Chapter 37: Fulfillment of Promise (2)

Belial sneered at Taehoo’s foolish change in stance.

In his eyes, the human before him was nowhere near his level.

He thought that all Jin-tae could do was dodge until his body reached its limits.

But—

[The black and white aura collides with the Demonic Energy!]

[The power of white reveals hostility toward the Demonic Energy!]

Belial had never imagined Taehoo would possess an energy that contradicted Demonic Energy.

On top of that, he couldn’t have expected Taehoo to find a gap in the Magical Armor he had painstakingly crafted.

Crackle!

The sound of a crack forming in the armor continued.

The armor, forged of Demonic Energy, was no different from a shield formed from Mana.

Once a gap appeared, there was no stopping it.

The fracture only widened.

Soon, the Magical Armor encasing his body shattered like glass.

This was a situation Belial hadn’t anticipated at all.

Not only was his opponent enduring his power, but he’d even landed a strike?

Just this much was proof enough of Taehoo’s abilities.

[The body of the Follower has reached its limit!]

[The power of the Constellation is leaving the body of the Follower!]

The Quest condition was fulfilled.

However—

[How dare you!]

Belial could not accept this.

That a Constellation like himself had allowed such a brat to land a blow?

Belial’s reason snapped.

[Constellation ‘Belial’ forcibly holds onto the Follower’s body!]

[The Penalty of Temporary Descent accelerates!]

[Recovery will be required after the duration ends!]

[Remaining duration: 8 seconds.]

A time extended by force.

But it was more than enough to subdue the human before him.

[Constellation ‘Belial’s’ power is forcibly maintained!]

Taehoo read those messages clearly.

A single attack.

The Demonic Energy unleashed by the now-maddened Belial grazed Taehoo’s side.

“Kh…”

Blood gushed from Taehoo’s mouth.

He no longer had enough Mana left to neutralize the Demonic Energy that pierced his body.

There was no time for complaints—the situation was not yet over.

Even though he had no strength left, Taehoo did not pull out the Fallen Flower Sword embedded in Belial—or rather, in Jin-tae’s body.

Instead, he pressed harder.

Slash!

He cut through the rest of Jin-tae’s shoulder. The severed arm spun into the air.

And in the brief instant it took for it to crash to the ground—

Belial’s Demonic Energy became a new arm.

In that hand, forged of Demonic Energy, appeared a sword made of the same.

The Fallen Flower Sword and the Demonic Energy sword clashed.

A long screech of friction echoed, and the thunderous sound cut through the noise of falling rain.

Spurt.

Blood flowed.

With the strength left, it was impossible to push Belial back.

It was a difference thinner than a single sheet of paper.

He was one step short.

In truth, Taehoo had executed his plan perfectly.

The current situation was merely Belial’s whim.

Taehoo simply didn’t have the strength to withstand that whim.

Is this the end?

Would this life, in which he’d refused to retreat or bring shame, end like this?

Or was it enough that he had refused to compromise?

Questions continued to flow through Taehoo’s mind.

No, he didn’t want it to end like this.

He didn’t want it to be over.

Taehoo, though there was nothing left for him, did not want to give up.

He’d promised himself not to regret—after all, it was so he could survive.

Not to die in a place like this.

Yet—

Regardless of Taehoo’s will, the sword was gradually being pushed back.

The arm resisting Belial’s strength bent inward.

The blade of the Fallen Flower Sword neared his own face.

But seeing that Belial couldn’t finish him off in a single blow, even when Taehoo was powerless, it was clear how unstable Belial was now.

Just a bit. Yes, just a little bit longer!

[Hold on! Just a bit more, just squeeze out a little more strength!]

Ba’al shouted to the struggling Taehoo.

If he could, he would have burst out himself and crushed Belial, who dared to force his Follower.

If it went on like this, he would lose everything again.

Would he have to helplessly lose his Follower as he did back when he lost it all?

Ripples formed in Ba’al’s heart.

The days in the cave were meaningless, empty of purpose.

He’d entered that place so he would no longer have anything to protect, but ended up losing even his heart.

But the moment he saw Taehoo dying in his past life.

And right now, as Taehoo faced death again!

Ba’al, across eons, wanted to save someone—wanted to save Taehoo.

He couldn’t let anyone take what was his.

Everything became clear.

A message appeared.

[The hearts of the Follower and the Constellation are in accord!]

[The Hidden Power of the title ‘Giant Slayer’ activates!]

[The title’s power and the power of Constellation ‘Ba’al’ resonate!]

[What is this?]

It wasn’t Taehoo who was flustered—it was Ba’al.

[The Second Authority of the First Demon is unlocked!]

Unaware of the message before Taehoo, Belial was convinced of his victory.

[Authority ‘Delegated Authority’ is activated!]

[The Follower’s power is insufficient!]

[The Authority’s power is greatly reduced! The Constellation temporarily takes over consciousness!]

[Duration is being readjusted!]

-Duration: 5 seconds.

With the final notice—

[Huh? I could do this all along?]

Taehoo’s voice shifted to that of a Transcendent.

Half-lidded eyes swept over Belial.

[Hey. Aren’t you a bit pathetic?]

Ba’al descended, borrowing Taehoo’s body.

With power that overwhelmed anyone standing in the Arena.

Once, Taehoo had asked what the unawakened power was.

When he first awakened his Mana and checked the Skill Window, Ba’al had teased him—it was natural curiosity.

The only issue was that it was Ba’al’s first time taking a Follower as a Constellation.

He had never experienced what form his powers might take as Skills.

Therefore—

[Well, I don’t really know either?]

That was all Ba’al could answer Taehoo.

[The second Authority, Delegated Authority, manifests!]

[The First Demon Ba’al appears!]

Ba’al borrowed Taehoo’s body and revealed himself to the world for the first time.

The presence was incomparable to when Belial descended into Jin-tae’s body. The space that Ba’al dominated seemed to freeze time itself.

Shhhhhhh.

Only the pouring rain proved that time still moved.

Ba’al’s hesitation did not last.

Just the messages made it easy to grasp the situation.

[It’s been a while, hasn’t it?]

Even in his casual tone, a crushing force could be felt.

The rank of the First Demon carried absolute meaning.

[Who drags out a cooldown like that, anyway?]

Confidence beyond all others.

The moment Belial heard that voice, he couldn’t move.

Fear stretching back through the ages—dread and every ill feeling choked him.

Pathetic.

That single word rang in his ears.

The power that looked as if it would split Taehoo in two visibly weakened.

All he could do was clench his will, trying to keep his voice from trembling.

[You—your intervention breaks the rules.]

His voice trembled with more than anger—there was bitterness, not even a hint of a Transcendent’s dignity left.

[Is that so? And since when did you get to talk about rules in front of me?]

[Are you talking about those rules you made up on your own? Is that why you insisted on not taking any Followers?]

[I had my reasons.]

There really were many reasons.

It was an incident when the Holy Relic in Dantalion House had been destroyed in Taehoo’s previous life.

And at the end of it all—

[In the end, I became a Constellation who leads Followers just like the rest of you, didn’t I?]

Ba’al summarized briefly.

[Don’t you see how weak our Absolute Evil has become while you were gone?]

After the Dungeons appeared and humanity learned of the Constellations in the sky,

The confrontation between Absolute Good and Absolute Evil moved to the mortal realm.

In exchange for lending power to resist the Dungeons, the Followers became the Constellations’ fighting force.

Thus, the meaning of the absolute number one Constellation withdrawing from the battle in the mortal world.

Except for a few rare cases, this is also why the Constellations of Absolute Evil wander the rear worlds.

[That doesn’t really matter.]

Ba’al sneered.

It was a completely different attitude from when he spoke to Taehoo.

[It’s a shame so few know that.]

He lamented at the same time.

[Remaining duration: 3 seconds]

It was a fleeting conversation, but time moved on. The same message popped up in front of Belial.

[Let’s end this reunion that doesn’t suit us. Reminiscing about the past isn’t good for me, either.]

Absolute Evil and Absolute Good.

Except for a rare few like Taehoo, the two powers had never coexisted.

What Ba’al saw—

The things hidden away briefly surfaced.

But Taehoo, unconscious, could not see or hear what Ba’al was experiencing or discussing.

[Let’s just focus on the situation right now.]

Taehoo’s Mana, which had run dry, was replenished with Demonic Energy.

The internal injuries in Taehoo’s body vanished, and the body, which had been on the verge of collapse, regained vitality.

It was the complete opposite of Jin-tae, who continued bleeding to death even after his Descent.

Spurt.

Demonic Energy poured out. Ba’al’s power spread. He relished the sensation of moving in a body again after so long, drawing up his strength.

Bel—

It was ferocious.

If Demonic Energy was usually a force that hid something, Ba’al’s Demonic Energy took the form of a beast—sometimes a ravenous stray dog.

Those things writhed in the abyss of Demonic Energy that Ba’al harbored.

All the Dantalion House spies, Belial’s Children, VIPs still in the Arena—none of them could withstand the pressure and lost consciousness.

Clack!

In an instant, Taehoo’s arm shot out and seized Jin-tae’s throat. From the stretched white arm, a black aura shimmered.

Crunch.

His grip tightened.

[Remaining duration: 2 seconds]

Belial could not act.

Their powers were on different planes entirely.

Even with the misstep of Possession Descent, Belial had only forced his way into Jin-tae’s body. Ba’al, by Authority, naturally took Taehoo’s body.

The available abilities were worlds apart.

In this situation, there was nothing in which Belial surpassed Ba’al.

Which meant only one thing: defeat.

[My friend really wants to have a word with you. So clean your neck and wait.]

Friend.

Ba’al called Taehoo his friend.

The muscles in the hand clutching Jin-tae’s neck flexed, veins bulging.

[Remaining duration: 1 second]

With the message—

Crack!

A chilling sound rang through the Arena. With the Magical Armor, Jin-tae’s neck snapped completely.

That was the end.

Jin-tae had crossed a river from which there was no return.

Belial, too, could no longer remain in the dead body.

He couldn’t force the time any longer.

He was ejected from Jin-tae’s body.

The Demonic Energy that made up the body dispersed into the air in an instant.

That bastard Belial would have to recuperate in the Sanctuary for a while.

[Remaining time: 0]

[The duration of the Authority has ended!]

[The power of the Constellation is leaving the body!]

Ba’al’s time was up as well.

[Well, at least this should help when talking with Belial. And I got an unexpected bonus, too.]

Thanks to this, his second Authority had awakened.

It would surely be useful for Taehoo’s journey ahead.

[The Quest has been cleared!]

Finally, the message that should have sounded long ago rang out.

At the same time, Ba’al’s consciousness left Taehoo’s body.

His brief outing was over.