LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 395
Chapter 396
Perhaps Yeon-woo is the being who has encountered the Demon King the most in the world.
Considering the future encounters that are sure to come, it was reasonable to predict that Yeon-woo would go down in history as the being who met the Demon King more than anyone else.
From the perspective of Yeon-woo, who could be called a Demon King expert, the oddity of the Heavenly Demon… could only be described as its capacity.
Its presence was on a different level. At every moment, the capacity of its aura that spread like it was consuming the world was on a different dimension.
In short, compared to other Demon Kings, the amount of magical power it possessed was clearly out of the standard.
Legendary treasures said to produce treasure incessantly, like the Philosopher’s Stone, could not compare.
Even now, look, while trading blows, the magical waves emitted by the man were slowly contaminating the world.
Originally, there would have been no place to contaminate, but it was slowly encroaching upon the space that Yeon-woo had purified.
‘One must call it the Demon King of a world, I suppose.’
That trait could in no way be considered ordinary.
The magical power, layered for decades, was being devoured without even a shred of resistance in front of that man’s magical power.
The sword wielded by Yeon-woo was easily blocked by the Heavenly Demon’s hand. The technique used was nothing special. He merely aimed for the sword path and slipped his hand in.
For an Aura Blade to attempt such a thing would be tantamount to not caring for his own wrist.
However, the hand covered in thick magical power effortlessly received Yeon-woo’s sword.
[Haha, it’s different. Completely different. It looks similar at a glance, but can it be this different?]
“What’s different is your body’s stench. How long have you gone without washing that it blocks my sword with stinking slime?”
[…Hmm? Hahaha!]
At Yeon-woo’s biting retort, the Heavenly Demon laughed as if it found it entertaining. The other hand of the Heavenly Demon moved. A hand, not fully opened, slowly approached Yeon-woo’s abdomen.
Seeing that, Yeon-woo hurriedly pulled back. Whatever technique it was, it was certainly not something he could take head-on.
The Doppleganger transformed into a shield, blocking the Heavenly Demon’s hand. Even so, the presence of the magical power condensing beyond the shield was tremendous.
“Damn…!!”
Just the amount gathered in that hand was enough for a mid-tier demon.
Even a mid-tier demon would vanish in an instant if Yeon-woo casually swung his sword.
But if that mid-tier demon, gathering all magical power, were to self-destruct right in front of him, even Yeon-woo would have no way to stop it.
Such was the level of power exploding from the Heavenly Demon’s pure white hand. Yeon-woo extracted his mana to act as a shield in front of him.
Kaboom─!!
With a deafening blast, Yeon-woo’s body flew away. Thankfully, no significant damage was done, likely because he concentrated his magical power.
However, if he continued to fly like this, he would certainly exit the space purified by his tuning.
He didn’t know how great that would be.
But he couldn’t even begin to imagine what would happen if a man holding more magical power than an entire Gate met his own space, filled with magical energy.
Projecting his mana behind him, Yeon-woo halted his momentum in the air.
[What an interesting friend you are.]
In that moment, the Heavenly Demon appeared before him, chuckling. What a creepy little brat.
Thinking that, Yeon-woo awkwardly thrust his sword wrapped in Aura Blade, albeit in an unstable stance.
Clang!!
This time it was the knee. He saw the sword path and raised his knee to block it. In what resembled a martial artist’s traditional motion, Yeon-woo could only let out a wry smile.
Traditional martial arts? No matter how low-grade the magical power, a strike like that could block a missile.
Moreover, the efficiency of magical power was remarkable. It was undoubtedly more than 1.5 times stronger compared to Yeon-woo’s magic, without even considering the low-grade magical energy.
It wouldn’t be possible for the bodies of mid-tier demons to become that sturdy otherwise.
Yet, the Heavenly Demon was pouring in magical power haphazardly, like a broken faucet.
Was it because his capacity was excessive, leading to a loss of control, or was it just that he was a tremendous coward?
In Yeon-woo’s mind, it was the latter. It wouldn’t make sense for the master of all magical energy in this world, a being that fundamentally alters magical abilities, to lack magical control.
That Demon King was essentially living magical energy itself.
‘Somehow, I must land a blow on that body.’
Then, he could tear off that mild-mannered face. What a crazy pervert.
*
“What is this…!!”
Jin Baek-cheon and the Poison King sighed, hurrying along the way. That overwhelming presence of magical energy, felt even over a hundred li away, could only belong to the Heavenly Demon, of that they were certain.
The Heavenly Demon was heading towards the party of Yeon-woo, Dang Sa-ryeon, and Jegal Yeon.
As soon as they sensed the aura, they sprinted toward the location, but even a few minutes would be enough for the Heavenly Demon to wipe out an entire squad.
While Jegal Yeon and Choi Yeon-woo could just possibly hold on, their survival was far from guaranteed.
“Just one of them, please be alive…!!”
“Sa-ryeon…!!”
In desperation, the two raced toward the dimensional gate back to Earth, feeling the intense flow of the internal energy and immense magical power.
Whether it was to be called fortunate or not, it seemed the battle was still ongoing.
“Hurry!!”
“Don’t state the obvious!!”
The two men launched themselves. With their mastery of the realm of movement, it didn’t take long for them to arrive at the battlefield.
“That’s…!!”
Every time a sword was thrust, space shattered.
However, the one facing that sword, the Heavenly Demon, simply blocked it with one arm or leg as if nothing was wrong.
That said, the situation could be called a stalemate. The Heavenly Demon’s attacks weren’t inflicting significant damage on Choi Yeon-woo either.
Of course, that was because the Heavenly Demon wasn’t using any notable techniques yet. But that could be said for Yeon-woo as well.
It was as though they were still in the preliminary stages, both reading each other’s intents.
If so, neither of them could rashly intervene. That man was a hero, one who had already vanquished two Demon Kings.
That meant he surely had some thoughts on the situation. In the middle of that, if the two suddenly intervened, even the Heavenly Demon would have to resort to using his true techniques.
Then, the situation would go awry.
Instead of intervening, the two scanned the surroundings. They sought to understand where the battle had started and what had brought it to this point. Were there any injured?
Fortunately, it seemed that the retreat team had been sent ahead, and Choi Yeon-woo had decided to confront the Heavenly Demon alone, as there were no other bodies or remains in sight.
Breathing a sigh of relief, they could only watch the progress of the battle.
*
‘Why aren’t you helping me?’
Just about to think that. Fortunately, considering that Yeon-woo still appeared unscathed, it seemed they would grant him a bit longer to keep eyes on the Heavenly Demon.
Indeed, those seasoned fighters understood each other well enough.
[How amusing, how amusing. You are the first to stand before me for such a long time, Hero of this world.]
The Heavenly Demon spoke with a tone suggesting he was a benevolent ruler, as Yeon-woo raised his middle finger in response while grasping his sword.
He sure knows how to talk. I hope you enjoy this.
The scornful expression of the Heavenly Demon was enough to harm Yeon-woo’s heart, but regardless, he had a clear understanding of how the Heavenly Demon fought.
He pours overwhelming power in overwhelming range. While paying attention to defense, it’s truly a blend of offense and defense.
Even the space that Yeon-woo had purified with his tuning was once again filling with magical energy merely by its existence, so calling him a living nuclear bomb wouldn’t be an exaggeration.
To put it frankly, he was quite a challenging opponent to deal with.
On top of that, with the secret weapon of the Heavenly Demon’s technique, one could never know what would happen if the Heavenly Demon began to use his true abilities.
But that wasn’t all there was to it. The manner of dealing with the opponent wasn’t drastically different from Christopher.
While Christopher had the upper hand in lethality against individuals and the Heavenly Demon had the advantage in defense, there wasn’t much difference overall.
After all, both men could take a direct thrust with all their might and wouldn’t die, and allowing even one blow could result in death or serious damage.
Boom!!
As Yeon-woo was finalizing his strategy, a surge of magical power was projected towards his face.
Barely evading, the lingering magical essence left in the space began to stretch out its tendrils to consume Yeon-woo.
Experiencing it firsthand, he understood how unpleasant it felt. The places touched by magical energy felt numb, as if they weren’t his own body.
Each time that occurred, Yeon-woo would have to use tuning.
Since the space he could use while fighting was diminishing, he continued to secure space while preventing the invasion of magical energy.
And that was perhaps the best decision Yeon-woo unwittingly made.
‘It’s almost as if he knows everything.’
The Heavenly Demon thought with a grin.
Demons are those who are consumed by magical energy. Not just the warriors of the Magic Church but also the beings that other Demon Kings command share the same fate.
However, there’s a slight difference.
Ordinary Demon Kings form contracts with humans to make them subordinates, passing on their power. That’s a law of worlds.
Hearing of that structure, the Heavenly Demon found it highly inconvenient.
He didn’t need contracts or consent to create his demons. When his magical energy consumes an opponent, it’s game over.
Like it was always meant to be, a subordinate would swear allegiance to him.
That’s why when he mastered the Heavenly Demon Technique and the properties of magical energy within the Magic Church flipped, he was able to seize all the authority within the Magic Church.
Because no one in the Magic Church could counter him anymore. Every being was suffocated in his color.
For that reason, he also sought to acquire the legendary Hero of this world, for he was the only one who could stand against the Heavenly Demon as reported by the Soolma.
His magical power was consistently devoured by some unknown means, making it impossible for him to consume the Hero.
Licking his lips, the red, crimson tongue involuntarily emerged.
It was extraordinarily tempting. If he could bathe that in his color, how thrilling would that feel?
Seeing that unpleasant smile of the Heavenly Demon, Yeon-woo was filled with loathing. There was nothing about his face or behavior that he found agreeable.
(Continued in the next episode)