Chapter 268
Chapter 268
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 268
Chapter Title: Weaponmaster (3)
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The moment his body turned gray, the Weaponmaster felt his entire body grow heavy.
It was as if a massive snake had coiled around him. A repulsive sense of restraint squeezed his whole body.
Soon after, the Weaponmaster's body began to disintegrate. The mass of his flesh rapidly diminished.
-……!
At the same time, agony crashed over him like a tidal wave.
It felt like swimming alive in lava. Indescribable pain exploded in his mind.
-Kraaaack!
The Weaponmaster tried to wrap his body in black magic to protect himself.
But it was futile. No matter how much he summoned his black magic, he couldn't resist Erebos's power.
-Aaaack! Kuaaaack!
He couldn't die like this!
The Weaponmaster desperately clung to his sanity and manifested his own domain.
Myriad Weapons' Beloved.
A power that drew out the hidden strength of armaments.
Right now, the Weaponmaster was both human and a magic sword. Thus, through Myriad Weapons' Beloved, he could unleash his full potential.
The center of the Weaponmaster's chest began to glow red-hot.
Red energy spread throughout his body.
He felt his flesh grow tougher. The output of his black magic surged higher.
The speed of his body's disintegration slowed dramatically. The excruciating pain vanished.
-Good…… that's it!
But there was no time for complacency. He had to kill Demian Haksen even a second sooner to cancel Erebos's power.
The Weaponmaster clasped his hands in front of his chest. Then, as the Demonic Sword of World Annihilation, he activated its power 'Distortion'.
Distortion meant twisting.
The Weaponmaster twisted space itself. Darkness began to form between his hands.
Air was sucked toward the darkness, then even the surrounding light was devoured.
This was the ultimate secret art of the Demonic Sword of World Annihilation: 'Dark Maw'.
Without anyone teaching him, the Weaponmaster had instinctively mastered this technique.
-I'll erase you from this world right now!
It was then, as the Weaponmaster swung the Dark Maw, that Demian Haksen spoke.
“I'll have to crank up the output.”
No sooner had he spoken than the second wave erupted.
The second wave struck the Weaponmaster's body. Immediately after, the Weaponmaster's surface began disintegrating again.
It was even faster than before. His entire body shrank rapidly.
-……!
The Weaponmaster felt even more intense agony than moments ago. He couldn't hold back his screams.
-Kraaaack!
It wasn't just the Weaponmaster. The arduously formed Dark Maw vanished in an instant.
His ten fingers crumbled from the tips. His thinned legs buckled under his body's weight and snapped.
The Weaponmaster's body hit the ground. With his face smashed into the floor, he screamed.
-Stop! Stop it! Please!
But his pleas changed nothing. His body continued shrinking in real time.
Demian Haksen approached the Weaponmaster, Erebos gripped in his hand.
-Kuhuk…… Huerk…….
The Weaponmaster gasped for breath, only his head and upper body left.
-Demian…… Haksen……!
The Weaponmaster ground his teeth. Filled with hatred, he shouted.
-For me to suffer this humiliation at the hands of a brat like you……! I won't forgive you! Even in death, I won't forgive you!
Demian Haksen merely looked down at the Weaponmaster with a calm expression.
That pierced the Weaponmaster's pride.
-What's with those arrogant eyes! You don't think you've actually beaten me, do you? That sword! Without that sword, you'd be dead by my hand!
The Weaponmaster thrashed and yelled.
-Without that sword, you're nothing!
“Then why don't you try wielding it?”
-……What?
The absurdity made the Weaponmaster forget even his pain.
As if it weren't a lie, Demian Haksen set Erebos down before the Weaponmaster.
-Uh, uwaaack!
The Weaponmaster frantically reached for Erebos.
With his barely remaining fingers crumbling away, he tried to grasp it.
-You idiot! To actually hand this over to me!
As long as he had Myriad Weapons' Beloved, there was no sword the Weaponmaster couldn't dominate.
-N-Now it's your turn to suffer! You'll feel the same pain as me……
The Weaponmaster tried to dominate Erebos using Myriad Weapons' Beloved.
Red energy extended from his hand and poured into Erebos.
At that moment, the Weaponmaster's expression changed. But the red energy failed to dominate Erebos and simply dispersed.
-Why…… why is this happening……? Why…… why is it rejecting me…… Th-this can't……
Suddenly, Erebos's wail grew louder. An ear-splitting cry shook the surroundings.
-Kaaaack!
At the same time, the Weaponmaster's body disintegrated even faster.
Both arms flew off completely. His torso shrank rapidly. Only half his face remained.
-Sp-Spare me…… please…… I don't want to die like this……!
The Weaponmaster desperately cried out to Demian.
-I'll do anything! If you want, I'll be your slave! I'll hand over all my authority!
Demian simply watched the Weaponmaster silently.
-Pl-Please……!
The last remnants of the Weaponmaster vanished completely.
With his flesh gone, only his soul remained.
But even the Weaponmaster's soul scattered without a chance to ascend.
-Kiaaaaaack!
Erebos's power annihilated the Weaponmaster's soul as well.
Only after witnessing that did Demian pick up Erebos.
The moment it touched Demian's hand, Erebos became as docile as a lamb.
Utterly different from how violently it had rejected the Weaponmaster.
Demian withdrew Erebos's power.
The gray-tinted world returned to normal. The ceaseless wailing no longer echoed.
Demian transformed Erebos back into a tattoo.
Demian stared quietly at the spot where the Weaponmaster had died.
“……Father.”
He murmured while looking up at the sky.
“This foolish one has avenged you, albeit belatedly.”
His voice sounded profoundly sorrowful.
* * *
Demian returned to Kilo. Kilo asked with a shocked face.
“D-Demian Haksen…… What was that sword just now? What kind of power is that…… Everything disintegrated, so why am I fine?”
“I adjusted the target. I can control it that much.”
The more fragments of Erebos he gathered, the stronger its power and his control over it became.
Now, Demian could select not only the range but also the targets of the power.
And those Demian had spared from Erebos's power weren't just Kilo.
“No waaayyy!”
At the site where the Weaponmaster died, Akilo was screaming.
“The Demonic Sword of World Annihilation! My greatest masterpiece can't be destroyed so pointlessly!”
Akilo slammed his fist into the ground, wailing.
Kilo pointed at Akilo and asked.
“Why'd you spare that trash?”
“Revenge should be finished with one's own hands.”
At Demian's words, Kilo fell silent. His eyes shook wildly.
“……Thanks.”
“No problem.”
“While we're at it, one more favor? Just smash that furnace for me. I can't manage it in my condition.”
Kilo's abdomen was soaked in blood. From the wound pierced by the magic sword.
“…….”
Demian drew Yeomyeong and swung it toward the furnace.
The released Aurablade cleaved the furnace in half. The lava inside spilled onto the floor.
Blood flowed from the severed cross-section. The pulsating furnace stopped dead.
“Aaaack! No! My furnace!”
Akilo tore at his hair with both hands. Akilo glared at Demian and shouted.
“You brainless fool! Do you even know how stupid you've just been!”
Frothing at the mouth, Akilo charged at Demian.
Then, Kilo blocked Akilo's path.
“Get lost, you…….”
Kilo swung his fist at Akilo.
The rock-like fist smashed Akilo's face and slammed him into the ground.
The moment he hit the ground, Akilo's neck snapped. And so he perished.
“Ptooey.”
Kilo spat on Akilo's corpse.
At that moment, black smoke billowed from the destroyed furnace.
Looking closely, it wasn't smoke. The dwarves' souls were being freed.
-Ahh…… We're finally free!
-Ancestors! We're coming!
Unlike when bound to the furnace, the dwarves' souls looked utterly joyful.
Kilo watched the sight quietly. Then he sank to the ground.
“Huu…… Huuk…….”
Kilo sweated profusely. His complexion was ghostly pale.
Demian opened his subspace and pulled out a potion. But Kilo shook his head side to side.
“No, it's fine.”
Kilo raised his head to gaze at his kin. As if eager to join them quickly.
“Demian Haksen, thank you. We Rainspear Hammer dwarves owe you a great debt. Without you, we wouldn't have gotten revenge—we'd have just been used by Akilo.”
It was just as Kilo said.
In his previous life, Akilo had been infamous as a demon.
The driving force behind that was surely the furnace made using the Rainspear Hammer dwarves.
“Can you feel it? They're all thanking you. Every one of them…….”
Kilo's head slowly bowed.
Soon, Kilo's soul flowed out of his body. Kilo's soul flew unhesitatingly toward his kin.
Even as a soul, Demian could sense it. How happy Kilo was.
Of course, not every dwarf felt joy.
-Uwaaaack! Leave me alone! I said leave me alone!
Akilo.
The traitor's soul screamed, surrounded by the other dwarves.
Dwarves never forgave betrayers. They swarmed Akilo and destroyed his soul.
-Aaaack!
Akilo's screams dragged on long before cutting off abruptly.
Only then did the Rainspear Hammer dwarves' souls rise high into the sky.
