The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - Chapter 82

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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 82. The Destroyer of Wrath
Hidden Quest: [Perfect Weather for Causing Chaos].
The condition to complete the Hidden Quest and obtain Ian’s diary was far more than simply extorting funds from the Dark Merchant Company.
The fall of Violess.
‘Violess is merely a stage.’
Violess was essentially a city created and sustained by the Dark Merchant Company.
In other words, there was someone else orchestrating this stage from behind the scenes.
The Destroyer of Wrath, Iratum.
Iratum was a crucial and pivotal figure in The Emperor’s plan to consume The Continent.
‘I have to capture him.’
So after I seized all the Dark Merchant Company’s funds,
I quickly made my way to where Isolde was wreaking havoc.
But—
‘How much destruction has she caused?’
The entire Black Market lay in complete ruins.
The Black Market, which could no longer function as such and had become utterly devastated.
‘Was she holding back when fighting me?’
…It was an unexpected outcome.
No matter how effective my diversionary tactics were, I hadn’t expected her to obliterate the Black Market to this extent.
Perhaps that was why.
“M-monster!”
The few remaining Aketa trembled with fear, their will to fight completely shattered.
“How could a worshipper of false idols be this strong…!”
Worshipper of false idols.
This was the term the Fallen Soul Worshippers used to collectively refer to the priests and holy knights of the Holy Kingdom.
In truth, the god worshipped by the Holy Kingdom was, strictly speaking, a god that ‘did not exist’.
A god created from the collective faith of the Holy Kingdom and the ultimate aura—one that merely transcended ontological proof.
Therefore, the Fallen Soul Worshippers called the believers of the Holy Kingdom ‘worshippers of false idols’.
Those who revered mere illusions.
And they proclaimed themselves to be the true believers who worshipped the true god.
The Abyss Lord.
Regardless of whether he was a god or not, he was certainly an entity that ‘truly existed’ beyond the negative dimension.
“P-please, no more…!”
“Run…!”
The terrified Aketa began backing away and fleeing.
Then they caught sight of me—
“The Executor…?”
“The Executor?!”
“The Executor has arrived!!”
The Aketa’s faces brightened, and hope spread through them in an instant.
Though all wore masks that obscured their expressions, I could still discern their emotions.
“The Executor who mercilessly slaughtered a hundred members of the Black Grasp!”
“No matter how much you struggle, you cannot stand against the Executor!”
The Aketa operatives spoke with triumphant pride, like children tattling to their parents.
Following their gazes, I turned to see Isolde, who wore an ogre mask.
Yet surrounding Isolde’s entire form was a shimmering golden aura.
It was stripping away her human appearance—
‘Divine Ascension?’
The sacred martial art that Isolde herself had created.
Divine Ascension.
‘That explains it.’
I had wondered why the Black Market lay in such utter devastation.
But with Divine Ascension, the destruction was not merely understandable—it was inevitable.
‘She’s been using Divine Ascension since then?’
In any case, a monster remains a monster.
The Aketa operatives’ trembling in fear was entirely justified—
‘If that’s the case…’
I could proceed with the plan immediately.
I turned and addressed the Aketa operatives.
“Where did you move the slaves?”
“We relocated them to the Iron Waste District!”
The Iron Waste District was a dumping ground where Violess discarded its depleted resources.
It existed beyond the city limits of Violess.
Since few people ventured there, it served as the site for the Dark Merchant Company’s clandestine experiments and rituals.
It was also utilized as a storage location for various illicit drugs and weapons.
In other words, the safety of the general population was sufficiently secured.
Moreover, the impoverished residents of Violess would have evacuated on their own during the rampage of the Vister operatives.
“You understand what that means?”
I signaled to Isolde.
“The dead tell no tales.”
With a wet crunch, I spun and tore the heart from the Aketa operative—
Without a moment’s hesitation, Isolde surged forward.
The physical capabilities of Isolde, transcended through Divine Ascension.
They exceeded even my agility-enhanced perception.
“Wh-what…?”
“What’s happening…?”
The remaining Aketa operatives still had no comprehension of what was occurring.
Together with Isolde, I swiftly eliminated the Aketa operatives one by one, and when only the last one remained—
Beyond the mask, I could see the operative’s eyes.
Two points of light, gleaming with the final spark of understanding.
It was trembling, quivering—.
“You… you couldn’t possibly…!”
So that was the reason after all.
“You deceived us, you bastaaaaard!!!!!”
In my previous life, the Imperial Army soldiers gnashed their teeth whenever they saw me because of this very fact.
Aketa shuddered at the revelation that I was not Avarus.
The look in his eyes as he stared at me now was saturated with betrayal—.
“Do you think you’ll walk away unscathed after this? Have you no fear of heaven!!”
The audacity was truly breathtaking.
Experiments, torture, exploitation, abuse, violence, plunder, massacre—the list went on and on.
Considering what they had done to innocent people, such words should never have left their mouths. Which is why—.
“Your logic is garbage.”
Well, these lunatics were hardly in their right minds anyway, so what logic could I expect.
“It is not I who should fear heaven, but you.”
A sickening crunch!
I tore out his heart with my dragon’s claw.
As the last Aketa collapsed.
Isolde removed the ogre mask she had been wearing.
In that moment, Isolde staggered.
The golden aura that had stolen her human form was no longer visible.
Fortunately, just before she fell, Isolde managed to regain her balance—.
“Haa…! Haa…!”
She looked quite precarious.
Hot breath poured from her ragged gasps, and blood she hadn’t managed to swallow dripped from the corner of her mouth.
Holy Fist Technique, Isolde’s style, Transcendence of Holy Power.
This technique operated on the same mechanism as Metabolic Overdrive.
However, in terms of performance, it was a superior upgrade to Metabolic Overdrive.
To put it crudely, an ultra-superior upgrade.
This was because Transcendence of Holy Power drove not just the endocrine system into overdrive, but every single muscle fiber and nerve cell.
Through this, Transcendence of Holy Power allowed one to surpass the limits of humanity, but it came at the cost of tremendous strain on the body.
For an ordinary human body?
It would explode the instant it was used.
In other words, a technique only usable because Isolde’s body was essentially sculpted from holy power.
Even the Saints and Sages of old found it difficult.
The strain was that severe for Holy Fist Technique, Isolde’s style, Transcendence of Holy Power.
Currently, Isolde’s muscle fibers were completely torn, her nerve cells entirely ruptured—she was in a state of utter devastation.
“Are you alright?”
“I’m… fine.”
Isolde answered with difficulty.
Perhaps due to her inexperience with the Holy Fist Technique and the technique still being incomplete, she was unable to easily recover from the backlash caused by the physical strain.
That’s why I wanted to give Isolde enough time to recover—.
“Contrary to expectations, the Crimson Soiree hasn’t made a move.”
Unfortunately, time was not on our side.
“What do you mean by that….”
“The Black Grasp and Vister’s alliance alone won’t be enough to push back the Dark Merchant Company.”
“So what should we do now?”
Isolde spoke through ragged breaths.
Her body hadn’t fully recovered yet.
Still, she looked at me, asking only for my orders.
She, who cared nothing for her own safety.
This too was no different from my past life.
Though back then, the positions had been reversed—.
‘How strange.’
…The feeling was quite peculiar.
“Currently, I cannot discern the Crimson Soiree’s clear intentions. Do you have any way to contact the Eye of The Pilgrim?”
The Eye of The Pilgrim.
The Holy Kingdom’s secret order of knights tasked with monitoring the activities of foreign heretical forces and anti-religious organizations, gathering intelligence on them.
Scattered across The Continent, they were charged with identifying and eliminating threats to the Holy Kingdom before they could materialize.
“…They’ve likely already received a report.”
“Ah.”
It seemed the Eye of The Pilgrim had been watching the Lawless City all along.
Come to think of it, Isolde had mentioned that my presence in the Lawless City was discovered through the Eye of The Pilgrim.
And the upheaval in Violess.
There was no way they wouldn’t know of it.
Normally they would have observed the situation or watched how events unfolded—.
“The fact that I’m here would have been reported as well.”
If Isolde was in Violess, the situation changed entirely.
There was no way the Holy Kingdom would abandon its princess in this city of chaos.
This presented both advantages and disadvantages.
The advantage was that no additional measures were necessary.
But the disadvantage was that time had become even more pressing.
“Can you use Holy Power Transcendence again?”
“How do you know about that?”
…Damn.
The Sacred Arts were techniques devised by past Saints, but Holy Power Transcendence was a technique Isolde had created ‘herself’.
An incomplete technique at that.
In my past life, it had been perfected, and I had witnessed it countless times—but that was the past.
In this present, having returned to the past, only Isolde could know of it.
The situation was urgent, so it had slipped out before I could stop myself.
Perhaps because of that, Isolde’s eyes studying me held a peculiar light.
Her eyes gleamed like topaz, yet within them lay a shadow of suspicion.
In other words, a gaze demanding a proper explanation from me—
“I’ll explain later.”
“….”
“The explanation is complicated. There simply isn’t enough time to go through each detail right now.”
It was a somewhat forced excuse, but I had no choice.
Still, perhaps she trusted me to some degree now.
“I suppose I can allow it this once.”
Fortunately, she seemed willing to let it slide for now.
I exhaled a silent breath of relief and immediately gathered my thoughts.
‘I need to move quickly.’
Especially now that the Holy Kingdom knows Isolde is here, they will dispatch troops or take some action.
And if the Holy Kingdom moves?
Iratum will boldly abandon Violess and cover his tracks.
After that, there’s no telling what he might scheme or where.
So I cannot afford to let him slip away.
“The one currently controlling Violess from the shadows is a man named Iratum. He’s currently in the Ruins District.”
I pulled oil from my inventory and poured it into my mouth, swallowing it down—
A final diversion tactic.
“I will deceive him and seize the opportunity. Isolde, please draw his attention.”
The resolve to drink the dragon’s poison.
* * *
No matter how hard Iratum tried to comprehend it, he could make no sense of the current situation.
Boom, boom, boom, crash!!
Moreover, the chaos in Violess continued unabated even now—
“These bastards really—!!”
His fury finally erupted.
Just as Iratum was about to step in himself, it happened.
“Lord Iratum…!”
Fortunately, Aketa, who still had his wits about him, was there.
Someone called out to Iratum.
And when he turned to look—
“…Avarus?”
Avarus was here?
And limping, covered in blood at that.
“???”
In that instant, Iratum’s comprehension plummeted into the depths of the Abyss.
“Cough, hack!”
Avarus suddenly convulsed, spitting blood.
Iratum regained his senses for a moment, but then—
“You need to… get away…!”
“…?”
What was he even talking about?
Iratum couldn’t figure out what rhythm to follow anymore.
But Avarus, already drenched in blood, was now coughing it up as well.
Judging by his condition, something was clearly wrong—
That was when it happened.
Something shot toward Iratum at tremendous speed.
He hastily threw himself out of the way—
Boom!!
The spot where Iratum had been standing erupted in a violent explosion, sending up a thick cloud of dust.
As the dust settled, a figure emerged from beyond it.
Someone wearing an ogre mask, their identity concealed.
But an ominous aura radiated from them.
Iratum could tell immediately.
All the chaos that had unfolded in Violess until now.
The reason Aketa and the others who went to investigate had vanished without a trace, as if they’d been sent as offerings to the Abyss.
And finally, the cause of Avarus’s current state—
“…So it was you.”
It was all because of that ogre mask.

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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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