Chapter 247

Yu-Seong, while panting slightly, looked toward Do-Jin, who was slowly raising his head. He said, "Now, Kim Do-Jin. You have much to say, don't you? Is it frustrating for you in your current state, being unable to speak properly? Then, overcome it. You're not someone who would be defeated by a mere Demon King.”

Slowly, Do-Jin's beast-like body, which resembled a tiger, began to shrink back into a human form. A distinct human voice started to emerge from his vocal cords, which until now had only produced low growls.

"Choi... Yu-Seong... I... revenge..." Do-Jin said.

"On who?" Yu-Seong asked.

"Choi Woo-Jae...!" Do-Jin cried out in a loud voice, trembling greatly.

"In such a state? Is this really your will?"

"No..."

With his head lowered, Do-Jin had blood trickling down his tightly clenched fist. He was inflicting pain on himself to awaken his consciousness. As Yu-Seong quietly watched him, the red glow in his eyes gradually faded and the horns that had sprouted from his head began to shrink.

'Just a little more...'?

The Do-Jin that Yu-Seong knew would be capable of overcoming this pain and coming back.

In what seemed like defiance of such desperate hopes, Do-Jin's red mask shook violently as it emitted a violet aura.

"What?" Yu-Seong asked.

- Seek revenge.

Following this, the mouth of the red mask moved on its own, starting to voice words. Do-Jin, who had naturally been regaining his senses, had his eyes dyed red once again.

‘That mask...is quite ominous.’

Do-Jin tried to rush forward in desperation. Suddenly, a bright light, like a flashbang, enveloped the view, and Do-Jin's figure disappeared for a moment.

- Could it be that you intend to forget your grudge? Are you planning to show mercy to the family of your enemy? Kim Do-Jin. Kill. Kill him!

"Kaaaaaah-!" cried Do-Jin.

What could be heard was no longer his own voice but a beastly roar of hatred. At the same time, he charged toward Yu-Seong and swung his sword.

Gradually, Yu-Seong's vision began to recover. He glanced at Do-Jin's red eyes while gripping his sword with his bare hands.

'A blood vein?'?

Beneath the red mask was blood, which flowed out like tears.

"Kaaaaaah-!"

Do-Jin, once again howling like a beast, forcefully pushed away a stunned Yu-Seong. He created some distance between them. Next, a black dragon appeared behind Do-Jin as he held his sword high toward the sky.

'Antareus.'?

Antareus, who had inscribed a colossal magic circle, merged with Do-Jin.

Behind Do-Jin, who had turned into a tiger bearing the horns of a demon, was now trying to take on the form of a dragon. His wings of black flames burned and spread wide. Simultaneously, Do-Jin's energy skyrocketed to more than twice what it had been.

‘So you are finally serious now, huh?’

Yu-Seong, with his Third Eye wide open, locked gazes with Do-Jin in mid-air.

"Evil Annihilation Slash," Do-Jin said.

"What?" Yu-Seong exclaimed.

Despite having completely lost his senses, Do-Jin, who had uttered not a beast's roar but a human voice infused with clear intent, disappeared along with Yu-Seong's response. Within the realm of supersonic speed, accompanied by a piercing tinnitus that resonated in his head, Do-Jin's sword barely grazed Yu-Seong's shoulder.

Observing the black flames coloring the dark sky in the world seen through the Third Eye, Yu-Seong unconsciously halted in place instead of backing up.

Shwishhh-!?

From his shoulder down to his waist, a silver streak of sword light passed diagonally. Blood soon scattered into the air.

'Ah... The smell of blood.'?

Amid the burning and sticky sensation that was somewhat unpleasant, Yu-Seong grabbed Do-Jin's shoulder, which was drenched in blood. Actually, there was no need to move quickly. The tip of Do-Jin's sword, which had swung diagonally, was rigidly still.

Pointing his sword toward the blue sea, Do-Jin asked, "...W-Why...?”

Looking into Do-Jin’s eyes, which shed red energy, Yu-Seong responded with a snort of laughter. He said, "Suddenly, I thought about this. If I can't kill you, can you possibly kill me?"

"Such...idiocy..." Do-Jin said.

Purple energy began to flow again from Do-Jin's trembling mask. In one swift move, Yu-Seong reached out and gripped Do-Jin’s red mask. He said with a grin, "Most importantly, isn't the name of the skill Evil Annihilation Slash?"

Evil Annihilation Slash referred to a sword that eradicated evil.

"How could such a sword ever wound me?"

From the beginning, what Do-Jin wanted to cut was the evil tormenting him. Hence, it could never reach Yu-Seong in the end. Following his earlier comment, Yu-Seong harshly yanked off the red mask that seemed glued to Do-Jin's face.

"Kaaaaaah-!" With a scream, Do-Jin staggered.

- How dare you, a mere human, touch me...!

Ignoring the voice of the Demon King, Gula, which echoed from within the mask, Yu-Seong caught Do-Jin, who was falling toward the ground with a wavering consciousness, with one arm. He asked, "You okay?"

Although there was no verbal response, he could clearly see the slow nod of Do-Jin’s head.

'This guy…'?

Yu-Seong, laughing inwardly, looked at the red mask in his hand.

- Do you know who I am? Release me, human!

In fact, Yu-Seong did not pay much attention to the voice from the mask. Instead, he peered through his Third Eye at the entity observing him from behind the mask.

Knowing that the other party must definitely be hearing his voice from beyond the mask, Yu-Seong declared, "Stop wasting spouting nonsense and wait. I will come to you and end your life.”

With his warning, he put all his strength into the hand holding the mask.

Crunch-!?

- Aaaaah!

Along with the sound of something shattering, the agonizing voice of Demon King Gula echoed in Yu-Seong’s head. Then, the red mask shattered and fell into the sea.

After confirming the demise of Demon King Gula, Yu-Seong looked at the sky, which was starting to calm down and stop pouring. From between the dark clouds, the bright sun began to peek through.

‘Eveheim.'?

Yu-Seong's gaze grew cold as he thought of the greatest evil in this world, the source of all the malevolence, anger, and resentment that had unfolded.

'You must die.'?

This thought was not only due to the promise with his transcendent being masters. As long as Eveheim existed in this world, Yu-Seong would never be able to find happiness. Instinctively realizing this fact, the two had become irreconcilable beings.

Returning home with Do-Jin in his arms, Yu-Seong's eyes were filled with intense hostility toward someone for the first time.

***

In the room echoed a cry mixed with a scream. It was as sharp as the grinding of metal.

"Ugh..." With a short groan, a trickle of blood streamed from Eveheim's mouth as he held his head.

"Ha..." With a deep sigh, Eveheim sat down with a frown. His eyes drew intense wrinkles.

"Ha ha..." Briefly chuckling in a hollow manner, Eveheim lightly tapped the desk in front of him with his forefinger. He muttered to himself, "Unbelievable. No matter how much power the other three friends have provided, how could it have reached such an extent?"

Yu-Seong had entered the sanctuary of the transcendent beings and then returned. Although it was a rather obvious fact that the returnees always got stronger, Yu-Seong had clearly defied Eveheim's expectations.

"It's a shame. It really is such a shame. I should have been the one to have Yu-Seong..."

Eveheim thought he was right all along. There was a reason why, at some point, Yu-Seong had caught his eye instead of Do-Jin.

"Ah, I should have acted more decisively. Foolishly hesitating..." Eveheim clicked his tongue several times, sighing regretfully and ruefully.

He shook his head. "Well, there's nothing to be done. It has already passed. It's a shame that I couldn't witness the battle between two individuals who perceived each other as enemies. However, if this is my trial, I must accept it. By the way..."

Eveheim remembered the last moment when Yu-Seong had glared at him through his Third Eye. He commented, "He was quite angry. If he's that upset, even I could be in danger. Hmm..."

He let out a deep breath, stroking his chin.

This was indeed the truly terrifying aspect of Eveheim. Indeed, he was undoubtedly the strongest in this world, and he himself was well aware of this fact. However, when he felt threatened by Yu-Seong, he immediately started contemplating a solution. He was neither arrogant nor overconfident.

'I was complacent and hesitant, and this has turned things around...'?

Thinking about a few options, Eveheim abruptly stood up from his seat. "I would love to prepare a grand show as you wait, but just in case, I need to make sure.”

He felt a strong need to expedite the plan he originally intended to take a considerable amount of time.

"I need to summon Pride."

Superbia, the Demon King of Pride, stood at the forefront among the Demon Kings. Objectively speaking, his power surpassed even that of Eveheim without his transcendent abilities. For this reason, the summoning itself was quite difficult.

'I'll need quite a lot of blood...'

It required a large number of deaths. Of course, this was a burden for Eveheim. Even though the Demon King's Worshipers were the most powerful criminal group, they could not handle all the resentment in the world. The problem was that this level of sacrifice was necessary to summon the Demon King of Pride.

'But there's no choice… Crisis is an opportunity.'?

Rising from his seat, Eveheim licked his lips.

'The original goal was to absorb the power of Pride and ascend to heaven...'?

In a way, the current situation was rather a good thing.

'Choi Yu-Seong seems to have a special love for this world.'?

Could he just watch when a Demon King of Pride started to wreak havoc? He would certainly have to stand in Eveheim’s way. In that case, their battle would intensify.

‘Fish in troubled waters, this is a phrase I quite like.’

Eveheim, picturing a future he quite liked, picked up the phone and summoned the strongest forces of the Demon King's Worshipers via a message.

'Hexagram Masters, Twelve Dark Kings.'

In fact, it was finally time to let loose the fierce sharks he had raised in the wide sea.

***

As Do-Jin slowly regained consciousness, the first thing he recalled were the events he had experienced with Yu-Seong.

'I wish I could believe it was just a dream.'?

If not, there had been too many things that were embarrassingly real. No matter how many times Do-Jin thought about it, what he had experienced was indeed reality. As he opened his eyes and looked around, it was not difficult to come to this realization.

'...Damn it.'?

Do-Jin cursed under his breath, but his mood was not entirely bad. No, to be honest, it was rather good. But why? The voice of resentment that always tormented his mind was no longer heard. The voice of his dead father, ordering him to destroy the Comet and kill Woo-Jae, no longer followed him.

Laughing bitterly at this miraculous turn of events, he slowly blinked and registered the ceiling of the hospital room. It was a rather unfamiliar view for him. When he shifted his gaze to the side, he saw a familiar figure looking out the window.

At a glance, the man resembled Yu-Seong. However, it was not Yu-Seong. It could not be. The middle-aged man standing with his back turned was Woo-Jae, who was no different from a real enemy to Do-Jin and yet was the father of his friend Yu-Seong.

"...Choi Woo-Jae," Do-Jin muttered.

"You're awake."

In response to his voice, Woo-Jae turned to look at Do-Jin with gleaming eyes.