Chapter 265: Chapter 265

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 265

A transcendent being appeared.

Moreover, he was wearing a black mask.

Jeong-hoon tilted his head slightly in confusion.

“This is strange.”

If eliminating Laos Rude Hixmion in the Episode Quest was supposed to be the final task, then taking down the one who had made a pact with the transcendent being should have been the ultimate objective.

In other words, ending Laos’s life would concRude the episode.

But just as Jeong-hoon was about to sever Laos’s breath, a transcendent being manifested and directly intervened.

This signified a change in the content of the final quest.

“Who are you?”

“Well, people call me the Night Raven.”

Night Raven.

Ah, now it makes sense.

Jeong-hoon’s lips curled into a smirk.

“Mist, isn’t it?”

“How did you…?”

Night Raven.

Mist’s eyes, visible through the mask, widened in surprise.

“How did I know, you ask?”

Jeong-hoon recognized him because, in his previous regression, he had encountered Mist, albeit from a distance.

Of course, he had never directly confronted him.

“A Demon King-Level transcendent…”

He was on par with none other than Baal.

Who would have thought that a Demon King-Level transcendent would intervene?

This was a disaster.

“So this is why the Empire fell.”

Jeong-hoon had planned to wrap up the final quest quickly, but he never imagined that a Demon King-Level transcendent would appear.

As he was now, Jeong-hoon couldn’t hope to defeat such an enemy.

“Did something change because the third prince survived?”

Otherwise, there was no reason for a transcendent being to manifest directly in a mere episode quest.

“Well, it doesn’t matter. You’re about to die anyway.”

Mist, clearly intent on preventing Jeong-hoon from completing the quest, pointed his sword at him.

Then, in an instant, Mist’s body disappeared and reappeared right in front of Jeong-hoon.

Whoosh!

Jeong-hoon instinctively raised his sword.

Clang!

Their swords clashed, and Jeong-hoon was forced backward.

He nearly lost his footing and collapsed.

To think the gap in skill would be this vast after just one exchange.

“Damn it!”

Jeong-hoon gritted his teeth.

There was no way he could retreat now.

To advance closer to completing the game, Jeong-hoon needed to finish the quest and complete the collection.

“Ho, for a human, you’re holding up quite well,” Mist remarked, watching Jeong-hoon with interest before disappearing again.

No, it wasn’t that he vanished—it was that he moved so quickly that Jeong-hoon’s eyes couldn’t track him.

Jeong-hoon raised his sword again.

Clang!

Their swords clashed once more.

By sheer reflex, Jeong-hoon managed to block the attack. However, it wasn’t a perfect defense. In the process of deflecting the blade, his left shoulder was slashed.

[Using Superior Healing.]

[Healing failed.]

Even healing wasn’t working.

It was likely due to some ability Mist possessed.

Despite the blood dripping from his shoulder, Jeong-hoon had no time to worry about the wound. He had to remain alert for Mist’s next attack.

[Dammit! Even with my defense, it’s useless!]

Mukho, too, was equally unsettled by the situation.

“This time, I’ll finish you,” Mist declared as his body disappeared once more.

And then, it happened.

A rift opened, revealing crimson eyes.

With the appearance of Baal, Mist revealed himself once again. His sword was poised at Jeong-hoon’s throat.

‘If Baal hadn’t intervened… I’d be dead.’

Though rage surged within him, Jeong-hoon had to admit the truth.

Even though he had grown stronger, he was still no match for a Demon King Level transcendent.

“What’s this? Why have you appeared?” Mist asked, his voice tinged with annoyance.

Baal’s voice was filled with a fury unlike any Jeong-hoon had ever heard.

Feeling the weight of Baal’s anger, Mist furrowed his brow.

“Hah? Listen, that human isn’t even your contractor. Why are you so concerned?”

“….”

Even among Demon King Level transcendents, there was a hierarchy.

And Mist was far below Baal in rank—so much so that he couldn’t even conceive of opposing him.

At Baal’s warning, Mist’s face twisted in frustration.

“Shut up! Are you telling me to accept penalties for this?”

At that moment, Jeong-hoon raised his hand.

“Hold on.”

Baal’s crimson eyes turned toward Jeong-hoon.

"How about a wager?"

"Yes. I’m going to kill that guy and complete this quest."

Jeong-hoon gestured toward Laos, who groaned in pain, missing an arm and a leg.

"Of course, I could just kill him and be done with it. But since you’ve decided to interfere, I thought I’d make things a bit more entertaining for you."

Jeong-hoon turned his gaze toward Mist.

"You can grant him more power if you want."

"Power?"

"Yes. And I’ll take him down. How does that sound?"

"…Are you serious?"

Mist hadn’t yet granted Laos 100% of his power. Doing so came with unimaginable penalties if complications arose. Even as it stood, he had already poured a considerable amount of strength into Laos, enough to destroy an empire. His decision to manifest directly had been carefully calculated for its potential benefits.

Baal’s crescent-shaped eyes gleamed with intrigue.

"Hmm, so it’s fine if this human dies in the process, right?"

Although Baal didn’t entirely approve, if the wager allowed Mist to avoid directly fighting, he had no reason to interfere.

"So, that’s an agreement?"

"…Fine."

Mist gave Jeong-hoon one last sharp glare before nodding reluctantly. With a snap of his fingers, he vanished from the spot.

Laos, who had been missing an arm and a leg, began regenerating rapidly. His limbs grew back as an overwhelming aura surged from his body, far surpassing the power he had when Jeong-hoon first entered the room.

‘It’s a gamble.’

If Laos were to lose, the penalties Mist would suffer would be unimaginable. That was precisely what Jeong-hoon was aiming for.

‘There’s no way I can handle a transcendent with my current strength. I need to close the gap as quickly as possible.’

If a single Demon King Level transcendent was enough to overwhelm him, the chances of defeating the Architect were zero. To change that zero into a possibility, Jeong-hoon knew he had to grow stronger. There was no room for complacency.

"Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill."

The newly empowered Laos had long lost his sanity, becoming a pure instrument of murder directed at Jeong-hoon.

‘As expected, this is what it means to face a Demon King level transcendent.’

The method Mist used to empower Laos was straightforward—stacking buffs to inflate his stats, much like how Jeong-hoon enhanced his own abilities.

Baal, too, had granted Alessandro some power, but it was limited, intended only to allow Jeong-hoon to approach him.

Mist, on the other hand, had given Laos a level of strength that was suicidal to bestow, fully prepared to risk annihilation.

In raw stats alone, Laos now held a slight edge over Jeong-hoon.

Jeong-hoon initiated Heavenly Demon Lord’s Steps.

Laos’s eyes tracked Jeong-hoon with precision.

Clang!

The sound of clashing swords reverberated as metal met metal.

‘I’m losing in strength.’

That cursed Mist. He’s gone all in here.

What could the Third Prince possibly be worth to warrant such measures?

It’s already a destroyed dimension. At this point, Hixmion is nothing more than a mechanism set up for the Earthlings.

There’s no reason to make such a gamble.

Jeong-hoon mulled over these questions in his head while continuing the fight.

"Kill. Kill."

Laos kept muttering the same word as he relentlessly pressed Jeong-hoon.

Even in his maddened state, he managed to parry every strike Jeong-hoon made, counterattacking with unrelenting ferocity.

Dozens of exchanges occurred every second.

Throughout the intense clash, Jeong-hoon’s body gained small injuries, and Laos wasn’t faring much better.

"Kill…!"

Despite his torn flesh and the blood pouring from his wounds, Laos didn’t cease his attacks.

Even so, Jeong-hoon blocked every single one of his strikes.

‘The key is to exploit an opening.’

Jeong-hoon had encountered this type of battle countless times before.

It was a deceptively simple yet arduous task—especially when every move you made was being read by your opponent.

In such situations, Jeong-hoon couldn’t avoid taking hits, which was why his body was riddled with injuries.

Even healing himself wasn’t an option, as Mist’s abilities suppressed any attempts at recovery.

Yet as time went on, it was clear that Jeong-hoon was gaining the upper hand.

No matter how much power Laos had been granted, it was impossible for him to defeat Jeong-hoon, who had accumulated a wealth of battle experience.

Mist’s urgent voice echoed loudly.

He had already gauged Jeong-hoon’s skill during their brief clash earlier.

Mist was utterly convinced of Laos’s victory, but the situation was taking an unexpected turn.

‘That’s what happens when you act rashly,’ Jeong-hoon thought with a smirk.

His exchange with Mist had been extremely brief.

The disparity in power was so overwhelming that Jeong-hoon had been at Mist’s mercy, leaving no time for Mist to assess the extent of Jeong-hoon’s experience.

Slice—

Jeong-hoon’s Heavenly Demon Lord's Annihilation Sword slashed through Laos’s wrist.

"…!"

Laos’s eyes widened in pain.

But instead of his severed wrist falling away, it reattached almost instantly.

Mist’s abilities didn’t just suppress Jeong-hoon’s healing; they appeared to extend to regenerative powers as well.

It wasn’t just suppression—it seemed Mist had dominion over restoration as well.

However, during the healing process, a vulnerability was exposed. Seizing the opportunity, Jeong-hoon swung his sword wide, unleashing a technique from the Heavenly Demon Lord's Annihilation Sword.

[Activating Third Style: Heavenly Demon Annihilation Style.]

The tip of Leviathan’s blade pierced through Laos’s chest in an instant.

[Unique Passive: Annihilation has been activated.]

At the same time, Jeong-hoon’s unique passive ability, Annihilation, triggered.

This ability restricts the activation of any powers for ten seconds.

As a result, Laos was unable to heal his impaled chest.

“Gah… gahhh!”

Unable to recover, Laos coughed up blood and collapsed to his knees.

[Activating Third Style: Heavenly Demon Annihilation Style.]

Jeong-hoon unleashed the Third Style once more, driving his blade through Laos’s throat.

“Urk!”

It was over.

No matter how much power Laos had borrowed from Mist, it was meaningless before Jeong-hoon.

Mist’s agonized voice echoed in despair.

‘Why is he so obsessed?’ Jeong-hoon wondered.

At that moment, an item crossed his mind—something he had obtained while rescuing the Third Prince.

[Broken Pocket Watch]

Jeong-hoon retrieved the pocket watch from his inventory and held it up.

“Could this be what you were after?”

Mist gave no response.

‘So, I was right.’

Jeong-hoon now understood why Mist had gone to such lengths, even manifesting directly to eliminate him.

‘He wanted to kill me and retrieve this.’

Though Jeong-hoon didn’t know what purpose the item served, it was clearly of great value if Mist was so desperate to recover it.

Jeong-hoon returned the pocket watch to his inventory.

“Interesting. This is mine now. Don’t even think about touching it.”

Mist seemed on the verge of manifesting again, but Laos’s death stripped him of the authority to intervene.

Simultaneously, severe penalties began to be imposed on Mist.

The first penalty was Plunder.

[[Title] Transcendent of Humanity has advanced to Level 3.]

[Two items have been randomly plundered from ‘Mist.’]

Unlike a Demon King-level entity, Mist wasn’t demoted in rank. However, Jeong-hoon managed to steal not just one, but two items from a ruler-class entity.

A faint smirk spread across Jeong-hoon’s face.

What items would he gain?

[You have obtained the Ultimate Restoration Elixir.]

The first stolen item was the Ultimate Restoration Elixir.

‘Restoration elixir?’

[Ultimate Restoration Elixir]

- Type: Consumable

- Grade: ?? (Unable to determine grade)

- Effect: Restores a desired item to its original state.

‘Hmm, could this restore the pocket watch?’

Without hesitation, Jeong-hoon used the elixir on the broken pocket watch.

[Restoration failed.]

[Insufficient materials to complete the restoration.]

Even with the Ultimate Restoration Elixir, the pocket watch remained unrestored.

‘What kind of item is this, for even the elixir to fail?’

Suppressing his disappointment, Jeong-hoon turned his attention to the second stolen item.

His eyes widened in astonishment.

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]