Chapter 266

Chapter 266
## Chapter 266: The Appearance of the Heavenly Demon

“…….”
“…….”
“…….”

The chamber was plunged into an immediate, heavy quiet. The assembly was stunned into speechlessness. To consider that in a span of less than ten minutes, he had deciphered the text, internalized its secrets, and executed the technique with such flawless expertise was beyond belief.

‘Hyun of Adrium……!’

Aaron, who shared the same birthplace of Adrium, felt his brow twitch with irritation. The Goddess Cult spanned the entire continent of Pangaea. Could he really accept that this man, who looked like a wandering refugee, was more gifted than himself? Aaron was the offspring of one of only twelve Cardinals in the entire cult, a man heralded as a prodigy since birth.

‘…This trial was supposed to be a grueling test intended to span a full day or more.’

There had been no official time constraint from the start. The stage had been clearly arranged with a long-term struggle in mind. The rule stating that standing up meant disqualification was designed to evaluate a candidate’s endurance, focus, perception, and analytical skills all at once. It was a test of survival—no food, no rest, just absolute immersion in the text.

The primary contenders for victory were all present on the 10th floor of the Tower of the War God. Aside from the elite, nearly a thousand self-proclaimed ‘prodigies’ had filled the hall. And yet…… despite the competition.

‘How is this possible for a mere Level 4?’

Hyun of Adrium. The digit floating above the man’s head was a ‘4,’ the absolute lowest rank in the room. Compared to the sea of geniuses surrounding him, he appeared remarkably weak and unremarkable. There were participants here who had reached Level 12. Aaron himself stood at Level 10.

During the preliminary stages of the Warrior tournament, this man was the only low-level participant to reach the 10th floor. Consequently, he had been the target of relentless scorn.

—Level 4?
—Did he wander into the wrong building?
—Go back home and find your mother’s comfort.

Aaron hadn’t been the only one laughing. It was common knowledge that the number above one’s head represented a ‘Level’—a quantitative measurement of ‘martial prowess.’ Naturally, the individual with the lowest ranking became a punchline.

‘While the number isn’t an absolute measure of worth, it certainly serves as a reliable benchmark.’

It wasn’t unheard of for a lower-level fighter to topple someone slightly higher. However, there were ‘boundaries’ to such upsets. Instances of someone overcoming an opponent more than two levels above them were almost non-existent. Logically, at Level 4, there shouldn’t have been a single person in this hall that he could realistically defeat.

‘Is this just a stroke of luck? Or is his talent for interpreting ancient texts simply peerless?’

……The man who had been the butt of their jokes, Hyun of Adrium, had finished his examination before anyone else. Every eye in the room shifted toward the presiding knights, burning with the question of whether his performance was actually valid.

“……Unbelievable.”

The first comment came from the knight who observed that the mana stone had been drained of every drop of energy. The Eight Excellence Knights. They were the premier power of the Empire and the most formidable knightly order on the entire continent. These were seasoned combatants who had spent their lives expanding the Empire’s borders and battling the terrors of the Abyss! Even these men, who had seen everything, were visibly shaken by the display.

“However, this is not the right answer.”

But the official verdict was the polar opposite of what the crowd expected. Hearing this, Aaron let out a quiet breath of relief. It was exactly as he suspected. Honestly… could such a feat even be real? Just as the other participants were mentally saying ‘I knew it,’ a new figure stepped onto the 10th floor.

Thud!

“……!”

The moment they saw him, the entire room turned to ice. Even the Eight Excellence Knights stood frozen, their eyes wide with shock.

“How could this be……!”

The newcomer strode toward Hyun of Adrium. His face was a mask of sheer astonishment. In fact, he looked more rattled than anyone else in the tower.

‘Why is Lyca-nim here?’
‘What could possibly cause him to look like 그?’

……Lyca. He had arrived at the testing grounds, and he did so with a sense of extreme urgency.

“How…… did you manage to finish this?”

……Finished it? Finish what? Did that imply the manuals given to the candidates were incomplete? And that Hyun of Adrium had filled in the gaps?

“Was this something you already knew? Or perhaps……!”

“Just because.”

Hyun of Adrium finally spoke, but his response was hardly enlightening. Just because?

“……?”

“Just because, when I looked at the pages, I simply understood them.”

“……What?”

Lyca was left speechless. He understood it because he looked at it? He couldn’t wrap his head around such a preposterous claim.

The Mirror of Life and Death (Saeng-sa-gyeong). This text was a fragmented version. It had been passed down since the founding of the Eight Excellence, but it had been a flawed, partial manual from the very beginning. For generations, they had attempted to restore it, but no one had ever succeeded. Completing the work had become the ultimate, unfulfilled ambition of the Eight Excellence.

Nevertheless, even in its broken state, the book served one specific, vital purpose.

‘It is the catalyst that triggers the Mutation Hidden Trait.’

This was the essential Hidden Trait required to become a legitimate heir to the Eight Excellence. A predecessor had to transfer their mana and divine protections to their successor, and a ‘Mutation’ was the only way to absorb that power without loss. Thus, the book was a tool to unlock the potential for that Mutation.

‘By studying and mastering the text, one gradually develops the Mutation trait and a minor capacity for absorption.’

Of course, even reading the book was a monumental task. Deciphering invisible scripts was no small feat. The goal of this specific test was to see if a candidate could use the technique to draw out a ‘tiny’ portion of the mana stone’s power.

Yet this man, Hyun of Adrium, had consumed the entire stone. This was a physical impossibility unless he had somehow mended the broken logic of the book. What came next was even more staggering. The fellow made a motion as if gripping a writing tool, gestured toward the manual, and asked:

“Would you like me to write the rest down for you?”

—

To be perfectly honest, I was caught off guard. When I examined the contents of the Mirror of Life and Death.

‘The Heavenly Demon Divine Art?’

The similarities were striking. It was almost identical to the esoteric principles of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art that the Evil God of the Heavenly Demon Sword had constantly lectured me about. In that moment, the truth clicked.

‘…This was originally a technique that belonged to the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.’

They shared the same fundamental laws. However, there was a specific distinction. The Heavenly Demon Divine Art was designed to amplify internal mana, whereas the ‘Absorption Method’ (Heup-seong-dae-beop) was meant to pull mana in from the outside. These two systems were meant to function as a single unit. But they had been severed. Furthermore, not even the original Heavenly Demon had fully mastered the ‘Absorption Method.’

Why was that? Had the Evil God kept it from him? Or was the Evil God himself ignorant of it?

‘I suppose this explains why the Evil God was imprisoned within the Heavenly Demon Sword.’

The reason a being who once looked down upon the heavens was trapped in a mere blade. Perhaps the person who sealed him away fractured his martial arts because the demon’s potential was too terrifying—to ensure the demon could never reach his full state again. To prevent him from ever returning to the world in his true glory.

The issue was the actual text of the Mirror of Life and Death.

‘There are so many gaps.’

This manual was also riddled with holes. It was an unfinished work, looking as though someone had deliberately scrubbed parts of it. I felt I understood the logic behind that as well.

‘They only preserved the sections that could be learned in isolation, since the rest would be impossible to master anyway.’

Without a foundation in the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, one could never truly command the Absorption Method. Therefore, they only kept the bare essentials—enough to allow the legacy of the Eight Excellence to be passed down and to manifest the ‘Mutation’ trait.

‘……The First Master of the Eight Excellence was the one who imprisoned the First Heavenly Demon.’

This was a piece of history I hadn’t known. If that was the case, the two lineages were mortal enemies. The First Master of the Eight Excellence wanted to pass down his own strength and legacy, but he did so by hijacking the techniques of the First Heavenly Demon. Under normal circumstances, there should have been no way for the Heavenly Demon’s martial path to be made whole again.

……He likely never envisioned a variable like me.

‘Hah.’

The Heavenly Demon Divine Art had been taught to me directly by the Evil God. Because I possessed those core principles and the correct interpretations, I could identify the missing links the second I laid eyes on the incomplete ‘Mirror of Life and Death.’

In that instant.

《‘Heavenly Demon Divine Art’ has been finalized as ‘Heavenly Demon Divine Art – Record of Life and Death (Saeng-sa-rok).’》
《You have gained access to ‘Heavenly Demon Descent.’》

It was done. I had finished the Heavenly Demon Divine Art that even the Great Demon himself couldn’t complete. A martial art that even the Evil God had lost track of!

“……Are you telling me you can reconstruct the missing portions?”

Lyca’s hands began to shake almost imperceptibly. The Mirror of Life and Death wasn’t just about the ‘Mutation.’ It was the holy grail of the Eight Excellence. Countless lives and centuries had been spent trying to fix this book. Facing the possibility that their ancestral dream was finally within reach, he couldn’t maintain his composure.

‘You wouldn’t be able to use it anyway.’

I wasn’t offering to write it down out of the goodness of my heart. If I gave him the text, he would be forced to take me on as a pupil. He would have to declare me the undisputed victor. Moreover, even if I revealed the lost passages of the Mirror of Life and Death, it would be useless to him. One requires the Heavenly Demon Divine Art to make sense of it. And he would never have the chance to learn that.

Just as I prepared to give him a nod.

Kureung!

The entire tower began to vibrate violently.

Thud! Thud-thud-thud!

Debris rained down from the fracturing ceiling. The shaking was so intense that it was nearly impossible to remain standing.

“Wh-What’s happening?”
“Is the tower falling down?”

Panic spread as the challengers watched the structure tremble as if it were on the verge of collapse. They had no idea what was occurring. Was this yet another stage of the exam? Everyone looked toward Lyca for answers.

“…….”

But when they saw Lyca’s face, they knew this wasn’t part of the plan. His expression had turned grim. Unlike the others, however, Lyca understood exactly what this signaled.

“War God Karas…… You absolute bastarrrd……!”

《All participants on the 10th floor are being transferred to the 11th floor.》
《Those who have not yet entered the tower are hereby disqualified.》
《Confront the new challenge and forge a new legend!》
《Climb to the 30th floor of the tower and face the Champion!》
《The one who creates a new myth shall be immortalized forever.》

—

War God Karas had a specific desire.

‘How magnificent is the one who breaks their own chains.’

He wanted to witness the tower’s challengers pushing past their perceived boundaries. When Karas himself had climbed this tower and issued his challenge—he still remembered the adrenaline of those days. He had repeatedly shattered his limits, crushed the Champion, ended Sansha the Demon of Envy, and challenged the War God Karas who had reclaimed his godhood.

‘It is a legacy that should be impossible to surpass, yet I still yearn to see someone do it.’

Randolph. The milestone he set was beyond comparison. However, as the master of this domain, the War God Karas wanted to see his own records eclipsed. Regardless, challengers worthy of facing the Champion needed to appear from time to time.

‘……Dull-witted mortals.’

But the current crop of humans was far too satisfied with themselves. At this pace, they would never reach ‘transcendence.’ They hadn’t even considered climbing to the 30th floor to seek out the Champion. Winning a petty tournament was a joke compared to the true purpose of the tower. How could they be so arrogant as to think they could stop at the 10th floor? Once the ascent begins, the tower demands you reach the summit. They didn’t have the right to decide when it ended.

Thus, Karas enforced his own ‘rules.’ He ensured they had no choice but to go up.

‘Let them bleed, compete, and evolve. But there is more to it than that.’

This newly structured tower was unlike its previous iteration. It wasn’t merely a place for combat. The real trial was something else entirely.

‘A confrontation with one’s own self is the only true path to transcendence.’

That was the most definitive way to understand one’s nature and break through the ceiling of possibility. The Tower of the War God. The one who climbs this path—who rises higher and higher to stand at the very peak—would emerge as a completed War God.

—

At that same moment.

Isabella, having reached the Balan Kingdom, was struck by a wave of confusion.

“Wh-Where could he have gone?”

……Because Randolph had disappeared without leaving a single clue behind.