<The Demon Lord of the Swordsmanship Family Chapter 146>
As expected, Kim Yeon-hee was not one to stay idle.
“The asylum process has been approved, hasn’t it? They are officially under our jurisdiction now. We must take some action…”
“Who doesn’t know the situation in Japan is serious! I know everything. That’s why I’m like this, right? How can we act unilaterally from our side…”
“…Minister, let’s be honest once. Do you think I have a rough idea about the conditions under which the asylum seekers came and what they brought over?”
“… Pressure? Hah, haha. Why are you doing this, Minister? This is Kim Yeon-hee. KIM. YEON. HEE. What’s in it for you to pressure me, Minister? If anything, you should aim higher, right?”
The deal was perfect.
Optimum would rescue key members of the aristocratic alliance in Japan.
In return, the aristocratic alliance promised the operational costs covering the rescue mission, astronomical compensation upon success, and most importantly, detailed information of the bloodlines being rescued.
It was a great deal.
Individually, from Optimum’s standpoint, even as a nation.
From every perspective, it was a deal worth taking despite the risks.
That’s why Kim Yeon-hee had sent her children to Japan.
However, as the world’s affairs always go, things didn’t go entirely as planned.
“… Are we supposed to just sit here with our thumbs up our noses because the other side isn’t willing to talk? Let’s try to devise a solution.”
“… Minister, didn’t you see it too? They fired a missile at their own citizens. Frankly speaking, where’s the guarantee of our country being safe?”
“Negotiations happen when the situation is normal. Those guys aren’t in their right minds right now.”
The problem arose from the runaway cabinet in Japan.
Traditionally, Japan stands as a battlefield between the cabinet and the aristocracy. The cabinet advocates for centralization of power, while the aristocracy fights for decentralization and regional autonomy, checking each other.
This delicate balance defined Japan’s history and current system.
Kim Yeon-hee had believed this balance wouldn’t break this time either.
Though lines had been slightly crossed, just like always, she thought the cabinet would reach out first, the aristocracy would pretend to submit, and things would pass by appropriately.
However, they fired missiles. Then, news came out that some aristocratic families around Tokyo had been obliterated, thus crossing the line too deeply.
Even so, had it stopped just there, it might have been irretrievable, but it wasn’t something impossible to repair.
But.
For some inexplicable reason, they went after something they shouldn’t have touched.
Celutis.
They released fanatical cultists within their own country.
“Wait, wait, proof? We can’t move without proof, you say? I guarantee it! We’ll soon be able to supply evidence as well.”
“The current situation in Japan involves Celutis’s intervention for sure. Everyone on the dispatched teams, including my children, have confirmed encounters with ‘TA Angels.’ They’re the ones who caused the Red Gate incident.”
“Listen, you. You’re the one who doesn’t fully grasp the situation. Do you think I’m doing this for personal gain?”
The neighboring sea country is about to become Celutis’s stronghold.
“If Celutis establishes itself in Japan… where will it stop next? Huh?”
The obvious next target is clear.
Korea, our country.
Therefore, we desperately urged for intervention… but at that moment, the Secretary-General burst into the representative’s office with a worried expression.
“Representative!! The TV! The TV…!!”
Before her words were finished, Kim Yeon-hee had already grabbed the remote.
On the screen appeared a face they had never seen before. Snow-white hair and skin, with white lips as well.
Behind her, a gentle white-cross halo flickered, exuding an almost divine aura, while her large, clear eyes held a deeply unsettling shadow.
She almost appeared like a ‘doll.’
– Humanity, I am the guardian spirit ‘Archangel.’
Archangel had made her official appearance.
– Every human being is precious. Each of you possesses potential and the right to shine fully. I cherish and protect such humans.
– Ask yourself: Are you truly free? Freedom involves being unrestrained by anything and acting by one’s own will. Humans, do you truly consider yourselves free?
– You are constrained. Institutions? Norms? Humans argue that society’s established rules must be obeyed. That’s the law, and that law is necessary for peace.
– Is this true? No, in my view, it isn’t. Do you consider humans perfect? At the core, humans are fundamentally imperfect beings. The law created by these imperfect beings is inherently flawed.
– I pity you and have descended to this land. Why tie yourselves with your own chains? Originally, all humans are equal.
– Constrained humans! Open the door. Cast off the chains of oppression. And claim your strength.
– I shall ‘save’ you.
…
With this, Japan was completely occupied by Celutis.
Park Ki-hyuk’s demon flew towards the chest of a TA Angel.
Squish-!
The TA Angel collapsed, cut into two parts.
However, the TA Angel was not done for. It struggled frantically to survive using its own regenerative magic.
Park Ki-hyuk’s foot pressed down on the head. Only then did the TA Angel’s movements stop.
“Hmm… In the old days, they would go down easily.”
The first TA Angel he faced was not at this level.
It was merely a competent monster. Breaking its spine would result in instant d*ath.
But the TA Angels he had faced after a long time were completely different.
With regenerative abilities akin to trolls, they wouldn’t d*e no matter how they were dismembered.
On top of that, it seemed they had gained several odd abilities during this time.
TA Angels created swords made of ice and lunged toward Park Ki-hyuk.
A faint green aura wrapped around the ice swords.
It was poison.
Park Ki-hyuk might not know this, but it was the bl**d Poison originating from the ‘Oo-gama’ bloodline, a deadly toxin flowing through the bl**d.
This was not an ordinary toxin. Without knowledge of its composition, there was no way to detoxify it.
Not only that.
The sword carrying the poison moved in an unusual manner.
This was also from the Masamune family’s swordsmanship, which disregarded all resistance upon contact with the blade.
With the acquisition of such varied bloodlines, the TA Angels had surpassed what Park Ki-hyuk originally knew about them.
Clang- Clang- Clang-!!
Park Ki-hyuk swung his demon wildly, blocking the TA Angels’ swords.
“To think I’ll have to deal with swords from these guys.”
He said so casually, but it was intense.
Devoid of any depth, yet when combined with raw power and vitality, along with the monster’s innate ferociousness, it turned into an incredibly difficult sword style for humans to counter.
It was evident that it would be difficult to counter without being at an elite level.
But.
“This is not an ordinary human we’re talking about.”
Park Ki-hyuk’s hand roughly grabbed the head of the leading TA Angel.
And…
Crunch!
He crushed it with one hand.
At the same time, a magic circle was cast behind Park Ki-hyuk, completing with the six-pointed star as thorns sprouted from the ground, piercing through two TA Angels from head to toe.
Beside him, a giant’s arm was already gripping one TA Angel, the fist crushing it into a puddle of bl**d.
Swordsmanship, magic, the strength of giants—when Park Ki-hyuk began his assault, his surroundings turned into a battlefield.
No matter how strong they were, they were not on the same level as Park Ki-hyuk, an existence beyond normal beings.
It was clearly an unfair fight.
Thus, the swarm of TA Angels, as if on cue, flew into the air and fled in all directions.
The TA Angels, tearing apart in every direction.
Park Ki-hyuk hesitated, then smiled bitterly.
“Again?”
This was the current situation.
The TA Angels weren’t trying to k*ll Park Ki-hyuk—they were attempting to tie him down by repeating ambushes and escapes.
This battle involving Park Ki-hyuk wasn’t the only one.
In the distance, Park Min-ji trudged forward, and from a nearby building, Park Su-hyeok scratched his head and came out.
All of them were being held up by the TA Angels.
“This time, they ran away again.”
“They’re trying to buy time. Here.”
Park Min-ji leaned against the corner, Park Su-hyeok handed out energy bars to his siblings, and then casually set up and rested.
“Irritating. Are you okay, Brother?”
“Hold on. After all, we came here to rescue people, not fight. The rescue is proceeding smoothly, so let’s not worry about it.”
“Brother, you say that, but your face says otherwise.”
“What do you want me to do? Your feelings are my feelings.”
None of their expressions were too good.
What could they do? The instincts of a Sword Master weren’t satisfied.
From their perspective, the TA Angels were those irritating pests that riled them up then escaped, frustrating them endlessly.
Still, a straightforward fight was tricky given the current delicate situation.
Park Min-ji lost her temper.
“I can’t understand! Why are the Japanese protecting Celutis?”
“Just some of them.”
“Even if it’s just some, the situation is worsening because of these few.”
“The ‘Miracle’ was that shocking.”
With Park Ki-hyuk’s explanation, the other two sighed in agreement.
The appearance of Archangel, the emergence of Celutis.
When other countries learned that Japan had been occupied by Celutis, they organized a coalition to liberate Japan.
Yet, ironically, Japan itself refused the intervention.
Why? Because ‘Miracles’ were happening.
Archangel granted the ‘Miracle of Equality,’ turning ordinary people into superhumans.
It was absurd. Turning non-mana users into superhumans?
Nevertheless, many such instances occurred. Countless people became superhuman, daily performing such ‘Miracles,’ even broadcasting these on live TV.
As a result, the Japanese believed they might also become superhuman and flocked to Tokyo, calling Archangel their deity.
“But are they actually real, these superhuman transformations?”
“Hmm… I don’t know.”
“No, they’re fake.”
Park Ki-hyuk bluntly asserted.
Why? The other two asked with their eyes, and he continued.
“Perceiving mana is an innate ability; it can’t be awakened or changed later in life.”
After one has passed through puberty without awakening to mana, that person inherently cannot receive mana.
Regardless of any means or method, they cannot awaken to it because the possibility is zero.
“If that’s the case, Brother, then what about what we’ve seen on TV?”
“You saw it too, right? The ‘Fireball.’ How do you explain that?”
That’s right.
Even so, those who had experienced the ‘Miracles’ were clearly using abilities akin to magic.
A rule-breaking event.
An impossible occurrence unfolded.
Thus, Park Ki-hyuk pondered. Could it really be a true deity?
The answer came immediately.
No, absolutely not.
Park Ki-hyuk was once the ‘Demon Lord’ who had reportedly approached the truth.
Deities are incredibly ignorant to human emotions. Compassion? Salvation? Equality? These feelings are entirely absent in deities.
Then suddenly, a certain hypothesis occurred to him.
“I can’t say this with absolute certainty since I haven’t seen it firsthand…”
Mana is the world’s energy.
The fundamental energy constituting the world.
There is one energy very similar to mana. All humans possess it and feel it.
Something that humans naturally should possess.
“Probably utilizing ‘life force.’”
“Huh, life?”
“What do you mean?”
“Exactly what it sounds like.”
Ordinary humans can’t intentionally use their life force.
It’s a form of limit. Gradually used over time by nature, aging naturally is natural.
But if this limit is erased, humans gain the ability to ‘use life artificially.’
“…Then you could use life force in place of mana.”
“Could that enable magic?”
“Why ask? In fact, it’s even simpler to use. The purity is better.”
While mana was external energy, life force was a power originally residing within oneself. Which would be easier to control: a power that had passed through many barriers or one that was originally inherent?
The answer was evident.
As Park Su-hyeok thought about something, he stiffened, feeling cold.
“Wait, Brother Ki-hyuk.”
“I’m listening.”
“…Utilizing life force, that equates to using lifespan, right?”
“Correct.”
The situation was more serious than imagined.
Right now, these people were using extraordinary abilities at the cost of their lives.
“How long do you think? Assuming they can use magic freely.”
Park Ki-hyuk thought for a moment.
And concluded.
“One year. Even if extended, it would be no more than one year.”
The price of forbidden power.
The countdown had started.
