The Divine Twilight's Return

Chapter 252: Star, the Apostle Battle (2)

[Announcement regarding the changes in the Quest!]

[Description: Testing the subject Lee Chang-Sun is important for the participating Celestials, but they also wish to prove that their apostles are the strongest. Thus, they have just agreed to make several changes to the Quest.

The Quest was previously going to follow the format of a 1:1 tournament, but it has been changed to an elimination match. Fight until only one remains. If you die or surrender, you will automatically be able to abandon the Quest.

Good luck.]

The elimination match format was more popularly known as a battle royale. This quest was technically a battle of pride for the participating Celestials. Their initial reason for participating in the quest was to test Chang-Sun, but the scale of the quest had grown too large, turning into a contest of skill.

Neptune, Cernunnos, and the other Celestials were influential in <Heaven> and had high Divine Classes, enough to be a symbol of their own <Society>. Since these Celestials valued their honor and pride the most, losing was not an option.

That was how the elimination match had started. Due to the law of causality, the Celestials could not directly participate in the match, but they wished to prove their greatness by sending their representatives, whom they had trained personally, to fight on their behalf.

The final winner of this match would earn a great achievement—no, become a ‘myth’—so the Celestials could never miss out on the opportunity. That was why 366 Celestials had joined the quest. On top of that, the number of viewers was far above 40,000 Celestials now.

As the countdown began, tension had filled the air… As soon as the message announcing the start of the second round appeared, the onlookers had expected a pitched battle to break out, but strangely, that was not the case.

『…!』

『…!』

『…!』

All the representatives had frozen up like statues, even after the announcement message disappeared. In fact, no one really read the announcement properly, as their eyes were glued on Chang-Sun after witnessing an unbelievable sight. It was the same for the Celestials.

[The Celestial ‘Tsunami Bringer’ springs up from his seat in surprise!]

[The Celestial ‘Antlered Animal King’ stays silent!]

…

[The Celestial ‘Primordial Evil Dragon’ bursts into laughter, having a great deal of fun!]

…

Among the Celestials, Uriel reacted the most fervently.

[The Celestial ‘Garden Gatekeeper’ screams in disbelief!]

Uriel was one of the proud Four Seraphim of the <Maleakhe>. Working as the gatekeeper of the Garden of Eden, he had trained many angel warriors, and one of them was the leader of the archangels. He had favored her the most, and thus made her his apostle.

Although her rank was low at the moment, her tendency to hate evil and desire to protect justice was on par with that of a seraph. Thus, Uriel had thought she had great potential, adoring her as if she were his daughter. That was what he had believed… And yet, she was the first one to get eliminated—no, killed as soon as the quest began.

[The Celestial ‘Garden Gatekeeper’ is furious with you!]

The archangel had said she would take revenge for her father and bring honor to the <Maleakhe> once again by retaliating against Chang-Sun. However, she had been defeated while trying to stay true to her word, so Uriel was bound to be infuriated. However, the other Celestials’ gazes were cold as they looked at Uriel.

[The Celestial ‘Tsunami Bringer’ smirks at a certain Celestial, saying that he is uselessly frail-minded.]

[The Celestial ‘Antlered Animal King’ yells at the Celestial ‘Garden Gatekeeper’, telling him to get lost if he is just going to take up space.]

…

[The Celestial ‘Primordial Evil Dragon’ warns the Celestial ‘Garden Gatekeeper’ that she herself will take action if he tries to meddle in the Quest.]

[The Celestial ‘Twilight-Piercing Owl’ stays on alert.]

…

[The Celestial ‘Garden Gatekeeper’ declares that the Player ‘Lee Chang-Sun’ is officially an enemy of the Society <Maleakhe>!]

[The viewing Celestials are having fun, watching the scale of the Quest increase.]

[The viewing Celestials wonder how you will respond to the <Maleakhe> angels.]

[The Celestial ‘Garden Gatekeeper’ declares that he will exit the channel.]

[The Celestial ‘Garden Gatekeeper ‘ has exited the channel.]

「So you’ve done it, huh?」

Simon Magus chuckled dumbfoundedly, remembering how Uriel had kept scowling at Chang-Sun furiously until the end. Even as someone who was called a demon king, Simon was surprised to see the archangel leader’s head being smashed.

However, Chang-Sun frowned slightly and murmured, “Mmm…?”

「What’s wrong? Are you worried about actually becoming Uriel’s enemy?」

Simon thought that perhaps his inhumane master was still a human. While going up against countless enemies, Chang-Sun had not really worried about anything, but it seemed that he felt uncomfortable about making Uriel—no, the entirety of <Maleakhe>—his enemy.

“No, it was just…” Chang-Sun replied, shaking his head.

「…?」

“...too easy,” Chang-Sun finished, tilting his head.

At that moment, Simon was rendered speechless after hearing such an unexpected response.

“She was an archangel. In fact, she was the leader of the archangels, so why was she that weak?” Chang-Sun wondered, feeling genuinely confused.

Although Uriel’s representative was merely an archangel, she was the leader of the archangels, which meant she was as strong as a Power or a Principality. Besides, the main job of the archangels was to fight against the demons of <Hell>, so they were natural-born warriors. On top of that, she was Uriel’s apostle, so she was supposed to be strong.

That was why Chang-Sun had thrown the [Jin Can Axe] to stop the archangel leader from approaching him as soon as she started coming at him. However, there was one thing Chang-Sun had not considered, which was the Effect of the [Jin Can Axe].

[Jin Can Axe]

The relic and Authority of the Celestial ‘Impetuous Dragon Horse General’. Regardless of what the axe strikes, it can reduce the target’s durability by 80 percent, making it extremely destructive.

· Type: Relic. Authority. Two-handed weapon.

· Effect: Defense Nullification. Power Strike. Damage Explosion.

The Effect [Defense Nullification] completely disregarded any defensive Effects on the weapons and defensive equipment the [Jin Can Axe] struck. While [Power Strike] shook the inside of the target to reduce its durability, [Damage Explosion] increased the damage of its owner’s attacks by creating artificial explosions upon impact.

In other words… It was a weapon focused on destruction. Anyone and anything the axe clashed against became useless trash as it was shaken to the core. As the axe had also been infused by Chang-Sun’s Atra Fulmen lightning energy, which was also infused with his <Darkness> and <Dusk Lightning>, his attack with the [Jin Can Axe] was much more destructive than he had expected.

No one, not even Chang-Sun, had followed the movements of the [Jin Can Axe]. Of course, the Archangel Leader had only seen a brief flash, so before she could even realize what was going on, her helmet and head had been split in half. The whole sequence had taken mere seconds.

Rumble!

On top of that, the explosion that occurred upon impact had spread Chang-Sun’s Atra Fulmen sparks everywhere. As black sparks landed on multiple points, black lightning bolts struck the ground like pillars. The Archangel Leader’s corpse was ripped to shreds without leaving a trace.

Rumble, rumble, rumbleeee―!

Boooooom!

[The Skill ‘Fiery Lightning Bolt’ has been activated, creating a rain of lightning bolts!]

『Run! Come on…!』

『What in the world…!』

Large and small black lightning bolts indiscriminately traveled through the air and struck the ground like rain. The remaining 365 apostles had begun fleeing, activating the Authorities they had received from their Guardians. The battle stage was shattered, and the air heated up while thick black smoke spread through the air. It was mayhem.

「So you never thought of it that way, huh?」

Simon laughed dumbfoundedly as he watched the sight. In this quest, they were supposed to fight each other until only one survivor remained, but for some reason, Chang-Sun was going up against—no, overwhelming—the other 364 people.

“Thought of it in what way?” Chang-Sun asked.

「It’s just that you’re too strong, master.」

“Well,” Chang-Sun said, chuckling quietly. Considering his current level, he was definitely skilled, but he was still not content with himself.

‘I’m still weaker than in my ‘Divine Twilight’ years, but I need to become way stronger than that,’?he thought.

His goal had become clearer and firmer after his encounter with Tiamat. He had to become strong enough to at least fight the Zodiacs or the Three Enclosures and Twenty-Eight Mansions on equal footing. Once he reached that level, he then had to grow to match the Nine Skies in <Heaven>.

‘Still…’ Chang-Sun thought as he reached out toward the [Jin Can Axe] stuck in the ground. ‘...It’s not a far-fetched goal. This method is going to come in handy.’

From now on, throwing the [Jin Can Axe] toward his enemy in battle would surely become a useful technique, as there would be no better method to subdue or intimidate his enemies.

At that moment, the [Jin Can Axe], which was half embedded in the ground, shook violently before returning to Chang-Sun’s hand. He had not engraved the axe with a magic spell to retrieve it; rather, he was using the magnetism of Atra Fulmen. By imbuing the [Jin Can Axe] with a negative charge and his hand with a positive charge, he created a magnetic pull.

Boom!

Whirl―!

Although it was his first time trying such a thing, he got a very satisfying result. As if someone had pressed a rewind button, the [Jin Can Axe] flew out of the ground and returned to Chang-Sun’s right hand.

Pzzzz, pzzzzz!

Still, the [Jin Can Axe] continued to shake, emitting Chang-Sun’s black lightning energy sparks like fangs as if it could still keep fighting. The space around it distorted noticeably. The sight was truly menacing.

Just then, however…

「Above you!」

Simon hurriedly shouted a warning.

However, Chang-Sun just looked quietly to the left and replied, “I know.” While he had been playing around with the [Jin Can Axe], someone had taken the moment as an opportunity to approach him, targeting his blind spot.

Swooosh―!

[Hell Monarch ‘Granul’ Lv.142]

‘Is he Agares’ apostle?’?Chang-Sun wondered.

In many ways, the man reminded Chang-Sun of Agares, whom he had seen in the <Star Grave>. The man’s ankle-length black hair fluttered in the air as he approached Chang-Sun with his black wings spread wide. The man looked as cold as ice, but he was also filled with a sense of destructive madness, as if he intended to rip Chang-Sun to shreds. Unusually, the man was using two swords. It seemed that Agares had intentionally chosen someone whose fighting techniques were similar to Chang-Sun’s.

[The fifth chapter ‘Abrupt? Procell?’ has been applied, creating a Atra Fulmen storm!]

Chang-Sun’s Atra Fulmen energy had already been charged to maximum output after being blended with his <Dusk Lightning> and <Darkness>. Since he also had the [Double Retribution Fire] Trait and the Skills [Dust Devil] and [Fiery Lightning Bolt], he had no problem unlocking the chapter of ‘Abrupt? Procell?’.

At that level, the Atra Fulmen energy ceased to be ordinary lightning. By creating a gigantic storm, Chang-Sun could devastate the nearby area with Abrupt? Procell?, as it was a damage-over-time technique. In other words, he could turn any battlefield into his territory.

On top of that, this stage was limited, so it was obvious how effective Chang-Sun’s Abrupt? Procell? would be. A sandstorm obscured the participants’ view, and the rain of Atra Fulmen bolts muffled their voices. On top of that, the participants felt pressured by the fact that it was impossible to tell when an Atra Fulmen bolt would strike them from the sandstorm.

[The Seokgun King has died!]

[The Thousand-Year Mage has died!]

…

[A total of 152 participants have died or surrendered. ]

…

[Remaining participants: 110.]

[Remaining participants: 92.]

[Remaining participants: 58.]

…

[A massacre is taking place!]

[A Narrative is being written.]

Boom, boom, boom―!

Rumble…!

1. Archangels are commonly thought to be some of the strongest angels, but the angelic hierarchy in Christianity is a little different. It consists of Seraphim (Uriel) > Cherubim > Thrones > Dominions > Virtues > Powers > Principalities > Archangels (The one that was killed just now) > Angels.