Ch.153Chapter 153 – Hell (3)

Kwak Tae-woo caught his breath as he stared at the mountain of demon corpses piled before him. Then he checked his level status.

“970, huh? It’s risen quite a bit.”

A level unimaginably higher than just a few months ago. The recent string of battles had provided him with massive amounts of experience.

Though he could now confidently call himself an S-rank hunter, Kwak Tae-woo couldn’t allow himself to feel relieved. The obstacles he faced couldn’t be overcome by numbers alone.

‘…Were they waiting for my strength to drain?’

Kwak Tae-woo gazed at the two monstrous beasts circling slowly in the sky above. Behemoth and Leviathan.

He had nearly cleared out the demons on the ground, but these mythical beings of an entirely different caliber were waiting for his death. Like crows waiting for their prey to tire.

Apparently, they’d grown impatient and decided to finish him off directly. Their whale-like streamlined bodies curved downward as if diving.

As they approached, their horrific forms became clearer. A single horn, two pairs of fins, whiskers hanging from their mouths, and four legs awkwardly swaying in the air. Perhaps due to the souls they carried, their skin was covered in patterns resembling screaming faces.

“Damn… gives me the chills.”

Kwak Tae-woo looked around. The situation was desperate. The number of artifacts had dwindled after consecutive fierce battles, only a few potions remained, his stamina was depleted, and despite being in the tower for over ten hours, there was still no word from Shin Jae-hyuk.

His physical abilities had improved somewhat thanks to his increased level, but that alone wasn’t enough to face the enemy. He couldn’t destroy a falling building weighing hundreds of tons with just his strength.

‘Can I win?’

No hope was in sight. He couldn’t imagine a future where he alone could defeat these two monsters.

‘Should I run away?’

The last spatial movement scroll in his subspace flashed through his mind. An easy way to overcome this crisis.

Escape was a very familiar option for Kwak Tae-woo. When Cha Eun-kyung was killed by the Black Knight just before his regression, when Lucifer descended upon Eden, Kwak Tae-woo always fled, promising himself to fight another day.

He could do the same this time.

‘But…’

If he sent these two monsters away, what about Shin Jae-hyuk who had climbed the tower? How would they destroy the Demon Plant and save humanity?

How could someone who only runs away change the future?

“…It’s all or nothing.”

Kwak Tae-woo’s eyes shone with determination. Many comrades had sacrificed themselves to send him back to the past. Now it was his turn to risk his life.

‘To slay giant monsters, I need a suitable weapon.’

Kwak Tae-woo recalled his memories.

Since gaining his second life, how many powerful beings had he encountered?

Countless connections, teachings, experiences.

He thought of the Sword Ghost. To intercept a fighter jet a hundred meters away, the Sword Ghost had extended a long blade of energy above his sword. It was a technique requiring astonishing magical control, a delicacy impossible for Kwak Tae-woo.

‘But I have my own uniqueness.’

A torrent of magical energy covered Arondight’s blade. Though lacking the finesse of the Sword Ghost or his master, a violent, rapid flow of magic that neither of them possessed blazed above the blade. The magic raced along the sword like an airplane on a runway, leaping far from the tip. Once separated from the blade, it soon lost cohesion and dispersed into nature.

‘Still not enough. Faster…!’

Kwak Tae-woo squeezed his magical energy harder. Like twisting a hose nozzle increases water pressure, he focused and concentrated on his energy channels. As his magical circulation accelerated, his airways became overloaded with pain, but Kwak Tae-woo showed no sign of discomfort and focused all his attention on the flow of magic.

As the torrent of magic accelerated, the distance the mana leaped from the sword tip increased. The sword energy, which originally could only cover just above the blade, gradually extended beyond the blade, occupying empty space.

Sword energy surged above the vertically held Arondight. 1m, 5m, 20m… Though the magical discharge was somewhat unstable for maintaining a precise form, the level 970 magic being expelled at such speed produced a result like a laser cutter.

Raising a blue flame over three hundred meters long, Kwak Tae-woo declared to the approaching mythical beings:

“…Let’s see what falls first—my magic or your heads.”

***

Gode stared blankly at Shin Jae-hyuk’s hand. The spear he held. He had witnessed something similar before. A weapon that materialized will, mind, or determination with divine power.

“That… could it be the same as the Hero’s?”

Shin Jae-hyuk swept the spear horizontally. A thin beam of light briefly traced the space where the spear tip pointed. Though the beam was almost invisibly small, its result was anything but.

Gode’s neck, along with the tower wall, was cut clean through in an instant. The wall and ceiling were neatly sliced away, revealing the murky hell sky.

“Haha-! So you’re not the only one who’s gotten stronger! All the better. More to research!”

Tentacles shot out from Gode’s severed neck, forcibly reconnecting his head and torso. The chimera stepped forward to buy time for its master to recover.

It extended hundreds of thousands of tentacles like cilia while sixty thousand pairs of hands simultaneously formed seals. Ominous cursed arrows flickered malevolently.

Despite the dangerous moment, Shin Jae-hyuk felt no sense of crisis. With the detached gaze of a transcendent being observing all creation, he peered deep into the chimera’s inner nature.

-It hurts so much, it’s too hard.

-I don’t want to live. Please, mercy.

-How long must this continue….

“…My ears hurt.”

The screams of souls numbering in the five digits rang deafeningly in his ears. The cries of beings used to create the chimera. The chimera’s anger and despair condensed into the form of curses flying toward him.

Shin Jae-hyuk extended his palm forward. A golden barrier unfolded, blocking the cursed arrows.

“That should be impossible with ordinary divine spells. It must be an ability like the Holy Sword! A power that blatantly ignores conventional laws!”

Gode charged forward. In his hand was a sword he had produced from somewhere. A magic circle in the shape of a constellation engraved on the blade glowed. Shin Jae-hyuk’s protective barrier, which had been blocking all manner of curses, was sliced through like paper with a light stroke.

“…!”

“Did you forget that I created the sword Kwak Tae-woo carries? This is its completed form!”

The Hero’s holy sword that had even cut down the Demon King. Gode had created the “Sine Sword” with the goal of surpassing that holy sword, concentrating all his knowledge and sorcery to create the ultimate blade that could cut anything. Naturally, he believed it could cut Shin Jae-hyuk’s spear as well.

“My ears hurt…”

Unlike Gode, who was excited at the thought of testing his sword’s abilities, Shin Jae-hyuk’s attention was directed elsewhere. Through the space where the wall had collapsed, countless voices inaudible to Gode’s ears reached him.

-R̷̯̱̲̳̖̺̞͈͙̼͗̓͜ͅe̵̼͙͚̗̦̠͈͌̃̈͜ͅd̸͇̲̤̳̤̫͓̰͌̌̎͘e̵̡̘̹̣̯̫̫̟̹͕̕͜͜m̷̡̡̲͓̻͔̦̳̖̝̝̆̆̑̊͗́͆̈́̈́͛̔͘͠͠p̷̙̰̦̰͕̰̲̗̮̗̑͒͜͝ͅͅt̸̢̳̩̘̦̮͓͎͚͉͔̱͐͐͛̄̓̍́́͑́̽͊̃͠ỉ̶̮̌ọ̶̡̡̢̧̟̯͉̎̏̚͝ͅń̶̻̖͕̦͉͕̽̑̔͂̚͘͘͝

-̷̢͚͕̖̜̟̬̠̫̙̺̻̣̈́͒̊̎̌̀̃̀̈́̃̽͠ͅP̷͖͓̖͍͇͕͗͊̄̒̑l̸̗͉͛̽̓͂̃͐̌̑̆͗̍́͌̕e̴̡͓̤͚̖̹̦͍̱̰̰̟̦͊̈̽́̒́̈́͘͜͠ą̶̮͇̮̈́̾̂ş̴̨̻̮̣̣̻̜̜̥͙͛̊̈̈̃͗̓e̵̛̖̼͚̘̹̅͊̌͛͛͝,̷̞̐͒͋̌̀̌̽̈́̈́ ̶̛̹̬̲̙͉̘̯̣͔̩͒̎͒̔̓̌̅̂̇͗͑̉̋͝m̸͇̦̦̣̲͎͑͋̎͊ȩ̴̠̟͍͇̳̝̩̲̫̈́̓͐̏͛͒͋̔̒̀̕͘ȑ̵̢̜̻̬̬͓̗̓̇̍̐̀̈̈́͌͘͝ͅc̷̱̗͎͖̥̗̬͚̔̒̐̍̄̽̎̇̐̑͝y̷̧̡͉̱̫͙̟̤͉̬̤͙̱͎̑̆̋̒̋̈́̌̈́̍̏̕̕

It was a tidal wave, a chorus. The cries of souls condemned to the unwanted fate of being born as demons. A flood of intense emotions penetrated Shin Jae-hyuk’s ears.

‘Is this… the essence of demons?’

Gode’s words that demons were sad creatures flashed through his mind. Demons are known to enjoy human despair, have an evil nature, and consider others’ misfortunes as their own joy. But the sounds ringing in his ears now contradicted such common knowledge.

‘It was true. All the testimonies of the Sage and Gode.’

Helplessness, pain, sorrow. The souls destined to be born as demons expressed emotions just like humans. Shin Jae-hyuk’s gaze fell on Asmodeus’s lips, silently repeating one sentence over and over.

-Please kill me.

Shin Jae-hyuk finally realized what he needed to do.

‘Ah, I see now.’

As his accelerated consciousness returned to normal speed, the chimera and Gode’s attacks engulfed him. Shin Jae-hyuk released his divine power. The chimera’s body distorted and disappeared along with the space it occupied.

“What-!”

When his masterpiece, crafted over hundreds of years, was crushed with a mere glance, Gode exclaimed in shock and desperately swung his Sine Sword. But it was a futile resistance. The moment Shin Jae-hyuk unleashed his divine power, an insurmountable wall had already been erected between them.

A light beyond comprehension pierced Gode’s heart. Though Gode was a mage capable of instantly recovering from such a fatal wound, unlike usual, the wound did not regenerate.

“Why… won’t it heal?”

Shin Jae-hyuk did not satisfy his curiosity. Gode looked down at his chest in disbelief before perishing. His corpse’s expression was contorted with incomprehension at his own death. It was an empty end for one called one of the 12 Heroes.

Despite achieving his revenge, Shin Jae-hyuk remained calm without emotional fluctuation. His consciousness had been directed outward from beginning to end. A god looking down upon hell.

He saw Kwak Tae-woo gasping on the ground after somehow defeating Behemoth and Leviathan. He saw countless demons waiting to be born from cocoons. He saw souls filled with pain.

“From beginning to end, it was all just one tragedy. Both humans and demons.”

From the top of the Qliphoth tree, Shin Jae-hyuk contemplated the endless expanse of hell. He gazed at Asmodeus’s domain covered with blood vessels, mucous membranes, and cocoons. It was a land marked by a history of tragedy. A space of those robbed of freedom and whose fates had been violated—painful just to behold.

He no longer wanted to see such a sight.

Shin Jae-hyuk stretched his hand toward the murky sky. Divine power surged. It was a familiar sensation, like casting a divine spell. But what Shin Jae-hyuk was about to do now was different from usual.

“I call upon you who sorrow, you who suffer, you who are weary, you who despair. I call upon the wounded. I guide those who wander seeking a path.”

He recalled how Satan had used divine power. The method of causing change in the world, of revising the laws of the world. Erasing the existing system of rules and painting my will over it.

“I am the shepherd, I am the guide. Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden. I will lay you down in green pastures and give you rest. I am gentle and humble in heart; take my yoke upon you and learn from me. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

He felt a different sensation than usual. Though similar in form to a divine spell, it felt not like drawing power from somewhere distant, but like creating it himself. It was the sensation of his divine power changing from its very essence.

Maintaining this paradoxically unfamiliar yet familiar sensation, Shin Jae-hyuk composed a new aria.

“You who seek salvation, entrust your worries to me. I shall lay your body to rest in the earth and comfort your weeping soul with warm light.”

A beam of light pierced through the murky sky filled with ash and acrid sulfur smoke. The faint ray, like sunlight filtering through curtains, expanded as it neared the ground until it covered Asmodeus’s entire domain.

“…Fear not. For I am with you.”

A warm light like spring sunshine shone down upon the domain. But unlike typical divine spells, this light was not filled with hostility toward demons. As the reverent radiance filled the world, the demonic flesh covering the earth melted away like snow under spring sunshine.

The warm light shone throughout the domain. The Qliphoth tree dissolved, and the mucous membranes and blood vessels covering the domain crumbled. The Demon Plant, which had been creating demons since ancient times, gradually disappeared.

Souls finding peace after hundreds of years sang in ecstatic voices. A melody worthy of being called celestial music echoed. Shin Jae-hyuk could naturally read the joy and gratitude contained in the song.

A wave of souls, invisible to ordinary eyes, swirled beautifully against the backdrop of sacred light beams. The stream of souls danced for a while before voluntarily being absorbed into the pillar of light.

‘This phenomenon…’

Shin Jae-hyuk sensed the change within himself. A feeling of strengthened divine power. Moreover, the divine power that had felt borrowed was now naturally welling up from within.

He could feel the souls residing within him lending their strength. It was the power of souls that the Sage had explained. The power of trust that completely supported Shin Jae-hyuk and observed the world according to his will.

“In the true sense… I’ve become a deity.”

In his second life, Shin Jae-hyuk had finally emerged from Eloah’s shadow and achieved complete independence.