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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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Chapter 227
The battle between the Celestial Demon and the Dragon God.
It boasted a scale worthy of a clash between gods.
Kaylen had informed the Dragon God that the Celestial Demon would be attacking from the south and north, but he hadn’t revealed the exact directions.
‘Though, there wasn’t any real need to know that anyway.’
The western continent , Along the southern and northern coasts of the Geysir Empire's territory.
In the north, the Celestial Demon’s light shone bright and white.In the south, the Celestial Demon’s darkness engulfed the coastline.
There was no need to search for the attack points.
The god’s assault blanketed the entire region.
With both the powers of light and darkness in his hands,the Celestial Demon’s strength was formidable—But the Dragon God felt confident instead.
‘Celestial Demon… I will erase you with my own hands.’
The Dragon God redirected all the power Kaylen had pulled back earlier.
Infinity—Created solely to oppose the God of Light, the Celestial God.
The planetary mana, with its infinite regenerative power, began countering the Celestial Demon’s strength with precision.
As a result, the Celestial Demon’s surprise attack lost its effect.
Instead, his divine powers were swallowed up by the Dragon God’s flames.The northern light lost its heat to the Dragon God’s fire, and the southern darkness lost its shadow to the same.
The natural phenomena shifting moment by moment across the continent.
Yet the only ones watching it unfold were the Celestial Demon and the Dragon God.
Because on the land where they clashed, not a single living being remained.
‘Dragon God… you’re strong.’
It was the Celestial Demon who first let out a sigh in this all-out clash.
‘According to my predictions, it shouldn’t have been this one-sided.’
The Dragon God’s power—It certainly grew stronger through death and rebirth…
But his ability to block attacks from both the north and south was something the Celestial Demon had not foreseen.
Unlike the eastern front, where Kaylen was advancing with ease, the defenses in the north and south were so firm, they were instead swallowing up the Celestial Demon’s powers.
‘This feels… off.’
The Celestial Demon had no idea Kaylen was actively colluding with the Dragon God—But based on instinct, he compared the ease of the eastern front with his disadvantage in the north and south and felt something wasn’t right.
‘From Arashiel’s eyes, Kaylen’s power didn’t seem that unusual.’
The Threefold Sword Rain—the technique Kaylen unleashed.
It was an astonishing feat for a mortal, but that was the limit.Such power wasn’t just within reach of the Celestial Demon, even someone like Arashiel—an elder among the Moon Clan—could use it.
‘I can create something like a sword rain too.’
Based on the experiences he saw through Arashiel’s eyes, the Celestial Demon reproduced the sword rain at the northern border.
[So this is how it works.]
Tutututuduk…
Suddenly descending on the northern coast, which had previously only displayed flashes of blinding light—A rain of swords.
Its mana composition was nearly identical to Kaylen’s—without a single flaw.
If Kaylen’s Sword Rain was effective, then the Celestial Demon’s Sword Rain should work as well.
‘Celestial Demon… is he testing it?’
Meanwhile, the Dragon God, upon seeing the sudden downpour of swords in the north, thought as much.
Since the Sword Rain Kaylen had shown wasn’t particularly unique…
The Celestial Demon must’ve tried it himself for verification.
‘Seems he doesn’t trust him completely.’
If he trusted him 100%, he wouldn’t have bothered to imitate the Sword Rain.
The Dragon God briefly considered whether he should retreat in the face of that Sword Rain, but came to a conclusion.
‘I’ll ignore the Celestial Demon’s version.’
If he backed off easily in front of such a cheap imitation—
It might only serve to deepen the Celestial Demon’s suspicions.
Chiiiiik—!
The Dragon’s flames clashed with the Sword Rain.
Though the downpour of swords falling from the sky was 99% identical to Kaylen’s,
Unlike the eastern front, the Dragon God’s flames fiercely resisted it.
No—in fact…
Fwoooosh—!
They suppressed the Celestial Demon’s divine power and even launched a counterattack.
‘The Dragon God… to be this strong…’
The Celestial Demon was less concerned about his own Sword Rain being erased—
And more worried by the disappearance of his divine power pressing in from the north and south.
The Dragon God’s strength—
He hadn’t expected it to be this overwhelming.
‘My power… is failing at a critical moment.’
Infinity, the infinite mana—
Originally a counterforce created to target the Celestial God.
The current Dragon God was a perfected embodiment of that mana.
‘Even so… I thought I had prepared enough by acquiring demonic energy from the Demon Realm…
When I evolved from Celestial God to Celestial Demon, I believed I had built enough resistance to Infinity.
But by the slightest margin, the battles in the north and south continued to be pushed back.
In truth, this was the result of the Dragon God withdrawing most of his strength from the eastern front where Kaylen was—
But the Celestial Demon hadn’t grasped that yet.
‘If I don’t erase the Dragon God this time… then next time, I won’t be able to win in this body.’
Starting from the Water Continent—
When the four elemental continents were raised, the Celestial Demon had defeated the Dragon God every time.
But the Dragon God died and returned each time—stronger than before.
And when the Averia Continent was created this time—
His power shone even brighter. Especially against the power of light, which was now being devoured by the Dragon God’s authority.
‘In contrast, I absorbed dark mana… yet I still can’t handle the Dragon God’s Infinity properly. However…’
The Celestial Demon looked through Arashiel’s eyes—
And watched the direction Kaylen was advancing.
Kaylen, sweeping through the eastern part of the Geysir Empire with unstoppable momentum.
[Fall.]
At Kaylen’s single word, a rain of swords poured down without end—
And the Dragon God’s once-mighty flames vanished without resistance.
A power on a completely different level from the Sword Rain the Celestial Demon had cast.
‘No matter how I look at it, it’s exactly the same.’
The Celestial Demon couldn’t help but feel puzzled.
Kaylen’s Sword Rain.
From a god’s perspective, its operation and formation principles were nothing special, something easily replicable...
So why was it that only Kaylen’s Sword Rain worked against the Dragon God?
He couldn’t accept it.
‘Still, I should make use of him.’
He quickly and calmly began thinking of a way to use Kaylen.
[Kaylen.]
“Yes, my lord.”
Kaylen kneeled at the sudden call of the Celestial Demon.
In front of him, the Celestial Demon opened a massive portal.
[You must reinforce the southern front.]
The south, overtaken by the power of darkness.
That battlefield was in worse condition than the north.
After all, compared to the compatibility between light and fire, the compatibility between darkness and fire was much worse.
“Understood.”
On the surface, Kaylen obediently stepped into the portal to follow the command.
But as he walked, he actively communicated with the Dragon God.
—The Celestial Demon sent me to the south. Be prepared.
—He tried to copy your Sword Rain.
—Really? How did you handle it?
—I didn’t respond to his attack. Not even once.
The Dragon God said he completely ignored the Sword Rain the Celestial Demon tried to imitate.
Hearing this, Kaylen nodded.
‘Continuously pushing forward with Dual Sword Rain has its limits.’
The Dual Sword Rain was a fundamental Six Sword technique.
Even someone like Arashiel, of the Moon Clan, might be able to replicate it. If he kept using that to suppress the mighty Dragon God, it could further raise the Celestial Demon’s suspicions.
—Hmm… right. Pushing with Sword Rain alone won’t work.
—Then, what do you plan to do?
—I need to dispel the Celestial Demon’s doubts. I’ll reveal Starfall. Make sure to dodge it properly.
—…No need to dodge. I can withstand that sword just fine!
At the Dragon God’s boast, the water god cut in.
—Stop saying useless things. Just do as he says!
…This time, I’ll let it go.
Though he said that, the Dragon God was actually looking forward to clashing with Starfall.
‘Last time, I admitted defeat just by seeing the sword…
…but in an actual battle, things will be different. Kaylen.’
Beyond the portal, at the southern coastline—
The scene had transformed into something impossible to witness in the real world.
Though the sun had clearly risen in the sky—
Its light could not reach the land.
The sky above and below seemed completely severed, as if they were worlds apart. The sea and land were drenched in deep darkness, while only the clouds floating in the sky held the light.
‘The Celestial Demon’s dark mana… Quite impressive.’
Kaylen walked through the darkness of the Celestial Demon, raising his guard against its power.
If he were to suddenly change his stance and attack, this 'Moon Clan' Kaylen would easily perish.
‘But even he… cannot pierce Infinity.’
Although the light from the sun had completely disappeared—
Beyond the darkness, the flames rising from the land were still incredibly fierce.
‘Their elemental compatibility is aligning.’
Kaylen thought that the Celestial Demon, Dragon God, and their elemental relationships were organically intertwined.
The Celestial Demon was weaker against the Dragon God, but could suppress Kaylen.
The Dragon God was weak against Kaylen but could defeat the Celestial Demon.
Kaylen hadn't found a way to suppress the Celestial Demon, but he could suppress the Dragon God with Starfall.
A cycle of opposing elemental relationships, like rock-paper-scissors.
‘However, that’s just a superficial compatibility.’
Even though the Dragon God had the elemental advantage over the Celestial Demon, could his power truly completely obliterate the Celestial Demon?
Kaylen viewed this with skepticism.
‘He hasn’t used any of the Moon’s power yet.’
The power of the otherworldly force that broke down Kaylen's human body and transformed him into a member of the Moon Clan.
That force was based on a form of dark mana far more advanced than that of the demon realm.
Kaylen had cast aside his human form and turned into a member of the Moon Clan, now searching for a clue to break this deep dark mana…
‘But I still don’t know where the Celestial Demon, who bears the Moon's dark mana, is.’
The Dragon God’s flames were vast enough to scorch the entire western continent, but at least he knew where his opponent was.
However, the Celestial Demon, unlike the Dragon God, couldn’t be found.
He had thoroughly hidden himself in the battle against the Dragon God.
‘...He’s a cautious one.’
Despite being pushed back by the Dragon God in the northern and southern battles, he hid his presence and sent Kaylen, whom he still couldn’t trust 100%.
Kaylen thought to himself, realizing that his opponent was more troublesome than expected.
‘For now, I must show my worth.’
Wiiing.
He raised all six swords.
The momentum was completely different from when he raised the Dual Sword Rain.
[You.......]
Above Kaylen's head.
Arashiel, who had been watching him, trembled as she witnessed the scene.
When the Sword Rain fell, she had doubted, thinking, "Is that all?"
‘That sword...’
However,
When all six swords combined and transformed into a single iron sword—
Arashiel couldn’t tear her gaze away from the sword.
An ordinary-looking iron sword.
But the movement of the aura flowing within it was of a transcendent realm, something her eyes could not fathom.
Transcendence Starfall.
The sword that transcended the extremes of the Six Sword Path.
As the sword capable of destroying stars was revealed, Arashiel was spellbound, gazing at it…
‘...Beautiful.’
For the first time in her life,
She thought something that was not her own was beautiful.
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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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