◈ Episode 373. So, Stop Now (2)

The Demon Kings of the Ten Thrones.

Out-of-the-ordinary beings.

The Great Evil, the Seven Deadly Sins’ Lust, sacrificed himself to summon Buer, the last seat of the Ten Thrones. He was only able to summon a voice.

The Ten Thrones are the true kings of the Demon World.

They had attained such a high level that they couldn’t even speak to non-transcendents. There was an immeasurable barrier between them, and judging the Demon Kings of the Ten Thrones through the eyes of a mortal is like judging a wall.

Such a Demon of the Ten Thrones, Buer, was being overwhelmed.

Parr.

Buer saw his muscles trembling. It was a full summoning. Negative emotions filled the air around him, a source of strength above all else. Still, he was outmatched.

Cang.

The sword swung.

Buer remembered.

He remembered the countless human faces that had pointed their swords at him.

Holy Knights, Weapon Masters, Sword Mages, Archmages…….

They were all memorable, even to him.

Each of them could have ruled a world, but that was all. They were only memories. None of them left a scar on Buer’s body.

Pook.

But at this moment, blood spurted from his flesh.

It wasn’t refined sword technique.

Nor pedantic swordsmanship.

It wasn’t magic manifested in exchange for a soul.

“Huh.”

It was just a swing.

Just like swatting an insect.

The casual swing cut off one of Buer’s wrists.

“I am deeply surprised.”

The reaction of a true king.

Not like a common demon, not like a Great Evil.

Buer did not flinch.

He did not howl in pain.

He simply stared in amazement, alternately at his severed arm and at Grandfell.

Buer’s voice grew increasingly furious.

“I thought we would be good friends. For I am the first person who has reached the Celestial Realm you had ever witnessed.”

His first meeting.

Buer’s words were true. To put it in human terms……. An ant that spoke human language was an anomaly that was enough to interest the human.

But things were different.

“It was an illusion. It was I who was mistaken by the wall. You, my friend, are not a mere mortal, for even I do not understand your words……. You must be beyond even the celestial heavens above!”

There was a hint of amusement at the end.

“I did……!”

Pook.

Even as he spoke, his body was being torn apart. Wasn’t it because he had changed his form to a near-human one for the sake of ease of conversation?

That was an insult to the Celestials.

For the power of the Celestials was not suppressed by a mere physical form.

Buer did not make excuses.

He spat out the words in blood.

“……You were the ‘real truth’!!!”

Buer remembered.

Occasionally, among the small creatures, there were some who even managed to call out his name. They would call out his name and make wishes, but when he became curious and listened, they were all just absurd fantasies.

-“Help me become king……!”

-“Give me eternal life.”

-“Make it so she can’t help but love me!”

Why are you bound by such a small world, creatures?

When he grants a wish out of pity, they return it with hatred.

-“……My, this is not what I wanted! To destroy the world and leave me and her alive……! What the hell did I do……, you damned demon!”

In that sense, the beauties of the Arcana Continent were unique.

Among them were those who understood the Real Truth.

Perhaps that was why Gamigin raised his hoof.

“Gamigin, I feel sorry for him.”

In the past, Buer had scoffed at him.

But now he knew better.

Gamigin simply couldn’t resist.

“Even we cannot resist the truth.”

A shuffle.

Buer’s legs came loose. On his knees, Buer saw the man approaching him. No, he saw the truth. His maddened eyes were trembling with pleasure.

‘……From now on, it is purely an area of ​​exploration.’

Buer did not doubt his end.

The truth is irresistible.

No matter what he said, no matter what he did.

He knew that it was the truth that would decide.

Buer dared to exercise his power.

It was the power to see through hearts.

Not all minds could be seen.

Buer’s power only worked on men.

He was lucky he was a man.

Buer was relieved.

‘Indeed, it is the truth. It does not reject the seeker.’

There is a difference between the two that cannot be spoken.

The power would be ineffective if the man, the Truth, wished to exclude him. But by mercy, Buer was able to exercise his full power. A glimpse of the man’s inner self.

A glimpse.

It was instant. Tears streamed from the corners of Buer’s eyes. Celestial beings could understand space and time. They may not be able to interfere, but they could navigate through it.

“……Yes.”

Therefore, Buer had witnessed.

Not just the past.

The present and the future, the trials the man would face.

These were not tears of empathy for the man’s feelings.

“Is this the weight of truth……!”

Just a glimpse of it.

He was overwhelmed to the point of tears.

To such a Buer, the man’s words continued.

“□ □□ □□□ □□□ □□□ □□□□□.”

Buer was stunned by the truth.

“I am too stupid to understand your words…….”

It was not an act of fear, nor was it an act of high pressure. It was the presence of a man who could make even a Demon King of the Ten Thrones truly worship him.

It was Grandfell.

Suddenly.

Buer’s end was no different than any other demon’s. His throat was cut, and with that, he began to be devoured by the fires of Hell.

The hellfire was no exception for anyone, especially demons, who couldn’t stand the pain of hell’s terror.

“Hehehe.”

But Buer was immersed in a sense of catharsis that was greater than the pain. Poor thing, Gamigin. He heartily mocked the 4th Throne Demon King, who was a whopping six levels above him.

“I have seen the real truth.”

The attitude of the Demon Kings of the Ten Thrones were different from other demons.

They were a different breed.

It transcended species, transcended even personal emotions, and could see through to the essence. That’s why Buer had no regrets about his death.

“I witnessed the birth of the real truth before anyone else, and for that alone I would gladly be cast into hell. Hahahahaha.”

Hwareuk.

In the boundless darkness, only the jade light of hell flickered.

The High Ranking Demon King had fallen into hell.

Jeobeog.

But Grandfell didn’t stop walking.

“…….”

His gaze was never directed at the hellfire in the first place.

It merely moved through the darkness.

Unable to tell where it had gone.

To find a single ray of light.

Jeobeog.

Jeobeog.

Jeobeog.

.

. tl/n: Grandfell without Hoyeol is pure darkness, damn, it’s scary, even Buer can’t stand one sword swing

 . ed/n: he’s so cool aaaaaaa homennnn (gramen?) thank god hoyeol isn’t (entirely) useless

The Iron Castle came face to face with a horrific sight.

“Crazy…….”

『Behemoth’s Maw.』

The name of one of the largest permanent rifts between the Arcana continent and the Demon World. Chainwalker steadied himself. It was a scene he had heard about through Gunner, but it was still quite a shock to see it in person.

“Cha, Chainwalker. What’s all that……?”

Nam Taemin, who was looking down at the same landscape, stuttered.

It was an unfamiliar landscape.

There were only shards of crushed flesh in the darkness everywhere.

Chainwalker spoke.

“I’ve heard that there are rifts in your world, adventurers. However, no rift is permanent. The same goes for the Arcana Continent. This is a rift held by force. It’s unstable, and those who cross into it, and those who cross out of it, cannot adapt to the unstable rift and are torn to pieces.”

“……!!!”

Leonie furrowed her brow and opened her mouth.

“Then those pieces of flesh are…….”

“Yes, they are. They’re pieces of demon’s flesh, because no madman or hero has ever been known to head to the Demon World from the Arcana Continent.”

“I see, that explains it.”

Hisagi nodded grimly.

The Arcana Continent, the Demon World, and Reality.

Demons from the Demon World were widely scattered.

So when Hisagi saw the demon, he was filled with questions.

Why did the Demon Kings need such a cumbersome offering?

“Demon Kings, there is no reason for the high and mighty of the Demon World to take such a risky venture, when there is the classic and safe method of summoning through a sacrifice.”

No one had yet been able to properly explain the [Anomaly] that this rift possessed; even its supposed founder, Hoyeol, had said that the [Anomaly] was still unconquered territory.

The same went for the Demon Kings.

There was no reason to refuse the offerings, to risk being turned into meat by throwing oneself into the uncertainty of this rift, to head for the Arcana continent. Skal assessed coldly.

“That instability was preserving the Arcana Continent.”

The sheer amount of meat covered the land. It would not be a lie to say that there were mountains and oceans made of blood and flesh. Surely, at this moment, everyone aboard the Iron Castle was thinking the same thing.

They wanted to rush past the [Behemoth’s Maw].

But they didn’t, because of what they saw.

A silver glint of shaped brilliance in the thick darkness.

Nam Taemin shouted.

“…… Hoyeol!!!”

No one wanted to turn away from the brutal scene.

Cheolkeog!

The command was unnecessary. The Iron Castle immediately descended, and Nam Taemin, Chainwalker, and even Wallswale put on their equipment.

Gunner’s warning was heard.

-“The [Behemoth’s Maw] is dangerous; you never know what demons might emerge from it at any given moment, and we don’t know the full extent of the Demon World.”

In other words, they couldn’t be sure that a demon of Demon King proportions wouldn’t emerge from the [Behemoth’s Maw]. As head of the Scouts, Gunner had seen more of the Arcana than anyone else.

-“I have seen countless demons that surpass the Demon King with mere combat power. Demon King, they were only those who had the qualities of a monarch.”

It wasn’t hard for the players to understand.

In short, a Demon King was similar to the [Monarch] class.

However, everyone did not hesitate at all.

Of course, neither did Gunner, who was delivering the news.

Gunner shouted.

-“Then give your lives, men!”

Thud.

The Iron Castle fired a magic bolt into the ground.

It was composed of pure magic stones.

The magic stones were inscribed with the magic markings of the senior mage of the Magic Enchantment Department.

Kiko Armin’s magic circle.

[Mass Teleportation]

The magic bullet embedded in the ground glowed and released magic power. One by one, the members of the Holy War Alliance appeared among the scattering particles of magic.

[Hidden Piece, you have entered the ‘Behemoth’s Maw’].

[Caution: Your mental power is too low].

[The Demon World is watching you.]

Zigzag.

The dizzying array of messages didn’t matter. What mattered was Hoyeol. Pushing through the pressure, they rolled their eyes. Then turned to face it.

“……?”

Silver hair flowed past his waist.

Blood stained his side.

A moment where everyone froze at a loss for words.

“Wait…….”

None other than Nam Taemin opened his mouth.

He mumbled something small.

A [Barbarian] with the senses of a beast.

Only Nam Taemin noticed.

“That’s not the Commander-in-Chief I know. That’s not Mr. Hoyeol…….”