ALL NOVEL Chapter 208
Kwa——ang! The last barrier of the Empire, the Absolute Barrier, has collapsed.
It has fallen several times before, but seeing the imperial castle walls crumble right before my eyes carries a different weight.
“The system’s walls….”
“They’re collapsing….”
Pashssss.
The castle walls dissipate like mist.
They turn to dust, kicking up earth, and vanish into the flames as if they had never existed.
“Behold, humanity.”
The Demon King Satan rises into the air, hoisting a woman by her collar.
“Empire, you have lost. You, who relied on nothing but the Holy Sword, have been defeated.”
Who could deny it?
The greatest power of the Empire is the Emperor.
Not just any Emperor, but the Emperor who is the Master of the Holy Sword.
Now, that Emperor is in the clutches of the Demon King Satan.
From Satan’s left hand flows the enormous ‘Dragon of Black Flames,’ devouring the Emperor’s body.
“Kuh, huff…!”
The Emperor struggles desperately, but it’s futile.
He swings the Holy Sword in a last-ditch effort to escape the entity known as the ‘Gehenna Dragon’ that Satan has summoned.
“It’s useless. No matter how much you swing that, you are not ‘at full power’ right now. Deep down, you’ve already lost.”
“Shut up! I am the Emperor!”
“Yes, the Emperor. A poor hero who cannot wield the power of the Holy Sword to its fullest.”
How could she, who hovers in the air, far away from solid ground, exert her true strength?
“You foolish one, who does not even know the environment in which you can most effectively use your power. Have you ever truly wielded the Holy Sword? Have you ever fought for your life with the Holy Sword in hand?”
“Kugh…!”
When has the Emperor ever fought for his life?
No enemy has dared to even think about facing the ‘Hero of the Holy Sword.’
“You are weak. The environment has made you weak. Even if you are an Emperor, you are not a warrior.”
“Shut, shut up…!”
“Always, the defeated cannot hear the bitterest of advice. Lacking an objective view of yourself, how do you expect to use the Holy Sword to defeat me?”
Every word of Satan pierces the Emperor’s heart like sharp teeth.
“I thought it would be a closely matched fight, but it’s more pathetic than expected.”
“Cowardly…! Using two Holy Swords…!”
“Ah, is that so?”
Satan gestures to the Gehenna Dragon coiled around his left arm.
“You can clearly tell because you’re a user of the Holy Sword. This is known as the ‘Sword of Darkness.'”
“Kugh…!”
“Where did I get it from? You need not know. While you were merely breathing on your throne, I risked my life to obtain it.”
Lick.
Satan licks the back of the Gehenna Dragon on his left arm and grins wickedly.
“It was a fight where I bet the very soul of the Demon King known as Satan. Because I grasped the Sword of Darkness, I could exist as the being known as Satan. Ah, now I understand why that guy said what he did. The victor mustn’t blabber too much, but I can’t help but say this…!”
Satan shudders with joy.
“You all have had no idea where I’ve been and what I’ve been doing until now! Yeah! I’ve moved quietly without being caught by anyone! But now I can say it! I, Satan, have taken over the body of the hero wielding the Sword of Darkness!!”
Satan beams, pointing at himself.
“Why would I exist in this woman’s body! Why would I continue to use this body that can’t properly fight without the power of the Holy Sword! There’s a reason for everything! Ha ha ha!”
Kyaaaak!
The Gehenna Dragon on Satan’s left hand sparkles with orange eyes and sprays flames outward.
“By the way, I took the form of that Great Demon King. Yes. The one that has now become my left arm.”
Inside, it brimmed with orange flames, yet outside, it bore a resemblance to the ‘evil dragon’ from 500 years ago.
“It hasn’t been definitively confirmed as my left arm yet, but once I rule the Intermediate Realm, I plan to turn it into my left arm. How about that?”
“I’m not interested…!”
“How can you not be interested? This left arm is the Great Demon King from 500 years ago who ‘looked after’ your Empire. Bel Phegor.”
“!!”
At Satan’s words, both the Emperor and the entire Empire stiffened in horror.
“…Tch.”
Even Dragon Fear would pale in comparison.
All the humans within the system momentarily froze as if struck by petrification magic at just the utterance of the name ‘Bel Phegor.’
“The Demon Lord of Terror, in its true form. How enviable. To be recognized as ‘death’ by the leading beings of an entire world. To be a being that instills fear of death with just a name.”
Even now, the name of the Great Demon King Bel Phegor resonated in the hearts of humans 500 years later.
“…That title of the Great Demon King of Terror must be mine!”
Satan erupted with rage and raised his right hand high.
“Now, the Great Demon King Bel Phegor is no more! The true Great Demon King is I, Satan!!”
Skrik.
As Satan swung his right hand downward, blood sprayed through the air.
Something fell from the Emperor, and a massive demon of flames behind Satan caught it with a hand.
“Ah, ahhh…!!”
“Shut up.”
Flame.
The flames of Gehenna touched the Emperor’s shoulder.
The surface of his severed arm caught fire, and the Emperor could only let out a silent scream, bowing his head forward.
“Hm? Ha, to faint. How absurd.”
Swish.
The Gehenna Dragon whipped its head around and spat out the Emperor.
As knights rushed to catch the Emperor falling to the ground, the Emperor’s arm remained in Satan’s hand.
“What I need is the Holy Sword. A gift. If you can, try to attach it again.”
Satan grabs the Holy Sword of the Earth with the mouth of the Gehenna Dragon and tossed away the Emperor’s severed left arm.
“Finally.”
Satan placed the Holy Sword of the Earth in front of him with a trembling voice.
“Yes. This was what I needed. The Three Holy Swords….”
Satan’s trembling voice seemed to carry a hint of a sob.
As if the hardships until now were nothing, Satan grasped the Holy Sword of the Earth directly in his hand.
Gugugugugu!!
“Kyahhhh!!”
“Is, is that an earthquake…?!”
The entire Empire began to shake.
The moment Satan seized the Holy Sword of the Earth, the ground quaked as if resisting Satan.
“Holy Sword of the Earth. I do not know you, but listen!”
Gugugugugu!!
“I, the Great Demon King Satan! Will eliminate all lives upon this land! Submit to me!!”
Gugugugugugu!!
“The Intermediate Realm will become the ‘Demon World’ and will turn into a fiery land flowing with sulfur! A land of darkness where humans cannot live! The land of the red moon will shine upon this land once more! It shall become the paradise of the Demon Race! Submit to me!!!”
The Gehenna Dragon devoured the entire Holy Sword of the Earth.
The tremors intensified, buildings collapsed, and walls began to crush people.
Was it the rage of the Earth or the resistance of the Holy Sword?
It was neither.
The traces of the Leberced Empire, which resided within the Holy Sword, began to vanish one by one, erasing all remnants of the system that had been constructed using the Holy Sword.
“Behold, people of the Empire! You who have lived weak and lazy lives, relying solely on the Holy Sword without ever achieving true progress, devoid of any struggle for a fierce existence! Witness the fury of those who have lost hope in the land of death!!”
Crack.
The Gehenna Dragon finally completely consumed the Holy Sword of the Earth.
The shock that had rocked the entire system began to fade, and Satan extended his left hand.
Clang.
A brown great sword protruded from between the jaws of the Gehenna Dragon.
The blade, engulfed in orange flames, appeared harder and sharper than any metal.
“……This is the Holy Sword of the Earth. Though I forcibly made it mine, you too shall ultimately become mine, Satan.”
“Ah, aah…!!”
The fallen system.
And the traces of its foundation, the Holy Sword of the Earth, have all vanished.
The system was built upon the land that was strengthened by the Holy Sword, which leveled the earth, raised walls, and constructed buildings.
Since the Holy Sword of the Earth has now become ‘Satan’s Demon Sword.’
Now that ownership has changed, who can argue against it?
The Empire is finished.
“Empire, from now on, this land shall belong to the Demon King’s army. It shall be the land governed by me, Satan, and in the center of this system, I will erect the Demon King’s Castle! With the power held within this Holy Sword of the Earth!”
The Empire becomes the Empire of the Demon King’s army.
“And there will be no humans in that Empire.”
Resistance is futile.
The moment the Emperor fell, the will of the citizens of the Empire was broken.
“Among you, there may be some with hope. The ‘Demon God’ beneath the Empire will save it.”
Satan laughed mocking at those who were stunned.
“I will make that Demon God mine starting now. With these three Holy Swords in my possession.”
Flame.
The Gehenna Dragon that had been in Satan’s left hand disappeared, and three orbs glimmered before him, coming together in one place.
“Flame. Earth. Darkness. The powers of the three shall combine as one. When the three powers merge, the ‘Trinity’ shall be formed.”
The orb of flame moved to the left.
The orb of darkness moved to the right.
And around the two orbs, the orb of earth began to expand towards the sky, standing tall.
“…This is my true power, Satan. The three Holy Swords shall merge into a new form. Its name shall be… ‘Demon Sword Gehenna.'”
Weeeeiiing.
Satan grasped the downturned hilt.
With the great sword clutched in both hands, the Demon King’s wings unfurled like bone joints, their orange flames flickering and blazing in between.
“Ah, this is it. Yes… my ‘evidence’ that was lacking in this physical body.”
Swoosh.
The Demon Sword Gehenna became a radiant blur.
And the light of Gehenna was Satan’s.
“…The items I lost after coming to this world.”
Suuuu.
It seeped through his garments and settled deep within Satan.
“Ah, with this….”
Lick.
Satan licked his lips with a sly grin.
“I can trick Asydia’s Zephar. Hehe. I’m not the Great Demon King yet. But.”
Satan spread his arms wide.
“I shall devour the title of the Great Demon King!”
Flap.
Satan’s Demon Sword stood tall.