Gaon had not been entirely surprised by this outcome.
He had known Myrdaon was more than capable of something like this. That was why he had hesitated to tell the truth in the first place.
His consciousness began to fade rapidly.
You’ll meet the same end as me, you bastard.
Catulon cursed Myrdaon inwardly as death claimed him.
Myrdaon kept his tail embedded and began absorbing everything Catulon had.
Catulon’s body shriveled and dried up in an instant.
The three Demon Kings who witnessed the entire scene swallowed hard.
Catulon’s fate did not feel like someone else’s problem.
They could easily imagine themselves in the same position someday.
Even so, none of them stepped forward to speak.
For now it was someone else’s problem, but the moment they opened their mouths it would become their own.
Once the absorption was complete, Myrdaon turned with a satisfied expression and looked at the demonic rift.
“Hmm.”
He let out a short hum.
The rift had not closed completely.
But it might as well have.
Nothing could cross at this size.
That only made him more curious.
Why didn’t he close it all the way?
Even though it was tiny, it was still a connecting passage.
Left like this, the rift would eventually widen again.
So why stop short of fully closing it?
Was he simply out of strength?
That’s possible, but……
It was plausible, yet the possibility seemed low.
I’ll find out by watching.
Time would reveal the truth naturally—whether he lacked the power or had some other purpose.
Still, what kind of guy is he?
Myrdaon thought of Gaon.
He had killed Catulon.
But that did not mean he disbelieved Catulon’s words.
It had been hard to accept, yet he believed them.
The very absurdity of it made it believable.
He must have obtained the same power as me.
It was not certain.
Catulon had not seen it himself.
Still, the situation clearly indicated Gaon had obtained the same power.
The one thing that bothered him was the difference in strength.
Stronger than me, huh……
That was what Catulon had said.
Gaon was stronger.
Given the situation, it was not strange for Catulon to claim that.
No way.
Myrdaon denied it.
He had learned something after obtaining the power.
This was not a strength anyone could acquire.
Even if a human had gained it, that power would be weak.
There must have been other variables involved in Dormanimonu’s death.
Even if—by some one-in-a-million chance—Gaon really was stronger, it did not matter.
The rift is closed anyway.
It was not fully closed.
But it was too small for anyone to cross.
If no one could cross from this side, no one could cross from the other side either.
Still, we’ll meet eventually, so I need to grow stronger.
Having finished his thoughts, Myrdaon looked at the three Demon Kings who were carefully watching his reaction.
The three Demon Kings flinched under his gaze.
Myrdaon spoke.
“This invasion is a failure.”
There was more than one or two rifts connected to the middle world.
The one here had simply been the strongest; rifts still existed all across the demon world.
But they would disappear one by one before long.
In other words, the invasion could be considered a failure.
“So all of you focus on recovery. For the future.”
Of course, he had no intention of giving up.
They had to seize the middle world before the gods of the heavenly realm recovered their strength.
“Pass the word to the others as well. Tell them to stop wasting time and focus on recovery. I’ll be staying in the Demon King’s castle for a while. Don’t bother me.”
Without waiting for an answer, Myrdaon turned and left.
Once Myrdaon was gone, the three Demon Kings looked at one another.
“Whew.”
“Hmm.”
“Ugh……”
Each let out a sigh.
Silence followed the sighs.
The three Demon Kings watched one another wordlessly.
The seemingly endless silence was broken once again by Babub.
“I’ll tell Kuranos myself. The rest of you handle the others.”
Of course, he was not referring to the recent events.
Babub had no intention of discussing what had just happened.
If a solution could have come from talking about it, he would have.
But no solution existed.
Even if all the surviving Demon Kings combined their strength, they could not kill Myrdaon.
Moreover, Myrdaon had grown even stronger after absorbing Catulon moments ago.
Babub was not the only one thinking this.
“Ahem, then I’ll inform Norma and Kelpain.”
The Demon King of Lust, Rekal, shared the same thought.
“See you later.”
Babub gave Rekal and Askalon a brief nod and left first.
Rekal disappeared shortly after.
Left alone, Askalon stared at the spot where Catulon had died and thought.
This isn’t right……
When Catulon had first arrived in a weakened state, Askalon had felt the urge to kill him.
Absorbing Catulon now would surely grant him tremendous power.
But he had not acted.
It was not because of Rekal and Babub who had been present.
It was because of Myrdaon.
Among the Demon Kings, Catulon had been quite special.
Not because of any unique power.
Because of his relationship with Myrdaon.
Catulon had been the first Demon King to submit to Myrdaon.
He had moved for Myrdaon’s sake so eagerly that one might question whether he was truly a Demon King.
That was why Askalon had not absorbed him.
Doing so would have brought trouble from Myrdaon.
Yet Myrdaon had killed and absorbed Catulon without the slightest hesitation.
He had slain and absorbed Catulon—who had been no different from a loyal subordinate—without a moment’s thought.
Was it really right to continue following Myrdaon?
……There’s no other way.
Even if it was not right, there was no alternative.
It was impossible for everyone except Myrdaon to combine their strength and oppose him.
That was exactly why Babub and Rekal had left without saying much.
Swish.
Askalon turned his head and looked at the demonic rift.
The rift had shrunk to almost nothing.
According to Catulon, the human named Gaon was responsible for shrinking it.
It would be nice if that human became a variable.
“The number of demons is decreasing?”
-Yes. The demon forces in the Coexistence Zone have clearly decreased.
-It has also been confirmed through the Eye of God.
At Graxios’s answer, Gaon thought.
Did they run?
The demon numbers in the Coexistence Zone had dropped.
And it was not only the Coexistence Zone.
Even in the interior areas Gaon was currently cleaning, the number of demons had decreased noticeably.
They had most likely fled back to the demon world through the rifts.
Well, even the Demon King ran away.
It was not strange for the demons to flee.
The invasion was already as good as over.
On top of that, a Demon King had fled.
With a Demon King running, it was only natural for the demons to do the same.
Having finished his thoughts, Gaon asked Graxios.
“How long do you think it will take?”
Not all demons had disappeared.
Many demonic beasts remained, and so did the demonic energy.
He was curious how long it would take to finish everything.
-After compiling all available information, we estimate the entire continent can be cleaned within four weeks.
“Assuming I stop, is four weeks accurate?”
Gaon planned to end his activities regarding the demon invasion once he reached his final destination.
Cleaning up demons and demonic beasts.
Purifying demonic energy.
Destroying demonic rifts.
He intended to withdraw from every aspect.
There was a clear reason Gaon was stepping back.
Experience.
This was not the end of the demon invasion.
It would happen again someday.
And even if not from the demon world, invasions could come from other worlds.
He was not talking about the heavenly realm.
Besides the middle world, heavenly realm, and demon world, many other worlds existed.
There was the spirit realm where the spirits lived, the Central Plains of Cheon Mu-hyeok, and countless other unknown worlds.
To prepare for that time, Gaon planned to leave behind experience.
Even if it took a long time.
Even if many people died or were injured.
-Yes. However, complete purification is estimated to take considerably longer.
“Understood. Any other reports?”
-The exiled royal family currently under Seionia’s protection has sent a letter requesting the return of their territory.
“Ignore it.”
-Yes, understood.
“Contact Seionia and make sure they can’t spout that nonsense again.”
-Yes!
Gaon ended the communication.
He immediately headed toward his final destination.
A massive demonic rift existed there.
It was not as large as the one in Tarun, but it ranked among the five largest he had seen so far.
Size alone was not an issue.
Gaon could have closed the rift in Tarun easily if he had wanted; he had simply chosen not to.
He summoned several dark-colored spears.
The spears warped space as they flew toward the demonic rift.
The rift shrank in an instant and vanished completely.
Gaon then cast magic and cleaned up every last demon and demonic beast in the vicinity without missing a single one.
Having finished all the cleanup in the blink of an eye, Gaon waved his hand.
Boom!
A tremendous roar rang out as a vast clearing appeared below.
It was an extremely clean open space with a fifty-meter radius.
Gaon had created the clearing for training.
More precisely, he intended to cultivate the Pacheon Mind Method.
The reason he chose to cultivate the Pacheon Mind Method in this place full of demonic energy was that the elixir he would absorb was saturated with “demonic energy.”
Gaon settled into position and opened his pouch.
He took out the demon stone from among the three left by Demon King Dormanimonu that contained the greatest amount of demonic energy.
This should be enough, right?
The stone held an enormous quantity of demonic energy.
If he converted every bit of demonic energy within it into Pacheonki?
The eleventh wall would probably melt away on its own.
Gaon placed his hand on the demon stone.
He began the absorption.
A vast amount of demonic energy was sucked into his body through his palm.
Gaon immediately began circulating it.
The enormous demonic energy started converting into Pacheonki.
And not long after.
“……!”
Gaon’s eyes flashed.
Cracks had formed on the eleventh wall.
The appearance of cracks meant only one thing.
It was time for the wall to melt away by itself.
Soon the eleventh wall began to shatter and fall apart piece by piece.
Gaon waited in anticipation.
He wondered what change would come.
Before long the eleventh wall had completely melted and disappeared.
And in that instant Gaon understood.
He understood what change had been prepared.
hwan-gol-tal-tae.
It was the hwan-gol-tal-tae.
Gaon could not help but tense up.
During the first hwan-gol-tal-tae, tremendous pain had come.
The second hwan-gol-tal-tae had brought even greater pain.
What would the third be like?
Pain would undoubtedly exist.
The important thing was the scale of that pain.
Of course, he was not only tense.
He felt just as much anticipation.
During the second hwan-gol-tal-tae, space had opened inside his body and the opportunity to enter the 10th Circle had arrived.
If the third hwan-gol-tal-tae created even more space inside his body?
If the opportunity to enter the 11th Circle arrived?
Just imagining it brought a smile to his face.
And at that exact moment.
Crackle! Crunch! Crack!
His bones began to shatter into pieces.