Chapter 380
Chapter 380
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 380
Chapter Title: Belzerk's Recognition
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Belzerk's words flowed straight into the broadcast without missing a beat.
"Your scent is different, but you're really Lee Soo-hyuk. Yeah, we've met once before."
It had happened long ago.
Back when the battles between demons and Players were at their fiercest, Soo-hyuk and his comrades had once caught Belzerk in the trap of the bloodflowers.
At the time, they hadn't faced many legion commander-grade demons in battle yet. Was that why? They managed to escape the trap by some miracle, but in the end, Belzerk slipped away.
"I should have caught you back then."
Of course, the viewers burst into laughter at those words. They figured the cornered demon had mistaken his opponent.
But a few among them didn't just brush off Belzerk's claim.
Of course, these were still minority opinions for now.
There had always been people claiming that streamer Lee Soo-hyuk might actually be the real Lee Soo-hyuk, but they were dismissed as hardcore fans.
But the atmosphere was different from the days when such claims were treated as trolling.
Sure enough, questions like that started pouring in.
Soo-hyuk responded to the 1,000-point viewer's question.
"You've got sharp eyes."
A casual tone, as if it were no big deal.
Naturally, the viewers took it as part of the stream's banter.
It was a sincere answer, but Soo-hyuk deliberately made it sound like it wasn't.
This wasn't something he could just reveal out of the blue one day. It was a truth that needed to build gradually, exploding with greater power at the decisive moment.
This was enough for today.
Someday, the viewers would naturally come to realize it.
The moment they accepted that streamer Lee Soo-hyuk was the real Lee Soo-hyuk, everything that had seemed impossible would suddenly make perfect sense.
"You're all overlooking it. No one believes it except that demon, huh?"
"What nonsense have you been spouting since earlier?"
Belzerk took Soo-hyuk's fluctuating tone as mockery.
It was a situation ripe for misunderstanding. But it didn't matter anyway.
"Sorry. Can't adjust the mic here."
"...What can't you adjust?"
"You don't get it. Guess there are no streamers over there."
As Soo-hyuk addressed the viewers again, Belzerk's anger boiled over.
"You thought I'd be scared just because you claim to be the real one?!"
Whoosh-.
Flowers bloomed once more from both his hands. This time, instead of charging at Soo-hyuk, he spewed poison directly from them.
Crimson powder scattered throughout the underground space. It was bloodflowers mixed with all sorts of demonic realm poisons.
A deadly toxin even stronger than the Poison King's.
Belzerk was a demon who wielded mass destruction through such poisons, killing enemies en masse.
He had probably come here to slaughter as many Players as possible during the counter-invasion.
Foosh-.
The toxic mist enveloped Soo-hyuk. Even Belzerk, who had unleashed it, was startled.
'Why so easy?'
He knew Soo-hyuk could overpower him.
Releasing the poison was like a last-ditch struggle. He hadn't expected it to take Soo-hyuk down. He'd assumed he'd just burn it away with lightning, as expected.
His shock quickly turned to ecstasy. Thinking he'd survived by sheer luck, Belzerk burst into laughter.
"You got careless and paid for it! You idiot!"
No need to prepare the next poison. Getting hit by this mist meant it was over.
Even with high stamina and poison resistance, survival might be immediate, but death was inevitable. Belzerk was certain of victory.
But soon after, Soo-hyuk emerged from the hazy mist.
"Of all people, you had to show up."
He brushed off the crimson poison dust clinging to his body, irritation clear in his voice.
"You made the stream boring."
Belzerk's poison had no effect on Soo-hyuk's body.
Invulnerable to Poisons, the reward from slaying the Guardian Hydra.
True to its name of granting immunity to ten thousand poisons, Soo-hyuk's body rejected all toxins.
A body even immune to the Guardian Hydra's venom. No matter how legion commander-grade the demon, using poison made it no different from a common low-tier one against Soo-hyuk.
"Immune to poison, huh?"
"As you can see."
"Then no need for this."
The fully blooming flowers withered away. As the petals lost their vitality, the vines' thorns grew sharper.
Belzerk didn't despair at the revelation of Soo-hyuk's poison immunity.
No matter how hopeless, he was still a legion commander-grade demon. Even knowing it was the worst matchup, they didn't know the word surrender.
Shwaaa-!
Tens of thousands of thorns sprouted from the vines, flying like tentacles.
Normally coated in deadly poison, Belzerk instead honed the thorns to razor points.
In that instant, Soo-hyuk slid across the ground like on ice.
Shwaa, his body slipped through gaps in the vines. He didn't engage every thick, sharp thorn.
Weaving between vines, he only countered the minimal necessary ones. He could smash through all, but Soo-hyuk didn't fight inefficiently.
Where there were no gaps to penetrate, he sliced thorns to create space.
As he squeezed through the minimal openings he'd made, a sharp thorn reflected in Soo-hyuk's eyes.
The distance closed in a flash. To the end, Belzerk didn't give up, spewing the poison mist he'd held in his mouth.
Foosh-.
Crimson mist blanketed Soo-hyuk's body. All directions filled with scarlet smoke.
He knew poison wouldn't work. Instead, Belzerk used the mist as a smokescreen to obscure vision.
With the fog, Belzerk's form began to fade.
He had no intention of winning against Soo-hyuk. Worst matchup in skill and compatibility. Better to flee than fight.
But the next moment.
Puk-.
"...!"
A streak of blue light pierced Belzerk's mouth, slicing through the mist.
Soo-hyuk hadn't lost track of the fleeing Belzerk even in the poison fog. The sword flew like light, pinning his mouth and binding his body.
"Last chance. Who sent you?"
On death's doorstep, where judgment might cloud, Belzerk didn't flinch.
His eyes said: kill me if you dare.
Getting a demon legion commander to talk was this hard. No, impossible.
Soo-hyuk let go of any lingering hope.
"Figures."
Slash-.
The sword that had pierced his mouth now severed Belzerk's head.
"No reason you'd answer."
Splurt-.
A massive gush of blood erupted. Plop plop plop, it rained down like a storm.
Soo-hyuk didn't dodge, letting the blood pour over him.
As the downpour finally stopped.
Soo-hyuk's second broadcast came to an end.
With Belzerk's death, the bloodflowers blooming across the city withered away.
The rankers fighting them were baffled. But soon, they understood.
"Lee Soo-hyuk took down a demon."
"Lee Soo-hyuk? How do you know?"
"He was streaming right up to it. Cut the demon's head off and ended the broadcast."
Relieved by the news that the culprit demon was dead after their long night, the rankers sighed in unison.
But separately, they all tensed up.
The battle with a demon legion commander had been just moments ago. Two legion commanders attacking Blue House had shaken all the major guilds.
And now, so soon, another legion commander had appeared.
Staring at the withered bloodflowers, Kim Il-su muttered bitterly.
"Now even the demons are causing trouble."
Meanwhile, Si-woo moved to find Soo-hyuk, whose broadcast had ended.
He'd gotten the demon's location from Hyo-min. Among his comrades, Soo-hyuk had been closest, followed by Si-woo.
As he raced toward the destination, Si-woo spotted Soo-hyuk atop a nearby building.
Si-woo scaled the wall effortlessly. With a few leaps, he reached the roof and froze upon seeing Soo-hyuk.
"Hey, you...!"
Blood covered Soo-hyuk's face. No, precisely, his mask.
Seeing Soo-hyuk drenched in blood, Si-woo startled, then relaxed.
"You scared me."
"Why?"
"Thought it was all your blood."
"If this was all mine, I wouldn't be standing."
No telling how much blood Belzerk had sprayed. The underground was a total bloodbath.
Soo-hyuk looked at Si-woo's expression—he'd arrived first—and asked.
"Feeling better now?"
No visible injuries, but Si-woo was soaked in sweat. It showed how hard he'd been running around.
He'd complained the whole game was boring tonight. Speak of the devil, and a midnight event hit.
"What's exciting about this? It's not relief—it's more frustrating."
"Fair enough."
"Like with Blue House, the demons are starting to move in earnest. You said the Dragon Lord was dead? Maybe it was discovered late, and it actually happened ages ago."
The demon situation wasn't something to brush off lightly.
They were clear enemies, harboring malice to wipe out humanity at the first chance.
Solving Kim Il-su's issue wouldn't end it. Guardians remained, as did the demons' and Demon Kings' hostility. And the 'eventual inevitability' was another wildcard.
Considering it all, Si-woo shook his head with a deep sigh.
"Not easy."
He glanced at Soo-hyuk.
Soo-hyuk, mask and clothes caked in blood, stared at the sky. The bloody attire gave him an unusual aura.
"What're you thinking so hard about?"
"Same as you."
"Demons?"
"No, what came after."
"Not easy?"
Soo-hyuk nodded.
Sometimes, seeing Soo-hyuk handle everything effortlessly, Si-woo felt he had no worries.
But Si-woo knew.
The greater the Player, the greater the anxieties.
So just how heavy were Soo-hyuk's burdens?
"That's why."
Sure enough, drenched in blood atop this roof, Soo-hyuk had been pondering one thing.
"I think I need to do something insane."