Chapter 254
Chapter 254
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 254
Chapter Title: Clash with the Demon Legion Commander
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Daniel's gaze remained fixed on Si-woo the entire time.
One demon and one human stared at each other. One gaze burned hot, the other ice-cold.
Judging purely by the nature of their magic, Si-woo's eyes should have been the cold ones—but it was the opposite.
Si-woo's eyes blazed with heat. The Si-woo that Soo-hyuk knew was never cold in battle.
Warmer and more affectionate than anyone. And because of that, he burned hotter than anyone in a fight.
That was Kim Si-woo.
In contrast, Daniel's gaze was chillingly cold.
"So you're the one who froze our kin."
Si-woo had crossed the forest and turned the demons' territory into a frozen wasteland. In the process, he'd frozen hundreds of demons—and apparently, some of them belonged to Daniel's forces.
"Did you lot even have any camaraderie?"
"They're the slaves under my command."
"Ah. So they're just property?"
"Kill you, and that ice will melt too."
"Your train of thought is seriously grating."
"Well, even if it doesn't, it hardly matters. Compared to capturing a human like you, their worthless lives are nothing."
Their conversation felt unnatural.
They weren't listening to each other, just spitting out whatever they wanted to say.
"You sure you're okay on your own? No need to hide behind your summons?"
But this remark, it seemed, he couldn't ignore.
In that instant, the gazes of Daniel's summons—which had been sweeping the battlefield—all turned toward Si-woo in unison.
"That's right. Good."
Paralaraak—.
At that moment, winged eyeballs flew in like flies, circling around Daniel.
Daniel grabbed one of the winged eyeballs in his hand and crushed it.
"...One more."
Having shared the eyeball's vision and memories, Daniel looked off to one side.
"A dangerous one."
Standing where he looked was Ye-ryeong.
"Your comrades?"
The fact that he used the plural 'comrades' suggested Ye-ryeong was with Unhyang and Hyo-min, right on plan.
"Got the spare attention for that?"
"Why didn't she come with you?"
"She had someone to look after. And she said she had her own business to handle."
Si-woo chuckled, recalling Ye-ryeong's venomous demeanor.
"Whoever it was, seems they pissed her off. Fearlessly."
Few people had ever escaped after getting on Ye-ryeong's bad side.
Until now, she'd held back only because of her weakness named Hyo-min.
"She's the scariest one to me. Better to make an enemy of the Demon King."
Wriggle—.
At the mention of the Demon King, a change finally flickered across Daniel's expression.
"You ignorant fool, daring to utter Their names."
"Ignorant? I've met two of them."
"Two of Them?"
Of the three Demon Kings, even demon legion commanders rarely met two.
No—more accurately, surviving a meeting was the hard part. Claiming to have met two and lived was hard to swallow unless it was no bluff.
"Don't lie. How could trash like you...?"
"Hey, but you."
Sssss—.
Si-woo's magic stirred, blue mana rippling around him.
"Did you come all this way just to be friends with me?"
Creeeak—.
The ground at his feet began to freeze bit by bit. No skill had activated, yet the air itself had changed.
Cold and hot. As Si-woo's mana surged, Daniel could no longer continue speaking.
"...If you want to die that badly, so be it."
Daniel's finger twitched. At his will, a colossal skeletal giant drew a house-sized rusted sword.
"Let's see if you can still flap your mouth after being tossed into hell."
Shuuuaak—!
The giant's sword came crashing down on Si-woo's head.
The blade, poised to cleave body and ramparts alike, halted with a dull thunk.
Tick, tick-tick—.
The sword, blocked by Si-woo's hand, began to freeze over.
The giant strained the hand gripping the sword. Its sole purpose: to slice Si-woo as Daniel commanded.
But.
"Let go."
Meeting Si-woo's eyes, Daniel judged he shouldn't keep holding the sword.
Tick—.
But his command was slower than Si-woo's ice.
Creeeeak—.
The chill raced up the blade, freezing the giant's body. Even an undead without life couldn't move once frozen solid.
Kyaaaaah—!
Tick-tick-tick-tick—.
The bone dragons overhead and hell's soldiers sprang into motion.
"Tear him apart."
The undead legion charged to rip one man to shreds.
Si-woo's spear moved. Frigid air lanced outward, halting the approaching undead soldiers.
Kwaduduk—.
Sharp ice spikes erupted from the ground, piercing the bone dragons' heads and torsos. For the few that breached their ironclad defenses, Si-woo's spear struck true.
Chwaa—.
Cold spread from the spear tip.
"Uwaaaah—!"
With a shout, he swung the spear, sending ice crystals flying through the air. The crystals blanketed the ground in white frost, whipping up a blizzard.
Puhiiaaa—!
The undead legion was swept away in a wide arc.
One man battled an entire legion. Watching from behind, Blue Zone's rankers held their breath.
"This is... this is...!"
The man who had trembled in terror moments ago now shuddered with a different feeling.
"Kim Si-woo...!"
A shiver ran through him. He murmured the name he felt shouldn't be spoken aloud.
Si-woo's fighting style was cold yet hot. He blanketed the area with ice and chill, fiercely swinging his spear to hold back the undead legion.
The legend of the blue-eyed warrior unfolded before their eyes.
Fear of the demons vanished without a trace. In its place rose a burning desire to join that fight.
And it wasn't just one person feeling it.
Perhaps.
Everyone here.
"Just defending desperately won't win this."
Si-woo, whom they'd expected to charge spear-first any second, focused solely on blocking the undead legion.
"The legion is infinite."
Watching Si-woo fight, Daniel sneered.
Creeeak—.
The earth split, revealing fresh undead soldiers atop it.
Nearly infinite soldiers from hell.
Daniel was a demon who commanded them. As long as there were dead to raise and his demonic energy remained, he could keep summoning the undead legion.
"All that big talk, but not much...!"
That was when it happened.
A streak of light flashed before Daniel's eyes. Thunder roared deafeningly after.
Kwarung—!
"...!"
Daniel's shoulder was pierced.
A single spear flung from afar. He'd been too focused on Si-woo to dodge, but the speed was absurd.
"Kuh."
Daniel clutched the spear embedded in his shoulder.
Instead of metal, a hot, stinging sensation burned his palm.
A spear of blue lightning.
Daniel's gaze turned toward its origin.
'That guy...'
A human taking aim again from behind Si-woo—who was handling the undead legion.
Kwarung—!
Another spear grazed past his head.
If he hadn't twisted away at the last second, it would've been his heart instead of his shoulder.
"So you're a team, huh?"
Soo-hyuk didn't advance. He stayed back, conjuring and hurling spears from range.
Only then did Daniel realize why Si-woo was just holding the line instead of charging.
'He's trusting that human.'
As long as Si-woo kept the legion at bay, Soo-hyuk would cut off his escape. That's what he believed.
Kwarung—!
Another spear flew in.
The spear, infused with thunder and lightning, packed serious power. But against a legion commander demon who wasn't careless, it fell short of fatal.
Swoosh—.
Daniel thrust out his hand. Demonic energy poured from his palm, swirling into a black vortex.
Kwaung—!
Tzztztztzt—.
The incoming lightning spear was blocked by his palm. He'd missed the first due to Si-woo, but this much he could handle.
"Pathetic...!"
Kwarung—!
One shot, then another.
Spears kept coming. Daniel blocked them with outstretched hands, wrapping himself in bony armor.
This is the end.
He couldn't pierce his defenses now.
That was his thought—in that split second.
Kurururu—.
Black storm clouds gathered in the sky.
And simultaneously, black lightning struck down on Soo-hyuk's body.
Tzztztztzt—.
Daniel's glare at Soo-hyuk intensified.
'...He's getting stronger.'
Si-woo's power was within expectations.
But not this spear-thrower.
Kurururu—.
Why?
Kwarung—!
The incoming spears' power grew with each one, reaching a level Daniel could no longer ignore.
Pajik, pajijiji—.
Daniel extended his hand again, demonic energy surging—only for Soo-hyuk's lightning spear to be caught.
"Kugh."
His palm throbbed. Blood dripped from the center, charring black from the intense heat.
"You bastard...!"
Daniel's hand moved.
Shattered bones floated in the air. They launched toward Soo-hyuk all at once.
Pupupupuk—!
Kugugugu—.
The bones whizzed past Soo-hyuk, piercing the ramparts. Dodging hundreds, thousands of bone shards with such fluid motion was unbelievable even to witness.
Pajijiji—!
In the midst of it, another spear formed in Soo-hyuk's hand.
Dodging bone shards while conjuring that? Godlike focus.
'It's coming.'
Daniel sensed it instinctively.
This spear would outpower any before it.
Chwararara—.
Layer upon layer of bony armor enveloped his body.
More armor outside that, a shield in front. Like a miniature fortress, Daniel glared at Soo-hyuk, eyes gleaming.
"Come."
Daniel awaited Soo-hyuk's spear.
He was certain it wouldn't reach him.
But.
Seeeik—.
Seeing the fortress, Soo-hyuk's lips curved into a smile.
In that moment, Daniel felt a chill. As a demon legion commander, it was the first time fear stirred from someone's smile.
Only then did he realize what he'd overlooked.
Glance—.
Daniel scanned his surroundings.
Gone.
Si-woo, who had been holding the undead legion moments ago, had vanished into the rising ice spikes.
'Where'd he go?'
Only then did it dawn on him.
Si-woo holding the legion while Soo-hyuk targeted him—it was all a smokescreen.
Pushiii—.
A bone-chilling cold crept up his back. Daniel's eyes turned rearward.
Si-woo had closed in, his hand already touching the armor.
"You...!"
"Doing it again? You sure about taking your eyes off me?"
Kurururu—.
The sky's storm clouds thickened. Raindrops began to fall, the faint thunder lost in the battlefield's din.
Was it Si-woo's chill freezing him from behind?
Daniel didn't hear the thunder. Even if he had, he wouldn't have cared.
No one worries about the weather when death looms.
"Such petty tricks...!"
"It's not a trick. We didn't even plan it."
There was no strategy between Soo-hyuk and Si-woo. They just fought side by side, competing in a way.
Creeeeak—.
"Now, which will it be?"
Si-woo's blue eyes flashed as he glared at Daniel.
"The one to cut your throat."