◈ Chapter 437. Steps (1)
A newly achieved accomplishment.[You have acquired the achievement, “One Who Witnessed the Demon Realm.”]
The reason I hadn’t mentioned its effect was obvious. I’d thought there would be no use for it right away. But a person’s life is something where you can never know even an inch ahead.[One Who Witnessed the Demon Realm: You have witnessed the Demon Realm and built up an understanding of it. You shall be able to awaken from ignorance and move forward.
- From now on, you can use the spoils of the Demon Realm.]
Spoils of the Demon Realm.
Naturally, I thought they would only be obtainable after entering the Demon Realm. Of course, I had acquired an item that could be called a spoil of the Demon Realm from Discus, the lich of the Demon Realm.[The Demon Realm’s Scripture, True Necronomicon][Grade: Epic][Restriction: Only beings of the Demon Realm may read it.][Effect: Upon comprehension, acquire knowledge about the Demon Realm.][Description: A book written by Discus, a lich of the Demon Realm. It describes methods to survive in the Demon Realm, which has been eroded by demons. In addition, it serves as a token that grants access to Discus’s sanctuary in the perilous Demon Realm.]‘The problem is that it’s already left my hands.’Knowledge of the Demon Realm, a world different from the Arcana Continent.
Because of that, there were parts I couldn’t understand no matter how many times I read them, so I had donated it to the Magic Tower and requested research. Why, it seemed more efficient than agonizing over it alone.
And yet, to think the Akshan seniors in hell would send me a surprise gift like this. Thanks to them, even if it wasn’t necessarily the Necronomicon, I had an opportunity to confirm the true value of an item from the Demon Realm.[Horseshoe of the Fourth Throne][Grade: ???][Restriction: A standing equal to the Fourth Demon King]
I calmly appraised Gamigin’s spoil.
First of all, the grade was unusual.
Question marks for the grade, three of them at that.
But I wasn’t flustered.‘Is it a Demon Realm concept?’I’d already seen it once before.[???: Demon King Struggle
- Proof of the Ten Thrones]
There were “question marks” in the grade of the Demon Realm quest currently in progress as well. You never know. If I built up an even deeper understanding of the Demon Realm, perhaps those question marks would turn into proper letters.‘I understand the equipment restriction.’A standing equal to its original master.
If another player saw that message, they might wonder what nonsense it was talking about. But after taking Buer’s seat among the Ten Thrones, I had come to perfectly understand “standing.”
Thanks to that, my questions—
and my lack of qualification—had been resolved.
So without delay, I picked up Gamigin’s horseshoe.
“!”
At that moment, the horseshoe began to shine.[The secret art of the Fourth Throne seeps into you.]
Ssssss.
As if being heated in a furnace.
The horseshoe, which had been blazing fiercely, soon completely seeped into my hand.
Considering Grandfell’s temperament, wasn’t that an exceedingly unpleasant thing?
Yes, there was no way that mouth would stay still.
“How profoundly unpleasant.”
However.
“Yet I cannot disregard your sincerity.”
After all, Gamigin’s horseshoe was a surprise gift sent by the Akshan seniors in hell, wasn’t it? Yes, let’s not ignore the seniors’ sincerity, Grandfell.‘It’s my first time receiving anything from those people too.’And even if only for the sake of its effect.
Let’s hold it in.
The horseshoe’s effect was simple and clear.[Effect: Acquire Gamigin’s unique skill.]
It said I could acquire a unique skill, no less.
I had hunted countless Demon Kings until now, acquiring and using the spoils of Demon Kings. But once it was on the level of the Ten Thrones, did the quality of the spoils change as well?‘It’s even more dramatic than the grade changing from Epic to question marks.’There was no need to delay.
I immediately opened the skill window.
Then I checked the newly acquired unique skill.[March of Ruination (Master): Gamigin, Demon King of the Fourth Throne. Terrifying power dwells within his horseshoes. With that power in your grasp, every step you take shall contain a fearsome history.]
Power great enough to be engraved in history?
I couldn’t guess its might without using it.
I headed straight to the top floor of the Magic Tower.
Just like the Magic Tower’s underground Mugan, special rules existed on the top floor. In other words, the top floor was a place that remained perfectly fine even if most magic was manifested there.‘In short, it’s good to use as a practice ground.’I immediately activated [March of Ruination].
Terrifying destructive power was contained in my stride, was it?
To confirm that, I would first have to take a step.
Click.
It was the moment I extended my leg with discipline, as always.
My vision changed rapidly, and an illusion flashed before my eyes.
No, rather than an illusion, it was the afterimage of a memory.[The unique skill, “March of Ruination,” evaluates you.]
That was right.
It was exactly as the message said.
Gamigin’s unique skill was evaluating me.
Whether or not I was a vessel capable of accepting the secret art.
Gamigin within the afterimage of memory.
That creature destroyed everything with nothing but his steps.
So he hadn’t been considered one of the top three after Baal for nothing. Just as Baal had destroyed the Seoreun Continent, Gamigin, too, had burned and trampled a continent I did not know.
Clop-clop.
That creature’s monstrous strength—
Click.
—would now dwell in my steps.
If it had been the Lee Hoyeol of the past, he might have been frightened in advance by the gruesome display, thinking that with great power came great responsibility. But the current Lee Hoyeol wasn’t in a position to be picky between cold rice and hot rice.
And.‘A power so immense it can’t be controlled?’Who is our Lord Grandfell?
The possessor of a lofty mental fortitude no one can approach.
I opened my mouth.
“Who dares evaluate whom?”
I did not rejoice at obtaining Gamigin’s unique skill, nor did I feel any heavy sense of responsibility. Merely my usual posture. The same attitude as always. My stride remained constant and upright.
“Watch closely.”
As if to show it, I walked.
“Do my steps appear to you as a ‘March of Ruination’?”
And I completely brought Gamigin’s secret art under control.[You have acquired the unique skill, “March of Ruination.”]
Of course, it didn’t end there.
Just as a cat couldn’t simply pass by a fish shop.
There was no way my naming sense would leave alone
such an ominous skill name as March of Ruination.
I had no choice but to resent her once again.[The unique skill, “March of Ruination,” changes.]‘……
Seriously, Lee Yerim.’Middle school, that stormy period of adolescence.
A time when one is so sensitive to one’s surroundings.
Why did you have to say such useless things?[You have acquired the unique skill, “Heavenly Demon Sovereign Step.”]
You made me end up giving it a skill name like this……!!*
They counted the number present.
Baal, Gamigin, Buer.
Wait, no.
“Now it is not Buer, but Lee Hoyeol Claudi.”
Primordial beings of the Demon Realm.
Masters of the Ten Thrones.
High-ranking Demon Kings.
The seven high-ranking Demon Kings, excluding those three,
had all gathered at the unstable rift, the appointed place.
Of course, they were not their true bodies.
Mental bodies, mere fragments compared to their true bodies, had separated and manifested in the form of Demon Eyes. Their true bodies still remained in the Demon Realm. Another voice rang out.
“Gamigin is nowhere to be seen.”
“He must be fighting a desperate battle in hell.”
“His resurrection may not be far off.”
They had witnessed through the Demon Eyes that appeared in reality that Gamigin had died to Hoyeol, but they did not care. Gamigin, like them, must have merely had his mental body killed.
“He had grown quite weak, unworthy of his reputation.”
“It was surprising that he still had such leeway in hell.”
“He is a tenacious one, Gamigin.”
Though their evaluations of Gamigin differed according to their ranks,
the seven high-ranking Demon Kings
did not doubt Gamigin’s resurrection. They were beings who had lived since the primordial age through eons of time. Even if it was hell, they were certain Gamigin would not submit.
In contrast.
“Buer, foolish creature.”
Their evaluation of Buer had hit rock bottom.
It couldn’t be helped. In the first place, dignity had never existed in that creature. How lacking must he have been for Discus, a mere lich, to challenge him again and again in an attempt to seize his throne?
“In that respect, it is regrettable.”
The existence who had slain Buer
and seized his seat among the Ten Thrones.
Lee Hoyeol Claudi.
Their evaluations of him continued.
“Is it not interesting? Two minds coexist within a single body. He is an existence who can be called neither a person of the Arcana Continent nor an adventurer.”
“Do not regard him as an object of exploration.”
“Of course. He is far too dangerous to explore.”
As expected, even if their perspectives differed, their conclusion was the same. After all, the reason the seven high-ranking Demon Kings had cooperated in the first place was to exterminate him. A cold and gloomy voice rang out.
“With this, we have confirmed his ideal. Lee Hoyeol Claudi. That endlessly arrogant creature has no intention of giving up either the Arcana Continent or reality.”
Mockery followed.
“A foolishness even greater than Buer’s. Why does he rebel against the ‘true truth’? Foolishly, when he himself is an existence closest to the truest truth.”
A conclusion was reached.
“However, we were able to confirm his potential yet again. With his mere presence, he ended the negative emotions we had spread. Going beyond that level, he even managed to control the emotions of others.”
Growing through negative emotions
was no different for high-ranking Demon Kings.
In that sense, Hoyeol was an even more threatening existence.
“That emotion, ‘pride,’ is dangerous.”
No one raised a differing opinion regarding “pride.” Even Paimon of the Ninth Throne, who had worn a leisurely smile from beginning to end, closed his mouth.
“It is truly a complex emotion.”
It was because they could not clearly define pride.
However, one thing was certain.
Pride was precisely what posed a threat to them.
That was the reason all the high-ranking Demon Kings except Baal
had cooperated to kill Hoyeol, who had taken Buer’s place.
Had not Gamigin, who had fallen into hell, warned them as well?
—If you look down on him, you will be eaten instead.
That they must not let their guard down.
Thus, the high-ranking Demon Kings did not stop their course.
Moreover, now that this incident had confirmed Hoyeol’s ideal.
“We will collapse both worlds at once.”
“Just as desired.”
“I shall gather the armies at Behemoth’s maw.”
They began preparations to mercilessly shatter that ideal.
In that sense, it was a welcome encounter.
The fact that the adventurers of the Arcana Continent had entered the unstable rift.
Paimon skimmed through the knowledge of reality he had acquired through the Demon Eye.
“Information regarding the rift would not have appeared in their vision. In that case, they entered the rift despite taking on the threat of the unknown? Truly a commendable resolve.”
What the primordial beings were most wary of was the “unknown.”
And yet, they were ones who had overcome the fear of the unknown.
Someone spoke.
“Is that what pride is?”
Including Paimon, no one
understood pride, so there was no answer.
However, this time as well, their opinions aligned.
Pride was something that spread like a plague.
“I see.”
“So they can enter a rift even while ignorant.”
“Indeed, that potential is threatening.”
“It would be best to trample them in advance.”
“No objections.”
The power of the true body
began to dwell in the mental body, a portion of it. Since it was power transmitted from the Demon Realm into the unstable space called the rift, its efficiency was extremely low, but that held little meaning.
Even if the power was an extremely small portion compared to their true bodies, it was more than enough to trample players and the Holy War Alliance. However, the high-ranking Demon Kings were overlooking something.
No, it was only natural that they did not know.
Because they were far too mighty.
Because they were mighty enough that they had not stepped forward until now.
They had never faced them.
Their natural enemy, Akshan.
Because they had never faced them,
they had not accurately grasped what kind of beings they were.
They had no choice but to make a misjudgment.
“……
Gamigin has returned.”
There was no doubt.
A force that shook heaven and earth.
This was the sound of Gamigin’s hooves.
“Has Gamigin resurrected earlier than expected?”
If his resurrection was true,
it was not strange for him to have come to this rift.
For Gamigin’s steps could run beyond space.
But as stated, it was a misconception.
Soon, the one who revealed himself
was the existence they had been so wary of.
Click—
It was Hoyeol.
Why.
Why did Gamigin’s presence come from him…….
Could it be that Gamigin had died in hell?
It was a story they could not readily believe, but they had no choice but to acknowledge it.
“That is not how trampling is done.”
Only a single step.
He had merely set down his foot,
and yet, just as Gamigin had driven the world to ruin,
the seven mental bodies of the high-ranking Demon Kings were also crushed.
Amid their astonishment.
“Look up from the very bottom.”
Hoyeol recited.
“At the steps of the Heavenly Demon,
who looks down upon even the Ten Thrones.”