Chapter 138. The Demon King’s Army, Descends (2)
…..Thwack!
The disguise was undone.
Crossing from the Abandoned Land into the human world.
With a faint hope, it had been hidden.
This was the moment all those masks were cast aside.
Chrrrrrk!
The Demon Queen of two generations prior, Artanis, descended upon the royal capital after 300 years. Her signature chain dress gleamed, letting out a chilling ominous sound.
The Four Heavenly Kings followed suit.
The Blood Flame Heavenly King, Asurat, drew his serrated blade.
The six ice blades raised by Sirgi pointed at the statue of the Archangel.
Beside them, Baal flexed all his muscles and roared,
“Baal will fight! Will smash!”
At the sight, the citizens of the royal capital gulped and thought, Whoa, that physique…
Everyone’s admiration soon turned into cheers.
“........Wooooaaah!”
The people of the royal capital erupted in excitement.
They had already been roused to cheers by the well-timed agitation(?) of Kim Jangcheol. Witnessing this unexpected, grand transformation, no one felt fear or rejection.
Rather, it was astonishing.
It was majestic.
It was overwhelming.
Such a visual feast was a first in their lives.
Moreover, those who revealed themselves so grandly were the very ones who would protect the capital and its people from the destructive rampage of the statue.
They couldn’t help but cheer.
And it wasn’t just the citizens.
The soldiers of the capital defense force, who had rushed to the scene due to the sudden catastrophe, also cheered. Soldiers who had thought they’d have to charge at a monstrous statue with only spears and shields were even more elated.
“Waaahhh!”
We don’t have to fight anymore!
We don’t have to charge at that monstrous statue!
We can go home safely today, get nagged by our wives, and kiss our kids on the forehead!
“Hurrah! Hurrah!”
“Glory to the demons!”
“Please defeat the statue of the Archangel!”
Even the royal guards, who had been pushed forward by the king earlier, felt the same.
Thus, everyone in the royal capital became one.
From the citizens to the soldiers and royal guards.
Even the prominent nobles.
All sent enthusiastic cheers and support to Kim Jangcheol and his companions, who had revealed their true forms.
Everyone except for Zephyros.
‘Is this… really happening?’
No matter how he looked at it, none of this seemed sane or normal.
We are demons, after all. This is the royal capital of the human world.
The people and soldiers of the capital were cheering for the demons, who had descended to defeat the statue made to repel invading demons.
“.........”
It was confusing.
His head felt like it was going to break.
Amid this bizarre frenzy, Zephyros let out a deep sigh, being the only one who still maintained rational thought.
But now wasn’t the time for reasonable objections.
They had to somehow overcome this crisis.
‘And my duty is… to not forsake the responsibility of recording this moment.’
He had already pulled out his notebook and pen from his breast pocket.
As he diligently recorded the actions of the Demon King and the others, Zephyros’s eyes shone with determination.
Meanwhile, Kim Jangcheol and his companions had already begun their assault on the statue.
Thud!
He stamped the ground.
His body, which had regained the true form of the Demon King Credos, surged forward with far more explosive momentum than before.
‘First, immobilize its movements.’
Kim Jangcheol’s eyes glowed.
He swiftly approached the statue as it raised a foot to stomp him.
Boom!
A massive kick shook the plaza.
But Kim Jangcheol was already gone from that spot. Instead, he had prepared a small gift for the statue trying to crush him.
‘Thorns of Punishment!’
Crunch!
Kim Jangcheol also stomped hard on the plaza floor.
At that moment, a skill he had once activated during the collapse of the massive underground warehouse in Daparachia triggered again after a long time.
Crash, crash, crash, crash!
From the point where he had planted his foot, dozens of massive crimson blood spears erupted in a fan shape. They mercilessly stabbed into the foot of the statue that had just stomped the plaza.
[.......!]
The statue’s eyes widened.
Like stepping on a Lego piece while getting a drink at midnight—a fierce, unexpected pain!
Flinching at the unforeseen counterattack, the statue recoiled.
At that moment, the Archbishop who had joined to assist Kim Jangcheol shouted urgently.
“Sir Kim Jangcheol! You must not completely destroy the statue!”
“........Why not!”
“If it’s destroyed beyond a certain threshold, the statue will attempt to self-destruct!”
“Whaaat?”
“So, you must only subdue it.”
“...Oh, come on! This is going to be a hassle!”
Kim Jangcheol grumbled and signaled everyone. Hearing the Archbishop’s shout, everyone nodded in understanding.
That was when it began.
The companions trying to subdue the statue.
The statue trying to crush them.
A destructive dance unfolded between the two sides.
Whooong!
The statue and greatswords danced.
Striking down, sweeping, stabbing.
Swinging, lifting, slashing.
Stomping, kicking, sweeping again.
Tap!
The group responded in perfect coordination.
Asurat’s serrated blade roared, drawing the statue’s attention and provoking attacks.
Sirgi’s ice blades shimmered with cold, slicing across the statue’s body in dazzling arcs, infusing it with frost.
Hector’s aura sword unleashed blinding flashes, though he overlapped paths with Sirgi and received a round of scolding glares.
Kim Jangcheol responded in turn, spilling blood to summon Bloody Lightning and stomping the ground to restrain the statue’s movement with the Thorns of Punishment.
Artanis unleashed the chains of her dress at full power. Hundreds of chains, like venomous snakes, shot out and bound the statue’s legs below the knees.
Archbishop Rephelon blessed the former Demon King’s chains. Empowered by his holy power, the chains held firm against the statue’s strength, refusing to break.
Finally, Baal roared.
“Baal loved youuuu!”
Thwack!
Charging, tears streaming from Baal’s eyes!
His glistening gaze lovingly captured the statue’s form.
And he thought,
I, Baal, had kissed someone’s cheek for the first time in my life. Statue, you beautiful being, you were my first love. But fate has torn us apart like this.
Suppressing his sorrowful feelings,
All the more, he stamped the ground with greater force,
And leapt at the bound statue with all his might—headbutt!
Boom!
It was the finishing blow.
The statue, its legs tightly bound by chains. Its entire body hardened by the creeping cold. Its soles stabbed awkwardly by the Thorns of Punishment.
At that moment, when Baal delivered the full-force headbutt, the statue’s body tilted backward.
[ ......! ]
The statue’s eyes widened.
It desperately tried to regain its balance.
But that wasn’t easy.
Because of its enormous size.
Because of its great weight.
Once its balance was lost, it couldn’t easily be recovered!
[ ......! ]
The statue of the Archangel sensed it instinctively.
If it fell now, it would be the end.
The moment it toppled, they would rush in to bind and restrain it even further. Once completely subdued, it would never rise again.
That, it refused.
[... Uoooo!]
The statue, which had been falling backward, struggled desperately. Twisting its waist, it stabbed the greatsword behind itself, toward the ground.
Kwaaaang—!
The greatsword plunged into the ground at an angle.
Thanks to this, the statue’s tilting motion paused for a moment.
Like leaning on a staff.
As if it had narrowly avoided a falling accident.
…..The moment Kim Jangcheol saw this, he wore a wicked smile.
“No chance!”
He had already anticipated such a move from the statue.
Preparations for this very moment had long been in place.
Kwaahk!
Kim Jangcheol tensed his lower abdomen.
And shouted with all his might.
“Bountiful harvest! Blessing!”
The moment his shout echoed out,
A space opened above. A massive chair, bristling with dozens of farming tools, and a millstone fell like meteors.
They were aimed squarely at the center of the greatsword’s blade, the one the statue was leaning on like a staff.
Kwaang! Kwatung!
The chair, carrying tons of force, struck the center of the blade. Immediately after, the falling millstone slammed into the same spot again, like a meteor.
Both strikes hit the blade’s weakest point.
Pinpoint strikes, precisely into the side of the blade.
And that was enough.
……Chzzk?
A small crack appeared on the blade.
Normally, such a crack would never have formed. Even with the immense weight of the farming chair and millstone, they would have done no more than scratch the massive greatsword’s blade.
But now, things were different.
The blade was precariously bearing the full weight of the statue—no less than 1,200 tons.
At that critical moment, the farming chair and millstone struck precisely at the blade’s side.
The result was a tiny flaw.
That flaw bore the load of 1,200 tons.
The crack became a fissure.
The fissure expanded further.
It spread rapidly across the entire blade.
Finally.
……Crack!
The greatsword shattered into pieces.
With the greatsword gone, the statue’s balance collapsed.
[ ......! ]
Unable to hold itself up any longer, the statue fell. And no chance to rise was given to it again.
“Release!”
The moment Kim Jangcheol shouted,
Artanis’s seal artifact was undone.
……Crack!
Her gaze changed as she was freed from the seal.
Her level, once slightly above Kim Jangcheol’s at 730, surged to a staggering 1,980. She unleashed an overwhelming aura befitting that power throughout her entire body.
Kwaaahk!
She landed harshly atop the statue’s fallen forehead.
As soon as she landed, she swung a flail formed from her chains.
Thunk!
[ ...... ]
With a single blow, the statue’s consciousness began to fade.
Through the haze of its dimming awareness, a voice called out.
“Lady Artanis! You must strike gently! Only enough to knock it unconscious!”
“.....Understood.”
Thwack!
[......!]
A lie.
That’s “gentle”?
Ridiculous.
At this rate... I’m going to break apart, aren’t I?
Kwaaaang!
The statue of the Archangel could feel it as the blows rained down.
The one delivering these tremendous strikes.
It could never defeat this opponent.
It had already lost even its greatsword.
Bang!
[ .....! ]
Its life flashed before its eyes.
Yes. It remembered the time of its birth.
The days when countless sculptors shaped its body. During those days, it had wished fervently. That the sculptors would bestow upon it a weapon worthy of its fame.
And that wish had been fulfilled.
It had received the world’s largest and most beautiful greatsword.
It had been overjoyed.
It had been happy.
It had felt as though it had gained everything in the world.
But thanks to that… now it felt as though it had lost everything in the world.
[ ……. ]
Ah, my greatsword.
The world’s largest and most beautiful greatsword.
My most cherished companion.
Today, I have lost you.
And here I lie, so powerless.
Without you… is there any reason for me to go on living?
Kwaaaang!
[ ....... ]
It hurt.
It was miserable and sorrowful.
What did I ever do wrong to deserve this?
And why were the humans cheering so much as it was being beaten?
If this is living, maybe I should just—
[Should I just... self-destruct??]
The statue murmured sadly at that moment.
This one is so exciting! I'm waiting for further interaction between Aged Kimchi and Kim Jangcheol!
I really enjoy reading this, and I adore the loyalty Credos' people held to him!