Chapter 515
Chapter 515
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 515
Chapter Title: Clash (1)
One of the laboratories in the secondary dimensional space, now abandoned by its owner.
Hans, who had been vacuuming up the entire contents of the room through the enveloping darkness, casually turned his head.
[Those guys sure are persistent. They've already broken through all those floors?]
His eyes, gleaming with a chilling light, reflected not the laboratory's interior, but farther out—the inside of the 'dungeon,' the essential gateway that had to be passed to enter this space.
Kwajik— Kwaang!
Kururung—!
Everything blocking their path crumbled and shattered in an instant.
The dungeon was teeming with traps that even transcendent beings at the pinnacle of their worlds would have to risk their lives to overcome, but before this surging horde, they were nothing more than a brief delay.
...It was probably only natural.
'To mobilize such a force on such short notice. These Reverse Heaven Society bastards really are endless.'
There were already double digits of transcendent beings down there, led by one who had ascended to divinity.
If this weren't the dungeon Doctor had poured his heart into creating, even holding them off this long would have been impossible.
'Lucky for me. Thanks to that, I've bought time to loot everything.'
The Reverse Heaven Society reinforcements dispatched at Doctor's request.
They should have arrived long ago via the prepared shortcut.
The fact that they were in this state was entirely thanks to Hans, who had diligently seized control of the dungeon alongside Hesperon amid the chaos.
'Doctor being obsessed with the mecha demon side of things made my work so much easier.'
Hans let out a sinister chuckle and turned back to finish up.
Most of the checkpoints had been breached, and the enemies were almost upon him, but he didn't care.
[Looks like that's everything.]
The room he'd just cleared was the last laboratory remaining.
No matter how vast Doctor's secret space was, it had its limits.
Not bothering with sorting or selecting, he'd simply swallowed each room whole, so it hadn't taken long to gut the place completely.
'Mobilizing all the spare avatars has made cleaning up the haul smooth sailing too.'
Dwarf Howard, Hesperon, and the others were busy organizing the spoils into the Dragon Lair.
With its time dilation a hundred times that of Earth and accessible only to him, it was the perfect workshop.
He'd once regretted not being able to invite others to the Dragon Lair, but considering Doctor had lost everything to an intruder, ironclad security seemed far better.
...Putting aside the fact that he was that intruder.
'I want to hurry up and finish that giant robot... but sorting the data comes first.'
Thanks to Doctor's habit of juggling multiple projects at once, the labs were stuffed with a staggering amount of research materials.
It was impossible to easily distinguish key Reverse Heaven Society projects from his personal hobbies.
To grasp their future plans and objectives, he needed to sort that out first.
'And check what he meant by that New World Plan.'
Honestly, the 'giant transforming combiner robot' just screamed personal indulgence no matter how he looked at it.
As regrettable as it was... now was the time to prioritize efficiency.
[Hmm, still feels like a waste to just pull out now.]
Hans slowly surveyed his surroundings.
The secret lab was now total ruins.
Compounded by the aftermath of Mecha Demon and Harley's battle, plus Hans's excavation-level ransacking, nothing remained intact.
[...Yeah, it wouldn't be proper hospitality to make guests who've come this far eat dust.]
It hadn't been long since he'd taken ownership from the original master.
And he'd stripped the essentials and prepped to move out immediately...
Still, he was the master here now.
So greeting the incoming guests was only right.
Saa aaa—
Jet-black energy poured from the staff Hans drew from his subspace.
It seeped into walls, floor, and ceiling without discrimination, twisting space and warping laws.
As if to drown this entire little world in hell.
[Kukuk— Let's see those faces, then.]
What expressions would they make upon realizing they'd rushed here too late?
He couldn't pass up the chance to screw over his arch-enemies at Reverse Heaven Society and gauge their strength again.
'Maybe even thin their numbers further.'
With preparations to receive guests complete—
Kwa chang—!
A section of space shattered.
And at last, the Reverse Heaven Society crew revealed themselves.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Card open: Night of the Underworld."
A low voice rang out, and a flash of light swept through the surroundings in an instant.
Peoverbung—
Kwaaang—!
Deafening explosions followed as the traps blocking their path detonated in unison.
These heinous traps exploited the unique laws of this dungeon world to bring despair to intruders, but raw overwhelming power rendered them ineffective.
"This is the last one."
The blonde woman who had cleared the area with light from her card turned and bowed respectfully.
She too was a transcendent at her world's peak, but it meant nothing compared to the being beside her.
"......"
"...Black Knight?"
But the figure in black full-body armor merely stared into empty space without a word.
As if locked in a staring contest with some hidden watcher.
"Tch, we're too late."
A gloomy voice leaked from the helmet.
A voice like twisted metal that shook the soul just to hear.
The Black Knight said no more.
Kwa chang—!
A black greatsword in his hand—drawn who knows when—shattered the space ahead in a flash.
Thus, the Reverse Heaven Society group, rushing on urgent summons, finally reached their goal.
"This is...?"
"Doesn't look like the dungeon interior."
It differed slightly from what they'd expected.
Walls, floor, and ceiling writhed under bizarre living tissue, and intermittent puffs of dark red mist carried mind-corrupting power.
The staring eyes embedded everywhere were repulsive enough.
As the others besides the impassive Black Knight grimaced and raised their guards—
[Welcome, Reverse Heaven Society dogs.]
A chilling voice echoed suddenly.
Gu gu gu gung—!
The space quaked violently and began to twist.
Walls and ceiling receded, forming a vast plaza centered on them.
The abrupt change happened before they could react.
As it settled, their gazes snapped upward in unison.
[Kukukuk, pity you've come all this way for nothing. This place has long been mine.]
Toward the figure high above, exuding horrific energy and looking down.
A black robe and hood rippling like congealed darkness itself, with a grotesque grinning mask peeking out.
Eyes flickering like hellfire, a nightmare incarnate radiating abyssal death from every pore.
"Hahoe Mask."
Reverse Heaven Society's top extermination target: Hahoe Mask.
Their fated nemesis had infiltrated their sanctum and stabbed them in the vitals.
The transcendents gritted their teeth and steeled for battle.
"Hah, they must think we're real jokes."
"Tell me about it. Never thought he'd still be here instead of running. Is that a silver lining?"
"Don't underestimate him. He slipped away even from the Chairman's grasp. And he's taken down plenty of our executives. No telling what other tricks he's hiding."
No matter how it played out, their job remained the same.
Better yet if the culprit lingered.
Interrogating the perpetrator beat sifting through traces in an empty place.
...Only one thing they overlooked.
The culprit behind this wasn't just Hahoe Mask.
Kwaaang!
Something sliced through space and burst forth.
A massive monster dropped from above.
Cracks spiderwebbed from the impact; they hastily steadied themselves.
"Kahahahat! Damn right! A real man doesn't run without a fight like some coward!"
A hulking frame over five meters tall, stitched with mismatched creature traits.
The monstrous giant, Harley, bellowed with savage laughter.
"You lot must be pretty confident to crawl all the way here! This'll be fun!"
His gaze fixed on the Black Knight at the group's fore.
He knew instinctively.
That one was a true powerhouse even he couldn't dismiss.
And he looked like a brawler perfect for a good scrap!
"Hey, you! Black armor! If you're so tough, how about pitting yourself against—"
Before Harley's excited words finished—
Puhwak—!
A geyser of blood erupted.
Thud!
His massive head hit the floor.
"Don't yell one by one. You're noisy."
A beheading no one had sensed.
The Black Knight swung his black magic sword through empty air.
Just a habitual motion; not a drop of blood stained it.
[Hoo.]
Hans, watching from above, let out a low murmur of admiration.
Harley's sensory precision had long surpassed measurable limits.
The instincts born from it bordered on short-term precognition, yet he'd been struck without noticing.
'And enough power to sever battle-mode Harley's neck in one blow. This might be...'
The perfect counter to Harley, who relied solely on his body to build his realm.
But Hans merely observed, not stepping forward.
"Kuhahat! Way hotter than I thought!"
Harley couldn't die from decapitation anyway.
The hand picking up his nonchalantly chatting severed head pressed it back to the stump.
The curse on the cut stymied regeneration to the end, but his overwhelming vitality ignored it, cleanly mending the wound.
"......"
As if he'd never expected a one-shot kill, the Black Knight tilted his head slightly at the sight.
Something off, perhaps.
He glanced at his magic sword, then swung again.
Chwak!
Blood sprayed anew; the head came off without fail.
But the response differed this time.
"Damn! Even when I braced harder, it still came off!"
Harley pressed his scalp down with one hand the instant it flew, reattaching it.
Reaction speed and regeneration both markedly faster than before.
As if adapting from the prior strike.
"...Hmph."
Did that prick the Black Knight's pride?
A faint scoff escaped as he slowly raised his magic sword.
And then.
Harley's head was severed.
The wrist reaching to reattach it fell.
Arm, shoulder, torso, legs—his entire body was diced.
That wasn't all.
Like tomatoes in a blender, his giant flesh shredded in a blink.
Hudududuk—
Chunks of meat and blood rained late to the floor.
Hans in the air eyed the Black Knight... no, the magic sword in his hand.
'That magic sword.'
He hadn't noticed at first, but after countless cuts on Harley's body, it clicked.
'On par with the Immortal King's Heart.'
A weapon that could doom an entire world.
Its wielder was equally dangerous, naturally.
'Without the Executioner's bullshit time-stop, they couldn't even claim to be Reverse Heaven Society's strongest.'
No wonder the matchup favored him badly.
Unlike the Executioner's attacks, survivable with defense and regen, each slash from that sword was lethally precise.
And his swordsmanship was no amateur hour either, beyond mere weapon reliance.
The world's finest swordsman wielding a peerless blade.
Hans couldn't just watch anymore; he had to intervene.
Kururung!
At his gesture, vast energy condensed and poured onto the Black Knight.
The ultimate destruction spell, impossible to dodge as it devoured space itself.
Sugak—!
Harley hadn't tasted much from the swordplay anyway.
This brief respite was enough.
"Damn, even a saint like me's getting pissed now."
As long as his vital reserves held, the undying monster Harley began reforming from the chunks.
Clad in full-body armor plating instead of his ruined clothes, head morphed into a lion's.
Regeneration even faster this time.
"Tch, starting to adapt. Well, fine. Keep clashing till it sticks."
Tougher than the Executioner, but the tactic was identical.
As the Ultimate Evolving Lifeform, adapt to the foe's attacks.
Just endure, and victory followed.
"Hey! Round two!"
Attacks that couldn't kill only made him stronger.