Chapter 113
Chapter 113
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 113
Chapter Title: The Skeleton King's Domain
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The demons charging toward the temple came to a screeching halt.
Standing in their path was the Skeleton King I had summoned.
No undead monster in any state could invade the Skeleton King's domain.
Not a single one.
This round would pass without a fight. It was only the second boss, after all—no need to waste stamina.
Belphegor's vanguard commander, the lich, struggled to force her frozen body to move. Trying to break free of the system's rules—what a foolish creature.
"Graaah! Why won't my body move?!"
The Skeleton King gazed down at her. The moment their eyes met, she involuntarily dropped to her knees.
The domain of the Undead King.
We watched that tremendous power in action.
Kim Yeonhee looked at me with an expression of awe.
"Necromancers can fight like this, huh?"
"Depends on how you use it. Did you check on Michael?"
"Yeah. His face looked bad, so I didn't say anything."
"Good job."
"But... can I take out those guys? I want some EXP."
"......Do whatever. They're helpless anyway."
I ordered the demon minions I'd spared earlier to attack the undead legion.
Taking down enemies frozen like statues was incredibly easy.
It was like kicking a rock on the street.
-Kieeeek!
Belphegor's soldiers fell one by one, unable to put up any resistance.
Kim Yeonhee dove into the fray, gleefully slicing them apart. Her thrilled expression looked almost euphoric.
'......She's a battle maniac too, huh.'
Well, having someone like that in the group wasn't a bad thing.
If she loved fighting, she could tank up front and die in my place.
Whoosh—crunch!
Kim Yeonhee's dagger came down on a Belphegor undead soldier's neck.
It didn't quite pierce through—probably lacked the force. She slammed her fist down on the hilt to drive it deeper.
Thwack!
"Gah! This is why I love being an assassin."
"......"
That level of attack power? She'd have no complaints if she died ages ago. How had she even fought giants in round six?
Sure, stealth and ambushes might be her thing, but with such pathetic raw damage?
If I were head of an assassin guild, Kim Yeonhee would be disqualified.
Thank goodness the system hadn't implemented guilds.
"Kim Yeonhee! Grip the hilt upside down and swing from low to high."
"......Huh? Like this?"
She swung the dagger as I instructed. She got a faster attack speed than before.
"Yeah, like that."
Kim Yeonhee nodded, then slashed at another undead monster.
Her blade cut swiftly through the air, severing the ghoul's head in one stroke.
Clang.
Its head hit the ground.
Thud.
Kim Yeonhee turned to me with a satisfied grin.
"Ooh! This is good!"
"How do you even call yourself an assassin if you don't know how to hold a dagger? Basics of basics."
"......True that."
Mid-conversation, a suspicious thought crossed my mind. Kim Yeonhee's actions had seemed off earlier, and this movement felt dubious too.
Come to think of it, it was completely different from how she gripped her sword back when she was reveling in battle in Mebania.
"......"
Her blood had definitely been red, though.
If she were a demon, she would've gone for my throat when she had the chance earlier.
She wouldn't have succeeded, of course.
I'd wondered if she was Satan, but I decided against checking again.
'If she were Satan, she couldn't have used Attack Breaker.'
For now, I'd watch.
This Kim Yeonhee who wasn't quite Kim Yeonhee.
* * * * *
Kim Yeonhee, methodically carving through the undead demons in order, stopped in front of the lich.
Seeing the pure white dress, she bowed her head and tried to talk.
"You're a witch, right?"
"......"
"You're pretty, so why team up with demons? Undead legions, no less."
The lich slowly looked Kim Yeonhee up and down, then smiled faintly.
"You're like me, aren't you?"
"Huh? Like you?"
"Yeah. The type who gets pleasure from inflicting pain on others. A hedonist."
"......What kind of crazy talk is that?"
"What kind? This kind."
The lich opened her mouth wide and aimed at Kim Yeonhee.
[The 'Lich' uses Soul Ring skill.]
With a rattling cha-ching!, iron chains shot from the lich's mouth and bound Kim Yeonhee's body.
"W-What?!"
The lich, having landed her attack, looked flustered.
"What are you? How is a living human full of life force...?"
Life force? Isn't that just normal for anything alive?
I watched her from afar and ordered Park Gyuhwan.
"Deal with it."
Park Gyuhwan rushed forward and swung his sword at the chains holding Kim Yeonhee.
Clang!
They didn't break.
'What the?'
Chains tough enough to withstand Park Gyuhwan's slash?
After a couple more swings, Park Gyuhwan realized attacks weren't working on the chains and horizontally bisected the lich's torso instead.
The white dress stained black with blood. Her upper and lower body slowly separated, falling to either side.
The lich's face, now on the ground, twisted into a wide grin.
"Kahahahaha! Yes! So good!"
She enjoyed receiving pain too, huh.
Freed from the chains, Kim Yeonhee swung her dagger hard, smashing it into the lich's forehead.
The health bar above its head quickly turned gray with a death marker.
Kim Yeonhee let out a sigh of relief and smiled at me.
"Whew, my bad! Thanks for the help."
"......Be careful."
"Okie-dokie. Thanks, goblin soldier guy!"
Kim Yeonhee patted Park Gyuhwan's butt. Her exaggerated reaction bugged me.
She was usually bubbly, but reacting like that in a situation like this? Not easy.
'......This is more than just suspicious.'
We finished off the entire undead legion heading for the temple.
Mission complete, the Skeleton King wore a proud expression—like it was emphasizing how easy the win had been thanks to it.
"Skeleton King, head east from there."
The Skeleton King saluted me and marched eastward.
Chinese players were facing Belphegor there.
With the king's help, it'd be a huge boost for them.
Kim Yeonhee returned to the temple, her face drenched in blood.
She passed through the barrier without issue, confirming she definitely wasn't Satan.
Demons couldn't slip through barriers that easily without spatial travel.
"Kim Yeonhee, why not take a break?"
"Nah. I'm heading east to fight that Belphegor guy too."
She'd taken out so many demons, her whole body was soaked in black blood.
"Why not check a mirror?"
"Mirror?"
"Yeah. You look totally demonic right now. Covered in blood like that."
"......"
She pulled a square compact from her pocket and peeked at the little mirror inside.
"It really is...."
"Go like that to other players, and they'll think you're undead and attack."
"......Got it."
Kim Yeonhee wiped the blood from her face with her collar, heeding my words.
But there was way too much blood for her collar to handle.
"Use this."
I tossed her my handkerchief.
She snatched it midair and gave a quick nod of thanks.
"Thanks."
* * * * *
[The second boss 'Belphegor' has been defeated.]
[Rewards will be given to all players who participated in the seventh round.]
Word came of the Chinese players' victory.
Belphegor, the sin of sloth—rumored to be the weakest of the seven demons. Still, stronger than previous round bosses, yet they'd taken it down way too easily.
[Time Remaining: 08:31:44]
Not even thirty minutes since the second boss appeared. Guess the Chinese players were stronger than I'd thought.
Can't underestimate them.
Kim Yeonhee, checking the system message, let out a regretful sigh.
"Aw! I should've been the one to kill it!"
I tilted my head and asked her.
"Kim Yeonhee."
"Yeah?"
"Why are you so obsessed with fighting demons?"
"......"
"I don't mind you going wild, but you're weirdly fixated on demon hunting."
Kim Yeonhee nodded, agreeing with me.
"You're right. I really, really hate demons."
"Everyone hates demons."
"True, but you know I'm an elf fanatic, right?"
Yeah.
Jo Younggi and Kim Yeonhee were elf obsessives, even picking elf races in PC games.
Of course, with no character creation here, they had no choice but to play as humans.
"What's that got to do with hating demons?"
"......You're asking 'cause you don't know?"
"Yeah."
"In the lore, demons wipe out the Elf Helm! You seriously don't know?"
No clue.
First time hearing elves got wiped out by demons. Sure, Lucifer's minions had attacked the dwarves' and elves' home.
But Elf Helm getting destroyed? News to me.
"Elf Helm gets destroyed? You mean what the game's storyteller wrote in the novel?"
"Yeah! You really don't know, mister."
"Nope. Why does Elf Helm get destroyed?"
Kim Yeonhee smacked my shoulder with a displeased look.
"They call you a high-level player, but you don't know this?"
"......"
"In the fifth round, when we visited Elf Helm—if we failed the mission, demons take over the whole continent."
Really?
I'd never failed a mission, so no idea. Our group cleared every event perfectly—why would we know?
We'd succeeded from start to finish, so failed missions were unknown.
"No idea."
"Heh.... You really Kim Cheonjae?"
"Yeah. Keep going with the story."
Kim Yeonhee grinned and continued.
"No need for more explanation. Demons conquer Elf Helm, Lucifer revives there, and wipes out the whole continent."
"So the gate's full of demons crawling around?"
"Bingo! Back when I played on PC, that's why I couldn't go back to Elf Helm. Failed the mission...."
No idea why she brought up her past, but I knew the answer to that.
If the gate gets restricted, just reset it. Standard for all players who'd failed.
Everyone except our success-only group, that is.
I answered her calmly.
"If the gate entrance gets restricted, just reset it, right?"
"Right. But think about it—this game doesn't let you reset."
"......So?"
"We can't go back to the fifth round either."
What was she talking about?
Her words made no sense.
Why couldn't we return to round five?
I'd secured a definite victory there, after all.
I slowly turned my head to check the group status window.
As I went through the members one by one, I swallowed hard.
"Kim Yeonhee."
"Yeah?"
I hesitated on whether to ask after calling her.
If my suspicion was wrong, it'd really hurt her feelings.
Staring into her bright, sparkling eyes, I carefully opened my mouth.
"......Did demons get you, by any chance?"