The Mage Who Devours Disasters - Chapter 99
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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 99.
Before the Return.
In those days when humanity climbed the Tower of Gods and coughed up blood.
The name ‘Heavenly Demon’ was itself a religion and a calamity.
Every time a single piece of equipment was discovered, conflicts erupted between nations.
Great Guilds crumbled overnight, and countless rankers shed blood, wagering their lives for a single fragment.
Yet.
Despite the tremendous weight that the name Heavenly Demon carried.
‘…Not a single soul knew the origins of the Heavenly Demon.’
From what world it came, what deeds it committed to leave behind relics of such terrible power.
Only vague speculation—’a demon from legend’—had ever circulated.
But now.
Before my eyes, a colossal dungeon bearing the name of that Heavenly Demon yawned open.
‘Does this dungeon relate to the Heavenly Demon’s origins?’
My heart pounded like madness.
The ‘Heavenly Demon Armor’ and ‘Heavenly Demon Boots’ I currently wore.
And the martial art, ‘Heavenly Demon Sword Technique’.
The homeland of all these things might lie just beyond that rift.
If I could fully conquer that dungeon?
I might be able to acquire all the remaining Heavenly Demon set pieces.
‘Heavenly Demon’s Descent.’
The ultimate effect that unlocks upon completing the set.
An absolute opportunity to touch the realm of a Demon God.
I felt the urge to hurl myself into that darkness immediately.
But.
“…!”
The tips of my fingers that had touched the rift were charring pitch-black.
There was no pain, but a creeping, sinister demonic energy crawled beneath my fingernails.
Ding! Ding!
[Warning! The demonic energy concentration inside the dungeon has exceeded critical threshold.]
[Upon entry, 1% of your vitality decreases per second.]
[Upon entry, 1% of your divine power dissipates per second.]
[Debuff: ‘Heavenly Demon’s Suppression’ is constantly applied.]
I reflexively pulled my hand away.
My breath caught.
Simply entering would consume 1% of my vitality and divine power every second.
One hundred seconds.
Even the mightiest deity would wither and die in one minute and forty seconds.
The worst of the worst.
This was no dungeon offering a challenge—it was a blender that obliterated everything it touched.
Moreover.
‘If what Seria said is true.’
I stepped back and wiped my chin.
Survivors from the Destroyed World migrated to Asgard.
Following the roots of those migrants, the remnants of destruction crossed over and formed dungeons.
If that’s the case, there must be a reason why a Heavenly Demon Divine Sect dungeon appeared near this Orga Kingdom.
It couldn’t be coincidence.
‘Within this kingdom, or nearby… there must be migrants related to the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect living here.’
The thread of that obsession had reached this far.
Judging by the ferocity of the demonic energy I sensed, recklessly entering now would be a clear mistake.
No matter how much I possessed the blood-draining effect of Ber Rune or Kwon Cheonsa’s holy sword.
I couldn’t push through to the end while enduring a one-percent-per-second annihilation debuff.
Preparation was necessary.
I desperately needed either a way to counteract that vicious debuff or information to overcome the dungeon’s mechanisms.
I turned my body with a hardened expression.
The Barbarian Four Brothers silently followed behind me.
The King of Orga, who had been trembling in the distance, came rushing over frantically.
“R, Rag! What is the condition of the dungeon?”
Cold sweat beaded on the king’s forehead.
His anxiety was evident—he feared I might give up and turn back.
“Entering immediately is impossible.”
My blunt words drained the color from the king’s face.
“Ah….”
“However.”
I met the king’s eyes directly.
“That doesn’t mean I’m giving up.”
A thread of hope bloomed once more across the king’s ashen features.
“I need to prepare for a few days.”
The king exhaled a sigh of relief and prostrated himself on the ground.
“Th, thank you! I shall mobilize all the kingdom’s resources to aid your preparation!”
“Resources aren’t necessary.”
I looked down at the king and issued a command in a low, cold voice.
“Return and find me one thing.”
“W, what do you speak of?”
“The Heavenly Demon.”
The king’s expression hardened at the words that left my lips.
“Search thoroughly throughout this kingdom to see if anyone bearing that name or connected to the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect exists.”
I added finally.
“Bring them before me alive. That is the only task you have.”
* * *
The Royal Palace of the Orga Kingdom.
Inside the grand Banquet Hall, an ornate chandelier blazed with dazzling brilliance.
The tables groaned beneath the weight of an extravagant feast.
“To the great Rag!”
The King of Orga raised his glass in a toast.
Rare beast meat procured from across Asgard.
Exotic fruits from another world, their sweetness perfuming the air.
And fine liquor, clear and fragrant, flowed endlessly.
Beautiful dancers of various races performed sensual movements, while musicians played lively melodies.
This banquet was held in my honor.
And yet.
“….”
I rested my chin in my palm, my expression indifferent as I toyed with my glass.
I was not in good spirits.
It was not that the food lacked flavor.
Nor was the music tedious.
‘…They are forcing this.’
What I had witnessed upon entering the Royal Palace—the true state of the Orga Kingdom.
Certainly, it was a vast nation where countless different races dwelled together.
Yet beneath its grand facade, it festered with decay.
The kingdom’s finances were in dire straits.
The people in the streets were exhausted and starving.
Their faces bore resignation rather than vitality, despair rather than hope.
To be frank, it was no different from a slum in some impoverished rural backwater.
‘It must be the Dungeon.’
The Large-Scale Dungeon that had recently appeared at the kingdom’s periphery.
The demonic energy pouring from the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect Dungeon had rotted the farmland, and the flood of demonic beasts had trampled the people’s livelihoods.
A nation already impoverished had been driven to the brink of ruin.
Yet they held this magnificent banquet.
‘The tribute brought by the Pilgrimage Group.’
The gold and treasures contained in those chests.
For the Orga Kingdom, it must have been a lifeblood expense—squeezed out by scraping bone and depleting the treasury, enough to shake the very foundations of the realm.
I felt deeply uneasy.
I should not have accepted even that tribute.
“Rag, does the food not suit your palate?”
The King of Orga watched me anxiously, his manner cautious.
Cold sweat beaded upon his brow.
His nervous concern over whether he had offended the Deity’s sensibilities only made me more uncomfortable.
Clack.
I set down the glass I had been holding onto the table.
“Stop the music.”
My terse command cut through the air.
The music ceased abruptly.
The dancers froze in place.
The King’s face drained of all color.
“P-please, forgive my transgression! I deserve death for this…!”
The King began to prostrate himself on the floor.
Everyone around him did the same.
Sigh.
I exhaled slowly.
No matter how much Asgard revered the divine.
I raised my hand to stop him.
I surveyed the Banquet Hall with a stern expression.
“There is no need to hold such ostentatious ceremonies for me.”
The King’s eyes wavered.
“Nor do you need to prepare lavish feasts or curry my favor.”
I rose from my seat.
“However.”
I gestured toward the delicacies piled upon the table.
“Wasting food is not proper conduct.”
I looked directly at the King.
“Every dish prepared here shall be distributed to your starving subjects in the streets. Not a morsel left behind.”
“…!”
The King’s jaw fell slack.
His expression betrayed utter incomprehension.
A deity rejecting offerings and feasts, instead commanding them be given to lowly mortals?
It was utterly alien to the Gods of Asgard as he understood them.
Yet soon, deep concern etched itself across the King’s face.
He had reinterpreted my refusal in a different light.
‘Am I being abandoned for insufficient offerings?’
His pupils trembled.
Despair crashed over him as his hope of securing me as a guardian deity shattered.
“R-Rag… please, do not abandon us…!”
Just as the King began to sob and bow his head to the floor.
Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong!
From outside the Royal Palace, urgent and frantic bell tolls rang out.
A blaring alarm.
A Knight Commander burst through the Banquet Hall doors.
“Your Majesty! Demonic beasts!”
The Knight Commander gasped for breath, drenched in blood.
“The outer defensive line has been breached! The beasts are pouring toward the Royal Capital Gate!”
Invasion.
The horde of demonic creatures that had erupted from the Heavenly Demon Cult Dungeon had finally pushed their way to the King’s doorstep.
“Ahhh….”
The King of Orga collapsed where he stood.
The Banquet Hall transformed in an instant into chaos and terror.
But.
I twisted my lips into a smile.
“I never said I’d abandon them.”
I turned back, my hand gripping the hilt of the holy blade Abriel at my waist.
The Barbarian Four Brothers, who had stood in silence, raised their greatswords and ignited their fighting spirit.
“Turan.”
“Yes, my lord!”
“Open a path.”
Crash!
Turan shattered the Banquet Hall wall with his greatsword.
Beyond the massive opening, the night sky was visible.
I threw myself through that opening without hesitation.
‘Spirit’s Wings.’
Transparent wings unfurled in the empty space.
I flew toward the Royal Capital Gate with lightning speed.
* * *
Before the Royal Capital Gate.
It was horrific.
Thousands of grotesque demonic beasts crawled up the city walls.
Monsters spewing black miasma, tearing into soldiers indiscriminately.
“Hold the line! If it breaks, it’s over!”
The soldiers of Orga Kingdom desperately wielded their spears, but it was insufficient.
Before the sheer mass and power of the demonic beasts, the gate was on the verge of shattering.
Then.
Boom! Crash! Crash! Crash!
The thunderous sound of four massive meteors falling from the sky.
The Barbarian Four Brothers landed in the midst of the beast horde.
“Out of my way, insects!”
Turan roared and swung his greatsword.
Crash!
A single slash.
Dozens of demonic beasts were sent flying into the air, spraying blood in their wake.
Before the overwhelming might of the ancient warriors, the beasts’ advance halted for a moment.
And.
Above their heads, in the empty space of the night sky.
I raised the Sage’s staff high.
A blinding light flashed from the tip of the staff.
A Legendary-grade power.
‘Calamity from All Directions’.
A deafening rumble tore through the air.
The earth split asunder, swallowing the demonic beasts whole.
Crimson magma erupted from the chasms, and a colossal tidal wave swept beneath the City Walls.
“Krraaaaaaagh!”
“Shrieeeeek!”
Fire and water, earthquake and collapse.
Four calamities wove together in perfect harmony, raining down like a carpet bombing.
It took less than three minutes.
The demonic beast legion that had threatened the Royal Capital.
Reduced to ash and blood by a single power, vanishing without a trace.
Then I brushed my hand once.
“…Waaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”
“Long live the great Rag!”
“Long live the great Rag!!”
All the people cried out as if the Royal Capital itself would shake apart.
Like believers witnessing a miracle.
Soldiers, Knights, nobles—even.
“Ahhh….”
The King himself was no exception.
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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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