Chapter 230
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 230
Chapter Title: Dream's Light Falls
It was astonishing.
Ignito stood out as the absolute best among them all.
Yet that conviction had just crumbled before his very eyes.
A soundless assassin who concealed even Ignito's senses and clutched Sophia's life in its grasp.
The Guihon of the Ghost Demon Soul Annihilation.
Having absorbed the Crimson Heaven Demonic Qi, their assassination prowess had grown several times stronger, sending chills down Ignito's spine.
'If that had been me instead of Sophia... could I have even dodged it?'
Ignito imagined clashing with foes he couldn't boldly claim victory over, slowly restoring his widening eyes to normal.
But it lasted only a moment.
Sususu...
A faint dark pink aura began seeping subtly from Sophia's body.
Ignito shouted upon seeing it.
"Everyone, dodge!"
Sophia's skill, known as Dream's Light, was peculiar.
It invaded the opponent's memories or mind, allowing her to wreak havoc at will.
In simple terms, anyone exposed to her aura became her puppet. She could burrow into their brain, erasing, altering, or fabricating memories as she pleased.
But when treating Sophia as an enemy, the trickiest part was that dark pink mana she emitted.
It moved without detection, utterly imperceptible.
Not even the Guihon standing right in front of her noticed it.
Slash!
Myung-su, having grasped the situation from Ignito's cry, poured strength into the dagger at Sophia's throat without hesitation.
Myung-su's blade pierced straight through Sophia's neck.
But instead, his eyebrows twitched.
'No sensation?'
He had clearly infused it with Crimson Heaven Demonic Qi to sever her neck.
Yet feeling nothing, Myung-su hurriedly checked on Sophia.
"Too bad, a failure~"
Sophia's relaxed body had turned semi-transparent.
He swung the dagger once more just in case, but there was still no impact.
More accurately, it had passed right through her.
A special ability turning all tangible substance into illusion, like a ghost.
This was Sophia's skill, akin to a divine authority born from her direct contract with the Demon King—unlike other Royal Classes.
"Now it's my turn?"
Having phased through every Guihon's assault, Sophia stepped forward.
Her kick, swift beyond her delicate frame, arrived before Myung-su in the blink of an eye.
Boom!!
But Myung-su was no slouch in speed either.
In that split second, he crossed his twin daggers to block her kick.
Screeeeech.
It was unbelievable—this frail girl's kicking power.
Skidding to a halt after carving two long, deep furrows in the ground, Myung-su wore a cold scowl.
He couldn't land attacks, yet she could.
Where in the world was there such a cheat skill?
"You're the big shot, right? Things'll get easier once you're dead~"
Sophia bubbled up from the ground like a spring right before the flustered Myung-su's eyes.
Unthinkingly, he lashed out wildly with both daggers at her semi-transparent form.
Behind her back, chained explosions of sword qi forged from Crimson Heaven Demonic Qi erupted.
Yet the semi-transparent Sophia merely smiled, unscathed.
"Ah~ Trying to hit me? Give it a shot. Oh, and my stealth skill? It's unlimited."
Sophia shrugged and drew up her mana.
The dark pink mana gathered thickly in her foot gleamed brightly, morphing into blade aura.
"Just so you know, I never said I wouldn't attack."
With that, she swung her foot with full force to cleave Myung-su in two.
Just as Sophia's unblockable, unavoidable strike was about to connect!
Slash!
Sophia's foot halted above Myung-su's head, as he prepared to unleash Empty Fusion Killing Strike.
"Puhak!"
Sophia's crimson blood splattered across Myung-su's face.
And there, before his eyes, gleamed blue claws.
Barum's.
'Right—the thing immune to attacks on Sophia is her skill. In that case!'
Barum's blue claws, which nullified skills and mana alike, meant he alone could strike her here!
Sophia scowled down at the five blue claws protruding from her gut.
Her head turned slowly, locking eyes with Barum radiating killing intent from behind.
"Ahh... So that's why they say not to put blind faith in skills..."
Her overconfidence in what she'd deemed an invincible cheat skill had backfired, dragging her toward death.
"So close... I had so much fun... Knew it wouldn't work anyway..."
Slash!
As Barum yanked out his blue claws, Sophia's skill dissolved.
"Puhak!"
She dropped to both knees, vitality draining from her eyes.
Myung-su gazed into those eyes and murmured lowly.
"Six Ghost Souls."
Step.
Seong-min positioned himself before Myung-su.
No further commands came.
Just a single chin flick, yet Seong-min nodded as if understanding perfectly, then rose.
He spread both hands and placed them on Sophia's head.
"Hah, so it was you."
He tried peering into Sophia's memories via the divine power lingering in his body.
But Seong-min's eyebrows twitched at her sneering laugh, even on the brink of death.
"That was fun. 'Man's' puppet."
Another soul aware of Man's existence.
It gave Seong-min a momentary pause.
But that was precisely Sophia's gambit.
Thud.
The brief hesitation after her bombshell remark.
That sliver of time was all she needed.
Zooooosh!
Black tattoos bled from Sophia's body like ink, her demonization unraveling as every mark vanished.
"Seong-min! Hurry!"
Sensing the tide turning strangely, Myung-su bellowed to snap Seong-min back to reality.
The dazed Seong-min bit his lip and swiftly reapplied his hands to her head.
But upon withdrawing, he returned empty-handed—no answer as Myung-su desired.
Seong-min bit his lip harder, as if berating himself.
"I'm sorry. My mistake."
"No. You did well."
Myung-su patted the back of the bowing, self-reproaching Seong-min.
Though he hid it, Myung-su himself was deeply shaken.
'A Royal Class knows the true identity of the god Seong-min served?'
Those words, overheard at such close range, shocked not just Seong-min but Myung-su too.
"One Ghost Soul?"
"Ah... I'm sorry."
"Pull it together. The Supreme One's orders aren't finished yet."
Hogun turned to glance at Jin-cheol.
Just as the Supreme One had commanded before, in his absence, Jin-cheol held supreme authority over all their forces.
With Hogun, Myung-su, and Sword Tiger's gazes upon him, Jin-cheol slowly scanned the surroundings.
Then he turned his eyes to Ignito, who couldn't tear his gaze from Sophia's corpse.
"Might I ask a favor of you, Ignito?"
The leader of the Dream's Light Alliance he'd belonged to had just perished.
Though she'd returned altered and become a full enemy, the impact hit hard—she was the Sophia he'd trusted and followed since becoming the first Royal Class.
Yet Ignito quickly steadied himself, sharpening his blurred focus before meeting Jin-cheol's eyes.
"Anything."
Now knowing they served Yong-un, they were allies—fellow passengers on the same ship.
Jin-cheol took a bold step forward at Ignito's hearty assent.
"We're heading to Italy where the Supreme One awaits. Please join us and lend your aid."
"Understood. No worries. Sergio's there, right?"
"Yes, he should be. His goal is... the Demon King's descent."
"......I'm heading out now. Go on ahead."
"Ah! That's not my request. There's something else."
Mu-hee extended her shadows as Ignito parted his flames.
About to depart, their attention snapped to Jin-cheol.
And Jin-cheol's lips curved upward.
His long, slit mouth slowly parted, conveying words to Ignito.
Having dispatched the Ghost Demon Soul Annihilation, Jin-cheol flew straight to Israel.
If the goal was the Demon King's descent, Sergio had only one possible location.
The monastery where countless hunters had gathered per GHO's official summons.
Thud!
Yong-un's drop into the bustling center instantly bathed him in spotlights from the surrounding hunters.
"Whoa! It's the Light of the Sword!"
"That's the guy who just became the seventh Royal Class?"
"Insane..."
An unprecedented case—a Royal Class elevated directly by three others.
With Yong-un's prior feats, no one questioned his prowess.
Who could dare challenge him?
He'd solo-cleared a national C-rank Demonus, announced by none other than the world's strongest hunter, the War God.
"You've arrived."
As Yong-un raised his head after landing amid the clamor, a voice rang out.
It came from the Royal Class perched atop the monastery's highest point.
Sergio.
"Hope the trip wasn't too rough?"
A clash between two leaders waging a shadow war unknown to all.
Yet Sergio's smiling, composed facade betrayed none of his true nature.
Yong-un stared back, face impassive.
'No wonder he's the monster who rules the world.'
Not just brute strength—he knew how to think.
It proved his solo conquest of the world wasn't mere luck.
Sergio...
resembled the Heavenly Demon, the Murim Alliance Lord, the Blood Alliance Sovereign.
'He knows with all these eyes on us, I can't strike recklessly.'
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Sergio applauded.
And he revealed why Yong-un saw him akin to those absolutes who'd trisected the martial world.
"A round of applause for the 'seventh Royal Class,' Light of the Sword, who fights for our world!"
The power to deceive and incite the masses.
Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap.
"Wheeee~"
"Waaaaah!"
"Royal Class! Royal Class!"
"Light of the Sword! Light of the Sword!"
And above all, the judgment and decisiveness to overturn any situation in an instant.
Absolutes who reigned long atop the world harbored no coincidences.
They possessed something others lacked.
And their shared trait?
Precisely what Sergio was demonstrating right now.
'If I attack here... I'll become the demon turning the whole world against me.'
Wasn't it ironic?
The true demon craving the Demon King's descent stood right there, yet the hero slaying demons would become the villain.
Such was the untouchable prowess of the absolutes enthroned above every faction.
Amid the roaring cheers, Yong-un silently glared at Sergio without a word.
Undeterred, Sergio beamed and clapped, puppeteering the entire scene.
'What now...'
He couldn't attack.
But failing to stop Sergio here meant he'd complete his mission in the perfect setup he'd crafted.
Humanity's ultimate foe, heralding the world's doom.
Summoning the Demon King.
Yet charging in blindly would complicate the aftermath.
One misstep, and the foundation he'd built for his family could crumble.
Caught in a deadlock, unable to advance or retreat.
As he clenched his fist and racked his brain furiously—
Fwoosh.
Flames suddenly erupted beside the Sergio at whom Yong-un glowered.
Sergio grimaced at the searing red blaze.
And out stepped the Royal Class rogue.
Ignito.
"Hey! Long time no see?"
Flashing a brilliant grin, he showered crimson flames everywhere in a dazzling display.
The impact was massive.
Every eye locked on Yong-un now swiveled to Ignito beside Sergio.
"Whoa, today's insane! Three Royal Classes!!!"
"Ignito!! Wow!!!!"
"Jackpot! Total jackpot!"
Yong-un frowned at Ignito's uncharacteristically flamboyant entrance.
And Sergio, stuck beside him, was forced into an awkward, strained smile to mask his irritation.
Ignito escalated further, behaving like a true mischief-maker.
Slap!
He slung an arm around Sergio's shoulder like old pals.
For the first time, Sergio's brows furrowed visibly.
But drowned in the hunters' cheers, he scrambled to recompose his expression.
"What's his game?"
As Yong-un puzzled over the bizarre antics—
Familiar presences flooded in around him.
"Supreme One."
Jin-cheol bowed his head.
Then lifted it swiftly, flashing a cunning grin.
"Shouldn't we nab Sergio?"
An ill-fitting smirk on the now intellectual, commanding, dignified Jin-cheol.
Yet Yong-un had seen that smile before.
When Jin-cheol hatched schemes for massive upheavals, flipping every situation on its head.
"As you see, it's this mess. Got a plan?"
"I foresaw this. The method... I'll demonstrate."
Jin-cheol bowed again and pivoted sideways.
There, on the wide-open path ahead, stood Sergio—with Ignito's arm still slung over his shoulder.
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