The Heavenly Demon Can’t Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 439

This was it. Kevin was facing Chris for the third time.

Kevin clearly remembered the past duels.

The first time they fought, Kevin was just a beginner at swordsmanship.

“That first fight felt impossible,” Kevin thought. “Chris was famous, a sword genius in Dimitri. I was just someone from the slums, no one important.”

He remembered the crushing defeat. His first thought was: “I am pathetic. I am nothing.”

Defeat. Everyone expected it.

Even though he knew he probably couldn’t win, Kevin couldn’t accept losing.

Roman Dimitri was supporting him. Kevin even knew how Chris would move and attack.

But still, Kevin couldn’t use this knowledge and lost.

It was so embarrassing. He was so bad at swords, he couldn’t even beat Chris even when he knew what Chris would do!

He wanted to be Roman Dimitri’s sword, but he was too weak. This shame kept him awake at night.

From that day on, Kevin trained very, very hard. He promised himself he would never be a problem again.

He never wanted to feel that shame again.

Feeling inferior made him improve. He admired Chris, so he got better quickly.

Soon, he really wanted to be better than Chris.

So, they had a second duel. Roman Dimitri gave Chris an even better sword than Kevin’s.

Kevin felt his old inferiority burning inside him. He just couldn’t accept that Chris was still better.

And again, he lost. This time, Kevin was angry. Some people called him the ‘Demon of Dimitri’.

He had trained so much, he thought he was strong. But losing to Chris again made him feel very sad and hopeless.

Now, he had to face the truth. Chris was better than him. It was clear that Roman Dimitri valued Chris more, saw Chris as his real weapon, not Kevin.

He thought about it again and again. He still couldn’t accept it.

He would defeat Chris, no matter how long it took. He had to prove he was good enough.

From then on, he started studying sword fighting in a deeper way. He wanted to understand why Chris was so much better.

Could he close the gap, even though Chris had trained for longer?

Maybe it was crazy, Kevin thought. But Roman Dimitri was everything to him now.

Kevin felt he had nothing before Dimitri. Dimitri had given him purpose. So, Dimitri had become his whole life.

Time passed quickly. And now, it was today. Tap, tap, went his feet as he walked onto the stage.

He stepped into the wide arena. There, waiting for him, was Chris.

“This time, I will win for sure,” Kevin thought. This was the third duel. He couldn’t lose again.

The air was thick with tension. Everyone was watching Chris and Kevin. The audience was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop. People were holding their breath.

Everyone knew: whoever won this duel would become a legend.

Chris spoke, his voice calm in the tense silence. “Kevin,” he said. “As I got ready for this tournament, I knew we would meet here, in the end.”

Chris was calm. His voice was steady and quiet, and everyone listened.

“Kevin, we go back a long way,” Chris continued. “When Dimitri was just starting to become important, not many people noticed you. But I saw something in you – the way you looked at me, your attitude. I knew you might try to take my place one day.”

Chris had tried to ignore it, but it was true. He had tried to pretend he wasn’t competing with Kevin. But after he beat Ares, Chris knew how he really felt.

It wasn’t just about Kevin getting stronger. From the first duel, when Kevin said he wanted to win, Chris knew Kevin was important to him.

Chris knew, someday, someone would try to be better than him. He just didn’t think it would happen so soon.

But Kevin was here, standing in front of him, because he had worked so hard.

“I can barely see the old Kevin in him anymore,” Chris thought. The Kevin from back then. Just a boy from the slums.

Kevin, who couldn’t even hold a sword right. That stubborn kid who was angry even when Chris was teaching him the simplest sword moves.

Chris admitted it. Kevin was his rival. And competition made him stronger.

He would beat all his rivals, including Kevin, to become the best, someone no one could ever challenge.

“I’m not going to give up my place to anyone, Kevin, not even you,” Chris said firmly. “This arena is for anyone who wants to take my place, including you. Either beat me and show you are good enough, or…”

The sound of steel sliding from its sheath. Chris drew his sword. People swallowed hard.

They were completely focused on what was happening. They couldn’t look away.

“Prove you are worthy by defeating me,” Chris finished. No one asked questions. No more words were needed.

Flap! The referee waved his hand to start the duel. Instantly, the two fighters charged at each other.

The duel between Chris and Kevin. People had an idea of what it would be like. They expected a fight as good as they were famous for.

But what happened in the arena was even more incredible.

A sharp sound, like a whip crack. Then, a deep rumble. Chris attacked first.

His sword moved so fast, it seemed to cut through the air. Kevin didn’t dodge. He charged straight into Chris’s attack, even though Chris’s sword was glowing with power.

Chris’s attack left scratches on Kevin’s body. Blood flew. But Kevin kept charging forward.

He managed to block most of the worst parts of Chris’s attack and didn’t slow down.

Both of them fought with all their strength right away. Kevin got close to Chris and swung his sword fast as lightning. They traded blows so quickly, it was hard to see.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! Every time an attack was blocked, Kevin immediately aimed for Chris’s weak spots.

But when Kevin blocked and tried to attack back, Chris unleashed a storm of attacks. Chris’s sword was so fast and powerful, it felt like Kevin was being pushed back just by the force of it.

Swords flashed everywhere. Chris attacked from above, from the sides, from below – everywhere at once!

Kevin couldn’t find any opening to attack back.

RUMBLE! Chris was incredibly powerful. Kevin had easily won all his fights to get here.

But Chris’s swordsmanship was even stronger. Chris was overpowering Kevin.

It was the power of Chris’s aura. Kevin couldn’t beat Chris with skill alone. Chris’s aura was just too strong. That was the difference between them.

Most importantly, Chris wasn’t afraid to fight up close. This stopped Kevin from using his unusual fighting style.

WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! Chris’s aura burst out. He pushed Kevin back, even though Kevin was fighting close to him.

Each time their swords clashed hard, Kevin was thrown back a step.

“He’s strong,” Kevin thought. Chris. The ‘Flash of Dimitri’.

Chris had become even stronger than Kevin remembered. He was stronger than in their first duel, stronger than in their second duel. Chris was pushing Kevin back, making him struggle.

Kevin had to admit it: Chris was better. If Chris wasn’t always improving, Kevin might have had a chance.

But against this Chris, Kevin knew he was outmatched.

FLASH! BANG! BANG! BANG! Chris’s attacks were so fast, they seemed to rip through the air. They came from everywhere at once, too fast to see clearly.

Kevin wasn’t even seeing the attacks. He was just reacting to the feeling of danger, using his instincts.

Just now, it happened again. Chris’s sword almost touched Kevin’s nose. Kevin thought he had attacked first.

But then, suddenly, Chris had blocked him easily and was attacking back.

Kevin knew, with a sinking heart, that this duel was going to end the same way as the others.

Kevin tilted his head, a sharp sting blossoming on his cheek. Warm blood trickled down, blurring his vision for a moment. He blinked it away, his jaw tight. Even though he had an energy shield around him, Chris’s attack had still cut through, leaving a shallow wound. Ignoring the pain, Kevin focused all his attention on Chris. *I have to be bolder,* he thought, his heart pounding. *I have to take more risks.* Only then, he believed, could he truly become Chris’s equal. He had to close the gap between them, not just in strength, but in daring.

Chris was clearly stronger than him, but even in this life-or-death situation, Kevin didn’t believe he was weak.

“First stance of the Heavenly Demon Sword Art, first form.”

Boom!

Rumble!

He pressed forward intensely, attacking fiercely, showing Chris he would not give up, even if he got hurt.

His eyes burned with a fierce light. How long had he waited for this moment?

When he had first lost, he was no match for Chris. But now, like the hushed crowd watching with rapt attention, he felt he had a real chance of winning.

He would win.

He would definitely triumph.

Boom!

Wham! Wham! Wham! Wham! Wham!

Chris’s counterattack was fierce. His energy exploded, but they were so close that their bodies were intertwined. Neither Chris nor Kevin yielded an inch.

It was a matter of pride, of proving himself. He wanted to achieve victory and demonstrate his strength.

He didn’t just want to win; he wanted to dominate his opponent from the start.

It was a stalemate.

The more blood he shed, the more fiercely they clashed.

His mind became clearer.

Kevin, his face stained with madness, collided with his opponent, remembering why he had set his sights on Chris.

Dozens of attacks and dozens of defenses. He didn’t allow a single one to pass.

He knew that only by defeating this being who seemed to have an answer for everything could he become the strongest sword that Roman Dmitry would be proud of.

For that reason, he had focused all his energy on surpassing Chris.

Inferiority was a feeling that arose because the opponent was outstanding, and in Kevin’s world, Chris was the most brilliantly shining being of all.

Flash!

His forearm was cut. In a situation gradually being stained with blood, Kevin was certain.

He would definitely win this confrontation.

After his second defeat, Kevin fell into deep thought.

He knew that simply swinging his sword more and trying harder wouldn’t be enough to surpass Chris.

“Change is needed,” he thought.

Chris was a genius who worked hard. He didn’t rely on his talent; he worked just as hard as Kevin. So, no matter how much Kevin improved, the gap between him and Chris couldn’t be closed.

The result of their second fight proved this.

The fact that he couldn’t win by doing things the same way caused Kevin’s worries to grow.

Strength, speed, swordsmanship – he was behind in every aspect.

There was no area where he could surpass Chris in a direct contest, except for one thing: his ability to break the mold, to be different.

Kevin focused on that fact.

The Heavenly Demon Sword Art was powerful, but he knew he couldn’t beat Chris in a battle of pure destructive power.

He was not Roman Dmitry.

If he could unleash as much destructive power as Roman Dmitry in a single blow, he would choose the traditional method. But he couldn’t fight like Roman Dmitry just because he possessed the same sword art.

He changed his mind. He needed his own unique weapon.

It was a huge change for Kevin. He had been a boy from the slums, trained according to Roman Dmitry’s methods. Even when he learned the Heavenly Demon Sword Art, he stayed within those boundaries.

Unlike his eccentric tendencies, he was a person shaped by the teachings of others.

Kevin threw away the frame that had confined him. The moment he realized it was necessary, he created a new realm by combining everything he had learned into something uniquely his own.

Like that, he created his own weapon.

What was incomplete when facing Ares had become perfect while preparing for this competition.

As a result, Edwin Hector, a strong contender for the championship, knelt before him.

Pat.

Rumble!

It was an opportunity. The moment Chris unleashed a series of attacks, Kevin’s eyes, which had been calmly observing, turned sharp.

He had to decide the outcome with a single blow. If he couldn’t inflict meaningful damage on Chris, the fierce battle would end in his defeat.

‘Reverse the flow of mana,’ he thought.

Rumble.

His insides were churning. Instead of releasing the mana in his core, he pulled it back in, suppressing it.

It was an unusual and dangerous method. Reversing the flow went against nature, and Kevin’s body screamed at the rapid changes within.

It was an enormous pain, a shock that would tear apart the insides of ordinary people. But the Demonic Art of Returning Souls, with its regenerative power, helped him endure the reversal.

And then…

‘Explode it all at once, using the secrets of the Heavenly Demon Sword Art.’

In reality, it was only a fleeting moment, less than a second. While letting Chris’s attacks flow by, Kevin was attempting something extraordinary, a change occurring deep within him.

Rumble.

The mana in his core became tangled, the mana trying to move forward colliding with the reversed mana. Then, at the moment Kevin willed it, a powerful explosion occurred.

‘Heavenly Demon Sword Art, first half, third form.’

With this attack, he had defeated Edwin Hector. This time, he was giving it his all.

As the reversed mana erupted, energy exploded throughout his body, and Kevin momentarily vanished from sight.

Wham.

Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow!

A powerful explosion! He combined a technique with Alexander’s fighting style. While manipulating mana using his core, Alexander’s explosive power amplified his entire body.

It instantly closed the distance with Chris, making it meaningless. He narrowed the gap in an instant, and an energy that seemed to shatter the world erupted.

A single blow, delivered with a speed that no one could react to.

When he completed this technique, he was certain that no one in the world, except for Roman Dmitry, could stop him.

Flash!

He split the space. It was over.

In a moment too fast for anyone to see, Kevin’s powerful blow cut through Chris’s body.

At that moment…

“……!”

Chris’s eyes widened in disbelief. Even the extremely sensitive senses of the Demonic Art of Returning Souls, heightened to their limit, couldn’t grasp what had just happened.

Gush.

He spewed blood like a fountain.

In a fleeting moment, Chris’s attack pierced through space. It was an incredibly fast sword strike that only Roman Dmitry could have perceived.