Chapter 336
The Demon King moved.
To bring about the world’s destruction, he trampled kingdoms and killed all who stood in his way.
But those who fell before the Demon King’s power did not die in vain. They sacrificed themselves to buy time for humanity to unite.
Thanks to them, a frontline between humanity and the Demon King was formed.
“Kill them!”
“For humanity!”
“For the world!”
Knights roared as they charged at the monsters. Spears pierced through the heads of the creatures. A massive monster swung its arm, sending soldiers flying like toppled dominos.
Humans and monsters alike fell. Bardray, too, stood at the frontlines, cutting down the beasts.
“Be careful, fool.”
An old man beside Bardray spoke gruffly, swinging his sword. A dozen monsters rushing toward them were instantly cleaved apart.
Bardray grinned at the old man.
“You’ve arrived, Master.”
“Shut up. Because of my foolish disciple, I have to suffer through this in my old age.”
Though the old man grumbled, his expression wasn’t displeased.
Taesan advanced into the battlefield. The monsters attacking roared and charged toward him, as if they knew that killing him would end everything.
“Protect the Hero!”
Countless soldiers rushed in to shield him.
But Taesan didn’t need their protection.
His sword carved an arc.
The dozens of monsters that lunged at him were sliced clean in half.
“Huh?”
The soldiers froze. Taesan gathered his mana.
[You have activated Starlight Arrow.]
[You have activated Magic Focus.]
Arrows of light materialized in the air.
They shot forward, piercing every monster in their path before detonating at their core.
“Uwaaah!”
A deafening explosion erupted, engulfing the world in light. When the people finally opened their eyes, every monster in sight had vanished.
“My god!”
“That magic…!”
The mages were left stunned by the power Taesan had unleashed. As mages themselves, they recognized it as magic. But they also knew that even if they sacrificed their lives, they would never reach such power.
“…A monster. Is that also the Hero’s power?”
“This is my power.”
“Is that so? It makes my aspirations of becoming a Hero seem laughable.”
Bardray muttered as he looked beyond the battlefield.
The monsters were charging again.
“We’ll handle the minions. You go deal with your true enemy.”
Beyond the sea of monsters, an immense force loomed.
Taesan planted his feet firmly.
[You have activated Acceleration.]
[You have activated Skill Acceleration.]
His body soared into the air. The windstorm that followed knocked several soldiers off their feet.
The monsters tried to block him.
But before they could react, Taesan had already arrived at his destination.
A figure clad in darkness stood there, gripping a black sword.
Taesan raised his sword. The man also gripped his sword with both hands and brought it down.
KAAAANG!
Their blades clashed.
Taesan pushed against his opponent’s sword, trying to overpower him.
But then, the darkness enveloping his enemy stirred, attempting to consume and stain Taesan’s very being.
Taesan gathered his strength and swung his sword, forcibly dispelling the darkness.
“Impressive.”
His opponent murmured quietly, twisting his blade.
With the sound of grinding steel, the two warriors stepped back.
The swirling darkness dispersed, revealing his opponent.
A man with skin pale as death, draped in black, wielding a massive sword.
[The Harbinger of Destruction, the Demon King, has appeared.]
The Demon King gazed at Taesan with disinterest. His eyes shifted to the side.
“Come out, hidden one.”
[…]
A ghostly figure emerged from the shadows.
The Demon King studied the apparition briefly before nodding.
“So, you are the Hero of the past, the one who failed in the previous world.”
“You’re quick to notice.”
The Demon King was aware that this world was a fabrication.
The ghost spoke calmly.
[And you are the Demon King.]
“Indeed. I am the harbinger of this world’s destruction.”
[…]
The ghost stared at the Demon King for a moment before vanishing again.
“You are quiet. You seem to be deep in thought… But there is no need to concern myself with one who has already lost.”
The Demon King raised his massive sword, pointing it at Taesan.
“You must be the warrior summoned to defeat me.”
Darkness began seeping into the world. Taesan gauged the power within it.
“A monster…”
The Demon King had transcended mortality. Taesan had encountered a similar force before.
Haphran’s world.
The will of the world that resided within.
A being so powerful that Taesan had to risk his life just to block a single strike. That same level of power emanated from the Demon King.
“First and foremost… I should offer you my gratitude.”
The Demon King spoke with unexpected sincerity.
“Thanks to you, I can once again bring about the end of this world. But unlike before, I am facing those who are willing to risk their very lives to stop me.”
“If you’re grateful, you could just die peacefully.”
“I cannot do that. I am the Demon King, a mechanism created for the world’s destruction. My purpose is to fulfill that role.”
The Demon King stomped the ground. Darkness surged toward Taesan.
“Come, Hero. Show me your strength.”
[You are facing an impossible opponent.]
Within the overwhelming darkness, Taesan gathered his power.
[You have activated Apostle Transformation: Darkness and Chaos.]
[You have activated King’s Vessel.]
[You have activated Avatar of Nature.]
[You have activated Defiance Against a Colossal Will.]
[You have activated Giant Killer.]
[You have activated Contempt for the Strong.]
[You have activated Forced Duel.]
[You have activated Battle Lust.]
[You have activated Forced Fall.]
A cascade of skills erupted simultaneously. Power and presence fused within Taesan.
He reached toward the surging darkness, drawing upon his magi.
[You have activated Marbas’s Pitch-Black Wave.]
A ravenous darkness surged forward, clashing against the Demon King’s own darkness.
The two forces collided, each attempting to consume the other.
[You have activated Forced Amplification.]
Taesan pushed forward with amplified power, trying to overwhelm the Demon King’s darkness.
But it wasn’t enough.
His black magic was mercilessly crushed beneath the weight of the Demon King’s power.
It wasn’t just a matter of raw strength.
The Demon King was an existence meant to bring about destruction—devouring and dismantling the world itself.
A being on par with the Will of Haphran’s world.
A being that had transcended mortality.
Between Taesan and the Demon King lay an insurmountable difference in strength and rank.
And yet, Taesan held the power to bridge that gap.
The will embedded in his sword began to awaken. As foretold by prophecy, Taesan’s rank and power swelled explosively in preparation to face the Demon King.
He swung his sword violently.
The energy contained within detonated, splitting and erasing the darkness before him.
Taesan kicked off the ground, clashing blades with the Demon King. The shockwave rippled outward, shaking the battlefield.
“Hm.”
A faint groan escaped the Demon King’s lips. At this moment, Taesan’s sword contained a force and authority that even he could not easily repel.
Kagak!
Taesan parried and retreated, adjusting his stance.
‘So this is it.’
The will within his sword surged violently, forcibly elevating his power and rank.
A strength Taesan had never felt before was now taking root within him.
This was the power granted through prophecy—the weapon designed to defeat the Demon King.
At this rate…
Taesan clenched his fist.
[You have activated Frozen World.]
[You have activated Magic Focus.]
A surge of cold shot forward.
The Demon King gathered darkness, forming a tidal wave to counter.
The darkness he wielded was the power of annihilation—a force that devoured everything and reduced it to nothingness.
Ice and darkness clashed.
Kugugugugung!
Fragments of power scattered in all directions.
Neither side was yielding—an almost evenly matched battle.
The Demon King’s lips curled into a smirk.
“Good.”
With darkness swirling around him, he charged at Taesan.
Chaeong!
The Demon King overpowered him momentarily, swinging his arm. A surge of darkness flooded toward Taesan, attempting to consume him.
[You have activated Raging Gale Dash.]
Taesan gripped his twin swords and charged like a storm.
He sliced through the rushing darkness, pressing forward against the Demon King.
Kagak!
Blades scraped past one another. The Demon King spun and swung his greatsword with immense force.
Taesan ducked low to evade and lunged forward.
The Demon King swept his hand, detonating a wave of darkness.
Kugugung!
The darkness surged, aiming to engulf Taesan.
[You have activated Restricted Blink.]
Taesan instantly teleported behind the Demon King, turning to strike at his back.
But the Demon King reacted just as quickly.
He twisted his body midair, dodging the strike, and brought his greatsword down.
Kaaaaang!
Blade met blade.
The Demon King exerted force, attempting to push Taesan back.
Their swords twisted under the pressure as they locked into a power struggle.
[You have activated Strong Strike.]
Kak!
Suddenly, an even greater force surged through Taesan’s sword.
The Demon King slowly began to be pushed back.
And then, the will contained in Taesan’s blade flared even brighter.
A force driven by the desire to vanquish destruction and save the world surged through him.
For a moment, Taesan’s rank and strength swelled to a level that completely overwhelmed the Demon King.
Kaaang!
“Ugh…!”
Unable to withstand the power contained in the strike, the Demon King was sent flying.
Yet Taesan grimaced.
The force and authority contained within his blade were pressing down on him, as if rejecting this situation.
As if unwilling to let him remain at a level where he could win.
It was forcibly elevating him to a strength capable of defeating the Demon King—regardless of whether his body could withstand it.
If granted such an overwhelming rank, even the strongest warrior would eventually break.
Now, Taesan understood why he was able to fight an existence as powerful as the Demon King.
The reason was simple.
If he couldn’t win, then he would simply be forcefully granted the power to do so.
And there was no concern for the Hero’s well-being.
He was nothing more than a tool designed to destroy the Demon King.
“This is hardly entertaining.”
The Demon King, too, seemed to have realized this, his excitement waning.
He wanted to be defeated by a human.
He had no desire to lose to another mere mechanism created solely to counter him.
But the forceful enhancement had already reached a level beyond his control.
No human could resist such artificial empowerment.
Before long, Taesan’s will would be trampled, leaving behind only an instrument of destruction.
“At the very least, I should grant you the mercy of killing you first.”
The Demon King gathered his power, condensing the force of annihilation into his sword.
He was about to launch his final charge when—
“Shut up.”
[You have activated Word of Denial.]
Taesan’s words carried power.
The overwhelming force that sought to consume him began to waver.
The will of the sword resisted. It refused to be denied, as if declaring that without it, Taesan could never defeat the Demon King.
“Silence.”
He spoke with intent.
He had no intention of relying on this sword.
Victory was never something he would entrust to another force.
He had always chosen his own path.
“Just give me your power.”
With sheer will, Taesan crushed the sword’s imposed authority.
The will contained within screamed in defiance before fading away.
The sword, now a mere tool, obeyed Taesan’s command.
[Word of Denial proficiency has increased by 1%.]
[??? proficiency has increased by 1%.]
The Demon King, who had silently observed the process, smirked.
“Impressive.”
A human defying fate to fight on his own terms—it was truly satisfying to witness.
“But now what?”
The Demon King grinned as darkness violently erupted from his body.
“You may have rejected your sword’s imposed power, but that means you’re weaker than before.”
The forced enhancement was gone.
Though the sword’s inherent power still remained, it was no longer at a level sufficient to overcome the Demon King.
“That’s fine.”
Taesan responded.
His entire focus was on his blade.
If he lost concentration for even a moment, the sword would attempt to take control once more.
There was almost no room left for him to tap into his other abilities.
“So let’s settle this with just our swords.”
[You have activated Forced Duel.]
