Then Die (3)
Kang Hae-il panted heavily.
“Huff… huff…”
The fight with Kerak had been far tougher than expected.
Despite his brutish appearance, Kerak was an incredibly cunning opponent in battle.
“Is stamina your weakness?”
The orc let out a mocking laugh, as if the whole thing was too easy.
“Rushing in like a mindless brute isn’t the way to win, warrior.”
The man even orcs called a brute—Kang Hae-il!
Orcs probably couldn’t solve number puzzles, but in combat they were several times sharper than Kang Hae-il.
They had quickly figured out that his firepower weakened over time and were dragging out the fight with quick, surgical exchanges.
“Why are you wasting time like this?”
Kang Hae-il asked between ragged breaths.
“Can’t you tell by looking at yourself? I’m dragging it out to make you look like that. Uahaha!”
Whoosh—
Kang Hae-il flared his flames even hotter as he asked again.
“Is that all you’ve got?”
“What?”
“I’m asking if your strength is so pathetic that you have to stall for time just to beat me.”
“……”
Kerak’s eyes changed slightly, clearly not expecting such a remark.
The Constellations were proud to see Kang Hae-il using the same nerve-grating tactics Sagosul was famous for. Some even started wondering if he’d taken private lessons from him.
“You filthy human… you think your silver tongue can tarnish the honor of Kerak?!”
Boom!
Kerak charged in an instant.
‘Here he comes.’
Kang Hae-il met him head-on, his entire body wreathed in flames.
Unlike their first clash, he defended perfectly and even launched a counterattack.
His flame-empowered foot shot forward like a cannon, smashing into the orc’s jaw.
—Crack!
“Grk!?”
One of Kerak’s teeth flew out as he staggered.
‘Now.’
Not missing the opening, Kang Hae-il leaped onto the orc’s body and rained down a merciless barrage of punches on his head.
Bang!
Boom!
The sight of him gripping the orc’s flesh like claws and hammering away like a wild beast left everyone in awe.
Sagosul’s teaching method. Dad energy. Strange phrases started popping up everywhere.
Just like how haters flooded Junil’s channel, Kang Hae-il’s channel was now flooded with people praising Sagosul.
‘This orc is definitely strong… but compared to that guy…!’
It was true that after his battle with Sagosul, Kang Hae-il had become far more ruthless.
He cleared high-level gates one after another and rushed to the scene of any explosion to handle it personally.
His mercy toward monsters had gradually disappeared.
But then—
“Graaaaaah!”
——Boom!
Kerak suddenly slammed his own head into the ground.
Kang Hae-il, who had been clinging to his head, crashed hard into the pavement. His spine screamed in agony.
No matter how strong his willpower was, he couldn’t hold back a scream.
“Aaaaaagh!”
From that moment on, Kerak began to dominate the fight one-sidedly.
Booom!
Kerak’s axe came down with perfect accuracy on his upper body.
If it had been anyone else, they would have been split in two.
Whoosh!
The power of flame barely blocked it.
The demonic energy and flame canceled each other out, leaving him only pushed back.
“Ugh…”
Kang Hae-il staggered.
He had barely blocked it, but how long could he keep this up…?
“You arrogant human! How dare you insult the honorable warrior Kerak! I…”
Kerak’s eyes began burning a bright yellow.
The atmosphere had completely changed from before.
“You thought I was stalling for time because of the likes of you?!”
Krrrrahaha!
Kerak laughed as his upper body swelled, growing even larger. Black patterns began spreading across his skin.
Awakened Kerak Lv.30
📍 Chapter 2 Maximum Level Reached
* * *
Ram was stunned.
“Huh…?”
This wasn’t supposed to happen.
Why was this phenomenon occurring?
“T-this isn’t right!? Why did his level jump to 30!? That’s way too strong!?”
Unless it was a boss monster, creatures that broke the chapter’s level limit were supposed to be extremely rare.
Yet here it was.
It had started the moment Kerak suddenly awakened.
“Kang Hae-il hasn’t even awakened yet, and this bucktoothed bastard gets to awaken first!?”
Ram clutched his head and screamed.
“Isn’t this because Julian’s misfortune is nearby?”
“But why would Julian’s misfortune lead to a crisis for Kang Hae-il?”
Julian was Kang Hae-il’s enemy.
If it was Julian’s misfortune, shouldn’t it make Kang Hae-il stronger? Something had felt off since the last incident.
“That’s…”
The only way this could keep happening was if the premise ‘it is misfortune for Julian if Kang Hae-il dies’ was true.
‘Why the hell can’t that guy let Kang Hae-il die?’
To Ram, this was extremely strange.
At that moment, Kerak swung his axe.
Whoosh!
This was something the current Kang Hae-il could never endure.
Someone had to help.
‘Sagosul.’
There was one useful bastard for times like this.
Sagosul.
He was right there. Watching silently from afar.
Ram struck a pose and shouted.
“You son of a bitch, Sagosul, you fucking bastard! Help him!!”
The so-called dad who only screamed for help when things got dangerous.
* * *
‘Shit.’
Kang Hae-il sensed it too.
Having accumulated plenty of experience by now, he could tell.
It wasn’t just the level. He could feel it instinctively from the aura.
‘This… might be impossible?’
The slash flying toward him wrapped in demonic energy was simply too much to handle.
He couldn’t dodge it either.
This was the end.
Just the approaching demonic energy was enough to make his consciousness flicker.
His spine still hadn’t recovered from the earlier impact. His whole body felt numb.
‘Is this it?’
The moment that thought crossed his mind—
Swish—
A black figure stepped between the orc and Kang Hae-il.
——Clang!
The orc’s axe flew far into the distance, shattering a building’s glass and embedding itself in the middle of the first-floor lobby.
Rumble…!
“Who… the hell are you?”
The rebound was so powerful that even Kerak was shocked.
As the dust from the deflected axe settled, the figure was revealed.
Villainous Theme
[Now Playing]
He wore a black cat mask and stood with his head slightly lowered, facing Kerak.
Step!
“If I say ‘4th Line Goblin Slayer’… does that answer your question?”
Kang Hae-il, who had nearly passed out at Sagosul’s introduction line, suddenly snapped his eyes open.
“W-what…?”
When he opened his eyes, the real Sagosul was standing right in front of him.
The same bastard he had seen countless times in his nightmares.
The same coat, the same boots, and that cat mask.
Crackle—!
Even the way his head throbbed and his vision blurred whenever he looked at that mask was exactly the same.
“You… you son of a bitch…?”
Kang Hae-il clutched his head and barely managed to sit up.
“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
Sagosul greeted him casually.
“……What the hell are you planning?”
The man who killed his father—twice, no less—was now saving him.
Was this some kind of atonement?
“Is it guilt? If so, you can shove it—”
“No. There’s none of that.”
“?”
Sagosul extended his hand.
“Temporary alliance, Kang Hae-il.”
“!”
Kang Hae-il’s Constellations were practically coughing up blood at Sagosul’s temporary alliance proposal.
But it wasn’t visible to him.
And given his personality, he had no choice but to accept the offer.
‘I can’t handle Kerak alone.’
The orc warrior Kerak before him was completely different from the nameless trash monsters he had faced before.
He had even awakened, reaching level 30.
If this thing was released into Gangnam Station, it would be an absolute disaster.
In Kang Hae-il’s eyes, he could already see the severed heads of the two orcs.
“Did you… take care of those too?”
“Yeah.”
“Haa.”
Kang Hae-il let out a deep sigh.
He squeezed his eyes shut and grabbed the offered hand.
Clasp—
“It’s for the citizens. I’m not forgiving you.”
“You sure talk a lot for someone who just took my hand.”
Sagosul spat out the words and turned back toward Kerak.
‘His presence is insane.’
The man who shook hands with the protagonist.
Sagosul.
‘If this guy isn’t the main supporting character, then who is!?’
Junil grinned at the thought.
“So… Sagosul. I’ve been waiting for you.”
Rumble…!
A red aura swirled violently around Kerak.
His demonic energy was no joke.
“The enemy who killed my brothers…”
It turned out Kerak had been aware of Sagosul’s fight with the other orcs even while battling Kang Hae-il.
From the beginning, he had been holding back against Kang Hae-il, planning to focus everything on Sagosul.
“Stop whining about your brothers… this side’s got a father.”
Kang Hae-il landed a sharp jab at Kerak.
Cough!
At that moment, even Junil coughed so hard his mask nearly slipped off.
‘What the hell is with this crazy bastard.’
Were all protagonists like this?
Did they all just say whatever the hell they wanted?
However, that wasn’t what Kang Hae-il had actually meant.
“My father once told me. If there’s something you must do no matter how much pain you’re in, then it must be something incredibly important to this world.”
He was explaining why he had momentarily taken Sagosul’s hand.
“On the other hand, I want to ask you. What are you doing here even after losing your brothers? Are you doing something important to this world?”
Kang Hae-il asked the orc.
“……”
Kerak hesitated for a moment before answering.
“Actually, they weren’t my real brothers.”
“……”
As the conversation took a strangely philosophical turn, Kerak quickly drew a line.
“Alright, that’s enough talking.”
Swish.
Sagosul spun his sword and walked toward the orc.
Unlike Kang Hae-il, his steps were overflowing with confidence.
Even behind the mask, you could feel his smile.
‘This guy is different.’
Step. Step…
Kerak instinctively sensed that the man was extremely dangerous.
He wasn’t that big, but the mana radiating from him was incredibly clean and sharp.
Vrrrrrr—!
The awakened Kerak’s demonic energy clashed with it, creating a tension so thick it dried out his mouth.
Sweat trickled down Kerak’s forehead.
‘This bastard… is way stronger than I thought.’
Orcs had excellent instinctive senses when it came to battle.
Now that they were face to face, he could tell.
This guy was too strong.
‘A two-on-one frontal fight here is too risky.’
They weren’t even real brothers anyway. It would be better to get revenge later.
It was then.
“Ah, but I have one question.”
Sagosul asked right before the fight began.
“What is it?”
“Are you the World Boss?”
“……What is that?”
“I’m asking if you received an order to destroy this entire world.”
He had sensed it instinctively.
If he answered well here, he might be able to escape this battle.
‘I can end this with diplomacy.’
The mood seemed right for it.
Kerak carefully chose each word like he was in a job interview.
“We happened to cross over through a dimensional gap. We only wanted to build a home here.”
There was no hostility.
We were just trying to survive.
Isn’t survival everyone’s right?
Therefore—
“Then die.”
Die?
What the hell did that mean?
“Huh?”
Blue mana instantly surged toward Kerak’s neck.
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