◈ Chapter 461. At Last, Dawn
What’s glittering so much……?
System messages cluttered my vision.
Notifications that my Understanding of Darkness and my proficiency in Heaven Above, Heaven Below, I Alone Am Supreme had risen drastically. And besides the messages announcing a runaway state, a considerable number of other messages had also appeared.
But I had no time to look away.
Paimon was before my eyes.
I stared at Behemoth’s maw.
And there was his army.
An already tremendous number of troops had crossed over into the Arcana Continent.
Yet the procession still showed no sign of ending. But what was more frightening than their numbers was Paimon. Among the dizzying messages, one stood out with particular presence.
[The Demon King of the Ninth Throne, Noble Paimon, is watching you.]
No matter how I calculated it, I couldn’t see a chance of victory.
Even if I activated the exorcism ritual.
Even if I took a step with the Heavenly Demon’s Reigning Step I had learned from the Fourth Seat, Gamigin.
I couldn’t feel certain that I could stop Paimon and his army right now.
‘That makes it even more questionable.’
How the hell am I still alive……?
When I looked over the battlefield more broadly, I saw the Holy War Alliance. But their position was far from Behemoth’s maw, and they had yet to encounter Paimon.
Of course, I couldn’t expect help.
Then there was only one thing I could think of.
The runaway state of [Heaven Above, Heaven Below, I Alone Am Supreme], whose proficiency had skyrocketed.
It was thanks to that runaway state that I could stand so upright like this.
‘But the runaway state is already over.’
No, if you were going to run wild, couldn’t you have run wild just a little longer?
If Paimon was too much for you.
You could’ve at least taken care of those troops before restraining yourself!
It was an utterly unfair situation.
‘Every single one of them is far from ordinary.’
Thanks to the Pentagram of Pure Knowledge, I possessed knowledge of every mineral I had learned. Because of that, I could immediately tell that the equipment worn by Paimon’s troops was anything but ordinary.
The Arcana Continent.
Even the greatest blacksmiths, the dwarves, could not easily obtain such rare minerals, yet their equipment was plastered with them. Whether Paimon was incredible, or whether the Demon World was a land paved with gold, there was no way for me to know.
At last, I opened my mouth.
“Meaningless adornment.”
Truly, this mouth never loses a single exchange.
“For all shall melt before the flames of hell.”
Even as I spoke, my mind was spinning without pause.
Thanks to the blessing of the First World Tree, my mana was close to infinite, and after ascending to the Tenth Throne and transcending its level once more, its efficiency was enough to make even me flinch at times.
‘But…….’
Could I stop those troops, whose number seemed to easily surpass hundreds of thousands?
[Natural Enemy Relationship]
was active, but still.
I couldn’t be sure.
‘Besides, I can’t waste mana.’
An army was, in the end, only an army.
The real problem was Paimon, who called himself noble. Judging by that gaze, if I looked away for even a moment…… If I made one wrong move, it felt like not even my bones would remain.
However, regardless of my concerns.
Srrk.
I once again prepared for battle. I had no way of knowing how I had fought while [Heaven Above, Heaven Below, I Alone Am Supreme] was in its runaway state. But what I had to do now was simple.
As always, it was a desperate struggle!
I began combining wonders in my head.
First, shouldn’t I at least match their numbers? Borrow the strength of the Akshan seniors in hell, materialize the Dark Dragon who had become Dragon Lord, then Hiel, Diend, and even Tempest……
In my head, I was miserably considering every means and method available. Yet the words that came out of my mouth were endlessly concise, and unbearably provocative.
“As expected, an inferior race lacks patience.”
Please, just stop……!
“I clearly said I would descend to the Demon World myself.”
I would go to the Demon World.
It wasn’t wrong, nor was it something I hadn’t said.
But words should be spoken while considering the time, place, and person you’re talking to.
If you say something like that to an already furious Paimon.
Wouldn’t that only provoke him even more……?
“You. Can you prove those words?”
For a moment, I froze.
‘Wait, that wasn’t just a passing message?’
Paimon is watching you.
I immediately understood the meaning of that message. Paimon’s golden pupils felt as if they were scanning my entire body, even my inner self. More precisely, it seemed as though he was trying to determine the truth of the words I had uttered.
I thought boldly.
‘Please, check it.’
Sometimes I’m curious too, you know?
Whether this loose tongue is really speaking out of overflowing confidence, or whether it’s just an automatic reflex……! Of course, my doubts didn’t last long.
What is this, all of a sudden?
As if his face had never once been twisted like a ferocious evil spirit, Paimon’s expression had turned gentle. Only then did I understand why the system message, which never lied, had called Paimon noble.
His appearance was so noble that one could forget he was a demon.
‘Even with Aesthetic Sense, there’s nothing to criticize.’
A demon.
If not for the fact that he was a high-ranking Demon King of an entirely different level, he might have gotten along well with Granfell. Which made it all the more suspicious.
Why?
“Then shall we end the banquet here?”
Paimon.
“I shall leave their disposal to you as a gift.”
Why did he obediently return to the Demon World of his own accord?
There was only one reason I could guess.
I swallowed a groan inwardly.
‘Because he realized that my words about going to the Demon World were true.’
That was why I couldn’t help but feel a chill down my spine.
Because I had clearly learned Paimon’s objective. That’s right. Paimon had not appeared to devour the Arcana Continent.
‘It was simply for me.’
As if proving that fact.
Paimon vanished immediately.
Then, a change came over his army.
“Lord Paimon……?”
“My king, noble Paimon!”
“Answer my call, Warlord of the West!!”
“Uuugh, my worthless flesh……!!”
Paimon’s soldiers, each and every one of them elite beyond measure, were melting away. Their muscles sloughed off, revealing unsightly skin and bones.
Even the equipment they wore, which had been comparable to dwarven arms, began losing its light in real time. It was turning into scrap metal.
‘So that was his ability.’
No matter how high-ranking a Demon King he was.
I did think this was balance-breaking.
If the Demon World was overflowing with resources like that, why would they bother invading other worlds? The army had become powerful solely due to Paimon’s influence.
Of course, once I knew that, there was the side effect of Paimon seeming even more incredible.
‘In any case, did I somehow get through it?’
I looked at Paimon’s gift.
The abandoned soldiers numbered roughly one hundred thousand.
But now that Paimon had disappeared, they no longer possessed the same grandeur as before.
Most of them were imps, so if you calculated their average level, they would be around level 300 at best. The Holy War Alliance should be able to handle them sufficiently without me stepping in.
‘By the way.’
This is hopeless again.
Setting foot in the Demon World had been planned anyway. Even if Paimon hadn’t appeared. Lord Granfell, who always kept the words he had spoken, would have gone to the Demon World himself.
Of course, my own thoughts weren’t very different.
‘Especially since I confirmed it.’
The Ninth Throne, Paimon.
An existence capable of bringing the Arcana Continent to ruin merely by appearing. I realized once again that rather than letting something like that be summoned to the continent or reality, it was better for me to go.
Of course, I still couldn’t guess what was on his mind. We barely even knew each other in the first place. How could he withdraw so readily just because he had confirmed our reunion in the Demon World?
‘Anyway, forget rest. I’ll have to push even harder.’
To enter not just any Demon World, but the Demon World where Paimon was waiting eagerly, I had to grow even stronger than I was now. I looked at the system messages.
‘I also have unexpected homework to solve.’
[Understanding of Darkness (Curse): Greatly increases affinity with suitable mana. However, you must face the past that serves as the source of that suitable mana.
- Current suitable mana affinity: 70%]
[Heaven Above, Heaven Below, I Alone Am Supreme (70%): An unprecedented genius, a prodigy of the age who would blaspheme even a goddess. Manifests the talent of Granfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo.]
A staggering 30 percent increase.
Now that I had even learned of the side effect called “runaway.”
I needed practice to control Heaven Above, Heaven Below, I Alone Am Supreme.
Of course.
‘I must not overlook it.’
The reason my understanding had risen so drastically.
『The Original Sin of Claudi』
In many ways, I truly did not want to look back on it, but it seemed I would have to properly dig into the footprints Claudi had left on the Arcana Continent.
But more than anything else, what felt hopeless was how I was supposed to explain this situation.
They must have detected the changed momentum of the battlefield. The Iron Castle and the Holy War Alliance were approaching the battlefield.
I tried thinking from their point of view.
Because I had been in a runaway state, even I, the person involved, couldn’t guess exactly how the process had unfolded. But if one only looked at the result, it was a flawless victory no one could refute.
To put it simply……
It was a victory that could only cause misunderstandings, as always. And as always, it was time for this shameless mouth that summoned ruin to start running.
“Hiel.”
At my call, Hiel appeared in midair.
For some reason, she was bowing her head especially low today.
I didn’t know why, but as always, I spoke.
“Convey this.”
“I shall convey it, my lord.”
“I leave the disposal of the defeated soldiers to you.”
I added.
“Because I trust you.”
Imps should be easy enough to hunt, anyway.
“……!”
Hiel flinched once, then lifted her head and answered.
For the first time in a while, the corners of Hiel’s lips rose, only slightly.
But clearly.
“I shall follow your will, my lord.”
*
The dizzying system messages.
And the clamorous articles.
Finally.
[Unread messages: 999+]
Even the group chat with my blood relatives.
Looking back belatedly at the progress of the runaway state, it was an utter spectacle.
Destroying every Demon Eye that appeared in reality, trampling a half-demon. My actions were more than enough to drive both enemies and allies into fear without discrimination.
‘Of course, that includes me.’
The power of Granfell in his prime.
I could feel the meaning of the saying that with great power comes great responsibility.
If I failed to control [Heaven Above, Heaven Below, I Alone Am Supreme].
And fell into a runaway state again……?
‘It’s horrifying just to imagine.’
Whether it was thanks to investing stats into [Luck].
Or for some other reason, I couldn’t know……
But the results I confirmed belatedly reflected no small amount of coincidence.
‘I can’t rely on coincidence next time.’
Even so, there was one fact that did not change.
‘In any case, while I was fighting desperately within the Understanding of Darkness.’
Granfell, you saved me.
I’ll say it once again, but I have no ability to face Paimon.
However, I won’t just be grateful.
Just as you saved me in reality.
‘I saved myself in the past too.’
And there was one more unchanging fact.
Ssk.
I quietly checked the message from my mortal enemy, Lee Yerim.
“Elder sister…….”
Don’t say it so wistfully, Granfell.
Because the moment I checked that damned woman’s message.
Something surged up from deep within my chest.
Click-clack.
I rose from my seat and began walking. Then I stopped in front of the full-length mirror I used to straighten my clothes. There was no need to mention Granfell’s sharp Aesthetic Sense.
Even through Lee Hoyeol’s eyes, it was simply visible.
My still-silky long hair……!
That’s right.
Whether it was because of the effect of the increased Heaven Above, Heaven Below, I Alone Am Supreme.
Or because more time had passed in the Social Hall of Time and Space.
I couldn’t know the reason……
But my hair had not returned to normal.
I checked Lee Yerim’s messages once more.
-Hey, Lee Hoyeol
-Is that hair extensions??? lololol
-How much did you pay for them lololololol……
In all sorts of ways, the trials really never end.