Chapter 396
Chapter 396
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 396
Chapter Title: Stronger Than the Heavenly Demon
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The moment Soo-hyuk's words landed, the surroundings fell into a dead silence, as if a mouse had died.
For a very brief moment, even the chat window seemed at a loss for words and froze.
What the hell did we just hear?
And then, moments later.
As if making up for the stopped time, an explosion of intense reactions poured in all at once.
I am stronger than the Heavenly Demon.
Whether truth or lie, Soo-hyuk's declaration was more than enough to give the listeners a thrilling sense of satisfaction.
Up until now, the Heavenly Demon had been established as an untouchable realm.
Soo-hyuk had boldly stepped right into that realm. Not just dipping a toe in, but issuing an irrevocable declaration of war.
I am stronger than you.
Come at me if you dare.
And with that confidence, Soo-hyuk's opponents could only shrink back.
"You claim to be the real one?"
Axion didn't fully believe Soo-hyuk's words.
Shwaaaaa—.
"Then prove it."
Pure white chill emanated from his body.
Axion didn't hold back his mana like he had against Jin-un.
He couldn't tell if Soo-hyuk was real or fake, but it was certain that he had defeated the Martial God and Kim Il-su. And now, he was even claiming to be stronger than the Heavenly Demon.
There was no need to conserve mana against such an enemy.
Besides, he wasn't alone right now.
Thus, Axion unleashed the most powerful magic he could wield.
"Frozen Genesis."
The surrounding air instantly grew frigid. Crackle, the ground froze over as an ice age descended.
The pinnacle ice magic bearing the name of the Genesis of Ice.
As the entire world was blanketed in a white blizzard, Axion squeezed out his remaining mana to manifest one final spell.
"Frozen Judgement."
Whoooosh—!
Blizzards from all over the world converged on Soo-hyuk.
The blizzard swirled around Soo-hyuk at its center.
Snow piled up, layer upon layer. Anyone trapped inside would be buried and frozen to death.
It was as if the snow-covered world was passing judgement. No matter how strong, no one could withstand this majestic blizzard concentrated on a single point without bending the knee.
Amid the blizzard's chill, Si-woo was impressed.
"That old man's pretty impressive, huh?"
As someone who wielded the same attribute of mana, he could see just how exquisite this magic was.
Creating such a massive amount of snow and then concentrating it into one point was no easy feat.
In terms of sheer power, it was a cut above his own. Within the framework of magic, Axion's ice and snow were as devastating as a meteor.
Of course.
"The problem is, it's too slow."
Bzzt—.
Axion bowed his head at the burning sensation in his chest.
A spear lodged in his chest, ablaze.
The spear had pierced through the blizzard and straight through his heart.
"La... te...?"
Splatter—.
Axion's mana dispersed, and the blizzard vanished.
Soo-hyuk, who had been trapped within the blizzard, revealed himself. From inside that blizzard, he had hurled the spear.
It was just a single throw.
That one throw pierced Axion's heart and ended his breath.
Considering the power of the magic he had wielded, it was a truly anticlimactic death.
"Having great power doesn't mean you're unconditionally stronger."
Soo-hyuk turned to Magnus, who was preparing his next spell.
"Even if you have the power to blanket the world in snow, if your heart is pierced, you die like anyone else, don't you?"
"...I agree."
Rumble—.
High in the sky.
A massive orb of flames materialized.
Soo-hyuk, not well-versed in magic, momentarily thought it was a meteor. But upon closer inspection, it was different.
Magnus, who had cast the spell, broke out in cold sweat on his face and asked,
"But isn't this power the very essence of us mages?"
And it wasn't just him.
The other mages of Runeterra were the same.
As if they had all pooled their power into this single spell, mages who had squeezed out every last drop of mana collapsed unconscious.
The first to recognize the spell's nature was Hailez.
"Solar Inferno?"
The startled woman was about to dash forward when,
"Wait."
Ye-ryeong and Si-woo simultaneously grabbed Hailez's arm.
"That's seriously dangerous."
Solar Inferno was a step above meteor—an ultimate high-tier spell.
The pinnacle of magic created by the mages of Runeterra combining their strength.
The moment that heat fully engulfed the ground, this stage would turn into pure hell.
"I know. It looks insane just seeing it."
"Then you should help."
"Soo-hyuk said it himself, right? That he's stronger than the Heavenly Demon. So he has to overcome something like that. Isn't this actually a chance?"
"But—."
"What do you think? Could that spell kill the Heavenly Demon?"
Hailez couldn't answer Ye-ryeong's question.
No matter how powerful Solar Inferno was, no matter how much the Runeterra mages poured into it.
Could that sun truly incinerate the Heavenly Demon's heart?
Hailez shook her head.
"No way."
"Then we're good."
Convinced that Hailez wouldn't rush in again, Si-woo and Ye-ryeong released her arm.
Si-woo's face flushed from the sun's scorching heat as he cooled the air around them. Hiss, steam rose from the atmosphere.
"Definitely... that spell is dangerous."
It was on another level compared to the meteor Neila had used.
Though they spoke confidently, Si-woo and Ye-ryeong were worried too.
What if Soo-hyuk fell here?
Then their plan to make a flashy comeback using the proxy battle would all go up in smoke.
Not to mention restoring their comrades' honor.
'He's confident, right?'
Sizzle—.
Si-woo gazed at Soo-hyuk's back, who still hadn't drawn his sword.
Soo-hyuk stood motionless in place.
The light and heat pouring from the sun overhead made his eyes feel like they were burning.
Sweat trickled down Soo-hyuk's body.
"It's really hot."
This was the hottest flame he'd ever felt. He'd sparred with Hailez over the past six months, but even she hadn't produced flames like this.
Even without their archmage, Runeterra's foundation was no joke.
"But fortunately."
"Fortunately?"
Magnus, having overheard Soo-hyuk's mutter, asked.
"Oh, you heard that?"
"You said it loud enough."
"Did it offend you?"
"No. But I'm curious. You're not really mocking us like that guy said, are you?"
Unlike the hot-tempered Axion, Magnus remained composed.
He sensed that Soo-hyuk was genuinely relieved by Runeterra's strength.
And he was right.
"I was pretty disappointed on the way here."
"By whom?"
"Murim and Blue Zone. They were places I had to get revenge on..."
Soo-hyuk grimaced as he recalled his fights with them.
"They were truly pathetic."
On his way here, he'd cut down Murim and Blue Zone alike.
Their power was strong. But it wasn't impressive.
"Maybe because they'd become fat pigs?"
At Soo-hyuk's words, Magnus laughed heartily, unlike his usual self.
"You're the only one who could say that to them."
"Anyone should be able to. That's why they should have spurred each other on to grow stronger."
"That we've been complacent all this time?"
"I'm sorry to say it to an elder, but I can't deny it. It's true that things stagnated while I was gone."
For a moment, Magnus saw someone overlapping with Soo-hyuk's figure.
The Lee Soo-hyuk who wore a mask and endlessly challenged the Guardian.
The great pioneer who represented the Players and conquered the tower endlessly. One thought to have vanished into history.
Until now, he'd half-doubted, but in this moment, Magnus was certain.
"You really are the genuine article."
"Would I be a fake?"
"If you're the real deal, this crisis should be a breeze for you."
"It's a bit too hot to call it a breeze."
Soo-hyuk looked up at the blazing sun overhead.
They conversed as if it were nothing, but even now, the sun was scorching his body.
The sweat pouring like rain was proof. To maintain Solar Inferno, the Runeterra mages had poured in all their mana—a natural outcome.
Thump—.
Soo-hyuk felt his heart pounding after a long time.
The heart of lightning and thunder.
The two hearts beat in sync.
As if asking if he'd forgotten about them.
'No way I'd forget.'
It was the reason he'd made his greatest progress in the past six months.
The more accustomed he became to the two hearts, the stronger Soo-hyuk grew. More than Selfish Sacrifice or the Black Soul Ring, the two hearts played the biggest role.
One heart for output.
One for stability.
The more harmony the two achieved, the exponentially greater Soo-hyuk's power became.
Bzzt—.
Master of Lightning
Descends upon the body
Black lightning ignited around Soo-hyuk's body.
One mage who recognized its meaning shouted,
"Lee Soo-hyuk is coming!"
Master of Lightning had long been Soo-hyuk's signature skill.
But that's all they knew.
Rumble, Soo-hyuk's other heart pounded with the sound of thunder.
Master of Thunder
Descends upon the body
With the heightened output, Soo-hyuk's body grew feverish.
Sensing the ominous change, Magnus's mana swirled like a storm.
The mana he poured into Solar Inferno doubled. The blazing sun shone even brighter, growing larger and intensifying its heat.
Fwoosh—.
That heat focused on Soo-hyuk's body.
Sizzle—.
Soo-hyuk's body began to burn.
Singe marks appeared on his clothes, his face flushed red and heated.
Sizzle—.
As if to counter it, the lightning enveloping his body ramped up its output.
From within, the lightning spoke to him.
You gonna lose to something like that?
In the past, he'd dismissed such voices as hallucinations from being too immersed in the lightning.
'Guess not.'
Clink—.
Finally, Soo-hyuk's sword began to slide out slightly.
And the next moment.
Flash—.
As he drew, the lightning blazing around Soo-hyuk's body gathered into a single slash and shot forth.
Kabuwoooong—!
Earth-shaking thunder.
Soo-hyuk's sword draw aimed skyward. Naturally, the mages' gazes followed the slash and lightning upward.
The next moment, they fell into shock.
"The... the sun..."
Thud—.
Several mages collapsed in place from sheer astonishment.
Some had no strength left after overusing their mana.
A sight hard to believe even seeing it with their own eyes.
The sun had split.
And that wasn't all.
Rumble—.
Clouds appeared above the cleaved sun.
There definitely hadn't been any before.
Lightning flashed within the pitch-black thunderclouds. The rumbling thunder sounded like a monster's roar.
In the purely white stage of the proxy battle, there was only one reason for such clouds.
And sure enough.
Soo-hyuk drove the wedge into the despairing mages' heads.
"—Strike."