Episode 494: Return of the Demon Sect Leader
Rumble!
The ground shook violently, as if an earthquake had struck, and a massive hand erupted from below.
Boom!
In an instant, the colossal hand, larger than a house, swept over Sabikang.
Crash!
The enormous hand smashed part of the pavilion and slammed into the ground, leaving a giant handprint where Sabikang had stood moments before.
Then,
Crack! Crackle!
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Sharp stone spears shot up from the earth, hurtling toward Sabikang at breakneck speed.
“Shield!”
Ratatatatat!
As Sabikang cast a shield, he swung his sword, Vertas, deflecting all the incoming stone spears. The shattered stone fragments scattered in all directions.
After the tumultuous exchange, Sabikang held Vertas and smirked coldly.
“Still the same, Aranius.”
Aranius’s eyebrow twitched.
“Don’t act like you know me, you insignificant human!”
In the next moment, he made a downward gesture with his hand.
Then,
Rumble!
The ground bulged and surged like a wave, advancing toward Sabikang.
It resembled the effect of a ground wave spell.
Yet Sabikang remained unfazed, watching the upheaval approach. Instead, he struck the ground with Vertas, casting his own spell.
“Ground Wave!”
Rumble!
The wave of earth conjured by Aranius collided with Sabikang’s magic at the midpoint between them.
Boom! Boom!
The ground erupted like a volcano, sending debris soaring into the air.
Aranius’s eyes twitched.
‘How can a mere human…!’
Among the evil gods that favored him, the most powerful was the fallen Earth Spirit King, Luinoas. Though Luinoas had lost his ancient title and prestige upon his fall, he remained a formidable force as an evil god.
Yet here was a human’s magic standing toe-to-toe with Luinoas’s blessing!
While Aranius was still reeling from the shock,
Whoosh!
Sabikang suddenly appeared right in front of him, as if out of nowhere.
It wasn’t a blink spell. It was a movement technique using the Heavenly Heart Method.
Sabikang swung Vertas with terrifying speed toward Aranius’s neck.
“Gah!”
Startled, Aranius gritted his teeth and snapped his fingers.
Instantly, a pile of rocks shot up from the ground as if by magic.
Crash!
Vertas clashed with the rock pile, creating a deafening noise.
Seizing the brief moment, Aranius retreated several steps and waved his hand again.
Rumble! Crackle!
Rock piles rose from all around, surrounding Sabikang.
‘Golems.’
As he suspected, the rock piles took on human forms, their eyes glowing fiercely under the influence of magic.
Sabikang chuckled coldly.
“You’re still good with golems.”
“For a mere human from the Central Plains, you know quite a bit. I can’t deny that.”
Sabikang smirked at Aranius’s words.
“You’ll soon have to acknowledge more than that.”
“You’re an intriguing one. Almost too interesting to kill. But I have no business with you today, so let’s end this quickly!”
In an instant,
Whoosh!
The golems lunged at Sabikang.
Though he swiftly countered with his sword, the magic-infused golems remained unscathed.
Boom!
With a thunderous crash, the golems piled onto Sabikang.
Crash! Crash!
Twenty golems descended upon him simultaneously, threatening to crush him under their weight.
The golems continued to stack atop one another, forming a mound as if building a tomb.
Yet Aranius did not cease his assault.
Rumble! Crackle!
Like corpses rising from graves, more golems emerged from the ground, endlessly leaping onto the mound covering Sabikang.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
How many golems had appeared and thrown themselves onto the pile?
A massive heap of stone now filled Aranius’s view.
The sheer magical energy emanating from the golems was enough to suffocate an ordinary person.
Inside that golem tomb, Sabikang must surely be crushed.
‘In the end, he’s just human.’
Feeling a momentary shame at having been toyed with by a human, Aranius waved his hand once more.
Suddenly, the ground where Sabikang had been turned soft and swampy, swallowing the towering golem pile whole.
The swamp engulfed Sabikang and the golems, then solidified back into flat ground, as if nothing had happened.
With Sabikang buried forever beneath the earth, all that remained was to retrieve Vertas.
But then!
Boom!
The ground split open like a volcanic eruption, and the golems that had been dragged underground shot into the night sky.
Thud, roll…
A golem’s head rolled to a stop at Aranius’s feet.
Aranius’s cheek twitched.
“What in the world…!”
In that instant,
Flash!
Aranius’s eyes widened.
Sabikang appeared before him as if by magic.
Whoosh!
As Sabikang swung his sword mercilessly, Aranius used a blink spell to leap backward.
He never imagined he’d be pushed to such a corner by a human.
But Sabikang seemed to have anticipated his reaction, releasing Vertas from his grip.
Whoosh!
The sword, imbued with energy, flew straight toward Aranius.
‘What is this…!’
Aranius was taken aback.
It felt as if an invisible force was wielding the sword, charging at him.
As Aranius twisted his body, Vertas grazed his cheek.
Slice!
Aranius’s expression twisted in anger.
“You won’t die easily, will you?”
He spread his arms wide, and shimmering particles began to rise from the ground.
Upon closer inspection, they weren’t light but tiny mineral particles.
These particles adhered to Aranius’s body like magnets.
Clink… Clink… Clink! Clink! Clink!
Like donning armor, Aranius’s entire body became encased in metal.
This was the power of the evil god Luinoas, extracting elemental minerals from the earth to forge the ultimate armor.
Soon, Aranius’s entire body, save for his eyes, was covered in gleaming metal as he rose into the air, standing on the surging earth.
It was as if witnessing a god ascending to the throne of the earth.
If one were to describe his appearance in a single word, it would be “impeccable.”
Just looking at him, one could sense there wasn’t a single flaw.
Aranius gazed down at Sabikang with eyes devoid of emotion.
“I hadn’t intended to go this far, but I won’t see you as just another human anymore.”
In other words, he would fight with all his might, as he would against any other demon.
Sabikang chuckled.
“You should have done that from the start. But now it’s too late. You should have done it seventy years ago.”
Flash!
Sabikang shot forward like lightning, swinging Vertas.
Whoosh!
In an instant, a stone wall rose to block his path.
Crack!
Crash!
The stone wall shattered, and Vertas struck Aranius’s neck.
Clang!
Sparks flew with a metallic clang.
As Sabikang furrowed his brow, Aranius smirked.
“Disappointed? No matter where you strike, the result will be the same. This armor, made from the hardest elements, cannot be pierced by you. You will never cut me.”
Finishing his words, Aranius raised his right hand, gathering light particles into a sharp blade.
It was a sword forged from the hardest minerals in the earth.
In a flash, Aranius swung the sword fiercely.
Whoosh, clang!
With another metallic clash and burst of sparks, Sabikang was forced back.
“Impressive.”
“Arrogant. Who are you to judge me?”
Instead of replying, Sabikang launched himself off the ground, charging at Aranius.
As he unleashed a flurry of sword strikes, sparks erupted in the air.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Several attacks were blocked by Aranius’s sword.
But he didn’t bother to defend earnestly.
After all, Sabikang’s chaotic strikes merely bounced off his body, having no effect.
As Aranius had claimed, he was in a state of absolute perfection.
No matter where Berthas aimed his attacks, he couldn’t land a blow on Aranius.
Sabigang unleashed a flurry of attacks so swift and intense that they were nearly impossible to follow with the eye. He then leapt back, adjusting his stance.
A relaxed smile spread across Aranius’s face.
“Do you see the difference between us now?”
“What? Why can’t my sword touch you? This is impossible! What have you done to yourself? There’s no way I can defeat you like this! Damn it, I’m finished!”
Aranius frowned at the exaggerated outburst, prompting Sabigang to grin and continue.
”…Is that what you wanted me to say?”
“What?”
Sabigang shrugged. “I was just testing it out. To see if your so-called perfect armor was really as flawless as you claimed long ago.”
“Something I said long ago…?”
“I’ll admit it. It’s impressive armor. But you once told me its only weakness.”
For a fleeting moment, Aranius’s expression faltered.
It was a brief instant, but Sabigang didn’t miss it.
“Of course, you probably don’t remember. It’s something you can’t comprehend now.”
“What nonsense are you spouting…?”
“Shall I reveal the weakness?”
“Ridiculous. I have no such thing. Even if I did, there’s no way I would have told someone like you…”
“Oh, but you did. The center of your nape.”
”…!”
Aranius’s eyes widened in shock.
In a flash, Sabigang vanished from sight.
Sensing the blink, Aranius spun around immediately.
“Such a cheap trick…!”
But Sabigang had already used his technique to reappear right behind Aranius.
The center of the nape.
There was a tiny gap where the spine ran—a space no larger than a fingernail, made of the weakest metal in the entire armor.
It was a sort of vent for channeling and absorbing magical energy.
Sabigang’s voice came chillingly from behind.
“Do you know why I know this?”
”…?”
Aranius couldn’t move a muscle.
He felt that even the slightest wrong move could lead to an unimaginable situation.
Then Sabigang dropped a bombshell.
“The truth is, I returned from the demon realm. Using the ancient black magic only your kind knows.”
Aranius twitched and retorted, “What nonsense…!”
“The ancient evil god Noizerun, who defies the flow of the world. The one who told me about his power was none other than Aranius von Lorenthal Melganon. I’m quite grateful, personally. Lord Aranius.”
”…!”
A wicked smile spread across Sabigang’s lips.