Chapter 323 – It Is a Natural Flow (1)

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Translated by Heavenly Cat
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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Exorcism Ritual.

Only after entering the ritual could I properly see the face of the mixed-blood demon, that guy. An appearance close to a human. The light hair color was impressive for a demon. But……

I hadn’t even started anything yet, so why was that expression like that?

“Ah, ah……”

Pupils that had lost focus.

A mouth that could not even spit out proper words.

I felt like I had seen such a miserable sight somewhere.

The demon worshippers locked in the Infinite in the basement of the Mage Tower were exactly in that state.

To explain it simply, it was a face that had given up on everything in the world. If an innocent human had been making such an expression, I might have tried to talk to them out of needless concern.

But the opponent was a demon.

And not an ordinary demon, but the 56th ranked Demon King Gremory, who had grasped something called authority. Let’s not let our guard down, Ho-yeol. Of course, apart from steeling my heart, my actions were relaxed, no different from usual.

‘Obviously.’

With just one arm, a single swing of a sword.

The 1st ranked Demon King Baal, who had driven the Seorn Continent to ruin.

Wasn’t it our great Lord Granfel who didn’t even shrink back in front of him?

Naturally, there was no mercy.

“Raise your head.”

“Ah……?”

“From this time forward, answer the questions I ask.”

Whether she was in a state to answer or not was not important.
For this was not kind discipline.

It meant strict punishment.

“Mixed-blood demon. Reveal the meaning of that presumptuous name.”

This, I felt slightly pricked even as I said it. Why, wasn’t it me, the one who possessed the most presumptuous aliases, who shouldn’t be saying this……! The stray thoughts were momentary; Gremory moved her mouth hesitantly.

“M-Monster-like bastard.”

Exorcism Ritual.

A battle of mental power between a Demon Hunter and a demon.

If one gained the upper hand in the ritual, one could completely overwhelm the opponent.

Depending on the victory or defeat of the Exorcism Ritual, a Demon Hunter could fall into a demon, or a demon could become an existence less than a bug. However, Gremory spat out such words while being overwhelmed by me.

She must have been incredibly frustrated.

“Why, can I not even reach you?”

Grit─

Gremory raised her trembling hand.

If she reached out, it was a distance where she could easily touch me.

Tremble, tremble, tremble.

However, Gremory could not do it.

It must have meant she could spit out words but could not put them into action.

To the point where I could hear the grinding sound.

She ground her teeth and continued speaking.

“Damn iiiiiiiit!”

The moment I heard it, it was bizarre enough to think it was a demon’s scream.

To spit out such a sound.

To the extent that I was relieved it wasn’t Baek I-seol’s mouth.

“Gooooddaaaaaaamn!!”

Gremory’s face revealed beneath her apricot hair was hideously distorted. Did she realize it was the end herself? She must have been intending to vomit out her resentment instead of a will. She screamed even in a state of being completely terrified.

“My plan was perfect. You definitely couldn’t have even guessed. So aren’t you interrogating me even now? What the meaning of mixed-blood is……! Fine, if you want, I’ll tell you. I am Gremory, the mixed-blood demon who swallowed the authority of the Great Evil, Seven Deadly Sins Lust as a Demon King!”

……Wow, so that’s why it was mixed-blood?

‘I guessed it wouldn’t be ordinary.’

She didn’t get caught in the detection radius of [Natural Enemy] in the Zero Mountain Range either, and even broke through the encirclement deployed by the materialized Legend of Akshan and escaped. As expected, I thought she lived up to her name, appearing in the latter half of the class quest……

‘This exceeded my expectations.’

To think authority meant the power of the Seven Deadly Sins Lust.

At the same time, I understood.

Yes, she was at that level, so she could run wild beyond the norm.

Of course, putting her grandness to shame, Gremory seemed to have completely given up on life.

“But why……? Why could I not reach you for even a single moment with this kind of power? Is it because of the damn natural enemy relationship? I cannot understand. How much I, this body, struggled……!!”

I got the feeling.

‘Simply put, reality hit her hard.’

Considering the relationship between a Demon King and a Great Evil, throwing away her pride and accepting the authority of the Seven Deadly Sins must have been a big decision from the start. But making her decision useless, she got chased by the materialized Legend of Akshan. To escape the crisis, the human she possessed refused the possession putting forward pride. In the end, she walked into the tiger’s den, the Mage Tower, on her own feet and ran into me.

Changing perspectives, it was understandable she’d give up on life.

However.

‘Delusion is prohibited.’

I recalled the effect of the skill, [Natural Enemy].

───────

Natural Enemy: When engaging in combat with the demon race, combat power increases dramatically.

───────

Increases dramatically.

In the Chronicles of the Arcana Continent era, such an expression guaranteed tremendous effects. But that didn’t mean it meant invincibility. So it was not something to be so frustrated about, Gremory.

‘Did you say you struggled in front of me?’

That was right.

I didn’t know how much you struggled. But compared to my, Lee Ho-yeol’s, desperate struggle, I could be confident your frustration was like a wrinkle in front of a pupa.

Since we’re on the subject, shall we weigh it?

Look at the process of how I acquired the Legend of Akshan.

Losing my fear, I confronted Raymond Sean head-on. In the end, it was an achievement I could win thanks to sealing the Omen and restoring those forgotten on the Arcana Continent.

What about Baek I-seol’s pride?

‘Do you know how much I suffered back then?’

Although not as much as Baek I-seol, the person involved. Being entangled together, decorating the front page of entertainment newspapers, which wasn’t even in my destiny. Being caught for that and receiving useless teasing from my enemies……!

But, what?

“It’s unfair. I can’t stand it because it’s unfair……!”

The word ‘unfair’ came out of that mouth?!

This time, there was no need to even mention Granfel’s coldness.

I answered with an icy voice.

“Is that the end of your will.”

Then even more sharpened words returned.

“……I will curse you from hell, Lee Ho-yeol.”

In the past, I would have flinched at a demon’s curse.

But not anymore.

Do it if you can.

‘Do you think you’ll have the mind to do that in hell.’

The real Akshan seniors are in hell.

“I will wait for you there, Lee Ho-yeol.”

Wait for a lifetime again.

Whether I’ll fall to hell.

I thought of it as no big deal.

Gremory laughed with unmistakable signs of madness.

“Hahahaha. Holy War Allied Forces, doing meaningless things. But I will play along. It is a declaration of war. I will be nothing but the beginning. In the future, demons you cannot handle will drive you, your hometown, and even the Arcana Continent to ruin!”

Maybe because she had no backing, she was honest.

Yet, perhaps because I didn’t give any answer, Gremory even kindly provided an example.

“Starting with Lust. That bastard who deserves to die!”

This was probably why they say if you stay still, you go halfway.

Moreover, I thought this was why demons were treated as insignificant by Granfel.

Not to mention pride.

“You and Lust. Whoever it is, I will be waiting in hell.”

You guys had no loyalty either, did you?

Of course, I was thankful. Thanks to Gremory pouring out curses, I gained quite a few clues. Let’s see, the next prey after the mixed-blood demon is the “Seven Deadly Sins Lust”, right?

‘However, it won’t be just a Great Evil.’

Now that even Greed and Jealousy have fallen to hell, they would be the Great Evils who know better than anyone that they have no chance of winning if they face me head-on. That’s why they went through the trouble of offering a player as a sacrifice to mix the Demon King’s blood with their own.

And.

‘They must be hiding and watching the results.’

Whether Gremory met Lust’s expectations or not was not my concern.

What’s important was that Gremory blabbed about Lust’s existence like a demon. And no matter how tightly he hides, I remembered his scent through Lust’s authority flowing in Gremory’s body, which is important.

‘Even if he mixes other blood, I won’t miss it.’

Therefore, there was not a slight change in my expression.

“Hah.”

Now that she was prepared for death, Gremory must have poured out curses as her final struggle. But facing me, who didn’t even pretend to hear, let alone be agitated, Gremory seemed to have lost her words.

Of course, what I had to say remained the same.

“Is that the end of your will.”

“……You son of a bitch!!”

Gremory reached out her hand one last time.

However, for the procedure, it was the Dawn’s jacket that I had put on with sharp creases and fixed on my shoulders with mana since early morning. If it was the touch of an inferior race, the one who didn’t even allow it to brush against the hem of his clothes was exactly Granfel.

I continued speaking.

“Now shut that mouth.”

“……!”

At the same time, purple mana scattered.

Gremory’s body immediately stiffened.
For the one holding the initiative of the Exorcism Ritual was me.

If I didn’t allow it, it was natural that she could not even breathe.

‘By the way.’

This personality of mine that neglected nothing was incredibly persistent.

Whatever it was, it meant I repeated infinitely until I got used to it.

‘I’m destined to suffer for life, too.’

A message popped up before my eyes.

[The First World Tree’s Blessing rejects the ‘Curse of Twilight’.]

I paid no mind and interfered with the twilight mana.

If I used Pure Magic Studies earlier…… this time, it’s a familiar exploration target, a mineral.

Swish─

Twilight mana.

I arranged those purple mana particles imitating the structure of a mineral.

Then the fluttering twilight mana began to change its form. They clumped together and sharpened their edges. This, now I understand AAU’s report.

‘If they saw a skill like this, everyone would have only raised mages.’

Even the past me would have felt it was unfair.

I chose Demon Hunter for the sake of being cool.

That a class cooler than Demon Hunter had appeared.

Swish─

Beyond simply being cool, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say it had reached the extreme of splendor.

Of course, I was not used to twilight mana.

Because of that, the manifestation radius was extremely small, but…… ‘Since everything is relative.’

The Exorcism Ritual was still ongoing.

From Gremory’s perspective, wouldn’t this small purple breeze look like a fierce storm?

Gremory, staring at the twilight magic, muttered with a hollow voice.

“It is beautiful magic. On the contrary, you really have no mercy. Even the supreme beauty I can solely boast of, from me…… In the end, are you saying you will take everything from me?”

Even if she made such a pitiful sound, having no blood, tears, or emotions for demons, what Granfel would say was obvious.

“You were not beautiful for even a single moment.”

At those words, Gremory raised the corners of her mouth slightly.

“……You truly are a cold-hearted man.”

Soon, the twilight magic covered Gremory.

.

.

.

[You leveled up.]

[You leveled up.]

[You leveled up.]…….

Messages popped up dizzily.

Such a massive increase was the first time since the Seven Deadly Sins Jealousy.

I stealthily checked the status window.

[Name: Granfel Claudi Arpheus Romeo]

[Title: The Last Adventurer, Sublime, Transcender, Dark Dragon]

[Class: Demon Hunter]

[Level: 776]

[Stats]

Strength: 170 / Agility: 175 / Magic Power: 660 / Luck: 12 / Aesthetic: High / Tenacity: 5

[Held Points: 21]

Level 21 increase.

Since my level had increased by 1 in the Zero Mountain Range, just by hunting Gremory, my level increased by 20. Considering Gremory was ranked 56th…… ‘Even a 10-level increase would have been close.’

It was definitely revealed from the experience points that from the moment she became a mixed-blood demon, she had transformed into an existence more than twice as tricky.

─Hunt demons. (Repeatable)
● Follow the bloodstains to track the mixed-blood demon. (Success)
● Subdue the mixed-blood demon. (Success)

[You have successfully completed the quest.]

[Relationship with Akshan increases.]

[Influence in Akshan increases.]

Successfully completed the tiresome repeatable quest of Akshan too.

Baek I-seol’s pupils, which had been dyed black, also returned to normal.

Baek I-seol opened her mouth first.

“……Wow.”

Her first word was admiration.

More accurately, it wasn’t only Baek I-seol who let out admiration.

Suddenly, applause echoed on the top floor of the Mage Tower.

“It was a truly amazing manifestation, Sir!”

What’s going on here?

Marcelo, who was as emotionless as Granfel, was clapping his hands with an excited face. The cat next to him was the same. The Tower Master, with his tail standing straight up, added his words.

“To use twilight magic. It’s absurd, Chief Lee.”

“As expected, it wasn’t my delusion. Such magic…… No, I hadn’t even seen mana like that, so I was wondering. But I don’t know how this happened. I didn’t witness the twilight magic manifested in the Crystal Hall……”

“Excuse me, but I witnessed it too. The purple magic.”

“……!!”

Twilight mana and magic that could only be witnessed if one had opened a circle or had a magic manifestation power equivalent to it at least. Otherwise, one’s class had to be Great Mage like Jesse.

‘The Tower Master or Marcelo aside, Baek I-seol.’

Should have definitely not been able to witness it.

Even if everyone looked at me with curious expressions, I didn’t know the reason either?

I’m only guessing.

‘……Don’t tell me, is it because I forcefully manifested it?’

If the guess was correct, it was absolutely not a situation to brag about.
For this shamelessness had never admitted even a minor flaw.

I ended up blabbering.

“That was so. However, not anymore.”

“……What do you mean?”

“I will reveal twilight to the world.”

……Yeah, I’ll keep using what I learned with this temper.

Anyway, not saying wrong things makes me even more angry.

Anyway, since the three of them also admired it, I should also stop swallowing sighs and let out some admiration.

‘It is finally time to check.’

The end of the Exorcism Ritual.

I swallowed my saliva internally and looked at the purified sacrifice.

Soon, it popped up before my eyes.

The information of the legendary grade item left by the Great Evil, Jealousy!

[Set Effect: 1/7]

But wait, isn’t this looking unusual from the start……?