Diablo (2)
----
----
“Success.”
As the black-red shadow receded, the enormous demon sank to one knee.
The flames scattering from the tips of Kim Jun’s fingers vanished, and the crazed roar that had drenched the battlefield in madness faded without a trace.
He had clearly been a demon who reveled in fire and destruction, a creature of pure frenzy.
And yet now he had lowered his head like a tamed beast.
“Grrr…”
As the severed wound slowly regenerated, Andras’s red eyes turned toward Kim Jun.
Something in that gaze had changed completely.
The look that had glittered with hatred and madness only moments ago had become the loyal stare of a beast looking up at its master.
“Strange,” Andras muttered in a low groan. “Just a moment ago, I wanted to tear you apart…”
“And now?”
“…I only want to follow you.”
Even Andras could not make sense of his own transformation.
This wasn’t the feeling of being forcibly subdued; deep in his instincts, a desire to be loyal welled up naturally, as if it had always been there.
Kim Jun didn’t feel the need to dig into the reason too deeply.
What mattered was the result.
The monster that had once been an enemy was now a faithful ally.
Good enough for me.
Kim Jun nodded calmly and opened the status window again.
----
[Contract Demon: Andras]
Grade: B
Level: 40
Attribute: Dark/Fire
Traits: Berserk, Regeneration, Chaos Swordsmanship
Contract Effect: Cannot betray the contractor; must obey all orders absolutely
Growth Potential: [Level Up Available]
“It can level up?”
Kim Jun’s eyes gleamed.
Normally, monsters had fixed stats.
The strong were born strong, the weak born weak, and that was the way of things for their entire lives.
But the contract window was clearly showing the possibility of growth.
It’s already B-grade at level 40, and it can still get stronger.
The corners of his mouth lifted.
It already had the firepower to wipe out an entire floor by itself; if it kept growing, what then?
Now that’s promising.
Kim Jun slowly reached out and pressed a hand to Andras’s shoulder.
“I’m counting on you from here on out.”
The red eyes quivered, and Andras lowered his head even deeper.
“Give the order, my lord.”
“Uh, ah…”
Kim Jun cleared his throat awkwardly.
Who would’ve thought the lunatic who’d just been charging at him with a greatsword clenched in his teeth would become this polite?
“W-wow!”
Choi Doheon, who had been watching from the side, widened his eyes.
“This is incredible! Turning a monster into a subordinate…”
And it made sense.
So far, countless classes had been discovered, but never once had anyone found the power to permanently subjugate a monster.
And not even a weak monster, either, but a being who had ruled as a boss.
Besides, Kim Jun wasn’t a summoner.
He’s already terrifying enough on his own… and now he’s adding this kind of subordinate on top of that…
A chill ran down Choi Doheon’s spine.
Awe and admiration surged through him at once.
Kim Jun shifted his gaze.
“Andras.”
“What shall I do?”
“Take Hell Floor 4.”
“I obey.”
It was time to test him in actual combat.
*
Thunk!
When the door to Hell Floor 4 opened, countless demons surged forward with cries and howls.
In that place thick with the stench of blood and brimstone, Andras burst into wild laughter.
“Kihihihihihihihi!”
He swung his black-red greatsword and carved down the demons blocking his way.
Flames exploded in every direction, and even his own kind were shown no mercy.
“W-whoa…”
Choi Doheon held his breath.
One by one, the demons were swallowed by fire beneath Andras’s sword strikes.
Watching the scene, Kim Jun folded his arms and muttered, “...Yeah, still a lunatic.”
The sight of him laughing while cutting down his own kind wasn’t loyalty so much as instinctive madness.
Only moments ago, they must have been the same species, but there wasn’t a shred of sympathy or hesitation in him.
Just—
“Kihahahahahaha!!!”
“Kihehehehehehe!”
“Hehhehehehehehehe!!”
He slashed, tore, and burned.
Wherever his blade reached, only flame and the stench of blood remained.
Kim Jun fell into thought for a moment.
...Was I like that too when I was in Berserk mode?
He shook his head as if to dismiss the thought, but some corner of his mind felt oddly sore.
The battlefield remained Andras’s solo stage.
Kim Jun and Choi Doheon felt, quite literally, as though they were seated in the audience.
Even when elite demon soldiers poured in like a tidal wave, even when a massive boss erupted from the depths, the result was always the same.
A single crazed monster swept everything away.
[Experience Gained!]
[Experience Gained!]
Not bad at all.
It was almost like auto-hunting. Whenever Andras killed a monster, Choi Doheon, as a party member, received experience too.
“Um…”
“What is it?”
“Is it really okay for me to just keep taking this…”
Choi Doheon looked at Kim Jun with an embarrassed expression.
“Don’t worry. Someday, you’ll be the one helping me.”
“Me?”
“That’s right.”
“Can I really grow that much?”
In the first regression, how many hunters had crossed beyond the 50th floor?
Maybe around a hundred…
Out of tens of thousands of hunters, only about a hundred. Choi Doheon had been one of them.
Back then, he even flew through the sky.
While most guilds never made it past the upper floors, Choi Doheon had broken through that wall alone.
“I know your potential.”
And this time, unlike before, he had Kim Jun’s help.
This time, his growth would be faster, and he would climb higher.
“Doheon.”
Kim Jun’s expression turned a little more serious.
“I think this is where we’ll have to part ways for a while.”
“W-what?!”
Choi Doheon jolted in shock.
“Can’t we keep going together?”
“It would be nice if we could.”
Kim Jun let out a regretful sigh.
“But we’ve already spent too much time here.”
It was true.
Compared to before his regression, their speed was absurd.
In the first run, it had taken months just to reach Floor 16.
But for Kim Jun, that was still not enough.
What lay ahead were far more important trials. There was no time to waste.
This won’t do.
Kim Jun’s expression sharpened.
“From here on, we need to move up fast.”
“Then I’ll work even harder—”
“Doheon.”
Kim Jun gently cut the boy off.
“I’m not saying your skills are lacking. But right now, I need hunters I’ve already verified.”
It was the honest truth.
Choi Doheon undeniably had great potential.
But that potential had not yet fully bloomed.
What Kim Jun needed right now was someone who could fight beside him immediately, someone already complete.
The boy’s shoulders sagged.
“Don’t look so disappointed. We’ll see each other again.”
With those words, Kim Jun took something from his subspace pouch and handed it over.
“Here, take this.”
“T-this is…?”
A finely crafted golden fragment of armor fell into Choi Doheon’s hands.
----
[Item: Cheonrin Armor]
Grade: B
Effect: Attack Power +30%, Defense +50%, Blessing of the Heavenly Realm
----
An item Kim Jun had acquired, without realizing it, when he swept through the Heavenly Realm in his Berserk state.
“Grow fast, and catch up to me.”
“...!”
He had given the boy everything he could for the present moment.
He’d boosted him with levels, with gear, and with new companions.
What remained now was Choi Doheon’s own doing.
The boy’s drooping shoulders straightened again, and resolve settled across his face.
“My lord.”
“You startled me.”
Without Kim Jun noticing when he had approached, Andras was kneeling before him.
“Shall I go further down?”
Kim Jun raised his head and looked over the battlefield.
Nearly a thousand elite demon corpses already littered the area.
He had only spoken with Choi Doheon for a few minutes, and everything was already done.
“...You’re already finished?”
Andras’s red eyes flashed.
“Further down?!”
His expression was bright and eager, like a hunting dog waiting to be thrown a ball.
“You want to go further down?”
“My will is irrelevant. If my lord desires it, that is enough.”
He said that, but his eyes seemed to be saying, Let’s go, let’s go.
Kim Jun chuckled.
“Should we go down?”
“!!!”
Andras’s shoulders jerked.
“Or should we not go down?”
“....”
He lowered his head for a moment.
“Should we go down?”
“!!!”
His gaze flared once more.
Kim Jun hoisted his greatsword onto his back and stood.
“Fine. Let’s go down.”
“!!!”
Andras thumped the ground in excitement.
It was the same as a predator starving for blood finally finding a real hunting ground.
The madness in Andras’s eyes deepened even further.
Kind of amusing, actually.
Kim Jun watched with a faint smile.
What followed was the same one-sided massacre as on the fourth floor.
Bang!
Crash!
“Explode!”
[Hell Floor 5 Cleared!]
[Clear Time: 8 minutes 14 seconds]
“Kihihihihihi!”
[Hell Floor 6 Cleared!]
[Clear Time: 4 minutes 52 seconds]
As time went on, the clear speed only grew faster.
“This is truly overwhelming!”
Choi Doheon kept exclaiming in admiration.
Kim Jun and Choi Doheon had quite literally become spectators.
Andras was sweeping the battlefield alone.
At this rate, he’s faster than most entire guilds.
It was shocking enough to see a five-man party break through a floor in a matter of minutes, when it would normally take hours.
And finally, they reached Hell Floor 7.
[Quest Triggered]
[Hell Floor 7 Conquest]
[Objective: Avoid the succubi’s temptation and proceed to the next floor]
“Ah, right…”
Kim Jun’s expression shifted oddly.
“Succubi?”
Choi Doheon tilted his head.
Hmph... we can’t tackle this one right now.
Before his regression, he had entered this place after Han Suin died.
Back then, his emotions had been so deadened by the despair of losing a comrade that he hadn’t felt anything from the succubi’s temptations at all.
But things were different now.
Han Suin was alive, and so were his other companions.
Now that his heart had regained some ease and vitality…
This could be dangerous.
Kim Jun frowned.
This was a special dungeon where succubi kept luring hunters and blocking their advance.
There was no combat. You only had to pass through.
But that, in itself, was the trap.
In some ways, it was the easiest place to get through, and in others, the hardest.
Especially when your heart was as open as it was now.
“Doheon.”
Kim Jun turned with a serious expression.
“Yes?”
“I really think you need to head back now.”
“Huh? Why?”
“I can’t, in good conscience, take you any farther than this.”
Kim Jun made a troubled face.
The succubi floor was, quite literally, adult content.
Not just rated R, but barely even fit for R plus.
It was no place for a minor.
“...”
Choi Doheon suddenly went quiet.
“...?”
Kim Jun looked at the boy.
“!”
Choi Doheon’s face turned bright red.
“Doheon.”
“Y-yes, sir!”
“Don’t tell me you’re disappointed.”
“N-no?”
Tap.
Kim Jun lightly tapped Choi Doheon’s forehead.
“Agh!”
“You’re still a kid…”
Kim Jun chuckled and shook his head.
“Worry about clearing this floor after you’ve grown up.”
“I’m basically no different from an adult!”
Choi Doheon puffed out his cheeks.
“No different, my ass. You’re still a kid.”
“I’m not a kid!”
“Fine, fine. Not a kid.”
Kim Jun patted the boy’s head.
“But this floor really is dangerous. The succubi transform themselves into whatever form is most ideal for each person and then try to tempt them.”
“Their ideal form?”
“Yeah. They approach you wearing the face and personality you’d be most likely to fall for.”
At Kim Jun’s explanation, Choi Doheon swallowed hard.
“Th-then what kind of form would you take, hyung?”
“Why would I tell you that?”
For a fleeting instant, Kim Jun thought back to his first regression, and his cheeks flushed.
38