Chapter 196

R‍​e​a‍d‌ ‌o‌n ​K‍a‍t​R​e‍a‍d‌i‍n​g​C​a‌f‍​e‍

That man was foolish.

Blood and dust. Pain and screams. Death and fear.

Even the sunlight that impartially illuminated the world, had lost its power.

In that moment of despair, the shattered sky was filled with dark clouds.

The Great Calamity.

The day the world fell apart.

That man.

The one who declared himself the 7th Division Captain.

With only a blood-stained sword in his hand,

he dared to stand in the way of a devil god.

Infinitely foolish.

Utterly stubborn.

Endlessly reckless.

That was Belial’s first impression.

He knew he possessed extraordinary strength for a human.

He had seen the majesty with which he slaughtered countless monsters in a single strike.

He was undoubtedly one of the strongest among mortals.

But still.

No matter how strong, he was just a human.

A mortal with a predetermined lifespan.

No matter how much he burned through his short life, there were limits to what he could achieve.

Even if he had weakened after inhabiting this vessel, a mere human could never stand against a devil god.

Did he not know? What a devil god was, who he dared to stand before? Well, perhaps he didn’t. 

Devil gods were beings born from the ‘Great Ancient Ones.’ 

Mortals like humans would go mad just from knowing of their existence. Wisdom beyond one’s capacity was like poison. 

The Four Seasons must have strictly controlled such information.

He had just placed his soul into a human vessel.

He wanted to avoid unnecessary fights to stabilize herself.

That’s why Belial showed a glimpse of his true power.

The overwhelming might of a devil god flattened everything on the ground.

Just by releasing his aura, the world twisted and screamed.

Surely, he would realize the difference in their power now.

Belial thought so, but that thought was immediately betrayed.

His steps didn’t stop.

In fact, they grew faster.

The human approached.

Still holding his sword.

“…Have you gone mad from excessive fear?”

Belial asked, genuinely curious.

Even as he spoke, he realized his words were wrong.

His gaze, filled with fighting spirit and determination, was far from fear.

“Don’t you know? Are your eyes just for show? Do you think someone like you can stand against me?”

“That’s probably true.”

The 7th Division Captain, Jin, smiled faintly and readily admitted it.

“In terms of strength and weakness, you are far superior to me.”

There’s a saying: you only know the difference between long and short after comparing.

It means you can’t know the outcome until you compare them directly.

However, that only applies when the difference is reasonable.

Just as a lake, no matter how vast, cannot compare to the sea, sometimes you can know the outcome without even bothering to compare.

Jin’s fingertips trembled slightly.

He was clearly overwhelmed by Belial.

Yet, there was not a hint of hesitation in his steps.

The sharp blade dripped with the blood of monsters.

Even after cutting down countless monsters, the sword’s edge hadn’t dulled in the slightest.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve felt so powerless. Not since I became a captain. It’s a feeling I had forgotten. It reminds me of my days as a rookie, thrown into my first real battle. Do you know? My fingertips are trembling. My heart is pounding so hard it hurts. I’m terrified of you. Truly.”

“Then…”

“But.”

Cutting off Belial’s words, he continued.

“That’s exactly why I can’t back down. If a captain runs away, who will fight someone like you?”

“…You’re beyond foolish.”

You know the difference in our power, yet you still want to fight? 

Is what’s on your shoulders just decoration? Or do you mistakenly think you have a chance? 

Belial couldn’t understand the human before him. He didn’t particularly want to, either. 

The foolishness of mortals wasn’t worth interpreting. At least, that’s what he thought at the time.

“I am Jin, the 7th Division Captain.”

Then, with a name Belial would never forget, the human declared boldly.

“Even if it costs me my life, I will leave a scar on you that you’ll never erase.”

It was a battle between a devil god and a human.

The outcome of the fight was decided before it even began.

After a fierce struggle, the human fell, and the devil god stood.

The loser lost his warmth on the cold ground, slowly growing cold.

The winner looked down at the lifeless body of the loser with trembling eyes.

“…”

His soul was shattered.

The first reason was the reckless use of his power.

The second was the slash that cut through not just his body, but his soul.

Unable to gather the power leaking from him, Belial’s expression hardened. 

Jin’s final words were etched into his mind. Just before his breath stopped. His words, spoken like a last will, made Belial feel as if his entire body had frozen.

“How laughable.”

“Are you afraid of me?”

That couldn’t be.

A devil god feeling fear of a mere human?

A human who wasn’t even one of the Four Seasons’ Chosen Ones?

It was absurd. Belial firmly denied it.

But his trembling pupils told the truth. 

Fear. 

Belial was terrified. His eyes, looking at Jin’s lifeless body, were filled with fear.

Not wanting to admit it, Belial turned away as if fleeing. His soul was damaged. He needed to act quickly. That’s why he was in a hurry. 

There was no need to concern himself with a dead human. Convincing himself, Belial hastily left the scene.

That choice would remain a regret for a long time.

Instead of trembling in fear and running away,

he should have taken Jin’s body and breathed life into it.

If he had, he wouldn’t have had to suffer from thirst for five years.

Again.

Once more.

He wanted to fight like that day.

To stake everything and clash.

Fear and terror.

The ecstasy of victory born from it.

The intoxication of a life-and-death battle.

Belial longed for it.

He wanted to fight Jin again.

But Jin was no longer in this world.

Then he would fight the second, the third Jin.

Five years. A blink of an eye for a devil god, yet it felt like an eternity.

After that long wait, the opportunity finally came.

Black hair like Jin’s.

A name reminiscent of Jin.

Even the special status of being the Chosen One.

It was the perfect chance to quench his burning thirst.

Belial was excited, expectant, and cheered.

Only death makes you truly feel alive.

Come, try to kill me.

Give me the sensation of being alive.

Carve a wound into me like that man did.

The boy certainly lived up to Belial’s expectations.

Despite knowing he was at a disadvantage, he didn’t back down.

Covered in blood, he approached, just like Jin had that day.

Everything was perfect.

That day was being recreated.

All that remained was a satisfying duel.

◆

“Sun Sword.”

The air distorted, and heat haze blurred his vision.

An ultra-high-temperature heat source rotated and compressed onto the blade.

A red heat line coated the blade like a crimson flame.

“Horizontal Slash.”

The sword slashed horizontally.

What it unleashed was a sun.

A slash with extreme cutting power, as if it could split space itself, descended.

‘Ah.’

It was truly a breathtaking sight.

She had seen this sight five years ago.

[Severance]

Jin’s supernatural ability.

He cut through everything.

Objects, life, even a devil god.

In his final moments, after achieving a new awakening through a desperate resurgence, he even cut through concepts.

He cut through space to close the distance.

He cut through time to complete an unavoidable attack.

He cut through concepts to split Belial’s soul.

Compared to Jin, Eugene’s strike was rather plain.

At best, it was a slash that seemed to cut through space.

But even a similar sight was enough to make her heart race.

Though it couldn’t compare to Jin’s, it was still a passable strike.

Then it would be best to dodge, right?

Even though she had reinforced her body with overflowing life force,

taking a hit of that magnitude would be disastrous.

So dodging and countering was the best choice.

“…Huh?”

That’s what she had decided, but…

Why didn’t I dodge?

She crossed her arms to block, but the bones were severed, leaving only skin dangling. 

Was it an unavoidable timing? No. She had recognized the attack and had time to dodge. 

Yet, Belial didn’t dodge. She didn’t even try, just took the hit head-on. She couldn’t understand why she had made that choice.

“Ugh…”

She let out a short groan and activated super regeneration.

Her arm, which seemed about to fall off, returned to normal.

The heat and pain that had burned even her bones subsided.

The onslaught didn’t stop. Eugene pressed on without giving her a moment to rest. 

Acceleration. 

The god-like figure became even faster with his supernatural ability. 

In terms of pure speed, he was almost on par with a captain.

Belial countered effortlessly. She swung a branch sprouting leaves as a weapon to block the sword. 

The branch, which looked like it would break with a little force, didn’t bend even when clashing with the heat-compressed blade. 

It even managed to deflect the sword.

But it was still just a branch.

If it takes enough impact, it will eventually break.

Belial had deliberately blocked the Sun Sword with her body because her weapon had broken.

‘Why?’

Belial questioned herself.

Why am I using a branch like this as a weapon?

I could create something sturdier, more threatening, more powerful.

But instead, I keep making new branches when they break.

Every time her weapon was destroyed, deep wounds were carved into her body.

“Ugh, haa, keh…”

The wounds healed quickly.

Belial, with her overflowing life force.

Healing injuries was child’s play for her, who controlled life.

The reason Belial couldn’t stop the collapse of her vessel was that the cause of the collapse was the devil god’s power.

Even trying to stop the collapse with the devil god’s power only led to further collapse.

That’s why she had wanted super regeneration.

To stop the collapse of the vessel with the vessel’s own power.

Thanks to that, she could overcome the collapse of her vessel.

And the same applied to external injuries.

All the wounds Eugene inflicted were neatly healed.

‘This is strange. Why am I…?’

Not focusing on the fight?

I’ve been waiting for this moment all this time.

My wish is finally coming true, yet…

‘Why aren’t I giving it my all?’

Fighting with a weapon that’s not even a proper weapon.

Taking hits when I could dodge.

This is something unthinkable for Belial, who always prioritizes rationality.

It was utterly irrational, illogical, and a losing proposition by any measure.

‘It hurts, it’s hot…’

Unlike mortals, who fear pain, devil gods brush it off.

But avoiding it was the same as any other creature.

Humans don’t die from a needle prick, but they still avoid the sting.

That’s what pain was to a devil god.

‘It hurts, it’s agonizing, why am I…? It hurts, just dodge, you can dodge…?’

Swoosh.

The branch was cut, and the sword slashed through Belial’s upper body.

A slash from her right shoulder to her left waist.

Her ribs were severed, and her skin was cleanly sliced.

There was no bleeding. The heat of the sword inadvertently cauterized the wound. 

The pain was even more excruciating. The pain of her flesh being cut and the burning sensation of the wound stabbed at her brain simultaneously. 

Belial let out a silent scream. Her eyes, hidden behind the Green Wolf Mask, shook endlessly.

Belial staggered back a few steps, gasping for breath.

The wound healed with super regeneration, and the pain quickly faded.

She quickly created a new branch. Belial blinked her teary eyes, preparing for the next attack. 

But no attack came. As she wore a puzzled expression, a low voice pierced her ears.

“…What are you doing?”

Eugene spoke with a face twisted in anger.

“Stop messing around! How much do you have to mock me before you’re satisfied?!”

“What are you… talking about?”

Belial replied calmly, but her gaze followed Eugene’s sword. The red blade that had pierced her body several times already. The pain from the vicious slashes lingered even after the wounds had healed.

“You think I don’t notice? You’re deliberately holding back and letting me hit you.”

“…Haha?”

Belial sneered outwardly, but her heart sank. 

Has she been found out? No, it would be strange if he hadn’t noticed. 

How many times has this happened already? She didn’t even know why she was acting this way. 

It was behavior even Belial herself couldn’t explain. She was at a loss for how to respond, but Eugene continued before she could think of an answer.

“What’s so fun about this? Why are you laughing? Just how much are you…”

“Laughing? Me?”

What nonsense was this? Laughing? Belial retraced her actions. She had groaned in pain, but she had never laughed.

“Surely not. You must be mistaken.”

From her perspective, she was genuinely asking, but Eugene took it as sarcasm. 

Crack. 

An unusual sound came from the sword hilt. The veins and tendons on the back of his hand were bulging grotesquely.

“Do you find it so amusing to make me cut through Lucia’s body with my own hands?”

“…”

“Is it so fun that you can’t stop laughing?!”

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
Belial now understood the problem.

He underestimated Lucia.

He should have escaped before he crossed the line…

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
I sure am laughing at this ridiculous fight, heh.

Oh yeah, for the first POV of Belial, I did it in male terms but in the second, I did it in female since he was inhabiting Lucia.

To be fair, I could have used ‘they’ but who knows if these stupid gods have genders or not… 

Life is hard smh…