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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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-Whoosh
A field of rye swayed in the wind across the river.
The sound of the wind tickled his ears.
Just him and his father.
The memory of that peaceful day.
If that nightmare hadn’t happened that day, he might have lived as an ordinary farmer.
Edwin’s mind became confused.
Was it too much for someone from a common farming background to dream of being a hero…?
.
.
.
When Edwin opened his eyes, he was met with the pure maiden, Aria Bluebell.
-Whoosh
She was pouring her divine power into him.
No, it was closer to a deluge than an infusion.
“Aria…?”
“…”
Power filled his entire body. A pleasant warmth enveloped him, bringing Edwin to peak condition unlike ever before.
However…
“Aria! What are you doing?! If you use that much divine power…!”
“…This is the best option right now. Please stay still.”
“Aria…”
Her expression was deeply serious.
The act of directly transferring divine power to another person was highly taxing, and as a result, Aria’s body was slowly losing its vitality.
‘…’
In fact, just before the mysterious explosion, Aria had briefly made eye contact with Abelline and noticed a change in her own body.
-Wh-Who is it…! Where from?!
-Ugh!
Against her will, Marcosias’s voice began echoing in her head.
‘Before the others find out…’
So, before she did something she might regret, she had to entrust all her divine power to Edwin.
This was the best Aria could do.
.
.
.
-Crackle!
-Crackle!
-Crackle, crackle, crackle!!!
Against the backdrop of the Mystic Island’s thinned demonic barrier, holy rain poured down incessantly, heralding a new beginning.
-Clang!
‘Kgh!! Which bastard?! Where!’
Marcosias could not pinpoint the origin of the arrows that flew towards him, each tracing an elegant curve.
It was as if countless angels surrounded Marcosias, subjecting him to holy judgment.
He could do nothing but be pierced by the light.
And then,
-Thud.
In the distance, Edwin Gwynn approached Marcosias.
-Whoosh!
Suddenly, the dark surroundings became as bright as day.
Like an executioner lifting a curtain of darkness in the darkest corner of the world.
An incomparable amount of divine power dwelled within his sword, shining brightly like a holy blade.
-Thud.
Edwin stopped about five steps away from the archdemon he was about to slay.
He threw aside the small shield equipped on his left arm.
He held only a sword in both hands.
Edwin had something to test.
A swordsmanship revered in the Empire, which emphasized cooperative defense through shields and synergy with party members.
However, for Edwin, who harbored a burning desire to personally slay the demon, it was his one and only allowed strike.
Days of solitary practice in the training grounds, unbeknownst to anyone, flashed through his mind.
-Keh?
And it was then, as Marcosias let out a short cry, pierced by the 13th arrow.
-Swish!
-!
After that, the Jade Swordsman’s figure vanished.
‘What…?!’
Even with Marcosias’s enhanced vision in his human form, he couldn’t follow Edwin’s movements.
But at least, he could sense that the line Edwin drew was straight, not curved.
-Swish, swish, swish!!
An ominous sound soon enveloped him.
-!
‘He passed… me?’
-Thud.
One of Marcosias’s knees buckled.
Edwin was already behind him.
‘Iai Slash.’
It was an ordinary Iai Slash.
Marcosias had allowed himself to be hit by a truly simple attack.
A straightforward strike that invested everything in speed alone.
He couldn’t avoid it.
The curved, white-light arrows had created the perfect angles for Edwin to pass through.
-Clang!
“?!”
It didn’t end there. The moment Marcosias tried to recover and stand up as quickly as possible.
-Boom!
The vivid afterimage of the sword strike began to trigger a holy explosion.
“You lowly creature!”
Of course, Edwin was already prepared for his second attack.
-Swish!
The ominous noise surged again from behind Marcosias.
Edwin didn’t hesitate.
The divine power entrusted to him by Aria.
He would draw it out without hesitation and kill him.
That was his only thought.
-Swish!
‘Yes, Keuk…! This is more like it!’
Marcosias’s magical power surged.
-Wheeew!
-!
This time, instead of black fog…
A white, sparkling fog swirled around him.
It was the manifestation of [Marcosias’s Authority – Angelization].
-Shing!
‘?!’
Edwin was sure he had struck him.
The feeling from the hilt to the palm of his hand told him so.
Of course, he had definitely struck, but…
“Khahaha! Kha! This is fun, so fun!! You brats are actually forcing me to take this form.”
“That form is…?”
Marcosias was no longer a demon.
More precisely, on his demonic form, broken and defiled angelic wings were attached to the base of his wings.
-Whoosh…
The most shocking thing was that he sensed divine power from him.
“This is… possible?!”
It was unbelievable. A demon possessing the power of an angel simultaneously.
“So what will you do now? Green creature?”
Ironically, Marcosias originated as a Power Angel.
His power of transformation was different from ordinary transformation magic.
It wasn’t a transformation based on his current stats, but rather a method of storing the forms he remembered.
And naturally, a strike imbued with divine power couldn’t harm one who was divinity itself.
Thus, Edwin’s attack was nullified.
-……
As if to prove this, Lev’s supporting fire was no longer connecting.
“Edwin! This is…?”
Yeriel, having completely cleared the surrounding monsters, stood beside him.
Marcosias began to laugh, his mouth wide open.
“Kkuk. Kha! You are truly creatures deserving to be torn to shreds. Making me feel this way. Bune, Tobiel, Darian!!! It’s enough to drive me mad… I want to kill you all right this instant, but if you come out like this, it makes me want to enjoy it a bit more!”
However, the battle was over.
‘Me, being defeated. Such a thing is impossible.’
From the mysterious arrows that had been flying until now, their attacks were based on divine power.
Unless it was pure skill, they couldn’t inflict even a scratch on him.
“Khup, Khahaha! Is it the end?! Is it truly the end?! Your holy attacks from that foolish Clarice won’t work anymore, you know?”
He chuckled, then scoffed at Yeriel and Edwin.
“If you have another plan, show it to me quickly. Make me more entertained! I’ll give you a special personal evaluation. Oh, don’t tell me all you have left is to beg naked like the creatures you…”
Just as Marcosias was about to instill fear in them,
-Whoosh!
-Boom!
Once again, a flash of light, too fast for the eye to follow, pierced his head.
-Keh…Keh…
-Whoosh!
The light was, once again, multiple streaks.
But one thing was different. This time, it wasn’t white, but crimson lightning that struck down consecutively.
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‘If he’s an angel, even better.’
The ashen crossbow ceaselessly spewed out Shadow Arrows, heavily imbued with dark energy.
Perhaps because there hadn’t been a boss with this much HP until now, the combat status window scrolled continuously.
.
.
.
As long as I managed my Aggro, that demonic bastard couldn’t find my location.
This meant my HP was constantly full, and the cost recovery from [Hell’s Balance] was also at maximum speed.
-Whoosh!
I kept firing Shadow Arrows without pause, keeping Wind Curve Shot activated.
The effect of my newly acquired skill, Wind Curve Shot, was undeniable.
With Proficiency 9 and the accuracy bonus from the Sniper trait, even if I shot with my eyes closed, or fired in rapid succession, they all landed as critical hits.
-Clang! Clang, clang, clang!
Along with the refreshing sound of the wind’s pressure bursting,
-■■■■■■■!
The satisfying screams of the demon could be heard from afar.
The bastard, who had undergone his Angelization, was writhing in agony.
The biggest difference between Demonic and Angelic Transcendents is that the cost they use is divided into Corruption and Divinity, respectively. Corruption, strong in destruction, and Divinity, adept at restoration.
As evidenced by the frequent power struggles, black magic through Corruption can inflict damage on demons, excluding the Demon King,
but Divinity is different.
Its core effect is the purification of demons, and as a stat strong in recovery, Divinity users cannot harm each other.
After checking Marcosias’s skill mechanics through Kaelan, I found that he gained the Divinity trait upon Angelization.
‘This is why the Marcosias raid was so tricky in Reincarnated Hero.’
However, it didn’t matter to me, who could handle both Divinity and Corruption.
Initially, I planned to overwhelm him with Holy Bolt, Wind Curve Shot, and Edwin’s attacks, inducing his Angelization.
When, unable to endure it, Marcosias finally resorted to Angelization, I would bombard him with demonic attacks through Demonification.
It wasn’t even a bug, just a simple strategy utilizing elemental advantages.
‘To him, my existence itself must be a bug.’
He probably never imagined there would be another human besides Kaelan who could use demonic attacks.
-Rumble! Rumble!
Having had his HP depleted in human form by the accumulated attacks, Marcosias began to transform into his monstrous form.
In the end, all that remained for him to rely on was his monstrous form with the highest stats.
-Growl!
A pitch-black figure, a well-groomed mane, a grotesque scaled tail.
Twice the size of an ordinary wolf-type monster, with large wings sprouting from both sides.
Just looking at it, he looked like the authoritative archdemon Marcosias, but having his head pierced twice by unexpected attacks would be fatal.
He leaped slightly into the air, preparing to breathe fire.
I immediately switched Holy Bolt to Consecrated Bolt.
‘About 10 shots left.’
Marcosias in his monstrous form had tremendous base stats, but the pattern to be most wary of here was the petrifying breath.
Therefore, a healer, like with Cerberus, was essential.
‘However…’
Currently, Aria, having taken Marcosias’s Authority of Obedience upon herself, would be unable to help us.
Moreover, Marcosias’s Authority of Obedience couldn’t be dispelled by dispel magic,
and even if the caster died, the last command given remained in effect.
‘…Just hold on a little longer, Aria. I’ll definitely…’
Overwhelmed by guilt…
I could only grit my teeth, picturing Aria’s eyes.
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Marcosias had good instincts.
That’s why he had realized early on that the one attacking so deviously from afar was Rev Denek.
However, no matter how much he looked around, he couldn’t find the bastard’s whereabouts.
“Where are they coming from!! How far do you intend to mock me!”
He wanted to use Ballantes’s creation as a shield, but he remained immobile, sealed by Violet’s Sealing Arrow.
-Fwoosh!
As Marcosias breathed out flames filled with rage,
-Snap!
In response, the pure white maiden, Yeriel, snapped her fingers.
-Whoosh!
-Screech!
Seven phoenixes appeared around her, and then
-Kaboom!
They blocked Marcosias’s breath and merged into a fiery storm.
It was a spectacle of fire burning fire…
-!
Among humans, the only mage who could wield flames comparable to hellfire…
was the hero, Kroon, who possessed the essence of immortality.
‘Don’t tell me…!’
Suddenly, Darian’s report of the boy who decimated the 14th Division and defeated even the Crimson Ash flashed through Bune’s mind.
‘Kuk. Kukuk.’
A hollow laugh escaped him.
They were clearly brats.
Clearly brats, yet they seemed to have perfectly grasped Marcosias’s weaknesses.
Human greed surpasses that of demons.
‘You dare… to try to defeat… me…!’
-Whoosh!
Another arrow hurtled towards him.
A groan escaped him involuntarily.
The intensity was on a completely different level compared to ordinary elven archers.
“Ugh… Damn it!”
-Boom!
Marcosias’s breath and Yeriel’s fire magic collided and exploded.
-Uwaaa!
-I-I’ll help!
Every time one cycle ended like this, Edwin, Violet, and Lev attacked, and a pattern where Marcosias was gradually being pushed back began to emerge.
-Kgh… Ugh!
He should always be the one plundering and slaughtering.
Things had gone wrong.
The magic tower had exploded, weakening the barrier,
Kaelan had disappeared, and communication with the 5th Legion was completely cut off.
All that remained were a few dozen insignificant monsters originally present on Mystic Island.
Even they were scattered all over the island, so the only subordinate he could deploy right now was that next Saintess bitch, Ballantes’s creation.
-Whoosh!
“Damn it!!”
The attacks continued relentlessly, giving him no respite.
-Clang, clang, clang!
‘If there’s no source of magic power…!’
If this continued, he would truly lose.
Of course, he had the Well of Souls, so even if he died, he could return to Pandemonium, but the fact that he was driven away by a few Clarice cadets was more unbearable than death.
Just as these crossbow bolts were beginning to turn into fear in Marcosias’s mind, he remembered something he had forgotten.
‘Wait, there’s a way to cause great despair?!’
-They are the ones who stole what was mine. Paying them back in kind is the best revenge.
As Kaelan advised, ordering that bitch with the Saintess’s potential to find and kill that vermin, Lev Denec.
It was truly simple.
-K-Kill him. Lev Denec, find that bastard and kill him! Somehow!
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