< Chapter 191: Overwhelming (2) >
The sky opened.
It’s not a metaphor; the sky literally split apart.
The sky, which had been obscured by a heavy snowfall, brightened in an instant and then turned pitch black just as quickly.
I know better than anyone what this phenomenon means.
“…The advent of the Demon God.”
Whenever the Demon God appeared in the original work, this phenomenon always accompanied him.
A sight as if the pitch-black darkness is tearing the sky in half.
It’s certain.
“Why is the Demon God appearing now?”
Ai looked at me with a bewildered expression.
“…Because it’s a peripheral area where neither force is fully prepared. He probably thought it was worth trying.”
It was a simple reason that didn’t require much thought.
If only Lucifer and Mephisto were here, it would be different.
But since two of Savior’s Four Stars, Michael, and Aqua, have appeared, it’s only natural for the Demon God to turn his attention here.
“Did you let Mephisto go because you anticipated this?”
While looking at Aqua, who was still on alert in front of me, I asked.
“Right. My role was always to be prepared for when the Demon God appeared.”
As expected.
“So, what will you do now?”
The appearance of the Demon God means there’s a high probability that his minions will also appear.
If that happens, even if they’re Michael and Aqua, they won’t last a minute.
“Looking at us, what do you think we’ll do?”
Looking at the deepening darkness, Aqua started to concentrate her magic power too.
To anyone watching, she didn’t look like she was trying to escape.
“Don’t tell me, you plan to have a full-blown battle here?”
“That’s correct.”
The next moment, the darkness exploded.
A scene where lightning seems to flash within the dark clouds.
At that moment, Aqua plunged her ice sword, filled with magic power, into the ground.
“Not having to worry about protecting someone and just fighting is something we’ve longed for too!”
From the ground, hundreds, no, thousands of ice flowers began to bud.
And as if drawing sustenance from the darkness raining from the sky, these buds bloomed fully.
“Spirit Magic! Bow of Nature!”
The fully bloomed ice flowers emitted a pure light of water and then shattered.
‘A large-scale spirit summoning spell using the cold air that fills the earth…’
This must be the reason why Ini and the Heavenly God sent Aqua.
An insurance policy in case the Demon God appeared.
‘And the fact that this frozen land is the best field for her must be another reason.’
The origins of water and ice attributes are the same.
Naturally, in a place abundant with cold air, the power of the Water Spirit King becomes stronger.
“Seo-yul.”
Evil energy rained from the sky, clashing with the pure and clear energy erupting from the earth, creating turbulent flows of magic power.
Looking at these turbulent flows, Ai trembled with unease.
I felt the same way.
The hair all over my body stood on end.
Despite being far away, I could feel an incredibly intense force.
If one were in the center of that energy, they wouldn’t last a second before being torn apart.
‘…Is this the remnants of magical power?’
The shocking thing is that this is the result of a natural collision of magical power.
That fact was incredibly shocking.
The magical power was becoming increasingly intense.
Unable to withstand the fierce flow of magical power, Ai groaned and knelt on the ground.
I was in a similar situation.
Cold sweat dripped all over my body, and my throat went dry with anxiety.
Tense anticipation.
It felt like something was about to happen any second amidst this scene.
Ping-!
There was a sound of something snapping.
With that sound as a cue, all the noises of the world disappeared.
As if even the snowstorm and sharp winds were paying homage to a divine arrival.
All the noise ceased.
Thud, thud.
Amid the silence, someone’s footsteps echoed.
Heavy and powerful.
In sync with those footsteps, waves of magical power spread in all directions.
As if claiming the world as its own, it spread far and wide.
Flash!
In response, a pillar of light surged from the ground.
A warm summer sunlight-like aura flickered, seemingly trying to purify the darkness.
Amidst the mingling of light and darkness, a heavy voice resonated from the sky.
“Why has the perpetual runner, the loser, come today? Ready to humbly accept defeat?”
The moment I heard it, genuine chills ran down my spine.
It felt like I was sticking my head vulnerably into a tiger’s mouth, accompanied by intense fear, making my body stiffen.
“Have you not considered that I’ve revealed myself because I’m fully prepared to deal with you?”
In response to that deep bass, a clear high-pitched voice resonated.
“No matter what preparations you’ve made, there’s no chance I’ll be defeated.”
The rhythmic footsteps halted, and from the split sky, a man appeared.
He was 190cm tall.
Red pupils set in black sclera.
Elegant horns on his head.
Six pairs of demon wings on his back.
Pitch-black long hair.
The Demon God smirked.
“Arrogant, aren’t you? Is arrogance a trait of the demon race? Or has everyone learned to be arrogant by watching you?”
The pillar of light gradually disappeared, and from within, a woman walked out.
She was about 160cm tall.
Mysterious pupils.
Six pairs of angel wings.
Lustrous silver long hair.
The Heavenly God looked up at the Demon God with a disdainful gaze.
Between the gazes of the two representing light and darkness, intense sparks flew.
“Hehehe. Heavenly God, you’re still quite the beauty to behold.”
Behind the Demon God, a Demon who looked like a troublemaker revealed himself.
“The more I look, the more you’re to my taste.”
He said with a lecherous gaze, licking his lips.
“Shut up, Asmodeus. Whenever you speak, it casts doubt on the dignity of our Lord.”
From behind the male, a female voice rang out. She was clad in pitch-black armor.
“Don’t be so stiff, Balrog. Being rigid should be reserved for your armor and chest. Heh heh.”
“…This bastard.”
The woman’s voice grew colder.
“Both of you, quiet. If you’re planning to make a scene in front of our Lord, I’ll kill you myself.”
From behind them, a giant man over 4 meters tall walked forward.
The halberds he held in each hand seemed to attest to his immense strength.
“First, put on some clothes before talking about being disgraceful, Behemoth.”
Asmodeus’s expression grew even fiercer.
“…Filthy bastards.”
Balrog felt the same way.
It was clear to anyone watching that the trio didn’t get along.
“All of you, quiet down. You’re annoying.”
Lucifer approached the three with a grim expression.
“You, who couldn’t even handle a simple task, better not speak as if giving orders. It’s disgusting.”
Asmodeus gave a sneering laugh and flipped Lucifer off.
“…This bastard.”
Correction.
It wasn’t just the three of them – all four had bad blood between them.
With the growling foursome, numerous Demon God soldiers gradually began to reveal themselves in the background.
“It’s noisy.”
The Demon God, still locked in a staring contest with the Heavenly God, muttered under his breath.
If one could rank the charisma in one’s voice, the Demon God’s would probably be at least SS-rank, given its intensity.
“…I apologize.”
Lucifer was the first to kneel on one knee.
“I apologize.”
The other three did the same.
They knelt on one knee, bowed their heads, and sought forgiveness.
‘…It’s pretty much the hierarchy I know.’
It was the same in the original work.
For the demon race, strength is the ultimate truth; none of them think of bowing to each other.
That’s why their relationships are so strained.
“They’re really consistent.”
From behind the Heavenly God, Ini walked out, arms crossed behind her neck.
“The more I think about being bested by those fools, the more pathetic it feels.”
Grinding her teeth, her expression conveyed a desire to chew them up and swallow them right then and there.
“I’ll handle those guys on behalf of the Lord.”
Behind Ini, a blonde male figure emerged.
He was the Gold Dragon ‘Callius’, the aide to Dragon Lord Ini and a representative of one of the Four Stars.
“Alright, I’ll leave them to you guys.”
Following Callius, four dragons emerged.
Trailing them, the main forces of the Savior, including the Angel beings, gradually revealed themselves.
“Lord Heavenly God.”
“Michael. You’ve done well.”
Michael, covered in various wounds, knelt before the Heavenly God.
“I apologize. I failed to handle the apostate again today.”
Biting his lip with a frustrated expression.
“It’s okay. You’ve done well.”
The Heavenly God smiled faintly and placed a hand on Michael’s head.
At that moment, the dark magic, which was lingering on Michael like an afterimage, vanished instantly.
At the same time, Michael’s wounds rapidly healed.
“However….”
“And I believe. Ultimately, Michael will defeat Lucifer and deliver the hammer of justice to the traitor.”
“…Lord Heavenly God.”
With a moved expression, Michael bowed his head and then quickly rose from his position.
He then glared at Lucifer with resolute eyes, as if steeling himself for battle.
“Michael, I’ll take care of the higher-ups. Please lead the archangels and coordinate with Callius.”
“Yes, leave it to me.”
Determination blazed in Michael’s eyes.
“Ah~ So tiring~”
Aqua approached Ini and the Heavenly God with a slightly weary expression.
“It’s fortunate this is a frozen land; otherwise, I would’ve been completely drained.”
“You did well.”
Ini patted Aqua’s head.
“You’ve worked hard.”
The Heavenly God also patted Aqua’s back.
“Hehe.”
Aqua giggled softly.
…She really is quite similar to Si-yeon in many ways.
“…Unbelievable.”
Ai, looking as if she couldn’t be more surprised, opened her eyes wide and scanned the surroundings with her mouth agape.
“…I’ve never seen such an all-star gathering.”
The demons that adorned the sky.
The angels on the ground, drawing boundaries.
And the dragons, ready to transform into their true forms at any moment.
‘…There’s not a single person here I could beat right now.’
They are all, at the very least, transcendent beings.
Among them, there’s not a single one I could currently challenge and win against.
That’s how weak I am right now.
“Kang Seo-yul.”
In the midst of the suffocating tension,
Without even turning his gaze, Ini called out to me.
“Somehow it came to this. Don’t worry too much. I have no intention of borrowing your power.”
The magic surrounding Ini began to intensify.
It seemed to be filled with euphoria.
“Could this be the power of Seo-yul? To think that the opportunity I’ve waited for over 7 years would arise now.”
The Heavenly God felt the same way.
With a joyous smile, she unfurled all six pairs of his wings.
“Watch closely. We’ll show you what we’ve been preparing for over these 7 years.”
“You’ll regret coming out so rashly.”
There was a gleam in both Ini and the Heavenly God’s eyes.
“…How amusing.”
Facing both of their gazes head-on, the Demon God smirked.
Kuuuuuung-!
“Ugh!”
“Kyaa!”
Suddenly, gravity—or rather, magic—pressed down on me.
I instantly recognized the cause of this sensation.
‘Is this… the pressure caused merely by the radiation of his power?’
The Demon God hadn’t done anything.
He had merely radiated his power, exerting pressure on my body.
It was a power that was unbelievably vast and formidable.
“Don’t waste your efforts. There’s no one here who would falter from such a show of force.”
“Quit showing off. I feel like hitting you right now.”
In the next moment, the magic from Ini and the divine power from the Heavenly God erupted.
Crackle, crackle, zzizzizzizz!
Magic, power, and divinity.
The three forces clashed and rippled, seemingly warping space itself.
‘…It’s beyond comprehension.’
I recalled something Instructor Pi Jin Ho once told me.
I also felt somewhat resentful towards Ini.
‘She said if the seal was released, she’d become about ten times stronger…’
How is this tenfold?
It feels like it’s at least twenty times stronger.
‘And the Heavenly God seems about 1.3 times stronger than Ini.’
Considering that even Ini seemed to acknowledge that the Heavenly God was more powerful than him, it must be true.
And most overpowering of all…
‘Just how powerful is the Demon God to single-handedly withstand the combined might of both the Heavenly God and Ini?’
Seeing it firsthand, I understand.
There’s no way the Seo-yul from the original story could have defeated such a being on his own.
No matter how powerful, it’s unrealistic.
‘…This is problematic.’
The difference in power is just too vast.
Of course, considering my potential for growth, I might catch up someday.
No, I definitely will catch up.
‘But not just yet.’
I need at least some time to grow.
‘I need to upgrade at least two of Adam’s Marks to a transcendent grade to stand a chance.’
The manual from Shin-hyung detailing Adam’s Mark mentioned the effects of reaching the transcendent grade.
While the boost in combat power was astonishing and the attributes one could acquire were tremendous, the truly incredible part was something else.
‘A transcendent Adam’s Mark can be used in conjunction with another.’
Overlapping use.
In other words, a fusion of two races.
This would allow me to transcend races altogether.
‘Once that’s achieved…’
I’ll be able to confront the Demon God.
Just as determination shone in my eyes, at that very moment…
“Meteor!”
Following Ini’s dragon chant…
“Everyone, scatter!”
The war’s prelude began.
< Chapter 191: Overwhelming (2) > End.
