Seizing the Facility
Once control was seized, everything else proceeded smoothly.
Ownership Transferred!
The monsters in the corridor, who had been muttering while clutching crude spears and swords, lost the red glow in their eyes.
Instead, their eyes turned black, becoming round and puppy-like.
“Uung? Ururalra Uralaltai?”
“Oung? Kakka Nakta Kara?”
The goblins, orcs, and trolls looked at one another and spoke in what sounded like friendly tones.
Of course, Kim Hwang-je had no idea what they were saying.
Still, unlike other monsters, these could be freely manipulated through the status window.
These were all the surviving monsters.
Reassign? Y/N
“Reassignment can wait. For now, tell them to stay somewhere safe. How do I ventilate this place?”
The prison was filled with toxic gas. Stepping outside carelessly might turn them all into gold.
Kim Hwang-je proceeded with caution.
Fortunately, the purification process was available in the facility management window.
Facility Purification Operation
Cost: 21 Gold
“Hmm. It seems that moving things between Earth and the other side requires cash, but operations within that world only cost gold…”
Kim Hwang-je was willing to invest 21 gold.
When he spent the gold, the ancient facility’s ventilation shafts activated, expelling the internal contaminants into the sea.
‘Ugh… Sorry, fish!’
Below that, the [Prisoner Management] section displayed the following:
“Hmm… These guys might still be useful for something.”
Kim Hwang-je closed the status window and focused once more on [World Observation].
Inside the orb, Teacher Lavanus remained seated in meditation, while the blond child doodled in the corner.
“Will that old man handle internal affairs properly?”
“Of course, Your Majesty. Even from what I’ve heard, Teacher Lavanus’s reputation was quite renowned.”
“Oh, really?”
“That teacher gathered military funds and supplies, allowing a collapsing nation to hold on for five more years.”
“Ah, so after that, only the royal capital remained…?”
“Yes. After Izkaya abducted Teacher Lavanus, everything fell into ruin.”
Kim Hwang-je looked at the Fisherman.
It was surprising how knowledgeable he was about such matters.
“By the way, Fisherman, are you also affiliated with the kingdom?”
“Pardon? No, I am not. On land, I was the strongest fisherman among the barbarians. The Adel Kingdom is far too small to contain me.”
Wait a second. Did I hear that right?
“On land, you said?”
“Yes, that is correct. We all swore to become subjects of the Imperial Emperor. We are Servants bound to the Emperor’s bloodline.”
“Whoa. What? So you guys were ghosts?”
Kim Hwang-je was startled.
“Ehehe. Your Majesty, ghosts? We are all perfectly alive, merely sealed within the bloodline!”
“The Emperor must have been incredible… But why were you sealed?”
At those words, the Fisherman turned his head and gazed out at the distant sea.
“We made a wish, and the Empire merely responded to it. Please do not concern yourself, Your Majesty.”
If he was going to set the mood like that…
Just then, the Hunter suddenly struck the back of the Fisherman’s head.
“You idiot, you wished to the Emperor of that era to marry you off to three thousand women!”
“What?”
While Kim Hwang-je stood in shock, the Fisherman grabbed the Hunter by the neck.
Since his shirt was off, there was nothing else to grab.
“Kek kek!”
“How dare you say that now! There were no women left in our country because of the curse, so what choice did we have?”
“You shameless bastard…!”
The Hunter grabbed the rattling chains and hurled the Fisherman straight into the sea.
Splash!
“Your Majesty, unlike that lustful lump, I am pure. I only asked that my ten children be raised well.”
“…Those children of yours were human, right?”
He had even given gold to buy chicken for them…
“No, Your Majesty. They were dinosaurs, superior to humans.”
“……”
“Your Majesty. Dinosaurs do not betray.”
Kim Hwang-je decided not to think about it any further.
It was a relief that their stories were not tragic or painful.
After all, among them, the only one with a truly sorrowful tale was the ancient necromancer who had mistaken his brain for a mucus-producing organ and extracted it.
“Then what about the Illiterate Mage? I heard it was just a slime raised in the magic tower.”
“Ah, the great archmage Nordring who created that slime was the Empire’s greatest archmage. He developed the spell to seal souls within bloodlines.”
“Anyway, you all seem like remarkable people. As a favor, please stop fighting in front of me.”
The Fisherman immediately bowed his head to the floor.
“Hehe, this much is necessary if we are to serve at Your Majesty’s side. May you enjoy eternal health and longevity!”
“Indeed, Your Majesty. We shall remain loyal from now on!”
As Kim Hwang-je nodded, the Bandit, who had been watching from the side, spoke up.
“Your Majesty! Teacher Lavanus is coming out!”
* * *
A massive orb.
In front of the orb, various races had gathered.
The Warden, Bahu, the spirit-possessed tree, the skeletal orc, and the Earthling Hunters in powered suits.
Jo Jong-hyun and the other Hunters held their breath, tense, surrounded by otherworldly monsters.
“10%… 10… 10… Damn it…”
Jo Jong-hyun found Bahu’s muttering grating, like nails scraping across a metal plate.
Just moments ago,
during their historic first meeting, Bahu had bluntly asked how much tax they paid.
Jo Jong-hyun had answered 10%.
Ever since then, Bahu seemed half out of his mind.
“Do you… know… how much… bluefin tuna costs?”
“How would I know that…”
The jewel-encrusted golden mask was as large as three human faces and terrifying; he could not bring himself to meet its gaze.
Damn it. In Korea, I am one of the top Hunters, yet in this world’s power hierarchy, I am at the very bottom?
Jo Jong-hyun bit his lip but lacked the resolve to act.
Yet the old man kept asking pointless questions and muttering complaints that made no sense.
“Be quiet. The door is opening. Let us prepare to welcome the teacher.”
Finally, unable to watch any longer, the Warden cracked her whip against the floor, and Bahu snapped his mouth shut.
The door slowly opened, and the orb gently peeled away and flowed down.
Inside the orb, Teacher Lavanus remained seated in meditation.
“Reveal yourself, demon!”
What was that?
It was a very familiar line, yet it took time to process after hearing it.
Jo Jong-hyun then noticed the 2-head-tall holy knight standing atop the Warden’s head.
The holy knight, standing on her crown, drew a silver needle-like sword and shouted.
“Slay the Demon!”
But when that small sword swung, the space before them split apart in an instant.
Then cracks formed in space itself, and it shattered like a broken window.
“Kuhuhuhahaha!”
From within the broken space, a dark red aura poured in like fog.
The spirit-possessed trees rushed forward, spreading their limbs to block the aura.
“A… Aaa! Run away…! This is a trap… It is a trap!”
Lavanus had opened his eyes and was shedding tears of blood.
Yet, strangely, he appeared to be embedded in the massive demon’s belly like a tree.
From the waist down, he was completely fused with the demon, and all he could do was flail his arms atop its stomach.
“Be silent, old human. I cannot have this delightful time stolen from me…”
The demon spoke.
It resembled a giant bat-like monster.
With a serpentine tail, alligator-hide wings, and three glaring eyes, the giant demon sat upon a massive throne.
It wore a black metal vest covering both upper and lower body, and its limbs were covered in thick, coarse hair.
The hairs curled at the tips, resembling poisonous weeds that might grow in a jungle, and red smoke endlessly billowed around its body.
“The Demon King’s pet’s prophecy about seeing an ominous star was correct… To think there would still be humans like this in this abandoned world.”
The low, deep voice was occasionally unpleasant.
Combined with its size, it was even more so.
It felt like a massive woofer speaker pounding against the body.
Jo Jong-hyun felt his powered suit trembling and took a step back.
“Recognition Code 922151. High-ranking demon…!”
Jo Jong-hyun trembled.
The Hunters, terrified, drew their weapons.
This was a monster on an entirely different level from the Dullahan Master they had nearly been wiped out by earlier.
Jo Jong-hyun and the Hunters glanced at the surrounding monsters.
They did not know, but perhaps these beings could handle it?
However, Bahu’s condition was far worse.
His waist was hunched awkwardly, and his legs, despite being undead, were shaking violently.
The spirit-possessed trees were trembling so hard their leaves fell like brushwood.
In this situation, the only ones standing tall were the Warden and the 2-head-tall fairy perched on her shoulder.
“Why do you fear?”
Benedict spoke while looking around, without even drawing his sword.
“And you, a mere lesser demon, who are you looking down upon?”
“Ah, there was another human here. You are as small and cute as a doll…”
Bang!
Jo Jong-hyun could not even follow it with his eyes.
The tiny Benedict shot forward like a bullet.
And grabbed the massive demon’s head, slamming it straight into the wall.
Crash!
The giant wall shattered, sending stone dust and dirt flying in all directions.
When the demon’s head emerged through the wall and struck the ground, a large crack also formed in the prison floor.
“Kuhak! W-what is this power!”
The demon let out an unsightly scream and struggled, but Benedict pressed his thumb against the demon’s temple and shouted.
“Silence and kneel, seed of evil!”
Flash!
Boom!
A burst of light erupted, as if a hammer had struck the demon’s head directly.
Benedict knocked the demon unconscious and shouted.
“Your Majesty! Are you watching? Use the facility to restrain the demon!”
Kim Hwang-je was startled by the voice coming from his necklace.
“Kuuuugh!”
He was too preoccupied realizing that his own stomach hurt from the damage to the prison floor and walls.
“Agh, shi…”
Unable to swear, Kim Hwang-je frantically operated the status window.
Fortunately, [Facility Management] had a [Cell Adjustment] function.
When Kim Hwang-je activated it, transparent orbs tightened around the iron bars from all sides.
The bars wrapped tightly around the demon’s arms, legs, neck, and torso.
“Aaa… How can this be… This one is a powerful Demon King’s knight, yet how…”
Teacher Lavanus spoke, blood flowing from his eyes.
“Do not speak. I shall neutralize the curse.”
Benedict approached, held Teacher Lavanus’s face, and recited a holy incantation. Gradually, color returned to the old man’s face.
“How can this be? This is impossible…! How could he defeat a Demon King’s knight…!”
Watching the scene, Bahu shouted.
His entire body trembled violently before he finally collapsed to his knees, unable to endure any longer.
“Rest for a while.”
After providing emergency treatment, Benedict removed his hand from the unconscious Lavanus’s head and looked at Bahu.
“A knight? You mean this insignificant lesser demon is a Demon King Army knight? I cannot even begin to fathom how the world has changed.”
Benedict did not even use his sword.
The Warden, Bahu, and Jo Jong-hyun all stood speechless, staring blankly at this astonishing event.
For Bahu, it was an incomprehensible phenomenon.
Hunting such a great demon would have required an enormous number of sacrifices.
Just who was this person?
Benedict shook his head.
“Humans have lost their strength and come to accept their lowly position as natural. It is a pity.”
Benedict smiled bitterly and shook his head.
“This one is no great demon. But since the tiger has left and the rabbit now plays king, perhaps it is for the best.”
“As expected of the last Holy Knight. I believed in you.”
The Warden nodded.
Bahu, hearing this, was shocked.
“…So Dave saw this…? That if he had come just one week… earlier, things would have been different… because of this person…?”
Bahu’s hoarse voice sounded unbearably sorrowful.
To think that even in the face of such hope, he could only speak in this dreadful metallic tone!
Benedict shook his head.
“Dave? You mean the King? His expectations were not for me, but for the Emperor. You must pledge your loyalty to His Majesty with all your heart.”
“……”
Leaving the silent Bahu behind, Benedict continued.
“Oh dear, I used too much power subduing him in one go…”
Benedict’s body began to fade.
He transformed into particles of light and returned to Kim Hwang-je’s necklace.
“Do not behead the demon under any circumstances. I have temporarily stabilized the teacher named Lavanus, but if the demon dies like this, we will not be able to save him.”
“Then… what should we do…?”
“His Majesty must have a plan. Since this facility now belongs to the Emperor, your work here is done. I shall return to His Majesty’s side to recharge my strength.”
Benedict vanished, enveloped in light.
Witnessing this, Jo Jong-hyun collapsed to his knees.
“This… is a story we cannot resolve with our own dimension…!”
The other Hunters reacted the same way.
Recognition Code 922151.
The idea that someone could hunt that demon alone made no sense.
Just who was the monster he had contracted with, to command such a being as a subordinate?
* * *
“What do we do about this?”
Kim Hwang-je bit his nails while looking at the restrained Teacher Lavanus.
The Hunter cautiously spoke up.
“Um, Your Majesty.”
“Yeah?”
“If we kill him and turn him into an undead…”
“Nope.”
Kim Hwang-je cut him off sharply.
If it were a traitor like Bahu, maybe, but he could not turn an elder who had remained loyal and steadfast into an undead.
“Hehe, then how about using the Leather Artisan?”
The Fisherman suggested.
Kim Hwang-je’s eyes sparkled.
“You, do you know who that is?”
“Of course. He is different from me, but he is also one of the rulers of watery places. He will skin it cleanly for you!”
Delighted, Kim Hwang-je immediately summoned him.
“Come forth! Leather Artisan!”
Thanks to this, Kim Hwang-je failed to notice the Hunter’s incredulous gaze.