HBWnovel Chapter 257: The Believers Of The Old Demon God (2)
Chapter 257: The Believers Of The Old Demon God (2)
Chapter 257: The Believers Of The Old Demon God (2)
‘Greed, huh.’
Why would the High God give him such a look?
First, it was exploration. At a glance, it was an extremely wide area. It was impossible to understand everything just by running around.
“I’ll handle the exploration.”
Anetsha struck the ground with her staff.
The staff resonated with her magic, spreading in all directions.
Uuuung.
The power amplified and amplified. The energy of exploration, which would have been impossible with Anetsha’s strength alone, dispersed.
The extended energy of exploration brushed past the aura of the High God and inspected the surroundings.
Anetsha infused her magic and spoke.
“This is the staff of detection bestowed upon us directly by the demon god. If one’s ability allows, it can detect the entire demon world in an instant.”
Anetsha, having sensed many things around her, raised her staff and pointed in a direction.
“There are five presences felt about thirty minutes from here at my pace.”
‘Good.’
It seemed that the staff, given directly by the demon god, had a considerably wide detection range. Even for Taesan, it would be challenging to explore this distance so quickly.
Taesan stomped his foot.
“Follow slowly.”
“Huh?”
Boom!
As power exploded, Taesan flew in the direction Anetsha pointed.
Taesan arrived at the destination in mere seconds. There, five heavily distorted beings were present.Th.ê most uptodate novels are published on n(0)velbj)n(.)co/m
“Hello.”
“What the...!”
They were startled to see Taesan.
“Your enemy.”
Taesan calmly answered, observing them.
Their essence was of demonic beings.
However, their fundamental nature was so twisted that they could no longer be called demons in form and power.
They were closer to Arulia, a human who had contracted with the High God in the spirit world. They were similar to him.
“Why is an outsider here?”
“A human?”
They were surprised beyond expectation. But soon, they collected themselves and their eyes gleamed.
“Die!”
“To those who don’t believe in the old demon god, % O O 門 =『*=!”
They charged.
Wielding the power of the High God, they attempted to kill Taesan. Taesan casually flicked his hand, brushing them off and analyzing.
‘They’re much weaker than that.’
The human who contracted with the High God in Arulia had directly made the contract. In contrast, these beings seemed to have absorbed the remnants of the High God while staying here. They were similar, but their power was vastly different.
‘But they are not weak.’
Objectively, they were at the level of the 30th floor of the labyrinth. All five of them.
Considering that those called the Demon King’s knights were around the 20th-floor level, it was overwhelming strength.
“This makes me curious.”
“Die!”
With a mad laugh, one man charged fiercely.
“He’s mine!”
“Don’t touch him!”
Others shouted and tried to hinder the man. It seemed they were desperate to be the one to kill him.
Taesan moved his hand.
Crushing and trampling the energy of the High God, he pierced the man’s chest.
Crunch.
“Ugh.”
The man collapsed with a sound of swallowed breath.
It was a single strike. The others who had been rushing forward hesitated.
[Your Soul Ascension has been activated.]
“Interesting.”
Taesan’s eyes gleamed.
Black energy from the man’s body was absorbed into Taesan.
There was no noticeable change, indicating it wasn’t enough to raise his proficiency, but it meant Soul Ascension had been activated.
“Not bad.”
Taesan turned his gaze to the remaining ones. Their reactions were odd. They were utterly terrified and stepping back.
“Ah...”
“The soul has been snatched.”
“Run!”
They began fleeing in terror.
Taesan frowned, not expecting them to flee without looking back.
“Running away?”
[You have activated Mephisto’s Black Lightning.]
Boom!
Lightning struck the one running the fastest.
The spear penetrated him. A weak stiffness overtook him.
“Kaak!”
Taesan kicked.
He pierces through the chests of the other two who were running away. They died with faces full of terror.
[Your Soul Ascension has been activated.]
But Anetsha shook her head.
“No. Only demons can use this. It’s not about having magic power, but about where it originates from. No matter how strong you are, Taesan-nim, it would be difficult.”
“Then what if I sync with your power to use it?”
A method of channeling power through magic. It was something Anetsha and Quaned had done for him before.
“Well...”
Anetsha hesitated.
“If I’m the user, it might... be possible.”
“Good.”
Taesan approached Anetsha. She shuddered.
“Spread out the detection like you did before.”
“Ah, yes.”
Anetsha hurriedly grabbed the staff with both hands. After a brief moment to steady her breathing, she struck the ground with it.
Uuuung.
The wave spread in all directions.
Information about the surroundings began to flow to her, and Taesan placed his hand on her shoulder.
“O...”
Anetsha let out a weak moan.
Magic power started pouring in, more than she could handle.
‘...A lot.’
Even her father, the demon king Vesehta, didn’t have this much magic power.
Taesan synced with Anetsha’s magic and opened the channel.
[You have activated Leraje’s Territory Detection.]
Kiing.
The spreading waves rippled. The power spreading rapidly in all directions brought back all the information.
Absorbing the power of the High God from the land, the detection accelerated further.
As the flood of information came in, Anetsha’s face turned pale. It was too much for her to contain.
Taesan, recognizing her limit, lifted his hand from her shoulder.
Anetsha collapsed, gasping for breath.
“Princess!”
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, yes...”
Anetsha steadied her breathing and stood up.
“...It’s endless.”
Using the channel, they had utilized Leraje’s Territory Detection, along with the staff that amplified its power by absorbing the High God’s energy.
Even using both simultaneously, they had only managed to survey a part of the abandoned land. All they found was that the land expanded endlessly.
“This is...”
Rather than just being vast, it felt as if it connected to something beyond.
No matter how far they went, there was no end.
“And... there are many.”
She spoke with trembling eyes.
“Even with the small detection, the number is uncountable.”
“Just as I thought.”
Taesan frowned.
The demon world was extremely vast. And the man he had captured said they had been here since the old demon god ruled.
They continued to live without dying. Their numbers couldn’t have decreased.
A land without end.
And countless beings who believed in the old demon god.
“What should I do?”
Taesan muttered.
Killing them all was nearly impossible.
Of course, it would be possible if he invested an infinite amount of time. But that would be meaningless. It would take decades at least, so it was better to give up and descend the labyrinth.
So, another method had to be found.
Taesan looked at the ground.
A thick and deep power of the High God was flowing out.
The man had said they were bound to the land.
If the power of the High God disappeared, their souls would be freed as well.
“Can I erase this darkness?”
“No.”
Minerva said decisively.
“That’s impossible. This is a domain created by the High God. Even the current demon god couldn’t erase it and left it be, right?”
To the demon god, this land, imbued with the power of the old demon god, must have been extremely annoying.
But she had done nothing to interfere with the vast domain and its countless inhabitants.
Even the power of a transcendent couldn’t interfere with the domain of the High God.
There was no way Taesan’s power could manage it.
The demon god must have known this.
But she had given Taesan the quest, thinking he had a way.
[You have activated Divinity.]
Light manifested on Taesan’s hand.
The light twisted and affected the power of the High God. But that was all. It didn’t erase or purify the power.
‘This is impossible.’
The power existing within the laws couldn’t erase this darkness. Taesan extinguished the divinity.
Then, what about the power beyond the laws?
[You have activated Blackness.]