Chapter 408
Chapter 408
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 409
Chapter Title: The Child of Prophecy
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Everyone looked at me with questioning eyes at the king's words.
And Kim Deok-hyeon asked me.
“Kim Seon-woo. What’s this ‘Child of Prophecy’ thing?”
“......That’s.”
Right at that moment, I felt a chilling killing intent directed at me.
Sensing the instinctive danger, I quickly jerked my head to the side.
Whooosh!
At the same time, black demonic energy grazed past where my face had been.
My spine went ice-cold in an instant.
It was a perilous situation where my head might have exploded if I’d been even a second slower.
“Urk!”
The king prepared to attack me again using the black demonic energy.
Since there was a risk of bystanders getting caught in the crossfire, I had no choice but to use all my mana and leap back.
“Kim Seon-woo!”
As I retreated, the black demonic energy whipped from the king’s hand chased after me like a snake.
I timed my Air Walk to dodge just as it reached me.
KABOOM!
The ground where I’d stood exploded violently, letting out a massive roar.
At the same time, shards from the floor scattered, leaving a small cut on my cheek.
Having leaped into the air, I landed atop a nearby building.
Looking down at the ground, the king glared up at me, preparing his next attack, while the other agents stared at me with baffled, questioning eyes, unable to comprehend the situation.
In the midst of it all, my eyes met Yoon Ha-young’s, who was watching me with anxious worry.
She seemed concerned that something might happen to me, the one acting as bait in her place.
To reassure her, I gave her a light smile.
—...Whatever it is, it looks like the king’s after Seon-woo.
—Yeah, seems that way.
Everyone left at the scene began to draw up their mana.
They felt fear at the king’s overwhelming power, but they knew that if they couldn’t stop him now, an irreversible disaster would follow, so they resolved to stake their lives on it.
Whoooong!
Dozens of spells began pouring toward the king.
But the king easily blocked them with a curtain of demonic energy and started taking down the obstructing agents one by one.
The key figures were no exception.
They suffered major wounds from the king’s relentless demonic energy or had their mana twisted by the intense aura emanating from him, collapsing one after another.
Once the situation had settled somewhat, the king’s gaze turned back to me once more.
“I’ll kill you.”
Just as he channeled demonic energy into his feet to charge at me.
Whoooong!
A massive magic circle rose beneath his feet.
“Hm?”
Dozens of chains burst from the ground, starting to bind the king’s neck, arms, and legs.
“S-success!”
It was the work of the support agents who had arrived late to provide backup.
The king narrowed his brow as his body refused to move.
“Such trifles...”
Shwoooo!
A storm of demonic energy began swirling around the king.
Overwhelmed by the intense killing intent, everyone groaned in agony.
The mana chains binding the king started trembling unsteadily.
Looking down from above, I felt growing impatience.
The situation was far more dire than I’d anticipated.
It had diverged greatly from the original story’s progression....
In this environment saturated with demonic energy, it was nearly impossible for Yoon Ha-young to use her Demon Purge power.
Normally, the Association’s support would have been there to suppress his strength.
...Where the hell is Kim Jin-cheol?
“Tch!”
No choice now. Before anything worse happens, I need to quell that black storm first.
I spread my palm and concentrated my mana.
Soon, a sphere infused with light attribute formed above my palm.
I then overlaid it with Demon Purge mana, the kind that had dealt major damage to the ‘king’ before.
But it still wasn’t enough.
To inflict certain damage, I’d have to play all my hidden cards.
Thump!
[Activating the effect ‘Heart of Great Nature.’]
[Activating the effect ‘Fighting Spirit.’]
[‘Unyielding Resolve’ activates.]
As the effects kicked in, a surge of intense mana erupted within my body.
I gathered it into one point and layered it over the Demon Purge sphere.
Whoooosh!
The Demon Purge sphere trembled violently above my palm.
It paled in comparison to Yoon Ha-young’s ‘Demon Purge,’ but it was still the same Demon Purge power she wielded.
If I could land it on the king, it would surely shift the battle in our favor.
With the sphere complete, I pointed my palm at the king.
[Activating the effect ‘Homing Shot.’]
[The target is ‘King.’]
This was my resolve to kill him once and for all this time.
As my gaze locked onto his chest in that instant.
I released the sure-kill sphere containing everything I had.
Paaang—
The sphere absorbed ambient mana as it shot toward the king.
Sensing the ominous energy, the king’s eyes turned toward the incoming sphere.
Instinctively feeling the crisis, he desperately unleashed his swirling black demonic energy.
But Demon Purge power destroys ‘demonic energy,’ not ‘demons’ themselves.
Even the king’s demonic energy couldn’t block Demon Purge magic.
The sphere sliced through his demonic energy and pierced his chest.
And then.
KAAAAABOOOOM—
A deafening explosion erupted, blinding light engulfing everyone’s vision.
Shooo...
“Hahk... hahk......”
Panting heavily, I stared at where the king had been.
Thick smoke billowed up, with wisps of black demonic energy scattering through it.
A moment later, the king’s figure emerged from the smoke.
A massive hole gaped in the king’s chest.
His infinite regeneration seemed impaired; black blood dripped steadily as he looked down at it.
“......Cough!”
Black blood burst from the king’s mouth. His body swayed unsteadily, as if drained of strength.
“......So this is the power of Demon Purge?”
The king peered down at his gaping chest wound as if examining it.
“Indeed, a foreign power unlike anything I’ve felt before... Truly worthy of being called the natural predator of our kin...... But.”
The king’s black demonic energy, which had seemed on the verge of fading, began surging back fiercely.
“......If this is the harbinger of my death spoken of in the prophecy, it’s sorely disappointing.”
Whoooong!
Black demonic energy swirled wildly, shaking the ground.
The hole in his chest began regenerating in tandem.
He appeared no different from his usual self on the surface, but there was a clear change.
Both the intensity of his demonic energy and his regeneration.
They were noticeably weaker than before.
It had definitely worked.
“......I need to press this momentum.”
I manifested Demon Purge mana once more.
The Association agents seemed to notice as well, charging at the king.
“Haaap!”
Crack!
“Grrgh! Insolent!”
“Argh!”
Even so, it wasn’t enough to take down the king.
He no longer exuded overwhelming dominance like before, but he was still at the pinnacle of demons.
The agents collapsed one by one, unable to muster much against the black demonic energy he conjured.
The key figures fared no better. Lee Seo-jun took a heavy blow from the whipping demonic energy and fell; Shin Young-jun and Choi Seo-yoon also crumpled under his attacks.
......And Yoon Ha-young was no exception.
“Kyaaak!”
From the king at the center, black demonic energy lashed out like tentacles, sending Yoon Ha-young tumbling across the ground.
The king had calmly exploited the chaos to render all those agents combat-ineffective in an instant.
“Urk!”
Sensing things going awry, I unleashed Demon Purge magic at him again to draw his attention.
But as if refusing a second chance, the king charged forward, dodging my attack.
In a flash, he appeared before my eyes.
I manifested Demon Purge magic once more and fired it at him, but he evaded effortlessly again.
“I won’t fall for that magic again.”
Whoosh!
The following lash of demonic tendrils.
To dodge, I kicked off the ground and retreated once more.
The dozens of split tendrils snaked toward me in midair.
Dodging in this state was impossible.
[Activating the effect ‘True Vision.’]
At once, the movements of the demonic energy became visible to me.
With Heart of Great Nature handling mana recovery, I manifested as many spheres as incoming tendrils.
“Haaap!”
Bang! Bang! Bang! Paaaang!
The True Vision-enhanced spheres began intercepting the dozens of demonic tendrils one by one.
I aimed for the king’s body during the remaining True Vision time, but he dodged as if determined not to take hits.
“Tch.”
Even dodging True Vision. Is targeting him with Demon Purge magic nearly impossible now?
Still airborne, I activated Air Walk.
Then I kicked off the air and leaped high upward.
From the sky, I looked down at the ground.
Countless fallen people. And the king below, glaring up at me....
What I had to do was somehow land even a bit more ‘Demon Purge’ on the king.
But in this 1-on-1 where he’s focused solely on me, it’s nearly impossible....
Even so, there was one method.
It might be a bit risky, but...
I spread my palm and concentrated mana. Soon, a magic circle manifested above it.
I set the coordinates. A range that wouldn’t hit the fallen agents, but would definitely drench the king.
—What trick now?
Black demonic energy shot up from the ground toward me. Timing it perfectly, I activated the magic circle.
At once, countless magic circles began appearing in the sky.
Seeing them, the king’s eyes narrowed briefly.
—That magic is...
I replied as if answering his question.
“Demon Purge Rain. Try dodging this too.”
With those words, Demon Purge spheres poured from the sky’s magic circles, bombarding the ground.
For the first time, the king looked up at me with a panicked expression.
—W-what is this?
Kwarung! Kwarung! Kwarung!!
Beautiful streaks of mana infused with Demon Purge power.
But like thorns hidden in a beautiful rose, deadly barbs lurked within those streaks to slay the king.
“......Grrgh!”
Gritting my teeth, I kept pouring out mana.
The duration of [Heart of Great Nature], which sustained infinite mana, ended, and so did [Fighting Spirit], which amplified Demon Purge firepower, but I squeezed every last drop of remaining mana to maintain the downpour.
[Achievement ‘Extreme Mana Efficiency’ unlocked.]
[Reward: 3,000 points acquired.]
[Achievement ‘Desperate Magic’ unlocked.]
[Proficiency of ‘Mana Control Technique (A)’ increases.]
......And soon, mana depletion arrived.
Losing the power to sustain the rain, I plummeted toward the ground, strength drained.
Thankfully, I used the remaining mana to land safely, but that was the end.
“......Urgh.”
It felt like a mana burnout; my body twisted in agony.
I swallowed the blood pooling in my mouth and gazed at the bombarded ground.
Shooo...
Through the smoke, the king’s form appeared.
Holes riddled his body everywhere.
His form was so horrific it could no longer be called human.
His regeneration seemed faulty too; his face contorted in torment.
Seeing it, I gritted my teeth.
I’d at least thought I could render him immobile, but I’d failed.
The king looked at me and spat more black blood.
“.Kuhuhuhu.”
The king laughed.
“......Impressive. Demon Purge Rain. I never even imagined it.”
The king slowly regenerated his body. Slower than before, but his regeneration persisted.
Excluding the true ‘Child of Prophecy,’ Yoon Ha-young, it meant killing the king was impossible from the start.
“......Failure, huh.”
Step, step....
The king slowly walked toward me.
I wanted to flee, but I had no strength left to move.
Then, black demonic energy crept up and seized my body.
“Urk!”
“Kim Seon-woo.”
The approaching king said.
The black demonic energy constricting my body grew stronger.
“......No, Child of Prophecy.”
“Gaaak!”
Excruciating pain as if my body would burst followed.
“Our 20-year grudge ends here, it seems.”
My vision blurred.
Sounds around me began fading.
Right then.
Thump!
My heart pounded wildly.
“......Uh?”
From deep in my chest, an unfamiliar new power began filling me.
A message appeared in my hazy vision.
[Your body has reached an extreme state.]
[‘Berserk Transformation Stage 1’ activates.]
[Conditions for ‘Berserk Transformation Stage 2’ fulfilled.]
[‘Berserk Transformation Stage 2’ activates.]
[You can temporarily use demonic energy.]