NOVEL NEXT Chapter 140
The rumbling that began from the Gray Ashen Bolt swallowed everything in front of me.
And when everything returned to normal, what lay before me was nothing but the remnants of the Magic Tower.
Unfortunately, since it was physically destroyed, unless purification is performed through the Seongyeok, the foreign Dark Magic will remain on Mystic Island.
‘And…’
Ding!
—————————————————
[Mission Objectives]
1 – Graduate from Claris Academy without repeating or being expelled.
2 – Prevent the Caeran ending. (Achieved)
—————————————————
Upon failure: The world line may collapse, and you might be trapped in the eternal flow of time.
—————————————————
Caeran Hiss.
The author’s original character daughter.
The reason I got possessed in this place, questioning my roots.
That guy vanished so insignificantly.
‘…’
I clearly gave him a chance to deviate from the narrative, yet choosing to be the villain was his independent decision.
Well, with a demon like Yellody Latashia watching his back, he must have been oblivious.
‘There’s no end to the targets I have to deal with.’
The good thing is that I found a lead on capturing Yellody Latashia, a demon greater than Caeran, after defeating Nicolseta.
‘I’ll need help from Aria and Edwin, though.’
For the next target, I moved toward the flare Edwin had shot up, summoning the reward for defeating Caeran.
Ding!
Selection Reward
—————————————————
[Massacre] [Lv. None] (Unique Trait)
: Stacks when an enemy is killed or upon a successful attack on Named or Bosses, increasing stats proportionally.
(*While this skill is active, [Demon Slaying] is granted)
Acquisition Difficulty: ???
—————————————————
[Hierarchy Restructuring] [Lv. None] (Passive)
: If the one with this skill defeats the Demon King, they will inherit that position.
‘The red-haired boy dreams of becoming the Demon King.’
-Excerpt from Yellody Latashia’s records.
Acquisition Difficulty: ???
—————————————————
[SS-Class Boss Defeat Reward]
: Gain 3000 skill points.
Two randomly chosen stats increase by 1.0.
—————————————————
‘Hmm.’
There wasn’t much to think about.
Without hesitation, I chose the first option, [Massacre].
In fact, the tooltip for [Hierarchy Restructuring] is familiar.
In [Hwanseangyongsa], when the bad ending occurred, the story would follow the player or character becoming the Demon King.
‘That’s a no-go.’
The condition is to defeat the final boss, the Demon King, so becoming stronger right now isn’t possible, and above all, my mission objective only remains to graduate from the academy safely.
Choosing [Hierarchy Restructuring] would also be akin to declaring that I’d inherit Caeran’s will and become a villain.
As the sound effect for the completion of the choice echoed,
Ding ding!
(SS-Class Boss Defeated) Confirmed Reward
The key element of SS rewards, the confirmed reward popped up.
‘As expected, that’s it.’
Calmly, I began reading the text.
—————————————————
[Copy] [Lv.5] (Unique Trait)
: A natural sense that ensures you never forget what you see, allowing you to copy and acquire the target’s skill.
(*Usage Conditions)
1. Use half of current mana.
2. Can only activate if the level of the copied skill is lower than that of the Copy skill.
3. Must see the opponent activating the skill directly.
(Exp: 0/500)
‘Good to eat?’
-Caeran Hiss.
Acquisition Difficulty: ???
—————————————————
Just as expected.
The unique trait that was Caeran’s trademark.
[Copy] is now in my hands.
‘…’
I felt a bit uneasy about it.
Perhaps, another Caeran may have been born.
“No way.”
I have no intentions of falling into corruption like him, nor could I.
[The Pandemonium is watching you!]
[Mutual Reputation: Worst]
According to the warning in my status window, the demons from Pandemonium will be eager to kill me.
And I am bound by fate to kill those guys.
‘Is this enough for now?’
With my hermit trait, no demon creatures were paying attention to me, and I managed to find a decent spot in the Valley of Death.
As I monitored Edwin through my sniping trait, I noticed:
‘…’
Yeriel blocking the approaching demon creatures.
Edwin, who was on the ground, with Aria attending to him.
And then, Violet, who looked panicked confronting Markosias and Aveline.
I subtly used magical vision on Aveline.
Ding!
—————————————————
[Aveline Valantes]
– [Markosias’ Follower]
[Average Status]
: ??? (Infected!)
[Specialization]
: ??? (Infected!)
[Unique Trait]
: ??? (Infected!)
—————————————————
Time was running out. Without hesitation, I aimed the Gray Ashen Bolt at Markosias’ head.
‘If it comes to that…’
It’s the same sneaky archer play as always, but this time against Markosias, who is known to be one of the strongest among the Great Demons.
Besides, he possesses a skill known as [Authority of Submission].
This means one of us will have to endure that skill in order to strategize effectively.
‘…Edwin needs to catch on.’
I sincerely hoped my planned strategy would work out.
*
Not long ago. Edwin’s party.
‘No more…!’
The urgency of the situation began to escalate, compressing their retreat to a broad rock where Aveline lay.
Within a space no bigger than a dormitory room at Claris, a fierce battle with demon creatures continued.
“Edwin! The undead have great endurance! We need to prepare for a long battle, so let me enchant your sword!”
“Thanks!”
Whoosh!
At Yeriel’s incantation, blue flames blazed upon Edwin’s sword.
The claymore Sylvester had handed Edwin sparkled, refined magic mixed with his sacred power.
‘But…’
I’m not sure how long they can hold out. Everyone is exhausted.
Edwin took out the magical item from his pocket that sends out signals.
In battles with demon creatures, you must activate this.
There’s no other choice.
‘Sorry, Lev… I still can’t be of any help.’
As he sent a signal to the sky, Edwin was about to resume the battle.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
!!!
A loud crash erupted from the cliff above, accompanied by a white light.
‘Huh?’
Markosias, wearing Aveline’s guise, felt something was going wrong.
How long had it been since the Magic Tower had started operating? Along with the recent explosion, the barriers around rapidly weakened.
And yet, the dimensional gate connecting his Fifth Legion hadn’t even opened yet.
“What… What is that?”
“Something’s decreasing!”
As a result, the demon creatures that had previously threatened Edwin’s party no longer seemed dangerous.
Moments later, the demon creatures that were approaching towards the Magic Tower began to scatter again.
‘Damn it… I shouldn’t have trusted such creations…!’
While Markosias seethed internally,
Pop!
Snapping back to reality, Aria pushed Markosias away with both hands.
“Aveline’s high paladin aptitude is well known to me, but this is odd.”
“…”
“You definitely rejected the sacred power, but recovering so quickly is something not possible for a demon…”
“Ha. Ha.”
“…Who are you?”
At the mention of a demon, Markosias couldn’t hold back his laughter.
What a clever girl, huh?
“!”
In an instant, everyone’s attention was drawn to Markosias, who resounded like an echo around him.
Slide.
Markosias slipped out of Aveline’s body.
The powerless form of Aveline collapsed immediately.
“Aveline…?”
“Aveline! Are you okay…?”
Whoosh!
In a moment, a massive amount of Black Mist began to engulf the area.
“Everyone, gather!”
Swish!
Fortunately, Aria’s sacred barrier activated just in time.
Then, as the mist cleared, what appeared was…
!!!
A robust giant standing 3 meters tall.
A grotesque demon completely covered with wild muscles and dark magic.
‘This feeling…’
Edwin sensed it.
His hands trembled. His heart raced.
It was the same emotion he felt when he witnessed his father being murdered and when his hometown was massacred.
“…Yeriel.”
“Yeah?”
“Just hold them off by yourself for a minute.”
“?”
Thud.
Edwin, with no emotions on his face, charged toward Markosias, following his instincts.
“Edwin?!”
Slash!
With horizontal and vertical slashes.
Swish!
Markosias did nothing, but due to his mirage-like body, all attacks passed through without effect.
“Do you think you’ll be able to touch my flesh?”
“…Of course.”
Whoosh!
In that instant, Edwin’s sword was infused with sacred energy.
“Ho.”
Markosias slightly parted his lips and then,
Clang!
Received Edwin’s vertical strike with his bare hands.
‘…!’
The powerful clang echoed like metal colliding, a contest of sacred and dark magic.
Yet on the surface, Edwin’s sword merely grazed Markosias’ fingertip.
“Do you want me to kill you first?”
“…”
A cold sweat trickled down Edwin’s back as he gritted his teeth.
Though he had expended a lot of sacred power from the continuous wave of demons,
No doubt, Markosias wielded no weapon.
’Is this just from bare hands?’
I can’t win.
The demon creatures and minions thus far were on a whole different level.
The Great Demon Bunea was… weakened near the Seongyeok, making it possible for him to engage with it.
Slither.
‘Only this little bit of contact, and yet!’
As Edwin was about to be consumed by the rising magic pressure and fear, he once again steeled his resolve, separating himself from Markosias.
Backflip!
As Edwin leaped back, Violet’s arrows surged forward.
Their target was Markosias’ left forearm, which had only lightly deflected Edwin’s sword.
Thud!
“Now!”
Crackle!
The arrow that struck the Great Demon began to activate its sealing effect.
Pachi-chik!
“Cough… Is that all you got?”
“?!”
Thud.
As Markosias patiently awaited, Violet’s sealing arrow lost its strength and fell.
“How unfortunate. Was Claris a den cluttered with trash?”
“!”
The young creatures right in front of him…
Compared to a war hero, they were far too weak.
“Ah, I understand now. This is why I let my guard down.”
He continued speaking slowly.
“I am considering keeping these two girls as my followers.”
He pointed at Yeriel and Aria.
Then, with a sigh, he looked at Violet and Edwin.
“You two are far too weak. There’s no use for you. In other words… disqualified. The girls might serve as goblins and not offend…”
Thud.
“Talks too damn much…”
Edwin charged forward with determination, but,
Whoosh! Clang!
“How insolent.”
As expected, Markosias blocked him with his forearm, then,
Bang!
“Gah!”
He fiercely kicked Edwin in the side.
“How dare you not know your place…”
Just before Edwin rolled beneath a rock,
“AEdwin!”
Aria caught him.
Crunch, crunch.
Markosias stretched his neck, addressing Violet,
“I know your grandfather well.”
“What?”
“He was quite capable for a creature, but that’s all. He has become a follower of another demon and is spreading your family’s abilities to the demons. Well, it makes sense that such tricks wouldn’t work on me…”
“Don’t insult my grandfather with such nonsense!”
Backflip!
At his words, Violet unleashed a barrage of arrows.
But,
Fwoof!
!!!
The target wasn’t Markosias but the fallen Aveline Valantes next to him.
“Ah…”
“…”
Aveline showed no sign of having felt the attack, her expression was blank.
Drip, drip.
However, confirming that the attack landed, blood began to trickle from her mouth.
“Cough. Hack.”
As the thin red blood flowed, black clots mixed in with Aveline’s cough.
‘J-just die already…’
“Ah… I… No…”
The fear of another’s death caused Violet’s arms and legs to tremble.
Memories of the ash-gray hunt returned overwhelming.
“So, you’re indeed a proper descendant of that old man. Already losing your resolve…”
Markosias yawned at Violet’s puppet-like expression, soon being engulfed in the pressure of dark magic.
“Really dreadfully boring…”
-PANG!
At that moment.
Like a shooting star falling from the sky,
A white flash at a speed untraceable to the eye pierced Markosias’ face.
!!!
As he regained his senses from the unexpected strike, it wasn’t just a single light.
“What… is this?”
It looked as if the stars in the night sky were connecting the trajectories of the wind…
-——————!
These mysterious lights surged fiercely toward the point called Markosias.