#80 The Sun is Setting
Sunset was falling.
[......]
Marbas's demonic energy had completely dissipated.
Agares couldn't help but feel considerable dismay. In truth, something like this had never been part of the plan.
Humans. The race tasked with handling the untouchables of the Demon Realm. From birth, their lifelong goal was strength.
The Demon Realm was a world of the survival of the fittest, where the weak were scorned and crushed. In such a world, he had lived his entire life with no aim but to grow stronger.
All demons were proud warrior folk. And they were the pinnacle warlords who had survived that Demon Realm.
Boom!
Thus, Agares thought as the human charging toward him:
Something that shouldn't be happening was unfolding. Did humans like this even exist?
Kaboom!
The human barreling straight at him was undoubtedly the master of the Eternal Crystal. Yet he hadn't awakened it.
'Even so—'
Kaboom!
Agares felt the immense power transmitted from the tip of his greatsword. The beast's power dwelling in the man's entire body was anything but normal.
'He's drawing on the power of a White Fang subspecies...'
He had never heard of such an ability. Not even in the Demon Realm, where every bizarre power under the heavens converged.
Grrrrowl!
If he let his guard down—
Boom!
—that massive Shabel Tiger was no pushover either. Agares swallowed hard.
The man moved like a raging bull. Bladelike beams protruded from his fists, unleashing formless strikes.
There was nothing like it. No such entity existed even in the Demon Realm.
Agares's eyes blazed red.
They burned. How long had it been since he'd felt this thrill?
Kaaaaah!
All the pent-up demonic energy erupted from his body. This was no time to hold back.
Power against power. A head-on clash.
Agares's greatsword, the demon blade Apophis, stirred. The center of its blade, infused with demonic energy, writhed—
Flash!
—and a grotesque eye snapped open. In that instant, the demonic energy surging from the sword doubled.
The blade swelled as if alive, and a translucent barrier of demonic energy formed around Agares's body.
Whoooosh!
The sword moved. A single strike carrying his full power—
Kabooooom!
—collided with the enemy's twin Oerblades. An enormous shockwave erupted simultaneously.
The world warped before his eyes, and the blast ripping outward pierced the thick clouds clinging to the sky.
Rumble!
Whoosh!
A storm raged.
Boom boom boom boom boom!
Agares's body moved like the wind. The Eternal Crystal throbbing in his heart supplied endless demonic energy, boosting his physical prowess exponentially.
The greatsword danced as swift as a dagger, yet far sharper.
Sword and body were one.
Slash slash slash!
His opponent kept pace. The higher Agares ramped up his output—
Kaboom kaboom kaboom!
—the higher the enemy went. In the blink of an eye, over a hundred exchanges passed.
Whoosh!
When he came to, his foe's right foot was already upon him.
'Taijutsu...!'
Crack!
A high kick smashed into Agares's brow. As he flinched, an Oerblade surged toward his heart.
He recalled his greatsword, using the blade as a shield.
Clang!
Agares's body lifted into the air, hurled endlessly backward.
Boom boom boom boom boom!
Countless clashes ensued. Sword met sword, fist met fist.
He poured even more demonic energy into the blade.
Ziiiiing!
The sword's edge turned pitch black. The demon blade Apophis, infused with pure darkness, ironically gleamed with obsidian light.
The realm of ultra-high output began.
Rooooar!
[......]
The enemy's Oerblades matched it, ramping up in kind. Twin blades larger and more overwhelming than his greatsword, rippling with eerie demonic power, bore down on Agares.
Kaboom!
The swords clashed again, and the downpour reversed—as if in zero gravity—rising from the earth toward the heavens.
In another split-second eternity, the blades met hundreds of times.
At some point, sound vanished.
No wind stirred, and the clouded sky shattered entirely, scattering to reveal the sun.
Pffft!
Agares felt hot blood rising in his throat.
Ziiiiizzle!
His sword screamed in protest. With blades locked, he swallowed the metallic tang and spoke.
[......Your body... won't endure... that much power...]
It was true. No matter how formidable, the man's flesh was merely human. It must already be screaming.
His entire body was filled with tools to suppress it.
The man, blades pressed against his, replied.
"Probably."
His voice held not a tremor. It was as steadfast as a mountain.
[......No intention... of awakening it...?]
"Someday, I will."
The man answered, eyes fixed on Agares.
Boom!
Agares's body launched into the air. In that instant, he thought:
'This guy...'
He swallowed involuntarily.
'Wasn't going all out?'
Thump thump thump thump thump!
His heartbeat echoed in his ears. The fleeting moment stretched into eternity.
He sensed the man's demonic power surging to full throttle.
Zing!
It was like a sword of radiance. A massive, pristine aura erupted from his arms.
Roooooom!
It was vast enough to cleave the world in two.
'My mistake.'
Agares finally admitted his error. Perhaps, trapped in the Demon Realm, he had become a frog in a well, blinded by his own strength.
Under the banner of the demon warrior race. Or perhaps intoxicated by his pride as Baal's second-in-command.
'To come unprepared... to a world with something like him...'
Swoooosh!
He saw the pillar of light hurtling toward him. It seemed infinitely slow—an illusion of his brain.
Swoosh swoosh swoosh!
'Our mistake.'
Agares gripped his greatsword anew. Apophis, forged from demon realm ore and reforged with otherworldly metals—a treasure near divine.
The eye on Apophis's blade shifted to blue. Then gray. And closed.
Suddenly, Agares saw his sword falling to the ground. His wrist was severed.
His body crumbled slowly, shattering piece by piece. His form sank into the earth.
'Lord Baal.'
He recalled suddenly.
'If it were Lord Baal—...'
The absolute of the Demon Realm, who had departed for the Demon Sea.
Rumble!
'I see.'
Through blurring vision, Agares beheld the man standing before him.
'This is him...'
Thud rumble thud!
His heart faltered.
Agares felt the cold earth against his skin.
'Earth's absolute...'
Thud doom dooo—
His heart stopped.
His final gaze turned to Theo Itilurg Gamigin in the distance.
'Don't look at me like that.'
He saw eyes filled with complex emotions.
'Gamigin... you've... chosen their side...'
Seeing Theo, rank 4 of the Demon Realm, here on Earth. Just as Agares had chosen the absolute Baal, so too had he made his choice.
'That choice... might have merit.'
Agares died with eyes wide open.
......
[Ah, ah, Lord Agares...!]
Bassago, rank 3 of the Demon Realm, cried out in horror.
The mightiest warlord after Baal had been shattered by a mere human.
[Urgh!]
The problem was here too.
Roar!
Dozens of massive fireballs floated in the sky, relentlessly hurtling toward Bassago.
[D-Damn it!]
The situation was dire. Valefor and Amon were also being overwhelmed.
The two elders before them were no joke. Three swords danced in the air, and the moment a gap appeared, arrows flashed like lightning.
Kaboom!
Each arrow's impact was tremendous. Fighting them was taxing enough—
Crack!
—when the wall-breaker joined in.
[Kraaak!]
Amon screamed. Im Cheol-bae's straightforward fist struck true at his nape, and Park Jun-woo's sharp blade followed, slicing deep.
The sword, brimming with blue mana, carved into Amon dozens of times in an instant. Then five arrows pierced his heart like bolts.
[A-Amon...!]
Valefor's cry didn't last.
Grrowl!
A massive Shabel Tiger had appeared behind him, clamping down and hurling him away.
[Aaaak!]
Flying through the air, Valefor saw a fox charging head-on. A fox with three tails perked up, cloaked in pure white mana.
Thwack!
The body slam hit his brow.
Crack!
A follow-up downward kick smashed his back. Something snapped.
Finally, arrows flew, swords shredded his body—
Roar!
—and fireballs engulfed him in flames.
[......]
Bassago felt his reason numb.
A dream? This had to be a dream. Demon warlords falling to mere humans like this—
Suddenly, he noticed the flame-wielding witch halt her assault.
"Oppa."
At her voice, Bassago turned unwittingly.
[......]
There stood the absolute who had slain Agares. Oerblades protruded from his wrists, aimed at Bassago's throat.
He trembled. This terror wasn't new.
Baal! The monster absolute of the Demon Realm.
'I can't win.'
Thud.
Bassago dropped to his knees.
Over there, Marbas knelt with a massive hole in his chest, lifeless. Agares shattered and sprawled, Amon and Valefor butchered.
The proud warlords of the Demon Realm had all fallen.
[......I surrender.]
Bassago bowed his head.
[You... have won.]
The cloud-choked sky had cleared. Rain ceased, and the sun bathed the earth warmly.
The setting sun glowed in the western sky.
Sunset.
Kang-ho gazed silently at the heavens.
His mana seeped into Bassago's core.
[Kaaaaak!]
The demon's mana hall was now under control.
Kang-ho retracted his Oerblades and scooped up the rushing Seol-a into his arms.
He saw the cheering crowd in the distance.
"......"
Kang-ho glanced at Im Cheol-bae approaching him.
Cheol-bae's body was incomparably denser than before, his age reversed by 10 or 20 years, looking youthful.
Yes. He had broken through the wall.
Given his long stagnation and efforts, his power must have surged.
Cheol-bae rummaged in his pocket, pulled out a cigar, and lit it with one of the floating fireballs.
Thick smoke billowed. The most delicious-looking puff in the world.
Cheol-bae walked over slowly, grinning at Kang-ho.
Kang-ho grinned back and extended his fist.
Their fists bumped lightly.
Waaaaah!
The lofty sun sank in dazzling, radiant glory.
Yes.
The sun was setting.