Divine Nation – Part 3
I couldn’t just sit back and watch.
If left alone, they’d become stronger—at least one stage, maybe more.
And I’m not the kind of man to watch my enemies power up and do nothing about it.
I tightened my grip.
Just as I was about to charge—
A strange sensation swept over me.
“Thiiiiiiiiiiiiiisssssssssss—”
The world slowed down.
A massive spell stretched time like taffy.
Everything began to move like a sluggish worm.
Even the breeze brushing past me.
Even the black-gold constellation spinning at the center of the sky.
Even the armies fighting below.
All of it moved sluggishly, like it was chained down.
‘A slow spell?’
No.
It wasn’t some cute little spell like that.
This was more like complete stoppage.
Even the fact that I could still think normally was a miracle.
Time Stop.
Thanks to my absurdly high stats, I could at least maintain consciousness.
“Screeeeeech!”
An Archangel shrieked.
A Demon Duke let out a warped, beastly howl.
The two of them tangled together grotesquely, devouring each other with tendrils, fusing into a single lump of flesh.
“Tch.”
Time stop?
A divine miracle that freezes time?
And so what?
I narrowed my eyes and gathered strength.
[Indomitable] ]] [Sole Sovereign] [[ [Magic Resistance]
In that instant, one of my fingers twitched.
It didn’t break the spell completely.
But I had caught the thread.
“Huuuuuff!”
I took in a massive breath.
Air tore into my lungs like a jet stream.
Just how big was my lung capacity?
For a moment, a storm kicked up around me, my hair thrashing wildly in the wind.
Then I gripped the Heavenly Demon Sword.
Wuuuummm…
The blade resonated with me.
I instantly cast Heavenly Demon Wall!
A pitch-black wall rose like a fortress, enveloping me.
The mana layered on it was ground down like grain in a mill.
With that, the miracle—crafted from ground-up human souls—was shattered!
“Scree?”
The lump of flesh looked at me.
It had been fusing, compressing, becoming one—and then it stopped, its attention snapping to me.
But I was already poised, sword raised.
I charged at the abomination with everything I had.
[Mars Swordsmanship] ]] [Invincible Sword King] [[ [Nephilim Sword]
The Heavenly Demon Sword radiated light.
Its sword force enveloped not only the blade, but me as well.
Like a meteor—
Not white, but pitch-black. A meteor that devoured space itself!
“Screeeeeeeeeee!”
The pressure intensified.
It was like gravity had multiplied a hundredfold, pressing me down.
And sticky, clinging space…
The time-stop miracle was intensifying.
A half-baked Heavenly Demon technique would’ve crumbled here.
But my eyes were ice-cold.
[Sacrifice][Iron Blood][Hero]
The Near-Death Build.
Now with [Hero] added in!
It felt like my whole body was burning.
Because I was literally incinerating my own body to generate mana.
And I’d poured all of that colossal mana into the Heaven-Cleaving Sword!
It now operated at its absolute peak.
Its power—God’s martial art—ripped through not only space, but time itself.
At last, the Heavenly Demon Sword stabbed into the mass of flesh.
“SCREEEEEEEEEEEE!”
It convulsed wildly.
CRASH! CRACK!
Time and space shattered.
The artificial timestop was broken, and time began to flow normally again.
“Huh?”
“Ungh?”
The level 8 superhumans seemed to sense it.
They shouted and attacked the angels and demons.
“Kill them all!”
“Just a little more! We’re almost there!”
“Victory is right in front of us!”
I wasn’t done either.
I brought Mjolnir down onto the wounded mass of flesh.
CRAAACK!
A thunderstorm of annihilation surged through the abomination.
“SCREEEEEE!”
It was helpless against the blow.
Its vitality was tenacious, that was for sure.
Even now, it was squirming to try and complete the fusion.
Four heads took their places atop one body, eight arms and eight legs turning into cosmic tendrils, tongues flicking in the air.
Not happening.
I raised Aegis high and slammed it down.
A Limitless Mass impact strike!
WHAAAM!
The flesh lump froze for a second.
Like a mountain had been dropped on it.
But I wasn’t finished.
I stabbed in the Heavenly Demon Sword and focused.
The sword felt like an extension of my own hand.
An ocean of mana poured in, triggering apocalyptic destruction.
FLASH!
A black light burst out from within.
Heaven-Cleaving Sword pulped its insides.
No—pulped doesn’t even cover it.
It was erased.
Not just destroyed physically, but obliterated at the atomic, molecular, and dimensional levels.
“Kghhuuuugh!”
Even the sound it made had changed.
Two of its heads opened their eyes.
Blood gushed from them.
Then cracks split across their faces.
It was such a grotesque sight, even I—who’d seen everything—flinched a little.
The Sacred Knight Archangel screamed.
“A… CURSE!”
The Shadow-Crowned Demon Duke howled.
“YOU! WILL DIE! IN AGONY!”
Naturally, I just scoffed.
“Hmph.”
Savior this, light of the world that—funny how fast they turn to curses the moment I land a few hits.
Clearly, they weren’t planning to go down quietly.
They swung—not arms, but cosmic tendrils.
BOOOOM!
They broke the sound barrier in an instant.
Massive force came at me, like stars and dark matter wrapped together into a blow.
They hadn’t completed their fusion, but their power was still overwhelming.
If that hit a mountain, it’d crumble instantly and trigger a landslide.
But I didn’t dodge.
I didn’t block it either.
Instead—I stabbed the Heavenly Demon Sword in, destroying all four hearts at once!
WHUMP!
The cosmic tendril struck me.
But it didn’t hit my body.
Because Heavenly Demon Wall, like a black dome, had risen and defended me.
Whooooosh.
Then something strange happened.
The barrier held firm—but the cosmic tendril vanished.
Only the exact portion that struck me disappeared, as if deleted from reality.
The blood-eyed Archangel and Demon Duke widened their eyes.
“W-What…?”
“This… is wrong. This… can’t… be!”
This is why the Heavenly Demon Cultivation Technique is busted.
And with these traits supporting it? Broken.
“Let’s finish this.”
“N-Nooo! Don’t—!”
“Die… all of you!”
A final, desperate outburst.
I could see the mana going berserk.
It was condensing and preparing to ignite inside a fused mass, where the destroyed hearts had been replaced by a tangled gut.
“Tch.”
Perfect time to use a certain trait.
[Reverse Heaven]
I swapped it in for a moment and fired.
Just as the mana flames were about to ignite, fwoosh—they fizzled out.
The Archangel and Demon Duke’s faces twisted into sheer horror.
“What… did… you… do?!”
“This… isn’t… the… end!”
Yeah, yeah. I’m sure it’s not.
Before delivering the final blow, I fused a new trait.
[Reverse Heaven] ]] [Demon King’s Decree] [[ [Wish]
Then I infused it with a draconic command:
“[Let this lump of flesh be torn apart.]”
“Gaaahhh!”
“GUH-HHGH!”
They began to separate.
The Starlight Cannon Archangel and Tentacle Demon Duke had already been dead.
The moment they split off, their bodies crumbled into dust.
Only the Sacred Knight Archangel and the Shadow-Crowned Demon Duke remained.
I grabbed both of their heads.
When I pressed the Heavenly Demon Sword against their necks, they gritted their teeth and spoke.
“Kill us.”
“We will resurrect regardless.”
“You’ll have to stay here until the ritual is complete.”
They stretched their necks toward the sword as if offering them up.
But I didn’t kill them right away.
Instead, I used [Close-Combat Mastery] to restrain them perfectly and let time pass.
“What are you doing?”
“Why aren’t you finishing us?”
“Shut up and wait.”
After about three minutes had passed—
Only then did I behead the Sacred Knight Archangel.
As his body crumbled into ash, the Shadow-Crowned Demon Duke bared his teeth.
“You… you filth! You dare to mock us this way?! How dare you humiliate us so?!”
“Humiliation? Please. It’s called efficiency.”
“No matter how many tricks you pull, you cannot defy destiny. In the end, you will sit upon the Old Father’s throne and become part of the divine pantheon!”
“We’ll see about that.”
Three minutes later, I beheaded the Demon Duke as well.
That time gap should do it.
Why I dragged it out?
So that the Four Archangels and Four Demon Dukes wouldn’t all revive at the same time.
If I’d just slaughtered them in one go, eight level 8s would’ve returned together—and then the rear guard would’ve had a nightmare trying to handle it.
‘How’s the battle going?’
I looked down.
They were pushing well.
The six-pronged formation, led by the eight level 8 superhumans, was driving deep.
Should I give them a little help?
Click, click.
I pulled out Mountain Wail and Hailstorm.
With one in each hand, I called Red with my thoughts.
[You called?]
Red flew in mid-breath, spewing out Dragon Monarch Flame, and let me hop on.
I patted him lightly.
“Let’s do it again.”
[Okay! But when do I get meat?]
“I’ll feed you till you burst after this.”
[Ten whole cows?]
“Make it a hundred.”
[What’s a hundred? Is that a lot?]
“It’s ten cows, ten times.”
[Ten cows ten times?! Whoa! I love it! So awesome!]
Red spread his wings.
He flew toward a cluster where high-ranking angels and demon lieutenants were densely packed.
“Careful!”
“The ancient dragon is coming!”
The Archangels and Demon Lieutenants scrambled.
They layered divine barriers, reinforced mana shields, and aimed them at Red and me.
They even prepped localized fire resistance.
That would’ve worked—against regular Dragon Monarch Flame.
If it had been the old Red, he might’ve wasted his breath and flown somewhere else.
But with me?
It was different.
[Die!]
Red opened his jaws and unleashed Primordial Breath.
A painfully clear beam of light.
It melted the barriers and pierced the hybrid angel-demon formation directly.
The angels and demons struck by the breath didn’t even get to scream.
They just melted.
Shwooom! Boom! Pop-pop-pop!
I followed up with a barrage from Mountain Wail and Hailstorm.
I couldn’t use [Divine Annihilation Flame] or [Absolute Zero] while the fusion was active.
But [Supreme Flame] and [Ultimate Ice] were more than enough.
Golden fire and snow-white frost swept across the battlefield.
“Sir!”
Sage-God Poka shouted.
“One minute until the first Demon Duke revives!”
Already?
We hadn’t even killed half the angelic or demonic armies yet!
“Kill that bastard and go!”
The Legion Commander yelled.
“We’ll deal with the rest, no matter what it takes!”
The other level 8 superhumans shouted too.
“Don’t worry about us!”
“This old man will hold them off with everything he’s got!”
“Go, Sir!”
“Heavenly Demon Lord, show your majesty!”
“Please avenge our predecessors!”
“These guys down here are small fry! Cut off the head!”
Right. Time to go.
I couldn’t afford to stay here any longer.
Besides—the cultist army I killed earlier?
There’s no way the mana created from their sacrifice all flowed into this battlefield.
At least half must have gone up into the black-gold constellation.
Which meant… the ritual to crown the Divine King was nearing its end.
Slash!
I killed the resurrected Alloy Demon Duke the moment he came back and gave the order.
[Strike Team, charge!]
“Let’s go!”
“We’ve been waiting!”
They joined me instantly.
I led the charge.
We broke through the wasteland in an instant and reached the celestial belt—an astral path through the stars.
Seong Huiyeong raised her light-infused eyes to the sky and groaned.
“Monsters…”
This was where we fought the soul war before.
But now, there was a major difference.
All along the astral path, there were massive, terrifying monsters.
And they could regenerate infinitely.
“Let’s go!”
We ran.
Keeping pace with the strike team’s superhumans, I charged ahead.
Not even a minute had passed before the celestial belt began to squirm.
A warped rainbow shimmered like an oily film, and then a massive form rose up.
A creature shaped like a dragon.
But instead of scales, its body was covered in rotting flesh.
It had three heads, and each head had nine eyes.
Twenty-seven eyes total.
And it wasn’t alone.
There were dozens of them.
Their numbers were still growing.
[Hah!]
[They’re hideous!]
[We’ll take care of them.]
[You go ahead—we’ll catch up!]
The four dragons broke formation and launched forward.
Spells and dragon breaths rained down, intercepting the grotesque dragon swarm.
“KRAAAAH!”
The grotesque dragons howled, but they couldn’t climb past the celestial belt.
I quickly passed by the dragons.
“Thank you!”
[Think nothing of it.]
[To be grouped with such mutant filth… it’s a disgrace to dragonkind!]
[KUOOOOH!]
The grotesque dragons shrank into the distance.
We entered the next zone beyond the distorted rainbow.
The void enveloped us.
There was no light—except for the faint flicker of the celestial belt beneath our feet.
Darkness that felt like the abyss itself.
From within it, red eyes began to blink into view.
“Shadow Spirits!”
The Winter Queen charged out.
“We’ll take this one!”
The five non-human fighters joined her.
They’d be a solid match.
At least enough to keep those things occupied while I faced the Saintess—and the old father.
And so, they peeled off one by one.
The five fish-men headed for the Goldlight Archangel.
Giant Bear, Skeleton Snake, and the three Archbishops charged into the Mutated Tree.
Seong Huiyeong and the Directors from Geumo Group moved to block the Faceless Giant.
“Captain! Complete the great task! Loyalty!”
“Captain Sword Star! You must win!”
“Giant Bear, do you doubt our Captain? He’ll definitely win!”
“We’re counting on you, Sir!”
The end of the celestial belt came into view.
In the distance, the Grand Celestial Court.
Its spires were like jagged thorns—standing like the horns of a Demon King.
And in front of it—
A line of humanoid monsters, assembled like an army.
“You…”
“Shall go no further…”
Tall, with limbs as long as a chimpanzee’s—these were the Arm-Beast Mutants.
Warriors. Masters of combat.
“Teacher! Go on ahead!”
“We’ll hold them off!”
“We’ll finish quickly and catch up!”
“Teacher, claim victory!”
The four of them sprinted ahead of me.
Mars Swordsmanship tore through the monsters.
Nephilim Sword crushed them.
With each flash of Kalaratri, corpses piled up.
A sword that danced like it was alive continued the slaughter.
They’d grown strong.
Whoever raised them—did a damn good job.
Their combat ability far exceeded standard level 7s.
I felt a strange sense of reassurance swell in my chest.
“I trust you. I’m counting on you!”
“Yes, Teacher!”
The four shouted in unison.
The path cleared.
Using Thunder Step, I darted through in an instant.
The celestial belt ended here.
I entered the Grand Celestial Court.
Fwoooooooosh.
The wind of the stars swept past me.
A wind made of pure mana.
That’s how dense the mana inside the Grand Celestial Court was.
If a normal human walked in here, they’d mutate within a second.
Just like that hedgehog I had to put down in the First Landfill.
Step. Step.
I walked down the corridor.
Pop!
I drank the elixirs I’d prepared in advance, one by one.
Elixir of the Giant King, Elixir of the Dragon Monarch, Elixir of the Milky Way, Elixir of the Great Sea, Elixir of the Warrior God.
I applied magic catalysts and Divine Slayer oils to the Heavenly Demon Sword, the Black Tiger Sword, Mjolnir, Aegis—everything. Combat prep, complete.
Before I realized it, I was inside the throne chamber.
It was tens of thousands of times larger than the one I’d seen in my mental world.
This wasn’t architecture—it had to be compared to a celestial body.
A vast, immeasurable space.
At its center, in front of a majestic, towering throne—
Stood a single being.
“You arrived faster than I expected.”
Hair, dry and gray.
Face, wrinkled like an old woman nearing ninety.
And yet—
Wings of light and a black-gold halo exuded suffocating pressure.
She stood connected to the throne and the black-gold terminal behind her.
A Saintess who had transcended even the state of a demigod.
–TL Notes–
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final battle commence!!