[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 419

Crackle—!

Each time a spear struck the barrier, Michael flinched in reflex.

“Damn it, these bastards just don’t quit!”

He spat curses toward the distant Belzebub and Zadkiel.

If it weren’t for Jeong-hoon’s Light Barrier, he would’ve died hundreds of times already.

If their attacks didn’t work, they could’ve at least stopped. His head was pounding nonstop—he was on the verge of going mad.

“Hang in there a little longer.”

Unlike Michael, Fenrir looked unfazed even amidst the deafening blasts.

“You mutt! How long are we supposed to ‘hang in there’? Who knows when this damned palace will show up?”

“…You’ve already been there once. You should at least have some sense of where it is.”

“I was unconscious and dragged there, genius! You want me to magically create a ‘sense’ of direction?”

As they bickered, the spears that had been attacking them suddenly vanished.

“Huh? What’s this? They’ve stopped attacking.”

“Heh, maybe they finally gave up.”

“Isn’t it strange for someone who’s been that persistent to suddenly stop?”

“You mean—they changed targets?”

“Yeah.”

“…Run, now!”

If Fenrir was right, it meant their master had made a move. They had to hurry to the palace where Psyche once resided and complete their mission successfully.

“That bastard!”

When Jeong-hoon headed north, Belzebub’s expression twisted in anger.

His wings spread wide, and a shadow of darkness fell over Jeong-hoon.

In response, the Archangels, including Michael, moved in unison—

A blinding flash filled the air.

SZZZAAAAAAAK!

Then came a deafening explosion that tore through the heavens.

Yet Jeong-hoon didn’t flinch—he vanished from their sight in an instant.

“Tch, I’ll have to settle for binding them for now.”

Belzebub relaxed his expression and turned toward the Archangels encircling him.

He had intended to obliterate Jeong-hoon in one strike, but the angels had intercepted the attack, rendering it useless.

Still, it was a satisfying outcome.

Ssshhh—

A wave of death blanketed the angels.

“Remember—this is my true domain.”

Belzebub’s body began to grow, expanding until he stood nearly thirty meters tall.

His enormous wings flared, and the power of darkness surged outward, pressing down on the angels.

“Hmph!”

At that moment, a pure white light burst forth from Michael’s body, pushing back the oppressive darkness that smothered them.

“Zadkiel.”

Belzebub called out Zadkiel’s name.

He had never heard of angels being able to exert such influence within his own domain.

“Janus intervened.”

“Janus?”

Belzebub’s jaw went slack at the shocking words, but then he slowly nodded as though he understood.

‘I see… so Janus lent them his power.’

The only being in existence that embodied both light and darkness.

If that being had granted them power, it made sense that they could wield this much influence even here.

“No matter. I, too, have received power from Janus.”

A faint trace of darkness rippled across the pure white shield in Zadkiel’s hand.

“Good. Unfold your domain.”

At Belzebub’s command, Zadkiel raised his shield high, then brought it down in a sweeping motion.

Woom—

The air itself quivered, and soon a vast domain began to expand outward.

“…What are you doing?”

Belzebub’s face twisted in anger.

The domain wasn’t meant for him—it was channeling protective power toward the angels.

“So, I finally have you.”

A thin smile crept across Zadkiel’s lips as he looked at Belzebub.

“What?”

In that instant—

Slash!

With a sharp, slicing sound—

BOOM—!

Belzebub’s right wing went limp and dropped to the ground.

Michael’s Luminous had sliced through it with a blade wrapped in divine light.

“Guh!”

Belzebub hastily tried to draw upon his dark power, but rather than healing, his condition only worsened.

Michael’s strike, empowered by Janus’s dual force of light and darkness, made recovery nearly impossible.

“Since when? Since when have you been planning this?”

Belzebub glared at Zadkiel with murderous eyes.

“From the moment I approached you.”

Zadkiel’s expression was calm and unshaken.

The moment he approached him—

“Hah.”

That was centuries ago.

A heavenly being had suddenly crossed into the Demon Realm.

An Archangel, no less.

Belzebub had immediately restrained the intruder and interrogated him personally.

‘I no longer wish to live as a tool.’

Even under brutal torture, Zadkiel repeated the same words.

‘And why should we trust you?’

‘Because I’ll stay in the Divine Realm and gather every piece of information I can!’

"Hmm? I can't feel any light from you anymore. If you go back you'll obviously be stripped of your rank — why take that gamble?"

There was no light left in Zadkiel.

That meant he, too, had discarded the light like they had.

That was probably how he had been able to cross into the Demon Realm.

“No, I didn't discard the light.”

“Hmm? Then how did you get in?”

“I came here using Janus's bracelet.”

“Janus?”

“Yes. It's an item I manage.”

“Are you out of your mind? Do you mean to say you used that kind of thing in secret?”

That was when they should have dealt with him — not keep talking.

“Janus's bracelet can be used repeatedly, and nobody can tell when it's being used!”

“Nobody can tell?”

“Yes! I'm the only one who knows this fact!”

“Hmm, how am I supposed to believe that?”

“If something goes wrong when you return to the Divine Realm, then kill me!”

If it ever came out that an archangel had been communicating with the Demon Realm, not only would his position be revoked, he'd be expelled from the Divine Realm.

“Then just get expelled.”

“If I'm expelled and I spill the information, nothing will be left for you!”

“Hmm?”

“I'll help you consume the Divine Realm. In return, I want an important position reserved for me.”

Consume the Divine Realm.

Those words sounded intoxicating.

“Then let's see what you can do.”

Belzebub let Zadkiel go — once.

After that, Zadkiel came to the Demon Realm once every three months and handed over Divine Realm intelligence.

Even classified data accessible only to the archangels.

Logos personally verified the leaks to make sure they weren't false, and they proved true.

After hundreds of years of that repetition, they accepted Zadkiel — never imagining it was a trap meant to capture them.

“Truly… what despicable bastards.”

To think handing over all the Divine Realm's intel had been part of the plan.

“Don't worry. They don't know the operation I set up.”

Zadkiel snorted as he looked at the stunned archangels.

“So you deceived your own side, too, to fool the enemy.”

“And the information I handed over had gaps here and there. It looks like they were trying to seize the Divine Realm, but it won't be easy.”

“Zadkiel, you do realize everyone is watching your betrayal, right?”

“I know exactly what I'm doing.”

Zadkiel lifted his shield.

“All right. Come and try to kill me then.”

Belzebub began his final, desperate assault.

With a deafening roar that seemed to tear the sky apart, the ground trembled violently, and the shockwave coursed through his entire body.

“They seem to be putting up quite a fight.”

Jeong-hoon brushed a hand over his chest.

When he had slipped out of Belzebub’s sight and headed north, Zadkiel’s voice had echoed in his mind.

[Sorry for startling you. It was the only way to deceive him.]

It turned out Zadkiel hadn’t been a traitor at all.

He had only pretended to betray them to set the trap.

“He revealed himself too soon. That must’ve been a plan years in the making.”

Tenebris murmured regretfully.

“Yeah. He could’ve kept up the act a bit longer.”

‘He knows it wouldn’t have made a difference.’

At that, Janus spoke up.

“Wouldn’t have made a difference?”

Jeong-hoon frowned. Belzebub had clearly shown signs of trusting Zadkiel.

Judging from the angels’ reactions, it seemed the snare had been Zadkiel’s independent move—so revealing it so quickly felt premature.

‘I saw everything through Zadkiel. It seems he tampered slightly with the information, but Belzebub must have known all along.’

“Really? Belzebub didn’t look like he knew.”

‘He just didn’t show it.’

“…That bastard’s craftier than I thought.”

If Belzebub had realized Zadkiel’s deception, he should’ve eliminated him immediately.

Instead, he had simply watched, letting the angel play along.

Jeong-hoon quickened his pace toward the north.

At the northernmost edge stood a colossal gate.

Crackle—

Black sparks leapt across its surface, as if the gate itself resented his presence.

Jeong-hoon smirked faintly and stepped closer.

[Aaaaargh!]

[Spare me!]

[I was wrong! It’s my fault!]

[Please! Please!]

Suddenly, screams filled his ears.

Not one or two—but countless voices wailing in agony.

“What the—”

Jeong-hoon flinched and instinctively took a step back. The cries vanished instantly, as if they had never existed.

‘There are countless souls trapped beyond that gate.’

“Souls…”

Had they been using the imprisoned souls here to create NPCs?

How utterly vile.

As expected—

the Demon Realm had no right to exist.

Jeong-hoon stepped toward the gate once more.

Instantly, the screams pierced his ears and rattled through his skull.

‘So this is hell.’

Slowly, Jeong-hoon pushed open the Gate of Hell.

[Unauthorized @$!@#!@#]

The message broke off midway, its words distorted.

“Is it because of the power of darkness?”

Jeong-hoon turned to look at Janus beside him.

‘Yes. That’s why you can bypass the restrictions so easily.’

A satisfactory answer.

Jeong-hoon nodded and pressed harder, forcing the gate open with all his strength.

Crackle—

Lightning struck down at him.

But it failed to pierce through the barrier of light protecting his body.

Screeeech—

The gate creaked open, inch by inch.

As it did, scorching heat rushed out and washed over him.

“This place…”

Beyond the threshold lay a cliff—and below it, an unspeakable scene.

Countless souls were being subjected to brutal torment.

Bodies were slashed by blades, pierced by spears, seared with fire, or injected with incurable poisons that drove them into unimaginable agony.

Some were hunted down by demonic beasts, their limbs torn apart. Others were thrown alive into boiling lava.

The worst part—none of them could die. Their bodies regenerated, forcing them to endure the same pain again and again, in an endless cycle of suffering.

‘Horrifying…’

‘Filthy bastards!’

Mukho was struck speechless by the horrific sight, while Anima erupted in fury.

Its gaze was fixed on the suffering Dragonkin—among them, newly hatched wyrmlings.

They were tearing apart the limbs of those newborns and throwing them into molten rock.

Even after being stripped of their powers, unable to resist—

“Isn’t there any way to free those souls?”

‘You’ll have to destroy Armageddon.’

“Armageddon?”

‘Yes. That thing is what binds their souls. You must eliminate it to release them.’

“I see… that’s how it is.”

Without hesitation, Jeong-hoon leapt off the cliff.

His body rose into the air, supported by a flight spell, as he glided past the tormented souls and pressed onward.

Shaaah—

Countless demonic beasts turned toward him and charged.

“Graaaargh!”

One of them lunged, jaws gaping wide.

The air split with a deafening blast as it attacked—but Jeong-hoon, unfazed, drew out Anima.

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]