I Became a Mythical Hunter After Killing the Golden Goblin - Chapter 153
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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 153. Cheonma Bidong (5)
〖Cheonma Bidong – Zone 49 – The Arena of Despair〗
〖Objective: Achieve victory over Despair’s warriors. (91/99)〗
〖Reward: Compensation varies based on completion rate.〗
Gasp. Gasp. Gasp. Gasp.
My breath comes in ragged bursts, my body trembling. Fighting ninety-one consecutive battles without rest had drained me to my limits. Particularly from the sixty-first Despair warrior onward, each opponent proved formidable, and after pushing through thirty of these formidable foes, I teetered on the brink of complete exhaustion.
“Win against all ninety-nine like this?”
The thought was reasonable—I could surrender. Surrender beckoned like temptation, deceptively simple. The moment I entered Zone 49, all I needed to do was shatter the sphere of demonic energy hovering before me.
Whoosh!
I sidestepped the spear hurtling toward my throat with minimal movement, my lips curling into a snarl. I discarded the Manmang Shinma Blade from my grip and drove my fist forward.
Heavenly Demon Divine Art – Foundation
Heavenly Demon Three Fists
Heavenly Celestial Demon Calamity
A black sky—so immense and destructive it made my previous second technique seem crude by comparison—erupted forth, engulfing the ninety-second Despair warrior.
Though the Despair warrior possessed no face, only form, it perceived my exhaustion from my attack and displayed something akin to a mocking smile. No expression, yet unmistakable. How else could such composure manifest?
The spear surged toward the black demonic sky. Point against storm—a duel between spear-tip and demonic tempest. Neither emerged victorious.
Without dodging or blocking Heavenly Celestial Demon Calamity, the Despair warrior countered and shattered it, then rushed toward me. Yet it too bore wounds.
From blocking Heavenly Celestial Demon Calamity, both hands gripping the spear had become tattered, and its internal energy had depleted by over eighty percent.
Now we stood on equal footing. On equal ground, my defeat was impossible.
No matter how formidable that warrior might be—strong enough to warrant an S-rank designation.
My senses bordering on precognition and eyes approaching perfect insight grasped and collected everything.
A body perfectly controlled by will and moving with absolute precision, supported by meridians that amplified my internal energy, all coordinating to display maximum efficiency based on collected intelligence.
Blade and spear. Fist and fist. They crossed and intertwined for but a moment.
At last, my blade pierced through its head, and the Despair warrior ceased its movements. Yet it seemed unwilling to acknowledge defeat.
As its body weakened and crumbled back into demonic energy, it lifted its head toward me until the very end, mocking me with an impossible expression, asserting through sheer will that Despair would ultimately prevail.
Rage and irritation surged through me. Arrogance especially seized control, causing my internal energy to rampage and drive me forward.
As if commanding me never to lose. I harbored no such intention anyway.
“The moment for full strength has arrived.”
Since it had come to this, I needed to see it through. Unfortunately, the Demon God Territory remained unavailable due to cooldown. Yet this place itself granted me nearly infinite demonic energy, so while my stamina and body might falter, my internal energy scarcely depleted.
Had it been otherwise, I would have surrendered to the eightieth-ranked Despair warrior long ago.
Ssssshhhhh.
Demonic energy coalesced from the void, rapidly converging to birth the ninety-third Despair warrior. I watched calmly while activating techniques I had reserved for this moment.
Demonic Song Theory. Arrogance’s Wings. Equivalent Exchange. Self-Amplification.
Every buff descended upon me. Fortune offered no aid, yet fortune smiled—what dwelt within me was a future slightly distant, and my stats surged instantly to C+.
Having previously cultivated my stats to D-, I could now sustain Self-Amplification far longer. Still, even so, the remaining time felt insufficient to face all seven remaining warriors.
Speed and decisiveness were essential now.
I lifted the Manmang Shinma Blade embedded in the ground and drew upon Heavenly Demon Divine Technique, wrapping it around the blade.
Heavenly Demon Divine Art – Foundation
Heavenly Demon Thirteen Blades
First Blade
Demonic Path Unification
With a buff that amplifies attacks as a bonus.
The Giant Ant’s strength.
The power of a colossus.
In an instant so swift that the fully-born 93rd Despair warrior couldn’t even react, my blade plunged downward toward it.
!…!!
The battle ended—anticlimactic, almost laughable. But this method hinges entirely on timing.
My body trembled from complete exhaustion, yet I forced myself upright to ambush the next opponent with the same tactic. Unfortunately, the 94th Despair was born faster.
In the end, shortcuts no longer sufficed. I had to exhaust every trick in my arsenal to see this through. I quickly downed a potion from my inventory and drew upon my still-intact mental fortitude.
“I didn’t want to resort to shortcuts….”
I’ve always prioritized results over process. Victory is all that matters. I seized control of the Despair warrior—a collective entity of demonic energy and artificial life—hurtling toward me.
Just one second. A momentary grip alone sent crimson blood streaming from my nose. But it sufficed. One second was enough to sever an enemy’s breath.
Again. Again. I continued winning through these shortcuts. When timing aligned, I struck with overwhelming force the moment it was born. When I was late, I controlled the demonic energy to claim victory.
The 95th. The 96th…the 98th.
When only one entity remained, the buffs enveloping me dissolved. Self-amplification and equivalent exchange expired naturally, but I dispelled the rest myself.
The final one would be simple to finish. And shortcuts wouldn’t work anyway.
I opened my inventory, watching the 99th and final Despair warrior being born from within the black sphere—as if it were blocking my shortcuts.
Help me, Longinus!
Activation begins. The moment that shell vanishes, I kill. The rapidly ascending activation rate doesn’t satisfy me. I retrieve the Holy Grail and pour holy water into it, raising the activation rate to 10%, then wait.
The Despair warriors that normally took 10 to 15 seconds to manifest now take an extraordinarily long time. After more than a minute, a complete form finally emerges.
Crack. Crack.
The massive collective of demonic energy shatters—a protective barrier so potent that even my control cannot penetrate it. And from within, a single entity appears.
〖99th Despair—33rd Heavenly Demon—Heavenly Sound Heavenly Demon〗
He was a Heavenly Demon.
-Remarkable. An existence capable of awakening my will has appeared. How long has it been? Eight thousand years? Not since that monstrous girl.
He could speak.
-What…?
He perceived me precisely, and grasped the power of Longinus in my hand with perfect clarity.
-After so long, I finally have a body and time to think properly, yet it amounts to nothing but an instant.
He accepted his defeat without resistance.
Because of this, I didn’t immediately throw Longinus. The victor was already decided.
The Despair warrior—one of the wills of this Cheonma Bidong—appeared to have abandoned everything. I wasn’t so pressed for time that I’d forfeit the chance to converse with it.
-By the way, you…you’re also a Heavenly Demon? With such pure and destructive power, you must be. A Heavenly Demon of the Alternate Dimension.
“You can tell?”
-All Heavenly Demons in this great and supreme Jigo Murim must inevitably return here after death. That is the karma and law imposed upon Heavenly Demons. Furthermore, any being who inherits a Heavenly Demon’s power must meet their end at a Heavenly Demon’s hand. That too is the curse, blessing, and law decreed upon the Heavenly Demons of Jigo Murim. A law that cannot be defied or refused.
“Who created such a law?”
-I do not know. I only know that all Heavenly Demons from the first to the 38th have been bound by that law. That is why we Heavenly Demons are strong. Had we not been trapped in such a pathetic and feeble shell, we could have savored this more.
Lick.
I frowned as I watched the Heavenly Demon regard me with a chilling gaze, licking his lips.
-A Heavenly Demon from the Alternate Dimension. And one whose Heavenly Demon Divine Art surpasses even ours from Jigo Murim, which we always deemed supreme. How intriguing.
“I have no intention of making this harder than it needs to be.”
At my words, the Heavenly Demon smiled with a bitter edge and nodded.
-Other mad Heavenly Demons might think differently, but I agree. In the end, only the victor remains. Whether the loser whines about cowardice or lodges complaints, it’s nothing but drivel spewing from a weakling’s mouth. I’m an open-minded Heavenly Demon who believes cunning is just another method!
“You’re insane. So let me ask this clearly—to kill a Heavenly Demon, must one become a Heavenly Demon?”
-Kkhkhkhkh. Correct. More precisely, only those who possess Heavenly Demon Divine Art can claim the life of another who possesses it. Though that doesn’t mean Heavenly Demons are immortal. It varies—some achieve reincarnation, others regression, some possess new bodies—they continue their existence until the next generation’s Heavenly Demon claims them.
“Thanks for the information. Now I know how to kill her.”
I nodded with satisfaction while manifesting Heavenly Demon Divine Art in the hand opposite to where I held Longinus. Of course, before that, I’d need to survive this Bidong, advance to victory, and earn recognition as a Heavenly Demon.
But the 33rd Heavenly Demon erupted into near-hysterical laughter at my words.
-I’m sorry, but it’s impossible. The current generation’s Heavenly Demon is a supreme monster that even another Heavenly Demon cannot dare to kill. She will be the last Heavenly Demon to ever exist! You don’t understand! That monster! That overwhelmingly destructive, cruel, and vicious existence!
“I do.”
-No, you don’t. The current generation’s Heavenly Demon. That woman is a calamity to martial artists—she copies and evolves every technique merely by witnessing it, then applies it. As long as you use martial arts and are a Heavenly Demon, no matter how otherworldly you are, you cannot kill the current generation’s Heavenly Demon.
“I can. I must.”
-Kkhkhkhkh. Is it confidence or arrogance? Or just stupidity? Do as you wish. Soon you’ll despair and scream, and you’ll be enshrined here. Whether that monster intends to shatter the shackles imposed upon Heavenly Demons or simply opened this Bidong out of curiosity, I’m not sure. But when a new Heavenly Demon is born, the law will be enforced. There cannot be two heavens in this world. One sky must inevitably set. That is the nature of the Heavenly Demon—a great and absolute existence!!!
Deciding I’d heard enough, I hurled Longinus forward, and the 99th martial artist of Despair, the 33rd Heavenly Demon, decomposed back into demonic energy and vanished while still screaming at me.
-Despair! Despair and rage! If you become the current generation’s Heavenly Demon, then you’ll understand. What kind of monster those 38 Heavenly Demons here despaired and raged against!
I had no choice but to respond to that cry.
“Don’t call my Younger Sibling a monster. Not before I hunt down your very soul and obliterate it.”
At my words, the 33rd Heavenly Demon’s eyes widened as he tried to say something, but unfortunately, he was too late. The martial artist’s shell had already crumbled.
A message confirming passage through Zone 49 appeared, and rewards began to be distributed.
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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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