Chapter 210
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 210
Chapter Title: Decisive Battle - 2
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"Alright, now... let's begin demolishing the Demon King's Castle."
At Lee Hyun-wook's words, heat-resistant suits began to be distributed.
Agaidica had explained earlier that the 'Heart of the Land', located four kilometers down inside that hole, was a region of extremely high temperature.
Therefore, before infiltrating, the Players activated mana shields to protect themselves from the heat, received magical barriers from the mages, or donned items with heat-resistant properties.
And the blacksmiths prepared to deploy 'bipedal magic drones'.
Their purpose was to check what lay below before anyone threw themselves into the dark abyss, and then to set up a magical barrier at the landing point.
They were about to enter enemy territory, a place called the Demon King's Castle. It was only natural to take every possible precaution.
Then, Kim Se-hee drew everyone's attention and raised her voice.
"Alright, right now, the wind is blowing up from the hole, but I'll control it to create a downward draft! Just like an elevator!"
Of course, it wouldn't be as stable as an elevator.
"And obviously, the tankers will go in first, so please step forward."
"Hmph— I guess we're always the first to walk the path to the underworld..."
But just then.
"—Ugh!"
"—Kuh!"
Suddenly, almost every Player complained of a strange headache at the same time.
"......."
A brief silence followed the bizarre experience.
"...W-was I not the only one who just felt that?"
"Huh? What, you felt it too?"
"What was that? A sudden chill, maybe?"
The shiver that ran down their spines, the feeling of their hair standing on end... in other words, it was the survival instinct of a living creature.
It was an intuition, a feeling that a great threat was approaching.
And Lee Hyun-wook felt it too.
‘This is... an overwhelming presence.’
Like a dragon's fear aura, something of a higher class was nearby. And it had begun to act so vigorously that its presence could be felt even without a direct confrontation.
‘Currently, the only being in this area with such a presence is, of course, the Demon King...’
But to suddenly be able to feel it like this could only mean that the fiend's power had risen dramatically all at once.
‘...The question is, why the sudden increase?’
Hyun-wook had surmised that the fiend was currently pouring all its energy into constructing the Demon King's Castle, and thus was in a state where it couldn't easily move.
That must have been why it couldn't come out itself, even as its legions were being helplessly decimated by Hyun-wook's successive airstrikes.
And yet...
- (!) The <Demon King's Castle>, the essence of your arch-nemesis 'Demon King's' power, has been completed!
* The 'Rampage of Evil' will soon begin, and the Demon King's Castle will absorb human life force to grow stronger.
A warning-like system message appeared before his eyes.
"Damn it, why so soon..."
This was completely different from the timeline Lee Hyun-wook had anticipated.
But then, another system message appeared.
- Congratulations! As the <World Quest: The Demon King's Invasion> begins in earnest, the 'Hero's Perk' will be upgraded to 'Phase 2'.
* The Demon King's Castle evolves each time it takes a life.
Fortunately, this time it was positive news.
Typically, in fantasy stories, a hero appears to counter the crisis of a demon king. Was the Hero's Perk strengthening in tandem with the Demon King, based on that same cliché?
While staying wary of the trembling ground, Lee Hyun-wook quickly scanned the details.
1) All stats are greatly increased. (+400%)
2) All status effect resistances are increased. (+200%)
3) You can ignore the Demon King's special barrier.
4) You can 'transfer' the abilities of allied Players.
‘They've exactly doubled.’
Once again, all his abilities had been significantly enhanced.
And a new function had been added as well.
'Hmm, transferring the abilities of allied Players...'
But there was no time to test it.
"We need to get away from here, right now!"
The one who shouted was Agaidica. As if sensing something, he roared at his subordinates, and all the Ancient Red Drakes began to scatter in every direction.
"—Hurry, move! The ground here is about to collapse!"
「He's right! The ground beneath our feet has started to heave! It's going to give way any second!」
Through Maru's additional explanation, Lee Hyun-wook intuited what was happening.
"Don't tell me... the Demon King's Castle is rising up?"
He had assumed it would stay down there, since that's where it was built.
But it seemed to be trying to rise to the surface.
「—It's too fast, we're too late!」
Soon, the ground began to crack, and a massive crevasse started to open with the borehole Lee Hyun-wook had created as its axis.
C-r-a-a-a-a-ck—!
From that gap, pillars of heat erupted like gas explosions.
BOOM—! BOOM—!
“Kuh!”
They shot into the sky like cannonballs, and even the airships floating hundreds of meters above were swept up in the pillars of heat, losing their balance and spinning before ultimately starting to crash down.
CRASH— CRASH—
"—Watch out above!"
"Agh! Damn it, we have to escape with Teleport!"
On the quaking ground, they scattered in all directions, dodging the cracking earth and the falling debris from the airships.
BOOM—CRASH—!
Still, being high-level Players, they weren't caught completely off guard and attempted emergency escapes that each party had prepared in advance.
And those who had managed to get as far away from the scene as possible turned to look back at the crevasse.
From the wide, long fissure, black smoke billowed up like a thick fog, soaring to the sky and creating a scene as if a giant blackout curtain had obscured half the world.
Ruuuumble—
And from within that black smoke, something slowly began to ascend, its shadow briefly visible against the dark plumes...
"Gasp! What is that? I-it's huge!"
"...I don't know what it is, but it feels ominous."
Though it was just a shadow, they could tell that something enormous, with many long, writhing things dangling from it, was slowly rising into the sky.
But soon, it became clear what it was.
- Warning! The 'Demon King's Castle' has appeared in this area!
* All stats of beings who have sworn allegiance to the Demon King will be greatly enhanced. (+100%)
* The stats of all other beings will decrease. (-30%) The Hero is exempt.
Soon, it began to emerge from the black curtain of smoke.
Ruuuumble—
Watching it, Kim Se-hee tilted her head.
"...That's supposed to be the Demon King's Castle?"
Park Jun-mo, standing beside her, also tilted his head.
"Yes, but... I don't see how that's a castle."
It was a form that could by no means be called a structure.
Gurgle— Gurgle—
It was... a living creature.
Yes, a clearly living, moving creature...
Specifically, it looked like the part corresponding to a head.
Gurgle— Gurgle—
A huge head—it could only be described as such—a dark red, glistening mass of flesh at least two kilometers in diameter... with a single giant eye embedded in its center.
Gurgle— Gurgle—
The massive eyeball moved up, down, left, and right, its pupil repeatedly contracting and dilating.
In other words, it was scanning the entire area.
"Oh, this is insane..."
The Players who felt its gaze couldn't help but instinctively flinch.
Also, countless smaller eyeballs were embedded around the large eye, and as they blinked independently, their red glow would disappear and reappear, making it look as if lights were flickering.
Below that was a mouth... a large, toothless mouth was open, its bluish lips, like rotten mackerel, parted slightly as a thick, viscous tongue squirmed out.
Every time it inhaled—that is, breathed—a rough, rattling sound, as if filled with phlegm, echoed loudly.
And finally, at the very bottom, dozens of tentacles writhed.
At first glance, it looked like a mollusk, but since it had distinct facial features... it also resembled the head of a one-eyed monster with a long beard.
‘That's the Demon King's Castle... How absurd.’
Even Lee Hyun-wook was dumbfounded.
That appearance was, no matter how you looked at it, beyond common sense.
How in the world could that be called a castle (城)?
And something so bizarre was a first even for the Players, who had grown through all sorts of horrific experiences.
"......."
As if overwhelmed by the strange pressure, they could only stare blankly at the horrifying entity, unable to take any action, making their preparations to demolish the castle seem pointless.
"—Everyone, snap out of it and prepare for an attack!"
The one who shouted was the gravity mage, Lee Seong-yoon.
"We have no idea what kind of attack it will launch, so we must prepare our defenses to the fullest!"
Just as he said, they hadn't predicted what form the Demon King's Castle would take, so they couldn't predict what kind of attacks it would make either.
Lee Hyun-wook agreed with him.
"We'll start with defense! Prepare all available defensive measures right now! And... escape routes, too."
The best plan Lee Hyun-wook had conceived was to prevent the construction of the Demon King's Castle.
In other words, now that the castle was complete and had appeared before them, they needed to reassess their plan rather than forcing a battle.
But then, from the hole where the Demon King's Castle had risen, small things began to shoot up...
Kuaaaaah—!
They were all monsters.
Titans, Black Orcs, Undead, and other monsters were pulled by an unseen force, levitating through the air towards the Demon King's Castle... and were soon sucked into its wide-open mouth.
"Uh... what is it doing?"
"Yeah, don't tell me it's eating its own side?"
At first glance, it looked like it was swallowing them, but upon closer inspection with Huginn and Muninn, Lee Hyun-wook determined that it was likely loading the monsters... that is, the legions, into the castle.
Lee Hyun-wook was suspicious of the scene.
‘...Why is it loading them?’
If it was for battle, wouldn't it make more sense to bring them out and line them up, rather than putting them inside the castle?
'In that case... it has no intention of fighting.'
His guess was correct.
The Demon King's Castle rose higher and higher, and its largest eye looked upwards, then fired a beam of light.
And then...
Woo-woo-woo-woo—
A hole opened in the sky.
"...Huh? It opened a portal?"
A super-massive portal had been created. It was similar in size to a Wyte Hole, but its color was red.
The moment he saw that, Lee Hyun-wook stopped focusing on defense.
He immediately raised his Mana Messenger.
"—Team Leader Lee, bring the Prydwen and the Gauss here right now!"
- Yes?
"We have to shoot it down, right now!"
Right now, the Demon King's Castle was clearly preparing for a ‘spatial transfer’. In other words, it was trying to postpone its battle with Lee Hyun-wook.
Lee Hyun-wook re-read the earlier system message related to the castle's completion.
And he found the line written at the bottom: '* The Demon King's Castle evolves each time it takes a life.'
‘...It's going to a big city to target the lives of civilians.’
In other words, it was a rational and wicked plan to grow stronger by taking as much life force as possible through slaughter, and then confront Lee Hyun-wook.
Soon, the Prydwen and the Gauss flew in from the rear.
But at that moment—
Zing—!
A beam of light shot out and struck the Prydwen.
BOOM—!
Still, the Prydwen was equipped with the most powerful magic barrier generator, so it wasn't pierced in a single blow, but it was sent flying like a bowling pin struck by a ball and crashed into the ground.
One of the Demon King's Castle's tentacles had fired the beam.
‘Damn it.’
Then, a voice began to echo through the air.
「Steel Rain, you are quick-witted, but too late.」
It was the Demon King's voice.
"......."
「You, and all of you... you will pay the price for rejecting my repeated offers and making the wrong choice. Every being you love and know will become my nourishment, and if you dare to stand against me again... you will face your family, lovers, and friends as the undead.」
With that curse-laden threat, the Demon King's Castle rapidly gained altitude...
Whoosh—
And finally, it disappeared into the black portal.
They couldn't stop it.
"W-what, what was that..."
"...Where did it go?"
"Did it run away?"
The Players were left with blank expressions.
They had no idea what was happening.
Lee Hyun-wook thought for a moment before coming to a conclusion.
“Team Leader Lee, check on Seoul, right now.”
And his guess was...
- Chk— T-the Demon King's Castle, it's appeared over Seoul!
Unfortunately, correct.
The Demon King had chosen Seoul as its first sacrifice. It was a clear move to destroy Lee Hyun-wook's foundation.
- Right now, Players defending Seoul are reporting a system message warning them to beware of soul harvesting! What does this mean...
Soul harvesting. The Demon King's Castle was trying to take life force.
From the entire population of Seoul, no less...
At this, Lee Hyun-wook quickly gave an order.
"...There's only one way. We use the 'World Bridge' right now to open a Wyte Hole to Seoul and pursue it."
However...
- B-but... the sky over Seoul... it's reportedly sealed by some kind of wide-area magic, just like here was a moment ago. Damn it! Doesn't that mean we can't open a portal?
Scythe. He was talking about that.
But its cooldown shouldn't have been over yet.
‘...As I thought, there was another one.’
The Scythe used here was the one brought by the Necromancer. And since the named Titan 'Chronos' had submitted to the Demon King... the fiend had one more Scythe.
The bad news continued.
- And the sealed area has a radius of a whopping 30 kilometers, so if we return to the Korean peninsula using a Wyte Hole, we'll have to choose Suwon as our destination.
If they arrived in Suwon, used Park Jun-mo's electricity to punch a hole through, and then crossed 30 kilometers to reach Seoul...
- ...We'll be too late.
Countless casualties would be unavoidable.
Lee Hyun-wook took a short breath, then raised his Mana Messenger.
"Team Leader Lee... there's no other way. Prepare to return to Suwon immediately, and contact Seoul. Tell them they need a <Fire Dome>."
- Yes, they're already on the move. The Fire Dome operation will begin shortly.
Lee Hyun-wook had anticipated this situation to some extent.
‘The Demon King has a wide-area spatial movement skill.’
He had used it to escape during his first appearance, and he had used it to travel the world, subjugating monsters.
That's why Lee Hyun-wook had anticipated the possibility of the fiend launching a surprise attack on the Korean peninsula while he was away and had made some preparations.
‘The easiest way to disrupt the enemy is to create chaos in their rear.’
And there were two places the fiend was likely to target.
The Taebaek Armory, where key facilities were located.
Or Seoul, the heart of the Korean peninsula and Lee Hyun-wook's base of operations.
Of the two, the Taebaek Armory was plastered with all sorts of magic-engineered turrets.
That left Seoul as the problem.
How best to defend such a large area?
Of course, there were plenty of A.M.T. troops and Players, but that alone felt insufficient.
So, what he prepared was...
- The 'Fire Dome' operation has now commenced. Sending video from Seoul.
Soon, a magic drone flew towards Lee Hyun-wook.
Whirr—
The magic drone was equipped with a crystal projector.
It projected a hologram into the air, and the video showed...
"...Seoul."
The very familiar sight of the city appeared.
Including the image of the Demon King's Castle, which had consumed the sky above it.
And from the mouth of the Demon King's Castle, something was pouring out, like vomit.
Rumble-rumble-rumble-rumble—
It was the undead legion.
They fell like paratroopers, beginning to spread throughout the city.
Like a virus moving through blood vessels, they moved along roads and alleys, beginning to attack humans.
"Damn it, at this rate, Seoul will be...”
Seoul would be consumed by death.
But just then...
KWAAAAAAH—!
With a deafening roar, the holographic screen was filled with red light.
And from somewhere, an unbelievable being appeared.
"...Huh? What's that now?"
"I-is that a dragon?"
Not a Western dragon, but an Eastern one. A red one, at that.
Seven such beings appeared, filling the screen. They held their bodies erect, moving menacingly as they stared at the Demon King's Castle. Then, they lowered their bodies and swept across the roads.
The undead marching upon them were completely wiped out.
CRUUUUNCH—!
"My god..."
But upon closer inspection, they weren't real dragons.
They were pillars of fire that writhed and moved like dragons.
Moving as if they were alive, devouring the undead, they couldn't help but look like dragons at a glance. And they were menacing enough that it wouldn't be strange to call them such.
"Who on earth is responsible for that spectacle?"
What Lee Hyun-wook had secretly prepared to protect Seoul was...
"...Inferno."
The Player who was considered to have the greatest firepower before Steel Rain's appearance.
The savior of Busan, Inferno.
The one known by that name had broken his long seclusion at this crucial moment.