Chapter 330

Reád& ;o‍​ǹ​ ＫaｔＲ​&e;ɑd̈ｉ​n​gC&a;ｆe

Devil Gods are fundamentally beings close to immortality.

A dull and blind father.

Fragments of the ‘Ancient One’ that gained self-awareness.

Though only a part, they were undeniably divine beings.

The body is merely a vessel. Even if it breaks, it naturally repairs itself over time. To kill a Devil God, one had to destroy the core containing their soul. That was the essence of the Devil Gods. As long as the core remained intact, they could resurrect any number of times.

“That’s why dealing with Devils is convenient. No need to search for where the core is.”

A Devil is a being born when a Devil God inhabits a human body.

It goes without saying, but the original form of Devil Gods is far removed from human appearance. They evolved differently, each Devil God establishing a distinct form. No one could know where their core was hidden until they searched directly.

But Devils are different.

Their core was fixed in the heart.

The pulsating heart is the source of life.

The optimal place for the soul of a Devil God to reside.

Yoo-seong’s strike cleaved Astaroth’s heart.

The core hidden within was also bisected.

At that very moment, Astaroth’s death was confirmed.

The outcome was decided in an instant.

‘I supplemented my specs with Michael’s Sword, but I didn’t expect the muscles in my shoulder and arm to necrose from just one use. The ruthlessness of time…’

The past me used to spam such techniques so carelessly.

Yoo-seong chuckled wryly, looking down at his right arm, which barely moved.

Losing its color, it was turning a bizarre purple.

Recovery was slow. It seemed it would take time to fully heal.

“First, I need to retrieve that guy’s body and bring Eugene. I need to return him to his original state before his soul settles into the changed body.”

If I reattach it with super regeneration, it should work somehow.

If it doesn’t… no, it will.

He copied Lucia’s super regeneration, after all.

It’s currently called ‘Super Regeneration’, but its original name is ‘Blessing of Immortality.’

A blessing bestowed upon the Saintess by the Four Seasons.

If he can reproduce even a part of that blessing, restoring a severed body wouldn’t be difficult.

In the collapsing subspace, Yoo-seong trudged forward. Eugene’s body wouldn’t decompose quickly, but he wanted to take action as soon as possible. After all, he was a descendant, a junior, and a disciple. Though necessary, directly cutting up his body was a rather unpleasant experience.

Yoo-seong reached out to the headless body.

First, he intended to remove the remaining remnants of Astaroth.

Then, he would bring Eugene and transfer the soul, resolving everything.

“Hmm?”

Placing his hand on the bisected upper body, Yoo-seong’s eyebrows twitched. Something was off. The heartbeat was no longer felt. He had severed the source of life by bisecting the core with a single strike. Even for a Devil God, death was certain in this situation. But why? Why wasn’t the power dissipating? If the vessel of the Devil God was broken, the power contained within should inevitably flow out.

“!”

Swish.

A portion of the night sky-like hair was cut off.

White skin tore, and red light burst forth.

Realizing the abnormality, Yoo-seong reflexively twisted his face.

Thanks to that, he managed to end with just a graze on his cheek.

“Ahahaha.”

A low chuckle echoed quietly.

The recklessly swung Red Blade crossed the void.

He evaded the surprise attack, but couldn’t dodge the continuous red light that followed.

Even though he hurriedly blocked with the Holy Sword, Yoo-seong’s body was thrown back by the recoil.

“Ah, so close. It was a perfect surprise attack. And you block it.”

The bisected body wriggled and found its place.

The severed surfaces disappeared from where they touched, restoring the original form as if it had never been cut.

“I was genuinely terrified. Honestly, I thought I was really going to die.”

It wasn’t an exaggeration.

The moment the three strikes passed by.

Astaroth sensed the encroaching death.

The past self would have certainly died instantly.

A certain death that couldn’t be blocked or avoided.

“Is this what it feels like to have your body cut up? It was quite an interesting experience. But I don’t want to do it again.”

“…How are you alive?”

“How, I wonder? It wouldn’t be fun if I told you the answer right away. Why don’t you try guessing?”

Yoo-seong frowned. Did she evade it? That couldn’t be. He felt the impact. He felt the sensation of cutting through cleanly. 

It wasn’t an attack that could be avoided in the first place. If it were blocking, there would be a slight chance, even if it was close to impossible, but evasion was impossible from the start. 

It was a strike that cut through the future itself. An unavoidable, sure-kill technique that blocked all possibilities of evasion. 

So, did she block it? That’s ridiculous. Yoo-seong wasn’t so foolish that he couldn’t distinguish between hitting and blocking.

He had certainly cut through, and she hadn’t blocked it.

Yet she was alive?

With the core destroyed, she shouldn’t be able to use her powers.

Even a reality-altering power would be useless if it couldn’t be activated.

In that case…

“…Can you even use Eugene’s supernatural abilities?”

Astaroth grinned.

“Bingo.”

That’s right.

The reason Astaroth, who should have died instantly, was alive and well.

It was thanks to Eugene’s supernatural ability, or more precisely, Lucia’s supernatural ability.

Super Regeneration.

A simple regeneration ability wouldn’t have worked.

It wasn’t a sloppy technique that could be withstood with just regeneration.

Under Heaven and Earth, I alone am the honored one.

All in the Three Realms are suffering; I will bring them peace.

It was Yoo-seong’s ultimate technique, a god-slaying technique.

A technique to surely kill, a technique to kill gods.

It was the strongest and ultimate secret technique that could only be performed by adding swordsmanship that reached the divine realm, supernatural abilities that reigned over the world, and spiritual attraction. Not even regeneration was possible. 

From the moment it hit, no result other than ‘death’ was allowed. Regeneration should have been easily nullified, and Astaroth should have died instantly.

Yet she was alive.

Not a single sign of any impact could be found.

That meant…

“Lucia’s super regeneration… no, Lucille’s immortality.”

Yes, with that power.

With that blessing bestowed upon the Saintess by the Four Seasons.

It could even withstand his own ultimate technique.

Because you can’t kill an existence without the concept of ‘death’.

Just like how he couldn’t kill Bael, who had no death, in the past.

“But how?”

The Devil God was using her ability.

His voice trembled slightly with surging anger.

Yoo-seong suppressed his emotions as much as possible and spoke to Astaroth.

“Supernatural abilities are powers based on the mind. Unless you’ve devoured Eugene’s soul, how can you, who has only changed bodies, use Eugene’s supernatural abilities?”

Yoo-seong was worried about the possibility of her stealing the qualifications as a ‘Chosen One’. If Astaroth had seized the authority as a ‘Chosen One’, it would be a serious matter. It was the worst-case scenario where a second Bael might be born. The Four Seasons urgently intervening in the mortal world also had a good reason.

However, even if Astaroth had become a ‘Chosen One’, supernatural abilities were separate.

Supernatural abilities were powers that resided in the mind, not the body.

As long as Eugene existed intact in the girl’s body, it was impossible for Astaroth to use Eugene’s supernatural abilities.

“…No, it might be possible.”

If the opponent wasn’t a Devil God.

Yoo-seong gritted his teeth. He momentarily forgot what a Devil God was. He unconsciously looked down on them because most Devil Gods were weaker than him. They were divine beings beyond causality. The obvious laws of the world couldn’t be applied to them. What they followed wasn’t the laws of the world, but their own laws. They were beings that shouldn’t be discussed with common sense.

“You had a power that could alter reality. If you used that power to rewrite the laws… yes, it might be possible.”

“To only realize that now, have you lived too long and your head has hardened?”

“Yes, I suppose so. I’ve really become dull.”

He unleashed his ultimate technique, even consuming Michael’s ‘light’.

He couldn’t kill the opponent and only suffered a great loss.

It was a miscalculation. It was his mistake to misjudge Astaroth’s limits.

“That arm, it’ll be hard to use it for a while, right?”

Astaroth pointed to Yoo-seong’s right arm.

“That technique from just now seems like you can’t use it repeatedly… The sudden increase in specs is because of that sword? But that’s strange? The sparkle has been decreasing since earlier? 

Does it deplete the more you use it? So that’s why you’ve been saving it until now. What you’re truly wary of isn’t the Devil Gods who have infiltrated the mortal world, but the king of the Devil Gods who is outside the world. You were saving it to use on Bael, right? Isn’t that right?”

“…”

“Silence is sometimes an affirmative answer. Thanks for the good answer.”

Astaroth swung the Red Blade in the void a few times. There was no obstruction in her movements. She was slowly but surely adapting perfectly to her brother’s body. There were no problems with activating her supernatural abilities either. If there had been a subtle awkwardness until now, even that awkwardness had now disappeared. Astaroth’s blue eyes cooled coldly.

“Commander, did you prepare it? If not, how about preparing it now?”

“…What are you talking about?”

“Your last words.”

Looks like you.

Are going to die today.

So think about what you want to say beforehand.\

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
The author’s note today?

End of service.

Nihihihihi!

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Let’s thoroughly correct and educate this bratty author.