Chapter 102
Nahun first headed towards the scorching land between the seventh Klirot, ‘Harap Serafel’, and the eighth Klirot, ‘Samael’.
As soon as he stepped out of the inverted kingdom, the sounds of tortured screams rang out from various places. Moreover, the demons howling in anguish gradually approached Nahun. Without fear, they even reached out to grasp his ankles.
Nahun sighed and scattered his magic power, causing the demons to immediately release their hold and retreat. The raw strength of his magic was enough to scare them away.
‘They look horrid.’
Their flesh was completely peeled away, and their hair had mostly fallen out, leaving only a few strands. Their skin was red, as if they had been roasted in the intense heat.
Even though they were not living beings, the mere sound of their screams was horrendous. Nahun glanced at them briefly and then resumed his path.
Unlike the demon world connected by portals, Klirot are linked by regular roads. A massive branch extending from the tree of Klifirot, which supports hell, served as this path, making it nearly impossible to distinguish if he was walking on a branch or just solid ground.
There were canyons, wastelands, deserts, and lava fields on the branches. Just as Nahun was appreciating the fantastical scenery, a black mist fluttered nearby.
“Boo.”
“Why are you here again?”
“Boo boo.”
Leviathan pointed somewhere with a nod. Nahun followed the direction and soon discovered a desert where the demons purposefully avoided approaching.
“…I see.”
The heat radiating from that spot was so intense that mirages distorted the surroundings. That place was indeed Behemoth’s domain, ‘the Scorching Land’.
“Leviathan, how much power can you exert there?”
“Boo.”
Leviathan shook its head. It seemed to mean it couldn’t exert much power. It was natural for Leviathan, a massu of the sea, to be weak on land, especially in a place where even moisture would likely evaporate.
“Then, I’ll have to do this alone.”
Nahun moved closer to the desert. As he approached, he felt overwhelming heat, forcing him to spread his magic power around him like a thin shield.
Even the intense heat couldn’t penetrate that magic, and Nahun stepped firmly onto the Scorching Land. He held a sword that had a forebodingly dark-red eye gleaming menacingly.
‘…It truly does look like a demonic sword.’
It resembled a classic demonic sword. As he swung it experimentally, Nahun advanced forward. It felt just right in his hand, as if it were his weapon.
After walking a bit on the sand, a reverberating sound echoed through the ground.
Boom!!!
The ground shook violently, like an earthquake. Each time a thunderous noise erupted, the hot grains of sand scattered. Nahun looked down momentarily, then slowly raised his head.
There was a massu blocking the sun that had pounded down upon the desert with its massive form. It looked somewhat like an elephant, but its four long, sharp tusks and claws were far from ordinary.
With a beast-like appearance and a size rivaling Leviathan’s, its presence alone would overwhelm any ordinary foe.
The creature, exhaling hot breaths from its enormous and lengthy trunk, was one of the three maleficent beasts called the Beast of the End, ‘Behemoth’, and it symbolized the earth.
Nahun said as he gazed at it.
“Disappointing. Can’t you recognize your master?”
Boom!
It stomped its feet lightly as if to suggest he turn back. A sandstorm rose as a result, prompting Nahun to close his eyes tightly before opening them to look back at Behemoth.
Nahun chuckled softly. He gripped his sword firmly and glared at Behemoth.
“I suppose you need a refresher on your training.”
As Nahun revealed his determination, Behemoth stomped its feet loudly.
─────────!!!
The ground shook violently. The vibrations were so enormous that it felt impossible for a person to stand, yet Nahun remained balanced, gazing up at Behemoth from the sandy floor.
“Behemoth.”
Behemoth raised its front legs.
“It’s noisy.”
However, at that moment, Nahun’s magic enveloped the surroundings. The overwhelming magic power pressed against Behemoth, causing it to momentarily halt, which had been about to stomp on Nahun.
Despite part of its strength being sealed, the power of the greatest of hell still exerted such force that it could pressure Behemoth.
Even under the immense pressure of magic, Behemoth slammed its colossal front leg down. But having already halted once, there was no way such an attack would land on Nahun.
Kwah!!! Boom!!
Behemoth’s front paw smashed into the ground, shaking the entire earth. Such immense power was not unworthy of its title as the Beast of the End.
‘That could’ve been disastrous if I got hit.’
Nahun dodged the attack and, upon landing, took a moment to regain his stance. He gripped his sword tightly, debating how far he could engage.
‘…No.’
It didn’t seem necessary to think it over. The opponent was the mightiest of maleficent beasts, known as the Beast of the End. There was no need to hold back against such a creature.
Having failed to crush Nahun, Behemoth charged forward. Despite being a simple charge, its massive form and the size of its sharp tusks made it difficult to find an escape route.
“Tusks are bound to grow, anyway.”
Nahun didn’t evade. He appeared ready to take Behemoth’s charge head-on.
Behemoth was surprisingly fast for its size. Its huge body raced across the sand without losing its balance, digging into the sand as it approached.
As Behemoth’s body aimed to crush Nahun, he reached out with the hand that wasn’t holding his sword. At the same time, he swung his sword.
Shlaaash────!!!
Behemoth’s movement came to a halt. The massive creature was stopped with one hand, and slowly, Nahun removed his hand.
Though he slid back quite a distance, he was not launched away by Behemoth. Behemoth had already lost its will to fight.
“Behemoth.”
Behemoth’s gaze was directed toward the ground. Two of the four tusks it proudly possessed had been cleanly sliced off and lay scattered in the sand.
A clean cut facilitated by Nahun’s sword. He had blocked Behemoth’s charge with one hand while swinging his sword with the other, severing the beast’s tusks.
“Let’s stop this now….”
───────!!!
However, Behemoth’s fighting spirit hadn’t been extinguished. That was merely a misjudgment on Nahun’s part.
It had briefly immersed itself in sadness over losing its proud tusks, only to express anger and press down on Nahun with renewed ferocity.
“Oh dear.”
Nahun quickly dodged, as Behemoth charged forward, disturbing the sand of the desert. Despite moving out of the way, Behemoth’s size forced Nahun to slip under its legs to escape.
“Ugh!?”
That posed a problem too. Just as Nahun nearly got crushed by Behemoth’s massive leg, he managed to roll away at the last second. As he took a moment to regroup, he gathered the magic he had previously spread.
Hell was a world rich in external magic, more so than the Demon World. It was almost absurd to describe it as a mixture of half air and half magic. The magic Nahun had disseminated had drawn in vast amounts of external magic, and he uttered a spell.
“Target designated.”
『 Objéctum Dēsignátĭo 』
“Binding.”
『 Sérvĭtus 』
Kwoooong──!!!
Behemoth came charging, stomping furiously. It was much like witnessing a bullfight. Its enormous size made this fury all the more threatening. A scene that ordinary people—even demons—would find terrifying.
Yet even in such a scenario, Nahun didn’t lose focus. He brought his hands together and finalized the incantation.
“Target binding.”
『 Objéctum Sérvĭtus 』
A powerful ancient magic capable of binding a target for a lifetime was completed based on the amount of magic poured into it. Invisible chains quickly wrapped around Behemoth’s giant form.
Yet Behemoth’s massive frame, propelled with accumulating momentum, did not easily come to a halt and charged ahead with the force to shatter those chains.
“…”
Nahun didn’t retreat, standing firm and silently observing Behemoth’s movements. Behemoth attempted to stab Nahun with its remaining two tusks.
───────!!!
The massive tusks of Behemoth stopped just short of Nahun’s face, merely 5 cm away without penetrating. The chains held Behemoth in place.
Nahun remained bold, not moving an inch from where he cast the spell. He slowly stood up, looking directly at Behemoth’s tusks which halted before him.
Behemoth, infuriated at being unable to pierce him, thrashed around but could only flail futilely in its bound state, unable to pose any threat to Nahun.
“It won’t do you any good to thrash about.”
“Muuhhhh!!”
“That chain won’t break unless I set you free.”
Nahun gauged the amount of magic Behemoth possessed through their fight and infused the chain with even more magic than that. A combination of external magic and Nahun’s own.
Thanks to that, Nahun had nearly exhausted all his magic, but it was still significant, as he successfully bound Behemoth.
This battle vividly displayed the gap between a massu and a great demon. Even sealed, Nahun easily suppressed Behemoth, proving he was indeed worthy of being the master of the three Beasts of the End.
“Muuhhhh!!!”
Nonetheless, Behemoth couldn’t suppress its temperament. At this point, it would make sense for it to recognize the difference in strength and yield, but it remained stubborn.
“Ahh, go ahead. Flail around until you calm down. Let’s see how long that lasts.”
Nahun just plopped down in front of Behemoth. With a simple spell, he cooled the surrounding area slightly and then laid down to rest.
“Muuhhhh!!!”
Behemoth continued to stomp in frustration but, just as Nahun said, the chains showed no signs of loosening. Nahun blocked all the vibrations and impacts with his magic, allowing him to sleep soundly regardless of Behemoth thrashing around.
“Muuhhhh!!!!!”
Despite its efforts to vent out its frustration, the situation remained unchanged. Hours passed like this.
“…Haaam.”
“Boo.”
Before long, Leviathan, who had appeared, pointed its tail to the side. Nahun turned his head, and there lay Behemoth, now calm and lying down.
“Alright, have you calmed down a bit?”
“Muuh.”
“Even though I left you alone, did you run away?”
“Muuhh.”
Behemoth shook its head, indicating otherwise. It simply nodded, but due to its massive size, it caused a noticeable stir in the sand, kicking up a considerable sandstorm.
“…Don’t shake your head.”
“Muuhh.”
“You have a role to play, so follow me.”
“Muuhh.”
It seemed that after thrashing around wildly, Behemoth was now submissively responding. As Nahun snapped his fingers to release the chains, Behemoth shrank down to a much smaller size, resembling Leviathan.
“Muuh.”
“What are you planning to do?”
“Muuhh.”
Nahun chuckled.
“I’m going to catch another runaway like you.”
—
“…Behemoth leaving its territory?”
News spread that one of the Beasts of the End, Behemoth, had departed from its domain, the Scorching Land. Upon hearing this, the Queen of Lust, who governed the ninth Klirot, Gamaliel, smiled to herself.
‘The Beast of the End.’
Despite its formidable strength, it was a beast that could hardly be controlled by even a great demon. Being named the Beast of the End wasn’t incidental, as their power could genuinely obliterate an entire world.
If set loose in the Demon World, the hierarchy would collapse, and if unleashed upon the Human World, entire nations would be trampled, while the heavens too, would find it unmanageable unless the Archangels intervened.
But there was only one person who could command such monsters as pets. The Queen smiled.
“You’ve returned, have you?”
She chuckled at the thought of being addressed by her proper name for the first time in ages.
Commonly, she was called by the same name as the Klirot she governed, but there was another name allowed to be spoken only by one she truly cherished.
‘Lilith.’ Only two were permitted to call Gamaliel by this name.
The ruler of hell and her official lover, Taumiel.
And the greatest among demons, whom Gamaliel cherished secretly, ■■■.
“Really… You placed absurd restrictions so I couldn’t even call your name.”
Lilith chuckled softly. As she laughed, the neighboring succubi joined in, raising the atmosphere. Satisfied with the actions of her loyal subordinates, Lilith smiled.
“At least I can see your face… It’s been a while since we’ve met.”
Lilith rose from her throne. Leading her sultry form, she exited her palace.
