Chapter 320: The Clash Approaches (7)

"A god's power?"

"Huu..."

Ye-Eun gave the duke a deathly glare and raised the weapons on her four pairs of hands. Then, without a word, she charged forward.

"Earth sure has many absurd talents!"

"Haa!"

After a short spirited shout, Ye-Eun's twin daggers dug into the duke's stomach. The duke spat out a mouthful of blue blood, which splattered on Ye-Eun's body. She should have been able to dodge it, but she received it with a grin. While I was watching them with a shocked face, the duke laughed heartily while in pain.

"Can you not feel our energy overflowing in this area? How pitiful, you'll follow after the Hero soon!"

"Huu."

The three pairs of arms formed of aura each used their weapons in hand. One restrained the duke with black chains, one struck him with an iron mace, one sliced down with a greatsword, one stabbed with a trident, one crushed him with a shield, and one beat him with a staff.

"Lost your consciousness, I see."

The duke clicked his tongue and flew back while avoiding Ye-Eun's follow-up attacks. Seeing his wounds slowly regenerate, Ye-Eun's brows twitched.

"Indeed, it's difficult to nullify a god's power. But it looks like you only recently obtained that power. Don't think you can defeat me, Greenhorn. Moreover...!"

When the duke snapped his finger, his blood splattered on Ye-Eun's body began to shine with an ominous light.

"It's probably best to cut down a talent before it can grow! His Highness Demon Lord is enough as the final candidate!"

"Kuaaaaaa!"

Ye-Eun screamed. Damn it, why didn't you dodge his blood!? What should I do about that curse? I sacked my brain but couldn't come up with an answer. I just hoped her god's power would help her withstand it. Since I had a few Elixirs, as long as she survived, I could do something about it.

For the record, although I wasn't injured, I wasn't critically injured. Dortu was protecting me, and I had used Sky God's Play to shrink my body and escape. The injury was from the explosion I couldn't dodge because I couldn't take the armor off. Other than that, I was in a better condition than the duke who was injured by Ye-Eun.

Currently, I was using World Trickery to hide my presence from the duke. I planned to attack the duke at a critical time when Ye-Eun attacked him, but because Ye-Eun was cursed, that plan was out the window.

My plan now was to charge toward Ye-Eun with an Elixir when the curse activated. I believed she wouldn't die. I had already experienced it once. The explosion was indeed formidable, but the energy enveloped Ye-Eun was even more formidable. Just whose true name did she acquire!? Even Shiva's power was reacting...

"Goodbye, female warrior! I'll remember your spirit!"

"Kuhaaat!"

Like what he did to me before, he reached out his hands toward Ye-Eun in a claw-like manner. That was the trigger that activated the curse!

However, at that moment, one of the duke's arms exploded instead of Ye-Eun.

"KUhuk!?"

"Hehe."

Ye-Eun laughed like a child and stabbed two daggers into him. She moved so quickly that I barely caught her in my eyes. The duke spat out a mouthful of blood, but he should now know his blood would have no effect on Ye-Eun.

Now that I looked at her, the blood on her was gone. I was doubtful at first, but it seemed she really returned the curse to the duke!

Right, she was using a god's power. Although she might have lost a bit of her sanity, she shouldn't have forgotten what happened to me. The moment she activated her god's true name, she had grasped her power accurately and returned the favor to the duke! Though I didn't know what power her true name had, it was undoubtedly powerful!

In any case, I was glad that Ye-Eun was safe.

"Kuk, you took my blood on purpose!"

There was no answer. Ye-Eun once again charged toward the duke with her Yasha-like pairs of arms, and the duke grabbed his armless shoulder with the one hand he had and ran away.

Along the duke's trail, thousands of balls of mana appeared and shot towards Ye-Eun, but she easily destroyed them with the weapons in her hands. However, they were enough to buy him time, and the duke was murmuring something to himself as though to cast a spell.

This was my time to move. I couldn't just leave things to Ye-Eun. However, before I could do anything, the space around me began to shine. Atop this sunlightless gloomy land, only the space around me was shining!

'What's happening?'

I looked around in confusion and soon realized what was happening. There was something shining. Though rather absurd, what was shining were the hundreds of thousands of fragments of the exploded Pure Black Desire. But these weren't mere fragments. They were drenched with the blood and flesh of the elite demons that attacked me before.

These remains of the demons were also shining along with the armor fragments. Thinking about it now, something was strange. This space might be filled with ominous demonic energy, but that didn't mean lifeless objects like the fragments and the remains of demons could remain afloat in the sky.

Even so, these things were shining like the stars in the night sky without falling. This mystical scene made me speechless. Though it was beautiful, they were still made of blood, flesh, and bones of demons.

The duke also noticed this sight.

"What's this? Kuk!"

However, he couldn't do move as he continued to face Ye-Eun's barrage of attacks. His regenerative ability was truly shocking as he could recover from wounds dealt by a god's power but it was clear that it wasn't invincible. Anyone could see it just by the fact that he was trying to avoid getting injured.

"Haaaap!"

"Fine, I'll kill you first!"

The duke's magic power surged up. Shoot, Ye-Eun might be in danger! Even though she was using a god's power, with the dungeon's power suppressed, Ye-Eun's body couldn't last long.

[I am Dortu. Master, the armor might revitalize.]

[I was thinking the same thing, Dortu... Ah!]

I suddenly remembered something. Reinforcement stone, the magical tool that upgraded an item by a single stage! Lin had told me he installed it on Pure Black Desire. He said the armor would shine when the time came. Now was the time! But still, the activation condition was for an unbreakable armor to receive enough impact to break?

In any case, it was good news for me if Pure Black Desire was restored. Not only would I have defensive equipment, it would be upgraded by a stage too!

I scanned my body excitedly. Soon, however, I realized that 'it' had disappeared when the armor exploded!

[I am Dortu. Dortu knows what Master is looking for. It seems to be falling down to the ground.]

[Uaaaaaaah!]

I gave myself a pat on the back for not screaming out loud. I immediately shot down with tears in my eyes. Ye-Eun, hold on just for a moment!

Descending down, I swept past Aikan. At that moment, Aikan flinched and Daisy subsequently flinched. She poked Yua, who was frozen after witnessing Pure Black Desire's explosion.

"Kang Shin, alive."

"R-Really!? H-How do you know?"

"Intuition of a woman in love."

Way to lie so easily! You found out because of Aikan!

I wanted to go smack her head, but I had to retrieve the reinforcement stone before it was too late. I continued to shoot down as I spread my mana out. Found it!

"Guoooo."

One of Meri's undead was about to explode next to it! In a panic, I drew Divine Speed to the limit and even activated Petasos. If someone saw me, I would look like a bolt of lightning descending from the sky!

'Got it!'

The moment I caught the reinforcement stone, the undead exploded. Damn, I sure am experiencing many explosions today! Was it because I threw that sweet potato!? Did it curse me!?

I cursed at the heavens and shot up to the sky carrying my injured body. Petasos and Talaria together with Divine Speed transformed me into a streak of light. The reinforcement stone was tightly grasped in my hand.

"Kang Shin, good luck."

When I passed by Aikan the second time, Daisy noticed me by herself this time and cheered me on. I was moving too fast to answer her, but hearing her words made me surge with strength.

I arrived at the fragments of Pure Black Desire which were still shining in the sky. Without hesitation, I threw the reinforcement stone. Of course, someone at the level of a demon duke easily noticed it.

"Mm!? So you were alive, Hero! I knew you wouldn't die from just that!"

"Kuhaa!"

During the short interval I was gone, the duke and Ye-Eun seemed to have exchanged countless blows as they were both wounded heavily. However, Ye-Eun couldn't regenerate unlike the duke.

Ye-Eun also discovered me. Her eyes widened for a moment and soon she smiled. Her beautiful smile made it hard to believe that she was the same person who was viciously attacking the duke just a moment ago.

Suddenly, her body began to transform once more. The wounds on her disappeared, and the dark blue aura enveloping her went away, leaving behind a golden aura.

Next, her three pairs of arms formed with aura began to shine radiantly. The weapons in her hands began to change form with the exception of the chain. The black chain became golden, and her other weapons became a golden chakram, javelin, iron bar, and a club.

"Durga! It's Durga!"

At that moment, I also realized what her previous form was. Kali. Her dark blue skin and bloodthirst were explainable if she was Kali. The goddess Kali was Shiva's wife and enjoyed slaughter. Durga, who was also Shiva's wife, was a strong and pure female warrior.

These two goddess that seemed like black and white shared one thing in common, and it was that they were more powerful than any ordinary male god.

Kali was commonly known as the avatar of Durga, but they were both avatars of Devi, the most powerful goddess in Hinduism. I didn't think Ye-Eun obtained such powerful gods' true names.

In any case, she had both Kali's and Durga's power! The wounds on her had disappeared completely, and she was eyeing the duke like a valiant female warrior that stepped on the battlefield.

It seemed not even the duke who schemed to blow up my armor foresaw this happening.

"Another god's power!? I thought the Hero was the only one with the power of two gods!"

"Huhu, you're also hiding something. If you don't take it out quickly, you'll be killed by me."

It seemed Ye-Eun's sanity has been restored. It seemed using Kali's power made her lose her mind while mercilessly slaughtering her enemies, while Durga's power calmly pushed her enemy to a corner.

To be honest, I thought Kali fit Ye-Eun's image more, but it was always nice to have more god's true name. With Durga's power, she might even get closer to the next step.

"Fine. I don't see a reason to refuse if that's what you say."

So you became the Army Commander! While watching the armor fragments shining fiercely, I heard the duke's words and turned towards him. He raised his arm. Blood spurted out from one of the wounds on his face, drenching him. It felt like he intended for that to happen.

"I saved my strength thinking the Hero was alive, but since everyone I have to kill are here, I won't hesitate any longer! I'll show you! This is the power of an Army Commander!"

Greenland squirmed once more. The dead blood soaking the land began to rise up to the sky. Death descended in an enormous amount of blood. It wasn't death energy, it was an energy only demons could wield. A symbol began to form.

"Our magic circles are truly vicious and formidable! Drawn with the deaths of our kin, it destroys everything including ourselves! It doesn't protect what must be protected. However, it kills what must be killed!"

Right, from the beginning, they were scapegoats. From the moment I arrived at Greenland, they moved as though they were waiting for me without paying attention to their lives. Their sole goal was to kill me.

I didn't the duke was the same, but I was wrong.

"Hero and the powerful female warrior! The era of the Demon Lord is coming! He will rule all under Heaven! He will become the final existence! Let us honor him with our deaths!"

The Army Commander shouted with his body full of wounds. Enveloped in Durga's power, Ye-Eun threw her chakram at him and restrained him with her chain. However, even the chakram blowing up one eye and the chain restraining his arm, his magic power didn't decrease.

The truly massive magic circle of blood accelerated and floated up. It was so big that my eyes couldn't catch all of it in their sight. Yua and Daisy shot up towards us in shock, but it didn't matter as all of Greenland and the airspace above it were affected.

I canceled Sky God's Play and World Trickery, and appeared in the sky with nothing but light clothing. The duke shouted in surprise.

"How could you be so unhurt!? The curse went off!"

"I'm immune to curses. Only my armor exploded."

At my calm reply, the duke laughed dumbfoundedly. That laugh seemed to say, 'Amazing, but can you do anything about this?'

He was right. I glanced at the magic circle completed with the deaths of millions of demons then glared at the duke.

"Hey, let me ask you something... Does the Demon Lord have a future sight ability?"

"If he didn't, this magic wouldn't be here."

I shut my eyes. I knew something was strange. They were planning such a grand scale magic that used their lives as ingredient. They must have known I would come to Greenland. Not a prediction, but a certain assurance. It had to be future sight, just like Ciara's ability.

Ciara has not mastered her ability. She had to grow more. Although she had already helped her immensely, to face off against the Demon Lord, her ability was immeasurably important.

I could survive. Even if that magic circle activated, I was confident I wouldn't die. I had Peruta Circuit, Absolute Soul, and Overlord. But what about the others?

Even without the dungeon's power, they fought brilliantly, especially Ye-Eun. She managed to corner the Army Commander without the dungeon's power, and the world 'excellent' wasn't enough to describe her feat.

However, even she wouldn't be able to avoid death.

As such, I came to a decision. To use Shiva's Eye. I couldn't expect Kain's help now. He was in the dungeon and there was no way for me to communicate with him. It was entirely possible that this magic circle would affect not only Greenland, but the ocean, airspace, and land around it. If I didn't use Shiva's Eye, it would cause immeasurable destruction.

Although I didn't have a way to defeat the Demon Lord without Shiva's Eye, saving it now would only lead to my comrades' death. If I were burdened by their sacrifice, I would undoubtedly become weak. My league would plummet all the way to the bottom.

However, before I could activate Shiva's Eye, someone moved. Was it Ye-Eun? No. She was indeed moving, but the Army Commander was facing off against her. Then was it Daisy? Yes. She put away Aikan and Meri and took out Laki, but Laki's power wasn't enough to do anything. Yua seemed to be supporting Laki with Luna, but even five Lakis wouldn't be enough to stop that magic circle.

What moved were the fragments of light that was once Pure Black Desire.

They were falling on the magic circle.