Chapter 417
Chapter 417
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 417
Chapter Title: Burning the Demon Stones
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Two weeks had swiftly passed.
The rest of the group had settled in a small village near the temple.
With seven people gathered together, they were bound to attract attention, so the party split into groups of three or four.
Si-woo and Ye-ryeong with Hailz.
Hyo-min and Unhyang, Jin-un and Woo Seo-hyun.
Si-woo, Ye-ryeong, and Hailz made an empty iron hut their base. Its corner location made it perfect for staying hidden.
Those coming and going outside were mostly Hailz and Ye-ryeong. The two had the skills to move stealthily.
Hailz, who had gone out saying she'd find food, returned holding a large gem in her hand.
"The village is really busy these days."
Most of the villagers here were miners extracting demon stones.
"They're gathering the demon stones from the temple in one place. All because Soo-hyuk oppa said he'd buy them all."
The group passed around the demon stone Hailz had brought, one by one.
The fingernail-sized demon stone contained a considerable amount of demonic energy. Si-woo examined it from various angles before asking,
"Is it okay to sneak out something this big?"
"There's a ton of them. They won't notice one missing."
"That much?"
"Yeah, the demon kings must be drooling over it."
Over the past two weeks, Hailz had tracked the demon stones buried in the temple.
She had started thinking, How much could there be, really?
But the quantity was beyond imagination.
"This is an amount that shouldn't fall into anyone's hands."
Hwarararak-.
The demon stone in Hailz's hand burned away.
Players who obtained superior elixirs often broke through their limits. In that sense, this temple was a true treasure trove for demons.
What if it fell into the demon kings' hands?
Not only would the individual demon kings' power grow, but the overall strength of the demon race would surge dramatically.
Si-woo stared at the demon stone reduced to ash by the flames, his eyes gleaming blue.
"So that's why Soo-hyuk was obsessed with this place."
"Did he know all this?"
"He didn't know from the start. He probably guessed after seeing Belzerion set up here. Isn't that how it was for you too?"
"Yeah."
Hailz had felt something similar.
A sense that this temple would become the stage for something massive. It was a flow that had been building even before they arrived.
The origin of that flow was naturally the demon stones. And Soo-hyuk was stirring it up from the center of the temple.
"It's about time we got ready too."
Si-woo reached out and detached a spear leaning against one side, securing it to his waist.
A hunch that a battle on a whole different scale was coming. A hunch that the calm so far would erupt into a massive storm all at once.
And that premonition arrived immediately.
Whoosh-.
As Hailz's flames died out, the surrounding air grew heavy.
Something was felt from afar. A type of demonic energy never sensed before approached without hiding its presence.
The world shifted to a faint ashen hue.
Si-woo and Ye-ryeong, realizing what it was, locked eyes.
"It's here."
"Yeah."
Not far off.
The ashen energy drew closer. Si-woo and Ye-ryeong, exchanging glances, said in unison,
"Let's avoid it for now."
Si-woo moved first.
Gripping his spear, he bolted out of the iron hut.
Pat-.
Ye-ryeong and Hailz followed right behind. The three headed in the exact same direction as if by prior agreement.
Demons lay collapsed on the streets.
No visible wounds. They looked as if they'd simply keeled over while walking.
It made sense.
Even Si-woo and Ye-ryeong felt a slight dizziness right now.
The trio's choice to flee and regroup failed.
Thud-.
Someone approached from the direction they were running.
A man in loose clothes half-fallen off his shoulders, revealing his muscular build. His slow, languid steps seemed to complain of annoyance.
His steps looked slow but were anything but.
As if folding space to leap forward, he covered a hundred paces in one step.
Hailz raised her staff and blocked the way ahead.
"Be careful."
She instinctively knew.
How dangerous the man approaching was.
The oppressive presence from encountering the Heavenly Demon emanated from him too. The demons in the village had lost consciousness unable to withstand it.
Escape was no longer an option.
His seemingly slow footsteps were impossibly fast. Fleeing was deemed impossible.
But.
"No need."
Si-woo sighed deeply and said,
"I know him."
"You know him?"
Hailz looked back and forth between them, confused. Then she suddenly recalled that the two had come to the demon world about a year ago.
"Wait, is that guy...?"
Sure enough, the man knew Si-woo and Ye-ryeong.
"You two again."
The Sloth King, Rasilius.
Yawning lazily with sleepy eyes, he asked,
"Here for your friend again?"
Perhaps because they'd met once before?
He didn't regard Si-woo and Ye-ryeong as particularly special. They had already met Rasilius while searching for Kyu-seong.
Of course, it was also due to his nature as the King of Sloth.
Si-woo didn't bother correcting his misunderstanding.
"Yeah. Still looking."
"You and that guy are the same. Why obsess over pointless things like revenge?"
Rasilius tilted his head curiously.
"But why are you pretending to be demons?"
The three wore outfits from Woo Seo-hyun and had sprayed perfume mimicking demons' scent.
They looked no different from demons on the surface.
"Wait, you guys..."
That was when it happened.
Kieeeeeng-.
Hailz's staff emitted a red glow.
Hwararara-!
Black flames engulfed Rasilius's body. He raised a hand to shield his face from the scorching blaze.
Hailz, who had unleashed the flames, activated another prepared spell.
Light enveloped Si-woo and Ye-ryeong. It was a teleportation spell Hailz had cast.
The moment the light wrapped around the three, Rasilius met Hailz's eyes through the gaps in his fingers.
Her eyes blazed red. As if retreating like this was infuriating, fury burned in her gaze.
With the light, the three vanished. Left alone, Rasilius stroked his chin with a large hand and muttered,
"Not bad."
Should he chase?
The deliberation didn't last long. True to his title as the Sloth King, his interest faded quickly.
"Eh, whatever."
He resumed his plodding steps.
Toward the temple, his destination.
Hwaaa-.
The place where Si-woo and Ye-ryeong appeared was a plain far from the village.
A distance where the village was barely visible. Preparing a spell to cover such range so quickly was unbelievable skill.
"We went for it, but..."
Hailz scratched her head with her staff and asked,
"Was that too reckless?"
In that situation, there were three options.
Try to talk their way out, fight, or flee.
Among them, Hailz chose flight. Fighting in an unexpected scenario wasn't appealing to her calculating nature.
"You did well. You can't fool a demon king's eyes anyway."
Ye-ryeong also thought it was the best choice.
Deception was impossible. Only fight or flee remained.
"If we can't fool them, won't that put Soo-hyuk oppa in danger?"
"He knew that much."
Si-woo didn't think Soo-hyuk would act so carelessly.
"He started this expecting to be exposed?"
"He probably never intended to hide it much. As long as he could lure in the demon kings, that's all."
"He's really planning to call them all and take them out at once."
Ye-ryeong had already heard Soo-hyuk's plan from her. To draw all three demon kings to the temple stage.
"Why? Worried?"
"Worried?"
Ddug-.
Ebony Wing floated high above her head.
She had retreated just in case, but she had long prepared for battle with a demon king.
"If I were, I wouldn't have come here."
"Good."
Si-woo smirked at her confident reply and turned his head.
Unlike the Sloth Demon King who came alone, crimson demons swarmed from afar.
And among them, one presence stood out overwhelmingly.
"...They're starting to gather."
Ding, ddiding-.
At the same time, messages arrived simultaneously on the three's kits.
It was the awaited message. Straight from Soo-hyuk.
Among the three who checked the content, Ye-ryeong acted first.
Srurur-.
Ye-ryeong melted naturally into the shadows.
Her stealth meant the fight had begun.
Looking at the crimson horde approaching, Si-woo said,
"Perfect."
Whoosh-.
White mist spread across the plain.
"Tired of hiding anyway."
Countless demons gathered at the temple.
Thousands of them. All under Belzerion's command.
Seated on the jade throne, Belzerion gazed at Soo-hyuk and the Heavenly Demon assembled with the demons.
"It's as you wished."
His gaze shifted to the pile of demon stones in one corner.
Crimson gems heaped on massive carts. A sight that would tempt any demon.
"I've gathered all the demon stones mined so far. The demon kings are arriving one by one."
"Good work."
"What's your next move? Fight with the demon stones? Or offer them up and beg like dogs?"
Belzerion sensed the auras of the demon kings gathering at the temple.
Kururur-.
The sky roiled as if a storm would break any moment. Thick storm clouds hung low, thunder and lightning imminent.
A true calm before the storm.
Soo-hyuk, seemingly pleased with the atmosphere, looked up at the open temple sky.
"You have two choices."
"What choices?"
"One is to quietly back off."
Belzerion's face twisted at the first option.
Back off?
"Never dream of a kingdom again, abandon all ambitions. Just live quietly."
"...And the second?"
"If you can't give up, what's left?"
Tzztz-.
Soo-hyuk's eyes blazed yellow.
His demeanor shifted instantly.
"Die by my hand."
"You bastard-!"
Belzerion roared in fury.
Scorching demonic energy swept the temple. The killing intent of the assembled demons turned toward Soo-hyuk.
Belzerion interpreted Soo-hyuk's words thus:
"Planning to use the demon kings to kill me? To monopolize the demon stones?"
"Two questions, both wrong."
"More nonsense..."
Then, the sky flashed.
Kwarung-!
Lightning struck the cart piled with demon stones.
The force cratered the ground, igniting the stones. Belzerion gasped at the sight of everything accumulated burning away at once.
He stared at Soo-hyuk in disbelief.
Soo-hyuk's indifference to the burning stones confirmed it for him.
"Told you, wrong."
That Soo-hyuk was behind all this.
"We're not trying to monopolize the demon stones or use the demon kings to kill you."
Kururur-.
Thunder rumbled again, as if announcing the next turn.
"If you don't leave this temple, you'll die by my hand, Belzerion."