Chapter 120: The Trap (6)
Chapter 120: The Trap (6)
The demon, having lost its arm, let out a shriek and lunged at Han Shin.
It was clearly a fast and powerful strike, but to Han Shin, the trajectory was glaringly obvious.
‘Why does it look so slow?’
Han Shin easily evaded the demon’s desperate, flailing attack and finished it by slicing through its throat.
With a sharp flick of his blade, he cleared the blood from the steel.
Simultaneously, Kang Yujin finished off the remaining nine demons.
The chorus of demonic shrieks fell silent, replaced by the heavy thud of lifeless corpses hitting the ground.
“Shin-a, they seem similar to typical humanoid monsters. Their physical abilities are maybe a step above Orcs?”
“Yeah, Noona. I felt the same way. But they seem much weaker than I expected.”
“I agree. If they’re only at this level, why couldn't the others even put up a fight?”
It was only natural for Han Shin and Kang Yujin to be puzzled. Even if the number of top-tier Awakeners in Japan was small, it made no sense that they had been utterly defeated with almost no casualties inflicted on the enemy when the bulk of the forces were only at this level.
They decided to scout further to gather more information.
Han Shin and Kang Yujin resumed their movement.
Meanwhile, the demons realized that ten of their kin had been slain by a mere two humans. They knew an unusual enemy had appeared.
They realized there were followers of a Benevolent God on Earth.
Because of this, their reaction was swift and sensitive.
The demonic vanguard consisted of followers of the Evil God Baal. Since Baal was a deity associated with the attribute of knowledge, his followers all possessed a natural affinity for Dark Magic.
It was through Dark Magic that they monitored their surroundings via familiars and constructed the spires and fortresses in such a short time.
The reason the low-ranking demons—who Han Shin and Kang Yujin found strangely weak—had won so overwhelmingly with minimal losses was simple.
When they first clashed with the Japanese Awakeners, they had been empowered by Dark Magic.
The demon leading the vanguard was Barrow.
Backed by the power of the Black Spire, he had amplified his own Dark Magic to cast a type of buff that drastically increased the magic resistance of his subordinates while slightly boosting their physical stats.
Baal’s Blessing was a buff-type spell granted to the servants of Baal who had mastered magical knowledge.
Thanks to this blessing, the demons had charged in en masse, shrugging off the initial barrage of spells. This had thrown the Japanese Awakeners into a panic, leading to their crushing defeat.
In group combat, morale plays a decisive role; once fear becomes contagious, a front can collapse in an instant. That was exactly what had happened to the Japanese Awakeners.
In truth, it was somewhat unavoidable. Japan lacked Awakeners with experience in large-scale warfare, and that lack of experience synergized poorly with the situation, resulting in such a disastrous loss.
Unaware of these details, Han Shin and Kang Yujin continued their investigation, their doubts lingering.
Among the black-skinned demons, Barrow—a demon with a bull-like head, protruding teeth, and goat horns—watched Han Shin and Kang Yujin’s movements through a crystal ball.
“It’s not Laysia… but that silver armor looks like it’s made of the same material as the one that bitch was wearing…”
Observing them closely, Barrow was well-acquainted with information regarding Laysia. He concluded that while these two were not her, Han Shin’s attire suggested a connection.
After a moment’s deliberation, he decided to strike the two intruders with everything he had.
Though he had no definitive proof, seeing them wipe out ten Lesser Demons in an instant, combined with their equipment, made it impossible to shake the feeling that they were followers of a Benevolent God.
‘I have nothing to lose anyway.’
Since the Black Spire had been erected, work was already underway to gradually widen the dimensional rift. With the spire acting as an amplifier, he had more than enough support.
Since there was no disadvantage to acting, Barrow decided there was no reason to hesitate or overthink his suspicions. He summoned the demons.
Emerging from a black, dome-shaped structure, Barrow looked out at the subordinate demons gathered before him.
From the demons lined up in what could be called the fortress courtyard to those perched atop the barriers, the sheer number of them exuded a malevolent aura strong enough to make an ordinary person faint.
The demons following Baal possessed faces resembling bulls, goat horns, thick skin, and large, leathery wings.
Using the Black Spire behind him, Barrow once again cast Baal’s Blessing upon all his subordinates in the area.
A faint, dark energy settled over the demons.
While their outward appearance remained unchanged, they now possessed the resistance to withstand most spells at least once, along with enhanced physical capabilities.
Feeling the surge of power from the dark mana, the red glow in the demons' eyes seemed to burn even brighter.
“Go and devour them!”
At Barrow’s command, the demons spread their wings and took flight.
The sight of the black-skinned demons rising from the black stone fortress looked like a massive, swarming flock of crows taking to the sky.
Han Shin and Kang Yujin saw this spectacle as well.
“Looks like we poked a hornet’s nest,” Kang Yujin muttered.
Han Shin nodded.
Their primary goal had been scouting; he hadn't expected such a massive number of demons to react so sensitively and immediately.
He could see the demons flapping their wings, closing the distance at high speed.
‘It’s too late to run.’
Han Shin judged that it would be difficult to outrun demons capable of fast flight. Even if they did flee, they would have no choice but to head toward the forward base where the Japanese Awakeners were gathered, and he didn't think they would be of any help.
To eventually retreat to the Sanctuary, he needed the help of Grace and Laysia anyway. His first instinct was to fight.
Operating the Manager App, Han Shin immediately summoned Grace and Laysia.
As soon as they were summoned, both women saw the approaching demons. Even without an explanation, they understood why Han Shin had called for them.
They had to face the demons head-on.
The two immediately prepared for battle.
Grace drew her sword and raised her shield.
Laysia flexed her hands, loosening her grip.
One thing was different from usual: both were wearing helmets.
In truth, warriors as strong as these two didn't strictly need helmets. They were capable of reacting to and evading any attack aimed at their heads, and any strike powerful enough to actually hit them would likely render a helmet useless anyway.
The reason they wore them now was purely to avoid outside eyes.
For now, it was best to keep Han Shin’s identity hidden, and there was no need to give people something to gossip about.
The demons noticed the sudden increase in the number of targets.
Though their enemies had doubled, they did not hesitate, having already received their orders to attack.
Lesser Demons were the lowest rank of demon regardless of which Evil God they served; they were incapable of using Dark Magic and relied solely on their physical strength.
However, depending on the god they served and that deity’s traits, they could evolve. Those who served Baal evolved into Mage Demons, specializing in Dark Magic.
Thus, the Mage Demons leading the Lesser Demons fired Dark Bolts simultaneously upon spotting Han Shin’s party.
The black orbs rained down like a missile bombardment. Soon, the forest was filled with explosions and thick smoke, as trees were shredded into splinters that flew in every direction.
K-boom! Bang!
Baal’s demons intended to suppress Han Shin’s party with a preemptive magical strike before swooping in to finish them.
The demons assumed they had at least inflicted some damage.
This assumption was quickly proven wrong.
A silver crescent of sword energy tore through the smoke, cleaving through the bodies of the lead demons.
Graaaagh!
Screee!
The one using the sword energy was, of course, Grace.
The moment Laysia saw the demons casting their spells, she had used Tiamat’s divinity to cast the defensive spell, Shield of the Sacred Dragon.
A faint silver aura had enveloped the four of them in a dome, protecting them. The demons' magic had failed to inflict any damage whatsoever.
After the defense held, Grace had immediately counterattacked with her sword energy.
Even through the smoke, Grace had seen the demons filling the sky and unleashed her strike. Just as she intended, the demons’ wings and torsos were severed, sending them crashing to the earth in a spray of blood.
In the moment the demons realized their magic had failed to do its job...
Shadows appeared through the thinning smoke. A knight clad in silver armor burst forth, skewering a demon with a silver spear held in both hands.
The struggling demon tried to resist as it coughed up blood, but Han Shin twisted the spear’s handle, churning its vitals to finish it off. He then used the demon’s limp body as a stepping stone to land on the ground.
Thud!
The sight of the knight in silver full-body armor standing over the crushed demon while drawing his spear was more than enough to provoke the rest of the horde.