CHAPTER 215: SERPENT’S HEAD (8)

As if the night sky had been bottled and unleashed, a thick black cloud erupted like an explosion.

“Krrrk?”

The mother demonic beast charging toward Kwon Oh-Jin suddenly halted. It flared its massive nostrils and looked around in confusion. Despite its poor vision, it possessed an acute sense of smell and hearing to compensate.

“Krrrk! Krrk! Krrrhhhkk!”

For some reason, it couldn’t smell or hear anything. No scent of its target nor the sound of frantic footsteps as if someone had flipped off the switch on all its sensory input. It couldn’t sense anything.

“What’s wrong?”

Then, a deafening sound came.

Crack!

Not from outside, but from inside its own body as a spear pierced through its flesh and cracked through its skull.

“I asked if you agreed with me.”

Crackle!

“Kheeeeek!”

The mother demonic beast spasmed violently as if having a seizure. Not from the pain, but the terror of feeling nothing even as Kwon Oh-Jin destroyed its body.

Its tens of thousands of tentacles thrashed wildly in every direction.

Smack!

Half-consumed by the black clouds, a tentacle struck Kwon Oh-Jin and sent him flying back.The clouds that made up part of him rippled heavily from the impact.

“Ugh, agh.”

He raised his hand, which hadn’t transformed into clouds yet, and pressed his head. His consciousness was melting away like butter sizzling on a red-hot pan.

Focus.

He had to finish off the demonic beast before Black Heaven clouds fully devoured his mind.

“Haaa.” He exhaled and lightly pushed off the ground.

He hadn’t used Lightning Steps, but floated into the air like a cloud. Drifting freely through the sky, Kwon Oh-Jin looked down at the mother demonic beast thrashing wildly below.

It seems like blocking its senses worked to some extent.

Using Open Heaven, he could nullify the senses of any enemy within a certain radius. The demonic beast’s massive size likely made the full effect impossible, but he had succeeded somewhat judging by how it blindly lashed out and screamed.

But getting close is still too difficult.

Its flailing tentacles made it nearly impossible to approach. He would’ve normally found a way to dodge and weave through, but moving his body how he wanted was a struggle with his flickering consciousness.

If I can bait the attacks toward the parts of me that have already turned into clouds...

Nearly half of him had transformed into black clouds after using Open Heaven. Those parts weren’t physical anymore, so the attacks passed through like mist.

“Haa, haa, I can do this.”

Right now, the right side of his chest and arm had transformed the most. The rest of him had only changed partially and couldn’t phase through attacks completely.

Taking a deep breath, he launched himself toward the mother demonic beast.

“Hup!”

The clouds that surrounded him like a fog followed his path, wrapping around the demonic beast. Within the dark clouds, the randomly flailing tentacles shot toward him.

Right side.

Whoosh!

A grotesque tentacle came whipping in from the right. Kwon Oh-Jin twisted, letting it strike the clouded part of him. The monstrous force that could shatter even the towering rocks swept through the black clouds of his transformed body and passed right through.

“Perfect.” He smirked as he approached the demonic beast.

The spear he had driven into its head was still deeply embedded there. Dodging the tentacles, Kwon Oh-Jin landed on its head and gripped the jet-black spear.

Lightning Charge.

Crackle!

He channeled lightning into the spear three times. Each time he condensed the lightning, the spear trembled violently as if in pain.

Not yet.

It felt like the spear would shatter at any moment, but this wasn’t nearly enough to bring down a monster hundreds of meters big.

Lightning Charge. Lightning Charge. Lightning Charge.

When the Lightning Charge passed six and reached the seventh, a faint crack appeared along the shaft of the spear.

Crack!

Gripping the spear tightly, Kwon Oh-Jin drove it deeper into the demonic beast’s crown and unleashed the condensed lightning.

“Lightning Discharge.”

Crackkklee!

A torrent of black lightning struck the beast’s head with full force.

“Khheeeeeek!” A horrifying screech pierced through his fading consciousness.

However, the beast didn’t die even after all that. Instead, it thrashed even more violently.

“Haa, haa... Damn it!” Kwon Oh-Jin bit down on his lip anxiously.

Just how tough is this thing?

One of his strongest attacks still wasn’t enough to kill it.

I can’t use Lightning Form right now.

He was barely holding onto his consciousness. How could he possibly endure another transformation?

“Haa, haa, agh.”

His awareness dissolved into the black clouds and began melting away. Memories surfaced and vanished, devoured by the darkness.

No.

He had no time.

“Hooo...” With a shaky breath, he plunged his transformed arm into the wound on the beast’s head.

Like black ink bleeding into clear water, the Black Heaven’s clouds surged violently into the demonic beast.

If I can’t kill it with physical force...

Then he would leave nothing behind and devour it all until its soul shriveled up and turned to dust.

Rumble!

The Black Heaven’s energy burrowed into the demonic beast and ravenously consumed its mana.

So this is... a Celestial’s soul.

The Black Heaven was currently absorbing the fragment of a Celestial’s soul once sealed within the Star Spirit. As this fragment flowed into Kwon Oh-Jin, an ecstasy exploded through every cell in his body from the immense power he had never experienced before.

More, more, more!

He grinned hungrily and greedily devoured the mana.

“Ahhh.”

He never knew that consuming a Celesital’s soul could feel this euphoric.

“Ha. Hahaha. Hahahaha!” He burst into laughter, overwhelmed by the pleasure.

Just a fragment of some nameless Celestial’s soul had brought him this much ecstasy.

Then surely...

If he devoured Vega in her entirety, just how much joy would that bring? How much bliss?

How much, how much, how much—

“Screw. That!” Kwon Oh-Jin violently yanked his right arm out.

He stopped absorbing the mana and leaped off the demonic beast’s head. Falling from several hundred meters, he hit the ground with a heavy crash and rolled to a stop.

Thud!

“Haa, haa, haa!” Panting hard, Kwon Oh-Jin immediately closed the Black Heaven.

His body, which had almost entirely transformed into black clouds, slowly returned to normal.

“Shit, shit!” he cursed violently and spat out the vile thoughts that had just filled his mind.

A stream of blue text floated in front of him.

Ring!

[Kwon Oh-Jin has absorbed a portion of the Celestial of Bufo, Butenin’s soul.]

[The effect of Transformation has been strengthened. Kwon Oh-Jin can now use Transformation on detached body parts.]

[The power of the Black Heaven has increased.]

[The Black Heaven has acquired the Vaporization trait.]

[The conditions to fully unlock Open Heaven have been partially met!]

He had no time to read it.

“Haa, haa.”

Cold sweat dripped down his back. He slumped onto the ground and covered his face with his now-normal right hand. He fought to suppress the burning greed and thirst that still lingered inside him, grasping the fraying thread of his consciousness.

“Hooo.”

With great effort, he calmed the Black Heaven’s rampaging energy and finally got back up. Just then, the mother demonic beast charged at him with its mouth split wide open.

“Krrrrrk!”

Boom! Boom! Boom!

“Shit!” Kwon Oh-Jin stared at the mother demonic beast in utter shock.

Was it because he had stopped absorbing its mana midway? Despite its body being utterly ravaged, the demonic beast was still alive.

Goddammit!

He knew he had to get out of the way, but his legs wouldn’t respond from the aftereffects of using Open Heaven.

“Krrrrrrrk!”

The giant beast charged at him like a tank and would soon crush him.

“What a noisy child.”

Shhh.

A dark dress dragging across the ground could be heard. A slender woman with platinum-blonde hair stepped in front of the mother demonic beast and blocked its path.

“Krrk.”

The charging beast with a grotesque, torn-open mouth abruptly halted. The woman smiled faintly at the trembling demonic beast before her.

“There, there. Good girl. That’s a good girl.” She gently reached out with her delicate hand and caressed the demonic beast.

“Krrk, krrk, krrk.” The mother demonic beast quivered as if it were having a seizure.

Though it had no features other than a nose and a mouth, it somehow looked terrified to Kwon Oh-Jin.

“But I’m afraid your sins are far too great to be forgiven.”

A chilling murderous intent flickered in the woman’s emerald eyes. She extended her index finger and lightly tapped the demonic beast.

“Die.”

With that eerily calm command, the mother demonic beast began to mutilate itself in a frenzy.

“Kkrrrrrkkk!”

It shoved its long tentacles into its own mouth and crushed its insides. Then, it drove its sharp legs into its skull and scrambled its own brain.

Kwon Oh-Jin felt like he was watching a scene straight out of a horror movie.

He swallowed hard as his gaze shifted to the platinum-haired woman who had appeared out of nowhere. She looked to be in her mid-twenties. Despite her mesmerizing beauty, her frail figure seemed like it could shatter with a touch. However, she radiated an aura stronger than any Awakener he had ever met.

Holy shit. There’s no way I can beat her.

Never before had he felt such an overwhelming pressure from a single person. Kwon Oh-Jin clenched his trembling fist and stared at the woman.

“Ah, ahhhh!” The woman gasped in pure joy as she looked at him.

Without hesitation, she knelt on the dusty ground and stretched her arms out like a fanatic worshipping a god.

“At last! I’ve found you!” she cried out with zeal. “My god, my savior, my master!”

She looked up at him with a radiant smile.

“Your lowly servant of the Heavenly Demon, Cassia, offers her greetings.”

The woman, who introduced herself as Cassia, bowed deeply before Kwon Oh-Jin.

His eyes trembled.

Heavenly Demon? Did she really just call me that? What the hell is going on?

He had no idea why she was calling him the Heavenly Demon, but he only knew one woman who worshipped the Heavenly Demon this obsessively.

No way... is she the Serpens Queen?

A chill ran down Kwon Oh-Jin’s spine.

Fuck, fuck, fuuuuuck!

Curses filled his head.

One thing after another kept happening. First, a Star Spirit suddenly appeared, and now the Serpens Queen?

“Ah... Heavenly Demon. Heavenly Demon. Heavenly Demon. Heavenly Demon...” Cassia gazed up at him with desperate, adoring eyes. “I longed so deeply to see you.”

Kwon Oh-Jin silently stared down at Cassia, who remained kneeling before him. She respectfully clasped her hands as she gazed up, awaiting his reply.

“Hooo.” He ran his hand through his hair.

His eyes turned cold as ice as he looked down at her.

“You’re late,” he bluntly said. “How long were you planning to make me wait?”

He furrowed his brow in feigned irritation.

“Ahh! F-Forgive me, my lord!” Cassia slammed her forehead against the ground and trembled violently.

Thud!

Kwon Oh-Jin stared down at her and swallowed dryly.

I’m so fucking screwed.