Chapter 423
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 423
Chapter Title: Armageddon's Scheme
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Swish
The shadow soldiers vanished without even putting up a fight.
Jang Ha-jin's face turned pale.
As long as their mana didn't run out, the shadow soldiers should never die.
That was supposed to be the case, so why were they disintegrating at those beings' hands?
They weren't even being resummoned.
It was as if their abilities had been sealed.
"Struggling is pointless."
"Human, you clearly have the qualities to become an apostle. You must have realized that by now."
Apostle? What the hell was that?
Jang Ha-jin slowly backed away.
It was impossible to face them with his current power.
He had to escape somehow if he wanted to survive.
'But can I even get away?'
With a single gesture, more than thirty soldiers had been shredded.
They hadn't even been going all out, just gauging his strength.
If they decided to, he could die right then and there.
"You're here."
At that moment, one more Je-cheon joined them.
The silk robe he wore reeked of blood.
Just how many had he killed...?
"You're late."
"Were you experimenting again?"
The two Je-cheons frowned and scolded him.
"Don't be like that. I was just curious how hard you'd work to protect such precious lives."
"Did that satisfy your curiosity?"
"Nah, they're too pathetic. It pisses me off that I have to go through all this for these lowly scum."
"I agree. But that one's pretty useful."
Je-cheon One pointed at Jang Ha-jin.
"Hm?"
The other Je-cheons who had joined turned their eyes to Jang Ha-jin, and one of their gazes sparkled for a moment.
Jang Ha-jin felt chills run down his spine.
'Crazy, what kind of look is that...?'
Je-cheon seemed pleased by his reaction and grinned.
"Should we just kill it?"
"Unfortunately, we have no choice."
"How about making it one of my minions instead? Raise it right, and it could be useful."
"Are you defying orders?"
Their orders were to wipe out all life on Earth.
No exceptions.
"Aw, relax. I mean kill it and just take the soul."
"Impossible. Pull any funny business, and I'll report straight to Lord Beelzebub."
"Heh, fine! I get it!"
He stomped off with a pissed expression and planted himself in front of Jang Ha-jin.
Jang Ha-jin tried to recoil in horror, but with his collar gripped tight, escape was impossible.
'Ugh! Couldn't read him at all...'
The movement was too fast to track with his eyes.
And this strength.
It was impossible to shake off.
'Fuck, what the hell are these bastards?!'
Hoon-ah, please help!
Jang Ha-jin desperately called out to Jeong Hoon in his mind.
No matter how monstrous they were, Jeong Hoon could handle it somehow!
But he wouldn't last until Hoon arrived.
"You dogshit bastards. You're all dead when my friend gets here."
Jang Ha-jin shakily raised his middle finger.
"A friend, huh? Ah, so you're friends with that human Jeong Hoon."
"Hah, you know Hoon?"
"Of course. How could we not know the fool who dares defy the gods without knowing his place?"
"What...?"
What the hell were they talking about?
"If you're friends with that guy, we definitely can't let you live."
"I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of reaction he'll have when we tear you to shreds."
The Je-cheons snickered.
"Damn it... Hoon-ah!"
"Don't speak your master's name so casually!"
Then, a man's voice came from behind Jang Ha-jin.
"You?"
The Je-cheon's eyes that had been on Jang Ha-jin shifted behind him.
"I'm Michael, sent by my master's command to protect Earth."
"Michael?"
"No need to remember my name. You're all dying here anyway."
"Pfft, you? Kill me?"
The Je-cheon gripping Jang Ha-jin's collar burst out laughing.
"Who said I was killing you?"
"What?"
"Kill them!"
Michael bellowed.
In an instant, the Je-cheons' heads flew off.
With their heads gone, the grip on Jang Ha-jin's collar loosened, and he regained his freedom.
"Cough! Cough!"
Jang Ha-jin coughed as he turned to look at Michael.
The summon Jeong Hoon had called forth.
The summon approached and handed him a potion.
"No injuries?"
"Ah, thanks."
"What about the others?"
Michael glanced around.
Jang Ha-jin was the only survivor nearby.
"Don't know..."
"Hmm, right? Well, Lady Psyche says everyone connected to Master is still alive."
"Really?!"
"Yeah. Follow me for now."
Michael led Jang Ha-jin toward the apartment where Jeong Hoon lived.
The light devoured the space, and only after a long while did it fade.
In its place, all the letters lost their glow and disintegrated.
Crumble
Logos's body, which had merged with Order, was also crumbling under Jeong Hoon's power.
"So you couldn't surpass Janus."
Logos stared at Jeong Hoon with hollow eyes.
To the end, he believed he'd lost not to Jeong Hoon, but to Janus.
"Watch your words. You lost to me, not Janus."
"Ridiculous... Without the power Janus gave you, surpassing me would've been impossible."
"Would it?"
"What...?"
It wasn't pure Janus power that had crushed him.
The Seven Great Chains.
Everything poured into that one strike, so the chains had activated at 100.
Of course, he had no intention of telling Logos that.
"You received light through Armageddon too. Does that make you Armageddon's tool?"
"......"
"I may have received power from Janus, but I wielded it. In the end, you lost to a mere created being."
"Shut up!"
Defeated by a human.
The realization twisted Logos's face in shock.
"No... I didn't lose... Armageddon... If you just slay Primatos..."
Muttering in denial, Jeong Hoon mercilessly swung his holy sword, splitting Logos's head in two.
The severed head crumbled to dust and vanished.
"That leaves just Beelzebub and Armageddon."
Jeong Hoon turned to glare at Beelzebub, who was likely clashing outside.
He wanted to join the angels right away, but that would give Armageddon more time to rampage in the divine realm.
'Be careful. Armageddon seems like the true master of this demon realm.'
Janus warned him.
'He's right. That guy was the light that illuminated the world. Even before his fall, he was the strongest.'
Tenebris added, hinting at the danger of this battle.
"It's fine. I won't let my guard down."
Even after falling, he'd researched light and succeeded in coexisting with it.
Ullion and Logos were mere tools for his grand scheme.
As Janus said, calling Armageddon the true master wasn't an exaggeration.
'But why is that main god just sitting idle?'
'Yeah. Isn't he the lord of the divine realm? If he stepped in, facing Armageddon wouldn't be hard.'
Mukho and Anima voiced their doubts.
"Exactly. Why is the main god just watching?"
Main God Primatos.
Jeong Hoon knew almost nothing about him.
He'd asked once before, but Tenebris had brushed it off with "there's a reason."
He'd let it slide then, but now it was time for answers.
'...Sigh, remember when I said the main god can't move?'
"Yeah."
Jeong Hoon's memory was impeccable.
He remembered every word of their conversation.
'The main god is currently absent.'
"Absent?"
'Yes. He chose oblivion himself.'
"...So Primatos is gone?"
'Why do you think he left the Lord's Chains?'
Jeong Hoon rubbed his forehead and sighed.
"Don't tell me the one who holds these Lord's Chains becomes the next main god?"
'Why not?'
The Lord's Chains.
They weren't just given to fight the demon realm.
Succession of existence.
That's what they were.
"I refuse."
Jeong Hoon had no intention of accepting.
'Impossible. They're already engraved on your soul.'
"...We'll talk about this after I crush Armageddon."
No time for argumentshe needed to pursue Armageddon.
Jeong Hoon opened the gate to the divine realm.
Roar
By the time he arrived in the divine realm, Armageddon had already turned it into a wasteland.
With the main god absent, the angel legions including the archangels were tied up by Beelzebuba natural outcome.
Jeong Hoon searched for surviving angels first and soon found one moaning from wounds nearby.
"Ugh......"
"Are you alright?"
Jeong Hoon used Divine Healing on him, and the angel's body recovered swiftly.
"...You must be Jeong Hoon."
The angel recognized him from the miraculous healing speed.
"Yes. Where did Armageddon go?"
"He attacked us the moment he arrived, then headed straight for the palace where the main god resided."
"The palace?"
Was he aiming to seize the divine realm by taking the palace?
But why the palace specifically?
"The palace holds the main god's will... He's likely trying to destroy it completely."
"I see."
"Please... Only you, bearer of the Lord's Chains, can stop that fallen one."
"...I'll do my best."
Jeong Hoon activated Supremacy of the Heavenly Demon and headed for the palace.
Along the way, he tried to heal severely wounded angels, but they refused, citing no time, allowing him to reach the palace without delay.
"You're here?"
Armageddon stood before the palace, waiting for Jeong Hoon.
"Armageddon."
"Hoo, didn't expect Logos to fall too."
He didn't seem particularly surprised, as if he'd anticipated it.
'If he predicted Logos's defeat, he should've joined to take me out. Unless...'
Jeong Hoon saw through Armageddon's intentions.
"You... You deliberately lured me here?"
"Hm? Why do you think that?"
"You didn't intervene against Ullion or Logos. If you had, I'd probably have lost."
"Hmm."
Armageddon smiled intriguingly, urging him to continue.
"You calculated everythingme taking out those guys and reaching here. Because I hold all the Lord's Chains the main god left."
"...Smarter than I thought."
Correct.
"Not really. Your actions were just too suspicious."
"Heh, is that so?"
"You wanted to hog it all alone?"
Armageddon, who had mastered refining light.
No reason to share with other named beings anymorehe'd used Jeong Hoon to eliminate them.
"Hmm? Not quite. If you'd stayed put, we'd all be sitting pretty."
"This guy's dirtier than I thought."
"Anyway, thanks for coming. Now I can forcibly draw out the main god's will."
Armageddon's left hand glowed pure white, his right black.
The entire palace resonated and shook, hitting Jeong Hoon with intense vertigohe dropped to one knee.
"Urk......"
It was agonizing, hard to endure.
He tried Divine Healing, but the dizziness wouldn't lift.
It felt like his body and soul were separating.
'I have to hold on! Lose consciousness here, and it's Armageddon's game!'
Tenebris's urgent voice rang out.
'I know......'
He barely clung to his senses, but even that was reaching its limit.
"Khahaha! Finally! My wish is coming true at last!"
Armageddon raised both arms to the sky, laughing maniacally.
"You motherfucker......"
Surpassing his limit, Jeong Hoon spat curses and blacked out.