The Aftermath of the Slaughter

“Gyaaaaah!!!!” Killian let out a blood-curdling roar, his body drenched in gore. His upper garments were shredded to rags by the Pitch-Black Beetles, and his flesh was a ruin of deep gashes and lacerations, blood streaming from every wound.

-Kishashashat!!

“Get off me!!!” Killian swiped away the swarm of beetles clinging to his skin, barely managing to block Seong Harin’s incoming claws with his axe.

-Kwah-wang!!!!

“Guhk...!!!”

“Just die already!!!”

Killian, coughing up blood as he desperately parried Seong Harin’s relentless strikes, realized there was no hope left. ‘The enemy’s main force has already reached this far... The presence of Michael and Nicholas has vanished, and the Saintess is finished, too.’

There was no way out. He wasn’t even sure if he could escape with his life. A crushing sense of despair began to coil around his heart. ‘The hunt is a failure.’

He had botched the mission given to him by the World Tree to hunt down the cultists and druids. Having missed his final chance, he would surely be discarded now.

“You shouldn’t be looking away!!!”

Just as Killian was sinking into the hopelessness of his future, Kang Hwayoung, who had been collapsed on the ground, poured her remaining mana into a final skill.

“Bloodstain Explosion...”

-Kwah-gwah-gwang!!!!

The blood splattered all over Killian’s body detonated simultaneously. He had been keeping Hwayoung in check until now, but in that split second of distraction, the blood covering him erupted. He collapsed, slamming onto his knees.

“Keuheok!!!!”

Blood poured from Killian’s mouth in a steady stream. Hwayoung and Harin, both the same age, had combined their strength to take down the Beast Hunter. Of course, it would have been impossible without the Pitch-Black Beetles that swarmed in countless numbers to tear at the enemy’s clothes and disrupt his movements, or the Mushroom Men and Parasitic Trees that periodically intercepted the enemy’s attacks.

Regardless, Killian was completely knocked out, beginning to ramble incoherently. He had lost too much blood, and his mind was slipping into delirium.

“What should we do? The Master seems busy too... Should we just kill him?”

“No... Harin... It’s better to capture him alive. Hoo... hoo...”

Having taken all of Killian’s attacks with her own body in place of Seong Harin, Kang Hwayoung was on the verge of collapsing. She forcibly stopped Harin, who wanted to finish Killian off, and then lay flat on the ground.

Seong Harin bound Killian’s hands, his breathing ragged, and stripped away all the hunter’s tools hidden about his body, tossing them far away.

“Haa... haa... I’m low on blood... I’m dizzy...”

“Hwayoung... should I give you some of my blood?”

“Huh? Ah... I want to drink your blood, Oppa... but for now... I need to survive, so... give me some...”

“Here, take it.”

“Thank you... *slurp*...”

She could have drunk Killian’s blood, but Hwayoung had no desire to consume the blood of a smelly old man.

-Kugugugung!!!!

Dante the Giant Slayer slammed his fist into the floor of the Abyss, creating a shockwave. Mer and Henry, who had been closing in, staggered for a moment but soon regained their footing and approached him again.

In a 2-on-1 situation, the Giant Slayer had no chance of victory. Of course, Dante was undeniably strong. If he had faced Henry in a 1-on-1 duel, the outcome might have been uncertain. But the moment Mer joined the fray, Dante’s only remaining future was defeat.

If Merhere had possessed all her strength and authority from before her fall, she could have taken down Dante alone. As a side note, Merhere had regained some of her past power by obtaining Player status through the account creation card Jojun had provided. In short, if her power hadn’t been stolen, she would have been able to wield her original strength just like Cheshire or Henry.

Regardless, having lost his legs, Dante shouted at Henry and Mer as if he had given up on everything.

“You damn dogs of the Evil God!!! Aren’t you ashamed!! Especially you!! You damn Sataniel, who became a shameless whore for the Evil Gods despite being a fallen one!! You’re the worst!! You fucking bitch!! Hahahaha!!!”

Dante, having spat out a refreshing string of curses at Merhere, began to laugh. He had lived his life trying to refrain from swearing, but now that he was near death, the profanity poured out like speaking in tongues. Since he knew he wasn’t going to die peacefully anyway, Dante spoke his mind.

“Legless cripple. A servant abandoned by the Good Gods. Moron. Loser. An idiot who thinks he’s cool for catching one stupid giant.”

Merhere, showing no sign of anger, expressionlessly berated Dante as he crawled on the floor. It was as if she ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠were simply returning the favor because her opponent had cursed at her.

“Kyaaaa!!!! You fucking bitch!!! If you and I had fought 1-on-1, I would have won!!! I would have won!!!”

“Is that so? I’m not sure. *Sigh*, it’s disgusting to listen to a loser’s self-gratification.”

“Uwaaaa!!! Kill me!!! I cannot live while suffering such insults!!!”

Dante roared, begging for death. The smile had long since vanished from his face.

“Using my body after so long is tiring.”

Meanwhile, Henry sat on the ground, catching his breath. He hadn’t noticed it when his head and body were separated, but now that they were reattached, it was incredibly exhausting. In a way, becoming ‘perfect’ had made Henry weaker.

“Ugh...”

Han Aram, her shoulder pierced during the clash with Nick, clutched her bleeding shoulder and approached the sealed Lee Eunji. To be precise, she was on her way to ask Jojun, who was currently torturing the Saintess, to treat her shoulder, but she had come to tease Lee Eunji because the sight of her trapped in the Seal Stone with only her head poking out was hilarious.

“Unnie, what are you doing there?”

“Ah, Aram-ah... please help me... I can’t move... my neck is so stiff... I need to help Oppa...”

Lee Eunji had been trapped in the Saintess’s seal the moment the battle began, unable to go anywhere, watching the situation unfold from the corner of her eye.

“Ha. Hahaha. Unnie... you know you look... really funny right now, right?”

“Ah... Aram-ah. Don’t laugh, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠please...”

“Unnie, sorry. Actually, my arm is like this too...”

“Huh? Why is your shoulder like that?”

“I don’t know. I got stabbed. It hurts like hell.”

“Hah... Aram is going to want to kill the guy who stabbed your arm.”

“That guy is already dead.”

“Really? Say... we won, right?”

“Yeah. A total landslide victory. Jun Oppa is currently turning the survivors into slaves.”

“Aha... that’s a relief... that we won...”

“Yeah... it’s a relief...”

Soon, Han Aram leaned against the Seal Stone, having lost too much blood. Lee Eunji struggled to break the seal, but it was useless. It was difficult for the person sealed to escape the Seal Stone on their own. Not unless someone broke the stone from the outside.

“Haa.”

I wiped my face, looking at the dead bodies of Michael and Nick. I could have captured both of them as slaves, but I let them slip through my fingers right in front of my eyes.

‘The Evil Eye of Mu didn’t work either...’

It was a golden opportunity to wipe them out, so I used the Evil Eye of Mu to daze them, but the Grand Sage’s eyes were already half-burst, so the eye had no effect at all. Nick was somewhat affected, but the Grand Sage killed him before I could do anything. If I hadn’t used the eye, perhaps Nick could have easily dodged the blind Grand Sage’s attack... It was already over, so regretting it was too late, but I couldn’t help but feel frustrated.

“You fucking bitch!!”

“Kyaa!!”

I kicked the Saintess for no reason. In a way, it was this woman’s fault for putting up that insane barrier and holding out until the end. If this crazy bitch had lifted the barrier just a little earlier, I could have captured all three of them.

The reason I was being so sensitive because of the dead guys was simple. I was worried they might resurrect.

‘They’re heroes, for heaven’s sake... what if they have some kind of resurrection ability...’

The job name Savior alone gave off a vibe like the Second Coming of Jesus. In fact, maybe these guys killed each other on purpose? Maybe the Grand Sage killed the hero without hesitation before he could become a slave because he knew there was a possibility of resurrection.

‘The fact that resurrection is possible... was already proven by Heeseon Noona.’

Early in the disaster, the Evil Gods had resurrected Heeseon Noona from a zombie back into a human for me. From what I saw, she wasn’t awakened as a druid yet and was just an ordinary person, so the cost was low and they brought her back... but...

‘Wouldn’t the consumption of causality be enormous to resurrect someone like a hero...?’

If so, the fact that the hero died here could be seen as a help to the Manma-jeon. The best-case scenario would have been to brand them with a Slave Stigma to block the possibility of resurrection itself, but... I wanted some feedback, but the Evil Gods seemed busy ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and didn’t answer my call. I couldn’t even feel their gaze. Even the gaze of Botamilli, who was almost always watching... it felt like they had all left their posts at once.

‘Well, I guess I have to be satisfied with this for now.’

At least it’s a relief that I made the Saintess a slave. Seeing as she survived alone with some strange illusion-type skill while everyone else died, she seemed to value her own life above all else.

‘What should I do with these.’

The corpses of Nick and Michael. I didn’t think they would do something as crazy as resurrecting these bodies right away. No matter how much of a bunch of idiots the Pantheon might be, they wouldn’t resurrect their own champion in the middle of enemy territory. If the guys who died really did resurrect, I suspected they would either do it in a different location or come back by borrowing someone else’s body.

I first ordered the Mushroom Men to take care of Nick and Michael’s corpses. I debated for a moment whether to burn them immediately or offer them to Indikron or Kashnakas, but I decided to hand them over to Son Haeun. If it were the Lich King Son Haeun, who had begun to break free from the system’s limits by merging with the Parasitic Tree, she could probably recreate these corpses into magnificent undead. If these two guys ever resurrect and come looking for me later, I’ll show them their own corpses turned into undead and tea-bag them.

‘That side is mostly cleaned up too...’

The man with the short hair wearing brass knuckles and the bearded hunter had also been subdued. Especially seeing the short-haired guy with his arms and legs all severed, it seemed they had cut off his limbs in advance, knowing it would be difficult to make him a slave immediately. Ever since I learned that I could reattach arms and legs as long as they weren’t completely obliterated, I had become ruthless about smashing the enemy’s body to pieces.

‘First, I need to check this Saintess’s skills...’

There might be a skill that could remove the Slave Stigma. The priests or Good God-aligned classes I had captured until now didn’t have skills that could dispel the stigma, but I didn’t know about the Saintess. So, I had to check in advance to prevent a catastrophe where the stigma was erased for everyone if I brought her to the base immediately.

‘If it looks dangerous... should I leave her in the Narak while keeping her alive...’

Other than shoving her into a corner of the Narak or putting a gag on her to make her an invalid, I couldn’t think of a proper method for now.

A Saintess with exceptionally high Will and Mana. Most of the skills she possessed were healing skills. The important thing was the dispelling-related skills...

‘Revealed Curse and... Immaculate Purification.’

These two were skills that could erase the Slave Stigma. If she used these skills at my main base, Hyoseon Girls’ High School, there was a high possibility that everyone would break free from my control like wild horses and cause trouble.

I immediately forbade the Saintess from using these two skills. Since I had given the order, she wouldn’t use them, but... I couldn’t let the Saintess’s Slave Stigma be erased, even by a one-in-a-million chance.

‘I don’t know what kind of tricks those Good God bastards will pull...’

Dispelling a curse on a Saintess would be easy enough for the gods. As long as causality allowed it, they were beings infinitely close to omnipotent.

‘For now, I’ll bind her as much as possible with items...’

I first neutralized the Saintess by putting a gag on her, then tied her up with a Trainer’s Rope as a secondary precaution. Only after wrapping her up completely did ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I feel a little at ease.

‘First, I’ll make the captured guys slaves... and then wipe out the rest...’

I approached Roy, whose leg had been completely blown off. I would have to keep him alive and take him to the base. I had to show him the sight of his sister being ruined right in front of his eyes.