367. Lord of Ten Thousand Demons
367. Lord of Ten Thousand Demons
***
The jet-black light pierced through the body of the colossal Great Demonic Beast.
Cheon Ryuhwa's ultimate technique had unmistakably pierced the beast's body, leaving no room for argument no matter who saw it. Yet even so, Cheon Ryuhwa's expression showed no sign of brightness.
A small breeze blew, and her pure-white silver hair fluttered, veiling her face. As if she had sensed something, she uttered words that made no sense at all.
"Opposed, yet not opposed."
The result of that single exchange had made the situation far more complicated than expected.
She could clearly suppress the Great Demonic Beast's demonic energy, but she could not completely end it. She had been placed in a contradictory situation.
Before me, who had ascended to the position of Heavenly Demon, no demonic energy could exert its power. Therefore, the outcome that had just unfolded was entirely natural. Just as no one marvels when dark clouds fill the sky and fierce rain pours down.
That no demon could exert its power before me was itself a truth, an immutable principle.
No matter how vast the demonic energy the Great Demonic Beast contained, it was only natural that I felt not the slightest threat.
The magnitude of their existence differed. And however great that difference, the energy belonged to the demonic all the same.
Demonic energy was, by nature, utterly honest and upright before essential strength. It was the purest of energies.
It submitted to stronger power and devoured weaker power outright. That was the essence of demonic energy.
The reason the world called it an unclean energy and shunned the demonic was simple. Those who wielded demonic energy were simply too weak to overcome it. That was all.
———!
Even now, the beast hunching its massive body and averting all of its thousands of eyes from me was proof of that.
'But.'
But even so, the beast before me was peculiar.
It could not overcome my demonic energy, yet the demonic energy within it was gradually transforming.
Even after taking a direct hit from Asura Heaven-Annihilation and suffering great damage, the reality that I had not inflicted as much meaningful damage as I had expected... a small laugh escaped me.
"A mere demonic creature, and yet so utterly insolent."
That it dared to possess demonic energy and had endured mine with it felt fascinating.
A great heat like fire surged in my chest, then sank back down, endlessly cold, over and over.
In an instant, an unexpected curiosity arose.
If the demonic energy that Great Demonic Beast possessed were to change, what would it become at the end?
'Even if energy that was originally demonic changes, does it truly cease to be "demonic"?'
Suddenly, my gaze fell upon a hologram covering one side of my vision.
*
————
The Ersia Continent is in desperate straits!
Zervallua is now evolving into a new form!
—【Evolution Rate: 52%】—
...
————
*
Staring at the message announcing the impending evolution, I continued to let out scornful laughter.
Before the Lord of Ten Thousand Demons, a mere demonic creature was evolving and hurtling toward destruction. I could understand that to anyone other than me, a demonic beast bearing such immense demonic energy would be a tremendous threat—perhaps even a threat capable of bringing about annihilation.
I understood that much.
"Grand Duke! We must end this now."
A presence that had drawn near before I knew it spoke, and I turned my gaze toward it.
There stood beings each bearing unusual energy. Yet even so, two of them possessed power rivaling the Dharma Protectors of my sect. And I could see one woman who would rank among the ten greatest masters.
"...Grand Duke. We will lend our strength. We must finish this."
The continued use of the title "Grand Duke" felt foreign to her.
'So they use strange titles beyond the continent. Is that it?'
Hearing a title meant for you, not me, stirred a peculiar feeling.
'Seeing that she receives such recognition from beings comparable to the guardian, were these people connected to her before she lost her strength?'
It felt strange that this body was being treated with such deference by beings like these. I had heard that concepts like sects and schools were faint beyond the continent, yet perhaps some order existed after all.
The body I now felt was not merely strange—its limitations were far too severe.
Then, suddenly, I felt the gaze of a woman nearby who was staring intently at me.
When I met that gaze, the black-haired woman flinched and averted her eyes.
Her appearance was peculiar, and the energy she possessed was extraordinarily unique.
'She handles blood, yet she is no sorcerer. How fascinating.'
Though a thick scent of blood clearly emanated from her body, she did not seem to wield sorcery. The realization drew another laugh from me.
The woman, who had been staring as if entranced by my smile, opened her mouth in a daze.
"...Rin?"
At the title used to address me, I finally spoke.
"You shall finish the beast yourselves. Should it unleash its demonic energy, I will block it myself."
A Great Demonic Beast that was opposed to me, yet not opposed.
If I forcibly drew out my power now, ending that demonic creature would certainly be possible. But if I did, this body would not withstand my demonic energy.
Therefore, ending the beast myself was effectively impossible.
'I am here in your place. If I destroy this body with my own hands, could there be anything more absurd?'
Moreover, while the beast was hunched over and fully on guard, I could predict at once that if I closed the distance even slightly, the beast would immediately put great distance between us.
The beast, extremely wary of me, would never again try to block my energy as it had before.
'It will surely try to avoid me. That is the essence of a demonic beast bearing the demonic.'
Ironically, despite possessing the power to suppress the demonic, I found myself in a strange situation where I could not resolve it through force.
In the end, these beings beside me would have to finish the beast.
"You should be capable of it, should you not?"
I spoke in succession, casting a calm gaze upon them.
The two beings who received her gaze hesitated, then accepted her will.
"...We will follow the Grand Duke's will."
As the mysterious woman with water-colored hair answered composedly to my words,
"Understood. Ah, you should remain with the Grand Duke. In particular, you must be wary of Zervallua's Devouring."
The golden-haired man also answered, preparing to launch himself forward.
With the black-haired woman nodding in agreement, the situation was settled. I raised my sword and aimed it toward the beast.
The sword's tip was pointed. With that alone, I could respond to whatever unfolded.
As the two beings unleashed their respective auras and hurled themselves toward the beast, I naturally remained behind with one other.
"What is your name?"
Watching the two who had launched themselves forward, I spoke to the presence beside me.
A martial fighter who handled blood and strengthened her body—this was the first time even I had seen such a being, and it piqued my interest.
"......"
Though the woman with hair like ebony had clearly heard my words, she could not find words. Glancing at her, I calmly parted my lips.
"Did I not just ask?"
...
At Cheon Ryuhwa's cold question pressing for an answer, Yujeong's hands kept twitching. Meeting that gaze, she finally closed her eyes for a moment and spoke.
"...Yujeong. Han Yujeong."
Even as she answered, Yujeong felt her head floating, utterly lost as to what to do.
***
"...Yujeong. Han Yujeong."
Even as I answered, I still couldn't grasp what on earth was happening.
'Am I dreaming right now?'
The thought even crossed my mind without my realizing it.
After all, every single raid pattern was strange, a quest had suddenly appeared mid-raid, and Zervallua had displayed absurd strength while using something oppressive and terrifying called "Devouring."
On top of that, beings treated as equals to the Great Hero were speaking formally to Rin.
'And Grand Duke? What does Grand Duke even mean?'
One of the noble ranks. It probably meant something like that, but I couldn't understand it at all. Never mind a Grand Duke—I had never once heard of a user attaining even a low noble title like viscount or baron.
As questions piled up and reality seemed to transcend itself, my thoughts began drifting beyond mere confusion toward outright denial of reality.
Was this a dream?
Was I hallucinating?
"Yujeong. What a curious name."
But the cold voice ringing in my ears jolted me awake.
Beneath pure-white silver hair, a woman of otherworldly beauty—and moreover, holding a sword instead of a crescent-moon weight. It was unfamiliar, yet somehow not like seeing it for the first time.
I remembered seeing Rin use a sword during rehearsal just yesterday.
Yes, she had clearly handled a sword well.
But as the image of her overwhelming Zervallua alone with techniques beyond comprehension resurfaced, my head felt dazed and floating again.
It meant that a user had accomplished what even the Great Hero could not—far beyond a mere balance collapse.
'Come to think of it, Rin did beat Daji too.'
I had only learned the result after the stream ended, but thinking about it that way, it wasn't entirely impossible.
Yet my reason echoed loudly in my chest: could I truly understand it?
Looking at Rin, I somehow found her stranger and stranger. Even though the sight of her holding a sword was exactly what I had seen yesterday, no different from now.
A mysterious atmosphere that made it hard to think of her as Rin lingered around her.
How could she use such incredible techniques? What was with that strange way of speaking? Why was she suddenly asking for her name now?
The questions I wanted to ask filled my chest to overflowing, but I couldn't bring myself to voice them.
The saying that someone could overwhelm others with presence alone.
Facing Rin like this, I fully understood what that meant.
I was completely overwhelmed.
As if utterly crushed by her aura.
Eyes that were calm yet devoid of any emotion.
Whenever those occasionally curious eyes turned toward me, my body felt frozen and I couldn't utter a single word.
Even an animal facing its natural predator wouldn't be like this. Yet the phenomenon kept happening to me.
"Pfft..."
And did my reaction seem amusing to Rin?
At the sight of Rin smiling so differently from usual, I could only stare blankly.