Chapter 417
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 417
Chapter Title: Invasion of the Demon Realm
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Demon Realm.
As the door opened, the archangels bowed their heads toward Jeong Hoon with resolute expressions.
Please take care of things here.
And take this.
What they held out was the spirit pills he had received alongside the Seals box earlier.
Five of them, no less.
Spirit pills.
Michael nodded as Jeong Hoon accepted them, adding more words.
Weve brought all the spirit pills left by the Lord. Please fulfill our earnest wish.
No, were going together.
Huh?
I cant handle the numbers on my own.
But... you need to establish your domain first before we can exert any influence.
The power of darkness blanketed everything like a curtain, so just like with the 96 Demon Realms, they had to pierce and claim it for the Heavenly Realm to intervene.
Janus has agreed to help.
Janus?
Januss eyes widened in surprise as he pointed at himself with a finger.
Jeong Hoon nodded and curled up the corner of his mouth.
Now, hold out your hand.
Why my hand...?
Michael tilted his head and extended his hand.
Jeong Hoon grasped it, and a portion of the rampaging dark energy flowed into his hand.
...!
Startled by the alien power entering him, Michael yanked his hand back in panic.
But the dark power had already seeped into Michaels body.
Hes so jumpy.
Janus snickered at the sight.
Its fine. Its power that Janus was controlling. Itll be harmless as long as hes around.
What the hell!
Michael bristled at Jeong Hoons words.
Just as a single drop of ink dirties clear water, Michael was a flawless angel.
For him to be tainted by darknesshow could he bear it?
Dont worry. Its a safety measure.
A safety measure?
When you hesitated in your response, Janus made a proposal. Since were invading the Demon Realm anyway, youd need this power to exert influence, so hed lend it to everyone.
And?
He said hed reclaim it once weve safely taken the Demon Realm.
You expect me to believe that?
Its already done. You might as well trust it.
Ha...
Michael suppressed his anger by pressing his throbbing temples with his fingers.
Well do it too.
Gabriel accepted readily.
It was something hed steeled himself for ever since handing over Januss bracelet to Jeong Hoon.
Yes.
Jeong Hoon clasped his hand and transferred a small amount of power.
He then finished passing it to all the archangels, including Uriel.
Now, they would spread this power through the Heavenly Realm and lead the army in a blitz on the Demon Realm.
I trust youll keep your promise.
Michael spoke toward Janus within Jeong Hoon.
Tch, you think Im like you lot? Once we take the Demon Realm, Ill release you quietly.
Janus replied irritably.
...Ill believe it.
More importantly, about New World.
Before departure, Uriel brought up New World.
Jeong Hoon paused as he was about to step into the Demon Realm and looked at Uriel.
Why New World?
Theres a problem.
A problem?
The dark energy spread through the atmosphere has started rampaging.
Dark energy.
The energy that had risen into the atmosphere as smoke from burning the black orb.
He thought it would subside quickly since theyd severed the middle bridge and dark-affinity users had absorbed it to bolster their strength.
But reality was the opposite.
The dark energy thrashed about as if it had a will of its own, choking the life out of NPCs who breathed it in.
NPCs died as a result, quests malfunctioned, and New World ground to a halt across the board.
Cant we control it now?
The Heavenly Realm originally couldnt interfere with dark power, but with Janus involved, the situation had changed.
It would take considerable time.
The problem was the sheer amount dispersed in the atmosphere.
It had already accumulated inside NPCs through respiration, and with the rampage killing them off, repositioning was impossible.
Their souls were intact, so creating new bodies and reassigning them as NPCs would work, but it would take far too long.
...Understood. Well leave New World as is and head straight to the Demon Realm.
This wasnt the time to worry about New World.
It was time to end the long war with an all-out battle against the Demon Realm.
At that moment.
Ha-jin and Bong-gu had successfully conquered the eastern side of Arandis.
Yet they couldnt celebrate.
Bong-gu, what the hell is going on here?
I dont know either...
The Lv. 1,015 Tomb of the Forgotten Constellation at the eastern edge of Arandis.
After clearing the tomb and emerging, Arandis was a total mess.
The dark energy in the atmosphere had rampaged like a seizure, engulfing New World and killing off masses of NPCs.
Players were struggling to proceed.
What the fuck, quests
-Hardly finished the damn quest and the NPCs dead and gone...
WTF is wrong with New World... Gathered all the materials to trade for items, and the trade NPC vanished.
Time to quit this game maybe...
Ops team probably laughing their asses off watching us ragequit.
Fuck, do something about it.
Shouldve known when HQ started chopping off limbs lololol
New World shutting down servers?
If not, this service level makes no sense.
Server shutdown only happens when a game tanks. Why this when its booming?
Countless complaints flooded the forums.
Players were united in crying that New World was done for.
With so many players, the ripple effect was massive.
Every time something went wrong with New World, info spread via mass media, YouTubers, and morethis system failure would propagate instantly too.
Hyung-nim, at this rate, isnt the game toast?
Bong-gu shared their sentiment.
Yeah.
Theyd been waiting for Jeong Hoon, only for the game to be on the brink of ruin.
What the hell had happened...?
No word from Hoon hyung-nim yet, right?
Yeah.
Did Jeong Hoon even know about this?
At that moment.
Jeong Hoon had crossed into the Demon Realm under the Heavenly Realms banner.
Michael, familiar place, right?
Hed also summoned Michael and Fenrir.
Yes.
Hmm, the time has come to draw this long war to a close.
As the final battle, it was an all-out effort.
Tension was evident on Michael and Fenrirs faces.
The archangels and angelic legions followed behind.
This is their turf. Get careless, and youre done.
Michael, leading the legion, gave the signal, and the angels moved in perfect unison to form ranks.
Wow, youve brought quite the crowd.
As if waiting, Beelzebub slowly revealed himself in the air.
Beelzebub.
Beelzebub scoffed as Jeong Hoon murmured his name lowly.
What? Surprised Im standing here fine when I should be locked in the Heavenly Realm?
Not particularly.
Pfft, putting on a brave face. By now, the games probably a total shitshow. You cool just leaving it?
Fine by me. Once you lot are gone, who cares if one game vanishes.
Beelzebubs lip twisted upward at the relaxed expression and smile.
Human, lets see how long you can keep that composure.
With those words, lightning crashed from the pitch-black sky, engulfing Jeong Hoon and the archangels.
Kwarung!
Relentless bolts hammered down.
The angels raised barriers in response, the thunderous roars echoing across the entire Demon Realm.
Uriel, one of the archangels, drew a bow of light and loosed a shimmering arrow of light at Beelzebub.
Hmph.
Beelzebub snorted and flapped the wings on his back once.
A storm surged, swallowing the arrow, which exploded and wrapped light around the gale.
Darkness and light clashed, birthing a massive hurricane, and the angels layered barriers to defend against it.
M-Master, this doesnt seem like a fight for us.
Overwhelmed by the dimensionally superior scale, Michael was terrified.
No matter how much theyd grown under Jeong Hoon, facing those two was impossible.
Dont worry. I didnt summon you to fight that guy.
Even with Fenrir and Michaels growth, they could barely handle one lord each.
Then?
You two go find Psyche from now on.
Psyche?
Michael had already encountered Psyche once before.
No need for the mask anymore.
If she joined them, shed be a huge help in wiping out the remaining named bosses.
Hey, you lot. I can hear your chit-chat from here.
Beelzebub, flapping his wings, pulled out a familiar orb.
Thats...
Jeong Hoons eyes narrowed.
A spirit pill? Why do you have that...
Michaels voice trembled.
What Beelzebub held was a spirit pill.
Precisely, a fake one Psyche had made in imitation.
Looking for Psyche?
Beelzebub grinned down at Jeong Hoon.
...
Jeong Hoon didnt respond, and Beelzebub continued leisurely.
Heavenly Realm, you pulled off quite the stunt. Never thought youd plant Psyche here as a spy.
...
Thanks to that, I took her out early. Thanks for catching me.
Who told you?
If Psyche had infiltrated the Demon Realm, her info wouldve been wiped clean.
How had Beelzebub obtained it?
Thats enough. Quit it and join our side.
Beelzebub shouted at the archangels.
Urk!
One of them, Samael, groaned in pain and collapsed.
Zadkiel!
Haniel beside him trembled with rage.
This is awkward... I didnt want to reveal it here.
Zadkiel vanished from his spot and appeared instantly beside Beelzebub.
Fluttering pure white wings alongside demonic ones.
The angels faces hardened as they looked up.
You didnt think we were the only ones planting spies, did you?
Beelzebub burst into laughter at their expressions.
Didnt you know?
Jeong Hoon glared at Zadkiel and asked Michael beside him.
...I have nothing to say.
What about the Seals box.
That was for you... no way?
Im not certain, but I cant rule it out.
Jeong Hoon murmured, stroking below his navel with his hand.
All seven Seals were now etched into his body.
The issue was one of them: Temperance.
Zadkiel had held that Temperance.
If hed betrayed them as a spy, he mightve tampered with the Seals box too.
So the Seals box wasnt real?
Michaels pupils quivered faintly.
No. The Seals box was real. Its just that something fishy was done to it.
They hadnt swapped it out.
Hed confirmed the message acquiring all seven Seals and ascended to demigod realm as a result.
Meaning theyd tampered with it.
For a chosen human, youre slow on the uptake. Only figuring it out now?
Zadkiel smirked and shrugged.
Zadkiel! You dare betray your lord as an archangel?!
Michael raged at Zadkiel.
Think about it, Michael. With that power, how long will you play servant?
What?
We more than qualify to be masters. Why not join me here? Well take the Heavenly Realm together!
Shut your mouth.
Unable to hold back any longer, Michael drew his pure white sword.