Leveling Up Through Eating

Chapter 1130

Minhyuk and Emperor Cardin’s voices gradually increased in volume.

“Then, you leave me with no choice. I will set up a team of Beyond the Heavens Empire investigators and send them to the Luvien Empire immediately.”

“You’re incredibly ridiculous. Right now, are you saying you will investigate the Great Luvien Empire?”

“Otherwise? If you, Emperor Cardin, will not get to the bottom of the situation with the children’s sword competition, then I will.”

Right now, their negotiations had been left on the back burner. The more Emperor Cardin looked at Minhyuk, the more he felt annoyed.

‘But I can’t deny that I also feel jealous.’

Minhyuk was fighting against all odds for the sake of one child, even at the risk of losing everything.

On the other hand, Cardin also felt ashamed. He personally said that it was not easy to uproot the corruption that had already been deeply rooted in the empire. Perhaps this was the true face of an emperor who was only in name.

Nevertheless, the fact that Minhyuk’s actions were completely reckless could not be denied.

“The deal is off.”

“This is something that’s far more important than that deal.”

“Ha. Enough. I don’t want to talk to you…”

Just then, someone shouted.

“There’s a problem!”

The guest hall grew noisy. It was a place where they showed hospitality to people from other kingdoms and empires, so hearing such a commotion in such a place was enough to offend and make Emperor Cardin angry.

When he slammed the door open, Cardin was met with the dazed expressions of the knights of Duke Vakkaman.

“What’s going on…?”

Cardin immediately realized that something unusual had happened.

“Duke Vakkaman suddenly vomited blood from his mouth…”

The knights began to explain the situation in the venue. Then…

“You cannot break the barrier from the outside?”

“That’s right.”

Emperor Cardin’s expression grew solemn. The only one who vomited mouthful after mouthful of blood was Duke Vakkaman. The moment that happened, all of the doors leading to the venue were closed, and no matter what they did or how strong the physical attack they landed on the barrier, they could not force it to open.

“They’re targeting Duke Vakkaman…”

Someone had incapacitated Duke Vakkaman, the most dangerous being in that venue.

“Something like this is happening in the World Cutie Competition?”

Minhyuk’s expression grew solemn, too. After all, the precious children and teachers of the Sprout Academy were also trapped inside.

Emperor Cardin, who learned of the entire story, grew dizzy. He could only support his forehead as he staggered on his feet.

“Of all people, why Duke Vakkaman…”

Cardin already understood the situation. The fact that Duke Vakkaman vomited black blood meant that he had already been overpowered and incapacitated.

Duke Vakkaman was the newly appointed Star of the Luvien Empire. He was an outstanding, talented, and influential individual. The most important thing? There was no other talent that could fill in the duke’s position.

At that moment, Minhyuk said, “You can’t break it from the outside, but you can break it from the inside, right?”

No ability or power in this world could completely cut off something. This was especially true if it was a power that could wrap an entire venue like the venue for the competition.

Emperor Cardin just laughed incredulously. “With Duke Vakkaman incapacitated, who could break that barrier inside? There’s no one.”

Minhyuk said, “There is.”

“Yes?”

“There’s someone inside who can break that barrier down.”

“...?!”

Emperor Cardin turned to look at him in surprise. The faces of many people flashed in Cardin’s head. From what he heard, the Beyond the Heavens Empire only sent soldiers, teachers, and a director to guide and protect their students, no?”

“Let’s go there first.”

The two hurriedly went to the venue.

***

Predators would often go wild and lose their senses in front of their prey. Even though they were faced with a predator that was far stronger than them, most of them would not back down. That was unless they were fully convinced they would have no chance of winning. Only then would they run away.

The situation was similar to a lion facing one gigantic elephant. Why would lions run away when faced with an elephant? The reason why they would not even dare to fight against them was simple. The pressure and momentum coming from the elephant could easily crush the lion’s own.

“Hiiiiing… hiiiiiing… hing…”

Rughamon was shocked to see the Gluttony’s Wolf tuck its tail between its leg and step back.

‘Where the hell are you hiding?!’ Rughamon scanned the surrounding area.

Not long after, the Gluttony’s Wolf finally reached Rughamon’s side. Finally standing beside its summoner, the wolf’s legs and bladder collapsed from fear.

Rughamon just could not understand. The thousands of young children were screaming in fear while their directors and teachers seemed to have lost their senses too. Of course, this was only a natural reaction. After all, Rughamon had killed all of the troops in the venue right after he left Duke Vakkaman incapacitated.

Rughamon raised his finger and released black energy, slowly stretching toward the screaming children. This black energy not only would drive the children crazy but would also make the blood in their veins flow backward. In thirty seconds, all of these children would die.

Shwaaaaaaaa–!

The energy slowly inched toward the children.

Shwaaaaaaa–!

“...?!”

A mysterious barrier appeared and blocked the black magic. The black magic attacked the barrier fiercely and tried to penetrate it, but the invisible barrier was far too solid and thick. Ultimately, the black mana that powered the black magic could not hold up. With a swoosh, the black magic slowly disappeared and scattered with the wind.

Rughamon’s face grew ugly.

Meanwhile, Duke Vakkaman, who looked crucified on the wall, could only watch the situation. As he watched the scene before him, he recalled a legend he had heard in the past.

‘Among the strong men that existed in the past were those who possessed special abilities.’

Unfortunately, those special abilities had mostly disappeared and could no longer be found in the current era.

‘That ability… It allows the one with that ability to nullify any attacks from their opponent as long as their power is far more overwhelming than theirs.’

In other words, it was an ability that would never allow the weak to harm the strong. It was an ability that showed the absolute gap between two opponents.

‘Why is such a power appearing in this place…?’

Duke Vakkaman scanned the venue to find the owner of this ability. Alas, no matter how hard he looked, he could not find them. He could only see the directors and teachers from academies and schools all over the world.

“BASTARD!!!” Rughamon shouted as he raised his staff and released enormous black mana.

Duke Vakkaman frowned when he saw the black mana that almost covered the entire area above them. It was evident that the lunatic was trying to create a massive explosion.

‘A few among those strong men are…’

Rumble, rumble, rumble–!

At that moment, the entire venue, even the sturdy walls created by the most outstanding construction companies of the Luvien Empire, started to shake and tremble. The stones scattered all over the ground from earlier commotion began to float in the air and resonate wildly.

‘...capable of neutralizing the opponent’s power with force and energy alone.’

In front of such great power and momentum, the black mana that almost covered the area above them began to scatter and disappear. At the same time, Rughamon suddenly felt a huge force wrap around his heart and start twisting it.

“Keuhaaaaaaack!”

Thud–!

A flash of doubt appeared on Rughamon’s face as he collapsed on one knee. He could not even fight against this considerable force. He just collapsed helplessly in the face of it. The overwhelming and unknown force eventually forced him down on both knees. In the end, even his upper body was forced on the ground. To Rughamon, it felt as if gravity was dragging him down.

“F*cking shit!”

Rughamon thought there was no need for him to show his true power in this place. In the beginning, he even came in disguise as a child because he wanted to hide his enormous energy and momentum. He even suppressed some of his power.

In the first place, would he be stupid enough to turn against the Great Luvien Empire with just this mere power alone? Of course not.

Black blood slowly dripped down his body. This blood seeped through the ground and created a pentagon-shaped magic circle.

[Your seal will be released.]

With his seal released, Rughamon finally overcame the force that was suppressing him and stood up.

Shwaaaaaa–!

At the same time, an enormous amount of black mana erupted from his body.

Rughamon’s lips twisted into a sneer. “Do you know the ratio of the population of black mages and mages?”

This was a warning, a threat, to the unknown man in the venue.

“Only approximately 1% of mages are black mages.”

Black mages make up a tiny percentage of the entire population.

“To be honest, I find it ridiculous. After all, black magic is far superior and stronger than ordinary and orthodox magic.”

Rughamon’s words were the truth. However, there was a reason why that was the case. This was because black magic was a magic that often required a sacrifice.

“I hope to become a Pillar Candidate and show the world the greatness of black magic. And…”

Then, the black mana that had erupted and grown wild slowly became a huge spear.

“...in the end, I will also become a Pillar and let the entire world know just how great and amazing black magic truly is.”

The black spear imbued with overwhelming black mana shot fiercely toward the wall. Once that landed, everything under it would melt.

Coincidentally, Brelin was right in front of the path of the spear. Brelin had been trying to soothe and calm the crying children. The black spear was already almost right before him as he turned around. Just when the black spear was about to pierce through Brelin’s head…

[All forces and energy will be neutralized in front of the power of the Supreme.]

An even bigger and heavier force appeared from somewhere, stopping the black spear just in front of Brelin. And Brelin? He unknowingly grabbed the hem of his director’s clothes.

Director Rundalk stretched his index finger and flicked the spear away.

Bang–!

As if hit with a heavy force, the spear’s direction was altered, and eventually flew to the ceiling.

Crack, crack, crack–!

The hall's roof collapsed, and debris almost fell on the children’s heads. Surprisingly, however, all of the debris stopped in mid-air and slowly slid to the ground.

Rundalk ruffled the teary Brelin’s head, saying, “I made a promise with Minhyuk.”

Brelin could not believe what was happening in front of him. Their director just used one finger to alter the direction of that black spear.

“I told him I will live as a normal and ordinary director.”

Rundalk looked tangled. He had lived as the King of Destruction in the Land of the Leaders for thousands of years. If he suddenly appeared in the Beyond the Heavens Empire, then the carefully maintained balance of the continent would mostly be destroyed.

However, Rundalk no longer wished to carry on his previous name. All he wanted to do was walk the path of an ordinary father and a normal director.

Vwoooooooong–!

Rughamon was not the only one suppressing his powers. A white haze slowly spread from Rundalk’s body until it covered the entire venue.

“But I can’t do that today.”

At that moment, Brelin recalled their director's introduction during their first meeting. He said that he was around 4,900 years old.

–I was once hailed as the Supreme.

–Many of the Pillar Candidates were jealous of me and envious of my power.

–Some of the Pillar Candidates challenged me to a duel. However, they all tasted defeat and returned after being beaten thoroughly by my hands.

–I also refused to take on the position of the Pillar. Because I wanted to go somewhere higher.

Brelin thought that their director’s words were nothing but lies.

–I have done something that I should not have done. I committed a crime that I had to pay dearly for. So, now I only want to live happily and peacefully with you guys.

In the ears of the young children, everything that Rundalk said was nothing but a bluff. They believed that he was just bragging. When they told him that he was lying, all Rundalk did was laugh awkwardly. But now, it seemed like that was not the case at all.

Meanwhile, another person recognized the white haze slowly spreading from Rundalk’s body. This person was Duke Vakkaman.

Surprisingly enough, Duke Vakkaman was among the few who knew about the legend from thousands of years ago. This was because Duke Vakkaman was a descendant of the family that birthed Rundalk.

As a child, Duke Vakkaman listened to stories about him. According to those stories, a white haze would spread from his body.

Rundalk grabbed the wooden sword used by the children competing in the World Cutie Competition. He went to where Rughamon was and shattered all the black magic the man had created.

At this moment, Duke Vakkaman recalled one of the legends he had heard about this existence.

–Some envied him while some admired him.

Among those who admired him, someone gave him a present. That present was the ability to let the entire world know who he was. It could also grasp the situation and write a whole story about him.

[The powerful being transcending the eras has appeared after thousands of years.]

Covered with a white haze, Rundalk took a step forward. Rughamon, disconcerted by the sudden turn of events, backed away in fear while summoning a being from the Black Magic Realm.

“Agintomachia!”

Rumble–!

Swoosh–!

Agintomachia was a being that every mage in the world knew.

Unlike mages, black mages had a realm they called the Black Magic Realm. In this realm, there existed a guardian god. This god was none other than Agintomachia. Agintomachia was the master and the source of black magic.

The gigantic Agintomachia unleashed explosive mana and ripped through the space. Hundreds of various kinds of mind control magic also appeared the moment he appeared. Before these mind control magic could turn into energy streams and spread all over the venue…

[The powerful being who has transcended the eras was called by this name…]

[Supreme. The final realm that a human can reach.]

[Supreme. The greatest and highest realm that a human hopes to reach.]

[Supreme. The final realm that a human can demonstrate.]

[And he carried the name…]

[The Supreme.]

Crack, crack, crack–!

Along with the white haze that continued to spread and rise from Rundalk’s body, hundreds of white sword lights shot out from the children’s wooden sword in his hand. These sword lights instantly extinguished all of the black magic that Agintomachia sent from above.

“You said that you want to become a Pillar?

“That’s right! You bastard! You have no idea…!” Rughamon shouted. He was completely unaware of the existence of the Supreme.

“I also know quite a lot of Pillar Candidates.”

Rundalk raised his sword toward Agintomachia, who was already halfway over from the space it tore apart.

Bang–!

At that moment, a heavy force struck the gigantic Agintomachia.

“Why?”

[The Supreme.]

[He was someone who slaughtered 16 Pillar Candidates by himself.]

“Because a lot of them died by my hands.”