Chapter 160
Chapter 160
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 160
Chapter Title: Disaster of Solitude (6)
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[…Are you serious?]
Besial stared at the orb, not daring to touch it, as if questioning if he could handle it.
He knew all too well what absorbing what the succubus had left behind would mean, hence his hesitation.
“We don’t have time. The system will soon notice the manager’s disappearance and try to arbitrarily replace them.”
[Alright.]
Nodding, Besial opened his mouth wide and swallowed the sphere in one gulp.
[Your subordinate, ‘One Who Covets Treasure,’ has been promoted to a mid-level demon.]
Upon becoming a mid-level demon, Besial’s appearance changed.
He transformed from a small, SD character-like demon into a somewhat more mature form.
If he had remained a low-level demon, he wouldn’t have had sufficient authority to become the manager, but now, having absorbed the succubus’s energy and reached mid-level, it should be enough.
“Are you the manager?”
[Ah, yeah. I’ve temporarily inherited the manager’s authority. Hold on.]
Besial’s eyes darted around the empty space.
He must be checking his manager privileges.
There was no time.
Once the Disaster finished killing all the players from Paradise, its next target would naturally be me.
And that would be the best-case scenario.
If it were to bypass me and head for a densely populated area like a residential zone…
‘It’s over.’
A cold sweat trickled down my neck as I imagined the guild masters and other high-ranking players going insane and attacking people.
On top of that, the Disaster would be empowered by thousands of people.
I absolutely could not let that happen.
[What is this…?]
Besial muttered with a dumbfounded expression.
“What is it?”
[Most of the manager’s authorities are blocked… No, don’t tell me…?]
He started spouting nonsense.
The manager’s authorities were blocked?
The succubus couldn’t have done it. She didn’t have the time.
That meant the authorities were blocked even before she was taken down.
‘Who?’
There weren’t many beings who could block the authority of a mid-level demon.
It wasn’t something even a high-level demon, the rank just above, could interfere with.
Damn it. The Disaster of Solitude appearing at this time was already a headache, and now there was something else tangled up in this?
Still, if most of them were blocked, it meant some were still usable.
“Then what can you do!?”
[Hold on! I just took over, so I’m swamped right now!]
“Then just teleport me and that thing deep into the mine! That’s the most urgent thing!”
That alone would be enough to mitigate the situation to some extent.
The Disaster of Solitude’s aggression noticeably diminishes when there are no more than two living beings around besides itself.
However, Besial replied with what was almost a scream.
[I can’t do that!!]
“Then what can you do!?”
I went through the trouble of making him a mid-level demon and having him inherit the manager role, only for him to be useless.
I gritted my teeth and quickly scanned my inventory.
Among the stigmas I’d obtained while clearing out the mine earlier, was there anything I could use now?
“I’ll do it! Just tie up the Disaster for a moment!”
Just then, Jun Bo-ra appeared at the perfect time.
“Sorry! It took a while to get Han Hyeok-jun and Cheon Jin-ha away from here!”
So that’s where she’d disappeared to.
She had teleported the defenseless Han Hyeok-jun to safety and, while she was at it, moved Cheon Jin-ha, from whom we needed to extract information.
A good call.
“Zeta. Distract it. I only need a few seconds.”
At my command, Zeta slithered out from my shadow.
If it weren’t for the wildfire I’d started nearby, this would have been the perfect stage for an assassin.
Still, it would be no problem to hold the attention of the disoriented Disaster for a moment.
*Shhhk!*
As a flurry of strikes rained down around it, the Disaster of Solitude flinched and glanced around the empty space.
That brief moment while it searched for Zeta.
In that instant, I manipulated the darkness to momentarily bind the Disaster’s entire body.
*Fwoosh!*
Jun Bo-ra swiftly approached and forcibly teleported the Disaster deep into the mine.
“This is my limit, so you better finish the job! Got it!?”
Jun Bo-ra grabbed my arm, our eyes meeting.
Her eyes were filled with frustration.
The sorrow of knowing the solution but lacking the power to execute it herself.
The emotion of wanting to be the protagonist but being forced to remain a supporting character.
“Leave it to me.”
The familiar sensation of space warping slightly.
I blinked, and I was in a different space.
The very place where I had discovered the Ark Gate.
It was strange how this place was still intact despite the mine shaft’s collapse.
[The ‘Suppressive Force’ on the ‘Disaster of Solitude’ is strengthened.]
*Crackle!*
The volume of the blackness surrounding the Disaster gradually shrank.
It was partly due to the suppressive force, but also because the absence of people nearby had nullified the power it had gained.
It seemed Besial was capable of at least this much.
“Ah…”
The Disaster of Solitude let out a short sigh, its voice still languid.
“You… are alone…?”
It glanced at me before turning away as if it hadn’t seen me, then plunged its arm into the wall.
When it pulled its hand out, it was holding a large stigma.
*Crunch.*
It chewed.
It chewed on something that was no different from a rock, except for the mana it contained.
My guess was correct.
The Disaster of Solitude had been recovering its strength by eating stigmas.
It had absorbed all the stigmas near where it was trapped by the cave-in, and only then did it have enough power to break through to the surface.
“Is it tasty?”
“…”
No answer.
It just sluggishly moved its body, searching for a new stigma.
“It must be. Giving up on everything, refusing to move forward, yet not wanting to die, you became a Disaster. All you have to do is get stronger without a care in the world. How could it not be tasty? It must be dripping with honey.”
At my taunt, its eyes slowly turned toward me.
The vacant eyes of one who has given up everything. The eyes of a fallen hero.
“Kairum Steronberg.”
The blackness flickered.
As if representing the Disaster’s emotions, it writhed, expanding and contracting repeatedly.
Normally, taunting it by calling its name would bring back some of its memories and elicit a reaction, but it remained in a daze.
Was the suppressive force affecting that as well?
No choice. Time for some shock therapy.
“I don’t know if you know this.”
I picked up a stigma lying nearby.
It was only D-rank, containing little mana.
“Stigmas are flammable, you know. You have to handle them carefully after mining.”
I threw the stigma at one of the walls and then sent a small ball of Black Flame after it.
*BOOM!*
A sound like a dynamite explosion echoed off the walls.
The noise was loud enough that Kairum naturally looked in my direction.
Specifically, at the large pile of stigmas that had spilled out from the wall that collapsed from the explosion.
I had used Extreme Eye to see that there were a significant number of stigmas there beforehand, so I had controlled the force to break through right up to that point.
It was a proper application of darkness’s power of annihilation.
“They might be flammable, but it’s not a big deal as long as they don’t come into direct contact with fire.”
I kicked the pile of stigmas with all my might.
Not only that, but I also took out the stigmas I had saved and threw them mercilessly toward Kairum.
The stigmas flew a certain distance and settled around Kairum.
Facing the still-dazed Kairum, I smirked and ostentatiously created a Black Flame.
“Coincidentally, I can handle fire. Oh, in an enclosed space like this, a big enough explosion might even cause a dust explosion.”
Kairum slowly began to move.
Its languid movements remained, but it was now clearly targeting me.
“Too late.”
I backed away and snapped my fingers.
Suddenly, a large mass of flames appeared in the air, and the stigmas scattered around began to vibrate ominously.
In my vision, which had begun to slow down as if in slow motion, the Disaster of Solitude’s focus seemed to faintly return.
*KABOOOOOOOM!!*
An explosion erupted, obscuring my vision.
First, the explosion of the Black Flame.
Then, the chain reaction of the stigmas, followed by a dust explosion from the countless particles.
It was a sight akin to an airstrike from a bomber.
I negated the impact on myself by striking with darkness, but the surrounding environment wasn’t so lucky.
‘About one more time, maybe.’
*Rumble…*
I stared at the ceiling and walls, which were vibrating and shedding rock dust.
An explosion of that magnitude was bound to have an effect.
If I hadn't surrounded the area with darkness to absorb some of it, the place might have collapsed.
“…”
The Disaster of Solitude didn’t seem to have taken much damage either.
It was covered in dust, making several spots dirty, but there were almost no visible wounds.
I hadn’t expected much, but seeing it with my own eyes left a bitter taste in my mouth.
‘That amount of stigmas should have had the same power as a dozen sticks of dynamite exploding.’
As expected of a Disaster that originally appeared in the mid-to-late game.
Even with the suppressive force, it wasn’t going to be taken down with just one hit.
The fact that it was staggering, suggesting it wasn't without internal injuries, was perhaps the only consolation.
“…Who are you?”
The staggering Kairum suddenly posed a question.
My eyes lit up with interest.
‘Did he come to his senses?’
If so, it was a success.
I had cleared the first phase of the strategy for the Disaster of Solitude.
“Who am I.”
Its head lifted.
Its focus had returned, but the emptiness had not completely disappeared.
The eyes of a rotten fish, or a dying animal.
“Where am I.”
Stumbling, it drew the sword from its hip.
Though caked with dried blood that it hadn't bothered to wipe off, the untarnished blade revealed itself with clarity.
“What… am I doing here.”
Then, it swung the sword.
*SWOOOOSH!!*
Subsonic sword ki instantly cut through the air, passing through the spot where I had been standing.
I managed to dodge by a hair’s breadth, but a trickle of blood ran from my slightly grazed cheek.
“Looks like the shock therapy worked.”
I forced a smile and readjusted my grip on my own sword.
Phase one of the Disaster of Solitude strategy.
The part about awakening its ego was a definite success.
‘The problem is…’
As the strategy progresses, the Disaster of Solitude cycles between getting stronger and weaker.
And this phase was a strengthening one.
*Flicker.*
I was sure I had been concentrating, but it was suddenly right in front of me.
I hastily moved my sword to respond, but its blade, moving faster than my eyes could see, sent me flying with ease.
“Ugh!”
*CRASH!*
An impact like being hit by a speeding truck shook my entire body.
Even weakened, it was a formidable opponent.
Not to be outdone, I swung my own sword, unleashing a blazing sword ki.
It seemed to dodge, but the edge of its cloak caught fire. It glanced down, then tossed the cloak aside without hesitation.
“…!?”
Just as it was about to counterattack, the Disaster of Solitude staggered and lost its balance.
Its eyes followed me, as if it couldn’t understand why.
“You might think you’re something else now that you’re a Disaster, but your body is still human.”
Meaning, it hadn't escaped the limitations of a human body.
The air was thin.
It was because of the massive explosion I had caused earlier.
Even after that, I had continued to create Black Flame, so the oxygen in the already poorly ventilated, enclosed space had been steadily depleted due to combustion.
It wasn’t that I was unaffected, but…
*Rustle.*
[Skill, ‘Efficient Breathing Method,’ is activated.]
[You can now breathe even in environments with extremely low oxygen.]
Naturally, I had a countermeasure for what I had done.
*CRASH!*
After confirming I could breathe without issue, albeit with some difficulty, I rushed toward Kairum.
Despite having trouble breathing and being unable to stand steady, it managed to block my attack at the right moment.
However, since it had parried from an unbalanced stance, its posture became even more unstable.
“I… am human…?”
Kairum’s face contorted.
Now was the chance, while its memories were in chaos.
I pressed my attack relentlessly, giving Kairum no time to recover.
‘I need one decisive blow.’
I noticed cracks spreading across the ceiling and stone pillars.
After one explosion, it was impossible for this place, which had no artificial supports, to hold up much longer.
Since I would be putting everything into one blow, I wouldn’t be able to use my darkness to absorb the damage again.
Shattering Moon came to mind, but the conditions weren’t right.
‘Something clean, simple, but powerful.’
An idea flashed into my mind.
But it wasn’t something I could do with the Disaster of Solitude right in front of me, trying to kill me.
It required the Army of Darkness, which I couldn't use right now.
Damn it. If only I had something to draw its attention during that time.
*CRASH!*
A blocked-off tunnel was blasted open, sending rock fragments flying in all directions.
And from within, someone emerged.
“Answer if you’re not dead, Kim Se-hyeon!”