Chapter 215
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 215
Chapter Title: The Demon King's Invitation
To protect what was mine in the real world, I believed I needed power at the absolute pinnacle—like that of a Royal Class.
I possessed the strength, and the confidence to master it.
And once I did...
The hidden truths came to light.
'This world isn't entirely humanity's domain.'
A world where humanity's enemies, the demons, coexisted.
To safeguard my family here, I had to push those bastards out.
In truth, I might not have believed it even when so many people warned me from the start.
That the true enemy in reality was the demons.
'At least it's not too late.'
I'm grateful to have realized it now, even if belatedly.
The moment Yong-un absorbed all of Shakes' memories, just like with Count Latrin, he headed straight for the three ghost souls waiting outside.
"Supreme One..."
Was it because he'd fought so many battles alone?
Worry and relief mingled on their faces.
But that wasn't what mattered to Yong-un.
"Seong-min."
He called out to the sixth ghost soul, Seong-min.
Seong-min bowed his head deeply.
"The god you serve—has there still been no response?"
"Yes... It's strange. Nothing like this has ever happened before..."
Like a man burdened by guilt, Seong-min bowed once more.
A faint presence of that one emanated from Seong-min's body.
This was why Seong-min, abandoned by Man, could still perform the role of a shaman.
Or so it seemed—but it wasn't certain.
Even Yong-un couldn't easily grasp it: a singular existence beyond ordinary senses.
A being worthy of the name "god," with a presence and abilities to match.
He hadn't fathomed what that one truly was, but now it was clear.
That one was...
The king of the demons, branded humanity's enemy.
Man was the Demon King.
'A face I'd never seen before, but that voice... no doubt about it.'
It had unmistakably been Man, borrowing Seong-min's body.
Seong-min kept his head lowered, overcome with shame.
Yong-un unleashed his extreme intent to its maximum, extending his hand toward Seong-min.
"Su, Supreme One..."
Cheon-il and Barum froze in shock, unsure what to do, but Seong-min was different.
To him, Yong-un was the pillar of his only family now—the Ghost Demon Slayers—and whatever the Supreme One did, he would accept it.
Even if it cost his life.
Thwack!
"Supreme One!"
Yong-un's hand struck Seong-min's chest.
Yet Seong-min's body didn't reel back or fall.
It merely snagged the lingering, peculiar presence within him.
The residual essence of Man.
Whoosh.
As Yong-un's hand passed through Seong-min, a energy unlike his violet extreme intent clung to it.
Dark as pitch-black night, red as blood, transparent yet not quite vivid—a bizarre aura.
"Hah..."
It was the Demon King's essence.
"Supreme One!"
For some reason, Cheon-il and Barum panicked at the sight of that energy.
But Yong-un ignored their stares, slowly drawing the Demon King's essence into his own body.
"Supreme One!!!"
An unexpected action from Yong-un!
Cheon-il and Barum rushed to his side.
"How can you take that!"
"Wait."
He raised a hand to halt the two who tried to stop him.
At Yong-un's gesture not to approach, they hesitated—neither stopping him nor retreating.
Yong-un quietly closed his eyes.
As mentioned before, Yong-un had never been one for adventures or gambles, not since his days as the Sword Demon.
His resolve and determination weren't so frail as to stake his life on uncertainties.
Yet the martial world was unforgiving.
It was rife with gambles and unavoidable battles that awaited him despite his wishes.
Thus, from his time as a Heavenly Demon Cult elder, Yong-un honed his true weapon.
His instincts led him to survive adventures, gambles, schemes, and wars—and he began to trust that instinctual presence.
Whoosh!
Thump!
And now was such an unavoidable gamble.
A moment to trust his instincts.
The instant his baseless deathmatch with Shakes ended, Yong-un trusted his gut once more.
The trace of Man—no, the Demon King—lingering in Seong-min was a message left for him.
It might be dangerous.
'But I must do it.'
He could die, lose everything.
'But I can handle it.'
It might be arrogance, hubris.
He could lose it all, watch his achievements crumble.
'If I hide in fear, I'll achieve nothing!'
Now was the time to trust his writhing instincts and press forward!
Thump!
As Yong-un spread the Demon King's vast essence throughout his body, a second massive heartbeat pulsed through him. He staggered but forced open his tightly shut eyes.
His entire field of vision drowned in a crimson-black haze like the Blood Heaven Demon Art, unveiling a new world before him.
At that very moment, as Yong-un sought the Demon King's true nature, clues, and key...
GHO America First Headquarters, Restricted Access Zone.
In the dust-covered fourth basement level, the three Royal Classes who elevated Yong-un gathered their heads.
They were deciphering the patterns and meanings of the new runes from their first battle with Shakes.
"Found it!"
Ignito, Spell, and finally the Mercenary King.
They weren't fools.
No matter how much they claimed to help make Yong-un a Royal Class, they wouldn't do it without gain.
Of course, they eyed the benefits of his ascension and potential reappearance—but they had no desire to publicly declare him one before so many nations.
Yet this had moved them.
"We found it..."
Papers littered the floor before their eyes, filled with rune interpretations and puzzle pieces.
Arranged on the ground, the completed Demon King runes formed a single character.
None other than...
'????'
The nonexistent hanja Seong-min had written in his room while serving Man.
It denoted the Demon King: Man.
Composed of 72 Demon King runes.
A bizarre form blending the hanja for "demon ghost ma" and "ox u."
Linking the 22 runes they knew with the 50 Yong-un revealed—like a word chain game—yielded this unknown glyph.
But they overlooked one thing.
This unknowable hanja meaning Man was known only to Yong-un and the Ghost Demon Slayers.
"What... is this?"
Ignito's words hung as all the Royal Classes' faces hardened.
After immersing in the puzzle, this glyph-like result puzzled them all.
No one knew it signified Man—the Demon King—so their debate continued.
"This can't be another rune, can it?"
No one could deny it outright.
Demon King runes were letters infused with power from another dimension, beyond this world.
Thus, a new script they couldn't judge true or false.
But the Mercenary King's question drew no direct answer.
"Look there."
Ice-blue eyes.
While Spell coldly surveyed the expansive script, she pointed to the center with her index finger.
Gaps appeared amid the glyph.
"One, two... four?"
The chained letters had four empty spaces.
"Do we need four more?"
"More importantly, what does this massive glyph signify?"
Then it happened.
As they quietly inferred from the glyph, an intruder crashed their meeting.
"If you don't know its meaning, why not try using it?"
All Royal Classes turned toward the sudden enigmatic voice.
There stood one man.
"The First Royal Class?"
Another who could enter the restricted zone.
Sky-blue light.
The First Royal Class appeared before them.
"Demon King runes hold power in their very form. If you're unsure, just use it."
He casually suggested activating an unknown rune of unpredictable consequences.
Thump!
A third massive beat resounded from Yong-un's chest.
The Demon King's essence he'd left in Seong-min—Man's message—unfolded in the crimson-black vision.
"I figured you could handle it."
In the center of the darkened sight, the Demon King's form from Shakes' memories materialized.
"Man. You're the Demon King."
"You already knew, didn't you? Yes. I am the Demon King."
The Demon King slowly turned.
Colors and lines overlaid the empty crimson-black void, gradually forming a new landscape.
Flames raged across the scorching earth, hot winds and steam rising everywhere.
"Hell..."
"Don't be rude. This is my home—the Demon Realm."
For the first time, he conversed with Man's true form.
But the faint essence couldn't sustain it long; the Demon King's figure began to blur.
"You want to protect your subordinates? Then watch. I expect great things."
With that, the Demon King's form vanished.
Yet strangely, the surrounding Demon Realm landscape remained vivid, showing no sign of fading.
"Man!"
Yong-un shouted.
But only the Demon King's final words echoed faintly like a reverberation.
"Once you've achieved your goals and all is prepared, call me... That rune you know as 'Man' designates me."
The Demon King fully dissipated; no voice or presence remained.
Whoooosh.
The Demon Realm's scorching winds brushed past Yong-un.
Thus, he realized.
The Demon King's essence wasn't merely a message.
It was a gate of sorts.
One with no exit—only an entrance to the Demon King's dimension.
A gateway to the Demon Realm.
"Found you, roughly!"
Dozens of demons swooped from the skies.
Their brutal demonic energy stabbed at his skin, proclaiming this was reality.
'No thinking—just handle it here directly, is that it?'
Whoosh.
Spear-like blasts of gray-black demonic energy rained from above; Yong-un slowly drew up his extreme intent.
'I don't know your intent, but...'
He bit his lip lightly and leaped toward the incoming spears of demonic energy.
'I'll smash you...'
The barrage of spears and piercing killing intent.
This sensation, like the decades-long righteous-demon wars, ignited Yong-un's coldly assessing mind with heat.
'Whatever it is!'
Thereafter, a massive sword aura of extreme intent swept in a crescent arc toward the sky-dominating demons.