Chapter 223: Omen of the Ruin (5)

Translator: Nadu

Editor: Sephtair & Arya

Tacan looked at the sword. 

The sword was broken into two pieces. It was what he received after being defeated by Fraeda. 

Even though Tacan could repair it right away, he did not do so. 

It was to find the reason, as he thought again about his defeat. 

‘Didn't I get stronger?'

He thought he had become stronger. Indeed, he had defeated many strong men and proved his own power. 

However, it seemed like that was only comparable to the standards of 'humans'.

As much as Tacan had gotten stronger, Muyoung and Sungmin had improved even more. 

As Muyoung was such a mysterious man, he felt that this could happen with him, but Sungmin was unexpected. 

Even Tacan was thrilled by seeing how he had taken care of Roosevelt and even Fraeda. 

The numerous deaths that resulted through Sungmin's hands, and the monsters of the void. 

Fraeda was helpless in front of Sungmin. His devils could do nothing but let themselves be attacked helplessly. 

Tacan had no choice but to feel the difference in their 'level' in addition to Muyoung. 

He felt like he was looking at a flower on top of a cliff. 

However much he reached out, he couldn't reach it. 

And with Sungmin, it was an especially great shock to Tacan as he was originally weaker than him. 

When did he get that far ahead of me?

What had happened in just two years? 

And for the last two years, what was Tacan doing? 

‘The tables have turned.'

Even a few years ago, Sungmin was weaker than Tacan. 

Perhaps he had been consumed by conceit. 

‘I'm strong, I've become stronger, and I will get stronger.'

Did he not put in too much thought because he thought it was so obvious? 

Tacan left the territory. 

The territory was celebrating their victory for the moment. 

Either way, since they had stopped their enemy's advance team, there was a bit of time before the rest of their enemies arrived.

He left the territory and entered deep into the woods. 

‘The fight isn't over yet.'

That was right. Nothing would change by reprimanding his actions. 

If Sungmin had gotten stronger, Tacan just needed to get stronger as well. 

The war was the best stage on which to get stronger. Although they had taken care of the demon kings, Enroth still remained. There should be at least a few hundreds of thousands of devils under his command. 

Even having a celebration right now in the territory was to relieve the tension that people felt. 

Swoos.h.!.+ Swoos.h.!.+ 

However, Tacan swung his broken sword. 

He was diligently swinging his sword so that he could reduce the gap while others were playing around. 

‘Certainly, I have been a bit lazy.'

He had slightly neglected his training once he felt he had gotten stronger. 

Through this fight and Sungmin's appearance, he realized it more dearly. 

Although he was one of the rulers of Asura's Path, he was lacking strength as a ruler. 

He needed to gain a bit more power to become a true ruler. 

At least until he defeated Sungmin and Muyoung… he couldn't be called a true ruler. 

As a ruler only existed to win and reign! 

Shuffle shuffle. 

He felt someone's presence. 

Tacan stopped his swinging and carefully turned his body. 

They were skillful people; he would have missed their presence if it wasn't for the sound of wind and gra.s.s. 

“Who are you?"

Was it the devils who had escaped? 

Fraeda had tried to escape with his subordinates. 

But if it was Fraeda and his devils who had appeared, it would be very welcoming. 

Then, there two people appeared. 

There were two of them, but they didn't look so good. 

An old man who had glaring eyes but a weary face, and a woman with messy hair and ragged clothing, were on a tree looking down at Tacan. 

“Teacher, it's a death knight. Can we eat it?"

“Stop it. How can you eat a monster that's only bones."

It seemed like the two were starving.

Well, although it was a forest, there weren't a lot of living creatures. 

Even most of the plants were poisonous. 

If a human were to consume it carelessly, they would become sick. 

“Why are humans in a place like this?"

Tacan raised his sword. 

However, he was curious. 

The 'Sky Lord' would never allow intruders into the Demon G.o.d's Territory. 

Unless they were humans who normally lived in this place, there was no way for them to pa.s.s the Sky Lord to enter this territory. 

The woman and the old man looked at Tacan with astonishment. 

“He seems like he is quite intelligent for a death knight."

“We can capture him and ask him all sorts of questions."

Then, the two took a weird stance and leaped towards Tacan. 

“I don't know who you guys are, but don't think you will come out of this alive since you have attacked me."

This was a good thing since he was feeling down at the moment.

It would have been better if it was Fraeda and the devils, but he couldn't just let visitors who had no authorization trespa.s.s in this place. 

Tacan swung his broken sword. 

Slas.h.!.+ 

The magical energy that soared out of the sword sliced through the air. 

As if they had made a prior arrangement, the woman and the old man separated simultaneously. 

It was to attack Tacan from multiple sides. 

‘Quite good.'

They synchronized well. 

Additionally, their skills were also quite good. 

Among humans, he rarely saw people who could move the way they did. 

However, Tacan had already fought with those who were considered to be the 'top 10'.

Thud! 

The woman and the old man weren't able to cause any damage to Tacan. 

They continued to attack and defend at the same time. 

Although they were simple martial arts movements, their proficiency was like none other. And as they synchronized, they were able to exhibit more than their skills normally would allow them to. 

‘But, it still is not enough.'

Tacan wasn't weak. Although he felt that when comparing himself to Muyoung and Sungmin, truthfully, Tacan was strong enough.

Tacan wielded his sword. 

As the woman jumped low to avoid his attack, he twisted his body in a mysterious way to once again attack where she would land. 

A death knight. It was a move that was only possible because he was already a corpse. 

“Tsk!"

Clank! 

Daggers flew out from the woman's body and stopped Tacan's sword. 

“Haa! I caught you, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d!"

Then, the old man grabbed Tacan from behind. 

The old man grabbed hold of Tacan's whole body so hard that he could crush it. 

Swoos.h.!.+ 

But, Tacan vanished. 

As the old man squinted, the woman quickly threw a small thin sword. 

“Teacher! Behind you!"

Swoos.h.!.+ 

However, he wasn't able to completely defend himself. 

The sword pierced the old man's back. 

With teleportation magic, Tacan was able to move behind the old man. 

“You are quite skilled for a monster!"

The old man yelled as he didn't even tend his injury. 

‘Although we aimed for his head.'

His reaction speed was out of the ordinary. 

If he was just 0.01 seconds late, his head would have been cut off. 

‘Interesting.'

Tacan now felt amused. 

These humans, they were quite skilled. 

Perhaps, they were stronger than most people who were known to be in the 'top 10'. 

They fought for hours. 

The scene that reminded him once again of war concluded, and the surrounding forest had been destroyed. 

Numerous trees were cut down, the ground was torn up as if an earthquake had occurred, and in the middle of all of this, two humans had collapsed. 

“Humans are definitely not a group whose skills I can easily determine."

He had won, but Tacan was still shocked. 

His broken sword has become dust. 

A few of his bones were also broken. He felt like he needed to rest for at least two days. 

Fraeda had not fought under perfect conditions, but it was the same for the fight with these two humans. 

Their bodies were weakened as they had been unable to consume decent food for a long time. 

But, it still didn't change the fact that these two attacked Tacan first. 

Tacan raised his sword against the two who had fainted from their injuries. 

“Still, I'll let you die with dignity.”

It was a way show respect to the strong. 

To kill them in one strike, without pain. 

Tacan approached the woman. Then, as he was about to swing his sword, the woman murmured quietly. 

“Dad… mister Muyoung…"

Tacan paused for a moment.

Muyoung?

He didn't hear wrong. 

The woman definitely said 'Muyoung'. 

Tacan only knew of one Muyoung. 

Was she talking about the Muyoung he knew? 

‘Does she know him?'

Tacan shook his head. 

If she was a.s.sociated with Muyoung, he couldn't just kill them. 

“His name saved your lives."

Tacan carried a person over each shoulder. 

It felt like she had a long dream. 

Suzy was smiling in a place where her dad was fine, and Muyoung was there. 

However, darkness soon descended, and the two disappeared. 

Suzy cried and that was how the dream ended. 

“Haaaa….!"

She quickly raised her upper body, covered in sweat. 

‘Where am I?'

After she got up, Suzy couldn't help but be surprised once more. 

She was in a place she had never been before, with abig bed, a white ceiling, and antique paintings on the wall. 

“Are you up?"

The woman wearing a maid outfit naturally approached Suzy. 

“Aww, look at all this sweat."

Then, with a wet cloth, she started to wipe Suzy's forehead. 

“Wh, who are you?"

Suzy couldn't help but ask cluelessly. 

The woman who appeared to be a maid smiled brightly. 

“I heard you are the guest of our Lord."

“Guest?"

Then the maid tilted her head. 

“Emperor knight said so."

“Emperor knight…?"

“Ahh, the knight that is made up of all bones. Did you not see him?"

“Death knight…"

“That's what others call him."

Suzy widened her eyes. 

After finding the death knight, Suzy and the Fighting King had attacked him. 

However, they were defeated. 

The one who should have died was being received as a guest. 

It didn't make sense. 

Especially the maid in front of her. She was definitely a human. 

She couldn't feel any aura of death. 

How could a death knight be with a human?

“Could you please wait for a moment? It is impossible to see the lord right now."

“Umm, what about the person who was with me? The bald person."

“Ahh, he is in a different room. He didn't wake up yet."

Whew! 

Suzy let out a sigh. 

Either way, it seemed like she hadn't died yet. 

“Lie down for a while longer. I will bring you something to eat."

“Ah, no. It's okay. I don't know about anything else but I really have a strong body. Rather… could I look around?"

“Will you really be okay? If something happened to the lord's guest, it would be a problem…"

“Ahh! I'm really fine. Look."

Suzy did a handstand. 

Then, with a finger, she moved on top of the bed. 

“I'm strong, right?"

“It seems that way."

The maid laughed and nodded her head. 

“I'll lead you."

This was a castle.

A really huge castle! 

That wasn't the only thing that was surprising. 

‘Do-dokkaebi, elf, dwarf… fire tar! What is this place?'

All kinds of species were gathered at this place. 

Species that would never live together. 

And she couldn't help but gasp when she saw that there were even fire tars. 

“Ah, one moment. Please wait for a bit."

The maid who was guiding her suddenly disappeared as if something had happened. 

Suzy who was left alone pondered for a moment before she started to walk alone. 

‘This is definitely a strange place. I need to look into it.'

It was hard to believe that their intentions were pure. 

It was a world like the ones in a fairy tale, but she needed to stay sharp. 

Suzy moved while remaining as low-key as possible. 

It was when she had reached a room after going up some stairs. 

“Arand, Dontak. I heard that there was a black monster roaming around outside of the territory. I had also heard that there were sights of Fraeda's corpse and his other devils."

“Is there something we must do?"

“Build a team and strengthen the patrol rotations. Although there are about 10 more days before Enroth arrives with his army, we don't know what may happen in the meantime."

“I understand, court magician."

“And…”

Click! 

Someone in the room tapped their staff. 

“A mouse is hiding."

Suzy stopped her breathed. 

Creeak! 

Then, the door opened, and black hands headed towards Suzy. 

But, Suzy saw something when the door opened. 

‘Lich?'

Chapter 226: Omen of the Ruin (End)

Translator: Nadu

Editor: DearestKafka

An ancient devil, balrog. 

There was no known source. 

They existed from a certain moment and disappeared in another. 

There were different theories but among them, the most plausible one was that the world had once been destroyed by the balrogs.

The balrogs were too strong and there wasn't anything in this world that could compete with them. 

However, the balrogs had a very militant tendency. They couldn't resist their urge for destruction and they were great predators. 

They even ate their kind when they were hungry. 

In the end, the balrogs that survived after killing all living things in the Underworld, ate each other until they became extinct. 

And the balrogs that survived until now were the ones who were placed asleep by using a very high magic skill. 

Among them, strong balrogs even had the strength that was comparable to the demon G.o.ds. 

They were uncontrollable and they even consumed magic that they normally went rampage before they self-destructed but…

It was certain that the things around the balrog became destroyed. 

It became a land of the death that didn't even let a single plant survive. 

 "The source of life is its driving force."

Thud! 

Crrrras.h.!.+ 

It went wild. The giant monster was crus.h.i.+ng everything it touched. Whenever its paws touched, everything disappeared with a tremendous upheaval. 

Bae Sungming watched the scene expressionlessly. 

The monster that suddenly appeared was greedily coveting life around him.

Although they instantly had soldiers tried to stop it, the damage continued to grow. 

 "It is just him! Are we unable to stop just that one enemy?!"

Ogar yelled. 

He was the vice chieftain of the fire tars and took the role of leading the fire tars. 

That was right. It was only one opponent. 

However, balrog didn't get tired. 

It wasn't even using its energy to produce its strength. 

 'Absorption.'

He was absorbing the lives of those in its proximity, killing them and using their stamina as its own. 

Although it wasn't certain, he was able to conclude taking his time and carefully observing. 

 'I don't think I can use Hydra and Beatrice.'

Hydra was a being that had reached its peak of life and Beatrice was a witch who used it as a source of her sacrifice to summon. 

If they were summoned, a great catastrophe would occur. 

Through the two types of strength, balrog will destroy the entire territory. 

Sungmin had to seal two of his best moves. 

 "We will face him using just the specters and the undead."

However, it was useless to the undead and the specters. 

As Sungmin declared it, the dokkaebis and the elves backed off first. 

 "Do you want us to fall back as well?"

Ogar expressed his complaint. 

But, Sungmin shook his head. 

 "balrog absorbs life and makes it into his own. If we fight any more, it is no different than giving balrog more strength." 

 "Our comrades were killed. If we back off like this, we would have no face."

Even though Ogar was open-minded, as long as he led the fire tars, he couldn't help but follow their rules. 

That was what it meant to become the leader of the fire tars. 

If he was to disregard the death of their comrades, Ogar could no longer lead them. 

Sungmin explained further. 

 "If we remove its two horns, it would no longer absorb any more strength. When we do, I'll leave the rest to you."

balrog was able to absorb life through how two long horns. 

If they were to get rid of those two horns, they would be able to gain an overwhelming advantage. 

 "I understand."

Ogar also knew that he couldn't be stubborn with this matter any further. 

It was no other than Muyoung's war. He couldn't spoil things for him.

Afterwards, Ogar left with the fire tars. 

There were about 40,000 specters. If they add up the number of undead, it would reach 50,000.

Sungmin started to 'command' them all. 

 "I need to check from the bottom."

He had confirmed that balrog absorbed life and made it it's own. 

Now he needed to find out how much strength it could exhibit without doing so. 

Once he finds out about his baseline, it would be easier to fight it.  

 'Gather low frequencies and make them resonate.'

Sungmin gathered shade type specters. 

The shades were existences that were made up of low frequencies. They were the source of terror and specters without any form. 

There were about 2,000 of them. He gathered the shades and resonated with them at a high speed. 

He created a magic circle in the air and infinitely rotated them and only pulled out low frequencies. 

The process would be impossible for a normal magician. It required great knowledge and precise adjustments without any errors. 

Soon, it resonated and the frequency that had now doubled due to resonation was shot towards balrog. 

Low frequency was not magic. balrog was able to absorb even magic but Sungmin thought it wouldn't be able to absorb the raw strength. 

A normal living being is received with this sort of an attack, it would create an extreme self-dissociation. It would hurt itself and even try to end its own life. 

Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! 

It was effective. 

balrog let out a scream and began to b.u.mp into the surrounding rocks. 

It hit its head onto the group and bit its arm. 

However, the problem was it didn't leave much of a mark as it had such a strong skin. 

 'I need to make that skin softer.'

This also needed to be done without using magic. 

 "I need to use some beads."

Sungmin spoke to the nine-tailed foxes. 

The five nine-tailed foxes were strong specters who would only follow Muyoung. 

After becoming a specter, they had become real and their strength was easily comparable to a dragon. 

And the strength of the nine-tailed foxes was concentrated in the beads. 

It was similar to the 'Life Vessel' liches used. 

 "The beads?"

 "Where are you planning to use it?"

The nine-tailed foxes were wary. It was obvious for them to act this way. If their beads were to be destroyed, they were no different than a normal fox. 

If there was Muyoung, they would have pa.s.sed it over without any hesitation but he was someone else. 

However, they knew that Sungmin was someone who followed Muyoung for a very long time.  

If someone else had requested it, they would have ripped their hearts out. 

 "I'm going to divide balrog's strength."

The nine-tailed foxes looked at each other. 

Spells or seduction didn't work on balrog. 

Only the attack produced by Sungmin. 

They pondered for a moment before handing over their beads. The beads were the size of a fist but glowed very brightly. 

 "You cannot use it thoughtlessly."

 "Don't worry."

The beads floated around Sungmin. 

It was a type of storage. The beads played the same role as a 'wall' that separated the interior and the exterior. 

He amplified his power and confined balrog. 

The reason why balrog was strong was that he could 'absorb'. Not just simply living being but he also could absorb the surrounding magic. 

There was a reason why people said balrog had destroyed the world once. 

But, if he could completely block the flow of the surrounding land using the five beads, balrog would weaken. 

The five beads floated in the air and soon approached the balrog, then radiating light to each other.

Afterwards, the beads drew a pentagram and trapped balrog in the middle. 

It was the power of a complete blockage. 

 'It would be hard to exert its original power without breaking through the five walls.'

In its current state while its consciousness was disrupted, would he be able to break through all five walls?

Sungmin then struck his staff onto the ground once. 

 "Fire range attacks from the North. As it is a place full of water energy, it would weaken the balrog's skin."

The pentagram also appeared as five elements as well. 

Among the five points, North was a place where the element of water was maximized. 

If they were to attack there, it would produce an effect on the balrog. 

And Sungmin's thoughts were valid. 

As the specters with water energy started to pour long-ranged attack, cracks began to show on balrog's skin. 

The walls of the pentagram only restricted the inside. 

There was no limit to what could enter from the outside. 

Gwaaaaaaaaah! 

The screams grew louder. 

It was an effective strategy devised by Sungmin. 

After becoming an elder lich, Sungmin gained more knowledge. It meant he was able to naturally understand the use of things. 

As someone didn't just become strong just because he learned a lot of strong skills. 

Sungmin hit his staff down and teleported to the Northside of the pentagram. After gathering water energy of the surrounding and making it into a sword form, he drew a line. 

Slas.h.!.+ 

One of balrog's horns was cut off. 

Graaaaa! Graaaaak! Eraaaaah! 

Thud! Thud! Thump! 

balrog made a scene. 

It tried to get out by smas.h.i.+ng its body onto the wall. 

However, it was a useless act and it only made it use up its stamina continuously. 

Afterwards, the balrog stopped moving. It fell to the ground and twitched its body. 

 'It died.'

Sungmin raised his hand for a moment. 

He stopped his attack. 

Then, even the raising and lowering of his chest stopped. 

He died. At least as a living being, his life had disappeared. 

But…

Sungmin then frowned. 

 "Get away!"

balrog's skin turned red. It boiled up and his whole body started to burn. 

He was dead. But, he was revived. 

He used up the last bit of his energy to regenerate.

No, it wasn't regeneration. 

Self-explosion! 

Graaaaaaaaah!

balrog got up again. As it stretched out his hand, a huge flame was created. 

Crack! Craaack! 

That alone broke the wall. It meant it was a power that could not withstand even the blocking force. 

 'I'm late.'

It was too late to avoid. 

Sungmin created another wall. 

A huge wall created by bones. The wall, full of all kinds of power of death and specters, was Sungmin's s.h.i.+eld which blocked even the breath of the dragon.

Blaaast! 

Afterwards, the pentagram broke and intense flames spread everywhere. 

The specters who were unable to avoid it evaporated and the range of where the flames touch were widening.

If they were to leave this be, it would even swallow up the territory. 

 'I didn't keep in mind that it could self-explode.'

He was completely taken back. 

It was probably programmed in its biological system. For it to self-explore upon death. 

The flames were strong. The wall created by Sungmin was slowly burning up. 

If it continued like this…

 "It seems like I'm not late!"

Suzy appeared without a care in the world. 

And she appeared within the flames! 

The flames that burned everything. No specter or a monster could stop those flames. 

But, as if it was nothing, Suzy shrugged her shoulders and stretched out her hand. 

Then the flames began to be sucked into Suzy's hand.

 'That woman is?'

She was the woman who he saw a few hours ago. 

When he saw her then, she didn't seem special at all. She had excellent physical ability but not much magical ability. 

However, the magical ability he felt now…

 "Everyone get behind me."

Suzy spread both of her hands widely. 

Then a huge wall of light was created and consumed the flames in a wide range scale. 

Naturally, the specters and undead gathered behind Suzy. 

It was strange. No matter how the situation was, there was no reason for the specters and the undead to naturally listen to her. 

Unless it was Muyoung or Sungmin, it could never happen. 

 'How?'

Sungmin couldn't help but be shocked. 

However, Sungmin knew of that power. 

 "Ahh! It's delicious. I can't believe that fire tastes so delicious."

Suzy tapped her belly as she tilted her head. 

The idea of eating flames was also strange. 

But, she felt like it was possible. In her current position, she felt like it could only be done by her. She just naturally learned it. 

Sungmin widened his eyes. 

That appearance… that power.

That's definitely…

 'Muyoung's.'

The master of flames! 

Unless what he saw was wrong, this was definitely Muyoung's power.