Chapter 175
Chapter 175
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 175
Chapter Title: Perish (4)
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Berial felt his body flying backward.
Before that, he touched the deep gash engraved into his chest. Sticky blood flowed down his hand.
The spot where his left arm should have been was empty.
To think his senses hadn't registered it... Those rats hiding like mice had seized the perfect moment of his carelessness.
'How long has it been since I suffered this much damage in such a fleeting instant?'
Hundreds of years ago, he had fought ranking battles among the nobles under the Demon King of Vengeance.
Berial, a viscount at the time, had crushed strong foes in a blaze of glory and ascended to earl by slaying Earl Jupiter.
Yet he couldn't surpass the rank above him, Marquis Ignis. The crushing defeat from back then was still etched into his body even after centuries.
How did these wounds compare to those?
'Trivial.'
These were nothing. If he willed it, he could regenerate them in an instant.
But the shock came from weaklings inflicting wounds that only someone like Marquis Ignis could have made.
No matter how careless he'd been, could they really bite this deep?
'To begin with, it was foolish to let bugs catch me off guard.'
Even venomous bugs were still bugs.
With half dragon blood in his veins, no wounds should have been possible.
Boom!!
His flying body slammed into the ground.
There was no pain from the impact. If a mere crater hurt him, he never would have claimed an earldom.
He rose casually. The blood from his chest had nearly stopped. The wound would heal soon enough.
His left arm tingled, regenerating within ten minutes.
"My pride is wounded."
And it was humiliating.
He was disappointed in himself for letting bugs do this—and for being so careless.
He extended his right thumbnail long and stabbed his left shoulder.
"This is the punishment I inflict on myself."
Rip!!
He tore off his entire shoulder.
With demonic energy cloaking his nails, even his own body wouldn't regenerate easily.
At least until this fight ended, he'd be one-armed.
This wasn't a handicap for the enemy. It was to carve vigilance into himself.
With his left arm intact, he might grow careless again.
"Hoo. When I return, the Demon King will slap me. And that bastard Ignis will mock my blunder."
He had seized a rare chance to enter the mortal realm.
Truth be told, Viscount Dimold should have been here.
He had stubbornly insisted on coming himself.
Now he was showing this pathetic sight, so the Demon King of Vengeance must be furious.
Marquis Ignis would be snickering at his side.
"Can't be helped. It's my karma."
The human child watching from above.
His sword had instantly absorbed Berial's demonic energy and hurled it back.
Exceeding expectations, it had slashed his chest in the form of his own power.
Without the human child's power, such a deep wound wouldn't have been possible.
'The human child is the top threat.'
He marked the other two as dangerous factors capable of harming him.
Berial spread his legs wide, bending his knees.
He lowered his torso, placed his right hand on the ground, and lifted his head. His pupils slit vertically long, and his wing membranes writhed grotesquely.
Splurt!!
A pair of black membranous wings unfurled with bodily fluids.
In the demon realm, Berial's moniker was "Demon Dragon."
He was the demon realm's sole dragon.
As he flapped his wings, the forest ahead vanished in an instant, as if it were a lie.
Berial began unleashing his full power.
While Berial was still checking his condition, Jamie and the two grand mages held an urgent battle meeting below, staying vigilant.
"That last attack definitely didn't kill him."
"At least an earl. His left arm will regrow soon."
"He won't be careless anymore. We have to hold out until the other elders arrive. Even if it means abandoning the mage tower, we must evacuate everyone."
They assumed the enemy's power was at minimum a demon realm earl, maximum a marquis.
They didn't consider a duke. Demon realm dukes were near demon king level monsters.
Practically divine, attacks wouldn't land in the first place.
If a duke-class demon had appeared, Sellam Kingdom would already be doomed.
"Elder Seven. Can you isolate this space?"
"Young master. Are you in your right mind? We three can't take it down."
"It's fine."
"Jamie Welton. Is it thanks to that black mana of yours?"
Siegfried's eyes gleamed at Simon's words as he looked at Jamie.
It wasn't the time to pry, but Jamie's request made no sense in this crisis.
"I don't know if your black mana is the same as what black sorcerers use, but it'll cause headaches if others notice. Assess the situation coldly. We can't defeat it alone."
Even as an 8th class grand mage, Simon couldn't face a monster beyond supreme realm.
Doubtful even with other elders, granting spatial isolation was impossible.
"The elders are already en route. Elder, I don't know what's going on, but trust me."
"You're both misunderstanding."
Jamie shook his head at Siegfried's words.
The presence below grew stronger.
Having been burned by carelessness, the next attack would be all-out.
Even hordes of mage tower elders wouldn't matter.
'Unless Sword Masters come in droves...'
Or all mage tower elders reached 8th class.
Neither was happening now.
So, a gamble. On the line between life and death, a gamble to intercept the strong.
And Jamie, as a black sorcerer, was perfect for it.
"Lend me your power. The aftermath might spill elsewhere."
"...Young master?"
"You mean that seriously?"
"Yes."
The strongest black sorcerer in history had seized even a fragment of initiative.
Its meaning was simple.
'Right now, it's barely possible.'
The gap between 6th and 7th class was vast.
With the wall shattered, Jamie had no intention of losing even to an earl-class demon.
The path ahead was long, but today he advanced a great step—far beyond others' strides.
"Please contain the shock so it doesn't leak out."
What was he preparing to say such things?
Siegfried began chanting with hands clasped instead of replying. An invisible barrier sealed their space.
Simon stood guard around Jamie, countering the demonic energy from below.
"Thank you both."
Time was short.
Below, preparations nearly done, demonic energy swelled rapidly.
Jamie sheathed his sword, gripped only his staff, and sat cross-legged in midair.
His eyes turned purple as black mana crept up around him.
"Bird crying in solitude. Wanderer denied the light. Nightmare standing alone in the black world, erasing all." "There, an enemy seeks to destroy your world. There, an enemy watches to devour the darkness. There, one claims to be the master of the world's ruin." "Weep not. Even if you lose all, your place remains."
⟨ Perish ⟩
A translucent curtain of darkness spread round.
Below, jet-black wings unfurled.
Demonic energy surged toward them like an explosion.
It was the demon dragon.
Its long, black, thorned maw gaped wide.
Demonic breath flowed into it.
Siegfried pushed Berial far away with spatial coordinate manipulation—his magical authority.
But a demon realm earl transcended space.
His massive form spread wings, closing the distance instantly.
Simon became the Flame Emperor, blooming Crimson Lotus.
Flames surpassing the sun's zenith poured to melt the demon dragon.
Yet it brutishly flapped wings, extinguishing all flames.
Siegfried and Simon turned to Jamie with urgent faces.
Their voices didn't reach, but their expressions said it all.
Berial gaped his maw again.
Black demonic energy refluxed from his throat, spewing forward.
Dragon Breath.
The dragons' unique power. Absolute destruction ray.
It shot straight at Jamie.
But Jamie didn't look away.
Staring straight at the blackening world, he finished the chant.
Darkness engulfed greater darkness.
Berial felt his breath being eroded.
This was full-power, no-holds-barred breath.
Yet he couldn't focus.
Trembling, he stared at the world-covering darkness.
'No way...!'
This darkness was familiar.
He didn't know how a child human wielded it, but it was undoubtedly the Demon King of Vengeance's unique power.
That instant.
"Kuh!"
His consciousness shook.
A tremendous soul invaded his body.
Berial couldn't grasp this unbelievable reality.
"D-Demon King?"
The Demon King of Vengeance forcibly descended into his body, crossing dimensions.
Even just the soul, its weight nearly crushed him.
"Urk... Demon King! No! Even if the 12 Gods are chaotic fighting among themselves, they won't miss your descent!"
But his master was heedless.
Berial tried enduring for his lord, but a mere earl couldn't block a demon king.
"Guhk-"
Eyes rolling back, Berial lost consciousness.
There stood a full plate knight leaking black smoke.
The knight drew his sword upward and spoke.
The world began to extinguish.
"It's definitely here, but I sense nothing."
"They've isolated the space itself."
Linmel and Oppen arrived where Jamie's group clashed with Berial, but the forest was serene.
Birdsong and insect chirps soothed the mind.
Yet the two 8th class grand mages saw through the manipulation.
"Elder Seven?"
Linmel answered Luke's question.
"Likely. Isolated to prevent greater damage."
"Can he suppress a demon alone?"
"Who knows."
Oppen shook his head.
"Perhaps a foe threatening the entire mage tower, sealed inside."
"...Would Siegfried think to play hero like that?"
Adelhardt sounded dubious, earning Linmel's glare.
"Don't underestimate Elder Seven. Whatever the truth, a fight rages inside."
"Is Elder Eight inside too?"
"Unclear. Luke, rally the mages and evacuate everyone from the mage tower."
"Elder Four! That's...!"
Luke tried refusing Raymond's order, but Oppen backed it.
"Elder Four is right. Elder Five, please assist. Elder Six, help Elder Five."
Luke and Adelhardt exchanged glances, then eyed the others uneasily.
Regardless of relations, they were Sellam Kingdom's strongest mages.
If Siegfried's space broke, the aftershock was theirs to bear.
Luke wanted to help, but one must protect civilians in emergencies.
He disliked it being him, but these three were stronger.
"Understood."
"Luke!"
As Luke accepted, Adel grabbed his arm, but he nodded at her.
Raymond smiled kindly and bowed.
"Thank you."
"Let's go."
"...Old men. Survive."
The three didn't reply.
As Luke and Adelhardt vanished, Oppen spoke.
"Troublesome situation."
"Leave now. You're His Majesty's teacher."
"Huhu. That's why I stand first. Sets an example, no?"
"Didn't expect that from you."
"Enough chatter."
Raymond gripped his wand, silencing Linmel and Oppen.
"The limit approaches."
"Seems so."
"Terrifying demonic energy."
The forest stayed peaceful, but they weren't sloppy enough to miss the quaking space.
Especially the faint leak of demonic energy piercing the isolation—it chilled the spine.
"Let's set an example for the young ones today."
"Agreed."
"Two who never joined hands in battle, now doing so... Sun will rise in the west tomorrow."
"Here's hoping we see tomorrow's sun."
They traded banter while deploying mana.
The isolated space cracked bit by bit.
The moment it fully shattered.
"...What is this!"
"The sky!"
The world extinguished.
Purple darkness fell like night.