Crack!

As the magic sigil broke and its glow dimmed, the leviathan was quickly swallowed up before disappearing completely.

As the summoning was yet to be complete, it was returned to the Abyss.

Woohyuk sighed of relief and Aleister spoke with astonished look.

“Just, just… how did you do that? That was a top-grade magic sigil…!”

A summoning spell he had received from Lilith after burning countless villages as offerings and sacrifices.

It was a single-use spell.

He had been saving it for the worst case scenario, but didn’t expect it to be destroyed so quickly.

“What are you talking about?”

“You neutralized the power I received from the original witch Lilith… You’re no ordinary demon king, aren’t you? Wait… Are you a being superior to demon kings?”

Aleister realized Woohyuk’s true identity and his wariness immensely rose.

Soon, he started pulling his hair off and began wrecking havoc.

“Aaah, this is impossible! A demon rivalling Lady Lilith?! What a contradictory and blasphemous being! I must now repent for having doubted her infinite power even after being selected by Lady Lilith personally!”

“He’s lost his mind. This reminds me of Kriemhild.”

“I must preach, I must preach the gospel! If not, I… Kriemhild?”

Aleister stopped his preaching as his eyes widened on his distorted face.

It was such a grotesque appearance that even Woohyuk flinched back in disgust.

“Don’t tell me… Did you kill the Witch of Envy?”

“She went insane and wouldn’t shut up, so I personally cut her head off.”

Woohyuk began talking about a story that would interest Aleister. He needed his enemy to have an intact mind to dig up more information about their group.

Aleister was the head of the Golden Rose Society and seemed to have a deep connection with the Witch Cult.

“Aah, this can’t be! The Sin of Envy vanished from the world! Do you not wish to spread Lady Lilith’s gospel’s around the world? How can you not be hungry for the true revelation? Your salvation?!”

“You talk like a believer of the Witch Cult. Do all the members of the Golden Rose Society have a screw loose in their brains like you?”

“No way. No ordinary people can be selected by Lady Lilith. Only those who are prepared, prepared to carve her love and teachings in their heart can receive her revelation. I saw it! I saw the entire Eeth Continent burning to ashes as an Abyssal Portal swallowed up the blue sky!”

‘I see. There’s not just one, but dozens of screws loose in his head.’

He was like a Pronoia version of the Witch Cult. A fanatical devotee who had lost his mind.

Woohyuk stared at the pathetic Aleister before speaking again.

“Does that mean that Lilith is planning on destroying the world?”

“Correct! Lady Lilith is more noble and wiser than any other demon in the world! When she descends upon our world and opens the gate to the Heavenly World, the gods and everyone else will get swallowed by the Abyss of Origin!”

‘What a blabbermouth.’

However, it was difficult to ignore Aleister’s words.

In the past, even though Woohyuk had defeated the 72 Demon Kings and the 7 Witches, Lilith had escaped through his grasp.

“Is she trying to get revenge on the Creator for being exiled from Paradise?”

“Revenge is a big word. Lady Lilith is trying to recreate this world anew! To achieve that, we must first erase all the impurities that currently pollute our world. Isn’t that an obvious procedure?”

“Are you and demons included in these ‘impurities’?”

“Obviously. From the very start, our existences were faulty. Only through destruction can we receive salvation. Is this not a magnificent dream? There will be no distinctions between good and evil in the purified world. The ones to rule this world will be Lady Lilith and the new Demon God who will be given birth to in the Abyss!”

The Demon God.

Woohyuk’s eyebrows twitched at those words.

‘Does Lilith know the existence of the Demon God?’

A strange feeling grew in his heart, as if he was merely a small gear inside this gigantic machine called the World that was functioning perfectly according to its plan.

Aleister cackled maliciously when he noticed Woohyuk’s shock.

“Hahaha! You must’ve been influenced by Lady Lilith’s gospel! Aah, now that I think about it, just what are you? I went through the list of the 72 Demon Kings, and you weren’t in there. Don’t tell me… Are you the Demon God? No, that be true, as you’re too weak for that. Let’s see… Are you a fragment of the Demon God?”

A fragment of the Demon God.

It was an accurate expression.

The Demon God’s true powers were still sealed within Verserios.

Woohyuk had simply inherited the name Asura. He couldn’t call himself the Demon God in truth.

“The conversation has gotten unnecessarily long. Let us find out who the winner of this battle will be.”

“The winner? Although I do not know how you neutralized Lady Lilith’s power, you are incapable of killing me. And I have no plans to harm you, as we are both part of a grand masterplan!”

“Are you going to try to escape?”

“We shall meet again one day. You and I are connected by an invisible thread of fate. The scenario has already been written. We are merely puppets dancing according to it. We simply cannot know on what stage we will be dancing upon.”

Aleister raised his staff and his body transformed into a dark shadow immediately.

Woohyuk quickly flew with his abyssal wings and swung Verserios.

“I won’t let you escape!”

“Haha! The curtains have already fallen. This stage is over! I vow that we shall meet again!”

With a pleasant laugh, Aleister had vanished. He had escaped to the Demon World where Woohyuk would be unable to chase him.

“Good work. You successfully managed to make Aleister retreat on your own.”

Martinus spoke as he approached.

He had been listening to the entire conversation from the side.

He was surprised to see Woohyuk wield Asura’s power, but he managed to keep a calm face.

“Is it fine that I didn’t kill him?”

“He is someone that we never managed to defeat either. The possibility that he survived the War of Gods and Demons is very high.”

He had made Woohyuk duel Aleister to find out what kind of existence the Korean man was.

Therefore, he did not care much of the fact that Aleister had escaped.

“What am I supposed to do now? Should I go to where Saint Sophia and Roland are located?”

“No. This should be enough. You will meet Sophia later on.”

“Later? What do you mean?”

“You will know the meaning of it when the time comes.”

Once Martinus raised his cane, a system message popped up before Woohyuk’s eyes.

[Quest: Martinus’ Trial has been successfully cleared.]

[Reward: You have obtained the nameless tome.]

‘That was unexpected.’

He hadn’t done much other than fighting against Aleister. Woohyuk now wondered about the reason why Martinus had considered the quest cleared.

There was no reason for him to make a positive decision after seeing Woohyuk use Asura’s power only.

Woohyuk stared at the nameless tome that had spawned in his hand, before Martinus began speaking.

“Are you planning on challenging the Demon God’s Throne?”

“...Did you know that from the beginning?”

“I wasn’t certain, until I heard Aleister’s words.”

Martinus was aware of the Demon God’s existence. He had coincidentally come across that information while reading a secret ancient document.

“Looks like your appraisal magic worked despite the Moon Shadow Ring I was wearing to conceal my status window.”

“You will have to use top-grade artifacts to fool me, Asura.”

“In any case, is it possible of you to teach me Rosa Eterna? I would prefer to be able to personally read the nameless tome.”

“We do not have the leeway to do that. This world will soon vanish.”

“Are the members of Eteria Rodinus still alive around the Eeth Continent?”

“Of course. You must find the Sangreal Chronicles. That will give you the opportunity to meet them.”

Martinus’ appearance was beginning to fade.

Woohyuk grabbed him to ask one last question.

“Does the hidden secret section of the library belong to Eteria Rodinus?”

“We do not use such poorly made bases. That place belongs to a group of theologians calling themselves the Spiritual Society.”

Theologians would most likely show a confrontational attitude against Woohyuk’s demonic energy.

After Martinus warned him about the group in question, he began to say his farewells.

“In any case, it was a pleasure to meet you, Asura. Prithee put an end to Pronoia and the Golden Rose Society’s schemes and conspiracies. You will certainly triumph against them as the challenger to the Demon God’s Throne.”

Once Martinus’ salutations ended, the world around Woohyuk cracked and shattered like broken pieces of glass.

Woohyuk was swallowed by a blinding flash of light before his surroundings turned silent.

***

“Urgh…”

“Are, are you alright?”

Woohyuk stumbled as he tried to stand up and Choi Kayoon rushed to support him.

He had returned to the royal library’s hidden section.

Woohyuk took a while to understand his surroundings, before facing the portrait on the wall.

Martinus had disappeared.

No, in fact, the portrait of Martinus itself had vanished.

‘I never managed to listen to his circumstances until the end.’

He was unable to ask Martinus why he was sealed within a portrait and why he was protecting this location.

There just were too many questions he had to ask.

As he contemplated, Woohyuk looked down at the book in his right hand.

[Nameless Tome.]

The book had fortunately remained with him.

“We’ve finished our business here. Let’s head out now.”

“Don’t you need the ancient documents and books here? It wouldn’t be a bad idea to take a few of them since we came all the way here.”

“There won’t be anything that could be of help to us.”

Most of the books were most likely about the metaphysical theories of the theologians.

If he needed them one day, he could simply return here again.

Woohyuk stored the nameless tome inside the Sage’s Pouch and began walking towards the exit.

“Did you talk with the old man in the portrait? You didn’t move for 10 whole minutes, so I was worried something bad had happened to you.”

“It’s a relief you didn’t run away during that time.”

“Wha… There’s no way I would run away. Not only did I receive 1000 golds, you’ll also deal with my financial problems once we reach the Rhine Kingdom.”

Choi Kayoon somewhat trusted Woohyuk unlike other people, because he kept his promises and seemed to need her powers.

She did not hold any particular affection towards him, but she did not dislike him either.

It was a rather complex feeling.

As she stared at Woohyuk, he pointed at the Banshee’s Cloak she was wearing.

“Hide yourself just in case. We might come across a member of the Spiritual Society on our way out.”

“The Spiritual Society? Oh, is it the name of the group that uses this hidden section? Alright.”

Choi Kayoon nodded as she poured mana into the Banshee’s Cloak.

Soon, she became totally invisible. Woohyuk spoke the password in a small voice,

“Quo vadis, Domina?”

Creak.

And the wall’s structure changed again to form an exit.

Then, Woohyuk and Choi Kayoon left the secret section.

“Stop right there.”

A group of priests waiting in the aisle welcomed them.

‘We were discovered.’

Woohyuk frowned and stared at the blond man standing at the frontmost of the group.

Hiding behind him was the librarian, who had been freed from the hypnosis, trembling in fear.

[Step back a little bit.]

[Do, do you plan to get arrested by yourself?]

[There’s nothing else we can do.]

Thankfully, there was no invisibility detection magic sigil by the entrance of the secret section, most probably so that the members of the Spiritual Society could hide themselves during emergencies.

But if he made an uproar, the entire security system would get reinforced and Choi Kayoon would also get captured.

‘For now, I must do as they say.’

Although he would get his items confiscated, he could still take them back once the opportunity came.

Woohyuk raised both his hands and stepped forward.