Chapter 63
Chapter 63
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: Kademain
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#63: Kademain.
The seventh Demon King, bearer of the epithet Chaos, and lord of all evil.
On the continent, his name alone evoked pure terror.
This was because he was the most recently descended Demon King, and records of him were still vividly preserved.
His authority twisted the laws of the world.
The chaos it wrought claimed countless lives.
Though he ultimately fell to the heroes' power, the devastation caused by Kademain was still spoken of to this day.
Aileen swallowed dryly as she gazed upon Kademain's seal.
An ordinary person might not have recognized it, but she was a knight.
And knights were versed in the basics of Demon Kings.
From their names and epithets to the forms of their seals.
Of course, records of some Demon Kings had been damaged and lost, but not Kademain's.
And it was emanating thick demonic energy to boot...
'No ordinary box, that's for sure.'
It might be connected to Seo Woo-jin's disappearance.
No, finding it here all but confirmed the link.
Aileen carefully lifted the box.
In that instant, the surroundings fell silent.
The searching knights had sensed the demonic energy and heightened their alertness.
"Lady Aileen."
The search captain, who had approached her side unnoticed, called out with a rigidly tense expression.
"What's that?"
"We just dug it up from underground. Looks like it belongs to Kademain."
She turned the box to show him the top.
The captain groaned upon seeing the engraved seal.
"A Demon King's seal..."
This was no small matter.
Seals often contained a fragment of a Demon King's authority.
Given how it was radiating demonic energy, it was almost certainly the cause of the heroes' disappearance.
But the knights had no way to deal with it.
Or more precisely, there was only one group capable of resolving such a phenomenon.
"Contact the Sky Tower."
The seekers of truth: the mages.
* * *
"How much farther do we have to go? Uncle, did you and Da-hye really wander around here the whole time? It must've been so scary in the dark!"
Lee Ji-ah's chatter was so lively it almost chased away the darkness itself.
"Not much farther now."
"...You sure? Feels like you said that earlier."
Seo Woo-jin gave a wry smile.
It reminded him of how he'd grumbled to Aileen in the north about how much farther they had to go.
He could strangely empathize with how she must have felt.
"It's close."
Lee Ji-ah eyed him skeptically but nodded when he smiled in response.
"Got it."
Then she scampered back to Kim Da-hye and started pestering her again.
"But seriously, where the hell are we?"
This time, it was Kang Byung-gyu asking.
"No clue. Not exactly sure myself."
He hadn't even imagined a space like this beyond the corridor.
His 'Search' skill hadn't detected it at all.
"Even after entering, none of my skills are registering anything."
Skills like 'Search' and 'Radar' were completely dead.
"And it's pitch black, but our vision's fine. That's weird too."
A dark space devoid of any light.
Yet neither Seo Woo-jin nor his companions felt the slightest oppression.
Because they could see each other.
He had no idea how that was possible, but since space and time were warped here...
"Just let it slide."
No point wasting mental energy on unsolvable mysteries.
"Yeah, probably better for our sanity."
Kang Byung-gyu shrugged and followed behind Seo Woo-jin.
"At least no monsters here. That corridor was hell—nearly died a bunch of times."
Monsters had lunged at them without fail whenever they paused to rest.
Their stamina and mana had been steadily whittled away.
If they hadn't leveled up, they'd have hit their limit long ago.
Might've even died.
"No need for that kinda suffering here. Bit dark, but otherwise safe."
Seo Woo-jin nodded at Kang Byung-gyu's words.
True enough—no dangers so far.
'So far.'
Unlike Kang Byung-gyu, Seo Woo-jin hadn't let his guard down.
The reason was the flesh mass.
'That thing burst out from here.'
Not the corridor, but through the wall in this space.
'Meaning potential threats lurk here too.'
Could be a monster that mashed knights into flesh, or some other force.
He didn't know exactly what yet.
But the unknown meant danger.
Thus, Seo Woo-jin kept vigilant watch on his surroundings.
"Um..."
Lee Ji-ah, who had snuck up beside him from Kim Da-hye's side, whispered.
"Why's she sticking with us?"
She pointed at Sung Yu-ra.
"We're not even friends, and she just ignores us all the time."
Lee Ji-ah looked uncomfortable.
Sung Yu-ra's behavior had driven even maxed-affinity Lee Ji-ah up the wall.
'Fair enough.'
She ignored everyone but her elite friends and spat venom at anyone who irked her.
Yet no one voiced complaints.
Because she was SS-rank.
They might hate it inwardly, but outwardly, they kept quiet.
No need to sour relations with her.
Sung Yu-ra's 'Saintess' class was optimized for rear support.
Her heals and buffs were near-miraculous.
Fall out of favor during the Descent War?
'Would suck big time.'
She knew that better than anyone, which made her even more arrogant.
Few ignored it—Seo Woo-jin included.
He glanced at Sung Yu-ra.
She walked with a deeply furrowed brow, clearly displeased.
'Pretty, though.'
He'd thought so at first sight; the elites were stunning.
They seemed from another world.
Their abilities outclassed other heroes too...
'What's the point? Personality's trash.'
Her looks were wasted on that attitude.
"Won't she split off when she finds her friends?"
Kang Byung-gyu whispered carefully.
"Yeah, but when?"
"No idea. Woo-jin might know?"
They both looked his way.
Seo Woo-jin chuckled and shook his head.
"How should I know? But eventually, we'll run into..."
He halted mid-sentence.
"Battle stations."
As he drew his sword, the atmosphere shifted instantly.
"W-What's up?"
"Demonic energy."
"Demonic energy."
Kang Byung-gyu panicked, but Seo Woo-jin and Luden answered in unison.
It wafted from straight ahead.
"Strong one."
Luden's expression hardened slightly.
The demonic energy was that dense.
'Might even top Burtel.'
Seo Woo-jin slowly gathered his mana.
'Wish I could use skills freely like with the flesh mass.'
Would make the fight easier.
But too many eyes now.
He could brush it off with the heroes, but not Luden.
If Luden saw his odd skills, trouble would brew.
'Stick to what I've used.'
Still, not all bad.
Unlike with Burtel, other heroes were here.
Plus Sung Yu-ra.
With a Saintess wielding holy power antithetical to demonic energy, they had a shot.
"It's coming."
Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwa-kwak—!
Luden's warning coincided with the sound of something charging fast.
'...Spider?'
It resembled a spider outwardly.
Except for its 5-meter size and human-like face.
"Damn it."
Luden cursed softly upon confirming its form.
Then he shouted backward.
"Rosie Ruby! Retreat!"
His urgency stripped away his polite tone.
'Retreat?'
Why?
Luden was a knight strong enough to handle Burtel solo.
And heroes could assist now.
Yet retreat?
As the heroes blinked in confusion, Sung Yu-ra stepped forward.
"Hmph, running scared from trash."
With haughty disdain, she raised her hand toward the so-called Rosie Ruby.
"Holy Cross."
One of her rare attack skills activated.
A sacredly glowing cross materialized before her.
Its power intense enough to melt average monsters on sight.
But Luden grimaced.
"That won't stop it!"
"Whatever."
Sung Yu-ra ignored him outright.
She swung her hand.
The cross shot toward Rosie Ruby.
"You idiot!"
Luden scooped up her waist.
"Hey! What're you—? I'll sue for sexual harassment!"
"Shut up and run."
Carrying her, Luden leaped back first.
"Follow the instructor."
Seo Woo-jin nodded, sensing the gravity.
His team pursued Luden.
'What the hell is that?'
Seo Woo-jin, last to retreat while guarding the rear, turned and gaped.
Rosie Ruby shredded the cross of light.
Its sixteen legs seized it, tearing it like paper into fragments.
Impressive, but not what shocked him.
The sudden burst of demonic energy.
Vast, heavy, intense—beyond Burtel.
Now he understood Luden's retreat order.
'Can't beat that.'
Even unleashing all his hidden skills, victory wasn't guaranteed.
A true monster.
'Is that the one?'
The thing that pulped the knights?
Likely.
To mangle dozens of elite knights like that, it needed such power.
Geeeeeek—!!!
Having toyed aside Sung Yu-ra's skill, Rosie Ruby shrieked and pursued Seo Woo-jin.
'Ugh!'
Its cry was nauseating, churning stomachs just to hear.
Team members ahead began stumbling, slowing.
'We'll get caught.'
Rosie Ruby was slow relative to its power.
But at this rate, it'd overtake them soon.
'What to do?'
He scanned around.
Still just darkness.
Nothing useful.
"Damn."
He eyed his fleeing teammates.
All terrified.
'No choice?'
Seo Woo-jin slowed his pace.
Here, he was the only one who could even stall Rosie Ruby.