Chapter 228

Strange.

Lord thought this while looking down at Frey’s body.

It wasn’t Frey’s body that was there. He had already separated from his flesh.

This was his soul body. Or it could be called his transcendent body.

Nevertheless, whether it was called his soul body or his transcendent body, if the body of a transcendent being received a fatal attack to its ‘core’, it would inevitably disappear. This was true even for his own kind.

But Frey’s body didn’t disappear. It was still translucent as though it would disappear at any moment, but it didn’t disappear even after he stopped breathing.

It was strange.

‘I’m sure he’s dead.’

To put it in the context of other living beings, his heart had exploded and his brain had been smashed. There was no living being who could remain alive when its vital organs had been destroyed.

That was why he still felt uneasy.

After all, this was the man who’d managed to escape from the Abyss. Even if he didn’t do it on his own, it was still an achievement that ordinary humans would never have been able to accomplish.

In short, this man had a record of making the impossible possible.

So he couldn’t let his guard down. He couldn’t even relax.

Therefore, in order to get rid of his anxiety, he had to erase even the slightest possibility.

Just as Lord was about to raise his hands and carry out his thoughts.

“You look exhausted.”

Lord didn’t turn around. But he knew the owner of the voice was Asura.

[So? Did you reveal yourself because you think you can defeat me now?]

Lord’s voice was filled with disdain.

Of course, it wouldn’t have been enough to call his current state a mess. But that didn’t matter.

The only one who could kill him was already dead. If there was truly something called fate, then it was already settled.

Now, there were no longer any threats to Lord’s fate.

In other words, he no longer had to worry about dying. Everything he wanted to happen would surely happen.

He was the winner.

“…no.”

Asura knew that too.

He shook his head bitterly.

“I saw your fight with Frey.”

It was such a fierce battle that he couldn’t even have tried to interfere. Their levels were so different that they could be said to have been in different dimensions.

Asura had no choice but to run away and watch from a distance. He’d even used the power of Lilith, who he always disdained, to save his life.

It was the most humiliating thing he’d ever done in his life. It was to the point that he wanted to bite off his tongue and kill himself in shame.

For Asura, who had lived for thousands of years, this day was surely an incurable scar on his heart.

…Or not.

There was another way.

Clang.

Asura threw his six weapons aside.

Then, while taking the stance he’d shown Frey not so long ago, he said.

“Let’s exchange pointers, Lord.”

[Don’t be ridiculous, Asura. It’s very unsightly to see you, a demon, trying to imitate a Magic Warrior.]

“…I know. I think so too.”

[Why are you trying to throw away your life? I have no intention of destroying Hell.]

Lord sounded genuinely confused.

[I think it is necessary for Hell to exist. I will not destroy this place and cause chaos. Look. This is the end of the clown who mistook Hell for his own property.]

Lucifer’s headless body suddenly appeared.

Lord then put his hand into the body.

Crack!

[…and this is the core of Satan, Hell’s former balance. It wasn’t completely digested.]

Lord opened his bloodied hand to reveal a small gem.

Even though it was a gem, it seemed to have a mysterious aura filled with unlimited vitality and potential. This was the only thing that could have been considered the qualification of a balance in a material way.

It was just as Lord expected. Lucifer had the cores of both Satan and the Dragon Lord. And after separating them, he realised that it would be inefficient for one being to possess all the cores, so he decided to share.

Lord held out Satan’s core to Asura.

[I will give this to you.]

“…”

[You and Lilith are the only surviving Rulers. Just you two. The Dream Demon is not qualified to be the balance. But if it’s you, it might be possible. It can be said that you’re a half-step ahead of the other Rulers…. You could become the only Ruler just like Satan in the past. I will help you do that.]

It was an extremely attractive offer. He felt that every Ruler would have had this dream at least once.

To be the one and only Ruler of Hell.

Asura’s desire to do this was particularly strong. It would have been a lie if he said he wasn’t shaken.

But.

Asura still shook his head.

[…why?]

“There is no point sitting on a seat that someone else prepared for you. I get what I want with my own two hands. This is the way I have lived from the start.”

Crunch.

Asura clenched his fists.

Lord sighed.

[How foolish. Do you feel like you’ve accomplished something by telling yourself that? Your image, which has been deeply influenced by the mortals’ way of thinking, just looks unsightly. Don’t forget your place, Demon.]

Asura didn’t answer and rushed towards Lord.

Lord didn’t even bother to move.

“…!”

Then Asura’s body suddenly stopped.

His body gradually became bright red. He was using all he had, but he still could not move even a single muscle.

Chak!

Blood splattered from Asura’s body.

He wasn’t even sure what happened. Lord had only looked at him with the same disdainful gaze.

But in truth, such a result was natural.

With no way to resist Lord’s power, this was inevitable. Frey was the only exception.

So even Asura, who was the strongest demon after Lucifer, could not even touch Lord’s body despite the state he was in.

Hik.

But Asura just laughed.

Curious, Lord asked.

[Why are you laughing?]

“Because… it took longer than I thought. We talked for so long.”

[…!]

At those words, Lord turned to look behind him. Frey’s body was no longer there.

[You dare…!]

Burning with rage, Lord’s eyes appeared on his face.

Asura grinned.

“Dumbass…! Exchange pointers. Bullshit! Is there any way the War Demon King… would say that kind of nonsense? Hu-, hahaha.”

Asura looked Lord in the eyes.

“I… really hate you Demigods.”

[…]

Lord’s hand shook. Then Asura’s body exploded, his flesh and blood scattering everywhere.

He’d killed Asura with a gesture, but Lord’s thoughts had already turned away from him.

Frey’s body couldn’t have just disappeared on its own. Someone had to have taken him.

And that person’s identity was quite obvious.

[Lilith.]

The last Ruler, Queen of the Dream Demons. He never thought that she was worth his time, just a bug, but now, she was annoying him.

Where did she go?

[…fine. I’ll play tag with you.]

Lord’s eyes disappeared again.

His mind had calmed down again.

He would literally pursue her ‘to the ends of Hell’ and kill her.

* * *

“Huk…! Huk…!”

Lilith flapped her wings desperately as she ran away.

“Why am I… doing this…?”

Frey’s body was on her shoulder.

Right. His dead body. A body colder than ice with not even a hint of vitality in it.

“Asura, you stupid bastard!”

She cursed nervously.

She didn’t see Asura’s end, but she knew that he wouldn’t have survived.

Paht!

Lilith’s body faded for an instant before reappearing in an entirely different place.

This was Lilith’s power. She was able to step into the virtual world of ‘dreams’. She was sure that Lord would invade and conquer the Dream Realm. That was why she was only using it sparingly.

This was to blur Lord’s perception of the Dream Realm and reality. If she hadn’t used this method, then she would’ve been caught already.

‘However… I’m only stalling.’

Lilith bit her lip.

If Lord had been in his normal condition, even this method would not have worked. She’d have been caught in seconds and suffered a miserable end just like Asura.

‘How am I supposed to run away from a guy who controls space?’

Hell had already become a strange world that could no longer be called Hell. This was because Lord had mixed the Abyss with the space here.

It was like black ink had been spread across the sky and earth, and ominous dimensional cracks were everywhere.

Crack!

“Kuk…”

Lilith didn’t scream despite the pain of the sudden attack. Then she felt that something was missing.

Her left wing had been torn off.

After losing a wing, she inevitably crashed to the ground as she was no longer able to fly.

Then, as she lay face-down on the ground, she heard a voice.

[You really thought you were clever.]

Lord.

Lilith grit her teeth.

She couldn’t believe that the time Asura had desperately fought for had been so meaningless.

[Asura died to protect his petty pride. He didn’t want to sit on a throne created for him and died for his stupidity. So what about you? Why are you trying to save him?]

“…I owe him my life.”

Lilith glanced at Frey and muttered.

“I am a demon, but I have something called shame. Do you? You are lying. You never thought about making Asura the balance of Hell.”

[Nonsense…]

“Ha. Stop pretending. I am a woman who survived for thousands of years with the lies from my mouth. Do you think I can’t smell a liar?”

Lilith laughed.

“You have no intention of keeping Hell around.”

Lord was speechless.

He never thought that he would be seen through so easily by this woman.

Lilith didn’t miss this opening. She pushed Frey into the black space beside her.

Frey’s body was quickly swallowed by this black space.

Seeing this scene, Lord shook his head and said.

[Do you know what you’ve done?]

“I’m going to die anyway, so what does it matter?”

[Right. You know it well.]

Crack!

In the next instant, Lilith’s body was crushed as though she had been stepped on by a giant being.

It was an end so pointless and miserable that it was not befitting of the last Ruler of Hell.

Lilith didn’t even know how she died.

Lord looked down at the puddle of flesh and blood that had once been the Ruler known as Lilith. Unlike Asura, he didn’t think she was worth talking to.

[That space, the Abyss, is my world. Lilith, all you did was push Frey directly into my lair. Your foolish struggle was for nothing.]

That was what Lord thought.

He tried to step into his space.

But,

Tak.

He felt that he’d been blocked by a wall.

[What is going on?]

Lord’s voice was filled with shock.

This wasn’t possible.

He couldn’t step into the space that he’d created?

[…]

But Lord soon realised something.

His expression became distorted.

[…Iris, do you intend to block me till the end?]

“Huhuhu…”

A loud laugh reverberated around him.

Lord spoke in a cold voice.

[Your struggle is futile. Right. I forgot your existence because you were so insignificant. Iris Phisfounder. ‘Get out’ of my Abyss immediately.]

…

…

It wasn’t possible.

Lord’s expression became stiff.

Despite his direct declaration, Iris was still staying in the Abyss.

No, that wasn’t all.

He couldn’t ‘interfere’ with the Abyss.

[How…]

“The Abyss is no longer your world. I’ve been studying this space for over 4,000 years, Lord. I know secrets of this place even you don’t know.”

That was impossible.

Lord was silent for a moment before opening his mouth.

[Nonsense. The place you’re in isn’t the Abyss. Where is ‘that’ place? Where the hell did you take Frey?]

“Huhu.”

Iris chuckled.

Lord stared at the black space in front of him and opened his mouth.

[I don’t know what the hell you’re thinking. He’s already dead. What you have is nothing more than a corpse… Frey Blake reached the transcendent level. That means the boundary between his soul and body disappeared.]

For ordinary beings, death meant a new beginning. Even if their body died, their souls would wander around the Continent, and soon, they would get a new beginning.

But after reaching the transcendent level, one stepped outside of the path of reincarnation. One would be able to view the world from a higher level.

However, this wasn’t necessarily a blessing. There was a price to pay for breaking free of the yoke of life.

For transcendent beings, death was not a chance to restart but a complete end… nothingness.

It was not possible for them to leave behind a crystal like the Demigods, so they wouldn’t even leave residual thoughts behind.

There was no way Iris Phisfounder didn’t know that.

“I know. So please don’t worry about us.”

[…us?]

“Yes. Lukas and I will live here forever. I don’t want anyone to interfere. Lord, you have a lot of work to do, don’t you? You have a world to reset.”

[…]

When Lord didn’t answer, Iris continued in a cold voice.

“Lukas is already dead. If you try to take even his body from me, then I will interfere with everything you do. I will bother you till the day I die.”

This wasn’t a bluff.

Lord weighed the pros and cons for a moment.

Iris Phisfounder. This woman could definitely be incredibly annoying. Now that Frey was dead, it was clear that she was the person who could bother him the most.

After all, Iris had his power and would be able to resist his power of space to an extent.

‘I could spend the time to find and kill Iris, but…’

He was thinking about the Continent.

Dro’s core on the continent was Lord’s top priority.

Besides, Frey was already dead. There was no way he’d be revived.

Therefore, it was more urgent to deal with the situation on the continent than chase after a corpse.

‘I will kill her after.’

After thinking this, Lord nodded.

[In the end, you got what you wanted. Black Witch, I admire your perseverance and willpower.]

Lord did not say anything else and simply disappeared.

He was headed to the Continent.

“…”

It was only then when Hell finally became silent.