Book Eater

Chapter 364: Final Evolution (1)

Kukukukukung!

The earth under the sky was torn apart. A shockwave expanded from Cheonju Castle as the Unprecedented God-Sword shattered the ward like thin glass and unleashed devastation on the enemies lurking in the castle. A few managed to dodge a direct hit, but nearly eighty percent of monsters inside died instantly. It was like the castle had been rocked by a violent earthquake as buildings collapsed and monster corpses were thrown around.

“Ah.”

One more swing could wipe out all of the monsters, but Theo didn’t. Or more accurately, he couldn’t.

I somehow succeeded in combining the Heavenly Sword with the great magic, Abraxas...

However, the fatigue that came immediately afterward was several times more than when he cast the ultimate spell alone.

Kukukung...!?

The earth shook below him as he staggered in the sky. The blade, which had soared to the stratosphere, had fallen straight down. It was no wonder that magma sprang up since the sword had penetrated a few kilometers below ground and thinly cut into the mantle.

The castle collapsed with a thunderous rumble. In the meantime, Theo didn’t lose sight of the dwindling variants. There was one whose momentum became stronger rather than weaker.

“My aim was a little off. Even so, I didn’t think he could survive that attack.”

The aftermath alone had changed the landscape. As he swept his gaze across all the monsters that didn’t survive... Theo himself would have avoided the attack if it had been coming for him. The combination of the god-sword, Heavenly Sword, and the great spell, Abraxas was enough to shake the world.

Kuoooooh―!

Nevertheless, the variants that survived in the castle soared into the sky. Their bat wings flapped wildly to keep their tiger-like bodies aloft. These variants were monsters that couldn’t be called a species. Despite their broken bodies, they could fly hundreds of meters at a time. These monsters could treat wyverns as their prey if their physical condition were normal.

Memorize.

Theo didn’t miss the chance to do more damage.

Ice Magic: Diamond Dust. Compound Magic: Lightning Vortex. No Attribute Magic: Force Cannon.

Three types of spells were cast in an instant. A snowstorm, a lightning storm, and bullets of pure energy poured out of the sky. The monsters were first frozen by the blizzard, paralyzed from the lightning, and turned into beehives by the force magic.

“Their vitality is amazing, but I can’t acknowledge anything other than that.”

After a few deep breaths, Theo slowly descended onto what was once Cheonju Castle. He cared about neither the corpses of monsters nor the variants that cowered as he walked forward. They had realized that the relationship of prey and predator was reversed when it came to this man.

[Huhahahaha!]

At that moment…

[How exciting. A foreign shaman! It wasn’t enough to cut Cheonju Castle apart. You also have magic power to stir up trouble! I don’t know who the monster is between us!]

Theo came to a halt. “You are?”

Unlike the other monsters, Theo heard the humanity in the monster’s growling voice. Only one person came to mind in this situation.

[It isn’t possible for a visitor to come to this Cheonju Castle without knowing me. Maybe it is because my appearance is so different!]

Thoe understood. “You use the imperial pronouns.”

[That’s right. I am the feudal prince of Cheonju Castle, King Zhouyan.]

Though his bones were exposed, his skin looked like a rice paddy, and scales covered his face, Theo could feel the dignity radiating from his body. He was the one who received the reverence of the people, the one who administered thirty two provinces on behalf of the emperor. King Zhouyan, one of the eight feudal princes, sat on the remnants of the throne that had shattered under Theo’s god-sword, but he still looked quite imposing.

Theo was surprised. “You didn’t lose your sense of self.”

[Do you think that someone who carries the name of a king would suffer as someone else’s puppet? Though I want to bellow my disdain, it seems this is my limit.]

Theo asked, “Can you talk?”

[Before that, get rid of these wastes. I can’t concentrate when they are around me.]

The variants growled at the king’s words.

Grrrr.... Kuhuhuhu...!

They looked quite impressive with their horribly distorted faces, muscular bodies, and the knives and chains they wielded. These variants were different from those who didn’t know how to fight.

Theo spat, “Yakshas? It is a shame that enforcement officers who judge evil have fallen to this state.”

It seemed that their combat instincts had been retained despite their transformation. As the ones who punished sinners during their life, they couldn’t be happy about becoming Lust’s minions.

Kyaaaack!

I will kill them quickly.

They had to be faster than the speed of sound in order to avoid the god-sword. Moreover, their bodies had to rival that of master class warriors. A swordmaster’s chances of winning against a dozen yakshas would be a coin flip, and a great magician would have trouble defeating them in one blow.

Therefore, Theo raised both hands. He had never used it in practice before but now was as good a time as any.

Fire Magic: Inferno. Ice Magic: Blizzard. Wind Magic: Gust Tornado. Ground Magic: Gravity Bound.

Four elemental spells shot out of hands. One would bestow the title of a great magician on someone who could cast just one of these spells, let alone found. It was an astonishing sight, but this was from the point of view of a magician. His opponents were fools who didn’t understand the relationship between attributes.

It is time to transcend common sense.

Just before the four spells collided with each other, Theo’s Sorcery intervened. Coexistence was neither a harmony that enhanced power nor a forced harmonization that forcibly combined conflicting attributes. It was a waste to cast Abraxas just to get rid of the yaksha. Therefore, Theo came up with a different application, Elemental Cluster!

The yaksha were sucked into a vortex of four elemental spells. A heat wave, cold winds, a storm, and a gravity phenomenon occurred independently in one space. The vortex burned, froze, tore things apart, and crushed everything. It was absurd, like an iceberg floating on top of magma. This was a scene that never could’ve happened with the normal laws of physics.

■■■■―!

Nevertheless, it pierced through.

■■■■■■■――!

The yakshas couldn’t stop the violence of nature itself. They were scorched black as their limbs were torn off.

Kakiing.?

Soul Caliber in his right hand and the Heavenly Sword in his left crossed in an ‘X’ shape.

“... Sigh.”

This was the end. The yaksha spasmed one last time before they finally stopped moving. They had been reborn as imperfect beings and died challenging a transcendent.

[Fantastic!]

King Zhouyan clapped loudly.

[The double sword is the romance of all men. In fact, it is actually weaker than one sword, but I don’t think that is the case with you.]

“In the end, it is about the user’s capabilities rather than the weapon.”

[Hahaha! You are absolutely right. Now, we are ready to talk. I don’t have a lot of time.]

King Zhouyan laughed easily as he got up from his seat. The throne was broken, but neither of them cared because there would be no further use for it in the future. King Zhouyan wiped away all the laughter from his face.

[I was born with great blood and tried my best to watch over thousands of people.]

His laughter hid the truth of his guilt.

[Yet I killed my loyal servants and people with my own hands, turning them into monster prey. I tried to stop myself, but I can’t do anything about this cursed body.]

Theo said quietly, “It isn’t your sin.”

[Responsibility is immaterial as long as I carry the name of King. Since I couldn’t prevent this tragedy, I became a deadly sinner.]

His eyes were filled with guilt, hatred, and a desire for revenge. The prince had a tortoise’s shell and a dragon’s head. Thanks to Seimei, Theo knew those as the distinct characteristics of a top species on the East Continent. A spirit tortoise, one of the four axis beasts and a symbol of longevity, was a top species comparable to a divine creature.

[Please. End this life before I tell you everything.]

The king said, putting down his pride.

Theo replied solemnly, “Yes.”

Shortly after that, the king who turned into a beast confronted the magician.

***

Kururung!

A slight thunderous sound rocked the castle. However, it wasn’t magic. Instead, it was from the dark clouds that came to wash away this bloody earth. Theo looked up at the sky as rain started to fall, before focusing on what was in front of him.

[... Cough.]

The tortoise’s shell, which was harder than a dragon’s scales, was shattered beyond healing. The king was on his knees, as blood seeped from his draconic mouth. At the end of his life, he finally regained control over his body.

[Behind the imperial family... The monster, who is acting behind the scenes... in front of us, talked...]

The hatred grew stronger as his voice faded.

[... You. Great one… nutrients. Obediently serve him… die like a lowlife. And, you... a few words about you, too.]

“Tell me.”

[This… world, last transcendent. Perhaps you, being watched… from the moment I met you.]

Theo knew it as well. He had felt a gaze on him that had started from the moment he had attacked Cheonju Castle. Perhaps Lust had seen his attack from a distance that couldn’t be measured using the eight feudal lord’s eyes. Otherwise, the response wouldn’t have been so quick.

[Please… careful. You… Birth of evil… have to stop...]

Until the end, King Zhouyan was concerned about his kingdom. It was a miracle that he could speak despite his heart being torn and his body burned. This was a feat only possible because he was a top species.

“... Rest easy. You have fulfilled your duty.”

.

It was a horrible-looking corpse, but Theo didn’t turn away as he watched the prince pass away. Theo gestured, and earth rose around King Zhaoyan to form a grave. He couldn’t give the king a proper funeral, but he didn’t want the body of King Zhouyan to be defiled. Just as Theo was about to fly back into the sky…

“Tch.” He felt dizzy, and his feet were shaking.

I consumed more power than I expected. I didn’t know that such an enormous presence would appear, and the fight took longer than expected because I didn’t want to kill him immediately.

He didn’t know who the other variants were, but King Zhouyan was a species similar to a divine creature. Having used ultimate magic and then the god-sword, it was natural that Theo couldn’t hide his fatigue. Among the Japanese troops, only Shuten-doji, Tsuchigumo, and Daitengu might be strong enough to win.

“It can’t be helped. I will take a short rest before going.”

He decided to have a conversation with Gluttony.

“Gluttony.”

- I know what User wants to ask.

“Yes, King Zhouyan’s will. What did he mean by ‘birth’?”

It was a lightly spoken question. At the most, a strong mutant would be born. This was what Theo thought. However, Gluttony didn’t answer for a while.

“... What?”

Theo felt the weight of the silence and was about to ask one more time when the grimoire sighed.

- The advent of a heavenly demon. It is the birth of disaster.