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Chapter 465: Mad Demon (3)

Translator: Ares

Editor Group: Liber Reverie

However, Taehee gritted her teeth.

'That can't be.'

There was definitely a reason why Clementine believed in her and left her to this task.

Then, she just had to hang in there until Clementine found another solution to resolve this predicament.

'Whew. I really didn't want to use this.'

Taehee took a deep breath.

How could she stay calm when he was running like a mad cow.

Taehee recalled a skill that she had been saving.

'You bastard. Let's give this a try.'

Taehee clenched her fists and recalled the skill that was dormant in her body.

The name looked quite lackluster, but it was the most important skill that she had gained most recently.

The moment Taehee breathed in…

Tick Tock.

A small gold watch appeared on Taehee's wrist.

At first glance, it looked to be an ordinary watch, but what was unique was the number of needles.

On the gold-decorated watch, there were a total of 17 needles operating at different speeds.

The moment Taehee injected mana into it, the seventeen needles on the watch began to accelerate frantically.

At the same time…

Whooooooooosh!

Taehee's body began to accelerate at several times its normal speed.

Taehee now caught up with Hansoo's speed, who was originally attacking with overwhelming power and speed.

The quick acceleration of actions allowed her to attack Hansoo quicker and allowed her to counterattack the destructive power that he had.

Soon…

Boooooooooooom!

Ruuuuuumble!

Rooooooooar!

The two bodies clashed and began to create unprecedented shockwaves.

Inside, looking at the scene through Hansoo's eyes, Barmamunt looked surprised.

'Nargel's Watch… You even released that kind of skill here?'

Nargel's Watch.

This was one of the skills that the famous Great Mage in the Abyss, Nargel, had made.

The effect was very simple. It brought the time of the future to the present.

The time of the future would be randomly slowed down in return for a sharp acceleration of the current time. In another perspective, this was a very fatal drawback.

Nothing would be more dangerous than having her attack speed halved amidst an intense battle.

But at a time when one was about to die, few people would worry about the future.

'Look at this girl. This girl also has a lot of hidden cards.'

Boooooooooooom!

Roooooooooar!

Barmumunt muttered as he watched the two clash and bang against one another.

From specifications alone, Hansoo should have the overwhelming advantage.

With his body enhancement along with his six powerful skills in his body with inclusion to his overwhelming combat experience, no one would beat their contractor if they were on the same level.

But, wasn't it true that the world was unfair?

The world didn't always separate the fights between lightweight and heavyweight bouts.

In terms of the current situation, Taehee's ceiling might be even higher.

Although it was quite pretenseful how she had overcome the walls using crystals and would suffer from reaching that point too quickly, however, the strength she had gained currently could not be underestimated.

"It doesn't look like she's a sacrificial pawn," Barmamunt muttered, looking at Taehee.

No fool would invest that much resources into a pawn.

Booooooooooooooom!

Seeing Taehee relentlessly activate her skills with the current strength she had gained from the crystals, Barmamunt clicked his tongue.

'Well, that girl would have been fine being a contractor. She has all sorts of skills.'

With the high amount of crystals, she had a lot of stamina with plenty of mana. In addition, although each of her skills was inferior to Hansoo's, she had a larger variety.

The skills that he had heard once or twice were all bursting out centered from Taehee's body.

Despite being in the deepest part of the Abyss, he had heard these skills once or twice, meaning that the true owner of these skills was powerful enough to shake up a section of the Abyss.

'Well, she is holding on despite overextending herself…'

Through Nargel's Watch, Taehee, finally being able to catch up to Hansoo's movement, was pouring out all her skills toward Hansoo, using the full range of her mana and physical capabilities.

Ruuuuuuuuuumble!

Boooooooooom!

The moment a blood, red light wrapped around his body…

Whooooooooosh!

Taehee accelerated her body to pull herself out by jumping into the air.

Some could call this a blunder.

At that moment, Taehee's strike caused a tremendous chill to rip through the space and freeze the place.

The skills that exploded caused Florida, which had become hell due to the collision of the two, had freezed as if it had entered the Ice Age.

This was the skill of the Ice Queen, Hera, who had destroyed the entire race of Arcada, .

The moment Taehee looked at Hansoo, who was trapped in the ice…

Crack!

The ice began to crack as the icebergs which were over several hundred meters thick were crushed and dark energy spilled out from within,

Booooooooooooom!

Taehee looked at Hansoo with a blank face who had broken out the ice in an instant.

She had never thought that she would kill him so simply.

Ruuuuuuuumble!

Mjolnir flew toward her.

If it were before, she would have felt the pain of her arm breaking the moment she was hit, but now it was different.

He lived in a different time.

With Mjolnir flying toward her, she raised her halberd and cut it in half.

Booooooooooom!

Blue light burst out from her Halberd as the attack was halved.

On her right hand, the blade was resonating a red light of the sun. On her left, there was a cold blue light similar to the moon.

Sun and Moon.

Taehee, who emerged from the attack by swinging with her blue weapon, concentrated her energy on her right hand before swinging it down with all her strength.

At that moment…

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip.

The space was split in front of Taehee, causing a large unknown hole to be dug into Noah's residential space.

Watching the red energy push Hansoo as if it was trying to split the shield he was holding, Barmamunt opened his eyes wide.

'You have that as well?'

It was the sword skill of one of the warriors that had cut down one of his Earls in his own territory,

In order to find and rip him apart, he had searched arduously to find out where he was hiding, but for his skills to be so skillfully executed…

The Administrators seemed to have put some effort into their game board.

However, this was really good.

"… I paid too much attention," Barmamunt frowned as he muttered.

——————————-

'The air is different.'

Ruuuuuuuuuuumble!

Rumble!

After walking through the deep hole, Belphegor realized that they had arrived at a different space.

Outside, the shockwaves were relentlessly vibrating out.

With that level of power, it was impossible for the shockwaves to not reach them from traveling a few kilometers, but seeing how the tunnel was completely absorbing all of the shocks from the outside, it provided them stability and relief.

If that space was one that could achieve their desires, this place felt like a cozy rest area where they could relax without being disturbed.

If those monsters hadn't decided to destroy the whole place with their monstrous powers, it looked to have been very difficult for them to find such a secret place since there was no reason for them to explore this giant wall that was several kilometers thick knowing that the previous space was an ideal place to live.

'No, that's bullshit.'

He was uneasy with the level of discord there in the first place.

After judging that there would be no disadvantages of moving personally, Belphegor decided to become more active before shouting.

"Hey! Let's try to make a light!"

"Understood!"

At that moment…

Sssssssssssssssssssssss

From the several hundred warriors, a bright light burst out.

With the bright blue light floating around, it revealed every inch and corner of this unknown space they had entered.

Soon…

"… What is all of this?"

"Mmmm…"

There were tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of huge coffins lying around.

This overwhelming scene, the Transcendents gulped. As if they were a thief that had just broken into a pyramid, fear and pressure overwhelmed the warriors from this strange atmosphere.

They felt this was a place that they should not have entered.

While the Transcendents were greatly pressured, the first to initiate action was Belphegor.

"Everyone, let's search. There definitely… must be something," Belphegor muttered as he looked at the open space before him filled with those large coffins.

There was a dark space hidden below the white space.

It was a space of rest hidden under a space of pleasure.

This large structure was hiding these things.

In his opinion, these coffins must mean something.

Belphegor, who scattered the people, began to inspect inside the coffins.

———————–

Ruuuuuuuumble!

Rumble!

"… What's going on?"

Kiriel looked at the white structure far into the sky and shook her head.

The blue light surrounding the huge white structure in the sky was getting brighter and brighter as if a small moon had been erected.

Unable to handle the huge amount of energy, the lightning began to flash and thunder was heard next as if to foretell that something great was about to happen.

After a moment's thought, Kiriel looked back and shouted.

"Everyone, raise your speed! Move quickly!"

From her words, the enormous number of Adventurers to the rear of Kiriel began to match the increased speed.

The scouts have long finished scouting hundreds of kilometers within the vicinity.

They, too, have long discovered something.

It was the corpses of the alien species' armies.

There were two factors that had bothered them. One was gone, and the other was getting on their nerves even more, so there was no need to hesitate.

'Kang Hansoo… is everything going well? As always?'

She could feel that everything was gradually approaching the end.

However, the problem was… whose end that would be.

Kiriel clutched her hand, seeing the large white object far into the distance.

Chapter 466: Fateful Encounter (1)

Translator: Ares

Editor Group: Liber Reverie

Rooooooooooooooar!

'This is…'

Belphegor narrowed his brows as he watched the strange species lie in the coffins.

The coffins boasted enormous numbers that could not be easily counted.

This was what they could see with their own eyes, so the whole structure could boast even large numbers, and each body was locked in each of those large coffins.

'Is that really a corpse?'

Belphegor gazed at the sleeping bodies in the coffins.

They had blue skin and were about three meters tall.

Overall, they looked to have a human figure, but they were certainly not given their features and skin.

They were at a perfectly still state with no heartbeat or energy response to be detected.

It perfectly met the conditions of a normal corpse.

'The problem is that these guys are of a different species.'

The standard of death that they measure with might be different for these guys.

Completing his thoughts, Belphegor looked around, shouting loudly.

"Hey! Everyone! Open the coffins and bring what's inside!"

There was nothing wrong with having a careful dissection of these bodies.

Loudly shouting, Belphegor grabbed the translucent crystal tube in front of him and began to grip it tightly.

It seemed to have been built to protect the users, but it wasn't enough to withstand the power of the 4-Star Belphegor.

When Belphegor gave strength, the lid that was covering the front of the crystal tube was torn off, and purple liquid began to flow out.

Belphegor, who held the body with his hand, took it out of the coffin and laid it on the floor.

He had no hobbies regarding touching dead bodies, but he was also quite familiar with it as well.

Belphegor began to scrutinize the blue-skin alien species in front of him.

'Incredible.'

Belphegor used his skill to look inside and outside.

There was an enormous density of the skin with solid bone tissues with incredible rigidity and strong internal organs. They boasted strengths and durability dimensions apart from humans.

Not only that, but the nervous system and energy flow systems consisting of certain structures also looked completely different from humans. Belphegor always regarded knowledge as a weapon, so he had never neglected his studies when the opportunity came to him. He especially had much interest in regards to medicine.

Even if they had transcendent powers, they were still in a human body.

Mana, Strength, Skill and Martial Arts.

They were all dependent on the structures of their own bodies.

This was why he knew that the bodies of the creatures in front of them were different from theirs. Looking at them, the blood, nervous system, and cerebral tissues that made up human beings almost looked like amoebas in comparison.

'What kind of guys are they?'

Full of curiosity and interest, Belphegor became more absorbed as he scrutinized the body.

It was then…

"Here it is. I brought it out."

"I did too. But this…"

Belphegor began to hear murmurs from behind.

Obstructed from his state of immersion, Belphegor frowned from the noise coming from behind and cried.

"Be quiet for a bit. I'll tell you the results once I analyze it."

One of them uttered bluntly from Belphegor's words.

"You're going to look at these all by yourself?"

"…?"

Belphegor had a puzzled look. This was strange.

"What do you mean?"

Frowning, Belphegor looked behind before rubbing is eyes.

It was because of the scene that unfolded in front of him.

'What in the world?'

Belphegor looked dumbfounded.

He naturally thought that the coffins would contain the same bodies. But, his prediction was completely wrong as dozens of corpses with different shapes, appearances and characteristics lay in front of them.

'Shit. What the hell is this?'

Belphegor frowned at all kinds of corpses his men had gathered in front of him.

—

Booooooooooooom!

Taehee's body flew hundreds of meters away before sinking into a corner of Florida's sky.

The impact shattered the hologram, leaving the figure of the sky into a crumpled white wall.

'What… the hell?!'

Taehee, who rose herself from inside, gnashed her teeth as she watched Hansoo fly toward her with a kick.

She didn't know that she would be pushed back even with Nargel's Watch…

Booooooooooom!

'Uhk.'

Taehee, who barely managed to turn her head away and avoid the hammer, took a breath and kicked Hansoo away.

Booooom!

That accelerated time and body transformed into energy literally as it hit Hansoo, who bounced off far away and plunged into the dry sea.

"Huk… Huk."

As she gasped for breath, she had a look of despair.

Though she had kicked him away, she just bought a little bit of time.

At this rate, she would definitely lose.

She had already used 16 needles of the watch.

The sixteen needles that span slowly had long since stopped moving, and the remaining one was not as busy as it was.

As soon as that needle stopped, this bout would end.

The 17 needles that had rewound the future would begin to faithfully calculate the time that they had stolen so far into their own time at random.

Time would slow down with each needle turning.

Even if she were to fight with all her might in her current condition, she would not win if any of the 17 needles took away her time.

'Damn… I have all these skills, and I still can't beat him?'

Taehee despaired while looking at Hansoo, rushing towards her wrapped in a red light.

Despite rewinding time with the determination to destroy the whole world, she wasn't able to stand on par with the red light that was emanating out of his body.

It was sheer brutal power.

The skills that would wipe out warriors in the thousands were being broken and smashed by the red light that surrounded his body.

'Damn…'

High-risk, High Return.

As if he was boasting about the existence of his skill, he was showing extreme efficiency as he clashed onto her once more.

She was unable to escape like this. The moment she tried, his attack would penetrate through her back.

While Taehee despaired and was about to close her eyes…

Whiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!

A brilliant blue light began to wind up and cover Taehee's whole body.

It was the sign of teleportation.

The moment Taehee saw this, joy filled her face.

'You… didn't abandon me!'

At the same time, Taehee's body disappeared somewhere.

Booooooooom!

With Taehee's body disappearing, Hansoo suddenly looked around his surroundings to find her trace, but it was impossible for Taehee to be in the vicinity after being teleported away.

After confirming that Taehee had disappeared, changes began to take place in Hansoo's body.

Whooooooosh!

The red light that filled his eyes were extinguished as the energy caused his muscles to swell as if they would burst.

The seething blood cooled slowly and the steam from his whole body faded away.

Before long…

"… It was almost over," Hansoo, who regained consciousness, looked around and muttered in disbelief.

He had never guessed that she would retreat while fighting him.

Though he had indeed abandoned his consciousness in order to repress the pain, but after the end of the battle, all of those memories returned to him vividly.

'Well, there's nothing I can do about the girl that ran away.'

It didn't matter if she escaped.

With that body, she would definitely not be able to engage in battle for quite some time.

Since she had exhausted all of her mana and abilities, her mana supply would be a complete mess, and it would take an extremely long time for her body to recover.

With how she had used certain skills to avoid his attacks, it was certain that her soul was damaged as well. The key was Nargel's Watch. Now that the wristwatch's penalty would begin to apply, it would be up to the needles to decide when they want to take back their stolen time.

If two needles decided to recover back their time during a battle, her time would be halved twice, and if she was unlucky, it could be tripled, which would cause her immediate death.

'First, let's move.'

It was meaningful that he had eliminated one of the opponent's important forces.

Hansoo, who abandoned his lingering feelings after seeing Taehee's disappearance, quickly flew toward the entrance where he had entered.

He didn't know where and how far Clementine had gone, but it was not really good for him if he were to give him a lot of time.

Whoosh!

Stepping on the air before flying, Hansoo checked his own body condition.

'It seems I've exhausted myself more than I had originally thought.'

To be exact, the skill of "Mad Demon" burned a considerable amount of blood and stamina instead of mana.

'For you to release so many good skills.'

Hansoo shrugged, recollecting the large myriad of skills that she had released in their fight despite them not being the same quality as his.

But, some of it did help him.

'I've gotten stronger.'

It was like a furnace where a steel sword was pressed against an anvil.

Though he himself did not grow since he abstained from using the Soul Exploding Seed, but with his extensive use of his other six skills, their proficiency had increased considerably.

After concluding his condition check, he jumped on the ground even stronger, heading toward the black hallway.

He had a rough estimate of where Clementine was.

Though he was not able to tour Noah as much in his previous life, he understood the structure and design of it.

Roooooooooooooooar.

Hansoo, who went out of the black hallway, smiled at the metals that began to regenerate again.

They were wiggling and moving around as if they had their own will. They were fully reflecting the intentions of someone.

'So you've succeeded in obtaining Noah in your hands.'

In the previous life, both he and them had failed.

Clementine succeeded in destroying Noah. This time, however, it seemed that the opposite was true.

"But… it won't be perfect.'

If he were fully using Noah's energy, the black metals would have already regenerated. This meant that he had not obtained full control.

Booooooooooom!

Hansoo, who smashed and smacked the approaching metals, quickly kicked into the air and flew toward where the guy might be.

—

"Good work."

"Clementine…"

Those were her last words.

Taehee, who was in Clementine's embrace, had fainted.

Looking at Taehee with subdued eyes, Clementine flicked his fingers.

At that moment…

Whiiiiiing!

Taehee's body began to be engulfed in the blue light once more before being teleported to a corner of Noah, a safe place.

Keldian, who watched the scene from start to finish, asked calmly, "What exactly are you thinking about?"

He knew that the guy was able to qualify to obtain Noah because of Nurmaha's Ring. This was proven from mere sight alone, seeing how teleportation was being used inside Noah, which was prohibited beforehand.

Perhaps they, who had recently registered, had acquired rights that they were not aware of, but there were still some things he didn't understand.

"What are you plotting?" Keldian looked at Clementine and muttered.

Chapter 467: Fateful Encounter (2)

Translator: Ares

Editor Group: Liber Reverie

"Have you checked on the outside situation?"

Belphegor, who had sent out reconnaissance because he was curious about Noah's sudden dormant state, tasked his subordinates to gather information.

The subordinate shook his head.

"It's completely destroyed. It's in ashes."

The paradise that remembered Florida was completely destroyed.

The sandy beaches melted and turned like glass, and the sea had dried up like a desert. Even the artificial sun that was floating in the sky was destroyed, and the heat of destruction remained, burning up the entire residence.

Belphegor asked the subordinate who had a very despondent look the most important question, "What about them?"

"I think they are gone."

Belphegor frowned at the answer.

'It would be best if they were both killed…. But, there's no way things would unfold so simply? Damn it.'

They had initially found heaven, but he couldn't help be uneasy, seeing those demon-like people that had climbed up from hell.

If they were proudly boasting their presence it would be better, but it was extremely disturbing since everything was so quiet.

Whether he should go out or stay here a bit longer to investigate, Belphegor quickly came to a decision.

He decided to stay a bit longer.

"Investigate the area a bit longer. We need to first resolve the situation here."

"Yes."

Instructing his subordinate, Belphegor turned around to examine the man who offered his cause to remain here.

'Even if I were to leave… I need to find out a bit more.'

There were hundreds and thousands of bodies in front of him as Belphegor pressed down his fingers on the curious pattern carved next to the neck of the dead body.

'This seems to be some sort of hint.'

On the back of the neck was engraved with a curious line of patterns. Not just the bodies he had examined, but the rest had them as well.

This was the only that all bodies had in common.

It was then…

Kiiiiiiiing!

'Huh?'

Suddenly, the red pattern on the neck of the corpse began to glow.

At the same time…

Shiiiiiiiiiing!

Something began to flow from the strange tattoo into his body.

'What the hell is this?!'

At the contact of something foreign trying to penetrate inside his body, Belphegor instinctively flexed his muscles to protect his inner and outer body.

Something that had been flowing was mostly scattered in the air from Belphegor's quick response, but in that short gap, some of the smoke had seeped into Belphegor's body.

Belphegor, with an unpleasant look, stopped for a moment as he tried to divert in his inner strength to burn up all of the smoke.

Rooooooooooooooooar!

'Power…!'

The unknown power that began to soar through the veins caused Belphegor to hesitate.

——————

Keldian frowned at Clementine.

"If you could take full control of Noah, you didn't have to kill all of them, so why did you work so hard to cause that?"

That was correct.

If Clementine had not known about Noah, then it would be ambiguous. Clementine knew through the ring that there would be an existence called Noah. If he were to have Noah in his hands, whether it was millions or billions, it didn't matter since he would be able to control everything.

The question regarding residence?

Earlier, he was able to confirm the functions of Noah.

As Noah had mentioned, this small moon had the ability to provide all of mankind that was onboard a paradise.

If he was unaware of Noah, then it would be different, but what if he had complete information about it?

The answer was rather simple.

All he had to do was come up faster than anyone and wait for the others to come up slowly.

Afterward, he would need to simply sweep them all up into Noah.

Security and happiness, both of them were provided so there would be no rebellion from the Adventurers against Clementine either.

Even if one were to rebel, one wouldn't be able to beat the power that was Noah.

Besides, they, including Clementine, were at the forefront of mankind.

If they had sped up instead of wasting time like that, the guys behind wouldn't have been able to keep up in the first place.

In other words, why did he bother reducing his numbers to keep a wary eye on Adventurers coming up from below?

Clementine laughed at Keldian's remark.

"I don't know what's so strange? I just want to carry my people on this ship."

Keldian frowned from his answer.

"… People?"

Clementine answered with a straight face, "Yes. Not those animals. They are no different from monkeys. They are the ones that have left their world for more than a decade without a proper leader just to survive. The same goes for the new ones that had just ascended. I'm just trying to use my newfound powers efficiently."

Then, Clementine looked at Eres.

"If they had come up one by one and came into your sight, you would have wanted to take them all aboard."

"…"

Eres remained silent.

She definitely would have done so.

She would have asked him to take them all and give them a chance.

If they could not afford to, then it would be different, but with such overwhelming power, there was no reason not to.

'… You didn't even want that.'

Eres was shocked to see the other appearance of Clementine.

She couldn't believe that her comrade, who always stood by them, would have such thoughts.

This was more than just dislike but closer to abhorrence.

He didn't even want them to be in his sight, so he was filtering them all, to begin with in case they would ask him to let them on board.

It was as if he was determined to not be beside them for one moment.

If there was a problem… Clementine's abilities were too excellent.

He was able to eliminate and get rid of all the humans below and filter out the competent people that deserved to be on board to serve him.

This was a power that was more than able to overpower them who had been together so far.

"John Stone… Your words were right," Eres muttered, looking at John Stone who was bound beside her.

At first, it was unbelievable to hear that Clementine had subordinates that they were not aware of which was driving humanity to extinction. However, she now knew that all of that was true.

Clementine had a bitter smile, seeing Eres shocked.

'I wanted you to stay in that state at least.'

Clementine had no intention of accusing Eres of being wrong for insisting on taking all humans on board, nor did he have any intent on blaming Keldian and Kangate who would have agreed with Eres.

This was why he had liked them and those that followed them.

They were different from those who were desperate to live by trampling on others daily.

What was the difference between a beast and an animal that focuses on survival by hurting others? No, they were worse than animals when it came to abusing their strength.

At least animals use their powers only for survival.

However, they were different.

Even in this world, they had not lost their humanity and optimism. They used their power to save others without using it recklessly. They were determined to protect humans despite living in this damned world and were capable enough to do so.

He did not want to fully control them through his own strength. This was why he did not touch them since the moment he did, that naivety and purity would be destroyed.

This was a long road ahead.

At least, he wanted the people that stayed with him to keep their determinations and hearts intact.

'… I'm not wrong.'

Even now, his purpose remained unchanged.

However, seeing Eres and the others looking at his exposed self, he could not help but feel bitter.

It was then…

Within him came Noah's synchronized voice.

<… Erase memories?>

Noah nodded at his remark.

To be exact, it wasn't erasing memories. It was to destroy the soul that had memories and regenerate the soul. For instance, if one destroyed the soul that had lived for 30 years and regenerated it for 29 years, the memories that were intact for that last year would be wiped clean.

This was essentially folding time and space to change the soul.

Neropa, the species that made themselves, had been in contact with the fundamental units of space and life.

This was truly an easy task in comparison.

Clementine, who frowned at the comment, stood up before shaking his head.

This was a problem that could be reconsidered later. There were more important issues at hand.

Flick!

The moment Clementine flicked his fingers…

Whoooooooooooosh!

Everyone, including Eres, who was bound around Clementine, began to disappear into the light toward a safe area.

This place would soon become a sea of fire.

At the same time…

Booooooooooooooooom!

Someone slowly walked in from the outside, exploding into the white space where Clementine was at.

He was fully equipped with blue armor, a hammer in his hand, and a shield on the other.

It was the image of a man who was emanating red and black energy, foretelling an ominous aura as if he had crawled out of hell.

Clementine laughed at the man walking out of the pitch-black area, contrasting the white space.

"Looking at this, don't you think I'm on the side of justice?"

Keldian would have definitely found the sight to be strange.

For Clementine, Kang Hansoo was the main culprit who ruined his plan and caused mayhem.

It was normal for him to be full of anger and fury the moment he saw Hansoo.

But, Clementine didn't really feel that way toward Hansoo.

Rather, he was very curious.

Who the hell was he to push himself this far?

Keldian, Eres and Kangtae.

They were great.

However, that was that.

In the end, they could never stand up against him.

The results spoke the truth.

However, that guy had come all the way here.

A man who had started 20 years later in this world was now standing in front of him, destroying everything he had carefully built for 20 years with a stance as if he would strike him down at any moment.

When Hansoo saw Clementine looking at him with a curious look, Hansoo grinned.

'You can afford to be in ease huh?'

Though he had lost his memory, his memories of fighting him were crystal clear.

This was why his memories of Clementine remained intact as well.

When Eres and the others were about to take over Noah, he was the main culprit that destroyed Noah, saying that he could not hand it over.

For that kind of guy to now hold possession of Noah, it caused Hansoo to clutch his hammer at the smiling fellow.

Ease did not come from anywhere.

It was from those that possess it to release such ease and relaxation.

'He's one that has a lot of secrets.'

Even in his previous life, the guy had smiled before he had perished as if he knew something that others did not know before dying.

'This time… I'll make you spill it all out.'

The moment Hansoo stepped on the ground strongly…

Booooooooooooooom!

The white space began to roar in the clash between the two.

—

Rooooooooooooooooooooar!

'I'm entering.'

Sangjin, looking at Noah's entrance that began to tremble with sudden vibrations, jumped inside.

Chapter 468: Fateful Encounter (3)

Translator: Ares

Editor Group: Liber Reverie

Kiiiiiiiiiing!

'What the hell is it now?'

Belphegor muttered as he saw the unidentified energy flow through in his body endlessly.

It was unfamiliar, yet familiar at the same time.

The unfamiliar feeling was natural since he had never seen it before, but he felt acquainted with it at the same time. There was only one reason. This strange energy was constantly penetrating into his body to try and fuse with him. No, to be exact, it was trying to dig up the six areas inside his body.

The Six Legacies of the Six Zones.

Five if the World Tree was excluded.

Body Enhancement, Mana Pool, Spirit, Red Jade, and the Dragon God Armor.

Belphegor frowned seeing the faint energy continuing to intrude like a cogwheel that was in a loop as if it was trying to show off its presence.

The problem wasn't that the energy was heterogeneous to his.

Rather, it was the opposite.

It was coalescing well with his. It was trying to say as if it was the last remaining part that was needed for the circulation in his body.

No, it wasn't just mixing well with his.

Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!

As the smoke continued to flow through the blood vessels mixed with the Dragon God Armor, the output of the energy increased with the armor, becoming thicker.

With the assimilation with the Spirit, the ability to assimilate increased and helped the cycle of the Mana Pool.

This was why Belphegor couldn't get rid of this strange, yet familiar feeling.

The amount of smoke that he allowed into his body was just a tiny fraction of the amount that came from the tattoo of the body. Yet, the power and influence it had on his body were amplified to this extent.

What if he were to absorb all of the smoke that he had rejected so far from the tattoo?

Belphegor, who swallowed his saliva, shook his head.

'Wake up. There's no such thing as a free meal.'

It was ominously sweet.

Besides, there were still too many things he didn't know of.

No, to be exact, he didn't know much.

Under these circumstances, if he were to ingest more of it, he wasn't sure what kind of side-effects might appear in his body.

'I need to control the others.'

The moment Belphegor got up from his place after concluding his thoughts…

Ruuuumble!

Far away, a great rush of energy began to flow out from one of the corpses.

"Huuuh?"

"What?!"

The surprised warriors got up from organizing their equipment and watched the sudden explosion of energy as if they were worried that a new enemy had appeared.

However, contrary to the situation, the man in red armor was crying out in glee, shouting, "This is awesome. Mwahahaha! What the hell! It's amazing!"

Seeing the man, Belphegor frowned.

'Arentel.'

He was a man of great ability and high fighting power, but he was full of greed who was quite thoughtless.

He was useful to use as a pawn, someone that was uncomfortable to keep too far away and dangerous to keep too close. This was why he had watched it at an ample distance.

Although he was a 4-Star Transcendent, his energy was now soaring beyond comparison.

Belphegor could easily guess the catalyst for this cause.

Rumble!

"Hey! What kind of meal is this?!"

The energy from the red tattoo on the neck of the corpse was strengthening his entire body.

The spirit surrounding his body was visibly clear, as the red mana that was flowing out of his armor seemed like the sun before sunset.

Seeing this, Belphegor uttered in a heavy voice, "Arentel. Erase that tattoo this instant. It may be dangerous.

With his skills, he would be able to turn the energy around and erase the strange patters that had penetrated inside his body.

If he proceeded with more calmness, it should be okay.

Arentel, who paused at the remark, smiled.

"No, explain to me in more detail. Why should I get rid of this power?"

"Well…"

Before Belphegor was able to finish speaking, Arentel shouted loudly, "Don't tell me you want me to wait and see because it could be dangerous?"

"… You won't erase it despite knowing?"

From his remark, Arentel laughed. "I'm not an idiot. I know this may be dangerous… But there are guys more dangerous than us. Have you not seen those guys?"

"…"

From Arentel's words, all the people around hesitated.

The two monsters tore the sky apart and dried the sea.

Arentel, who saw the faces of such people, smiled and opened his mouth.

"You want me to disarm knowing that such bastards are strutting around in here? Wake up! I know this is not heaven. Are you still distracted by the sight of Florida with those beauties?"

Belphegor had a tearful face from his remark.

When did he ever lose his sanity?

However, looking at the expressions of the people, it seemed that they were already leaning toward Arentel.

Belphegor growled before shouting, "They are gone. We have plenty of time. It's not too late to investigate further and decide whether to accept this power or not…!"

However, before Belphegor was able to finish…

Booooooooooooooooooom!

A large roar came out from the residence where they stayed.

It was incomparably loud in comparison to the sound that Arentel's roar made.

Those who were surprised quickly ran out through the hole they had entered.

In front of their eyes…

Rooooooooooooar!

Rumble!

Hell was literally unfolding.

Booooooom!

The armor-clad warrior was fighting frantically with the man whose whole body was surrounded in blue light.

Every time they struck one another, Florida, which had maintained its shape, was being crushed to the ground before disappearing as the androids that had collapsed were literally being burnt to ashes.

Seeing this scene, one of the Adventurers swallowed back before muttering, "I know that one side is the bad guy."

The man, who had white wings, was surrounded in blue light while the other was full of red and black energy fighting with thirteen shadows.

Of course, it was foolish to grasp good and evil by appearances, but when you look at it, one side was an angel and the other side boasted a visual that could be understood as a demon alone.

At that moment…

Boooooooooooooom!

The rays of light from the white man struck the man and made a deep hole through the living space, while the man who was floating in the air flew straight into the hole.

When Belphegor was drooling at the sight of two men who quickly burned one of their living quarters to ashes, a defeated voice was heard from his side.

"They disappeared?"

From Arentel's words, Belphegor was silent, unable to say anything.

———————————————-

Ruuuuuumble!

Hansoo, who smacked Clementine that was relenting against him aside, began to summarize the situation.

'This is not easy.'

There were blue and white cubes wrapped around his body. It wasn't the same material that made up the black cubes or the living space that used to attack him earlier, but it was a higher level of composition than that.

Clementine smiled, seeing Hansoo.

"It's quite nice, isn't it?"

Whiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!

With Nurmaha's Ring at the center, the blue and white cubes were swirling around and changing shapes at the owner's command. This was internal control granted to Noah's recognized person.

Seeing this, Hansoo had an annoyed look.

This wasn't just nice.

'To be honest, Clementine himself is not a big deal.'

Ruuuuumble!

Instantly, he transformed one of the cubes into a spear before trying to penetrate Hansoo, causing him to block his strike and mutter.

In his previous life, Clementine terrorized people with his overwhelming items, skills and large quantity of runes including his Nurmaha's Ring.

However, that wasn't Clementine's strongest advantage.

The strongest advantages he had were the faithful men that he had acquired through the Lord Trait. In addition, through careful planning, he had prepared ahead of others. Clementine always fought after faithfully raising his power with advanced skills and traits with arms, and with that overwhelming strength, he was able to raise an army that swept through the opponents like a mantra.

It was a style more fitting to an emperor rather than a warrior.

This time was like that as well.

Clementine handed out his valuable skills and artifacts to Taehee and other subordinates, not to himself.

One of the items that stood out would be Nurmaha's Ring.

Of course, his level of skills and artifacts were not low in standard, but they were definitely behind in terms of the quality of Taehee's skills and items.

However, the newfound strength that was circulating around him was so strong that it offset the penalties.

Booooooooooooooom!

Constantly, who had been constantly attacking him with the fluid, had not begun to attack directly as he began to use his feet and hands.

Ruuuumble!

A long white sword appeared before his right hand. The moment he raised his sword to strike down on Hansoo…

Claaaaaaaaaaaaang!

The Dragon Essence Blade circulating Hansoo's body began to intensely circulate before beginning to be caved in.

No matter how much Clementine had gotten stronger, this was something that should not be possible given their difference in skills.

There was only one reason.

'Mana Nullification. Mana Absorption. Defense Nullification.'

Nurmaha's Rings was incessantly shining.

No, if he were to be more detailed, there were eight kinds of light that were shining.

It was absorbing his mana and absorbing his health as well. It canceled the skills of the defensive prowess that surrounded his body.

'Where the hell did mine go? Damn it.'

Booooooooooooom!

Hansoo frowned, swatting away the guy rushing toward him with his shield.

He definitely had that as well.

However, after being dormant to overcome his Transcendent Wall, it had disappeared.

However, Hansoo soon shook his head.

It was a waste of time to think of something that was already gone.

He found it more than sufficient to focus on knocking down the guy in front of him and holding the ring.

'Still…, it's not time to use Mad Demon.'

After using it against Taehee, it had put too much strain on his body.

He wanted to use it, but his body was instinctively rejecting such a thought.

What was more, the biggest problem with Mad Demon was that it made him lose his consciousness.

Opposed to him, it would be barely sufficient to fully concentrate, so he didn't know what would happen to him if he were to use Mad Demon and lose his reason.

'If you don't have luck, you could be struck all the way down there.'

Booooooooooom!

Hansoo muttered, seeing the 18 Red Jades that were below his feet.

As they fought, they had at some point reached the core of Noah's heart.

Even though it was controlled, the enormous heat that was radiating from the Red Jades that were located in the large space below could be felt.

If he were stuck there, he was certain that there wouldn't be anything good to witness.

This was a time when he needed to fully concentrate.

It was a situation where a frantic fighting machine was not appropriate.

In that moment…

Wooooooooooooooooooooooong!

Changes in the Red Jades where only one of them was operating so far have begun.

Additional flames began to break out in some of the dormant Red Jades.

"Hmm. That."

Hansoo, who saw that, became conspicuous.

——————–

"Where is it?" Sangjin muttered, wandering inside Noah.

He wasn't looking for Hansoo.

That would be too easy.

Booooooooooom!

In the distance, there were many shimmering scintillations of light coming out from the holes as battle roars resonated. He quickly gave it no additional attention and turned his eyes away.

He came to look for what he wanted, not Hansoo.

It was then…

The fully melted residential space inside Noah came before Sangjin's eyes.

Inside, there were Transcendents.

'That is…'

Sangjin frowned as he saw the Transcendents with red tattoos on their necks.

Chapter 469: Descent (1)

Translator: Ares

Editor Group: Liber Reverie

"Ohhhhh…ohoh!"

The people uttered strange groans.

An unidentified power was flowing through them from the engraved tattoos on the necks. As if their body had just equipped Relics, their mana was accelerating as it was rising to a new height.

What they had gained so far was indeed great, but they didn't realize that this kind of potential had been hidden.

So, it wasn't weird that people were shouting exclamations of admiration and shock.

Seeing these people, Arentel cried in a loud voice.

"Ahaha! See?! Look how great, it is? It's amazing."

Arentel looked at Belphegor.

"So, how is it? Do you think that we still need to investigate and wait?"

"Um…"

From Arentel's words, Belphegor swallowed.

The power that was flowing through their body was too sweet to tell himself that it was worth deleting.

It was a power that recalibrated the body, skills and artifacts that he was using and bring out the hidden potential to its best condition.

He couldn't deny that it wasn't powerful. It hasn't been that long since he obtained this power, yet it made the clanky Relics in his body make it as if they were a part of his body like hands and feet since he was born.

It was a heightened awakening of the whole body.

By erasing this patter, the power in his body would disappear and he would revert back to his dense, dull body.

If he wasn't aware of this feeling, then there may be some doubt, but after knowing this kind of feeling, could he live in content reverting back to his original condition?

Belphegor was not confident.

Arentel, who was looking at Belphegor's expression, grinned.

"Belphegor, let's face it. This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance for us."

"Chance…"

Arentel nodded at Belphegor's words.

"Yes. Chance. This is a chance for us, no for you to take full control of this land."

"… you mean?"

Arentel nodded from Belphegor's narrowed expression to his words.

"To be honest… I have to admit. I am quite ignorant so I am not capable of managing people or leading them. I mean, I could do it, but I don't want to. That would be quite a headache to deal with. If someone like me was at the head, it would be a relief if a knife wasn't stabbed into my back while I'm sleeping."

Belphegor nodded at his remark.

These kinds of events had occurred numerous times in the past.

Tyrants with great authority were much more likely to lose their necks from the inside, not the outside.

It was no wonder that Arentel who is greedy and violent would possibly be backstabbed.

Arentel looked at Belphegor and continued.

"However, you're not like that, right? Don't you think it's worth a try as long as you possess that strength?"

"Yes. If I have the strength…"

Belphegor nodded once more.

Yes.

In the end, he had great desires to stand on top of the people, and he had excellent persuasion and political skills to deal with people. In the end, the most important key to this damned world was power and control.

The reason why they were unable to stand at the top was for one reason.

They did not have overwhelming power.

However, it was now possible for them to possess that power.

It may not be perfect, but it was more than sufficient for them to take the initiative.

'If we were to monopolize this power….'

It would be sufficient for them to take the initiative and take control of those who were coming up from the elevator.

However, Belphegor soon shook his head.

"What nonsense. Didn't you see those guys? There's not one, but two of them."

Belphegor muttered in a weak voice as he mentioned the men who had disappeared under the hole.

Indeed, their power was certainly great. With this power, even the captured John Stone would be crushed. However, those guys from before were on a completely different realm.

At least one stage. No, those two had at least more than two stages of power between them.

They were the ones that had broken the barrier of 6-Star.

'… I have no confidence to win.'

Belphegor muttered helplessly.

Arentel with a frustrated expression spoke.

"Hey, you old man. Stop thinking so complicated. You should be relieved it's only two of them."

"…?"

"A while ago,.. They were fighting at almost even terms. Then, no matter who wins, the other person will be in a total wreck."

Belphegor's expression slowly loosened from Arentel's words.

Seeing that Belphegor was agreeing with him, Arentel continued his words with excitement.

"You could try and take control of this giant structure while they are busy fighting. Well… earlier I heard that this was some sort of spaceship. Then, there must be a cockpit while the two men are fighting…"

Before Arentel could even finish his words, Belphegor sprang up from his place.

"Let's move. We'll separate into teams."

This was not the time for them to dawdle around.

If they were going to do this, they needed to be sure. A part of them will move to gather information and intel about Noah while the two are fighting, while the rest will observe the fight between the two monsters in order for them to achieve their objective.

Seeing Belphegor like this, Arentel laughed.

"Very good."

Soon…

Booooooooooooooooooom!

Hundreds of Adventurers with red tattoos on their necks began to split apart from the group and descended through Noah's interior which had been drilled through by the fight between the two monsters.

The person that was leading the charge to observe the fight between the two men was Belphegor since it would be very troubling for his subordinates to try and observe. At times like this, if he didn't take the lead, no one would acknowledge him.

'Yes. It's right that I'm the one that should go.'

With his newfound strength, it shouldn't be too difficult to observe and retreat.

He was also personally curious which of the two would win.

No matter who wins, his actions were predetermined.

'Let's go.'

Taking a deep breath, Belphegor accelerated down the tunnel. It wasn't difficult to find them since he just had to go through the penetrated tunnels.

Before long…

Ruuuuuuumble!

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaang!

Upon arriving in the space filled with shockwaves and roars, Belphegor swallowed.

It was literally the scene of a great fight.

The ominous energy that was being emanated by the black space was being ripped apart by the collision of the two.

Seeing this scene unfold, Belphegor gave orders to those behind him and breathed out thinly before beginning to camouflage their presence.

'It's… close? No, is one side being pushed back? If one side is being pushed back, this is complicated.'

Belpehgor muttered, watching the scene of dark red energy collide with the black and blue.

————————————–

Ruuuuuuuuuumble!

The silver-colored sword with the shape of thunder fell from the top to bottom.

At the same time…

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip!

The sky near the core of the expanded room was being ripped apart by the trajectory of the blade, heading straight at Hansoo.

Soon…

Booooooooooooom!

A large roar shook out as it collided with the shield Hansoo was holding.

Ruuuuuuuuumble!

Clementine jokingly attacked a few more times seeing Hansoo being pushed back with his silver sword.

Whenever he raised the silver blade in his hand, the air was cracking before falling towards him like a meteorite.

Hansoo had to receive all of these shocks.

Booooooooooooom!

Boom!

Hansoo frowned blocking the attacks with his hammer and axe.

'He's getting stronger.'

Normally, you should be exhausted the more you attack. However, he was getting livelier. There was only one phenomenon that could explain this. It was the Red Jades that were slowly beginning to shine.

The moment Hansoo looked over at the 18 Red Jades…

"How is it? It's nice, isn't it?"

Clementine, who stopped attacking for a while, smiled at Hansoo. As if he had met a rival worth fighting against, it was a voice without much hatred.

Hansoo grinned as he listened to the voice of the man who he was unaware whether it was a tone of elegance that he was innately born with or confidence.

"This is clearly worth seeing."

The 18 Red Suns were swirling beneath their feet. The Red Jades were orbing, as if they had been stimulated by something, spreading a bright red light across the room.

It was a picturesque sight.

He had never seen such a sight in his previous life.

His interruption had prevented Noah from operating, and in that time, the invasion of the Abyss completely destroyed Noah itself.

It was the first time for him to look deep into Noah as well.

The only problem was that he was not in a great situation.

Ruuuuuuuuuuuuuumble!

As each Red Sun activated, the energy that was in Clementine's body was gradually building up.

The greatest source of strength that he had was the energy supplied to him by Noah.

As Noah's own energy was being activated, his available energy supply itself was going up as well.

Seeing Hansoo like this, Hansoo smiled.

"Surrender. It's over now."

As time passed, he would grow stronger.

However, Hansoo was different.

As time passed, he would grow more and more tired.

Hansoo smiled from his words.

"So… I intend to finish this before then."

'With this, I should be able to use it.'

He wasn't thinking of playing along for anything.

Seeing that the Immortal Soul having recovered his body and mana to some extent, Hansoo uttered a brief word.

"Come out."

The voice was too quiet and brief for the curious Clementine to hear.

If someone were to see this, they might consider him a madman.

However, surprisingly, a response came out from Hansoo's words inside.

It was an empty word.

As Hansoo nodded at his quest, the presence inside, Barmamunt spoke in a calm voice.

It was the power of one of the Thirteen Demons.

First, if he were to descend, in compensation, he would never be able to use the demon's power again.

Hansoo chuckled from his remark.

"Once I win, I don't need to use your power again. Come out."

<…>

The moment the conversation ended…

Rooooooooooooooooooooooar!

Changes began to take place in Hansoo's body.

The balance of red, gold and black energy that had been harmoniously mixed was being shattered as the strong energy quickly caused the entire body to be dyed in black.

It wasn't just black, but a sticky black that looked like it would suck you in the moment you put your eyes upon it.

His murderous aura and lust for combat increased.

Feeling this change, he whispered out one final remark.

"Fight hard or else your precious contractor will be gone."

That was his last sentence.

From the drastic transformation, Hansoo's expression began to turn bizarrely.

The playfulness that had remained at the end had disappeared and was replaced with cruelty.

Soon…

A short word came from Hansoo's changed face.

"Look who's talking."

Hansoo, no Barmamunt, that muttered in his voice coldly laughed.

Chapter 470: Descent (2)

Translator: Ares

Editor Group: Liber Reverie

Rooooooooooooooooar!

Barmamunt, who watched the waves of attacks rush toward him, smiled slightly.

The others had clamored crazily to come out, but he had come out.

He really couldn't stand being curious.

"It's quite extraordinary that this is a world played around"

It had been a long time since he had come out like this aside from when they first signed the contract.

Back then, he had to go in quickly since he was bound by the leash due to the guy's collateral of his own life. This was due to the strict agreement of the contract.

'I should at least pay for the meal before I go, right?'

The moment Barmamunt smiled coldly…

Whooooooooooooong

Hansoo's body began to turn black in front of the attacks. The moment dozens of white spears flew right over Hansoo's dark, black colored armor…

Crack.

A chilling rupture filled the entire area.

The spears that should have penetrated Hansoo were dragged into a strange space inside the armor being chewed upon by something.

The power of binging.

His black-colored body was sucking all the white fluid that had been injected into it and was being chewed upon without hesitation, destroying the blades of the spears.

The blue and white spears, filled with the energy that could destroy this ship, was being broken apart with a thud inside the blackened surface by thousands of white fangs nestled within.

"Whew. Nice."

Barmamunt smiled as he chewed upon all the attacks aimed at him.

When he had descended in the past, he wasn't able to make these holes of binge in the body, but this time it was different.

He was able to surround his body with his own power.

It was then…

Clementine, who was listening to something in his ear, looked at Hansoo and spoke, "Barmamunt?"

Barmamunt flinched when he was called.

A human could never possibly know his name.

It was understandable that Hansoo knew his name because he had come from the future, but ordinary creatures shouldn't even be aware of his existence.

'Don't tell me he's…?'

But as he watched Clementine with his eyes squinted, Barmamunt shook his head because he realized.

'He was taught.'

He was taught by the presence synonymous with him. It was certain that the presence must have told him about himself. After concluding his thoughts, Barmumunt looked around the space with an intrigued expression.

If someone were to know him, who had settled deep in the Abyss, it had to be one that had at least descended down below.

However, the fact that a substitute that was left behind of this civilization and not even the original creator was to know about him, it meant that civilization knew about him.

But, he had never heard of such a civilization or a race like that before.

'Oh, wait a minute…? I think I may have heard of it before.'

But, as far as he knew, that race had been extinct a long time ago.

The moment Barmamunt was about to frown…

Booooooooooooom!

The Red Jades down below were exploding, sending out heat.

At the same time, the energy surrounding Clementine's body swelled up.

Jijiiiiiiiiiiiiiiik!

In a split second, white fluid grew thickly around his body as Clementine smiled at Hansoo.

"How does it feel to be on the defensive because of the guys you had saved?"

As if he felt like he had ample time, he stopped attacking and attempted to start a conversation with the guys snooping around in the corner with a look of ridicule.

Though they had thought that the two of them would not be able to notice them because they were fighting, that was truly wishful thinking.

The strength that Hansoo and himself possessed was above what they imagined.

He knew already that they were snooping around. However, the fact that they hadn't died already despite him knowing was because keeping them alive would help himself.

This was in order for him to block Hansoo and stop him from reaching there. The more registrants there were active, the more Noah's power was activated.

The moment the guys absorbed the remnants of power, the number of registrants increased, which allowed Noah's power to awaken the remaining functions according to the number of connections in conjunction.

If Hansoo had not spared the Transcendents on the lower floors, these guys would not have survived after reaching this place, and Noah would not be as activated as it currently was.

From Clementine's words, Barmamunt shrugged his shoulders.

"Your thoughts are truly similar to mine."

He thought it was better for garbage to die as well.

All life had three possibilities.

The possibility to be useful, the possibility to be useless, and the possibility to be a hindrance.

In his experience, it was very tiring to keep the second and third possibilities open in the potential of being the first possibility.

There were so many things to pay attention to, and when the situation was drastic or urgent, they would all run away like a herd.

There couldn't be anyone more useless than those who try to backstab or escape by running away when a crisis came before them.

'It may be the same for the Abyss I live in.'

Clementine spoke to Barmamunt, "It's better to protect my hands, eyes, and strength that I can control. You just dragged people up here that you couldn't even control, which is why you're in that state."

Eres was better in that respect.

He did not even intend to manage or lead people but referred to keeping them alive and giving them strength in his own stubborn way.

It was no wonder why he ended up in such a state.

It was then…

Barmamunt shrugged his shoulders.

"But, there's no reason for us to fight? This guy had lost his memory… And there's no particular reason for us to be like this."

If it was the former Hansoo, it may be different, but the current Hansoo who had lost his memory didn't have any particular will to save the others.

From the 6th Zone onwards, he had simply fought together because of the situation. However, from the 7th Zone onwards, he had stormed in here with the intention of attacking first before he got attacked.

"Let's talk it out," Barmamunt muttered.

Unfortunately, the situation was not very good.

If he found out, he would definitely run rampant, so he had to talk it out while his consciousness had descended.

'What a funny guy. What belief did he had to give me total control?'

Barmamunt laughed.

Unfortunately, his wishes were similar with Hansoo, but it was slightly different.

He must have wanted to see him fight Clementine to a bloody state and destroy the one in front of him. The guy must have wanted to see his opponent be crushed and bleeding. However, he wanted to see him alive for a long time no matter what happens to him. Only then would they be more likely to collect the prize of the contract.

'Self-destruction… Seriously, what the hell is this Administrator, this crazy lunatic, thinking to give this?'

Self-Destruction was a taboo.

Clementine shook his head at his words.

"You are of no use to me. You are no different than being a complete bomb."

Whether it was the Soul Shard, the Power of the Monarch, or the nature of the contract, all kinds of power that controlled an opponent basically required one condition—a person must be stronger than his or her opponent.

If there was not much difference in strength between one's self and the opponent, the control would weaken, and if the situation was reversed, the control itself would be destroyed or released.

But, here came the dilemma.

The only thing useful from a man who had lost his memory was his physical prowess. What if he controlled him by suppressing his strength? He would be of no use.

It was just having another one of him.

His core strength was from Noah, not of his own background. Therefore, the speed and growth rate at which he could grow stronger could instantly allow him to overwhelm him eventually.

Then, it would be a complete disaster.

If he were to put a bomb next to him that was difficult to control, he would pay the price.

"I will make you explode here right now."

To send a bomb away in a bomb-like fashion, all would be worth it when he exploded beautifully.

Seeing Clementine staring at him, Barmamunt clicked his tongue.

'This is getting annoying.'

After trying to have an easier time, it felt like he could hear Hansoo's voice belittling him in his head.

Come to think of it, there was no way that Hansoo would not have known about this.

The guy knew that compatibility was impossible.

'Looks like I'll have to use all my resources.'

Barmamunt clenched his hand with that thought in mind.

At the same time…

Rooooooooooooooar!

Inside the black, dyed armor, black snakes began to crawl out. These were the pets that he raised.

These were the cute pets that ate everything, perfectly compatible with him.

Of course, in his eyes, they might be household pets, but if he were to release one of them, a normal world would basically enter an apocalypse.

If he had released one of these snakes at Hansoo and Clementine's original world, their whole world would be wiped out without a single blade of grass.

He had nineteen of them.

'Damn… How regrettable.'

Kiiiiiiik!

Seeing the crying Greeds, Barmamunt had a regrettable expression.

He, who was sent up by the human, could struggle and hold on before descending back down, but if his pets were to die here, they would die.

Furthermore, from his perspective… It was possible that all of them would die here.

No, it was certain that they wouldn't last long before bouncing off since this location was the home stadium of that guy.

Ruuuuuuuuuuuumble!

Barmamunt, who was staring at Clementine, relentlessly built up his momentum while gritting his teeth.

'How have matters come to this?'

The other 12 demons that were watching through Hansoo's body on standby by turn had dumbfounded looks, staring at Barmamunt.

If he were to lose, he would be the one that would die, yet they were more nervous. The acclaimed losers of the Abyss were standing in line on standby to fight the human before them for the sake of this human.

This was a great humiliation among humiliations.

They never knew that a contract that they had signed with lightheartedness would become such a mess.

However, now that it had come to this point, they could no longer pull out since they had already invested up to this point. The harvest was just around the corner. They had to use everything they had to defeat the person in front of them.

'Damned bastard. I will never allow you to self-explode.'

To begin with, the guy had said that he would never use the Soul Explosion Seed.

However, there was one definite scenario where he would have no choice but to use the Soul Explosion Seed.

It was when he would die if he didn't use it.

If he were to die if he didn't use it, what point was there for him to conserve it?

With the contract that they had signed, they would never allow such a scenario to unfold.

'If everything works out… We could obtain the Administrator's seed.'

There were a few priceless beings in the Abyss that were entitled to rule over the worlds that God had made.

Barmamunt, recollecting about the fairy, coldly smiled and shouted loudly, "Then… go die!"

At the same time…

Boooooooooooooooooom!

The 19 Greeds rushed out from Hansoo's body who was running without hesitation before colliding violently against Clementine.

—————————-

Booooooooooooooooooooooooooooom!

Ruuuuuuuumble!

'… It seems I had not realized the situation.'

After seeing the battle unfold before him, Belphegor looked despondent as he saw the collision between the blue-and-white presence that was pumping energy tirelessly against the red-black one that kept on changing form and running.

'There's no end. No end.'

He had thought he was losing, but he had never thought he was hiding such a card.

This wasn't a place for him to intervene.

The moment Belphegor, who had a despondent look on his face, was about to turn away, he saw a Transcendent rush over toward him from far away.

The subordinate that was sent out to scout quietly spoke, "We don't need support. Let us get out of here…"

"There seems to be another intruder. He's… extremely strong."

"What…?"

Belphegor frowned.

——————————–

"Found it," Sangjin muttered as he saw the bead shining a bright blue light.

This was the core facility of the large Noah.

This was the core element that had now incorporated itself with Clementine. The reason why Sangjin knew what this blue bead was about was simple.

These blue beads were the traces of the owners of the Soul Shards, who were sleeping in their bodies.

'The Savior's… Shard.'

Sangjin carefully stretched out his hand toward the fragment.

Chapter 471: Descent (3)

Translator: Ares

Editor Group: Liber Reverie

Whoooooooosh!

Huge amounts of insect clouds began to pour out from Hansoo's body.

The endless red-colored fungi waves of Pandemic Blade resembled that of a swarm of locusts that brought disasters.

No, it was beyond that.

Normally, locusts would only eat up plants, but the power of Mormat, which poured out of Hansoo's body, wasn't limited to that.

If they were in the real world, they could chew buildings and penetrate through aircraft carriers. There were hundreds of millions of them.

With the power of Pandemic Blade surrounding the locusts, five minutes was all he needed to erase a city.

However, despite being able to wield such power, Hansoo's expression wasn't that great. To be exact, it was Mormat's expression who was occupying Hansoo's body.

'I'm… at my limit.'

Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing.

Mormat muttered as he watched his army being reduced at an alarming rate.

It wasn't just the insect cloud that swept around the vicinity. The entire area was covered in a delicate, blue haze. The moment the bugs and Pandemic Blade collided with the blue-and-white fog…

Jiiiiiiiiiiiiiiik!

There were sparks relentlessly erupting around.

This was from an explosion caused by the enormous collision of the white energy.

Even if they were small, the enormous power of the explosions held within the skills were immeassurable.

Each time, there were thousands of these shockwaves resonating throughout the room.

As a result, his army was decreasing at a rapid rate. Even though this fog was quickly exhausting his energy, everytime the Red Jades from below activated, it had caused him extra pressure.

'I thought it had ended already. What a disgrace.'

Boooooooooooom!

Along with the large explosion, his abilities and skills were constantly being cut down. A fragment of his power alone would be more than enough to destroy a country. His current contractor was quite strong this time, so he was able to bring a lot of shards, but he was in this state.

It was so bad that he was somewhat regretting belittling Barmamut earlier who was sent down into the Abyss below.

'… Damn. I can't. If he were to die, I don't know when I'll be able to come up again.'

Ruuuuuuuuuuuumble!

Mormat, who began to reveal all of his remaining powers, muttered.

The Underworld.

Others might regard this place as a hell, but it was a neighborhood that was hundred to a thousand times better than the Abyss.

Moreover, those who were as heavy as themselves needed a truly strong contractor for them to ascend to this place.

The vague ones would burst into pieces if they were to bring one Strenght Shard from below.

However, those that were capable of summoning themselves were already in a position near God.

Of course, it was nothing for them to request and beg to sign a contract for such an opportunity had come to them.

It was a strength that was able to carry thirteen of their strengths, and it was one that was born with Transcendence.

They couldn't understand why a man who could eat and live well enough by his one would crawl into such dangerous predicaments that required their help, but one thing was important.

If they were to properly catch him, they would have the right to roam around the worlds freely, breaking some of the limitations that God had restricted them in the Abyss.

In other words, the shortcut that led directly to the present world could be breached.

'I definitely… have to raise this guy!'

However, that was Mormat's last thought.

Booooooooooom!

In the white fog far away, a large spear roared through it before rushing straight at Mormat, causing a loud explosion as the ground caved in.

Ruuuuuuuuuumble!

Mormat gnashed his teeth as he used his soul to absorb the shock.

'I must… protect this guy's body!'

Since he had to use all his power, he had to extract not only fragments of his souls, but also forward his consciousness as well.

He could feel that his consciousness was being blurred from the recent blow.

Mormat, who felt his consciousness being sucked back into the depths of the Abyss, looked at the other one waiting to come and take his seat.

Then of them had fainted and were thrown into the Abyss, and now only three of them were left.

However, Clementine's momentum and strength had also faltered in the meantime.

They could do at least this much.

'You bastard… if I see you at the Abyss later on, I will make sure to pay you back fully.'

Mormat who was burning with anger seeing Clementine soon began to sink deep into the Abyss.

—————————–

Boooooooooooom!

Booooooooooom!

With the incessant roars coming from behind, Belphegor looked at the subordinate that was guiding him.

"… you found him fainted here?"

"Yes."

"Ugh…"

Belphegor swallowed back as he looked at all the men lying on the floor.

They seem to have been knocked out by single blows.

They were all 3-Stars that had received the power of the patterns. It was a little too much for him to knock them all down at once as well. This meant that the fellow was stronger than he was currently.

'At least 5-Star.'

After a moment's thought, Belphegor found the trail.

The intruder, who was in such a rush that he didn't bother to erase his tracks, stretched far into the hallway.

'If he were this strong, he would be able to ensure that he wasn't trailed or tracked.'

After contemplating momentarily, he saw Arentel and the other subordinates before shouting.

"Gather everyone."

"Are you thinking of chasing?"

Belphegor shook his head from Arentel's words.

"That's enough. Let's leave."

Something didn't feel right.

It wasn't because of the deafening roars that was becoming larger.

He had already turned his attention away from that battle in the first place.

Something more fundamental was going wrong.

'Yes. We have to leave.'

Finally, Belphegor was able to dismiss his last hopes.

He needed to realize that if he were to try and devour something too big, it would result in his own belly bursting to his death.

And now, he finally knew that this fight, the events that were ongoing in this ship, was not the place for people like them to be involved in.

In this kind of unknown situation, if he were to scheme against those that were unimaginably powerful, it would be no less than driving him and his men to death from his own greed.

"… Are we really leaving?"

Belphegor gritted his teeth and yelled at Arentel's questioning attitude.

"Yes! We need to leave! Why are you keep asking?"

Arentel shrugged his shoulder from his words.

"Well. That would be complicated."

"… What?"

Belphegor frowned at Arentel's words who began to quietly mutter.

"Then… it's complicated. Why don't you understand?"

All of a sudden, a dangerous arua began to creep up from Arentel's body.

It was full of murderous aura.

Seeing this, Belphegor clenched his teeth.

'This guy is truly crazy.'

He acted before he thought.

The murderous aura radiating from him signalled that he wasn't going to let him live.

Boooooooooooooooooooooom!

Belphegor immediately swung his blade straight down to Arentel's face.

No, to be exact, he was going to be hit.

Claaaaaaaaaaang!

Belphegor's sword and Arentel's spear intertwined as cracking sounds were heard.

Belphegor was shocked at the high tenacity that could be felt from the end of his blade.

'When did this guy?!'

It wasn't surprising that this guy would bear his fangs since he was always wary of him.

However, despite him being wary of him, he never felt that he had improved his abilities to this extent.

'Unbelievable! He never ate any crystals!'

There wasn't a scenario where he ingested crystals once he entered the ship.

There was only one reason why he became so strong.

The tattoo.

Ruuuuuuuuuuumble!

Belphegor gritted his teeth seeing the red tattoo shining on Arentel.

'… He was a bit earlier than me, but for him to get this strong?!'

That didn't make sense either.

It was then…

"This guy was more greedier than you, so he's been eroding quicker. Not everyone was as suspicious as you were."

"…!"

The grotesque voice that began to flow out of Arentel's mouth gave Belphegor a look of disbelief.

'This guy… isn't Arentel!'

The shocked Belphegor shouted to the vicinity.

"Attack this guy!'

Though they were being pushed back, if the others helped, the story would change.

However, the answer to Belphegor's cry was not a reply, but a sharp thrust of a blade.

Plunge.

"Kuhuk!"

'… how come?!'

The moment Belphegor vomited out blood after seeing the attack struck him from behind…

Boooooooooom!

"Ahuk….!

Riding this momentum, Arentel, or the one that had occupied Arentel's body, without hesitation smacked Belphegor away and laughed.

"Like I said, not everyone was as suspicious as you were.

From his words, Belphegor despaired looking around his surroundings.

Mitsumoto, Karnan. Elise.

Everyone except him was smiling, including Arentel.

It was creepy seeing everyone with the same smiles on their faces.

Arendel smiled seeing Belphegor in such a state.

"Empty yourself. You will now be comfortable.

At the same time…

Dding!

Something began to rise up from deep within him, bumping against his own consciousness. It was like a parasite that had been growing in his head before growing up and eating away all of his brain.

In the midst of his consciousness disappearing in an instant, Belphegor mumbled despondently.

'Of course… there's no such thing as a free meal.'

After a while…

Belphegor rose from his seat and looked around.

It wasn't a look of despair, but a face with a smile.

"… so you've succeeded.."

After feeling his own body, Belphegor looked to be impressed.

Arentel opened his mouth to Belphegor.

"You can be impressed later. We need to move now."

From his words, Belphegor frowned before soon nodding.

"There's a rat."

There was someone that dared to touch Noah's central core, which should be theirs.

'There's not one, but two rats.'

Boooooooooooooooom!

Hearing the large roars from far away, Belphegor soon turned his body.

It was towards the direction where the trespasser was located at the core, and not towards the scene of the battle this body had seen.

'That direction… should be handled by itself.'

He didn't think he needed to give it much thought.

"Let's go."

Soon.

Rooooooooooooooooar!

Adventurers that were scattered throughout Noah began to gather in the direction of the core.

——————————–

Boooooooooooooooooom!

"Damn…"

A moan of discontent erupted from Hansoo's mouth who was on the floor.

It was the voice of the last demon, Kekirodan.

'If I were to faint… this would be troublesome. The contract…'

However, he had already poured too much consciousness to do that.

'Well. Hopefully nothing much will happen… in this short gap.

It was very temporary.

Kekirodan who was mumbling inside for the last time was dragged back to the depths of the Abyss, causing Hansoo's body to droop like a doll for a very short time.

Ruuuumble!

"Whew…"

Hansoo who spat out a breath rose from his seat, stepping on the ground.

He had returned to his original consciousness with the disappearance of the demon.

Clementine gradually sank forward seeing such a Hansoo.

Rooooar!

Seeing Clementine come down with a roar, Hansoo briefly spoke.

"To knock all thirteen of them, you're truly amazing."

"You've worked hard."

Seeing Clementine like this, Hansoo asked with a deeper, different voice from earlier.

"So. How was I with my lost memories?"

The demons that had chained up his memories were relieved, causing the contract to loosen.

Hansoo, who was frantically reminiscing about all the memories that rose from below, smiled at Clementine.

Chapter 472: Descent (4)

Translator: Ares

Editor Group: Liber Reverie

My memories have returned.

The gaps in his mind were filled and the distorted fragments that were twisted arose.

However, it wasn't just good memories.

No, the memories that floated above were overwhelmingly bad.

The faces of the colleagues that he had lost while wandering around the Abyss came to mind one by one from his past.

'… they weren't necessarily from the previous life either.'

Thinking of Enbi Arin, Hansoo smiled bitterly.

He didn't want to lose the people close to him this time either.

However, he lost too many this time around as well.

Seeing Hansoo like this, Clementine smiled.

"I had heard that you lost your memories. But, don't you think the differences are too vast? No matter how… even if you perchance returned from the future.

It wasn't just the difference in combat ability.

If the Hansoo prior was a bad-tempered teenager, the Hansoo now had the face of an old man who had experienced all sorts of hardships.

From Clementine's remark, Hansoo smiled.

"You're quick-witted.

"It isn't hard to recognize when it's that blatantly obvious."

Clementine coldly smiled.

It was the guy that had been such a nuisance to him so far.

Naturally, he had gathered information about him by all means.

Since he had played such a large role at a huge scale, none of the people coming up from downstairs weren't aware of him.

Of course, there were many empty rumors and malicious talk regarding him, but they were normally the ones that had watched him from afar and had not met him face-to-face.

The majority were like that, but there were a few that were actively close to him.

He used the information he gathered and combined them, which led to a single conclusion.

The actions at the start did not add up to the actions and motives in recent times.

His goals were too clear and direct to be simply working to become solely strong.

It was a goal that one should never have if he had ended up in this world.

No, he could understand if it led up to that point.

It would be understandable if you had insisted that an 8th Grader that fell into this strange world dreamed of saving humanity. He could also understand if the guy knew secrets and myths that others should never have known, and defeat the disastrous monsters that seemed impossible at first glance with his amazing supernatural strength.

His talent was superior to Keldian, and his tolerance was better than Eres, with better luck than Kangtae.

In fact, it was almost impossible to hold all three qualities in one body, but he would not refute if this was somehow maintained.

However, he was never convinced of one event.

When he had overcome the Transcendent Wall, the day when the borders of the Otherworld had collapsed and a huge elevator was stuck in the sky, he reportedly gave a number of warnings to all the Adventurers as if he was showing mercy to them who would be thrown into chaos before disappearing.

It was something that no matter how much of a genius one was, it was one that he should have never known.

To have a detailed report on the weaknesses of those who haven't even shown up yet. There was only one way to explain this phenomenon.

'If he had returned from the future to the past.'

This alone explained everything that hadn't added up so far.

This wasn't a thought that only he could have.

However, the majority of the people would believe it to be utter nonsense and skip by that thought.

Although they were in a fantasy-like world, the notion of time-travel was something even more ridiculous.

He knew there were illusions and fantasies that were impossible in an illusion.

However, Clementine himself was different.

"While others might think of this as ridiculous… with how these existences are present, what problem is there to think like this?"

Clementine mumbled while he looked around.

Neropa, the great race that had folded time and space, penetrating to the core of life itself.

He wasn't sure how far from the future the guy had returned from, but if he had met races of similar standards in the future, it wouldn't be strange for him to find a means to return to the past.

From Clementine's words, Hansoo smiled.

"Then, you should be scared, right? You don't know what kind of schemes I've prepared then."

Clementine belittled that remark.

"If everything was possible from simply returning to the past… I would have been stricken in fear."

Omnipotence.

The word that defined a God.

However, the guy was not to that extent.

Even if he returned from the future, he did not know everything, nor could he do everything even if he were to know.

That was how the current situation was at.

The 20-year gap that had been existent between him and the guy had been shortened rightfully by the guy that had returned from the future.

Yet, the result was like this.

He was still alive and the guy in front was stumbling.

Thirteen unknown existences had fought against him, and he had defeated all of them with his and Noah's power, burying them somewhere below.

Now, Hansoo was the only one left.

Just because he had regained his memories didn't mean that he regained his strength.

Seeing Clementine like this, Hansoo nodded.

"You're certainly right."

Ruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuumble!

Even now, the guy's strength was increasing steadily.

The energy of the Red Jades that had settled below was increasing relentlessly.

The Thirteen Demons that had appeared before him had fought Clementine, but they had merely tired him out.

The gap between Clementine and his power was still widening.

It was then…

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!

A translucent panel emerged around Clementine and Hansoo.

As Hansoo frowned looking at the screen showing the scene outside, Clementine spoke with a smile.

"If you weren't here, all those people from the Lower Zones would have already died off."

Seeing the endless waves of people coming in, Clementine smiled.

Noah, a white moon high in the air.

More than tens of millions of Adventurers were flocking towards Noah.

At the forefront revealed the appearances of Hosang and Dell Marcus.

Besides them, there was Kiriel who had a worried expression, and there were a few familiar faces that he was happy to see around.

All of these were the people that he had formed relationships with after returning to the past.

Those Adventurers, that were armed faithfully, were marching with determined looks on their faces.

These were the troops that had grown travelling through the lands that Hansoo had cleaned up, whose strengths were increased thanks to the arms Hansoo had obtained.

Each one of them, who were capable of destroying mountains, covering large distances by crossing through the sky, were flocking towards them.

It was a scene that was hard to witness, and he should feel reassured seeing the level of military force that was coming to help him, but there was only a heavy look on Hansoo's face.

"Well? You think that will suffice?"

Seeing Hansoo shake his head, Clementine smiled and spoke.

"Precisely. You definitely know a lot as someone coming from the future."

This place was the interior of Noah, a location that was made with the purpose of creating a resident space.

This was why it was impossible to exert any more force, and why Hansoo was holding up his own against him.

But, if it was outside, the story would be completely different.

Originally, Noah was created with the intention of being a weapon.

At the same time…

Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!

The outer surface of Noah began to change roughly.

The white surface that was wrapped in blue light strangely curled before soon beginning to change shape.

Thorns arose from the smooth surface, changing its shape to that of a sea urchin.

Once upon a time, there was a giant organism that was in charge of the Fifth Zone. There were giant cannons that were on the surface of the Nelkipas.

Noah's surface was changing relentlessly, forming hundreds to thousands of artillery pieces.

The Red Jades soon began to infuse energy mercilessly towards the hundreds of thousands of cannons.

Wooooooooooooooooooooooooong!

Now, there were 9 Red Jades that was spiralling and were charged up, emanating heat.

With just a few shots, it was enough to dry up a sea and change the surface of the planet. It can make a continent become a desert, and more of these cannons were enough to destroy planets.

Hundreds of thousands of these cannon-like pieces were shining.

The goal was clear.

It was aimed towards the approaching army.

Clementine, who was preparing for the fireworks that would soon unfold, looked at Hansoo and laughed.

"All for nothing? The others had endured and helped up for so long… yet it only takes a moment for them to disappear."

It didn't even take long.

The moment Noah's self-defense system, which had been dormant for a long time, was ready to play its part, those approaching Adventures will disappear into a handful of ash.

No, it wouldn't be a handful because there were so many. Perhaps, there will be an unnatural ash storm here in Zone 7.

Roooooooooooooooooooooooar!

Clementine, watching the Red Jades charging up, spoke.

"Stay right there. It will be a firework show that will be hard to see anywhere else."

At the same time…

Ruuumble!

Rumble!

The Exinium soared from the ground and wrapped around Hansoo's body to ensure that he couldn't turn his head and look straight at the screen.

Ruuuuuuuuuuuuumble!

Clementine, who was watching the Red Jades getting brighter, looked at Hansoo with a look of relief.

"Since I'm sparing your life, you don't mind if I ask you a question. You returned from the future. How was I over there?"

From those words, Hansoo laughed.

"You indeed succeeded, Most of mankind had fallen into your hands."

"As expected."

Clementine smiled with a pleased look on his face when he heard it.

However, Hansoo smiled and opened his mouth again towards Clementine.

"And you died. While you were trying to stop us from riding Noah, you died in my hands."

"…"

At Hansoo's words, Clementine's smile disappeared and remained silent. Hansoo, looking at Clementine, spoke.

"I have a wish. Are Eres and Keldian alive? Oh, and Kangtae too."

"… you seem to be close with them?"

"I was. I was wondering if I could see their faces."

After contemplating momentarily, Clementine nodded with a smile.

"I will show you a little later. I do have some time once these fireworks are over.

Hansoo laughed bitterly at Clementine's words.

"How unfortunate."

"What's unfortunate?"

From Clementine's question, Hansoo quietly smiled.

"I wanted to see their faces once."

As long as they were alive, that was enough.

Once he finished here, everything would return back to normal.

'It was a good time.'

The demons were about to start waking up.

If this time passed, there would be no second chance.

Hansoo, who made his decision, smiled at Clementine frightfully cold.

"You seem to like fireworks… let me show you one."

At the same time…

The last seed that was fixed in his chest cracked before beginning to rip open.