[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 420

A monstrous shadow without a visible level hovered before him—its torn, crimson eyes blazing, and three pairs of wings thrashing violently.

‘Its face… looks like a raven.’

Perhaps because he hadn’t needed to fight from long range for quite some time, it had been a while since he last drew Anima.

‘So, it’s finally my turn to take the stage.’

Anima’s voice rang out, trembling with excitement.

“Let’s end this quickly.”

Jeong-hoon drew Anima’s bowstring tight.

Arrow of the Storm.

The arrow, imbued with tremendous destructive force, flew straight toward the monster charging at him.

It struck precisely at the creature’s tongue, mid-roar.

“Kieeeeek!”

With a shriek of agony, the beast’s form disintegrated and vanished into nothingness.

“Yeah… this is easy when I can use both powers.”

The reason the beast hadn’t survived even a single hit was because the arrow had been saturated with spiritual energy—pure light itself.

Jeong-hoon drew and released the bowstring again and again.

“Kieeeek!”

Every beast that rushed toward him was swept away before even reaching him.

“Save us!”

“Please, help us!”

Below him, countless trapped souls reached out toward Jeong-hoon, pleading for deliverance.

But Jeong-hoon, after annihilating every last monster, turned away without hesitation.

“You bastard!”

“Can’t you see us?!”

“Yaaaaahhh!”

Their screams tore through the air as they raged at his cold indifference.

But how could they know—

that Jeong-hoon was fighting precisely to set them free.

* * *

A decree had been issued by the great ones.

From the sanctum, a horde of beasts—born from feeding on the agony of souls—poured toward Jeong-hoon.

Each carried a weapon and aimed it at him before charging like a crashing wave.

Crackle—

Jeong-hoon expanded the range of his barrier of light, pushing the beasts back.

But unlike before, small cracks began to form across the barrier’s surface.

“So… spiritual energy alone won’t cut it.”

He merged the power of darkness into the light and overlaid another barrier.

If the previous one had been pure and radiant, this new shield radiated an ominous, shadowy aura as well.

Heavenly Demon Annihilation Sword.

A sword materialized in Jeong-hoon’s grasp—

Titan in his right hand, the Holy Sword in his left.

Jeong-hoon spun gracefully, his movements fluid like a dance, as he swung Titan and the Holy Sword at the same time.

Slash—

“—!”

The monsters tried to defend themselves in panic, but the intertwining forces of light and darkness that pulsed along Jeong-hoon’s blades seeped into their bodies and sliced through them effortlessly.

Those cut by his strike split cleanly in half before crumbling into dust and vanishing.

Boom!

Perhaps realizing a head-on battle was pointless, the remaining beasts detonated all at once.

The sky flared with bursts of flame, momentarily turning everything white.

The explosion’s immense heat caused the surface temperature of Jeong-hoon’s layered barrier to spike sharply—

yet it showed no signs of faltering, as if such attacks were beneath it.

‘If not for the power of darkness, that might’ve hurt.’

The coexistence of light and darkness—

now he understood why Janus’s power was known as annihilation itself.

When the two forces fused, they produced transcendence.

Jeong-hoon walked forward calmly through the chaos.

“Stop him.”

“Stop… him…”

The monsters muttered the same phrase over and over, pouring out endlessly.

Finally, Jeong-hoon unleashed both powers at once.

“—!”

So this was what it meant to be overwhelmed.

Even the decrees that bound them—absolute commands—could not make their bodies move.

Tremble—

“A-are we… shaking?”

One of the beasts stammered, voice quivering.

Fear—something they had only ever felt before the Great Ones—

and now they felt it… before a mere mortal.

“Get out of my way.”

Jeong-hoon uttered those words flatly and continued forward.

Chrrrkk—

The monsters fell aside, and in their place, countless stars began to glimmer—

before firing beams of light like lasers toward him.

But Jeong-hoon didn’t even try to dodge.

Zzzt—

His barrier absorbed everything, shielding his body completely.

“Divine artifacts, huh.”

He brushed past the remains of the monsters—only to find himself surrounded by Gods—divine envoys.

Not one or two, but dozens.

‘Break through in one go.’

Fighting each one individually would only waste time.

Jeong-hoon bent his knees slightly, gathering strength—then shot forward like a bolt.

Heavenly Demon Lord’s Dominion.

The step, now infused with both light and darkness, left behind swirling traces of their intertwined aura wherever he passed.

“……”

“A monster…”

The Gods who had lost sight of Jeong-hoon after he vanished in an instant murmured blankly to themselves.

Now they understood why he dared to enter the Sanctuary alone.

“Well, it’s only natural when he carries Janus’s power on his back.”

“Pursue him immediately.”

“Do not, under any circumstances, allow him to reach the Great Ones.”

The heart of the Sanctuary.

Along the way, Jeong-hoon encountered more Gods than he could count—

Lords, Demon Kings, even Apostles.

Despite being hopelessly outnumbered, he forced his way through,

thanks to the barrier of light and darkness that shielded his body.

“So, you’ve arrived.”

At last, he stood face-to-face with one of the Named beings—Ulion.

Ulion raised a hand casually, and all the attacks pounding against Jeong-hoon’s barrier ceased at once.

The other beings stepped back, then knelt on one knee before him in submission.

“Useless creatures.”

Ulion’s eyes gleamed coldly—

BOOM!

In that instant, the Gods and every other subordinate present exploded into pieces.

“Wow. That’s cold. They were loyal to you, at least.”

“If they’re of no use, why keep them alive?”

“Funny, coming from someone who once said he didn’t want to live as a tool—

yet here you are treating everyone beneath you like one.”

“……”

Ulion drew his sword.

“The fact that you came here yourself only makes me more curious. What’s behind that door?”

Jeong-hoon pointed toward the gate beyond Ulion—

the path leading to the end of the Sanctuary.

That’s where Logos and Armageddon would be.

‘Master! I found something here!’

‘They’re planning to use Psyche as a sacrifice to rewrite the Law of Fate!’

Rewriting the Law of Fate?

So Psyche really had foreseen her own downfall—

and even left this message, knowing Jeong-hoon would come for her.

“That’s none of your concern,” Ulion said flatly.

“No, it’s fine. I already figured it out.”

“…What?”

“To think you’d try to rewrite fate itself—what a grand dream.”

“Grand? You’ll soon see just how real it is.”

Ulion leapt from his position, the ground shaking violently beneath him.

Jeong-hoon nearly lost his footing for a split second but quickly steadied himself,

swinging his sword upward from below.

Claang!

Their blades collided, and the shockwave sent Jeong-hoon skidding backward across the ground.

Even with a sword strike infused with both light and darkness, he was being pushed back.

‘So this is the God of War’s power…’

At least it wasn’t so fast that he couldn’t read its movements.

In terms of speed, Jeong-hoon was confident he had the upper hand—

like now.

Tap!

Jeong-hoon stepped forward using Heavenly Demon Lord’s Dominion, slashing diagonally with the Holy Sword in his left hand.

Clang!

The clash of metal rang out again.

He spun his body, swinging Titan in a heavy horizontal slash.

Clang!

Blocked again. Yet Jeong-hoon didn’t stop—he swung the Holy Sword and Titan relentlessly,

his sharp strikes and rapid movements leaving no wasted motion.

Thanks to that precision, Ulion could no longer simply overpower him.

To crush him outright, Ulion would have to focus all his strength on a single blow—

but Jeong-hoon’s blistering speed left no room for that.

‘What…’

Even as Ulion parried the attacks, he couldn’t hide his astonishment.

Was this truly the swordsmanship of a mortal?

He had seen wielders of the Holy Sword before.

But they were so weak that even his subordinates, the Gods, were enough to handle them.

This one, however, stood on an entirely different level—

far beyond any Holy Sword wielder he had ever faced.

‘To think I’d have to unseal my power against a mere mortal.’

Fine.

He would acknowledge that much.

The ash-gray armor Ulion wore began to shine black.

His once-crimson eyes turned a blinding white,

and a dark aura enveloped his entire body.

“So, you’re finally getting serious.”

Sensing danger, Jeong-hoon quickly leapt backward.

“Good instincts,” Ulion said with a smirk,

then brought his sword down from above.

A dark shimmer rippled from the point of impact, spreading outward in a perfect circle.

“The Domain of the Sword, huh.”

Jeong-hoon recognized the ability instantly.

It was similar to the Sword Domain once unleashed by Sword King Sa Jae-hyeok.

But the difference in power was overwhelming.

Sa Jae-hyeok’s domain had crumbled in an instant—

Ulion’s, however, was refined, intricate, and near perfection itself.

Breaking through it would be nearly impossible.

‘So this is his battlefield. Not that impressive,’

Janus snorted at Ulion’s so-called domain.

“Not impressive?” Ulion echoed.

Could it truly be destroyed… using the Power of Oblivion?

Jeong-hoon drew forth even more of the Power of Darkness.

He gathered both that and his divine energy at the tip of his sword—

then drove it straight into the ground.

And unleashed it all at once.

Ziiiiiing—!

Ulion’s Sword Domain began to tremble violently.

Jeong-hoon didn’t stop—he only increased the rate of his energy output.

Ziiiiiing—! Crackle—!

“What—!”

Ulion’s eyes widened in shock.

The Sword Domain, which should have been unbreakable, was beginning to fracture.

“Hup!”

Jeong-hoon drove his sword in deeper, and with a deafening crash, the Domain shattered completely—

Ulion’s battlefield, his pride, reduced to rubble.

“...Janus!”

Ulion roared the name and lunged straight at Jeong-hoon.

‘He’s faster…’

Now that Ulion had released his power, even Jeong-hoon could barely keep up with his movements.

Having regained the upper hand, Ulion unleashed a storm of blows.

Jeong-hoon blocked with both the Holy Sword and Titan, yet shallow cuts began to appear all across his body.

‘The barrier isn’t working…?’

Mukho stared at the shimmering shield in disbelief.

The barrier was still active—yet Ulion’s blade strikes slipped right through it.

‘It’s not damage—it’s bypassing it completely.’

Nullification.

Ulion’s attacks were nullifying Jeong-hoon’s divine protections.

‘If this drags on, I’ll lose. I need to end this quickly.’

At his side, Tenebris was explaining rapidly.

‘Evolution. What he’s using now is the first stage.

Given time, he can open the next—up to three stages in total.’

Even this first stage was troublesome enough;

the second and third were said to belong to an unfathomable realm of mastery.

Of course, Jeong-hoon had no intention of letting it reach that point.

“Oblivion.”

Jeong-hoon released the Power of Oblivion he’d received from Janus.

Clang! Crack!

Their swords clashed—droplets of annihilating energy scattered, latching onto Ulion’s armor.

A crushing sound rang out as the metal began to warp,

and the white glow in Ulion’s eyes dimmed.

“Well done, Janus. I prepared this just for you.”

Ulion immediately opened the second stage,

and amidst his dark aura, streams of pure white light began to flow.

“What…?”

Jeong-hoon’s eyes widened.

How could Ulion be wielding the power of light?

‘Don’t panic,’ Janus’ voice echoed. ‘That’s not true light—it’s manufactured.’

‘Manufactured?’

‘Yes. I can smell it… the stench of blood. Thick, divine blood.’

‘A soul, then.’

‘Exactly. The soul of someone who once possessed tremendous holiness.’

Disgusting. Truly vile.

Jeong-hoon intensified both his light and dark energies,

but perhaps because that “light” had been forged from a saint’s soul,

the power of Oblivion couldn’t pierce Ulion’s armor.

“Mortal, have you no more tricks left to play?”

Ulion’s crescent-shaped eyes gleamed with amusement.

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]