Nightfall - The Hour of Everything's End (5)
New to the whole thing, but Yujin was the hero.
He had been yanked into a completely unrelated otherworld, spent twenty years grinding away, and ultimately defeated the Demon King. But if you flipped that story around, it could just as easily be told as: Yujin, despite having no connection to the world at all, had done his absolute best to save it from doom.
Honestly, Yujin was a victim too.
He hadn’t gone looking for a grand reason to fight the Demon King. From the start, he hadn’t wanted to be pulled into the otherworld in the first place, and he hadn’t picked the fight out of personal grudge. So why had he fought anyway?
Because he simply couldn’t stomach the sight of people dying because of the demons. The thought of the whole world being wiped out by the Demon King made his blood boil.
That was all it took. For that alone, he had thrown his life away for twenty years of nonstop battles against the Demon King.
That was why, right now, the words “demon slayer” made him furious.
The fact that Yuria had that ugly look on her face because of the title also made him see red.
So he was genuinely furious at the demon slayer right now.
Of course he remembered the truth. This world wasn’t real—it was a virtual reality game created by someone. The viewers watching him right now could laugh off his actions as just another gamer too deep in the game.
But Winter had given him a straight answer to that.
“You can overdo it all you want. In fact, as a streamer, over-immersion is actually better when you’re playing.”
“Why?”
“Think about it. You’re showing other people how to play, right? If the streamer himself can’t focus or get lost in it, how the hell is the broadcast going to feel that day?”
What do you mean “how the hell”? It would be straight-up dead air. The streamer couldn’t immerse, so the viewers certainly couldn’t either.
“So don’t worry. Play however you want. Being able to truly get lost in the game is basically a streamer’s natural talent.”
And right now, Yujin didn’t care about the eyes staring at him. He was pouring every bit of his emotion straight at the demon slayer.
Swish—
Yujin drew his holy sword from his waist and stepped toward the demon slayer. Watching him, the demon slayer let out a booming laugh.
Demon Slayer has announced his own domain!
At the same time as the declaration, the demon slayer spread his wings and unleashed a torrent of colossal mana in every direction.
Domain Proclamation
📍 Location: Demon Slayer’s Territory
🎁 Reward: Alteration of local physics
[My native land, come forth to this place.]
Domain Activated
R’lyeh has fully overlapped with Arkham.
[Within the domain I have unfolded, every physical law of the material world applies to my advantage.]
Instantly the space around the demon slayer warped. The nearby environment began transforming into the abyssal city of R’lyeh that existed beneath the sea.
That alone was an ultra-rare power that could reshape its surroundings into whatever perfectly suited him!
But sadly, the demon slayer’s true ability had only just begun to show itself.
[Nervous system control malfunction]
Duration: Unending
[Mortals are forbidden from moving freely inside my world.]
Duration: Unending
[Within R’lyeh, nervous system activity is in complete chaos, completely separate from the insanity debuff.]
Instantly Yujin felt his five senses going haywire.
The terrifying sensation of his own body moving on its own!
Duration: Unending
[Mortals are forbidden from causing harm inside my domain.]
Duration: Unending
Inside the domain, landing a meaningful blow on the demon slayer was almost impossible.
Yujin’s holy sword suddenly felt feather-light. So light that he could barely imagine using it to wound anyone.
Duration: Unending
[Mortals are forbidden from fulfilling their heavenly mandate.]
Duration: Unending
Every second he fought inside the domain, the demon slayer would steal more of his life force.
Defeat means your soul becomes a Star’s Heir!
[This is the final battle that decides Arkham’s fate. Only two chances are granted. Pay attention.]
Right when the battle with the demon slayer began, the message window climbing up the screen left the viewers stunned.
Thud.
The demon slayer bent forward and opened his mouth wide.
From deep in his throat, a massive beam of light began to flicker.
At that exact moment, Yujin’s Battle Prediction screamed a ferocious warning at him.
This attack cannot be dodged—death is certain upon impact!
“Left!”
Instantly Yujin threw his whole body to the right.
Kwaaaang—!
A moment later Yujin realized that a chunk of Arkham’s city zone had been completely erased in a blast of deafening sound.
This was the true power of the hidden final boss of Nightfall—the apex of the Rulers!
[Ho… you dodged it… how interesting… I see the other bugs were on a completely different level…]
The demon slayer muttered with an almost amused voice.
Domain Expansion
Hundreds of magic circles activated.
[Then… I wonder how far you can go? Let’s test it…]
With that leisurely remark, the space around Yujin warped violently.
Countless magic circles began materializing around the demon slayer—hundreds of them.
Any one of them that hit would be instant death.
“Die.”
At the same moment the demon slayer spat out his spell, a tidal wave of magic began pouring down like a tsunami.
There was nowhere to run.
Yet Yujin’s eyes remained completely calm.
His body wouldn’t obey his mind, his senses were flooded with hallucinations and hallucinations, the world felt like it was half-flipped, but his spirit never wavered.
And then, the action that followed completely shattered every viewer’s expectations.
Fwoosh—!
Yujin had simply swung his sword down.
Yet the moment he did, every magic spell hurtling toward him split perfectly in half and vanished!
Most viewers just stared in disbelief, but to their surprise it was no accident.
Step.
One more step forward.
Slash.
Then he swung the sword down.
Every time the sequence of movements repeated, the magic coming at him disappeared.
It was a magnificent spectacle—like holding a single sword and facing a natural disaster of magic.
By now the veterans of Nightfall realized exactly what Yujin had done.
[Ho… interesting. Even a mortal has such skill? A technique that severs the flow of magic and returns it to nothingness… fascinating…]
The demon slayer muttered with an utterly relaxed voice.
[I myself never expected such a technique… Unfortunately your brain and nervous system are already saturated with insanity… how long can you keep moving like this…]
The demon slayer was right.
From the outside it looked impressive that Yujin was slicing apart the demon slayer’s magic with one sword, but at the same time he had no room left to do anything else.
The longer time passed, the more his stamina and concentration would drain, and the Curse of Obliteration would eventually claim his life.
That was the ending the demon slayer had written—no one on Earth could ever rewrite it!
‘Is it really ending like this?’
Just as Yuria looked at Yujin’s back with hopeless eyes…
“Now I’m finally starting to get the hang of it.”
At that moment Yujin’s movements changed.
No longer the stiff, mechanical motions he had shown before. This time he moved with infinite freedom itself!
Demon-Slaying Sword — Star-Strewn Heaven Destruction
Demon-Slaying Sword — Ultimate Form: Star-Strewn Heaven Destruction
It was a sight that felt like cutting down enemies with nothing but starlight itself—exquisite and breathtaking.
And the instant the sword swung, the world itself split open in a circle as every spell heading toward him vanished.
Even the magic the demon slayer had been preparing on the far side—all of it!
Star-Strewn Heaven Destruction
All spells in the domain erased.
[This… this is…? No, how are you even moving like this…? Your nervous system should be exploding, your senses running wild…!]
“I got used to it. This much time is more than enough to adapt.”
He answered in a bored tone.
“By the way, your body is ridiculously hard. I even went easy on you and you only took this much damage?”
Yujin clicked his tongue and looked at the demon slayer.
A dark-blue blood was already pouring down the demon slayer’s body from the wound inflicted by Yujin’s sword.
How? Had the strike from just a moment ago somehow pierced every magical and spiritual defense and landed a direct hit?
The moment he realized, the demon slayer exploded with rage.
[Mortal… how dare you… I’ll kill you…!]
“On the contrary, next time I’ll definitely cut you down, Demon Slayer!”
The second round had truly begun.