Chapter 207: Traces (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 207: Traces (3)
There was once a man. He was a dullard. He excelled in nothing. The village elders believed he would grow up to be a useless man.
Yet, there was something indescribable lingering in his chillingly cold gaze. His black eyes and hair only doubled the sense of foreboding. The elders would clear their throats and avoid him.
Even under their stinging glares, the man remained silent. When he tilled the garden, the harvest failed; when he gathered fruit, he picked only those rotten to the core. He couldn't do a single thing right. Left with no choice, he simply consumed the village's communal rations, killing time as he did.
Several years passed. Around the time the youth entered his adolescence, the elders called him out. They lined up weapons of every kind: swords, spears, bows, and bludgeons.
An old woman gestured to him with a tilt of her chin, signaling him to choose one. The man stared blankly at her before reaching out his hand.
The weapon he chose was a sword. There was no grand reason behind it; it just didn't seem bad, and that was all. He had no idea how this choice would alter his future—no, the future of all humanity.
Immediately, the man was dragged off to the battlefield, clutching nothing but a single sword. This was not of his own free will, but due to the Empire's conscription order.
The Human-Demon War had suddenly broken out. At the time, the Empire was gathering young men from every village to form an army.
The village elders had secretly discussed this and pushed the man to the front lines. Since he was an orphan and a dullard, he had nothing to lose.
Yet, the man did not resent the village. Honestly, he felt no emotion at all. In this way, 'will' was completely absent from all of his thoughts and actions. Because of this, the village had deemed him a dullard and expected him—with some pity—to die before long.
But everyone's expectations were proven spectacularly wrong.
The man distinguished himself on the battlefield. He wasn't just outstanding; the moment he appeared, the tide of battle would instantly turn. He possessed a truly overwhelming talent for martial arts.
His movements were as fluid as water, yet as violent as a natural disaster. Every time he swung his sword, the ranks of the Demon King's Army were shattered. The battlefields he left behind were always shrouded in a thick mist of blood—a crimson fog raised from the blood of his enemies.
Over the decade and more that the war raged on, the man grew stronger by the day. As if he had no limits, his martial prowess approached the divine realm.
People began to follow him. As more time passed, he soon gathered countless followers.
He selected seven from among them and took them as his disciples. They were the Seven Great Heroes, who would later become the foundation of the Seven Stars Heroes.
In the end, the man once called a dullard had become the hope of humanity. Conversely, the Demon King's Army hated and feared him in equal measure.
Humans and demons alike spoke of him in unison, calling him a being favored by the heavens.
The man did not agree. He truly was a dullard. Compared to the power bestowed upon him, he was only using a tiny fraction of it, like the tip of a needle.
Moreover, even that fraction of power was not easy to control or manifest. The man realized that there was someone else better suited for this than him...
* * *
Lycan drew up his magic power to the limit.
This was the Demon Realm Gehenna. Magic power blanketed everything around them. Since an infinite supply was possible, Lycan drew out a massive amount of magic power in an instant.
On the other hand, the environment of the Demon Realm was toxic to humans. It was only normal to foam at the mouth and collapse under this concentrated magic power. Yet...
Whoosh.
The darkness deepened. The light scattered along with it. A divine energy clashed against the endlessly rising darkness.
Lycan stared at the eyes before him, which glowed with a green ghostly fire. The human holding the sword strode forward. Lycan shuddered.
Even in the face of infinite magic power, even in front of him, who could wipe out half of humanity.
Balor Joaquin was never intimidated. He didn't even exert himself. There was no such thing as 'will' behind his actions. He simply advanced toward his enemy.
In this aspect, he infinitely resembled That Person. If so, that man was no different from a demigod.
"How does it feel to be chosen by That Person?"
Lycan curled the corners of his mouth, showing his delight. Walking with steady steps, Balor dismissed him.
"Can't you tell by looking? In the end, one of my arms is being consumed. I wasn't chosen. I just happened to be born with this damn curse."
"Hahaha!"
Lycan laughed out loud. A clap of thunder rumbled. With him at the center, deep blue lightning swept through the surroundings like a broom. Lycan said,
"Did you know? Demons and humanity are essentially of the same kind. Throughout the war, I have witnessed countless evil deeds committed by humans. At times, your darkness is even greater than that of demons. Isn't the difference between darkness and light as thin as a sheet of paper?"
"I have never seen a demon perform a good deed."
Lycan let out another chuckle. The entire area vibrated faintly.
"Balor Joaquin, you truly are an interesting man the more we talk. It is only a pity that our chance to converse will disappear forever after today."
"Don't worry, Lycan. Once you fall to hell, the demons who have already died will keep you company."
Balor then dashed toward Lycan. A single leap. Lycan failed to react to that leap.
A shocking speed that even outstripped lightning. The Spirit Sword Gram trailed a long streak of light.
Slash!
In the blink of an eye, a line of blood was drawn on Lycan's left arm. Before his arm could fall, Balor swung his sword low. A strike aiming for the legs. But this time, Lycan reacted.
Rumble!
Thousands of lightning bolts struck the ground, crushing a wide area. Balor quickly widened the distance. He swung his sword, cutting down the lightning spears. His arms and legs moved faster than lightning. It was a movement that, at a glance, seemed to reverse causality.
The flashing blue glare completely whited out his vision. The deafening roar ruptured his eardrums, staining Balor's earlobes with blood. Amidst all this, hundreds of millions of lightning spears flew at him once more.
Balor furrowed his brow. This ceaseless onslaught of lightning was annoying. Although he was dodging by a hair's breadth, there would be no end to this at this rate.
'In that case.'
In the next instant, Balor's left arm burned away even faster. Without changing his expression, Balor slashed upward with the Spirit Sword Gram. The electrical discharge was sliced diagonally in midair.
The sound of something shattering into pieces echoed. Rugged mountain ranges melted away like icebergs. This was the catastrophe wrought by the Spirit Sword Gram. Balor's sword strikes, which were already incredibly swift, had now reached a realm where trying to follow them with the naked eye was utterly meaningless.
Rumble.
A steady shower began to pour. A slippery, oil-like red rain drenched the ground. Despite this, the human and the demon continued to pour out their attacks with undiminished momentum.
Here and there, petroleum-colored black spheres formed in the air. The flow of space-time became tangled due to a battle that transcended physical dimensions.
The Demon Realm screamed. Thud, thud. Chunks of debris fell from the sky. A procession of death brought about by the two transcendent beings.
At that moment, Balor looked down. His burned left arm was now reduced to a skeletal frame. His brow furrowed.
'There is not much time left.'
At this rate, the smoke would spread to his legs. Losing his mobility would be a turning point that would heavily tilt the battle. Defeat would become certain.
'I will end this.'
Balor bent low and drew his right foot back. He let his left arm hang loosely downward. From his shadowed face, two streams of ghostly fire leaked out, trailing behind.
Watching him, Lycan instinctively knew. This would be the end of this death match.
The raindrops gradually grew thicker. Even as it was torn to pieces, the Demon Realm continued to distort space-time.
〓〓〓〓〓〓〓〓〓〓〓〓〓
A deafening blast.
Balor's figure faltered.
* * *
Lycan staggered, and his waist split apart. His upper body rolled across the ground before coming to a halt. The lightning vanished into the air, leaving behind only a few small, fizzling sparks.
Soon, Lycan's gaze reached the sky. The sun, setting in the west, appeared split in half. The earth still sizzled and boiled like lava.
Lycan rolled only his eyes to the side. The victor of the bloody battle, the human, was standing there. However, he was completely battered, barely managing to stand as he tottered.
Balor repeatedly coughed up mouthfuls of blood. His entire body was wounded.
He wiped the blood from his mouth. Then, he took a staggering step. Stabbing the tip of his blade into the ground, he used the Spirit Sword Gram as a cane.
Approaching Lycan, Balor looked down at him. Blood pooling at the tip of his chin dripped onto Lycan's face. His breath was ragged, his complexion pale, and his physical condition was beyond ruined—it was in tatters.
Yet, Balor stood firmly on the ground. His gaze was unwavering and cold. He possessed the unmistakable aura of a victor.
Lycan let out a low groan and spoke.
"...I... see. Even... you cannot... fully use that power..."
Balor remained still with a blank expression. Lycan's eyes slowly began to turn a grayish-white.
"...Yes. That makes sense... If it weren't at least this much... it wouldn't be able to stop the end... of this world."
"I'll ask you one thing."
Balor said. His voice was worn and raspy, like rusted metal.
"The Demon King's Army, 'That Person' you speak of. The one who also gave me this damn power—where is he?"
At his words, Lycan smiled faintly.
"That Person annihilated all the gods on his own. Sensing a crisis, this world banished him from here. Thus, he is not in the same place as us. But why do you ask that?"
"I plan to find and kill him. If he is your master, Lycan, he is surely an enemy of humanity. Moreover, since he bestowed this curse upon me, he must pay the appropriate price. No matter if he is a being who slaughtered the gods."
To Lycan, it was a blasphemous statement. However, his smile only deepened.
"Amusing. Highly amusing, but you cannot kill That Person. Only a hero can stand against him. You know that as well, don't you, Balor Joaquin? However, if you wish to meet him, I can tell you the way."
At that moment, a change occurred in Balor's expressionless face. Seeing his eyes widen, Lycan answered the unasked question very slowly.
"Use the Evil Eye of the Loop you received from Ouroboros. Then, you will be able to reach where That Person is."
"Lycan, why are you revealing all of this to me?"
"What a foolish question. As I said, I have acknowledged you as a friend. That is why I am telling you."
"..."
"Demons kill humans. In that, we have not a shred of regret or mercy. That is the immutable law of nature. Yet, who was the one who established that definition? Perhaps we are merely toy soldiers dancing to the whims of a higher existence."
Balor Joaquin sighed and asked again.
"After using the Evil Eye of the Loop, how do I find him?"
"This, too, is a foolish question. Isn't worshipping false gods and praying for them to come something you humans do every day? Then what of That Person, the true absolute being? If you truly plead to meet him, he will come to find you."
Catching his breath, Lycan uttered his final words.
"Embark on a journey to chase his traces. Its beginning shall start from my death. Do what you must do now, Balor Joaquin."
Balor quietly raised his sword, holding it in a reverse grip. A quiet sound of tearing flesh followed. It was the sound that announced the end of the war.