Chapter 453. Rejuvenation

Translator: Boko

Like Ubist, the Abyss Eating Snake, Kaik, originated from the Demon World.

Originally, Kaik had been an insignificant creature, one that roamed the depths of the abyss river that flowed through the Demon World.

It had been smaller than a worm.

But when a hole was punctured in the wall that separated this world and the Demon World, something terrible happened.

Ubist, a beast that ate everything in the demon world and even the abyss itself, completely knocked down the wall and crossed over to this world.

Fortunately, the Guardian of the Continent, Valan, managed to seal Ubist, and the wall that separated the two worlds was promptly fixed.

However, Kaik, which traveled along the abyss river, was forced into the Arth continent. To Kaik, a demon that lived in the darkness, the sunlight was like poison to it.

In order to survive, it hid itself within the shadows, and was eventually taken to the Shadow World, a black and white world devoid of light.

After that, Kaik absorbed the Shadow World's power and gradually became larger and stronger. However, it didn't know how to use its power.

One day...

An unfamiliar being came to the Shadow World. It was Murderer Red. He had cleared a unique quest and had become a 'Kunaga'.

A Kunaga possessed a snake's face and inherent abilities, and could also communicate with snakes.

With this ability, Red was able to speak with Kaik, which had transformed into a giant snake.

They soon came to an agreement. Red would teach it how to control shadows, and in exchange, Kaik would share its power with him.

Then...

Red became a Shadow Ruler (a hidden class). It was similar to how Asu had class changed by becoming Rudy's mother.

Anyhow, Red and Kaik began to rule the Shadow World together.

They built the city now known as the Crow's Nest, gathered criminals together and established Red Moon, and created passageways that would take them all across the continent. Of course, only Red and Kaik had the power to open and close these passageways.

However...!

Kaik's contractor and its only friend, Red, was completely wrapped in chains. That's why Kaik, which dwelled deep within the Shadow World and gathered power, had made an appearance.

Of course, Kang Oh was shocked by Kaik's sudden arrival.

"What's that?" Kang Oh widened his eyes, but kept a firm grip on the chain.

[You have discovered the Abyss Eating Snake, Kaik.]

Kaik stared at Kang Oh and opened its mouth wide.

Hiss!

Unlike normal snakes, Kaik didn't possess a tongue. In exchange, darkness flowed out of its mouth.

It was clearly hostile!

'This snake must be linked to Red somehow.'

Kang Oh was quick on the uptake. There was always an explanation for something. There was no reason for Kaik to appear now of all times if it wasn't for Red.

In order to test his theory, Kang Oh slightly tugged at the chain around Red's neck.

As he expected...

Hiss!

Kaik hissed even louder and narrowed its eyes.

'There's no way it'll just let me go.'

Kang Oh let go of the chain and used Switch to draw Ubist and Sarahoff. All of a sudden, however, Ubist began to shake.

[It has been a long time since the Abyss Predator, Ubist, has smelled the scent of home.]

[Like Ubist, Kaik comes from the Demon World. It too wields the abyss.]

[If Ubist, which possesses the ability to consume other demons, devours Kaik, then Demon Sword Ubist's power will increase.]

'Hoh.' Kang Oh's eyes gleamed.

All this time, Kang Oh had been feeding Ubist all of the junk items he'd been picking up. Sometimes, he'd buy some B-rank or lower items and feed them to it too.

However, it didn't really increase its satiation by any noticeable margin. Obviously, he was far off from reinforcing Ubist again.

But...

If Ubist ate Kaik, then it would be reinforced.

'Good news for me!'

Kang Oh grinned and said, "Ubist will definitely feel rejuvenated today."

The jet-black demon sword shook as if saying, 'I'm hungry!'.

At that moment...!

Hiss!

The snake shook its head from the left to the right, and then shot a fan-shaped wave of darkness at him.

Abyss Spray!

It had such a huge area of effect that he couldn't dodge it.

'But I can keep myself from taking damage!'

Kang Oh used Devil Trigger. A black beast mask covered his face, which sprouted twin frozen horns, and his body was painted black with white stripes streaking through it. A sharp tail protruded from behind, and his arms and legs were covered by frozen armor.

Boom!

Kang Oh, who'd assumed his Dual Demon form, was consumed by the darkness. However, he took no damage whatsoever.

[You are completely immune to the darkness (abyss) element.]

Ubist was the darkness itself. By using Devil Trigger, Kang Oh was able to command Ubist's power as his own, so any darkness based attacks would be completely ineffectual against him.

Of course, it also meant that his darkness based attacks wouldn't work on Kaik. Abyss Claw or Everlasting Darkness would be equally as ineffective against Kaik.

'Anyhow, I have to finish him off ASAP.'

Red was unconscious right now, so he wouldn't regain control of his character for 10 minutes minimum.

But if he took too long and Red regained control of his character, then things would get complicated. Thus, he had to take down Kaik before he woke up.

He had just the thing too. Kang Oh pulled out Gandara's Spear from his inventory.

Kang Oh had overestimated Red and had prepared this S-rank item for him. He certainly hadn't expected to use this against a snake when he'd first bought it.

'A 5,500 gold investment to reinforce Ubist is a steal.'

Gandara's Spear had cost him 5,500 gold at the auction house. However, if he used Gluttony on this, killed Kaik, and then reinforced Ubist, then it'd be more than worth it.

After all, spending 5,500 gold on junk items wouldn't be enough to reinforce Ubist.

Gluttony!

[Demon Sword Ubist has consumed Gandara's Spear.]

[It is an S-rank item.]

[Entering Gluttony mode.]

[For 30 minutes, the demon sword and your character's abilities are tripled.]

[You may use the consumed item's abilities: Warmonger and Tempest Thrust.]

[Warmonger: When you enter battle, your Stamina increases significantly, and any Stamina costs are reduced. Strength and speed are increased by 10%.]

[Tempest Thrust: A wind element thrust! This thrust's power is determined solely by one's speed stat. It can be used repeatedly, as it has no cooldown. Uses Stamina instead of MP.]

Kang Oh's body brimmed with power.

'Let's go!'

Bam!

He rushed forward. However, Kaik's body popped out of the ground. Not all of it, but a small portion of it. Even so, that 'small portion' was huge.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Tentacles popped out of its body. They were definitely the shadows that Red had used.

Obviously, they'd deal physical damage!

Bam, bam, bam!

The tentacles sliced through the ground, as if multiple people were swinging whips, and shot at him with ridiculous speed.

However, they wouldn't be able to stop him. Kang Oh avoided the shadow tentacles via his Hyper Intuition, and cleaved through them with Ubist again and again.

Abyss Blade allowed him to cut through them with ease.

Hiss!

Kaik released a dreary, ominous sound.

It released shadow beasts from its body. They were chimeras, monsters that were the result of fusing several beasts together.

This was the upgraded version of Red's skill. Just the same, Kang Oh ripped through the shadow beasts like wet paper.

Of course, the shadow beasts were more powerful than before.

"If you think you can stop me, then go ahead and try!"

Mad Wind's Sword!

He charged forward, repeatedly swinging his twin demon swords. It was like he was an uncontrollable train.

There was no way to stop him.

The shadow beasts were broken to bits, and Kang Oh charged at Kaik's tail.

Hiss!

'Good of you to come!', it seemed to say, and attempted to devour him. That was exactly what Kang Oh wanted.

It would take a lot of time for him to kill a monster of Kaik's size from the outside. What if he were to completely crush its insides? He'd be able to kill it rather quickly. Thus, Kang Oh allowed himself to be eaten.

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!

Kaik's insides were like a blender's blades. The shadow blades continuously spun around.

'If you're a blender, then I'm a hurricane!'

Tempest Thrust!

This ability became available to him by using Gluttony. Mad Wind's Sword would amplify his speed the more he swung his swords, and Tempest Thrust's attack power was determined by his speed!

This combination had incredible synergy. He truly was like a hurricane.

Bam!

Kang Oh began ripping Kaik's insides to shreds. He even cut through its skin.

Kuhaaa!

It screamed in pain, and its body violently writhed.

'This is just the beginning!' Kang Oh walked even deeper inside. Of course, he never stopped swinging his swords!

Kyaahk! Kyaahk!

Kaik desperately tried to spit him out. However, Kang Oh kept his balance and went deeper inside its body, all the while ripping its insides to shreds.

Black and white shards of light fell like a waterfall.

Kyahaaa!

Kaik gathered a ton of darkness within its body. It appeared to be using Abyss Spray in an attempt to push him out.

'We can't have that, now can we!?'

In this form, Kang Oh could use the power of ice too.

Yuki-Onna's Breath!

Frigid energy violently blew within its body.

To add to that...

Tempest Tiger!

Lightning Breath!

The cold energy was combined with a blast of lightning and a golden tiger aura.

At that moment...

Bam!

Abyss Spray.

Kaik spat out darkness.

The ice, wind, and lightning energies intertwined within Kaik's body.

Kaik's body began to swell, and Kang Oh was slowly being pushed back.

Boom!

Ultimately, the energies created a giant internal explosion. Four disparate blasts of energy had crashed against each other, so it only made sense.

However, the force of the explosion was far beyond his expectations.

Danger, danger!

Hyper Intuition sent him a dire warning; his body felt cold all over.

'Shit.'

Kang Oh immediately used Moon's Protection. He also added Ice Wall and Abyss Shield to that. He needed to use everything he could.

'I just need to live through this!'

Bam!

The internal explosion swept through Kang Oh as well.

A short while later...

Kang Oh had been spat out and was sprawled on the floor. He didn't look like he was in good shape.

But then...

Thud!

Kaik's head hit the floor, and its mouth began to froth.

The internal explosion had dealt such severe damage that it wasn't able to recover.

"Haa, haa." Kang Oh stood up.

'I almost died there.'

It had been such a huge explosion.

'Thanks.' Kang Oh stabbed his swords into the ground and tightly grabbed his necklace. If not for Moon's Protection, then he would've been in a world of pain!

"Hehe, now then." Kang Oh grinned.

Red was still wrapped in chains, unconscious, and Kaik had been beaten, so everything had gone as he'd wanted.

[Stab Ubist into Kaik's forehead! If you do, Ubist will devour Kaik!]

"Ok!"

Stab!

Kang Oh did exactly as the message instructed. He stabbed Ubist right in the middle of its forehead.

Then, darkness gathered around Ubist and coalesced into a giant beast. The abyss beast roared and got ready to feast.

'Thanks for the meal!', it seemed to say.

"Enjoy," Kang Oh said, and the abyss beast began ripping Kaik apart.

Ubist was getting rejuvenated!