Chapter 114: Akasha, the Archduke of Slaughter (1)
Golden Chul felt a strong sense of discomfort at the sight of the demon swordsman before him.
‘Is there… someone with this kind of presence?’
Just by being there, he exuded a powerful presence.
Even though he couldn’t be seen or heard, everyone instinctively realized his presence.
He had faced countless S-class monsters.
The Red Gate he had cleared so far, or the Yakt Spinner, Cheongju nightmare but even they were merely inorganic ‘enemies’, not worthy of such a dangerous intuition.
‘Lionheart.’
For the first time in his life, he felt that the demon swordsman in front of him was untouchable──
-Pow!
At that moment, the Japanese Hunters leaped forward in unison and at the same time, the Demon Swordsman was crushed by something. It was a torn Demon Tower Sealing Scroll.
“It’s a 100 million yen item that crushes through space! When he can’t move, surround him!”
At Takeda’s command, a thick shield centered on the tanks blocks the escape route and aims their weapons. In a matter of moments, they had the Demon Swordsman surrounded.
The swords and spears of over a hundred Class A Hunters pointed at Demon Swordsman Chun Ji-so…no, Akasha, the Archduke of Slaughter.
“I can’t believe that any demon swordsman could face this many Hunters.”
“Don’t worry, no mage swordsman in history has been able to defeat so many hunters.”
He was the sixth-generation demon swordsman. In other words, the previous five Demon Swordsmen had been defeated.
“Now, wait….”
At that moment, Yong-wan felt a very serious case of déjà vu. It was the same for Ha Yuri, and when he was about to say something──a creepy feeling came over them.
“Dodge──!!”
Thirty super-fast stabs rained down in an instant and “thirty” hunters were pierced.
Most of them were beyond the reach of the sword, but a scattering of crackling energy pierced through the Hunters as if space were no barrier.
The only ones who survived were the few who retreated backwards with all their might, acting on instinct.
“Slash…!”
Takeda calmly drew his sword at this moment but Akasha’s sword was faster than him.
-Kwah!
In a moment that can only be described as a flash, the blade that blocked the magic sword broke into pieces while Takeda’s armor shattered and bounced back.
“What?!”
It was a Legendary class armor, but the demon sword crushed Takeda’s sword along with it, trying to cut through his torso.
“Damn it…!”
The Japanese S-class Hunter instantly threw himself down and stabbed Akasha but the attack was blocked by a sword.
“Boom…!”
Takeda managed to avoid being sliced in half, but he didn’t expect him to defend so perfectly. He tried to close the distance for now, but the slashing sword didn’t miss him.
-Bam…!
He blocked but the blow bent his sword and Akasha added more power.
-… Zip!
The sword splintered and the figure was cut in half from the crown of his head.
“Hmph…!”
Golden Chul swung his huge two-handed hammer and a devastating blow, capable of demolishing a building in a single blow, struck him in the buttocks but,
‘He blocked it with his hands?!’
Akasha caught Golden Iron’s hammer with his palm and even with his strength, he couldn’t break free of his grip on the hammer.
“Hold it!”
Looking for an opening, Yong-wan fired three enchanted arrows at Akasha but the demon swordsman swung his sword, however at that moment, something happened.
Skill <Multiple Arrows>
The three arrows split into 30 arrows. This is not a fake or an alter ego. It’s an inescapable shot, multiplied tenfold.
-Pabat!
The greatsword as tall as a man moved swiftly, a movement that even Yong Wan, an S-class Hunter and Archer with a good eye, couldn’t keep up with.
The next moment, a stab of lightning speed that cut down thirty Hunters is in front of him.
-Boom!
The stab was blocked by a sword that reflected a shaped light. Kang Jin-sung grabbed Yong-wan and blocked the blow, but he couldn’t stop the destructive power of the sword’s thrust and was knocked back.
“Thank you, old man.”
“……strong.”
Kang Jin-sung’s right arm, which had blocked the demon sword, trembled.
“Strange…I fought a demon sword in Ulsan…but it wasn’t this strong.”
During Chun Ji-so awakening as a demon swordsman, Kang Jin-sung had fought alongside Lee Yong-wan in the Ulsan tragedy.
“He’s much faster than he was then… and he’s grown stronger.”
“Grown?”
Were demon swordsmen also growing beings? But even so, this was…….
“Is Takeda-kun okay?”
The Japanese hunters answered Kang Jin-sung’s question.
“His injuries are…severe. The healers are working on him, but he’s… strangely unable to recover!”
“……Yong-wan-kun, what does the system window say?”
Kang Jin-sung, who was too busy watching out for the Demon Swordsman to pay attention to the system window, asked instead.
“Slaughter…Declaration.”
[Slaughter Declaration]
[Effect:
-Applies to all creatures.
-Physical Resistance decreases by 90%.
-All biological defenses are reduced by 90%.
-Vitality is rapidly reduced.
-Wounds do not heal.]
It was a terrible debuff that couldn’t be offset even with the best Commander-type Hunter in the world.
‘That’s not all.’
There were also Slaughter Archduke Akasha’s aura, Despairing Presence, and countless other debuff auras.
One is legendary, but there are many. Even S-class Hunters, who normally carry buffs, can lose more than 50% of their power.
‘The Slaughter Archduke…He’s on par with Rakshar!’
How could humanity possibly win against such monsters?
“It doesn’t matter, we’ll just have to kill them.”
It was then that Chun Jin-soo stepped forward, with his greatsword slung over his shoulder.
“Seeing as how you’re so strong, you must be doing well.”
Chun Jin-soo spoke to the Demon Archduke in a low tone but Akasha twisted the corners of her mouth.
“The host’s…flesh and blood, I see.”
“I’ve never had a son like you.”
“Hmph…old man. Where is your ‘granddaughter’?”
“…….”
By granddaughter she meant Chun So-yeon.
Even Chun Jin-soo could not help but pause at Akasha’s question about his granddaughter.
“You will die by my hand today.”
Chun Jin-soo points his sword, and Kang Jin-sung steps forward as the swords of the two old swordsmen crossed.
Korea’s strongest hunters rushed toward the demon swordsman.
* * * * *
[The demon swordsman is on the loose!]
Chun So-yeon, who had been dealing with the remaining monsters on the Wakayama coastline, heard the news through the public channel and immediately moved.
“Uh, uh, Chun So-yeon, where are you going!”
Jae-hyuk called out in a muffled voice, but the dark-haired girl didn’t pay him any mind as she ran, heading for the Hanbit Palace, which was just preparing to take off from the helicopter dock.
“Guild Leader Park Yong-shin!”
“Miss Chun So-yeon?”
Park Yong-shin had just boarded the ‘self-made helicopter’ that had been mobilized for this operation. The transport helicopter, which was quite large for civilian use, was filled with the elite hunters of the Hanbit Palace.
“Please… take me with you.”
“Hmph, where do you think I’m going?”
Knowing everything… Park Yong-shin twisted his mouth in a sneer.
“The demon sword. You want to obtain…merit… by defeating it, right?”
“Hoo-hoo, of course.”
Park Yong-shin and the believers behind him had the same determination… no, ‘faith’.
Even though he was impressed by the TTG Guild, Leon treated Park Yong-shin and his group as something in between believers and heretics.
Sin is sin, even if it is unwitting idolatry so Leon ordered ten years of service for the Hanbit Palace Master and his men, and they willingly complied.
“We all felt it, the light of salvation enveloping us as the seeds of evil disappeared.”
On the way to Shikoku Island with Chun So-yeon in tow, Park’s lips twitched into a smile of ecstasy.
“The gods of the pantheon watch over us directly, and grant us favor. They have even set up their representatives on earth. What clearer salvation could there be?”
Chun So-yeon was silent. She had no choice but to believe in the existence of a god. Even if it was an “evil god,” it was still a god that was actually favoring her.
But they went further than that.
“We must obtain merit. We have to beg for forgiveness. Oh, and of course, it’s not like we’re asking the gods, you can’t trade with the divine… we’ve learned that the hard way.”
In other words, they would risk martyrdom for an uncertain salvation. Perhaps their fanaticism hadn’t changed, just the object.
“Well, there may never be a moment when we can come into play.”
“What do you mean?”
“Because the two elders have already pointed their swords at it.”
“…….”
Light Swordsman Chun Jin-soo and Infinite Sword Kang Jin-sung were two of the three strongest hunters in Korea.
Even the strongest demon swordsman might not be able to defeat them. In fact, during the Ulsan disaster, they repelled a demonic swordsman.
-Boom!
-Bang! Boom!
A loud shockwave shook the helicopter as outside the helicopter’s window, thousands of swords covered the sky.
“Infinite Sword <Demonic Sword>?!”
It was a storm that threatened to tear the world apart in the shape of a sword.
“Mad Sword… <The Ten Million Blades>.”
A unique skill that makes the two strongest swordsmen in Korea the strongest. The Infinite Sword, who manipulates countless deep swords and weaves them into the ultimate one, and the Berserker, who captures a storm in a single sword.
The deadly swords are all over Shikoku. But──
[The Sword of Akasha the Slaughterer is summoned]
A blood-colored sword is summoned from the sky. It was so enormous, it seemed like a force to be reckoned with.
“Oh, gods…….”
As Park Yong-shin spoke, Akasha’s sword fell.
It was doom.
[【Ventasis’ Magic Sword】 intervenes with darkness against Akasha’s sword]
[【Arianna’s Holy Sword】 dispels the evil with light]
* * * * *
It was a while later when Yong-wan finally recovered his vision from the pitch blackness.
“Oh…….”
All he could remember was that Akasha and the Infinite Sword had brought out their strongest moves, and the aftermath swept through the surroundings.
“Yuri-chan… Yuri-chan, are you okay?”
“Off… Don’t shake.”
Even S-class Hunters were caught up in the destructive clash but what about the two people at the center of it?
“Ah…….”
In the center of their still blurry vision, there was a result.
“Kuluk…!”
Kang Jin-sung spat out blood along with his broken sword, and Chun Jin-soo struggled while being held by the nape of his neck.
The two strongest hunters in Korea had been defeated.
The Wandering Demon Sword… Chun Ji-ho… No, the Archduke of Slaughter Akasha let out a voice that sounded like an insect gnawing at her.
“That was a good one. But you’re weak.”
The Demon Archduke’s overwhelming debuffs and their aging body was a fatal combination.
The Demon Archduke’s debuff, a deafening sound that drives people insane with its mere presence, is something no human can withstand. Yong-wan had learned this from the Rakshar he had witnessed at the East Sea Gate.
‘Damn… if only he were here!’
Yong-wan resented that the only person who could stand against it wasn’t here now.
“But it’s strange. It’s less powerful than I thought. Something intervened.”
That’s when a familiar ‘light’ burst through the dense dust.
“Your Majesty Leon?!”
No, in the swordsman’s hand was another sword opposite of the glowing one, ominously dark.
“Let go of him!”
“So-yeon?!”
The light from the holy sword and the magic sword sliced through the arm holding Chun Jin-soo. It was a perfect ambush.
“Hmm?”
Akasha’s movements were somewhat sluggish but it wasn’t just Chun So-yeon who attacked him.
“For Lionheart!”
“”For Lionheart…!””
The Hunters of Hanbit Palace attacked in unison. The sword of S-class Hunter Park Yong-shin and the weapons of the Hunters struck Akasha but at that moment, Akasha parried all of them with her demon sword.
“Oh no!”
She counterattacked in a split second, decapitating two Hunters.
“Damn…!”
Park Yong-shin narrowly avoided the sword that was also swung at him. Realizing that their ambush had failed, the Hunters of Hanbit Palace immediately formed a formation.
“We’re down two, my lord.”
“To counterattack at such short notice…What a monster.”
Still, the rescue of their targets, Chun Jin-soo and Kang Jin-sung, had been successful.
Park Yong-shin looked around.
“Why are you all so slack-jawed, why aren’t you resisting that evil creature?”
“It’s…easy to say…….”
Golden Chul said with difficulty. His resistance had already been drastically reduced by debuffs, and now he was hit by Akasha’s sword.
Even if it was just a shockwave, it was a shockwave from such a huge sword. The entire island was cratered as if it had been hit by a nuclear bomb.
“Ugh…….”
Huang Yeon-ha dragged her shattered body to her feet and leaned against her brother’s side, her weak voice crying out in frustration.
“You guys…why can you move so well…….You’re taking… debuffs.”
The fact that she came so quickly suggests that she was near the moment of impact with Akasha’s sword. A mere swipe would have killed most Hunters instantly, so how could they be so unharmed?
“Hmm… I don’t know? Perhaps it’s because of our faith in the gods?”
[Cultists] partially resist malignant curses]
They are rare talents to be able to believe in something so completely, and to be willing to lay down your life for it.
Others may call them crazy, but to them, it’s a testament to their faithfulness. And…….
“Chun So-yeon──”
Akasha…who controlled the shell of Chun Ji-so, So-yeon’s father, glared at her with an emotionless gaze.
“Divine──power.”
Ventasis, the god of darkness and vengeance, and Arianna, the goddess of light and justice.
Chun So-yeon holds a magic sword and a holy sword blessed by those two gods.
“There is no such thing as losing. I only take the body I should have taken four years ago.”
“…….”
Chun So-yeon glared at Akasha wordlessly. At this moment, her power was being amplified to a ridiculous degree.
[The avenger has encountered her foe. She mortgages her soul to amplify her power]
-Soul consumption rate: 12%.
The power of vengeance consumes Chun So-yeon’s soul, amplifying her power to realize her vengeance. It’s like mortgaging her future.
“I can do it. With this power…!
Chun So-yeon marveled at the omnipotence of the Holy Law that she could feel throughout her body but then, a sword slashed down.
-Boom!
“What?!”
If it weren’t for her amplified strength, she wouldn’t even be able to react but the cost of blocking such a huge force with his bare body was devastating.
-Crack!
Tendons all over her body burst as a ghastly sound coursed through her body, and it was only with the darkness of Ventasis supporting her and the light of Arianna resisting the force of evil that she was able to stand.
“The power of the gods is–mighty. Countless of my people have been annihilated by their power.”
Akasha looked down at Chun So-yeon and twisted her lips at the catastrophe, the annihilation of tens of millions of demons that only demons could know.
“A power that could shatter our immortality. But──”
The demon sword weighing down on Chun So-yeon became even heavier. The Demon Archduke’s gaze pierces through her, mocking.
“You are not one of those knights.”
You are nothing.
“Miss So-Yeon!”
Park Yong-shin and the Hunters rushed to her aid.
The Hanbit Palace was willing to risk martyrdom for a mere girl empowered by the gods.
[Blood Wave]
At that moment, a dense blood wave spread out from the center of the demon sword in the form of a ring.
-Kaaaah!
Hunters everywhere were swept away by the wave. With just a single wave passing through them, they were sprawled on the ground, feeling the pain of having their entire bodies shattered.
“I am the power of destruction.”
Akasha was about to spill insults as she displayed her overwhelming power.
“Hhhhhhhh…!”
But the first person to do it was someone completely unexpected.
“…….”
Akasha’s gaze snapped to the direction of the unconscious Hunters.
“What’s -so- funny, mortal.”
Yong-wan chuckled and fixed his broken glasses.
“No, it’s just… it’s kind of ridiculous.”
Everyone looks at him like he’s crazy. Smiling in this situation seemed like giving up on everything.
But Yong-wan wasn’t being silly because he had given up everything.
-Kaaaaaaaah!
Light pours in as a dazzling golden light spreads from the sky, threatening to envelop the island.
“What is immortality…….?”
The overwhelming light hit him in the back.
“In front of him… aren’t we all mortals anyway?”
A surge of simmering anger creeps up on him.
“Well, honestly, I’m irreligious… but this makes me want to believe in gods. Even demigods…are gods, right?”
Akasha’s gaze slowly moves toward the source of the light.
A golden hair color and blue eyes.
A living demigod and the greatest Holy Knight.
Terror of the Evil Ones and their greatest slayer.
“──Lionheart.”
The Lionhearted King.
The doom of all evil.
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