There was actually one more reason why Woohyuk went to the Floren Province.

The Ancient Demon Harpes’ Crystal.

If he summoned Harpes and pa.s.sed his test, he would be rewarded.

However, it was impossible to do such a thing in the middle of the city.

Thus, coming to this secluded mountainous area was perfect for his plans.

“Lord, how strong are the Ancient Demons?” asked Leifina.

“Well, that’s hard to quantify. In the case of Cruella, we managed to win using all the means at our disposal,” answered Woohyuk.

The Ancient Demons were actually angels who rebelled against their Creator and then fell from grace.

Though, in the case of Cruella, she was so obsessed with her personal desires that she accidentally touched the Forbidden Knowledge and became an Ancient Demon.

Hearing Woohyuk’s explanation, Leifina looked worried.

“Then, shouldn’t we summon more va.s.sals…”

“I have already finished talking with the Dragon Tribes. Sky Island, which is where they are located, is right next to the Floren Province, so there shouldn’t be a problem.”

However, if he were to lose consciousness and become consumed by the demonic energy, he would be in trouble, so he brought Leifina.

After notifying Choi Kayoon about the situation, Woohyuk took out Harpes’ magic crystal from his pocket.

[Ancient Demon Harpes’ Crystal]

Category: Item

Effect: Summon the sealed Ancient Demon Harpes. After pa.s.sing his test, the summoner is rewarded according to Harpes' evaluation.

SAh!

A pitch-black magic circle unfolded in the air, and the sky turns gray.

Leifina grabbed her hair as she was struck by the rapidly blowing breeze.

“Lord!”

“Stand back, Leifina. This is a test I must overcome myself.”

If someone were to help, the subjective evaluation of Ancient Demon Harpes could be lower.

Once Leifina moved farther away, a gap appeared in the sky and a huge demon appeared from within.

[Ancient Demon Harpes].

He possessed a denser amount of demonic energy than Cruella did.

“Is it you who called me?”

“Yes.”

“…”

Harpes recognized Woohyuk.

He resembled Archangel Rafael, who fought alongside him a long time ago against the Creator.

The plan, however, failed. Rafael had sacrificed himself at the last minute to send his comrades into the Abyss World.

To reappear like this and in human form…

Also, the pink-haired woman next to him was...

“This must be the Creator’s doing.”

Harpes briefly a.n.a.lyzed and concluded the current situation in his mind.

Woohyuk nodded.

“Everything is heading for the future, according to his design. However, I intend to stop it.”

“… You haven’t changed at all from then.”

Harpes recalled Rafael’s n.o.ble appearance as he glanced over Woohyuk, a human being.

Rafael had always believed, even at the end, that he could change the world into something more right, more just.

The Odyssey Plan wasn’t over as long as his soul remained.

‘But this instance has also been predestined and included in the Creator’s design.’

In this world, the creation of his system, everything eventually followed his will.

The only way to go against it was to cultivate strength in the Abyss or enter the Divine Realm and challenge the Creator.

Both of these options were unattainable for someone with a human body.

Thus, Harpes decided to give Woohyuk a difficult challenge.

Harpes’ decision wasn’t done out of spite but to empower Woohyuk to jump over the metaphysical wall and carry out his previous plans.

“What kind of trial are you going to give anyway? I need top-notch rewards.”

“I was thinking of giving you the most difficult trial at my disposal. To make you grow dramatically.”

When Harpes put his trident on the ground, the surrounding landscape turned into a reddish h.e.l.l.

Woohyuk frowned and stopped the violent flames from hurting him by summoning a defensive black veil barrier.

“Are you telling me to take you down?”

“Yes. I am Harpes, the Archangel who accepted the demonic energy of the Abyss. If you want to sit on the Demon Throne, you have to overcome me.”

Harpes knew that Woohyuk had united with his former master, Asura.

To counter the Creator, the top priority for Woohyuk was to transform into a demon.

The Ancient Demons, including Harpes himself, were striving in their own way to sit on the Demon King Throne in the Abyss.

‘But you’re the one who truly needs to become a demon.’

The ancient demons in the Abyss, like Lucifer and Mammon, had already long given up on the Odyssey Plan and became demonic ent.i.ties who destroyed any and everything as the main goal.

The Odyssey Plan was a meaningful plan only if, after defeating the Creator, it was fully implemented into the system and fundamentally altering the system itself.

In Harpes’ mind, Woohyuk was the one with the highest possibility to succeed.

He was the one who came up with the Odyssey Plan in the first place.

Therefore, Harpes decided to bet everything on Woohyuk.

Even if he had to use his own strength that he had collected so far. Even if he must sacrifice himself in the process of developing Woohyuk.

KwJi-Ji-Ji-Jik!

As Harpes swung the trident, the heavens and earth fluctuated, causing a tear in s.p.a.ce and time.

The source of his power was the Abyss.

The Abyss could distort the system and destroy everything.

‘… Strong.’

Woohyuk clicked his tongue as he leaped into the air and avoided the Harpes’ spears.

Though the Fallen Angel Cruella had a similar level of power, her consciousness had been eroded, restricting her from fully utilizing her powers. However, Harpes was the closest ent.i.ty to a true Ancient Demon.

It was difficult to aim for a weakness through trickery or traditional methods. Moreover, Woohyuk probably couldn’t beat him head on.

‘However, I must overcome this ent.i.ty to endure the trials in the future.’

Harpes was a companion from his former life, as Archangel Raphael.

If he could be recognized and a.s.sisted by Harpes, it wouldn’t be a farfetched dream to consider reaching the Demon Throne. 

Little did Woohyuk know that he was already unwittingly crossing the threshold to sit atop the throne.

KRang!

Verserios spewed black flames and struck Harpes’ trident.

At the same time, an unspeakable aftershock reverberated throughout the s.p.a.ce!

Woohyuk recalled the moment when he fought the previous Asura in the Twilight Tower.

“Keuk…!”

Dark red blood spilled from Woohyuk’s mouth.

If he was an ordinary person, he wouldn’t have been able to withstand the damage from just the aftershock, never mind the clash.

However, thanks to the Necromancer Cla.s.s, Woohyuk was able to maintain consciousness even as a human because his tolerance to death was upgraded.

‘Long battles are absolutely unfavorable…!’

The Ancient Demon Harpes was stronger than the Fallen Angel Cruella.

In other words, this trial was a harder ordeal to overcome than the First Catastrophe.

In a short period of time, he had to mobilize all possible methods of attack.

He had to fight alone, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t utilize the spells and abilities of others.

Woohyuk used the Nocturne of the Hidden Crescent Moon to cast G.o.d Death in the air.

Hwi-Ah~!

A huge spiral black hole was created above them, absorbing the raging demonic energy from this reddish-hued h.e.l.l.

However, Harpes didn’t show any agitation and simply neutralized the black hole.

Slice!

Two smaller black holes were separated by his red trident.

The ability of a 7th ranked Demon King was insufficient to harm Harpes.

However, Woohyuk didn’t give up. This time, he cast Demon Annihilation.

‘I must get out of this guy’s sphere of influence as much as possible.’

The current battlefield was Abyss’ h.e.l.l, Harpes’ absolute s.p.a.ce.

If Woohyuk remained fighting in this s.p.a.ce, Harpes would have an overwhelming advantage.

But in the air, the raging and flickering flames of h.e.l.l weren’t able to reach the tops, so he’d have to utilize that s.p.a.ce.

Woohyuk swung Verserios as he moved from place to place through various small black holes.

Hwee-Eek! 

Bam!

Bam!

Bam!

Several jet-black flashes tore through the air and hit Harpes’ s.h.i.+eld.

However, without a scratch, Harpes starting provoking Woohyuk,

“Are you saying that you want to become the Lord of all demons with that level of strength? Your rivals are far stronger than the average G.o.ds!”

Harpes was once an Archangel, the foremost person within the Creator’s inner circle.

In general, Archangels are one level below the G.o.ds.

However, after he fell into the abyss, he was able to gain greater strength than the G.o.ds.

This was possible because the Creator put systemic restrictions on Archangels and G.o.ds to prevent them from surpa.s.sing their positions.

That’s why it was said that, among all the G.o.ds and beings, only the Devil, the Lord of all demons, could challenge the Creator.

“… I will overcome it… to finish what I started in the previous and present life.”

And to be with someone important.

Woohyuk emerged from the small black hole behind Harpes and unfolded the absolute s.p.a.ce of Asura.

Afterward, the absolute s.p.a.ce of two people sharply collided!

The black magic and fiery power of h.e.l.l mixed together and fought a spatial duel to dominate the battlefield.

Hwee-Ah!

A fierce vortex raged and a resonance sound occurred.

A violent collision made further cracks in the s.p.a.ce-time air.

During this process, Woohyuk felt the pain of all his body’s bones being shattered.

“Keuk!!”

He felt as if his intestines ruptured and his blood flowed backward.

Nevertheless, he had to endure it.

To challenge the throne with a human body.

Could it be possible without surpa.s.sing the limits of the body?

Woohyuk struggled desperately because he knew that once he set his own limits, he could never move forward.

“HAr-Uh-Pe-S!”

Woohyuk swung Verserios while subconsciously screaming at the top of his lungs.

As if reflecting his heart and innermost desire, the black demonic energy became stronger.

Harpes gave a momentary grin of admiration.

‘Surely, this is Archangel Rafael! Even after becoming a human, that indomitable determination remains alive!’

Harpes didn’t know how Woohyuk was able to meet the previous Asura, but Harpes was sure that the previous Asura must have felt the same way.

Even though he lost all his abilities as an Archangel and was trapped in a fragile body, Woohyuk possessed a miraculous power that exceeded his limitations.

It originated from Rafael’s pure soul.

‘Be sure to be a transcendent this time, Rafael! For yourself! For this world, which has been ruined by the Creator’s dogma!’

Harpes stopped the raging, wild Verserios while cheering for Woohyuk in his heart.

At the same time, the sword’s demonic energy devoured the battlefield.

Asura’s absolute s.p.a.ce encroached on Harpes’ h.e.l.l, temporarily constraining Harpes’ movement.

“… Keuk.”

Along with a short sigh, Harpes burst into a peal of low laughter.

A human was seeking to cross the boundaries and become a transcendent, something that even he, Harpes, couldn’t overcome.

In his previous life as an Archangel, Rafael had performed such miracles at the last moment.

‘I will entrust everything to you.’

No matter how much Woohyuk was Rafael’s reincarnation, Harpes would not help him if he was not qualified.

However, through this battle, Harpes was able to realize that they were one and the same.

He was the only one who could carry out the Odyssey Plan and make it a reality.

Therefore, Harpes was willing to give his life to his old companion.

To break down the system that made everyone unhappy, to realize the future they dreamed of…

ChwAh!

Verserios dug into Harpes’ side, causing black blood to sprinkle out into the air.

Then, a gush of blood burst out before Harpes' body was separated into two parts, falling from the air into the pitch-black darkness.

When he died, a series of system messages appeared in front of Woohyuk’s eyes.

[You have defeated the Ancient Demon Harpes.]

[You have acquired the Red Flame Ring.]

[Abyssal Demon Quest has begun.]