The Returner Chapter 218

Kwaaaaahaaah!!
The black cloud began spinning ferociously once it touched down on the ground.
"Keuk." (Seo Ah-Young)
Seo Ah-Young’s body shuddered uncontrollably as she watched this spectacle unfold. This wasn’t her first time seeing that. Indeed, she had seen Yi Ji-Hyuk’s magic at work several times by now.
Still, she was confident in her assessment that the phenomenon taking place right before her eyes possessed far greater might than any magic she witnessed until now.
If she found herself in the near vicinity of that thing, her entire body would have been torn to shreds by the wind pressure alone, generated by the whirlpool of magical energy.
"Now that is freaking huge." (Yun Hyuk-Gyu)
Yun Hyuk-Gyu standing next to her muttered and her head bobbed up and down all by itself in agreement.
Delkaran was strong. She knew this, because she felt the exact same type of terror she felt from Beltreche while looking at that creature. However, even if that thing was a demon king that no human could win against, she didn’t think it would survive that storm of magical energy.
In order to produce a power greater than that, just what would one need to do next?
‘I can’t even call him a monster. Seriously now.’ (Seo Ah-Young)
She felt a chill run down her spine at the fact that the man responsible for creating such a spectacle was someone who bantered and laughed alongside her in their everyday lives.
The man, who had been complaining like a kid about whether to train the American ability users or not, and also about his mom buying an expensive brand-name handbag only a few hours ago, was creating a storm of magical energy possessing an unparalleled destructive power capable of destroying the entire world.
That sense of disharmony made Seo Ah-Young shudder even more.
"Even if that thing is a demon king, there's no way it’d survive that." (Yun Hyuk-Gyu)
"….I hope so." (Seo Ah-Young)
Yun Hyuk-Gyu spoke with a good deal of confidence, but she could only agree with him half-heartedly.
For sure, when looking at things using either her or Yun Hyuk-Gyu’s logic, a lifeform made up of flesh and blood should not be able to walk out of that storm still fully intact. Definitely not!
However, how much did she or he know about the existences called demon kings, to begin with? Weren’t they thinking of their opponent too lightly because they somehow managed to bring down Beltreche?
Kwakwakwakwakwa!!!
While she remained submerged in such thoughts, the black clouds continued to crazily spin around and burn up.
"It’s disappearing." (Seo Ah-Young)
And then, the black whirlpool slowly thinned out.
‘It’s dead, right?’ (Seo Ah-Young)
It must be dead.
Seo Ah-Young bit her lower lip.
If that creature didn’t die from an attack of such a magnitude, then would Yi Ji-Hyuk be able to reproduce another attack of similar level?
This attack must’ve….
"No…." (Seo Ah-Young)
Unfortunately, Seo Ah-Young saw the location where the black cloud used to be and could only spit out a helpless sigh. She had confirmed a certain silhouette just beyond the settling dust, that was why.
"That thing survived something like that?!" (Seo Ah-Young)
Sheer, unbridled shock filled up her expression.
Eventually, the dust cloud settled completely and Delkaran’s upright figure was revealed for all to see. What an incredible feat that it had lived through that storm.
But, perhaps encouragingly, Delkaran wasn’t 100%, either. For instance, the cape/hood draped over it was gone without a trace.
"….That’s disgusting." (Seo Ah-Young)
Seo Ah-Young saw Delkaran’s true appearance and nearly freaked out right there.
"….Hehehe." (Delkaran)
Delkaran leaked out a low, hushed chuckle as it glared at Yi Ji-Hyuk. The demon king’s body, now on full display without the cape, was indeed a horrifying sight to behold.
It was as if looking at thousands of snakes coiling around each other. From the top of its head right down to its toes - a truly bizarre creature seemingly made up of snakes finally revealed itself.
"What a surprise that you can use magic on this scale." (Delkaran)
Delkaran was definitely not okay. Out of hundreds of snake heads jutting out of its body, over one-third of them were lifelessly sagging towards the ground. In some parts of its body, a yellowish blood-like liquid squirted out from the decapitated heads, too.
"Yi, Ji, Hyuuuuukkk!!" (Delkaran)
Delkaran roared out.
Unfortunately, Yi Ji-Hyuk was in no shape to reply.
"Keuh-euh….."
Because, it was already incredibly tough trying to control his half-disintegrated body, that’s why. If his concentration wavered even for a millisecond, his consciousness would abandon him for some other place never to return, and his flesh would start disintegrating completely.
Shushust….
Doh Gah-Yun rose up from his shadow and quickly supported him before he collapsed to the ground. He unsteadily tottered about before resting his shoulders against her. Heavy, laboured breathing escaped from his lips.
"These d*mn things called demon kings…. what a seriously stubborn b*stard." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Honestly speaking, shouldn’t it be good manners to die already after getting struck by an attack of that scale? But, with it surviving by doing whatever it takes, just what was the person trying to kill it supposed to do now?
"You’re acting as if you don’t know who you’re dealing with." (Affeldrichae)
A familiar voice suddenly came from behind Yi Ji-Hyuk’s back.
"Is it you, Richae?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Affeldrichae quickly walked closer to Yi Ji-Hyuk supported by Doh Gah-Yun and began studying the status of his body.
"You’re late, you stinking lizard." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
"I’m not too late, though. The damage to your body is really extensive." (Affeldrichae)
I know that already without you telling me.
Yi Ji-Hyuk stood upright as if he was trying to push the ground down and glared at Delkaran.
"That guy is not something we can hurt without hurting ourselves along the way." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
"That is indeed true." (Affeldrichae)
Roabell and the High Elf Rhea, as well as the Behemoth accompanying Affeldrichae, appeared and stood in a line behind Yi Ji-Hyuk.
"Anyway, why did you take so long trying to locate a single insane Elf?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
"I didn’t know her exact coordinates, so I had to use Gates several times, you know." (Affeldrichae)
"You’re a lizard, yet you couldn’t even do that properly?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Affeldrichae shrugged her shoulders as if it was none of her fault.
"This isn’t my home world, you know." (Affeldrichae)
"Chet."
Yi Ji-Hyuk lightly clicked his tongue.
He figured that he’d need all the help he could get his hands on when facing off Delkaran, so he used Affeldrichae to send Rhea and bring Roabell here. There was no better person to persuade that mad Elf than a High Elf, after all.
Unfortunately, they arrived later than he calculated, joining in on the fun right in the middle of the battle itself.
"So, what is your plan?" (Affeldrichae)
"Dunno." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Yi Ji-Hyuk glared at Delkaran with a bit of a lost expression on his face. Right at this moment, those torn-off snake heads were busy regenerating. That creature was a demon. As long as there was a supply of magical energy, its body would continuously regenerate.
The battles against demons weren’t about how much physical damage you could inflict, but how much of its Mana reserve you managed to scrape off.
"Still, I figured it’d get hurt at least a bit…." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
The Yi Ji-Hyuk of past would’ve rendered Delkaran unable to regenerate with an attack similar to this one. Doing that now was impossible, however.
Even if he was activating the exact same magic spell, the amount of magical energy involved was incomparably small.
A spell activated by scrounging up every bit of pure dark Mana existing within his body would be on the similar level of the past Yi Ji-Hyuk only needing one finger to fling about.
‘In times like these, I sure miss living in Berafe.’ (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
If this was in the past, he wouldn’t have gone through so much trouble just to deal with someone like Delkaran. Because, at his peak, Yi Ji-Hyuk wouldn’t need to do anything and simply let his monster underlings deal with a demon on the level of this demon king.
Too bad, he was not that Bringer of Apocalypse anymore. As a mere human, Yi Ji-Hyuk had to do whatever it took in order to stop that creature.
"Delkaran!!" (Rhea)
From the lips of High Elf Rhea, a harsh voice quite unfitting for such a fine facial features exploded out.
"Is it a High Elf this time?" (Delkaran)
Delkaran chuckled to itself.
"Should I call this an amusing turn of events? It’s supposed to be a different world, yet there’s the 99th demon king, the Lord of Dragons, and now, we even have a High Elf. What kind of world is this?" (Delkaran)
"I’ve come to see the end of the hateful monster that is you." (Rhea)
"I shall give you high marks for your enthusiasm. However…." (Delkaran)
In an instant, Delkaran’s red eyes wavered ominously.
"Whose end did you say you want to see now?" (Delkaran)
Kwaaaaahh-!!!
Delkaran’s magical energy reserve was unleashed and produced stunningly powerful gale-force winds.
"Keuk!" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Yi Ji-Hyuk was pushed back by the winds and gasped out in pain.
"Have you all forgotten the truth, since you see me in a world that’s not Berafe? I am Delkaran, a noble demon king of the demon world. Have you already forgotten that I drove your kin to the brink of extinction?" (Delkaran)
"I have not forgotten." (Rhea)
"Indeed. You were also present during that time, weren’t you. Back then, you failed to stop me. But now, you wish to kill me when there are none of your kin present to aid you? How will you achieve your desire, then?" (Delkaran)
Delkaran’s mocking words caused Rhea’s body to shudder.
She knew she shouldn’t be agitated, but seeing an enemy that had been the subject of thousands of years worth of hatred, she simply couldn’t calm herself down.
She witnessed with her own two eyes the countless number of Elves dying at the hands of that dastardly creature.
Even if Elves thought of their kin as simply a part of a large group, she saw too many of her kind die and being pushed to the brink of extinction. So, the level of hatred she must’ve felt would in unimaginable.
"Delkaraaaaaan!!" (Roabell)
Even Roabell, supposed to serve the merciful God of Water, couldn’t hold back her anger, her expression distorting unsightly.
Meanwhile, Delkaran was truly enjoying itself after being on the receiving end of all that hatred. Indeed, such a level of hatred was an incomparably high praise for a demon.
"How unfortunate. It would’ve been even more amusing if we ran into each other back in Berafe." (Delkaran)
"This place is perfect already. We shall extinguish you." (Rhea)
Delkaran’s red eyes shot a glare at Rhea.
"If this was Berafe, I’d have made you witness the deaths of your kind with your eyes again. But, there is only one more of you. What a pity." (Delkaran)
"You, you!!" (Rhea)
Rhea began showing signs of rushing forward in anger, and Yi Ji-Hyuk simply mocked her for it.
"Hah-ah. I just can’t figure out why all the Elves I meet are more hot-headed than Dwarves. Seriously, man." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
"……."
After hearing his words, Rhea quickly sucked in her breaths and collected her mind.
Getting angry during battles would always give birth to mistakes. This was no time to get worked up. No matter how badly her heart tried to go out of control, her head must remain cold.
"I’m sorry." (Rhea)
Rhea spoke with a voice that had regained its calm. Yi Ji-Hyuk nodded his head and lightly pushed Doh Gah-Yun’s support away.
"Our situation still doesn’t look so good." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
He clicked his tongue.
This situation came about only because of the lack of destructive power.
He possessed a lot of methods to fight, sure. There was the Lord of Dragons, Affeldrichae; High Elf Rhea; and even Roabell, who was basically a walking, talking divinity generator.
And also, there was his monster army, plus countless ability users doing their best to help him out. When adding all these combat potential together, it’d not be an exaggeration to call this an army befitting a demon king.
But, why did it all feel so helpless at this point?
That’s all because of the lack of destructive power.
No matter how many different methods were utilised here, others simply couldn’t break through Delkaran’s defences. Just like back then with Beltreche. The only one capable of hurting this demon king directly was Yi Ji-Hyuk. No one else.
Meaning, he had to resolve this situation by himself.
‘I know that, but….’ (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
If he had enough Mana to play with, sure, he’d resolve this in a jiffy.
However, as long as he couldn’t top up his Mana reserve, the longer he fought, the weaker he’d get. Also, even if he had enough Mana at hand, when considering the damage done to his body, Yi Ji-Hyuk would suffer increasingly grievous wounds while trying to pour out powerful attacks.
No matter how hard he spun his brain around, he just couldn’t get to a satisfying-enough answer.
"What will you do?" (Affeldrichae)
Affeldrichae must’ve recognised the truth of it since she was asking him that question. Even with her real body present, it’d be a tall order to deal with a demon king. So, there was no way her human body could do something now.
"Groan…." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Yi Ji-Hyuk shook his head and gritted his teeth as he looked at Affeldrichae.
"Heal me." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
"Excuse me?" (Affeldrichae)
"I said, heal my body." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
"Are you insane?" (Affeldrichae)
Affeldrichae suddenly got angry at him.
Yi Ji-Hyuk’s body was thoroughly tainted by dark Mana. In other words, dark mana had permeated throughout every cell in his body.
Now normally, it would produce a strong backlash against light Mana as well as divinity when coming into contact. If a large amount of magical energy was poured in, his body might heal somehow, but then, he’d have to bear the backlash in full.
The pain from it alone would be more than enough to send a regular person through at least over a thousand shocks.
Yi Ji-Hyuk smirked and replied to her.
"I’m not going to die. Seriously. I know what I’m doing, okay?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Affeldrichae stared at him with anxious eyes.
Fin.