Returnee's S-Rank Management Guide

Chapter 267 : Advent of the Demon God (4)

Advent of the Demon God (4)

"Hoo."

Jin Su-hyuk looked at Jung-woo and smiled.

The emotion contained in his smile was 'interest'.

As if Jung-woo's attitude right now was outside of his expectations, he nodded his head slightly.

"You don't seem as surprised as I thought. I expected you to react much more aggressively."

Even for Jin Su-hyuk, encountering Ivan had been far beyond his predictions.

He knew Ivan Hunt had been helping Jung-woo all along, but he never imagined Ivan would actually visit him now.

And, with the 'Goddess', no less.

"She is called Estella, I believe."

He remembered that the demons and Ivan Hunt had called her that.

The demons called her a Saintess, and Ivan called her a Goddess.

The common point between the two was the keyword 'Wishes'.

He knew that her authority held power closest to that of a miracle.

"That cannot be called Estella. It's simply something that imitates her."

To Jung-woo's calm response, Jin Su-hyuk nodded.

"You're right. That is only something similar to Estella. It's not her. It's a Demon God created by fusing a tiny part of her and divine art, something close to her authority."

A Demon God that had become more perfect than expected.

And no one knew better than Jin Su-hyuk just how tremendous that power was.

"My heart."

Just as with Shin Ah-yeon, and just as with Estella.

Right now, the Demon God's power was linked directly to Jin Su-hyuk.

"Park Jung-woo, I am the same as you."

Just as he had wished not to die.

What Jin Su-hyuk wished for was not much different.

To witness the new era.

To observe with his own eyes the singularity, the turning point of history, that was about to begin.

In the end, he had to survive.

"After that, it doesn't matter. As long as I achieve all of that, I'll live forever."

As long as he had the Demon God's power, he would not die.

Even if someday he disappeared, it didn't matter.

The man named 'Jin Su-hyuk' who had achieved all of that would live on forever, a legend passed down by everyone.

"You're feeling it too, aren't you?"

Jin Su-hyuk stepped forward.

One slow step at a time, toward where Park Jung-woo stood.

"Right now I transcend your strength by far."

The heart within his body was created using the remains of the Demon King, so it was not so different from the heart Jung-woo possessed.

And there was another.

The huge heart of the Demon God behind Jin Su-hyuk.

The very source of the 'Demon God's' power, and an infinite mass of 'Wishes' lending strength to Jin Su-hyuk.

As long as that existed, Jin Su-hyuk would not die.

Even if his body was broken and crushed, he would never die.

"You are, without doubt, amazing. I've heard countless times from the demons just how powerful and great the Demon King was."

Park Jung-woo was the man who killed that Demon King.

He slew the Demon King and made that heart his own.

How great that power was could be inferred from all he had accomplished so far.

"But in the end, you're still just an individual."

Just like the Demon King was.

"You, who killed the Demon King, should understand. In the end, an individual is just an individual."

The Demon King was so strong, and yet ultimately died at the hands of Jung-woo and the other heroes.

They could defeat the Demon King only because they had Estella's power supporting them with countless wishes.

But the situation now was different from then.

Jin Su-hyuk stood supported by countless wishes, while Jung-woo was but a lone individual.

'Back then, the Goddess was with him, but now it's just a single mage.'

Shin Ah-yeon was Estella's reincarnation, but only a reincarnation.

She could not fully wield her authority, and in the end, all she could do was substitute it for magic.

Naturally, compared to the 'Demon God', who could wield authority by mere thought, she was overwhelmingly lacking.

"Behold."

KUUUUNG!

The heart beat loudly, and started to tremble little by little.

As if something was about to be born this very moment.

"Witness the moment the Demon God is born."

Countless golden threads connected to the heart were drawn tight, pulling something from within the 'heart'.

Just like a marionette attached by strings.

A right arm entangled in countless threads of wishes grabbed the heart, tore it, and burst forth.

Estella's presence, felt from within the heart all this time.

Jung-woo gazed at it calmly.

What looked like a round egg gradually changed into a flower bud, and then bloomed into a single enormous flower.

And standing atop it, holding up a right arm bound in threads, was a golden Goddess.

"......"

The appearance resembled 'Estella' as Jung-woo remembered her.

But there was something a little different about the dazzling golden hair and the shining appearance.

'It' slowly lowered its right arm connected to the golden thread, and looked at Jung-woo for a moment.

That moment was so short it could hardly be called even an instant.

Jung-woo had believed it was a completely different being from Estella, and yet seeing it before his eyes—

He almost called out to it.

It was nothing but a fragment of consciousness separated from Ah-yeon, and a being created by divine art merely imitating the authority of wishes.

Not a Goddess, but a Demon God.

Everything about her resembled Estella, perhaps because of her appearance.

Or perhaps it was due to that unique aura.

Jung-woo could not deny it.

That the woman before his eyes was uncannily like Estella.

"......"

'She' stood atop the golden flower and gently moved her lips toward Jung-woo.

As if trying to say something, or perhaps having already spoken, her lips worked silently and then closed slowly.

And then—

KWAAAAAAANG!!!

Destroying the 'dark star', she soared vertically into the sky.

To announce to this world the birth of the Demon God.

***

The golden Goddess.

It was as if a star had appeared in the sky.

Bursting out from within the dark star, it shot up into the heavens, proclaiming its existence to the world.

A halo shining down upon the earth.

There were those who squinted against the intense baptism of light.

Some—overwhelmed by the boundless presence that no human should possess—fell unconsciously to their knees.

Especially among the awakeners, who could sense all the more clearly the power that the being radiated, many simply trembled.

'That is......'

Among them, Eugene Garland squinted up at the being.

He had already once seen something similar to that.

Alencia, who had absorbed all of America's national power.

The halo she produced back then was similar.

But the power emanating from this golden woman now far surpassed even Alencia at that time.

A presence worthy to be called a god.

Even Eugene could not deny that.

He had felt a similar emotion when he witnessed Alencia.

"...... I don't like this."

Of course, not everyone felt the same.

Eugene glanced at the woman who had spoken.

Shin Ah-yeon.

As she looked up at the woman in the sky, her expression was ruthless.

As if seeing her nemesis.

Well, that wasn't far from the truth.

'Seeing it now, I'm certain.'

It became clear during the Jeju incident.

The remnants of Estella inside her had been passed to Ivan Hunt.

No doubt that remnant had moved Ivan Hunt, waiting for only this moment.

It would have communicated with him, guided him to shape events so as to bring this situation about.

'Estella.'

No, that isn't right, since that's me.

It was something similar, but not the same.

Still, it certainly looked uncannily alike.

It was nearly identical to the Estella in her 'memories'.

That is not me.

Ah-yeon was sure of at least that much.

WUUUUUUNG!

The Demon God appeared in the sky, raising her right hand connected by golden threads.

Some of those threads shot upward, drawing a huge circle.

As if creating a 'gate'.

"What's that?"

"A magic array?"

"It's way too big for that, though."

Of course, those who saw it murmured, watching the spectacle blankly.

A few hunters, sensing the threat from the Demon God's actions, hurriedly prepared to intercept.

"Fire, now!!"

Countless hunters gathered in Seoul.

Especially the mages from the Magic Tower, led by Iden Void, known as Odin, who were in Korea supporting the effort.

Their numbers were in the hundreds at least.

Judging only by rank, they ranged from C-rank or higher, with excellent mages up to S-rank all firing magic at the Demon God at once.

The sight of innumerable magic arrays tracing through the air, unleashing magic, was truly a spectacle.

「──.」

The Demon God's golden eyes moved.

After scanning the incoming magic from all directions, she raised her left hand—not connected to the golden threads—and brushed the space lightly.

The movement was like brushing dust from a desk—so casual as to almost seem careless.

But the 'phenomenon' that followed was the complete opposite of such a casual gesture.

"... What the?"

Someone muttered in astonishment.

As they lowered their staffs after firing, the mages stared up at the sky in a daze.

Gone.

The countless spells that had just flown up into the sky disappeared without leaving a trace.

As if they had never even existed.

Zzzt—

Of course, as expected.

ZZZZZZT!!

The power had not disappeared.

The hand of the Demon God, which had brushed through the air, clenched into a fist and pointed somewhere.

Directly toward where Ah-yeon was.

"...!!"

WOOOOONG!!

At the Demon God's fingertip, a black space wrapped in golden bands opened up, and the incoming spells were fired back, transformed into magic power.

A black ray scorched the air.

As it traced its path, it pierced through magic arrays made of golden bands several times, flying straight at Ah-yeon.

KWAAAAAAANG!!

With a deafening roar, the black beam collided with Ah-yeon.

The impact was enough to sink the ground, with black rays ricocheting in all directions.

Nearby hunters screamed as they fled from the disaster.

It was a catastrophe.

Hard to believe it happened just from pointing a finger.

'H-hunter Shin Ah-yeon-nim...?'

Of course, no one wanted to imagine what had become of Hunter Shin Ah-yeon-nim, who had taken the attack head on.

Even as an S-rank awakener, even as a great mage, taking that attack directly would likely leave nothing of her.

'... Insane.'

Especially for Iden Void, who watched from afar, his body trembled.

Except for Ah-yeon, he was the world's best mage, and he knew just how illogical that 'miraculous' feat just now was.

'A mage cannot win against that.'

Absolutely not.

It was only natural.

Magic is, in the end, an act of mimicking miracles with magic power.

But 'that' was different.

It was a miracle simply by existing.

The authority of wishes, in the end, was essentially an advanced version of magic.

Unlike magic, which is nullified by breaking the link of magic power, this was an already-existing phenomenon. And that phenomenon happened just as the Demon God wished.

'It's different from the authority of wishes I heard about.'

Iden already knew a bit about the authority of wishes.

But what he saw now was different from what he'd heard.

"... I see."

From the pile of collapsed debris everyone was watching, Ah-yeon walked out slowly.

Though her appearance was a bit more disheveled from the dust, she had no visible injuries.

"You. So you don't like me... is that it?"

Clutching the staff Jung-woo had made for her in one hand, she reached her left hand forward.

Then, countless pure white sheets of paper formed above her palm, radiating a blue light.

Her back burned hot.

As a part of the authority of wishes manifested, it took shape and transformed into countless 'papers' over her hand.

"But I don't like you, either."

Ah-yeon's newly-completed Conceptualization Technique was unfolding at her fingertips.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

Damn.

15 chapters left.

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