Chapter 394
Chapter 394
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 394
Chapter Title: The Heavenly Demon Approaches Again
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The Heavenly Demon approached once more.
Watching him walk from afar, the group held their breath.
He was someone who could draw his sword at any moment and cleave through with a single stroke.
But who exactly was he right now?
His pitch-black eyes harbored a strange murderous intent. Before he could get any closer, Soo-hyuk stepped forward first.
Thud. Soo-hyuk's hand pushed against the Heavenly Demon's chest.
At the gesture telling him not to come closer, the Heavenly Demon's steps halted.
"Wait."
Hot magma boiled within the Heavenly Demon's gaze.
His aura suggested he could draw his sword at any second and turn this place into a battlefield.
To him, battle was merely a stage to swing his blade. Justification, honor, gains and losses—they were all meaningless.
Soo-hyuk could see it in his eyes.
He was gradually being consumed by the Heavenly Demon's spirit.
"Are you going mad from not seeing blood? What, was the last trial too boring for you?"
"No one came."
"You think we'd come rushing to you just because you're crazy? We'd all die."
Shaaaa—.
The air around them shifted. In an instant, Soo-hyuk's vision filled with all sorts of ghosts.
Ghosts summoned by the Heavenly Demon's spirit.
They all glared at Soo-hyuk at once. Any ordinary person would suffocate and stop breathing just from that gaze.
Soo-hyuk didn't bother confronting them. He didn't even feel the need to.
"If you're here to whine to me, you've got the wrong address. If you've come to fight right now, same deal."
What the Heavenly Demon's spirit craved was battle and blood.
As a soul that lived on violence and slaughter, it couldn't endure the disappointment from the previous match.
"Your opponent will show up soon. No one's gonna run away scared of you here, so just hold on a bit longer."
"Until when?"
"Until whenever. Learn some patience. And aren't there just us as your opponents? You've got two inside you, don't you?"
The two stood facing each other for a moment. The atmosphere was thick with the tension of an imminent sword draw and clash.
The Rankers from Runeterra and Elfrado pondered what to do if a fight broke out.
Should they join forces to take down the Heavenly Demon? Or hope for mutual destruction?
Contrary to those expectations, the ghosts' wails cut off abruptly.
"I don't see that little sparrow."
It seemed he'd somehow suppressed the Heavenly Demon's spirit for now.
Worried it might surge again, Soo-hyuk quickly replied.
"Dropped her off somewhere."
"I see."
The Heavenly Demon nodded and scanned the group behind Soo-hyuk.
His gaze, meeting each person's eyes one by one, stopped on Unhyang.
She flinched, lowered her head to avoid his eyes, then suddenly glared back fiercely.
When she didn't look away, the Heavenly Demon moved on to the next person.
It was Jin-un, who had been openly glaring at them without hiding his hostility.
"Is that the one?"
"You said you'd know when you saw him."
"Indeed."
The Heavenly Demon nodded and turned away.
And right on cue, the semifinals began.
Soo-hyuk and the group were moved to the waiting area.
The waiting area was a transparent box with a clear view of the stage, despite the distance. It was far enough, but not too far to watch the fights.
Seats arranged like in a movie theater.
Soo-hyuk claimed a suitable spot and sat down.
Blue Eyes guild members sat on either side of him. Thanks to the spacious seating, the Runeterra Rankers also kept their distance.
Jin-un, who had grabbed the seat right next to Soo-hyuk first, asked,
"How're you feeling?"
He was asking about his impressions after taking down Kim Il-su.
"Not much yet."
"Why? Not satisfying enough?"
"That too."
Soo-hyuk paused in thought before adding,
"Revenge isn't the end for me."
"Why, planning to do more?"
"What more is there to do?"
"Then?"
"It's not the end—it's the beginning. I'm not about to devote everything to something as trivial as revenge. It's just returning to where I was."
"Returning to your place sure is flashy."
"Tell me about it. Look at the mess you've gotten into because of me, ajusshi."
This was the process of the Soo-hyuk who had died as Lee Soo-hyuk becoming Lee Soo-hyuk once more.
The moment he thought revenge was over, Soo-hyuk would return to his former position. That was the end of revenge he sought.
And it was also a new beginning.
"That won't be as easy as it sounds."
Jin-un said as he turned his gaze to the arena.
The Heavenly Demon stood confronting hundreds of Rankers.
Resentment flickered back in Jin-un's eyes as he looked at him.
"You won't be acknowledged as yourself until you surpass that monster. Not by your viewers either."
"Yeah."
Soo-hyuk nodded.
"Everyone says the same."
"......You were still streaming?"
"The whole time. Never turned it off once. They're watching this conversation with you right now too."
Soo-hyuk chuckled at the ongoing truth game in the chat.
He didn't think a mere conversation like this would make people truly believe him. But bit by bit, ever so slightly, believers were emerging.
To that end, Soo-hyuk had kept the stream on.
Showing himself as he was. That was the core of this plan.
Suddenly, he thought of the person suffering the most right now.
Kim Il-su.
'You're in a real tough spot.'
The guy had been acting for decades, and even now, he had to desperately deceive others just to survive.
As he pondered Kim Il-su for a moment.
In the distance, the stationary Heavenly Demon began to move slowly.
Elfrado's Rankers spread out, creating distance.
Fortunately, the stage was vast. Even with hundreds from Elfrado, they didn't have to clump together.
Elfrado's high Ranker, Tviel, drew a massive crossbow as big as his torso.
Surveying the barren landscape, he muttered regretfully.
"If this were a forest, we might've had a shot."
"Tell me about it. And we've got Ripley and Emily here this time."
The two high Rankers representing Elfrado rarely participated in team battles.
They were so free-spirited and unique. Their participation this time came only after the guild put in extra effort to persuade them.
With Runeterra and Murim greatly weakened now, they thought this was their chance.
"......If that demon hadn't joined."
Of all things, their semifinal opponent was the Heavenly Demon.
He was known for showing little interest in team battles.
They thought last year was an exception, yet here he was again.
"It might really be because of Lee Soo-hyuk."
At his comrade's words, Tviel glanced toward the spectator seats in the distance.
With his keen eyesight, he could clearly see Soo-hyuk's face in the center of the stands.
For some reason, he wasn't wearing a mask. Tviel had initially been unsure, but spotting no mask among the Blue Eyes members allowed him to guess his identity.
Rumor had it he was claiming to be Lee Soo-hyuk.
"If that's really him, our win's toast anyway."
"Wasn't he nothing special up until last year?"
"That was then. Didn't you hear? He took down the Divine Sword and Kim Il-su. You think that's fake?"
Thud.
The Heavenly Demon began to move.
Just one step, but it felt like a giant approaching. Tviel nocked an arrow and muttered,
"......That's why that monster's moving. Because we've got monsters too."
Shing.
The red-bladed sword was drawn.
At the same moment, the white world turned crimson.
Kyahaaa—.
Ghosts' wails echoed.
Invisible spirits were felt. The opponent was one, yet not one.
A massive ghost appeared on the Heavenly Demon's back.
Among the Elfrado Rankers facing it, a few couldn't endure and lost consciousness.
And another released their taut bowstring prematurely.
Twang!
The fiercely shot arrow split against the Heavenly Demon's blade.
The Ranker who had accidentally loosed the arrow was startled.
Before he knew it, the Heavenly Demon's sword aura had sliced through his body.
"Wha......"
Sizzle.
His body split along with the crossbow in his hands. That was the signal.
The Heavenly Demon charged toward the Elfrado Rankers.
"He's coming!"
"Start it!"
Hummm.
Elfrado's Rankers activated their skills as planned.
Trees sprouted from the barren ground, rooting down. In an instant, the stage became a forest.
The trees were alive. Thick trunks blocked the Heavenly Demon's rapid advance.
The trees were felled. Even those shooting sky-high bought less than a second.
The Heavenly Demon plunged into the midst of the Elfrado Rankers.
Drawing red lines, his blade began slicing through them.
"Aim for him!"
"Don't clump up—spread out! Keep distance and shoot arrows!"
"Block line of sight and hide! Use the terrain!"
Minutes into the fight, the battlefield was chaos.
The Heavenly Demon used no special skills. Without techniques or skills, he dove in bare-handed, slashing and slashing again.
Tree roots bursting from the ground bound his arms and legs. Crack. He ripped them out by force and unleashed sword aura.
Splurt! Amid the horde of Rankers, the one who had bound him split in half.
The Heavenly Demon precisely identified who used what skill in the mayhem.
"At this rate, he'll pick us off one by one!"
"Anyone charging in, do it together!"
A single moment of misjudgment.
The instant dozens of Rankers lunged on command, madness bloomed at the tip of the Heavenly Demon's blade.
Mad Demon Blood Asura
Sword aura erupts infinitely, slashing all directions in an instant.
Sword aura surged endlessly, cleaving everything around. Like a net of red threads, the charging Rankers were diced into dozens of pieces.
Splatter!
Flesh and blood rained down. The Heavenly Demon didn't dodge—he took it head-on.
And then.
Flutter.
Something enormous appeared in the battlefield sky.
A butterfly as huge as a dragon blotted out the heavens. Two figures rode atop the poison-mist-spewing butterfly.
Ripley and Emily.
"It's Vermouth!"
"Already summoning the Forest Guardian?"
"The two of them are moving together......"
That was when.
Rumble.
Blood-red lightning poured from the sky. Like blood falling from heaven, the world turned red.
The Heavenly Demon's sword moved slowly. As the massive red slash cleaved the sky once more—splurt!
Elfrado's hope split in two.