Chapter 274
Chapter 274
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 274
Chapter Title: Celestials and Demons (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Huh, that guy?”
“Found him!”
The search had just begun when Rokan revealed himself moments later.
He was curious if he really was the one they were after, and he’d already judged that their encirclement was too tight for escape.
On top of that, thanks to his Slayer of Ten Thousand title, his Murderer Count hadn’t gone up, had it?
No reason to flinch or fear.
“Seize him!”
But his opponents were beings who didn’t respond to words or reason.
They immediately ordered the celestials to bind Rokan.
“Hmph, as if.”
Rokan wasn’t one to let himself be tied up easily. He shoved away those creeping closer while sizing him up and glared at them, making even them hesitate to approach rashly.
“What are you doing? Bind him already!”
“Summon Unicorn.”
They inched forward again at the barked order, but Rokan countered by summoning his unicorn and mounting it.
The divine beast unicorn.
Wasn’t it an object of awe even for pure-blooded celestials?
He figured that as its master, they wouldn’t dare treat him lightly.
‘If things go south, I’ll bolt.’
Of course, it was also a contingency for fleeing if needed.
“What? How can a mere human command a unicorn!”
The reaction came right away, as expected.
The master of a divine beast, no less. Even pure-blooded celestials couldn’t treat a unicorn’s acknowledged master as inferior.
Plus, meeting a unicorn required a pure heart in the first place, making it hard to just label him a criminal outright.
“What’s the problem?”
Instead of answering, Rokan tossed a question back. Whether fighting or fleeing, shouldn’t he know the reason?
The man’s eyes wavered as he replied.
“The crime of murdering the Celestial God’s priest.”
“Hmm, no idea what you’re talking about.”
Rokan wasn’t one to fall for such provocation. His face and expression unchanged, he played dumb with perfect nonchalance.
“We know you clashed with the Celestial God’s priest Mitael and vanished. Still going to deny it?”
“Oh, that? We bickered a bit, but we made up fine. What’s this about...? Is he dead?”
A face of utter bewilderment. It only fueled the man’s rage, his face flushing as he bellowed again.
“Playing innocent won’t help! He was blessed by the Celestial God. His death happened right after you left, and witnesses all point to you as the culprit. I don’t know what trick you used to tame the divine beast unicorn, but I’ll punish you and cleanse the wicked spell from it.”
“Hmm.”
Seemed he wasn’t even considering evidence like Murderer Count anymore.
Rokan’s brow twitched at his words and actions.
Fine, a fight it was—but trying to steal his unicorn? No way. Better to kill the guy and complete the quest.
He didn’t know if there was a specific way to steal or release a tamed mount, but it soured his mood immensely.
‘Should I just punch first?’
Having confirmed words wouldn’t work, his temper flared on the verge of snapping.
“If you won’t submit willingly, we’ll force you to kneel!”
And that lit the fuse—by the man himself.
[Celestial God’s High Priest Hirael][Lv 400]
So that’s why he was so arrogant: he’d just reached Grand Master.
‘With that level of power?’
Sparks flew in Rokan’s eyes, on the brink of charging, when the man, perhaps mindful of the unicorn, summoned something himself.
‘What’s that?’
[Divine Beast Qilin][Lv 412]
A divine beast as well. High-ranking celestials commanded divine beasts, and this one had called his as a mount.
Deer’s body, ox’s tail, horse’s hooves and mane, and towering great horns.
It looked messier than the unicorn, but that didn’t mean weak. Its level was 412, higher than anyone present.
Rokan’s eyes sharpened.
‘Divine Beast Qilin, huh?’
Scared? Hardly. A faint smile crept across Rokan’s lips instead.
Why had he come here?
Partly for an alibi, but mainly to track the next divine beast’s location, right?
And now one walked right into his lap. Rokan could only be grateful.
“Tempest Incarnate, Peerless Form, Legend Rider, Rampaging Chariot, Steps of Valor, Rapid Acceleration, Time of Madness!”
Decision made, his body moved on instinct. Having done this a few times, his skill activation felt faster than before.
“Gasp? Blink!”
Followed by an ultra-high-speed charge!
No wind-up—just chained skills. Hirael flinched in surprise and used an escape skill.
Blink!
Brother or common celestial skill, Rokan didn’t know, but he’d seen it several times.
Unfazed, Rokan spun and hurled hand axes.
“Barrage!”
Ten hand axes struck exactly where he reappeared.
No dodging this time—Hirael tanked it with his body.
Rokan immediately wheeled his unicorn for another charge.
“Block him—no, kill him! Lavish rewards for whoever takes him down!”
But he wasn’t alone. The accompanying celestials swarmed to block Rokan’s path.
No guards appeared, perhaps due to facing celestials. A 1 vs. dozens battle began.
“Hmph! Charge!”
Main charge skills still on cooldown, but no matter. More than enough against mere High Masters.
Reward-blind foes unleashed their aces, but Rokan bulled through their barrier, tanking hits.
“Krahat haha!”
He boomed with hearty laughter even as he did. Same High Master tier, yet utterly unthreatening. A stark measure of how much stronger he’d become.
And one more thing: he still had an ace up his sleeve.
“Martial Soul Awakening!”
“T-That’s...!”
The golden lion’s power descended on Rokan. Unlike with Drokshi, plenty here recognized it.
“You! What’s your relation to the Lion King!”
Hirael even asked directly about the Lion King.
‘Not on good terms, huh?’
No obligation to answer. Rokan swung his battle axe instead, mowing down blockers in mounted assault. Hirael’s divine beast qilin bared hostility and roared.
[Exposed to Divine Beast Qilin’s Roar.]
[Madness Contagion effect dispelled.]
Rokan’s sole debuff skill, Madness Contagion, vanished. The qilin’s roar repelled evil, after all.
But debuffs weren’t his main strength. They didn’t work on stronger foes anyway.
Kraaarh!
Moments later, Mad Cry erupted. Foes still reeling from Madness Contagion stiffened, stats plummeting before they recovered.
Could they handle Rokan like that? Fat chance.
Each of Rokan’s strikes shattered heads or split torsos from chest to gut—fatal wounds galore.
He halted his charge and leaped into their midst.
“Heh, walking bonuses!”
Power gap clear, plus stat drops and immobilization? No contest.
Every battle axe swing left foes incapacitated or dead.
“That filthy lowlife!”
Hirael, enraged at the sight, charged in.
He’d held back at first to subdue, but seeing his celestials die uselessly—including pure-bloods among the mixed races—infuriated him.
‘Gotcha.’
Exactly what Rokan wanted.
“Unicorn!”
Hiiiing! Thud!
The unicorn appeared at the recklessly charging foe’s flank.
The qilin whipped its head to block with its horn, but couldn’t fully absorb the impact.
Hirael and qilin tumbled across the ground together.
“Steps of Valor!”
Boom!
Explosive charge propelled Rokan at them.
“Light Massacre! Lion’s Frenzy!”
“Celestial God’s Shield!”
Craaack!
Hirael hastily deployed his Master shield skill, but dual skills overwhelmed it quickly. Rokan’s attack power already surpassed Grand Master levels.
The shield shattered, battle axe plunging inside.
“...!”
Kyaak!
It mercilessly shredded the divine beast qilin’s body.
Rokan’s goal had been divine beast hunting, not Hirael.
The qilin wailed pitifully, attempting self-heal, but Rokan wasn’t watching idly.
“Bone Breaker, Slaughtering Strike!”
If it healed, hit harder. No need for anti-heal debuffs—overwhelming attack power sufficed.
“Celestial God’s Judgment!”
Boom!
Freed up, Hirael gritted his teeth and unleashed attacks, but Rokan pressed on. He ignored his HP bottoming out, tormenting the qilin relentlessly.
[Title Unyielding Will effect: All stats +100%.]
Unless Hirael decapitated him in one blow, his attacks only amplified Rokan’s power.
[Completed Quest: Demonic Realm Entry Permit.]
[Unbelievable feat! You’ve hunted divine beasts consecutively.]
[Acquired title ‘Divine Beast Hunter’.]
[Divine Beast Hunter][Unique]
A title granted to one who slays vengeful divine beasts. Having murdered holy beings and usurped their power, you must pay a corresponding price.
[Effects]
-???
-???
-???
Moments later, the qilin collapsed in ruin.
“Your turn now.”
Terror etched Hirael’s face.
He’d come to his senses and poured attacks, but unfortunately, his style clashed badly with Rokan’s.
Holy light beams that damaged foes lacked explosion or penetration, nibbling at Rokan’s long-zeroed HP uselessly.
[Blood Blessing effect: HP massively restored.]
And not just that—drenched in qilin blood, Rokan’s HP surged back substantially.
It hadn’t topped 10%, but the recovery alone terrified the already cowed Hirael.
I’m gonna die.
Can’t win.
The thought dominated, freezing his attacks.
He barely backpedaled from the demonically grinning Rokan.
“D-Demon...”
Plenty of actual demons around, yet he spouts that nonsense.
Rokan thrust his battle axe without hesitation.
He easily ravaged Hirael’s self-crippled body.
“Stop!”
“Hm?”
Thud!
As the final blow landed, a heaven-shaking roar bound him.
Too late.
“Y-You bastard!”
“How dare you to the Celestial God’s High Priest!”
Celestials. They flew at Rokan, faces twisted in fury.
‘Trouble.’
Rokan instantly checked durations on Tempest Incarnate and Martial Soul Awakening.
Bad shape. Both were nearing end.
Meanwhile, over a dozen celestials descended from the sky—all above Lv 400. Fighting now meant certain defeat.
‘Dying once isn’t hard, but...’
Mitael was fine now. But killing Hirael? Too big.
Not just any priest—a High Priest. Given their temperament and actions, self-defense claims wouldn’t fly.
‘No need for that, though.’
Sneer.
But Rokan grinned. Acting insane aside, this response was too soft and naive.
[Celestial reputation changed to Hostile.]
If killing anyway, shouldn’t he have attacked first, not just turned hostile?
Rokan sheathed his weapon, signaling no aggression. They stopped at ‘hostile’ and slowly descended around him.
“You’ve confessed your crimes! Daring to kill the Celestial God’s High Priest...”
“Yeah. No. Use Heavenly Rune Book.”
“No!”
As the dozen celestials surrounded him, Rokan toyed with them by pulling out the Heavenly Rune Book, touching one of two saved spots to activate instant teleport.
Pew.
His body dissolved into light.
Rokan flipped them the bird one last time before vanishing to somewhere in the celestial realm.