The Heavenly Demon Can’t Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 284

Truce!

The Chronos Empire declared a truce with Dimitri.

Most people had been saving food. They expected the Chronos Empire to attack again after losing the battle on the Western Front. People were ready for anything.

As a result, food prices had recently skyrocketed.

Some people were so scared of war that they avoided Cairo and Dimitri. They worried about getting hurt after the fighting. These people were very surprised to hear about the truce.

People wondered about Chronos. They thought Chronos was a country that never gave in. But now, even after losing a big army, they agreed to a truce. It didn’t make sense.

Then someone shouted, “Wow! Chronos wants to pay Dimitri 500,000 gold as payment for the war?!”

“Oh my goodness! This is like Chronos saying they lost. Dimitri started the war, and Chronos lost 300,000 soldiers in the West. Yet, Chronos is paying Dimitri! Did they think they couldn’t beat Dimitri?”

“Whatever the reason, it’s clear that Chronos has backed down.”

People everywhere started talking excitedly.

In all of history, the Chronos Empire had never paid anyone. They were always invading other countries. They had never even agreed to a truce like this.

But 500,000 gold? An enormous sum that could sustain two million people for a year—people doubted it was real.

Didn’t this clearly mean they lost? The Chronos Emperor was known to be proud. The fact that he agreed to this made people think things were really changing.

“The era of Dimitri has begun.”

“Roman Dimitri is not just the Duke’s son anymore! He beat Barbarossa of the Valhalla Empire, and now he’s beaten the Chronos Empire! A true hero is here, one who will change everything on this continent. Dimitri will lead us into a new time!”

“Let’s go to Dimitri! The future of the continent is there!”

People admired Dimitri. This was something never seen before. He had done many great things, but beating the Chronos Empire was the biggest. It changed how everyone saw Dimitri.

It started with the Cairo Kingdom, but no one thought of Dimitri as simply following Cairo.

The continent was buzzing.

People said, “Chronos is done for! Everyone thought they were unbeatable, so no one dared to fight them. But now, the kingdoms on the Salamander Continent will speak up, with Roman Dimitri leading them. This is just the start. Little by little, Chronos will lose power. They won’t be able to ignore the rules of the continent and do whatever they want anymore. We are seeing Chronos fall!”

This made sense to people. The idea that Chronos was falling made them happy. They celebrated with drinks and talked about a better future.

But this happiness lasted only one day.

The next day, news came from Odelia. It shocked everyone on the continent.

* * *

It was all ruins. Lucas looked at what was left and swallowed hard. It used to be a city.

“…Chronos, you mad bastards.”

It was the capital of Odelia. Hundreds of thousands of people lived there. Now, they were all gone, just like their city.

Lucas’s spies from Hao Mun were also there. He had lost contact with them suddenly, and they hadn’t sent any news.

It didn’t mean that the Chronos Empire had discovered the informants’ identities.

It meant that everyone in the capital had died so suddenly that they couldn’t even report it.

How could this happen?

Lucas had seen many terrible things in his life, but he couldn’t understand what he was seeing now.

“Magician, please help.”

“Understood.”

The magician, an older man who looked to be in his sixties, stepped forward. He was a 3rd Circle magician, not very powerful, but he had spent his whole life studying magic. Lucas had brought him along because Hao Mun sometimes needed magical knowledge for their jobs. They paid for the magician’s research and paid him well to work for them.

‘If the informants couldn’t even report it, it means this city collapsed within 3 minutes at most. That’s impossible with physical force. Magic was definitely used. If the Chronos Empire, which mobilized an 8th Circle magician, had another magician of comparable power…’

During the battle in the West, the 8th Circle magician had been terrifying. Lucas had only heard of such power before. But seeing 8th Circle magic in action showed how incredibly destructive it was, something humans couldn’t fight against. If Roman Dimitri hadn’t been there, they would have lost. The soldiers of Dimitri and Cairo were celebrating their win, but Lucas and others still felt fear because of that magic.

If.

The 8th Circle magician had annihilated the capital of Odelia.

The Chronos Empire might not have just two 8th Circle magicians, but even more power.

That’s why he came here.

He intended to check the scene and gather information.

It was then.

Crack!

“This is… impossible!”

The magician looked terrified. He had tried to use a magic tool he made to find traces of magic in the ruins. But the tool broke because the magic here was too strong.

Lucas asked, “What is it?”

“Everything is wrong! No, this can’t be real!” The magician was shaking. His eyes stared at the broken tool, wide with shock.

“This tool was made to measure even 8th Circle magic. But just trying to check for magic left in the city broke it! That means… either 8th Circle magic is much stronger than I knew, or… it’s magic even stronger than that.”

8th Circle magic.

Or something even stronger.

Lucas’s face became serious.

If the magician was right, they couldn’t be happy about the truce with Chronos anymore.

* * *

A meeting was called.

This time, different people came. Dimitri, Cairo, Hector, Redford, Frank, and Umberto. Leaders from six countries, except Odelia (because their capital city was destroyed), came because Roman Dimitri asked them to.

King Frank spoke. “Is it really true about Odelia? Someone near the capital saw it happen. They said a huge thing fell from the sky and destroyed the city in a second. That’s not normal human power. Chronos has something else, something we don’t know about, besides that ‘monster’ from the Western Front.”

“It doesn’t matter exactly how it happened. They destroyed Odelia’s capital in just minutes. This shows they weren’t weak when they agreed to the truce.”

“That’s right. The Chronos Empire clearly has something we don’t know about.”

A chorus of voices erupted, each filled with alarm, and a wave of anxiety washed over the room.

It felt like only yesterday they had celebrated victory with champagne, yet the Chronos Empire’s sudden attack had plunged them all into stunned silence.

Could such destruction truly be wrought by human hands?

Was it possible to obliterate a capital city in mere minutes?

It seemed utterly impossible.

Even Roman Dmitry, the man they revered, the hero who had crushed Rascal’s ten thousand troops, found it hard to believe.

This power felt alien, something far beyond human capabilities.

The ‘massive object’ – a chillingly inadequate term for such destructive force – suggested a power either rivaling the legendary Sheffir, or something far more terrifying, something from a realm beyond comprehension.

Only then did the full weight of the situation crash down upon them.

The Chronos Empire.

They were finally beginning to understand what it truly meant to face such an enemy.

In the history of the continent, the reason the ancestors of the Kingdom Alliance could not resist was because of overwhelming power.

Roman Dmitry spoke.

“The Odelia incident is a warning left to us by Chronos. They didn’t accept the truce because they lacked power, but because they judged that they needed a period to catch their breath for the final battle. Therefore, we too must not be deceived by the word ‘truce.’ The war is not over, and the Chronos Empire will declare war first when they have completed all preparations to the point where the word ‘agreement’ is meaningless.”

“…Roman Dmitry, do you believe there is a chance of winning the war against Chronos?”

It was Edwin Hector.

To that question, Roman Dmitry looked at him.

“Yes.”

His answer was simple, direct, and unwavering.

A collective sigh of impressed relief swept through the room.

Clearly, he had seen and heard the same information as they had, yet Roman Dmitry showed no signs of wavering.

Perhaps that was why. People showed a relieved reaction.

Just seeing Roman Dmitry stand firm, unyielding in the face of such terrifying news, sparked a flicker of hope within them – a fragile belief that perhaps, just perhaps, victory against Chronos was still possible.

It was all because of Roman Dmitry.

His string of victories had built an almost blind faith in his abilities.

“The war will start again someday, and Dmitry has no intention of backing down against the Chronos Empire. Although we have gathered in the name of the new Kingdom Alliance, I have no intention of forcing your sacrifices. But remember this. There is no freedom without sacrifice. A country that does not prepare for the day of the final battle, a country that does not plan for the future like Dmitry, will have to solve its problems on its own, no matter what difficulties it experiences, just like the capital of the Odelia Kingdom was destroyed.”

It was not an empty promise.

The destruction of Odelia had happened because of their collective indifference, a stark reminder of the price of inaction.

Roman Dmitry.

The leader of the new Kingdom Alliance was not such a humane person.

“However. If you follow Dmitry by your own decision, Dmitry will never betray that trust.”

That too.

Was sincere.

Roman Dmitry presented himself as a leader who rewarded loyalty fiercely, but who also possessed a ruthless streak that should not be underestimated.

Thus.

The First Continental War came to an end.

He stepped outside, the cold wind a sharp slap against his skin.

The chill air cleared his head, and Lucas’s report echoed in his mind.

“According to the magician who investigated the site, he was certain that the power level exceeded the magic used by Sheffir. In that case, we must consider the existence of a ‘9th Circle.’ Otherwise, the same 8th Circle magic could not be so different.”

Ninth Circle magic.

It was a realm whispered about in legends, a theoretical limit of magical power.

The existence of the 8th Circle was first confirmed by 7th Circle magicians, but people in the magical academia concluded that it was the limit of a magician.

It was believed the human body simply couldn’t contain such power.

Legend had it that attempting to wield nine circles of magic would cause the heart to explode, overwhelmed by raw, untamed energy.

And yet.

The possibility of a 9th Circle appeared.

The power that had instantly annihilated the capital could not be explained without exceeding common sense.

Clang.

He drew his sword.

If, he wondered, if he unleashed his full power right now, could he replicate such devastation?

No, it was impossible.

He could obliterate armies, yes, even hundreds of thousands over time, but to erase a capital city in an instant? That was a power beyond his current reach, a power akin to a natural disaster.

It was truly a power befitting the word ‘natural disaster’.

Even in the Central Plains Murim – a legendary world of martial arts masters from his past life – Heavenly Demon Baek Jung-hyuk had never encountered such power.

Therefore,

He murmured, a smile playing on his lips as he gazed up at the vast night sky.

“Is this why you brought me to this world?”

A thrill coursed through him, a dangerous delight.

Where others felt despair in the face of such overwhelming power, Roman Dmitry felt a surge of exhilarating challenge, a burning competitive spirit.

In his previous life.

Heavenly Demon Baek Jung-hyuk was invincible.

He reached the pinnacle of power with just the realm of Ji, and when he reached the realm of Cheon, there was no opponent to test his strength.

From that point on, life had become a monotonous stretch of boredom.

Even the most celebrated martial artists of the Central Plains Murim were like children compared to Baek Jung-hyuk, and such unmatched power had bred only weariness.

He had always craved a worthy rival, an opponent who could truly test his limits, someone who could push him to even greater heights.

He hoped to find room for development by exerting his full power and moving forward.

“This is enjoyable.”

Alexander, in his ignorance, could not have known that his ‘gift’ had been received by Roman Dmitry in a way he could never have imagined.

Triumphant banners flying, Dmitry’s army marched back into the city.

It should have been a day of celebration.

However, as Roman Dmitry finished his meeting with his father, one look at Hans’s face told him that joy was far from the truth.

Something was wrong.

Hans’s face was streaked with tears, his voice choked with emotion as he finally managed to speak.

“…Young master,” he whispered, the words heavy with grief.

“Henderson… Henderson is dead.”

After a long and valiant battle against his illness, Henderson had finally succumbed.