Chapter 280: Chapter 280

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 280

The Shadow King wasn’t just an ordinary boss.

Level 1,315.

And it was a being sitting in the seat of a Transcendent.

‘At least Demon King class.’

The reason for this certainty was the NPC on the lower floors who had assigned quests.

From the 13th floor onward, the levels of NPCs all boasted a range of 800–950.

With levels like that, they would not be out of place even if they had reached the celestial realm.

For creatures of that level to be imprisoned here, it was clear this one couldn’t simply be Apostle class.

“You not only broke free of my debuff but also wield holy power? What kind of human are you?”

The Shadow King tilted his head curiously.

To enter this place, one needed to fill 60% of their ultimate energy.

Additionally, at 8%, they should have encountered Byulrang and lost their life there.

Whatever the case, it was clear this human was extraordinary.

‘Huh, what is this? These skills?’

He had double the number of skills an ordinary human would possess.

And all of them were composed of high-tier skills.

It was somewhat clear how he had made it this far.

But even so, it was difficult to fully comprehend.

No matter how many skills like these he possessed, he was still human.

How could a mere human, bound by clear limitations, stand before him?

“Why? Are you afraid you might be killed by a human?”

Jeong-hoon was full of confidence.

Was it because his title was Level 10?

The oppressive aura emanating from the Shadow King felt like zero.

Even if the creature could wield holy power, there was no feeling of impending defeat.

“What…?”

The Shadow King’s eyebrow twisted menacingly.

The remark just now scratched his pride.

A mere human, daring to climb so high?

Those who barely managed to survive by borrowing power through a pact with an Apostle?

The ones the higher beings merely turned a blind eye to?

Such humans could be extinguished with a mere flick of a finger by those above.

[If a human ever enters, kill them without mercy.]

The Shadow King.

It was now time to carry out that command.

[The Shadow King uses ‘Shadow Clone.’]

The Shadow King.

He summoned numerous clones identical to the human, using the abilities he had copied as a base.

The number? A staggering 200.

“Oh, clones based on me?”

Jeong-hoon instantly recognized the ability.

The Shadow King smirked wickedly.

“Why? Are you finally scared now?”

"Not at all."

Jeong-hoon shrugged his shoulders and executed the Heavenly Demon Lord’s Dominion.

‘What a fool.’

Those weren’t just ordinary clones.

They were clones imbued with the Shadow King’s own power,

meaning their abilities could be further amplified.

[The Shadow King uses ‘Shadow Amplification.’]

He activated every buff-type skill and then applied Shadow Amplification.

As a result, his stats surged dramatically, and ominous black halos began to ripple across the bodies of the clones.

The clones had now surpassed the pure stats of that human.

Pow!

Yet, one of the clones disintegrated and vanished the moment it was struck by Jeong-hoon’s Heavenly Demon Lord's Martial Arts.

The Shadow King’s eyes widened in shock.

“What? It vanished with a single punch?”

How could such a nonsensical thing happen?

Each clone exceeded that human’s stats.

Facing even one clone should have been an overwhelming struggle.

But for some reason, the clones couldn’t handle even a single human, and they were being swept away.

Pow!

Ssshh—

Not a single one of them could withstand even one strike.

Veins bulged on the Shadow King’s forehead as he watched.

“You useless creatures! Can’t you do anything right?”

Despite his furious rebuke, the situation didn’t improve.

“If you’re so frustrated, stop whining and come at me yourself.”

At some point, Jeong-hoon had Anima in his hands.

He aimed it directly at the Shadow King, pulled back the bowstring, and released.

Fwoosh—

The arrow flew straight for the Shadow King’s head.

But the Shadow King quickly tilted his head, effortlessly dodging it. The arrow struck the head of a clone behind him instead.

Ssshh—

The clone pierced by the arrow dissolved on the spot.

“……”

The Shadow King glared at Jeong-hoon in silence, his gaze murderous.

The air around them sharpened like blades under the weight of his killing intent.

Even so, Jeong-hoon’s face remained calm.

‘This is definitely strange.’

For someone to meet his gaze, as a Demon King-class being, without faltering, they would have to be at least of the same rank.

Even Apostle-class beings avoided meeting his eyes directly, finding it burdensome, and bowed before him from a distance.

How could a mere human stand so peacefully in his presence?

Just reaching this place was baffling in itself.

The ultimate power denied to ordinary humans—

The fact that this mere creature had passed the second gate required to obtain that power suggested he was hiding something significant.

"What's wrong? Scared to come at me yourself?"

Jeong-hoon taunted the Shadow King, turning his question back on him.

The provocation stoked the Shadow King's fury.

"Silence!"

The Shadow King unleashed his imitation of the Heavenly Demon Lord's Dominion.

[The Shadow King uses ‘Shadow Heavenly Demon Lord's Dominion.’]

It was faster and fiercer than the original technique Jeong-hoon had used.

In an instant, the Shadow King closed the distance and launched a punch directly at Jeong-hoon.

[The Shadow King uses ‘Shadow True Heavenly Demon Lord's Martial Arts.’]

The copied martial art carried an aura far more powerful than the original.

Jeong-hoon didn’t evade. He met the attack head-on with his own fist, infused with the aura of Heavenly Demon Lord's Martial Arts at the Second Stage.

Boom!

The collision of auras created a resounding explosion.

As the energies dissipated, they instantly gathered again around the combatants’ fists.

Boom!

Fists clashed once more, their battle evenly matched.

‘The First Stage and the Second Stage are evenly matched? He’s strong, no doubt about it.’

Jeong-hoon’s aura was at the Second Stage, while the Shadow King’s was only at the First.

The fact that their power was equal indicated the Shadow King’s raw strength exceeded Jeong-hoon’s.

Whir—

The clones observing the fight suddenly joined in again.

Jeong-hoon swiftly executed the Heavenly Demon Lord’s Dominion, targeting their vital points and eliminating them in an instant.

Clones were just clones.

They couldn’t replicate Jeong-hoon’s vast wealth of real-world combat experience.

They were full of openings, which Jeong-hoon exploited effortlessly to take them down.

‘Not being influenced by the Transcendent is a huge advantage.’

Under normal circumstances, this should have been a grueling battle.

The absence of the Transcendent’s influence was a critical factor.

If that influence had been present, his movements would have been significantly restricted.

Whir—

Boom!

The Shadow King launched another punch.

Jeong-hoon countered by raising his fist, parrying the attack.

‘Heavenly Demon Lord's Martial Arts, Third Stage.’

The aura of the Third Stage replaced the Second, enveloping Jeong-hoon’s fist.

With it, he drove his fist toward the Shadow King’s abdomen.

Boom!

The Shadow King read the attack and countered with a punch of his own.

But this time, unlike before, the Shadow King’s body was slightly pushed back.

His punch still carried only the aura of the First Stage.

"What the—!"

"Let your guard down, and you’ll die," Jeong-hoon warned, his tone sharp and resolute.

Jeong-hoon began to pressure the Shadow King with his relentless assault, delivering a chilling warning.

"To think I’d be cornered by a mere human!"

The Shadow King shouted furiously, his voice filled with desperation.

Yet as time passed, it became clear who was being pushed back—him.

‘Yeah. This is definitely different from Bulang.’

He recalled The Path of the Ultimate (1), themed around the Heavenly Demon Cult.

Back then, he had faced Buelang.

In that fight, surviving for ten minutes had been the limit of Jeong-hoon’s capabilities.

And even then, Bulang hadn’t gone all out.

If Bulang had unleashed his full strength, Jeong-hoon wouldn’t have lasted those ten minutes, nor would he have been able to protect Dokgo Jun, the cult leader.

The Shadow King standing before him was no less formidable than Bulang, a being of transcendence.

Even so, Jeong-hoon could now fight him on equal footing, thanks to one key advantage—his title.

Whir—

Jeong-hoon maintained his unrelenting pressure, forcing the Shadow King into a state of growing panic.

With that panic came mistakes—openings that shouldn’t exist.

‘Now.’

Thud!

Jeong-hoon’s fist found one of those openings, slamming into the Shadow King’s abdomen.

"Ugh!"

A pained groan escaped the Shadow King’s lips as his body doubled over.

Taking advantage of the moment, Jeong-hoon drove his knee into the Shadow King’s face.

"Aagh!"

The Shadow King cried out as he was sent sprawling backward, clutching his face in agony.

"A so-called Transcendent, and you look like a complete mess."

Jeong-hoon sneered at him before raising his fist and bringing it down onto the Shadow King’s face.

"Argh!"

The tide of battle had shifted decisively.

Whir—

Suddenly, the clones surged toward Jeong-hoon all at once.

Now wielding swords, they mimicked Heavenly Demon Annihilation Sword, a technique Jeong-hoon himself had mastered.

"Still not enough."

But to Jeong-hoon’s eyes, their attempts were woefully lacking.

Perfect in form, but devoid of sharpness.

They were nothing more than puppets, hollow copies of Jeong-hoon’s skills.

Effortlessly, he deflected their attacks with his hands and seized an opening to strike their vital points.

Each blow sent a clone scattering into fragments before vanishing entirely.

"Huff… huff… you damn bastard."

The distraction bought the Shadow King a moment to retreat and catch his breath.

Jeong-hoon clicked his tongue, disappointed.

"Too bad. I could’ve finished you off."

"Shut up! That’s never going to happen!"

The Shadow King bellowed angrily.

He attempted to use a copied healing skill to recover—but nothing happened.

It refused to activate.

It was only natural.

Healing skills relied on divine power, not mana, as their energy source.

Even if the skill was copied, the Shadow King, who lacked divine power, couldn't possibly activate it.

Jeong-hoon smirked as he asked, "What are you trying to heal with no divine power?"

The Shadow King's shoulders trembled in response.

"Foolish creature. Who needs something as trivial as divine power?"

At that moment, a dark radiance rippled from the Shadow King’s body.

[The Shadow King uses 'Divine Healing.']

Slowly, his wounds began to mend.

Healing without divine power?

Jeong-hoon let out a dry laugh.

"How did you do that?"

How could he use Divine Healing without divine power?

"Heh, heh... Do you think we're like you mere creations?"

"Hmm, so you're using something other than mana, huh?"

Healing couldn’t be achieved with mana alone.

‘That dark radiance... it’s clearly something other than mana.’

Moreover, the Shadow King’s healing was far from perfect. Compared to the healing Jeong-hoon wielded, its effectiveness was laughably weak.

"Why? Curious about what this power is?"

"Not really."

Whatever it was, it couldn't fully mimic divine power. Just seeing it failed to stir any desire within Jeong-hoon.

Anything excessive becomes poison in the end.

Right now, his priority was maximizing the power he already possessed to grow even stronger.

Jeong-hoon shifted his stance, activating the Heavenly Demon Lord’s Dominion.

Before the Shadow King could finish healing, Jeong-hoon had to tighten the noose once more.

While dealing with the clones, Jeong-hoon's mastery of Heavenly Demon Fist had risen to Level 4.

Boom!

Once again, Jeong-hoon’s fist clashed with the Shadow King’s.

But unlike before, the Shadow King didn’t falter.

His strikes carried only Level 1 energy, yet he wasn’t pushed back.

‘Is it that energy?’

The dark radiance that still enveloped the Shadow King even after his use of Divine Healing.

It seemed that this energy was not only protecting him but also amplifying his power.

Not that it mattered.

Jeong-hoon continued his relentless assault, pressing the Shadow King with a series of explosive strikes.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Their fists collided again and again, with Jeong-hoon’s Heavenly Demon Fist growing stronger each time.

The Shadow King’s techniques improved as well, but he couldn’t match Jeong-hoon’s sheer experience.

Jeong-hoon’s eyes gleamed as he drove an elbow into the Shadow King’s face.

Even if the Shadow King could copy abilities, he couldn’t replicate Jeong-hoon’s countless battles and hard-earned instincts.

"Gah!"

The Shadow King groaned, his expression filled with shock and disbelief.

Time should have been on his side.

The longer the battle dragged on, the more he should have gained the upper hand. Yet, the tide of battle was tilting in favor of a mere creation.

Thud!

This time, Jeong-hoon's fist struck the Shadow King's face.

"Argh!"

The Shadow King was sent sprawling backward.

"Now you see, don’t you? The difference between you and me."

Jeong-hoon sneered, pressing his foot firmly against the Shadow King’s chest.

"How…?"

The Shadow King murmured, disbelief etched across his face.

How could a being like him—a Demon King—feel so powerless against a mere human?

It defied comprehension.

[Do not let anyone cross this path.]

But he couldn’t give up here.

If the human succeeded in clearing this domain, failure to carry out his orders would mean his own destruction.

‘I can’t allow that!’n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The Shadow King gathered every ounce of his strength.

The dark radiance surrounding his body thickened and began to coil around Jeong-hoon's leg.

‘I will… kill this human no matter what it takes.’

He would ensure that the human could not pass this point, whatever the cost.

But Jeong-hoon’s lips curled into a wide smirk.

"Seven Deadly Sins."

At his command, a familiar demon materialized.

The Shadow King’s eyes widened in shock.

"What… what is that?! Why is that here?!"

"Devour," Jeong-hoon ordered simply.

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!