Chapter 286

Chapter 286

I Became the Only Non-mage in the Academy.

Episode 286: The One Who Devours Stars (4)

[You will regret your foolish choice.]

“Regret? As if.”

I did not regret it.

I could never coexist with them. They were an evil that must be eradicated.

The One Who Devours Stars moved first. A dark sphere emitted a dim radiance. A sinister force began spreading in all directions.

A so-called domain.

When an Apostle descended into this world, they established a domain to recover their weakened abilities. It was a force that contaminated the land, mana, and existence of Earth, turning them into the thralls of an evil god.

But this was different in both scale and power. The direct influence of an evil god was beginning to affect even my mental world.

[However, you are free to act recklessly.]

The One Who Devours Stars continued.

[You have been blessed so abundantly by the heavens, and you have even obtained the mind of the Black God. You have earned not one, but two qualifications to reach the celestial realm. I understand your arrogance.]

Darkness swallowed the world as if it were the end of days.

The entire world darkened.

All light vanished.

Krrrrrk.

The One Who Devours Stars moved. Thump! A shockwave burst forth.

And with that, a massive transformation began in my mental world.

Whoooosh──.

A wind blew.

A faint breeze, just strong enough to make my clothes flutter.

-Master, be careful. That power… that power is eerie.

‘As if any power these creatures wield isn’t.’

I twisted my lips and unsheathed the Black Heavenly Demon Sword.

This was my mental world.

Winds did not blow here.

Because I had not permitted them to.

And yet, I could feel the wind stirring.

The One Who Devours Stars.

The authority he wielded.

Star Annihilation.

And another name.

Wind Annihilation.

Whoooosh─! The wind surged, transforming into a raging storm.

KWOAAAAHH!!

A tempest erupted. Like a tornado spiraling upward, winds took hold throughout my mental world.

If Destruction of All disintegrated all matter.

If the Destruction of Heaven obliterated all life.

Then this power specialized in the destruction of stars and worlds themselves.

It slashed and shattered. That was why the One Who Devours Stars earned his title by devouring them.

Thus, Star Annihilation.

An evil god whose power was specialized in destroying mental worlds. Ordinary transcendents would simply be swallowed whole.

Ironically, he was the weakest among the evil gods yet to appear.

A mere vanguard.

Yet even this vanguard was capable of annihilating Earth itself.

I gripped the Black Heavenly Demon Sword.

A deep black-blue blade gleamed with dim and azure light, humming as it absorbed and rejected the surrounding space, exuding an undeniable presence.

‘Dark Azure Blade.’

A newly evolved sword enveloped the Black Heavenly Demon Sword. The power of the Four Seasons rippled, encasing it. I stabilized the energy of the Dark Azure Blade.

A black sun burned itself as it infused into the Dark Azure Blade.

Black Heaven Annihilation Sword.

Flames of Annihilation.

Fwoooooosh!

Flames that seemed capable of incinerating the world engulfed the sword.

The Black Heaven Annihilation Sword is a martial art designed to slay evil gods. That sword targets only the wicked.

A martial art forged by pushing the talent of the Sword Deity to its absolute limit.

A technique created solely to slay evil gods—Evil God Slayer.

I poured my mental world’s power into it.

I had already dissected all information regarding the evil gods.

A martial art that only I could create.

‘However.’

The burden was considerable.

Wielding the Evil God Slayer technique while activating the Dark Azure Blade placed a strain even on me.

In other words, it was proof that this attack would be effective against the evil god.

[…An interesting power.]

The One Who Devours Stars moved.

KRRRAAACK!! The surrounding storm converged, swelling in size. Its sheer force was enough to tear even the most notorious monstrosities apart.

Fwoooosh!

The Flames of Annihilation blazed. I raised my sword.

Stepping forward, I positioned myself in the High Guard Stance, extending my left foot and hand forward while raising my sword.

‘Cut.’

I infused my intent.

[The talent of the Sword Deity (Ex) observes you.]

The flames, capable of incinerating the world, roared.

I swung my sword. Srrrip─!

With the sound of something being severed, the storm of destruction split in two.

The Blue Black Flames began to consume everything. The Winds of Annihilation were engulfed in the azure flames and ignited.

BOOOOM!!

I leapt forward.

[From the darkness born in the beginning…]

The One Who Devours Stars began chanting an incantation.

The Flames of Annihilation blazed violently. I swung the Black Heavenly Demon Sword. A barrier formed around the One Who Devours Stars, deflecting the flames.

Dozens of sword marks.

I stomped the ground again.

Simultaneously, I drew upon a force from within the darkness.

Boundary.

The power to distinguish all things.

With it, I attempted to sever everything around me. If I could reach the One Who Devours Stars in this way, it would be ideal.

Kiiiing!

A scraping sound rang out, and the power of Boundary failed to activate.

One of the fundamental authorities of an evil god.

‘This won’t end easily.’

I wouldn’t pretend to be unaffected, but I had anticipated this.

I invoked Destruction of All.

Black Heaven Annihilation Sword.

Ultimate Sword of Destruction.

Destruction of All surged into the heavens. The power to dismantle everything condensed into my sword.

Ziiiiiing──!!

A powerful blue light erupted. The energy permeating the area concentrated, strengthening Destruction of All.

A massive tidal wave compressed. The azure light glowed brilliantly.

[You modified the power of the evil gods to suit yourself? This is rather…]

The One Who Devours Stars muttered in admiration.

A cross-shaped sword aura split his barrier.

BOOOOOOM!!

The cross-shaped strike slammed into the barrier. Countless waves of Destruction of All poured into it.

Crack-crack-crack-crack.

Like ice shattering. The azure waves caused fissures to form from within the barrier.

Flash─!

The blue light intensified. The explosion that followed engulfed the One Who Devours Stars.

KRRRRRKKKK!

The force, enough to erase entire mountain ranges, merely cracked the barrier instead of destroying it.

‘That barrier is absurd.’

It was as if an entire mountain range had been compressed and enhanced several hundred times. An evil god battle could never be a short confrontation.

Especially since they possessed regenerative authority.

[You are quite the nuisance.]

The One Who Devours Stars moved.

A pair of hands released the black sphere they had been holding.

And then, he pointed his hand toward the sky.

[Stars, move.]

Above the sky.

No, in the space beyond it. The stars began to shine. A sinister force spread across the cosmos.

A violet aura rippled.

Space wavered.

The One Who Devours Stars. Having strengthened himself through Wind Annihilation, he had also cultivated another power.

The power of Stars.

Gravity.

The violet aura seeped into the stars. The celestial bodies that drifted through space ceased their orbits.

Flash─!

Light flickered.

And then, Descent.

Starlight filled with sinister energy began to fall like meteors.

Fifteen in total.

“Phew.”

I steadied my breath.

I would not use the Black Heaven Annihilation Sword.

The more I wielded it, the greater the burden on both my body and my mental world. Not even I could use it indefinitely.

The Flames of Annihilation merged with the power of the Black Sun.

The Ultimate Sword of Destruction combined with Destruction of All. Both consumed the resources of my mental world and required immense willpower.

Thus, I extracted another power.

I reached toward the sky and clenched my fist.

The Annihilating Heavens began to stir, the clouds overhead moving in response.

Crackle!

Black lightning coalesced into storm clouds. The falling stars, summoned by the One Who Devours Stars, collided with the thunderclouds.

BOOOOOOM!

The meteors struck the storm, scattering in all directions.

At that moment, the One Who Devours Stars moved.

[That was an impressive display of power.]

Despite his massive form, which seemed large enough to blot out the sky, he moved with astounding speed. In an instant, he descended to the ground.

He raised his four arms, each holding a sphere. The colossal hands, resembling human hands yet vast enough to fill the heavens, descended toward me.

Whoosh!

The palm came down.

With just that movement, the sky itself was obscured.

Using Boundary, the power to distinguish all things, I teleported away.

BOOOOM!

The massive palm struck down.

I looked down from above.

It was an utterly absurd size. The smallest segment of his arm was thicker than several 63 Buildings stacked together.

I gripped my sword and leaped onto the massive arm, using it as a foothold to advance.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Hundreds of sword marks were etched into the flesh as I surged forward.

[KUUOOOHHHH!!]

The One Who Devours Stars roared.

His three heads moved.

Dozens of his arms, which had been wrapped around moon-like dark spheres, released their grip.

His hands moved.

A violet force gathered.

Thud!

The space around me became heavy.

The One Who Devours Stars had increased the gravity around me.

A dark energy spread in all directions.

I negated the incoming attacks, swallowed them into the abyss, and avoided them by separating space.

I observed the scene calmly.

KWOAAAAAH!!

The wind blew.

The wind transformed into a storm.

And the storm swelled, as if it intended to consume everything.

‘Annoying.’

Among all his powers, this storm needed to be eradicated.

It didn’t have the ability to kill all life, nor could it disintegrate all matter.

However, as befitting the authority of an evil god, it was insidious.

The authority of Wind Annihilation was the destruction of the mental world.

The longer it persisted, the more my mental world would crumble.

In some ways, it was the most heinous power of all.

‘That’s why I must kill him alone.’

No one could assist me in this battle.

If anyone else entered this place and was struck by Wind Annihilation, their mental world would shatter instantly.

Even if they were transcendents.

“Phew.”

I steadied my breath.

To use it or not.

For a brief moment, I hesitated.

If I used the Primordial Spiri, I could unleash an overwhelming force that would deal a decisive blow, wiping out all Wind Annihilation in the process.

‘Not yet.’

The power of the Primordial Spirit was too dangerous.

That would be for the final moment. I would not use it now.

Then—

‘Manifestation.’

[The talent, True Dragon (Ex-), is engulfed in Blue Black Energy.]

Shhhhhhh──.

A sound of something slithering.

Like a serpent gliding across the ground, it approached quietly.

[Hmm?]

The One Who Devours Stars turned his gaze.

The evil god who filled the sky, observing my mental world from beyond,

looked up.

A being shrouded in blue-black flames appeared, as if about to consume an entire planet.

The power to manifest essence into form.

A force awakened through the fusion of Giants and True Dragons, bestowed with two celestial qualifications.

Thus, an overwhelmingly powerful presence took shape.

Fwoosh…

A black dragon wreathed in azure flames.

A being larger than even the One Who Devours Stars.

A being that dyed everything in black and claimed all as its own.

[What is this…?]

For a moment, the evil god stared at it.

A being that called itself the Dragon God, a sworn enemy of the evil gods.

Even the one who had gained the Crimson Qualification would not have possessed such an overwhelming presence.

[This… is a great loss.]

The evil god realized that Wind Annihilation and Star Annihilation alone were not enough to oppose this force.

He withdrew his hands.

He let go of the sphere he had been holding.

At that moment, the black dragon engulfed in azure flames opened its maw.

Darkness and azure intertwined, spread, and overlapped.

The Colossal Divine Dragon devoured the evil god.