Chapter 88
Chapter 88
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 088
Chapter Title: Demon King
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“Kraaaah!!”
The blade swung from the monster’s chest, ripping straight through its shoulder blades and tracing a crescent moon arc.
It should have been a fatal blow by all rights.
But [Nebula's Hyper Senses] were telling him otherwise.
It wasn’t over yet.
Without giving it a moment’s respite, Kyle spun his half-turned body back and swept his greatsword horizontally.
There was a sharp paaaang-!! as the shockwave tore through the air, halting the blade in its tracks.
And then Kyle saw it.
The dark-skinned freak whose body had been split from side to side, yet had drawn the sword at his waist to block the strike.
“What the hell are you?”
Super regeneration?
Wilhelm, his body slowly knitting back together, spoke up.
“That’s what I’d like to know, human.”
His red eyes gleamed.
“How the fuck are you still moving?”
His “Law” was absolute.
Ever since he’d first received it, it had never once failed to activate.
Of course it hadn’t.
That was a “Law,” after all.
A miracle born from the Demon King’s power.
I can’t understand this.
He’d met the prerequisites.
- Any human struck five times by this blade shall lose all abilities.
He was certain he’d slashed the butcher before him five times.
But he’s moving just fine.
The demon knight’s pupils trembled.
Does that mean this guy isn’t human?
But.
The Law definitely activated.
Which would mean he was unquestionably “human.”
Kyle spoke up.
“Whatever it is...”
“...it doesn’t work on me.”
“!!”
Black-and-white flames erupted fiercely once more, clashing against the demon knight’s slashing strike in an explosion between them.
Kwaaaang-!!
The aftermath sent both men skidding back over six feet simultaneously.
“......”
“......”
As they probed each other warily, a chill wind whispered between them.
The silvergrass swayed like reeds in their wake.
“Doesn’t work on you?”
The demon knight’s face twisted in displeasure.
“Whatever. Doesn’t matter.”
His body fully regenerated, he whipped his long blade upright with a swish! and declared,
“If my Law won’t take you down, I’ll just lop your head off myself!”
Law?
Kyle’s eyebrow twitched at the unfamiliar term, but in that instant—
Wilhelm’s calves bulged massively.
He kicked off the ground like a bullet, hurtling toward Kyle.
Shaaak! He slid across the dirt, flicking the tip of his beloved sword aimed at Kyle.
Then ting-!
A light scraping sound pierced his mind like an alarm bell.
Kyle leaped back, slamming his right foot down first.
“...!”
Ice crystals surged up without time to charge.
But in nearly the same instant, his sweeping strike cleaved them apart in a blink.
Chaeng! Chaechaechaeng!
Sword qi scattered like an aftershock, slicing the silvergrass at the stems.
Kwaaaang-!!
As the ice chunks shattered amid the roar, the demon knight muttered,
“Not yet.”
The second strike.
His blade reached Kyle in a flash, treading the grass like a feather.
Kyle raised his holy sword to parry it—
“...!”
The demon knight’s beloved blade passed straight through the holy sword as if it were a lie, materializing right before Kyle’s face.
Shaaak!
It sliced smoothly across Kyle’s nape.
“......”
“......”
They crossed paths amid the silence, silvergrass between them.
But only for a moment.
“...! Kuhuk...!!”
Black blood fountained from Wilhelm’s nape.
“Kuh...!”
He clutched his neck desperately, vomiting blood from his mouth.
Definitely not an ordinary opponent...!
Incredibly, the butcher had pierced his throat in that split-second as he passed by.
Using a technique where a sword suddenly burst from thin air.
His senses were innate, beyond doubt.
“The Butcher, huh...”
He clearly lived up to the moniker.
But that ends here.
Both their necks were severed, but as a demon knight, he regenerated endlessly with the Demon King’s darkness.
This time, though, the Butcher’s throat was truly cut by his blade—no human could survive that.
As his neck rejoined, he shook the blood from his beloved sword over the silvergrass—
“You’re a weird one.”
“?!”
The voice sent chills racing up the demon knight’s spine.
“What...?”
He whipped around, freezing in place.
There stood the Butcher, calm as ever—impossible to believe his throat had just been slit.
“No way... No fucking way...!”
Wilhelm’s eyes widened in disbelief as he shouted,
“I definitely cut you...!”
“Yeah, you did.”
Straight through the carotid.
Thanks to that, Kyle had died once cleanly—and come back.
He rolled his neck loosely and smirked.
“But you’re the same, aren’t you?”
In that moment, Kyle activated [Spirit Eye] again.
The demon knight’s soul materialized before him.
Uniquely, it was a pure white soul coated in black sludge.
Traces of corruption.
From it emanated deep hatred and disgust toward humanity.
But what caught his eye most was...
Is that it?
His gaze fixed on the thin black threadlike strand trailing from the soul.
It stretched endlessly into the sky, destination unknown.
And when that bastard died just now.
He’d seen massive energy flood through the suddenly thickening thread.
Reviving him with that energy?
But it didn’t end there.
Kyle had sensed it for a while now.
The faint aura around the soul was weaker than before.
...I get it now.
Only then did Kyle truly understand his new [Spirit Eye] ability.
[Spirit Eye]
✨The power of the soul stems from the heart. If the heart crumbles and that power weakens, the soul has no choice but to be exposed to the 'eye'.
The more the heart crumbles, the weaker the power—that’s what it meant.
He smirked faintly.
In that case...
Wilhelm shouted at him again.
“You bastard...! What the hell are you...!”
Super regeneration?
But even that couldn’t leave you unscathed after a beheading!
“Who knows.”
Kyle drew up draconic energy once more, letting his greatsword hang low.
“What could I be?”
Then [Amon's Fear Curse] activated.
Even so.
Wilhelm was already rattled by the unknown before him.
Even a heavily reduced curse could amplify that chaos.
“Kuh...!”
Gritting his teeth, the demon drew his sword again.
It was only natural.
What people feared most in this world was the incomprehensible.
And when helplessness followed, few could endure it.
“Or maybe.”
Kyle smirked.
“You’re scared of a human like me?”
He deliberately prodded the inferiority complex he’d glimpsed through [Spirit Eye].
“...!!”
The demon bared his teeth in a frenzy.
“What did you say?”
Like he’d heard something he shouldn’t have.
His trembling hand pointed at Kyle.
“Me... afraid of a human?”
Kaduduk! His aura shifted as he ground his teeth unconsciously.
“You arrogant shit...!”
Glared daggers at Kyle and bellowed,
“Fine! I don’t give a damn what you are!!”
He was immortal as long as the Demon King’s darkness sustained him.
“I’ll kill you over and over until you stay dead...!”
“Oh.”
Kyle steadied his stance.
“Got some spirit.”
“Laugh it up while you can, human!”
The demon’s form blurred across the grass in an instant.
“It’ll be your last laugh in this world!”
Kwaaaang-!!
Silvergrass blooms whirled into the sky amid the roar.
*
“Ugh... uuuugh...”
Mickey groaned, sprawled face-down in the grass after being flung by the “Ancient Wind.”
Kung! Kwaaaang-! Kuwoooong!
Earth-shaking booms tickled her ears.
“Ow, my head...”
Regaining her senses, she whined immediately.
“Ow ow ow ow.”
Her elbow stung; she raised her arm to see skinned flesh.
Not just that—her prized thighs were marred with wounds everywhere.
She pouted and muttered,
“What the hell happened...?”
She dredged up her memories.
Right... I met the Butcher, was gonna pick him up in the car...
Then suddenly hurled into the bushes.
“Ugh, what even... ugh.”
Struggling up through grass as tall as her, she finally reached the road—
Kung! Kwaaaang-!!
“!!”
Another boom, and dust clouds rose beyond the grass.
Mickey snapped alert, scanning around.
“B-Butcher! Where’s the Butcher?!”
Only signs of fierce combat remained.
Kwaaaang-!!
She looked up at the tremor.
“N-No way.”
She yanked open the car trunk, powering up the flying drone inside.
The grass grew impossibly tall deeper in; she couldn’t see shit from here.
Using the neural chip’s control program, she launched the drone toward the commotion.
“...!!”
Two men unleashed devastating attacks at impossible speeds.
Kwaaaang-!!
“Kruuuugh...!!”
Reeling from the aftershock, Wilhelm slashed off his left arm mangled by [Ice Dragon's Wrath].
A new arm regenerated instantly.
But he felt himself growing anxious.
This guy, why...
Wilhelm Ripenshtein steadied his ragged breaths.
Yet the human before him, Kyle Clark, remained utterly calm.
Not even breathing hard.
Standing exactly as he had at the start.
What?
This was too abnormal.
As a demon knight fueled by the Demon King’s darkness, he couldn’t die.
But that didn’t mean his stamina and mental fortitude were infinite.
His resurrections didn’t erase death itself.
Yet this human, slashed by his blade multiple times, was the anomaly.
What the hell...?
This brutal fight had raged endlessly without pause.
Why wasn’t this guy
the least bit shaken?
Kyle spoke.
“What’s wrong? Tired already?”
“You bastard...!”
Cold energy swirled from his toes like he’d been waiting.
“Hey.”
Kyle smirked as [Ice Dragon's Wrath] charged rapidly.
“You sure it’s smart letting me cast like this?”
“Kuh...! Noooo!!”
Furious at being toyed with, his sword cleaved across the grass.
Five consecutive strikes launched as if defying physics.
Partially charged ice crystals pierced fiercely between his blades.
Kwaaaang-!!
“Kuhk...!”
Slower blade speed forced the demon back.
He desperately swung to block the holy sword shooting from empty air.
Chaeaeaeng-!
But Kyle was already plunging into his flank.
“?!”
Wilhelm reversed his blade at unbelievable speed; the launched fist punch collided violently with it.
Ku, kwaaaang-!!
The aftershock followed relentlessly.
“Keuheok?!”
Unable to hold, the demon flew back, slamming his sword into the ground to halt.
Kwaduduk! He skidded several meters before stopping.
“Hahk...! Hahk...!”
Ragged breaths.
Cold sweat poured like rain as Kyle’s voice pierced his ears.
“Get it now?”
He looked up to see the human approaching, unchanged from the start.
“You can’t beat me.”
“Heh, heh heh, heh heh heh...”
Wilhelm laughed.
“...?”
“Yeah. I admit it.”
He staggered to his feet.
“Right now, you’re stronger than me, human.”
But.
“We demons... we’re individuals, yet also the whole.”
“What?”
“Ahhh...! O Demon King’s darkness!!”
His connection to the Demon King vibrated intensely.
“Grant me the power to realize this hatred...!!”
His soul ballooned wildly in Kyle’s [Spirit Eye].
“If I can’t beat you...!”
Jet-black darkness surged from his body like a storm.
“I’ll turn your soul into our darkness!”
“...!”
A massive barrier engulfed Kyle in a blink.
The Demon King’s darkness poured in relentlessly.
“...?!”
Wilhelm’s eyes bulged.
That’s...
His pupils quivered helplessly.
What?
He couldn’t believe the sight.
The profound darkness should have corrupted and devoured the human’s soul.
But instead of consuming—
- Wagzak, wagzak.
It was being devoured.
- Wagzak, wagzak.
By that mere human soul.
The great Demon King’s darkness.
This... impossible...!
Then he saw it clearly.
A massive stone gate formed from Kyle Clark’s soul.
Chilling glares flashed from within.
- You too will soon join us...
Impossible...!!
- and become one.
“...?”
Meanwhile, Kyle just tilted his head.
What’s this?
Some bizarre darkness had hit him, but he felt nothing.
Whatever it is...
“What... the fuck are you...”
The demon’s blade trembled at the indescribable horror.
Kyle’s instincts screamed.
Now’s the time.
“What the fuck are you talking about!!”
Phantom swords shot toward Kyle.
Kwajik! Blades pierced his limbs, but he ignored it.
“Guhk?!”
Grabbing the demon’s collar roughly, Kyle unleashed [Amon's Fear Curse] without hesitation.
“Ah, aahh, aaaahhhh!!!”
Weakened resistance amplified the fear fully.
Kyle’s eyes flashed.
I see it.
His right hand thrust like piercing the demon’s chest.
It seized the exposed soul barehanded.
[Spirit Eye]
[Awakening]
With all his might, he crushed it.
Kwajik!
“!!”
His momentum vanished like a lie.
“Euk... euuk...”
As the barrier crumbled and his pupils vanished—
Black lightning erupted madly from Wilhelm’s eyes, nose, and mouth.
“Aaaaaahhhhhhh!!!”
Tung! The world around him shifted abruptly.
“...Huh?”
A sensation akin to the stone gate.
Kyle frowned and muttered,
“What’s this now?”
Lifting his head, he saw an opulently lavish room.
The kind fit for an audience with a king.
“...Illusion?”
As he muttered—
[Ah.]
A sudden voice made him whip around, flinching.
At the room’s end sat a black chair like a throne.
A woman with an ethereal aura lounged in a gorgeously ornate dress.
For some reason, instinct told him.
“You’re...”
The word the attacker had spat echoed in his mind.
“The Demon King?”
[Ah, aaaah.]
She strained to move, but her slender limbs wouldn’t budge.
Mud-like darkness bound her body tight.
Tears welled in her parched eyes.
Her cracked lips parted laboriously.
[Mi... sorry... Le... na.]
“...!!”
Kyle couldn’t stay calm.
Lena?
But that wasn’t all.
The ring on the Demon King’s right index finger.
Its magical pattern matched the flower he’d seen recently.
He muttered,
“Iris?”
The stone gate elder’s words flashed through his mind.
- Iris. Follow it.
[God, if you...]
The Demon King glared at the darkness consuming her, tears streaming.
[exist... please, from this 'pact'...]
From this darkness.
[Free the lower levels... free us.]
“!!”
With that, the illusion shattered in blinding light.
“......”
Back in the silvergrass, Kyle watched the demon crumble before him.
“That just now...”
He frowned.
“What the...?”
*
Meanwhile, Mickey—who’d watched it all via drone—clapped hands over her mouth.
“Holy shit...”
“...Huh?”
From George, no doubt.
“Footage? What’re you—”
Then she saw the “LIVE” tag in the camera corner.
Her face drained white.
“Ah.”
Her usual deep web live feature.
“Forgot to turn it off.”