DEB 130

Until the Demon Lord squeezed through the rift and revealed himself to the world, Huiyun and his group couldn’t say a word. 

The pillar of flame vanished as if it had fulfilled its duty, and in its place stood a black figure.

Yasha’s disciples couldn’t even stay on their feet. 

The overwhelming demonic energy and the sheer presence of a Demon Lord, one of the seven rulers who sit at the pinnacle of the Demon Realm, pressed down on the entire area.

As if an invisible hand had grabbed both their shoulders and forced them to kneel, the disciples’ legs buckled. 

Huigang had already collapsed, coughing up blood.

Beep beep beep.

A warning blared in Huiyun’s mind. 

It wasn’t a hallucination. 

A red system window popped up, issuing a regional alert to everyone present.

[Warning, warning. The Demon Lord of Wrath has manifested on Earth.]

[Beep—beep—beep.]

Accompanied by a shrill voice, the alert window repeated the message. 

Only once it was formally recognized by the system did Huiyun truly feel it… 

That a Demon Lord had actually descended here using the Fountain’s power.

He couldn’t even muster a bitter laugh.

“Why… why would a Demon Lord…?”

“…Is he trying to break the covenant completely?”

Vina, panting with effort as he pressed a hand to the ground, followed up Zenith’s question, who had collapsed in a cold sweat. 

Blood trickled from between his teeth. 

The Lord, who had only been staring at his hands and body since manifesting, now turned his gaze to the disciples.

“Ugh!”

With that gaze came an even heavier pressure.

Even the disciples who had been holding on finally crumbled to the ground. 

Now, only Huiyun remained standing before the Demon Lord.

But Huiyun wasn’t in normal condition either.

He was simply hiding it. 

His insides were already twisted beyond recognition, it wouldn’t be surprising if he started vomiting blood at any moment. 

Huiyun clenched his trembling fist behind his thigh to hide the shaking, and stared directly at the Lord.

The Demon Lord of Wrath, noticing the one person still standing, murmured in admiration.

—Even dragons kneeled before me. What are you, to stand before me and meet my eyes?

“Do I need to be the one to tell you that?”

—Insolent.

The Lord’s faint smile vanished. 

Huiyun felt the pressure multiply and bit hard into the inside of his cheek.

The metallic taste of blood spread across his tongue. 

The scent reached his nose and jolted him back to clarity. 

Huiyun focused on the question that had been bothering him ever since the Lord’s appearance.

That gaze… it was unmistakably the Demon Lord of Wrath he knew.

But the body wasn’t right.

Unlike his past memories of a form nearly indistinguishable from a human, the current Lord of Wrath looked like he was completely consumed in darkness, his entire being was black, as if forged from black flame.

That meant his manifestation was imperfect.

In other words, he lacked the strength to fully manifest in his original form.

There were two possibilities:

Either his resurrection was incomplete, or the sacrifice wasn’t enough to summon his true body.

Ideally, it was the former. But even if it were the latter, it didn’t change the current reality.

Just as Huiyun and his disciples were not at their full power, the Demon Lord wasn’t at his either.

He wasn’t invincible.

The current pressure and power were likely forced, something he had no choice but to overexert.

It seemed the Lord was trying to seize the initiative.

But Huiyun had no intention of handing it over so easily.

If the other side was overexerting, then Huiyun would too.

“…Ya—no. Huiyun!”

As Huiyun released the power of Domination, his disciples gasped and looked up at their master with wide eyes.

This was a Demon Lord.

Not a mere noble, but a Lord.

More than that, he wasn’t in perfect form. 

Even if they won this fight, he wouldn’t die. 

He’d just return to the Demon Realm in a weakened state.

By revealing the power of Domination now, Huiyun was effectively declaring to the entire Demon Realm that Yasha had returned, just as the Lords had been resurrected.

Balance would tip, and war would come sooner.

And before that, the demons would come rushing in to eliminate Yasha before he could regain his full power.

What awaited was a life far more brutal than anything before.

Huiyun surely knew this, and yet he released his power.

It meant he was prepared to give up his entire way of life.

“… Huiyun.”

The disciples’ faces contorted.

If Huiyun had faced the Lord alone, they were certain he wouldn’t have unleashed his power. 

Even if pushed to the brink of death, he would’ve endured.

But he couldn’t do that now, because they and Huigang were here.

“…If only we were at full strength!”

Ash gritted his teeth hard enough to grind them, scraping the dirt with clenched fists. 

He pounded the ground until his fists bled, but still couldn’t rise. 

The others were the same.

Their bodies were crushed by the Demon Lord’s sheer presence.

They’d never experienced anything like it before.

But it made sense. Back then, they had been closer to dragons.

Now, after countless reincarnations, they’d become far too human. 

No wonder they couldn’t endure the Lord’s presence.

Still, they couldn’t accept it.

More than that, they couldn’t forgive themselves for once again being a burden to their master.

Their faces turned deathly pale as they pushed their ruined bodies to stand. 

Huiyun, watching them, gave a quiet command.

“‘Enough.’”

The word carried the weight of Domination—and their movements stopped instantly. 

The Lord’s eyes widened as he confirmed the power forcibly halting them.

The Demon Lord of Wrath scoured Huiyun’s entire being with an unpleasant gaze.

Realizing he’d been recognized, Huiyun didn’t hesitate, he fully unleashed Yasha’s power.

An intense aura of Domination swept away the Lord’s pressure. 

That force formed a veil, wrapping around the disciples and Huigang, severing the Lord’s influence completely.

Only then did the disciples stop coughing blood.

They gasped and trembled, finally able to breathe again.

Huiyun looked back at them, worried, guilty expressions, and gave a faint smile.

“Zenith, Verita. Make sure the land doesn’t suffer.”

“…Yes, Master.”

The two stood up and raised a barrier to protect the forest. 

A firm shield imbued with holy and healing energy sealed both the Lord’s and Huiyun’s auras within the space.

Huiyun touched the barrier lightly, reinforcing it to ensure it could contain him as well.

Now only one thing remained to be dealt with.

The System.

When he called out silently, the previously quiet System timidly popped up a window.

So that’s why the path had been so conveniently open… Was this your doing?

Annoyed, Huiyun accused the Administrator. 

The System trembled as if shaking its head in panic.

[The Fountain is a separate world, a separate domain! Just as this place is reality and yet not reality, the Fountain too was created under divine will, but doesn’t follow it. It acts on its own! So I’m not involved! I’m innocent, truly!]

On and on the Administrator rambled, desperate to clear his name. 

Huiyun listened quietly as the System insisted the incident was the Fountain’s decision alone and wouldn’t affect the covenant.

“But it will affect the balance. Now that they know I exist…”

[…]

Yeah. No point blaming you. This must’ve been the Fountain’s doing too.

Who could he blame?

If anyone, it was himself, for agreeing to come here in the first place.

As he smiled bitterly, the System tried to comfort him by popping up another message.

[But the Fountain does reward well. It has terrible taste, but the harsher the trial, the greater the reward for those who endure it. This trial is outrageous even by my standards… If you overcome it, I’m sure your disciples will grow exactly as you hope.]

The System, usually only handing out bad luck, now trying to console him, it was funny in its own way.

Huiyun glanced at his disciples, who were frozen in worry, unsure whether to step forward or not. Then he spoke.

“Just once won’t tip the balance completely. They’re resurrecting anyway, so the balance must already be shifting.”

…It must be.

“Then once… just this once, I’ll cause a mess. You said it’s a separate world… so once should be fine.”

Whether he was talking to the System, to himself, or to his disciples—he wasn’t sure.

Huiyun took a deep breath and, facing the Demon Lord’s gaze, pushed his Domination to the limit.

Seeing this, the Lord suddenly burst out laughing, as if something had been confirmed.

Before him, Huiyun asked the System for a favor.

“It seems you have to write one more incident report.”

[…Are you sure you want to awaken?]

“Soon. Definitely.”

[…How much should I return?]

“All of it.”

[…Ah, screw it! We’re in this together now! Don’t forget! Any side effects are on you!]

And so, the Administrator surrendered, ready to accept the looming punishment, and chose to aid Huiyun. 

A golden notification burst apart and settled into Huiyun’s body.

Boom!

Boom!

As the tidal wave of power surged into him, Huiyun slowly closed his eyes… then opened them again. 

His pupils had turned gray, and his gaze, colder than ice, locked onto the Demon Lord of Wrath.