Chapter 109
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 109
Chapter Title: Whim
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After struggling to hunt that tough prey, it was time to check the spoils.
He split open the Hydra's chest and pulled out its inner core. The core was enormous—bigger than an adult man's torso. Woojin had to hoist it onto his back like some peddler with his bundle.
'Gonna be a pain to eat this whole thing.'
He stared at the massive core, pondering. It was too big to devour in one go. At least a hundred kilograms, easy.
Woojin could eat more than a normal person, but even accounting for that, polishing off this giant core was impossible.
Maybe squeeze out the blood and take a bath in it, like Nine Roses had done last time?
······I'll worry about that later.
'For now, let's gather the rest of the loot.'
He glanced around.
Dark cultists' corpses strewn everywhere. No sign of any survivors. Not that there would be—anyone lucky enough to make it had fled down the mountain long ago.
The Hydra's stomach probably held some undigested cultists, too.
'Not in the mood to dig around in there.'
He could already picture the nauseating sight, so Woojin turned away without a second thought.
He rummaged through the corpses of the cultists that caught his eye, extracting their inner cores and belongings. He tossed it all near the Hydra's core.
All these spoils were his.
To be precise, the sky squirrel had helped take down the Hydra, so it could claim a share... but
'······That guy's keeping his distance as usual.'
True to form, the silver squirrel watched from afar.
If he spotted a decent core, he'd toss it to the squirrel as a gift. As he scanned the area with that in mind, his eyes landed on the bishop's corpse sprawled face-down in the dirt.
The priestess in the butterfly mask. Woojin tilted his head slightly at the sight.
'Did the body's position change?'
It had been near the lake before, but now it was oddly out on the periphery.
What could explain that?
He walked over to investigate. Standing by the corpse's head, Woojin realized something unexpected.
'······She's still breathing.'
The butterfly mask wasn't dead.
He'd clearly seen her stabbed in the chest with a blade. How had she held on this long? Woojin examined the area around her.
A dozen empty glass vials scattered in the dirt. He picked one up and sniffed it.
'Recovery potion.'
A potion that rapidly healed wounds. That painted a rough picture of what happened.
After the high priest and No. 1 were killed by Woojin, the panicked followers must have dumped every potion they had on their bishop to save her.
Those who accepted the Demonic Realm's power had tenacious life force. The bishop was exceptionally talented, and her inner core was intact, so the potions revived her briefly after her breathing stopped.
'But she doesn't look good.'
She couldn't.
She'd been hacked up, then stabbed through the chest, ruining her heart. That was a fatal wound no potion could fix—like pouring water into a bucket with a hole.
As her condition worsened, the Hydra went berserk. Terrified, the dark cultists abandoned her and fled.
'What to do with her.'
Extracting and eating her core felt off.
The silken moth's pheromones were a female-only ability. Even if he took the priestess's core, he couldn't inherit it.
Some abilities were gender-locked like that.
"······Uh, ugh···"
The butterfly mask let out a pained groan. It sounded like she was trying to say something.
Woojin leaned in to listen.
"Who... are you···?"
He pondered briefly before answering.
"No. 42."
"You... survived somehow... Lucky you."
She murmured faintly. Woojin seized the chance to ask something he'd wondered about.
"Why didn't you hand me over to the snake?"
Sacrificing one offering would've let them pass the mountains easily. Why had the bishop refused to feed No. 42 to the Hydra?
The butterfly mask replied.
"······I... don't like... being abandoned."
Her words came out disjointed, like sleep-talk. With that, the priestess went limp. No strength left for more talk.
Woojin scratched his chin, thinking... then glanced at the Hydra's core.
'Too big to eat alone.'
The thought hit him anew.
With the dark cultist charade over, there was no need for the full robe and iron mask anymore.
He stripped off the outer layer carelessly. Then he rummaged at his waist and drew a dagger made from a beast's fang. He carved a chunk off the core with the blade.
'This should be about half a pound, right?'
The Hydra's core was so massive that slicing off a bit didn't show. Like scooping a plate from a giant wedding cake—the size barely changed.
Woojin pressed the chunk to the priestess's lips and squeezed, forcing out the juices.
Drip, drip—
Thick red blood poured out vigorously. Unconsciously, she swallowed it.
Her complexion improved noticeably.
As expected, the blood squeezed from the Hydra's core had excellent regenerative properties. Just like how Woojin had survived thanks to the dragon's core back then.
'······Feels familiar.'
Had Nine Roses felt the same?
After feeding her half a pound of core blood, the priestess's breathing stabilized visibly. A bit more rest, and she'd regain consciousness.
'Guess I'll have some now.'
He sliced another piece from the Hydra's core, sat down, and took a big bite. Vitality surged through him immediately, making his head spin.
An ancient being's core held immense power. Drawn to it, Woojin chewed and swallowed frantically. Half a pound vanished in seconds.
Then it was just rinse and repeat.
Crunch, munch—
The sound of raw flesh being gnawed echoed nonstop. Woojin sliced, bit, and devoured relentlessly.
'······Still a ton left.'
He smacked his lips and glanced around casually. He was getting full.
Over thirty kilograms down, solo.
Yet more than seventy percent remained. Saving it for later wasn't ideal—cores lost energy fast if the outer shell cracked.
It'd be a waste not to finish it soon, but the sheer volume made it tricky.
"Hey... Hey!"
Woojin suddenly shouted into the distance. The squirrel's ears perked up.
He beckoned it closer. Seeming to understand, the squirrel hesitated but approached slowly.
Woojin carved off a hefty slab and handed it over.
The squirrel paused.
This priceless core wasn't available anywhere. Was it okay to share? It glanced timidly for approval.
"Eat."
Woojin urged with a gesture. The squirrel began gnawing.
A little time passed.
······Burp.
The squirrel let out a tiny hiccup. Its small size filled up quick. It started to stand.
Woojin glared.
"You're not leaving till it's gone."
"······."
The squirrel plopped back down.
Unintentional feeding torture. But no choice—this treasure couldn't go to waste.
The Hydra's core was absurdly huge. Almost pointless in its size. Looking back, the Hydra itself was weak for its bulk.
'Regeneration aside, no standout abilities.'
Regeneration far beyond common sense—an ability optimized for survival.
Demonic Realm creatures grew stronger the longer they lived. The Hydra's exceptional regeneration let it survive eons, gaining ancient-being power.
But overly reliant on it, it didn't feel threatening. It just tried to crush foes with size alone.
'Strong, sure... but way behind dragons or Nine Roses.'
A lesser outer god by comparison. Still, its ability was useful.
He nicked his hand with the machete. Bubbles formed, and the wound sealed like it was stitched—perfectly.
'Hydra's regeneration.'
A good ability inherited after a while.
Woojin flexed his hand contentedly. Then curiosity struck.
'What if my head gets cut off?'
Would two grow back?
Doubtful. Incompatible traits rarely transferred. Like how he couldn't inherit the silken moth's ability.
Just a hypothesis, though. Only decapitation would prove it... and he wasn't keen to test.
As he mulled that over—
"······Ugh."
A faint groan. The butterfly mask stirred. Then her eyes fluttered open.
The priestess lifted her head groggily. She faced the mangled Hydra corpse, and Woojin and the squirrel chowing down on the massive core.
An unbelievable sight. The stunned priestess blinked blankly from her seat.
"······What is this... a dream?"
She muttered to herself. Not very bishop-like. Woojin ignored her and kept eating.
No need to explain. Once the sleep cleared, she'd figure it out.
She pinched her arm, then stood and approached. The squirrel bristled warily at the stranger.
Woojin commented.
"Don't do anything stupid. Just finish eating."
"······."
The squirrel returned to its meal. It nibbled slowly, picky. The priestess stared dazedly.
Tap, tap.
Woojin prodded the spot beside him with the machete tip. Entranced, she sat where indicated.
The feast resumed. Gnawing sounds filled the air for a good while.
"······Why did you save me?"
The priestess suddenly asked. Woojin paused mid-bite, pondering.
What to say?
Reasons were mixed. She seemed reasonable enough to spare. He'd subtly benefited from her in the city. Her stand against the Hydra impressed him.
Problem was, it was a gut-feeling call—hard to articulate clearly. And explaining in detail felt like a hassle.
So Woojin kept it simple.
"Just felt like it."
As he spoke...
The Spider Queen came to mind.
'Fickle Nine Roses.'
That's what the dark cultists called her. Her actions and thoughts were unpredictable. The incomprehensible bred fear.
Woojin realized something just then. Or empathized, rather.
'Nine Roses isn't fickle.'
She just didn't bother explaining herself to inferiors.