Chapter 419
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 419
Chapter Title: Descent into Hell
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Kwajijijik.
Every time the spear collided with the barrier, Michael's body twitched.
"You fucking bastards, cut it out already!"
Michael spat curses toward Beelzebub and Zadkiel, visible in the distance.
If not for the light barrier Jeong Hoon had deployed, he would have died hundreds of times over.
If it wasn't working, just give up already.
His head throbbed nonstop; he was on the verge of going mad.
"Hang in there just a bit longer."
Unlike Michael, Fenrir remained unfazed despite the deafening roars.
"You bastard! How do you know when the palace will appear? 'Just a bit longer' my ass?"
"...We've already been there once. You must have some idea by now."
"I blacked out and got dragged there by force? Should I make up some sense that doesn't exist?"
As they bickered, the spears attacking them vanished.
"Hmm? What is it? They're not attacking anymore?"
"Hmph, looks like they've finally given up."
"Isn't it weird for those guys who hounded us all the way here to suddenly quit?"
"Does that mean they've switched targets?"
"Yeah."
"...Run! Fast!"
If Fenrir was right, it meant Master was on the move.
They had to hurry to the palace where Psyche had stayed and successfully carry out the orders.
"That bastard!"
As Jeong Hoon headed north, Beelzebub's face twisted in rage.
His wings flapped furiously, casting a shadow of darkness over Jeong Hoon.
At that moment, Michael and the other archangels moved in unison.
A flash blinded their vision.
Zzaaaaaack!
A deafening explosion followed, threatening to rupture eardrums.
Yet Jeong Hoon didn't flinch in the slightest, vanishing from their sight in an instant.
"Tch, guess I'll have to settle for tying these guys down."
Beelzebub's expression softened as he surveyed the archangels surrounding him.
He had hoped to obliterate Jeong Hoon in one strike, but the angels had blocked his attack, rendering it futile.
Still, it was a satisfactory outcome.
Sususuk
A veil of deathly haze enveloped the angels.
"Remember, this is my home turf."
Beelzebub's body began to grow, expanding until he towered at 30 meters tall.
His massive wings beat powerfully, unleashing waves of dark power that began to suppress the angels.
"Hup!"
In that instant, pure white light emanated from Michael's body, slowly pushing back the oppressive aura bearing down on the angels.
"Zadkiel."
Beelzebub called Zadkiel's name.
He hadn't heard how the angels could wield such influence on his home turf.
"Janus intervened."
"Janus?"
Beelzebub's mouth gaped open at the shocking revelation.
Then he nodded as if it made sense.
'Right. Janus lent them his power.'
The sole being who embodied both light and darkness.
If that entity had shared its power, their influence here was understandable.
"It's fine. I received power from Janus too."
Faint tendrils of darkness writhed across the pure white shield Zadkiel held.
"Nice. Deploy your domain."
At Beelzebub's command, Zadkiel raised his shield high before slamming it down in a sweeping motion, as if he'd been waiting.
Ulung
The air rippled like molasses, and a domain began to unfold.
"...What the hell are you doing?"
Beelzebub's face contorted as he stared at the domain.
It wasn't bolstering himit was granting protective power to the angels.
"Now I can finally catch you."
Zadkiel's lips curled into a sly smile as he gazed at Beelzebub.
"What?"
It happened in that moment.
Seogeok.
A sharp slicing sound rang out.
Kugung
Beelzebub's right wing went limp and plummeted to the ground.
Michael's Luminus, cloaked in massive holy sword energy, had effortlessly severed the wing.
"Krk!"
Beelzebub hastily summoned dark power, but not only did it fail to healthe condition of his body worsened.
Michael, empowered by Janus's darkness, had infused both forces into his strike; healing it wouldn't be easy.
"Since when? How long have you been plotting this?"
Beelzebub glared murderously at Zadkiel as he demanded answers.
"Since the moment I approached you."
Zadkiel replied flatly.
The moment he approached.
"Ha."
It had been centuries.
An angel had inexplicably crossed into the demon realm.
An archangel, no less.
Beelzebub had swiftly bound him and personally interrogated him.
'I don't want to live as a tool anymore.'
Despite brutal torture, Zadkiel repeated the same words while restrained.
'How can we trust you?'
'Trust me! I'll stay in the divine realm and gather all the information.'
'Hmm? I don't sense any light from you anymore. You'd just get purged if you went back, so why take such a gamble?'
No light emanated from Zadkiel.
That proved he had abandoned the light, just like them.
It must have been why he could enter the demon realm.
'No, I didn't abandon the light.'
'Hmm? Then how did you get in?'
'Through Janus's bracelet, which allowed me passage here.'
'Janus?'
'Yes. It's an item I manage.'
'Bullshit. You expect me to believe you used something like that in secret?'
He should have killed him right then.
Instead of continuing the conversation.
'Janus's bracelet can be used repeatedly, and it doesn't leave a trace!'
'Doesn't leave a trace?'
'Yes! I'm the only one who knows this!'
'Hmm, how can I trust that?'
'If I return to the divine realm and trouble arises, kill me then!'
If it came out that an archangel had communicated with the demon realm, he'd lose his position and be exiled.
'Just get exiled and come back.'
'An exiled man spilling secrets leaves me with nothing!'
'Hmm?'
'I'll help you devour the divine realm. In return, secure me an important position.'
Devouring the divine realm.
The words were sweeter than honey.
'Alright, then show me.'
Beelzebub had released Zadkiel once.
Every three months thereafter, Zadkiel visited the demon realm, handing over divine realm intelligence.
Even classified info accessible only to archangels.
Logos had verified it himself to check for fakes, confirming its authenticity.
Only after centuries of this did he come to trust Zadkielnever imagining it was a trap to ensnare them.
"You bastards... truly vicious."
To think all that intel sharing was part of a ploy.
"Don't worry. They don't know about the plan I devised either."
Zadkiel smirked at the bewildered archangels.
"You fooled your allies to deceive the enemy?"
"And the intel I passed had deliberate holes. They think they're charging to conquer the divine realm, but it won't be easy."
"Zadkiel, you're aware everyone can see your betrayal right now, right?"
"I know. That's why I'm doing it."
Zadkiel raised his shield.
"Fine. Come on, try to kill me."
Beelzebub began his final desperate struggle.
A heaven-shattering roar split the sky, shaking the earth and sending vibrations through Jeong Hoon's entire body.
"Looks like they're fighting hard."
Jeong Hoon patted his chest.
As he escaped Beelzebub's sight and headed north, Zadkiel's voice reached him.
Sorry for the shock. This was the only way to fool him.
So Zadkiel wasn't a traitor after all.
He had disguised himself as one to set the trap.
'You revealed it too soon. It must have been a long-term plan.'
Tenebris muttered in disappointment.
"Yeah. Would've been better if he'd kept the ruse till the end."
'He knows it wouldn't work.'
Janus chimed in then.
"It wouldn't work?"
Jeong Hoon had clearly seen Beelzebub trust Zadkiel.
The angels' reactions suggested the trap was Zadkiel's solo act, so exposing it prematurely seemed rash.
'I saw everything through Zadkiel. He tampered slightly with the intel, but it seems Beelzebub knew all along.'
"Really? Beelzebub didn't seem to know."
'He's just not showing it.'
"...That guy's pretty cunning himself."
If he'd noticed the tampering, he should've moved to eliminate Zadkiel.
Instead, he let him strut around.
Jeong Hoon accelerated northward.
The northern end.
A massive gate loomed there, blocking the way.
Pajijik
Black sparks crackled from the gate.
As if displeased by his approach.
Jeong Hoon smirked and drew closer to the gate.
Arghhhh!
Save me!
I was wrong! It's my fault!
Please! Please!
Screams flooded his ears.
Not from one, but countless souls.
"What the."
Jeong Hoon couldn't hide his shock and stepped back; the screams vanished like ghosts.
'Innumerable souls are imprisoned beyond the gate.'
"Souls...."
Had they used these souls to create the NPCs?
Truly.
A filthy hobby.
The demon realm had to be eradicated.
Jeong Hoon approached the gate again.
The screams assaulted his ears once more.
'A hellscape.'
Jeong Hoon slowly pushed open the hellgate.
Unauthorized acc!!
The message glitched midway.
"Due to the power of darkness?"
Jeong Hoon glanced at Janus beside him.
'Yes. That's why it's easy to bypass the controls.'
A pleasing answer.
Jeong Hoon nodded and pushed harder, forcing the gate open.
Pajijijik
Lightning struck at Jeong Hoon.
But it couldn't pierce the light barrier protecting his body.
Kkiiik
The gate creaked open slowly.
Scorching heat washed over Jeong Hoon as it did.
"This place...."
Ahead was a cliff.
And below, a horrific sight.
Countless souls writhed in agony under brutal tortures.
Slashed by blades, impaled by spears, wounds cauterized with fire, or injected with incurable poisons for exquisite pain.
Some were chased by demonic beasts, limbs torn asunder; others tossed alive into boiling lava.
Worst of all, their lives didn't end amid the tormenttheir bodies regenerated, trapping them in eternal suffering.
'Horrific....'
'Filthy bastards!'
Mukho was speechless at the grim spectacle, while Anima erupted in fury.
Anima's eyes fixed on the dragonkin suffering.
Including hatchlings barely born.
Tearing apart a child's limbs and hurling it into lava.
In a state stripped of power, unable even to resist!
"Is there a way to free these souls?"
'Eliminate Armageddon.'
"Armageddon?"
'Yes. He's binding them. Kill him, and they can be released.'
"Hmm, I see."
Jeong Hoon leaped off the cliff.
Fly magic activated simultaneously, letting him float gently downward, past the tormented souls, deeper in.
Chwaaak
Countless demonic beasts pursued him.
"Krraaaah!"
One beast opened its maw at Jeong Hoon.
It unleashed a deafening blast of air, but Jeong Hoon remained unfazed, drawing Anima.