Chapter 226: Immortality

Episode 226

‘What?’

Kim Jinsung stared at Zetal, who had reappeared unharmed, his face a mixture of disbelief and confusion.

It was a rare sight to see him flustered, something that hadn’t happened even during his fights with Finlay and Graham.

‘I clearly saw his body turn to ashes, how did he come back to life?’

Even Quagmire, a monster known for its regenerative abilities, needed at least a fist-sized piece of its body to survive.

Even Karen, who could survive with his ‘Living Zombie’ trait even after losing his brain and heart, couldn’t escape death when his body was completely disintegrated and burned.

But for the first time, he had encountered an exception.

‘Could it be…’

A thought flashed through his mind, and his eyes lit up.

“Amazing! Such a powerful attack, I can’t believe a mere Middle Realm creature could do this!”

Zetal exclaimed, genuinely impressed. He then extended his palms towards Kim Jinsung.

“You attacked me with this earlier, right?”

“……!!”

Kim Jinsung’s eyes widened.

Two spheres, each with a different color, were forming in Zetal’s palms.

It was the Incrucio explosion skill he had just used.

‘How can a Demon Lord use Heavenly Energy…?’

“Take this!!”

Zetal shouted, and the two spheres shot towards him.

They collided right in front of him, and

**Boooom!**

A massive explosion erupted.

It was as powerful as the explosion Kim Jinsung had created earlier.

‘Ugh…!’

He gritted his teeth, maintaining a thick black shield around his body.

Even with his increased power level, he had to use all his strength to defend against the powerful Incrucio explosion.

At that moment,

he sensed something approaching at incredible speed from beyond the explosion.

“……!!”

He widened his eyes.

A giant black crescent blade was flying towards him, slicing through space.

It was the same attack he had used against Zetal at the beginning of their fight, the combination of ‘Dimensional Power’ and the ‘Kill’ skill.

‘Damn it!’

He twisted his body with all his might, maintaining the shield.

He managed to move out of the blade’s path,

but not completely.

**Slice.**

‘Ugh!’

He felt a searing pain in his left wrist as something was cleanly severed.

His left hand, severed by the black crescent blade, fell to the ground.

Even with his thick shield, Zetal’s attack had pierced through his defenses and cut off his hand.

‘It ignores all defenses, just like my attack.’

He was certain now. Both the Incrucio explosion and the black crescent blade attack were identical to his own.

There was only one conclusion.

‘Does he have the ability to copy my attacks?’

He deactivated his shield and looked ahead.

The smoke from the explosion cleared, and he saw Zetal, holding a giant black greatsword.

“How does it feel to be hit by your own attack?”

Zetal asked, confirming his suspicion.

“This is also your attack!”

He shouted and swung the greatsword at him.

Kim Jinsung immediately sensed,

‘It’s imbued with Dimensional Power!’

He felt the same energy that had been in his sword when he had sliced Zetal’s body into pieces.

He instinctively channeled the same Dimensional Power into his sword and blocked the attack.

**Clang!**

A deafening clang echoed through the castle as the two Dimensional Powers clashed.

A fierce sword fight ensued.

They moved so fast that their movements were a blur to the naked eye.

They were evenly matched, but Kim Jinsung was constantly thinking.

‘I’ve confirmed two of Zetal’s abilities. The first is to copy his opponent’s abilities. And the second is resurrection.’

He still remembered vividly how Zetal had reappeared unharmed after being reduced to ashes.

‘I need to find out how he resurrects. Otherwise, I’ll be at a disadvantage.’

Not only could Zetal copy all his abilities, but he could also resurrect from seemingly fatal attacks.

It meant that Kim Jinsung would eventually tire out and lose, as time went on.

Zetal, a Demon Lord, could fight indefinitely as long as he had enough Demonic Energy. But Kim Jinsung, a Middle Realm creature made of flesh and blood, couldn’t.

‘…Wait a minute.’

His eyes narrowed as he noticed something.

‘If this is the answer…’

He quickly changed his attack pattern.

**Clang!**

The loudest clang yet echoed through the castle.

Zetal blocked his full-powered slash, but the force of the attack pushed him back a step.

Kim Jinsung used a skill, taking advantage of the momentary opening.

▷ Judgment of Justice: Imprisons a designated enemy in a pillar of light, with the help of the Heavenly Realm.

The imprisoned enemy takes continuous Heavenly Energy damage for 10 seconds while trapped in the pillar of light.

After 10 seconds, the pillar of light explodes, dealing massive damage to everyone nearby.

Judgment of Justice, a skill he had acquired after defeating Archangel Sariel, the boss of the 45th floor of the Trial Tower.

A pillar of light descended from the sky, piercing through the roof and engulfing Zetal.

“Aaaargh…!”

Zetal writhed in pain, trapped in the pillar of light.

As a Demon Lord, a being made of Demonic Energy, he was taking increased damage from the Heavenly Energy attack.

10 seconds later,

**Boooom!**

The pillar of light exploded with a deafening roar.

The entire castle was engulfed in the explosion, and Kim Jinsung clearly saw

Zetal’s body, trapped in the pillar of light, turning to ashes and disappearing.

‘If he resurrects again, I’ll make sure he uses up ‘that’.’

As he was thinking, the smoke from the explosion cleared.

The castle was eerily silent, devoid of any life except for him.

But moments later,

“Khehehe…!”

Zetal reappeared, unharmed, as if by magic, a sinister chuckle escaping his lips.

“No matter how many times you attack me, the result will be the same! Do you know why I, Zetal, am called the ‘Immortal’?”

He grinned triumphantly, mocking him.

“I think I know now.”

Kim Jinsung replied.

“It’s because of the Abyss Mana stones you’ve hidden 10 floors below this castle.”

“……!!”

He pointed to the side, where

numerous plant roots had sprouted from the ground, clutching something in their grasp.

They were all ‘Abyss’, the highest grade Mana stones.

“I used the ‘Creeping’ trait to search for the source of your resurrection. And I found these hidden 10 floors below.

And one of the Abyss Mana stones shattered the moment you turned to ashes.”

“!!”

“That’s when I knew. These Abyss Mana stones are your life force, like a core.”

He smirked, seeing Zetal’s eyes trembling.

“So if I destroy them all, you won’t be able to resurrect anymore, right?”

“W-wait…!”

**Crack.**

He ignored Zetal’s desperate plea and

crushed all the Mana stones in the plant roots’ grasp.

“Now, let’s have a fair fight, with only one life each.”

He said, and his body started growing.

He transformed into Mammon, the Demon Lord he had defeated, his body now slightly larger than Zetal’s.

“This Incrucio explosion will be different from the previous one.”

He said, extending his hands towards Zetal.

A black sphere formed in his palm and grew rapidly, reaching the size of his body.

Next to him, Archangel Sariel, who had appeared out of nowhere, was creating a Heavenly Energy sphere in his palm.

He was a clone, created when Kim Jinsung transformed into Mammon using the ‘Clone Technique’.

“You won’t be able to withstand it. But try your best.”

He said confidently and launched the black sphere.

Sariel also launched his Heavenly Energy sphere at the same time.

“Ugh…! I didn’t want to use this method…!”

Zetal muttered to himself and started gathering his Mana explosively.

“Haaaah!! Fate, reverse!”

He shouted and unleashed a wave of Demonic Energy towards Kim Jinsung.

The Demonic Energy reached him right before the two spheres collided.

**Boooom!**

A massive explosion erupted, destroying everything that remained of the castle.

* * *

Moments later,

▶ You have defeated a monster.

▶ You have earned 2000 Beast Karma Points.

▶ You have acquired the ‘Immortal Demon Lord’ composite trait from the target.

▷ Immortal Demon Lord: Grants the following traits and permanently stored skills.

1. Life Core Designation: Designates an object as a core to replace the user’s life. Only objects with Mana condensed to the level of a highest-grade Mana stone or higher can be designated as ‘Life Cores’.

The user who created a ‘Life Core’ can only die in the following two cases:

※ When the body is 100% destroyed.

※ When the Life Core is destroyed.

The number of ‘Life Cores’ the user can designate increases as their power level increases.

You can currently designate and create 26 ‘Life Cores’.

2. Ability Replication: Allows the user to replicate and use an ability used by the target for 10 minutes after taking damage from it.

The damage and MP consumption are the same as the target’s when using the skill.

“…Not bad.”

He said, satisfied, after reading the notification window.

‘The ability to replace my life with highest-grade Mana stones is the best trait I’ve acquired recently.’

He was already strong enough to shake the world, and now he had a trait that could potentially give him dozens of lives.

He wouldn’t have to worry about dying once or twice during dangerous operations.

“So I had to acquire this resurrection ability to move on to the second step?”

[Of course.]

Dantalian finally answered.

He continued,

[Because there’s a high probability of death during the second step.]

His eyes narrowed.

What kind of method was it that could even risk his life?

—