The Revival of the Balrog
"What the hell is that?"
The High Elder's eyes bulged wide.
Demian was unmistakably human.
Even with the Prism Armor equipped, his essence remained human at its core. But the figure standing before them now could no longer be called human in any sense.
It wasn't just his appearance that had changed.
His very soul seemed transformed.
And in truth, it was.
The one revived through Demian's body was none other than the Balrog, a demonic beast.
An ancient calamity known as the Duke of Demonic Beasts.
It fell short of dragons in raw power, but its savagery surpassed them by far, earning it a reputation that ranked its danger even higher.
Indeed, the emergence of a single Balrog had once obliterated an entire kingdom.
In Kurayan, countless Awakeners and nations had banded together to eradicate it.
Even then, they couldn't fully destroy it. In the end, they borrowed the Spirit King's power to seal it within a crown.
That was the secret of the crown people believed held the Spirit King himself imprisoned.
The Balrog had revived through Demian's flesh. But after eons of sealing, its true power was greatly diminished.
Even so, it radiated the presence of an S-rank demonic beast or higher.
The Balrog's overwhelming aura froze everyone in place.
Mariel and Borlin, and even Queen Serion Olia herself.
The High Elder, shielded by his barrier, suffered a spiritual blow that left him momentarily immobile.
These were Neo Seoul's top-tier Awakeners, yet they were reduced to this. The lesser ones didn't even need mentioning.
The barely surviving scavengers and Awakeners stood petrified by the Balrog's aura, unable to twitch a muscle.
Whoosh!
Hellfire then swept through them.
It was the Balrog's skill, The Eye of Destruction—a blaze rivaling hellfire itself.
Everything in the Balrog's line of sight fell within the range of The Eye of Destruction.
No creature, Awakener, or beast could escape those eyes and flee.
The title "Beast of Ruin" was well-earned.
With its power weakened from long imprisonment, now was the golden opportunity to eliminate it. But neither Serion nor Mariel could muster the will to attack.
The sheer intimidation of the name "Balrog" crushed them.
Had they been ignorant of its identity, they might have charged in without hesitation. But knowing its legends, the bone-deep terror rooted in their souls held them fast.
"Grrr!"
Spotting them, the Balrog's eyes blazed with fiercer flames.
Seeing the elves and heteromorphs who had sealed it ignited a surge of murderous hatred.
Shwick!
A long whip materialized in the Balrog's hand.
Hellfire coiled along its length.
This was the Balrog's signature weapon: the Flame Whip.
More than any other trait, this weapon set the Balrog apart from typical demonic beasts.
Most beasts relied on innate flesh, skills, and instincts—no need for study or tools.
But the Balrog was different.
It pondered and researched ways to grow stronger. The result was the whip it now wielded.
Compressed hellfire shaped into a lash.
Its power defied imagination.
Crack!
The Balrog swung the Flame Whip toward Serion and the others.
The hellfire-laden whip shattered the sound barrier as it flew.
Serion snapped out of her daze and unleashed her skill just in time.
"Seven Overlap Shield!"
Her unique defensive skill: seven shields layered in tandem.
Fortunately, the shields deployed in time, blocking the whip.
Crack!
But the cost was devastating.
Six of the seven overlapping shields shattered from a single lash.
The last one held, saving their lives, but the massive shockwave hammered Serion, Mariel, Borlin, and the rest.
"Hup!"
"Gah!"
Mariel and Borlin vomited blood and dropped to their knees, while Serion's face paled.
Serion tried to shift from defense to offense.
Though the Balrog had seized the initiative with its entrance, she was an S-rank Awakener too.
She lacked the power for a head-on clash, but her strength was far from negligible.
With full skill deployment, she could at least extract herself.
The problem was the Balrog granting no such leeway.
Bam! Bam!
It lashed relentlessly with the whip.
Serion timed her Seven Overlap Shield perfectly.
"Snap out of it! If we stay like this, we're all dead!"
She shouted at Mariel and Borlin.
But they couldn't shake off the daze so easily.
Protecting them kept Serion pinned, forcing her deeper into defense.
"My God! A beast like that exists?"
Witnessing the scene, the High Elder froze.
The Balrog was an unprecedented demonic beast.
Neither he nor anyone in Neo Seoul had ever laid eyes on such a creature.
Naturally, they had zero intel on it.
But strength wasn't always gauged by knowledge alone.
Just watching revealed the Balrog's immense power.
Then it happened.
Roooar!
Frustrated that the shields held, the enraged Balrog bellowed. A colossal flame storm erupted, engulfing the area.
The High Elder, inside his barrier, escaped the worst, but the three Shadow Squad Awakeners with him weren't so lucky.
"Argh!"
"S-save... me..."
"Urk!"
Swept by the superheated blaze, they turned to ash in seconds.
The others fared no better.
The scavengers and Awakeners who had barely survived melted away.
The High Elder's face hardened at the sight.
"My God!"
The surrounding sand had vitrified into a glassy sheen from the intense heat.
Even without full power, it wielded this might. At full strength, its terror was unfathomable.
One thing was crystal clear.
"If that thing heads to Neo Seoul, it'll be a catastrophe."
Unlike lesser beasts, the Balrog ignored Neo Seoul's anti-magic field. It operated on a different level.
Its intrusion would spell disaster. They had to contain it here.
Then, the furious Balrog unleashed its aura once more.
Roooar!
A brilliant light exploded from its body.
The beam reached Neo Seoul in an instant.
Crackle!
"Urgh!"
"What the—?"
Cha Jin-cheol and his mechanized Awakeners, camped in the outer slums, groaned in pain.
The Balrog's light had shorted their machines with sparks.
Staring at his sparking arm, Cha Jin-cheol muttered.
"What? What the hell just happened?"
A massive wall of flames now ringed the fortress.
It blocked their view inside.
"Some kind of EMP?"
As if confirming his guess, power across the slums cut out.
Lights winked off, plunging the area into darkness.
Watching this, the High Elder murmured.
"No choice, then. Wasn't planning on this."
He wasn't altruistic by nature.
Otherwise, he couldn't have served in the execution squad. But he wasn't heartless enough to watch mass death unfold.
They needed time before the Balrog reached Neo Seoul.
Fortunately, he had the means.
"Hah!"
With a shout, a massive barrier formed.
It engulfed him, the Balrog, and everything nearby.
He didn't know how long it would hold, but it could buy time until other Neo Seoul Awakeners arrived. His real hope lay elsewhere.
'Zeon!'
A man hovering midair on a platform of floating sand—Zeon himself.
Zeon watched Demian.
No trace of humanity remained in his form.
The flesh, perfectly fused with the Prism Armor, had grown vast and sturdy enough to house the Balrog's soul. Superheated flames churned in its eyes and mouth.
The human ego was gone, replaced by the beast's mighty soul.
Demian had become the Balrog completely.
Demian had known this would happen.
From the moment he acquired the Spirit King's Crown and Prism Armor.
He'd used them anyway, fully aware he'd become the Balrog.
His hatred for elves and heteromorphs was that profound.
All that made human Demian was erased, but that hatred fused with the Balrog, swelling even larger.
Roooar!
The Balrog unleashed its aura again, birthing another superheated flame storm.
But the High Elder's barrier contained it, sparing the outside world.
"Urgh!"
The tremendous impact twisted the High Elder's face. Swallowing the blood rising in his throat, he called to Zeon.
"We have to stop it. If it breaks free, Neo Seoul's doomed."
Desperation filled the High Elder's expression.
He was dead set on keeping the Balrog contained.
"Hoo."
Zeon sighed and nodded.
Whatever Demian's circumstances, he'd chosen this path.
Zeon understood his deep-seated hatred for heteromorphs, but he couldn't let this Balrog ravage Neo Seoul.
The slums—his home—would suffer the worst.
He had to prevent that much, at least.
Then Borlin loosed an arrow at the Balrog.
The bow of Nylia, bought at the auction here.
Wielded by an elven hero, its power was terrifying.
Thunk!
It pierced the Balrog's hide. But the feeble strike only stoked its rage.
Whoosh!
The Balrog swung its Flame Whip.
Breaking the sound barrier, it smashed into Borlin.
Boom!
Borlin flew back without a scream.
Nylia's bow had blocked the whip, sparing her grievous wounds, but the shock locked her body.
The Flame Whip whipped toward her again.
"Borlin!"
Serion lunged to save her, but she couldn't outpace the whip.
Borlin squeezed her eyes shut, sensing her end.
'Damn it all!'
Boom!
Air exploded in front of her.
The Flame Whip halted just short, lashing empty space.
The searing heat blistered her face, but no direct hit meant she lived.
"What?"
Borlin cautiously opened her eyes.
A man blocked her path.
Just his back, but she knew instantly.
"Zeon?"
Fwoosh!
The blazing Flame Whip was caught in Zeon's right hand, gauntleted in the Superheat Gauntlet.
"I'll handle you from here on out. Demian—no, Balrog!"
Grraaawr!
The enraged Balrog attacked Zeon.
In that instant, countless sand tendrils shot toward the Balrog.