Chapter 323:

Chapter 323:

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HELHEIM SCANS

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Boom—

The thick darkness greeted the hero, who had stepped inside in the deepest part of the Demon King's castle.

The darkness was almost tangible, as if it had substance.

Even when the hero infused mana into his eyes, his vision remained completely obscured.

The hero tried casting a light spell, but it extinguished almost immediately.

Boom—

The darkness was so intense that even the bravest might hesitate to take a single step forward.

It was strange; before opening the door, a clear light had been seeping through the crack, yet the interior was pitch black.

Instinctively, the hero turned to realize the entrance had vanished.

A mysterious voice whispered:

[Let's go.]

'Right.'

Boom—

From the moment the hero stepped inside, the only thing guiding them was the sound.

The sound, which resembled a heartbeat, led the hero forward.

Boom—

Step—

Boom—

Step—

Boom—

...Splash.

The rhythmic combination of footsteps and the heartbeat created a strange cadence.

The hero noticed that the once cold, hard floor had turned into something damp and sticky.

Walking on the slippery surface, the hero followed the sound of the heartbeat.

It felt as if he was walking into the insides of some massive creature.

Sss—

Before long, a faint red light began to rise from the edge of the hero's vision.

Though it illuminated the darkness, it was far from comforting.

In fact, it was so unpleasant that the hero almost wanted to look away.

Step—

A few more steps revealed a magic circle with a diameter of several dozen meters.

[...A summoning circle.]

'Should I try casting Halo?'

[No. It's likely too late for physical attacks to be effective.]

The countless symbols that made up the magic circle were glowing red, writhing as if alive.

The sound was coming from the ceiling above.

Boom—

The hero looked up.

Boom—

'It's the core, as I suspected...'

This core was several times larger than the others the hero had encountered.

With bizarre protrusions and spikes, the core clung to the high ceiling, writhing incessantly.

Then, it spat something out.

Drip—

A drop of black liquid fell from one of the core's protrusions.

It was a highly concentrated form of demonic energy.

Although it resembled the torrential demonic energy the hero had faced hours earlier, its potency was incomparable.

A human touching it would be dissolved to the bone instantly.

[It seems the core has almost exhausted itself. Was it used to power the magic circle?]

The hero nodded.

This demonic energy had been sent from across the demon realm to empower the summoning ritual.

Since the ritual was nearly complete, all the demonic energy would have been consumed.

Indeed, despite being near the core, the concentration of demonic energy in the air wasn't too high.

'But where is the Demon King...?'

[Nowhere to be seen.]

There was no sign of any presence.

The hero frowned slightly and looked up at the core again.

It continued to writhe, struggling to expel the remaining demonic energy.

One drop.

Two drops.

It looked as if an invisible hand was squeezing a heart to extract its blood.

Drip—

The hero naturally followed the falling drops with his eyes.

From the protrusion, the drop fell... it took a few seconds... until it was sucked into someone's mouth.

<Ah....>

A very peculiar sigh reached the hero's ears.

Even the hero, who had experienced things beyond human imagination, had never heard a sound like this before.

[Did you hear that?]

'I did.'

The hero continued speaking slowly.

'And... I see something.'

[What?]

'Ahead.'

The hero's eyes focused forward again.

...There was no doubt about it.

Until a moment ago, the hero was the only one in this space.

With senses sharpened to the extreme, there was no chance of being mistaken.

Yet, at some point, something was now standing in the center of the summoning circle.

It stood there, mouth open, catching the falling demonic energy.

How could one describe its sudden appearance?

Its emergence was so abrupt and natural that it felt as if the hero's consciousness and perception had surrendered to its presence.

<Ah...>

Attack?

Retreat and regroup?

While the hero pondered their next move, the thirsty sigh continued.

It was louder than before, and although it seemed to come from the creature's mouth, it echoed from all directions simultaneously.

The air grew heavier.

The hero's eyes started to burn as if they were on fire.

???’s voice murmured softly:

[The Demon King...]

'That... is the Demon King?'

But the darkness of the Demon King erased all of that.

His eyes became the light source instead.

A bizarre, crimson light.

As that light descended, it felt like someone was drilling into their brains, a powerful and unsettling discomfort rising.

...Even a doppelgänger, immune to mental attacks, nearly fainted from the contamination.

If the sacrificial forces hadn’t kept their distance, they would have gone mad instantly.

Even now, despite the considerable distance, people were fainting in droves.

[...It’s faster to just see it for yourself.]

The darkness, crawling forward, first encountered the demons.

At first, it seemed they stayed in place to greet and worship the Demon King.

But that wasn’t it.

They were frozen in place, unable even to think of fleeing.

Sssss-

The darkness engulfed them.

One wave in and out.

And then...

‘...They’re gone.’

About a dozen upper-ranked demons disappeared without a trace, as if they had never existed.

Like a piece of ice dropped into lava, there was no sound, no resistance.

But the Demon King’s hunger seemed insatiable.

Grrrrr-

The Hero looked up at the sudden roar.

A massive shadow was flying over the ruins of the Demon King’s castle.

Malekia.

...She, too, was being chased by the darkness.

But, having exhausted herself fighting Cuculli, her escape didn’t last long.

Crunch-

A long, sharp tendril of darkness extending from the Demon King’s fingertip pierced her wings.

“Your Majesty! Why would you do this to me?”

A sharp scream.

The massive dragon, dozens of meters in length, was disintegrated in seconds.

Her scales, once as tough as steel, and her teeth, larger than greatswords, all turned into black smoke and were absorbed.

“Your Majesty!”

Her pitiful death cry was the last.

The Queen of Agony, who had ruled over humans with terror for centuries, vanished without a trace.

...At last, the darkness seemed to pause, as if satisfied.

Crunch-

Crunch-

Crunch-

Then, a chilling sound echoed all around as if something were being chewed.

[If we are replication, that creature is theft.]

Against the backdrop of that sound, ???’s low voice resonated.

[Dissolution... that might be more accurate. The moment any living being touches that darkness, they lose all their power, life force, memories, ego... everything that maintains their existence and becomes part of the Demon King.]

‘...Becomes part of him?’

[Yes, of course, it varies by individual, but no matter how strong they are, they can’t resist to the end. They slowly lose parts of themselves and are absorbed.]

According to the explanation, this was a power on a completely different level from the demons they had faced before.

[In other words, you become the core, suffering eternally within the Demon King, generating demonic energy.]

At those words, the Hero looked back toward the Demon King.

The demons, who prided themselves on their strength, were being devoured by the darkness without even a chance to scream.

The more of his kin he devoured, the clearer the Demon King’s form became.

It was a scene that hinted at the Demon King’s intentions.

‘Now I get it. He plans to devour everything here, and then use that power as the foundation for a proper descent.’

[Correct. Even the Demon King couldn’t guarantee victory over you if he descended in his current state. So instead, he’s chosen to cause chaos and eliminate all threats before making his move. Now that you’ve grasped the situation, what’s your plan?]

Fortunately, the Demon King seemed to believe the Hero was already dead and didn’t pay any attention to him.

As a result, the area where he stood was the least affected by the encroachment.

But soon, the darkness would encroach.

He had to act before that happened.

“......”

After a brief moment of silence, the Hero spoke calmly.

‘...Then the answer is becoming clear.’

[What?]

??? thought that this time, the Hero’s resolve would finally crumble.

Even when he had far greater power than he did now, facing this absurd authority had shattered his fighting spirit.

But what ??? encountered was the same calm and composed Hero as always.

There was no bluffing or falsehood.

No one knew this better than ???, who was inside the Hero’s mind.

‘Let’s clarify one thing.’

[...What is it?]

‘You fought the Demon King for days on end. If, as you said, that darkness consumes and steals everything, how was such a battle possible?’

??? answered honestly.

[I had countless cores within me. Even the most exceptional geniuses numbered in the thousands. No matter how strong the Demon King was, he couldn’t take them all at once.]

However, losing them one by one had been inevitable.

At first, he had the upper hand, but in the end, he had been miserably defeated.

The Hero murmured slowly.

‘...The Demon King can't endure indefinitely in this state either. He’s just as pressed for time as we are.’

Whether it’s intelligence or strength, they were both concepts that could not exist independently.

Forcing them into a tangible form and separating them cannot leave one in a normal state.

In some ways, it was an act that carried far greater risks than the creation of an avatar.

[That may be true, but...]

Wooooooong-

Before ??? could finish his sentence, the Hero’s body was already engulfed in a brilliant light.

The Seventh ritual, Eclipse, Ted’s technique that allowed a human to stand against the Demon King.

It felt like flames were rushing through his veins beneath his skin.

Having a vague sense of what the Hero intended to do, ??? sighed quietly.

[Our essence is merely a shell. What do you think will remain if you lose all your cores?]

This wasn’t right.

No matter how prepared the Hero was for death, this was beyond the bounds.

There was a stark difference between fulfilling the mission and disappearing in an intact state, and being sucked into a void after losing everything.

“We’ll see....”

But the Hero’s unwavering gaze was fixed on the darkness pouring out towards Avalon.

“A lot will remain.”

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HELHEIM SCANS

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