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Kuuuuuung—!!!

A distant, rough explosion echoed. I turned my head in that direction with a frown.

‘Looks like they caught something.’

It seemed like they had also begun.

Before the fight with the Duryeong, I had asked the Heavenly Demon for one favor. If that strange creature I had encountered before showed up, I wanted her to handle it.

She nodded at my request and asked, “Can I kill it?”

Her nonchalant question was truly chilling, but I nodded in agreement without saying much. I was curious. If the Heavenly Demon planned to kill it without hesitation, was it a foe I could withstand?

I was wondering just that when—

Kuaaaahhhh—-!

Not long after, I had to click my tongue at the sight of the rising black qi.

‘Indeed, that energy is overwhelming.’

That dark entity was all demon energy, unmistakably pure and intense, with no other color mixed in.

It didn’t let any light through, making it appear strangely foreign. It looked ominous, but perhaps it also resembled something holy. No matter how much the Heavenly Demon seemed like a different entity in this life—

‘It seems the energy remains the same.’

That eerie and uncomfortable energy still lingered.

Kuaaaahh-!!!

The torrent of energy reached us even from a distance. I could feel my skin prickling, and I shifted my gaze back.

Leaving that other side alone, I had to concentrate over here.

“Growl—!!!”

Gu Gugu–!!

The ground trembled with a harsh crying sound.

Kyaaaahh–!!!

Boom—!!! Gu Gugu–!!!

Countless beings clashed frantically. The demon beasts summoned using my power were engaging with their side’s beasts.

With no hesitation left, only raw instinct remained; they viciously collided, tearing each other apart.

Boom-!!

They bit at throats and ripped flesh from flesh. Fangs sunk deeply into bones, yet they still did not stop.

Suuuuuuu–!!!

The more they fought, the more my energy drained. It felt like the water in my heart was suddenly gushing out.

‘Summoning demon beasts isn’t cost-effective.’

It was nice to show off, but fighting with such a large number seemed less than optimal.

I extended my hand.

Flame Burst.

A mirage surged from my fingertips, and—

Kuaaaahhhh—-!!!

Kyaahhhh–!!!

Black flames engulfed the front. In a matter of moments, the beasts were burnt to ashes in this astounding heat.

‘If I unleash like this, it will all be over.’

With a mere casual gesture, I could wipe out these numbers. Was there really a need to summon demon beasts?

Their status wasn’t that impressive either.

‘Well, to be fair, they are strong.’

At least of first-grade quality; they appear to be at the peak level.

In terms of demon beast grades, they ranged from blue to high red. In my earlier life, I would never have stood a chance against them, but now?

Uuuuuuung—!!!

Giiing—!!

A ring of fire ignited behind me, spinning as sparks flowed out.

The sparks, flickering and hovering in the air, finally gathered into a spherical shape.

‘Flame Jade.’

A cluster of small flame jades filled the night, yet their hue was too dark to be called stars.

The chain of black spheres burst forth at a single gesture.

Kogagagaga—!!!

It was an airstrike. My flames reduced the number of beasts in an instant.

This was a remnant of my previous life, where I was called an evil spirit as I dominated the battlefield.

A power specialized in mass slaughter.

There was no need to compress it; I could simply shoot it off as my energy allowed.

The wide range and explosive power of my flames made it a perfect fit for warfare.

Yet,

‘Now that the quality of those flames has risen.’

With compression and pressure, along with the friction created within, now that I had transcended, my flames were on a different trajectory compared to the past.

I was surprised even while shooting them out, proof of the improvement in my control.

‘Nice.’

The sensation of having my flames move as I desired.

It shifted from the concept of ‘controlling’ to a level of ‘moving,’ which was a vast difference.

Even while unleashing consecutive airstrikes, I adeptly adjusted my position.

Showing fine movements that I couldn’t have managed before, I swept the area clean.

Thus, the need to summon demon beasts seemed redundant, but—

‘That might be the case for them too.’

“Kuaaaahhh–!!”

Boom—!!!

An explosion erupted alongside a roar, something bursting while pushing back my flames.

It was a flame of a vibrant red hue, bright and contrasting from the black flames.

“Kuaaaahhhh—!!!”

Boom—! Boom, boom, boom—!!!

There it was. I saw the Duryeong wielding a flame-wreathed axe, swinging it wildly.

With reddish skin and fur, it emanated heat. When it took that form, its presence seemed to vanish, and it was indeed the case now.

Not just its presence had changed but—

‘Its speed and power are all different.’

Its speed and might had dramatically increased compared to when it faced me. It meant it wasn’t merely the visual aspect that had shifted.

Its axe cut through the air, smashing the demon beasts to pieces.

In terms of classification, my side also had red demon beasts. Yet, they couldn’t hold a candle to the Duryeong and were being extinguished one by one.

“Inoom—!!”

It shouted at me from a distance, noting how I was firing flames.

Boom—!!

Stamping the ground violently, the floor cracked, and debris flew. It seemed ready to charge at me.

Seeing this, the demon beasts rushed toward it.

Kraaaahhh–!!!

Grrrrow-!!

Gigantic demon beasts surged towards the Duryeong, attempting to envelop it with their bodies.

“Get lost—!”

Gu Gugu–!!!

As it summoned its energy, the demon beasts were flung away, flying into the air.

Then—

Boom—! Kuaaaahhh—!!!

The Duryeong charged at me recklessly. It was instantaneous. The beast arrived at my face, swinging its axe with all its might.

The blade sliced through the air, leaving trails of flames in its wake, coming straight at me.

In that moment,

“Block it.”

I quietly whispered.

“–!!”

Something materialized before the Duryeong’s eyes. Realizing it, the Duryeong quickly altered the path of its axe.

Instead of heading towards me, it veered to the left.

As such—

Creak. Boom—!!

Its axe hit the ground with a force, embedding itself deeply.

Boom-boom—!!!

The impact from the axe reverberated, leaving a massive crack on the left side of the ground.

“What the—!”

The Duryeong was visibly startled by the sudden turn of events.

It couldn’t be helped; I wasn’t the one who struck the axe away.

“Kiiirrurrr—.”

It emitted a strange sound, unlike the previous cry of the demon beasts.

“Kyaaaaahhh—.”

With a frail human body and a grotesque face, it had sickly wings attached to its body.

Relatively larger than a human, yet frail for a demon beast.

However—

“Kyaaahh—!!!!”

The energy it released as it roared was overwhelmingly stronger than that of a mere red demon beast.

No wonder the Duryeong flinched.

Indeed,

The power I wielded.

This so-called summoning ability was capable of bringing forth only the demon beasts that I had personally hunted and absorbed.

This one was precisely a white-grade demon beast I had hunted in Hanam.

“Take care of it.”

“Kyaaaahh—!!!”

Upon receiving the order, the demon beast darted towards the Duryeong. The Duryeong grimaced but immediately braced itself.

Its sharp claws sliced through the air, while the Duryeong swung its axe in response.

Creeeek—!!!

Claws and blades clashed as their energies collided.

I couldn’t help but grimace at the fierce spectacle unfolding before me.

‘This is a bit tough.’

Originally, summoning white-grade demon beasts wasn’t something I could do. The energy cost was significant, and my powers weren’t matching those levels.

However, now that I had transcended, it became possible.

I had summoned this creature right away.

‘This is no joke.’

The level of the white-grade demon beast was higher than I had expected. It was a bit ambiguous if it actually matched the level of a genuine white-grade demon beast, but—

‘That much is pretty good.’

At the least, it would easily handle a Transformation Realm Martial Artist.

While it wasn’t exactly on par with a peak martial master,

‘Any ordinary martial master would be no match for it.’

It was certainly a being to be feared.

Even now, just look; it wasn’t exactly losing against the Duryeong.

Ah, of course—

Boom—!!

It was certainly not a being that could win against it.

“Kyaaaaahhh–!!!”

The demon beast, with an arm severed by the axe, let out a shriek. It wasn’t from pain; they didn’t feel pain.

It even regenerated its severed arm and charged back at the Duryeong.

The regeneration ability possessed by white-grade demon beasts was still present in its body.

But the problem was—

‘…Damn, my energy.’

The issue was that it used my energy whenever it regenerated.

I had already drained a considerable amount just to summon it. Now, with it fighting, my energy was being consumed even more.

‘There’s no way I can keep this up for long.’

I had a strong sense that I couldn’t maintain this summoning much longer.

Thus, I needed to end this battle quickly, but……

‘Yet.’

There was still one thing left to confirm.

“Inoom–!!”

Boom—!

Kyaaaah!!

The Duryeong’s massive fist pierced through the demon beast’s belly.

“Grrr—…You think you can hide behind like a rat?”

Thinking that the fight had ended, the Duryeong said to me.

Hearing that, I chuckled softly and replied,

“Wasn’t it you who called forth all those other creatures first, not me?”

“Grrrrow—!!”

The Duryeong seemed annoyed by my words and glanced at the fallen demon beast.

The beast lay on the ground and did not regenerate.

“I’ll kill you. There’s no escaping now.”

Once again, the Duryeong lunged at me, but I merely pointed towards the sky with my hand.

“…?”

Confused, the Duryeong looked upwards.

“Not yet. I still have one more gift prepared for you.”

Its eyes widened at my words.

In the air I pointed to, something was indeed present.

A violently opened new Demonic Gate.

It was entirely different in size from earlier.

As I mentioned before,

The summoning ability was designed to summon the demon beasts I had absorbed.

And I had absorbed not just one white-grade demon beast.

“Come forth. Mang.”

Gu Gugu–!!

With the sound of thunder, something descended from the enormous crack.

A beast, the size of a small hill, came tumbling down, revealing its wide, protruding fangs.

It came crashing down towards the Duryeong.

Kuuuuuung—-!!!!

 

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