Chapter 126
The Reader embedded in the ground emitted the sacred flame it had absorbed.
At the same time, the Reader’s battlefield was formed.
The land dried and cracked, and a thick sulfurous stench spread through the air.
Within the entirely ash-colored world, a red hell was born and began devouring the space.
“From now on, Phase 2.”
This battlefield was the optimal combat space for me.
The restraints that had been piled onto my body began to fade as they clashed with the power of the battlefield.
Feeling my body grow lighter, I looked at the Angel.
The Angel was still staring at me as if in shock.
“How can a Demon wield the Flames of Judgment…! What the hell are you?!”
The bastard shouted in desperation.
It seemed he was greatly shocked that I had exerted control over the Flames of Judgment.
Honestly, I hadn’t expected this to be possible either.
When I saw the flames blooming from the Judgment Sword, it felt like I was looking at Infernal Flame, so I simply operated the Asura Divine Art.
Naturally, the Flames of Judgment followed my control.
Compared to the violent Flames of Gehenna, the Angel’s sacred flame was no different from a gentle lamb.
With that thought, I ignited Infernal Flame.
The Judgment Sword he wielded was his greatest weapon.
Rather than taking risks through Demonic Authority, it was far more effective to nullify his attack methods through the Asura Divine Art.
That judgment proved correct.
The Demon’s face fell into confusion.
Flames once again surged around his sword.
In an instant, the flames grew in size and opened their massive jaws to swallow me whole.
“After what just happened, you still haven’t learned your lesson.”
I stretched out my hand toward the raging flames.
The moment the Flames of Judgment touched my hand, they split apart and began to dissipate.
Seeing that, the Angel’s mouth fell wide open.
“Why? Did you think you could overpower me with brute force?”
Beyond the extinguished sacred flames, Infernal Flame began to rise.
Soon, the Infernal Flame covering my entire body spun violently and seeped into me.
Asura Divine Art
Asura Descent
Fighting an Angel without Demonic Authority really left me lacking in physical ability.
Having become pure flame, I charged toward the Angel.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Every time my fist struck the Angel, a violent explosion erupted.
Having already lost the flow to me, he was busy just trying to block my blows.
But his resistance was short-lived.
Soon, my fists shattered his defense.
He could not endure the consecutive strikes, and his guard broke.
Not missing that moment, I concentrated power into my hand.
My hand began to turn blue as it burned fiercely.
“Hoo.”
Taking a short breath, I threw a straight punch.
My blue fist pierced through his solar plexus.
At the moment I struck, the blazing heat erased the surrounding air and then expanded, creating a violent storm.
“Kugh!”
Caught in the explosion of air, the Angel was slammed helplessly into the ground.
“Hoo… tough bastard.”
He was still alive.
Even after taking that hit, he was fine.
Well, that’s why he was the boss.
Releasing Asura Descent, I walked toward him.
He writhed like an insect, trying to get back up.
At that moment, a sacred light began to emanate from his body.
“Not happening.”
I immediately drew upon Demonic Authority and drove a spear into his body.
“Gaaaah!”
A scream burst from his mouth again.
As expected of a natural enemy of Demons, this one could heal himself too.
It wasn’t as grotesque as a Demon’s regeneration, but from the one receiving it, both were equally annoying.
After completely restraining him, I fell into thought for a moment.
The Angel glared at me with bloodshot eyes.
“To be subdued by a Demon and live… it is a disgrace to Angels! Kill me at once!”
“Wait a second. I’m thinking right now.”
Originally, I had intended to send him off painlessly, but one question stopped me.
“If I kill you, will the Fragment be cleared?”
“What nonsense are you spouting! Kill me now!”
He struggled to break free of the restraints.
I considered knocking him unconscious, but it wouldn’t work on someone who could self-heal.
I created a gag with the Dark Relic and shut his mouth.
Anyway, returning to the main point—whether to kill or spare him was extremely important.
The Angel before me was originally the final boss of this Fragment.
In other words, if I killed him here, the dungeon could be cleared as is, and I might be expelled from the Fragment without even obtaining Solis.
I knew the term for this phenomenon.
“A bug…”
To go through all that hardship and gain nothing, only to be kicked out?
That was absolutely unacceptable.
Do they know what I went through?!
Setting aside the effort it took to reach the 4th layer, the battle with the Angel itself was absurd.
Originally, the final boss fight against the Angel was meant to be fought with all restraints lifted.
But because he had intervened mid-trial, I fought while still carrying four restraints.
If I had encountered him on the 5th or 6th layer instead of the 4th, with even more restraints from using Demonic Authority?
I might have actually died.
“Thinking about it again just pisses me off.”
I smacked the back of the Angel’s head once, then made my decision and hoisted him over my shoulder.
If the problem was that the boss had left the boss room and was rampaging through the dungeon, wouldn’t it be solved by catching him and throwing him back into the boss room?
Without a definitive solution, this was the best option.
And so, I set out on a journey to return the escaped boss to his rightful place.
The journey itself was fairly smooth.
Only the 4th layer had been grind-heavy; from the next layers onward, it was relatively easy to find the stairs.
More importantly, once I was armed with Demonic Authority, the wraiths feared me and didn’t dare approach recklessly.
From time to time, the Angel would show signs of struggling after recovering some strength, but each time, I suppressed him again using the Asura Divine Art.
Passing through the final 7th layer, I finally arrived at the boss room where the Angel had resided.
I threw him onto the ground and took a short rest.
Since I wasn’t climbing alone, my stamina had been drained more than expected.
Still, I somehow made it all the way here.
Since I didn’t need to defeat the final boss, I didn’t hold back on the way up…
I looked around the boss room where he originally belonged.
Unlike the other layers, which were filled with ash, this place resembled a paradise.
The space, shaped like an ancient Greek temple, had massive pillars supporting the roof, and beyond them stretched an endless blue sky.
And at the very end of the temple—
An altar.
A crude stone altar bathed in warm sunlight.
I took out the Star of Art that I had carefully kept.
When I placed it on the altar, the Star of Art floated into the air.
Soon, a mystical scene unfolded before my eyes.
The Star of Art, softly glowing as it floated, disappeared beyond the sky.
Not long after, darkness suddenly descended upon the once-blue sky.
Seeing the event proceed normally, I let out a sigh of relief.
I had been worried that the reward altar might not activate.
The arrival of night in the sky was proof that the Star of Art was evolving properly into Solis.
I gazed at the night sky for a moment.
Beautiful stars embroidered the curtain of darkness.
It looked exactly like the sky I had seen through the projector before entering the Fragment.
After a while, the Star of Art—no, Solis—slowly descended onto the altar.
I grasped Solis, which contained the power of the sun.
A powerful solar force pulsed within it.
At that moment, a blue window appeared before me.
【Abnormal clear detected.】
【Forcibly closing the Fragment.】
Cracks spread through the air with a sharp sound as space began to collapse.
The Angel, who had been struggling moments ago, slowly began to scatter as well.
They were quick to implement follow-up measures for the bug.
Even after I had already obtained all the rewards.
Grumbling, I gently stroked Solis.
Since I had obtained the most important item, nothing else really mattered.
---
Chun Ga-eun looked around.
A remote building far from the Academy.
A dome-shaped structure stood there in solitude.
With a lollipop in her mouth, Chun Ga-eun let out a sigh.
“Damn, he came all the way out here.”
Beside her stood Helena.
“That person is really in there? Why would he come to a place like this?”
“How should I know.”
At the blunt reply, Helena frowned.
The two women had come here while tracking the traces of a meteor shower.
He had left almost no traces, making the pursuit difficult.
The only reliable testimony was Helena’s claim that she had seen his silhouette.
If it hadn’t been Helena who said it, they would have ignored it entirely.
Then Chun Ga-eun discovered something strange.
Security cameras at the Academy—which had no blind spots—captured identical individuals existing in different places at the same time.
Unless it was a doppelgänger-type Monster, it had to be someone disguising themselves as him.
And such deception tactics were the specialty of Demons.
The two became convinced that he was Yoo Sung-woo and began tracking him.
Of course, it wasn’t easy.
Yoo Sung-woo was a member of the Student Council and knew better than anyone about the Academy’s surveillance system.
At points where cameras overlapped, he concealed his face and constantly changed his appearance to erase his traces.
So Chun Ga-eun made use of Helena’s Dragon Eyes.
No matter how perfect a disguise was, it was meaningless before eyes that could see through all things.
Even though it was recorded footage, the Dragon Eyes detected faint inconsistencies.
And that led them here.
Entering the Observatory, Chun Ga-eun asked Helena,
“We got the right place, right?”
“Yes, look over there.”
Helena pointed at faint footprints left on the dusty floor.
Seeing that, Chun Ga-eun bit down on her candy with a crunch.
The energy she released enveloped the entire Observatory.
Helena gasped.
With her Dragon Eyes activated, she could tell exactly what Chun Ga-eun had done.
A dense concentration of mana covered the Observatory.
She had spread her Domain, placing the entire building under her control.
A smile formed on her lips.
“Found him.”
“Found him? Is he there?”
“He’s not here.”
“You just said you found him. What does that even mean?”
Ignoring the question, Chun Ga-eun walked toward a certain direction.
Helena hurriedly followed behind her.
Soon, the two arrived at the Celestial Simulation Room.
A dome-shaped space displaying a beautiful night sky.
As Helena admired the scene, her Dragon Eyes caught sight of a projector emitting an unusual aura.
“This is…”
“He’s probably inside that.”
Saying so, Chun Ga-eun placed her hand on the projector.
Startled, Helena quickly stopped her.
“You don’t even know what that is!”
“Don’t worry. A Fragment can’t be interfered with while someone is inside it.”
Fragment? Interference?
Helena tilted her head in confusion.
Chun Ga-eun sat down in one of the viewing seats and gestured to Helena.
“If we wait here, he’ll show up.”
Though unconvinced, Helena followed her words.
The woman before her was a top-tier Hero, on the same level as her father.
Not long after, light burst from the projector, and a man emerged.
A man with jet-black hair and burning golden eyes.
It was Yoo Sung-woo.