The Uncontrollable Berserker
"I'm dead!" Cain instantly felt the premonition of a forced logout. His passive skills had already all been triggered. He had absolutely no cards left to turn the tables. Tae-hyun was too busy dealing with Monroso, and the Orc chieftains were just going, "Great Chieftain, chwek!" with no intention of helping... There was no other way.
Boom, boom, boom! Karag's attacks grew increasingly fierce. Cain was being buried alive deep into the ground. Even when he blocked perfectly with his shield, the monstrous strength shaved off over 10% of his HP with every hit!
Faced with death, your HP is fully restored.
"Gasp!" As Cain returned from the brink of death, the blood-crazed Karag flew into an even greater rage.
"Graaaah! Graaaaaah! You, the murderer of my son!"
"Chwek?"
"Chwek, what did he just say?"
"Nothing! He didn't say anything! Let's attack him together!" Cain yelled urgently. The Orc chieftains tilting their heads in confusion was an incredibly bad omen.
Boom! "...?" Suddenly, a massive explosion echoed from behind. Having used his Engineering skill countless times, Tae-hyun recognized the sound instantly. This was the sound of a bomb! "Saruon!" The demon blacksmith, Saruon, had finally arrived.
"Who are you?"
"How dare this insignificant human insult Lord Esla?! To think you made these filthy Orcs drink Lord Esla's blood!" Saruon pointed at Monroso and roared in fury.
Tae-hyun, still dealing with Monroso, panicked. "Hey, hey! There are Orcs right here!"
"Which is why I spoke of them so kindly, no?"
"You call that kindly?!"
For some reason, the gathered Orc chieftains and warriors seemed to be glaring at Saruon. Tae-hyun subtly took a step back. If things go south, I'm pretending I don't know him. As expected, nothing good ever came from associating with demons!
"Where did this unheard-of demon come from, acting so cocky? If you don't want to die, get lost!"
"How dare a creature that wasn't even born a demon..."
"Hey, if you have time to bicker, hurry up and steal control of that Great Chieftain," Tae-hyun said to Saruon, sounding thoroughly annoyed.
Just dealing with the Great Chieftain summoned by Monroso was overwhelming enough. Indeed, Cain, who had been holding him off for just a brief moment, was already in tatters because the Orc chieftains refused to help. A little longer, and he would be completely pulverized.
"I know! Behold, lowly Orc who has consumed the demon's blood! It is time to obey the true master of that blood! Hear the command of I, the loyal servant of Lord Esla!"
"What?!" Monroso was shocked by Saruon's words. To think a demon directly serving that sealed ancient archdevil was here! No way, could it be...!
"...Kaaahhh!"
"Nothing changed!!" Cain screamed. Karag hesitated for a split second, but then let out another monstrous roar and resumed beating Cain to a pulp.
"What happened?"
"I-I wonder? Normally, he should have obeyed me... It seems that human possesses far more of Lord Esla's blood than I anticipated."
"..." Tae-hyun stared at Saruon with the coldest eyes in the universe. You useless piece of trash.
"Saruon. Come over here for a second. Why don't you hold my hand?"
"N-No. Let's not do anything rash." Saruon was well aware that Tae-hyun possessed a skill that turned living things into bombs. As a demon blacksmith, he knew all too well that if he reached out his hand carelessly in this situation, he could end up dead on the spot.
Saruon hurriedly began to explain. "Of course, that doesn't mean the plan is a complete failure!"
"Sure, sure. I get it. Just come over here for a second."
"The human might have more demon blood than expected, but I am a direct subordinate of Lord Esla. He cannot completely ignore my commands. If I keep ordering them, control over these half-demons will inevitably shift to me!"
Hearing Saruon's words, Monroso was more panicked than Tae-hyun.
"To think you hid such a scheme!"
Boom! Crash! Thud! Meanwhile, Cain was once again being mercilessly battered by Karag.
I don't need this crap! Even though he would normally rejoice at a title reward, he wasn't in the mood to celebrate at all.
"Ah, I don't care what you do, just save me already, you bastards!" Cain screamed, choked with emotion. Out of everyone here, not a single soul was trying to help him!
"Slave who has accidentally received the demon's blood, hear my words! Your true master lies elsewhere!"
"My slave, do not be deceived by the enemy's words! Your master is right here!"
A battle of ownership! The air around Saruon and Monroso began to tremble, dyed in a crimson hue. It was the resonant wave of the demon's blood vibrating in response.
The blood-crazed Orc Great Chieftain, Karag, is falling into confusion.
"Graaaaaah!" Karag stopped and clutched his head as if in immense pain.
"Good job, Saruon! Keep pushing!"
"Pant, pant..." Cain managed to slip away in the meantime, gasping for breath. He had truly believed he was going to die.
"Let's run! We're running, right?"
"No, let's wait and see for a second."
"Hey! That guy is insanely strong! I've never seen anyone who can just beat me through a successfully activated defense skill! Even for a boss monster, having basic attacks like that is a total cheat!"
"Maybe he just hates you in particular? More importantly, it'll be great if he turns to our side. Keep it up, Saruon!" Tae-hyun cheered Saruon on.
As Great Chieftain Karag stopped and writhed in agony, the other Orc chieftains who had drunk the demon's blood also ground to a halt.
"Chwek, is the Great Chieftain regaining his senses?"
"Chwek! Come back, chieftains! Wake up! Do not fall for the demon's whispers!"
Even the other Orcs were cheering them on. Meanwhile, Monroso grew increasingly flustered, while Saruon became more and more triumphant. It was only natural for Tae-hyun to think, Oh? Things are going well.
"Ugh, uuuugh!"
"Haha! You lowly human! Did you really think someone like you could control Lord Esla's blood?!"
"Oh, Saruon. Did you take control?"
"No."
"...?"
"Taking control was impossible. His authority is far too formidable."
"...Then?"
"However, he can no longer control them either."
"Which means..."
The blood-crazed Orc Great Chieftain, Karag, has gone berserk.
"Y-You crazy demon! Do you have any idea what you've just done?!" Monroso shrieked in horror. Since Saruon couldn't seize control of Karag, he had driven him into a frenzy so that no one could control him. Now, Karag had transformed into an uncontrollable force of nature.
"Hahaha! Rather than letting a mere human like you order him around, I'd rather drive him completely mad!"
"I don't know this guy." As the icy glares of the Orcs fell upon them, Tae-hyun quickly made his excuse.
Regardless of his excuses, the situation escalated rapidly. The eyes of Karag and the corrupted Orc chieftains gradually turned pitch black, and they began to emit sounds far more chilling than before.
*Hummmmm— hummmmm—*
The demonic waves rippled out in all directions!
"You absolute lunatic of a demon! Look at what you've done!"
"Bwahahaha! Die, you lowly human! How dare you touch the demon's blood—"
Smack! Tae-hyun slapped the back of Saruon's head.
"Stop talking nonsense and think of a way out of this! Can't you do something about that?"
"No one can reverse the effects of rampaging demon blood. He has become a monster that absolutely no one can control."
"...You, seriously, come over here for a second."
"I-I told you, turning me into a bomb is out of the question!"
Inhale— BOOM!
Great Chieftain Karag has used Demonic Flame!
"Master! That's a breath attack! It's practically on the level of a dragon's breath!"
"Master! That is dangerous even with the protection of Akisus! We must dodge!"
Sensing the extreme danger, Heuk-heuk and Yong-yong materialized and quickly grabbed Tae-hyun.
"Wait, that direction! No!"
"What's over there?"
"The Orc storehouse is in that direction...! Dammit, Heuk-heuk! Grab Cain!"
With Yong-yong's swift assistance, Tae-hyun narrowly escaped the range of Karag's skill.
"Chweeeek! Run! Get away!"
The other Orcs, realizing things had gone horribly wrong, also scattered to a safe distance. And then, the skill detonated.
Rumble!
The innermost fortress, the very symbol of the Orcs in the Uruk Region, was now nearly half-destroyed. Dark crimson demonic flames rolled and spread across the center, and amidst the fire stood the mutated, demon-like Orcs, their eyes glaring menacingly. Karag had reduced the fortress to this state with a single attack.
"That Orc must have trained himself to an extraordinary degree. Even with the demon's blood, achieving this level of power is no simple feat," Saruon remarked, genuinely impressed despite the chaos.
"Let's just leave him behind."
"Yeah! That useless piece of trash!"
Hearing Tae-hyun and Cain, Saruon quickly defended himself. "N-No, I only meant that Lord Esla would probably be pleased to see this!"
...Actually, running away might really be the best option.
Tae-hyun recalculated. His original plan was to use Saruon's power to seize control of Karag and the chieftains, defeat Monroso, and subjugate the rest of the Orcs. He would take over the innermost fortress, claim the loot, gain massive experience... If everything went smoothly, he would have secured rewards that were absolutely impossible to obtain through normal quests.
But looking at the current situation, it's a bust.
Failing to seize control of Karag was one thing, but the storehouse containing the loot was also completely destroyed... On top of that, Karag and the corrupted Orcs looked far too powerful. Meanwhile, the uncorrupted Orcs were merely shouting, "Great Chieftain! Please come back!" without offering any actual help...
Should we just run? That took one second.
Yeah, we should definitely run. That took two seconds.
Tae-hyun was cold and calculating when it came to these matters. Unlike other players, he didn't suffer from the sunk cost fallacy.
"Alright! Let's run!" Tap!
"Where do you think you're going, you bastard from the Magic Tower?!"
A Barrier has expanded across the surroundings.
You cannot leave until Monroso is defeated.
He could let anyone else go, but not this guy! Monroso's burning, blue-hot hatred locked onto Tae-hyun.
"Ah, seriously. You're so petty. Didn't anyone ever teach you to let go of grudges?"
"...I honestly can't tell which one of us is the demon," Saruon muttered.
Regardless, Tae-hyun drew his weapon. Since things had come to this, he had no choice but to fight.
"Today, this place will become your grave, traitor!"
"Monroso, you really should have read the room. Of all things, you had to stop us when we were just trying to leave. Do you honestly think the situation is still in your favor like it was earlier?" Tae-hyun sneered at Monroso.
Earlier, Karag and the Orcs were under Monroso's control, but now they were running amok on their own. In other words, there was no one left to protect Monroso! If they pooled their strength and focused entirely on killing Monroso, they could escape this place.
"Hmph, a mere insect like you trying to face me after I've received the demon's blood—"
"We just need to take that guy down! Get him! Orcs! Look over there! That's the bastard who corrupted your Great Chieftain and your chieftains! Kill him! If you kill him, your Great Chieftain and chieftains might return to normal, or maybe they won't! Go!"
"...?!" Watching Tae-hyun drag every single living soul in the vicinity into the fray, Monroso was utterly appalled. He had let his anger get the better of him and made a critical mistake. This was not the time to be fighting Tae-hyun.
"W-Wait a minute..."
"Too late, buddy. Great Chieftain Karag! The mastermind who planned the death of your son is right over there!" Tae-hyun attempted to use his Speech skill on Karag, unsure if it would actually work. But considering how Karag had been beating Cain to death earlier, there was a decent chance it might actually succeed.
"When did I ever plan such a—!"
"Lord Monroso, why are you denying it now? You were bragging about it so much the other day!"
Grind! Monroso's half-demonized body trembled violently in sheer rage.