by Road Warrior
“Is this all the almighty Executor is capable of?” Sungchul spoke without a single ragged breath nor damage to his clothing. His figure reflected in Aquiroa’s eyes appeared to be a massive, insurmountable wall. The shadow of despair began to finally loom over the eye peeking through the shattered portion of her mask.
Sungchul slowly lifted Fal Garaz. “Now, let’s put an end to this boring villain act.”
“Wait! I still have something to say! I-I… am nothing more than a servant!”
“…”
“I am not really the one that has been planning all this. I am simply acting according to the orders of the King of Kromgard.”
“The Wandering King…?”
The image of the pallid and lethargic man suddenly appeared in Sungchul’s mind. Sungchul had no ill will toward the man. In fact, most of the generals in the anti-Rutheginea rebellion army had more or less a favorable impression of him. No one could know for sure the amount of blood that would have been spilled if the Wandering King had not voluntarily relinquished his crown. Not only that, but Sungchul had also had his life spared by the order of the Wandering King.
It was true that Sungchul had only been begrudgingly given a more lenient punishment because the one giving the sentence had been annoyed by someone’s persistent pleading.
“And nothing will change if you kill me anyways. Aquiroa is not an individual but many. There will be another Aquiroa to replace me from the Floating Archipelago. So, show a bit of mercy on this old woman.”
While Aquiroa continued to speak Sungchul lightly closed his eyes and appeared to be in thought. He then turned around. “I will speak of this directly to the Wandering King.”
What Sungchul desired was very clear. Irrepressible anger and fear were revealed in Aquiroa’s eyes underneath her mask.
“Beat it.” Sungchul left her where she stood and walked on.
Aquiroa continued to hesitate until her eyes held unspeakable hostility. Magic formations began to appear all throughout her body.
How dare you utter those disrespectful words. I won’t let you live.
She was invoking the most destructive magic known to her – Thunder Breaker. It was the final magic of the Seventh Circle in the School of Wind that no longer existed. Her effort to perform magic not belonging to her own Magical Fingerprint caused blue lines to streak across her unsightly face in geometric shapes. Artificial Magic Fingerprint. It was a long forgotten antiquated ancient technique, but all of Aquiroa’s actions were within Sungchul’s predictions.
“As expected, every hunting dog seems to act in the same way.” Sungchul turned around while Aquiroa was completing her aria. He had seen Aquiroa’s Thunder Breaker in the past. Ironically, it had also been in front of the Castle of the Demon King. She had used the magic to display her might as the Second Champion of the Continent, but its current form after such a long time was simply full of weaknesses.
A l-little more! Aquiroa’s exposed face glowed brightly with blue vein-like Magical Fingerprint, and her eyes, which were full of magic formations, flew wide open.
Sungchul drew closer as he spoke. “Once you threaten to inform their owners that they’ve shat on the ground, they always seem to react like this.”
“W-wait!” Aquiroa hurriedly tried to say something, but Sungchul was beyond forgiveness.
WHAM!
Fal Garaz slammed down onto the Executor, who was now glowing brilliantly with magic. Her corpse was squashed with her body still wrapped around by magic formations.
“I’m a much scarier man than your master.” He glared with an apathetic look at the corpse that was disfigured beyond recognition and let out a shallow sigh. A dark aura spread upwards from the corpse, and it forced Aquiroa, who had been turned to rags, to her feet. However, as her upper body had been reduced to a puddle of blood it could not be reborn, so this unknown dark aura could only maintain her clothing to the state it was when she was alive before flying away into the sky.
Sungchul could feel that this aura was similar to the one that Minamoto had reeked of.
Is it some different kind of strength than a Soul Contract?
Unfortunately, this wasn’t the most urgent issue. Sungchul turned his head to look at the Royal Palace of the Demon King. There were innumerable demons guarding the front. He proceeded as he headed out alone.
The demons let out a furious roar as they poured onto him like a tidal wave. Sungchul silently marched forth, leaving behind mountains of corpses and rivers of blood in his way. Any Devil worth mentioning was steadily killed as he continued while the other demons were now at the point where they turned tail to escape in a panic.
All that now stood in his path was the front gate of the Demon King’s Palace that had the form of a fearsome Devil. He had no key, and it didn’t appear that it would be opened for him, but the answer was somewhere nearby. The heavy steel gate was broken open.
The blood-colored rug laid out between the colonnade carved directly from the rock wall wrapped in darkness continued on into the darkness. Sungchul silently walked forward.
The Devils continued to ambush him from between the pillars. A Devil that spat poison. A Devil that poured out curses. The types of Devils were diverse, but the results were the same. Every time the assassins leaped in, Sungchul’s hammer caused more casualties.
Soon, the end of the carpet came to view. At the end of the dull but decadent space with purple colored flames burning in lamps was a gigantic throne. A massive corpse that was very familiar to Sungchul was sitting in a proud posture on the throne. It didn’t look much different since his death. Sungchul could see that several smaller minor demons were busy scurrying about performing a form of embalming process around the corpse of the Demon King. The King of the Demons was watching its own corpse being embalmed in a pale form beside it.
“You’ve come for me again. Not once, but twice. Well, should we say three times in total to be technical? It’s not only surprising, but it’s also almost endearing.” Demon King Hesthnius Max didn’t appear all that surprised at seeing Sungchul here. Instead, he had a relatively leisurely smile as though he was greeting an old friend with both arms open to meet him.
“Have you familiarized yourself with some magic? Even if you were some genius in magic, isn’t it too brash to come so soon before even a year had passed? It’s not like you’re coming here to show off your strength.”
Hesthnius’ voice and pale face showed confidence. Confidence that was rooted in his assurance that Sungchul would never be able to harm him.
“But, you’re still quite a foolish human. You would stubbornly choose to rush in by yourself in order to resolve the Calamity despite all the hate you receive from the other humans. Recently, I have been researching human slang, and have happened to come across the word ‘subsisting’. Immediately, your face came to mind.”
“…”
Sungchul did not respond. Instead, he pulled out a single scroll. It was the Harmageddon scroll he had received from Vestiare. Hesthunius’ eyes grew wide.
“T-that is…?!”
A powerful mage at the caliber of Hesthnius could recognize such a powerful spell at first glance. The destructive aura that eerily flowed around the unsettling scroll made the Demon King’s eyes dizzy.
Seventh Circle… No, is it a scroll containing an Eighth Circle spell? Where did he… This shouldn’t be possible with human techniques!
All sign of leisure vanished from the Demon King’s face.
“Could it be… the Seven Heroes? Did those bastards coerce you with that?”
“How did you know that?” Sungchul spoke with a faint smile lingering on his lips.
“You can tell when one becomes a Calamity. Those bastards next in line are aching to be released in this world even a second faster. You know why?”
“…”
“It’s because we’re all tied together on a single string. According to the Divine Authority that is referred to as a Calamity, that is.”
Hesthnius said this in an audibly pleasing tone while being wary of Sungchul’s mood. As far as he could see, Sungchul didn’t seem to have any intention to fight immediately. There was room for negotiation. The tactful Demon King continued to wag his silver tongue.
“However, it’s a fool’s errand to trust those Seven Heroes. An errand for true fools indeed. Do you know what their true objective is?”
“Fair reward.” What Sungchul had said wasn’t far from the few records that remained of those times long past. According to legend, the Seven Heroes sought out compensation after they saved the world from the Calamity, but the world that they saved did not grant them the prize they demanded. The Seven Heroes bitterly removed themselves from history. They vowed to get what they were owed.
The Demon King shook his head. “Wrong. They only want one thing,” and he smirked as he continued, “the death of all mankind, and the subsequent end of an era.”
“So drastic.”
“That’s right. It is drastic. Especially compared to the good-natured Devils.” The Demon King’s hands waved rhythmically in the air like the baton of an orchestral conductor, and when he did so, an illusion of a man appeared between Sungchul and him. It was a man veiled in a bandana who radiated a mystical aura while he carried a two-handed sword the size of a small boy.
The Demon King spoke again. “You might not know, as it must have been about 20 years ago. There was another who challenged me by his lonesome. He was very powerful.”
Sungchul looked at the illusion created by the Demon King once again.
“At that time, I told him the same story that I’m telling you now. I told him what would happen once I died, and what kind of pitiful end would befall the fragile mortals.”
“And in the end?”
The Demon King’s story caught Sungchul’s interest, and the Devil King smirked as he continued his story. “He simply returned right then and there. Why? Because I was speaking the truth.”
“Who is this man that you’re speaking of?” As Sungchul continued to show interest, the Demon King smiled a smug smile in his heart as he hatched his scheme.
“I could reveal his identity if you want, but nothing comes for free. Hand over the scroll.”
“This?” Sungchul shook the Harmageddon scroll in front of him.
“That’s right. Hand that over, and in one year’s time I shall reveal his identity to you.”
It was complete nonsense. Laughter exploded out of Sungchul’s mouth. All these devils are the same.
Sungchul pretended to fall into thought and turned around.
THUD
The scroll fell to the floor, and the Demon King’s eyes shined bright. Kekeke…. Got him.
He cried out in triumph in his mind as he thought, Once a year passes, my new strengthened form will be born. Once that’s complete, I won’t suffer so easily to this monster as I have in the past at the very least.
He confirmed in his mind that Sungchul had fallen for his scheme, but the one who had been truly fooled was him.
Sungchul was muttering something with his back turned. Not something he had memorized, but a chant that had been accepted into his very being. Sungchul’s consciousness was getting a crystal-clear visitation of the ever-blinding Primordial light’s memories that he had had a glimpse of once upon a time. The only source of light in the endless vastness of space, it alone shined and bathed the universe with luminescence; giving birth to or bringing an end to life with its light. Sungchul’s aria began in earnest.
“Hey, Destroyer. M-mind if I ask what you’re doing over there?” Hesthnius Max detected the terrifying magical aura rising from Sungchul’s body much too late. A complex magical formation bloomed around Sungchul, whose back was still turned, like a flower. The Demon King quickly caught on that the magic in question was one from the school of Cosmomancy.
I-is he planning on using Meteor?! When did the bastard learn that?
Sungchul turned around and scattered whatever he held in his hand toward the Demon King. It was some powder radiating in black. It was a black crystal formed from Alchemy. It wasn’t of the highest quality, but the area covered by the black crystal would greatly enhance the potency of Sungchul’s spells.
“L-let’s not do this!” The Demon King waved his hands frantically as he backed off. But in spite of what he said, he began to scan the sky.
Something like a meteor only needs to be dodged.
Unfortunately, Sungchul wasn’t preparing Meteor. He was about to complete his aria while staring directly at the Demon King. Sungchul could feel the endless energy of a star within his body.
An old staff appeared from his Soul Storage. The moment Sungchul gripped the staff, he had a brief moment of nostalgia, and then the aria was complete. He then pointed the staff toward the Demon King while holding Fal Garaz in the other hand.
Star Light.
The moment the activation word was spoken in his mind, a large beam of light was fired from the end of his staff.
“F-force Reversal!!!”
The beam of light enveloped the ethereal Demon King whole. His ethereal body began to burn. No, “disintegrate” would be the more apt term. Star Light destroyed over half of the Demon King’s form, but the target was the Devil of Devils that reigned over all Demons.
“ARRRRRRGH!!! RRRRRGH!!!”
He endured the single cast of Star Light in the end.
“I can’t die… Do you know how I rose to this spot?!” A powerful will to survive unlike any other burned brightly in the demon king’s eyes. He performed recovery magic even in the midst of being disintegrated to reconstruct his ethereal form and prevent it from being torn apart. However, his opponent was not an ordinary mage.
[Echo x1]
As the first beam of light was beginning to fade, another beam of light poured out from the staff and overwhelmed the Demon King that was already in the middle of being torn apart. Taking two hits of Starlight was a bit much, even for the Demon King.
“K….KYAAAAAAK!!!!”
The rate of his recovery could no longer keep up with the rate of destruction, and the Demon King was eventually eradicated by the light. He was erased without even a chance to make an explicative.
“…”
Sungchul was overcome with extreme lethargy and dizziness after the light faded. All of the mana within him had been sucked away as he cast Star Light, a 7th circle magic, and its echo. Sungchul pulled Bertelgia from his Soul Storage.
“You said it’d be quick!” Bertelgia who had been stabbing herself into Sungchul with the corner of her covers stopped to take a look at her surroundings and asked in a daze, “Huh? Where’s this?”
Sungchul pointed toward the corpse of the Demon King seated on the massive throne and answered her question, “It’s the Demon King’s Palace.”
“H-hiiii…! Really? And the Demon King? Is… is he dead?”
Sungchul nodded in reply. In the next moment, the Demon King’s corpse began to turn to dust. As the ethereal form had been destroyed, the physical form that was bound to it was being erased as well.
Finally, the First Calamity is resolved.
There was a rare hint of sentiment lingering in Sungchul’s eyes. However, he was struck by a powerful force that caught his breath in his throat. Something was beginning to unfold. Bright letters soon filled Sungchul’s sight.
[You have resolved the First Calamity.]
[You have obtained the Blessing “One who stands against Calamity.”]
[The gazes of gods have turned toward you.]
Reward:
1. Blessing “One who stands against Calamity”
2. Fragment of Calamity
Something fell in front of Sungchul. It was a flat piece of rock that reflected a deep green light and gave off a cold feeling. It looked like something of no value at first glance, but Sungchul could not take his eyes off of the piece of rock. His hand reached toward the rock unconsciously. The fragment felt rough to the touch and was cold as i
ce. It was no ordinary object.
Sungchul tried to inspect the object, but his Eye of Truth did not work on the object.
Does that mean it exceeds Legend grade? That might mean this fragment’s grade is Mythic.
Putting it into his Storage appeared to be the right move for now, but his Soul Storage could not accept the fragment. As the fragment wasn’t able to enter the Storage, it fell to the ground. Surprise crossed Sungchul’s eyes. I seem to have gotten my hands on something unbelievable.
However, the surprise didn’t end there. Something like a black smoke began to rise from the Demon King’s corpse. It was no simple smoke. Each individual particle that formed the smoke was filled with an evil aura composed of malice and futility.
Sungchul had seen nothing like it before. He had seen something similar when he killed Minamoto and Aquiroa, but it couldn’t be compared with the gigantic smoke interspersed with pure malice that appeared before him now. Sungchul did not know what it was, but he could make a guess.
I-is that… the power that drives the Calamity?
The moment he had internalized that truth, black words obstructed his sight.
[Witness of Calamity]
[You have seen the true essence of Calamity.]
[You who have seen the authority of god have taken a step into the secret of the World.]
[The rewards for being a witness correspond to Intuition.]
Reward:
Magic Power +88
Intuition +88
Magic Resistance +88
He had gained an incredible boon in stats simply by witnessing the flow of Calamity. Sungchul felt like he could understand why the Followers of Calamity wanted the progression of Calamity so desperately.
“What… in the world. These stats… why are they giving so much?” Bertelgia must have seen a similar message. Watching the progression of Calamity was such an event. Simply witnessing it meant receiving a portion of a god’s authority. Mages didn’t simply become Followers of Calamity out of madness.
