Chapter 194

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Belial’s ability was the Authority of Life.

The authority to govern life and death.

Creating life from nothingness.

Taking life and returning it to nothingness.

Earlier, she had only used it in the form of controlling vegetation, but its applications were limitless.

Cough.

Eugene’s cough was mixed with a significant amount of blood.

He staggered heavily, barely managing to steady himself.

Biting his lip, he quickly pushed off the ground and leaped into the air.

Boom! 

Dozens of long spears pierced the spot where Eugene had just been. They were all made of wood, but their sharpness and durability far surpassed that of steel. 

Eugene hurriedly created distance to avoid the barrage of spears. The spears chased after him like a tail, each one embedding itself into the ground with a shaking impact.

“Wow, not bad.”

Belial clapped as she spoke.

She sat cross-legged on a chair woven from tree branches.

She smiled leisurely, as if the battle unfolding before her was someone else’s problem.

“But are you sure you’re okay? You’re not getting closer to me; you’re actually moving further away.”

A few minutes into the battle.

As she said, the distance between Eugene and Belial increased gradually.

Despite breaking through the forest and closing the gap, Eugene couldn’t get anywhere near Belial.

Wiping the blood from his lips, Eugene took a deep breath. His blue eyes quickly scanned his surroundings.

A horde of monsters was there. Their forms varied. Low rank, Mid rank, High rank. 

Countless monsters of all types were mixed together. Beast-like monsters charged with bared fangs and claws. 

Giant monsters pressed forward with their massive bodies, while humanoid monsters moved in unison, wielding weapons and pressuring Eugene.

It wasn’t a rift.

All of these monsters had been created on the spot by Belial.

With every step she took, seeds were sown.

The seeds sprouted immediately, giving birth to monsters.

Creation of Life.

The sight of her commanding countless monsters was nothing short of a calamity.

‘Is this what the demonic beasts from history felt like…?’

Eugene steadied his breathing as he thought.

Demonic beasts have left a massive mark on human history.

They were called disasters and became symbols of fear.

This wasn’t just because these calamities themselves were powerful.

The demonic beasts that appeared in history weren’t solitary beings.

They were armies.

The descent of a demonic beast meant a large-scale invasion.

Monsters filled the horizon, overflowing as they followed the calamity’s command.

Despite their different origins, all monsters obeyed the orders of the demonic beast, their supreme commander.

It wasn’t a chaotic, indiscriminate invasion, but a systematic and organized assault.

It was terror.

Not a battle, but a war.

The most powerful demonic beast, the colossus Typhon, led millions of monsters in an invasion.

The sixth calamity ravaged human territory alongside a rain of monsters.

The ruler of monsters.

The commander that led an army of monsters.

That’s why they were called calamities.

In that sense, the girl before him was undoubtedly a calamity.

‘And besides…’

The monsters weren’t the only problem. Eugene grimaced. His insides were churning. 

It was the effect of the poison. A toxin so potent that it would have melted the organs of an ordinary supernatural. 

He had avoided most of it with Danger Sense, but in the midst of fighting the horde, he had inhaled some of the poison mixed into the air.

This, too, was Belial’s doing. The poison she had subtly scattered. The monsters she created were immune to the poison, but Eugene wasn’t so lucky. 

Swallowing the blood rising in his throat, Eugene activated super regeneration. As he purged the poison from his body, he gripped his sword even tighter.

Even now, the number of monsters is increasing.

Monsters were being created endlessly, filling any gaps in their ranks.

With a short shout, Eugene charged into the horde of monsters.

Acceleration. 

With a speed incomparable to before, red flashes followed his every move. 

Dozens of monsters were cut down with a single strike. 

Another dozen were burned to ashes with the next. 

Countless ashes scattered with the third strike.

But the distance didn’t decrease.

In fact, he was being pushed back little by little.

The monsters were being created faster than he could destroy them.

‘Damn it, this is endless.’

If it were just the monsters, he could use a large-scale attack like the Sun Sword. But the real enemy wasn’t the horde; it was Belial. 

Whenever Eugene showed signs of using his full power, she would inevitably launch a sneak attack. Trees would burst from the ground, and projectiles would rain from the sky.

The poison, which could strike any moment, was also a problem. 

Even if he was poisoned, Hardening and super-regeneration kept it from being a major threat. 

But it still slowed him down, even if only briefly. And every time he slowed, the distance between them grew.

‘I have to get closer somehow… but like this…’

He couldn’t take the devil’s words at face value.

She had said to aim for the heart if he wanted Lucia back, but it could just be a bluff.

Still, it was the only lead he had right now.

“Phew…”

Eugene exhaled.

‘Stay calm. Don’t panic. The horde of monsters is fierce, but it isn’t impossible to break through.’ 

The old him would have never dreamed of doing this. But the current him was different. 

He had awakened his true abilities and shattered the walls that had limited him. He could do it. The current him could do it.

The only reason he couldn’t was one thing.

He hadn’t fully mastered his own abilities.

In a way, it was natural. 

Eugene was only borrowing abilities; his proficiency was a separate matter. Even if he borrowed Leo’s, Arin’s, Alice’s, and Frey’s abilities, he couldn’t use them as skillfully as their original owners. 

There were techniques that couldn’t be acquired without accumulated experience. Just swinging his power around had quickly brought him to his limits.

‘If only I could borrow Anastasia’s ability too, things would be different…’

Clones.

Anastasia’s supernatural ability.

If he could multiply himself with clones, he might have been able to turn the tide. 

But unfortunately, he couldn’t borrow her ability yet. Eugene still hadn’t fully grasped the intricacies of Borrowed Power. 

There were clearly conditions for borrowing abilities. Whether he hadn’t met those conditions or there was another reason, he couldn’t use Anastasia’s ability.

Longing for what he didn’t have wouldn’t change anything.

The tools he needed were already in his hands.

With a red flash, Eugene charged into the horde of monsters.

The flames burned fiercely.

Light erupted as he pierced through the monsters.

Step by step, Eugene stubbornly pressed forward.

‘I can’t master all these abilities in such a short time.’

So he changed his tactics.

Eugene had overlooked one thing: The combat style he had built up until now. 

It was something he had developed when he only had Pyrokinesis. 

Naturally, it was a fighting method specialized for using Pyrokinesis. 

But what about now? Was Pyrokinesis the only ability he had? Was the flame he inherited from Yui the only thing he had?

No.

Eugene smiled coldly, his lips curling sharply.

‘It’s okay to get hit.’

He had Hardening.

‘It’s okay to get hurt.’

He had Super Regeneration.

‘Just keep running.’

He had Acceleration.

‘Only watch out for the really dangerous stuff.’

He had Danger Sense.

‘And clear the way.’

He had Heat Ray.

He had Pyrokinesis.

All of these were supernatural abilities borrowed from others.

But at this moment, they were Eugene’s own supernatural abilities.

Eugene began to run.

In a way completely different from before.

◈

“Truly simple and brutish.”

Belial let out a hollow laugh.

As she said, Eugene’s advance was simple and brutish.

Even when a spear pierced his side, he just endured and kept moving forward.

If something blocked his path, he cut it down. Even when bitten, he stubbornly charged ahead.

Blood splattered. Hardening could block the monsters’ attacks, but Belial’s attacks were on a completely different level. 

Her attacks steadily chipped away at Eugene’s body. He dodged what he could, but if dodging would break his momentum and push him back, he simply took the hit and endured. 

Flesh and blood soaked the ground.

But Eugene didn’t fall.

His wounds healed quickly.

Even when poisoned, he detoxified in an instant.

Occasionally, a monster’s attack would pierce Eugene’s Hardening.

His focus wavered, or Hardening weakened as he concentrated on other abilities.

Still, Eugene pressed forward, coughing up blood.

The distance, which had only been increasing, began to shrink.

“Simple and brutish, but…”

Belial and Eugene’s eyes met.

Eugene’s blue eyes, tinged with gold, were filled with determination.

Belial couldn’t hide a faint smile at that gaze.

To be honest, she had been slightly disappointed at first.

Seeing him struggle against mere monsters.

With just the creation of life, something akin to a warm-up, Eugene couldn’t even get close.

She had created the horde of monsters to recreate the battle of that day, but he was struggling against something so trivial.

If he had used all his abilities correctly, he would have broken through easily.

She had sneered at his pitiful state, but her smile now was slightly different.

“Truly… beautiful…”

Yes, this was it.

This was the sight.

Covered in blood.

Wounded and staggering.

Yet still charging forward without stopping.

It was the same sight as that man.

The image of a Hero.

“Soon, you’ll reach me.”

Just like Eugene had.

The Chosen One will reach me.

And then the real battle will begin.

Belial’s shoulders trembled with delight.

“…Huh?”

But that smile soon twisted into something more complicated.

Belial furrowed her brow. She placed a hand on her chest. The softness beneath her palm. A throbbing pain. It was a familiar sensation.

‘The collapse of the vessel…’

The phenomenon of the vessel breaking down under the strain of the devil god’s power.

Lucia was the best vessel, but continuous exposure to the devil god’s power would inevitably lead to collapse.

Especially since she had been recklessly using her power without any regard for the vessel’s durability.

‘Well, it doesn’t matter.’

Lucia’s supernatural ability was Super Regeneration.

She had tested it before making her the vessel.

The regenerative power was more than sufficient.

Astaroth hadn’t been lying.

Belial ignored the collapsing vessel and narrowed her eyes. 

She smiled as Eugene drew closer. The scorching heat approached. The pounding in her chest grew faster. And just as Belial was about to rise from her seat—

Crack. 

The sound of something breaking echoed.

Belial’s insides tore apart.

Bones shattered, and muscles snapped.

It was a familiar phenomenon. Something she had experienced ever since her soul was damaged by Jin. 

The pain stabbed at her mind, but Belial had always brushed it off. This time was no different. Belial chuckled and let the pain wash over her.

“Huh?”

Until her legs gave out and she collapsed.

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
Come to think of it, when Lucia first came to this world, she immediately cut her fingers off.

Isn’t it amazing that Belial endured until now?

As expected of a devil god.

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
And, the losing streak starts now!

The fact that I predicted it wasn’t even funny, smh.