HBWnovel Chapter 344: The Descent of the Demon King (5)
Chapter 344: The Descent of the Demon King (5)
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Chapter 344: The Descent of the Demon King (5)
“Hero?”
Ketal raised an eyebrow at the abrupt statement.
Kalosia spoke softly.
[Indeed, a hero. Not a fake hero to serve as our avatar, the wielder of the Holy Sword, but a true hero.]
“It sounds appealing, I suppose, though I’m not entirely sure what you mean.”
[I suppose I should provide some background first. The Gods and the Demons, Heaven and Hell, were born at the exact same time.]
They came into existence at the precise moment the cosmos found its order after creation.
Not even a fraction of a second off—a perfectly simultaneous birth.
Their powers, too, were entirely equal, neither side holding an advantage over the other.
A flawless balance.
That was the origin of Heaven and Hell.
[But as you likely know, the number of gods is immense. In their prime, there were hundreds. Even now, there are comfortably more than several dozen. In contrast, Hell has far fewer powerful figures.]
“I’m aware of that.”
Gods were numerous.
Ketal alone had connections with nearly a dozen, and if you included the gods he hadn’t met, Kalosia’s words about dozens seemed accurate.
In contrast, Hell was extraordinarily simple.
Four lords.
And the Demon King.
Only five entities in Hell could rival the gods.
Among them, Caliste was an aberration, a demon who ascended to a lordship purely through swordsmanship, leaving just four true contenders.
In sheer numbers, the disparity was vast.
[Yet the power of the Gods and the Demons is equal. Neither holds the upper hand.]
That could only mean one thing.
The Demon King’s power alone exceeded that of dozens of gods combined.
[You’ve seen this firsthand, haven’t you?]
Ketal nodded.
The Demon King.
That being faced the true forms of five gods simultaneously and was not overpowered.
On the contrary, the Demon King overwhelmed and pressured them.
A monster that even the Elders did not surpass—that was the Demon King.
Kalosia spoke as if troubled.
[That’s exactly the problem. The power of Heaven is dispersed among many gods. In contrast, Hell’s power is concentrated in the Demon King alone. A pack of foxes cannot defeat a lion.]
Even if multiple packs gathered and managed to bring the lion down, more than half the foxes would perish in the process.
The cost would be staggering.
And even then, there was no guarantee the lion would fall.
[The foxes are outmatched. To fight a lion, you need another lion.]
And who was that lion?
There was no need to think about it—it was Ketal.
Ketal stroked his chin.
“The theory is sound, but unfortunately, the Demon King is stronger than me. There is a way, but... it doesn’t distinguish between friend and foe. You wouldn’t be of much help.”
[There is a way? That’s even more surprising.]
Kalosia let out a wry laugh.
[I already asked, didn’t I? So, do you want to become a hero?]
“...”
Ketal’s eyes changed.
“You’re offering me power?”
[Do you remember the time I granted you power in the past?]
“I remember.”
When battling the demon at Kalosia’s sanctuary, Ketal had been unable to wield divine power.
He had been able to overwhelm the demon but could not destroy it.
At that time, Ketal had said to Kalosia:
Why don’t you stop merely watching and do something?
Kalosia had listened and granted him divinity.
Though temporary, the divine authority of a god had indeed imbued Ketal’s body.
[It will be similar, but far greater and more potent this time. Moreover, it won’t just be me. The powers of the entire pantheon will converge in you.]
The God of the Swords.
The God of Deception and Lies.
The Sun God.
The Earth Mother.
The God of Strength.
Where had this being, Ketal, come from?
What was he made of?
Simply calling him a barbarian of the White Snow Plains felt far too alien.
This was the time to resolve that curiosity.
Kalosia’s consciousness roamed through Ketal’s interior.
[It’s vast.]
Ketal’s inner world was extraordinarily vast.
Kalosia, a god with immense consciousness, found himself dwarfed by its expansiveness.
Even his monumental presence was easily accommodated, with room to spare.
[It seems I can exist here without issue. So, this is where the monstrosity resides.]
Kalosia sought the monstrosity, intending to determine how much space it occupied and whether Ketal could absorb the gods’ powers.
But there was a problem.
No matter where he looked, he couldn’t find it.
The being that had once slaughtered countless entities, even gods, was nowhere to be found within Ketal.
[...What?]
Kalosia, bewildered, continued his search.
At last, he found something.
[This is...?]
Something existed within Ketal.
But it was minuscule.
It didn’t even occupy enough space to be called significant—like a single painting hanging on the wall of a vast room.
What was it?
As Kalosia examined it, he froze.
He had identified it.
[...The monstrosity?]
The thing before him was indeed the monstrosity.
The very entity that had once killed countless gods and devastated the world.
Yet Kalosia hadn’t recognized it at first, even when it was right before him, because it was so small compared to Ketal’s inner space.
[...The reason I never sensed the monstrosity’s presence...]
It was simply because it was tiny.
That was all.
Kalosia was horrified.
Even the monstrosity was reduced to something so insignificant within this place?
In that moment, Kalosia realized.
Even he, within this domain, was nothing.
Merely a painting hung on a vast, infinite wall.
The silent monstrosity chuckled.
[So, you’ve seen it now, little one. Do you finally understand who it is you’ve been speaking to?]
[...This is...]
This wasn’t just vastness.
It transcended such concepts.
It was entirely different.
No matter how grand a world you painted on a flat canvas, it was still just a flat plane.
From the perspective of spatial dimensions, it was but one of countless stacked canvases.
Ketal’s interior was akin to that.
What was this?
This wasn’t human.
It wasn’t of the mortal world.
It wasn’t of the celestial realm.
It wasn’t demonic.
But it wasn’t one of the oldest beings either.
It was something entirely other.
For the first time in thousands of years, Kalosia felt fear.
[...Gah!]
Kalosia jerked back, withdrawing from Ketal’s body.
“You’re back. Did you examine everything? Do you think it’s possible?”
Ketal asked with a curious expression.
His face resembled that of an ordinary human, someone you’d see anywhere.
And that made him all the more alien to Kalosia, who had seen his interior.
[...What are you? Where do you come from?]
Kalosia asked, his voice trembling.
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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