Chapter 247

It was truly a magnificent sight.

Kkwarreung!

Underneath the thunder and lightning that poured down from the sky.

The sight of Sung Suho appearing with numerous black legions and handing over the horn of the previous Demon King to Esil Radir...

It was like a solemn and magnificent painting, reminiscent of a knight's inauguration ceremony.

And the moment Esil received the 'Horn of Baran' with both hands.

An old demon muttered as if possessed, suddenly seeing the figure enveloped in a black aura.

"A new king has been born in this land that has lost its master."

With those words, without anyone saying anything, all the demons fell to their knees and began to worship.

"A new king has been born!"

"King of demons!"

"Esil Radir!"

Euaaaaaaaaaah!

Towards the new king, Esil Radir.

In that way, everyone became one in heart and mind and shouted Esil's name in an explosive manner.

but.

"... ... Ugh."

What the demons saw and what was real were completely different.

'I, who am so picky, am being eaten instead... ...!'

The person involved, Esil Radir, was in a state of despair.

Kuoooooooo... ... !

From the moment she unexpectedly accepted the horn of Baran that Suho had handed her, Esil's expression became stiff.

Baran's horn suddenly started sucking her in with incredible power!

Like the residents of the gap.

With the intention of sucking out all the nutrients contained within Esil.

'This is the succession... ...!'

Esil realized instinctively.

At this very moment, Baran's horn was asking itself.

Are you really qualified to be king?

If you are not fit to be a king.

'On the contrary, are you planning to eat me and take my soul?!'

"I see."

This is the Demon King's succession ceremony.

It was Baran's last struggle, as even his spirit body was destroyed and scattered into the dregs of the gap.

And then.

-You're weak.

... ... ?!

A voice filled with laughter whispered softly to Esil.

At that moment, Esil also realized her fate.

-You are not qualified.

In the end, Esil's mind, which had been gritting its teeth and resisting the suction, was helplessly sucked into the abyss.

Shwaaaaaaaah!

'Eww...!'

* * *

How much time has passed?

'Euaaaaaaah!'

A bottomless pit.

In an abyss so vast that even the passage of time was imperceptible, Esil was falling endlessly.

After falling like that for a long time.

At the edge of her vision, where she had previously been unable to see anything, something began to appear.

At first it looked like a whitish pillar.

After a long time, Esil finally fell to a place where she could clearly see what it really was.

and.

'Oh my god.'

All I could do in front of it was stand in awe.

'No way this is...'

Esil was face to face with it.

In the deepest and widest darkness.

A giant tree that grew and took root at the edge of the afterlife sea.

'The World Tree?'

I could tell without anyone telling me.

My instincts as a demon, or rather my memories of being a resident of the gap before that, were whispering the truth.

That is the world tree.

That giant tree that shines on its own even in this abyss is the World Tree!

'But why?'

Esil was puzzled.

How did her soul, which failed in succession and was eventually eaten by Baran's horn, end up in front of the World Tree?

No, I can't even call it an arrival.

Because even now, he was still falling.

Because the size of the World Tree was so vast, it was difficult to perceive the fact.

But I guess that was good anyway.

The moment she saw the World Tree, only one thought came to Esil's mind.

'Suho!'

She had to tell Suho this.

'Suho! Over here! The World Tree you were looking for is right here!'

But no matter how much she shouted, Esil's voice did not come out of her mouth.

Even if she had made a sound, there was no way his words would have reached Suho in this vast abyss.

So she decided to change her method.

'Since it's come to this, I'll take it myself!'

Esil thought.

In the first place, what Suho wanted was not the location of the World Tree, but the branches of the World Tree.

'So I can break off a branch of the World Tree and take it myself!'

As that thought occurred to her, the thought that suddenly came to Esil's mind was none other than 'Vulcan'.

What was the reason that Vulcan, who was originally just a small creature, was able to evolve into a demon noble?

It's the world tree!

Wasn't it because you broke off the branches of the World Tree and ate its leaves?

If that's the principle, then what?

'If I grab a branch of the World Tree, won't I be able to seize a new opportunity? Like Vulcan?'

It was the moment when the survival instinct, the most primal instinct that sustains the demon race, stirred within Esil.

Choaack!

Esil, who had been falling endlessly, desperately reached out her hand.

Towards the world tree.

'Just a little bit! Just a little bit more!'

If you wish and want, you will move.

Esil's soul, which stretched out its hand anxiously, as if it could touch it, but couldn't, began to move towards the World Tree little by little.

And finally.

Bam.

The moment Esil's fingertips touched the branches of the World Tree.

'Got it... ...!'

Kyaaaa ...

... ... ?!

Suddenly, with a roar that shook the heavens and earth, a giant snake appeared, wrapped around the World Tree, and blocked Esil's path.

Esil hurriedly withdrew her outstretched hand as if it had been burned.

And when she saw the monster that appeared before her eyes, she was so shocked that her soul trembled.

'Oh my god. What is this?'

Kyaaaaaaaah!

An absurdly large snake... ...was coiled around the World Tree!

And that snake has seven heads!

'Could it be that he is guarding the World Tree?'

Or is it just living here?

A snake living in the afterlife sea?

I have many questions.

But now Esil had no time to resolve that question.

One of the heads of that giant snake spotted Esil and suddenly turned its head towards her.

and.

Kyaaaaaaaah!

It opened its mouth to catch and eat Esil.

'Oh, no!'

The gaping mouth of a snake like a crocodile covered Esil's entire field of vision.

Esil's soul, still falling, was unable to escape and was destined to be eaten into its maw.

That was when.

Tiring!

[Passive skill '(Unknown)' is activated.]

'... ... !'

Esil's eyes widened.

Suddenly she saw a broad back blocking his way.

He muttered, his sharp jawline briefly visible above.

'Hmm. This is a first for me.'

'Su- Suho?!'

Suddenly, Suho appeared in front of her!

Esil was so surprised and touched that her mouth widened.

'You came all the way here to save me?'

'No, I was caught too.'

'What?!'

'First of all, I am a priest.'

It was Suho who responded with a sly smile.

At the very moment that Esil fell into the abyss, Suho's time had almost immediately stopped.

The only difference was that Suho was not directly defeated like Esil, but was summoned directly in front of Esil.

'Seriously, what kind of skill is this?'

Suho looked ahead with an embarrassed expression.

And they looked at a giant snake approaching them with its mouth wide open to eat them.

Kyaaaaaaaaaaah-!

[Nidhogg]

A name tag is visible above the snake's head.

'A snake living in the World Tree... ... I think I've seen a similar myth somewhere.'

A snake with seven heads.

[The King of the Mad Dragons, the Monarch of Destruction raises the corners of his mouth, saying that this is the true succession ceremony.]

It was Antares who immediately responded to Suho's words.

But Antares was not the only monarch who spoke out.

[The King of Beasts, the Fang Monarch, says that this snake holds the 'primordial darkness' that has lost its master.]

[The King of Bugs, the Monarch of Plagues...]

In short, it's like this.

'This thing ate all the primordial darkness that the monarchs spat out as they died?'

No, the expression "eaten it all up" is incorrect.

This was the primordial darkness that had been split into eight parts and then merged back into one.

Aren't the seven heads on this snake called 'Nidhogg' the proof?

For each head, one primordial darkness.

'But why are there seven? Where did one go?'

[The King of the Snowmen, the Monarch of the Cold, urges that now is not the time!]

right.

The first priority is to survive here.

But it was already too late.

There was no place to escape to begin with.

Kyaaaa ...

Eventually, Nidhogg's maw swallowed Suho and Esil in one gulp.

But at that moment.

... ... Craw?!

The tightly shut mouth of the snake bulged.

'oh my god.'

In it, Esil witnessed.

Suho... ... stands in front of her with both arms raised, supporting the roof of the snake's mouth!

Krrrrrr!

Nidhogg's howl, trying to crush Suho with force, blew through his throat like the wind.

But Suho instead curled the corners of his mouth.

'I said I'm confident when it comes to a fight for power.'

That was a good thing.

It's a good thing that only my mind was sucked into this place, but if my body was also dragged here, wouldn't my HP have dropped in real time due to the 'Debuff: Death'?

But nothing would be resolved by just holding on like this.

'Esil!'

'Oh, yeah!'

Suho shouted at Esil while supporting the roof of his mouth.

Esil was frozen in fear behind him, unable to move.

This wasn't just about being scared, it was the manifestation of the 'Debuff: Fear' effect.

But it depends on how you use it, right?

'Esil! I can't summon shadow soldiers here! The two of us have to catch this guy!'

'So, you're going to catch him? This guy?'

'of course.'

Hehe.

Before we knew it, Suho had developed a strange habit.

The worse the situation, the more the corners of your mouth go up.

Because I learned it through experience.

The greater the risk you face, the greater the reward you will receive.

Therefore.

'At least cut off one head so you can become king, right?'

Suho decided to face the ordeal with a smile.

'It's going to be a little... hot.'

[Use 'Skill: Monarch's Realm'.]

Whoaaaaah-

Black shadows spread out in all directions, centered around Suho.

Hurrruk!

A dark red flame began to glow above the shadows that filled Nidhogg's mouth.

Krrrrrrrr-!

Even in the midst of all this, Nidhogg's determination to chew and swallow this somehow was admirable.

Maybe this level of pain isn't enough to cause much damage.

Because the opponent was a guy who held seven primordial darknesses.

But what if this happens?

[Use 'Debuff: Bloodthirsty Poison'.]

A faint venomous smell flowed out from Suho.

[The King of Bugs, the Monarch of Plagues opens his eyes.]

[The King of Bugs, the Monarch of Plagues, explains that the poison is useless against Nidhogg.]

'I know. Who would use this for him?'

At Quresha's words, Suho snickered and muttered.

[Poison: Bloodthirsty Toxin]

A poison that causes the blood to boil when consumed, temporarily increasing strength.

However, there is a fatal side effect where using magic power causes extreme pain and drains blood, gradually reducing one's lifespan.

'This poison... was originally made for demons.'

As soon as he finished speaking.

Behind Suho's back.

'Keuuuuuuu... ...!'

Esil was struggling to get up.

[Buff: Bloodthirsty Poison is activated on Esil Radir.]

... ... !

[The King of Bugs, the Monarch of Plagues opens his mouth in surprise.]

Amplification of power with pain!

Since the Demon Race was a race accustomed to spiritualization, even in spiritualization, the effects of the blood poison were fully applied.

No, rather, in a world like this, there are things that are more possible.

Esil's spirit body.

The nutrients that created the being called Esil.

As her 'blood' boiled, her power as a demon noble was temporarily strengthened.

[Esil Radir's 'Skill: Bloodstone' evolves into 'Skill: Blood Crystal'.]

'This, this power...'

Esil herself looked embarrassed.

But Suho just smiled and muttered contentedly.

'Have you finally woken up?'

Blood.

The power used by the soul of the Demon King Baran.

Esil, who had awakened to that power on his own, had finally acquired the qualification to become king.

'Oh, it's because it's a drug, so it's not by itself.'

Well, anyway.

'Esil.'

Suho shouted towards Esil, whose soul itself was tightly compressed and refined.

'From now on, you take charge.'

'... ... !'

Kwajik!

At Suho's words, Esil immediately raised both arms and received the roof of the snake's mouth that Suho was holding.

At that moment, she couldn't help but feel her eyes widen at the overwhelming pressure.

All this time, Suho has been enduring this absurd power!

'I can't hold out for much longer!'

'That'll do.'

It'll only take a little while.

Thanks to that, Suho's hands were finally free.

Clang!

In those two hands, two swords of Kamish's Fury appeared.

'I'll do the cutting.'

Suho's eyes sparkled.

[Use 'Skill: Breath of Destruction'.]

Hurrah!

That moment.

The snake that wrapped around the world tree.

One of Nidhogg's seven heads was pierced by the doom ray.