Chapter 227: Omurga

Episode 227

The castle was now a pile of rubble, beyond recognition.

Two figures, or rather, two beings, stood in the center of the ruins.

Kim Jinsung and the Demon God, Dantalian.

[You must break out of your shell now.]

Dantalian said, looking at him.

[The method is simple. I will continuously infuse your body with Demonic Energy. Far beyond what a human vessel can contain.

Eventually, your body will explode, unable to withstand the Demonic Energy. That’s the moment I’m waiting for.]

“…You’re saying that my body exploding is the process of breaking out of my ‘shell’?”

[That’s right.]

“Will that even work?”

He looked skeptical.

But Dantalian nodded seriously.

[It might not work. That’s why I made you defeat Zetal first.]

He glanced at the Abyss Mana stone in Kim Jinsung’s left hand.

Kim Jinsung had already used the ‘Life Core Designation’ trait he acquired from Zetal to turn the Mana stone into a new ‘Life Core’.

As long as the Mana stone remained intact, he would be able to resurrect at least once, no matter what happened.

[Put that Life Core in your subspace. It’s the safest place.]

“I was planning to do that anyway.”

He created a subspace magic circle and placed the Life Core in the slowly opening dimensional rift.

“Let me ask you something. What makes you think that my ‘shell’ will break and I’ll be reborn in a new body if my body explodes?”

[Because of your absorption ability.]

Dantalian answered immediately.

[Remember what I said before? It’s impossible for an ordinary human body to absorb unlimited abilities.]

“Yeah. You also said something crazy about me being a divine being, not a human.”

[C-crazy?! How dare you call the words of a Demon God crazy…!]

“Then prove that it’s not crazy.”

[That’s why I’m standing before you right now!!]

He shouted, then took a deep breath and calmed himself down.

[Haa… I need to control myself. It’s shameful for someone my age to lose my temper against a mere child…]

“Wait. So you’re saying that if I break out of my shell, I’ll be reborn as a divine being, not a human?”

[…It’s not ‘reborn’.]

He answered in a calmer voice.

[It’s more like returning to your true form. And I believe that you’re a divine being who hasn’t realized your true identity yet.

Otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense for you to absorb the abilities of those hypocrites in the Heavenly Realm and use Heavenly Energy so freely.]

“Hmm…”

[Remember what I said before? That your body would eventually transform to resemble your true soul as time went on?]

Kim Jinsung nodded silently.

[The method I’m about to use to break your ‘shell’ is a way to accelerate that process.

Get ready.]

“What kind of preparation?”

[Stand still and enter a state of resonance.]

He explained.

[Try to absorb the Demonic Energy I infuse into you while maintaining a state of resonance.

If your soul is truly that of a divine being, you’ll be able to absorb Demonic Energy beyond the limits of a human body. Because your vessel is that large.]

“…It’ll be painful.”

[That’s why it’s important to maintain a state of resonance. If you completely empty your mind and focus on absorbing the Demonic Energy, the pain won’t be as severe.]

“Hmm…”

[Let’s begin.]

As soon as he finished speaking, Kim Jinsung flinched.

He felt an immense amount of Demonic Energy entering his body through his skin.

‘Holy shit…! This is no joke.’

He felt his body swelling up, already filled with Demonic Energy. He focused on entering a state of resonance.

‘He said to maintain a state of resonance and absorb the Demonic Energy.’

He closed his eyes, recalling Dantalian’s instructions.

He tried to convert the Demonic Energy flooding into his body into the same type of Demonic Energy he used.

Fortunately, the conversion process wasn’t difficult.

The Demonic Energy he used and the Demonic Energy Dantalian was infusing were practically identical.

So the Demonic Energy started accumulating rapidly in his body, compressed and condensed.

‘How long do I have to keep absorbing this? I’m already at my limit…’

His skin was stretched taut, about to burst.

He tried to increase the compression rate to continue absorbing the Demonic Energy, but there was no more space left in his body.

But Dantalian didn’t stop, and the amount of Demonic Energy he was infusing was increasing.

‘…Screw it, let’s do this!’

He gave up on rational thought and focused solely on absorbing the Demonic Energy.

He reached a state of trance, his mind completely focused, his senses dulled.

He had reached the state of ‘no-mind’ that Dantalian had mentioned.

He didn’t know it, but Dantalian, who had been watching him, was certain.

‘His concentration is truly exceptional.’

He thought to himself, watching Kim Jinsung’s blood vessels bursting one by one.

His body was swollen to its limit, about to explode like a balloon.

But his expression was serene, his eyes closed. He was in a state of trance.

‘I expected it, but it’s still surprising.’

It wasn’t easy for a Middle Realm creature to completely ignore the pain of their body exploding and focus to this extent.

Even in Dantalian’s long life, he had only met a handful of humans with such concentration.

‘That’s why he attracted the attention of all the Demon Gods, including me.’

As he was thinking,

**Boom!**

Kim Jinsung’s body finally exploded, unable to contain the overwhelming Demonic Energy.

Blood and flesh splattered everywhere.

But he wasn’t dead.

‘As expected!’

Dantalian cheered internally, watching a black, translucent figure, once ‘Kim Jinsung’, growing larger.

‘I knew it! This monstrous being couldn’t be an ordinary human!’

As he had predicted, Kim Jinsung wasn’t a typical Middle Realm creature.

His size was increasing, and the energy emanating from him was growing stronger. He was clearly a divine being, and a high-ranking one at that.

‘What kind of being is he?’

He stared at the black figure, his heart pounding with anticipation.

The first part of the figure to become clear was its face.

He saw the face, which was now at eye level with him, and

[…No!!]

He gasped in horror, recognizing its identity.

[N-no way…!!]

He stammered and approached the figure, his eyes wide with disbelief.

**Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!**

Suddenly, a pitch-black darkness enveloped the ruins, and a tsunami of energy swept over them.

* * *

An hour later,

Dantalian stood before a giant iron door, staring at it silently.

[…This is the final floor of the demon world dungeon.]

His voice, unusually solemn, echoed through the air.

[If we open this door, we’ll be entering the deepest dimension of the Demon Realm. And we’ll be facing the strongest beings in the Demon Realm.]

He turned his head.

[I can’t guarantee your safety beyond this point. Are you still going to enter?]

“Of course.”

It was Kim Jinsung who answered.

He was in his human form, a sight all too familiar to Dantalian.

Dantalian stared at him,

his gaze lingering even after he had answered.

“…Why are you staring at me like that?”

Kim Jinsung finally asked, breaking the silence.

“What’s wrong? Are you worried about what will happen to me inside?”

[……]

“Judging by your expression, that’s not it… Are you still hung up on my true identity?”

Dantalian remained silent.

Kim Jinsung took it as a yes and chuckled.

“This is ridiculous. Is this ‘Omurga’ thing really that big of a deal…?”

[Of course…! …No, it’s not that.]

He was about to raise his voice, but then he swallowed his words.

[You’ll see when you enter. Their reactions will be similar to mine, if not more extreme.]

“Then there’s a higher chance that they won’t fight me?”

[…I can’t guarantee that. The Demon Gods inside aren’t all like me.]

He answered honestly.

[But…]

**Creak.**

He stopped speaking as the giant iron door creaked open.

Kim Jinsung had opened the door and was walking inside.

[…Oh.]

A voice, filled with awe, came from the pitch-black darkness beyond the door.

[He’s finally here. The kid Dantalian has taken a liking to.]

As soon as the voice spoke, numerous other voices followed.

[Dantalian? You mean that Middle Realm human who’s good with Demonic Energy?]

[I heard rumors of an interesting newcomer. So it was this kid?]

[You damn old man! You’re enjoying this too much, aren’t you?!]

[Ho ho ho…! He came all the way down here? Are you sure you’ll be alright, kid?]

The voices came from all directions, their tones varied.

Kim Jinsung was certain, seeing them talking to him as if he were a new toy,

‘They’re all Demon Gods.’

The one thing they all had in common was that the energy he felt from their voices was similar to Dantalian’s, or even stronger.

[Middle Realm creature who dared to enter the deepest part of the Demon Realm.]

A deep, authoritative voice boomed from right in front of him.

[What is your name?]

He answered,

“Kim Jinsung. And Dantalian said I’m also called ‘Omurga’.”

Silence fell over the entire space.

—