Chapter 505

               

“Ghk!”

Amon let out a pained groan. The black spike driven deep into his chest held enough power to kill any ordinary being.

But he was a demon.

Immutable, unable to die. Countless Transcendents had tried to kill him, and all had failed.

Taesan should have been no different—or so Amon believed as he attempted to break free.

[…Huh?]

But then Amon realized.

The ash was slowly consuming him.

Spreading from his chest, devouring his body, his power—every part of him—greedily swallowing everything.

“A–aaah! Aaahhh!”

Terror engulfed him. A darkness deeper than anything he had ever felt.

The fear of death.

[Spare me!]

For the first time in his life, Amon begged for his life.

He struggled, clawed, tried to escape—but the ash swallowed his entire body in an instant.

[Sp—]

Even his voice was consumed.

Nothing of Amon remained.

His body, his power—all vanished and became part of Taesan.

“Hm.”

Taesan sorted through the new force settling inside him. It was the domain Amon once held.

[Your Soul Rank Ascension has activated. You have stolen the domain of Amon. The Throne of Lemegeton has been enhanced.]

[You have killed a demon. You have gained the special passive skill: Demon Slayer.]

“So because he’s a demon, Soul Rank Ascension works despite the gap.”

Perhaps because the concept of rank differed from ordinary beings, or for another reason entirely—despite the overwhelming difference, he could take Amon’s power with no resistance.

He didn’t know why, but it wasn’t a bad thing. It meant there was more to gain from demons.

Taesan steadied his blade.

The demons couldn’t move. They stared blankly, minds shattered.

[T-this…]

[What… what happened?]

They could tell.

Amon’s domain had been stolen.

No—Amon had ceased to exist. Their comrade who had existed since before creation itself… erased, without a trace. Like garbage swept away.

[Y-you… what are you?! Who are you!?]

A scream broke out, but none dared approach Taesan. Twisted fear and horror forced them to step back.

“If you won’t come to me, I’ll come to you.”

Taesan planted his foot.

[You have activated Call of Chaos.]

[You have activated Acceleration.]

[You have activated Skill Acceleration.]

Instantly, his body vanished from their sight.

And reappeared behind them.

[Huh?]

[Wh—?]

Five demons collapsed as their bodies were severed. Even as they fell, they had no idea what had killed them.

“Ugh… aaah…”

“S-save me…”

Their power was stolen through Rank Ascension.

Five demons—who once slaughtered countless lives—died without achieving anything.

[Wh-what?!]

Finally coming to their senses, the demons unleashed their power and retreated.

“Everyone! Kill him!”

With a furious shout, their power erupted.

Rumble—!

More than thirty demons manifested their strength—power that could tear continents and shatter planets.

Some wielded black magic Taesan had used before.

But Taesan’s face didn’t change.

He rarely used black magic anymore.

For a simple reason:

‘Too weak.’

Demonic black magic was too weak.

They were strong, but there was a limit: at most, the tier of an immortal. Their bottomless reserves made them stronger than ordinary immortals, but they still couldn’t surpass their ceiling.

In contrast, Taesan had surpassed immortality and was far stronger than typical faith gods.

Their basic power was too weak—mixing ash with their spells was inefficient compared to high-tier magic.

The only exception was Baal’s black magic. Everything else was inferior.

“So, you’re all useless to me now.”

Time to clean up.

A demon whose entire body was crimson swung a fist. A substance shaped like flame burst from it.

Taesan instantly knew who he was.

‘Marcohias.’

A demon who controlled a flame-like substance hot enough to melt the sun itself.

[Burn!]

Marcohias engulfed Taesan in the flame-like substance. Taesan was instantly swallowed.

Marcohias’ expression brightened.

But then—

Ash pierced through the flames.

Taesan’s hand seized Marcohias’ throat.

“Ghk! K-kgh! H-how—?!”

“To break through with raw power alone, melting a sun isn’t enough.”

Crunch.

Taesan squeezed. Marcohias’ neck snapped. Ash surged and swallowed Marcohias’ domain.

Boom!

Roots burst from the ground.

Thick as walls—strong enough to pierce a planet. Decarabia’s Twisted Vegetation.

Taesan often used this black magic himself.

Rumble!

[Die, pierced by my roots!]

The monstrous tree-form Decarabia roared. Taesan watched the approaching roots calmly and waved a hand.

“Bardray.”

[Got it.]

Bardray turned ashen. Taesan hurled him toward the roots.

Crack-crack-crack!

Bardray tore through the roots like bamboo. Decarabia’s face twisted in horror. He frantically summoned more roots, but Bardray pierced through them all.

Crunch.

Bardray’s blade lodged in Decarabia’s chest.

Ash detonated, shredding his body to pieces.

[Reee—!]

A demon with a head three times the size of a human appeared behind Taesan. He placed both hands on Taesan’s head.

[Collapse!]

A powerful mental disturbance surged toward Taesan.

Raum’s Emotional Disturbance. Taesan had only ever used the human-limit variant.

But Raum’s direct version could show far more—just recalling it could make someone forget themselves and become hollow.

“Not happening.”

Crack.

“Ghhh—!”

Such mental interference couldn’t touch Taesan—not even without ash. Raum died instantly.

Craack—

Multiple demons combined their power. Black lightning descended as obsidian threads flew to pierce Taesan. Arrows of storm and countless other powers raced toward him.

Taesan flicked his hand.

[You have activated Baal’s Surge of the Sevenfold Black Space.]

Blackened space crushed and shattered all their attacks. The aftermath alone ripped demon bodies apart.

“Aaaaahhhh!”

The demons, half-panicked and attacking wildly, slowly realized the truth.

“N-no…!”

They—once beings of terror who ruled countless lives for ages—were dying like trash, one by one.

They could not win. Ever.

One demon trembled and screamed:

[Surrender! We surrender! We lost!]

The others came to the same realization.

The duel’s condition: they had to declare defeat.

One by one, they shouted:

[I lost!]

[Stop! Stop! We surrender!]

Watching them, Baal couldn’t hold back laughter.

[Truly—pathetically disgraceful creatures. You slaughtered so many lives, and now you fear death this much. You really are… worthless.]

Baal smiled a distorted smile.

[You should all die. It will benefit us all.]

[Surrender!]

[We lost! We lost!!]

The demons cried like a crashing wave.

One demon brightened, thinking they survived after declaring defeat.

Crunch.

Taesan’s blade pierced his chest and devoured him.

“Wh-why?! We surrendered!”

[I stated clearly: the duel ends only when all of you declare defeat. You all must declare it.]

Baal spoke leisurely.

Only then did the demons realize—someone hadn’t declared.

[Who?! Who didn’t do it?!]

[Which bastard didn’t declare?!]

They desperately tried to find the one who hadn’t declared. But in a situation where their lives were on the line, finding the culprit was impossible.

Crack—

Urghhhh!

One by one, they died.

The demons realized they had no choice left.

But even so, they did not fight.

[Run!]

They turned and fled from Taesan.

Taesan laughed dryly.

“Even now, you’d rather run than fight. Truly disappointing.”

They ran desperately, but a massive wall blocked their escape.

[Fight for your lives, defective products. This will be your final struggle.]

Baal spoke lazily.

Taesan gripped his sword and slowly walked toward them.

“A-aaah!”

The demons, driven to despair, charged him recklessly. Taesan swung ash.

Boom!

Another demon was impaled and erased. Their primordial domains twisted and became Taesan’s.

Taesan waved his hand.

[You have activated Great Collapse (Chaos).]

Boom—!

Chaos magic crushed and obliterated the demons.

They could not escape. They could not win.

Overwhelming despair drowned them. Some even drooled as their minds broke.

[…Baal!!]

One demon screamed and ran toward Baal, but an invisible barrier stopped him.

[So you intended to kill us from the start!]

Baal simply smiled.

The demon tried to scream further, but Taesan’s sword pierced his back.

Crunch.

One demon after another faded.

Eventually, only one remained.

An old man. Dressed in a neat suit, standing quietly like a secretary. He had not moved a single step while Taesan slaughtered the others.

The old man spoke.

[Are you satisfied?]

[Yes.]

Baal appeared beside them.

[Thank you, Bifrons. I asked, but I wasn’t entirely sure you’d actually comply.]

[My king is you. If you command it, I will do anything.]

The old man smiled faintly.

[Besides, I didn’t care for them either.]

Taesan understood why the duel had not ended earlier.

For the duel to end, every demon—including Bifrons—had to declare defeat. But because Bifrons was loyal to Baal, he deliberately chose not to declare, ensuring the demons would all die.

“This was your intention from the start?”

Baal had planned to exterminate the demons from the moment he brought Taesan here.

[It was the perfect opportunity. One I could not waste.]

[Then, Lord Baal.]

The old man bowed slightly toward Taesan’s blade.

[May you achieve what you seek.]

[Thank you. Farewell, Bifrons.]

Taesan’s sword pierced the old man’s chest. Bifrons accepted death quietly.

Power flowed into Taesan.

He had stolen the domains of thirty-eight demons. The demon domain he formerly possessed mixed with the others, evolving into something entirely new.

[Black Magic has transformed.]

[Beginner Black Magic: Marcohias’s Fake Flame has been deleted.]

[Beginner Black Magic: Decarabia’s Twisted Vegetation has been deleted.]

[Beginner Black Magic: Marbas’s Pitch-Black Wave has been deleted.]

The system window continued nonstop.

And that wasn’t all.

The Throne of Lemegeton began to change into something else.

[The Throne of Lemegeton has evolved into Fragment of Evil.]