Chapter 387: Here I Come (3)

“It may look like a calm lake from afar, but once you get closer you’ll see this place is a raging sea.”

It was a quote left by Serphine, the one known as the Enlightened Archduke. It was also a line that sharply captured the core of the Demon Realm.

The amount of top-ranked demons and those beyond, the archduke demons, stayed consistent and the members rarely changed. Because of that, the Demon Realm appeared stagnant like a still lake from a distance. But just a little deeper, just a little further in, one would see the truth.

The lowest to the upper and top-ranked demons moved without rest to grow stronger than yesterday and even stronger tomorrow, and the archdukes were no different.

“Today, that ends.”

Basion ruled over the northern region of the Demon Realm, and Steron ruled over the eastern region of the Demon Realm. They were preparing for battle like old enemies who had never reconciled, and it wasn’t some small skirmish.

“Today, I take the east.”

“Today I’ll plant my banner in the north no matter what.”

A massive battle where all their subordinate demons had been gathered at the border. Tens of millions of demons assembled in one place for the day of decisive battle. The two archdukes were as sensitive as newly drawn blades.

In that overwhelming space where even the demons’ breaths became roars, the archdukes of both sides slowly walked forward.

“I guess this all ends today, Basion.”

“What, are you going to miss it?”

“You sure know how to talk nonsense.” Steron scoffed.

With the brief exchange of words over, the two archdukes slowly began to draw forth their power. It was time to put an end to their long and bitter feud.

***

“

Hmm.

”

After parting ways with Serphine, Kai had been riding Mimic and been on the move for four days. His destination was the border between the eastern and northern regions.

“She told me not to pass through the central region.”

Serphine advised him not to fly through the Demon Realm’s central sky. She said it would be a hassle if the Demon King noticed him.

Well, I plan to meet the Demon King anyway, but let’s save that for later.

Meeting the final boss from the start would just ruin the fun.

Kai was obediently following Serphine’s advice and traveling along the border. It was a longer route but there was no need to rush.

“

Oh

, come to think of it, it should have started by now...”

Serphine said a war between east and north was bound to break out soon. That was also the reason Kai was headed for the border. Serphine had told him that there, he could meet both archdukes at once.

Those idiots could fight for a whole month and never settle it. So just take your time.

He wondered if that would turn out to be true. Kai sat cross-legged on top of Mimic and quietly closed his eyes.

Image training.

Naturally, his imagined opponent was Serphine. She had been the strongest of all he had fought and had much to learn.

Her Frozen Hell was tough to deal with.

Serphine’s Frozen Hell froze the surroundings and was nearly equal in effect to Absolute Zero. But when it came to technique, she was overwhelmingly better. Unlike Kai who simply froze everything in all directions, she could control it with precision. It was that aspect Kai was focusing on in his image training.

Just as I became more versatile with the Gravity Field through practice, I’ll do the same with Absolute Zero.

If he could learn to control both Gravity Field and Absolute Zero precisely...

That would be insane.

Kai was someone who could even perform quadruple casting thanks to system correction. A Cleric who could use Gravity Field and Absolute Zero simultaneously while also healing—no one could match him.

‘But that’s a different story if the opponent is a god.

Even with such power, he still wasn’t sure if he could fight against Muldine.

I’ll do everything I can.

He would do everything as long as he could protect Helik.

His tightly shut eyelids hid his sharp gaze.

***

“For Archduke Basion!”

“Steron leads us! Kill all those northern bastards!”

Tens of millions of demons rushed in to kill one another. Blood and flesh flew across the battlefield as lives vanished in vain. The two archdukes had already moved to a separate place to settle things between them, but even so, their demons fought to the death for their masters.

“

Oh?

They really went to war.”

A wyvern slowly flapped its wings high above the battlefield.

“

Kyuuuung?

”

“

Hm?

Are we going to land?

Hmm

, what should we do...”

Kai quickly scanned the battlefield. Even from this high up, he couldn’t see the full extent. There were that many demons and how vast the battlefield was.

Guess the archdukes are still at it.

There would be no reason for the rest to fight so hard if their duel had ended.

“Alright. Let’s go down for a bit.”

Kai glanced at the status window and patted Mimic’s neck and head. His current level was 568. With the tripled XP bonus for visiting the Demon Realm for the first time, there was a sea of XP rolling around on the ground.

It would be a waste to miss this.

Moreover, it didn’t seem like either archduke would be dead if he arrived a little late.

As Mimic slowly descended, demons that flew in the air were the first to turn their heads.

“Are you an eastern demon?”

“Are you a northern one?”

“Shouldn’t you first ask if I'm even a demon?” Kai asked back.

Instead of a reply, what came flying was an attack. As Mimic smoothly circled through the air and dodged the attacks, Kai reached out his hand.

“Solar Photon Cannon.”

Four holy magic circles surrounding Kai simultaneously fired beams of light. The flying demons struck by the holy power, which was nearly their direct counter, screeched as they crashed to the ground.

Ding!

[Level increased.]

[Level increased.]

[Acquired 10 stat points.]

Perhaps this was what people meant by saying something was as easy as swimming with your feet on the ground.

Kai had treated the patients of the Liberation Army with utmost sincerity, but now he showed not a shred of mercy.

Coming to the battlefield means you are ready to take a life.

If so, then the reverse must also be true.

“They must have come ready to lose their own lives too.”

“W-what is that monster...?”

“Wait. That strange aura isn’t dark magic... Could it be...?”

“Th-the Reaper of the South?!”

“I heard that it was a woman!”

Could they be talking about Ha-Rin?

The Reaper of the South. It seemed she had earned quite the title in that short time.

Well, she is the Knight of Change, so it makes sense.

Yoo Ha-Rin currently possessed power comparable to a top-ranked demon.

“Unfortunately, I’m not who you think I am.”

From the demons’ point of view, that must have been unfortunate. If it had been Yoo Ha-Rin who appeared, they wouldn’t have gotten defeated so helplessly.

Should I go on a proper rampage this time?

Kai snapped.

“Enhanced summon, Blizzard. Summon Army of Light, Harley, Desmond!”

Three creatures were instantly summoned. Blizzard naturally leapt onto Mimic’s back, while Harley and Desmond spread their wings and scanned below.

—

Sniff sniff

, this smell is...?

The one most delighted by the summon was none other than Desmond. His eyes widened, then his face lit up with joy.

—Human, is this place Heaven?

“Technically speaking, it’s Hell.”

—There’s no way! The demonic energy here is overflowing!

“

Ah

, I guess it is Heaven from your point of view.”

—Why have you summoned me?

Desmond revealed his fighting spirit as if he wanted to rampage right away. But unfortunately, he couldn’t run wild on this battlefield. He could barely handle low to middle-ranked demons at most with his level.

But once this fight is over...

He might just reach a level where he could take on upper-ranked demons.

Kai stretched out his hand and pointed at the world full of demons. “Why else? Blizzard, Desmond, Harley! Fight the demons as much as each of you can handle.”

—Interesting.

Harley let out a low chuckle as he flew in a graceful arc. From his wide-open mouth burst out the pressurized water cannon. The stream of water sliced straight through the low-ranked demons, cutting them in half. At the same time the summoned creatures’ XP points began to rise rapidly.

𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Summoning these guys will cost me a bit of my own XP...

But if not now, then when else would he raise them? Kai cast buffs on them as he continued his own hunt.

“This is kind of nostalgic.”

Even middle-ranked demons quickly brought the summons to critical health. Naturally each time that happened, Kai’s healing spells wrapped around them.

Three summons to take care of.

At the same time, Kai had to continue slaying enemies. The thrill of a battle where he couldn’t let his guard down for a second was what made him enjoy it.

“This is fun.”

Kai stepped down from Mimic’s back onto the ground and grinned as he watched the demons charging at him. With every swing of his sword, demon limbs rolled across the ground.

“Th-this is impossible!”

“I’ve never heard of a demon like that...!”

“Wait, what rank is he even from?”

Lowest, low, middle, upper, and top-ranked. Kai’s sword turned its targets into cold corpses without regard for their rank. Like a factory machine producing products, his sword continued steadily generating corpses.

***

Ding!

[Level increased.]

[Acquired 5 stat points.]

After a long while of focusing solely on hunting, Kai finally reached the astonishing milestone of having a level starting with the number six.

Phew, this sure is tiring.

The constant fighting made him feel fatigued and his body felt heavy like it was soaked with water. This was less a matter of his character’s condition and more of a mental issue. In other words, it was a result of his real body not getting enough sleep.

Guess it’s about time to pull out.

Kai casually opened his inventory and checked the loot. Even though he was clearly defenseless, not a single demon dared to attack him.

[Kai]

Class: Solaris Cleric

Level: 600

Title: Envoy of God

HP: 261,200

Holy Power: 423,500

Stats

Strength: 3,387 Stamina: 2,612

Intelligence: 3,124 Agility: 1,842

Holiness: 4,235 Dignity: 1,654

Benevolence: 784

Remaining Stat Points: 325

Poison Resistance +30

Magic Resistance +101.5%

Nature Affinity +200

Effectiveness of skills that consume Holy Power +50%

Damage dealt to demons/undead +100%

It was the kind of stat screen that made a warm smile appear just by looking at it.

After a good sleep, it’s time for the two archdukes.

***

Black liquid melted the ground, the sky split in two, and black lightning rained down in streams. It was far too massive a battle to be dismissed as a mere fight between two beings. As if to prove that point, no living creature stayed within several dozen kilometers of the area. It was a clash between solitary absolute beings that no one could interrupt.

However, a presence of a third party began to be felt under the sharp senses of the two archdukes.

An uninvited guest?

Don’t tell me it’s this guy...

Naturally, Basion and Steron suspected each other. But the moment they saw the wariness on each other's faces, the suspicion disappeared.

It’s not a trap Basion set.

Judging by his expression, it’s not him either. Then who could it be...?

The two archdukes silently widened the distance between them and looked toward the approaching figure.

The figure wore white cleric robes with luxurious rings on each finger. On his shoulder rested a sword that looked like it was forged from light.

He walked toward them and scanned the two archdukes’ faces. “Let’s see... You must be Basion?”

“I’m Steron,” Steron replied with a voice full of irritation.

“

Ah

, sorry. Then you must be Basion.”

“What are you?” Basion asked in a sharp tone.

The area they were standing in was filled with the archdukes’ dark magic, making it impossible for other creatures to move freely. Even a top-ranked demon couldn’t easily roam the place. That was why they had become alert the moment they sensed a third presence. To move freely in this place meant the being had power comparable to that of an archduke.

“I’m Kai. I came here with Serphine’s recommendation.”

“The west...?”

“When did she plant such a wildcard...”

The two archdukes muttered to themselves without realizing it.

Kai looked at the archdukes who were on high alert and adjusted his grip on the Holy Sword.

“Well then, let’s get started.”

It was the twenty-fifth day since he had arrived in the Demon Realm.