Into the Maw of the Beast

Tae-hyun was tense. How should he deal with a monster of Leviathan's caliber?

"?" Spewing it out?

Leviathan writhed its body, and from its pitch-black maw, it began to pour out countless things. The myriad of things that had been trapped inside its body!

"!!!"

"What a crazy bastard?!"

Tae-hyun was startled when he saw the message window. He had been inwardly relieved because Leviathan itself wasn't attacking very aggressively, but according to the notifications, he couldn't afford to relax. Didn't this mean the surrounding area would turn into something akin to the Demon Realm?

...The Ostern Kingdom isn't that bad, Tae-hyun retorted, feeling a sudden pang of unearned guilt. Sure, a plague wasteland had formed in the south, unresolved monsters roamed all over the place, and there was a lawless city in the north, but the Ostern Kingdom was hardly the Demon Realm!

"An island... an island is forming...!"

The players watching from the harbor gasped in horror. As the things Leviathan spewed out gathered, a chaotic island of refuse rose above the sea. Atop it, all kinds of never-before-seen monsters rampaged wildly.

"This won't do. We have to make it move! Garuda warriors, follow me!"

At Tae-hyun's command, the Garuda warriors immediately followed close behind.

"Are you giving us more bombs?"

"Quiet. Yong-yong! Down!"

Yong-yong leaped downward.

Divine Dragon's Protection!

A dazzling golden light enveloped Yong-yong. Leviathan, which hadn't spared a single glance at any other enemy, turned its massive head.

Gulp—

"Master... did that thing just swallow its drool?"

"It's just your imagination. Ignore it and go in!"

Yong-yong felt extremely uncomfortable. That monster had definitely drooled looking at him...

Swoooosh!

Regardless, Yong-yong flew forward at high speed. At that exact moment, Leviathan opened its massive maw.

"Perfect!"

"What do you mean perfect, Master?! Are you planning to discard your old divine beast for a new one?!"

"Get inside! We hit and run!"

Tae-hyun's target from the very beginning was the inside of Leviathan's mouth. From the looks of it, the monster's outer hide wasn't something players were meant to break. Trying to beat down that armor would take until the end of the game!

Aim for the inside.

Every boss monster had a weakness. In Tae-hyun's eyes, Leviathan's weakness was the interior of its mouth. Other players were terrified, thinking that being sucked in meant instant death, but...

I just have to strike and get out before I get digested.

Swoooooosh!

"Yong-yong, faster! If we're too slow, we're finished!"

"I know, Master!"

Yong-yong also seemed to realize what Tae-hyun was planning.

Wind of Swiftness! Dragon's Eye! Protection of the Dragon Clan...

Yong-yong dashed forward, casting every speed-boosting buff he had in his arsenal!

"...!"

With food practically flying into its mouth of its own accord, Leviathan thought it had hit the jackpot. But this prey was no ordinary meal. It was the toxic Avatar of Archisus!

Whoosh—

"Master! I feel a chilling energy from your back!"

"I know."

A chilling, eerie blue light erupted from the demonic sword, Emperor Slayer. It flickered like a living flame.

"Master! Master!!"

"I said, I know!"

Lucky Strike, Lucky Strike, Lucky Strike...!

Tae-hyun struggled to maintain his balance atop Yong-yong, who was accelerating at a breakneck pace.

He had never ridden this fast before! It showed just how terrified Yong-yong was of Leviathan.

BOOM!

A heavy sensation reverberated through his hands. Tae-hyun knew the blow had landed perfectly.

ROOOOOOOOAR!

"Yong-yong! Turn! Turn!"

Yong-yong didn't even bother to reply as he veered away. Tae-hyun quickly unequipped Emperor Slayer. Even though he had only held it for a brief moment, his HP had plummeted to a terrifying degree.

Those crazy goblins, what kind of insane weapon did they make...!

Uwoooooh!

Tae-hyun had never heard Yong-yong wail like this before.

"Waaaaaaaah!"

The Garuda warriors erupted into cheers as they saw Tae-hyun escape. To think he actually dove inside that thing, attacked, and made it back out!

"He is more than worthy of being a Garuda warrior!"

"He must have Garuda blood in his veins!"

"He is fierce, filthy, and despicable!!"

"...??"

"Why are they insulting Kim Tae-hyun?"

The Guild Alliance rankers waiting on standby were utterly baffled. Are they captives like us?

"Let's go too!"

"Aim for its maw!"

Spurred by Tae-hyun's display, several Garuda warriors charged forward. And were promptly sucked right into Leviathan's mouth.

"..."

"Master! A second time is impossible!"

Tae-hyun nodded at Yong-yong's words. The first strike was only possible because Leviathan had let its guard down. If the beast was on high alert, trying it again would be suicide.

"We need to make it lower its guard again before we strike..."

"Won't it regenerate before then?"

"Hmm."

Tae-hyun pondered rapidly. Dozens of strategies flashed through his mind. The only way to deal substantial damage to Leviathan right now was to dive into its mouth and strike with Emperor Slayer. To do that, they needed to constantly batter and annoy the beast to keep it distracted, but...

Honestly, rather than killing it, our priority should be driving it away.

It would be the height of comedy if Tae-hyun ended up dying first from using Emperor Slayer.

Bwooooooh!

"?"

Having eaten its fill since emerging, Leviathan had no reason to linger and fight. Furthermore, getting struck by the sword of that suspicious human had drained its strength and twisted its body in a highly unpleasant way. It was pure monster instinct!

Rumble—

The space around Leviathan stained pitch-black, and a massive dimensional gate began to form once more. Leviathan was preparing to flee back to the Demon Realm, just as it had arrived!

...Did we succeed?

But things never went that smoothly. A flurry of system messages began to cascade before his eyes.

"..."

While it was effective at deterring low-level trash, demons who were absolutely desperate to get their hands on Archisus wouldn't be swayed by mere rumors.

They're coming! Tae-hyun felt it instinctively.

A Demon Duke is coming!

He had a strong premonition, ever since that monster of the Demon Realm had suddenly started rampaging here.

Flash!

With a brilliant burst of light, a group of people materialized in the sky.

"??????"

"???????"

Tae-hyun, Carbanog, and Yong-yong were all utterly dumbfounded by this sudden intrusion.

...Who the hell are you guys?!

There are dozens of defunct evil god cults on the continent, so why are these guys suddenly popping up now?!

At that moment, the Southern Plague Lands of the Ostern Kingdom flashed through Tae-hyun's mind.

Ah...!

To the Idergo Cult, which valued plague and predation, the current state of the world was more than enough to make them think, Whoa! It's a divine revelation!

Come to think of it, the continent really had been a massive shitshow lately...!

"You wicked followers of Archisus! How dare you attack Lord Idergo's divine beast, Leviathan!"

Bwo?

Leviathan, which had been in the middle of retreating to the Demon Realm, blinked its massive eyes in sheer confusion. It had lived a long, prosperous life in the deep seas of the Demon Realm, but it had never even heard of a god named Idergo. Divine beast? Me?

"Lord Leviathan! We have arrived! In the name of Lord Idergo, finish them off!"

Bwooooooh.

Level 198!

Tae-hyun's heart hammered against his ribs as he stared at the notification. Level 200 was finally within arm's reach. At first, he had genuinely believed he would never reach it before quitting the game...!

Meanwhile, the other players were whispering among themselves.

"I think it's about time we seriously aim for Level 300."

"You're right. The other rankers have already been drawing up serious plans to hit 300."

"If we don't hit 300 soon, we're going to fall behind in the competition."

"Exactly. Once someone breaks through the level cap, everyone else catches up in no time."

"..."

Tae-hyun pretended not to hear. I feel like our first digits are different, but it must be my imagination...!

While Tae-hyun was in high spirits, the fanatics of the Idergo Cult were utterly devastated. Their divine beast had vanished!

"Y-You heinous bastard of Archisus! How dare you drive away Lord Idergo's divine beast?!"

"Didn't it just leave because it was full?"

"Forgiveness is impossible! We shall rain curses upon your kingdom!"

Continent-scale quests were triggering one after another! And the monster waves in other regions probably hadn't even ended yet...

The Central Continent is seriously screwed...

"...!!"

Tae-hyun felt goosebumps break out across his skin for the first time in a while. Is it really going to go that far?

Thanks, Carbanog.

...No carrots for a week.

No matter how many forces the Idergo Cult had brought to this place, Tae-hyun had no intention of backing down easily. Leviathan was an out-of-bounds anomaly, but standard cult NPCs were well within his ability to handle.

Even if the cult's ordinary paladins are high-level, they'll be around Level 400 to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠500 ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at best. With the Garuda warriors and the Ancient Empire Deserters, we have more than enough to—

At that exact moment, just as the tension in the air was reaching a boiling point, a Demon Duke emerged through the dimensional gate of the Demon Realm.

"..."

"..."

Both Tae-hyun and the Idergo Cult stared at the Demon Duke with thoroughly unimpressed expressions.

Read the room, buddy!