Chapter 146
The Jet-Black Sword wrapped in dense Demonic Energy exploded forth.
Crimson flames burned through the Death Knight’s body.
The Death Knight made from a Demon’s corpse screamed in agony.
“KREEEEEEGH!”
“You’re noisy.”
A piercing ringing echoed through my ears as my head spun.
This is why Demons are such a pain.
Their physical abilities were monstrously overwhelming, and every single action they took inflicted debuffs as well.
But even so, it wasn’t enough to change the outcome of a battle that was already over.
I drove my fist directly into the bastard’s mouth as it screamed.
At the same time, Giant’s Spear was summoned.
The spear, carrying overwhelming mass, aimed straight for the creature’s core.
Crunch!
The core maintaining the Demon corpse shattered into pieces beneath Giant’s Spear.
“Kkeugh…….”
A dying groan escaped its mouth.
Watching the creature, I took a moment to catch my breath.
Even though it was a Death Knight made from a Demon’s corpse, in the end, it was still just a corpse.
It couldn’t compare to the true power of an actual Demon.
Of course, even if I said that, the battle hadn’t been easy at all.
Even without Authorities or intelligence, Demons were overwhelmingly powerful.
Though honestly, Lord Biden, the one who created this thing, probably understood that better than I did after fighting it only once.
That was likely why he modified the Demon body.
Its strength rivaled the Authority of Mighty Strength, and thanks to that, my stamina consumption had been considerable.
The Death Knight’s body oxidized and scattered away.
Using the Authority of Restoration, I revitalized my body while slowly loosening my stiff muscles.
For a mere mid-boss, it was ridiculously strong.
Thankfully, the soul controlling the Death Knight’s body belonged to a Monster, making its attack patterns easy to read.
If Lord Biden himself had been controlling it while bombarding me with magic, I honestly wasn’t confident I could’ve handled it.
Still—
Lord Biden should be arriving soon.
There was no way he wouldn’t notice the disappearance of the guardian protecting his heart.
Sure enough, space twisted as a black vortex formed.
Speak of the devil, and Lord Biden appeared.
Would it kill him to give me a little break first?
The skeletal Lich appeared before me, his black cloak fluttering.
“Devil Knight?”
Confusion mixed into his voice.
He was probably having difficulty understanding the current situation.
Even if he realized someone had manipulated him, he likely never imagined who was behind it.
“Could you perhaps explain what exactly is happening here?”
Contrary to my expectation that he would immediately attack me in a rage, he instead sought conversation.
I understood why.
Because I was the Vessel of the End.
To create the world they desired so desperately, they couldn’t kill me.
And above all, Lord Biden had already experienced firsthand how terrifying the Heavenly Demon was.
He likely sensed that provoking me carelessly could trigger another conflict with her.
Honestly, that was fortunate for me.
The battle against the Death Knight had drained a considerable amount of stamina.
Talking before the fight gave me time to fully prepare.
“As you can see. Or perhaps you can’t see because you don’t have eyeballs?”
“Do not overstep yourself. I am exercising extraordinary patience at this very moment.”
Brilliant light radiated from his eyes.
He really was furious.
“Could it be… was all of this the Heavenly Demon’s command?”
“I don’t know why my Master is being brought into this.”
Apparently, he sensed the sincerity in my voice.
“Then why exactly did you do such a thing?”
His tone genuinely sounded unable to comprehend my actions.
“I have done nothing that should’ve earned your hatred. Or was it my position that tempted you?”
“Are you seriously asking that?”
“Then why attack me?!”
A furious roar burst from his mouth.
“It was finally my opportunity to obtain the Body of the Living! I could have evolved into a higher existence—perhaps even surpassed Demons themselves!”
“Maybe you fastened the wrong button from the very beginning.”
“From the very beginning…? Come to think of it, you were also the one who informed me about the laboratory. Don’t tell me, you—”
“You realized it pretty late.”
He seemed to think I targeted him out of some personal grudge.
But he was wrong.
From the very beginning, my goal had always been the downfall of Pandemonium.
And to achieve that, the High-ranking Executives of Pandemonium were enemies I absolutely had to overcome.
Lord Biden had simply been unlucky enough to become the first target.
The Jet-Black Sword Levatein, dyed crimson, materialized in my hand.
My body had recovered to around seventy percent.
Normally, that still wouldn’t be enough to fight Lord Biden.
But he too had lost around forty percent of his strength.
Not only had he failed to recover from the aftermath of his battle with the Heavenly Demon, he had also taken Solis’s sunlight head-on.
On top of that, his army had been dispatched toward the laboratory.
And most importantly—
He couldn’t kill me.
Subduing an opponent was far more difficult than killing them.
In other words, this was entirely manageable.
The tip of Levatein pointed toward Lord Biden.
The Flames of Gehenna gathered at the sword’s tip before firing forward as a beam of light.
---
Laszlo stared blankly at the scene before him.
The army of his master, Lord Biden, was being utterly crushed.
And all by a mere group of humans.
Chun Ga-eun’s greatsword tore the Flesh Golem’s body apart piece by piece.
The gigantic body of the Flesh Golem slowly collapsed.
Not wanting to fall behind, Park Siwoo and the others also began fighting the Undead.
Together with deafening thunder, countless lightning spears pierced through the Undead.
Park Siwoo’s starlight swept across the battlefield while Helena’s roar suppressed the movements of the Undead.
Laszlo ground his teeth.
The effects of the sunlight emitted by Solis still lingered.
Because of that, the Undead couldn’t properly display their full strength.
Facing the group of Heroes, the Undead looked like candles before a storm.
Laszlo’s gaze shifted toward No. 66.
Taking advantage of the chaos, No. 66 was trying to escape.
‘I cannot allow the body meant for my lord to escape.’
Stretching out his hand, Laszlo began absorbing the blood scattered across the altar.
As he did, the blackened skin burned by the sunlight gradually recovered.
Once his body healed, Laszlo transformed into mist.
He intended to capture the fleeing No. 66.
In mist form, Laszlo passed through the Undead Legion and rapidly closed the distance toward her.
Clang!
A streak of starlight flying from somewhere struck Laszlo’s hand aside.
Laszlo felt genuine disbelief.
To think someone could damage him while he was in mist form.
The hand that blocked the spear burned as though it had touched fire.
‘The power of Purification?’
Soon, Park Siwoo, Helena, and Dan Chun-woo appeared before him.
Ever since the battle began, Park Siwoo had never once taken his eyes off No. 66.
Partly because he was curious about the woman who resembled Yoo Sung-woo so closely—
But also because Chun Ga-eun had given him direct orders.
Helena glanced toward No. 66.
No. 66 wore a blank expression as though she couldn’t comprehend the situation unfolding before her.
A face that looked exactly like Yoo Sung-woo’s.
‘Are they siblings?’
They resembled each other too much.
For some reason, it complicated Helena’s feelings.
At that moment, No. 66 started running again.
She couldn’t fully understand the current situation, but instinctively, she knew this was both her first and last chance to escape.
It was practically an opportunity granted by heaven.
Thinking that, No. 66 ran with all her strength.
“Where do you think you’re going?!”
Laszlo pushed past Park Siwoo and rushed after No. 66.
Ordinary eyes could never follow his speed.
But no ordinary humans existed here.
Brilliant starlight Sword Aura ignited around Park Siwoo’s spear.
Star Sword Summon.
A powerful technique that had become the inspiration for Yoo Sung-woo’s Asura Descent.
The spear wrapped in starlight Sword Aura shot after Laszlo.
Dozens of streaks of starlight split into hundreds, targeting him simultaneously.
The sight resembled a meteor shower falling from the heavens.
KWAAGAGAGANG!
With a massive explosion, Laszlo was blasted backward.
After allowing another attack through, veins bulged across Laszlo’s forehead.
“You continue hastening your deaths despite my mercy.”
“You cannot touch that woman, Vampire.”
“If you’re relying on the power of Purification, then your thinking is gravely mistaken.”
As he spoke, crimson light erupted from his eyes.
The blood scattered across the battlefield began rising drop by drop.
Everyone was momentarily captivated by the mysterious sight.
Then the floating blood droplets transformed into tiny spikes and targeted Park Siwoo and the others.
But his attack couldn’t harm anyone present.
Dozens of sword slashes cut down the raining blood spikes.
After blocking them, Dan Chun-woo spoke to Helena.
“You secure the woman who resembles that bastard.”
“Will you two really be alright?”
Helena asked worriedly.
She knew better than anyone how much stronger Park Siwoo and Dan Chun-woo had become over the past three months.
But their opponent was a direct subordinate of a Pandemonium High-ranking Executive.
The Mana he emitted and the abilities he wielded were terrifyingly powerful.
Even so, Dan Chun-woo responded with a cold sneer.
“The two of us are more than enough.”
“…….”
At his overconfident declaration, Helena stared at him with dead-cold eyes.
She didn’t entirely trust him, but there weren’t many alternatives.
Deciding to believe the two of them, Helena immediately sprinted after No. 66.
Behind her retreating figure, magic, swords, and spears clashed wildly, turning the battlefield into utter chaos.
‘Please let those two defeat that thing safely.’
Leaving them behind, Helena immediately pursued No. 66.
Her pupils split vertically as Dragon Eyes manifested.
The Dragon’s vision capable of piercing through all things traced No. 66’s trail.
She was fleeing toward the exit they had entered from.
Helena recalled No. 66’s appearance, which looked exactly like Yoo Sung-woo’s.
‘Was our attack on this laboratory really just a coincidence?’
A sudden raid on a Pandemonium laboratory after arriving under the excuse of Student Council bonding.
And inside that place, not only a Pandemonium High-ranking Executive—
But also a woman who looked exactly like Yoo Sung-woo.
The image of Yoo Sung-woo from the time she met him alongside Chun Ga-eun surfaced in Helena’s mind.
She had lost consciousness due to rampaging, but there was no way the two of them lacked the strength to suppress her.
‘Perhaps some kind of deal was made between them.’
Then she suddenly remembered the time Hell manifested at the Academy.
Yoo Sung-woo handing an item to her despite her fear of Demons.
Yoo Sung-woo blocking Berid’s Breath after he transformed into a Drake.
If he were truly a servant of Pandemonium, there would’ve been no reason for him to protect them.
‘Come to think of it… the jewel that woman was holding.’
She only saw it briefly, but she remembered clearly.
The woman who looked exactly like Yoo Sung-woo had been holding something identical to the item Yoo Sung-woo once handed her.
And that very item had served as the signal for their infiltration.
Various clues began fitting together inside Helena’s mind like pieces of a puzzle.
‘Could it be that he had no choice but to become Pandemonium’s servant in order to protect his younger sister?’
If that were true, then both his behavior at the Academy and his identity as a Demon would finally make sense.
At that moment—
A brand-new misunderstanding took root inside Helena’s mind.