“Such a young foe…”

Arkejar’s expression turned cold.

An expression a child could never make.

That incongruity felt bizarre.

That wasn’t the only thing stimulating Kim Songcheol’s senses.

A deeply spreading Red Light.

An evil aura began to dominate the space, centered around Arkejar.

Gagagagak!

The Red Light began to entangle the Nehtual, engaging in a territorial battle with the Anti-Magic Zone.

The Red Light was different from other dark magic.

It didn’t disappear even when it touched the Anti-Magic Zone, nor was it absorbed by Nehtual.

It was less like magic and more like dark magic power itself.

Knowing that first-tier magic wouldn’t work anyway, he was pushing with sheer force.

‘Pioneer must have created something new. To stand before me with magic he’s only practiced for a few days. I’ll commend your courage.’

Arkejar had lived for almost 200 years.

During that time, he had seen countless mages and experienced countless types of magic.

There were mages called geniuses, but in the end, Arkejar was the one who survived.

He believed in himself and mocked Kim Songcheol.

Boom!

The Red Light began to push back the Anti-Magic Zone.

Before, he couldn’t use his full power because he was pouring magic power into the magic formation, but now it was different.

The entire space was already vibrating with Arkejar’s magic power.

Even though a considerable amount of magic power must have been lost to the magic formation, magic power was gushing out like a bottomless spring.

The countless mages who had been buried under Arkejar’s feet for 200 years.

Their magic power had been steadily stored as mighty dark magic power.

‘Tsk.’

Kim Songcheol frowned slightly and clicked his tongue. Regardless of anything else, the difference in sheer power was considerable.

Arkejar’s magic power that had covered the skies of Pioneer was by no means a mere display.

On the contrary, it felt as if he had held back power then.

“Is this all you have?”

Arkejar said.

“You think this will stop me?”

Contrary to his relaxed tone, Arkejar was pressuring Kim Songcheol without the slightest opening.

He was not someone who would ever be complacent just because a power difference was immediately apparent.

Instead, Arkejar was the one who used it as a foothold to weave a net from which the opponent could not completely escape.

Of course, Kim Songcheol had no intention of giving up like this.

In terms of weight class, it was like David and Goliath.

There is only one way for David to defeat Goliath.

That is to aim for a weakness.

But there is no weakness revealed in Arkejar right now.

Then, he chose the second best option.

Kim Songcheol retrieved Nehtual, which was tied to the Red Light. The Anti-Magic Zone also significantly reduced its size.

And he began to concentrate on Nehtual.

The magic created by Juryung is magic that controls Nehtual. However, to control Nehtual, an understanding of it must naturally precede.

Juryung researched Nehtual on behalf of Kim Songcheol, and directly applied the research results to ‘control magic’.

The Anti-Magic Zone was also the same.

The zone of Nothingness built with Nehtual as its framework could not manifest without an understanding of Nehtual.

Kim Songcheol now knows about Nehtual.

The Dark Zone is not Nehtual’s habitat, but rather a kind of prison that confines him.

Nehtual is a being that preys on worlds, the purest chaos born from the mixture of all sorts of worlds.

It is instinct for a creature belonging to any world to feel fear when encountering a world predator.

Kim Songcheol forcefully raised Nehtual’s attributes.

He maximized fear to induce carelessness, and maximized chaos to induce instability in the magic power structure.

Then, Nehtual began to flow around Kim Songcheol.

Although it was just black matter swirling and writhing, strangely, the sight stimulated primal fear.

Even Arkejar swallowed hard.

At that moment, Nehtual was shot.

Like a line drawn with a large brush pen, it cut across the red space like a light beam.

It was the slingshot David threw at Goliath.

That refined and honed slingshot throw was effective.

Crunch-!

With a chilling sound, the black Nehtual pierced Arkejar’s heart.

Arkejar staggered, clutching his chest where red blood was gushing out, with one hand.

He looked at Kim Songcheol with an expression of disbelief.

His eyes were bloodshot, and his face was contorted with pain.

“How can this be… *cough*!”

Arkejar coughed up bright red blood.

The entire front of his flamboyant robe was soaked red.

Arkejar, who had been slowly leaning forward, suddenly stopped.

He smiled, revealing his blood-stained teeth.

“Did you think it would end like this?”

Arkejar straightened his back as if nothing had happened and casually untied the cord of his robe.

The blood-soaked robe fell to the floor, revealing a white shirt and black pants.

The white shirt was also soaked in blood, and the hole in his chest was still there.

But his chest was perfectly fine, as if it had never been pierced.

It had healed in the meantime.

“Should I erase him completely…”

Kim Songcheol bit his lip.

He wondered if just his heart would be enough.

Even black mages far less powerful than Arkejar could regenerate.

It would be strange if Arkejar died just from a pierced heart.

“I enjoyed your struggle. I should return the favor, shouldn’t I?”

Arkejar grinned and quickly formed hand seals.

All the red light was sucked into his body, and as the pressure disappeared, the underground space felt empty for a moment.

“Ninth Purgatory.”

A calm incantation spread.

At the same time, the surrounding scenery changed instantly.

A space that could not be described in words unfolded.

It was ominous, startling, and painful.

What he saw was a feast of intense, dark colors, but what he felt were emotions that were difficult to grasp.

“Aargh…!”

Kim Songcheol screamed and collapsed. Immense pain had also swept over him.

Ninth Purgatory.

Any being that enters this space experiences all negative emotions and physical pain to the maximum.

It was truly a place fitting the name Purgatory.

This is the very Source granted by Lucifer.

Arkejar had also used magic to manifest his very Source.

Of course, as it is the Source, it should be nullified by the Anti-Magic Zone, but Arkejar was using a trick to transmit its effect to Kim Songcheol.

Even at this moment, ‘Ninth Purgatory’ is being ‘absorbed’ by the Anti-Magic Zone.

Arkejar realized that the reason 1st-tier magic didn’t work was ‘absorption,’ and he interfered by making it pass through Kim Songcheol.

‘Arkejar…!’

Kim Songcheol’s consciousness blurred due to the pain. He had never experienced such pain in his life.

Pain as if his whole body was being meticulously minced by tiny blades.

Pain as if his whole body was being repeatedly struck by a large hammer.

In addition, indescribable pains rushed in.

That’s not all.

All negative emotions, such as despair, depression, and lethargy, were felt.

A hawk whispered for him to give up instantly.

It said he couldn’t do it.

He heard voices saying it would be impossible to overcome.

If it were only physical pain, he might have been able to manage.

But with such an immense mental burden, he truly didn’t know what to do.

One minute felt like an hour.

An hour felt like a day, and a day felt like a year.

He couldn’t see a path forward.

He felt that any choice he made would be wrong.

If it wouldn’t work anyway, wouldn’t it be better not to do it at all?

He couldn’t understand why he had to endure such pain here.

It felt unfair that others lived comfortably while he alone bore such a heavy burden.

It was agonizing.

He was frustrated with himself for being unable to do anything.

Yet, he didn’t have the courage to do anything right then.

It was like floundering in water, swallowing it, and then sinking.

Why had he come this far?

In the end, it was all meaningless.

It’s too painful.

Would death bring peace?

“No…”

This path leads to self-destruction.

Kim Songcheol clenched his fist until it felt like it would shatter.

These aren’t truly his feelings.

This is an external attack.

This isn’t a conclusion reached through normal reasoning.

He was merely being forced to feel these emotions.

This emotion is an illusion, a type of Duke that can be blocked.

Kim Songcheol began to expand his Anti-Magic Zone with all his might.

The shrunken Anti-Magic Zone widened greatly, and he began to absorb the Ninth Purgatory even faster.

Along with it came even more powerful pain and mental strain.

He thought it couldn’t get worse, but it did.

In that hellish pain, Kim Songcheol concentrated on a single thought.

That was his belief in himself.

His Source is infinite, wider and greater than any other Source.

Ultimately, Purgatory is just a space with limits.

It cannot surpass Nothingness.

That was the conclusion reached by Kim Songcheol’s last remaining reason.

Belief in himself.

He didn’t need many things.

Just one.

Something certain.

If he only had that, he could move forward.

‘In the end, I will win.’

If the conclusion he reached was not his own, but rather emotions and pain forced upon him by others, then all he needed to do was break free from the shackles.

It would all end if he just broke free.

Kim Songcheol believed that.

The Anti-Magic Zone, influenced by Kim Songcheol’s will, expanded with an immense aura.

As a result, the Ninth Purgatory began to be rapidly sucked into the Anti-Magic Zone.

Arkejar was far superior in manifesting the Source in the present world.

It was even grander and more distinct.

However, Kim Songcheol was overwhelmingly superior in the Source itself.

A place where there was still space left even after absorbing the entire Purgatory.

That was the Source of Nothingness.

“Let’s see who wins!”

The moment Kim Songcheol clapped his hands together and then spread them wide, the Anti-Magic Zone rotated, exerting even more suction power.

The colors, emotions, and fragments of pain that filled the space began to swirl and be absorbed as if being sucked into a black hole.

“This son of a…!”

Arkejar didn’t stay still either. He manifested the Ninth Purgatory more vividly and more quickly.

But he couldn’t keep up with the rate of absorption.

If it was a drain hole before, now it was practically a black hole.

The absorption rate was much faster than the creation rate.

“You crazy bastard!”

Expletives finally burst from Arkejar’s mouth.

His hands, forming hand seals, trembled. He was also doing something tremendous.

But this time, he couldn’t see the future.

He naturally thought Kim Songcheol’s mind would break first before the Purgatory was absorbed.

However, in the current situation, it seemed that the complete absorption of the Purgatory would happen first.

Moreover, Kim Songcheol’s eyes were gradually regaining their light. This was because he was detecting and blocking the bypass Arkejar had created.

“Stop, stop!!”

Contrary to Arkejar’s desperate cry, the Purgatory that had appeared in the present world was already almost entirely sucked into Nothingness.

Kim Songcheol felt a growing sense of peace, unlike before.

Confidence surged within him.

The thought of wanting to die also vanished.

He had been mistaken for a moment.

That he lacked confidence.

That he couldn’t do it.

But that was merely forced emotion.

It was an illusion without substance.

Then, seizing the moment of Arkejar’s agitation, Nehtual was fired.

It overlays The Source of Nothingness and manifests 1st-tier Magic through a powerful Will.

Nehtual bound Arkejar’s limbs once more.

“Grrr, let go of me!”

This time, Arkejar couldn’t escape either. Instead, he began to be absorbed by Nehtual.

With 1st-tier Magic and a powerful Will, Nehtual’s inner castle was once again transformed, beginning to absorb Arkejar himself.

“Sa, save me…! What do you need!? If only Lord Lucifer is summoned, I…!”

Pleading poured from Arkejar’s terrified mouth.

But to Kim Songcheol, who had already escaped Purgatory, these words were meaningless.

“It’s already over, Arkejar.”

The moment Kim Songcheol clenched his fist.

Nehtual completely enveloped Arkejar and was sucked back into the black circle.

Arkejar had been completely absorbed.

He was completely disassembled and became a part of Nehtual. Regeneration or revival would be utterly impossible in that chaos.

“Phew…”

Only then did Kim Songcheol wipe away his cold sweat and gasp for breath.

Boom-!

But there was no time to rest. The magic circle was not projecting the Inner World. Crimson light burst forth wildly, and the entire underground space began to tremble.

…Damn it. This is…

Kim Songcheol quickly shot upwards, discharging Electric Shock in all directions.

He had temporarily messed up the summoning magic circle, but he didn’t know if it would have any effect.

Kim Songcheol finally emitted a powerful Electric Shock in all directions, destroying the space itself, then shot upwards.

And on the high stairs of the half-destroyed hall, a fixed Stone Slab was visible.

The building was already on the verge of collapse, but.

The third Stone Slab.

He couldn’t leave this behind.