Chapter 115
Chapter 115
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 115
Chapter Title: The Satanic Item
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Ma Jeongwoo and the other players returned after completing the World Tree mission.
They looked like hell, as if they'd been through absolute misery. I, who'd been left alone to hold the holy war front, actually seemed more put-together by comparison.
Ma Jeongwoo brushed the pile of ash off his shoulder and said to me,
“Nothing happened, right?”
“None here. You?”
“Nope.”
He glanced at Kim Yeonhee, then shook his head slowly.
It was the natural reaction—anyone who abandons the battlefield and ignores the leader's orders couldn't be considered one of their own.
“The gate opened properly.”
“Exactly like the one we saw back in the day?”
“Yeah, looked just like when we checked it out on PC.”
“Then…”
I glanced at the hologram timer ticking down rapidly.
[Remaining Time: 05:35:11]
A little over two hours until the boss game.
More than enough time to hunt down the hidden mission and get moving.
“Jeongwoo, switch missions.”
“Switch missions? Oh, you want me to handle defending the holy war?”
“Yeah. Kim Yeonhee and I are going to grab some ‘Satanic’ items.”
“……Just the two of you?”
“Yeah. Just us.”
Satanic items.
Special gear packed with unique abilities, obtained by defeating ‘Satan,’ the hidden boss of the seventh round.
Of course, most players were too busy just holding the holy war to even think about challenging Satanic, but we were different.
Even splitting up our key members wouldn't compromise the defense, so we had the freedom to move.
He paused for a moment, eyeing me oddly as I prepared to take Kim Yeonhee along.
I winked, and he broke into a wide grin before replying.
“Do whatever. But why take Kim Yeonhee? Wouldn't it be easier with Michael?”
“……She’s got a skill we need for this fight.”
“A skill? What kind?”
I glanced around, then answered him.
“Can’t say here.”
“……Okay.”
“And.”
“And?”
“Satan keeps dropping by this place. Seems like he’s gunning to retake the holy war, different from the story we know, so watch out for his transformations.”
“……Yeah, fair point.”
I shrugged.
“Exactly. So we need a signal only we know to verify each other.”
“A signal?”
“Yeah. Remember that symbol we used to draw as kids?”
“……Of course.”
“That’ll be our way to confirm identities. Solid enough, right?”
“Yeah.”
Before leaving, I kept fighting solo so the other players could rest.
My mission here was to get everyone through to the next round, after all.
A hidden mission even Jeongwoo didn’t know about.
-Kieeeek!
An armored crocodile demon swung its mace at my skeleton soldiers.
It was a deadlock in a one-on-one.
Reptilian demons were mostly greedy bastards in life, coveting what wasn’t theirs.
That ambition made them stronger than the earlier demons who'd shown up.
Whatever.
The stronger they got, the stronger I got, so no complaints.
“I cancel the Skeleton King summon and all demon summons.”
The bones of the previously summoned demon squad and Skeleton King rained down, vanishing from my summon list.
“Skeleton Summon, Revive.”
A fresh wave of skeleton soldiers rose up. For the battles ahead, mass numbers would be more efficient than a single Skeleton King.
Then the fallen reptilian soldiers stirred back to life. Lucky break—one of the corpses was a chameleon soldier.
I pulled it aside separately.
A cowardly one that usually avoided combat—must've gotten mixed in by mistake?
The chameleon shifted its body to match the ground's color and slinked toward the holy war front.
Zzzt!
It tried climbing the stairs but got blocked by the barrier.
I went down personally to check its condition. No wounds on its belly, so it hadn't fought.
A pristine chameleon warrior.
“……Perfect.”
* * * * *
Preparations complete, I led my soldiers east toward the holy war site.
Couldn't cut straight through because of the barrier, so we had to circle the whole thing.
The Chinese players battling reptilian demons spotted my march and shouted in alarm.
-The demons are swarming from below!
I waved at them.
“It’s me! Necromancer Kim Cheonjae! These are my soldiers!”
A druid player confirmed my face and let out a relieved sigh.
On the way past, I stopped to ask about the previous boss.
The druid player was missing an arm.
No need to ask who did it—he must've sacrificed it to take down the boss.
“Your arm?”
“Traded it for my life.”
“……Cheap deal.”
“Yeah. Anyway, where are you headed? This round’s not over yet.”
I filled the druid player in on everything with Satan so far.
How he was hunting Leviathan’s whereabouts and constantly harassing players to reclaim the holy war.
The druid player scowled as he listened.
“That bastard…”
“Could show up here too, so stay sharp.”
“Doesn’t he usually just guard the tower and never hit the holy war?”
“That’s the old game. Here, the guy’s acting totally different.”
“……”
“I’ll head out first, then.”
“Got it. Take care.”
The druid player seemed to take my warning to heart, rallying his soldiers to brief them on Satan.
As I was slipping out of their zone, I was shocked by their combat setup.
No reptilian demons anywhere near the holy war.
A bit farther off, a single player in a blue robe wielded a gleaming metal rod like a one-man army.
Hadn’t been there before.
‘……Sharing stats, huh.’
That level of power looked like he’d dumped every other player’s stats into himself. Insane combat prowess.
Whoosh-
Crack!
One swing of his staff shattered a turtle soldier’s shell.
“Druwa!”
His face was hooded, so no idea who, but those eyes looked familiar.
As I got closer, he noticed me and yanked his hood tighter over his face.
Someone who knew me?
Why hide his identity?
The answer hit me the second the question formed.
“……Wang Cheonma.”
He stared at me, startled.
“How’d you know?”
“Your eyes.”
“……”
“And your reaction. Which Chinese player goes out of their way to hide from me? You came to mind right away.”
“……”
A tense air hung between us. I could feel Wang Cheonma gauging the distance. He wouldn’t be dumb enough to charge my army solo, but caution never hurt.
“Gawain.”
Gawain appeared, and Wang Cheonma took a step back.
“Kim Cheonjae, you wanna fight?”
“Nah. Just passing through.”
“Passing through?”
“Yeah. Got business up there.”
I pointed with my index finger—Satan’s fortress. A towering yellow spire swarmed by gray gargoyles in flight.
“Satanic?”
“You know it.”
“……Go ahead, but don’t drag anyone else down. Satanic items aren’t for just anyone. And if you lose to Satan and pad their numbers, it gets messy.”
As expected of China’s top player. He knew the risks of Satanic items and Satan’s abilities all too well.
Satan—the contractor of Faust, basically the Necromancer’s ancestor.
My predecessor in game lore.
Excluding Lucifer and Leviathan, his raw power topped the seven great demons.
I answered firmly.
“Won’t happen. Don’t worry.”
“Who’s using the item?”
“Why do you need to know?”
“Why not? You know the disaster if a player gets devoured by Satanic?”
“Won’t happen, so relax.”
“……”
“Whatever. I’m going. Hold the line here.”
I turned away.
Chance encounter, but it reminded me of his strength once more.
A white aura shooting sky-high, tougher than anyone’s. Even bigger than mine, and I’d hit the game’s max level.
‘……Can’t underestimate him.’
* * * * *
We arrived at the tower where Satan lurked. It scraped the sky like a skyscraper in a major city.
Corpses littered the area, half-eaten by crows.
The air reeked of rot and blood.
The bodies were mangled beyond recognition.
One step in hell’s rebirth: souls bracing for their sin-matched demon form.
Human souls without bodies received new vessels here.
And with them, their minds shattered, turning demonic.
‘……So those corpses could be players?’
Or just system-filler shells.
As I stood before the tower, a new system window popped up.
[System Message]
[Hidden event triggered!]
[Difficulty: ???]
[Reward: Satanic Item]
-Seize Satan’s breath to seal Lucifer’s power.
Gargoyles screeched oddly as they flew overhead.
When Park Gyuhwan rode in on his demon mount, they fled inside the tower. Facing a boss-tier gargoyle as an enemy? No contest.
My forces surrounded the tower, and white smoke billowed out, fogging everything thick as pea soup.
The only visible path now: the tower entrance.
I lit a cigarette and said to Kim Yeonhee,
“From here on, no matter what happens, it’s not on you. Don’t stress.”
“What do you mean?”
“You can’t disobey Satan’s orders right now. What do you think happens next?”
“……”
“No matter what goes down, I take full responsibility. Got it?”
Kim Yeonhee nodded.
“Got it.”
Satan already knew I was coming here. No way he wouldn’t, traveling with Kim Yeonhee.
I positioned the Revived demon soldiers and skeletons around the tower perimeter, then headed inside.
Just Gawain and Park Gyuhwan.
Plus Kim Yeonhee and the undead chameleon.
Step. Step. Step. Step.
My footsteps echoed in the frigid corridor.
Unlike the blazing outside, it felt refreshingly cool inside.
But pitch darkness blocked the view—no light anywhere.
I closed my eyes until they adjusted, then opened them.
Stairs appeared.
A spiral staircase hugging the wall led upward. Gargoyles had clung everywhere outside, but not a single one inside.
Felt like stepping into another dimension.
At the top of the stairs, an exit to the tower roof. Red light seeped in, giving it away.
I stepped out cautiously, alert for ambushes.
Flash.
Light enveloped me.
Time froze.
[Boss Detected]
[You have encountered the seventh round’s hidden boss.]
[Activating memory fragment of ‘Satan’ to replay story cutscene.]
My vision went white, like thick fog.
Then a massive battlefield emerged.
Demons and angels clashing in the God-Demon War.
-Protect the holy war!
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