Chapter 402: Chapter 402
On a different battlefield, far from where Hella and the Dragon Marquis faced each other,
…a fierce battle was also raging.
“More abyssal monsters are approaching!”
“Prepare for interception! We have to eliminate as many as possible before they reach our lines!”
“Matriarch! The Dark Nest’s vanguard is also moving!”
The Helheim forces, their defenses firmly established, and the Dark Nest’s army, relentlessly pressing their attack.
Liliana, the Dream Walker Matriarch, who had been overseeing the reorganization of their forces after a recent skirmish, frowned.
Their surprise attack had been successful, allowing them to capture a portion of the enemy’s territory… but the Dark Nest’s counterattacks were relentless.
“Huu, I can’t even see the end of those… persistent pests.”
Several dark rifts, like gaping wounds in the fabric of reality, had appeared, and grotesque, white creatures, their forms defying description, were continuously pouring out of them.
“…They’re so… disgusting. What a… peculiar taste.”
Liliana, a lover of beauty and elegance, couldn't help but feel a surge of revulsion.
[“Let’s go! I smell blood!”]
Twisted and mangled body parts were the least of their… deformities.
A creature with a massive eyeball in place of its head, its surface covered in teeth, a large, rolling sphere composed entirely of heads, and even a monstrous centipede-like creature with multiple human torsos connected end to end, its countless arms writhing and flailing…
Every imaginable combination of body parts, a grotesque mockery of life itself, was being unleashed upon the battlefield.
“They’re getting desperate. Their attacks are becoming more reckless. Well, I suppose it’s understandable. They didn’t expect to be pushed back .”
She chuckled softly and stepped forward.
She couldn’t just stand there and watch. Every bit of strength was needed.
She flicked her wrist, and everything in front of her, caught in the path of her whip, was instantly torn to shreds.
Debris, like flower petals, scattered in the air as she retrieved her whip, a thorny vine-like weapon, and scanned the surroundings, her gaze sharp and focused.
A battlefield, a place where life and death clashed, a crucible where the most intense emotions, both positive and negative, converged and exploded.
But this battlefield… it was different from the ones she was used to.
The quality of the troops, the morale of her allies, the overall situation… everything was different.
‘…I can’t complain about being tired in this situation.’
This was an opportunity she wouldn’t have had otherwise.
If it weren’t for… her, the Dream Walkers would have been devoured by Abnormal or the Dark Nest, their organization dismantled and scattered,
…just like the Fighting Demon Duke’s ‘Burning Inferno’, which was now just a… memory.
‘But the situation has changed.’
She smiled, a beautiful and captivating smile, her hand gently stroking the Queen’s Essence she carried within her robes.
The refinement process, which she had been meticulously overseeing since receiving it, was almost complete.
Perhaps because it was the essence of her direct ancestor, it was progressing faster than she had anticipated.
‘…Once I can fully utilize this…’
The situation would improve significantly.
Not just for her, but for all of Helheim.
And it would also be a great help to Hella, their leader, who was fighting on the front lines.
‘…Well, she doesn’t need my help. She always exceeds expectations.’
After all, Helheim’s recent victories were all thanks to her leadership.
“Victory for Helheim! Glory to Hella-nim!”
And that sentiment was shared by all of Helheim’s forces.
“Victory for Helheim! Glory to Hella-nim!”
“Kill those monsters!”
They charged forward recklessly, their loyalty unwavering, their fervor almost fanatical, their fear of death… non-existent.
A new wind was blowing through the Demon World, disrupting the established order.
A revolutionary force, challenging the Dark Nest’s dominance, their carefully laid plans crumbling.
A deafening roar echoed from the sky above the battlefield.
The sound, a consequence of two powerful forces colliding, their impact distorting the very fabric of space, reverberated across the battlefield.
The demons on the ground, affected by the shockwave, groaned and stumbled, their bodies trembling…
…but the two beings who had caused the commotion didn’t even glance at them.
They couldn’t afford to be distracted.
[“You mongrel! Still playing tricks! Do you really think you’re L’rei’e?!”]
A thunderous roar, a dragon’s Word Soul, and then one of the six eyes of the massive dragon glowed brightly, and hundreds of lightning spears, each several meters long, materialized around it.
They were launched instantly, tearing through the air, their power enough to shred space itself.
“You’re quite impatient, aren’t you? And stop calling me a mongrel. You’re an immigrant yourself.”
Hella, dodging the attack by teleporting through a spatial distortion, grumbled.
She might be a hybrid, but in the Demon World, where countless demon races intermingled, it wasn’t that unusual.
On the contrary, Krushaior, the Dragon Marquis, a dragon who had somehow immigrated to the Demon World and settled down… he was the anomaly.
“You seem to have… broken some rules and fled to the Demon World. Even in the Demon World, it’s not exactly… proper to have a fugitive as the leader, is it? Is that why you’ve been losing?”
A murderous intent, a cold and chilling aura, erupted from his three pairs of eyes.
It seemed like she had hit a nerve.
No one had dared to say such things to him before… but Hella didn’t care about his feelings.
“The truth hurts, doesn’t it? But you have to face reality… Eek!”
She was enjoying herself, her words laced with mockery, when she suddenly had to dodge, folding one of her wings and twisting her body.
A strange wave of energy, barely visible, passed through the space where she had been just moments ago.
Her eyes narrowed as she saw the magic power in that area being… erased, as if it had never existed.
‘…He’s strong. No wonder he’s survived in the Demon World for so long.’
Dragons were naturally adept at manipulating magic, but there were limits.
And he had not only adapted to the Demon World’s energy, transforming his body… but also acquired various unique skills.
He was indeed a worthy opponent, someone who had been considered a potential Demon King for thousands of years.
Her lips twitched, a predatory glint in her crimson eyes, her gaze fixed on the Dragon Marquis.
She hadn’t looked away from him even once during their battle.
A strange vibration, a low hum, emanated from her.
The light around her distorted, the air shimmering and twisting.
The surrounding space, now under her control, began to converge and compress, drawn towards her hand.
‘…I can’t just stand here and watch!’
She had been preparing for this, taunting him and buying time.
She grinned and flicked her wrist, the object in her hand moving like a whip.
…a deafening roar, like a collapsing mountain, and the space around the Dragon Marquis distorted violently.
The sky, the light, the air, gravity, magic power…
…reality itself, twisted and contorted, its fangs bared, lunged towards its target.
A world-altering attack, not just a spatial distortion, but a manipulation of reality itself.
It was a limited-use ability, only possible in the Demon World, where her influence as a Demon King was amplified… but its power was transcendent.
[“…Not bad. You’re strong enough to have killed Sipar.”]
Of course, that only applied if it actually hit him.
Hella smirked and looked towards the direction he had dodged.
His aura seemed to have weakened slightly, but he was still unharmed, his massive body unscathed.
[“Hmph, do you really think I would fall for such a simple trick?”]
He was trying to play it cool, but she wasn’t fooled.
She had noticed that two of his six eyes were now active, and she licked her lips, a predatory glint in her eyes.
‘…One of them is definitely precognitive. But it can’t see very far into the future. Just a few seconds at most.’
But a few seconds was more than enough time for a high-level battle .
It wasn’t an ability he could use recklessly, but it was still a significant advantage.
‘…But even with precognition, he shouldn’t be able to completely avoid that attack. It wasn’t something you could simply… dodge.’
An attack that manipulated the very fabric of reality, the entire space within its range.
It wasn’t something you could avoid by simply moving your body.
‘…He momentarily froze the area where the attack was about to land. It wasn’t a defensive barrier or a nullification effect. Time manipulation?’
Even the ability to freeze a small area for a split second was incredibly powerful.
Combined with precognition… it would explain how he had avoided her attack.
‘…His Eyes of Domination are all so… unique. He couldn’t have awakened them naturally. Which means…’
The ‘mental attack’ eye, which she had tried to use earlier, only to be repelled, the ‘elemental manipulation’ eye that controlled lightning and other elements, and the ‘magic power nullification’ eye that had forced her to deactivate 「Heavenly Demon’s World」…
She had identified five different types of Eyes of Domination.
‘…And he still couldn’t become the Demon King. How powerful were the previous Demon Kings?’
She couldn't help but be impressed.
And how strong were the heroes who had defeated them?
Of course, the Dragon Marquis, having adapted to the Demon World’s energy and undergone demonification, was much stronger here… but that didn’t diminish their achievements.
The battle in the sky continued.
A breath attack, following her movements, was launched the moment she dodged.
She tried to twist its trajectory with spatial manipulation, but his energy, already permeating the area, interfered with her control.
She managed to block the attack and counterattack, disrupting his rhythm… but she couldn’t inflict any significant damage.
Blinding flashes of light, deafening roars, the very air itself trembling and distorting…
The shockwaves occasionally reached the ground, causing casualties among both Helheim and Dark Nest’s forces… but they were too focused on their own battles to notice.
‘…He’s tough. He uses his Eyes of Domination effectively, and his movements are… incredibly skilled.’
She wouldn’t have been able to fight him on equal footing without 「Demon King」 and 「Destroyer」.
She had as much power as him, but her experience and skill were lacking.
He was, after all, a veteran, a Duke-level demon who had reigned supreme in the Demon World for thousands of years.
‘…But it’s not bad. My skills are improving rapidly.’
Fighting such a powerful opponent, combined with the effects of the “Growth Elixir” and other bonuses, was accelerating her growth.
She had gained more experience and skill from this single battle than from all her previous encounters combined.
And her ‘influence as a Demon King’ was constantly increasing…
[“…What have you done, mongrel?!”]
It was no wonder the Dragon Marquis was reacting so strongly.
His opponent was growing stronger even as they fought. It was unsettling.
Had he finally realized that he couldn't afford to drag this out any longer?
He activated his last remaining Eye of Domination.
His six eyes glowed with a purple light, their gaze fixed on Hella.
A high-pitched ringing in her ears, her vision blurring, her body swaying, her wings faltering.
Blood trickled from her eyes, her nose, her ears… every orifice on her face.
And then, she understood.
‘…An instant death eye…?’
An Eye of Domination that could kill with a single glance.
He had been saving it for last, which meant it wasn't an ability he could use recklessly… but its power was undeniable.
‘…Tsk, if only “Instant Death Immunity” had activated…’
But her level was too high. She hadn't been instantly killed.
She coughed up blood, her throat burning, and then steadied herself, flapping her wings to regain her balance.
[“Now you look like you’ve been through a fight. I’ll finish you off this time!”]
He seemed to be… exhausted as well. He didn't immediately follow up with another attack.
But she had clearly taken more damage.
If this continued, she would lose.
She had achieved her initial objective.
Her crimson eyes glowed, a demonic light erupting from within.
Her gaze, which hadn’t left her opponent even once during their battle, was fixed on his six eyes, their pupils glowing with a strange, otherworldly light.
‘…I’ve confirmed all six of his Eyes of Domination. And the method he used to combine them.’
She had sensed it instinctively, the moment their gazes clashed.
That his Eyes of Domination shared a common origin with hers.
The power of the ‘Eye Clan’, inherited from her father, the 13th Demon King, the other half of the 14th Demon King, L’rei’e, a succubus hybrid!
‘…I don’t know how he acquired it…’
He had probably extracted the eyes of six Eye Clan members and transplanted their essence into his own body.
She didn’t need to know the details right now.
The important thing was that his eyes, their structure and their activation mechanism, were identical to hers.
Of course, even with a shared origin, she couldn't just… copy his abilities by looking at them.
And reading his energy flow, deciphering the secrets of a Duke-level demon like him… it was impossible.
But she had a skill that allowed her to bypass all those limitations and achieve the desired result.
《The individual meets the conditions and grows. The special skill “Eyes of Domination” has evolved into “Seven-Colored Eyes of Domination”.》
「Mimicry」, a skill that allowed her to copy any ability she saw.