Channelling the Emperor

Gusion, the son of Demon Duke Gusirek, shouted proudly from inside his cage.

- "You foolish servant of Hungry Chaos! What is so grand about commanding mindless, oversized beasts? True greatness lies in commanding the bloodline of a Duke!"

Gusion's words were undeniably true. The beastly demons under Igoloyak's command had indeed grown immensely powerful through the influence of Hungry Chaos, but they were little more than nameless beasts.

In contrast, the demons under Tae-hyun's command were renowned, named figures even in the Demon Realm! Their pedigree was on an entirely different level.

- "...What is this madman babbling about from inside a cage?! Has he lost his mind?!"

But to hear such grand words from a demon locked inside a cage was nothing short of absurd. Igoloyak stared at Gusion, utterly dumbfounded. It was ridiculous enough that the son of a Demon Duke was trapped in a cage, yet here he was, spouting nonsense with absolute confidence.

Is that guy really ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a demon? Or is he an Archisus angel in disguise?

No matter how baffled Igoloyak was, everyone present was on the opposing side. No one was listening to him.

- "That pathetic Igoloyak. What a laughable sight. You should at least have the son of a Demon Duke in your entourage!"

- "Indeed. If you're going to carry someone around in a cage, it should at least be a Duke's son."

The dwarves openly taunted Igoloyak, ensuring he heard every word. The provocation worked flawlessly.

- "...Very well! Once I tear you all to shreds with my own hands, I will throw that demon into my cage! Go, my servants!"

At that moment, the castle wall Igoloyak stood upon began to shift. A castle brought to life by the power of Hungry Chaos! The massive, sturdy fortress transformed, reshaping itself into a hydra-like mount.

Perched atop it, Igoloyak looked down and roared.

- "Submit to me, mortals! Kneel before the power of Hungry Chaos!!"

"Prepare for battle!!!"

- "Archisus's Blessing, Aki-sus's Divine Territory!"

Tae-hyun immediately deployed his ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠area-of-effect skills and applied buffs right from the start. When facing a boss monster stronger than usual, the opening phase was critical. Saving skills early on could lead to a swift defeat. For now, he had to pile on as many buffs as possible to endure the initial onslaught and gauge the enemy's strength.

The players present were all rankers. They quickly scattered, casting various buffs in rapid succession.

- "Sacred Hymn!"

- "Protection of the Great Hammer!"

- "Shield of Holy Love!"

Furthermore, the church's priesthood was standing right beside them.

In an instant, dozens of buffs were applied, and their stats soared to absurd heights.

Despite this, Igoloyak did not show a hint of fear. Instead, he snorted arrogantly and swung his staff.

- "Earthquake of Chaos!"

"!!"

Rumbleeeee!

The ground in front of Igoloyak violently overturned and erupted upward. The Holy Knights charging to attack gritted their teeth and halted their advance.

- "Come, power of Hungry Chaos! Dispel the borrowed strength of these cowards!"

As expected, this is going to be troublesome!

Tae-hyun clicked his tongue as he read the message window. Hungry Chaos was an entity that holy-affiliated classes absolutely loathed. Its very existence was a counter to holy skills! It possessed a power that could bypass and ignore Tae-hyun's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Luck stat and class skills.

In times like this, the only thing he could rely on was...

Control!

- "Explosion Leap!"

Tae-hyun closed the distance to Igoloyak using pure swordsmanship skills. Dodging and ignoring the barrage of flying rock fragments, he was the first to reach the boss!

Slash!

- "You annoying Archisus bastard!!"

Igoloyak shuddered in disgust as Tae-hyun breached the storm to reach him. Of all the cultists gathered here, the Archisus Church was undoubtedly the most threatening. It was utterly impossible to predict what they would do next!

- "Archisus's Curse, Archisus's First Strike!"

Tae-hyun inflicted the curse and unleashed a flurry of consecutive strikes with his Archisus Swordsmanship. On the surface, it looked like a relentless, suffocating assault that left no room for retaliation, but Tae-hyun remained vigilant. He kept his guard up, constantly planning his next moves.

Sacrifice of Archisus cannot be used because I'm alone. And Aki-sus's Divine Territory was already used, so its cooldown hasn't reset yet.

Tae-hyun quickly reviewed the other skills he had at his disposal.

.

.

.

...

Avatar of Terror was a speech-related skill, a powerful ability that allowed him to spam Word of Power magic without any cooldown.

But it doesn't fit the current situation.

With church priests and mages swarming the battlefield, there was already plenty of magic. Furthermore, Igoloyak seemed to be highly proficient in magic himself.

Fighting him with magic might backfire.

Then there was Archisus's Soul Hall, which allowed him to borrow the power of the souls he had captured so far, and the skill that borrowed the power of the Archisus Holy Knight Commander. These two were major skills that completely altered his state once activated, making him hesitant to use them just yet...

- "Archisus's Song!"

Instead of using his newly acquired magic skills, Tae-hyun summoned an additional hero and focused on his physical assault. Rather than wasting time casting spells, he needed to drive his sword into the enemy one more time.

Tae-hyun let out a sigh of relief. Honestly, his last summon had been a bit of an oddball. If he had failed the draw in such a critical situation, even Tae-hyun would have lost his temper. Fortunately, this pull was a success!

- "Your Majesty! You have summoned me to fight this wicked foe!"

"Yes! Beat him up!"

Tae-hyun summarized the situation in a short, simple command.

- "That is Igoloyak! To think he is still alive?!"

"Yes! Beat him up!"

- "In life, he was a renowned mage of the Atali Kingdom! He once held the King's utmost trust, so how did he..."

"I said, beat him up!"

- "Understood!"

- "Why is a dead man suddenly showing his face?!"

Igoloyak, who was busy defending, looked appalled at the sight of Odorab. The era of the kingdom was a distant memory, yet by some cruel twist of fate, a ghost from that very period had appeared.

- "Igoloyak! Wake up!"

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

- "I am perfectly sane!"

- "You were not always like this! Though you were narrow-minded and petty, stealing others' achievements and slandering me, I still believe you possess a warm heart!"

...Isn't he just a bad guy, then? Tae-hyun thought to himself as he continued his assault.

Igoloyak seemed to share the sentiment, as he flared up in anger.

- "I have tolerated your insolence for far too long. Come to me, power of Hungry Chaos!"

Several of the demons fighting on the front lines instantly dissolved into pools of blood.

Having dispelled Archisus's Curse, Igoloyak immediately proceeded to his next move.

!

Tae-hyun was startled. The enemy had struck precisely at his weakness. A wide-area spell that was impossible to dodge, cast directly at them! He was indeed a vassal of Hungry Chaos, well-accustomed to fighting the Archisus Church.

It was sooner than planned, but he had no choice. Tae-hyun immediately activated Archisus's Soul Hall.

- "Archisus's Soul Hall!"

- "I'll kill you!!"

- "Get these bars out of my face, you dog of an Avatar! Get in here!"

Every time he used the skill, the souls trapped within the Soul Hall welcomed Tae-hyun with burning rage. The formidable souls of the powerful foes he had defeated so far were gathered here.

Without hesitation, Tae-hyun selected one.

Uipoatl!

The Emperor of the Asbian Empire, a warrior returned from death, and a natural-born dragon hunter!

He is the most suitable for this situation.

Solid defense, exceptional combat skills, and a massive pool of HP.

The buffs surged to absurd levels. They were on a fraudulent scale, far surpassing the massive buffs bestowed by the church's priesthood!

It was a devastating skill, powerful enough to wither the surrounding environment. However, Tae-hyun, bolstered by Uipoatl's power, endured it.

Igoloyak was horrified by Tae-hyun's completely transformed appearance.

- "You absolute lunatic of an Archisus cultist! What are you doing with someone else's soul?!"

Igoloyak had a rough idea of what Tae-hyun was doing. He was borrowing the power of another's soul! What kind of madman was this!

Tap!

Tae-hyun leaped. Thanks to Uipoatl's power, there was no need for minor tricks like Explosion Leap. He could practically fly just by kicking off the ground!

- "Lucky Strike, Lucky Strike, Lucky Strike, Lucky Strike..."

A powerful energy began to gather at the tip of his sword.

- "Asbian Strike! Critical Explosion!!"

- "Aaaaargh!"

Igoloyak had endured Tae-hyun's previous sword strikes, but this attack was clearly painful enough to make him scream.

- "How dare you...!"

- "Igoloyak! Wake up!"

Odorab, whom Tae-hyun had summoned, cried out desperately while beating Igoloyak to a pulp. The sight was so bizarre that Tae-hyun wondered if this was some kind of psychological tactic. Was he pretending to care to make the enemy lower his guard?

Deciding that a close-quarters clash against Tae-hyun—who had even unleashed his Soul Hall—was disadvantageous, Igoloyak retreated behind the castle walls to endure.

He began casting a grand spell!

Creak, groan!

"!!"

The demon army under Igoloyak's command suddenly began to swell in size as if exploding, scattering mana in all directions.

The expedition force, which had nearly finished hunting down the demon army while Tae-hyun kept Igoloyak occupied, was horrified.

Beasts of Hungry Chaos, reborn by devouring the demons' bodies!

Igoloyak did not stop there. Determined to finish off Tae-hyun once and for all, he delivered the final blow.

Crack!

The staff in Igoloyak's hand shattered into pieces. The power gathered within it dispersed into the surroundings before lunging toward Tae-hyun.

- "Power of Hungry Chaos! Burn that bastard to ashes!"

Deflecting or dodging it was out of the question, and relying on his Luck stat to endure seemed futile.

Tae-hyun, debating whether to withstand it using Uipoatl's skills, trusted his instincts and made a swift decision.

- "Sacrifice of Archisus!"