Chapter 159 152: World's End

The sharpest of swords lose their edge.

The brightest of stars flicker to their deaths.

Order devolves into chaos.

Not even time can escape its final throes...

... As all that begins, must come to an end.

You who bring the end. Rise above.

You who seek the end. Go beyond.

Become—

[WORLD'S END]

***

The unchanging skies of hell, which only turned redder with the rage of the demons.

Millennia over millennia, the demon king of the night, the commander of forty legions.

The Great, the terrible, the powerful.

King Balam had never witnessed such a sight.

The boy in front of him opened his eyes, his red irises now a deep shade of purple.

Not a soul moved in that gaze, neither the truth nor the lie remained.

The unchanging skies of hell, which only turned redder with the rage of the demons, had fallen.

The unchanging skies of hell had become a black darker than the ends of the universe.

A breath escaped the human standing in the middle of the crater.

Balam's eyes widened. In a rush, he summoned all the demonic energy he could and filled his body to the brim. Beyond anything, he had done yet, beyond anything he had ever done.

His sight remained stuck on the fluttering black hair of the human with dark veins spreading over his face.

The human blinked.

Balam couldn't do anything as that being appeared in front of him.

"Ah..." A gasp escaped Balam.

"Weapons..." Coarse, sinister, the human spoke.

A chill coursed down Balam's back as he froze in place. The eyes of the human peered straight into his soul.

Death.

Death was approaching him.

Balam's hands quaked as he lowered his gaze.

The human raised his palm.

The sky tore apart and turned into a blade of pure black.

"[World's]..."

Hell trembled at his words.

Instincts kicked into Balam's body immediately as a wave of energy spread around them.

"AH! Ahhh!"

Balam's wings spread and the demon took to the skies. With all his might, he kicked off the ground.

"[End]..."

He could hear him. No matter how far the demon went, the voice of that being came.

Tens, dozens, hundreds of kilometers away from the battlefield, Balam kept running as far as he could. He crossed the capital city of his kingdom and neared the outskirts, yet his trembling heart did not stop.

"[SLASH]!"

The world blacked out.

He could see the past and the future, who could change the truth, could not see anything anymore.

Truth didn't exist.

Color returned to the demon's eyes. His gaze lowered down to his sides.

The entirety of his right arm had been blown away.

The demon trembled in fear and pain. No matter how he tried to use his ability, his 'hand' had reached its 'end.'

Not even causality could return it anymore.

And with his arm, a third of his kingdom had been wiped away from the surface of hell.

Nay.

Hell itself had shrunk.

A grand burst of energy spread from all directions as matter moved to fill the empty space that the human had brought. Air filled the void while the ground collapsed and tried to cover the emptiness.

Balam's trembling heart was almost about to burst.

What was this?

What in the world was this?

This shouldn't happen.

Human? Elves? Demons? Angels? Gods?

None could have such an ability.

That being was the End itself. His every breath spelled doom, and his every move brought emptiness.

Destruction was an understatement. That being brought annihilation.

Balam gathered all the energy he could as he prepared to make his escape. Even if he had to summon all his power, even if he had to sacrifice his entire kingdom, he had to get out of this place.

"[World's]"

The voice echoed again.

Slowly, Balam turned to his back.

He was already here. Right behind him, that being's purple eyes glared into his existence again. He was the next target of its destruction.

Balam changed his motives. Escape wasn't an option.

"[TRUE DEMONIC ENERGY]!!"

Using his lifespan and his authority, Balam concentrated all his power in his hands. The ground below started quaking at the sheer gathering of demonic energy as Balam compressed it all. Smaller, stronger, he bundled his attack and prepared to face the being in front of him.

"[End]..."

The being casually raised his hands, his eyes unmoving.

"[BLACK HOLE RAY]!"

The compressed energy shot out at point blank. The sky above started to tremble as Balam's demonic energy merged with his authority and formed the strongest blend of powers in his arsenal.

The demon king's attack itself could wipe out the entire kingdom.

That attack emerged from his hands and shot toward the being.

"[Beam]"

Butterflies rose.

Butterflies of pure black emerged from the being's hand.

One. Two. Ten. Hundred. Thousands. Tens of Thousands of butterflies emerged. With each flap of their wings, they destroyed space.

The butterflies fluttered around the demon's attack and caved into it.

The demon king could only watch as the butterflies swallowed every last bit of his powers and faded away.

The attack that could have destroyed his entire kingdom was brought to an end with the simple flick of that being's hand.

"Y-you..." the demon king's eyes widened. His mouth fell open, limp.

Then, it changed.

Red slowly started returning to the being's eyes. The black of his hair slowly faded away.

He was falling.

There was a chance.

There was still a chance for escape.

Slowly, the being parted his lips. His eyes as unfazed as ever, as soulless as ever.

"Let's end this, demon..."

A gasp escaped the demon king.

He pulled out the remaining of his strength and swung his fists. Rapidly, he launched a barrage of punches on the being, but all of them fell off before they could even as much as touch his hair.

"[World's]..."

The being raised his hands.

Desperately, the demon king attacked over and over. The force field around the being diminished and cracked.

"[End]..."

The skies above gathered. The darkness deepened.

Balam punched and punched.

A crack resounded as his fists went through.

"[Rain]"