Comment and coupon givers, thank you all very much! Episode 173.
55. The World of Magical Beasts and Heavenly Realms
172 – The World of Magical Beasts and Heavenly Realms #1
—”Such a refined taste. Quite a compliment indeed. I’m giving it a 7 out of 10.”
The sole resident of the Diamond Tier slowly rose from their chair, disturbing the sanctity of Mount Sinai with the Devil Baal.
I extracted my claws and drew them along the cave floor with an ominous scraping sound, flashing fangs in the process.
—”So you’re Baal of the Diamond Tier, huh? Got it. You’re a rotten b*stard. I like that style; it works for me.”
Facing such an individual gives no sense of guilt. Confronting someone this evil actually makes me feel a little less burdened about my conscience.
—”Colorful insults. Score: 3 points.”
Furry whoosh, kaboom.
Baal punched the wall beside him, breaking through with a massive crimson weapon seeping with evil energy.
The weapon resembled a majestic bird of prey crouching on a long shaft, its wings folded close.
Clunk.
When Baal twisted the handle, the weapon transformed into a double-bladed axe with razor-sharp feather-like blades.
—”The Hellbird, a 9-point weapon. Simple yet powerful.”
Furry whoosh, kaboom.
Baal swung his enormous axe around with the ease of a twig, showcasing how he inherited immense power as a direct child of the mythical creature Satan.
“To White One, this guy is a whole new level compared to the ones we’ve faced. Let’s fight together!”
Azidahaka slightly bent her upper body into a fighting stance. When she clenched and unclenched her fists, a satisfying crack of her joints filled the air.
Baal grinned, his goat-like eyes narrowing into a crescent moon.
—”I am the embodiment of violence. Your future is set in stone, whether you’re one or many. You’ll be torn apart and d*e.”
“Do you still have the audacity to say that knowing I share the heritage of the Divine Being like your father?”
Azidahaka launched herself with her back leg, red claws aimed like spears at Baal’s ribs.
—”Inconsistent power delivery. 6 points.”
Despite that, Baal deflected her claws easily with a swing of his massive axe.
It’s unclear whether Azidahaka’s claw strength was amazing for repelling such a large weapon, or if the axe’s durability was extraordinary to survive such an attack from a mythical creature’s descendant. Nevertheless, Baal clearly stood his ground against such a powerful entity after several exchanges.
“You seem both heavy but swift. The bl**d of the mythical beasts runs strong in you, it seems.”
With effort, Azidahaka repositioned herself and stepped back to inspect her claws.
—”Impressive how you swing that heavy axe so invisibly fast. Is it enchanted gear?”
I scrutinized Baal’s weapon, which emitted an unsettling mist that practically screamed ‘cursed’.
Furry whoosh, kaboom.
Baal raised his massive axe into the air and slammed it into the ground. Then with an eerie “Meeh,” he continued his ominous chant.
—”This is the world of Heavenly Realms. It’s a bottle that manufactures loneliness. Only the strong survive here. Fail, and you’ll be slaughtered.”
Screeeech.
With his axe dragging along the ground, Baal charged at us with a speed that sent the jackals scattering in panic.
—”Flee! We’ll d*e!”
—”Jackals of the desert, weak even under the divine grace of my father. Zero points out of 10!”
While muttering incomprehensible evaluations, Baal swung his axe again, missing the fleeing jackals entirely and instead embedding it deep into the cave wall with a loud crack.
—”Kyeeeey! So d*mn scary!”
—”Running skill: 4 points. Scream quality: 9 points.”
Baal’s shoulders shook in excitement as he opened his mouth wide. Despite his baby-like bleating noises, his face stretched into a creepy crescent-shaped grin.
—”Scream louder!”
—”You scream, idiot!”
I charged with all my might, striking him with my powerful claws. The sensation of tearing flesh and severing bone was vivid thanks to my claws, sharpened from feeding on countless beasts.
‘Got you. Broke through some ribs.’
Even with his mythical ancestry, the damage to his back should be catastrophic – but Baal casually turned his head 180 degrees to face me.
—”7 points for excellent violence.”
—”Thanks for the high score, punk! What about this?”
I lashed out with my tail, slamming into his neck with all my might. With his head already twisted 180 degrees, my attack sent it spinning like a top through 360, no, closer to 1080 degrees. A deathblow by any normal standard.
—”8 points. You might’ve killed me if I wasn’t this guy.”
Groggily, Baal adjusted his neck joints and reconnected the bones, revealing a regenerative capability as terrifying as it was impressive.
—”What kind of anatomy is that?”
Goats may twist their necks up to 180 degrees, but this was clearly beyond that.
‘Dangerous.’ My senses were on high alert.
“We don’t have time to gawk! We must keep pressing the attack!”
Azidahaka leapt into the air, her body spinning like a drill as she whipped her thick tail at Baal’s side.
Gragh. The sound of bone crumbling echoed through the cave, making even me wince in sympathy.
—”9 points! Incredible. You’ve truly amazed me… I’ve eagerly awaited brave souls like you in this land!”
Yet, without a hint of discomfort, Baal sprayed bl**d while expressing sheer joy and excitement.
“To White One, this guy…”
—”Yeah, he doesn’t feel pain. Not even discomfort, like he’s entirely numb to it.”
Our opponent Baal lacked any semblance of fear or the basic survival instinct of living beings. His body seemed to revel in breaking apart.
—”Come at me with even stronger force!”
Holding the axe with both hands, Baal swung it down with a whoosh, the crimson blade gleaming like lightning as it shot toward my head.
‘Barbaric.’
KABOOM!
The massive axe, missing my body, slammed into the cave floor with enough force to create a small earthquake. The sheer effort shattered his own fingers with a crackling sound.
—”Cave floor durability: 5 points.”
—”Does it not bother you that your body keeps breaking?”
Indeed, the guy was something else – a true berserker, driven purely by a destructive desire that burned like a roaring flame consuming everything, including himself.
I questioned him, to which Baal smirked as he inspected his broken thumb.
—”My talent, 《Insensibility》, has freed me from all forms of agony. A blessing from my father. Nothing can stop me!”
—”Even if you don’t feel it, the impact stays on your body. Can you keep this up?”
—”2 points for poor provocation.”
Whoosh.
This time, the massive axe swung horizontally. I quickly bent my waist, dropping on all fours, then drove my head into his stomach with my hind legs for a powerful charge.
Snip. The cracking sound of ribs breaking echoed loudly, yet Baal showed no signs of pain. Instead, he stretched out his hand to grab my neck, much to my annoyance.
“Get out of the way!”
Azidahaka’s urgent cry came from the side, and I immediately leapt back from Baal.
“ROAR!”
Flames erupted from Azidahaka’s mouth with a hoarse growl. The flames engulfed Baal, who simply stared at his burning flesh in fascination.
—”Splendid flames, but they must drain considerable magical power. 9 out of 10.”
Even as his body melted away in flames, Baal kept charging toward us as a true demon of the underworld.
‘This guy isn’t just crazy – he’s insane. No amount of brute force will stop him.’
Dodging his flaming axe, I seriously considered summoning my ultimate skill, 《Flame Heart》, emitting a fierce blue fire capable of incinerating everything.
‘But then there’d be nothing left to eat…’
My skill is far too destructive, leaving no remains. This being a direct descendant of a mythical creature, devouring him would definitely grant me substantial experience points, leading to a possible level-up.
Therefore, I wanted to avoid using my blue flames unless necessary.
—”I can’t feel anything! Inspire me, brave souls!”
The fiery demon Baal continued to swing his axe wildly, carving deep gashes and trenches into the walls and floors.
BOOM BOOM!
The earth-shattering tremors unnerved the mountain itself.
Crackle.
Chunks of rock fell from above, causing Isaac and Abraham to scream in terror from their secluded corner.
“If this keeps up, the cave, the mountain itself, will collapse! Be careful!”
—”Fail! Fail! These mountain rats are all failures! No one here impresses me! More pain! Show me more pain!”
In wild rage, Baal swung the axe indiscriminately at anything nearby, his eyes already blinded by the fire around his head.
With each strike, the walls and floor crumbled further, the mountain groaning ominously.
—”Alright, it’s time to make a decision.”
My heart raced like a bellows stoking a molten furnace, fueling my fiery wrath. Blue flames shot out of my mouth, hurtling toward the axe-wielding maniac.
WHOOSH.
The flames enveloped Baal like soft fabric. The once steadfast pillar of his legs cracked, forcing him to kneel on the floor.
I approached him, my voice cold as the flames consumed his body into ashes.
—”Anything else to say?”
—”This… warmth… It’s truly warm… So warm… Finally, I can feel… everything…”
Full points.
With a soft crumbling sound, Baal’s body turned into dust, scattering in the air.
—”Quuuuuuueak.”
Azidahaka fattened up a baby creature named Yingyi with a pouch of milk, then squeezed it for its blue flames, extinguishing the fiery remnants.
“Your flames are truly remarkable. Yet, you seem displeased despite the victory. Are you injured somewhere?”
—”Everything burned up. Nothing left to eat.”
I scoffed in disdain, moving away grumpily.
I wasn’t pleased because Baal’s calm acceptance of d*ath rubbed me the wrong way. But there was no need to voice such thoughts.
—”Even the fearsome Baal fell to you in one blow…”
—”Amazing. Really terrifying. We frail ones don’t even deserve to be killed by you…”
—”Be honest, didn’t we all kinda lose bowel control when you breathed fire?”
—”You think we almost wet ourselves? We already did!”
Four black jackals excitedly debated the recent battle as if it happened to them.
Clang.
Unlike the yapping group, the one-eyed mongrel picked up the Hellbird weapon lying on the ground.
—”Why pick up such a menacing thing?”
Looking at the weighty blade of the Hellbird, the mongrel calmly responded.
—”Even within chaos, this tool has zero flaws. It’s heavy, but once accustomed, it could be useful in a fight.”
True enough, adopting tools is advantageous for bipedal fighters. The reason bipeds are advantageous over quadrupeds is partly because their free hands can manipulate tools.
—”Fine, here’s hoping it helps. We’re almost at the peak. After a long day’s climb, it feels like we’ve been here for days.”
Looking at the large hole above resembling a volcanic crater and the ladder connecting it, I swished my tail playfully.
Above waits a young dragon, nesting and waiting for us.
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