Chapter 296: Gate of the Demon King (2)

Translator: Pai_

As Iron declared he would capture the primordial demons alone, a light engulfed him in an instant and swallowed him into the gate.

Ariel’s expression contorted as if it were about to collapse upon witnessing it.

“Again... are you trying to do it alone again?”

Murmuring like that, Ariel looked around at the demons in sight.

At the current level of the Imperial Army, it was difficult to handle even the demons pouring out of the gate.

There were many demons, and their level was far beyond comparison to previous gates, so it was only natural.

“We should go in as well.”

“Right.”

Just as the two Family Heads, who had come to the front of the gate at some point, tried to enter, an unknown force pushed the two back.

[You are not qualified.]

At the words stating they were not qualified, Lioner’s expression twisted.

“What kind of bullshit…”

As Lioner, about to get angry at the incomprehensible message, the system window provided an answer.

[The inner gate is already under quest. Please enter after it ends!]

At the system window kindly explaining the reason, the expressions of Lioner and Terrion hardened.

“A quest, huh...”

“Did he go in alone to block the great demons inside?”

Terrion spoke, recalling the enormous demon he had previously blocked.

From a commander’s perspective, it was a sound decision.

From the Empire’s standpoint, it was already hard enough dealing with the demons swarming in now.

If even giant demons comparable to Demon King level were to gather, it would be impossible to stop them with the current strength of the Imperial Army.

“This is the worst.”

“Yeah. The job of an adult...”

Lioner and Terrion, who were looking at the gate, then turned their gaze to the demons floating in the sky.

They weren’t the primordial demons at the Demon King level, but these demons radiated such overwhelming presence that even high-ranking demons had to look up to them.

They were Dukes ruling over the Demon Realm.

“...Looks like our role is decided.”

At Lioner’s words, Terrion gave a small nod and looked toward Ariel.

“...Ariel.”

“Yes.”

Looking at the downcast Ariel, Terrion spoke.

“Let’s do our part.”

At his words, Ariel also looked up at the sky.

Seeing the Dukes, beings far beyond what she could currently handle, she gritted her teeth.

‘I have to become stronger.’

Thinking that, Ariel gripped her sword tightly.

Though she had no doubt that her superior, Iron, would return, if something were to go wrong, they would have to stop the primordial demons themselves.

To ensure that his sacrifice, choosing to enter the gate alone, was not in vain, she had to grow stronger.

As if reading Ariel’s determination, a system window popped up before her.

[Hunt Duke-level demons.]

-Reward: Unknown.

-The reward level increases with each Duke-level demon hunted.

[Hunt high-ranking demons.]

-Reward: Unknown.

-The reward level varies depending on the number of high-ranking demons hunted.

Upon seeing the two quests, Ariel moved immediately.

The system was helping her become stronger than she was now.

Therefore, without further delay, she moved to eliminate the high-ranking demons.

At the sight of Ariel in motion, the two Family Heads also headed toward the Dukes.

As time passed, more Dukes would emerge from the gate, so they had to reduce their numbers quickly.

‘We still have the advantage.’

In terms of original strength, the Dukes were beings on par with the two Family Heads, but having been weakened by debuffs, now was the opportunity.

Even so, if too many of them gathered, the two Family Heads would have to risk their lives.

To conquer the 666-day gate, the Empire’s strongest armies and families had gathered and begun battle.

Meanwhile, the eastern coast had also begun its own war.

To block the demons invading from the Eastern Continent, all of the Empire’s forces, excluding the elite forces gathered in the desert, assembled.

“Block them! Don’t let them reach the coastline!”

“What is the forward base doing? How could they let the demons come this far!”

“The Hell Ghosts have reached the southern coastline! They are currently engaged in combat!”

Centered around the Eastern Command, they were holding back the demons invading from the Eastern Continent at the forward base, but due to their overwhelming numbers, they couldn't stop them all.

Moreover, as the demons bypassed and crossed into the Auzria Continent, the entire eastern region of the Empire had become a frontline.

“This is a crisis.”

Governor Chevara muttered as he looked up at the sky.

Just as he said, the Empire was in a state of crisis.

An unending tension where even the next moment couldn't be predicted.

The Empire’s most powerful Supreme Commander had sacrificed himself to enter the 666-day Gate, and the main frontlines had been split between the desert region and the eastern coast.

From a commander’s standpoint, it was the worst possible situation, two separate frontlines.

On top of that, monsters within the continent had still not been fully dealt with.

Even the Governor himself was beginning to question, ‘Can we really withstand this crisis?’, so much so that the continent was festering and collapsing all over.

Yet even in such a situation, the Empire was barely managing to hold on.

“Please come back soon. The Empire needs you.”

With a desperate hope that Iron, the current core of the Empire, would return from the gate, Governor Chevara once again sat at his desk.

Looking at the towering stacks of paperwork, he reignited his resolve.

For the soldiers fighting with their lives on the line, for the Imperial citizens holding up the nation through countless sacrifices, he had to exert more strength.

Perhaps it was thanks to Governor Chevara, who held his position even after suffering nosebleeds multiple times.

Or maybe it was thanks to everyone in the Empire enduring with all their strength.

Despite the relentless offensives from the Destruction Faction, the Empire endured.

And Iron, who had stepped into the gate, leaving behind a tenaciously enduring humanity, was also holding his ground steadfastly against the primordial demons, perhaps feeling their resolve.

Kwaaang!

“This time it’s a giant hammer?”

Iron dodged the enormous hammer falling in the midst of a horrific scene.

Though restricted, the primordial demons still possessed godlike power.

All of them were charging at Iron alone, and even the mighty Iron was struggling under the weight of it.

It was only thanks to Divine Power allowing him to rapidly recover his stamina that he was enduring, if not for that, he might have already collapsed.

“Huff... Huff...”

Breathing heavily, he stared at the primordial demons attacking him.

As long as they couldn’t use their full power, it was difficult for them to beat Iron one-on-one.

That’s why he managed to kill several demons early on, catching them off guard, but that was the end of it.

Perhaps realizing he was stronger than expected, or that they couldn’t win against Iron as they were even if they died and came back, they began coordinating their attacks thoroughly.

The demons relentlessly harassed Iron.

Exploiting the fact that he was alone, they formed groups to take turns attacking and retreating. Even that wasn’t enough, they used their subordinates as meat shields and rested in between.

-Beep...

Phoenix hovered over Iron with a tired expression.

The other Divine Beasts were the same.

Everyone was exhausted from the repeated battles.

Those Divine Beasts injected Divine Power to help each other recover from fatigue.

But there were limits to recovering fatigue with energy alone.

If Divine Power was used repeatedly in a short period to relieve fatigue, resistance could develop, and the mental aspect wouldn’t recover at all.

“Hang in there a bit longer. We’re almost there.”

At Iron’s words, the Divine Beasts nodded slightly.

At that moment, the primordial demons began attacking again.

Whenever he tried to rest, they sensed it like ghosts and launched attacks.

They slyly pestered Iron with small, continuous attacks, wearing him down.

Though Iron was only human, he got enraged and charged several times, but each time he suffered losses.

Traps.

Formations.

Retreats.

They used all kinds of tactics to avoid direct confrontation with Iron.

Even so, Iron’s efforts so far hadn’t been in vain.

‘I’ll reach it.’

Iron looked at the distant red mountain.

The primordial demons had masked it by fully releasing their power, but even so, the faintly emanating energy was so overwhelming that even Iron felt fear from its intensity.

Instinctively, he knew that if that thing awakened completely, it would mean the destruction of humanity. So he pretended to be played by the demons while slowly moving toward the red mountain.

Of course, the demons also knew this, so they feigned ignorance and acted as if they were buying time.

In this battle of time, the primordial demons had the upper hand, and what they had to watch out for was Iron’s decisive strike.

Amid the fierce battle, a mind game between Iron and the demons had begun.

‘I need to aim for one strike. Break through and enter the red mountain in a single move.’

‘We only need to block that one strike. Then victory will be ours.’

Each side prepared their decisive move while watching the other closely.

They acted as if in a fierce fight while keeping an eye on when Iron would reveal his hidden trump card.

The Divine Beasts deliberately used flashy powers while reserving their true “strength”, and the demons, knowing this, still pretended not to and tormented Iron and the Divine Beasts even more viciously.

As the intense battle continued, Iron finally saw an opening leading to the red mountain.

‘It’s a trap.’

A gap intentionally created by the primordial demons.

Taking that bait would be as good as confirming his defeat.

But Iron had no choice but to take it.

Rumble, rumble, rumble!

The red mountain began to shake.

It signaled that something on the mountain was showing signs of awakening.

Iron had no more time left, and the primordial demons, knowing that, had thrown the bait.

‘Now, what will you do?’

The primordial demons, who had made their move first, were essentially asking Iron that question.

Knowing it was a trap, Iron still responded with his action, he would go in.

Swinging his white sword, Iron entered.

His Divine Power control, honed to the extreme through his battles with the primordial demons, blocked the black magic pouring from all directions with near perfection.

His white sword perfectly severed the demons’ limbs and beheaded them, allowing him to advance.

‘Is he planning to force his way through?’

Marbas, who was rated a step above even Dantalion in terms of intelligence among the demons, tilted his head.

A human breaking through their legion with even his hidden strength released.

An overwhelming power that seemed to have touched the realm of transcendence swept through the legion, even causing the primordial demons blocking his way to retreat.

At that moment, a magic circle manifested to halt his advance.

An ancient magic circle created by the magic-specialized primordial demons combining their powers, so powerful that even a god could be annihilated by it.

Seeing the magic circle, created by pooling their lacking powers together, Marbas let out a triumphant smile.

Even if Iron broke through that, it didn’t matter.

Multiple layers of traps were waiting for him.

As the primordial demons contemplated how to toy with Iron, now trapped along with the Divine Beasts...

-Where is Hræsvelgr?

Marbas’s expression twisted as he looked around for Hræsvelgr, who had been following Iron in a small form from some point.

Then all the primordial demons turned their eyes toward the red mountain.

At that moment, a powerful storm began to form, enveloping the entire red mountain.

-I clearly felt Hræsvelgr’s power in that storm...

Marbas said as he tilted his head.

He had felt Hræsvelgr’s power within the storm that was wiping out their demon legion.

-Did he entrust part of his essence to that thunderbird!

Realizing what had happened, Vassago, ranked third among them, distorted his face.

Marbas’s expression hardened as well.

Rumble, rumble, rumble!

-You fools! You relied on your brains and strutted around, and now look what’s happened!

Agares, known for his brute force and ranked second, erupted in rage, shaking the entire gate.

His ability to collapse entire spaces when angered had been triggered.

-Stop him! Protect the King!

At Agares’s command, the primordial demons rushed toward the red mountain in a panic.

-…We’ve lost.

Marbas let out a bitter smile as he watched Iron emerge, breaking through the weakened magic circle.

He had no regrets about losing the battle of wits.

But there was some regret.

If only he had his original strength, he might have been able to put up a better fight... With that lingering regret, he moved the demon legion.

Now that their first plan had collapsed, it was out of his hands.

-All is as the King wills...

The moment Marbas muttered those words, a black storm formed within the storm enveloping the red mountain, and a fierce battle began.

The one who reigned at the pinnacle of all the primordial demons.

The Demon King Baal had awakened.

***

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