Chapter 151

Verno raised his creaking neck upwards.

Creeaak-

He felt a strong pressure, as if his neck would break.

The sky of the Demon Realm, which had always been a dark crimson, was stained pure white.

He realized a moment later. It wasn’t that the sky was white.

Something was piercing down at him.

Him.

Gresham had launched an Ambush.

All this was calculated in an instant.

Without a moment to think, Verno’s hands moved.

Toward the pouring bolt of lightning.

KABOOM!

The moment his fingertips touched the lightning, the first thing he felt wasn’t pain, but pressure.

Verno drew up his Demonic Energy.

For a brief moment, a plenitude of power gathered in his hands, then the white streak of light devoured his Demonic Energy.

No matter that it was an Ambush. No matter how careless he had been.

‘What is this?’

Verno was a suspicious man.

He had already figured Gresham out completely.

The Gresham he knew should never have been able to produce this much power.

Could it be that he hid his strength? How? Why?

Was this bastard really another spy sent by Gor?

All sorts of thoughts flooded his mind.

Crackle-crackle-crackle-

In that time, his two palms had completely absorbed the lightning bolt.

There was no kaboom sound.

Either his eardrums had burst, or the bastard had used a domain-control type of magic. It was one of the two.

When his pure white vision returned to normal, Verno looked down at his arms.

They were charred black like a pile of ash.

His senses weren’t returning easily either.

Even this wasn’t a big problem.

What was truly important was the battle to come.

Gresham knew Verno’s full strength, but Verno did not know Gresham’s.

What percentage of his full power had the bastard just used?

“Who are you.”

Within his fully cleared vision, the bastard was standing there.

Gresham the Warrior was gone.

The bastard was looking at Verno like an emotionless killing machine.

He had a sudden realization.

The lightning magic just now wasn’t the bastard’s full power.

“Did Gor send you?”

The bastard took a step toward him without answering.

Instinctively, Verno took a step back.

Verno’s face crumpled. He hadn’t even backed down before Gor.

‘Composure.’

His immediate survival was more important than his pride.

“Answer me. I ask this as a Warrior.”

“Warrior? Heh.”

Gresham laughed.

“Why are you laughing?”

“I guess my acting wasn’t completely useless, then.”

“…?”

Verno shook his head.

“I have yet to hear an answer. Who sent you?”

“Who sent me? I came on my own.”

“What is the reason for suddenly attacking me?”

“Out of everything I said, this one thing was real. That I need an opponent strong enough to risk my life against.”

The bastard took another step closer. Verno scowled and took a step back.

Not yet.

He needed a little more time to recover.

Time for his two charred arms to return to normal.

It would only take a moment.

“Is that me? You’re wrong, Gresham. You should have gone with me to kill Gor instead.”

“I’ll kill you, and then I’ll go kill him too. Don’t worry.”

“No. The fight between you and me should be the last.”

“Why is that?”

“Because…”

In that instant, Verno stomped his foot.

Gresham’s face was right in front of his nose.

The battle would be decided in a flash. Therefore, he had to use his full power.

Gor? The aftermath?

There was no time to think about such things.

For now, he would devour Gresham. That was his only thought.

With that thought, Verno extended his hand with all his might.

Surging Demonic Energy filled his hand.

This close. At this distance, no one could escape unharmed…

Thump.

Gresham caught his fist. As if he had been waiting for it. And then, he grinned.

With the thought that he’d been had, he tried to pull his fist back.

He couldn’t muster any strength. It was strange.

His Demonic Energy throughout his body diminished as if the Saintess’s Divinity was at work.

Why?

The cackling bastard opened his mouth.

“Curious about my identity? Right. You should at least see my face before you die.”

C-c-creak-

Gresham’s bones and muscles began to twist.

Soon, the bastard’s face was slowly revealed.

Black hair, merciless eyes. A face he had seen somewhere before.

‘Ah!’

Only then did he realize.

“Reincarnator.”

“Correct.”

Choi Gi-woong nodded as if praising a puppy that had performed a trick.

Even as he did, Verno’s strength was steadily draining away.

He had been completely mistaken. He thought the bastard was at least a Demon.

Divinity was practically the natural enemy of Demonic Energy.

It was no different from feeding himself to a Reincarnator who could use Divinity as if it were his own body.

He himself, directly into the bastard’s jaws!

His mind was filled with only the thought of escaping this place.

But he himself knew better than anyone that it was impossible.

“…Keuk.”

In that ridiculous posture, Verno coughed up blood. His fist, still extended toward the bastard, was caught.

His surging Demonic Energy was rapidly diminishing. The battle had turned out just as he had predicted.

In an instant, and in vain. But the result was not what he’d expected.

It was the bastard’s complete victory.

Escape?

He couldn’t even dream of it. His life or death now depended on the Reincarnator right in front of him.

“You’re, sucking away, my Demonic Energy. Heuk. The rumors were true. That you handle all sorts of powers.”

“Well, something like that.”

Choi Gi-woong, answering nonchalantly, asked as if he was curious about something.

“Have you ever seen Ian?”

“?”

“Ah. I mean, back when Ian was alive. Have you seen him?”

“……”

“You haven’t. Well, that was a time when you weren’t out in the open, right? I’ve heard your answer. Well then. Good work. Now, it’s time to…”

“Wait.”

“Hm?”

“You’ll die anyway if this continues.”

Verno quickly added.

“The moment you reveal your Divinity in the Demon Realm, the Demon God will appear. You will die here. Without fail.”

Choi Gi-woong scoffed.

“We’ll see. My backer isn’t such a pushover either.”

“No. I can guarantee it. If you don’t get out of the Demon Realm in at least 30 minutes, you will…”

“30 minutes is enough.”

“What?”

“I said 30 minutes is enough. Time to kill you and take Gor. Hmm. 30 minutes is more than enough.”

“…What’s with your confidence?”

“My business in the Demon Realm is done. I’ve collected enough Experience Points. I don’t think there’s anything more to say. Let’s end this.”

Choi Gi-woong said it blandly.

So bland that not a single emotion could be felt.

If he had shown anger, or threatened him, or demanded he hand over his Essence, he might have given up on his life.

But this.

Verno’s heart pounded.

A hope that he could live had sprouted.

If he just spoke a little better, or if he knelt before the bastard.

Yes. He’d think about the aftermath later…

Slice.

The world spun round and round. No, his vision was flipping upside down.

In the distance, he could see Choi Gi-woong turning his back.

His eyes slowly closed.

Ah.

My head’s been cut off.

To him, an act like killing me requires no emotion at all.

He finally realized.

And that was the end.

I was lucky.

It could have been a fierce back-and-forth battle. I might have even been seriously injured.

But as long as the result was good, that’s all that mattered.

The bastard never suspected me until the end, and as a result, I took down a Demon King with anticlimactic ease.

-Level Up!

-Level Up!

-Level Up!

The sound effects rang out, almost deafeningly.

There was no time to check the Status Window.

-Protect Polymorph will be Released.

-The Demon God, Chaos, has succeeded in detecting you.

-Time until the Demon God, Chaos, finds you: 5 minutes 59 seconds.

-The System’s Divine Protection is with you.

-Time until the Demon God, Chaos, finds you: 10 minutes.

-Warning, a swift escape is strongly recommended!

The Demon God was rushing toward me.

The proof of it was right above.

The sky was cracking, cra-a-ack.

A giant, red pupil was visible.

Like a ghost from a horror movie, the massive pupil was darting around at high speed.

I could hear auditory hallucinations in my ears.

The Demon God is Great, The Demon God is Great, The Demon God is Great.

“The Demon God is Grea…”

I stopped myself from speaking.

Damn it. It wasn’t a hallucination.

It was an extremely high-level Mental Magic.

-Resisting Dark Magic, [The Demon God is Great].

-Resistance successful!

There was nothing to be happy about just because I succeeded.

I moved quickly. As fast as possible.

There was no need to conserve my strength anymore.

KABOOM!

The moment I stomped my foot, I used a Teleport spell.

[Teleport]

[Coordinates: Deepest part of Gor’s Castle]

[Cast fails.]

[Target’s Magic Resistance is high!]

This meant that Gor’s side had also noticed I was here.

Even this didn’t matter. In the grand scheme of things, this was all expected.

[Teleport]

[Coordinates: Deepest part of Gor’s Castle]

[Cast fails.]

[Target’s Magic Resistance is high!]

Fail, fail, fail.

I failed continuously on my way to his castle. Still, I kept trying. At this very moment, Peter was helping me.

He was probably nagging Gor at his side.

“Chwik. The Reincarnator has appeared.”

When I got close to Gor’s Castle, his soldiers were lined up in rows.

[Annihilate]

The moment I uttered the activation word, they were massacred in droves.

It wasn’t the end.

Twice as many as I had killed rushed at me.

Bastards who didn’t even fear death.

The ones classified as Warriors among the Demons swarmed me, their eyes flashing.

If I tried to kill all of them with Dragon Language Magic, I would be the first to collapse from exhaustion.

This won’t do. I changed my strategy. To hand-to-hand combat.

It started with the one at the very front.

As a jewel-encrusted sword was falling toward the crown of my head.

I swung Durandal in return. Its head fell off without mercy.

I wielded Durandal and swung my Divinity.

White streaks of light cut down the bastards again and again.

A new Monster appeared where one fell, and a Demon covered that spot.

It didn’t matter.

The important thing was for the Teleport to work.

[Teleport]

[Coordinates: Deepest part of Gor’s Castle]

[Cast fails.]

[Target’s Magic Resistance is high!]

Peter! Not yet!

How much time is left?

2 minutes.

I had to return to the Mainland within 2 minutes. And within that time, I had to capture Gor alive.

Unlike with Verno, there were many things I wanted to ask Gor.

So first!

Slice!

An explosion erupted.

A mass of flame that would incinerate everything instantly struck the Monsters’ backs.

Screams from hell burst forth.

1 minute.

The thought of giving up began to consume my mind.

My Mana, which had seemed endless, was steadily decreasing.

Thump-thump!

The sound of their powerful footsteps rang out loudly.

“They’re coming!”

Right. I’m going.

I leaped high over the bastards. I jumped toward the center of the troop.

The world slowed down.

The bastards’ movements were no different from frozen objects in a stopped world.

I wiped them out just like that. My Experience Points were rising faster than ever, but.

It was at the cost of my own life.

Damn it. How long do I have to hold on? Peter!

10 seconds.

I couldn’t hold on any longer.

It wasn’t a matter of stamina, but because of the approaching Chaos. The eyeball floating in the sky began to stare directly at me.

I couldn’t bear it any longer and was about to use the Key of Dimensional Travel,

Just then.

[Teleport]

[Coordinates: Deepest part of Gor’s Castle]

[Cast successful!]

Whoosh!

In an instant, my body was swept up by gravity.

The moment I blinked, the scene changed.

I could see an old, viper-like Demon.

His face was filled with shock.

Right next to him was Peter. The guy was grinning.

How about that. I did it. A look that carried that meaning.

Yeah. Good job. I wanted to praise him just this once, but there was no time.

I had two choices.

To listen to the System and obediently kill Gor.

Now that I had consumed Verno’s Experience Points, Gor was no match for me.

However, from the moment I started executing the plan, I had already decided on the second option.

I grabbed Gor by the crown of his head.

Whoosh!*

[Casting Key of Dimensional Travel.]

[Destination Dimension: Mainland, Earth]

I return to the present.

Along with Gor.

There were so many things I wanted to ask him.