READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 17
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“Oh no! What are we going to do? If this goes on, everyone will die…!”
Eri, watching the party battle the demon from a distance, was panicking and tapping her feet impatiently.
“We can help, but…”
“No way. If we interfere with either the target of the trial or the enemies they must defeat, we will automatically become part of the trial ourselves. In short, we’re dragged into it. And if we fail the trial, we die for sure.”
“….!”
“Eri, you don’t think about throwing your life away, do you?”
Yujin’s question made Eri’s complexion turn pale as she hung her head. Sia also froze, her face completely drained of color. Lastly, Hans was sweating profusely, looking like he was about to faint.
Meanwhile, Yujin was still watching those who were fighting far away.
Seeing him, Tiamat asked,
『So, what are you planning to do?』
‘For now, I have no intention of letting them die, but I can’t shake the feeling that this trial is too simple. It feels more like an immortal ability than a regenerative one.’
『You got it right. That’s not simple regeneration; it’s probably some conditional immortality.』
‘Is that so?’
『Of course, perfect immortality doesn’t exist. There are many ways to kill someone, like cursing to remove them completely without leaving a trace, or killing them through conceptual death… There are quite a few methods. For you now, none of it is particularly difficult.』
‘I didn’t mean to make such a big deal out of it… Huh?’
Just then, the demon tossed Hugo aside and slowly approached Mirien. People around screamed.
“Oh, what do we do?”
“Oh, gods, protect them…”
“Ah, damn it…!”
“……”
Yujin momentarily watched this before taking a step forward.
And then.
“…Huh? Yujin?”
In that instant, he disappeared. Hans panicked at Yujin’s sudden vanishing.
Before he knew it, Yujin was behind the demon, which had possessed an orc’s body.
The demon chatted away, completely unaware of Yujin’s presence behind it.
[You mortals thought this body had regenerative abilities, right? Wrong. What I granted this body in this trial is conditional immortality! Attacks that do not meet specific conditions will definitely regenerate.]
“That’s…!”
[Heh heh, how unreasonable. You don’t even know the conditions. But I’ll tell you this: the attack must bisect this body. Or it must completely eliminate it without leaving a trace. Well, neither is possible for you, so it’s pretty pointless…]
“I see. Thanks for the info.”
[Huh?]
The demon was surprised it just spilled its secrets. Yujin smiled brightly, raised his index and middle fingers, and slashed down towards the orc’s body.
Slash!
With a spray of crimson mana, the orc’s body split in half.
[Uh, uh…]
The demon’s panicked voice came as the orc’s split body fell to the sides.
Thud! Thud!
“Ugh, what…?”
Mirien gazed blankly at Yujin, who stood revealed beyond the orc.
“Wow, what a kind person you are. Or is there some kind of trope from a manga at play here? I can’t believe you revealed your weakness just like that.”
Mirien looked at Yujin, who was beaming. At that moment…
<Congratulations on passing the trial!>
A blue message appeared before Yujin. He thought to himself.
‘It feels oddly like a game, just like when the trial was given earlier.’
Suddenly, Yujin wondered if the maze itself was one huge game.
But that thought was short-lived.
[What the hell is this…!]
“Hmm?”
Suddenly, a dark, smoky entity appeared, forming a bizarre shape and making noise.
Yujin instantly recognized what it was.
“Oh, is that a demon?”
[How… how is such a powerful being here!]
The demon, Enkeos, screamed like someone whose plans had just fallen apart.
Seeing him manifesting as a spirit without a physical body, Yujin asked,
“So, where’s the reward?”
[Damn it…! Don’t get cocky…! You seem strong for a mortal…!]
Even as he said that, he was bound by the rules of the maze and had no choice but to give a reward.
Swishhhh…!
A horn coalesced from the black smoke in the air and fell. Yujin accepted it.
The blue message that continuously appeared in the maze popped up again.
<Horn of Enkeos>
<Description: This is the horn of the low-level demon Enkeos. It contains demon’s magic. It can be crafted into a weapon or used as alchemical material.>
<Ability: You can use the surrounding mana or the demon’s magic contained within. The consumed demon’s magic does not recover. You can also temporarily enhance your regenerative abilities greatly through the mana.>
‘Not that impressive.’
This horn might well be something that grows back for the demon Enkeos. Since it was a trial issued from above, one couldn’t expect something astounding.
『Yujin.』
‘Hmm? What is it?’
At that moment, Tiamat, who usually hovered nearby in a spiritual state, surprisingly spoke to Yujin from within his heart.
『If he finds out about me, he might run away, so keep it to yourself and listen. Right now, let’s experiment with that.』
‘Hmm? Experiment?’
『Yeah, an experiment. Follow my instructions from now on. First——』
Tiamat explained the rough outline of the experiment and injected knowledge into his head.
Yujin accepted everything with a grin and nodded internally.
‘This sounds fun. I’ve been meaning to try this out someday, so let’s do it.’
『Hehe, good.』
Tiamat fell silent after those words.
Meanwhile, Hans and Eri, who had gone to support Hugo, lay him beside Chrome. They began chanting prayers beside their heads.
“Oh healing goddess, please hear my prayer…”
With that, a bright yellow light enveloped Hugo and Chrome. Their expressions grew more relaxed.
“Hmm…”
“Ugh…”
The two sat up. Chrome scratched his head, looking groggy, while Hugo wore a relieved expression.
“Phew… Thank you, Sia.”
“Thanks, priestess.”
“Oh, no, it’s nothing. I just stood by during the fighting…”
Sia said with a somewhat self-blaming expression. However, the two shook their heads.
“It’s only natural. Besides, we told you not to interfere.”
“Yeah, don’t worry about it.”
“Ugh…”
Sia made a sad face. Then, the two turned to Yujin.
“And… thank you, Yujin.”
“I owe you one. Thank you.”
“It was nothing. I’m sorry for not stepping in from the start…”
Yujin said, prompting Hugo and Chrome to give bitter smiles. They replied,
“Honestly, I feel like I was tricked, but well, in the end, we were saved, so all’s well that ends well.”
“You don’t need to worry about me either. I’m just embarrassed to have received help. More importantly…”
All their gazes shifted to the demon. The demon distorted the smoke around its face and spoke.
[You mortals are lucky… Damn it, and you, Yujin, if I remember correctly? I’ll remember this… When you come down to the lower realm later, just you wait…!]
As the demon finished its warning and tried to vanish, Yujin spoke up.
“Is there really a need to wait? We can see you now.”
[Huh?]
“『Stop』.”
Woosh!
The sound of a clock ringing echoed as the space rippled, and the surroundings turned to ash-gray.
And everything stopped.
People, animals, air, land, skies…
[…W-what?]
Except for Yujin and the demon Enkeos.
Enkeos exclaimed in shock,
[T-this is impossible! This… this is ‘Dragon Language’!]
The demon, utterly flabbergasted, stared at Yujin, its eyes filled with horror.
Swishhhh…!
[T-this can’t be happening…!]
At the moment of sensing the dragon’s fear, it felt sheer terror.
It had been mistaken. Before it stood not just any mortal.
The exalted transcendental being. The apex of all living creatures.
[A dragon!]
“Finally realized it, huh?”
[How is this possible?! How can a single dragon still be intact receiving trials in the maze when all transcendentals, except for gods, are dead or trapped?!]
The demon Enkeos shouted in despair, while Yujin merely shrugged.
“There’s a saying: What remains after you exclude the impossible is undeniably the truth, no matter how incredible it may seem. Here’s the truth before you.”
[How…!]
“Haha, explaining all of that seems too tedious and pretentious, doesn’t it? Just empty your mind and accept it.”
With that, Yujin turned to someone.
“Alright, Tiamat, let’s get started.”
『Hehe, alright.』
[Tiamat?! No way!]
As Enkeos realized the name Tiamat and gasped in horror, Yujin reached out.
And muttered,
“『None can escape my hands, nor evade my sight.』.”
Whoosh!
With the incantation, numerous overlapping crimson magical circles centered around Enkeos.
What unfolded from point to line, from line to plane, and from plane to three-dimensional shapes inscribed an unimaginable form in the three-dimensional world.
[T-this is nonsense!]
“It is.”
Whoosh!
As the spell activated,
[Gyaaaah!]
The black smoke composing Enkeos’s spirit was drawn toward Yujin, absorbing it into the horn he held.
Then…
<Rewards are being updated.>
<Enkeos>
<Description: This horn contains the essence of the low-level demon Enkeos. It possesses power typical of a demon, although it ranks low among transcendents.>
<Ability: It allows usage of both surrounding mana and the demon’s magic. The demon’s magic slowly regenerates over time. Through magic, regenerative abilities can be maximized to the extreme.>
“Not bad at all.”
Yujin smiled brightly as he saw it. He really couldn’t believe it worked.
[This can’t be happening… I’ve been reduced to a mere tool…!]
『Hehe, seems things have turned out well.』
[…?!]
At that moment, Enkeos heard a voice.
Simultaneously, Tiamat emerged from Yujin’s heart, manifesting noticeably.
[…Who are you?!]
『Still, truly… you are pathetic for a transcendental being. You can’t even be compared to Yujin, who has just been born as one.』
While Enkeos was gawking in shock, Tiamat merely assessed him, muttering with a hint of disappointment. Yujin chuckled and said,
“Haha, if you were more formidable, I wouldn’t have been able to snatch you up like this and seal you.”
『That’s true. You would’ve resisted. However… you’re not so easy to handle either.』
[How… how could Tiamat be alive?! I thought you were dead!]
As Tiamat and Yujin exchanged words, Enkeos questioned in disbelief.
Tiamat glanced at him and scoffed.
『You little demon, your words are too bold for your rank.』
Bang!
[Cough?!]
Tiamat’s essence had risen significantly compared to before, thanks to the understanding gained from conversing with Yujin.
Facing the aura emanating from her greater form, Enkeos, trapped in its spirit form within the horn, shrank down hopelessly.
[I-I’m sorry. But how…]
『Do I need to explain everything to you?』
[Y-yes! I’m so sorry!]
Yujin was slightly taken aback. It was the first time he felt Tiamat’s usual gentle demeanor take on such an imposing air.
『Anyway, Yujin, this might be useful for you, so keep it well.』
“Hmm… that sounds right.”
Tiamat returned to her usual calm attitude with Yujin. It felt like she was only kind to her own.
At that point, Yujin snapped his fingers. With Tiamat keeping Enkeos quiet, it would be fine.
Snap!
“…Huh?”
The moment Yujin snapped his fingers, time in the world began to flow again. The group suddenly flinched at the demon that had vanished from before.
“…Where did that demon go?”
“I’m not sure. I don’t know either.”
Hugo opened his mouth, but Yujin just shrugged casually. He continued,
Yujin smiled brightly as he said that, and though the others looked a bit uneasy, they nodded their heads.
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