Chapter 282: Chapter 282

Chapter 282: Ranking Battle (2)

The spectator seats where the 72 Lords were located.

A massive crystal sphere rose above the training ground.

Inside it, the figures of each participant were being projected in real-time.

One Demon Lord let out a groan.

It was the video of the Machine Human A-4’s zone.

The crystal sphere illuminated A-4’s zone.

The Machine Human with steel skin was confronting a Corrupted Spirit.

Acidic tentacles cut through the empty air. It did not dodge. No, there was no need to dodge.

The Machine Human’s joints bent grotesquely and flowed between the tentacles.

Like water, like wind. It was a movement imbued with the instinct of a lifeform that artificial muscles could not create.

One Demon Lord leaned forward.

The Machine Human’s palm touched the Corrupted Spirit’s chest. Lightly. As if dusting off dust.

The Corrupted Spirit’s chest exploded from the inside. Acidic bodily fluids splattered in all directions, and only an empty hole remained where the heart should have been.

“It’s Internal Energy Release.”

Someone let out an exclamation.

“As expected of A-4. They say the martial arts of Galaxy Humans were transplanted after thousands of years of honing.”

“With that level, a top ranking is certain.”

Admiration burst out from here and there in the spectator seats.

Battles were erupting frantically in all directions.

A Machine Human with steel skin was tearing off a Corrupted Spirit’s acidic tentacles, and next to it, an unidentified chimera was biting off another participant’s neck.

‘Damn it, my proxy already…….’

Looks as if they had chewed on shit bloomed on the Demon Lords’ faces.

The difficulty was at an insane level.

First off, the attributes corresponding to the fragments were just too diverse.

‘Crazy, how many attributes are there.’

One Demon Lord ground his teeth.

Water, fire, wind, earth. Just the basic 4 elements were overwhelming, but all sorts of attributes were pouring out randomly.

In A-4’s zone, fragments of light burned the participant’s retina, and in C-3, the energy of chaos completely twisted space itself.

The most vicious was the mental attack.

Cannot be seen. Cannot be blocked either.

One participant, who was standing fine, suddenly slit their own throat.

There was also one who fell into hallucinations and mistook a colleague for an enemy.

“……How are they supposed to respond to all of that?”

Even if they were granted the Demon Lords’ authorities, responding to all attributes was close to impossible.

Inside the mirror, it was literal chaos.

Especially when supplies dropped, it was even more so.

In another zone, three people were tangled fighting over a single supply box. The sounds of blood splattering and bones breaking were vividly transmitted through the crystal sphere.

Proxies whose eyes had completely turned due to hunger.

Eventually, all three collapsed, and the supply box was taken by a passing third party.

Groans burst out from all over the spectator seats.

Especially the expressions of the Demon Lords whose proxies died early were a spectacle.

It was a natural reaction since the talents they had painstakingly raised over decades were dying off one by one.

“The Ranking Battle rules say Lords shouldn't fight, not that proxies shouldn't fight.”

Someone’s cynical muttering.

It wasn't incomprehensible.

But understanding doesn't mean anger disappears.

Amidst that pandemonium, there were six participants who stood out exceptionally.

The viewpoint of the crystal sphere switched.

Machine Human ‘A-4’ utilizing powerful martial arts.

Observer ‘Omnia’ with a thousand eyes. Vampire ‘Kara’ serving the Blood Lord. A tentacle mage crawled out of the abyss, and a corrupted angel.

“……Who the hell is that bastard?”

Proxy of the 72nd Demon Lord, Vulcan.

A Demon Lord who saw the video let out a groan.

Where his gaze turned was the Extreme Heat Zone.

A hellscape where lava boiled and the atmosphere itself was burning. A land of death where all water elements evaporated.

As the silver-haired woman in the crystal sphere reached out, a stream of water poured down from the empty air.

Having quenched his thirst as if drinking water trickling down from a valley, he was advancing nonchalantly.

Belzeus ground his teeth.

He was someone deeply versed in magic even among the 72 Lords.

He knew the characteristics of the Extreme Heat Zone better than anyone.

“Water elements themselves don't exist there. Moisture in the atmosphere all evaporates, and mana's water attribute gets devoured by fire and disappears. To use water magic, the caster must create the element directly…….”

That wasn't the realm of an ordinary mage.

Creating an element where there is no element.

That was a task difficult even for himself to attempt.

A feat a mage could only attempt if they dared to hold at least the title of Great Mage.

‘Furthermore, even my proxy can’t do it?’

Belzeus’s voice trembled.

The Lich he had raised over hundreds of years.

An existence standing at the peak of high-ranking Necromancers.

That Lich was currently stamping his feet in the Extreme Heat Zone. Trying to create water above the hot lava, but only weak moisture gathering was all.

Even that evaporated like smoke repeatedly.

“……It’s not just that water elements are scarce. They’re completely dried up.”

Mages in other zones were the same.

Trying to use magic in an environment where attributes were suppressed only to fail, eventually relying on physical means or just using the same attribute and getting devoured by the attribute while dying.

But what about Kim Minwoo’s summon?

“It’s chewing up attribute suppression.”

Belzeus’s eyes trembled convulsively.

It was an insane mage. Do extremes meet?

If it's a monster creating water nonchalantly in the Extreme Heat Zone, it could summon fire in Extreme Ice, and wind in No Wind zones.

“……What is that crazy monster?”

Someone’s groan resonated through the spectator seats.

If a mere summon is at that level…….

Just how strong must that human himself be?

Supplies dropped from the empty air of the Extreme Heat Zone.

Inside the mirror, he saw his proxy, the Lich, flashing its eyes.

And on the opposite side.

Even the sight of Kim Minwoo grinning.

“Hey, hey……! Don’t go there! Don’t go……!”

Belzeus shouted desperately.

Since it was a penalty placed by the Demon God himself, he knew the fact that even an undead would feel hunger, sense the scorching heat, and taste the pain of its body melting down in real-time.

So he also knew that it had no choice but to be desperate for supplies.

However, right now in the Extreme Heat Zone…….

‘Some crazy monster bastard is walking around alive!’

Belzeus’s prayer scattered into the empty air.

There was no way the Lich could know of Belzeus’s desperation from so far away. Rippling green flames in its empty eye sockets, it leisurely floated up toward the supplies dropped amidst the lava.

At that moment, the sky on the other side split open.

It was a Fallen Angel.

Six soot-blackened wings cut through the heat as it descended. He was also aiming for the supplies.

With a single supply crate between them.

The Lich, the Fallen Angel, and Kim Minwoo.

The gazes of the three crossed sharply in the empty air.

The crystal sphere clearly projected that tense three-way standoff.

The supplies fell onto the lava.

Three pairs of eyes turned toward it simultaneously.

Green flames rippled in the Lich’s empty eye sockets. That gaze scanned Kim Minwoo. Energy of death. Undead Legion. There was no mistake.

It was the same lineage. But something was strange.

That human’s demeanor was far too relaxed.

Amidst the murderous heat of the Extreme Heat Zone, he stood leisurely without shedding a single drop of sweat, as if he were out for a stroll.

A face where not a trace of hardship could be found.

‘There is something.’

The Lich’s judgment was quick.

It turned its head to exchange glances with the Fallen Angel.

The six soot-blackened wings trembled minutely. Words were unnecessary. Their heads nodded simultaneously.

The proxy who had become the hottest topic in this Ranking Battle.

It wouldn't be too late to fight over the supplies after that.

A spear rose above the Fallen Angel’s hand.

A grotesque shape where light and darkness were tangled.

It was a contradictory weapon where divinity and corruption coexisted.

Simultaneously, the Lich’s finger traced the empty air.

A gloomy curse formed at its fingertips. Death magic honed over hundreds of years. It was black magic that gnawed at the soul the moment it touched.

“You two are attacking together?”

At that moment, Merhen reached out her hand.

There was no incantation.

There was no flashy magic circle.

It was just a pale finger pointing at the empty air.

The Lich’s curse stopped.

The black magic that had formed at its fingertips squirmed and scattered.

The flow of mana was cut. No, it wasn't just cut.

Someone had forcibly blocked it.

The Lich’s eye glint shook violently.

The core of curse magic is the flow of mana.

To read that flow and cut it off, one must understand the essence of magic deeper than the caster.

Merhen’s blue pupils stared at the Lich.

A gentle single word.

Along with that word, an explosion burst out from the Lich’s body.

In the meantime, Kim Minwoo moved.

Cedric’s spear extended like lightning.

Two Dragon Tooth Soldiers dug in from both sides.

A pincer attack, natural like flowing water, poured toward the Fallen Angel.

The Fallen Angel received Cedric’s strike with his spear.

But that was not the end. A sword flew in from the left. Blocked it. Another sword rushed in from the right. Blocked that too.

The problem was what followed.

The moment he extended the spear, the Dragon Tooth Soldier’s joints bent grotesquely. As its body twisted at angles impossible for a human skeleton, the sword that had been blocked instantly transformed into a shield.

The switch between offense and defense took less than a moment.

Two shields received the spear as if deflecting it.

An opening created by an unexpected reaction.

Spear and sword stabbed his shoulder and abdomen in an instant.

The Dragon Tooth Soldier, having changed its form once again, thrust a dagger.

And at a speed double that of before!

Due to the unexpected surprise attack, the dagger grazed his body, and a fountain of blood soared.

[Burning Dragon Poison spreads through the body!]

The Fallen Angel’s eyes were dyed with astonishment.

Energy of chaos rose from his body as if to explode.

Language containing massive power spread to the surroundings.

Due to that repulsive force, Kim Minwoo and the undead horde were bounced backward.

There was no time to vomit bloody coughs.

Before he knew it, the magic of Dragon Tooth Soldiers holding wands was pouring toward his body.

[Dragon Tongue: Bind Command hit!]

[Dragon Tongue: Fatigue Increase hit…….]

His body became heavy as if submerged in water.

Sharp arrowheads had approached right in front of his nose before he realized. He hurriedly thrust his spear to deflect the arrows.

‘Damn it, what the hell are these guys?’

Thought they were swordsmen, but they use shields. Attempt assassination. Use magic. Pull bowstrings.

As if that wasn't enough, even…….

He saw them clasping their hands reverently as if offering a prayer before he knew it.

Even the sight of strange clusters of light pouring onto Kim Minwoo.

Having become much faster, he thrust his sword.

The moment he raised his spear to clash, the guy slightly lowered his sword to deflect the force……

The Angel’s world spun round.

There was no gap to respond. If he read one move, the next move became completely different; what could he respond to?

His upper body, cut off before he realized, was flying through the sky, looking at his empty lower body.

The Fallen Angel, whose body was cut in half, staggered his hand.

Hot heat instantly climbed up his face.

The figure of the Lich, smashed with its whole body broken, was visible.

A monster of a different class.

That was the last sight seen by the Fallen Angel, a powerhouse counted within the top five in this Ranking Battle.