Chapter 337

Ｒ​ε​ɑɗ οɴ​ Каț​Ｒ​εａ​đіṅցḈаｆｅ

‘So, what do we do now?’

Restart the Devil God War.

That was the declaration, but Astaroth’s condition wasn’t good. It was close to the worst.

It was the obvious course.

She had fought a life-or-death battle against none other than the God of War.

Even if she had won, she didn’t have much strength left.

‘The cost of recreating the Dawn has made my brother’s Supernatural Ability useless. It’ll be hard to use his Supernatural Ability for a while.’

It became difficult to use Lucia’s super regeneration.

In other words, she was no longer immortal.

Astaroth’s power was clearly below Yoo-seong’s.

Without super regeneration, she would have died before escaping the subspace. It would have been over when her body was split into three parts the first time. The battle continued because she used a strategy of enduring based on her regenerative power, and since she didn’t need to worry about injuries, she conserved her strength while dying. Just once. To complete an unavoidable strike.

Agares was a monster even Yoo-seong couldn’t guarantee victory against.

To fight the Noble Prince in an exhausted state without the Supernatural Ability of the ‘Chosen One’.

It was no different from a euphemistic way of saying die.

‘Agares is… truly the strongest Devil God. If Bael hadn’t been there, he would have become the king. Using the Commander as a hostage won’t work either…’

Astaroth’s Dawn was merely an imitation of the Heavenly God’s Dawn. It didn’t have a sure-hit effect, and if one wanted to avoid it, they could. No matter how strong a strike, it was useless if it didn’t hit. If Yoo-seong had not been prepared to sacrifice himself and avoided the Dawn, Astaroth, not Yoo-seong, would have been the one collapsing now.

‘Besides, not only Agares but also Murmur…’

Even in perfect condition, a head-on fight should be avoided. Super-regeneration isn’t omnipotent. With those two combined, they could definitely render Astaroth incapable of recovery. 

From the start, Devil Gods are beings who make the impossible possible. Just as Astaroth used all sorts of means to steal the body of the Chosen One, they could find loopholes in super regeneration.

“Ahahaha.”

Astaroth burst into laughter without realizing it.

It wasn’t a self-deprecating laugh of resignation but closer to blatant mockery.

“Funny. Why are you acting so relaxed? You came rushing over in a hurry.”

“…”

“The time axis is still misaligned. You’re still being rejected by the world.”

The Labyrinth of Time. Agares was being rejected by the world as a price for repeatedly regressing. The misaligned time axis would slowly return to normal. If one only waited, Agares’s restrictions would be lifted eventually. However, that wasn’t today, not now.

If he rashly tried to interfere while the restrictions weren’t lifted, there would be a side effect of the loosened restrictions becoming rigid again. That’s why Agares had been sealing himself all along. 

In fact, the time axis had partially misaligned again as a result of forcibly intervening to save Murmur from the God of War in the past.

“You can’t stay in this world for long anyway, right? If you had waited just one more week, all the shackles would have finally been released. Your release date has been postponed again. How much longer will you have to be locked up in that musty, gloomy cell because of this? How pitiful~”

“I’ll return those words to you verbatim.”

“Huh?”

“The pretense of ‘confidence’ is truly unsightly. You have no strength left from the battle with the previous Chosen One. How long do you think it would take for this one to kill you in your current state?”

Astaroth rested her chin on her hand and pondered. How long could she, in her current state with her stamina depleted, her Supernatural Ability sealed, and her Authority overloaded, last against Agares? 

Considering the Gifts she obtained by stealing the body of the Chosen One… a few minutes at most. In other words, she could last a few minutes. Astaroth clapped her hands lightly and said.

“Interesting. Yes, very interesting. You have to kill me before you are banished from the world. That’s your condition for victory.”

“You must endure until this one is rejected by the time axis. That is your condition for victory.”

“Ahaha, you know, right? Now is the only chance? If you miss today, you won’t have another chance to kill me. Because I’ll become stronger than you in perfect condition.”

“Meaningless assumptions. Executor. You will die. Today, in this place.”

The man with the blue Rakshasa mask moved.

The second-ranked Devil God.

The Noble Prince.

Bael is lazy. He was negligent. He has hardly ever ruled as king. He reigns but does not rule. 

Therefore, it was Agares who practically led the Devil Gods. If Bael was a king sitting on the throne and only dreaming, Agares was a regent ruling in place of the king. 

Although not all Devil Gods acknowledged and followed Agares. For example, Devil Gods like Vassago and Amon, openly ignored or opposed Agares. However, all the Devil Gods acknowledged only one thing.

He can fill Bael’s vacant seat.

The strongest Devil God.

Excluding the irregular Bael, it was the title that suited him best.

“Let me remind you if you’ve forgotten. Who this one is.”

“How could I forget? The fox playing king in the absence of the tiger.”

She drapes the crimson-stained Scarlet Blade over her shoulder. The Scarlet Blade was originally an ordinary sword. It was just one of the weapons supplied to Supernaturals. 

However, with Eugene’s Supernatural Ability imbued, the ordinary sword became the Scarlet Blade. 

Even with the Supernatural Ability temporarily sealed, the Red Blade still burned brightly. What she couldn’t use was the original power of the body’s Supernatural Ability. Astaroth’s (Yui’s) own Supernatural Ability wasn’t sealed.

Pyrokinesis.

A Supernatural Ability that burns everything.

“Then let’s start. Try to kill me within the time limit. If you can.”

With Astaroth’s indifferent declaration.

Surpassing thousands of years, it finally resumes.

The Devil God War.

◈

A call came.

From the captain of the 2nd squad.

When Johan first heard the news, he chuckled in disbelief.

[The Commander has been sealed.]

April Fool’s Day is already over.

He barely swallowed those words.

Kallad wouldn’t joke about something like this.

That person was sealed? Was that even possible? It wasn’t denying reality. It was a genuinely pure question. One sees as much as one knows. 

Johan was the greatest swordsman of the era. An unparalleled swordsman with no equal in swordsmanship. So he realized it even more. The Commander’s transcendental power. Why he was called the God of War.

“If that person is gone… wouldn’t today be the day the United Nations fall?”

[Yes, it’s an unprecedented emergency. I plan to gather all available forces.]

“Against a Devil God, anyone below the captain-level is meaningless. It’s like showering them with oil and throwing them into a fire pit.”

[Therefore, the available forces are limited to captain-level individuals.]

“So that means…”

[All the squad leaders of the Celestial Corps, except for the Commander.]

“That includes me, I presume.”

[Please.]

“There’s no need to ask. It’s only natural.”

Captains are often described as pillars supporting humanity. It was not an inaccurate assessment. Each captain was an asymmetrical force. The best force that could not be without. 

Among them, the most powerful and largest pillar was naturally the Commander. Even if one or two captains disappeared, they could somehow cope, but not the Commander. No one could fill the void left by him.

The disappearance of the God of War meant that the largest pillar supporting the United Nations’ building had been uprooted. 

A building with a pillar removed would collapse futilely no matter how solidly it was built. 

As Kallad said, it was an unprecedented emergency. As a knight leader, it was not only natural but also a mandatory duty to cooperate.

After the call with Kallad ended, a second call came shortly after. It was an emergency report from the intelligence department. There was news that something unusual was happening in the city center. He instinctively realized it. 

Although he couldn’t find any connection yet, the intuition that even reached future prediction warned him. It was definitely related to the disappearance of the God of War.

The protection of the nation’s interior was the duty of the Celestial Corps.

The Sacred Knights’ main mission location was outside the border, not inside.

Normally, he would leave it to the Celestial Corps to handle, but Johan took action as soon as he received the report.

The movements of the monsters in the demonic realm had been unusual recently, so he was constantly staying at the border. The city center where the incident was happening was very far away, but captain-level Supernaturals each had a special way of moving. Kallad became lightning, Karma rode the wind, Elijah stepped on the air and flew, and so on, mastering techniques to traverse distances in an instant.

Johan projected the Holy Sword with all his might. A sword of radiance cutting across the sky. And he leaps with all his might. The intentionally enlarged Holy Sword was large enough for Johan alone to land on. The speed surpassed the speed of sound, and the sound of the air bursting echoed in succession. It didn’t take long to reach the destination.

“Master… no, God of War?”

Johan witnessed it.

The familiar golden light.

Only one person could wield the radiance that reigned over all things in the universe.

He had clearly heard that he was sealed? No, that person would have broken out of the seal quickly. The return of the God of War was welcome news, but what was he fighting against? Flames. Crimson flames. That light was also familiar.

“Student Eugene…?”

There was no way he could have misseen it. It was definitely the God of War’s disciple’s flames. So he couldn’t understand. Eugene was fighting the God of War? Not sparring, but genuinely trying to kill him? Why? More than that, there was no way a fight could even happen? Eugene’s skills were impressive, but they were no match for the God of War. Could a child that even Johan himself could handle withstand the God of War? Then what am I even looking at?

“What… what is happening?”

“Do you want to know? If you want, there’s nothing I can’t tell you.”

An answer came to the soliloquy that didn’t expect an answer. Johan’s brow furrowed. He turned his head and cast his gaze toward the source of the voice. 

An empty city with no sign of people. Everyone had evacuated, leaving only traces that people had been there. 

Beyond the group of cars abandoned on the road. Someone was sitting on a cafe terrace without an owner. 

Even though sunlight and lighting were shining, for some reason, it felt like night had come to that place. Darkness lingered.

“Long time no see, Johan.”

Resting her chin on the table, with a sword leaning against her shoulder. A white blouse and a high-waisted skirt that emphasized her waist. A red fox mask tilted diagonally. 

Lily-like hair rustling from her waist. The outside hair was white, but the inside was darker than ink. Exuding a haze-like smoke, the woman looked at Johan.

“Eresh… something something, wasn’t it?”

“Tsk, at least memorize my name. Aren’t you disappointed? I’ve been thinking only of you all this time.”

The seventh Demonic Beast who had descended.

Ereshkigal.

“If you want, I can tell you what’s happening there.”

“Of course, it won’t be free, right?”

“Of course, that’s a given.”

“Should I buy you coffee or something?”

“No need. It’s bitter and doesn’t taste good.”

“There are plenty of sweet coffees too?”

“That’s a bit interesting. But no. What I want isn’t some black water like that.”

Clang. 

The guard and scabbard collide. Ere repeatedly pushed the sword out with her thumb and resheathed it. 

Clang. Clang. Clang. 

A clear sound like a bell rang out. No further conversation was needed. She was expressing what she wanted most far more intuitively than words.

“There’s no time to spare… can’t we just settle it with coffee and dessert?”

“Hmph, you’ve become a boring man while I wasn’t looking. What a waste of your swordsmanship.”

Contrary to her disappointing remarks, a smile spread across Ere’s lips.

A terrifying force ruthlessly pressed down on her shoulders.

Ferociously, yet neatly.

Johan’s aura began to dominate the surrounding area.

Because there was no time to spare.

‘In an instant. As quickly as possible. I’ll end it.’

A sharp aura that seemed to say that targeted Ere’s breath.

Ere took her hand off her chin from the chilling sensation.

“Good. Please don’t disappoint me.”

She had been eagerly awaiting this moment all along.

Sword Saint.

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
Ere hates coffee, but loves chocolate cakes.

She may be a good fit with Regina.

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
So far, all the TSed people outside of Lucia has an obsession with one other person.

Is that ironic? No? Either way…

It’s common sense that TS girls have no human rights!