“Yes.”
Myrdaon could not say anything in response to Gaon’s words.
He wouldn’t kill him?
That statement meant Gaon could kill him whenever he wanted.
Yet Myrdaon could not refute it.
He truly felt that he could die at any moment, just as Gaon said.
It was then.
Whoosh!
A massive tower appeared in the sky above.
Gaon had not prepared only the dark spears.
He intended to establish his domain and end this cleanly and completely.
Soon, the ten bands encircling the tower began to rotate, radiating Pacheonki.
The Pacheonki pushed away the demonic energy that had filled the area and instantly established the domain.
Myrdaon’s face hardened as he became trapped inside Gaon’s domain.
Looking at him, Gaon thought,
So this is the difference because he possesses rank.
Within his domain, Gaon could do anything.
Everything unfolded exactly as he wished.
However, Myrdaon was an existence that possessed ‘rank.’
Perhaps that was why.
With Myrdaon, he could not deal with him through sheer will alone.
It was not that there was no method—just that it could not be done with will alone.
Inside the domain, he could suppress Myrdaon much more easily.
Gaon launched the dark spears.
Myrdaon looked at the incoming dark spears and pondered.
Should I block them?
Was it right to block them with his tail?
He hesitated because of the power the dark spears contained.
It did not feel difficult to block with his tail—it felt outright impossible.
But there were no other options.
The rear was blocked by the ice wall.
Dodging to the sides?
There was not just one dark spear.
He could see at least six within his field of vision alone.
Even if he blocked one with his tail, what about the remaining five?
It was a truly hopeless situation where he could neither dodge nor block them all.
While Myrdaon was feeling helpless, the dark spears arrived.
He could not simply take them, so he first swung his tail to strike the closest dark spear.
BOOM! Squish!
The dark spear and tail collided.
Along with the explosion came the sound of penetration.
Shockingly, the dark spear had pierced into the tail.
It had not gone in deeply.
Only about two centimeters.
“……!”
Yet that alone was enough to make Myrdaon horrified.
He had been wounded before, but never pierced.
Moreover, the dark spear did not lose its momentum.
It continued digging deeper into the tail.
The depth of the penetration increased.
At this rate, it would soon pierce all the way through, completely running the tail through.
…I expected this.
Since it was not entirely unexpected, he quickly calmed his shock.
He swung his tail again, attempting to shake off the dark spear and strike the next one.
“……!”
However, the following situation left Myrdaon bewildered.
He could not shake the dark spear off.
It clung to his tail as if it had become one with it.
And the second dark spear struck his tail.
Just like the first, the second dark spear also dug into the tail.
In that moment, Myrdaon realized.
That the situation was already over.
That the outcome had been decided.
Then the remaining dark spears arrived.
The rest did not head for the tail.
They flew toward Myrdaon’s arms and legs.
Unlike the tail, his body, which had weaker defense, could not withstand the dark spears at all.
Squish! Squish! Squish! Squish!
One dark spear embedded itself in each of his two arms and two legs.
Even after embedding, the dark spears did not stop.
Myrdaon was pushed backward and—
BOOM!
—slammed into the ice wall behind him.
Pinned against the ice wall like a specimen, Myrdaon looked at Gaon with a hollow expression.
Just what the hell is this…
Myrdaon recalled the situation from the moment Gaon appeared until now.
Where exactly had things gone wrong?
No matter how much he thought, he could not figure it out.
So he began recalling the past before Gaon had appeared.
Meanwhile, Gaon injected Pacheonki into the lost-in-thought Myrdaon. It was to suppress his demonic energy and perform Bone-Crushing Agony.
“……?”
However, the moment he injected the Pacheonki, Gaon could not help but be taken aback.
What?
Bone-Crushing Agony was a technique that twisted muscles and bones to inflict excruciating pain.
Yet, shockingly, Myrdaon had neither muscles nor bones.
Not only that.
Even his basic internal organs were nonexistent.
His entire body was made of nothing but ‘demonic energy.’
In other words, it was impossible to perform Bone-Crushing Agony on him.
Gaon pondered what to do.
Would burning his demonic energy cause him pain?
But this was Myrdaon, who had burned his own rank.
Burning demonic energy would probably be something he could easily endure.
While Gaon was contemplating—
“What are you trying to do?”
Myrdaon, having finished his thoughts, asked.
Gaon paused briefly at the question before answering.
“I have some questions.”
“From the way you were acting, it looked like you were trying to threaten me….”
Myrdaon trailed off and grinned.
Gaon felt an ominous premonition from that smile.
He had a strong feeling that something bad was about to happen.
It was then.
Myrdaon’s demonic energy began to boil violently and ignited on its own.
Gaon, who had already been debating whether to burn the demonic energy or not, was startled.
Why was he burning his own demonic energy?
“I don’t know what you’re curious about, but…!”
Myrdaon trailed off again.
Cracks began appearing across his skin.
Swoosh!
Light leaked out from the cracks.
In that instant, Gaon understood.
Self-destruction!
Myrdaon was attempting to self-destruct.
Gaon waved his hand.
The dark spears embedded in his arms immediately pulled out and flew toward Myrdaon’s neck.
Myrdaon’s head was severed.
However, the situation did not change.
Myrdaon’s demonic energy continued to boil, and the light leaking from his body grew increasingly intense.
Sigh.
Gaon, who had several questions he wanted to ask Myrdaon, let out an inward sigh.
He waved his hand once more.
A Pacheonki Curtain appeared, enveloping Myrdaon.
Naturally, it was not made of Pacheonki alone.
It contained rank.
Soon, Myrdaon exploded inside the curtain.
The explosion was incredibly powerful.
The Pacheonki Curtain shook violently.
Cracks began appearing all over the curtain.
However, the cracks healed and disappeared as soon as they formed.
The explosion continued for some time, and Gaon watched quietly.
Eventually, the explosion subsided.
Gaon removed the curtain.
Hmm?
The moment he dispelled the curtain, Gaon paused.
He looked at the spot where the explosion had originated—the place where Myrdaon had been.
There, floating in the air, was a purple bead about the size of a fist.
What is this?
Honestly, he had expected nothing to remain—not even a demon stone.
After all, the body had been made entirely of demonic energy, and the power of the self-destruction had been overwhelmingly strong.
He had not thought anything would be left behind.
Swish.
Gaon reached out toward the bead.
The bead floated up gently and flew into his hand.
Once it settled in his palm, Gaon examined it closely.
Oh?
He let out a sound of admiration.
Surprisingly, the bead was Myrdaon’s ‘rank.’
It did not contain all of Myrdaon’s rank.
Only a portion of the rank Gaon had sensed.
Even so, it was extremely satisfying.
I can absorb this, can’t I?
It made sense. The ‘rank’ contained in Astrex’s Gem could not be absorbed directly.
To be precise, it required refinement first, and the efficiency was terribly low.
However, the rank contained in this bead did not require any refinement.
He could absorb it immediately.
If I absorb all of it…….
Gaon smiled.
If he absorbed all the rank contained in the bead?
Reaching the 11th Circle would be guaranteed.
The same went for the twelfth wall.
No matter how solid the twelfth wall was, it would melt away on its own.
Gaon opened his pocket.
After storing the bead inside, he dispelled the domain and thought,
Now I just need to kill the rest…….
Myrdaon had been the most important target.
There were still other Demon Kings he had not killed.
Gaon had no intention of returning to the middle world until he had killed all of them.
It was then.
“……!”
Gaon’s eyes flashed.
Four powerful energies had entered his senses.
Each of the four energies was incredibly strong.
They were not quite at Myrdaon’s level, but similar to the Demon Kings he had killed earlier.
In other words, they were undoubtedly Demon Kings.
No way……
Coincidentally, there were exactly four Demon Kings he had yet to kill.
Gaon broke into a wide, radiant smile.
He began moving while concealing his presence.
A massive legion of demons was on the march.
The level of the demons forming the legion was exceptionally high.
Even the weakest among them were high-ranking demons.
At the front, four demons were conversing.
“Even Myrdaon should know everything by now, right?”
“Of course.”
“There’s no way he wouldn’t.”
The identities of the four were the Demon King of Bitter Cold, Askaron; the Demon King of Decay, Hotan; the Demon King of Madness, Kelpain; and the Demon King of White Night, Norma.
“But why hasn’t he said anything? Normally, he would have already given orders. Like telling us to check the locations of the ones who were taken down earlier.”
“It is a bit concerning, but maybe he’s preparing something important.”
“But why isn’t he even answering communications…….”
“You don’t think Myrdaon got taken out too, do you?”
“Don’t say such ridiculous things.”
“If Myrdaon really was defeated, though—”
“Just imagining it is horrifying.”
It was then.
Step!
The Demon King of Decay, Hotan, suddenly stopped walking.
The other three Demon Kings stopped as well and looked at him with puzzled expressions.
“What’s wrong?”
Askaron asked on behalf of the group.
Hotan swallowed hard and spoke.
“……I think Myrdaon has been taken out too.”
“What?”
“What are you talking about?”
“That’s nonsense!”
The three Demon Kings exclaimed.
Their voices were filled with shock and disbelief.
It was understandable.
Myrdaon had been defeated?
He was the very hope of the four Demon Kings present.
“I can’t sense Myrdaon’s energy at all. At this distance, it should definitely be detectable.”
“……!”
“……!”
“……!”
At Hotan’s words, the three Demon Kings flinched.
Now that he mentioned it, something was off.
They were near Myrdaon’s Demon King’s castle.
By now, they should have been able to feel his ferocious demonic energy.
No—they should have felt it long before now.
The atmosphere grew increasingly heavy.
Kelpain carefully spoke up.
“Could he be hiding his energy?”
Myrdaon was exceptionally skilled at manipulating demonic energy.
He was by far the best among the Demon Kings.
Hiding his energy would be an easy task for him.
Perhaps Myrdaon was concealing his energy, which was why they could not sense him?
Askaron nodded in agreement with Kelpain’s suggestion.
Hotan continued.
“Even if that’s true for Myrdaon, what about his subordinates?”
At the mention of the subordinates, the three Demon Kings fell silent.
Myrdaon was not alone.
While not numerous, he still had several subordinates with him.
Even if Myrdaon was hiding his energy, the energy of his subordinates should still be detectable.
Yet they could not sense them either.
It was then.
All four Demon Kings simultaneously looked up at the sky.
Dark clouds that had not been there moments ago now hung overhead.
They had not appeared naturally.
They had appeared suddenly.
And those dark clouds contained an immense amount of energy.
Along with it, they could feel a special kind of power.
It was similar to that ‘power’ that had forced the Demon Kings to submit to Myrdaon.
And right at that moment.
Crackle! Crackle!
Crackle! Crackle!
Lightning began pouring down.