The Black Tide Breaks

—All Iron Golems, receive orders. With my attack as the signal, Terra’s command descended upon the golems.

—Annihilate every Fallen who stands as Master’s enemy.

With a mechanical whir, the Iron Golems began to move. Their upper bodies leaned slightly forward. THUD. One step. The Iron Golems advanced. THUD, THUD. Their pace quickened. WHIRRRRR—!! At the same time, they raised both arms and began spinning the barrels of their mounted miniguns.

THUD, THUD-THUD! The golems broke into a run. The heavy footfalls cracked the ground, sending shards of stone flying. The moment they closed the distance to the black wave—

—Commencing enemy annihilation.

All forty golems roared the same declaration and opened fire. BRRRRRRRRRRRRR—!! A deafening roar echoed from every direction. Forty streaks of white light poured into the black wave.

『…Kuaaaagh!』

『Kuaaak—! My arm! My arm……!』

『Hold the front line! Hold— Kuaaak!』

The Fallen at the vanguard were blasted backward by the direct hits. Yet only those below mid-upper rank suffered fatal wounds. The upper-rank Fallen maintained their demonic barriers and kept charging.

‘Just as I expected.’

Lower-rank Fallen who would not die unless struck in the head by a holy bullet, and upper-rank Fallen whose barriers refused to break. From the looks of it, Terra’s golem attacks did not benefit from my Cheat. After all, while Terra was my support system, the Cheat itself was my personal ability and could not be shared.

Of course, that did not mean the golems lacked ways to compensate for their firepower.

『…What? We can tank the machines’ shots?』

『Not just that—the barriers aren’t even cracking.』

『That means the machines aren’t worth— Wait, that sound.』

WHIRRRRR—!

For example… bombs?

『…It’s the bomb drones from earlier—!』

At one upper-rank Fallen’s shout, every vanguard Fallen looked up. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Seeing hundreds of drones diving, all but those shielding the front line or standing outside the blast radius unleashed their abilities at the drones.

『Shoot them down! Shoot them down—!』

『Hey, you bastard! Stop yapping and use your power! Or at least throw some demonic energy!』

『Shit, are your eyes broken?! I’m already doing that! But why the hell are those drones dodging so well?!』

Just as one Fallen cried, tens of thousands of attacks rained upward like anti-air fire. Yet—

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

WHIRR! WHIRR-WHIRR!

—Impossible.

Because Terra’s system operated like a supercomputer, the drones executed insane evasive maneuvers, dodging attacks or self-destructing a few units to neutralize unavoidable strikes.

BOOM! BOOM, BOOM-BOOM!

Still, not every attack could be avoided. Drones were occasionally struck and exploded in midair. But for every one destroyed, fresh drones waiting in the sky immediately dove to fill the gap. It was as if the losses never happened.

At the same time, drones automatically launched from my still-open Inventory to replace those lost, ascending into the sky. The sight resembled an alien mothership deploying interceptors from some game.

『U-Uwaah! Th-They’re getting closer!』

WHIRRRRRRR—!!

With that final cry, the drones accelerated as one. The Fallen redoubled their efforts to shoot them down, but—

『Th-They’re going to hit!』

『N-No…!』

『Uwaaaagh…!』

They could not stop the dive.

BOOOOOOOOOOM—!!

The moment the Fallen entered the blast radius, the drones detonated simultaneously. A vast explosion erupted, incinerating every Fallen caught inside in white flames.

Of course, since my Cheat did not apply—

『Kgh… Kuaaah….』

『Kuaaak! Hot! It’s too hot—!』

『Someone—put out the fire—!!』

The upper-rank Fallen suffered in the sacred flames yet did not perish. Their agony lasted only ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a moment.

CLACK!

—Target locked: Fallen burning with sacred fire.

BRRRRRRRRRRRRR—!!

The upper-rank Fallen, now priority targets for the Iron Golems, were torn apart by minigun fire. A few tried to block the barrage by using lower-rank Fallen as shields or deploying abilities, but—

『B-Block— Kuaaak—!!』

『Why isn’t it working…!』

They and their living shields alike crumbled into dust.

‘If the demonic barrier is gone, you die.’

Even if the golems’ firepower was weaker than mine, the miniguns and ammunition Winri had equipped them with were genuine A-rank items. Moreover, the bullets were holy rounds that dealt lethal damage to demonic-attribute enemies. No matter how strong an upper-rank Fallen was, without a barrier they stood no chance.

Once the upper-rank Fallen burning in sacred fire were gone, the golems turned their miniguns on the surrounding Fallen. Before long—

Reports of empty magazines came from every golem.

‘Perfect timing.’

I had sent exactly two thousand rounds per golem—precisely enough for thirty seconds of continuous fire at four thousand rounds per minute. By the time the last bullet was spent, the black wave had drawn close enough that I could see the Fallen’s faces without zooming in.

—Switching from ranged combat mode.

The golems spoke in unison and detached the miniguns and ammunition boxes from their arms. Fragments of their bodies fell away with the equipment, yet—

‘Oh… as expected of golems.’

Even though they were mechanical, they were still classified as golems. Their self-repair function restored their bodies. Because Winri had crafted them, the regeneration was twice as fast as ordinary golems. Moreover, unlike standard golems that only possessed self-repair, the Iron Golems had a special function.

—Initiating close-quarters combat mode.

It was the “combat mode.”

UUUUUUNG!

A mana barrier enveloped every golem’s massive frame. At the same time, chainsaw-like blades extended from both arms and began spinning at ferocious speed.

…KIIIIIIIIIIING—!

The golems’ movements accelerated with the mode change. THUD! THUD-THUD! They kicked off the ground even faster than when they had been firing miniguns and charged straight into the black wave.

I too increased my sprint speed, preparing to discharge the lightning energy stored in my Thunderbolts.

—Master, commencing bombardment support.

The drones hovering above dove as one. Dodging the Fallen’s attacks with evasive maneuvers, they accelerated the moment they closed the distance.

BOOM—! BOOM-BOOM-BOOM—!!

White explosions blossomed everywhere, carving empty pockets into the black wave.

—Master, corridors created. Proceed through them.

I nodded at Terra’s report and poured power into my next step.

BOOM—!

My footprint sank into the ground as my body launched into the air. I traced a parabola toward the space that was already beginning to refill with Fallen, aiming the Thunderbolt in my left hand at the cockroach-like creatures.

“One down first.”

I pulled the trigger.

ZZZZZZZZZZZT—!!

A bullet brimming with tremendous lightning energy shot forward like a beam of destruction. Every Fallen that had been refilling half the space—and even those around them—vanished in an instant.

At the same time, my body dropped into the newly widened gap with a heavy THUD.

THUD, THUD-THUD-THUD!

The golems that had jumped with me landed in the space Terra had prepared and plunged into the black wave. Without hesitation, they swung their dual chainsaw blades and began carving through the surrounding Fallen.

“Can’t let the golems show me up.”

I stored the Thunderbolt that had used its lightning burst into my Inventory and clenched my fists. Then I grabbed the head of one upper-rank Fallen charging at me.

『…Kgh, Aaaagh!』

The Fallen whose head I seized screamed in agony and thrashed. THUD, THUD-THUD! Its hands and feet pounded against my body, but the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠items I wore absorbed the impacts. Only faint shocks registered—nothing painful. And it could never escape my grip.

After all, standing before these Fallen right now was me, whose stats had received a 300% boost thanks to the Demon Slayer (S) talent:

『+50% against all enemies in combat.』

『+100% against demonic-attribute enemies.』

『+150% when encountering evil.』

My physical stats, originally 176, were now effectively 528—on par with the peak of upper-rank. Furthermore, every Fallen around me suffered a 40% stat reduction from Despise the Weak and Demon Hunt. And the effect of Demon Hunt grew stronger the greater my rage became.

“Huu.”

Unless a top-tier Fallen or Named appeared—

CRUNCH!

『Aaaagh! S-Spare—!』

BANG!

There was no Fallen here who could face me.

Thud…

I hurled the headless corpse to the ground and cracked my neck left and right, surveying the surrounding Fallen.

『A-Aaah….』

『M-Monster….』

Not only the lower-rank Fallen but even the upper-rank ones now stared at me with terrified faces. I took one step toward them and, as promised to my talent, unleashed my rage.

The suppressed fury erupted like a volcano.

—Master, our objective is to destroy the demonic bridge.

“I know. I know that.”

The rage and hatred rising inside me. The violent destructive impulse that followed.

“…This is getting hard to hold back.”

As promised, my talent was screaming at me to tear apart every piece of trash around me right now. I tightly clenched my left hand, still dripping black blood, until it made a grinding sound.

“So, Terra… you’ll have to guide me.”

—…Understood. I will become Master’s path.

The moment Terra spoke, a navigation line appeared in my vision, showing exactly where I needed to go.

—Master, I will guide you to your destination. Fight to your heart’s content.

“Yeah.”

I took one final deep breath and closed my blazing eyes. Accepting the violently burning rage into my body, I opened them again.

The ordinary landscape.

The Fallen who had worn human shapes.

Everything had transformed into something from hell.

The land burned with hellfire.

The Fallen had become demons of the abyss.

And I—

Tear apart and slaughter evil.

I had become the Demon Slayer.

& & &

Beyond the Amnok River, on the Death Continent.

A red-haired Fallen seated on a throne lavishly adorned with jewels rested his chin on his hand, frowning as if sensing something. He glared at the map spread across the table.

“…Strange.”

At the low voice, his adjutant—who had been studying the same map—bowed with precise movements and asked,

『What seems to be the matter, Lord Greed?』

Greed pointed at Sinuiju, where the 1st Subjugation Unit’s forward base was located.

“We received word that the forward base was nearly captured. Yet no further reports have arrived since.”

『That is… indeed strange.』

The adjutant nodded, finding Greed’s words reasonable, and stroked his chin. He then took out a Fallen Symbol engraved with Greed’s crest and infused it with demonic energy. The symbol resonated briefly—

『Report the current situation at the Subjugation Unit forward base.』

The adjutant asked. A trembling voice answered from the symbol.

—…We have not yet received a report that it has been captured.

『Not yet? You said “not yet”?』

—M-My apologies. According to the last report I received, the 9th Subjugation Unit went to provide support……

“What? The 9th Subjugation Unit?”

Greed cut in. The voice from the symbol cried out in shock.

—L-Lord Greed!

“Say that again. The 9th Subjugation Unit went to support?”

—Y-Yes… that is correct.

“Then the one who went to reinforce the 1st Subjugation Unit’s forward base is Kali?”

—N-No. The one who went to support is said to be an intern of the Subjugation Unit……

“…An intern?”

What did I just hear? An intern went to reinforce the most critical 1st Subjugation Unit?

“…Must be quite a few people supporting, then.”

Greed said. The voice from the symbol immediately denied it.

—No… it is said to be the intern alone.

“What?”

『Alone?』

Greed and the adjutant both exclaimed in disbelief. The symbol repeated the confirmation. Greed rose from his seat.

“…I think I know who it is.”

『…I believe I do as well.』

Greed and the adjutant spoke in unison, meeting each other’s eyes.

“『Lee Yoo-jin.』”

Greed grinned with delight. At the same time, a greedy light flashed in his crimson eyes.