The Heavenly Demon Can’t Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 380

A deep rumble shook Edwin to his core. He felt like he was falling endlessly, swallowed by thick, black smoke. Darkness twisted and turned around him, pressing in like a heavy weight. In the real world, Edwin Hector lay still on the cold stone floor, unconscious. Around him, the room was dim, lit only by flickering shadows.

The Archmage of the Sky Tower watched Edwin with hungry eyes, as if he were looking at the most precious treasure in the world.

People praised their relationship, claiming that the greatest mage of the continent had finally found a disciple, but the truth was far different.

“You have no idea how long I’ve waited for you,” the Archmage whispered.

He was Shepherd, the Archmage of the Sky Tower.

The Archmage wanted to become even stronger. He believed that to reach the highest level of magic, he needed to steal magic from others. He had been doing this for a long time, taking power from talented mages.

He wanted to steal Edwin’s special, natural magical power – his ‘innate energy’.

The innate energy amplified the power of the circle, and every time he devoured a new talent, he felt a longing to consume even more.

Mediocre fellows could not lead to progress.

One day, after reaching the realm of the 7th Circle and experiencing a period of stagnation, the Archmage of the Sky Tower encountered a fateful being.

It was Edwin Hector.

A brilliant talent.

Just looking at him sent shivers down his spine. Despite not having properly trained in magic due to environmental issues, Edwin Hector was clearly born with immense talent.

From that moment on, he yearned for him.

The Archmage of the Sky Tower was convinced that Edwin Hector was the talent that would lead him to the world of the 8th Circle, and without rushing, he slowly seduced his heart.

Simply devouring him was meaningless.

To maximize the effect, it was necessary to directly teach him so that his talent could ripen a little more.

That was the truth.

So, how much had he yearned all this time?

Edwin Hector had already met the conditions to be devoured, but due to his social position as a prince of Hector, he had no choice but to watch quietly.

If Roman Dmitry hadn’t stirred up the Valhalla Empire, the Archmage of the Sky Tower would have hidden his existence for the next few years, as Alexander had ordered.

But not anymore.

The time had come.

It wasn’t the perfect timing that Alexander had envisioned, but the order to conquer the Salamander Continent had been brought forward a little.

If Edwin Hector hadn’t come to him for help, the Archmage of the Sky Tower would have sought him out first.

As the dark mana writhed and absorbed the innate energy, the expression of the Archmage of the Sky Tower, watching it from right in front of him, gradually turned to madness.

“More, more, more…!”

He was impatient.

His mouth watered.

Because it had to be perfect as much as he had waited, he waited and waited for the innate energy to be completely extracted.

It was then.

The mana writhed.

Something was wrong.

Originally, it should have calmed down as the innate energy was being consumed, but it writhed even more than before, as if resisting the dark magic.

The more it did, the more excited the Archmage of the Sky Tower became.

Because that meant it was an even greater talent, he waited for Edwin Hector to be consumed right in front of him.

At that moment.

Edwin Hector, who had been lying down, opened his eyes wide.

Suddenly, a spark of understanding flashed in Edwin’s mind. He remembered Roman Dmitry’s words!

“Let’s go together.”

With a burst of strength, he grabbed the Archmage’s neck and threw himself into the dark magic.

Edwin remembered Roman Dmitry’s special training, a secret fighting style for the mind called the ‘Illusionary Fiend’.

Immediately after regaining his reason, Edwin Hector recalled Roman Dmitry’s teachings.

“Ordinary mind control is released as soon as you regain your reason. But dark magic is different. The power that digs into the mind until the end will continue to cause cracks in the mind, and the moment you succumb even once, it will completely take over your head. The solution to escape that cycle is simple. Drag the host in and cut off the source of darkness. Rather than being eaten, you eat the opponent first.”

He remembered the teachings.

Edwin Hector briefly escaped the shackles of darkness and dragged the Archmage of the Sky Tower into the same space as himself.

He fell into darkness.

The Archmage of the Sky Tower was mentally connected to Edwin Hector, so even with the magic of the 7th Circle, he could not shake off the hand that grabbed his neck.

The backlash was enormous.

The Archmage of the Sky Tower, sucked into the dark space, showed signs of anger and stirred up his magic power.

[How dare you!]

He glared.

He had intended to completely devour Edwin Hector, but if he resisted to this extent, things were different.

[You dare try to harm me. I was going to end it by absorbing your magic power, considering our relationship, but from now on, I will not show you any mercy. I will devour everything about you. And I will use your soulless corpse as a servant, and make Hector perish because of you.]

He was consumed by evil.

Magic power surged like a tidal wave.

In the space of the mind, the Archmage of the Sky Tower tried to destroy Edwin Hector.

A tremendous shock occurred.

He had succeeded in bringing the host into the same space as himself, but Edwin Hector was helplessly attacked by the opponent.

The Archmage of the Sky Tower was a mage of the 7th Circle.

It was impossible to win against him in a mental battle, and he felt his mind becoming hazy as the innate energy was absorbed.

He felt nauseous.

His consciousness faded.

As he was being sucked into the darkness, Edwin Hector gritted his teeth.

“The standards of the present world are not absolute in the space of the mind. If you don’t collapse mentally, you can defeat the opponent in the same way as the opponent.”

Roman Dmitry’s words.

He believed it.

Logically, it was normal to not be able to defeat a 7th Circle mage, but Edwin Hector did not give up until the end.

He stirred up his magic power. He resisted the power that was trying to collapse his mind. A fierce collision occurred.

He felt like his mind would completely fly away, but he resisted the opponent’s power and pushed the power of the circle to its limit.

Just like the Archmage of the Sky Tower, he began to absorb the opponent’s mana.

The Archmage of the Sky Tower could not help but be embarrassed.

Not only did he drag himself into the dark space, but he was also showing the appearance of absorbing his magic power in reverse.

It was too much.

His anger soared to the top of his head.

He stirred up his magic power with the intention of annihilating Edwin Hector’s soul, and even if he absorbed the innate energy, the effect would not be very great.

But resolving his anger was the priority.

He could not simply overlook the behavior of daring to cling to him and receive teachings, yet trying to surpass him in reverse.

‘…What on earth?’

Something was wrong.

Little by little, his power was being pushed back.

It was logically incomprehensible.

The dark magic was directly bestowed by Alexander, and it was not the kind of power that would be succumbed to by a mere human.

Then how could he explain this situation?

He screamed.

He struggled by drawing up all his strength, but from some point on, his magic power began to be consumed.

Illusionary Fiend.

A figure who rewrote the history of the Central Plains martial arts world, beyond the history of the Demonic Cult.

That being, who explored the human brain to its limits, was evaluated as the best in the martial arts world in mental-related martial arts.

Even Baek Jung-hyuk acknowledged his domain.

The reason why he manifested the martial arts of the Illusionary Fiend for the purpose of subjugating Shepherd’s mind was because there was no martial art beyond that.

Therefore, the effect was dramatic.

Not only did he resist the power that was trying to subjugate his mind, but he also began to absorb the dark magic power.

It was absurd.

The Archmage of the Sky Tower was horrified.

Cracks appeared on his face, and he screamed as if in a desperate struggle.

[Edwin! Stop! Withdraw that dangerous power right now!]

It was certain.

If this continued, he would be defeated.

He did not know what method Edwin Hector was using, but that power overwhelmed mind control.

[I was wrong. I was momentarily blinded by greed and made a huge mistake of trying to harm my beloved disciple. Please stop here considering our relationship. If you give me one more chance, I will dedicate everything I have to the Hector Kingdom. Valhalla Empire, Chronos Empire. I will do everything in my power to help you so that those evil forces cannot destroy Hector.]

It was a desperate voice.

He begged and begged, but Edwin Hector was already in a state of ecstasy.

He could not hear the voice.

He forgot his own existence.

With the magic power exploding as if riding the flow, the magic power originating from Edwin Hector swept away the dark magic power as it was.

[Ah, no!]

A scream of despair.

The magic power exploded.

The existence of the Archmage of the Sky Tower faded, and the dark space disappeared as it was.

Outside the office, Butler, who had followed as a guard, felt strange as time passed and there was no news.

‘Why is it so quiet?’

Visiting the Magic Tower was not something that happened once or twice.

If they used silence magic for the sake of maintaining secrecy, he could understand, but in the meantime, while waiting outside, he could faintly hear the conversations inside.

That meant they had taken measures to prevent the sound from leaking out, unlike before, and that fact caused an ominous feeling for some reason.

A guard knight is a being that blocks variables.

It might be an unnecessary worry, but he couldn’t just keep worrying like this.

“I need to check inside for a moment.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think that’s possible. The Archmage has ordered that no one be allowed inside.”

“Just a check…”

“It’s impossible.”

The Sky Tower mage, the being guarding the office, smiled and expressed his refusal.

Butler took a step back.

No.

Pretending to step back, he suddenly rushed towards the door.

‘Something is definitely wrong. Even if I get disciplined for this, I have to check inside.’

Before the flustered mage could respond, Butler smashed the door as it was.

It was shattered.

Beyond the door that was being shattered to pieces, Butler witnessed an unexpected sight.

“Your Highness!”

His eyes widened.

In that space where the Archmage of the Sky Tower could not be found, Edwin Hector was convulsing, having lost consciousness.

The Vice-Archmage of the Sky Tower, Verde, hurried his steps.

‘Damn it. Could it be that he failed to absorb him?’

A little while ago, he received a call from his subordinate, a report that Butler had attacked the mages and the Archmage’s whereabouts had become unclear.

His heart sank.

Verde knew the secret of the Sky Tower.

That’s why he was able to rise to the position of Vice-Archmage, and when he heard that Edwin Hector had visited, he thought the time had finally come.

The Archmage of the Sky Tower had been waiting for this day.

He said that he would absorb Edwin Hector and immediately enter training to form the eighth circle, so he was preparing for him.

The possibility of failure? He didn’t even think about it.

He had put in enough effort in the meantime, so there was absolutely no way for Edwin Hector to escape mind control with his power.

He felt annoyed.

What was certain was that things had gone wrong.

Butler attacked the Sky Tower mages, and Edwin Hector lost consciousness, but his life was safe for now. Verde headed to the office with the mages.

If the worst situation had occurred, the top priority was to subdue Butler and Edwin Hector and prevent the secret from leaking out.

However, when he arrived at the office, he witnessed an unbelievable sight.

“……H, how?!”

Inside the office, it was a mess.

The mages who were guarding the place were all corpses lying on the floor, and one being was sitting on the office desk, looking at Verde.

He suddenly felt a chill down his spine.

In a situation where he couldn’t even believe that the being in front of him was alive, the gaze that seemed to be binding him aroused ominous imaginations.

It was Edwin Hector.

He, who should have been dead, said with a cold gaze.

“Verde, from now on, explain what happened here. If you can’t make me understand, you will die.”