Chapter 200
The Angels lined up in the sky above, looking down upon the humans. Meanwhile, the Combat Angel, Sikael, quickly checked the situation in Mayotte and furrowed his eyebrows.
‘These humans are strangely confident now. What do they have such faith in?’
Sikael looked at the meat mass with his “Heavenly Gaze.” The meat mass was Ronaz, a devil and Astaroth’s subordinate. Astaroth was the Great Devil occupying the 29th throne, so Ronaz was no small fry either. Even Sikael wasn’t confident that he could defeat that devil alone. All the Combat Angels here would need to unite to stand a chance at defeating Ronaz.
‘Perhaps they are wearing such expressions because they don’t know his abilities.’
Sikael observed the hopeful expressions on the humans’ faces, but he believed that their hope would ultimately prove futile. These humans' power alone would not be enough to stop the devils. He believed that, in the end, the Angels would have to defeat them. Although Sikael found this endeavor a meaningless waste of time, he understood that humans needed to realize it for themselves.
‘Oh, there's even a Cyclops here.’
The Heavenly Gaze showed not only demons but also all the races. However, Sikael regarded it all as meaningless, as he believed they would be unable to defeat the devils. While contemplating this, he heard cheers erupting from the humans below.
"Huh?" Sikael was confused.
Whoa—!
Yay—!
Sikael raised his eyebrows and looked through the Heavenly Gaze—the earthlings were pushing out the demons. A woman with a third eye on her forehead—Cyclops Aphzal Tashi—thrust down a horned demon that had killed a Mayotte challenger.
"Who is that woman? Why is she so strong?"
"You don’t know her? She’s Ethan’s girlfriend!"
"Ethan! Your girlfriend is making such a scene!"
"Argh... I should have been there!" Ethan muttered.
Ethan watched Aphzal Tashi’s moves with a mixture of awe and concern.
***
The quivering muscle mass stopped growing to give birth to a new subordinate. The stretched skin revealed something human-like emerging from within, tearing through the flesh. The new devil had a long tail with a sharp tentacle and a tough outer shell covering the entire body.
Ptooey!
A long staff popped out from Ronaz, which the new devil grabbed.
"It feels like I've stepped into a new world," said the devil.
The devil spun the staff and turned to look at Ronaz.
"Thank you," said the devil.
"Keke... The life of a devil is far more remarkable than this. Go now! Kill all the humans who've set their feet here," Ronaz ordered him.
"All right... Maybe my fate all along was to become a devil. Probably also why I stayed in this place for so long," said the devil.
Just an hour ago, Ukama had sacrificed himself to protect Mayotte; now, he was a devil attacking humans.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
The demonized Ukama savagely battered a fleeing human with a crazed look in his eyes.
"Kahahaha! Is this what pleasure is? I've lived without ever knowing something like this?" Ukama laughed and shouted.
Ukama continued to pummel the human corpse vigorously, seemingly trying to ground it into a paste. And, not far from there, someone cautiously loaded a gun.
Click—
‘He looks highly dangerous. I should aim for a fatal hit with the first shot.’
Fortunately, the enemy was too engrossed in mutilating the corpse to move.
[Space Distortion]
The space between the target and the gun’s barrel distorted; a bullet flew and struck the target’s head almost simultaneously.
Bang—!
Woong—!
Crack—!
The bullet moved as if it had teleported there. It was firmly lodged in the devil’s head but didn’t stop spinning.
‘Nice! It was a good hit—’
However, the whirling bullet failed to pierce the Ukama’s tough skin, falling after merely leaving a mark on its hide. And after being hit, Ukama’s attention was now on Natasha Polly.
‘Oh shit!’
Natasha immediately threw away her heavy Sniper Rifle and tried to leave the spot, but Ukama charged toward her like the bullet she had fired.
"Park Joo-Hyuk!" Natasha Polly shouted. Park Joo-Hyuk was nearby, so he blocked Ukama's path. Ukama’s staff and his sword collided.
"Get out of here!" Park Joo-Hyuk shouted.
The staff hit the sword upward as their weapons clashed, leaving both their torsi open. Ukama's mouth opened wide, and his elongated tongue stretched toward Park Joo-Hyuk’s neck.
Clang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
A bullet had pierced through Ukama’s tongue precisely. The devil screamed in agony and stepped back. Park Joo-Hyuk took this opportunity to stab the devil’s chest with his sword.
Splash—!
"Keugh…!" Ukama gasped in pain.
Ukama swung his sword half a second later than the sword and struck Park Joo-Hyuk’s arm.
"Ugh!" Park Joo-Hyuk groaned.
Feeling numb in his left arm, Park Joo-Hyuk frowned, glanced behind him, and saw demonic beasts approaching.
"Why are there so many of them?" Park Joo-Hyuk muttered.
Natasha, too, changed her mind upon seeing them.
'Should I quickly kill him and deal with the main body?'
Natasha believed that they could quickly defeat the demon if she worked with Joo-Hyuk, and they both used their unique abilities. However, they would then not have enough strength left to deal with the main body.
'What should we do...'
Bababam!
A distant explosion resounded, capturing Park Joo-Hyuk and Natasha's attention. They both turned their heads skyward, where a light was gathering to form a sphere. The scene made them chuckle.
"I was overthinking it," Natasha muttered.
Natasha had momentarily forgotten that she had a Great Wizard comrade.
Babababam—!
A purple tentacle hit the translucent barrier in the sky. A massive cluster of light gathered above Para McMatain’s head in the meantime. Para regretted not using his full combat power to kill the devil the second he had seen it.
'He is continually growing stronger. How strong can he become?'
The muscle mass had grown to the size of a house, accompanied by sprouting tentacles and swarming minions. This menacing sight made even Para McMatain cautious. Initially, he believed that continually damaging the creature would weaken it, but he soon realized his mistake. Instead of weakening, the creature grew stronger at an accelerated rate, leaving Para McMatain feeling uneasy.
"Group up!" Para McMatain ordered, looking at the light clusters.
A massive cluster of light formed in the sky, seemingly the gathering of all the light in Mayotte, and continued to grow. Thinking about the damage the sphere could cause, Ronaz hurriedly reduced his size. Meanwhile, the light sphere continued to expand, illuminating the surroundings brilliantly.
"Explode!" Para McMatain ordered.
The light sphere exploded and sent light shards flying in all directions.
Babababam—!
White light covered the entire space, instantly vaporizing hundreds of demons surrounding them. Ronaz, who had been facing off against Para, concealed itself.
"I won't let you escape," Para McMatain muttered.
Many light fragments dug deep into the ground suddenly, trembled, and erupted in a dazzling explosion.
Kwaaaaaah―!
With Para as the center, a light wave spread in all directions, leaving the ground shaking.
"Keuakk!"
Para McMatain turned his gaze toward the sound. He was alarmed to find Ronaz, now in human form, coughing up blood on the ground there.
‘Finally, it's over.’
Debris from the once-immaculate buildings was everywhere now. The dust clouds obscured Para’s vision, but that wasn’t too big of a problem. He preached atop a destroyed building, materialized a revolving arrow of white light, and sent it flying toward Ronaz, who had collapsed on the floor.
Thunk!
The arrow impaled Ronaz’s head; he stopped moving. Confirming the absence of a pulse, Para dispelled the protective barrier enveloping him. He had used too much mana this time, leaving him with overwhelming fatigue.
"Well then, for the remaining demons—" Para McMatain muttered.
The second Para had turned, hundreds of tentacles had emerged from the building’s wreckage, darting toward him with an eerie and unsettling force.
'How did they...?'
Bewildered, Para barely had time to react as the tentacles tried to ensnare him. Para couldn’t sense Ronaz at all in the debris. The attack shouldn’t have been this powerful if it had come from the demon buried under all that rubble. Still, it wasn’t powerful enough to worry him.
‘Tsk.’
Clicking his tongue, Para McMatain immediately activated Transcendence. It would not last more than a few seconds, but he thought it should be enough. The tentacles slowed down for him, but only for a second before accelerating again.
'No way...!'
Para was surprised, and the tentacles swarmed him. Ronaz soon appeared from the debris.
“Kekeke…” Ronaz laughed at Para McMatain.
Suddenly, a something slimy and muscle-like flew out from the gaps between the rubble. The strange stuff forgathered, now resembling a human.
"At last, I've captured you, human wizard," Ronaz said, looking at Para McMatain, smirking.
"How though... How is this even possible?" Para McMatain looked confused.
"You don't need to know that because you'll die now and become my nourishment. You look delicious," Ronaz said.
Ronaz extended his long, dark tongue and licked its lip. Para couldn’t help but feel wronged. Ronaz could freely exchange power with the subordinates he had created. Even in his fragmented state amidst the debris, Ronaz's fleshy chunks had gathered all his scattered power from around the island, rapidly increasing his strength and enabling him to launch a surprise attack on Para.
‘I almost died.’
Para’s staggering magical power had truly overwhelmed Ronaz. He had replenished his strength by absorbing the challengers and soldiers who had arrived from a foreign country in the southern part of Mayotte. That had given him enough strength to execute a sudden and unexpected attack on Para.
Ronaz was under Astaroth as a commander-class devil, but his prowess rivaled those of a low-rank Great Devil. The near-death experience had heightened Ronaz's sense of vigilance. He now wanted to absorb this wizard’s power to fully recover his strength and summon the forces of the demon realm.
"Then, I will enjoy my meal!" Ronaz said with excitement.
***
When Para McMatain’s sphere had exploded, seemingly killing Ronaz, everyone had cheered. Even those criticizing Lee Shin for not properly retaliating against them after allying with the Empire were left with no choice but to stay silent after witnessing that scene. After all, absorbing Para’s tremendous combat power had allowed them to deal with the demonic threat.
"Ah... No!"
However, the cheers didn’t last long. Para had failed to comprehend the devil’s abilities fully and fell into danger from a sudden attack. Sighs of distress slipped out from people. Even the Angels, who had been watching Earthlings attack the devils with stiff expressions, now wore serious looks on their faces. Sikael, in particular, thought that the wizard should have been the one to kill the devil.
‘Ronaz... He has become stronger while I was not paying attention to him.’
Even with his power restricted, Ronaz displayed strength that indicated that he would pose a significant threat after regaining his full power. Especially considering the class of the Great Wizard, Para McMatain, the complete release of Ronaz's restraints did not seem impossible.
- Mr. Para!
- Krukh…! Don't come here!
Many demons had already disappeared and the others in the area were rushing toward Rona. However, Para, who could guess the nature of Ronaz's ability, tried to stop them.
- Krukh...!
Already exhausted from dealing with the demons, the exhausted challengers got caught by Ronaz, who appeared from under the ground. He began draining their strength.
- What is this? Get... away from me!
Aphzal Tashi tried to use her strength to tear off the tentacle around here, but that didn’t work. As Ronaz began to absorb Para's power, his restraints rapidly unraveled.
"Honey!" Ethan shouted as he watched that sight with fear.
"Darn it! We need to make our move now!" Vergo, the British ranker, stepped forward as if he could no longer stand still.
Ethan followed suit.
"Did I not tell you?"
Woong—!
Bam—!
A long lance fell from the sky. Vergo and Ethan hesitated to move as the lance had fallen inches away from them.
"You are still in a conversation with me," the Angel said.
Crack—!
The lance had shattered Vergo’s sunglasses; they fell. The lance had fallen so close to him that it had scratched his nose, making blood droplets appear on his nose.
"These darn pests...!" Vergo shouted.
Vergo could not hold any longer as he was outraged. He activated his mana, while Ethan transformed into his bear form.
"You are making foolish choices, humans," the Angel said.
The Angels flew around, surrounding the challengers there. They then pointed their lances at the ground, seemingly ready to throw it if they crossed the line.
"Do not cross the line," warned the Angel.
"You have crossed the line, not us," Cha Yu-Min replied.
Cha Yu-Min transformed into his shadow form. The dark shadow enveloped Cha Yu-Min, and he pointed his blade toward the sky. The Angels and the humans were now in death lock.
- Clang!
A new figure was detected in the Heavenly Gaze. A man who appeared through Yu Jia's black hole adjusted his sunglasses and took out a firearm.
"Who is that person...?"
A long-range Sniper Rifle assembled itself haphazardly in midair. Then, a bluish mana wrapped itself around it.
- Bang!
Blue and purple mana rotated wildly, enveloping the bullet. A light beam cut through the air and flew toward Ronaz, who hovered in front of Para McMatain, defenseless.
- Oh no...!
Ronaz tried to create a thick shell to block the bullet quickly, but it was a mistake. When the bullet touched the demonic power, it dispersed without exerting its power and vanished.
- Kaugh!
The bullet pierced Ronaz and crumbled down.
- Bababam—!
At the same time, the golden bullet hit Ronaz's body accurately, which had been suppressing the others. The sniper, satisfied with the successful shots, raised his sunglasses as white smoke floated up from the muzzle. He glanced at the result with a light smile.
- Indeed, Lee Shin was not in his right mind.
Satisfied with the potency of his bullet, Laurent leaped over the building and walked toward where the challengers were. Seeing Laurent's face, the Earth's challengers erupt again into enthusiastic cheers.