Chapter 408: Chapter 408

A black mist, like a living shadow, crept towards him, its presence strangely… familiar.

It evoked memories, fleeting images of a dimly lit ceiling before sleep, a childhood fort built from blankets, the warm embrace of a mother…

Darkness, a promise of peace and rest.

A sudden urge, a desire to surrender to the darkness, to embrace the eternal oblivion it offered.

The writhing figures within the mist seemed to beckon him, their outstretched hands like those of long-lost friends.

As he was about to succumb to the alluring darkness,

“Hey! Snap out of it!”

…a rough hand grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, its grip inescapable.

And then, a tendril of black mist, like a shadowy spear, slammed into the spot where he had been just moments ago.

It looked like a harmless puff of smoke… but it had a physical presence, its impact echoing through the hall.

“This guy’s out of it.”

“That thing must be the cause.”

Voices, mixed with the sound of rushing wind, echoed in his ears.

He was still being dragged along, his body limp and unresponsive.

He frowned, his head throbbing, and with a great effort, turned his head to look.

One of Davidson’s heads, its jaws clamped around his collar, was running at full speed.

He gritted his teeth, his head pounding, the world spinning.

He was struggling to resist the urge to surrender to the darkness, his body barely under his control.

“Hey, are you alright?”

“Not really… Damn it, now I understand. He gave me this body for this…? I feel like I’m about to… merge with him… Ugh!”

The black mist… it was the original owner of this body.

He was resisting, his twenty years of… possession giving him a slight advantage… but it wouldn’t last.

Davidson, his three heads frowning, his pace faltering, sensed Ken’s distress.

The black mist was still pursuing them relentlessly.

The temple was massive, its ceiling dozens of meters high… but the black mist, like a rising tide, was quickly engulfing the wide corridor, its presence overwhelming.

Of course, he had tried to fight back.

「Gourmand」 and 「Power of Gluttony」, his unique skills, could devour even intangible concepts.

But there was a… limitation.

‘…It’s not completely ineffective, but it’s too inefficient.’

The black mist, an amorphous entity like smoke, was… too diffuse.

He couldn’t consume it all in one bite.

And it wasn't real smoke, so he couldn’t just… inhale it.

‘…And I can’t just… grow bigger and fight it head-on. It’s not that easy to deal with. Its curses bypass my magic resistance…’

The mist was draining his energy as he devoured it.

And its true target wasn't him, but Ken.

‘…I can’t let him have him.’

He instinctively knew, with a certainty that transcended logic and reason,

…that something… bad would happen if he let the mist absorb Ken.

That was why he was running, avoiding a direct confrontation.

“Hey, do you know why he’s here?”

“Hmm… It seems like he was… betrayed by the Dragon Marquis. I don’t know the details.”

“Snort! That’s not very helpful!”

“…Sorry. I’m barely holding on. If I lose focus, I’ll be… consumed.”

He already had a suspicion about the mist’s identity.

The one who had caused chaos in the Demon World by suddenly disappearing.

Tanuin, the 15th Demon King.

‘…If he’s imprisoned here… it must be related to that apostle who visited the Dragon Marquis.’

Davidson, having deciphered the scriptures on the walls using 「Xenoglossy」, had also identified this place.

‘…He’s quite diligent. To think he even established a base here.’

A temple dedicated to the god imprisoned in the abyss.

Of course, it wasn't a newly constructed temple.

It was simply… connected to the Demon World through a portal, a hidden entrance.

The door behind the pillar.

‘…The Dragon Marquis must have cooperated… but it’s still impressive. And he actually managed to… subdue a Demon King and turn him into that…’

He wondered what the Demon God, the ruler of the Demon World, was doing.

Unlike the fallen god, who was now resorting to any means necessary, the Demon God, a true deity, was bound by rules and regulations.

Ken gasped as a black tendril, like a shadowy whip, lashed out at them.

Davidson quickly dodged and bit it off, but the black mist that dispersed as the tendril was severed still had an effect on them.

Ken’s body twitched, his bones cracking and popping as he struggled to suppress the encroaching darkness.

Davidson, glancing at him, frowned.

The curse was eroding his smooth fur, causing it to fall out in clumps.

‘…This isn’t good. I need a plan.’

He wasn’t very effective against incorporeal entities.

He could endure it with his regenerative abilities… but Ken was already at his limit.

He had to do something before he was completely consumed.

But how could he possibly fight a former Demon King who had become a… sentient curse?

‘…Is Hans the only option? He should be able to handle it…’

But there was a… potential problem.

This was the Human God’s temple.

Even a fallen god would still have some… connection to this place.

He would be able to… monitor the situation.

‘…He might even be… scanning this place in detail.’

He wasn’t too worried about being observed in his current ‘Davidson Mode’, his power and abilities restricted, his 「Seed of Madness」 suppressed…

…but he didn’t want to reveal Hans’s true power to the Immortal King, his greatest enemy in Auterica.

‘…And Hans’s “Immortal Heart” is derived from the fallen god’s divine power. He might… reclaim it.’

As he was pondering his options,

…a thought, a sudden realization, flashed through his mind.

Tanuin, the 15th Demon King, having lost his physical body and his soul corrupted, had become a curse itself.

His power and his level were still incredibly high… but his identity, his very being, had been… redefined.

His three heads, and the minds of his other avatars, began working in unison, calculating and analyzing, considering various possibilities.

High probability of success.

Proceed with the plan.

Tanuin, who had become the 15th Demon King after overcoming countless trials and tribulations.

But even after achieving his long-awaited goal, he couldn't relax.

He knew about the Dragon Marquis Krushaior’s schemes, his attempts to eliminate L’rei’e, the 14th Demon King.

After all, he had been involved in the plan himself, back when he was also a Duke.

But eliminating a former rival who had already surrendered… it wouldn't look good.

It would make him seem… weak, afraid of a potential threat.

So, he had been waiting for an opportunity, a suitable excuse…

…and Krushaior, sensing his intentions, had made the first move.

He had come to him, offering a valuable tribute.

It was an offer he couldn’t refuse.

A fragment of a god’s power!

Tanuin, having acquired a semi-divine status as the Demon King, instantly recognized its value.

Divine power, a fragment of a god’s essence, a being equal to, or perhaps even greater than, the Demon God.

If he could absorb it, his long-cherished ambition…

…his desire to… sever the heavens, a dream he had harbored since he first looked up at the Demon World’s sky…

…might finally be within his reach.

Of course, he hadn’t just… absorbed it without any precautions.

It was a gift from Krushaior, the Dragon Marquis, his greatest rival, after all.

He had used his authority as the Demon King to thoroughly examine it, testing its properties and preparing various countermeasures.

If Krushaior tried anything funny, he would eliminate him, once and for all.

And finally, when he was certain that he could absorb the divine fragment without any adverse effects, thanks to his semi-divine status…

[“Khehe— Your greed has led to your downfall, Tanuin!”]

And then, something unexpected happened.

The divine fragment… it wasn't… ownerless.

“Krushaior! You bastard!”

The fragment, through the apostle’s prayers, connected to its owner, an unknown god.

And Tanuin, who had absorbed it, was also connected.

He was also a semi-divine being, having acquired his own divinity as the Demon King… but his greed had backfired. He had been overwhelmed by a far greater divine power before he could even adapt to his own.

“Do you think you can defeat me?!”

But he wasn't one to go down without a fight.

He was Tanuin, the 15th Demon King, a survivor of countless battles, a veteran of the Demon World’s endless wars.

He scattered his essence across the Demon World, preventing them from acquiring anything from him, and transformed his soul into a curse, a lingering resentment directed at his enemies.

[“…Tanuin, you’re useless even in death.”]

He had disrupted their plans, but the apostle and the Dragon Marquis didn't give up.

They had invested a valuable divine fragment. They couldn't just… let it go to waste.

They continued with their other plans, while also gathering the scattered fragments of Tanuin’s essence, hoping to extract his power.

To transplant the Demon King’s power into Krushaior’s body, just like they had done with Ken.

[“It doesn’t matter if the Demon God doesn’t acknowledge me! I’ll become the Demon King myself!”]

If he could acquire a Demon King’s body and establish his influence over the Demon World…

…he would become the Demon King, regardless of the Demon God’s will.

And so, centuries passed.

The Demon World was plunged into chaos, as planned, and Krushaior, the Dragon Marquis, gathered the remnants of the 15th Demon King and prepared for the ritual.

And then, one day, he heard an interesting story.

About otherworlders, beings who defied the laws of this world.

And shortly after that, Earthlings, including Ken, began to be kidnapped and transported to the Demon World.

Countless warning messages flashed across his HUD.

Hesperon, clad in his full Titan suit, quickly checked the details.

-Energy Detected: 326,711,730

-Energy signature equivalent to a Terra-class starship’s reactor. Initiate emergency escape sequence.

He couldn't help but exclaim.

A Terra-class starship was a massive vessel, over a kilometer long.

A pinnacle of futuristic technology, capable of warp travel and equipped with powerful weapons and energy shields.

‘…That much energy… in a single individual?’

And that was after it had been… weakened and fragmented.

It was an absurd level of power, even considering that this was the Demon World.

The tremors grew stronger, closer.

Hesperon, his body tense, took a deep breath and completed his final preparations.

A metallic clang, and the Titan armor covering his right arm detached and vanished into thin air.

Only his bare arm, wrapped in bandages with strange symbols, remained.

He looked down at his right hand, its appearance almost… frail compared to the rest of his armored body.

And then, a hollow scream, a chilling wail, echoed in his ears.

He looked up, and a three-headed dog, a demon dangling from its jaws, was standing before him.

The bandages unwrapped themselves, coiling around his arm like snakes.

And then, a black, dragon-shaped tattoo, covering his entire arm, began to… move.

But it wasn’t an ordinary tattoo.

As if to prove his point, the dragon, its scales shifting and shimmering, suddenly erupted from his skin, accompanied by a burst of black flames.

The 「Right Arm of Longing」, which had been dormant until now.

The Black Flame Dragon within, its eyes burning with a fierce intensity, began to grow in size.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Now then…”

He couldn’t defeat the ‘Demon King-level curse’ with his current power.

The difference in their levels was too vast. If he fought it head-on, he would be absorbed and erased, along with Hesperon, his host.

But with this ability…

…the situation was different.

Hesperon was immune to all curses.