Chapter 406
Chapter 406
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 407
Chapter Title: Clash with the Demon King
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"……Aigoo. My back."
Somewhere on Baekdu Mountain.
Kim Jincheol, who had been following the faintly distorted mana currents, rubbed his lower back.
Perhaps because of his age, his back had been hurting more often lately.
It had been hurting for…… about 30 years now?
"I've gotten old too. If I were just 30 years younger…… Tsk."
By the way, what was that mana he had sensed earlier?
Kim Jincheol stretched his back straight and looked up at the sky.
Just moments ago, something indescribable had rumbled loudly through the heavens.
At the same time, a rift had briefly torn open in the sky before snapping back to normal.
It wasn't a mere natural phenomenon or mana disaster.
He had sensed a faint trace of life force hidden within the mana.
"This isn't good."
A rift. A rift in the sky……
Come to think of it, there were records of a similar phenomenon in the past.
Kim Jincheol slowly rummaged through his memories.
"……Right. Rift translocation."
It had happened 200 years ago.
The red-eyed 'Mad Dragon, Lumas,' which had plunged the entire world into terror.
There were records that a rift had appeared in the sky on the day it was subjugated.
"The dragon's authority to move through rifts, wasn't it?"
A dragon……
Could Cruas have made a move while I was away?
Kim Jincheol felt a moment of gravity, but now that he was this far, he couldn't turn back without seeing the Demon King's face.
"I need to hurry."
With communications jammed by the mana anomalies on Baekdu Mountain, he had no idea what might be happening in Seoul.
Kim Jincheol closed his eyes and once again sensed the mana currents around him.
The subtle flows of demonic energy that an ordinary mage could never detect.
He followed those flows and resumed walking.
Before long, he arrived at a small cave.
A powerful demonic barrier that rejected any human intrusion stretched across the entrance.
"So this is where it was."
Kim Jincheol concentrated mana in his palm. He pressed his hand against the barrier, and a massive explosion erupted.
Kwaaaaaang—!
The barrier shattered in an instant, and a foul demonic energy began pouring out from within the cave.
Kim Jincheol ignored it and pressed onward.
How long did he walk like that? Soon, a hidden underground city appeared before his eyes.
And there, demons stared back at him with faces frozen in terror.
The hideout of the Ten Demon Lords looked like an entire civilization.
He felt a sense of wonder at the unfamiliar sight, but there was no time for admiration.
His goal was to kill the 'Demon King' as quickly as possible and return to Seoul.
Where had the king hidden himself?
As he scanned the surroundings, a massive door came into view at the edge of his vision.
"So you're hiding in there."
Kim Jincheol slowly walked toward the source of the intense demonic energy.
Opening the door revealed a pitch-black darkness where nothing was visible.
Kim Jincheol pierced through the shadows to lock eyes with the king hidden within.
The moment their gazes met, the king smiled and rose from his throne.
"Kim Jincheol. I knew you would come here. But you've arrived sooner than I expected."
"……Hmm. Interesting."
The king gave him a puzzled look as Kim Jincheol observed him like a specimen.
"What's so interesting?"
"I can sense a faint mystical power emanating from you…… What is that? Did you make a deal with the Mystery?"
A flicker of surprise crossed the king's face at those words.
"……As expected. Your insight lives up to the rumors. You noticed right away."
"One of my disciples pulled the exact same stunt. That's how I know."
In response to Kim Jincheol's words, the king said,
"You're right. Through my deal with the Mystery, I gained new power. I temporarily amplified the clan's authority, 'Soulblood.' And……"
Swoooo……
A red light infused with powerful mana began rising around him.
The light soon absorbed into the king's body. As time passed, the demonic energy emanating from him grew steadily stronger.
"To maximize the power of Soulblood, I gathered countless mana essences. All for this very moment."
"……Bloodstones."
Woooooong…….
The intensifying demonic energy from the king began shaking the entire area. Dust from the ceiling rained down, clouding the view.
Kim Jincheol knew.
The king had reached a level where he wouldn't lose even to a disaster-class beast.
At the same time, he was glad he had come here himself.
If he had sent a special forces unit instead, they all would have died pointless deaths.
"Then die."
Black demonic energy gathered into a single point in front of the king.
It was a lethal force that even made Kim Jincheol's skin crawl.
Anyone struck by that would perish, no matter the life form.
And the black demonic orb shot straight toward Kim Jincheol.
Paaaaang——
In that fleeting moment just before the demonic energy touched his body.
A blue light flashed before his eyes.
Kwaaaaaang!
A massive explosion rocked the area.
Dust billowed up again, obscuring all vision.
Time passed, the dust settled, and visibility cleared.
……
The king's eyes widened in shock.
Kim Jincheol stood there utterly unscathed, exactly as before.
What in the world had happened?
Bewildered by the unexpected turn, the king slowly looked down at his own body.
"What is this……"
Half of his flesh had vanished.
Black blood soaked the floor, and he felt no sensation from his body.
The king remembered.
The circular magic circle that had unfolded the instant his demonic energy reached Kim Jincheol.
The nature of that magic was……
"……Reflection."
The absolute defense magic symbolizing Kim Jincheol.
The ultimate spell that had elevated him to the world's strongest mage.
"……You perfectly manifested the ritual in that split second?"
The king let out a disbelieving laugh.
He had already known Kim Jincheol was strong.
But this was beyond excessive, wasn't it?
"A monster……?"
Z、O O O
The king's flesh rapidly regenerated to its original form. It took less than 0.5 seconds.
Watching him, Kim Jincheol's eyebrow twitched slightly.
"Impressive regenerative ability."
Black demonic energy rose around the king once more.
Unlike before, when it had gathered into a single point.
Dozens of strands of demonic energy.
The king smiled and said,
"This is fun. Then let's see which is superior—your absolute defense or my infinite vitality."
Soon, dozens of strands shot toward Kim Jincheol.
And countless reflections manifested simultaneously around him.
Flash!
With a blinding burst of light, the space warped dramatically.
Black blood splattered the floor, and the demon's body split in two as it collapsed.
"……Where the hell is Kim Seonwoo?"
It had been 10 minutes since they started searching for Kim Seonwoo.
Intense demonic energy and mana bursts were exploding everywhere, making it impossible to track his mana.
Of course, the constant interference from swarms of emerging demons hadn't helped.
Shin Youngjun felled the demon in front of him with a massive spear and said,
"Looks like the celebration party's off the table today."
"Yeah. I was kinda looking forward to it."
Shin Youngjun whipped his head around at Yu Ara's quiet mutter.
"What? You were pretending not to care, but you were excited?"
As Yu Ara clamped her mouth shut, Lee Hyunjoo spoke up.
"This isn't the time for jokes. Focus."
"……Got it."
At that moment, a chilling demonic energy emanated from somewhere.
Lee Seojun's group quickly turned their gazes.
—Kwaaaak!
Someone who looked like an association agent collapsed, spraying red blood.
And standing before him was a fiend in a blood-soaked hood.
The agent's spurting blood slowly absorbed into the fiend's body.
"A demon……"
Not an ordinary one.
Lee Seojun, who had experience fighting S-Rank demons, instinctively knew.
That was an S-Rank demon.
And the hooded man's gaze turned to Lee Seojun.
"……Lee Seojun?"
At those words, Lee Seojun drew up his mana.
The hooded man summoned black demonic energy and charged at Lee Seojun.
Paat!
Kung!
Their clash unleashed a powerful mana shockwave.
"Urk!"
But the bastard's power was overwhelming.
Due to the clear difference in strength, Lee Seojun's body was flung back hard.
The demon followed up without missing a beat.
Yu Ara, Lee Hyunjoo, and Shin Youngjun attacked the demon to protect him.
But the demon unfurled a curtain of black demonic energy, effortlessly nullifying their assaults.
"……Annoying. I'll kill you all at once."
Woooooong!
A pillar of black demonic energy shot up from the retreating demon's body toward the sky.
The resulting fierce winds pushed everyone back.
Yoon Hayoung watched the battle unfold and swallowed hard.
A terrifying storm of demonic energy.
At this rate, they would all die to that demon.
Normally, she needed Kim Seonwoo's permission, but now was the time to protect her friends.
Yoon Hayoung decided to use her Demon Extermination power, no choice.
The moment she began drawing up her mana.
Paang!
A strand of black mana pierced the demon's chest from above.
The pillar of black demonic energy pouring from the demon's body lost power and dissipated.
"……What is this."
The demon touched the black blood oozing from the hole in his chest, his face panicked.
He raised his head toward the direction the black mana had come from.
Atop a building stood a blonde woman, her long hair whipping in the wind.
"……Seonhwa? Why are you……?"
The blonde woman. Seonhwa, an executive of the Ten Demon Lords and an S-Rank demon just like him.
Seonhwa landed on the ground from the rooftop.
Lee Seojun was bewildered by the demon's sudden aid.
A demon attacking another demon? And S-Ranks at that.
"What's going on……?"
Seonhwa turned, glared at Lee Seojun, and spoke.
"Go."
Shin Youngjun voiced his doubt at the curt command.
"……Why is a demon helping us?"
Seonhwa replied,
"……Someone asked me to protect you."
"A request? Us?"
A request?
As puzzled expressions spread across their faces, Yoon Hayoung—who vaguely knew of the connection between Seonhwa and Kim Seonwoo—caught on.
"Kids! Leave this to her and let's go."
"……Huh? Can we really trust her?"
"Yeah. We can."
They all fell silent at her confident answer.
Yoon Hayoung turned to Seonhwa.
"Where's Seonwoo?"
Seonhwa pointed to her left with a finger.
Everyone's gazes followed.
"Let's go!"
Yoon Hayoung took the lead and ran.
According to Kim Seonwoo, only she—who wielded the Demon Extermination power—could kill the 'king.'
So they had to rendezvous before anything happened.
Thorns of demonic energy shot toward me.
I unfurled a barrier, blocking Jeonghwan's attacks one by one.
It had been a long time since I'd fought an S-Rank demon without the moon's blessing, so it felt grueling.
"……What? You're weaker than I thought?"
Jeonghwan, locked in combat with me, wore a face full of doubt.
He must have felt the gap compared to the 'Demon Hunter' who had taken on two S-Rank demons at once.
"Why is this all you've got? Or are you holding back because we're in public?"
Kwaang!
I blocked the demonic energy again. My body was pushed back hard, a small gash opening on my shoulder.
"……Hoo."
As he said, I was using less than usual.
With the king's plan unknown, I had to conserve abilities like Heart of the Great Nature or Battle Frenzy for potential contingencies.
But that limit was approaching fast.
"……What the hell is the special forces team doing."
Where was Kim Jincheol, and what were the other agents up to?
Yoon Hayoung—is she safe right now? That worried me too.
At least Choi Seoyoon had gone to find the association agents, knowing she couldn't help here.
Then Jeonghwan said to me,
"……You're not the Child of Prophecy after all, are you?"
Seeing me only defending, Jeonghwan muttered in misconception.
He clicked his tongue softly.
"Tch. Did I bark up the wrong tree? Then where's the Child of Prophecy hiding?"
Jeonghwan glared at me and clenched his fist.
"Damn. This isn't the time."
Woooong!
Black demonic energy surged above the demon's head once more.
I let out a short sigh at the sight.
"Sigh, beats me."
Forget the king for now—I just need to survive.
The good news was that the 'special circumstance' allowing me to kill him without using abilities had been created by his own hand.
And then, Jeonghwan's demonic energy shot toward me.
I activated 'Instant Acceleration' at the perfect timing.
Perceived time slowed, making his attack appear sluggish.
Woooong!
In that brief window, I opened my palm and manifested the ritual. It quickly formed perfectly.
With Instant Acceleration, the timing was flawless.
The moment the demonic energy touched the ritual, I triggered 'Reflection.'
Woooong.
Paang——
The demonic energy he fired reflected straight back at Jeonghwan.
Caught off guard, he was fully exposed to his own attack.
Kwaaaaaang!
"Graaaak!"
A massive hole tore through Jeonghwan's upper body, and he collapsed to the ground.
Confirming my plan's success, I let out a sigh of relief.
"Whew."
I exhaled briefly and looked at Jeonghwan.
Writhing in agony, his body was regenerating rapidly.
"Grk! You bastaaard……"
As he tried to regenerate, I unleashed magic onto his body.
Paang!
"Kaaaak!"
Another scream erupted from the fresh attack.
Jeonghwan's eyes began turning black. Berserk transformation was starting.
At that moment, he seemed to sense something wrong and looked down at his recent wound.
"This?"
Jeonghwan noticed his body was burning.
He had finally realized the nature of the magic I had just fired at him.
His eyes trembled violently as he stared at me.
"……Th-this is the Demon Extermination power?"