Chapter 418
Chapter 418
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 418
Chapter Title: Beljerion's Fall
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Beljerion's reaction was calm.
One might expect him to rage at the sudden, extreme words and actions, but he was the opposite.
Having overcome countless crises, he knew that one must remain cool-headed precisely in times of peril.
"I did think it was strange."
Beljerion said in a composed voice.
"Even knowing that, I took the gamble. Because you might be of use to me. And because if all three Demon Kings gathered, they might destroy each other in their infighting."
"The gamble failed."
"Who can I blame? It's my fault for trusting unknown entities based solely on their strength."
Tadak, tadadak-.
Beljerion walked toward the Demon God Stone that had been struck by lightning and set ablaze.
He reached out and began scooping up the charred ashes of the Demon God Stone, shoving them into his mouth.
Eujek, eujek-.
Even though it was burned black and surely ineffective, he devoured the Demon God Stone anyway.
The demons gathered in the temple clasped their hands in reverence at the sight.
Beljerion's aura, filled with the ashes of the Demon God Stone, blazed even larger than before.
His already massive frame grew another handspan taller. The demonic energy he naturally exuded felt different from the start.
But considering the vast quantity of Demon God Stones he had consumed, it was not a significant change.
"As expected... they're all ruined."
The thought that everything he had gathered was now destroyed made his insides boil once more.
Beljerion's eyes glared ferociously at Soo-hyuk and Cheonma. Just his gaze evoked the growl of a savage beast.
"Why did you just stand there and watch? Because they were already ruined stones? Or because you're that confident?"
"You're wrong again this time."
"What nonsense are you...?"
Beljerion's demonic energy, which seemed ready to explode at any moment, suddenly calmed.
Soo-hyuk and Cheonma's gazes were fixed elsewhere entirely. They weren't looking at him.
Jeobuk-.
At that moment, the sound of footsteps echoed through the halted demons.
The demons, who should have been on alert for an intruder, were all frozen still.
No, not just frozen—some had lost consciousness and collapsed, while others knelt on the ground.
One demon had entered the temple silently.
A viscous smile crept across Beljerion's lips as he identified the intruder.
"Rasilius."
The Demon King of Sloth, Rasilius.
He met Beljerion's eyes with a languid gaze.
The first Demon King to arrive at the temple was, of all things, the one Beljerion had once challenged.
"Still calling my name so casually, I see."
Rasilius appeared utterly devoid of tension.
He crooked a finger at the nearby demons. They flinched and approached, bowing and hunching over.
Several demons piled atop one another to form a makeshift bed. Rasilius lay down on them as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"So this is where you fled to hide from me. Why? Why not go farther?"
"Did you come to catch me?"
"Must be wishful thinking on your part."
Rasilius's gaze shifted to Soo-hyuk and Cheonma.
"I'm not interested in the Demon God Stones... but the ones who called me here? A little intriguing."
Beljerion's expression twitched at that.
His pride cracked wide open.
Preferring these newcomers he'd just met today over him, who had once vied for the throne?
What infuriated him even more was Soo-hyuk and Cheonma's reaction.
Even after Rasilius appeared, the two were still focused solely on the outside of the temple.
"Worried about the outside?"
"......"
"If you're that concerned, go check it out. Having both you and me here is a waste."
Cheonma said to Rasilius.
"That one's a bit dangerous."
"I know. That's why I'm saying it. The ones outside are even more dangerous."
Those words must have been decisive.
Cheonma turned without hesitation. He seemed to consider worrying about Soo-hyuk pointless from the start.
As he moved to exit the temple just like that.
Kung-!
Beljerion blocked Cheonma's path.
"Who do you think owns this land...?"
Whoosh-.
Cheonma's body passed straight through Beljerion's.
Cheonma Hwan Hyeong Bo (Heavenly Demon Phantom Step).
Cheonma's form felt like a mirage. As Beljerion turned to grab him, Soo-hyuk stood in his way.
"Just let him go. Unless you want your limbs chopped off."
"You bastards...!"
"Don't make that aggrieved face. You were planning to use us to catch that guy anyway, right? It's the same both ways."
Ddeureureung-.
A snoring sound echoed. Beljerion's gaze turned to Rasilius. He was comfortably asleep, using his subordinates as a bed.
Even for the King of Sloth, sleeping in a place like this?
Feeling thoroughly ignored, Beljerion ground his teeth.
"Rasilius-."
Hwaaaaaa-.
Demonic energy erupted, upheaving the temple floor.
Rasilius's eyes cracked open slightly amid his snoring. The awakened Rasilius looked at Soo-hyuk and asked.
"Did he leave?"
"Yeah."
"Now it's just you and me."
The two acted as if they knew each other. Beljerion, the temple's master, was the one left out.
Rasilius, having dozed off briefly and woken, glanced at Beljerion.
"What? You're not leaving? Why are you still hanging around?"
"Kraaaah!"
Kwang-!
Beljerion, his patience finally exhausted, charged forward.
Kwang-!
His fist crushed the bodies of the demons Rasilius had been lounging on.
Kwang kwang kwang kwang-.
Beljerion swung his fists relentlessly at Rasilius, who had leaped away.
The demons sprawled across the temple exploded one after another. Even as his subordinates were pulverized by his fists, Beljerion paid no mind.
Blood from the mangled demons sprayed everywhere. Rasilius bounded around, using the demons' shoulders as footholds.
His limp, floppy movements were astonishingly fast.
"What are you doing? Catch him!"
The demons flinched at Beljerion's command.
Catch a Demon King? Us?
For ordinary demons, even meeting a Demon King's eyes was daunting. Those pupils, seeming to hold all the world's emptiness, concealed a savage monster whose history spoke volumes.
"You idiots! I said catch him! All of you!"
Kwajik-!
Beljerion's fist shattered the heads of nearby demons.
Punishment for defying orders.
Only then did the demons begin to move.
In an instant, the temple turned into a battlefield. Demons rushed to capture Soo-hyuk and Rasilius.
Soo-hyuk dodged the demons here and there, watching the clash between Beljerion and Rasilius. Rasilius flopped about, pursued by Beljerion in a relentless chase.
Beljerion, charging continuously, finally caught up to Rasilius.
Jjeoeok-!
A fist infused with the power of the Mad Demon smashed down on Rasilius's head.
The ground caved in as Rasilius was embedded into the floor, but Beljerion's rampage didn't stop.
Kwang, kwang kwang kwang-!
The ground sank repeatedly, burying Rasilius deeper into the temple's depths. A crimson raw Demon God Stone rolled down into the crater.
Sweat beaded on Beljerion's forehead as he swung like a mad bull. His fists halted only when Rasilius stopped moving.
Panting and smirking, Beljerion clenched his fist tightly.
"I claimed this place because of you."
He picked up a rolling Demon God Stone and crunched it.
"Where do you think all the Demon God Stones I've gathered have gone? All into my stomach. Every last one!"
That explained why he hadn't flinched at the cart of burning Demon God Stones.
Long before that, Beljerion had been consuming them. Volumes several times that cart's worth were inside him.
All for the sole purpose of defeating Rasilius and becoming the true Demon King.
The next moment, Rasilius—covered head to toe in dirt and sprawled on the ground—spoke softly.
"Are these stones that tasty?"
Lying flat, Rasilius raised his hand. A glittering Demon God Stone gleamed in his grip.
Beljerion was startled.
Even while taking his fists, Rasilius had found the leisure to snatch a rolling stone.
Eujek-.
Rasilius popped the Demon God Stone into his mouth and chewed.
Omul omul, he ate slowly.
"Burns like mint. Tastes good."
"Tastes?"
"Does this really help? Well, it might be fine for low-grade demons or spawn."
Licking his lips like he'd savored a tasty candy, Rasilius slowly raised his upper body and lifted his head.
The gaze he fixed on Beljerion grew even emptier.
"You've never suited sloth, not since the old days. You're too hot-headed."
"You're the one who's too cold."
"So you're trying to become Demon King by eating candy? That mindset is flawed from the start. You'll never have the vessel for it."
Rasilius stood up.
For an instant, Beljerion had the illusion that Rasilius, down in the pit, towered above his head.
"Blindly building strength like a brute will never make you Demon King."
Teolkeok-.
Beljerion's knees buckled. Sitting abruptly on the ground, he wore a bewildered expression.
"......Huh?"
Strength drained from his body.
All motivation evaporated; his limbs refused to respond.
The power accumulated from devouring Demon God Stones burned away in an instant. On the verge of collapsing face-first, Beljerion gritted his teeth forcibly.
"I've planted sloth and emptiness in your body."
"When the hell...?"
"Here."
Tok tok.
Rasilius tapped his own chest. Beljerion belatedly noticed a small hole pierced in his chest.
A single finger slipped in amid the indiscriminate barrage. That was the conduit for sloth.
As Beljerion tried to rise, exerting every ounce of strength, he slumped back down.
Languor and void filled his body.
It spread like a disease.
Why am I going through all this trouble? Can't I just do nothing?
Sloth and emptiness were followed by futility. Soon, Beljerion's eyes emptied like Rasilius's.
But soon after, strength returned to Beljerion's eyes.
"Me... undone by mere futility...?"
As he desperately resisted Rasilius's futility.
Tsutsutsutsu-.
Above his head.
Soo-hyuk's sword descended like lightning.
Bbanjjjeok-!
Like a bolt from the heavens, Soo-hyuk's blade severed Beljerion's neck in one clean stroke.
It was a sharp, decisive strike timed perfectly for this moment. By the time Beljerion's head whipped back, overcoming the futility, the sword had already cut.
And so, tok-.
The former demon commander’s head fell to the ground.
Deugureureu, it rolled down into the deep crater. Beljerion's head bumped into Rasilius's foot and stopped.
Rasilius picked up the head and leaped out of the pit.
Holding it by the hair and dangling it forward, Rasilius asked.
"Planning to kill him from the start?"
"I thought I'd let him retreat quietly if he did. But I was certain he wouldn't."
Soo-hyuk shook the blood dripping from his sword onto the floor. Blood splattered in the arc of his swing.
He had beheaded the demon commander, but such things didn't faze him.
"It was you, right?"
His yellow eyes glinting, Soo-hyuk asked.
"The one who had Guseong."