95. The Hunt (3)
“Damn……”
Jeonghyeon stared at the ground, lost in thought.
If he swung his sword recklessly, Ignirn's mana constructs could chain-react into an explosion, wiping them all out in an instant.
Uldran's quest could fail for all he cared, but he couldn't afford to lose Jeonghu here.
I've gotta be careful……
Jeonghyeon was deep in contemplation, weighing every option carefully.
“Hey? Wait a sec!”
Philip suddenly started swinging his mace at the ground.
Boom!
Before Jeonghyeon could stop him, the mace crashed into the earth with a thunderous roar.
……
And nothing happened.
The ground was just cratered a bit. No explosion. No vibrations.
“I-I can see it……!”
When Philip, having struck the ground, turned to Jeonghyeon, a glint of light shone in his eyes.
“……Huh? See what?”
“Dungeon Eye. The skill Uldran's awakeners can use. Seems like it works anytime in Afraksas……!”
“……No kidding?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't you use it sooner?”
“I was waiting for your command……”
Ah, this loyal subordinate, always so obedient.
Jeonghyeon let out a deep sigh of relief.
Good. There's a way.
Who knew Philip's Dungeon Eye would come in so handy? It was like it had been waiting for this exact moment.
“A-alright, then let's dig in with that. How far can you see?”
“It's linked to your mana, Master Jeonghyeon, so I can see where Jeonghu is. But not the full path there…… So……”
Philip swung his mace carefully once more.
Kaboom!
The ground cratered a little deeper.
“We'll just open the path as we go, slowly.”
And so, Philip and Jeonghyeon began descending underground, step by step.
Philip's Dungeon Eye didn't drain mana excessively—it just required focus. One of those ridiculously overpowered skills.
A shame all of Uldran's awakeners had perished so early in his previous life.
As he followed Philip down, Jeonghyeon felt a quiet joy inside.
Good thing he's by my side this time.
It would prove invaluable in the dungeons teeming with future Demon King Army legion commanders.
They dug deep underground for a good while, all to rescue Jeonghu.
The work felt like pickaxing through a minefield littered with explosives toward their goal.
Sweat poured off Philip like rain, and Jeonghyeon was starting to get irritated at his own uselessness.
If only I could see it myself.
His harvesting knife was useful everywhere outside of butchering prey.
Held in reverse grip, channeling mana into its curved tip made it perfect for digging or carving grooves in the earth.
Philip's mace, on the other hand, was an area-of-effect bludgeon.
One slip in power control, and the shockwave would spread, blasting Jeonghu to bits.
And now they were deep underground already—no guarantee of safety for Jeonghyeon or Philip either.
All Jeonghyeon could do was infuse a bit of mana to aid the delicate work.
“You okay? Want me to take over?”
Jeonghyeon said it despite knowing he couldn't do much.
“No, sir. I'm better for this. The mana constructs are way denser from here on……!”
Philip's hands began to tremble as he spoke.
Using Dungeon Eye was mentally taxing enough, and now he had to fine-tune his mana control on top of it.
It didn't suit his brute-force style at all.
Damn it……! Demon King, you bastard. Give me something!
Jeonghyeon hated situations like this.
Where he couldn't do a damn thing for his comrades.
If it were just him suffering, he could've endured as the last hero and warrior who fought to the end for humanity.
Dominator, my ass. Is cowering behind my allies while they clear the path what a dominator does?
He swallowed the curses bubbling up, not wanting to distract Philip even a little.
It was like seeing the faces of those he couldn't save in his previous life.
People he could've saved if he'd just been a bit stronger.
If he'd moved a bit faster.
If he'd known sooner, so they never got in danger.
None of those deaths were his fault, but the memories weighed on him like original sin, crushing his heart.
He wanted to scream, Put that burden on me instead!
Let me do it……!
Jeonghyeon knew all too well the pressure of his comrades' lives hanging on his hands. His bottled-up rage was overflowing, manifesting as mana.
Demon King's mana resonates with Uldran's mana.
As Uldran's awakener, Dungeon Eye opens fully.
Copies the dominated's skill level directly.
Dungeon Eye Lv. 7 activates.
As if granting his wish, a foreign power—distinct from the Demon King's mana—flowed into Jeonghyeon's eyes.
“Gaaahhh!!”
Demon King and dragon power were opposing forces.
Agonizing pain spread through his eyes.
***
“You okay?”
“Shut it. You're breaking my focus.”
They had switched places by now. Jeonghyeon was delicately carving the earth with his harvesting knife like a pickaxe, pushing toward Jeonghu.
Walking safe paths when he found them, digging when he didn't.
It wasn't easy pioneering a new route while enduring the immense pain of wielding a dragon's unfamiliar power.
“Fuck…… Almost there!”
But a thrilled curse escaped his lips, a smile spreading across his face.
No matter how rough he was, at least he didn't have to burden his cherished comrades.
Finally, Jeonghyeon and Philip reached Jeonghu.
“Master Jeonghyeon!?”
“Jeonghu! Hey, Jeonghu!”
They greeted each other like long-lost family.
Crack!
Jeonghyeon immediately smashed his fist into Jeonghu's face.
“You crazy fuck! What the hell were you thinking chasing some bastard underground!? Huh? Didn't you learn shit climbing that tower?!”
“S-sorry…… Guhk!”
Thwack! Thud!
“What if you'd gotten yourself blown to shit! You dumbass!”
A strange tremor laced Jeonghyeon's excessive rage.
Something others would never notice—a feeling resonating through his mana as a dominated subordinate.
Genuine worry.
“Fuck! Of all places, if you'd blown up here, you little shit……!”
“……Sorry. And thank you.”
Jeonghu felt an odd gratitude amid Jeonghyeon's furious cursing.
“Next time, I'll be more careful. And catch 'em faster.”
Dominator.
His dominator feared losing him this much.
“……Hah. Whatever. No point yelling now. Let's get the hell up.”
Jeonghyeon sighed deeply, finally calming as he stopped punching and looked around.
And there, he felt a familiar presence.
“Hey. But over there……”
“Yeah. I see it too.”
A foreign mana visible only to the two Dungeon Eye users. Ignirn's mana, but moving—like fuel.
Embedded in the thruster of the hostage.
“That's the hostage, right?”
“Looks like it.”
They say criminals always return to the scene of the crime.
The bastard hadn't gone far, lurking safely while waiting for Jeonghu to blow up.
Daring to screw him over and try to kill his comrades. No value as a hostage anymore.
“Let's grab that fucker too.”
“Of course……”
Jeonghyeon gripped his harvesting knife properly and charged down the now-clear tunnel without hesitation.
Whoosh—swish!
The hostage panicked at the sudden charge and bolted.
He must have thought:
How the hell did they find me so fast in this underground maze laced with Ignirn's mana, without a shred of light?
But before his curiosity could be sated, Jeonghyeon was already there—grinding his teeth in rage, emanating terrifying mana that froze the hostage in place just by facing it.
“Hey, you piece of shit. Miss me?”
Overwhelmed by the mana in those words, the hostage went rigid.
Jeonghyeon approaching slowly was the Demon King incarnate.
“I'm not gonna kill you easy. Let's head out first.”
Every word from his mouth was sincere, and the hostage was convinced he'd die in agony.
This was the madman who'd smiled while interrogating and slicing off limbs before the anger even hit.
“Don't back away. Come here, I said. Thanks to you, maze-running was fun. I'll make it fun for you too.”
Now properly pissed, teeth grinding—who knew what he'd do? It was obvious.
“Ugh…… Uuugh!”
Overcoming Jeonghyeon's shout with sheer terror of death, the hostage moved, pressing the knife to his own throat.
The blade glowed red, infused with Ignirn's mana.
Sizzle—!
As the red light touched his neck, his skin burned instantly, blistering.
“S-stay back! I'll kill myself right here!”
“Making threats, are we?”
“I-I'm tracked by mana! If my vitals stop, my comrades will swarm! A-and I'm rigged to self-destruct!”
Jeonghyeon silently watched the hostage flail, limbs shaking as he spat his case.
It didn't sound like a lie or bluff.
Ignirn would totally sacrifice pawns for his goals.
“Then you all blow up here! My comrades will finish the remaining Rock Dwarves! Got it?!”
Jeonghyeon let out his signature sigh at the words.
“Hah. So what?”
“G-get out first! You guys!”
“And? You go back to your buddies?”
“I'll convince 'em to retreat, no matter what!”
“Ah. You think that'll fly?”
“You fucking bastard! You just need to protect the Rock Dwarves anyway! Or do you wanna die here together?!”
“Then die, asshole.”
“Huh……?”
Such a response? He figured the guy had some sense, but straight-up telling him to off himself? As the hostage gaped at Jeonghyeon in shock,
Jeonghyeon pursed his lips like 'not my problem' and nodded toward the hostage's back.
“B-back?”
When the hostage slowly turned, Nus stood there—massive after absorbing the piled Ignirn mana constructs in the tunnel, radiating red flames.
“Go on, die. I'll just absorb it.”
“T-that……”
“Can't? Fine, I'll kill you.”
With that, Nus swallowed the hostage in one gulp.