Chapter 435
Chapter 435
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 436
Chapter Title: Seeds of Chaos
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At the gargoyle's unexpected words, Lee Seo-jun voiced his confusion.
“Two seeds of chaos?”
It was an unfamiliar term, yet it felt strangely familiar, like something he'd heard before.
At the same time, he recalled Cruas's words from deep within Kim Seon-woo's abyss in the past.
—Far in the future, to kill you, the seed who defies the laws of the world. That is the mission fate has decreed for me...
He had always been curious.
What were the laws of the world that made Cruas speak of killing him as if it were fate?
Could it be related to the chaos the gargoyle had just mentioned?
Did the two seeds refer to him and Kim Seon-woo?
“What’s a seed of chaos?”
The gargoyle let out a low chuckle at his question.
[A seed of chaos... is a being with the potential for change... Of course, ‘that one’ isn’t a seed but chaos itself.]
A being with the potential for change?
“What does that mean? Explain it so I can understand.”
[You’re going to die today anyway. Don’t dig too deep.]
The gargoyle spread its wings wide and rose into the sky.
Soon, black mana began to seep from its body.
It seemed to be preparing for battle, as if no more conversation was needed.
To respond, Lee Seo-jun gripped So Baek-cheon tightly with both hands.
But the deep wound in his left hand caused excruciating pain, preventing him from properly manifesting his mana.
“I’ll take that guy. You recover from behind.”
Yoo Ah-ra stepped forward after sensing Lee Seo-jun’s unstable mana.
“Yeah. We’ll handle things here, so focus on healing. A wound on a swordsman’s hand is fatal, right?”
Shin Young-jun, Yoon Ha-young, and Lee Hyun-joo followed suit, stepping up front and channeling their mana.
Lee Seo-jun stared blankly at their backs for a moment before nodding helplessly.
“Be careful. The opponent is S-Rank or higher.”
“Got it.”
The gargoyle watched them silently before condensing black mana above its head.
[Impressive friendship.]
It then unleashed the gathered black mana toward Yoo Ah-ra.
Yoo Ah-ra countered perfectly with a sphere of flame.
Kwaaaaang!
The two forces clashed in midair, erupting in a massive explosion.
As its attack dissipated harmlessly, the gargoyle showed a startled reaction.
[...How can someone your age use magic like that?]
...While the gargoyle was distracted preparing for battle.
“Sunbae! Let me see your hand!”
Choi Seo-yoon rushed over urgently and checked Lee Seo-jun’s left hand.
“...Ugh.”
The wound was horrific, too gruesome to look at.
He hadn’t shown it, but it was far more serious than he’d realized.
“First, stop the bleeding... I have medicine.”
Choi Seo-yoon pulled a recovery potion from her pocket and sprinkled it directly onto his palm.
Sizzle...
“Guh.”
A faint smoke rose, and Lee Seo-jun’s face twisted in pain.
Fortunately, the potion was working; the wound began to heal bit by bit. Then, Choi Seo-yoon wrapped the injured area with her own mana.
“...Emergency treatment’s done for now. Recovery will take time, so don’t overdo it.”
“Thanks.”
Lee Seo-jun glanced down at his healing left hand before turning his gaze to his friends battling the gargoyle.
Fortunately, the flow of the fight looked favorable.
Their magic abilities had grown significantly through consistent training, and they had the numerical advantage.
At this rate, they could win without him stepping in.
As he watched their battle, Lee Seo-jun picked up the ‘Compass of Bonds’ that had fallen to the ground.
“It’s completely wrecked. Won’t even turn on.”
“...Yes.”
Choi Seo-yoon replied in a voice tinged with unease.
She must have felt a slight foreboding at the destruction of an item linked to a registered person’s life or death.
“Don’t worry about it. It just got damaged from an external impact.”
Choi Seo-yoon gave a small smile.
“Yes. I know.”
Pooook!
“Kraaaah...”
At the timely sound, Lee Seo-jun and Choi Seo-yoon turned their heads.
The gargoyle had been impaled by Shin Young-jun’s spear and was glaring with bulging eyes.
“...Hup!”
Shin Young-jun yanked the spear from the gargoyle’s chest.
Black blood poured from the wound.
“Kuhuhu... I let my guard down. Never thought I’d lose this easily. But don’t celebrate yet. The time of judgment is near. Soon, He will descend upon this place, and when He does, you all...”
The gargoyle couldn’t finish its words and perished.
Lee Seo-jun was momentarily speechless at the anticlimactic end.
Kieeeek!
Then, a dragon’s roar echoed from somewhere.
Turning his head, he witnessed a rare sight.
Humans and demons, called mortal enemies, were joining forces against a disaster-grade beast.
Lee Seo-jun watched, clenching his wounded left hand slightly.
He couldn’t help them in his current state.
And according to the gargoyle’s final words, even if they subdued those monsters, a greater danger would approach.
In that case, recovering from this wound took priority now.
Woooong!
High in the sky, a sword of light the size of a building materialized.
A sword brimming with light-attribute mana so intense it felt suffocating just to look at...
The spell was Michael’s secret magic, ‘Sword of Judgment.’
Sensing the ominous power, the rainbow toad frantically concentrated mana into its legs to escape.
At that moment, countless black tendrils shot up from the ground, binding the toad’s feet.
It was the demon’s binding spell known to many, ‘Hands of Darkness.’
“Huh? Got it!”
With the rainbow toad immobilized, one of the wizards on the ground shouted triumphantly.
Now was the chance.
Michael, who had been manifesting the Sword of Judgment with all his mana, extended his hand toward the toad. The sword pierced straight through its body.
Wooong!
Kwaaaaaang!
An enormous roar followed as black blood cascaded from the toad like a waterfall.
The toad’s eyes rolled back, and its body toppled sideways.
Kuuung!
“We finally took one down!”
A hard-fought victory after about four hours.
They had succeeded in slaying one of the disaster-grade beasts.
Michael, having depleted all his mana, knelt gasping for breath.
“Two left now...”
He had used every ounce of mana in that attack.
His role was over; the remaining disasters would have to be handled by others.
Michael turned his gaze to the black dragon.
It was screeching in agony under the barrage of spells from the Flame Emperor, Association, and guild wizards.
The situation wasn’t great, but since the demons joined, momentum was shifting in their favor.
Michael looked to the other remaining disaster, the white sand basilisk.
The basilisk was facing off against just one human.
Kim Jin-cheol, called the strongest wizard in history.
Kwaaang!
Kwaaang!
Kwaaang!
Kim Jin-cheol casually countered every attack from the basilisk with counterstrikes.
With each movement of his hand, magic circles floated around the basilisk, striking its hide. It let out eerie screams of pain each time.
Michael swallowed hard at the overwhelming combat prowess.
“...He’s incredible no matter how many times I see it.”
Overpowering a disaster-grade beast with a mere human body.
How was that possible? He wondered if he was even human.
“Does he not have limits...?”
Then, a brilliant light emanated from Kim Jin-cheol’s body as he toyed with the basilisk from a distance.
He vanished and reappeared right in front of its nose.
—Hup!
A short shout from Kim Jin-cheol.
A circular magic circle formed in his palm.
It was a synergy of support and manifestation magic, but used in close range like reinforcement—a sure-kill move called ‘Eleven Guardian Palms.’
The magic circle moved slowly, and the moment it touched the basilisk’s body...
Eleven massive explosions erupted in that brief instant.
Kwaaang!
The basilisk’s body was hurled far away by the immense shock.
Despite its gigantic size, the impact sent it flying a great distance.
Kuuung!
The basilisk writhed in agony, unleashing a massive scream.
Even a disaster-grade beast, exhausted from prolonged battle.
The sure-kill spell from humanity’s strongest wizard was fatal even to it.
Finally, after much suffering, the basilisk lost consciousness and collapsed.
“That makes two...”
Just one left now.
Kieeeek!
Right on cue, the final disaster—the black dragon—let out another cry from the sky.
Turning his head, Kim Jin-cheol saw the black dragon plummeting to the ground, unable to withstand the relentless assault from the wizards.
Kuuung!
The black dragon crashed into the earth, creating a massive commotion.
A brief silence fell.
The wizards at the scene, having exhausted their mana, panted as they watched.
“...D-did we win?”
The three fallen disaster-grade beasts showed no movement except for the blood flowing from their wounds.
“W-we won.”
“Woooah!”
“We took down three disaster-grade beasts!”
In the end, everyone on the ground was convinced of their victory and cheered.
Though Seoul was nearly obliterated and many casualties had occurred, it was an monumental achievement considering the future.
They had slain three beings regarded as living natural disasters.
A triumph achieved past midnight.
“Chairman.”
Michael approached Kim Jin-cheol.
“Are you alright?”
“...I’m fine. Worry about yourself.”
Michael gave a wry smile.
“I’ll handle cleanup here. Chairman, you should...”
“We haven’t won yet.”
“...?”
Michael’s expression turned puzzled at Kim Jin-cheol’s words.
Then he narrowed his eyes.
“No way.”
At that moment.
Whoooosh...
An eerie wind blew from somewhere. And a horrific, ominous mana began to be felt.
Instantly, the faces of everyone sharing their joy hardened.
“...W-what’s this?”
“W-what was that just now?”
It was a power on an entirely different level from before.
And then.
Crack. Craaaack...
New fissures began forming in the sky.
Everyone looked up at the sky with eyes full of dread.
The rift distorted as if space-time itself was twisting.
An ill omen.
Kim Jin-cheol sensed it instinctively.
Today, he would meet a true adversary unlike any he’d faced before.
Woooong!
Soon, a massive black dragon’s head emerged from the warping rift.
It was on a completely different scale from the dragon they had just slain.
“...Insane.”
“H-how can such a creature...?”
The wizards gazed up at the sky with eyes filled with shock and despair.
“...Cruas.”
One wizard muttered the name, and everyone’s faces filled with surprise.
“Cruas?”
The king of disaster-grade beasts.
The very existence Kim Seon-woo had warned about recently.
“Kim Seon-woo was telling the truth?”
Wooong!
The black dragon Cruas fully emerged from the rift, quietly revealing its body.
It gazed down at the ground and spoke.
[...An unexpected turn. To think they’d all lose their lives to humans... Humanity’s progress... Is this the result chaos has wrought...?]
Kim Jin-cheol looked up at Cruas and muttered.
“...I don’t know what trick you pulled, but you’ve grown even stronger.”
When Cruas’s mana was detected at the Association in the past, it didn’t possess this level of power.
But the aura emanating from it now was incomparably stronger than before.
As if sensing Kim Jin-cheol’s gaze, Cruas’s eyes shifted toward him.
[...Impressive. Such power from a human body.]
At those words, Kim Jin-cheol immediately channeled his mana.
It was dangerous. It possessed a strength greater than anything he’d encountered, befitting the title of supreme being.
If he couldn’t stop it here... it would spell great peril for humanity.
Then Cruas averted its gaze from Kim Jin-cheol and scanned the surroundings.
As if searching for something.
“...Unbelievable. Ignored by a lizard?”
Kim Jin-cheol muttered blankly before smirking.
Soon, terrifying mana surged from his entire body.
It was his ‘full power,’ something no one—not even the king of the two great demons who had briefly matched him—had witnessed.
Michael was stunned by the sight.
He hadn’t used all his strength in the battle against the disaster-grade beasts?
[...?]
Sensing the ominous mana, Cruas turned and looked at Kim Jin-cheol.
[...Remarkable. For a mere human to wield such power. Your strength piques my curiosity, but I have an important mission now.]
Whoooosh!
Cruas beat its wings powerfully and soared high into the sky.
The shockwave toppled buildings and snapped trees. Wizards were flung back, crashing into walls.
Cruas scanned the area as if searching for something, then spread ominous mana across all of Seoul.
[...Where are you hiding? You must be somewhere in this place.]
Then it paused, turning its gaze.
[...Hm? You’re here too?]
At the end of Cruas’s gaze were Lee Seo-jun and his friends.
[...Fortuitous. With the qualifications for judgment now met, it wouldn’t be bad to dispose of you first.]
Mana began gathering on Cruas’s body.
Feeling the tingling mana, Lee Seo-jun realized Cruas was targeting him and reacted with alarm.
Just as Cruas was about to unleash its mana at Lee Seo-jun.
Whoooosh!
A golden bolt of magic shot from somewhere, piercing Cruas’s neck.
No mana could be felt from it, so Cruas took the attack head-on.
Kieeeek!
Cruas’s massive body staggered greatly.
The spell’s power wasn’t exceptional, but the special force within it inflicted severe damage on its flesh.
“Grooooar... This power... Dragon Slayer...?!”
Another spell fired toward Cruas.
No mana was detectable this time either.
Kwaaaaang!
Cruas groaned in pain and turned toward the new spell’s origin.
A man stood in front of Lee Seo-jun’s group.
Kim Seon-woo.
The chaos he had been desperately seeking.