Chapter 31
Chapter 31
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Thunderclap (7)
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─You... you're that slave from back then...
Beelzebub muttered toward Yuseong, his memory jogged.
To be precise, Yuseong had been a supporter, but in his recollection, he was little more than a slave.
They'd crossed paths a few times early in the great war, but Yuseong's role had been no different from that of a slave soldier barely handling the rabble.
Beelzebub even remembered him dying without any notable exploits, so to him, Yuseong wasn't even a proper supporter or porter—just a lowly servant.
But...!
─Magic power, it's magic power! To think that lowly scum had magic power...! Ahaha!
Magic power.
The very thing he'd desperately sought and longed for...!
The blessing that the hateful ancient god...! [Odin] was said to have bestowed upon Midgard's intelligent beings!
A blessing he couldn't even find on Earth, not a speck of dust to be had—now it was finally within reach again.
Feeling a rush of ecstasy, Beelzebub grew excited.
─I see! You were the key! You were the key to returning to Midgard...!
It had to be true. No, it had to be.
Beelzebub began gathering all his power to fully capture Yuseong.
Reclaiming the demonic energy he'd given his minions and even the authorities implanted in humans, his body swelled and grew even larger.
This proved he hadn't been at full strength even against Valian—a moment that would fill any human with helplessness. Yet Yuseong simply stood there, numb and detached.
─Slave! No, you who were called Luke! Confess the secret you hold. Do so, and I'll spare your soul and body, making you my direct minion! I'll grant you eternal life, power, authority, and fill a palace with females who obey only your command...! So kneel!
Beelzebub was dead serious.
He intended to honor every promise.
Before temptations so alluring and sweet, any human would falter...!
"What the hell is this maggot babbling about?"
BOOM!!
Beelzebub's body flipped over more than ninety degrees, slamming straight into the ground.
"...The dung fly's dead set on suicide."
"Idiot..."
Mirni and Valian sneered.
Slave? Servant?
What era was he even talking about...?
Or had he never even properly understood the reason for his own 'death'?
"Heh, he really thinks he died because of the holy sword."
The archdemon Beelzebub grew stronger the more minions he had.
One reason he'd lost to Leon and the others was the total annihilation of his minions and army.
And the one who'd waged guerrilla warfare against the maggot legions, wiping out over eighty percent of them, was none other than...!
The achievement of one man who had reigned as the terror of demons.
─Guh!
Was this really happening? Him, getting punched by a human and ending up in such a humiliating state!?
No one else—him!?
Sizzle!
─Grraaahhh!!!?
Beelzebub had to push aside even the humiliation.
Pain!? Agony!?
It hurt. Pure, searing pain as the struck area tore and burned, pounding through his entire body.
"That's two."
Before he could even process the unfamiliar torment, something smashed into his head again.
Just block it, right?
Thud!!
─Kuh-hek?!
He couldn't block it. Couldn't even react.
Rumble!
The delayed roar of thunder followed!
Have you ever seen lightning strike from the sky?
Heard the thunderclap only after the flash?
If not, remember this.
The thunderous roar that comes after the kick lands—!
─Grrraaah! Y-You! H-How can a mere slave have such power...!
Yuseong remained impassive as the archdemon sputtered in disbelief, spouting nonsense.
No, beyond impassive.
"That's three."
He kicked again.
Whoosh!
The speed at which negative charge strikes the ground is called lightning speed.
Reacting to an object moving at lightning speed—100,000 km/s?
Impossible for any living being. For a fallen archdemon like this, half or less was more than enough.
"Didn't see it? No wonder it lacks punch since you can't even block. Tch, I'll hit slower this time, special for you. Here... I go?"
─You bastaaard!!
Thud!!
BOOM!!
The moment rage flared, he got slammed again.
And so it continued.
Reaction, blocking, power, authority—nothing worked.
Most shocking of all? Yuseong kept his word.
Slowly, or telegraphing the direction beforehand, he toyed with Beelzebub mercilessly.
─R-Rather...!
Thud!!
Hit me for real..., the words Beelzebub couldn't finish.
─Kuh-hek...!
Thud!
"Done already?"
─Y-You! By a mere human like...!
"That line get old? No repertoire change? You lot have zero creativity, tch tch."
─---!
The fallen archdemon glared at Yuseong with murderous eyes.
If glares could kill, he'd be dead a hundred times over, but Beelzebub was too broken to even stand, and Yuseong dismissed him with a scoff.
─You bastard!!
The one called the Inexplicable, pinnacle of demons.
The Fly King's pride, once even usurping the demonic throne, was crumbling like tofu.
For demons who lived on pride and arrogance alone, being so utterly dismissed by a human—mere livestock no matter how highly rated—was unbearable!
'I'll kill you, kill you, kill you, kill you no matter what...!'
Vmmm!!
His fierce will, murderous intent, and soul-binding oath infused his fallen body, gradually eroding it with blood-red demonic energy!
Crunch! Crack!!
─You... I'll kill you no matter what...!
The remnants of his past glory that had barely sustained the fallen archdemon...!
The very source that kept him from perishing on Earth fully emerged, and for a fleeting moment, he regained his prime power.
Though momentary as a candle in the wind, the power he reclaimed was truly inexplicable.
Grand Duke ruling Hell, lord of legions!
─I am the Fly King, Beelzebub!
To kill one human, Beelzebub steeled himself even for annihilation and unleashed his authority.
The very power that made him Hell's overlord, the reason humanity feared him!
Shhhh...
The authority of decay.
A vile force that corroded and erased all it touched, impossible to block or even approach.
The legend of it erasing a mountain range overnight was reborn.
─Pay the price for your arrogance, slave!
Aware that killing Yuseong might block his path to Midgard, embracing even the terror of oblivion, Beelzebub unleashed it fully—and cackled.
Expecting the human's screams and gruesome end.
Crackle!!
"─So, you done barking?"
Sizzle!!
A storm of lightning erupted from Yuseong's body as he gazed at Beelzebub with the same numb eyes, as if to say, that all?
BOOM!!
The storm of lightning clashed against the authority of decay, shattering even the corruption.
─Wh-What─!?
"Told you. You done barking?"
─Th-This can't be! Even with magic power, how can a human destroy my authority...!
"That's what I wanna ask. Why'd you think humans don't evolve?"
─...What?
"Die if you don't get it, moron."
Vmmm!!
The triangular-pattern tattoo near Yuseong's left shoulder blazed hot.
A meaningless tattoo he'd merely added to hide his slave mark.
BOOOOM!!!
─Gaaaaah!!
But now, it was no mere tattoo—the source of his magic power, embodying his entire history.
And the intent he poured into that magic power? The utter destruction of demons!
Authority of decay?
If that corroded and erased all, Yuseong's power was the pure authority of destruction.
In quality, in rank—!
"You think ten years is a joke?"
In an era where even smartphones become obsolete in three years, a ten-year-old relic like you...!
"Know your place, fucker."
For the first time, Yuseong pulled his hand from his pocket and raised it high.
Thunderous energy gathered fiercely in his palm, roaring as it took form.
Rumble!
A massive spear of pure lightning power slowly—ever so slowly—approached Beelzebub.
─St-Stop! N-No! I can't die like this...! Not before I see the Demon King...!
"Don't worry. You'll meet him if you die."
─!?
"Didn't hear? Your master's been dead ten years. Ten years. So get lost to Hell. Wait... you'll just vanish anyway. No Hell for you. Too bad?"
─Aaaah!!
Beelzebub tried to scream something more.
But Yuseong, tired of the noise pollution, thrust the spear without mercy.
───!
──No sound at all. No screams, no last words—Beelzebub met his end just like that.
An end unworthy of the terror incarnate, the Inexplicable demon...
Too pathetic and hollow.
"......"
Mirni watched him approach, having just finished off an Inexplicable with no change in expression.
His furrowed brow somehow full of dissatisfaction.
"What were you two doing to get owned and flattened by trash like that?"
"...T-Trash? He's still the Fly King..."
"Fly King my ass. Not even worth a dung fly. These kids nowadays..."
"Boomer..."
"What—?"
"......"
Yuseong's brow remained furrowed.
Growing harsher at the sight of Mirni and Valian's battered forms. Finally, he...
"Ugh, fuck me. How'd I end up stuck with idiots like you..."
Yuseong grumbled profusely, then poured a thick, vividly crimson liquid—like red wine—from his pocket onto the pair.
"......High Potion?"
The supreme potion that regenerated any wound or injury.
Rare even in kingdoms—how did he...?
"Can move now, right?"
"Y-Yeah, uh, that is..."
"...I still can't."
"Such a hassle, seriously."
Unlike Mirni, Valian had exhausted all his stamina and couldn't budge. Yuseong ended up piggybacking the giant warrior before addressing Mirni.
"Let's go."
"......Huh?"
"Not going home?"
"Home...?"
For a moment, Mirni stared blankly at Yuseong.
It might've been a casual remark to him, but it left her dazed anyway.
Yeah, right.
At least here, right now.
'I... I have somewhere to go back to...'
To her, who'd lost her kin and had no place to return to, this world at least had a home waiting.
A home that sounded cozy and peaceful just hearing the word.
"...Can I come too?"
"...You hit your head too? Why keep stating the obvious?"
"......"
"If you like lying there so much, live there."
"N-No...! I-I wanna go home too!"
"...I hear everything even if you whisper, you idiot."
"Hehe~!"
"...Sigh."
Somehow brimming with energy, Mirni yelled as if boiling with frustration. Yuseong shook his head, thinking he'd seen it all with weirdos like her.
Mirni just grinned like a fool.
A genuine smile of pure happiness, not an act.