Chapter 132
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 132
Chapter Title: 131. Corruption and Awakening
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The longer our swords clashed, the more I felt myself being pushed back by the power of Garis, who had seized Min-geon's body.
"Your situational judgment is remarkably quick, isn't it? Normally, you'd end up looking as dumbfounded as that female hero behind you..."
Kigigik-
There wasn't a moment to respond to Garis's incessant, chattering words coming from right in front of me. Wasn't it just a simple takeover of Min-geon's body? While I was blocking with my sword at full strength, the Garis before me was grinning ear to ear, overwhelming me even as he prattled on leisurely.
On top of that, with Sia behind me drawing my attention, I couldn't recklessly shift my stance.
I shot a glance at Hill, and he wrapped Sia in shadows, pulling her away from behind me. Trusting that Hill would explain everything properly to her, I repelled the sword locked against Garis's.
Even after repelling it, the incoming sword strikes came right back; I blocked and dodged them before barely managing to create some distance.
"Huu... What happened to Min-geon?"
As I caught my breath and asked Garis, contrary to my expectation that he'd ignore me, he began speaking in a surprisingly amiable tone.
"He's still sleeping inside me for now, so don't worry. Soon enough, he'll become one with me."
"Become one...?"
"My parasitism is quite unique. The host and I gradually merge—body and mind alike."
Garis twisted his face into another grin, as if utterly delighted.
"Isn't that how it was from the start?"
I didn't fully grasp his meaning, but if things continued like this, Min-geon would die. With that thought, I charged at Garis.
"Since you're sharing anyway, mind telling me how to pull you out of Min-geon's body?"
"Hmm... Sorry, no such method exists. He'd just need the willpower to force me out. But if he had that kind of resolve to begin with, the parasitism never would've happened."
Garis stroked his chin while dodging every one of my sword swings in bizarre stances. So, did that mean I had to kill him along with Min-geon?
Truth be told, this bastard dying wouldn't mean much to me. He was a hero, sure, but saving him was mostly to spare Sia the trauma...
No... Even alone, I wasn't sure I could kill the guy.
He wasn't just stronger than me—he was dodging my strikes with room to spare even now.
"Oh, and back then, I took over the body of someone who looked like the hero's lover. That was a sight to behold. The hero, forced to shed bloody tears while slashing at her lover's body..."
It was the best.
Garis shuddered violently, clutching at his entire body as if reliving it.
"Could this man be your lover by any chance...? Nah, probably not?"
"I'm not gay, so shut the fuck up."
"No need to be embarrassed. I respect that sort of thing too, you know?"
I swung my sword with every intent of cleaving him in two in one stroke, and Garis looked genuinely flustered. If his block had been even a fraction slower, he might've been split right down the middle.
"Respect my ass. If you're gonna spout that shit, just die already."
"Hasn't the mood turned a bit too murderous all of a sudden?"
What a loathsome prick. Spouting crap like that—he had to be a demon through and through. No one else would spew such bullshit.
I took a deep breath to steady myself, glanced briefly at the other three, then charged at Garis once more.
If I could keep this one pinned down properly, the three of them should handle that Rigel bastard just fine, right?
Ha... But what the hell do I do if this fucker, now a hero, turns around and tries to wipe out the party instead?
Garis was laughing, and seeing that smug face twist into a grin made my blood boil.
Should've just quietly killed him off and raised Sia on her own.
Sia couldn't think straight when Min-geon's form beside her warped strangely and he swung his sword at her.
Even when In-hyeok blocked the attacking blade in her place and Hill whisked her away with his shadows, she couldn't snap out of it. They weren't blood-sworn or anything that close... But a comrade who'd come to this otherworld with her, striving together as heroes—now transformed into a monster and attacking her—left her mind utterly blank.
The scorching heat radiating from ahead finally jolted Sia back to her senses a little, and she saw Celestina and Hill standing before her, blocking Rigel.
"Hero, if you've pulled yourself together, grab your sword already."
Hill called out to her as he used his shadows to block every burst of flames from Rigel's massive sword swings.
As Sia frantically scanned around for Min-geon and In-hyeok, she spotted them a short distance away, swords locked in combat with the transformed Min-geon. The unbelievable scene nearly dazed her again, but Hill's shout yanked her back.
"I'll tell you everything later—just snap out of it and pick up your damn sword! If this keeps up, we're all dead..!"
Those words made Sia snatch up the sword she'd dropped to the ground. She took her place beside Celestina and Hill. She couldn't comprehend what was happening at all. But the thought that staying frozen like this could get everyone killed forced her to rally her wits and swing at Rigel.
Kaang- Kiiing-
With Celestina's blessing active, Sia parried Rigel's enormous sword head-on, and Hill instantly exploited the opening with an attack.
Kung- Kung-
Each time the hulking armored mass shifted, the ground shook with heavy thuds, forcing Rigel to stagger back.
Gotta take him down quick...
From afar, In-hyeok's fight with Min-geon had him on the back foot. She had to drop this guy fast and rush to help In-hyeok together. With that in mind, she kept swinging relentlessly, focused solely on felling Rigel.
Shuoooook-
The blue flames enveloping Rigel flickered out, only to reignite—not blue, but red. The heat surging from him intensified, his power surging stronger along with it.
Kwaang-
"Keuheup..!"
She'd been holding her own against Rigel's sword when their blades collided, sending her flying back. As Rigel reared back for his next massive swing, Hill blocked it with shadows, buying Sia a moment to breathe.
"..Hill, why betray the Demon King?"
"Unlike you two, the Queen of Succubi throne is hereditary, remember? I never had your level of devotion to the Demon King."
"Even so... betraying the Demon King to side with a hero..?"
"To be precise, he's not just a hero... Can't you bless your new true master?"
"The Demon King's enemies get crushed. Nothing more."
Rigel spat those words as the red flames cloaking him flared even larger, their hue shifting once again. Hill broke into a cold sweat watching the flames gradually turn white, but Sia charged back in.
"Haa... haa..."
It seemed like Sia had quashed the whitening flames for a moment. But Rigel, now fully sheathed in pure white fire, hoisted his sword high, poised to smash it down into the earth.
Can I block that? The power radiating from it felt utterly impossible to withstand.
Even mustering every ounce of strength she had... would it be enough? Still, she had to try. Bolstered by Hill's shadows and Celestina's full suite of blessings, Sia poured everything she had into meeting Rigel's descending blade.
Kwang-!
"..Oppa?"
"Should've just handed over that goddess power sooner... Why make it so damn complicated?"
In-hyeok had blocked Rigel's sword with one hand alone. Even Rigel looked thrown off by it.
"What about Garis..?"
"Looked like he was about to die, so he bolted."
"......"
At In-hyeok's words, the white flames billowing from Rigel began to die down bit by bit. He conjured a portal of flame and moved to slip through it.
Hill lunged to stop him with a shadow assault, but Rigel swatted the shadows aside effortlessly and vanished into the blaze.
".....Ah...."
As Rigel disappeared and the demon forces began their retreat, Sia let out a sigh of relief—then collapsed to the ground, losing consciousness completely.
"Kuheup... Kkuleok... What the hell just happened..?"
He'd clearly been overwhelming that man—on the verge of killing him—when suddenly, this body's power ebbed away, while that man's surged stronger.
"Keuh..."
Just a shallow cut across the chest, yet the damage was catastrophic. He'd barely escaped before it could finish him. The overflowing power from the hero's body had drained away in an instant, leaving nothing behind.
Contemplating whether to parasitize a new host, he crept along clutching his grievously wounded chest, heading for the Demon King's castle.
..!!!!
"Demon King.."
"Garis."
"What brings you here...? Surely not to welcome me?"
He'd tossed it out as a joke, but the Demon King nodded in affirmation, seized his head with one hand, and began flooding him with demonic energy.
"Kyeok.. Kreuk..!"
An immense torrent of demonic energy filled his hollowed-out body. His wounds knit closed entirely, and an even greater power than before began to stir within him.
"Kkeuk... Kyeok... Heuk..."
"You dragged the goddess into this, Garis. Consider this your reward."
As he gasped for air, the Demon King's words made the reason for his sudden weakening—and that man's strengthening—click into place for Garis.
Having pumped every last drop of demonic energy into him, the Demon King dissolved into smoke-like wisps and vanished right before his eyes.
"Heu... Hehehe... Ha... Hahaha!!!"
Now brimming with power enough to crush the man who'd humiliated him and sow despair among his companions, he spewed forth his overflowing demonic energy, cackling in a grotesque voice.
'Uu... Uu...'
He sensed Min-geon's dormant personality stirring awake, and Garis twisted his face into a grin.
'Uu... W-what... T-that g-guy..!'
Seureuk- Seureuk-
"Hueeeeeuk....! Hwaaak... S-save me aaa... Aaaah!!!!!"
He devoured Min-geon's reawakened personality whole, absorbing it into himself. Min-geon's traits, memories—everything that made him who he was—flowed into Garis.
Garis's parasitism forged a new personality from the two, born of Garis consuming the host's ego.
This fused personality was altered, as if brainwashed by Garis, yet the original owner's essence hadn't vanished entirely.
It had merely shifted its perspective ever so slightly.
Not the fully warped grin Garis wore when laughing, but a half-distorted smile. Then, with both hands, he raked his nails across his face as if tearing the skin, carving wounds into it.
"Next time we meet... I'll make sure to kill you, In-hyeok hyung..."
And Sia... Celestina... Hill too—all of them will be mine...
With a sickening, eerie laugh, Min-geon's body—now the loyal servant of the Demon King—set off toward the Demon King's castle.