Chapter 437

On Dragan’s back, near what would be called the nape of the neck on a human’s body, was the phrase [By Kim Min-Ji] engraved in golden letters.

Dragan sensed a surge of vitality coursing through him.

‘This is my power!’

The Demon felt as if he could place the world beneath his feet. “Do you see how strong I am?”

The strangeness of this phenomenon didn’t faze him. He thought that the Guardian Tree had lent its strength to him after succumbing to him. “I can feel the power boiling within me.”

“Magnificent! As expected of a Demon Lord who serves the Demon King!” Hamedis exclaimed. Though he sensed something amiss, he chose not to point it out. In the world of Demons, for a respected advisor, social skills were more valuable than intelligence, and now was the time to exercise those skills.

Dragan chuckled. Until now, no Demon had succeeded in penetrating the Guardian Tree’s barrier. But he was different. As he moved, the barrier seemed to thin before vanishing entirely. The Demons following him marveled at his power.

Suddenly, Dragan heard a voice.

‘Now, fight me with all your might.’

Dragan looked up when he heard the voice of the long-awaited Demon King. He asked telepathically,

‘What do you mean?’

‘It’s exactly as I said. I need you to try and kill me.’

‘Are you testing me, Your Majesty? I could never do such a thing!’

Dragan yearned to become the Demon King’s right hand and rule the world, not to die here.

‘I’m not testing you.’

Cha Jin-Hyeok was currently mimicking Han Sae-Rin’s Ruler-exclusive communication Skill. He was getting assistance from her. In some cases, Sae-Rin’s Skill could subtly influence the target’s mind.

‘I have come to believe that you might be the true Demon King,’

Jin-Hyeok added. While this wasn’t exactly brainwashing, it was enough to plant a seed of doubt in his target’s mind.

‘Have faith in your abilities. You’re the vessel destined to become the true Demon King.’

‘So, it was like that all along?’

***

Jin-Hyeok arrived at the scene, riding the Thunder Dragon. Before any big festival, people would shoot fireworks and host elaborate drone shows. In this world, such displays of grandeur often attracted people’s attention. Jin-Hyeok understood this. Hence, purple storm clouds blanketed the sky as lightning struck. Amidst the lightning storm, Jin-Hyeok leaped down.

“Dragan the Gluttony. You have ruined everything!” Jin-Hyeok yelled as he landed, clutching Miri in his right hand.

When Dragan flinched, Jin-Hyeok sent another telepathic message.

‘Remember, you are the true vessel of the Demon King.’

Jin-Hyeok’s words rekindled Dragan’s courage. With the Guardian Tree’s buff empowering him, Dragan’s confidence soared. As the [By Kim Min-Ji] inscription glowed on him, Dragan grew bigger, emanating a soft golden light.

“Huhuhu... At last, you show yourself, fake Demon King,” Dragan sneered.

“Even if it costs me my life, I will stop you.”

The battle between Jin-Hyeok and Dragan commenced. Jin-Hyeok displayed speed surpassing that of ordinary Eltubers. He instantly closed the distance between them and leaped as if he had been teleporting, swinging Miri to strike the air.

Bang!

The shockwave from hitting the air transformed into a compressed air bullet with tremendous impact, shooting toward Dragan. For a moment, Dragan’s vision went dark, and he briefly doubted his claim to the Demon King’s title. However, this doubt lasted only a second.

‘His attack didn’t affect me at all!’

Dragan thought. The golden energy surrounding his body had converged to protect him, creating a shield that concentrated on a single point to block the shockwave.

‘The attack didn’t affect me!’

His confidence began to grow.

‘That’s right! I was the real Demon King all along!’

Dozens of viscous water streams materialized around Dragan, each imbued with powerful mana.

“Behold the Demon King’s whips!” Dragan proclaimed.

When the first whip lashed out, Jin-Hyeok dodged with a quick step. However, another water whip flew toward him immediately after. Jin-Hyeok focused the power of his Absolute Barrier above his head. In response, the whips instantly curved, avoiding the barrier’s influence and striking Jin-Hyeok’s abdomen.

“Ugh!” Jin-Hyeok grunted.

“Each Demon King’s whip is imbued with a will. They know their path,” Dragan explained.

Growing increasingly confident, Dragan relentlessly lashed his water whips at Jin-Hyeok, pressuring him. Dragan was experiencing a new world of power.

‘I’m not getting tired,’

Dragan thought. Though this was due to the Guardian Tree’s buff, such details did not matter to him.

‘I’m the new Demon King!’

***

Jin-Hyeok found this battle quite enjoyable.

‘The Guardian Tree is doing better than I expected.’

-“We agreed to call me Min-Ji, not Guardian Tree!”

‘Oh, sorry, Min-Ji.’

Since the Guardian Tree seemed to anticipate Jin-Hyeok’s attack patterns, it effectively blocked them on Dragan’s behalf. This allowed Jin-Hyeok to attack the Demon more freely, while Dragan could focus solely on offense without worrying about defense, which significantly increased his attacking power.

‘Dragan is weaker than I thought, but...’

More accurately, Jin-Hyeok felt he had become excessively strong. Even now, his Level kept rising as countless other Players poured their experience points into him. However, in this situation, such strength was not necessarily a bad thing. It allowed him to maintain perfect control over the battle.

‘This battle isn’t meant to create real tension anyway!’

After all, this was not a genuine fight, but merely a performance to draw out Garbinu, who was hiding and watching Jin-Hyeok.

“Die!” Dragan roared.

Multiple water whips merged into a net-like formation before transforming into a large mass of water that cascaded toward Jin-Hyeok. It was imbued with powerful mana, and Jin-Hyeok chose not to use Absolute Barrier. He felt that he needed to take the hit directly to show some impact.

“Ugh!” Jin-Hyeok grunted.

The attack caused a slight impact on Jin-Hyeok’s head. The Guardian Tree’s buff was indeed powerful.

‘Some blood would’ve been better.’

Unfortunately, no blood leaked out of his wound.

“Is that all you’ve got?” Jin-Hyeok taunted the Demon, then telepathically said,

‘You’re doing well, the vessel of the new Demon King. Awaken and devour me to become the true Demon King!’

Becoming even more excited, Dragan chanted a spell. As incomprehensible incantations rang out, a viscous liquid erupted from beneath Jin-Hyeok’s feet, ensnaring him.

“Behold, this is the Demon King’s Flowing Prison,” Dragan said.

The Flowing Prison was Dragan’s ultimate technique. No one had ever escaped it alive. It was a prison that drained the vitality of the one inside it, using it as nourishment.

“Now, I begin the feast on the fake Demon King. Let the banquet commence!”

Dragan’s heart raced. At first, he had suspected that what Jin-Hyeok was telling him was a trap, thinking his loyalty was being tested. However, now he understood—the fake Demon King had recognized the true vessel and was surrendering, offering his body to him so that the true Demon King could be born!

Trapped inside the Flowing Prison, Jin-Hyeok rejoiced.

‘My vision is blocked!’

This meant that people from the outside could not see what was going on inside this prison. Garbinu would not be able to see through this with his current abilities.

‘Miri, I will give you a chance to strike the back of my head.’

-R-Really? No, I mean, I have never wanted to do it...

‘There is no time. Hurry!’

-I’m only doing this because you ordered it. I didn’t want this!

Miri’s Trait, Persistent and Sticky Desire, was activated. A beam of light struck Jin-Hyeok’s head.

-Hehe... Hehehe!

Miri fell into ecstasy.

-I’ve struck Master’s head!

Miri trembled and convulsed as if she had been electrocuted.

Jin-Hyeok felt a numbing impact on the back of his head and sensed blood flowing. At that moment, he felt a sense of crisis.

‘No!’

he inwardly shouted.

Perhaps it was the effect of the Herb of Immortality, but the wound began to heal instantly. The blood that had just started to flow stopped. No, it didn’t just stop—the blood reversed course and flowed back into his body.

‘Why have I become so unnecessarily strong?’

Jin-Hyeok transformed Miri into a sword form and swung her at his left arm, severing it.

‘That should do it... Wait!’

However, it did not go as he planned. The severed arm reattached itself in the blink of an eye.

‘How the hell is this possible?’

There was no time to be bewildered.

‘Time is running out.’

The Flowing Prison was about to disappear.

‘I need to control my strength.’

Jin-Hyeok wanted to heal only when he intended to, be strong only when he chose to. He needed to have command over the power of the Herb of Immortality so that he could sever his arm when he wished it. If he could not manage this, it wasn’t true strength.

Jin-Hyeok made a resolution.

‘I need to become truly strong.’

***

However, he could not become truly strong immediately. So, he let out a scream. “Arghhh!”

He deliberately created more wounds on himself, allowing the Flowing Prison to absorb them. As the prison absorbed his blood, which was imbued with the Herb of Immortality, Dragan received a tremendous boost of vitality.

“I can feel my power overflowing!” Dragan clenched his fist. He truly felt as if the world was at his feet. An incredible vitality filled his body. “The true Demon King is being born!”

Garbinu, who was watching this, grew anxious.

‘Is it for real?’

Garbinu was barely hanging on as a fragment of his soul; he would vanish from this world if he could not find a proper vessel.

‘Is Dragan really about to devour Chul-Soo? This has to be a trap. No, it can’t be a trap. No, it IS a trap!’

Garbinu was contemplating what to do. He knew he had to do something. After all, he could also sense the incredible vitality emanating from Dragan.

‘That Flowing Prison is really devouring Chul-Soo.’

There was no other way to explain the powerful mana he sensed from Dragan. Dragan could gain such vitality only by consuming at least half of Chul-Soo! Garbinu had no choice.

‘I must take over Chul-Soo’s body now!’

Garbinu hid himself in a shadow, seeping into the Flowing Prison. In his incomplete state, entering Dragan’s spell was incredibly risky, but it wasn’t as difficult as he had imagined. When he finally reached Chul-Soo, their faces were nearly touching.

“Finally,” Jin-Hyeok said.

Garbinu saw Chul-Soo’s grin and was gripped by fear. “How?”

He had expected Chul-Soo to be in poor condition, but Chul-Soo looked surprisingly unscathed. There wasn’t even a scratch on him. Momentarily taken aback, Garbinu quickly regained his composure.

“I see you’re putting on a brave face until the end, Chul-Soo.”

Despite the Streamer’s outward appearance, Garbinu was certain Chul-Soo was in shambles internally. With how much vitality Dragan had absorbed, it was impossible that Chul-Soo was unharmed.

Like Chul-Soo, Garbinu put on a brave front. “I’ve come to take your body and become the ruler of the universe. Become a part of me and rule the universe together.”

“Wait.” Jin-Hyeok interrupted him. He swung Miri, now in sword form, cutting his palm. “Let me feed this prison a bit more.”

Jin-Hyeok casually flicked small droplets of blood toward the Flowing Prison. The prison’s energy intensified, and Dragan’s voice boomed. “Hahaha! Can you feel it? This is my power! Everyone, praise the birth of the true Demon King!”

Jin-Hyeok’s wound had already healed.

“Sorry about that. Now, where was I?” he said nonchalantly.