Chapter 199 - A Hero Is Born from Despair (4)
"A-Aaaaaahhhhh!!"
Kim Si-Hun grabbed his head and twisted his body as he slowly turned into a demon. He was brimming with powerful urges, and an intense thirst governed his mind.
A yearning for power… the burning desire devoured his body.
'What's going on?'
Si-Hun couldn't understand it. A power he had never felt before enveloped him—a destructive and ferocious energy.
He instinctively knew it was different from Qi.
"Haaa."
He took a deep breath, and his head cleared. An intense amount of energy invigorated his body as if he had taken a stimulant. He looked down at his hands and saw that they were no longer trembling.
He couldn't understand why he had changed into this form or what had caused the change.
But…
Clack.
He grabbed his sword. A thrilling sensation spread from his hand. He knew that his current state was weird and that he had diverted from the correct path.
"It doesn't matter."
All that mattered was that he could grab his sword and save the woman he loved from the hands of the demon. He even thought that it would be fine if he could no longer hold a sword after saving her. He could even laugh off turning into a demon.
He grabbed his sword and prepared to fight.
[Huh?]
A flustered voice left Yogg-Saron's mouth. He dumbfoundedly stared at Si-Hun, who was slowly turning into a demon.
Boom!
Si-Hun stomped on the ground. He shot forward with an intense aura of demonic energy around him. Black condensed sword energy flowed from the sword in his hands. He twisted his body and swung down his sword.
Slam!
[Kuh!]
Yogg-Saron was pushed back. He was surprised. After hesitating for a bit, he put Gaia down carefully.
[I am not sure what is going on, but…]
It would become dangerous at this rate. The human in front of him was emitting enough threatening energy that Yogg-Saron considered him dangerous.
He clenched his fists, planted his feet, and extended his hands. The green tentacles spread out.
Slash!
Five tentacles were cut with a single slash.
Si-Hun twisted his body and dodged the remaining tentacles, which slammed into the ground. He jumped onto the tentacles and ran along them.
A black light cut Yogg-Saron.
[Kuh!]
Yogg-Saron quickly leaned back. His collarbone was slashed, black blood pouring out of it.
Yogg-Saron frowned. An intense fighting spirit flared up within him. He ripped off the tentacles stuck to his body as if they were a nuisance, and his eyes shone like a veteran martial artist's.
Slam! Boom! Crash!
The sword and the fist clashed.
A huge impact that resembled an exploding bomb shook their surroundings.
Trees snapped, the ground exploded, and dirt scattered.
The tips of Yogg-Saron's mouth went up. He was getting fired up.
'Not bad.'
For him, fighting was his entire life and his reason for existence. The sword being swung at him fired him up. He covered both fists with demonic energy as if he were wearing gauntlets. He pulled his foot back, lowered his body, and swung his fists upward.
Si-Hun's sword blocked the attack, but the overwhelming difference in strength pushed back Si-Hun. Si-Hun twisted his body and spread out his wings. Extending his legs as if stepping on air, he shot toward Yogg-Saron.
Si-Hun acrobatically spun around and focused his entire weight on his sword, swinging it down with the goal of splitting the demon's head in two.
Crack!
The demon raised his arm and blocked the attack. The sword crushed his demonic energy gauntlet, and black blood poured out of his half-split wrist.
Yogg-Saron jumped back, and his wrist regenerated almost instantly.
[Hah.]
He laughed.
He could feel a thrill traveling down his spine and spreading throughout his body. His beastly senses stimulated him, as he had come across a powerful opponent. Ferocious fighting spirit enveloped his entire body.
A wave of demonic energy pervaded their surroundings.
He extended his hands and tried to tear off the tentacles.
- Stop.
He heard a voice in his ear. His hands halted, and his boiling fighting spirit died down.
- Don't act on your own, Balrog.
He heard his king's voice through the communication device in his ear.
* * *
"Shit."
Oh Kang-Woo bit his fingernails in panic.
Si-Hun had taken the form of a demon.
His head hurt from the unexpected development.
'Why did it end up like this?'
It actually wasn't hard to figure out why, but he just wanted to deny reality.
'Did I push him too hard?'
Based on Si-Hun's power-up patterns, he had thought that Si-Hun would power up again when put in an extreme situation, but maybe he'd gone too far. Instead of the Martial God's power, Si-Hun had accepted his demonic energy.
'This is the worst possible outcome.'
It was an unexpected development of events.
He knew there was a chance that Si-Hun could be influenced by his demonic energy since their souls were linked through the Authority of Subordination, but Si-Hun was different from Echidna and Vaal Zahak.
The main source of Si-Hun's power wasn't demonic energy but a power called Qi.
The power Kang-Woo used was completely different. Being able to draw it out should have been impossible.
'Dammit. Now that it's come to this….'
Si-Hun didn't know that he'd been made a Familiar through the Authority of Subordination, nor was it something that should ever be revealed. However, at this rate, he would begin to have suspicions since he'd learned that there was demonic energy inside his body, something he would no way have.
'… I will trample on his seed of doubt first.'
Everything would be over if the fact that Kang-Woo had used the Authority of Subordination on Si-Hun was exposed, and the relationship with Si-Hun he'd painstakingly built would be completely ruined.
Kang-Woo picked up the communication device.
"Balrog, repeat exactly what I say. Don't sound stiff. Sound as naturally wicked as possible."
He saw Balrog lightly nod after having received his command through the communication device.
'The best way to eliminate the seed of doubt is…'
He'd just thought of a plan on the spot, but it wasn't bad at all.
"Kekekeke, just as planned."
Kang-Woo recited a line for Balrog to say. The battle had come to a lull after Si-Hun had taken Gaia to a safe place.
Balrog laughed out loud and said the line.
'Good.'
Kang-Woo could see Si-Hun looking at Balrog. He already knew what should be said next.
'Time to use the cheat code again.'
Kang-Woo gulped and continued, "The seed sown by Lord Satan seems to have sprouted."
'Take the wheel, Lord Sataaaaaaaaan!! Please resolve this fucked-up situation!!!'
* * *
[The seed sown by Lord Satan seems to have sprouted,] Yogg-Saron said while making a malicious smile.
"… What?"
His words had been enough to shock the enraged Si-Hun.
"Seed, you say?"
Si-Hun, who had come back to his senses a little, looked down at his own body. His skin was dyed black, and he had wings on his back, a long tail like that of a reptile, and goat horns that had sprouted on his forehead.
He clearly looked like a demon.
"Don't tell me, was all of this…"
[Correct. It had all been part of his plan.]
Yogg-Saron smiled widely.
[Why do you think Lord Satan was interested in a mere human? It was all because he was aware of the soul of the Martial God lying dormant within you.]
"…"
[My lord sowed the Seed of Corruption within you, so that you would be able to abandon the body of a human and become a demon.]
"But… why?"
Si-Hun couldn't understand it.
The Demon of Prophecy, Satan…
Why was he trying to corrupt him and turn him into a demon?
"Ah."
A short exclamation left his mouth as if he'd completed a puzzle.
Si-Hun trembled. He recalled what had happened a few months prior in South America, about how Kang-Woo's subordinate, Balrog, had been controlled by an unknown magic circle of the Demon Cult.
'The Demon Cult… has a way to control demons.'
Then, there was only one reason why they would want to turn him into a demon.
"He was… planning on controlling me?"
[Kahahaha! Thankfully, you are not dumb enough to be unable to get through.]
Yogg-Saron laughed out loud while holding his belly. His green tentacles wriggled.
[Correct. This has all been to turn you into a puppet and force you to pledge your allegiance to Lord Satan.]
"…"
[A human with the soul of the Martial God… Kekeke. You could not be any weaker at the moment, but it is certainly interesting.]
Yogg-Saron's eyes shone.
[I wonder how much Gaia will despair once she sees that you have been corrupted into a demon? Hm?]
Tap.
Si-Hun took a step backward and grabbed his head as if he didn't want to believe what was happening.
"No."
That wasn't what he had wanted. He had not intended to become a demon, nor had he intended to become Satan's puppet. He looked down at Gaia with shaking eyes. He had simply wanted to protect this frail woman who could break from the slightest touch.
[Kahahahaha!! Good! Once you become my lord's puppet, I will make you kill that woman with your own hands!!!]
"A-Aaahhh."
Just thinking about it horrified Si-Hun. Fear spread through his body, and he imagined himself killing Gaia. Just the thought made him want to vomit.
'I-I have to go back to normal.'
It wasn't too late yet. He could still push the demonic energy out of his body. He did not hesitate; he focused on pushing out the darkness that had corrupted him.
'Wait.'
Just then, he looked at his hands, which were still gripping his sword.
'If I give up this power now…'
He might return to not being able to hold a sword again.
Hesitation and yearning intermingled in his mind.
'No.'
He did not think for very long.
He couldn't become Satan's puppet. Even if it were for those important to him, he had to give up this power.
"Kurgh! Kuh!"
A horrible thirst shook his body. His demon body amplified his desires. His longing for power dominated his mind.
"N-No…"
He felt his consciousness start to fade. It felt as if he would be devoured by his own desires and lose his sense of reason.
"A-Aaahhh."
Tears dripped from his eyes. He couldn't resist the desires of a demon's body. His vision blurred, and the thought that becoming a demon wouldn't be so bad filled his mind.
"Si… Hun?"
At that moment, he heard a familiar voice. It was as if lightning had struck him. Si-Hun turned around as he trembled.
"Kang-Woo hyung…?"
The person he trusted the most in the world was behind him.
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