Chapter 185 : Corrosion
Chapter 185: Corrosion
The outer walls of the Academy.
The battle between the Sword Emperor and the Leader of Pandemonium was in full swing.
Demonic Energy and Sword Aura collided in midair and scattered apart.
The battle between two individuals who had each reached the pinnacle of their respective positions was evenly matched.
The Sword Emperor, the strongest Hero of the modern era.
The Leader of Pandemonium, the world’s worst criminal.
Neither yielded even an inch as they drove their blades toward one another with the intent to kill.
The flow of battle slightly favored the Leader of Pandemonium.
The Sword Emperor and the countless Heroes of the Academy had been exhausted by three weeks of continuous fighting.
That much was obvious from the fact that Tamuz, whom the Sword Emperor had originally been holding back alone, now required both Cheon Ga-eun and Oliver Raiders to stop him.
That was precisely why the Leader of Pandemonium was surprised.
Despite having expended a considerable amount of stamina throughout the three-week war, the Sword Emperor was still facing him without giving even a single step.
Moreover, compared to the days when he had been called the Sword Demon, he was now old and weakened by age.
Then, along with a tremendous explosion, the foundations of the Academy shook.
The vibration rivaled the one from when the ‘Gate’ had first revealed itself, causing both the Sword Emperor and the Leader of Pandemonium to momentarily turn their attention toward it.
Brilliant radiance erupted from the black hole-like darkness that had appeared in the middle of the Academy.
A spectacular sight of light devouring darkness.
Joy and despair crossed between the Sword Emperor and the Leader of Pandemonium.
‘My connection with Serphin was severed?’
He had expected the Devil Knight and his group to appear along with the Gate.
He had also witnessed the Greatsword of World Annihilation descending from the sky.
Even so, he had thought it would amount to nothing more than a meaningless struggle now that the course of battle had already tilted to one side.
After all, the Devil Knight was certainly powerful, but he did not possess enough strength to face multiple High-ranking Executives.
As for the riffraff who had disappeared with him, they weren’t even worth mentioning.
They had been dealt with by High-ranking Demonic Humans without even requiring the High-ranking Executives to intervene.
Then what exactly was happening now?
Had the Devil Knight not only gained the upper hand against three High-ranking Executives, but even killed Serphin?
Just like his master, the Heavenly Demon?
At that moment, Kobal and Robo’s voices rang through his mind.
‘My King……!’
‘What happened?’
‘We must retreat immediately! Serphin was defeated by the Devil Knight and his companions!’
Having personally fought Yoo Seongwoo’s group, Robo and Kobal realized that if things continued like this, they would die miserable deaths before the prophecy could ever be fulfilled.
The battlefield had barely been maintained by the Sword Emperor, Cheon Ga-eun, Oliver, and the other Heroes.
But with the appearance of those who had emerged alongside the Gate, the situation had completely reversed.
Each of them possessed strength comparable to their own.
They had no idea where such exceptional powerhouses had suddenly come from.
And if the Sword Emperor and the other Top-ranking Heroes joined them on top of that?
Even if the End revived, he would remain incomplete and would ultimately disappear.
After hearing their testimony, the Leader of Pandemonium momentarily doubted his ears.
The High-ranking Executives of Pandemonium felt that their lives were threatened by mere fledglings who hadn’t even graduated from the Academy?
As the Leader of Pandemonium, he found such an absurd story impossible to believe.
Only three weeks ago, those riffraff hadn’t even been worth paying attention to, yet now they possessed power comparable not only to High-ranking Executives, but even Top-ranking Heroes.
How could that possibly be?
At that moment, someone’s face flashed through his mind.
The one responsible for ruining his grand plan several decades ago.
Just as he had spent countless years preparing for this moment, there was no way Baek Hyun-joong had failed to prepare as well.
He had simply never imagined it would be in this form.
The Demonic Energy covering the sky writhed as though embodying his rage.
“Baek Hyun-joong……! Devil Knight!”
The blades prepared by his nemeses of both past and present pierced the Leader of Pandemonium.
Having witnessed Yoo Seongwoo and his friends’ performance, the Sword Emperor’s attacks became even fiercer.
Under attacks surging forward like waves, openings began appearing in the Leader of Pandemonium’s defense.
Robo and Kobal’s voices continued ringing inside his head.
‘At this rate, we will fail to achieve the complete revival of the End. It would be better to seek another opportunity…….’
The Leader’s brow twisted.
They wanted him to abandon everything and run?
He remembered the humiliation he had suffered several decades ago.
The Great War between Demonic Humans and Heroes that he had begun in an attempt to fulfill fate, convinced that he himself was the Vessel of the End.
Back then, the Leader of Pandemonium had lost most of the force he had painstakingly built.
He had even suffered the humiliation of losing his own physical body.
And now they wanted him to repeat that?
Absolutely not.
The grand plan of the past had failed partly because of Baek Hyun-joong, but also because of his own arrogance in believing himself to be the Vessel of the End.
But now things were different.
Everything pointed toward the prophesied time.
The Vessel of the End and the sealed ‘Gate’ had both revealed themselves, and they wanted him to withdraw and wait for another chance?
Several decades had passed between the Great War of Demonic Humans and Heroes and the arrival of this destined moment.
Then if he withdrew now, when would the next opportunity come?
The Leader of Pandemonium reached toward the sky.
The curtain of Demonic Energy covering the heavens began to recede.
The curtain compressed, its density rising to an unfathomable level.
The black veil he created swallowed the Sword Emperor whole.
A prison of oblivion that reduced everything to Void.
Oblivion.
The Leader of Pandemonium no longer had the leisure to concern himself with the Sword Emperor.
Even the Sword Emperor would not be able to escape Oblivion easily.
The Leader of Pandemonium flew into the sky.
Not far away, he saw Robo and Kobal.
The Devil Knight and his companions were pursuing them from behind.
The aura emitted by those who appeared to be Yoo Seongwoo’s companions was indeed comparable to that of High-ranking Executives.
Hope appeared on Kobal and Robo’s faces when they noticed the Leader of Pandemonium.
The ones pursuing them were Yoo Seongwoo, Park Siwoo, and Helena.
If the Leader of Pandemonium joined the battle, they could drastically reduce the enemy’s numbers.
Red energy soon began gathering in the Leader’s hand.
The crimson despair that had shattered the Academy’s Protective Barrier.
Yoo Seongwoo shouted upon seeing it.
“Everyone, dodge! That’s dangerous!”
Park Siwoo and Helena scattered at his warning.
They were trying to escape the range of the crimson despair.
Robo and Kobal did not miss that opportunity and accelerated.
Kiiing-.
A crimson beam tore through the air.
Yoo Seongwoo’s face stiffened when he saw it.
The Leader’s crimson beam did not pierce Yoo Seongwoo or any of his companions.
“My King, why……?”
Robo’s upper body, as he had been heading toward the Leader of Pandemonium, had been cleanly erased.
The Leader of Pandemonium answered coldly.
“You have outlived your usefulness. Find rest in His embrace.”
“Ah…….”
The color drained from Robo’s face, despite his exceptional regenerative ability.
His body gradually began turning to ash.
Yoo Seongwoo could not understand the sight unfolding before him.
‘What the hell did I just witness?’
They should have been desperately trying to prevent the deaths of the High-ranking Executives, yet he had reduced their numbers himself.
Ding-
Sure enough, the familiar notification sound tickled his ears.
The Leader of Pandemonium really had killed Robo.
A blue message window appeared before his eyes.
【The death of an Avatar of the End has been detected.】
【The Fragments of the End are returning to their master.】
【Corrosion Rate has increased by 20%.】
【Current Corrosion Rate: 60%】
At that moment, his heart lurched and his head spun.
“What the hell?”
His breathing naturally grew rough from the unpleasant sensation of his heart being constricted.
Was it because the Corrosion Rate had suddenly risen?
【Lamb】 was raging.
At that moment, his eyes met those of the Leader of Pandemonium.
The bastard’s gaze curved ominously.
Then, along with the sensation of his consciousness being sucked somewhere else, Yoo Seongwoo collapsed.
“Seongwoo!”
When I opened my eyes, I was met by an eerie pair of Golden Eyes.
I frowned at the piercing gaze boring into me.
Someone who looked exactly like me stood in front of me, smiling with an irritating grin.
“End…….”
“It has been a while, has it not?”
“Yeah. You’re looking a lot healthier.”
He had changed so drastically that it was hard to imagine how he had looked the last time I saw him.
The blurring that had covered most of his body was gone, revealing a face identical to mine, and more than half of the ten restraints that had bound his body had been released, leaving him considerably freer to move.
“So why did you call me here?”
“Called you? That is an inaccurate way to put it. You were consumed by my power. It seems you believed Metatron’s protection would remain absolute under every circumstance?”
Black hands surged from the floor and restrained me.
For a moment, I was too bewildered to speak.
I had experienced this situation before.
It was the same as when I had lost my life to Sandalphon and the End had stolen my body.
But how?
Back then, he had been able to move my body however he pleased because I had died.
The owner of the body had vacated his seat, so the bastard had simply planted himself there.
But this situation was different.
I wasn’t dead, nor had anything happened that should have weakened my control over my own body.
If anything, my physical condition was at its absolute peak.
Then there was only one possible culprit.
The Corrosion Rate that had suddenly skyrocketed.
The Corrosion Rate ultimately represented how much of my body the bastard had consumed.
And with Robo’s death, my current Corrosion Rate had reached 60%.
Worse still, 40% of that had risen in less than ten minutes.
I finally understood why the Leader of Pandemonium had killed Robo.
At this point, it was nearly impossible for Pandemonium to regain the advantage anyway.
So the bastard had taken Serphin’s death as an opportunity to rapidly raise the Corrosion Rate beyond what Metatron’s power could immediately handle, releasing the tactical nuke known as the End into the Academy.
If that happened, Park Siwoo’s group would lose a powerful ally in me.
Meanwhile, even after losing Robo, the Leader of Pandemonium would reduce the number of enemies while gaining an even more powerful ally.
I wanted to break free of these restraints immediately, but I had no suitable method.
All I could do was wait for Metatron’s power to catch up with the Corrosion Rate that had risen so abruptly.
It probably wouldn’t take very long, but even granting the End that brief amount of time was dangerous.
That was how dangerous the power he possessed was.
I remembered it clearly.
The overwhelming might he had displayed during the battle against Sandalphon.
And if that was combined with my body, which had grown stronger since then, along with this higher Corrosion Rate?
It would be too much for Helena and Park Siwoo to endure on their own.
The hands binding my body multiplied, attaching themselves all over me.
They pulled at my arms and legs, covered my eyes, and tried to drag me deeper and deeper.
The End’s mocking voice rang out.
“Did you truly believe you could stop me with such a pathetic plan? From this moment onward, you will never open your eyes again. Watch from there. Watch as the companions you treasured are torn apart and killed by my hands.”
And then, control of my body began passing to the End.