Record of a Thousand Lives

It seemed that the world would soon be facing its demise.

The air turned cold, and all traces of life in the vicinity slowly began to dissipate like a candle being snuffed out in a chilling wind.

Up in the sky, the Demon Lord looked at Kang Yoon-Soo’s party members with his seven eyes, and opened his jaws that were jagged like grinding metal gears. Then, he spoke with a voice that sounded as if it did not belong in this world.

「Oh human, destined to die a foolish death.」

The Demon Lord’s voice resounded through the air.

Kang Yoon-Soo’s heart, which had long become calloused and void of emotions, suddenly began to beat quickly as he glared at his nemesis, the Demon Lord. He said, “My heart races whenever I see you… It always has… Just like the first time we met…”

It was only after Kang Yoon-Soo spoke that the party members realized that they could move once again. The Demon Lord’s presence alone had overpowered them so much that they lost control of their own bodies.

「The door is incomplete. It seems that someone interrupted the balance of this world.」

The door of Pandemonium closed immediately as soon as the Demon Lord descended from it, and slowly began to fade.

The seven eyes of the Demon Lord looked down at Kang Yoon-Soo.

「It seems that I have been summoned earlier and alone, and that the time for you to regress has not come yet.」

The Demon Lord was supposed to appear only twenty years after Kang Yoon-Soo regressed. However, Sirian’s interference had not only made the Demon Lord appear much earlier, but also made this Kang Yoon-Soo’s final life.

Kang Yoon-Soo raised his voice and shouted toward the Demon Lord, “A change happened in my thousandth life. I can no longer regress after this.”

The Demon Lord replied.

「I can see that. That isquitea shame, and truly a regretful thing.」

Despite those words, not a single hint of regret could be seen on the Demon Lord’s face. In fact, it seemed as if such an extraordinary being never had a heart that could feel any emotion to begin with.

「You swore that you were going to kill me in this life when you died the last time.」

The Demon Lord spoke again, then continued.

「You foolish human, who resists his own fate. Have you finally grown strong enough to be a worthy opponent for me?」

Kang Yoon-Soo was still the God of Destruction, and he was the strongest he had ever been out of the hundreds of lives he had lived. On top of that, his bloodlust toward the Demon Lord was at its peak, as the numerous memories and emotions he had accumulated over his previous lives collectively came together in his thousandth life.

His red aura spread across his sword before he replied, “I’m definitely going to kill you.”

「Then let me start by testing you.」

The Demon Lord replied, then raised his hand toward the doors of Pandemonium that were slowly disappearing. Suddenly, he grabbed the closed doors and forced them open again.

Henrick jumped in shock at the sight before him, asking in disbelief, “Weren’t those doors completely shut? Why are they opening again?”

“The Demon Lord has the authority to open and close the doors whenever he wants before they disappear,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied as he raised his sword.

Creaaaaaak…

The doors opened up once more with an eerie sound, and the cold, dark world behind them came into view once again. The demons of Pandemonium swarmed out of the doors, rushing toward Kang Yoon-Soo and his companions.

“My soul thirsts for blood!”

“Kyahaha! The doors are finally open!”

The overwhelmingly large horde of demons left the party members speechless.

Even Light lost her bubbly attitude, as she just smiled in disbelief and muttered, “There are quite a lot of them.”

More than two thousand demons managed to cross over before the doors of Pandemonium disappeared, and their numbers were sufficient to blot out the sky. Most of them were low and mid-rank demons, although mixed in among them were thirty high-rank demons. Additionally, a handful of the most powerful, highest-rank demons had managed to cross the threshold as well.

However, the rowdy horde of demons became docile the moment they entered the Demon Lord’s presence. The Demon Lord was the lord of Pandemonium, and even the highest-rank demons bowed reverently in the presence of the ultimate being.

「Kill everything that lives in this place.」

The Demon Lord gave his command, and the demonic horde immediately rushed forth into action. Thousands of demons, wielding poisonous claws and vicious black magic spells, began to make their move!

The demonic legion was nothing short of a nightmare that anyone would desperately wish to wake up from. The party members got ready to fight, preparing to risk their lives in this fine battle.

However, as Kang Yoon-Soo swung his sword enveloped in red aura, the tides of battle immediately shifted in their favor.

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaam!

A powerful slash flew into the dark sky and cut down eighty demons in an instant!

“Kueeeeek!”

“W-What’s happening? What calamity is this?!Kuheok!”

The demons died one after another without even being able to see what killed them—the destructive power of the God of Destruction, that could even pierce the heavens!

Kang Yoon-Soo continuously swung his sword, cutting down all the demons flying toward them with his destructive power. Several demons cast their curses on him, and some even summoned barriers, but all their efforts were useless before the might of the God of Destruction.

The red aura surrounding Kang Yoon-Soo’s body turned darker the more demons he killed, and the more of his surroundings he destroyed. As he swung his sword for the hundredth time, a message popped up on his wrist device.

[You have caused an endless stream of destruction!]

[Your destructive power has increased by 100,000%!]

[The explosive increase in your destructive power has widened your attack radius.]

The God of Destruction grew stronger the more destruction he caused, and his destructive power had just been amplified by a hundred thousand percent. It was an explosive increase that made him transcend any common understanding of the very concept of power; a mere ten thousand percent increase had been sufficient to allow him to destroy the indestructible magic tower, and this was ten times that increase.

The red aura surrounding Kang Yoon-Soo started to change in color once again as he ran forward, gripping his sword in both hands and swinging it all over the place.

Baam! Baaam! Baaaaaam! Baaaaaaaaaaaaam!

Shreds of demon flesh rained down from above as the low-rank demons, the mid-rank demons, and even the high-rank demons were all annihilated by the God of Destruction’s strength. The highest-rank demons managed to narrowly escape death, but they were so heavily incapacitated that they were no longer able to do anything at all.

Henrick’s jaw dropped as he muttered in disbelief, “How is that even possible…?”

“I’m having a hard time believing it despite seeing it myself,” Shaneth muttered in response.

Kang Yoon-Soo kicked off the ground with such force that the ground caved in, propelling him high into the air in an instant.

“S-Spare me! I’ll teach you the black magic of the demons if you spare me!”

“I’ll tell you where a cursed legendary sword is if you spare me!”

The demons abandoned their pride, begging for their lives while offering tempting gifts and treasures in exchange. However, Kang Yoon-Soo did not show an ounce of mercy toward them as he chased after them and struck them down as they fled.

Baaam! Baaaam! Baaaaam!

Kang Yoon-Soo landed on the ground after massacring the demons of Pandemonium.

[You have massacred 2,182 demons that crossed over from Pandemonium.]

[You have gained clues toward acquiring the unique class, ‘Pandemonium Demon Hunter’.]

[All of your stats have risen by 18.]

[Demons will now begin to avoid you.]

The Demon Lord did not have any particular reaction to his demons being massacred, and simply continued staring down at Kang Yoon-Soo.

Kang Yoon-Soo flicked the blood off his sword and shouted, “This isn’t like you, Demon Lord.” Then, he pointed out the difference he had noticed from his previous lives, saying, “You would have instantly killed me without going through any of these bothersome steps if it were the old you.”

「I would have done that.」

The Demon Lord acknowledged Kang Yoon-Soo’s statement. In truth, this was the first time Kang Yoon-Soo had exchanged so many words with the Demon Lord.

「My lifespan is running out.」

Kang Yoon-Soo flinched in surprise. He had never expected that something so mortal-sounding as a ‘lifespan’ would exist for a being like the Demon Lord, but it made perfect sense when he thought about the events that led up to the present.

‘So that was why the Demon Lord kept becoming weaker whenever I regressed…’Kang Yoon-Soo thought. The Demon Lord was dying, and he would only grow weaker as more time passed.

‘But I can’t kill the Demon Lord alone no matter how much time passes,’Kang Yoon-Soo thought, remembering the revelation that the White Shadow had shared with him.

He had failed to kill the Demon Lord, who had purposely died to him on his ten thousandth life. The reason why the Demon Lord had done so was simply because his lifespan had ended, and not because Kang Yoon-Soo had grown powerful enough to kill him.

The Demon Lord suddenly spoke.

「My end is near. It might seem to be a long time for you mere mortals, but it is nothing but a mere blink of an eye for a being like me. My lifespan will not increase no matter how many times I rewind time in this world, and all I wish for is an end befitting a being like me.」

Then, he continued.

「I do not want a futile end to my life. I want to fight without regret, and that is why I wish to die at the hands of someone worthy.」

Kang Yoon-Soo raised his wrist device and asked, “Was this your doing as well?” He was referring to the act of summoning Travelers from another world.

The Demon Lord replied.

「Yes. I summoned the Travelers here and bestowed them those devices, and I also encouraged them to kill me so they would be able to return to their own world.」

The Demon Lord’s hideous, grotesque body wriggled and squirmed unceasingly as he spoke.

「However, the Travelers were pathetically weak, and that was why I chose to make the one who had the strongest willpower among them a regressor.」

The Demon Lord pointed at Kang Yoon-Soo as he spoke again.

「And that was you.」

Kang Yoon-Soo’s hands trembled as he tightened his grip on his sword.

「You were to be my entertainment, my nemesis, and sooner or later… my death.」

Kang Yoon-Soo had always thought of the Demon Lord as the embodiment of death itself, but he realized now that the Demon Lord thought of him the same way. The Demon Lord had believed Kang Yoon-Soo to be the reaper that would take his life one day.

「However.」

It was then that the aura surrounding the Demon Lord suddenly turned hostile.

「Why are you so weak?」

An immensely powerful force swept through the entire area, signaling the start of a terrifying disaster. Kang Yoon-Soo immediately raised his sword.

「Is this it? Is this as strong as you can get?」

The Demon Lord smashed two of his countless hands into the ground, and Kang Yoon-Soo swung his sword with all his might to deflect them.

Clang!

A very short sound rang out, and a tidal wave of impact came crashing down on Kang Yoon-Soo. The powerful impact spread throughout his body even though its force was absorbed by his sword. The Demon Lord continued his onslaught, however.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

A terrifying force continued pounding down on Kang Yoon-Soo. Soon, his right arm was in tatters, his Immortal Sword was chipped all over, and a large hole had formed in his abdomen. He tried to withstand the Demon Lord’s attacks, but his legs gave way as he fell backward.

Time suddenly slowed down as his body fell to the desolate ground. The hands of the Demon Lord, which had clashed against the full power of the God of Destruction, came into view; Kang Yoon-Soo noticed a small wound on the tip of one of the Demon Lord’s hands. That tiny scar was the result of attacking the Demon Lord with all his strength.

‘Is it still not enough…?’Kang Yoon-Soo wondered.

He had tried his best. He had ventured through the most dangerous places on the continent, and he had planned the most efficient route to grow stronger. He had finally managed to obtain power sufficient to annihilate a legion made up of thousands of demons, and he could grow no stronger than that.

Despite that, it was still not enough to defeat the Demon Lord, and his strongest attacks had been futile.

Kang Yoon-Soo believed he had already done his best. He had sworn so many times to kill the Demon Lord, risking his life in the process. He had always wanted to protect his loved ones and live the life he wanted.

However, this was the end.

A futile end.

「I am disappointed in you.」

The Demon Lord spoke.

Kang Yoon-Soo lay helplessly on the ground, and his companions cried out in the distance.

“Kyaaaaahk!”Iris screamed.

“Kang Yoon-Soo!” Shaneth cried.

“That bastard is going to die if we don’t heal him now! Hurry up!” Henrick shouted.

Kang Yoon-Soo’s vision had begun to grow blurry, but he could see his companions running toward him in the distance.

‘Don’t come here.

‘You guys have to run away.

‘I can’t regress after this life.

‘Get away from me.

‘You need to survive, even if it’s only for the briefest moment.

‘Don’t come over here.

‘Please… Don’t come here…’

Kang Yoon-Soo let out a silent plea.

Despite that, even as the Demon Lord raised his hand, Kang Yoon-Soo’s party members did not stop running toward him. They had decided to risk their lives to save him.

“Kang Yoon-Soo!” Acle shouted.

“Papa!” Sally cried.

“Grrrr…!”White growled.

“Teacher!” Mini-Lich clacked.

The Demon Lord redirected its attention toward the party members.

Kang Yoon-Soo could feel his strength leaving his body, but he bit his lip until it bled and forced himself to his feet. He glared at the Demon Lord and shouted, “Don’t touch them! I’ll give you the death you so wish!”

How long had it been since he felt such an intense surge of emotion?

Kang Yoon-Soo tried to move his body in an attempt to stop the Demon Lord.

However, it was impossible.

Blood gushed out from his severed right arm and the large hole in his abdomen.

“Kuheok…!”he groaned as he struggled to even remain on his feet.

His party members threw all sorts of skills toward the Demon Lord to redirect his gaze, but the Demon Lord ignored them and only focused on Kang Yoon-Soo.

「You are no match for me.」

The Demon Lord extended his hand toward Kang Yoon-Soo.

Kang Yoon-Soo no longer had any tricks up his sleeve, and nothing he tried would work against the absolute being.

“…”

It was exactly as it had always been.

Kang Yoon-Soo could not defy the Demon Lord.

He could not protect the ones who were most precious to him.

Kang Yoon-Soo was about to die.