Part 1

King of the Battlefield

Chapter 267: A War with the Demon Gods (Fin)

Diablo’s foot crushed Muyoung, but he grabbed it and twisted, and Diablo fell. Muyoung stood up, but his gaze was not on Diablo. Muyoung reached out with his hand, and Woohee flew out of Solomon’s grasp. If Solomon could influence Woohee, because of Muyoung’s and Woohee’s contract, there would be a problem as Muyoung and Woohee were tied together by a strong bond.

“Husband?”

“It’s been a long time.”

Woohee cried because she finally rejoined Muyoung. Solomon couldn’t believe it.

“You overcame the whispers of the Darkness?”

The Darkness! It had whispered to Muyoung of Despair, Futility and Hopelessness, but Muyoung had not listened to the whispers.

“It is impossible that any being could prevail against the whispers!”

Solomon was astonished because he knew that they all fell into despair before becoming gods. Most of them are swallowed by the Darkness and denied divinity. He had thought Muyoung would be one of them and had been sure he could not win. Solomon’s conviction crumbled as Muyoung stood triumphantly, with most of his wounds healed. More than anything else, Solomon could feel Muyoung’s divinity, and he had taken the first step as a god. If allowed, Muyoung’s transition would soon be complete.

“Diablo, kill him! Now is the time, right after he is out of the shell!”

Solomon began to feel pressure since he would lose his angels and the prayer of miracles if Muyoung indeed became a god.

Diablo rose to hear Solomon’s call with a battle cry, and Woohee spoke in despair.

“It’s no use. Diablo cannot be killed.”

“I know.”

“You do?”

Muyoung knew that Diablo could not be killed, and spoke to Woohee.

“How can I remove the ‘illusion’?

“We have to convince the woman who summoned Diablo.”

Woohee pointed at Snow. Snow! When she had her memories, she had a black wings signifying her fall and a white wings as a celestial. However, she lost all of her memories after summoning Diablo and now followed Muyoung because she thought Muyoung as her ‘father.’

Snow was unharmed, even though she was within Diablo’s attack range. Muyoung confirmed that some of his subordinates, including Snow and the high-elf Ain were there.

“Diablo cannot kill her, but she can erase Diablo.”

“What should I do?”

Diablo began to chase after Muyoung as he started to run.

“You have to make Snow believe that Diablo is a fake since Diablo is the ‘illusion’ of a god born from her wishes.”

“What happens if someone kills Snow?”

“That cannot happen! Then Diablo will be granted immortality!”

Woohee shook her head, and Muyoung felt some relief. He would not have to kill a woman who thought him as her father and followed him. The act would have left a bitter taste, and he did not want to do it in the first place.

‘The Diablo Order.’

While she had been a saint in the past, when Muyoung met Snow again, she was the High Priestess of the Diablo Order. Snow believed that they could not overcome the demon gods and faced extinction, so Diablo was the only hope to save this world. Therefore, Snow summoned Diablo because she was convinced that the almighty Demon God from another world would change everything.

However, her belief had been wrong.

“Father!”

Snow came running, although her shoes had disappeared, and her feet were bleeding. Her body was shaking from fear of Diablo. Hope had become fear in Snow.

“You do not have to be afraid.”

Muyoung stroked Snow’s head as he spoke. How should he remove this fear? He could not think of a way to erase Snow’s fear and make her believe that Diablo was only an illusion. If she were forced to believe but doubted it in her heart, Diablo would not disappear. So, Muyoung decided that he should just speak his heart.

“Snow, I don’t know if you remember, but if you do, I will say that you were mistaken.”

Muyoung went on with some difficulty since he was not used to consoling and soothing another person. But he had to do it, so the words kept flowing.

“We have to change ourselves. If you cannot overcome your fear, you will fall. After all, all you have done is pass on your fear to others.”

Summoning Diablo was giving up, to let her fears win. Snow had seen hope in Diablo because she thought she could not do it. She threw away her courage. Muyoung stared fiercely into Snow’s eyes.

“However, if you cannot control your fear even now.” Muyoung held Snow’s shoulders in a firm grasp.

“Believe that I will win, that I will save the world. If you believe me, I will make the impossible possible.”

The way Snow had chosen for the World’s Salvation was twisted. Muyoung was surrounded by proof. Here was not ‘salvation’, but Diablo burning down the entire world, leaving only ashes. Did Snow want this form of ‘salvation’? Probably not. Snow truly wanted to save the world even though she had chosen the wrong method. Snow had to face reality and take the next step. Muyoung was only holding out his hand.

Snow began to compose herself and spoke slowly.