Record of a Thousand Lives

Chapter 217

The battle started without warning.

Sirian glared at Kang Yoon-Soo and the Ancient Heroes for a moment, then suddenly rushed forth while tightly gripping his spear. The king’s movements were significantly different from before, as he moved so quickly that it looked as if he had suddenly disappeared from where he was standing. It took less than a second for the king to cross the distance between him and Kang Yoon-Soo, and his spear appeared a hair’s breadth from Kang Yoon-Soo’s nose.

Clang!

Kang Yoon-Soo moved as swiftly as lightning, raising his sword to block Sirian’s attack.

Boom!

As the black sword surrounded by a red aura collided against the king’s spear, a shockwave rippled outward through the surroundings. It was a massive collision of pure strength!

Sirian quickly took a step back and thrust his spear forward once again, but Kang Yoon-Soo easily blocked the spear with a swing of his sword.

Clang!

The exchange of blows between the King of All Things, whose skill alone had been more than enough to shred the Dragon of Destruction to tatters, and the God of Destruction was closer to a calamity than a mere fight between men. The floor shook and the entire magic tower swayed; the fight between the two men was so intense that Kang Yoon-Soo’s party members did not know what to do or where to hide.

Kang Yoon-Soo suddenly said while maintaining his focus on the battle, “You guys had better stand back.”

“What do you mean by that?” Shaneth asked.

Kang Yoon-Soo replied firmly, “You’ll only get in my way right now.”

Sirian stole a glance toward the party members, but he could not inflict any harm to them because he was being fully occupied by Kang Yoon-Soo.

In the end, the party members retreated to the lower floors, allowing Kang Yoon-Soo to exert his full strength in the fight against the King of All Things.

Sirian said with a grimace, “It’s only been a year since you regressed, but you’ve become so powerful. What did you do to become so strong?”

Kang Yoon-Soo ignored the king’s question and said, “Don’t be mistaken. I’m not the only one you’re up against, Sirian.” He raised his left hand as soon as he swung his sword; in response, the Honorable Archer, Nahilen, drew his bowstring back as far as he could.

Piiiiiing!

A barrage of arrows flew forth! Dozens of magic arrows flew toward Sirian from every direction.

The king nimbly avoided the arrows while blocking Kang Yoon-Soo’s sword, muttering under his breath, “Damn it…”

Sirian pointed his spear toward Nahilen, but soon lowered it again. He said through gritted teeth, “You’re worse than me. Are you really going to make me kill them with my own two hands once again?”

“If you can,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied, remaining on his guard.

The enemy in front of him was the King of All Things. In all of his previous lives, there had not been a single time he had successfully killed the king with a decisive blow or overpowered him. The only method he had been able to use to defeat the King of All Things was to fight him at the top of the magic tower and push him off it.

‘Now, though, we’re on the middle floor of the magic tower,’?Kang Yoon-Soo thought.

The King of All Things was immortal as long as he was within the magic tower, and the only way to kill him was to push him out of it. The time he had spent living as an immortal would catch up to him, and he would slowly wither and die while falling from the magic tower. However, they were on the middle floor of the tower. Therefore, Kang Yoon-Soo could no longer rely on that strategy.

‘I have no other choice than to use the Ancient Heroes’ abilities,’?Kang Yoon-Soo thought. He exchanged blows with the now-enraged Sirian while commanding the Ancient Heroes.

The Ancient Heroes were the legendary adventurers who had reached the pinnacle of their respective classes and defended the continent against the invasion of Pandemonium. One of them, the Infinite Dimension Wizard, Sephia, raised her hands and started to cast a spell. The space surrounding Kang Yoon-Soo suddenly began to distort.

“Annihilation Slash,” Kang Yoon-Soo muttered, slashing his sword downward. However, space warped around his blade and his strike suddenly changed directions.

Sirian blocked the attack that suddenly came from below and immediately counterattacked, but the king was left in a disadvantageous position. Kang Yoon-Soo’s sword defied logic and physics, unleashing attacks from every direction. He thrust his sword forward and the blade appeared behind Sirian; one of his strikes suddenly disappeared, then reappeared after a substantial delay. The King of All Things displayed superhuman swordsmanship as he blocked all the attacks, but he was slowly being driven into a corner.

On the other hand, the power flowing through Kang Yoon-Soo’s body slowly grew stronger and stronger until it reached its peak.

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[You have adapted to the powers of the God of Destruction.]

[You have unlocked 100% of the God of Destruction’s destructive potential.]

[You are now able to split mountains with a mere snap of your fingers and kill a dragon in its prime with a single slash of your sword.]

The strength of the God of Destruction was immeasurably great. Kang Yoon-Soo had initially displayed power that was on par with Sirian’s own, but that power had subsequently grown stronger and stronger.

He had initially planned to knock Sirian out and drag him to the top of the magic tower. However, he thought, ‘I think I can change my plans if things are going to be like this.’

He continued to pressure the king with a barrage of attacks using his newly strengthened power while commanding the Ancient Heroes, Nahilen, Minerva, and Nakron, to attack the King of All Things at the same time.

Nahilen fired the strongest magic arrows on the continent, while Minerva summoned an army of Lava Golems. Meanwhile, Nakron cast all sorts of ancient curses and afflicted Sirian with them.

Sirian gave up on defending as a barrage of various attacks flew from all sides. He said, “I will do anything and everything to stop you.”

The King of All Things would not be able to die as long as he was within the magic tower, but the Ancient Heroes’ powers nevertheless managed to inflict heavy damage to the immortal king’s body.

The magic arrows dug into the king’s body, while the ancient curses prevented him from recovering from his wounds. The Lava Golems continued to hold the king back even though half of their bodies were destroyed, forcing them to crawl across the ground.

Even though the King of All Things was immortal, his body was left in tatters, slowing his movements and his spear strikes down significantly. However, Sirian took all of the attacks head-on and continued to fight unceasingly. He chose a reckless approach of abandoning all attempts to defend and solely focusing on offense while taking the full brunt of his enemies’ combined attacks. After he chose to focus on attacking, his spear moved much more ferociously than before.

Whoosh! Shwiiiik!

The magic tower shook violently whenever Sirian swung his spear, and powerful shockwaves reverberated throughout the entire tower whenever the King of All Things’ spear and the God of Destruction’s sword clashed against each other. The shockwaves emitted by the two beings were so powerful that the Lava Golems began to crumble whenever their spear and sword clashed.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The two men put their full strength behind their strikes, attacking at precisely the same time as if they had rehearsed their movements beforehand.

Clang!

Kang Yoon-Soo was suddenly flung back, but Sirian continued to stand strong despite sustaining enough damage to grind any other being’s bones to dust.

The king gripped his spear tightly and walked toward the God of Destruction while saying, “We have to accept the fate we were destined to have.”

“I’m going to crush that fate with my own two hands,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

Then, the Ancient Heroes suddenly took up their weapons and attacked the King of All Things, but the king quickly turned around and swung his spear at them with all his might.

Kwachaaaak!

Death came again for the Ancient Heroes. The bodies of the king’s resurrected companions were torn to shreds, and they all died on the spot beneath the king’s spear. Sirian closed his eyes and covered his face with one hand, as if he were trying to recover from great mental shock.

“Haaa…!” The King of All Things let out a frustrated sigh as his cheeks were covered in the blood of his companions. He stomped on Kang Yoon-Soo’s chest and shouted, his voice cracking with a mix of frustration and anger, “Just accept your destiny already!”

Kang Yoon-Soo coughed up blood from the impact. The king aimed his spear at his neck and said, “I’m telling you to give up. The continent is already destined to be destroyed at the hands of the Demon Lord. That is its fate, and nobody can refuse it.”

There was sound reasoning behind Sirian’s decision. It had been impossible even for the White Shadow, who had regressed ten thousand times, to stop the Demon Lord from destroying this world. The King of All Things was just trying to choose the logical path to save all of the other worlds, in exchange for letting the world he lived in perish.

However, Kang Yoon-Soo still had things he needed to protect.

Clang!

It was then that a flaming sickle suddenly embedded itself into the back of the king’s head. Unfortunately, the king did not even grimace in the slightest, nor did he wince in pain as he pulled the flaming sickle out and turned around.

The party members who had gone downstairs to seek refuge had returned.

Shaneth said coldly, “Get away from Kang Yoon-Soo.”

Sirian did not get angry at her. In fact, the tone he replied in was filled with displeasure instead as he asked, “Why did you come back?”

He looked at Kang Yoon-Soo’s party members, the freshly-spilled blood of his own companions covering his face. He asked, “It would be impossible for you to kill me with your strength. This is a fight you should never have gotten involved in. You were doomed to end up just dying in an instant if you came back, so why have you returned here?”

“Geez, are you really asking us as if you don’t know?” Henrick grumbled. He then pointed at Kang Yoon-Soo with his chin and said, “We’re scared that that guy over there will turn into a vengeful spirit and haunt us if he dies here alone.”

“If it is Kang Yoon-Soo we are talking about, I think there is quite a good chance of that happening,” Iris said before spreading her wings wide.

Even the summoned creatures seemed ready to fight.

Shaneth said firmly, “We can’t abandon that man… even if it costs all of us our lives.”

The king fell silent and simply looked at the party members for a moment. He then turned around and looked at his old companions, whom he had just killed a second time with his own two hands. Sirian covered his face with his hands, which were tainted with the blood of his companions, then burst out into laughter. He said, “That’s funny. That’s really funny. I can’t help but laugh because it sounds so stupid.”

It was then that Kang Yoon-Soo suddenly said from behind him, “I’ve long since lost interest in everything. I’ve lived long enough that I have no desires left in this world.” He struggled to get up before adding, “Still, I must protect them at all costs.”

The king tightened his grip on his spear, even as his hand shook. However, Kang Yoon-Soo raised his sword and continued, “That’s why I must kill the Demon Lord… even though it might be impossible.”

The red aura surrounding his body burned more brightly than ever before.

[All of your abilities have transcended their limits!]

[Your destructive powers have increased by 10,000%!]

[You are now able to pierce the heavens and break the unbreakable.]

Sirian raised his spear and charged at Kang Yoon-Soo, and Kang Yoon-Soo responded by swinging his sword.

The God of Destruction’s sword pushed back the King of All Things and tore apart the walls of the magic tower.

Kwachaaaaaaaaaak!

The magic tower shook violently; its walls could no longer endure the destructive power of Kang Yoon-Soo’s attack, and its walls collapsed completely. As its midpoint was destroyed, the magic tower slowly began to crumble. The massive structure that had once been thought indestructible had started to fall apart at the hand of a single man.

Kang Yoon-Soo had just cut the magic tower in half.

***

Just like that, the magic tower had been destroyed. Rubble from its collapsed walls lay scattered across the landscape, and Kang Yoon-Soo’s party members had also fallen to the ground.

“Cough! Cough!?Is everybody alright?” Henrick asked.

The party members got up one by one. Just as they all managed to climb to their feet, however, a desperate cry for help rang out from amid the magic tower’s rubble.

“Help! Someone save me…!”

“Oh my! That was Mini-Lich!” Iris exclaimed. She quickly dug through the rubble and fished out the lich, whose body was in tatters.

Mini-Lich had managed to survive due to the properties of a lich. However, its body was so badly damaged, and it was missing so many of its bones, that it could no longer move on its own.

Shaneth looked around at her surroundings before asking, “Where’s Kang Yoon-Soo, though?”

“Let’s go look for him,” Henrick replied.

The party members searched their surroundings. It did not take them long to find Kang Yoon-Soo sitting down in front of Sirian, who was missing half of his body.

“What a terrible state he’s in,” Henrick said with a grimace.

Kang Yoon-Soo looked at the king, who now lay on the ground. The King of All Things was quickly losing his life force now that he was outside the magic tower, and his body was in tatters. Kang Yoon-Soo quickly asked, “When is the Demon Lord going to appear?”

“The Demon Lord is going… to appear soon… Since you destroyed… the magic… tower… that being is going… to be flying… here… soon…” Sirian muttered.

Kang Yoon-Soo’s party members were shocked to hear the king’s answer.

The Demon Lord was the absolute being who had destroyed the continent hundreds of times while forcing Kang Yoon-Soo to regress continuously. That very same Demon Lord was going to appear soon.

However, Kang Yoon-Soo did not seem to be all that surprised. The balance of the world had been restored, but it seemed that the timing of the Demon Lord’s appearance had not changed at all. However, it would be very advantageous for him—in fact, it would even be his best chance—if the Demon Lord appeared while he was in the strongest form of the God of Destruction.

“I killed the ‘One Who Should Not Exist’, but is the fact that this will be my last life not going to change?” Kang Yoon-Soo asked.

“Of course… That is… one thing that… you won’t be… able to… change…” the dying Sirian choked out. He continued with a leisurely smile, “I might be… in such a state… but it feels… refreshing… I’m now… filled with expectations… since I have… something… to look forward… to… By that I mean… Will you be able… to… kill the… Demon Lord… Or will you… end up in… eternal despair… after failing… again…”

Kang Yoon-Soo stared quietly at the dying king.

Sirian eventually stopped smiling, and the leisurely expression on his face was replaced with deep sadness as his final moments drew near. He said softly, “Ah… Just once… I want to apologize… to my… friends…”

Those were the King of All Things’ final words, as Sirian crumbled into dust.

[You have killed the King of All Things, Sirian Lanchecaster!]

[You have completed the Legendary Quest—Master of the Magic Tower!]

[You have obtained an astonishing amount of experience points.]

[However, you have not gained any levels, as you are now an absolute god.]

[You will now be able to obtain the qualifications to become the legendary King of All Things.]

[You have incurred the wrath of the Colossi that painstakingly reconstructed the magic tower.]

[The legendary quest has now reached its final chapter.]

The final words of the King of All Things continued to play out in Kang Yoon-Soo’s mind. He waved his hand that bore the Ring of Life Suppression over the place where the king had died. The ring still retained one charge that could be used to extract a soul.

“Soul Extraction,” Kang Yoon-Soo muttered. Sirian’s tainted soul, which had been dyed pitch-black, emerged and was absorbed by the ring.

It was at the very moment when Kang Yoon-Soo finished the king’s soul that several thunderous roars reverberated through the air.

“The magic tower has been destroyed!”

“Those humans have killed the King of All Things!”

“Death to the invaders!”

The ground shook violently, as the dozens of Colossi that had been distracted by the Deathless Dragon began rushing toward Kang Yoon-Soo and his party.

“Kyaaahk!?W-What should we do?! The Colossi are going to kill us!” Sally cried loudly.

However, Acle scoffed and replied, “What’s there to be worried about? We have the monster who killed the King of All Things with us.”

Acle was right. The Colossi were powerful, but they were not a difficult group to deal with as long as Kang Yoon-Soo remained in the form of the God of Destruction.

‘I’m guessing this is still going to take a while though,’?Kang Yoon-Soo thought.

Just as Kang Yoon-Soo readied his sword once again, however, several loud screams pierced through the air.

“Kuheok!”

“Gwuoooook!”

The Colossi that had been running toward them died instantly. They were not simply killed, however. Rather, they were crushed so thoroughly that not even a trace of their remains was left behind. Despite his vast power, it was impossible for even the God of Destruction to kill all of the powerful Colossi just like that.

“W-What happened just now?” Shaneth exclaimed in surprise upon seeing all the Colossi being swept away in a split second.

Iris suddenly pointed at the sky and cried, “Look at that!”

The dark sky had split open, and something that resembled a doorway had appeared within the ragged tear. The doors slowly opened bit by bit, revealing a completely different and alien world behind it. It was the dark and cold world that was the realm of the demons—the doors were the gateway to Pandemonium.

The very doors that the Ancient Heroes had risked their lives to close began to open once again.

Creaaaak…

The doors of Pandemonium opened with a spine-tingling noise. Through them, a being that was utterly indescribable with mere words descended. Kang Yoon-Soo’s party members froze the moment they saw it emerge.

‘That’ being was death itself. However, it was not the ordinary, peaceful death that humans were familiar with. Rather, it was a vicious and horrible death—the truest embodiment of the very concept. Even a single one of its claws contained enough strength within it to tear a world apart, and its entire body was made up of matter that was completely alien to this world.

When they looked into the eyes of ‘that’ being, Kang Yoon-Soo’s party members were overcome with fear that made them feel as if their bodies would be burned to ashes.

Anyone who dared to draw their sword in front of ‘that’ being would surely be killed. Anyone who attempted to run away from ‘that’ being would surely have their souls torn out of their bodies.

‘That’ being had the power to make every creature in this world shiver in fear, and all those who witnessed its presence would no doubt lose their minds. Moreover, ‘that’ being had the power to crush the entire world into nothingness.

The being that had eradicated the Colossi in a split second slowly descended from the heavens.

It was also the being that Kang Yoon-Soo had faced hundreds of times in his previous lives.

It was his nemesis.

Kang Yoon-Soo gripped his sword tightly, gritting his teeth as he muttered, “Demon Lord.”