Leveling Up Alone

Most beings summoned from another dimension like angels or demons were usually reverse summoned back to their original place should they die in another dimension, and the angels Kubera summoned should have been sent back to their original dimension if things went according to this principle.

However, the beheaded angel and the angel that had its heart pierced by Han-Yeol were incinerated by a mysterious flame and disintegrated into ashes. In other words, they disintegrated instead of getting reverse summoned.

[Argh…]

The angels felt the fear of death for the first time in their lives.

“Why are you scared already? We’re just getting started, you know?” Han-Yeol said smugly.

[Damn it… I knew I couldn’t trust those angels!]

Bam!

The Dragon of Destruction intervened after sensing that things were flowing in the wrong direction.

The combination of the angels that existed to protect creation and the Dragon of Destruction that sought to destroy everything in the universe was quite funny.

The angels were not fond of the Dragon of Destruction, but they had no other choice but to adhere to Kubera’s commands and fight alongside the dragon.

Shwiiik!

‘Hmm… So the Dragon of Destruction has finally joined the battle,’ Han-Yeol thought.

He might have transformed into a new race that harmonized both light and darkness, but his opponents were no pushovers. It would be a different story if he was only up against the Valkyries, but facing the Dragon of Destruction, who had grown much stronger than before, together with the Valkyries was not going to be easy.

‘But I won’t lose like I did a while ago,’ Han-Yeol thought confidently. He was now brimming with confidence thanks to his newfound powers, and he did not doubt for a second that he would lose.

Boom! Boom!

[Die! Human!]

The Dragon of Destruction and the Valkyries attacked simultaneously, and their combined attacks were extremely powerful.

Still, Han-Yeol responded with an even greater force compared to the combined attacks, and the Dragon of Destruction and the Valkyries slowly found it difficult to win against him in a contest of strength.

‘Chaos Stab!’

Chwaaak! Puuuuk!

Kuheok!

Han-Yeol nimbly evaded the attacks and targeted the weak links first, which were the angels.

[You little rat!]

The Dragon of Destruction was infuriated by Han-Yeol’s cunning movements and clever tactics.

***

“...”

Kubera did not utter a word and just quietly watched everything unfold.

C-Crack…

Hairline cracks started forming on Kubera’s mask.

What was going on?

[Bwahaha! Amazing! He’s truly amazing! I thought he was just a human with some special powers, but I didn't imagine he would be this special!]

[Sigh… I have no idea what to do now. Han-Yeol has grown far too strong, so I don’t think I can do anything about him anymore.]

[Hmm? What are you talking about, Astaroth? I know he’s become stronger, but a human is still just a human. There’s no way a human can match our strength no matter how much stronger they become.]

Lucifer was resolute. He knew Han-Yeol’s newfound powers were powerful, but it was still nowhere near enough to try and take on the demon lords.

Astaroth let out a sigh of resignation and shook her head.

[Sigh… How stupid can you be?]

Lucifer lashed out at her tone.

[What did you say?!]

[Around thirty years has passed since Han-Yeol was born.]

[Y-Yeah?]

[But you’re comparing him to us? We have lived for tens of thousands of years already.]

[Y-Yeah, you’re right, but the present is what’s most important.]

[Well, I can’t say you’re wrong, Lucifer.]

[Bwahaha! As expected, I knew you would agree–]

Lucifer burst into laughter and was about to say something when Astaroth cut him off.

[But look at Han-Yeol’s growth speed. Do you think it will take him long to catch up to us?]

[Hmm…]

Lucifer could not easily respond to Astaroth’s question this time. The human he contracted for the first time turned out to be this powerful even without relying on the demonic powers he could grant. On top of that, the human obtained a strange power that exponentially increased his growth.

He was still not strong enough, but would that still be the case twenty or thirty years from now? Lucifer could not easily answer that question.

[Hmm… I can see what you mean.]

[I told you so. An ordinary human can only live for about two hundred years even if they reach a certain level of power, but possessing a power of that caliber means…]

[Ah, do you mean to say that we can’t tell how much his lifespan will increase?]

[Exactly.]

Han-Yeol would be scarily powerful in twenty to thirty years, but what if his lifespan increased far longer than the limits of a normal human being?

This would be a huge obstacle to both Astaroth and Lucifer’s plans of enslaving Han-Yeol’s soul the moment he died!

‘Well, I don’t think that would be a bad thing at all…’

Astaroth licked her lips and wetted her appetite.

It might be impossible for her to enslave Han-Yeol’s soul, but it would not be impossible for him to enter the demon world if he truly became that powerful. Thus, all she had to do was seduce him to enter the demon world as Han-Yeol himself and not as an enslaved soul.

Slurp!

‘Maybe that’s even better than having an empty soul?’

***

[Damn you! Human!]

The Valkyries completely lost their cool. Their captain led the remaining angels and squeezed out every drop of their remaining strength to dish out one final attack toward Han-Yeol.

“You’re too noisy.”

Puuuk!

Kuheok!

The Valkyries put their lives on the line with their final attack, but Han-Yeol easily evaded it and counterattacked by stabbing their hearts.

Thud!

[D-Damn it!]

Shwaaak!

They met as enemies, but Han-Yeol was the winner and the Valkyrie Captain was the loser. Her entire body was burning up and disintegrating, and there was no longer a future for her.

In the end, she and her subordinates turned into dust and ceased to exist forever.

“Phew, that’s the end of that. Hey, I guess we can have a lovely time together now, Dragon of Destruction.”

[Arrogance! You dare act arrogant with me, Harkan?!]

Thud!

The Dragon of Destruction started moving proactively.

‘I didn’t expect the angels to lose!’

He might loathe the angels, but he acknowledged that their abilities alone were truly admirable. Also, Kubera had specifically picked the Valkyries among the angels, so they were without a doubt powerful individuals.

They were weaker than the Dragon of Destruction, but they were not so weak that the dragon would blatantly underestimate them.

However, this human easily massacred the angels.

[Bwahaha! I don’t think you can easily kill me after I gained this much strength!]

Woooong!

The time had come for the Dragon of Destruction to display his true powers.

“Yeah, that’s more like it. I can only repay my debt if you go all out.”

[Arrogant fool!]

That was the only phrase the Dragon of Destruction could think of.

Krwaaang!

Han-Yeol and the Dragon of Destruction clashed once again. Neither of them gave an inch yet they narrowly missed each other by the breadth of a hair.

Strangely enough, Han-Yeol seemed to have the upper hand for some reason.

“Eat this, Dragon of Destruction!”

Chwak!

Arghhh!

He managed to slash the Dragon of Destruction across the chest with the Sword of Annihilation.

Even the self-proclaimed invincible screamed in agony after getting slashed by the Sword of Annihilation, which possessed the modifier effect of dealing one hundred percent additional damage against the Dragon of Destruction.

[T-That is?!]

The Dragon of Destruction finally realized that he was vulnerable to the sword and chain in Han-Yeol’s hands.

Gulp!

The dragon nervously gulped. He prided himself in his invincibility, but it was rendered useless against the weapons in Han-Yeol’s hands.

[Hahaha… Bwahahaha!]

“Hmm?” Han-Yeol raised a brow after the Dragon of Destruction burst into laughter. Then, he grimaced and grumbled, “What the heck? Has he gone nuts already?”

[That’s as far as you go, arrogant human.]

“Yeah, he’s definitely lost it.”

The Dragon of Destruction suddenly started muttering something under his breath.

[I didn’t expect to use the skill I created out of boredom while I was sealed for a very long time.]

“What did you say?”

[Bwahaha! You just wait and see! I shall show you a whole new kind of despair!]

Thud!

A massive magic circle larger than the Dragon of Destruction himself appeared above him.

‘What’s that?’ Han-Yeol sensed that the magic circle exuded a different kind of mana from the contaminated mana that the dragon used. It was blue just like an ordinary magic circle, so he could not tell what the dragon was planning.

Shwaaak!

The Dragon of Destruction’s body was enveloped by a bright light that quickly started fading, becoming smaller and smaller.

“H-Huh?”

The Dragon of Destruction shrunk along with the light until he became the size of a humanoid. To be exact, he turned into a Canine Bastroling.

“W-What the hell?!”

[Bwahaha! This is my new skill! Body Modification!]

‘That’s not polymorph. I can sense that it's different from that,’ Han-Yeol thought.

Polymorph was a magic that imitated the appearance of another creature, but the skill the Dragon of Destruction used completely reconfigured the body, turning him into a completely different race altogether.

‘That’s not just a normal transformation!’

The Dragon of Destruction did not transform into an ordinary Canine Warrior. He was now a canine with black fur and his entire arm was riddled with black blades.

Han-Yeol could tell with a single glance that the weapon was no ordinary weapon.

[Alright, shall we fight properly now, Human?]

“Hmm…”

Han-Yeol felt conflicted after witnessing the Dragon of Destruction’s transformation. The reason was that the color of his fur was black instead of gray and yet he looked exactly like Harkan.

“Damn you…”

[Hahaha!]

The Dragon of Destruction simply laughed in response. Han-Yeol realized it was not a mere coincidence and that the dragon had purposely led everything to this specific scenario.

Han-Yeol was not necessarily angry or frustrated by what had happened—he was just stunned after witnessing the proud dragon that regarded every other lifeform as insignificant suddenly copy Harkan’s appearance.

“So you’ve really hit rock bottom, Dragon of Destruction.”

[Hahaha! We shall find out!]

Shiiing!

The blades on the Dragon of Destruction’s arms shined brightly as if to show off their sharpness.

[Have a taste of real hell!]

‘Hmm?’

Chwak! Chwak! Chwak! Chwak!

“Hiiiik!”

Han-Yeol was confused after the Dragon of Destruction suddenly started waving his arms from far away, but it did not take long for him to realize that the blades were not for melee combat only.

More dark blades shot out whenever the Dragon of Destruction swung his arms. The blades traveled at extreme speeds and were filled with the dragon’s contaminated mana.

In other words, there was a risk of turning into a contaminated creature if those blades grazed anyone other than Han-Yeol.

Shwak!

Han-Yeol flew up to evade the blades.

[So you’re over there!]

Shwak! Shwaaak!

“Heok!”

However, the Dragon of Destruction could even control the blades in mid-air, as he made all of the blades turn around and chase after Han-Yeol.

“Damn it! Chaos Shockwave!”

Bam! Bzzzzt!

Han-Yeol used a combination of chaos and vibration to slam the ground. The shockwave containing the power of chaos spread outward before shooting up from the ground and disintegrating all of the blades flying toward him.

[I’m not done yet!]

Chwak! Chwak! Chwak!

“What the hell is that?!” Han-Yeol exclaimed after more blades came flying toward him even after he had destroyed so many.

[You’re mistaken if you think this is all I can do!]

‘What now?!’

Shwaaaak!

The blades aimed at Han-Yeol were average-sized until now, but the Dragon of Destruction shot longer blades at him this time.

Both short blades and long blades flew toward Han-Yeol from all directions, and he was currently stuck between a rock and a hard place.

***

[Oh? The Dragon of Destruction possessed this much power?]

[I do admit it’s quite impressive.]

[I believe nobody in this dimension can stop that attack. Of course, that’s excluding Han-Yeol.]

[Perhaps this is why the other demon lords cooperated with those damn celestial bastards and were searching high and low for Kubera…]