Chapter 410
Chapter 410
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 410
Chapter Title: A Companion More Dangerous Than the Demon King
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When he first heard that there was someone in the party more dangerous than the initial Demon King, Woo Seo-hyun wondered where such a guy could possibly be.
He had a reason for thinking that. Woo Seo-hyun had encountered one of the Demon Kings from afar in the past.
The Demon King of Sloth, Rasilius.
The slumbering figure had opened his eyes for just the briefest moment.
Empty eyes that seemed utterly disinterested in anything in the world.
For an instant, Woo Seo-hyun had felt himself being drawn into those eyes, overcome by a sense of apathy toward everything.
'Can I really trust this?'
They spoke of the Demon King so casually—it made him wonder if they were underestimating it.
"......"
But after actually meeting all the guild members who had come with Su-hyuk, Woo Seo-hyun was left speechless.
To be precise, it was because of the very last one, standing a short distance apart from the guild members.
"To be exact, he's not a guild member."
Su-hyuk quickly drew a line, lest Woo Seo-hyun misunderstand.
"I'm just bringing him along because he might be helpful. He insisted on coming too."
"Th-the... Heavenly Demon?"
He couldn't believe it, even seeing it with his own eyes.
The Heavenly Demon?
Was that someone you could just drag along, or tell to tag along if they wanted?
"Does that even make sense?"
His inner voice had come out louder than intended.
After blurting it out, Woo Seo-hyun clapped a hand over his mouth in shock and stole a glance at the Heavenly Demon.
Did he hear that? He wouldn't lash out with his sword over something like that, would he?
No—the Heavenly Demon known to the world was a madman who massacred an entire guild without provocation.
The smart move was to avoid dealing with a guy like that altogether and not do anything to ruffle his feathers.
"No need to worry. He won't do anything dangerous. And if he tries, I'll keep him in check."
Su-hyuk piled on even more.
"I'm dragging him along to make him pay for his past sins somehow. Go slice up a few more demons, bag a Demon King if you can. Still not enough. That bastard's got a mountain of crimes."
"Th-that's......"
Woo Seo-hyun nearly agreed—Yeah, true—but caught himself glancing nervously and clamped his mouth shut.
Whatever he said, the Heavenly Demon's presence loomed. He'd vowed to live without fear of anyone, but the name "Heavenly Demon" carried a primal terror all its own.
Su-hyuk, seeing his reaction, drove the point home like a wedge.
"Hey, you gonna do anything bad?"
At Su-hyuk's question, the Heavenly Demon stared intently in their direction for a moment.
Woo Seo-hyun screamed inwardly. Please don't call him! Don't even look over here!
His hand drifted toward his gun under that piercing gaze.
If the Heavenly Demon launched sword energy, he'd respond somehow and make a break for it.
But the response from the Heavenly Demon—who looked ready to draw his blade at any second—was utterly unexpected.
"Don't worry."
He even closed his eyes and turned his head away.
'Is this a dream?'
A Heavenly Demon this compliant?
Suddenly, it hit Woo Seo-hyun that the man before him was Lee Soo-hyuk.
He'd only ever seen him masked, so this youthful face felt so unfamiliar.
'If it's Lee Soo-hyuk, maybe he really can stroll around with the Heavenly Demon in tow?'
But still—a Heavenly Demon?
Woo Seo-hyun shuddered at the thought of demons and trembled in fear of Demon Kings.
When Su-hyuk claimed there was someone more dangerous than the first Demon King, he'd wondered who—but if it was the Heavenly Demon, that changed everything.
Truth be told, Heavenly Demon or Demon King...
'...they're both equally dangerous.'
With that in mind, Woo Seo-hyun scanned Su-hyuk's guild members.
Lee Soo-hyuk and the Heavenly Demon, a grand archmage, and several legends from the old Blue Eyes days.
He didn't know the others' skills precisely yet, but an elite guild like this wouldn't have just anyone.
"Long road ahead, so let's chat on the way."
Woo Seo-hyun tightened the straps on his backpack.
Leading the way, she thought to herself.
Maybe this time, this long, endless war finally comes to an end.
The path Woo Seo-hyun led them on was an underground tunnel located at the entrance to the Middle Realm.
It was so well concealed that one might wonder how such a deep tunnel could exist in a place like this.
At first, he'd thought the narrow passage led who-knows-where—the entrance wasn't that large.
But once inside, the tunnel was surprisingly spacious and vast. And it clearly stretched far into the distance.
"A tunnel dug by Evil Ghost Ants."
Evil Ghost Ants truly looked like evil ghosts. They mainly inhabited the border between the Middle Realm and the Demon Realm, so having their nest this close was unexpected.
"As you can see, no one's living here now. The queen's dead."
"Did you subjugate her yourself?"
"Yes. It's impossible to wipe out every last Evil Ghost Ant, but killing the queen was doable. Without her breeding ability, their short lifespans left the nest empty."
"How far does it go?"
"All the way to the Demon Realm."
Su-hyuk was startled at the prospect of reaching their destination in one go.
The convenience immediately brought risks to mind.
"Isn't it dangerous?"
"Correct. Put another way, this route means they could come straight to our side too. That's why I agonized over it—destroy the tunnel or leave it? Couldn't decide, just kept pondering... and now we're using it."
Woo Seo-hyun felt she'd made the right call back then.
Hesitation on the battlefield usually cost dearly, but this time, the goddess of luck had deemed it prudence.
Here and there along the path lay ant corpses.
The ants with their dark-red exoskeletons looked like they'd devoured each other in a gruesome end.
Unhyang paused to eye the corpses curiously.
Noticing, the leading Woo Seo-hyun spoke up.
"Be careful. This tunnel they dug is dozens of times the size of an average city. One wrong turn, and finding your way back won't be easy."
"Yes!"
Easier said than done—in fact, practically impossible by normal means.
Unhyang sharpened her focus. The underground cave was pitch-black, lit only by Woo Seo-hyun's torch.
"You're Unhyang, right?"
Woo Seo-hyun addressed her first.
"I've heard the stories. The peerless genius who appeared in the Murim World. It was such a shame when you suddenly stopped—it never crossed my mind you'd soar even higher."
"I think that name's best discarded."
Unhyang smiled shyly.
"I'm the weakest here by far. Everyone else is on another level."
"So modest."
"I've heard plenty about you too, Leader. They say you're respected by all."
"Aw, come on—no need for that."
Woo Seo-hyun flushed excessively. Contrary to her first impression, she had a surprisingly bright and cheerful personality.
"Oh, right—I've been remiss with introductions. I'm......"
The journey was long.
They could've gone much faster by running, but with branching paths and no one falling behind, progress was inevitably slow.
The first day called for camp.
Well, technically not camp since they were inside a tunnel.
Crackle—
Flames rose like a bonfire from the bare ground.
A makeshift campfire conjured by Hyles.
"It'll last a full day," she said, leaving Woo Seo-hyun staring blankly before she spoke.
"If you could do this, why not earlier?"
She'd been holding a torch and leading all day, venting her frustration.
Hyles piled on.
"Like this?"
Whoosh—
In that instant, the cave lit up like daytime.
Woo Seo-hyun, who'd been half-joking in her sulk, felt genuinely aggrieved for a split second.
The blinding light vanished, leaving only the single campfire.
After eating, she spread multiple blankets on the floor for rest and sleep.
Blankets and a lone campfire in the deep, dark cave. No stars visible, but it was a novel experience in its own right.
And Woo Seo-hyun even had the touch.
"Can't have a setup like this without drinks, right?"
She pulled alcohol from her pack.
A small amount for sharing, but the group cheered.
"Top secret from my crew."
Drinking on an op? Normally unthinkable.
But Woo Seo-hyun shared it out, thinking it might be their last.
Drinking and chatting flew by the time. They'd laid out blankets to sleep, but no one did.
With half a bottle left, Su-hyuk rose and approached the Heavenly Demon, standing off at a distance.
"Feeling left out?"
The Heavenly Demon had kept his distance all day.
His blanket was far off too—not by Woo Seo-hyun's doing, but his own.
"What? Don't wanna be close?"
"Not my call."
The Heavenly Demon's gaze flicked toward the group chatting on their blankets.
It lingered longest on Jin-un and Unhyang in particular.
"Keeping tabs on them?"
"Wasn't me doing the watching."
"You were sincere earlier, but that's a lie."
"......Why think that?"
"Just a hunch. But you know how it is with people like us—our instincts don't miss much. Right?"
The Heavenly Demon couldn't deny it.
Players of their caliber shared some superhuman intuition that was hard to explain.
It came into play mid-battle and worked just as well for reading the room now.
In that sense, fooling Su-hyuk without airtight prep was near impossible.
How often had the Heavenly Demon even lied in his life?
But he denied it anyway.
"Got useless chatter? Beat it."
"Have a drink."
Su-hyuk offered the bottle.
"You don't talk, but you drink."
"......"
The Heavenly Demon eyed the bottle wordlessly before taking it.
He chugged it straight from the bottle, then handed back the empty vessel.
"After the Demon Kings, it's the Guardians next?"
Did the booze loosen his tongue?
Su-hyuk nodded at the question.
"Probably."
"Hope you make it that far."
Meaning he'd join the next Guardian raid too.
"Why the obsession with Guardians? Wasn't like this before."
This Demon Realm trip too, but he'd been serious about Guardians for a while now.
But the Heavenly Demon Su-hyuk remembered hadn't cared that much. If anything, he'd been disinterested.
"What do you think?"
A question for a question.
Su-hyuk pondered, then shook his head.
"No idea."
Guesses floated up.
Feeling the same anxiety as me? Sense of duty or guilt? Wanting to die from the Heavenly Demon Soul?
But nothing felt certain.
He'd said he didn't know, so now came the real answer.
"......Why stare like that?"
The Heavenly Demon just stared back, offering no clear reply.
What was this?
"Wait... me?"
Su-hyuk realized belatedly—this was the answer.
Sure enough, the Heavenly Demon nodded.
"Reminds me of you."
The reason for his interest in the Guardians.
"That Guardian."
It was a question impossible to guess from the start.