Chapter 284

Chapter 284

I Became the Only Non-mage in the Academy.

Episode 284: The One Who Devours Stars (2)

I looked at the man standing before me.

He was towering, easily around 2 meters tall. To exaggerate a little, his broad shoulders were as wide as a high schooler lying down sideways. His expression was rough and menacing.

His overwhelming physique was evident even at a glance.

Moreover, his white short-sleeved shirt was so tight it looked like it might tear, making his muscles stand out even more…

But at the level of a Transcendent, physique hardly mattered.

Even I, for example, was strong enough to contend with a Hungseong in a battle of strength, but my body didn’t outwardly show that power.

My physique was more like a frail, delicate nobleman rather than a form like his.

‘But why is he here?’

As I looked at the Fist Demon with that expression, he let out a hearty laugh.

“Don’t make that kind of face.”

His tone was gentler than expected.

the Fist Demon was the complete opposite of the Sword Saint.

If the Sword Saint’s body was incomplete but his sword aura was unmatched, then it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the Fist Demon’s body was perfected.

However, that came at a cost.

His mind was incredibly unstable. Sometimes, he acted like an old man with dementia, and at other times, bouts of madness erupted from him.

It wasn’t something he could hide, no matter how much he wanted to.

‘At least, that’s how it was supposed to be….’

Yet, the the Fist Demon before me showed no such instability.

“It seems you’re curious about why I suddenly came here, Black God.”

“…What’s with that awkward mix of formal and informal speech? Just speak comfortably.”

“Haha, shall I?”

“Yes, especially since there’s at least a century gap in our ages…”

“It’s not that much.”

the Fist Demon firmly shook his head.

“Anyway, the reason I came here is simple. I want to join the guild.”

“The guild?”

“Yes. My reputation—ah, I mean, my prestige is quite well known. Aside from having a Transcendent who has been granted the title of a god, the fact that this place has produced five Transcendents is quite remarkable.”

In just one year.

The time I spent in seclusion was long if considered long, short if considered short.

But within that time, countless things had happened. Shockingly, five Transcendents had emerged.

‘Other than Seo Ga-yeon and Kim Seo-hyun.’

That was the number.

In other words, just the Transcendent force present here exceeded the total number of Transcendents spread worldwide.

Calling this a single faction was an understatement. If we went on a rampage, our chances of winning against the entire world would exceed 90%.

Of course, most of these Transcendents had only just awakened, meaning they still needed time to adapt to their power.

“Is this the the Fist Demon guy? He’s more impressive than I expected.”

Heo Sang-ryong and Eun Yu-ha observed the Fist Demon as they spoke.

“Hm?”

“His physique doesn’t lose out to Sae-byul’s. He even reminds me a bit of Seo-ha before he transcended.”

“My body is quite impressive… Wait, before transcending?”

the Fist Demon fixated on me at the odd phrasing.

“…I can tell you have great potential, but why does the Black God wrap himself up in layers of clothing when it’s summer?”

“Why? It looks good. Rather than unnecessarily bulging with muscles like you, a refined appearance—”

“Practicality is more important than appearance.”

“…So the Black God understands muscles.”

At my words, the Fist Demon nodded approvingly.

Eun Yu-ha gave me an incredulous look.

A refined appearance was nice, but if we were talking about practicality, I was the kind of person who could wear a red hat, a white shirt, a green coat over it, and purple pants underneath.

“…Anyway, we got off track. Can he join the guild?”

the Fist Demon asked me.

His face held an optimistic expression, as if expecting acceptance.

‘He can’t.’

Under normal circumstances, he was definitely someone we should recruit.

the Fist Demon’s instability lay in his mind, but for some reason, this version of the Fist Demon seemed to have overcome that weakness.

The issue lay within our guild.

We had produced too many Transcendents.

If we had somehow managed to push Seo Ga-yeon and Kim Seo-hyun into Transcendence through connections, the price for the rest fell on us.

‘Seolhwa Ryeon, Hong Yu-hwa, Kim Ara, The Elder… and even the Witch Maiden.’

Our guild’s finances, which had once been immense, were now literally staggering.

Even though I had earned an absurd amount of money through Veritas and poured it all in, it wasn’t enough.

‘Even with cash payments, we barely managed.’

Hundreds of trillions in cash had evaporated.

As a result, even Veritas’s companies were struggling, and the Electronic Witch, who handled our finances, groaned the moment she saw me.

“I’m sorry, but…”

“All right, then from today onward, I’m—hmm?”

“It might be difficult. Our funds have dried up.”

“…You’re saying there’s no money?”

“Considering how many Transcendents we produced, wouldn’t it be stranger if we had money?”

Achieving Transcendence required more than just a single Dragon Vein.

S-rank elixirs and countless rare materials were needed to perfect the body. Each one didn’t cost mere billions—it was a matter of trillions.

Even with my Veritas status allowing me to buy elixirs cheaply and obtain materials easily… we had still run out of funds.

I grabbed a zip-up hoodie hanging on the coat rack.

Despite the long time, not a speck of dust had gathered. That’s the beauty of magic.

“Where are you going?”

“I need to start preparing. Otherwise, civilians might get caught up in this.”

“…The Evil God, huh. Should I call the others?”

“Yes. The more firepower, the better.”

I picked up my phone and sent a message.

I used Blue’s power to open a space.

‘Africa.’

They sure picked an annoying place.

I tore through space with Blue’s power, leaving enough magic behind for others to follow later.

Then, I took a step forward.

Africa was called the Black Continent.

Not because Black people lived there.

But because it was a land teeming with monsters.

At that place, Deceptive Evil was sitting on an altar with his eyes closed.

The location I set for teleportation using Blue’s power was right near Deceptive Evil.

Unlike other altars, the one Deceptive Evil had created was unique. It was woven together using the bodies of Mines and monsters. Because of that, it looked even more sinister.

‘It’s almost complete.’

Evil Energy was surging.

The Evil Energy, a power of the Evil God, was pouring out from the altar.

Boom─!

A certain shockwave swept through the surroundings. The Evil Energy scattered in all directions as if dispersing. A violet force spread, consuming the area.

“Kuwaaaaah!!”

The surrounding monsters reacted to the Evil Energy.

The monsters, now covered in Evil Energy, underwent Demonization. They roared as they revealed their murderous intent.

—How is it?

Deceptive Evil.

He spoke with a smile, as if enjoying the scene unfolding before him.

—The time of wretched oppression and humiliation is over. There was a reason I endured all those insults from you bastards.

Boom──!

The shockwave grew stronger, expanding its range. The atmosphere was turning ominous.

The Demonized Beasts were a hassle.

More precisely, the Evil Energy they emitted polluted the environment, making it a nuisance.

I stomped the ground, imbued with Blue’s power.

Ziiing───!

A blue wave burst forth from where my foot landed. The wave swept through the surroundings, devouring the magical energy.

The blue wave, infused with my Will, spread in all directions.

Puhwak!

Guhak!

The Demonized Beasts coughed up blood and collapsed.

With just one stomp, I had wiped out around 500 of them.

—…You’ve become an absurd monster.

“I did put in some effort over the past two and a half years.”

—…

Deceptive Evil started to say something but stopped.

He lifted his head to look at the sky—slightly later than I did.

Above the heavens.

The clear sky split in a straight line, as if someone had drawn a pencil stroke across it.

And then, the line began to widen.

Tcheoooeoek.

As the rift expanded, a black void became visible. Countless shimmering things could be seen.

It was a galaxy.

A cluster of stars came into view.

—Ah, this ominous sensation… The time has come for me to return, not as Deceptive Evil, the Deceptive Evil, but as a vanguard of the great and righteous True God, the Evil God.

Deceptive Evil was spouting nonsense.

I ignored him and kept my eyes on the sky.

A presence more threatening than an opponent I could kill at any time.

I felt a shiver run down my spine.

A lizard-like finger emerged from the rift.

Tcheoooeoooeoek.

From top to bottom.

As if the space above wasn’t enough, it was tearing through the fabric of existence.

And then, I saw it.

The One Who Devours Stars.

A three-headed entity. Each head bore the form of a dragon. Its entire body resembled a dragon, shrouded in black darkness, clutching what looked like dozens of moons with countless hands.

If Destruction of Heaven annihilated all life.

And if Destruction shattered all matter.

Then, this being swallowed stars whole.

That was why it was called the One Who Devours Stars, an existence that instilled terror in all living beings.

I quietly closed my eyes.

I assessed my opponent and myself.

Its sheer size made it impossible to manifest on Earth.

It couldn’t even approach this galaxy. It defied too many natural laws and was thus bound by restrictions.

Because of that, its options were limited.

It could send an apostle to this place.

Or, it could sacrifice a considerable portion of its power to forcibly transform Deceptive Evil into its apostle.

But neither of those would work against me.

The Evil God stared at me.

I couldn’t read its expression, but I could feel that it was unsettled.

It had realized that it couldn’t handle me with conventional methods.

Then.

‘So, will it try to pull me into its Imaginary World?’

As if in response to my thought.

It was calling me.

The force that shattered stars was attempting to drag my body toward it.

I reached out my hand.

My Imaginary World extended in all directions. It expanded at an overwhelming speed, enough to engulf the Evil God.

Even for me, defeating that thing in its domain would be difficult.

In an Evil God Battle, one must pull the opponent into their own domain to kill them.

A black void consumed all space.

The One Who Devours Stars hesitated for a moment.

Then.

Boom─.

It stepped into my domain.