Chapter 149
The size of the monsters called the End Beasts was as colossal as mountains. Leviathan alone surpassed hundreds of meters, and alongside it were the similarly massive Behemoth, and the even larger Gize.
Naturally, as soon as they revealed themselves, they were visible even from the royal city down below. Their sheer enormity ensured that.
“What, what on earth is that!?”
“Tell His Majesty immediately… No, we need to evacuate right now!”
This was true for the soldiers of the royal city, as well as for ordinary citizens.
“A monster…”
The citizens wandering the streets could only gasp in horror at the sight. The shadows of the three beasts were so large that they blackened the sky above the royal city.
“Ahhh!”
“Run, run fast!”
Realizing the gravity of the situation, the citizens of the royal city began to scream and flee. However, the city, being situated on a plateau, was not a good location for evacuation, even though it had solid defenses.
Moreover, it was impossible to escape from the beasts, which were already enveloping the entire royal city with their shadows.
Boom────!!!
The enormous paw of Behemoth crushed the city walls of the royal capital in an instant. With its massive jaws wide open, Leviathan slammed its weighty body as if it were a boxer’s glove.
Meanwhile, Gize flew overhead, spewing its breath with its gigantic beak, turning the once peaceful royal city into a hellfire in the blink of an eye.
“Ahhh! My legs, my legs!”
“W-wait, sis! I’m coming right now…!”
A younger brother rushed to help his sister, who was trapped under rubble, but he was crushed to death under Behemoth’s leg before he could even finish his sentence.
“Run, my dear!”
“Huff, huff, I’m going as fast as I can! I’m running as quickly as possible…!”
A young couple that appeared to be newlyweds fled with all their might. They looked like they could run fairly well due to their youth, but they couldn’t escape from the movements of the colossal beasts, which extended hundreds of meters. The two were swallowed whole into Leviathan’s maw.
Gize indiscriminately scorched the royal city, and given that the city was on a plateau, finding a place to escape the flames was nearly impossible.
Nahun was taking in all the horrifying scenes with his own eyes. Yet, strangely, he felt no guilt, and a bitter smile crossed his face.
“I see.”
They no longer appeared to him as kin. He had thought they still remembered the hearts of humans.
“…It seems I was mistaken.”
Nahun looked coldly at the royal city, which was transforming into hell.
These beasts could swallow up even the layers of the Demon World if just one was present. How long would it take for these three to obliterate such a small kingdom?
Not even thirty minutes. In just thirty minutes, peace had vanished, and the royal capital Alborc transformed into a hellish landscape with no signs of life.
Ordinary citizens, well-trained knights, diligent officials, and even the monarch who governed them all…
They had all died. This place had turned into a location where life had never existed.
Nahun descended from the mountain and stepped into the ruined Alborc. At that moment, the three beasts gathered around him.
“Good job. There’s nothing left, right?”
The three beasts moved their bodies in affirmation. Thanks to Leviathan shaking its massive tail, the ground trembled greatly, prompting Nahun to gesture that it was enough.
“Return.”
The three beasts obeyed. They looked remarkably docile, almost unrecognizable from the monsters that had just committed a massacre. They vanished into the black mist, and Nahun strolled through the streets.
Now, if Seere could just conquer Heidelbear Castle, the mission of the Devil forces as the vanguard would be complete.
The prowess of the three beasts was incredible. They had burned, trampled, and consumed every living thing in the capital, leaving not a single rat behind.
Nahun looked up at the sky. In stark contrast to the devastated ground, the heavens above were clear and bright. The sun shone brightly as if nothing had happened.
“…They’ve come.”
Then, a conspicuous sound that disrupted the complete silence of this once lively place emerged. The flapping sound of feathered wings made Nahun smile faintly.
“Yes, I thought there would be a response to this.”
Nahun’s invasion of the royal city had two intentions. One was to quickly end the conquest of the kingdom due to Astharoth’s failure to provide proper supplies.
The other was to prevent Seere from directly clashing with the Heavens. By unleashing the powerful End Beasts imbued with immense magical power, he presumed the Heavens would respond first.
He intended to handle the divine forces that would come with their response on his own. And that was precisely how it turned out. Nahun glanced back without turning his head completely.
There, an angel with four wings was glaring at him. A golden ring that identified him as an angel floated above his head.
He was no ordinary angel. While he wasn’t an Archangel, he was an angel of equal or greater strength. The spear engulfed in flames indicated his identity.
When the creators of Ebel Queen Maker set up the angel and demon roles, they borrowed the concepts of the Tree of Sephirot and the Tree of Klifirot. In truth, this angel was often depicted as one of the mightiest angels in most media.
One of the famous four angels commonly referred to, and the angel whose name means “Divine Flame.”
“Uriel.”
Uriel narrowed his eyes and spoke.
“…You know my name, so you have spared me the introduction.”
“You know me too, don’t you? How could you not?”
“Me?”
As Uriel displayed a perplexed expression, Nahun smirked.
“Couldn’t you?”
With that, Nahun turned fully to face him. He manipulated space with his magic to draw out his magic sword and faced Uriel directly.
Seeing Nahun’s face properly, Uriel widened his eyes in surprise. He then muttered with a serious expression.
“Why are you here…?”
“That’s a naive question. The Great Demon War has begun, and do you truly think there’s no reason for me to be here?”
Uriel furrowed his brow. He then commanded the heavenly army behind him.
“Everyone, fall back.”
“W-what?”
“You’ll only become prey here. I will face him alone.”
Information about the Great Demon was generally undisclosed. The same was true for high-ranking angels. Only a few on both sides were aware of them, so the heavenly army, composed of various races including angels, Valkyries, fairies, and spirits, sensed their lack of understanding.
“It’s an order.”
However, unable to defy Uriel’s command as their commander, the heavenly forces began to retreat. Just as Uriel watched them leave and turned his gaze back to Nahun…
Crack────!!!
“…!?”
“What are you thinking, Uriel?”
A gigantic whale, Leviathan, swallowed the retreating heavenly forces whole. Uriel watched the scene in shock and spoke.
“What is the meaning of this…?”
“Why would I let my prey leave unharmed?”
Nahun spoke coldly.
“You are all my prey. Where do you think you’re running?”
#
Uriel’s expression was frozen stiff.
Uriel, one of the top-tier powers of the heavens, commensurate with an Archangel. He had felt the overwhelming magical power emanating from Alborc and had descended personally, but no way…
‘So there are things even I cannot handle.’
Uriel had no choice but to recognize his opponent. It was nonsensical for a high-ranking angel like Uriel not to know him.
He was Nahema, the Great Demon with the most formidable strength among those ruling hell.
Uriel was even contemplating retreat. No matter how confident he was in his skills, he couldn’t afford to boast in front of that Great Demon.
Only one or two beings among the heavens could rival such a monstrous demon. Even then, it was uncertain if they could guarantee victory.
In any case, it was evident he could not confront Nahema. He had to withdraw and bring in those who could deal with him.
Uriel had to be wary of not only the powerful demon right before him but also the enormous beast that had swallowed his soldiers in one gulp.
‘Will I be able to escape safely…?’
As Uriel pondered how to escape, Nahema slowly approached him, wielding a red-eyed magic sword in one hand.
“Why the hesitation? You seem to be trying to avoid fighting.”
“I don’t prefer battles that seem futile.”
“Is that so?”
Magical energy began to scatter around Nahema. In the human realm, where external magical energy was significantly low, intentionally pouring out magical power was a sign of something ahead.
“Well then, why not try to escape?”
To unleash powerful magic, enough usable magical energy was being drawn forth in advance. Nahema increased the output of his magic, and Uriel hurriedly turned back and soared into the sky. He intended to break through the Leviathan trailing behind him.
“…Are you choosing that route?”
Uriel judged that it would be faster to bypass the beasts he commanded than to directly confront Nahema.
Crack!!
Leviathan swallowed Uriel’s spear whole with its massive mouth. However, that was a mistake. Leviathan’s habit of swallowing anything became its downfall.
“!”
Fwooosh!!! Whoosh!!
A hot flame erupted from Leviathan’s mouth. It wasn’t Leviathan’s ability, but rather, flames generated from the spear Uriel had thrown. The scorching and intense flames were enough to deal considerable damage even to the powerful End Beast.
──────!!!
Leviathan writhed in pain, letting out a terrible roar.
As Uriel reached out, the spear that had been swallowed within Leviathan’s mouth came back into his hands. Uriel urgently had to clamp down on the enormous beak that had suddenly appeared beside him.
“…Wild Beast of the Skies.”
Uriel was, of course, aware of the three beasts Nahema commanded. While Nahema’s own power was formidable, the strength of the End Beasts was also tremendous.
Although Gize put all its strength into an attack, Uriel managed to block it firmly. Gize, realizing brute force wasn’t sufficient, prepared to unleash its breath, but Uriel laughed disdainfully.
“I am the ‘Flame’ of the divine.”
Uriel extended his empty hand to grab the searing flame congregating in Gize’s mouth with his bare hand. The flame obediently followed his movement as though it had a shape, enveloping Gize’s face in an instant.
Boom!!!!!
Yet Gize didn’t budge an inch. While its breath was powerful enough to harm itself, it wasn’t enough to knock it out cold.
Gize changed its strategy. It firmly secured Uriel’s hand so he couldn’t remove his spear and pushed him down toward the ground.
The force exerted by the End Beast with its massive frame was overwhelming, forcing even Uriel to be overwhelmed.
‘If this continues…’
He would be pushed back to where Nahema was. Uriel had no choice but to make the decision to abandon his spear.
As Uriel relinquished his spear, Gize smashed it with its beak.
Then, with lightning speed that was surprising for its size, it seized his wings with its giant paw. The moment Uriel was slightly taken aback…
Bang!!! Boom!! Boom!!!
Rocks came flying from somewhere. More precisely, they were not rocks but pieces of immense magical power that had transformed into the shape of rocks. Uriel took a direct hit from one of them, causing his head to spin.
“Gah…!”
Glancing back, he saw the Great Beast resembling a massive elephant, Behemoth, hurling magical projectiles with unrestrained power like before.
“Even the beasts under your command are formidable!”
Uriel stretched his hand toward the sky. Just then, as Gize tried to seize that hand with its beak…
Swoosh───!!!
Something fell from the sky, severing Gize’s beak. Part of the severed beak melted away.
In its agony, Gize released Uriel, giving him a moment of relieve to dodge another powerful magical projectile thrown by Behemoth.
Uriel willingly descended to the ground. Although he knew Nahema was waiting, there was no helping it. The weapon he had summoned was over there.
The object that had cleanly severed Gize’s beak was embedded in the ground. Surprisingly, the surrounding ground boiled with heat, transforming into what resembled magma.
Even near that intensely hot area, Uriel approached without a care. He reached out and grasped the source of the heat.
It was a sword. A sword of scorching fire.
‘Infernal Blade.’
However, its essence was not fire. The very fact that it melted the ground surrounding it and turned it into magma hinted at its true nature.
The essence of the sword was the same as Uriel’s own essence. Though it bore the name signifying “divine flame,” the natural attribute it represented was paradoxically ‘earth.’
Therefore, instead of burning the surrounding land, the sword was melting it to transform it into magma. Uriel, holding the sword, saw Nahema approaching him.
“Coming down to the ground means you are no longer planning to escape.”
“What kind of nonsense is that, when you are the one who created this situation?”
Wielding the magic sword, Nahema smirked.
“To be honest, I thought you would deal with them at your level, but it seems you are indeed an angel surpassing the average Archangel. I didn’t expect you to be unable to handle my beasts.”
“……”
Uriel still couldn’t say he had dealt with the beasts.
Though Leviathan and Gize were severely injured, the End Beasts would return to their original state given some time.
Moreover, Uriel had yet to take down Behemoth…
He knew that well. Unfortunately, worse was yet to come, as someone even more dangerous approached.
“I’ve been curious to see how far my current strength can go, and it seems like I have the perfect test subject.”
The Great Demon Nahema began to gather the immense magical power he had been spilling into the magic sword.
“It would make for a fitting test subject.”
Nahema… No, the Great Demon now living under the name Nahun, wore a smile.
And with the magic sword filled to the brim with magical energy,
He unleashed ancient magic that only he could perform.
“Celestial Annihilation.”
『Perdere æther』
