Chapter 220
Chapter 220
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: EP.49 – The Most Dangerous Creature in the World... (6)
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'Those guys are helping out surprisingly hard, huh?'
An unexpected fervor.
He had brought up old ties, but he hadn't imagined things would go this smoothly.
'At least they smell somewhat human, so I gave it a shot...'
In truth, if No. 5 and No. 6 were still alive instead of them, he never would have proposed an alliance.
Those two reeked too much of blood, and he knew too little about them anyway.
Just as in any organization, people got divided into those you got along with and those you didn't.
In Lee Han's case, No. 7 and No. 11, along with No. 9 and No. 10, were the ones he had some camaraderie with.
...Though No. 9 and No. 10 had tried to stab him in the back, only to have their lifelines cut by his hand.
Anyway, it was a relief things had worked out.
If they hadn't...
Whoosh!
Crash!
"Watch out, No. 8! Even you can't take that curse head-on and come out unscathed!"
"What happens if I do?"
"Your precious someone might come down with an incurable disease, or your fingers could turn into tree branches."
"...Yeah, better not get hit."
There would have been no way to counter the curse.
'That thing's scary.'
For some reason, it was trickier than magic.
Magic could usually be endured head-on, but curses and hexes were hard to even dodge, let alone deal with.
It was fortunate he hadn't killed No. 11—no, Yan.
He had deliberately left the shaman alone, and knowing Yan was one, Lee Han had passed up several chances to take him out.
You didn't mess with shamans lightly, lest some curse counter back at you.
Wasn't there that saying about how touching a shaman could doom three generations?
But now, with the shaman as a sturdy ally instead of an enemy...
'As expected, you need a solid wizard for a monster raid!'
Lee Han felt an indescribable sense of security.
[Netherworld Beast].
They called it a "hell demon."
"...Hell demons are exactly what they sound like—demons from the netherworld. From what I heard in the organization, since they belong to the netherworld, they crave the bodies of the living. Even if it's not a living body, they devour corpses whole. And in the world of the living, their power and influence are suppressed, so they can't act freely."
"What are its features?"
"Regeneration and predation ability would be its specialties."
"How do you kill it?"
"You just keep hitting it over and over. Once everything it's eaten is digested and it starts tiring out, it vanishes on its own."
"So, we just have to outlast it."
"Pretty much."
"...A gruesome bastard."
Rak let out a rare dry chuckle.
To the ear, it sounded easy enough.
Just prevent it from feeding and wear it down, and it disappears automatically.
However, in another sense, it meant you could never truly kill it.
A demon that spawned in the netherworld, the realm of death—it was an irrational, contradictory lifeform to which the concept of death didn't apply.
On top of that, its immense strength, recovery power, inexhaustible stamina, eerie death aura, and curses made it utterly horrifying.
"...On par with the Ghost King?"
It matched the strength and trickiness of the Troll King from the day before.
That had been a nightmare already, and now something on its level had appeared—enough to send shivers down the spine.
Still, compared to yesterday's fierce battle, there was one advantage he had to acknowledge.
Kaboom!!
──The presence of undeniably powerful allies watching his back.
"Uahaha! Die, you demon!"
Maximus's battle axe hammered the hell demon's body wildly, while Dina's pinpoint explosions hammered it in support, one after another.
"To think I'd have to do this again."
Rak's spear split into two, transforming like twin short staffs, and the crimson aura-clad staffs struck the demon.
Stabbing with blades just led to instant regeneration anyway, so it was all about hitting it hundreds, thousands of times.
Likewise, Lee Han...
Bam!
"...This is actually doing damage, right?"
...Was throwing his punches with all he had.
It was a fierce fist strike unleashing intense wind pressure, infused with a flurry of Hundred-Step Divine Fists.
...But every hit felt like punching rubber, so meaningless that Lee Han couldn't shake the feeling he wasn't winning.
[No, you're definitely winning. Every time you attack, that thing's presence fades a bit.]
"...For real?"
[If you can't trust yourself, trust me. I'm the guardian of a holy relic, after all.]
The confident declaration of the one-eyed imp.
Lee Han could only nod at those earnest eyes.
'Right, just treat it like a game monster.'
Monsters in games—especially back in the dot-pixel era—were like that.
No matter how much the player hit them, they showed no wounds, but the health bar proved the damage was accumulating.
'That's probably this guy.'
The only difference was no visible gauge bar, unlike in games.
Lee Han decided to keep it simple, trusted the one-eyed imp, and kept pounding away without rest.
Yeah...!
'I'll beat it to death if that's what it takes!'
He had confidence in his stamina too.
'...Those are terrifying people.'
Meanwhile, Yan, who had been supporting them from the rear by fending off curses, felt awe.
[KEEE!!?]
...The hell demon was getting utterly wrecked.
Some might look at it and question if it was really weak, but nonsense.
That hell demon's power scaled explosively with the number of lives it devoured.
It had to be around the level of the starving Ghost King summoned the day before.
...The Troll King that could wipe out a small kingdom in half a day, starved or not.
So, the reason it was getting beaten now was simple.
'Because those guys are strong.'
"Don't come near me!"
"You're the one coming!!"
"Ahaha, with a sandbag like this, I'd love to pound on it for a month...!"
Even though Yan was neutralizing the curses, that didn't block the hell demon's death aura—what they called "death energy."
Yet those three endured the death energy and kept striking the demon.
Splurt!
Spikes like a hedgehog's suddenly sprouted from the hell demon's body, threatening them, but the three knights...
Crack!
...Smashed them.
Scraaape!
...Shaved them off.
Crunch...!
...Crushed them like paper.
The knights overwhelming the hell demon.
An unbelievable sight...
A wave of shockwaves swept over him with a whoosh, and Yan clicked his tongue.
"Were they always this strong...?"
He knew those three knights were powerful.
He had heard it several times from the organization.
That in this era, they were the closest to becoming Aura Users—superhumans—and the only ones with the potential to reach it.
'...There's a huge gap between hearing about it and seeing it firsthand.'
But as if proving that knowledge and witnessing were worlds apart, Yan—who now had a front-row view of their prowess—found cold sweat pouring down.
This level of thrill...
'I haven't felt it since the 1st Apostle and the Archbishop.'
But to be clear, the flavor of their strength was different.
Those three were pure humans climbing toward the peak, while the organization's leaders were evolving beyond humanity into something "grotesque."
...Well.
Whoosh!
"...That thing's pretty grotesque too."
Watching No. 8—or rather, the knight now named Lee Han—deliver a suplex to the over-9-meter hell demon with absurd skill, Yan wore a hollow smile.
......He was starting to suspect if the factor injected into No. 8 had been from a Troll King instead of a regular troll.
"......By now, they should still be locked in fierce combat."
"That's cruel. Still, they're key executives of the Black Moon—using them as sacrifices like this."
"They're 'sinners' anyway, aren't they? Especially the 5th and 6th Apostles went too far. The 7th and 11th might feel wronged... but it's a necessary sacrifice."
"You know that's a cowardly excuse, right?"
"Call it hypocrisy. They're going to hell to be roasted anyway—what does it matter if we do evil deeds?"
"......You're not the only one going. I'll be there too, so the road to hell won't be lonely."
"That's not like you, offering comfort."
"Heh."
The middle-aged man laughed, and the young boy laughed along.
Despite the 30-year age gap apparent in their appearances, they exuded a seasoned, melancholic aura beyond superficial looks.
They even gave off the vibe of enlightened high monks, standing atop the building amid wind and rain.
Moments ago, it had been a serene night with a clear crescent moon, but now dark clouds boiled, blotting it out, soon belching thunder and pouring rain.
Plip, plip-plip-plip!
The rain started as a drizzle wetting the ground, but now it was a downpour. Visibility had become impossible at some point.
"Did you predict this rain too?"
"Even if they call me a prophet, you know I'm not a true one."
"Then this is..."
"Even the Great Sky and Creator of Life, the Light of Glory, must know of it..."
Squelch, splish-splash...!
The middle-aged man heard the squelching footsteps piercing the rain.
Innumerable footsteps pushing through the muddy paths without hesitation.
"...The wrath of the lambs going to punish their own flock."
A swell grander than any orchestra's performance.
Though the man claimed not to be a prophet, a vision of the future already flickered in his mind.
Tonight.
The world would be turned upside down—.