Chapter 180: The Final Trial
When I opened my eyes, there was nothing.
Just a Void Space where nothing existed.
The only ones there were me and the others.
Park Siwoo tilted his head at the sight.
“This place is……?”
“There’s nothing here.”
I checked Eunha’s condition.
Her condition had begun deteriorating as soon as we arrived here.
She seemed to be suppressing the power boiling inside her, but there was no way she could actually hold it back.
I slowly approached Eunha.
Her face was contorted in agony.
Only then did the others notice that something was wrong with Eunha.
“What? Eunha, are you okay?”
“Your breathing is ragged……. Why are you suddenly like this?”
“Wait, stay away from her.”
The perceptive Dan Chun-woo stepped in front of Park Siwoo and Helena.
Seeing Dan Chun-woo’s rigid expression, Park Siwoo and Helena also stopped.
Only then did they seem to properly notice Eunha’s condition.
Although it was obscured by the pitch-black space, Demonic Energy was boiling around her.
Eunha continued breathing heavily with her lips tightly shut.
She was trying not to show any signs of pain.
“You don’t have to endure it. You don’t need to. The final trial is about severing the foundation of your power.”
“I don’t want to…….”
I wanted to respect her wishes, but this wasn’t a trial where that was possible.
This space itself was stimulating the demonic power sleeping deep within her.
The Power of Gluttony sleeping within Eunha unleashed its hunger.
“Ughhhhh…….”
“Even if you go berserk, we’ll stop you.”
“I don’t want to……!”
Along with her scream, sharp spikes of Demonic Energy burst out from Eunha.
I quickly retreated and avoided them.
Eunha’s expression crumbled when she saw that.
She seemed shaken because she had attacked me against her own will.
“Just think of it as getting a good night’s sleep. When you open your eyes again, everything will be over.”
After saying that, I slowly began moving away from Eunha.
“Everyone, draw your weapons. Don’t go easy on her just because she’s Eunha. If you do, you’ll die.”
“But…….”
“There is no ‘but.’ If the End devours me later, are you going to keep saying something that stupid? Fight with the intent to kill. That’s what’s best for Eunha.”
I began circulating the Infernal Flame of the Asura Divine Art.
Since the foundation of Eunha’s power lay in Demonic Energy, fighting her with Demonic Energy wasn’t a particularly good choice.
Soon, the Void Space gradually began to change.
It was transforming according to Eunha’s Mental Realm, which had become part of the trial.
Rrrrrumble.
The ground rose and twisted.
The others grimaced at the strangely familiar scenery.
The space created by her Mental Realm was none other than a grotesque fusion of Pandemonium’s laboratory and the Academy.
A roar of unknown origin scraped against our ears.
This was the world Eunha had experienced.
“Uaaaaaaaagh!”
Soon, a scream filled with agony erupted from Eunha as she was consumed by Demonic Energy.
Her body had been stained black by Demonic Energy.
That could no longer be called Eunha.
Boom!
She stomped the ground and charged toward me.
Was she trying to take me down first because I possessed the power to resist Demonic Energy?
Even though the Demon within had clearly seized her consciousness, her judgment was excellent.
But Eunha’s attempt was futile.
“Roooooaaaaaar!”
Mana that dominated the space crushed the air.
Dragon Fear.
The Dragon’s Aura, perfected through three years of training, brought Eunha’s movements to a halt.
I hadn’t originally planned to involve myself much in the battle, but this changed things.
The blazing Infernal Flame covered my hand.
Asura Divine Art
True Asura Descent
Having cultivated the Asura Divine Art to its extreme during the first trial, I no longer had any restrictions.
My crimson-stained hand seized Eunha by the throat and slammed her into the ground.
Boom!
The ground overturned, and Park Siwoo and Dan Chun-woo appeared beyond it.
They were finally starting to carry themselves like proper powerhouses.
It might be somewhat difficult, but it seemed they could clear the third trial even without me.
Thunderbolt Piercing Serpent
Swiftness of the Lake and Heaven
Supersonic thrusts became beams of light aimed at Eunha.
At that moment, a strange power began gathering in Eunha’s mouth as she grabbed the hand pinning her down.
What was this?
“Kyaaaaaaaaah!”
The horrific scream created an opening in Dan Chun-woo and Park Siwoo’s attacks.
The deafening roar made it feel as though my brain had been shaken inside my skull.
A horrifying scream combining a Demon’s Pressure and a Banshee’s wail.
Was she imitating Dragon Fear?
Eunha didn’t miss the brief opening she had created.
The Demonic Energy surrounding her entire body transformed into sharp spikes and pierced through me.
Eunha was no longer someone who could be dealt with lightly like before.
My Aura was sucked away through the spikes piercing my body.
I grimaced at the disgusting sensation, as though my blood itself were being drained.
Eunha’s power, which had originally allowed her to absorb another’s strength by chewing through their flesh, had become even stronger thanks to Viden’s experiments.
The Infernal Flame of True Asura Descent surrounding my hand died down.
I shattered the spikes of Demonic Energy and quickly retreated.
Crimson heat began concentrating inside Eunha’s mouth.
Don’t tell me she was making Breath out of Infernal Flame?
I let out an incredulous laugh at the absurd application of her ability.
Had she copied this from Helena too?
Soon, a crimson beam erupted from Eunha’s mouth.
I briefly marveled at its amplified power.
But an imitation was still merely an imitation.
It could never match the real thing.
A violet beam that came flying from somewhere intercepted Eunha’s Breath.
No, merely intercepting it wasn’t enough.
It completely overwhelmed it.
The mighty Dragon’s Breath swallowed Eunha whole.
Helena immediately scolded me.
“You deliberately didn’t block that just now, didn’t you?”
“Because I knew you would.”
“How can a person possibly be that irritating?”
Even as I answered Helena, I stared intently at the place where Eunha had disappeared.
We had landed a major blow with Dragon’s Breath.
Was it about time for Phase Two?
Eunha’s form covered in Demonic Energy had merely been a shell.
Sure enough, an ominous Aura seeped out from between the clouds created by the Breath.
The others sensed it as well and once again began drawing out their full strength.
Then should I start backing out?
Berserk Eunha could serve as a good mock battle before our fight against the End.
I had no intention of meekly surrendering my body to the End, but there was no harm in preparing for the possibility.
I lifted myself into the air and withdrew from the front line.
The others looked troubled when they saw me.
“From now on, I’m focusing solely on support. Unless your lives are actually in danger, I won’t help you, so do your best.”
Contrary to my expectation that they would strongly protest, they kept their mouths shut.
Rather than having anticipated this, they simply had no room to complain because they were too busy keeping their guard up against the enemy before them.
Rrrrrumble!
Along with a violent tremor, a pillar of Demonic Energy surged upward.
The others’ expressions stiffened at the sight of the enormous pillar rising as though it would pierce through a nonexistent ceiling.
“Is that…… a snake?”
The endlessly rising pillar began writhing.
It was an unimaginably enormous snake.
A ravenous serpent that looked as though it wanted to devour everything in existence.
That was the Origin of Predation coiled within Eunha.
“Keeeeeeeh!”
The creature writhed its enormous body.
Simply moving its gigantic body was a catastrophe in itself.
Park Siwoo, Helena, and Dan Chun-woo scattered in different directions.
Helena transformed into her complete half-human, half-dragon form and drew the serpent’s attention.
A bombardment of Mana led by her Breath.
Under Helena’s will, Mana became as docile as a lamb and obeyed her command.
Condensed Mana formed into spheres and smashed against the serpent’s head.
“Keeeeeeeh!”
Its body began to transform.
It was as though armor had covered its entire body.
As its size increased and created more areas vulnerable to attack, it had increased its defenses to compensate.
Helena stared in shock.
Its enormous size had already made attacking it seem daunting, and now that it had transformed like that, it must have seemed even more overwhelming.
But there was no need to be intimidated by its size.
Its weakness was obvious.
Sure enough, I saw Dan Chun-woo racing up the serpent’s body.
He tore through its armor-like scales as though they were sheets of paper, drove his sword into its body, and began sprinting along it.
Before long, his body was dyed crimson with blood.
The serpent thrashed even more violently.
It once again began altering its body.
The hardened armor vanished, and sharp spikes rose in its place.
Dan Chun-woo, who had been racing across its gigantic body, was knocked away and plummeted toward the ground.
Helena reached out and caught him.
A brief conversation passed between them.
“Its Mana is concentrated in its head. You can buy me time while I charge my Breath, right?”
“Of course.”
Helena immediately hurled Dan Chun-woo toward the serpent.
The serpent seized the opportunity and opened its enormous maw, attempting to swallow Dan Chun-woo whole.
“Haaaaah.”
Dan Chun-woo took a deep breath, and the tip of his sword pointed toward the sky.
The blade of Mu-a became enveloped in light and manifested Aura Force.
The radiance of the Aura Force became a single ray of light within the dark Fragment.
Great Possession of Fire and Heaven
Dan Chun-woo’s sword traced a circle before driving a massive sword strike into the serpent’s maw.
“Keeeeeeeh!”
The serpent screamed.
At the same time, its tail swung like a whip and struck Dan Chun-woo.
Unable to avoid it in time, Dan Chun-woo was sent flying far into the distance.
This time, Helena couldn’t save him.
She was also gathering her Breath for a powerful finishing blow.
Natural Mana was converging around Helena.
I threw myself forward in her place and caught the falling Dan Chun-woo.
The flow of battle wasn’t good.
Their attacks were only enraging the serpent without dealing a decisive blow.
After knocking Dan Chun-woo away, the serpent turned its gaze toward Helena.
Helena, who was gathering an enormous amount of Mana for her Breath, was far too tempting a target.
Damn, had it failed after all?
I thought of Park Siwoo, who had disappeared from the battle at some point.
The Infernal Flame of the Asura Divine Art began blazing.
Boom!
At that moment, a violent explosion rang out, and the serpent’s head, which had been about to devour Helena, was knocked aside by a tremendous impact.
Helena’s face brightened as she shouted.
“Did it work?”
Beyond the falling serpent’s head, I saw Park Siwoo wrapped in starlight.
But his expression wasn’t good.
Had he failed?
After withdrawing from the battle, he had attempted to manifest Origin in order to inflict a fatal wound on the serpent.
But I couldn’t sense from Park Siwoo the brilliant radiance that appeared when Origin was manifested.
I shouted at them.
“Don’t let your guard down!”
The serpent swung its enormous body toward the two of them.
Helena unleashed the Breath she had been gathering and blocked it.
The tremendous power of the Breath blasted a hole through the creature’s body.
“Keeeeeeeh!”
At last, they had landed a truly effective blow.
But that had originally been Helena’s trump card, intended to inflict a fatal wound.
In other words, they currently had no way to finish the creature off.
Should I help them a little?
I had intended to avoid interfering unless absolutely necessary, but it would be troublesome if Park Siwoo couldn’t fulfill his role properly.
Dan Chun-woo, who had briefly lost consciousness after being struck by the serpent, suddenly sprang to his feet and charged toward it again.
I immediately headed toward Park Siwoo.
There was no need for conversation.
I placed a hand against Park Siwoo’s back and poured my Aura into him.
Our senses began to connect.
“From now on, feel this carefully. Feel how Origin is manifested.”
I began manifesting Origin through the Asura Divine Art.
The essence of Origin was the harmonization of the world and myself.
To perceive myself as a miniature universe and a single star, then manifest that existence into the greater universe—the phenomenal world.
Endless power began surging from deep within my body.
That uncontrollable power erupted outward and began radiating brilliant light.
A ray of light fell across Park Siwoo’s face as he witnessed it.
I hurled him toward the serpent.
Park Siwoo shot toward it at tremendous speed.
With his eyes tightly shut, he began drawing out his Mana.
A faint yet brilliant light began flowing from the spear clenched tightly in his hand.
Origin
Having become a self-burning star, Park Siwoo pierced straight through the serpent’s head.