Chapter 447: Conquest of the Demon Realm (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 447: Conquest of the Demon Realm (2)
"Krrr, krrrrk."
Babel gasped for breath.
Clutching his severed arm, he stared at Roman Dmitry, disbelief swirling in his eyes.
To think this is the strength of a human.
That blow just now.
He hadn't been able to block it, even though he saw it coming.
He could only watch as his claws, shrouded in dark mana, shattered before his arm was cleanly severed. It felt as if his entire understanding of reality was collapsing. Countless heroes had risen throughout human history, but by the standards of the Demon Realm, they were nothing more than weaklings. "Insignificant" was the only fitting word.
He had thought Roman Dmitry would be no different.
Just another hero spawned by repeating history.
He had believed there was no need to go all out, but that complacency had brought about irreversible consequences.
Drip. Drip.
Blood dripped to the ground.
Swallowing his pain, Babel glared with eyes overflowing with murderous intent.
"So, you are different."
He finally acknowledged it.
Alexander.
The defeat of the minion the Demon Realm had poured its heart and soul into creating was not proof of Alexander's limitations. It was because this opponent transcended common sense. From this moment on, Babel erased every trace of complacency. Just like during the great wars fought in the Demon Realm in the past, a chilling realization washed over him: if he did not kill this opponent, he would die.
"But that is all."
Rumble!
Mana boiled.
Dark mana rose and wrapped around his wound. Although his flesh did not regenerate, the energy formed the shape of an arm. His opponent had made a fatal mistake. Fighting the demons of the Demon Realm in this world—a place brimming with dark mana—was no different from facing immortal beings.
Berserk.
His gaze shifted.
His eyes turned from red to a deep blood-crimson as Babel unleashed a wild aura and kicked off the ground.
"This time, I will tear you completely to shreds!"
And then.
Flash!
Rumble!
He vanished.
Despite his massive frame, his speed was so immense that he simply disappeared from sight.
Whoosh.
Right beside him.
Babel tore through space.
But the moment he tried to take off Roman Dmitry's head, Babel witnessed an unbelievable sight.
"...?!"
Their eyes met.
Despite moving at an incredible speed that should have been impossible for a human to track, Roman Dmitry's eyes followed Babel's movements perfectly. Babel instinctively knew his attack would not land. Before he even realized what he was doing, he raised his claws to defend himself, and a massive impact sent his body flying back.
Crash!
Rumble!
The arm made of dark mana shattered.
As Babel hurriedly retreated with a shocked expression, Roman Dmitry—who had already closed the distance—unleashed a barrage of attacks.
Crash!
His body shuddered.
Every time a strike landed, an unbearable shockwave rippled through him.
Crash! Crash! Crash!
His mind could not accept reality.
Berserk was a trump card that pushed one's physical state to its absolute limit; even the high-ranking legion commanders found it difficult to handle him in this state. Yet, he was being overwhelmed in speed, power, and every other aspect. As if his desperate struggles meant absolutely nothing, Babel was rendered utterly helpless.
Flash.
"Aaargh!"
His other arm was severed as well.
With the claws he had barely been defending himself with shattered, he had now lost both arms.
Only then did he admit it.
Roman Dmitry.
He was a monster who transcended human limits.
Babel could never defeat him with his own strength. What was even more absurd was that this human was not even going all out. Babel could not even handle Roman's simple, straightforward pressure. If Roman Dmitry was truly stronger than this... it was a hard reality to accept, but this bastard might be a monster on par with the Demon King.
Fshhh.
His Berserk state deactivated.
Because he had consumed too much energy, the amount of mana dissipating exceeded the dark mana being supplied by his surroundings.
It was clear.
He had to run.
He had to escape first and report exactly how powerful the entity invading the Demon Realm was.
But...
Flash.
Splurt!
His body faltered.
Amidst a fountain of spraying blood, Babel felt his head flying through the air.
The 3rd Legion Commander, Babel.
For a monster who had once ruled over the Demon Realm, it was an incredibly futile end that no one could have imagined.
* * *
At that moment.
Flash.
The Demon King turned his head.
Even from a vast distance, he felt Babel's death.
Not only had the gate to the Demon Realm opened, but Babel's life force had faded in the clash of power that occurred there.
"The 3rd Legion Commander has been defeated?"
A chuckle escaped him.
Even if Babel was the lowest-ranking of the three legion commanders, he was still a monster who had claimed his position after thousands of battles. For such a being to be defeated by a mere human—and in the Demon Realm where dark mana was supplied infinitely—was an issue that absolutely could not be overlooked.
Roman Dmitry.
It had to be him.
The monster rewriting human history, the one who had ruined Alexander's plans, was the one who had struck Babel down.
He was impressed.
Although he had high expectations for Roman Dmitry, he had believed that the physical limitations of a human would prevent him from handling even a legion commander-level opponent. Yet, with this result, Roman Dmitry had proven himself. The battle had ended in an instant despite being fought in the Demon Realm, meaning he had overwhelmingly crushed Babel.
His interest was piqued.
The Demon King's plan held many meanings.
While he could not tolerate weaklings like humans ruling over a world, he also hoped that strong individuals who could stimulate his interest would appear in the process. The Demon Realm was a world where the strong preyed on the weak. In a realm where it was only natural for the weak to be devoured, absolute dominance had only brought the Demon King a profound sense of emptiness.
He wanted to test him.
To see what kind of existence Roman Dmitry truly was.
If he was strong enough to overwhelm the legion commanders, it would bring the Demon King immense joy.
Rumble.
He stirred his mana.
Manifesting his authority, he spoke to those who followed him.
"My soldiers. A mere human has dared to set foot on the soil of the Demon Realm. The festival has begun. With blood and death, make them pay a miserable price."
Fshhh.
The dark mana spread out.
A powerful authority.
The humans who had set foot in the Demon Realm would face a despairing reality before they could even fully savor the joy of victory.
* * *
Babel's death brought the battle to an end.
The demonic creatures, having lost their commander, either died or fled. Despite the overwhelming victory, the soldiers reacted calmly.
"Burn the corpses of the demonic creatures."
"Move quickly!"
Victory.
It was a natural outcome.
Since their ultimate goal was the conquest of the Demon Realm, they did not act as if they had won the world with just a single victory. They knew this was only the beginning. Rather than prematurely celebrating, the soldiers moved in perfect order according to the manual they had rigorously trained with over the past fortnight.
Step, step, step.
They gathered the corpses in one place.
And then, they set them on fire.
The flames, blessed with divine power, burned the corpses of the demonic creatures to ashes, completely erasing the dark mana.
Watching this series of actions, Isabelle immediately understood their intention.
They intend to eliminate even the slightest variable.
The demons of the Demon Realm.
They controlled even death.
Since a demon wasn't harmless just because its life had ended, gathering and burning the corpses was a necessary precaution against any unforeseen circumstances. But the real shock was the soldiers' reaction. Watching them move as one, Isabelle was left speechless.
"...Just what on earth happened on the outside?"
The Demon Realm.
It was the ultimate symbol of terror.
The reason Isabelle had not told people the truth even after learning it was because no one wanted to hear it. History had proven just how cruel and ruthless the demons of the Demon Realm were. Since they were beings that humans could not possibly handle anyway, everyone had tried their best to turn a blind eye to their existence.
It was a taboo.
Far from thinking of fighting them, humanity only hoped such a clash would never happen.
But now...
The scene unfolding before her eyes defied all common sense.
The soldiers had not only boldly set foot in the Demon Realm to fight, but they were also taking appropriate measures while accepting victory as a matter of course. This was the ideal Isabelle had hoped for. She had wished for humanity to unite like this, but knowing how fragile the human heart was, she had believed it to be impossible.
She could not understand.
What could have changed people so drastically?
How could people, who wouldn't budge no matter how much she cried out that it was God's will, show such immense strength?
I must know the truth.
She was curious.
What had happened on the outside?
And what was their reason for crossing over into the Demon Realm?
Isabelle approached Roman Dmitry, whose breathing was not even slightly disturbed, and asked him honestly.
"Please explain this situation to me. Why did you do something so absurd as to open the gate to the Demon Realm yourself?"
* * *
Chris took charge of the explanation.
He spoke for a long time.
He detailed the collapse of Arcadia, the Second Continental War, the death of Alexander, and how, through this series of events, Roman Dmitry had declared the birth of the Dmitry Empire, resulting in the Continental Allied Forces standing before her eyes.
At his thorough explanation, Isabelle felt a swirl of complex emotions.
Roman Dmitry. He really was the subject of the oracle.
It had been such a short time.
If he was someone who could achieve the feat of unifying the continent in such a brief span, there was no denying that he was the subject of the oracle. In truth, even after hearing the explanation, she couldn't fully grasp it. She understood what had happened outside, but every single event Chris spoke of so calmly was monumental.
Especially the clash with Valhalla.
Hearing about that event, which had been the starting point of the Continental War, she had no choice but to acknowledge that he was a completely different breed of existence from herself.
What if?
If she had been in Roman Dmitry's shoes, would she have been able to wage war just because she discovered Duke Vieto was actually Alexander's minion? It would have been impossible. It was just as Roman Dmitry had said. He had stated he would make a decision even if it meant risking countless sacrifices if it was against an entity that threatened Dmitry, but Isabelle would have tried to find a more peaceful method.
She did not think she was unconditionally wrong.
However, it depended on the situation.
In a chaotic world threatened by the Demon Realm, the kind of decisiveness Roman Dmitry possessed was absolutely necessary.
If only I had known Roman Dmitry was this strong. Perhaps I wouldn't have had to cross over to the Demon Realm. If so, the people who followed me might not have died like that.
She bit her lip.
Leo and the soldiers.
They had accepted death alongside her.
At the time, she had thought it was the only solution, but looking at the people moving in perfect order under Roman Dmitry's command, she felt as though she had driven herself into a corner. If only she had known Roman Dmitry's true strength more clearly. If only she had been strong enough to truly be the subject of the oracle. Having survived alone, she could not easily shake off the thoughts cluttering her mind.
She tightly suppressed her emotions.
The war was not yet over.
The Allied Forces standing before her proved that the sacrifices had not been in vain, and time was too pressing to spend wallowing in guilt just because she was the sole survivor. The 3rd Legion Commander, Babel, was only the beginning. Knowing what threats lay ahead, Isabelle faced reality and asked about the part she still could not comprehend.
"I understand that Dmitry has unified the continent. But why on earth did you open the gate to the Demon Realm yourself? This world, boiling with dark mana, is an environment entirely advantageous to the demons. If you discovered the passage to the Demon Realm, it would have been better to make thorough preparations. I cannot understand why you crossed over directly. Surely, it isn't for some reason like seeking revenge for humanity?"
By any logic, she could not understand this situation.
Setting foot in the Demon Realm could only be described as a suicidal act.
Chris spoke.
"It is to conquer the Demon Realm."
"...What?"
In that instant, her heart sank.
Just when she thought nothing could surprise her anymore, the words "conquest of the Demon Realm" tore her common sense to shreds.