Chapter 117: Void energy (5)
“Blue Dragon.”
After passing through the portal, Chae Jin-young arrived at a cave deep in the mountains.
“What the hell. No one’s here?”
Liu Qinglong, who was supposed to be holed up in this place, was nowhere to be seen.
Nor could he sense his mana. Only lingering traces remained.
It seemed he had been here until recently and then left for somewhere.
This was the place where Liu Qinglong conducted closed-door training, an isolated location with no civilian homes within dozens of kilometers.
“If he’s not here, then there’s no helping it.”
Paying no mind to the owner’s absence, Jin-young entered the training cave.
Gugugugugu… Kuung!
Soon after, a massive metal lump rolled forward, completely sealing the cave entrance.
Since he had no idea what might happen during the process of converting black mana into Void energy, he had chosen the most isolated space possible.
The reinforced panels and Manastone barriers that Liu Qinglong had installed in abundance for his training.
It was an environment perfectly suited for unleashing power without restraint.
Of course, considering the destructive force of the energy, such barriers could be shattered without much effort.
But there was no place more suitable than this.
“Ready?”
『Yes. We’ll begin immediately.』
The tentacle answered Jin-young’s question.
Tzzzz…
The black mana he had absorbed so far began to swirl violently inside his subspace.
Though Experiment Subject No. 78 was still inside, he left it alone.
The entire subspace wasn’t being swept up—only the central area was affected.
In any case, that thing would endure it easily.
Kugugugugu…
Jin-young closed his eyes and felt the torrent of black mana.
The most important thing was to compress the black mana as small as possible using psychokinesis.
Tzzzt—
Blue and red energy burst from his body.
Puhwaak—
Soon, tentacles erupted from his chest.
Kwaaaaaaaa!
Black mana gushed out wildly like a burst water pipe.
At the same time, Jin-young’s psionic energy controlled the black mana, forcing it to gather in one place.
Gurgle— Grrrrrk—
The black mana, freed from the tentacles, tried to scatter in all directions like a stray dog without an owner.
The sheer amount accumulated from all the absorption was so enormous that Jin-young was busy just gathering it, let alone compressing it properly.
Somehow, it was forming into a spherical shape, but instead of a perfect sphere, sharp spikes kept protruding.
Shssss…
Finally, he even released Cyclic energy, dramatically increasing the output of his psychokinesis.
Kwadududuk…
He swiftly subdued the rampaging black mana sphere, bringing it close to a perfect sphere.
Even so, black mana continued to pour endlessly from the tentacles in his chest.
Blood streamed from Jin-young’s eyes, nose, and mouth.
A massive amount of the black mana sustaining him and the tentacles had been expelled all at once.
But Jin-young had psionic energy and pure unique mana, so he could endure it sufficiently.
The problem was the tentacles.
The thing that had been wriggling like a freshly caught fish from the sea was gradually growing exhausted and drooping.
『If we fail… there’s no turning back.』
An unusually worried tone, uncharacteristic of it.
Jin-young, cold sweat dripping from his forehead, said,
“Have you ever seen me fail?”
He had survived even after encountering the Demon King’s main body in Renard.
Considering the power that thing possessed, this much mana was still at an infantile level.
Zzggegegegeuk!
The tremendous volume of black mana was compressed smaller and smaller, producing a deafening roar that seemed to tear the ears.
The mana sphere had grown so massive it could fill a baseball dome-sized cavern.
Jin-young hurriedly compressed it further, as if crumpling it, before it could collapse the cavern.
Kwatzztztzt—
As the force continued to condense, powerful sparks flew in all directions.
Just approaching it felt like the body would crumble.
Jin-young amplified his psionic energy even more, further strengthening his psychokinesis.
At that moment.
Kwajijik… Kigigigigik—
With a bizarre sound, the air around the black mana sphere began to distort.
Kwatzzt— Tztzt…
The black mana that had been pouring out like a raging current slowed down rapidly the moment it entered the distorted space, becoming as calm as a still lake.
The surrounding space warped, even decelerating time itself.
It was the same principle as when he had instantly halted Prophet Yulia Müller’s earthquake attack in Russia.
Now, the state was even more advanced than back then.
Thanks to amplification through Cyclic energy, the duration had become far longer.
As the surging black mana slowed to near standstill, control became effortless—not only managing it but also refining and compressing it proceeded smoothly.
Before long, the massive mana sphere had been compressed to half its size.
Tzt— Tztz…
The tentacle extracted all mana except the minimum required to maintain subspace.
The remaining task was to compress it as small as possible.
The size the tentacle desired was that of a ping-pong ball.
But so far, it had only reached the size of an elephant.
While compressing the tentacle’s black mana, Jin-young once again marveled at the sheer amount he had absorbed until now.
Cold sweat poured not only from his forehead but down his back like a waterfall, soaking his shirt completely.
The smaller the mana sphere became, the more delicate psychokinesis control was required.
A single mistake could cause the compressed sphere to explode, triggering an instantaneous mana explosion.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa—
Enveloped in a Cyclic psionic storm, Jin-young moved even his hands with utmost precision.
And finally.
Sssss…
A black mana sphere compressed to the size of a ping-pong ball.
Shuuu—
Jin-young took out the Void energy sphere from the white knight that he had stored in subspace.
He brought both spheres close to the tentacle, now limply drooping from his chest.
The moment the tentacle slowly wrapped around and grasped the two spheres—
Pishuuushuuushuuut—
The black mana sphere began rotating at tremendous speed.
The Void energy sphere spun along with it.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa—
In an instant, a pitch-black energy vortex enveloped Jin-young.
Kwatzztzt…
Gradually, the vortex subsided, revealing Jin-young’s figure.
Black sparks swirled around him, occasionally flashing.
The tentacle had returned to subspace and was no longer visible.
“…Did it succeed?”
Jin-young posed the question, but his voice carried certainty.
Kugugugugu—
Soon, a small black circle appeared in midair.
A perfect black, like an abyss or void itself.
The black circle spun rapidly and grew enormous in an instant.
Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwa-gwa!
From the void, a gigantic tentacle extended outward.
『Energy flows throughout my entire body.』
The tentacle’s hue had become an even deeper black than before.
Looking at it felt like being pulled into an abyss.
Sssss—
The tentacle soon transformed into a massive hand.
Jin-young wasn’t particularly surprised.
It had changed into various forms before, and one of them had been the ‘Demon King’s’ hand.
If that had been small and crude back then,
Now it was far larger and more refined.
The enormous void hand moved lightly and touched the cavern ceiling.
Psssss…
Without any loud noise, not even rubble remained—a massive hole simply appeared.
It wasn’t destroyed; the space itself had been displaced entirely, as if teleported away.
“Did you absorb it into subspace?”
『No. I threw it into the abyss.』
The tentacle spoke the horrifying words casually.
Jin-young looked up at the sunlight pouring through the gaping hole.
“But how many days have passed?”
Without realizing it, three days had gone by.
***
Dozens of angels appeared in front of Nine City.
Among them was Veroniel, the Archangel leading this Holy Grail excavation team.
With a face full of dignity and grace, he gazed at Nine City and spoke.
『I request a meeting with the representative of Nine City.』
The holy voice infused with holy power spread forward.
The demons who heard it had blood flowing from their ears, but Veroniel paid it no mind.
From the beginning, showing consideration for mere demons was impossible.
If the demons became agitated by this and charged at him, it would actually be welcome.
But the demons neither attacked nor responded.
“Regael.”
“Yes, Archangel.”
At Veroniel’s call, Regael immediately approached and prostrated himself.
“Didn’t the divine proxy clearly propose an alliance? Why is there no response at all?”
“That’s…”
Regael was at a loss for how to respond.
The divine proxy had clearly proposed joining forces to defeat Gehenna’s Demon King army.
But if he had betrayed them, there would be nothing to say.
It would be her fault for believing the words of a demon.
“When you return…”
Before Veroniel could continue,
Shuuuu—
A red demon flew rapidly from Nine City.
With large wings spread and pitch-black hellfire wrapped around his legs.
It was Vritra, who also served as the mayor of Nine City.
Upon seeing him, a change came over Veroniel’s expression.
The look of suspicion quickly turned to certainty, and his eyes widened noticeably.
“Could it be… Vritra, the vanguard of the Demon King army…?”
“It’s Vritra, yes, but I’m not part of the Demon King army. And who are you?”
Vritra, seeing that Veroniel recognized him, felt puzzled.
It was only natural.
He had returned from the remnants of the past to the present.
Veroniel, having survived from that past to now, remembered most of it.
During the Fifth Holy War, the great demon Vritra who led the Demon King army at the forefront, instilling terror in the angels.
It was said he had perished after a bloody battle with a high-ranking archangel.
Looking at him now, the power from his vanguard days wasn’t felt as strongly.
“Could the past have been perfectly restored? That’s impossible.”
Veroniel couldn’t help but think so.
If it were before Vritra had grown into a great demon, it might have made some sense.
“Are you planning to hold the meeting or not?”
At Vritra’s words, Veroniel finally snapped back to his senses.
The opponent before him was no longer the great demon Vritra at the forefront of the Demon King army.
Just a demon of similar level to himself.
There was no need to fear at all.
“I heard the divine proxy is here. Where is that human?”
At those words, Vritra’s eyes changed sharply.
“Do not speak His name so carelessly.”
“Ha. What words can’t you say.”
“Speak with proper respect.”
At Vritra’s words, the corner of Veroniel’s mouth twitched.
An alliance with demons.
From the beginning, it was an absurd notion with not the slightest shred of realism.
The relationship of hatred that had continued for thousands of years might fade or loosen, but it would never be severed.
Once ignited, it would tighten in an instant.
“Right now, shouldn’t it be you lot who need to bow? We can simply leave Hell, but to survive, you must face all of Gehenna.”
“We have no need for filthy angels. You would only get in the way. As long as He protects us, we will never be defeated.”
Vritra did not back down.
Unlike the angels who had swarmed in groups, he stood alone and proud.
Veroniel stroked his chin and thought quickly.
If he ambushed Vritra now, killing him would be possible.
But if the demon forces waiting in Nine City mobilized, it could become difficult to handle.
Of course, the angels with him now were all elites, so a swift retreat wouldn’t be hard.
“Today’s meeting is sufficient. There will be no further discussions.”
The angels who understood Veroniel’s final words.
It was also the signal to ambush the meeting counterpart.
Paaaat—
Dozens of angels simultaneously released holy power.
Vritra, too, had wrapped black mana around his body in preparation for sudden situations,
But clearly, he couldn’t block the attacks of dozens alone.
He could only hope the forces waiting inside the city would act quickly.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa—
Just as the wave of holy power was about to engulf Vritra,
Sssss…
The massive wave of light was sucked into a pitch-black vortex.
“What…”
Veroniel and the angels wore expressions as if facing a black hole.
At that moment, someone slowly descended from the sky.
Veroniel looked up at the human with a dazed expression.
Then the human spoke expressionlessly.
“What are you doing? Kneel.”
Kwajijijik— Kwaaaang!
The angels’ knees shattered simultaneously, and they slammed face-first into the ground.
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