Chapter 110
Chapter 110
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 110
Chapter Title: Asmodeus
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Asmodeus.
The King of Lust, and the boss overseeing the first game of the seventh round.
The demon made his appearance.
A devil with the heads of three animals. This muscle-bound beast, built like a heavyweight bodybuilder, was said to possess the greatest physical strength among all demons.
A symbol of power so overwhelming that even fellow archdemons couldn't escape once he got a grip on them.
The horse, lion, and goat heads atop his neck scanned in every direction, on high alert.
“Is Michael really in that cathedral?”
Asmodeus’s voice boomed.
The demons nearby hesitated for a moment at the sound of it.
-Yes! Satan definitely said the archangel and the opener were in there.
“Damn fools. Do they even know where they are...?”
Boom!
The ground shook with every step he took.
His massive frame was so enormous it evoked the image of a giant—though not quite on the scale of a titan.
In terms I knew, he stood about as tall as a standard four-story apartment building.
Everyone guarding the cathedral froze in tension.
Everyone except me, that is.
The boss from the south, Leviathan, had already been dealt with, so there was no reason for this one to head that way.
“...As expected.”
He turned his body toward the direction of the Japanese players.
I fended off the swarming animal-type demons while keeping a close eye on Asmodeus’s movements.
[‘Asmodeus’ prepares Earthquake Resonance Wave.]
“...Everyone, get flat on the ground!”
At my command, all my summons pressed themselves to the floor. I flattened myself too, bracing for the earthquake resonance wave.
Rrrrrumble.
A fierce wind, like a typhoon, rushed toward Asmodeus’s position.
Then, as he slammed both fists into the ground,
Boom!
The earth cracked open, unleashing a massive resonance. The vibration was so intense it felt like it shook not just the cathedral, but all of Hell.
Winds sharp as blades tore through everything around.
Even the demons flying toward the cathedral were shredded like paper.
Asmodeus let out a hearty laugh, tapping his forehead.
“Hahaha!”
His minions trembled in fear. A mad character who’d kill friend or foe alike to satisfy his desires.
Boom.
The shaking of the ground finally stopped.
I sprang to my feet and issued orders.
“Everyone, take out every demon in sight as fast as you can!”
All the beings under my command charged. Once the boss shows up, the number of demons spawning here gets limited.
Which meant if I cleared out every demon I could see right now, no more would come.
The skeleton soldiers scattered in all directions to engage the demons.
Any player who’d played this game before, anyone who’d made it to the seventh round, would know.
Necromancers couldn’t wield much power against Asmodeus and his area attacks.
One earthquake resonance wave could wipe out every summon I’d built up so far.
The boss had to be handled with extreme caution.
At least a thousand demons had come from the south. We were barely a fifth of that number.
Clang!
A pig demon’s trident was blocked by a skeleton soldier’s armor.
The skeleton warrior swung its axe, severing the demon’s wrist.
Crunch!
Another swing split the pig clean in two.
Whoosh—
Thud!
They were no match.
It took my soldiers less than thirty minutes to overcome the numerical disadvantage and wipe them all out.
I wiped the blood from my scythe with a satisfied expression.
‘That’s as far as they go.’
I surveyed the now-quiet battlefield.
Once every visible enemy was cleared, sure enough, no new ones appeared.
Rest time.
A system mechanic that let you regroup and recover until the next boss showed up.
To clear the foul smell clinging to my nose, I lit up a cigarette.
Suck. Puff—
“Gawain, I’ll be stepping away for a bit. Take command of the skeleton soldiers.”
“Understood.”
“If Satan shows up again, feel free to cut him down on sight.”
“...Yes, sir. May I ask where you’re headed?”
“...North. I was just gonna leave it to them, but looks like I’ll have to claim that reward too.”
* * * * *
[North Cathedral]
Asmodeus and his minions clashed with the Japanese players.
Everyone except Hanjo wore samurai-like attire.
As if they’d coordinated outfits just for this day.
They gripped shurikens and chanted spells in unison.
[Song of the Wind]
Whirl—
Hundreds of transparent shurikens scattered on the wind, then shot forward.
Like a volley of arrows, the shurikens rained down on the demon horde.
Pitter-patter-bang!
-Kieeeek!
The Japanese players lit the threads connected to their shurikens. The fuses burned fast like artillery shells, heating the tips.
Boom!
The shurikens exploded.
They must have packed gunpowder inside those thick blades.
Next, the samurai-clad Japanese players clasped their hands together, creating dozens, hundreds of wooden dolls in their own likeness.
[Shadow Clone Technique]
Shadows slipped from the ninjas’ bodies into the wooden dolls. The battle-ready dolls charged at full speed toward the demons.
Demons and humans tangled in combat.
No one advanced until Asmodeus reached right in front of the cathedral.
They just kept the minions at bay from afar.
Boom!
The ground trembled.
It was Asmodeus approaching the cathedral.
“Trying to stop me with just this many? Pathetic humans.”
Hanjo wagged a finger at him.
“Come on.”
“Insolent worm.”
[‘Asmodeus’ begins emitting hormones as toxic gas.]
[The green smoke from his body is highly poisonous—proceed with caution.]
The Japanese players whipped out massive fans and waved them at Asmodeus.
The green smoke blew back toward the cathedral’s opposite side, spreading among the other demons.
Animal-type demons grazed by the gas began collapsing one by one.
-Kieeeek!
-Ah, Lord Asmodeus, please!
-Stop the gas!
“...Press the advance.”
The gas didn’t stop.
He didn’t care if his own minions dropped.
The samurais couldn’t hide their bewilderment. One who seemed like a leader rushed to Hanjo.
“H-Hanjo, sir. What do we do?”
“...Who knows. Normally, he’d have no choice but to stop the gas.”
“Tell us the countermeasure, quick!”
Hanjo furrowed his brow and ordered the others.
“Everyone, prepare fire jutsu. Turn the area in front of the cathedral into a sea of flames.”
“...Pardon?”
“That gas is vulnerable to fire. Burn it all.”
“But those demons have fire resistance!”
“Did I say burn the demons? I said burn the gas.”
“...Ah!”
The samurais lined up in front of the cathedral. They cupped their palms lightly to their mouths, inhaled deeply,
Suck—.
Then exhaled massively toward the front.
[Flame Burst]
Fwoosh!
Nearly thirty players spewing flames at once engulfed the area in fire.
Unlike the hellfire erupting from the ground, these flames spread in all directions.
In that instant.
The flames ignited Asmodeus’s gas, causing a massive explosion.
Boom!
Pillars of fire shot skyward.
One of the ninjas muttered to himself.
“Did it work...?”
Everyone held their breath, staring at the fire pillars.
Hanjo, checking Asmodeus’s status, drew his sword and bellowed.
“He’s coming!”
Rumble rumble boom.
Asmodeus burst from the flames, face twisted in rage, charging straight at the cathedral.
[Beast Charge]
“He’s breaking through!”
As everyone recoiled in shock,
Hanjo alone leaped forward.
“Everyone, fall back!”
Hanjo unwrapped the bandages on one hand. On his wrist was a forbidden string of text from this game.
[01633EDB]
A cheat code known only to the devs.
‘Infinite Mana’
A code so well-known it was practically public.
But,
No one had ever used it before.
Endless mana came at the cost of a ‘Cursed Body,’ where your character’s life force steadily drained away.
[Shadow Seal]
A shadow detached from Hanjo’s body and flowed into his blade.
A skill that forcibly injected a shadow into the target, paralyzing them.
The secret technique only Hanjo among the Japanese players had mastered.
Swoosh—
He swung wide, stabbing the blade into the lion head’s forehead.
Thud!
It couldn’t pierce the skin.
[‘Shadow Seal’ skill canceled due to attack failure for player Hanjo.]
“What?!”
Asmodeus’s horse and goat heads turned toward Hanjo.
“Gotcha, you rat.”
He tried to dodge, but the goat head’s tongue lashed out, binding his body.
The horse head neighed gleefully at the sight.
-Hiiing!
Asmodeus raised his massive, muscular arms overhead and clamped down on Hanjo with crushing force.
Hanjo screamed under the pressure.
“Arrrgh! D-Damn it!”
The samurais hurled shurikens at Asmodeus’s fingers. No damage. Hanjo thrashed with all his might, but escape was impossible.
After all, he was the strongest grip in all of Hell.
Asmodeus’s three heads laughed uproariously.
“Hahaha! You little mouse.”
The lion head opened wide. The horse and goat heads licked their lips greedily.
Just before Hanjo entered the lion’s maw.
Swoooosh.
The sound of wind slicing through the air rang out,
Crunch!
Asmodeus’s finger was severed.
“Kahak!”
* * * * *
The moment his finger dropped, Hanjo chanted a spell.
With a ‘pop!’, a log burst out, and Hanjo vanished.
In the blink of an eye, he’d relocated in front of the cathedral.
“...Kim Cheonjae.”
I gripped the goat head’s horn and flashed a bright smile.
“Hey, you said leave it to you—what’s this mess?”
“How’d you get here?”
“How? I swept everything clean on my way.”
“...You left the south undefended?”
I wagged my finger side to side.
“N-No, my minions are holding the south just fine.”
I raised my fist high, and Park Gyuhwan arrived leading the demon soldiers under my command.
Riding a demon, he cut an imposing figure.
“Shall we begin, sir?”
“Yeah. Wipe them all out.”
“...Yes, sir.”
Bang!
The gunshot echoed.
Demons struck by bullets fell one by one.
-Kieeeek!
Black-skinned demons clashed with red-skinned ones. When demons were of equal rank, mine fought stronger.
Boosted by the ally enhancement aura from my Reaper’s Scythe, it was inevitable.
The Japanese players, sensing the momentum, joined the fray.
Though only about thirty strong, they used clone techniques to multiply their numbers several times over.
The great battle began.
I pressed my scythe to Asmodeus’s neck and whispered quietly.
“Asmodeus, call Beelzebub.”