I Became a Mythical Hunter After Killing the Golden Goblin - Chapter 136
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 136. Settlement
Demon Spirit—one of the purest forms of demonic energy born from the soul itself. It was a type of demonic energy possessed by Solomon, the primordial Demon, and the stat that laid the foundation for him to reign as Master of Ten Thousand Demons.
Pure white black. It sounds contradictory, but the Demon Spirit, truly one of the primordial demonic energies, could only be described that way.
Though I had witnessed demonic energy several times before, never had there existed such a perfectly pure, luminously black demonic energy.
Perhaps that was why the epithet “the most primordial demon” suited it so well.
That pure white demonic energy was stained darker than pitch black, enveloping a soul composed of translucent bone.
The soul trembled. Kamighin, the soul’s owner, had sensed my power.
Normally, this would be the end—I would simply infuse my demonic energy into the soul and be done. But the moment I attempted to grant my demonic energy—
“Cough!”
I had no choice but to vomit blood surging from my core. An overwhelming, excruciating pain. It felt as though my entire insides were being severed and twisted.
What?
Before I could even form the question, the System helpfully(?) provided an explanation.
〚Warning!〛
〚The rank and power of the soul you are attempting to subjugate are far too formidable!〛
〚Subjugation is impossible.〛
It was only natural. This was the soul of a being who had once sat upon the Divine Seat itself. Moreover, it was the soul of a Demon King who had lived for at least several thousand years—far too great a being for someone like me, who hadn’t even earned the letter grade A, to subjugate.
Even Bertas, who had lost considerable rank and power by gradually bestowing his soul and life upon a puppet, had only barely avoided crossing the line of subjugation.
Belial, too, had her rank restored by the System and divine authority when she descended, but her soul itself had been left for so long without a body, losing reason in the process, making her subjugation the easiest difficulty.
But Kamighin was different. By slaying his original body and enslaving his soul, I was literally subjugating the afterlife of a god. I had not been granted the rank and qualification to bear such an enormous act.
The gazes intensified further. Even as I vomited blood, the Demon Kings observed this place with the utmost fascination.
Some beings harbored curiosity and interest in whether I could truly subjugate a Demon King’s soul and fully wield the power of a true Demon God.
Others felt anger and murderous intent at the audacity—that a mere insect from the Lower Realm dared attempt to subjugate a Demon King equal to themselves.
Still others simply sent infinite reverence and praise toward me, now revealed as the successor of the Demon God.
“These lunatics, I swear.”
As I struggled under those gazes, it was Belial who stepped forward. Pure white divine power suffused her body as she transformed into the form of an angel, and that divine power enveloped and protected my body.
“You lunatics, that’s enough. Disappear.”
Belial. She, too, was a Demon King—a Fallen Angel. The master of the 68th Seat, and by strength, I understood her to be ranked among the most renowned and powerful Demon Kings.
The gazes of countless Demon Kings shifted to her in unison. Only then, as if realizing her identity, did they gasp or sigh in astonishment.
It was a voice. They transmitted divine speech directly without sending a message.
Among the countless voices, I heard it—the voice of the most powerful and greatest being among those Demon Kings.
【So you were alive. Belial. How long do you intend to leave the 68th Seat vacant?】
“Shut it. Right now, my contractor is more important. And are you speaking informally to me? Baal. Just because you got a little stronger, you think you can match me?”
The number of a Seat has nothing to do with rank. But there is one exception. The master of the 1st Seat, the sole child whom the Demon God Solomon called his own—his bloodline, true name: Baal—alias: the Great King of Eight Legs Wearing the Crown.
【…So it truly is you, Belial.】
“Then you think there’s another being as beautiful and magnificent as me?”
【Strictly speaking, Lucifer might be more…】
Crash!
The words were cut off. Here they are, one of them suffering in agony, yet these two are flirting and making up with each other.
I internally vented my frustration while contemplating what to do.
A moment of choice.
If I gave up now, Kamighin’s soul would be permanently annihilated, never to be resurrected. That was the power of Longinus, after all.
But I couldn’t recklessly push a subordinate who had far exceeded their limits like this.
To be honest, it was greed. Despite the hell he’d put me through, if he became my ally, he would be a force equivalent to a hundred thousand celestial armies.
‘Without any resistance either.’
The moment he realized I had become a true descendant of the Demon God, he immediately knelt and offered his worship. Kamighin was undoubtedly such a devoted fanatic that he would believe it even if the Demon King claimed red beans made soy sauce.
In any case, I was in a position where I could do neither one thing nor the other.
Flinch! Shudder!
The translucent spirit made of bone greedily consumed my demonic energy and began to transform.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The bones separated. Just as Kamighin could create puppets and divide his soul to grant them life, the soul itself began to fragment and divide.
From one to two. From two to four. From four to eight. …
Kamighin divided into a total of 1,024 pieces. But it wasn’t enough. Unable to divide further, Kamighin boldly discarded the remaining form and power.
As if confident he could reclaim it anytime. As if yearning to enjoy the glory of becoming a Demon God’s subordinate.
The demonic energy of the demon spirit belonging to the Pride stat was instantly sucked in, dyeing all 1,024 soul fragments with my color.
“Huff…huff….”
The transformation happened slowly. Perhaps because it was such an unprecedented occurrence? The bodies of Kamighin—or rather, the Kamighins—began to form at an extremely slow pace, and I collapsed exhausted to the ground.
“I’m really dying here.”
No, to be precise, I almost died once already. Anyway, it’s over now. This damned Quest is finally finished.
Before that thought even ended, System Messages flooded my vision, flashing with congratulations and rewards.
“Ha…hahaha!”
My body was dying from exhaustion, but I couldn’t stop the laughter bursting from me as I fell backward. Gazing up at the sky, I felt the stares become even more vivid.
“How long are you planning to watch? That’s an invasion of privacy.”
I directed those words at the stares—the Demon Kings. To be honest, I wasn’t sure how to handle them.
If anything, I seemed to lean more toward the evil faction than the righteous one.
After all, wasn’t I advancing the storylines of the final bosses of the two forces of the Demon Realm—the Dark Magic Realm and the Demon World?
The occupation of Solomon, the Demon God of the Dark Magic Realm. The power of Lucifer, the master of Pride from the Seven Sins of the Demon World.
Well, if I’m being honest, I do possess Longinus and the Holy Grail, the two divine relics and sacred objects considered the pinnacle of the righteous faction.
But it’s an undeniable fact that in terms of weight, I’m far more deeply invested in the former.
So I didn’t know how to handle them. They were certainly evil beings. Just looking at the Ma-in, I knew they were far from good.
No, you could tell just from what happened over the past few weeks.
‘Opposition? Or join hands?’
No, joining hands is a bit much. I might already be treated almost like a Ma-in, and if I actually joined hands with them, what would be the difference between me and a Ma-in?
The Demon Kings’ gazes gathered on me again from Belial. In truth, it didn’t matter what I thought or what choice I made.
Ultimately, it was the Demon Kings who held the superior position. If they suffered enormous losses, I would simply die.
If just two Demon Kings descended, I wouldn’t even be able to resist properly before dying.
In the end, it all depended on what they were thinking.
I accepted the infinite demonic energy rising from the Demon God Territory with my entire body, recovering my physical form while calmly accepting their gazes.
〚Divine Seat: The Demon King of the 46th Seat is watching you.〛
〚Divine Seat: The Demon King of the 5th Seat is watching you.〛
〚Divine Seat: The Demon King of the 27th Seat is watching you.〛
〚Divine Seat: The Demon King of the 11th Seat gazes upon you.〛
.
.
.
.
.
〚Divine Seat: The Demon King of the 1st Seat gazes upon you.〛
〚Among the 72 Seats of the Dark Magic Realm, a total of 66 Demon Kings currently seated gaze upon you.〛
As the System Message echoed once more and the gazes of the Demon Kings grew so intense that I could feel the pressure despite their power and supreme souls being blocked, a realization struck me.
【Child chosen by the Father.】
Baal opened his mouth. Now that the Demon God had vanished, the darkest divine utterance of the demonic realm reverberated across the sacred territory.
“Isn’t it contradictory to say that Solomon chose me? I inherited this power through the convergence of chance and fortune.”
【Among the Demon God’s titles exists this one: the wisest prophet. That being knows all things. Even the god of the heavens, now slain by his own children, could not match that wisdom.】
Indeed, in Earth’s mythology, he was frequently depicted as the king of wisdom, so it made sense.
‘Then Solomon chose me?’
Honestly, it seemed likely. If it weren’t me, who else could have inherited that position through such an impossible process?
Only I could. No—even I would have found it impossible without fate’s coincidence and divine power’s assistance.
【Presumptuous and arrogant insect.】
The descriptor changed. Well, from their perspective, that’s what I must appear to be. After all, I—weaker than even their weakest subordinate, a mere finger’s worth of their power—had casually killed a colleague with disrespect.
【I will neither acknowledge you nor refuse to acknowledge you.】
“I don’t expect it. Would I have inherited this power with your permission? Besides, your god never granted you such authority in the first place.”
【Foolish insect. If you make an enemy of us, it will not end well. For some of the Demon God’s powers are connected to us.】
If that’s the case, then the matter becomes different. That thing floating in the System had already been irritating me, so it seemed I should erase the option of making enemies of them.
“Lemegeton. Is this connected to you?”
【You’ve already learned that much? Yes. It is the grimoire, the sacred artifact, and the authority in which the primordial Demon—the Demon God who created itself—recorded the demonic power bestowed upon its children. Should you obtain that book, you could wield all demonic power freely. In terms of rank alone, it surpasses those cursed sacred relics you possess.】
A primordial-grade item! Or perhaps an authority?
In any case, I swallowed hard and stared at the Lemegeton, given to me as a small clue for the next secondary class awakening through the job quest reward, before raising my gaze again.
“What do you want?”
【Show me. I will remain neutral. Survive those who envy, covet, and lust after you, and come to where I am.】
The surroundings darkened. The performance was excessive. Yet it conveyed immense grandeur.
【Then I will acknowledge you as the Father’s successor.】
Baal’s words were essentially a declaration that a conglomerate family would grant the position of chairman to an outsider, not a direct family member.
Of course, the difficulty would be insanely high.
I felt the malevolent gazes still pressing down on me and let out a quiet laugh.
“Fine. Let’s see what you’ve got.”
I would retreat no further. I drew Longinus from my inventory and, without activating it, hurled the spear skyward.
“Those sending killing intent at me right now—let’s meet face to face.”
With that warning and display of audacity, the gazes began to vanish one by one, and when the last gaze finally disappeared,
my consciousness could no longer endure this pressure and fatigue, and it shut down on its own.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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