novelraw Chapter 225 : The Butcher (1)
Chapter 225 : The Butcher (1)
The Butcher (1)
"I couldn't understand it."
To Henate, the Demon King was a god.
No, in fact, he possessed the power of a god.
The very fact that he could kill the Saintess meant he was a being who alone could bring down an entire era.
Henate couldn't even imagine the Demon King being defeated.
「Park Jung-woo, you were indeed strong, but not at the level to kill the Demon King.」
Having fought him directly, Henate knew this.
It's true Park Jung-woo was powerful, but if several of the top-rank demons who existed at the time had targeted him, he could have been killed.
That was why Jung-woo, knowing this, moved as covertly as possible to ambush the Demon King.
「That was only possible because the Saintess was at your side.」
A being able to bring about miracles.
It must have been possible to kill the Demon King because Saintess Estella was there.
That was the only way to explain it.
Back then, humans could never—
They could absolutely never kill the Demon King.
「I really am tired of it all.」
When Henate learned that Jung-woo was in this world, he actually felt pleased.
He thought at last, he might finally be able to kill him.
That was, until he learned Jung-woo possessed the Demon King's power.
「I have no idea how you are able to use the Demon King's power.」
Red mist enveloped Dune's body.
It flickered like flames.
「But you must know it too.」
Until now, as if it had all been child's play, that power grew ever larger.
「If you use that power recklessly, it will end up consuming this world instead.」
Uncontrolled Demon King's power would only hasten the world's transformation into the demonic realm.
That's why Damian created situations where Jung-woo would have no choice but to keep using the Demon King's power.
Damian's reasoning was based on the belief that Jung-woo could not control the Demon King's power.
In some ways, he might be similar to Henate.
The belief that Jung-woo could not fully master the Demon King's power.
It was only with that faith that everything could have been set in motion.
「But after what happened in the Grand Canyon, my thoughts changed a bit.」
Back then, Jung-woo had succeeded, if only slightly, in controlling the Demon King's power.
If not, he wouldn't have been able to destroy the rift.
「If that's the case, perhaps it's better to burst it now, before you can master that power completely.」
Red killing intent exploded toward Jung-woo.
「A long time has passed since you disappeared.」
The power felt from Henate was far stronger than when they'd faced off in the past.
「For you, it must feel like just a moment.」
On the other hand, Jung-woo was much as he had been then.
Only, now the Demon King's power dwelled in his body.
「So how will things turn out this time?」
Even if he couldn't kill him for sure, that was fine.
As long as Henate could get him to consume the world with the Demon King's power, it would be Henate's victory.
***
Jung-woo felt it.
Henate would not run away in this fight.
He would pour every ounce of his power into defeating Jung-woo, staking his very existence.
'Can I really stop him without any casualties?'
Honestly, it was a daunting task.
Protecting everyone in a densely populated city while facing Henate was an entirely different problem.
'Still—'
It wasn't impossible.
The Jung-woo Henate knew was the one from before he defeated the Demon King.
The Jung-woo who grew through that battle, had now reached a state where he could even control the Demon King's heart.
「Park Jung-woo!!」
With Henate's furious roar, Dune's new form, shrouded in red mist, shot out.
Was it Dune's will moving that body now?
Or was it Henate's power?
'It doesn't matter either way.'
The force of a top-rank demon and an S-rank awakener had become one perfectly.
In the blink of an eye, the red hand was already reaching for Jung-woo's throat, trying to tear it apart.
He struck it aside.
But the hand scattered like mist.
'What's this?'
He had thought it was merely a human body.
Had it transformed after merging with Henate?
It was similar to Mimos, but a little different.
The dispersed red mist reformed elsewhere, turning into a red blade slashing toward the back of Jung-woo's head.
Kwa-kwang!!!
The concrete ground shattered and caved in.
As he aimed a punch in that gap, Dune's body followed the trajectory, scattering into red mist.
「I'll kill you, Park Jung-woo!!」
The area of red mist shrank.
Taking the shape of a circular band, it thinned into blades, starting to revolve around Dune's body.
'This is—'
Dangerous.
As soon as that thought occurred to him, Jung-woo shouted reflexively.
"Alencia!!"
Seok!
The rotating red blade, the round ring, rapidly expanded in size around Dune.
Everything within that range was split open.
Buildings that had soared skyward shattered at an angle, and began to collapse all at once.
The area covered was several hundred meters.
All the buildings in the vicinity were cut clean in half.
「Hm?」
Through all of this, Henate noticed something odd.
Even within the path of the red blade, there had been people.
Those who had discreetly stayed behind to watch without fleeing.
Or those who had been drawn in by the commotion.
They should have all been chopped up and killed together with the buildings.
Yet, there were no bodies anywhere.
In the places where people had been, blue lightning arced, showing that something had just passed through.
「This is—」
Amidst the collapsing buildings, innumerable streaks of blue light flashed.
With the entire city out of power, that blue light stood out even more.
「Is it that Saintess!」
At the same time as Henate muttered, lightning pierced through him.
"Tch."
Alencia landed next to Jung-woo, clicking her tongue shortly.
Because she hadn't felt the sensation of her foot striking anything.
"Pandemonium?"
"All cleared out!"
"That was quick?"
"There weren't any strong demons there anyway."
Currently, Alencia had backup access to the entire city's electricity.
Even ordinary S-ranks or awakened would have found it impossible to track her movements.
"Want to fight together?"
"No, keep rescuing people like you just did."
"Yeah! Leave it to me!"
With that, Alencia's electromagnetic waves spread in all directions.
She began scanning the whole area in real time to locate people.
「So the Saintess's power is... lightning? Why lightning in such an advanced civilization...?」
"It's not lightning, it's electricity. Not that you'd understand if I explained."
In a sense, it could be called lightning.
After all, they were of the same lineage of power.
"You won't be able to kill anyone, Henate."
「Park Jung-woo.」
Dune's face, worn by Henate, twisted in anger.
Proof that they were now utterly one.
「Why are there two Saintesses in this world?」
"I don't know that either."
Jung-woo gave a wry smile as he spoke.
"The one thing I do know is, you picked the wrong world to invade."
Grrr, Henate's eyes burned red as countless rings, like those that had just split the city, began to form.
「Those words—」
Countless rings of blood spun around.
Numbering at least dozens.
「I'll make you regret them!」
Alencia could save the people, but any further damage to the city would be bad.
Even that much would allow the ember Dune spoke of to ignite.
'So then—'
He flowed the blood of demons through his veins.
The latent power of the Demon King slumbered there.
He awakened the shard he'd used to close the rift.
'I realized something.'
Just as they said, the Demon King's power consumes the world.
It erodes.
If you use it carelessly, you only harm the world instead.
But power that had become truly yours was different.
Even if he used it, it wouldn't erode the world.
Perhaps because the Demon King's nature, and that of the human Park Jung-woo, were different.
To transform the Demon King's power into that of a human was normally impossible.
That's because immediately after using it, you would be consumed by the Demon King's power.
But as long as Jung-woo had Estella's Authority, he would not die.
Even if the Authority was expended, he wouldn't lose his life.
That was why Jung-woo could gamble on making the Demon King's power his own.
'Will Estella's Authority run out first—or will I make all the Demon King's power my own?'
Which would come first?
Thinking that, Jung-woo knocked on the door.
He could feel the small crack widening.
Kwa-kwakwa!!
Red rings shot forth.
Just before they struck a building, Jung-woo moved half a step faster, smashing them with his fist.
'I can't destroy them all.'
He only destroyed those that threatened to inflict major damage.
Brushing aside the debris of ruined buildings, Jung-woo reached for Henate, who was wreathed in red mist.
Ordinary attacks couldn't harm that red mist.
But if he imbued the Demon King's power, it was a different story.
The Demon King's power could wound even a Saintess.
That sort of red mist would be easily torn apart.
「Kgh!!」
Of course, Henate knew this as well.
Had he not been wounded by just grazing Jung-woo's hand as he fled the Grand Canyon?
Even then, Jung-woo had been using the Demon King's power.
「You—you, you little...!!」
Henate's enraged roar was cut short as Jung-woo's fist smashed into his face.
Henate's body, floating in the air, was driven into the ground.
「His power is not just at that level!!」
The impact caused the ground to fracture and collapse like a spiderweb.
As Jung-woo landed after Henate and stomped the ground, the entire area trembled violently.
「Is that all you've got, Park Jung-woo? Is that everything!」
The red mist that earned Henate the title of 'Butcher' thinned.
Against Jung-woo, the red mist only served to make him a bigger target.
The mist was absorbed back into Dune's body, forming spinning rings around his arms and legs.
「That won't be enough to kill me!」
Jung-woo's fists and Henate's arms clashed repeatedly.
The bloody saw blades, which could shred buildings in an instant, collided with Jung-woo's fists and were pulverized.
But Jung-woo was not unscathed, either.
Little by little, wounds began to appear on his body.
That alone showed how sharp the rings of blood wielded by Henate were.
Their fists and arms, legs and feet.
They clashed in a rapid exchange of blows.
「Park Jung-woo!!」
Henate, charging in with a beast-like roar, reminded Jung-woo of how he once was.
But—he didn't feel that same strength as before.
Even though he had surely gotten stronger.
Crunch.
「......!」
At the moment Jung-woo's hand and Henate's arm collided again, something broke.
Henate saw with his own eyes his arm, half-torn and dangling.
'This is nothing.'
The bloody mist materialized, forcibly stitching the torn flesh together.
He could still fight.
But none of his strength reached Jung-woo at all.
'Why?'
He was sure he had grown stronger.
Now, with the added power of Dune, an S-rank awakener.
'No way.'
Henate looked at Jung-woo.
His eyes, which had surely been black, now glowed with a red light.
「Just how far are you drawing out the Demon King's power now?」
In the instant that question crossed his mind,
Jung-woo's fist pierced Henate's chest.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
「৻( •̀ ᗜ •́ ৻)」