Chapter 176
Chapter 176
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: Crossing the Long Years (1)
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"......Luke."
"What in the world is about to happen?"
Luke couldn't respond to Adel's call. He simply stared up at the sky as it turned a deep violet.
It was an overwhelming sense of dread.
It felt as though he were witnessing the end of the world with his own eyes. He watched the chaos unfolding below.
"R-run away!"
"We have to get out of here, fast!"
"Maintain order! Order!!"
"Proceed calmly, everyone!"
It was pandemonium.
The refugees, who had been evacuating from the mage district in orderly fashion at first, panicked the moment the sky turned violet. They had devolved into a mindless mob, fleeing in every direction.
The mages tried their best to manage the crowd, but it was impossible for a few hundred mages to control tens of thousands.
"E-Elder Five! The citizens are in chaos. We can't control them!"
"Casualties are piling up on Street 3!"
"Train No. 13 has derailed. Multiple fatalities!"
"Some mages are disobeying orders and fleeing into the crowd!"
The city, its order shattered, was crumbling rapidly.
No direct damage had struck yet, but the people had lost all reason, as if driven mad.
Luke understood them completely.
The instant he saw that violet sky, he too desperately wanted to flee this place.
The only things stopping him were a shred of responsibility and the superior mental discipline he had cultivated beyond that of ordinary folk.
Had he lacked even one of those, he would have been no different from the citizens.
That violet sky was the very madness of the demon realm incarnate.
"Defensive posture?"
"All magic tower weaponry is on standby, ready for activation."
In preparation for any potential external invasion, the mage district had fortified every tower with powerful magitech weapons.
"Can we activate the central tower's 'Dimension Breaker'?"
"Five A-rank mana stones have been prepared."
"Just one shot, then."
The magitech superweapon, Dimension Breaker.
The ultimate weapon, forged by the combined efforts of all high-ranking mages in the district.
It required five priceless A-rank mana stones for just a single activation, making the decision far from easy.
Luke had never witnessed its power.
He wasn't alone. Not even the other elders, nor their king, had seen it.
The Dimension Breaker was activated only when the Kingdom of Seldam faced existential crisis.
And in Luke's mind, today was precisely that day.
'I hope we never have to use it......'
But that was mere wishful thinking.
Luke turned to Adelhart.
"Adel. You take charge of escorting the refugees to safety."
"Luke! You're seriously telling me that right now?"
"In this situation, the strongest need to stay behind. You're weaker than me."
"How can you say something so cowardly!"
"Please."
Adelhart's eyes welled with tears as she clenched her teeth at Luke's earnest plea, stripped of all levity.
Her fists trembled violently before she jabbed a finger at his face in warning.
"If you die, you're dead."
"......I'll do my best."
Adelhart gathered her subordinates and headed toward the refugee procession.
As a specialist in mental magic, she could suppress the refugees' terror to some degree and guide them safely out.
Now, all that remained in the mage district were the combat mages and Luke to lead them.
"Everyone, don't drop your guard."
Though separated by distance, telepathy linked them all, and they listened intently to his words.
"And...... let's all survive this."
The mages fixed their gaze on the ominous violet sky.
Poised for battle at any moment.
Jamie slowly opened his eyes.
Someone had intruded into the space of darkness he had created. And not content with that, they had seized a portion of the darkness and claimed it as their own domain.
It was an immense presence.
Vast enough to render that demon dragon from earlier a mere child.
'What in the world is going on?'
It was incomprehensible.
This space of darkness Jamie had spread was none other than his unique domain, 'Chaotic Ocean'.
A killing terraforming spell crafted to confront foes stronger than himself.
Even in its current incomplete state due to his insufficient body, it should have been enough to fell the demon dragon.
If not for this unforeseen situation.
'I can understand a greater demon descending...... but how did they steal my Chaotic Ocean?'
Chaotic Ocean was black magic where Jamie assimilated his black mana with the space itself.
In other words, it was impossible to seize without the exact same black mana.
Even the 12 Gods would be no exception.
They could shatter it, perhaps, but never claim it. Not according to Jamie's common sense.
Zzzzt-!!
It's approaching.
The darkness itself was signaling it.
Jamie untucked his legs and rose to a standing stance.
His violet eyes glowed deeper, and under Chaotic Ocean's influence, his black mana began to amplify.
Puk!
An arm burst through the darkness.
An arm clad in black armor.
It seized the darkness with its hand.
The space of Chaotic Ocean rippled violently. The color of the darkness didn't change, but Jamie could feel it.
'It's being encroached again.'
Starting from the gripped section, control of Chaotic Ocean was slipping away to the foe.
Jamie's eyes wavered.
Had someone truly appropriated his black mana?
Traces of Diablo Volpir lingered throughout the world.
The hand gripped the darkness and yanked outward. From the widened rift emerged another arm, which seized the opposite darkness and spread it wide.
A right leg stepped out from the expanded opening. Then the head, torso, and left leg slowly crossed over to where Jamie stood.
A being clad head to toe in black full plate armor stood before him, black smoke billowing from the joints.
The moment Jamie laid eyes on it, he instinctively knew.
'Demon King.'
It was unmistakably the Demon King.
He didn't know why it wasn't showing hostility, but thanks to that, he could breathe.
Why had the Demon King appeared here?
'The risks are enormous.'
The Demon King was the archenemy of the 12 Gods.
They couldn't possibly miss his arrival, and the descent would trigger causality, allowing the 12 Gods to manifest here at any moment.
Yet the 12 Gods did not appear.
No reaction from his left hand either. Pyro should have spoken up in a situation like this.
Jamie glared at the presumed Demon King with a tense expression.
No words came from it.
A brief silence stretched on.
Jamie spoke first.
"Are you the Demon King?"
No answer.
As Jamie frowned and opened his mouth to ask again.
"I asked if you're the Demon K......"
What are you?
It was a vibration that shook his very soul.
Just those few short words had nearly shattered his mind.
Jamie barely suppressed the surging nausea.
To think he couldn't even endure a single brief phrase.
Anger welled up, followed by a wave of self-pity. In his prime, he would have stood tall, looking down imperiously upon his foe.
Be it god or Demon King!
'Right. I am Diablo Volpir.'
No matter how weakened, his essence remained unchanged.
Jamie arrogantly lifted his chin before the mighty foe, squared his shoulders, and crossed his arms.
He would not yield in aura alone.
Such was his resolve.
For the first time, the presumed Demon King's eyes gleamed at Jamie's display.
Incomprehensible.
It lowered its head and asked again in a voice laced with genuine puzzlement.
How can you wield this power and assume such a stance before me?
Unlike the first, the longer question sent his soul into turmoil.
Jamie fought back the blood rising in his throat, steadied his breath, and replied.
"I don't understand the intent of your question. This is my power, and I am no one who bows before the strong."
Impossible. At your level, you cannot withstand my presence. Even this place is my concession. You should bow.
The being lightly raised its right hand and crooked its index finger downward just a fraction.
Jamie's rigid neck was forcibly bent downward, but he gritted his teeth and resisted. Black mana roiled around him in response.
......Impossible.
The being pressed its finger down harder.
Blood poured from every orifice on Jamie's face.
Yet Jamie refused to bow, staring straight at his foe.
Torturous as it was, near death, submission was worse than dying.
That was the conviction of Jamie, of Diablo Volpir. No one could trample it.
Reckless bravado. That's all it is for one like you.
"Kuh!"
The crushing pressure intensified.
Crack. Bones from lumbar to cervical vertebrae shattered.
All joints in his body were already pulverized.
Jamie endured the horrific neural agony by circulating black mana through his body, forcibly maintaining his posture.
Impossible. For a mere human to......
He didn't know who this "human" was, but Jamie glared with eyes ruptured by burst capillaries.
His pallid skin was now veined with blue lines everywhere. Burst blood vessels.
What are you to Him!
In that instant, the being extended its arm. Jamie was dragged into its grasp.
This, he could not endure.
"Grahk!"
Throat seized, Jamie spat blood and struggled to open his eyes.
The helmet loomed close.
No face visible. The interior was shrouded in darkness.
But one thing he could see.
'......Violet glow?'
Jamie's eyes trembled.
He hadn't been this shocked even when part of Chaotic Ocean was encroached. If the foe had somehow obtained black mana, it was feasible.
But violet eyes? No.
That was the sole identity of Jamie, of Diablo Volpir. The light of his origin.
Only a rare few of Diablo's creations had been granted that hue.
Had some fragment of his power scattered across the world inherited the violet as well?
"H-how...... do you have that light......?"
His voice cracked.
Not just from the gripped throat—resisting the foe's power had wrecked his vocal cords too.
I should be asking! Why do your eyes burn violet, the same as His!
"That's...... my question."
Jamie clawed desperately at the fingers with his tiny hands, trying to pry free.
No chance.
The grip was ironclad; no matter how he pulled, it didn't budge.
He abandoned the effort and asked again.
"You...... why do you possess my power?"
......Your power?
"Yes. My black mana...... why does a grotesque demon like you wield it!"
Jamie unleashed his black mana.
The armored being unwittingly released his throat.
It staggered back several steps in evident panic.
Impossible...... His will was supposed to be severed......
"Cough, cough!"
Jamie clutched his throat, coughing repeatedly.
His lungs felt crushed.
No, his entire body was a wreck.
With a pained expression, Jamie circulated Pyro's divinity throughout his form.
He didn't know why Pyro wasn't appearing, but thankfully, he could still use divine power.
His mangled body began regenerating, ever so slowly.
Jamie lifted only his head to glare at the foe. It paced erratically, clutching its head in confusion.
How is this possible? All traces of Him were supposed to be erased...... Weren't they utterly purged by the 12 Gods?
It halted abruptly and turned its head toward Jamie.
Explain your existence.
"......What?"
If you cannot......
Ruuuumble!!!
The entire space shook violently.
As if the world itself were collapsing.
An immense power surged.
Jamie felt it was somehow familiar, yet couldn't place it.
That was when it came.
If you cannot make me understand how you possess Lord Volpir's power, then I, the Demon King of Vengeance, shall cast you into hell!
The Vengeance Demon King hurled off its helmet and roared ferociously.
There was a very familiar face.
Jet-black hair, slit-like eyes, violet irises, a massive scar in place of a nose, and stubbornly pursed lips.
Jamie slowly uttered his name.
"......Traika?"
Traika.
Diablo Volpir's very first undead, the Dark Knight who always led the vanguard in battle.
"You...... Traika?"
At the question, the trembling ceased as if it had been a lie.
The Vengeance Demon King Traika.
He stared at Jamie with eyes full of disbelief.