Chapter 451: Conquest of the Demon Realm (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 451: Conquest of the Demon Realm (6)
Ruuuumble!
A terrifying, destructive energy swept over the battlefield.
Facing Roman Dmitry head-on, memories of the past flashed through Belzert’s mind. The day Shepir died.
Belzert had fallen into deep thought back then.
‘To think this power was truly unleashed by a mere human. Something is wrong. As far as I know, the human race can never escape their innate limitations. Yet this attack, which swept Shepir away in a single blow, possesses a destructive force that far transcends any human limits we have observed.’
It defied all common sense.
It was a level of absolute destruction that forced even Belzert to be wary. From that moment on, his curiosity about Roman Dmitry had only grown. This was an existence that had appeared like a comet to shatter the Demon Realm's grand designs. To prepare for such an anomaly, he should have visited the site of Shepir’s death to confirm exactly what had happened.
The method would have been simple.
By reading the memories of the earth, he could have vividly witnessed the sequence of events as if they were unfolding right before his eyes.
However, he hadn't done it.
His pride simply wouldn't allow it.
More accurately, he couldn't let the other existences see him acting wary of a mere human.
The Demon Realm was a world of predators.
Even the lowest Demonic Creature considered itself a predator. If they saw him being cautious of a human, how would they react? They would mock him. Though they were bound together as fellow Legion Commanders, Pibir and Babel would have undoubtedly condemned him, claiming he was dragging the prestige of a Legion Commander through the mud.
It was an illogical way of thinking.
Preparing for danger was only natural, but Belzert had no intention of enduring criticism over a human.
So, he had turned his head away.
He had ignored the threat.
Because, after all, Roman was just a human.
No matter how strong he might be, that was all he was. With that thought, Belzert had simply let the matter slide.
And now, he sincerely regretted it.
If he had known Roman Dmitry would conquer the continent in such a short time... If he had known this belligerent being would actually cross over into the Demon Realm... If he had known he was a monster that even Legion Commanders like Babel and Pibir couldn't handle... he would have prepared for his existence at all costs.
Setting aside his pride, if his own life was on the line, he wouldn't have cared about the opinions of others.
But his regret came too late.
Aura erupted explosively.
Faced with the apocalyptic power emanating from Roman Dmitry, Belzert realized that he would actually die if this continued.
‘I will put everything into this single strike.’
He expanded the mana of his circles, drawing up every last drop of his power.
Judging that even this wasn't enough, he went so far as to reclaim the mana used for Revival. The Demonic Creatures that had just crossed the river of death collapsed one by one. He knew how dangerous this decision was, but if he couldn't bring Roman Dmitry down with this single blow, he would die right here.
A mere human.
Belzert truly acknowledged him now.
If his full-power strike failed to work, Roman Dmitry was a monster that could never be defeated, no matter how much he struggled—a monster capable of coveting the throne of the Demon King itself.
Boom! Rumbllleee!
Mana detonated.
Death was a ruinous power. He believed that the moment it clashed with his opponent's Aura, it would tear the energy apart and swallow the human's life force whole.
And then, he saw it.
Crash! Boom, boom, boom! Rooooar!
A colossal collision shook the realm.
Amidst the chaos, a single beam of light pierced straight through his mana.
‘That day... I should have prepared for that strike.’
And with that final thought—
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Belzert's consciousness was swept away into the raging storm of mana.
* * *
Thud.
Belzert fell to his knees, gasping for breath.
"Ugh... cough..."
He couldn't even form proper words.
Looking down with trembling eyes, he saw his ribcage completely shattered, his insides exposed to the air. The circles surrounding his heart were barely recognizable. Their mangled state signified inevitable death. Belzert swallowed the rising bile and raised his head.
No, he was forced to raise it.
Grab.
"Belzert."
A rough hand gripped him by the hair.
It was Roman Dmitry.
Looking up at the cold gaze staring down at him, a hollow laugh escaped Belzert's lips.
‘To think I have been defeated.’
That strike just now... it had been overwhelming.
Belzert had prepared his trump card with the intention of eventually using it against the Demon King, yet it had been utterly shattered by a single human. This was a defeat destined from the start. If Roman Dmitry was an existence on par with the Demon King, his stepping into the Demon Realm couldn't be dismissed as mere human arrogance.
He accepted it.
No one, save for the Demon King, would ever be able to handle this being.
Roman Dmitry spoke, his voice chillingly calm.
"It must be difficult for your kind to understand. Why humans, who were nothing more than prey, are standing in this place."
Belzert was strong.
Unlike Shepir, who had died in a single blow, Belzert didn't die immediately even after taking the Latter Half Form of the Heavenly Demon Sword Technique, unleashed from the Realm of Heaven, head-on. Without a doubt, no ordinary human could have ever stood against him. But that was all. Such facts didn't mean he was a match for Roman Dmitry.
Strength was relative.
Roman Dmitry had brought Belzert down, and now, he was sending a message to the Demon King watching from beyond.
"The reason is clear. You dared to trespass upon my domain. You laid hands on the land I rule, and on my people. I am not here to seek vengeance for the past history of this world. I am here to exact a definitive price from those who invaded my territory."
Squeeze.
He tightened his grip.
Under the crushing pressure, Belzert writhed in agony, yet his wide-open eyes never wavered from Roman.
It was shocking.
He had never imagined they would face such a devastating counterattack simply because they had encroached upon the human domain.
This was the Demon Realm. A world that even God could not conquer.
Roman Dmitry pulled Belzert's head back and pressed his sword against the demon's neck.
"This is only the beginning. Wait for me. Every single existence in the Demon Realm will pay the price."
Crunch. Squelch!
He severed the neck.
Belzert convulsed, unable to stop the agonizing pain as his hide and bones—harder than steel—split apart. Roman Dmitry's execution was swift and merciless. The surrounding Demonic Creatures didn't dare approach the ruined land. Thus, before the eyes of all, Roman Dmitry ended the life of the 1st Legion Commander.
Thud.
The soulless corpse collapsed to the ground.
Turning his gaze to survey his surroundings, Roman saw countless Demonic Creatures still filling his vision.
It was an endless battle.
To drag out the existence watching him from beyond, more blood and death were required.
"If you refuse to show yourself to the very end, then I shall come to you."
He took a step forward, heading straight toward the space teeming with Demonic Creatures.
Roman Dmitry didn't hesitate for a single second.
* * *
Demonic Creatures were like beasts.
Although they were incapable of rational thought, they felt an instinctive dread at the deaths of Pibir and Belzert. Roman Dmitry was an existence they should never, under any circumstances, oppose. If they had the option to flee, they would have run without hesitation, even with millions of their kin by their side.
However, that wasn't an option.
The command of the Demon King was absolute.
Following his will, they rushed frantically toward Roman Dmitry, even knowing they were charging to their deaths.
"Kieeeek!"
"Kyaaa!"
It was a spectacular, horrifying sight.
A single human against millions of Demonic Creatures.
They clashed in a tangled, bloody melee rife with death. Yet, even after fighting the Legion Commanders, Roman Dmitry showed no signs of physical exhaustion. It was impossible to tell how many hours had passed. The purple-hued world stripped away all concept of time. Without looking back at the mountains of corpses piling up in his wake, he only forged ahead.
The Demon King's intention was clear.
To test the human named Roman Dmitry, he was willingly driving every single existence in the Demon Realm into the jaws of death.
‘You, too, yearn for me to be strong.’
Amidst this endless slaughter, Roman Dmitry felt his blood boil.
It was a contradictory emotion—he wished to avoid sacrificing his people, yet simultaneously felt a deep thrill at the prospect of facing a truly powerful opponent.
In his past life, Roman Dmitry had suffered from a deep, unquenchable thirst.
He had conquered the Murim even before reaching the Realm of Heaven. Though he grew stronger by the day, there was no opponent left against whom he could test his power. An immense thirst had consumed him. He had always wished for an adversary who could make his blood run hot, but the level of those who dared claim they could clash swords with the Heavenly Demon was pathetic.
Out of a disappointment so profound that not fighting seemed preferable, Baek Joong-hyuk had established a system of multiple trials that challengers had to pass before they could face him.
As a result, no one was able to challenge him.
Far from facing Baek Joong-hyuk, they couldn't even defeat the gatekeepers he had set up. Their heads were severed one after another.
It was a tedious life. His yearning boiled over, eventually turning into a sense of futility toward life itself.
But now, he felt a strange sense of kinship with the Demon King.
Rather than focusing on the war between the Demon Realm and the Earthly World, the Demon King acted as if he actively wished for Roman to be strong. He was an existence capable of defeating the entire Demon Realm on his own.
In the process of facing Belzert, Pibir, and Babel—the three Legion Commanders representing the Demon Realm—Roman Dmitry realized that they all harbored an immense, ingrained dread of the Demon King.
He was curious. Just how strong was he?
Perhaps he was an opponent against whom Roman couldn't guarantee victory, even if he exerted his full power. Considering Belzert had managed to withstand the Latter Half Second Form, Roman Dmitry couldn't hide his anticipation for the Demon King.
He would gladly accept this trial.
However, he hoped that his instincts were right.
That the Demon King would be truly strong.
That he would be an opponent against whom Roman could finally unleash his full power.
Swept up in an intense, burning desire, Roman Dmitry didn't dodge the endlessly rushing enemies. He met them head-on.
* * *
Around that time, with the rear guard.
It was a grueling march.
A significant number of Demonic Creatures remained in the wake of Roman Dmitry's passage, and the Continental Allied Forces had to risk their lives just to clear out the remnants. There was no end to it. For the first day or two, they could still afford some breathing room, but as they began to lose their sense of time, they hit their absolute physical limits.
It was the same now.
They fought as if it were a daily routine. Once the blood-soaked soldiers overcame yet another crisis, Chris pulled his sword from a Demonic Creature's corpse and shouted, "We will rest here! Everyone, take your positions and keep watch according to the sentry rotation!"
"Understood!"
Their movements were highly disciplined.
With at least a week having easily passed, the soldiers of the Continental Allied Forces absolutely had to rest. Of course, they couldn't get a proper rest. It was merely a matter of closing their eyes briefly to relieve muscle fatigue, filling their stomachs with simple provisions like pre-prepared jerky to maintain their strength.
For this expedition to the Demon Realm, they had no choice but to minimize their military rations.
They prepared food that was as simple as possible, and through the mages' subspace magic, they stockpiled enough provisions to last for at least a month. This was the timeframe set by Roman Dmitry. If they couldn't settle the matter within a month, the expedition to the Demon Realm would highly likely end in failure.
The rest was short.
Before they even realized it had begun, their break was over. When they regained their senses, they were already facing the Demonic Creatures once more.
Splurt!
"Kreeeek!"
Blood splattered.
Isabelle slaughtered several Demonic Creatures at once, then unleashed her Divine Power to bestow a blessing upon her surroundings.
"Bless."
A halo of light shone.
Isabelle, who had followed the rear guard while performing deeds worthy of her title as Saintess, felt her awe of Roman Dmitry grow deeper as the battle raged on. The rear guard was pushing forward at a truly grueling pace. Except for the briefest moments of rest, everyone chased after Roman Dmitry with fire in their eyes.
Yet, they still hadn't caught up to him.
By now, it would be normal to finally catch sight of Roman Dmitry, but the places the rear guard arrived at were always just littered with corpses slain by his hand. They could only marvel. Though they had already acknowledged Roman Dmitry's strength, they hadn't expected him to maintain such an overwhelming speed while dealing with those countless Demonic Creatures all by himself.
And that wasn't all.
‘Were Dmitry's soldiers always such a formidable army?’
It was a sharp disconnect from her memory. The Dmitry that Isabelle remembered had been impressive, but they had grown exponentially in such a short span of time. Not to mention powerhouses like Chris and Kevin, even the ordinary soldiers showed not a shred of fear in the blood-splattered melee.
She felt she finally understood why the people had followed Dmitry's decision. With such allies, there was nothing to fear.
Flash! Crunch!
"Kyaaaak!"
She slaughtered the Demonic Creatures, swinging her sword without cease.
She was no longer alone. She no longer had to shoulder every burden.
Since she was now merely a member of the Continental Allied Forces, she didn't need to struggle desperately to prove anything. She focused solely on the situation before her. Forgetting everything else, she slaughtered the enemies indiscriminately.
Time passed. It was impossible to know how much time had gone by.
Her hair was completely dyed in blood, and she was now so steeped in slaughter that every breath she took was filled with the metallic scent of gore. It was the same for everyone in the Continental Allied Forces. They didn't even have time to bury the corpses of their fallen comrades beside them. Time in the Demon Realm didn't allow them to let their guard down for a single moment.
If they were in the outside world, day and night would have changed countless times by now.
As they carried out these repeated, endless battles, a shrieking voice reached Isabelle's ears.
"Over there! Look over there!"
She knew instinctively that they had reached their destination.
Raising her head to look in the direction of the voice, Isabelle felt a shiver run down her spine.
Far in the distance, the Demon King's Castle was visible.
Though it was nothing more than a faint silhouette looming in the purple haze, it was unmistakably the Demon King's Castle.