Chapter 218: Reinvasion (15)
Chapter 218: Reinvasion (15)
Ereon deliberated on his choice of magic the moment Mallos concealed himself.
First and foremost, illusion-type magic was out of the question. Sitri knew its intricacies far too well.
Illusion magic, a branch of dark magic fueled by Dark Mana, primarily functioned by distorting vision or interfering with sensory perception to deceive the target. It was most effective when the victim was caught off guard, particularly on a chaotic battlefield. In the heat of a large-scale melee, where bloodlust and the fervor of combat ran high, people were easily led astray.
Indeed, it was a natural consequence of war. That was why both Mallos and Ereon were such formidable forces on the battlefield.
However, Sitri was intimately familiar with the illusion magic used by Asmodeus’s demons—especially the techniques Ereon favored. She would see right through them.
‘Illusion magic is useless. What about curse magic? There’s a high chance she’ll just dispel it immediately using the power of those Benevolent Gods.’
In truth, the answer was already clear. Ereon decided to cast the dark magic with the highest destructive power in his repertoire.
Dark Blast.
It took the form of a pillar of condensed Dark Mana. Its casting speed was remarkably fast considering its destructive potential, and the projectile moved at a velocity that could practically be called instantaneous.
‘I’ll wait for the opening Mallos creates.’
Soon, a complex magic circle composed of black lines etched itself in the air before Ereon’s right hand. Currently, he was receiving backup from the Black Spire; his Dark Mana was overflowing, replenishing itself as quickly as it was spent. For a mage-type demon like Ereon, it was the perfect environment.
Though he inhabited the body of a Demonic Human, he had undergone biological modification through Mammon’s demons to drastically increase his mana capacity. Thanks to that, Ereon felt no regret over losing his original body.
‘This is more than enough.’
He felt the Dark Mana surging through his veins. It had been a long time since he had wielded such high-purity Dark Mana in such vast quantities—the first time in actual combat since his imprisonment in Nippur.
With mana overflowing, he felt as if he could achieve anything. A sense of immense psychological euphoria washed over him. Dark Mana billowed around his arm, glowing with a vivid, sinister black light.
A dark Demonic Energy spilled from Ereon’s eyes, radiating a powerful, malevolent aura. Seeing this, the surrounding Demonic Humans felt their anxieties begin to fade. As the Dark Mana condensed in his right arm, the surrounding air seemed to be sucked inward—a phenomenon the Demonic Humans recognized from their days before becoming Awakeners. It was the telltale sign of a mage-type Awakener casting a high-tier spell, and the intensity of the wind was ominous.
At that moment, Mallos attempted a surprise attack on Sitri, failed, and tried to retreat.
‘Now!’
For a split second, Sitri’s attention was focused on Mallos.
Keen!
With a sharp, metallic ring, a pillar of black energy streaked toward Sitri.
Boom!!
A thunderous roar erupted as black flames and smoke billowed outward. A ten-meter radius centered on Sitri was instantly engulfed in dark fire and soot.
“Yes! Well done, Ereon!!”
Mallos, who had been close to the explosion, was caught in the aftershock and slightly scorched. Fortunately, since he was already backing away, he wasn't fully caught in the blast. He tumbled across the ground before slamming into the earth.
His entire body screamed in pain. Half of his left face was burned, and he was bruised all over. But the joy he felt was enough to dull the agony.
Mallos had felt a significant burden regarding Sitri. He had nearly died just moments ago during his failed ambush—just like the now-dead Catric. Despite his lingering resentment toward Ereon from their recent power struggles, Mallos was so elated that a sense of camaraderie flickered back to life.
Sitri knew them too well. Her mere presence was an immense pressure.
Ereon, too, was certain of Sitri’s death after seeing his Dark Blast find its mark. There were those who could dodge it, but no one had ever survived a direct hit.
“...!!”
However, his triumph was short-lived. A silver knight burst through the burning black flames and smoke.
Thuck!
“Aaaargh!!”
The tip of a silver spear erupted from Mallos’s back. Han Shin’s spear had pierced Mallos straight through the heart.
Han Shin’s concentration was sharper than ever, allowing him to grasp the entire state of the battlefield. Naturally, he had quickly noticed the three demons moving to target Sitri.
Watching Catric lunge at her first, Han Shin had made short work of the Demonic Humans surrounding him. He then immediately moved toward Sitri. In that moment, he spotted Ereon casting Dark Blast.
Driven by the singular thought of protecting Sitri, he accelerated explosively, a shield appearing in his hand. Using the shield as a prow, Han Shin threw himself in front of Sitri just before the Dark Blast could reach her.
As the searing heat and black smoke washed over her, Sitri realized that Han Shin had stepped in to save her—and that she had narrowly escaped death. Even for her, reacting to a Dark Blast enhanced by the Black Spire and cast by Ereon in his modified body was difficult. Her attention had been divided by Mallos, making it even harder.
Being saved by Han Shin left Sitri feeling a mix of guilt and joy.
‘I should have been the one helping Lord Han Shin... but to be protected like this... I’m... happy.’
It was a conflicting emotion, one that the old Sitri could never have imagined. As a former Demon Duke of Asmodeus, a cold-blooded warrior with immense pride, she had never enjoyed being helped. She had reached the pinnacle of power through her own strength. While she never refused assistance if it was the most efficient path, she had never felt this kind of heartfelt joy from it.
Han Shin blocked the Dark Blast, actively releasing the Power of the Dragon to neutralize the intense heat and the force of the explosion. Because he had moved so urgently to save Sitri, he had naturally consumed a significant amount of his dragon power.
‘But I still have strength left. How?’
Han Shin questioned his own condition. It was bizarre.
‘I feel like power is constantly flowing in from somewhere. No... is it devouring something?’
From the moment he arrived to destroy the Black Spire and broke the first barrier, he had maintained his Juggernaut state. The Divine Power of Tiamat manifested as a silver aura, flickering around his body like a brilliant flame for all to see.
No matter how much Han Shin had grown, and even though he had absorbed Dark Mana and converted it into Tiamat’s Divine Power during the destruction of the Black Spire in London, he shouldn't have possessed this much Divine Power. He knew his own limits better than anyone.
However, seeing innocent civilians suffering and dying at the hands of the Demonic Humans today had filled him with unprecedented rage and focus. This state was the result. He had evolved one step further toward becoming a true Dragon Knight.
Han Shin had gained the ability to 'devour' the supernatural powers near him and utilize them as his own. This ability originated from the nature of the dragon power he possessed.
Before Tiamat became a god, she was a dragon of chaos. In the ancient days before her ascension, Tiamat was the epitome of a greedy dragon, a blend of good and evil. She was unpredictable, her temperament and countenance shifting like the wind; at times she was a merciful dragon, at others, a cruel one. She would bestow gifts or extort treasures based entirely on her whim. Tiamat lived exactly as she pleased, and because she was the strongest among dragons—who were already the strongest of mortals—no one could stop her.
Then, at a certain point, she transcended mortality to become an immortal, ascending to the rank of a god. In doing so, she suppressed her original draconic nature and took on the attributes of a Benevolent God, specifically the Goddess of Victory.
For some reason, Han Shin had become a Dragon Knight based on Tiamat’s original draconic attributes, making him both her Proxy and a complex, hybrid existence. Even now, he was absorbing the Dark Mana lingering in the Demonic Humans he had slain and the things he had destroyed.
However, with Tiamat currently asleep, Han Shin had no way of obtaining this information and remained ignorant of his exact condition.
One thing was certain, though.
‘I have to counterattack immediately.’
Han Shin returned his shield to his subspace and gripped his spear. With a single leap, he burst through the smoke and pierced Mallos’s heart with a single, unerring thrust.
The spear punched through the heavy armor and impaled the heart. Mallos’s physical body died instantly. Automatically, Mallos’s Dark Mana was absorbed into Han Shin, leaving the demon in shock.
[This is imposs—!!]
With a grotesque, eerie death cry, Mallos’s soul shattered. Even though his Ego Artifact hadn't been destroyed, his soul vanished.
Han Shin had unknowingly absorbed all of Mallos’s Dark Mana, and in the process, the Ego Artifact where Mallos resided was affected. The artifact’s core function was to anchor the soul; once that function was lost, the soul had nowhere to go and naturally dissipated.
“What was that...?”
Han Shin, the one responsible, reacted with confusion. He hadn't intentionally destroyed the Ego Artifact, yet a scream identical to the soul’s death cry Catric had let out when killed by Sitri had echoed in the air.