I Gave Up Being Stronger

‘Somehow, Broadcaster’s Insight seems to be working better,’ Cha Jin-Hyeok thought.

Broadcaster’s Insight was not omnipotent. Its effectiveness varied depending on the target’s mental strength, the situation, or depth of emotions. However, this Skill had been quite effective recently.

[#I’m innocent. #I feel wronged. #Please believe me.]

Jin-Hyeok knew well that Dragan was innocent. However, he was an Eltuber; he always needed to create content when the opportunity arose. The viewers would not be able to distinguish whether Dragan was a traitor or not. It was a point that could arouse curiosity.

“Is this true? Were you deceiving me?”

“Absolutely not!” Dragan yelled.

While Jin-Hyeok was feigning suspicion for the livestream, Dragan could not tell so. A frog could die from a stone thrown in jest, as even actions taken lightly or in jest could have serious, unintended consequences.

As Dragan desperately tried to assert his innocence, Garbinu’s soul said, “Hahaha! You have become much more cautious, Dragan.”

Garbinu was not angry at Dragan. Rather, he liked Dragan’s caution. Such behavior would cause a small confusion in the opponent (Kim Chul-Soo), and that confusion would surely create an opening for an attack. A sinister purple aura burst forth from the Vengeful Stone where Garbinu was trapped.

“Now, I grant you the honor of becoming my vessel.”

Hundreds of strands of purple energy rushed toward Jin-Hyeok like arrows. It was a tightly woven net. Jin-Hyeok was trapped in the net without much resistance. The purple net gradually tightened, beginning to pressure him.

“Foolish one, is that all you can do? How disappointing.”

Garbinu had meticulously prepared this plan. He could easily predict that someone who could make it this far, possessing the vessel of the Demon King, would have excellent defensive abilities.

“Your barrier is nothing compared to the Giant Warrior’s Shield!”

Though Garbinu could not identify exactly what kind of barrier it was, it seemed like a strange defensive barrier. However, the barrier’s defensive power was not as strong as he had thought.

“Shatter to pieces!”

With a crash, the Absolute Barrier surrounding Jin-Hyeok broke.

“Now. Let us become one.”

The purple net ensnared Jin-Hyeok. He looked like a fish caught by a fisherman.

***

Jin-Hyeok was quite impressed with his performance. ‘Did it look like my barrier shattered dramatically?’

He had succeeded in properly staging the scene of his Absolute Barrier shattering. Thousands of branching cracks formed on the barrier, and then the Absolute Barrier split and shattered into tens of thousands of pieces. Anyone watching this scene would see that Jin-Hyeok had desperately tried to defend but failed.

Garbinu then chanted an incantation.

“Demons are beings born from corruption. The primordial corruption commands. Let us become one. I shall light your path.”

Flash!

Once again, light burst forth. The purple mist surrounding Jin-Hyeok swirled violently. The purple mist completely obscured his figure. He looked like a pitiful fish swallowed up by a fierce vortex.

-Isn’t that a bit dangerous?

-Holy shit! What am I watching?

However, those with keen eyes noticed something.

-He switched from first-person to third-person view in the middle of this!

-Does that mean he’s okay?

“Hahahahaha!”

Garbinu laughed loudly. He had finally obtained a new vessel.

The Guardian Tree would have adjusted the dimensional values significantly, and all that remained was his plan to expand into the universe.

At that moment, Jin-Hyeok softly muttered, “Wait… is that it?”

***

Garbinu could not understand what was going on. His plan had been meticulous. Moreover, he had carried out the annihilation ritual to seize the vessel and extinguish the original soul perfectly. A truly intricate calculation and complex magic formula had intertwined to create a miracle.

‘There was no mistake!’ Garbinu thought.

All the magic and techniques had worked perfectly. The soul should have been replaced. It should have taken place naturally, just as one plus one equaled two.

‘Why am I still in the Vengeful Stone?’

One plus one had resulted in three. Everything had gone smoothly, but he didn’t know why nothing had happened.

Jin-Hyeok was equally baffled. ‘Surprisingly, I don’t feel anything at all!’

The effects had been incredibly dramatic, but nothing happened. He did not even feel like he had been bitten by a mosquito. It was just a continuation of tranquility. ‘This is not good.’

A performance without an appropriate sense of crisis would become boring. However, he could not forcibly create a sense of crisis here either. Jin-Hyeok softly muttered with a desperate heart, “Wait… is that it?”

Garbinu did not answer him. Everything he had prepared was intact. The intricate formulas engraved on the Vengeful Stone for all sorts of techniques and magic were not damaged, and Garbinu was not exhausted.

‘It seems there was an error because I’ve been on hiatus for too long,’ Garbinu thought.

There was no other way to explain this anomaly. Once again, purple energy burst forth and enveloped Jin-Hyeok.

To his surprise, nothing happened this time either.

“...”

“...”

An awkward silence ensued. Only then could Garbinu guess that this was not a temporary error. Suddenly, he felt a crisis. The Demon Lords other than Dragan stared at Garbinu, feeling skeptical.

“Garbinu, were you weaker than we thought?” Meichel the Greed was the first to speak up.

Meichel was a Demon Lord in the form of a skull wearing a robe. His mouth opened wide and swallowed the Vengeful Stone. In the blink of an eye, Meichel had betrayed Garbinu.

Jin-Hyeok, who thought this was rather fortunate, said, “These Demons… They are fearsome beings. They stab you in the back in an instant.”

Purple energy leaked from Meichel, and his robe was torn to shreds. A giant skull emitting blue light floated up.

“Kuahahahaha! I’m overflowing with power!” He floated like the sun, arrogantly looking down at Jin-Hyeok and the other Demon Lords. “It seems I’m the next Demon Ki—ugh!”

The Demons were not to be underestimated. Serviel the Lust sucked the energy bursting from Meichel the Greed into herself. Serviel’s form was very similar to a human’s, except that her skin was close to purple. Blue veins popped up on Serviel’s skin, and thick horns grew on both of her temples. The skin where the horns grew tore, and blue blood dripped down.

Serviel stroked her lips with her index finger. “Why did you become so strong? You looked too tasty. Ah, so delicious…!”

“Serviel, you filthy bastard!”

Jin-Hyeok vividly relayed the scene of betrayal upon betrayal. “There seems to have been some special contract between Meichel and Serviel.”

Jin-Hyeok could clearly see the special mana lines densely connecting the two Demon Kings. It was similar to what he had seen at the dimensional gate before.

“ARGH!!!” Meichel yelled.

“The skull is shrinking,” Jin-Hyeok said.

In the end, Meichel crumbled into powder, and all the energy that had leaked out of Meichel was absorbed by Serviel.

Kadiva the Sloth prostrated on the ground. “The birth… of the new… Demon King.”

Kadiva, who had the form of a large red toad, did not seem to have any intention of resisting Serviel. Jin-Hyeok thought Serviel might betray Kadiva, but that was not the case. Demons were beings that strictly followed the law of survival of the fittest. Kadiva had succumbed to the immense power emanating from Serviel.

Serviel approached Kadiva with a satisfied smile. “Kadiva, you’re very smart. I tend to like ones like you, but…”

Standing in front of Kadiva, she instantly swung her hand, splitting Kadiva in two. Kadiva scattered into black smoke, and Serviel took a deep breath, inhaling that smoke.

“To face that powerful being, I need to devour you to—ARGH!” Serviel yelled.

This was Kadiva’s trap. After being absorbed by Serviel, he instead took over Serviel’s body. Serviel writhed in agony for a while, clawing at her skin.

After some time passed, Serviel’s body turned black.

“Foolish ones.”

Jin-Hyeok could easily guess that the one speaking was Garbinu. It had been quite an intense development.

“So… Garbinu knew Meichel would betray him,” Jin-Hyeok told the viewers.

This was Garbinu’s Plan B, a contingency plan in case the Demon King’s vessel was too strong. Then Meichel would betray him first, Serviel would devour the enhanced Meichel, and the enhanced Serviel would eliminate Kadiva. Garbinu’s plan was designed so that he could control Kadiva. Of course, this was not a perfect plan.

‘Dragan the Gluttony should have devoured me next,’ Garbinu thought. Then he could have essentially devoured all four Demon Kings. Having swallowed only three Demon Lords, he was not confident.

‘Can I take over his body now?’

That being (Cha Jin-Hyeok) was an unknown entity. He had not shown any resistance to Garbinu, yet nothing had happened to him. This had shocked Garbinu. Moreover, even now, that being was just standing still and doing nothing, which was very strange.

“Perhaps, you possess a Mystery that avoids external forces?” Garbinu asked.

Some Mysteries could have such an effect when combined. For example, if one combined Keysax’s Evasive Flight and Daemon’s Luck Calling, they could avoid Garbinu’s meticulous attack. One was a Mystery created by the previous Wind Spirit King with all his might, and the other was created by the legendary ancient Gambler Daemon. It would be difficult for one Player to have both. However, if by chance, they had obtained both, then they could block his attack.

“Yes, I possess it,” Jin-Hyeok answered.

“What about a Mystery that brings luck?”

“Of course, I have that too.”

“I see.” Garbinu had to acknowledge his opponent. “You are a worthy opponent. What’s your name?”

“Kim Chul-Soo.”

“Okay, Chul-Soo. How did you manage to combine Keysax’s Evasive Flight and Daemon’s Luck Calling?”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“I see. You don’t want to reveal your secret.” Garbinu understood that there would not be a fool who would reveal all their abilities, now or in the past. “But you did use Imprinted Mysteries, right?”

There were different types of Mysteries. Mysteries with specific names such as Keysax’s Evasive Flight or Daemon’s Luck Calling were called Imprinted Mysteries. Classified as upper-tier Mysteries, they had effects much more powerful than those of ordinary Mysteries. They were said to be relatively common in ancient times, but most of them had been lost, so it was not a general concept known to the public.

Garbinu chanted an incantation. “One who is worthy asks the question.”

It was a spell that moved the opponent by imbuing will into language. Through this spell, Garbinu could make someone speak only the truth.

“What’s the name of your evasion Mystery?”

‘Keysax’s Evasive Flight? Caldron’s Ability Severing? Shayfil’s Spacetime Separation?’ Garbinu’s next move would differ depending on which Mystery it was.

“It’s Spilling Wind.”

“...?”