Ch.105Chapter 105 – Death

‘…This is easier than I thought?’

That’s what Kwak Tae-woo thought as he fought Kyle alongside the Sword Ghost. He had been quite tense after hearing how much Shin Jae-hyuk had struggled, but it seemed that one S-class and one A-class fighter could handle the opponent just fine. This wasn’t to say Kyle was weak. Even now, Tae-woo was desperately swinging his sword, trying to find his footing in the battle between two genius swordsmen.

‘Ugh, it’s difficult, but at this rate, cutting him down is just a matter of time!’

Of course, there were several reasons why Tae-woo felt this way. First, he had grown stronger himself. He had leveled up tremendously after taking down hordes of Death Knights—boss-level entities in ordinary gates—and the intense battle had sharpened his combat senses. Plus, his body, enhanced by various artifacts, now reached the average level of an S-class.

Second, Kyle was a swordsman skilled in one-on-one combat. It was already challenging enough to predict the Sword Ghost’s moves, but with another variable possessing considerable physical abilities joining the fray, Kyle found it several times harder to anticipate their movements. If Tae-woo were merely strong, it might have been manageable, but he kept pulling out unexpected artifacts, making Kyle’s predictions even more difficult.

And lastly…

‘Eleventh time. That friend is taking all the burden, making it hard to attack aggressively…’

Though Tae-woo hadn’t noticed, the Sword Ghost was shouldering all the burden. Tae-woo could focus on attacking only because the Sword Ghost directed all dangerous attacks toward himself, leaving only the easier ones for Tae-woo to handle. This was actually the biggest reason.

‘Thanks to the young man joining, I have much more leeway, but the initiative still belongs to the other side.’

The Sword Ghost thought while deflecting a sword strike.

The good thing about Tae-woo joining was that Kyle’s attacks were now divided, making defense much easier. The downside was that Tae-woo was so focused on defense that he couldn’t transition to offense. Tae-woo cursed.

“Damn, doesn’t that bastard ever get tired?”

Even after being afflicted with the debuff from the holy relic that rapidly drained the vitality of unholy beings, Kyle showed no signs of fatigue after thirty minutes. Tae-woo couldn’t hide his frustration. However, Kyle himself was feeling anxious about not being able to take down the Sword Ghost despite his own decreasing stamina.

“Tch… how does that old swordsman keep escaping from the inevitable path of my sword?”

In truth, Kyle was also struggling. The only reason he had endured this long was because Iscariot, the necromancer, had been continuously channeling magical energy to him. Without such indirect support, he would have collapsed long ago.

As both sides admired each other while failing to gain a decisive advantage, a significant variable emerged.

KUAAAAAAA-!!

“What the-?!”

A pillar of light shot up from the distance, from where the Bone Dragon was. The blinding golden light struck the dragon’s head with terrifying force, like a waterfall flowing upward, erasing its breath. The Bone Dragon let out a roar of pain and flapped its wings, seemingly trying to escape into the air to heal its wounds.

“Has Shin Jae-hyuk finally managed to counterattack!”

Tae-woo couldn’t help but exclaim at the overwhelming sight. Kyle was equally stunned by the spectacle. He froze, unable to move—not for psychological reasons, but because the powerful holy energy emanating from the pillar of light was paralyzing his body.

The Sword Ghost didn’t miss this opportunity. He instantly sheathed his sword and assumed an iaido stance—the position for striking an opponent at maximum speed.

“Hup-!”

In the next moment, his sword was drawn like a flash of lightning. The flash elongated as it was being drawn, creating a sword energy that deceived distance perception. An unavoidable attack.

Slowed by the holy waves, Kyle’s reaction was half a beat late. Seeing the blue light rushing toward his neck, Kyle instinctively knew he couldn’t dodge it. So instead of defending, he chose to attack—a final counterattack thrown with the thought that he wouldn’t die alone.

Against the backdrop of golden light, red and blue lights crossed. Just before the two swordsmen collided, Tae-woo shouted:

“Cover your ears!”

Cover his ears in this critical moment? And a sword swung with one hand would be slower. The Sword Ghost was about to ignore it when—

‘Twelfth time.’

He sensed his ability activating. Obediently following Tae-woo’s instruction, he covered one ear while continuing his draw with the other hand.

Tae-woo immediately pulled out the Howling Dagger and activated it. Woong- A cursed low-frequency sound containing a beast’s howl penetrated Kyle’s ears. The infrasound that stiffened the body. Even the physiology of the undead couldn’t escape this effect. Kyle’s body, already slowed twice—by the holy relic artifact and the pillar of light’s holy power—stiffened once more.

Kyle sensed his defeat.

‘Ah… too late.’

***

As the blue sword energy approached, Kyle Leonhardt’s eyes were strangely recalling scenes from the distant past rather than the present.

The moment he was born as a Death Knight, the moment Iscariot sent him to attack the Empire, the moment he destroyed the capital’s gates with his own hands. Dreamlike, hazy memories that he wished to erase from his mind flowed by like a nightmare.

Burning streets,

The collapsing imperial palace,

His son, impaled by his own sword,

And…

The knights and citizens resurrected as undead.

‘A deal… Yes, that’s right. I made a deal.’

Death Knights are strongly controlled by necromancy immediately after resurrection, but over time, their living consciousness grows stronger. Iscariot needed to control this powerful swordsman. So he proposed a deal.

-Help me destroy humanity.

‘…And in return?’

-Everything you love.

When Belphegor completed his task, the Emperor would receive back all the souls of his people. At that time, the Emperor was tormented by terrible guilt. His stubbornness had led to the implementation of the 12 Heroes Project, his poor personnel choices had caused the plan to fail, and his death had brought about the empire’s downfall.

It was all his fault. Even the fact that his beloved citizens couldn’t enter heaven and wandered as spirits—all because of a foolish leader.

Kyle Leonhardt had lost everything he loved,

And everything he loved had wounded him.

Thus, his choice was inevitable.

‘I will make the contract.’

That day, the Lion King (獅子王) died, and the King of the Dead (死者王) was born.

With the memory of dropping his blood onto the contract, the Lion King’s eyes returned to reality. Emerging from the flashback, the Lion King stopped his thrusting arm. Instead, with half-blinded eyes, he gazed at the bright pillar of light and uttered his final lament.

“Longinus… my friend. I wanted to free you from a life of nothing but pain.”

The next moment, the blue sword energy sliced through Kyle’s neck. The king who had wandered for four hundred years to free his people finally found peace.

***

A pillar of light shot upward.

“Hmm? What is that—”

UWEEEEEK-

Belphegor spat blood mid-sentence. A sign of internal injury. He was bewildered by the sudden hemorrhage. Internal injury? Could it be that paladin?

Quickly gathering his thoughts to observe his inner state, he found his mental world shattered beyond recognition. The paladin? Nowhere to be found.

Belphegor’s eyes widened.

“You, mortal-! What have you done!”

At the center of the light pillar that pierced the sky with overwhelming force was that paladin—the life he had treated as a mere insect, a toy.

Unextinguished embers crackled as they burned his skin. But regeneration occurred at an even faster rate. As if creating something from nothing, organs filled the skeleton, muscles and flesh covered them, and tendons wove everything together.

What should have been a grotesque sight appeared sacred due to the golden background light. Like the moment God created humans.

“How? HOW-!!”

Belphegor was extremely confused. How did he escape? His unique magic, “Walk in Another’s Shoes,” was a spell that Belphegor, the pinnacle of black magic, proudly considered invincible. A spell never before broken. No matter how strong one’s mental fortitude, no matter how ancient a demon, all would erode and perish before the overwhelming flow of time that Belphegor had experienced.

Or so he had thought.

“You, what are you-! What are you, paladin-!!!”

Belphegor was beside himself. The mental world is essential for constructing a magical worldview. With his mental world shattered, Belphegor was in no position to worry about mere internal injuries. His magical realm had been reset. He could barely use even ordinary spells.

The sense of powerlessness, experienced for the first time in millions or billions of years, was unfamiliar to Belphegor. Unfamiliar experiences, unfamiliar emotions. Ignorance breeds one emotion: fear.

Regenerating muscles and skin, the paladin advanced one step at a time. The pain of long-lasting burns tormented him. Familiar pain. Pain could no longer stop the paladin. Whether an expression of pain or a smile of joy, his facial muscles, still partially regenerating, were clearly visible beneath his half-formed face. To Belphegor’s eyes, the paladin looked more demonic than any demon.

“…In that wilderness, you said you liked Nietzsche. Then do you also know that Nietzsche said this?”

Light compressed in Shin Jae-hyuk’s hand. The intense light soon took the form of a spear—a spear that embodied his firm resolve. A spear of the mind, so to speak.

“What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.”

The light was thrust forward. Everything in its direct path was engulfed in light—a purifying beam that annihilated everything Shin Jae-hyuk did not permit to exist.

Belphegor hastily drew up magical energy. There was no time to cast a spell. He hurriedly brought forth unrefined magical energy to block the light. It was like trying to block a spear with iron ore instead of a shield.

Naturally, it was insufficient. True to its nature, darkness was consumed by light and rapidly disappeared. Though Belphegor’s magical energy was overwhelming, his opponent’s was even more so.

Belphegor tried to calm himself. It’s fine. He just needed to buy a very brief moment of time. Even that instant was long enough for Belphegor.

During that time, he turned his gaze inward. His mental world, reduced to primordial chaos by Shin Jae-hyuk. Belphegor exercised his unique demonic magical talent. In just six seconds, creation occurred, and the world was reconstructed.

Magic started anew. In just 7 seconds, Belphegor built up to the 5th tier of magic from nothing.

And then he cast his spell. Blink.

Belphegor narrowly escaped the beam’s path. Ulk. A blood clot rose up his throat. The price of forcibly using magic without treating his existing internal injuries. His condition worsened.

‘Teleport is 7th tier. If I forcibly raise my level further in this state…’

Belphegor sensed it. There would be permanent damage. Perhaps regaining his past 9th-tier level would become forever impossible… But he had no luxury for such concerns. Not doing so meant death.

“KALSTEN!! ISCARIOT!!! PROTECT ME!!!!”

Belphegor summoned his subordinates to buy time. The dragon, which had been gliding in the air to avoid the pillar of light, fixed its gaze on the ground. Energy gathered in its maw.

“Breath…!”

Just as Shin Jae-hyuk was about to respond, a blue beam of light split the sky from afar. Shin Jae-hyuk recognized it. A sword energy, thin as a needle but long enough to touch the clouds. The Sword Ghost’s technique.

The deep blue sword energy sliced through the dragon’s corrupted heart and spine. The sword’s mental image, materialized through mana, cuts through everything in its path. Not even the dragon’s bones could be an exception.

The dragon let out a cry of pain. Having suffered irreparable damage, the Bone Dragon was forcibly recalled. The backlash from the forced recall flowed directly back to the caster, causing Belphegor to vomit blood. His vital energy was distorted.

Belphegor felt his options narrowing. Why wasn’t Iscariot coming? Had he already been defeated? …If so, it was now all or nothing. Belphegor hastily prepared his final move. Without leaving any margin, he drew up every last bit of his power.

“Fine, I’ll face you. With everything I have…!”

He pointed to the sky with his leprous finger. A magic circle was drawn in the sky, higher than a skyscraper but lower than the clouds. The ominous, flickering magic circle split into four directions every second. From one to four, from four to sixteen, from sixteen to sixty-four…. The amplification continued until the magic circles covered the horizon.

All these magic circles were summoning circles. Belphegor was a great necromancer. He had created hundreds of millions of undead since the beginning of time.

The gates of hell opened. All manner of extraordinary beings emerged from the summoning circles. Like the Death Worm that had appeared in America, now made undead, or chimeras created by combining the corpses of ancient demons.

Among these legendary monsters, even high-level undead like Death Knights and Liches were mere pawns. Some were dragons that Belphegor had slaughtered. The broken wing bones and partially destroyed ribs of the Bone Dragons testified to the tales of the Dragon Slayer.

Terrifying and fearsome monsters rained down from the summoning circles. There were too many for the Sword Ghost to cut down. One cannot cut each raindrop individually. But Shin Jae-hyuk was not afraid.

He raised his spear vertically high toward the sky. A pillar of light was erected. As Shin Jae-hyuk concentrated more power, holy shockwaves emanated from the light pillar that pierced the clouds. These were shockwaves that repelled evil beings and dispersed magical energy.

Normally, waves lose power as they spread, but the holy shockwaves from the light pillar did not follow ordinary laws. Without losing strength, they fiercely traveled beyond the horizon, destroying all the summoning circles. The monsters falling from the sky were all annihilated by the light or forcibly recalled.

And Belphegor, as the caster, bore the backlash of the spell destruction. Blood flowed back from his seven orifices. But Belphegor had no time to treat his internal injuries.

“Im… impossible. It’s a lie. IT’S A LIE-!!!”

He watched everything he had built since the beginning of time vanish like a sand castle. It was a scene of his life being negated.

Belphegor felt anxiety for the first time in millions of years. And fear. It was a new stimulus that dispelled boredom, but it wasn’t pleasant at all. Not at all. No one feels joy when surrounded by predators.

“Hee, heek! D-don’t come near me!”

With a face consumed by terror, Belphegor frantically shook the lever of his electric wheelchair. The old motor whined and moved sluggishly. Shin Jae-hyuk slowly pursued Belphegor as he fled toward the gate. Like a hunter finishing off wounded prey caught in a trap.

“How pitiful. Demon who sees life as a curse. I shall free you from your pain as you wished.”

“Damn it, damn it! This piece of junk! Move faster! MOVE!”

Belphegor pushed the wheelchair handles forward like a madman, occasionally looking back. Each time he looked, he saw death drawing closer.

“Huh, huhk! Huhk! Fuck, fuck, FUCK!”

Belphegor was completely consumed by fear. Though he had viewed life as a curse and existence as punishment, ironically, he was not composed in the face of death. Forgetting about the backlash and internal injuries, he recklessly cast offensive spells. But when Shin Jae-hyuk swung his spear, the intense holy power disrupted the alignment of magical energy, scattering the spells. Belphegor desperately tried to cast Blink.

Yes, to the gate. If only he could escape into the gate…!

“The day passes. One person’s sun sets, and one person lies down. We entrust the soul of the one finding rest today to the Almighty Lord, and lay their body to rest in the earth.”

Shin Jae-hyuk reverently recited an aria as he thrust his spear in a straight line. The aria he recited was from a funeral rite—a ceremony to send off souls. What Shin Jae-hyuk had wanted to do for his friend, Kyle Leonhardt.

The spear of light reflected in Belphegor’s retinas as he was casting Blink. The spear made of light was strangely fast. At this rate, the spear would pierce his neck before he could complete casting. Belphegor was shocked to realize he didn’t have enough time to cast.

‘I don’t have enough time? How?’

Time was the one thing he had never lacked in his entire life. It had always been excessively abundant, never once feeling insufficient. With his superior intellect, he quickly understood the reason. Belphegor’s perception of time was proportional to his sense of boredom. And the only emotion Belphegor was currently feeling was not boredom. It was fear.

Watching the spear tip approach moment by moment, Belphegor’s time accelerated endlessly. Shin Jae-hyuk’s one second kept shrinking for Belphegor—ten seconds, nine seconds, eight seconds… and finally became the same one second.

The world regained its speed. Clouds flowed at their normal pace, and the sun orbited at its original speed. Light erased darkness, traveling three hundred thousand kilometers every moment.

Shin Jae-hyuk recited the final line of the funeral song.

“Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Lord, have mercy on this soul.”

Light engulfed everything.

Light filled the pupils of the demon born deformed. The light contained the world. Feeling the world flowing at an ordinary pace for the first time in his life, Belphegor opened his eyes wide. In his final moment, the demon felt a paradoxical sentiment.

“Ah… Time, how beautiful you are.”

After uttering his final words, the spear of light deeply pierced Belphegor’s nape. The light that penetrated the demon’s neck ran across the ruined city.

At three hundred thousand kilometers per second.