brimming with confidence in their prowess.
In probing that will to resist, they inevitably confronted something at its core.
Something indefinable, inscrutably peering at them from beyond the link dubbed "communication."
No matter its lack of malice, that colossal presence alone overwhelmed utterly.
High or low, every soldier was rendered powerless, will to fight shattered.
Thus, the war curtain fell before it could rise.
"...Incredible."
A miracle wrought by one mere word.
Lamyu, witnessing it firsthand from beside him, gazed up at Hoon with eyes sparkling like stars.
'This is true absolute power... Essential for bringing peace to the world...'
Having unlocked the "world's" chakra, she sensed it far more acutely than the rest.
The sheer karma embedded in Hoon's utterance.
The monumental effort he'd poured into amassing it.
'It felt like not just Hoon oppa alone, but over a dozen voices crying out in unison.'
Absurd delusion, of course.
Proof of her own shortcomings.
She nodded firmly, steeling her resolve to press on.
'...Yeah, that lit a fire under her for sure.'
Hoon sidelong-glanced at Lamyu, masking his satisfaction as he gravely crossed his arms.
A single blow with astronomical cultivator-level impact.
Worth the strain of drawing on his other avatars' mental strength.
"...Hoon-ssi? What in the world...?"
Then came Lusette's voice from behind, raw with undisguised fluster.
Turning, he saw her—sparks crackling across her body from her frantic rush—staring at them in wide-eyed alarm.
"Did you seriously ascend to the astronomical realm...? No, impossible. Reaching the deep layers already is unbelievable enough, but astronomy...? Yet this..."
She babbled in confusion, then squeezed her eyes shut for a deep breath.
Naturally, the Yun Clan couldn't miss this cataclysmic pulse originating from their stronghold.
Observing the will within, they reeled in shock.
Even conservatively gauged, its scale was impossible sans astronomical cultivator.
'Even toned down for aggression, broadcasting a mental wave this potent and vast... not something even deep-layer experts dismiss lightly.'
Targeted at her? She honestly doubted full endurance.
"Not quite astronomical yet. Just laced it with a touch of my otherworlder abilities. Think of it as a parlor trick."
"...I see."
Lusette managed an awkward smile, grudgingly accepting.
On reflection, he'd crippled droves of upper cultivators sans chakra, and fresh off initiation, even floored deep-layer ones.
Odd to gawk at this point.
"Ah, and I'll need some manpower... That alright?"
"For the cleanup here? No worries. This falls under Yun Clan duties too. Every department's already mobilizing full-force."
"That's part of it, but..."
Hoon trailed off, gaze drifting afar.
Yun Clan would learn soon enough; might as well spill now.
"Fraid that won't cut it."
And with those words—
Kuuuung—!
A distant boom rolled in faintly.
Lusette's face stiffened at the ill omen.
Before she could speak, lightning engulfed her form, vanishing on the spot.
"...Sheesh, no need to jump the gun like that."
"Isn't it over? Should we help with...?"
"Nah, we're good. That's not war. It's just..."
Hoon shrugged off Lamyu's worried query.
Chin-stroking, he pondered phrasing, then clapped once with a sly grin.
"Right—just the cleaning crew doing their disinfecting thing. Leave it to the pros."
"...?"
Ignoring her puzzled head-tilt, he lifted his gaze to the sky.
"Man, what perfect weather. Ideal for a shady-tree picnic, huh?"
Unusually vivid blue expanse overhead.
Bright as the future unfolding before them.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ A shabby man with a bandit-like beard lay amid collapsed building rubble, blankly staring at the sky through the gaping ceiling.
'...Fuck me, sky's stupidly clear today.'
How long since he'd last stared at the heavens?
But no time for leisure.
Stay down, and he'd lie there forever—one with the dirt.
Kuuung—!
He rolled instinctively as a massive leg slammed his spot.
A mere footfall, yet its aftermath far exceeded norms.
Craaaack—
Dust billowed amid spiderwebbing ground fissures.
Quake-like tremors sank the earth, crumbling the teetering structure.
"Huff... huff... I'm done for. How the hell'd that psycho monster latch on...?"
The man—magus cultivator "Human Butcher"—spat blood surging up his throat, muttering in despair.
His surroundings? Post-quake apocalypse, structures in ruins.
It happened in a flash.
He, five deep-layer cultivators, and double-digits of upper-layers from the Yun expedition reduced to bloody pulp without a fight.
Sensing doom, he'd hurled himself through a spatial rift to flee, but...
The hitch: the sudden colossus snagged him mid-jump, riding the rift alongside.
"Gahk! Attacks bouncing off...!"
"Human Butcher! You damn fool! What'd you drag in?!"
"Kwaaaak!"
And now, the scene before him.
Their Yun raid support hideout? Utterly pulverized.
By one lone entity.
"Kahahahaha—! All you vermin holed up here!"
Savage garb, muscles rippling dynamically.
Casual gestures rent all obstructions; no assault scratched that iron physique.
No chakra aura, no weapons—but pressure dwarfed average astronomical cultivators.
'Shit. If not for that cursed mental wave, none of this.'
That snag delayed his exit, birthing this catastrophe.
Irreversible now.
Best play: bolt far from the ambulatory apocalypse, but...
'No way that thing lets me off easy.'
Eyeing his chipped cleaver, he smiled bitterly.
"Hey, buddy! Loitering? You invited me here—let's tango again!"
Then, a booming voice inches away.
Reflex slash at the throat—but...
Kagagagak—!
Deep killing chakra and mid slaughter chakra-infused finisher sparked futilely, failing to breach skin.
His infamous cursed magicked blade, lethal on mere touch against humans!
'...Heh, figured as much. This freak... ain't human.'
Hence, anti-human slaughter power flopped—par for course.
Power gap meant even hits would've barely registered.
"Aw, man, that's cold. Acting before talking's a rotten habit. Time I hammered that out of ya."
Crunch echoed from Hari's boulder-fist.
Battle spirit flared like inferno.
What followed was predictable.
"Wrap it up, pal. Busy man here—tons left to do."
"Kehk! Gack... kuhk!"
Hari shrugged, massive hand clamped on his neck.
Battle clamor had long hushed.
Only he stood on two legs—natural outcome.
'Hongshan or Cheonghae troops? Maybe mercy. These pest magi? Nah.'
Unlike jack-of-all-trades Hela, Hari's specialty: smash everything.
Pest purge? Right up his alley.
'Nice, this front's squared away. Just ping Yun Clan for mop-up.'
Infamous magi bolt-hole.
Mopped the trash, but remnants unknown—probe and tidy essential.
Not his chore, though.
Dumping on involved Yun Clan? Smart move.
First, contact...
"...Huh?"
Hari blinked dumbly mid-thought.
Rushed the rift sans planning...
'Wait, where even am I? How do I get back?'
Back via 「Hero's Footsteps」, sure.
But pinpointing coords? Tricky.
Head-scratching skyward, he sighed.
"Uahahaha! Happens when a man's chasing glory!"
Hari bellowed heartily.
No fix in sight.
Luckily, Lusette—alerted to oddity, tracing noise—scouted traces and rallied pursuit.
Hari's total wreck of the drop-point? Made reverse-engineering coords a breeze, unlike last raid.
Thus, while post-Jueling slacker Hari finally shone...
Hela, earlier on the black幕 trail, notched her own win elsewhere.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Sabaten Central Continent's southern archipelago—one isle amid the cluster.
"Ha... haha... This is absurd."
A dark-skinned black man slumped, head bowed, hollow laugh escaping.
Dozens of black magic circles ringed him; chains therefrom coiled his form tight.
Irrefutable proof of defeat.
'Me, like this? Never crossed my mind.'
Unthinkable mere days ago.
Cheonghae's Yunsul Grand General, Hongshan's Jueling, or the Black King himself.
Any challenger? He'd crush 'em.
"Whew, what a pain of a power. Nearly slipped away for real."
Before him, a bewitching woman lounged midair, legs crossed, hand to cheek with a sigh.
Still, nabbed him—wings fluttered lazily behind, betraying her glee.
"Swapping bodies freely via hosts? No wonder pinning the real deal was hell."
Caught? Swap flesh. Cornered? Leap to distant host. Chase dragged eternally.
Were Hela not Demon King—lacking soul-sniff, track, and lock...
They'd still be at it.
'Demon King? Why's this thing here? And that mystery ain't chakra. Otherworlder? A Demon King? Bullshit!'
Griping changed zilch now.
"Well then."
She uncrossed, drifting close.
The black幕 fully quelled, immobile.
Unknown—the entity who'd shed flesh and name.
"Shall we have a nice, intimate chat?"
Gripping his chin, forcing eye contact—eerie glint flashed in Hela's gaze.
```