Chapter 137
About a week had passed since the incident at Cheonji of Mount Baekdu.
Sunlight shattered through the window.
I frowned at the pouring sunlight.
Another day had begun.
The savory scent of rice tickled my nose, waking me completely.
For the past week, I had focused entirely on recovering my body.
The divine power Sandalphon had implanted into me was slowing my recovery.
The door opened, and Wol-ah walked in.
She carried a small tray in her hands.
“Are you feeling a little better?”
“I’m almost fully recovered. So you really don’t have to keep bringing meals to my room anymore.”
Wol-ah remembered nothing about being possessed by Sandalphon.
To her, the events at Mount Baekdu were merely a fun outing.
It felt unsettling somehow, but it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
There was no reason for a child to remember getting possessed by a powerful soul and fighting amidst bloodshed.
After setting the tray down, Wol-ah gestured toward me.
I climbed down from the bed and sat opposite her, lifting my spoon.
“Wol-ah. It’s been porridge for an entire week now. Can’t I at least have some side dishes?”
“No! What if your stomach gets upset?!”
Even so, three meals of porridge every day for a whole week?
Does she actually remember everything after all?
“Is Master away?”
“Yes. She’s been leaving often lately.”
“You probably won’t be seeing her much for a while. We might even get visitors.”
“Visitors?”
At the word visitors, Wol-ah’s eyes sparkled.
After seeing only me and the Heavenly Demon for so long, the idea must have sounded exciting to her.
But the guests coming here weren’t exactly people to welcome warmly.
Most likely, they would be Demons coming to confront the Heavenly Demon for interfering in Pandemonium’s affairs.
After declaring she would seize power within Pandemonium, the Heavenly Demon immediately began acting.
She started actively interfering with the operations of Pandemonium, which had previously run smoothly.
Recalling that, I smiled.
The more I think about it, the funnier it gets.
I could only imagine how bewildered they must be by the Heavenly Demon suddenly barging in and demanding work for herself.
I fully supported her actions.
After all, her behavior would throw Pandemonium into massive chaos.
In truth, Pandemonium operated surprisingly smoothly for a group of Demons.
That was because the High-ranking Executives enforcing the Ironblood Law possessed immense and stable power.
They restrained one another, occasionally joined forces, and maintained their own balance.
But what would happen if a massive bomb called the Heavenly Demon suddenly dropped into the middle of all that?
Wouldn’t they begin fighting over their positions, or form alliances to avoid losing power?
No matter how things unfolded, the Heavenly Demon’s actions would serve as an excellent way to hinder Pandemonium’s movements.
And while they dealt with that chaos, I intended to make my own preparations.
Just because the Heavenly Demon was moving didn’t mean I could sit around doing nothing.
There was about one month left before No. 66’s escape.
It was time to lay the groundwork and prepare arrangements for her escape.
The timing was perfect as well.
Thanks to the Heavenly Demon, the High-ranking Executives would all be occupied.
And while they were distracted, I intended to infiltrate the laboratory where No. 66 was being held.
No. 66 was also one of the main playable characters with significant importance.
Especially in battles against multiple opponents, she was absurdly efficient.
If Dan Chun-woo was the strongest playable character in one-on-one combat, then No. 66 was the strongest in large-scale battles.
In other words, there was no harm in building favor with her ahead of time.
Once she entered the Academy, chances to meet her would become rare.
If possible, I also intended to eliminate Biden during No. 66’s escape.
Previously, the outcome had been uncertain, but after this incident, I was convinced.
Now that Solis could seal away Biden’s Undead, I felt confident I could defeat him even with my current strength.
Having the Demon of the End control my body had been a complete nightmare, but ironically, the battle he fought while using my body elevated me to an entirely new level.
The way he controlled power, his movements, and his combat style remained vividly engraved into my body.
And this realization extended beyond just Demonic Authorities—it even changed my understanding of mana control itself.
On top of that, there was the catastrophe-level Authority formed by combining three Demonic Authorities together—
The Greatsword of Cataclysm.
Its destructive power was truly apocalyptic.
It had even effortlessly shattered the hidden world created by the Angels.
Of course, I had no intention of using it recklessly.
Its destructive power was too overwhelming, and honestly, even if I tried again, there was no guarantee I could successfully recreate it.
Even combining two Authorities required controlling opposing forces and forcing them to merge, and the mental strain consumed in that process was no joke.
But combining three Authorities?
I hadn’t even attempted it again, yet I already knew.
The current me couldn’t do it.
Maybe…… once my Corrosion Rate surpassed 20%, it might become possible.
But I had no intention of raising my Corrosion Rate any further.
Increasing the Corrosion Rate was no different from shortening my own lifespan, so why the hell would I willingly raise it?
If anything, I intended to restrain my use of Demonic Authorities.
Demonic Authorities were powerful and convenient, but they also made people dependent on them.
Of course, I’d still have to use them when necessary.
Demonic Authorities currently accounted for over half of my combat power.
But no matter what happened, I absolutely had to avoid increasing the Corrosion Rate.
Based on my experiences so far, the Corrosion Rate increased under roughly three conditions.
First, when obtaining a new Authority.
Second, when combining Authorities.
And finally, when killing a Demon or stealing an Authority through a Demon’s Heart.
In other words, the stronger my demonic power became, the more the Corrosion Rate increased.
The terrifying thing about the Corrosion Rate was how low the increases seemed at first.
Except for special cases, it usually only rose by around 1%, and even large increases rarely exceeded 3%.
Which meant if I got careless, it could creep up on me like credit card debt before suddenly destroying me.
So I absolutely couldn’t abuse Demonic Authorities.
At that moment, Wol-ah’s voice interrupted my thoughts.
“Sung-woo-nim! Why did you suddenly stop eating?”
“Sorry. I was just thinking for a moment.”
“Do you hate the porridge that much?”
At Wol-ah’s words, I nodded vigorously.
Honestly, I could tolerate it for a day or two, but after eating porridge three times a day for an entire week, even looking at something white made me nauseous.
Worse, Wol-ah wouldn’t even give me soy sauce.
She claimed strong flavors might shock my stomach or something.
If one spoonful of soy sauce could shock my stomach, I would’ve already died from sodium overdose long ago.
After thinking for a moment, Wol-ah muttered quietly.
“Heavenly Demon-nim said you should only eat porridge for about a month.”
Wait, what did you just say?
It felt as though someone had smashed my head with a hammer.
So the mastermind behind feeding me porridge three times a day for an entire week was the Heavenly Demon?
An overwhelming sense of betrayal surged through me.
I wondered why she hadn’t hit or scolded me—
Was this how she vented her anger instead?
Letting out a small sigh, I stopped thinking about it.
I’d be leaving soon anyway, and once I did, I could finally eat real food again.
Just as Wol-ah got up to fetch side dishes, I called out to her.
“Wol-ah, don’t go. Sit down for a moment. I have something to tell you.”
“Something to tell me?”
“Yeah. Starting tomorrow, I’ll be leaving the residence for a while.”
“What? What are you talking about all of a sudden? Your body isn’t even fully healed yet.”
I shook my head at Wol-ah’s worried voice.
Honestly, a week of rest had already been more than enough.
Now that my body had recovered, it was time to get back to work.
At my words, Wol-ah’s eyes drooped sadly.
Even though she had grown slightly, she was still a child.
I gently stroked her lowered head.
“Don’t look so down. I’ll come back.”
“When will you return?”
“Probably…… about a month.”
Come to think of it, that meant Wol-ah would be alone for an entire month.
Of course, it wasn’t like I spent my time playing with her while staying here, but the difference between having someone around and being completely alone was still huge.
Still, what choice did I have?
There was no one else who could do this.
“I’ll bring back lots of tanghulu when I return.”
“Okay…….”
---
A massive storm of mana raged through the training grounds.
BOOM! CLANG! THUD!
At the center of the storm, two figures swung their weapons at each other.
A spear overflowing with the Power of the Star shot forward heavily.
Dan Chun-woo blocked it with the flat of his blade and clenched his teeth.
THUD!
With the sound of impact, Dan Chun-woo’s body was violently blasted backward.
Park Siwoo immediately seized the opportunity and lunged after him.
Starlight exploded from Park Siwoo’s body, adding momentum to his charge.
Seeing this, Dan Chun-woo stabbed his sword into the ground to steady himself while simultaneously channeling mana into the earth through the blade.
BOOM!
The ground of the training arena exploded upward, obscuring Park Siwoo’s vision.
Yet despite that, Park Siwoo never faltered and continued charging straight ahead.
His spear split into two and slashed through empty air.
At that sight, confusion filled Park Siwoo’s face.
Then a massive Aura erupted from the sky.
Dan Chun-woo had leapt high into the air and unleashed his ultimate technique.
The swordsmanship passed down to him by the Sword Emperor.
A sword overflowing with tyrannical force descended toward Park Siwoo.
But Park Siwoo wasn’t someone who would simply accept that attack.
Realizing it was dangerous to take Dan Chun-woo’s sword head-on, Park Siwoo let out a short shout.
Dan Chun-woo’s expression hardened upon seeing Park Siwoo’s technique.
“That technique……?”
The technique Park Siwoo used looked extremely familiar to Dan Chun-woo.
Because it strongly resembled the True Asura Descent Yoo Sung-woo used in the past.
The difference, however, was that Park Siwoo’s casting speed was overwhelmingly faster than Yoo Sung-woo’s had been back then.
Dan Chun-woo poured even more strength into his sword and swung it down toward Park Siwoo.
BEEEEEP—!
Just before their weapons collided, the buzzer signaling the end of the spar rang out.
At the same time, both of their Auras instantly vanished.
Seeing that, stunned voices erupted from the surrounding spectators.
Among the Special Class students gathered from the Academy’s greatest talents, the two of them displayed overwhelmingly exceptional growth.
Wiping the sweat from his body with a towel, Park Siwoo approached Dan Chun-woo.
“You really are incredible. I trained like I was going to die for an entire month, yet we’re still evenly matched.”
Park Siwoo was genuinely shocked by Dan Chun-woo’s progress.
Inside the Trial Tower, Park Siwoo had spent nearly an entire year focused solely on training.
Because of that, he believed no one his age could catch up to him.
And yet, despite the difference in time they experienced, the two had achieved nearly identical levels of growth.
‘Seriously amazing. What kind of method did he use?’
Park Siwoo looked at Dan Chun-woo with admiration.
Unaware that Dan Chun-woo thought of Park Siwoo as a complete monster as well.
There was a reason behind Dan Chun-woo’s explosive growth.
And that reason was a powerful motivation.
The absolute powerhouse he encountered in the Hellified Academy.
She had fluttered her alluring black hair as she saved him from the Drake’s Breath—
Then crushed the Drake with a single punch.
And that image remained deeply engraved in Dan Chun-woo’s mind, refusing to leave him for the past month.
Dan Chun-woo, age 17.
He had just experienced his first love far too late.