Chapter 230: A Holiday at the Citadel (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 230: A Holiday at the Citadel (2)
[A new video has been uploaded to the 'Hall of Fame'.]
The video everyone had been eagerly waiting for was finally up.
-PigeonChicken: Yo, it's up. It's really up! Kang Jinhyuk's Giant Citadel raid video!
People swarmed the post like a flock of bees at the comment.
With the top guilds and players dropping massive teasers about the upcoming war between the Empire and the Murim, the hype was already through the roof.
Naturally, the reaction was explosive.
-10,000BlindDates: Does it make sense to beat a giant with pure strength?
-RedRumpedSwallowFolder: FR. But honestly, it would've been way more advantageous to fight from a distance. It's like he purposely engaged in close combat. Why did he do that?
-jkccil5005: Maybe he's bragging about his 500kg SBD?
-Sae Yeong Eon Hwan: There must be a reason. The important thing is that no matter what field they fight in, they're no match for Jinhyuk.
-ThisLifeIsRuined: Agreed. I've been digging up all the info on the Empire and Murim lately, and even the Sword Masters they brag about or the peak experts of each sect are nothing special.
-facelift: They aren't "nothing special." They're insanely strong. They could crack your skull open with a single grain of rice stuck to their lips. It's just that the player Kang Jinhyuk is an absolute anomaly who defies all common sense.
-Squirrel Cushion: Plus, thanks to him defeating Ograkun and the giants, we bought 90 days of time. He's such a charming player, you couldn't hate him even if you tried. Sigh...
-TheFireTruckDoesntStop: I'd totally go gay for him. ANG.
Comments began to pile up one after another.
At this point, the server crashing every time he uploaded a video had practically become a routine event.
With the view count rising at an alarming rate, it looked like it would easily surpass ten million views by the end of the day.
'This one's getting a great reaction too.'
Jinhyuk nodded in satisfaction.
He had been spending all his time frantically climbing the Tower lately, so he figured he should head outside soon.
He needed to visit the Awakened Association and catch up on how things were going in South Korea and the rest of the world with Kim Hee-woong, Lee Tae-min, and Yu Yeon-hwa.
But right then.
"Hey... do I really have to wear this?"
Alice approached him, wearing the most humiliated expression in the world.
"Wow. It suits you all so well. I knew choosing a Halloween theme for the penalty was a great idea."
Her outfit was a tasteful combination of black and white.
The combination of a laced skirt, a bonnet, and a parasol made her look just like a Western doll.
Thanks to her sharp fangs and crimson eyes, she looked like a vampire incarnate even without any extra makeup.
"Jinhyuk-nim. I feel like this outfit is a bit too... revealing."
"My Lord. Though we lost and have no choice... my pride as a swordsman cannot tolerate this."
Andrea, wearing a short black miniskirt, and Wolyeong, dressed in a tailcoat, voiced their complaints with disgruntled faces.
Watching them constantly fidget in discomfort was quite entertaining in its own way.
'Well, modern clothing must be incredibly foreign to the two of them.'
Andrea, styled after a gumiho, had nine tails attached to the back of her skirt.
Wolyeong, styled after a mummy, had white bandages wrapped around several parts of his tailcoat.
Still, was it because they were both naturally good-looking?
If they walked into Itaewon right now, they would instantly capture everyone's attention.
"Oh, and take one of these."
Jinhyuk pulled out gemstones resembling green four-leaf clovers from his dimensional subspace inventory.
"What is this?"
Alice's eyes widened.
"It's called Pensia's Petal... It's nothing expensive, just a gift for all your hard work. Think of it as an employee ID card given only to our company's staff."
"Really? You're giving this to us for free?"
"Yeah. Everyone take one."
Jinhyuk handed out the Pensia's Petals one by one.
"Th-thank you, Jinhyuk-nim. I'll treasure it."
"Thank you, My Lord."
Everyone's eyes widened in surprise at the unexpected gift.
"Now that you've all received them, get ready to welcome our guests. VIPs from the Empire and the Murim will be arriving shortly."
Castle Lord's Banquet.
It was a special event that a player who acquired a base could trigger.
Small and medium-sized factions had to use events like this to make their presence known and expand their influence.
Since he could invite massive factions like the Empire and the Murim at this perfect timing, it was truly killing two birds with one stone.
Above all, that guy would definitely be attending this event.
That damn traitor.
"I'm already looking forward to figuring out how to torment him so thoroughly that rumors will spread."
Jinhyuk let out a smile that was half anger and half mischief.
"Fufu..."
Soon, his smile devolved into a mad laugh.
"How dare he... how dare he betray me? Huh? Fine. Very well. You are officially locked in for a diaper-only cosplay."
Soon, an insane amount of mana began to flood the room.
"He's dead, that Sword Saint. Of all people, he had to get on the bad side of a lunatic like him. He actually had some potential, what a shame."
"If it were me, I'd rather bite my tongue and commit suicide..."
"S-surely, you aren't including me in that, are you? I'm starting to feel needlessly guilty."
With everyone harboring their own thoughts, the Halloween party that held the fate of the factions was now only a few hours away.
But then.
"...!?"
Jinhyuk flinched.
Something caught his senses.
Although it was too distant and faint to be certain, an ominous and unfamiliar energy brushed against his skin.
"Alice. Did you feel something just now?"
"Huh? Actually, I did get a slight vibe that you're an archdevil... No, no! I didn't feel anything. Seriously, I was just spacing out for a second. R-really."
Alice hurriedly shook her head.
'Was it just my imagination?'
Seeing that Alice hadn't noticed anything, perhaps he was just overreacting.
* * *
Sedes, one of the kingdoms belonging to the Empire.
As a holy nation worshipping the goddess Peris, this place was a sacred ground, practically the homeland of holy knights.
And in the Catacomb, where the kingdom's holy knights rested in eternal peace...
something that should never have happened was taking place.
Drip... drip...
The sound of water dripping from the ceiling echoed throughout the massive tomb.
"...Is the deployment completely finished?"
A man spoke slowly.
He was a high-ranking member of the Demonic Human Association and a ranker who served as one of the pillars of the Round Table.
It was Gawain.
At his words, an elderly man standing beside Gawain rubbed his palms together.
"Hehehe! Yes. It's a shame we couldn't gather all of the sacred relics, but this should be enough to summon a fairly powerful demon."
The 'Cursed Sacred Relic' was an essential ingredient to manifest a Demon King.
For that purpose, the players belonging to the Demonic Human Association and the residents of the Tower had been frantically scouring the Tower of Trials ever since its arrival.
To grant their wishes and survive the Tower's curse.
To adapt to the laws of this completely transformed world.
They had pursued their goals by any means necessary.
And this was the result.
Four sacred relics and three semi-relics.
This would serve as an adequate stepping stone for executing their main plan.
"Good. Then, begin."
"Hehe! Understood."
The old man injected mana into the sacred relics placed in the center.
At that exact moment.
Purple smoke began to slowly drift from the old man's entire body.
Vrrrr!
[The relic reacts to the target's mana!]
[A gate leading to the Demon World is activated by the seven Cursed Sacred Relics!]
[Due to the incomplete state of the relics, the grade of the summonable demon is restricted!]
Red status windows popped up one after another.
"Ohh!"
"Finally...!"
"The servants of the great ones are coming."
Exclamations of awe burst from the onlookers.
Naturally, since they had finally achieved what they had yearned for so desperately.
Rumble, rumble!
It was then that cracks began to form on the ground.
Sssss!
Intense heat erupted from the fractured earth.
At the same time, red lava illuminated the dark interior of the tomb.
It was coming.
From deep below...
something that could not be described in words.
Crunch!
Crack!
The skeletons inside the coffins began to be sucked down.
As if it were absorbing them all.
And a moment later.
"Grrr..."
Emerging alongside the lava was a massive flame skeleton standing well over ten meters tall.
Its size was immense, but the mana radiating from its entire body was on a completely different level from any monster they had faced before.
This was the kin of Guntaper, one of the high-grade demons.
The mere manifestation of such a monstrous entity, which could normally only be encountered in the upper floors of the Tower, brought an immense wave of pressure.
But then.
Suddenly, the flame skeleton reached out.
The white bones, covered in lava and calamity fire, snatched up one of the men who was bowing his head.
Sssss!
"Aaargh!"
In less than a few seconds, the player turned into a handful of ash and vanished.
"W-what?"
"Why is it suddenly attacking us?!"
"Aaargh!"
"R-run!"
From this moment on, awe and admiration turned into despair and screams.
They had to flee.
They had to escape this place even a second, even a step faster to survive.
However, because the passage was so narrow, only a tiny fraction of them could escape.
Boom, boom, boom!
Volcanic bombs swept over the players all at once.
"Grrr!"
The flame skeleton didn't seem to care in the slightest that these players were the ones who had summoned it.
Yet, even amidst the chaos, it did not touch Gawain and the old man.
It was only natural.
After all, the ones who had offered the rabble of the Demonic Human Association as sacrifices...
were none other than the two of them.
'We're almost there. As of today, everyone who stood in our way will be reduced to ashes.'
The corners of Gawain's mouth curled upward.
* * *
Bang!
Boom! Boom!
Colorful fireworks painted the sky above the citadel.
Along with a grand fireworks display to celebrate the new master, the castle's main gates swung wide open.
High-ranking figures from the Empire and the Murim who had received invitations began entering the castle one by one.
"Ugh. To think a highborn like me has to suffer such humiliation because of a mere player living outside the Tower..."
Count Hobier, the commander-in-chief of the citadel siege, grit his teeth.
No matter how crucial securing free passage through this base was, it shouldn't be a reason for a high-ranking noble to attend the party of a rootless commoner.
But no matter how much he complained, it was utterly pointless now.
'Damn it. If only it weren't for my orders.'
Count Hobier walked into the castle with a face like he'd chewed on a piece of crap.
Meanwhile, the Murim representatives who had received invitations also arrived at the castle's western gate.
A large group, led by Baek Seol-rin and Namgung Cheon, walked forward with their senses heightened to the limit.
Among them was Cheon Yu-seong.
"..."
Yu-seong looked around the castle with an anxious face.
[From the Murim, whatever you do, make sure to bring Cheon Yu-seong. If he is not present, entry into the castle will be denied. - Castle Lord, Kang Jinhyuk]
This was the message written on the invitation.
There was no mistake.
The most heinous demon in the Tower was currently aiming for his neck.
But right then,
Yu-seong spotted someone very familiar.
The person he least wanted to face, yet was inevitably bound to meet, was standing there.
And he was holding a French maid outfit that looked to be quite a generous size.
"Gasp..."
Their eyes met.
A cold sweat ran down Yu-seong's spine.
For some reason, an unimaginably intense dread seeped deep into his bones.