Chapter 141
Chapter 141
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 141
Chapter Title: The Demon and the Archmage (3)
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The ancient library sinking into a pitch-black swamp.
That was the interior of the magical space Melissa had created.
The bookshelves, once meticulously stocked with mental nourishment, had all collapsed in ruin, their plywood warped and decayed. The collapse had chained like dominoes, forcing every shelf to vomit forth its books. Piles of scattered tomes and shattered shelves lay heaped together, rotting like abandoned manure.
To make matters worse, inky black liquids seeped through the debris.
Black rivulets snaked across the flagstones. The sticky fluid, thick as resin, overflowed through shelf gaps like a living thing with a will of its own—swirling, evaporating, soaking everything. Thick books were buried in tides of ink, brined like bricks from ruins submerged in a mire.
This might not have been Melissa's grave, but it was a graveyard nonetheless. A tomb for forgotten print and erased knowledge.
Kadim picked up a book that looked relatively intact amid the mess. Hoping some readable part might remain. But the moment he opened it, he slammed it shut again.
Kuruk, kururuk...!
Magic pooled between torn pages stretched out pseudopods like slime. As if it were some living grimoire. Grimacing, Kadim tossed the book aside. He could only pray Melissa's records hadn't ended up in such a state.
The magic wasn't just pooled on the floor like quicksand. Vaporized traces filled the air as thick black fog. Visibility darker than a moonless night, chaotic terrain, a stench stabbing the nostrils like needles. No sane person could navigate to a target in such conditions.
Yet Kadim didn't lose his way or wander.
Even in this hellscape, one marker stood crystal clear: the source of this intense magic, the position of the "high demon." Melissa's records said it guarded them, so he simply headed toward the thickening magic.
Still, insidious thoughts plagued his mind along the way.
How could a single person's despair birth a high demon? What had happened to Melissa? How had she survived this long? What was she doing now...?
And was the demon outbreak truly her doing?
'Shh, the one who revived me, the one who unleashed demons across this continent... is one of your companions.'
By the time he reached his destination, Kadim had erased all such thoughts.
A mind cluttered with distracting moss couldn't even cleave rotten turnips. Now was the time to hone his mental blade sharp and focus on crushing the filthy demon. Gripping the Ebony Axe, inhaling the dense magic, he advanced step by step.
Finally, reaching the library's innermost sanctum, he crossed the threshold of a wooden door emitting twisted groans.
Kiiiiiiik—
A landscape unfolded like the nightmare of a dreamer tormented by depression.
A space ambiguous enough to call neither indoor nor outdoor. The dilapidated ceiling lay shattered, dyed in the hues of a forgotten starry night. Where walls should have been, abyssal darkness prevailed. Amid rampant heaps of books, pooled magic forming puddles, and wildly overgrown weeds...
A giant with a goat's head was bound in a mass of thorny vines.
Kururuk, kururuk, kuruk, kururur...
Its lower body was pinned in a floor magic circle, exposing only its torso. Concentrated magic poured from decayed eye sockets and maw like an ink waterfall. Even the upper body alone rivaled a golem in size, but the vines binding it like mooring ropes kept it from easy movement.
That restraint didn't last long.
Druk, kadruk, taduk...
The faint stretching of vine tendrils swelled into undeniable tremors in an instant, then erupted into frenzied spasms like a madman's fit, ultimately growing strong enough to snap even the tightest bonds.
Kadruk, kadrrruk, tuduk! Tududuk!!
Elastic stems snapped, exploding in olive-green bursts that scattered plant fragments everywhere. Regaining its arms' freedom, the goat tore away the layered vines encasing its body. Aside from the lower half still pinned to the floor, it could now move freely.
Kadim wasn't just standing there gawking. He hurled a thunderbolt at an exposed patch of flesh like a shot from a cannon.
――――― Pajijijik—!
But the axe trajectory warped bizarrely midway.
Flash! Kugung, kugugung...
Sucked into a massive hand, the lightning flickered out in an instant. The goat clutched the bolt tightly, emitting grotesque boiling groans.
—Garruruk...
Tuduk, tududuk—!
Vines peeled from its forehead, revealing three full horns. Magic in its sockets coalesced stickily into eyes, and from its maw poured not a waterfall but a resonant voice.
—Garruk... 'Acluranos.' This demon's true name... is Acluranos. The Devouring Demon, Acluranos.
"...".
Even pulling with force, the thunderbolt didn't return. As if vanished into another dimension. With no choice, Kadim gripped Judgment of Atala and recited the prayer. The goat scattered a gaze compressed with viscous malice.
—A long, long oblivion's wait it was... Yes, the desperate life of prey is but a fleeting meal to the predator... And eons of humiliating seal, mere a night's whim of idle curiosity to another...
"[...Grant me strength to oppose, resolve unbent by raging gales...]"
—...Who are you? Where is Melissa? Where has that fiery harlot gone, the one who treated this demon as less than livestock, whom I'd devour a thousand times and still not sate?
"[...I swear eternal struggle.]"
As the poison chant ended, golden winds leaked from the axe haft.
Whoooosh...
The War God's aura filled his flesh to bursting, sweeping away stray thoughts and tension like dust. Instead of words, Kadim roared and leaped skyward.
"Huaaaaaah!!"
――――――― Peok—gek!
A brutal strike to the temple twisted the goat's neck left. He followed with a right to restore balance. Crimson-black blood sprayed, leaving long gashes beneath both horns.
Yet the demon deemed it trivial.
—Impatient temperament... Yes, a mortal of scant life's seasoning couldn't know better.
Blood mingled with magic and sucked back into the wounds. The demon snapped its fingers, and dozens of curse circles etched empty space, detonating simultaneously.
―――――― Guuuung! Kwagwagwang!!!
Kadim was hurled down by the blast. He leaped again without pause, but chain explosions blocked approach. No matter how nimbly he dove, piercing the concentrated barrage proved difficult.
Finally crashing through the floor into the basement, obsidian eyes gazed down indifferently.
—Surely you've grasped the gap between us... So, what brings you here? Ah, come to report that damned harlot finally croaked?
Apparently, the main body didn't share memories with its divisions. Kadim spat pooled magic with a "ptui" and smirked crookedly.
"Nah, came for Melissa's records. Figured I'd grab that blood pouch she left while I'm at it."
—...Her records? Ah, this?
The goat opened its palm. A small orb rested there, translucent surface revealing a thick leather book's outline within.
It clenched as if to crush it...
Kagagak—!
...but the orb didn't even crack. A self-mocking sigh escaped the demon's maw.
—Fit for hell's pits, that one... Daring to cage a demon like livestock wasn't enough; she even saddled me with menial librarian duties. I'd love to soak this in magic like the rest of that worthless paper...
Target confirmed. Kadim leaped again as if nothing had happened.
Kwa—ang!
—Heh, still blind to the gap?
The goat chuckled dryly and snapped its fingers. Scattered curse circles bloomed, this time erupting jungle-thick thorny vines that seized the warrior's flesh.
Kadruk, kadrrrruk—!
Stems strangled limbs viciously; straining to tear free drove sharp thorns deep into skin. Flesh and muscle shredded raggedly, blood pouring freely.
Kadim activated Woodification Demon's Power for the first time in ages. Arm tattoos glowed crimson, bark armor enveloping his body.
Kadruk! Tuduk, tududuk—!!
Problem solved. No thorn could pierce divine-infused goldenwood bark. Kadim snapped vine bundles with brute force, sweeping the rest like chaff with whirlwind axe swings.
But Melissa's records had already vanished into the demon's grasp.
―――――― Peo—gek!
Bone exposed from a hand strike, yet the demon ignored it. Instead, it grinned slyly, dripping sinister mockery.
—My, such delectable talents. Perfect timing. I'd grown weary of swallowing only that harlot's despair...
Kwang—!
Kugugugugu...
The goat slammed the floor, shaking the earth. A chilling premonition stabbed his spine like iron shards; Kadim swiftly retreated.
But the demon's trick wasn't dodged by a mere step back.
――――――― Kwagwagwagwang—!
From collapsed ceiling and walls emerged a colossal silhouette overwhelming vision.
A mountain-sized monstrosity's head surged from the distant backdrop. Its form fused a goat's upper jaw with a lion's lower. Jaws agape, drooling viscous saliva from greedy fangs, it charged.
Less individual predation, more calamity engulfing heaven and earth.
Range too vast for evasion. Kadim raised his axe haft, intent on at least cleaving its palate.
Yet upon arrival, the monster head phased through all physicality, gnashing space itself before dissolving like shadow.
Teo—heop! Kuhuuu...
Kadim scowled briefly. Something had changed, but he couldn't pinpoint it. Scanning his suddenly hollowed body, realization dawned.
'Woodification Demon's Power' and 'Atala's Divinity' were gone.
The goat licked its chops leisurely, patting its belly.
—Tasty, but no 'mystery'... Hm, not bad 'miracles.' That dusty god's aura is a tad gritty... But a rare treat; this demon shall endure.
Evidently, summoning that monstrosity to devour mysteries and miracles was the high demon's authority.
Kadim ground his teeth. Area-wide skill and buff nullification, unblockable even physically... True to a high demon, another irritating power emerged.
The goat stroked its shaggy chin, narrowing eyes.
—...Still, no craving seconds. From now on, no prayers to that dusty god.
Ku—ung!
A padlock-like magic circle floated before his mouth. Kadim realized his jaw muscles had solidified like stone, unmovable. A gag constraint akin to the Magic Tower Lord's.
—Any other 'miracles,' mortal? Best spit them out quick. Else, I'll squeeze your bones and flesh...
"...".
With Cyril here, shamanism might seal the demon's authority, but that shrewd shrine maiden wasn't at his side. Hydra tattoo spent, Woodification on cooldown. Prayers bound by constraint.
One option remained.
The riskiest, yet granting greatest power.
Wuuuuung—
Kadim activated 'Pebilatus's Tattoo.'
His abdominal tattoo blazed crimson glory. A small blue pocketwatch materialized before him. Confusion flickered in the demon's eyes, its maw twisting coldly.
—Yes, that's it! Why hide such a delicacy? No, we must summon the 'Incomprehensible Devourer' again...
But this was no mere 'miracle' sated by one meal.
Pinggrrrring—
At the reversal's apex, descending divine ruin. His frame ballooned dramatically; ripple-like pressure dominated space instantly. Invisible scales tipped wholly toward the warrior.
Yet the demon retained composure, thrilling with bloated anticipation as it invoked authority. The incomprehensible devouring grip enveloped space again, but...
――――――― Kwagwagwagwang—!
Teo—heop! Kuhuuu...
This time, the demon failed to devour the miracle.
Instead, it retched, vomiting previously swallowed auras.
—Guop, guuk, guweeeek! Guweeeek!! W-What...? What is this...? Why can't this miracle be devoured... Guuk...
Even a demon authority at transcendence's threshold affected only lesser beings.
The warrior who once beheaded archdemons with a single axe was no longer bound by high demon powers.
The gag constraint shattered next.
Kadim gripped his jaws top and bottom, wrenching brutally. Superhuman strength widened the gap; ripping solidified muscles snapped the padlock curse circle.
Pa—chang!! Jjeojeok!
Momentum tore his lip, dislocating jawbone, but Kadim paid it no mind. He snapped his lower jaw back with a clack, grinding bones into place side to side. Sore, but chewing and swallowing seemed fine.
"...".
The berserker grinned fiercely at the demon's throat.