I Became the 101st Hero

〈 Chapter 230 〉 Decisive Battle (5)

*

“Demon King, huh?”

The High Priest showed a moment of agitation.

But soon, she returned to her usual cold demeanor.

“Whether it’s possible or not is secondary. Do you think becoming a Demon King can make you defeat me?”

That was something to think about after becoming the Demon King.

For now, the first obstacle was simply becoming one.

‘Damn it.’

I had expected it would be tough to endure.

I had previously heard about it from Violet.

But the pain surpassed my imagination.

Drip.

Something started to trickle down my philtrum.

At first, it was thin like a stream, but that crimson liquid gradually thickened into a river.

“Cough…”

Something surged up my throat and spewed out of my mouth.

It was a chunk of flesh.

Next, warm something flowed down my cheeks.

But this time, it wasn’t tears.

It seemed blood was beginning to flow from my eyes as well.

“Ugh…!”

Chaos was destroying and morphing my physical body, and blood was escaping from every orifice.

As my consciousness faded, I gritted my teeth and tried to endure as much as possible.

Losing consciousness in this state would mean my end.

‘Sung Yoo-rang…’

What I needed now was the will of Sung Yoo-rang back on Earth.

If my guess was right, then the 7 billion people on Earth were its god, and they would also decide my transformation into a Demon King.

So, what was important now was Sung Yoo-rang convincing them.

‘Is the persuasion still not finished?’

I had some faith in her.

It might have been the only way, but I also had a strong trust relationship with her.

But at the same time…

‘Of course, I thought it would be difficult.’

I wouldn’t have to persuade all 7 billion of them.

Even if it was just 10%, that would still mean 700 million.

Getting that many people to cheer me on was as difficult as enduring this chaos right now.

‘But if it’s Sung Yoo-rang…’

At that moment.

The High Priest lowered her hand.

It seemed the absorption was finally complete.

But she spoke with a disappointed tone.

“Surely, a being that is already dead has a faded existence.”

That meant the apostles she absorbed were still insufficient.

That could be viewed as a reason for her failure.

She seemed not to have expected that death would cause one’s existence to become faint.

‘I guess she always failed in that way.’

I said to her.

“Told you so. I said you’d fail.”

But she shook her head.

“No.”

She began to slowly approach me.

“If I could absorb you as well, then maybe it would be different.”

“What?”

There was certainly a possibility.

If she absorbed me, she might be able to handle divine authority.

Moreover, in the future I had seen, she eventually killed me, but if I willingly allowed myself to be absorbed without dying, then that possibility would increase.

“Allen Pleuk. If you truly want to prevent the world’s destruction, then face reality.”

Reality.

The reality that perhaps the direction I was aiming for was not correct.

I didn’t turn my head away from that reality.

“Yeah, it certainly seems to have potential. But…”

Before anything else, I had to ask one thing.

“Why do you want to become a god?”

I had to know this.

But the High Priest remained silent.

“Of course…”

Reality isn’t just what’s visible before your eyes.

That was what I had learned from the trials of reality.

‘I need to consider what the other side looks like.’

I had to think about why the Water Sage and other heroes before the chaos had to kill the Creator God.

‘Someone like her shouldn’t become a god.’

It would be better if Albert became a god.

Though he was a somewhat annoying and noisy guy…

He was a good person.

“I refuse.”

So, I refuse.

Rather than entrusting the future to you, I’d rather walk my uncertain path.

But…

‘Sung Yoo-rang, is it not time yet…!’

For some reason, the signs of my transformation into a Demon King did not appear.

Instead, it was only the High Priest approaching me.

“If that’s the case, then there’s no choice.”

The High Priest’s sword pierced my heart.

Since my entire body was already drenched in pain, I didn’t particularly feel a sense of agony.

Only my heartbeat stopped, and my vision began to darken.

“If you resist, I’ll have to kill you to take it.”

My consciousness was fading into the distance.

Just before I lost consciousness, a message suddenly appeared in front of me.

< Trait [Absolute Obedience] will be manifested. >

It was a message I hadn’t seen in a while.

Thanks to that, my consciousness was forcibly awakened once again.

At the same time, I realized.

‘I’m sorry. Sung Yoo-rang.’

I had shown a pathetic sight.

I had advised Wilhelm to shoot, but now I wasn’t doing it myself.

I couldn’t solely depend on Sung Yoo-rang.

In the end, I had to show it directly.

“Ugh!”

I grasped the High Priest’s sword and pulled it out of my chest.

I already seemed to have bled out as much as I could; more blood wasn’t coming out.

‘I’ve already surpassed the realm of humanity.’

Then it was either one or the other.

To become a Chaos Beast or a Demon King.

Of course, even if I became a Chaos Beast and rampaged, it would be powerful, but without reason, I could never defeat her.

So, I had to show the people on Earth.

I could do it.

I needed to make them believe, to want to believe.

Fortunately, it seemed someone had already started cheering.

[A nameless Divine Seat wants you to rise again.]

Cheers began to echo.

And it wasn’t just one.

[A nameless Divine Seat wants you to rise again.]

[A nameless Divine Seat wants you to rise again.]

[A nameless Divine Seat wants you to rise again.]

One by one, cheers started to increase.

And with that, my body gradually began to feel lighter.

‘Did I do it?’

Of course, it didn’t feel complete yet.

But for now, I stood up.

‘Let’s fill in the gaps while dealing with the High Priest.’

That’s when another message appeared.

[A nameless Divine Seat wants you to fight and win.]

Yeah, I was already planning on that.

I raised my sword again.

At that, the High Priest seemed to realize my change and hurriedly increased the distance between us.

“Have you truly become a Demon King?”

As she said, I had succeeded in becoming one.

As proof, the injuries on my body were starting to heal gradually, and horns and wings were beginning to sprout.

‘Now, all I need to think about is defeating her.’

From now on, I had to settle the score no matter what.

Without hesitation, I took out all the Awakening Pills I had left and put them in my mouth.

Then I felt my physical abilities soar to their limits along with the power of the Demon King.

‘With this…’

I unsheathed my sword toward the High Priest without hesitation.

Swoosh.

The sword strike flew through the space within the High Priest’s barrier.

The air that brushed against it made a thunderous sound as it tore apart.

However, the High Priest quickly created a transparent barrier right in front of her and blocked it.

“Do you really think you can beat me just because you’ve gained the powers of a foreign entity?”

She was indeed not an easy opponent.

Moreover, having absorbed all the apostles must have made her even stronger.

But it was still worth trying.

“Perhaps there’s more than just the powers of a foreign entity?”

I pulled out the Rose Sword from my inventory.

Of course, I could normally not use the abilities of the Rose Sword within the High Priest’s barrier.

At least, that was the case under normal circumstances.

Whoosh.

Flames erupted from the Rose Sword in my hand.

The blazing flames were beautiful.

Thanks to my powers I gained as a Demon King.

The powers of Wind’s Power, Overload, Sublimation, and my originally possessed abilities merged and became usable as my powers as a Demon King.

But there was also a new ability.

Connection.

All the bonds I had formed with everyone I had met until now.

I manifested that connection into strength.

Connection was not a burden I had to carry.

Instead, it became my greatest power.

If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t have come this far.

I swung the Rose Sword.

Powerful flames enveloped the High Priest.

But even such powerful flames were eventually stopped by her barrier.

‘Doesn’t matter.’

It may seem like each blow isn’t working right now…

‘It accumulates to another way, after all.’

That was how Gwen lived her life.

And…

Nothingness (?)

The God of Nothingness said.

Nothingness is about solidifying oneself as a sword, becoming stronger and tougher.

But I expanded that target beyond myself, even to others.

‘Gwen.’

This was the swordsmanship that contained her.

Flames began to explode around the High Priest once more.

There was no way to escape from that massive bloom of flame.

But…

It seemed it wasn’t enough.

Even within that fire, the High Priest raised her hand.

At the same time, something transparent was created around her.

Although it was transparent and hard to see, its form flickered as a silhouette within the flames.

‘A sword?’

There were dozens of them floating around her.

‘So she’s not just going to sit there and take it.’

In that moment, the transparent swords she created started flying toward me.

Since they were almost invisible to the naked eye, I had no choice but to recognize them with Wind’s Power and evade.

‘But…’

The swords kept coming endlessly; there seemed to be no end to them.

“Ugh…!”

No matter how much my physical abilities increased after becoming a Demon King, there were limits.

I couldn’t keep blocking the swords indefinitely…

Then I felt a chilling sensation brush the back of my neck.

‘Huh?’

I looked up.

Of course, there was nothing visible above, but I could feel it clearly.

A sword, of a scale beyond what I had avoided or blocked so far, was looming above my head.

‘Damn it.’

It was too late to evade now.

Then could I possibly block it?

‘That wouldn’t be possible…’

No, it was possible.

I put the Rose Sword back in my inventory and drew another sword.

A massive sword with glorious decoration, the Royal Sword.

‘Elsie.’

She had entrusted me with this sword just before I entered the barrier.

Because if I failed to save this world, there would be no Leim Kingdom either.

At that moment, I received not just a sword but also her will.

The will of someone who risked her life to protect the Leim Kingdom.

Flash.

Light surged from the Royal Sword.

Of course, even with this light, it wouldn’t make a solid barrier like Elsie did.

But…

Elsie.

The name of this technique is Elsie.

After all, her will was embedded in it.

An enormous sound echoed.

At the same time, the Royal Sword shattered from the impact.

But it wasn’t just the Royal Sword that broke.

The enormous transparent sword also shattered into pieces.

‘Wind’s Power.’

I used Wind’s Power to dodge all the falling fragments and grabbed Albert.

The High Priest had consumed a lot of her strength from the previous attack.

This was the only opportunity.

Just as I turned to face the flames that had enclosed the High Priest.

‘Uh?’

The High Priest was no longer there.

Instead…

“I have no choice now.”

She had placed her hand on the seal of the Creator God.

“I’ll absorb you after I become a god.”

*

---