Urrrng. Boom! Yeon-woo increased the resonance of the Dragon Heart and Stone of Sin until the monsters tearing at him could feel it, and he released his power in an instant. Black flames exploded around him as the monsters were blown away.

“Haa…haaa…!” He panted heavily. His skin had turned sallow in seconds, and his flesh was torn and bloody.

[An unidentified substance has entered your body. You have been afflicted with the status ‘Poison’.]

[The skill ‘Formless Poison’ attempts to detoxify it.]

[It has failed.]

[The skill ‘Formless Poison’ attempts to detoxify it.]

[It has failed.]

[It has failed.]

…

[The Dragon Heart is circulating a great amount of dragon blood.]

[The Stone of Sin (Superbia·Gula) attempts purification.]

[It has failed.]

[The substance cannot be neutralized. Retreat for prompt medical attention.]

[Vimalacitra nods at your steadfast will.]

[Vimalacitra is inspired by the Demonic Sea.]

[The proficiency of ‘Regeneration’ is diminished due to your poisoned state.]

Yeon-woo grit his teeth as he checked the messages and his condition. ‘I’ll really die at this rate.’ An unknown poison had entered his body. The poison that had raised his skill proficiency with its scent alone was now viciously attacking him. Everything was a mess.

His limbs and internal organs were crushed. His torn body was recovering too slowly, and his magic power couldn’t circulate properly. He now understood why the gods and demons had been reluctant to see him fight the monsters of the Demonic Sea. ‘Coexisting with the Demonic Sea is impossible for them.’

It was like the relationship between light and dark. No, it wasn’t as simple as that. Their very roots were different, and the gap between order and chaos was greater than Yeon-woo expected. Naturally, his stamina and Channels were affected.

[Your trait, Cold-blooded, has helped you maintain composure.]

[All gods of death witness your death.]

[All demons of death wonder how you’ll overcome death.]

It was the worst possible situation; even the gods and demons of death believed he would die. There was only one consolation.

[The Divine Factors of ‘Blood Essence’ have successfully neutralized the substance.]

[‘Formless Poison’ skill proficiency has slightly increased.]

[‘Formless Poison’ skill proficiency has slightly increased.]

…

[You have gained new Factors.]

[The Factors fuse with your current Factors.]

It was a relief he had collected the components of Blood-Tear Stones and Blood Essence, but there were limits to this too. At the moment, his priority was to secure a safe route.

[Time Difference]

Yeon-woo tried to analyze his situation as quickly and rationally as possible. ‘I have to postpone neutralizing the poison. There are limits to the magic power I can use right now, so I need to heal my body first…’ While Yeon-woo was deep in thought, Shanon felt cold shivers as he read his thoughts. His master was treating his own body as if it were only a tool.

Shanon had always known that Yeon-woo saw even his own life as a tool to help him get to his goal, but he never got used to it no matter how many times he saw it.

Whoosh. Yeon-woo paused the circulation of his magic power, which was conducting multiple processes at the same time, and focused on healing his right arm. He didn’t need his lower body because he could stay steady with Sky Wings, but both arms were crucial for using a weapon. ‘I have no way to win this endless battle if Nessie has Illusory Change. My chances of being victorious are zero.’

Yeon-woo immediately changed his plans. He decided not to obsess over the endless battle and look in another direction. He gave up on the idea that the Vampiric Lord would help if he were endangered. It wasn’t the time to gamble with his life. ‘My target isn’t Nessie, but capturing Laplace.’

He gripped Vigrid in his regenerated right hand while his left hand held the chain. ‘Then…’ He quickly scanned his priorities one more time.

Eeeeng!

He activated Meteor Sword Art. Hundreds of energy balls clustered around him like stars. His magic power wasn’t circulating properly and wasn’t as hot as it had been, so he chose a different method this time. “Explode.”

[Random Shooting]

Yeon-woo replicated the skill Jeong-woo had used in the past. The skill cast magic that he’d stored through Perfect Adaptability and amplified its destructive power. Its path couldn’t be predicted, so enemies found it troublesome. The only difference was that Jeong-woo used standardized magic while Yeon-woo used pure clusters of sword energy.

Rumble, rumble. Black flames split through the sky once again. Some soared, while others plummeted to the Demonic Sea. Flames exploded and filled the sky.

Time resumed its normal pace, and the monsters attacked. However, they were blinded from the explosions and couldn’t move forward because they were surrounded by a sea of fire. The atmosphere was heavy with heat and fog, confusing their senses.

Then suddenly, Yeon-woo’s presence completely disappeared.

Kruoooooo! The monsters realized his plan only then and moved. They needed to find Yeon-woo no matter what. However, the blazing firestorm and falling bolts injured them, so it wasn’t easy to expand their senses. A few managed to clear through the explosion and the fragments of flesh to chase after Yeon-woo.

Boom! Yeon-woo wasn’t headed for Nessie, but someplace else.

What. Are. You. After.

Kooooo.

Nessie realized Yeon-woo’s target had changed to the island where Laplace was and quickly gave a new command to the creatures.

Stop. Him.

And. If. Possible. Eat. Him.

The monsters swam through the air to catch Yeon-woo, but they found it difficult. The flames from Random Shooting were too threatening. More than thirty percent of the Demonic Sea had evaporated from the heat.

However, Nessie had given orders to stop Yeon-woo even if the monsters lost their lives. The king’s command contained absolute authority, and the monsters of the Demonic Sea couldn’t oppose him. Many monsters faced the fire directly as they headed for Yeon-woo. Flesh poured down as monsters died, turning the Demonic Sea into a dump.

Clank! Yeon-woo sensed a monster flying through the pieces of flesh in the air and quickly pulled the chains, tying them around the creature’s claws as he brandished a scythe-shaped Vigrid to slash its neck.

A liquid that was like blood spurted on Yeon-woo’s head. White steam rose as his dragon scales melted. The poison that entered his body instantly wrecked his magic power circulation again. It was a dangerous development, considering that his condition was already shaky, but Yeon-woo only burst out in laughter. “Hahaha!”

It seemed that it was true after all that the release of adrenaline made people feel exhilaration instead of pain in extreme situations. By now, Yeon-woo could control even the hormones in his body, but he felt beyond delighted in this situation. Death, death, death! This place was filled with death. Although his own death might occur, Yeon-woo didn’t care. Instead, he was delighted to really experience what death was. He finally realized what it meant to sit on the Throne of Death and be Hades’ successor.

As the Death King, the only thing he could give these creatures was death. And so, even though monsters continued to approach him, he ignored them and moved forward. He unfurled Sky Wings and attempted to dive down.

Again, the massacre that seemed infinite turned into nothing. As he was surrounded by monsters, Yeon-woo experienced the pain of being torn apart once again.

[Time Difference]

At that moment, a skill he had kept hidden activated. It was the skill that gave him the ability to see potential futures so that he could make a decision. Although he needed to use the magic power that was slowly draining away, he managed to learn how Nessie’s Illusory Change worked. Right before the resurrected monsters tore him apart, he managed to escape to a location a few steps away.

The monsters were flustered when their prey disappeared, and Yeon-woo pulled the chains and butchered them all at once. Emptiness opened above as Meteor Sword Art rained down.

Boom! Crash! He only saw one second ahead, but it was enough to attack the creatures and make them experience agonizing pain even after resurrection.

Kuooooo. He didn’t stop and struck again. He cut and made explosions over and over. However, the number of monsters sticking to him only increased.

Rumble. Random Shooting of Meteor Sword Art mutilated them all over again. Yeon-woo made another attempt to get through.

〈Illusory Change〉

[Time Difference]

The fight between the creature trying to move the Illusory World and Yeon-woo grew more intense.

Foolish!

Nessie tried to stop Yeon-woo from approaching Laplace, believing that Illusory Change was succeeding in rendering Yeon-woo’s efforts pointless. No matter how many times Yeon-woo saw the potential futures and killed monsters, all Nessie had to do was bring them back alive.

As this continued, the number of monsters tearing at Yeon-woo multiplied. From 1,000 creatures to 2,000, 3,000…with the exception of the monsters inside the Demonic Sea, it seemed like all the monsters in the stomach had arrived.

Yeon-woo was injured from the attacks that even Precognition couldn’t catch. When one creature clamped on, the others came like hyenas after prey. More and more monsters clung to him until those who couldn’t reach Yeon-woo chomped on the monsters closest to him instead.

This was the result of the continuous Illusory Change, but Yeon-woo didn’t stop his movement forward. Just as the magic power in the Dragon Heart was almost depleted, he managed to reach Laplace’s location.

Nessie frowned at him. The creature thought it preposterous that Yeon-woo was using tricks because he’d never be able to defeat him in direct combat. Even if Yeon-woo did find Laplace, Nessie could use Illusory Change to create something that hadn’t existed before. How could Yeon-woo be so foolish? Mortals had limits.

Nessie was about to use Illusory Change once more when the bestial sound of thunder boomed in the sky. Nessie grew shocked as he looked up to see a sphere as large as his body shining like the sun over him! Rumble! Krrrrr! Nessie belatedly related what Yeon-woo had been plotting.

Yeon-woo hadn’t been trying to save Laplace; he was after Nessie. All he had to do was attack before Nessie activated Illusory Change. However, it wasn’t easy to approach Nessie because there were too many monsters in the stomach, so he’d used himself as bait to lure them all out.

Nessie found it hard to retreat now because black chains that originated from emptiness tightly bound and immobilized it.

“Bring it down.”

[Sword Purification]

[Villain - Expel]

[Lightning Strike]

Vigrid’s option of Sword Purification, which grew stronger the more powerful his opponent was, and Expel, which repelled evil spirits, were released with Heaven Bracket. Hundreds of energy clusters gathered in one location with Meteor Sword Art, whose power had intensified exponentially. It was the true Meteor Sword Art, which he hadn’t ever displayed because the Bureau had been watching. It transformed into Fire Lightning and crashed on Nessie’s head.

It was so hot and bright that Nessie didn’t even register what was happening. Those watching only saw a bright flash. Krrrrng!

A column that connected the sky and earth landed, piercing through Nessie’s throat into the Demonic Sea all the way to the bottom. Half of the seawater evaporated from the intense heat, and the earth around the column was swept away by black flames.

It was the first appearance of a variant of Meteor Sword Art: Meteor Sword Heaven Thunder Art or Sword Thunder for short.