Chapter 578
“Haha, now that I didn’t expect.”
I immediately used Shadow Movement and moved to where Guiyeong was stationed beside Jack.
That overwhelming pull dragging things in right in front of me gave me a brief, indirect taste of what a black hole might feel like.
The moment I escaped the range of his attraction force, Lucifer lifted his head and looked straight toward where I was.
- Heh heh heh, are you afraid of me?
His tone was dripping with arrogance.
Jack advised me at once.
- Don’t react. He’s Pride. The more worked up you get, the stronger he becomes.
“I know. I wasn’t planning to get worked up anyway.”
Still, the situation was not exactly good.
The moment I used Shadow Movement to escape that skill just now, Lucifer—the Demon King of Pride—seemed to take it as fear, which made him even stronger.
“Damn. I didn’t think he’d come in for a straight fight this early.”
- Still, he’s a pretty impressive commander. Most bastards like that sit all the way in the rear and just bark orders.
“Are you praising him right now?”
- Credit where credit’s due.
“Then maybe you could give me a little credit too.”
- Be jealous of something worth being jealous of, Master.
“Forget that. Since the big boss has shown himself like this, I should deal with him first.”
- What are you going to do?
“Change of players. I’ll hold him off myself, so bring out Typhon and block the mouth of the gorge. That way I can focus entirely on him.”
- Understood.
[ Umbra’s Shadow Legacy is activated. ]
[ Hollow Jack, King of the Shadow Divine Beasts, summons Typhon. ]
Kugugugugugu!!
The summoned Typhon spread out a vast shadow like a swamp, then rose out of it like a machine.
Its sheer size was monstrous.
The moment it appeared, it overwhelmed the momentum of the Demon King’s army through pure presence alone.
As expected of Typhon.
“Wow.”
“Woooh.”
“Well now.”
The Olympian gods each tossed out a comment as they watched.
They knew better than anyone just how strong Typhon was.
Meanwhile, I summoned the four vampires one after another.
“Do everything you can to make sure they don’t cross the gorge.”
“Yes, understood!”
Preparations were complete.
Then Lucifer saw Typhon and laughed.
- You’ve got an impressive monster there. He’d make a fine subordinate for me.
“Quit coveting someone else’s subordinate. Keep that up and you’ll regret it.”
- Hahaha, regret it? Me?
Lucifer slowly floated up into the air.
A dark crimson demonic aura surged around his body like a tide.
- Looking at your power, it seems Greed has devoured the Eastern Demon King. But do you know this? Greed can never defeat Pride.
“Isn’t that the kind of thing you only know after trying?”
- Heh heh heh, true enough. Sometimes experiencing it firsthand isn’t a bad thing. Now then, come entertain me.
“With pleasure.”
I kicked off the ground at once and began stacking my own buffs.
[ You summon Heracles’s Lion Head Helmet. ]
[ You summon Heracles’s Club. ]
[ Blood Suit is activated. ]
[ Blessing is activated. ]
[ Paladian is activated. ]
[ Divine Aura is activated. ]
[ Mana Detection is activated. ]
[ Endurance is activated. ]
[ Enhancement is activated. ]
[ Eye of the Nightsmith is activated. ]
[ Sword Energy is activated. ]
And the moment my preparations were complete, I took aim, kicked off the ground hard, and shot straight toward where Lucifer was.
Just before colliding with him, I focused my mind and swung my sword.
[ Diamond Cut is activated. ]
[ Enhancement is applied. ]
[ The power of Diamond Cut increases further. ]
Flash!
The opening move was a basic slash.
But because it was a slash with all the force I had crammed into it, there was nothing basic about it at all.
Lucifer, however, still wore that same arrogant smile and spread his arms as if accepting my attack.
Kaaang!!
My Blood Sword crashed into him.
But it never even reached the collar of his clothes.
A thin barrier spread out like Phaidiak was protecting him.
Through that transparent barrier, Lucifer smiled darkly.
- And with that, you think you can make me regret anything?
“Hmph!”
I immediately kicked off empty air and leaped upward.
Lucifer remained where he was, floating in midair, calmly looking up at me.
Then he raised a hand, and that black hole appeared again, producing a powerful pull.
Kwooooooo!
I could feel my body being dragged toward Lucifer.
I immediately raised my sword and took my stance.
I didn’t forget to use skills on him, either.
[ Weaken is activated. ]
[ Seal of Pain is activated. ]
[ Enrage is activated. ]
[ Blessing of Rage is activated. ]
[ Curse of Rage is activated. ]
I hurled the full gift set of debuffs at him.
By the time they took effect, my body was already being dragged in like dust getting sucked into a vacuum cleaner.
I had no intention of running.
I had prepared the next attack precisely because I knew he would use attraction force.
The moment I closed to near point-blank range with him, my vision changed.
A world filled in black and white.
And across it, golden lines were drawn.
My sword swung.
[ Enhancement is activated. ]
[ Soul Cleave is activated. ]
[ Enhancement is applied. ]
[ The power of Soul Cleave increases further. ]
A golden line was drawn through empty space.
That line became a sword scar, and what it was carved into was the black hole.
Lucifer didn’t panic.
At most, you’re just a swordsman. Unless you’re carrying some holy sword, there’s no way you can destroy my black magic—that was what he seemed to think.
And the moment he thought that—
Crack!
The sound of something splitting.
At the same time, Lucifer’s eyes widened.
Mine widened too.
The difference was that the corners of my mouth also lifted.
As I hung there in midair, our expressions split in completely opposite directions.
Craaack— crack-crack-crack— BAAANG!!
The black hole exploded.
And from the shattered black hole, a scream of enormous size began pouring out.
- Kyaaaaaaaaaah!!
It sounded like the shriek of a specter.
At the same time, the black hole writhed and began going berserk.
The black hole’s name was Gluttony.
It had been created by tearing away the soul of Baalzebub, the Great Demon of Gluttony, one of the six Great Demons who wished to devour everything.
- Grrreeeeeeeeech!!
All kinds of things came spewing out of the shattered Gluttony.
There were chunks of terrain like rocks, dirt, and trees, but also glittering gold and treasures, and a great many people, beasts, and even monsters.
Everything Gluttony had swallowed in its endless appetite.
Watching the broken Gluttony rampage, Lucifer frowned.
- Tch.
Then he clenched his fist and destroyed Gluttony itself.
Boom!!
Gluttony exploded.
The Gluttony made from Baalzebub’s soul vanished just like that.
At the same time, I felt Lucifer’s power weaken slightly.
By successfully destroying Gluttony just now, I had managed to put down the nose of the ever-smug Lucifer and suppress some of that proud momentum.
‘He’s Pride. The more I break that arrogant posture of his, the weaker he gets.’
Still, that bastard, the Western Demon King.
He was stronger than I’d expected.
I’d layered myself with every buff I had, piled on debuffs too, and used Soul Cleave, yet the only thing that took damage was Gluttony.
Lucifer brushed off his hand and said,
- You’d probably be well liked wherever you go.
“That’s pretty generous praise all of a sudden. Starting to feel the pressure?”
- Pressure? Me? Khahahahaha.
He started chuckling again.
Then he raised his hand.
[ Lucifer, Demon King of Pride, uses Hall of Worship. ]
The moment he used the new skill, a black wintry gale suddenly swept out from Lucifer in all directions.
And the moment that black gale passed through, the entire area fell silent, and the whole landscape changed.
What should have been a battlefield filled with screams, battle cries, and the sounds of flesh tearing became a quiet, solemn dueling ground where you could hear the breathing of the person next to you.
It was a domain skill.
Lucifer had drawn me into his territory and made it so only the two of us remained.
“Lord Avatar!!”
The moment I vanished together with Lucifer, Leihian—who had been watching with bated breath—shouted urgently.
But by then, I was already gone.
That was when it happened.
- Do not worry.
An unfamiliar voice.
When Leihian turned his head, a being he had never seen before was standing beside him.
It was Grid, Demon King of Greed and lord of the Eastern Demon Realm.
Even though it was his first time seeing Grid, Leihian instinctively knew who he was.
“M-My Demon King?”
- You know me?
“Yes, I do. You’re the one who recently became the new lord of the Eastern Demon Realm.”
- Good. I appreciate being recognized. In any case, don’t worry about my Avatar.
“Huh? But the Western Demon King disappeared with him too.”
- Which is exactly why you shouldn’t worry. The one who vanished with him is my Avatar. And more importantly, it was Pride who took him.
“...?”
Leihian tilted his head, clearly not understanding.
But Grid smiled.
Because thanks to the choice Lucifer had just made, he knew this war would soon come to an end.
That was why he had come to reassure Leihian, the representative of the Eastern Demon Realm.
After all, someone might need to tell everyone about this glorious moment in history.
***
Just as I’d expected, Hall of Worship was Lucifer’s unique domain skill.
All throughout the hall, demons lay flat on the ground as though worshipping the center of the hall.
And at that center stood Lucifer.
Lucifer grinned at me.
- It’s not over yet.
Lucifer, who had been floating in the air, slowly descended to the ground.
Then he shrank his oversized body down to my height, folded away his six wings, and drew a sword that looked exactly like the symbol of a Demon King, gripping it with showy flourish.
It was absurd.
What the hell was he doing?
Surely not what I thought?
That was exactly it.
Lucifer spoke.
- From the look of it, you take considerable pride in your swordsmanship. In that case, I should match the conditions, shouldn’t I? That way, when you lose, the despair will be twice as great.
My guess had been right.
Lucifer, Demon King of Pride.
Apparently, having Gluttony destroyed had gotten under his skin, and to make up for that humiliation, he had deliberately chosen the field I was most confident in.
What a ridiculous bastard.
I laughed at him and said,
“So you still want to act tough right to the very end, huh?”
- What?
“You make it sound like you’re humoring me, but if that was all it was, you could’ve done this in front of everyone. So why go out of your way to use a domain skill and move us somewhere nobody’s watching?”
I rested my sword on my shoulder.
“Here’s the answer. Because if you happen to get pushed back, it’d hurt your pride. Am I wrong?”
At that, Lucifer’s expression turned cold for an instant.
Normally, he wouldn’t have fallen for a taunt like that.
But because the rage-inducing debuffs from earlier were still affecting him, his threshold had dropped.
Still, a Demon King was a Demon King.
He regained his composure at once.
- Heh heh, think whatever you like. But remember this. If you fail to break me here, from that moment on, the Eastern Demon Realm will become a living hell.
“Why would I lose?”
The moment I said that—
Kaaang!!
I closed the distance with Lucifer in an instant and swung my sword violently.
Lucifer blocked my blade.
With the distance closed, I looked him straight in the eyes and said,
“I’m An Su-ho. The one who’s going to rise to the position of Guardian God through the sword.”
At those words, Lucifer smiled.
- I look forward to it.