Chapter 407
Chapter 407
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 408
Chapter Title: The Demon King's Descent
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“......Cough.”
Black blood erupted from his mouth, soaking the floor.
The king's entire body was riddled with countless holes too numerous to identify, and his eyes held deep bewilderment.
Hundreds, thousands of attacks. Yet Kim Jin-cheol had calmly deflected every single one with perfect counterattacks.
No matter how exceptional his reaction speed, anyone human should have slipped up once or twice.
Was that monster even human? Such doubts arose.
And as he watched the king, Kim Jin-cheol stroked his beard and muttered softly.
“......Annoying. Even after I smashed his head, it regenerates. Is he truly immortal?”
He appeared endlessly relaxed.
In his eyes toward the king, there was more observation and curiosity than hostility or wariness.
To show such leisure against himself, who reigned at the pinnacle of all demons......
“Insolent......”
The king rapidly regenerated his body once more, then unleashed black demonic energy.
But the more he attacked, the more damage he took himself.
Because all his assaults were returned by the infinite counterattacks.
“......Kuh!”
The king finally halted his attacks and regenerated his body again.
Seeing this, Kim Jin-cheol smiled.
“Heh. It's slowed ever so slightly. No matter how potent your vitality, you're still mortal...... Not immortal after all.”
Kim Jin-cheol wore a chilling smile. The king felt a shiver at it.
“......We've confirmed you're not immortal. Shall we end the probing and get serious?”
Wooooong!
Terrifying mana began surging from Kim Jin-cheol's body.
Moments later, his form vanished from sight.
Until now, he had focused on defense via counterattacks, so the king couldn't help but panic at the sudden shift.
“Over here.”
Hearing the voice from behind, the king whirled around. What met his eyes was a complex magic circle etched on a palm.
The magic circle touched the king's head, triggering a massive explosion.
KABOOOM!
With the blast, the king's headless body was hurled backward.
But in less than a second, his head regenerated, and he unleashed black demonic energy at Kim Jin-cheol again.
Pang!
As Kim Jin-cheol charged forward, he reflected all the incoming black demonic energy with counterattacks.
The black energy pierced the king's body anew, creating more holes.
“Grrgh! You bastard!”
As the disadvantageous situation dragged on, the king's eyes began to darken.
At the same time, an overwhelming surge of black demonic energy exploded from his entire body.
Hundreds of strands of black demonic energy erupted around him, raining ferocious bombardment on Kim Jin-cheol.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Vast clouds of dust billowed across the space, obscuring Kim Jin-cheol and the king. Yet the relentless barrage continued unabated.
Time passed, the mana explosions finally ceased, and the obscuring dust settled.
Kim Jin-cheol emerged first.
He was largely unscathed overall. But unlike before, minor wounds dotted his body.
Kim Jin-cheol touched a gash on his shoulder, gazing at the blood on his hand.
Then he turned to the king, slowly emerging from the dust opposite him.
The king's state was wretched.
Holes pierced his body everywhere. Unlike before, his regeneration speed had clearly slowed.
Even that endless regenerative power was now reaching its limits.
......And as the king's power waned, Ha-ryeong, bound by the darkness's demonic energy, broke free.
Suddenly freed, Ha-ryeong gazed at Kim Jin-cheol and the king with trembling eyes.
Their clash delivered a fresh shock to him.
It was a duel between the apex beings of their races—transcendents beyond the reach of ordinary S-rank demons or wizards.
His gaze turned to Kim Jin-cheol.
‘......Is that the pinnacle of humanity?’
No, limiting him to humans felt like an insult.
He couldn't imagine even the strongest life-form defeating him.
‘......Conquering the human world was a foolish notion from the Ten Demon Council.’
Just then, Kim Jin-cheol's eyes turned to Ha-ryeong.
Meeting that gaze, Ha-ryeong broke into cold sweat and melted back into the darkness.
With Ha-ryeong gone, Kim Jin-cheol returned his focus to the king.
The king had nearly fully recovered his body by now.
“Hmm. At this rate, we could fight for a week straight without end...... A seal it is, then?”
......As he pondered this,
A mystical aura welled up from somewhere and began seeping into the king.
His eyes trembled violently.
“......Found you.”
“What?”
At the king's abrupt change, Kim Jin-cheol looked at him with puzzled eyes.
The king seemed oblivious to Kim Jin-cheol before him, chuckling to himself with heaving shoulders.
“Kuh, hahaha......”
He burst into mad laughter.
What could possibly amuse him so?
“......Finally. I've finally found you.”
“Found what?”
To Kim Jin-cheol's question, the king replied.
“My natural predator. The child of prophecy born with the power to exterminate demons.”
“......Child of prophecy?”
The hidden spells throughout the space revealed themselves, shining brilliantly.
Kim Jin-cheol looked down at them in astonishment.
Deep confusion settled in his eyes for the first time.
And the king spoke.
“Human. I acknowledge my defeat. You're strong. No matter what I try now, I can't beat you......”
A mana storm blew in from somewhere, enveloping the king's body.
“But I have won this war.”
Ruuuumble!
The sudden turn of events left me bewildered.
From Jeong-hwan's body, collapsed after taking the demon-exterminating spell, an unbelievably potent demonic energy began rampaging.
An intensity impossible for mere S-rank demonic energy......
His face, stripped of reason, suggested it wasn't intentional.
And the other demons, excluding Jeong-hwan, showed the same symptoms.
The difference was that all their demonic energies converged on Jeong-hwan.
“......What is this.”
“Kim Sun-woo!”
Then a familiar voice called from behind.
Turning, I saw Lee Seo-jun and his group approaching me.
Yoon Ha-young reached me first, grabbing my shoulder.
“Sun-woo! You okay?! Any injuries?”
“......Yeah. Fine. You?”
“I'm good too.”
Lee Seo-jun followed, then turned his gaze to Jeong-hwan before us.
“......What happened here?”
“No idea. It just suddenly went berserk.”
As I spoke, I conjured mana orbs and fired them at the rampaging Jeong-hwan.
But my spells vanished upon hitting his surging demonic energy.
Lee Seo-jun stared blankly and muttered.
“......What's about to happen?”
“Senior!”
Choi Seo-yoon's voice followed.
Behind her, Kim Deok-hyeon and special forces agents were rushing over.
Kim Deok-hyeon glanced at me, then at the rampaging Jeong-hwan.
Noting the wounds on him, he said to me.
“Those wounds. Your doing?”
“......Yeah, for now.”
Kim Deok-hyeon nodded and refocused on Jeong-hwan.
“First things first, we stop that unidentified rampage.”
He infused mana into his spear and charged at Jeong-hwan.
KABOOOM!
But Kim Deok-hyeon's spear never reached him.
The overwhelming demonic energy pouring from Jeong-hwan shielded him perfectly.
“......Kuh!”
The agents behind followed suit, unleashing their spells at him—but to no avail.
They too were nullified by the intense demonic energy from Jeong-hwan.
Sensing the gravity, everyone broke into cold sweat.
Then the demonic energy surging from Jeong-hwan condensed into a single point.
Seeing it, I felt an unprecedented sense of crisis. Instinctively, I shouted.
“......Everyone, brace!”
With that, I gathered all my mana and erected a barrier.
Woooong......
KABOOOOOM!
A massive explosion unleashed a fierce shockwave that slammed into the barrier.
The impact hurled my body back, and I felt the stable mana flow in my chest twist.
“......Cough!”
Blood poured from my mouth.
Not just me—everyone caught in the barrier cried out in agony as their internal mana warped.
The dust cleared from before our eyes, and Jeong-hwan's form slowly revealed itself.
Everyone's eyes widened in shock.
“......This is.”
Crouched before Jeong-hwan stood a gray-skinned naked man.
The murderous demonic energy radiating from his body......
My heart pounded wildly. Instinct screamed that this man was dangerous.
Staring at him, I muttered softly.
“......The Demon King.”
He was the king.
The Demon King, descended by absorbing the surrounding demons' energies.
“Cough!”
Then the king spat black blood.
His face contorted in pain as he curled up small.
“......Cough! Cough!”
Some issue must have arisen during the descent—his condition didn't look intact.
Ongoing bleeding. Resignation filled his eyes.
“......My body's not right. Used too much power in that earlier fight.”
“......Your Majesty. Is something wrong with your body?”
At Jeong-hwan's words, the king looked up and wielded black demonic energy.
Jeong-hwan's body floated into the air via the black energy.
Suddenly suspended, Jeong-hwan's face filled with panic.
“......W-Wait, Your Majesty?”
Pshooo!
Dozens of black demonic tendrils pierced Jeong-hwan's body.
Black blood sprayed from Jeong-hwan in all directions, slowly absorbed into the king's body.
The king's demonic power grew even stronger.
“......Still not enough.”
“Attack!”
The agents, eyeing each other, charged at the king.
He appeared off-guard—the perfect opening. But I bellowed at them.
“No!”
Black demonic energy swirled around the king, devouring them.
“Arrrgh!”
Screams rang out as crimson blood fountained cruelly.
The blood slowly absorbed into the king.
“......Still insufficient.”
Overwhelmed by his dominance, everyone froze.
Though all here were top-tier wizards hovering at A-rank, instinct told them they couldn't win against the foe before them.
Even Lee Seo-jun, ever brave before Joon, was the same.
“......I'll hold him off as best I can. You all run and inform the Association.”
Kim Deok-hyeon stepped forward, face tense.
Just then, the king's gaze turned to me.
Meeting it alone made my heart race madly.
The king smiled faintly.
“......Kim Sun-woo. No, Child of Prophecy. I've awaited our meeting for twenty years.”