There seems to be some underlying circumstances, but anyway, Azra doesn’t combine with the Demon King and the blue-eyed one.
(But it’s a well-known fact that there’s an invisible shadow controlling the Demon King.)
‘What?!’
(If what’s bothering you is that being I’m thinking of… you must absolutely not cross that passage. It would be no different than a moth jumping into the fire.)
‘Oh, I see…’
Azraelon, rarely showing a serious expression, continued.
(Ill-wol… as you know, the dimension where this world and the demon realm belong is nothing more than dust from a universal perspective.)
… I wondered how I would know that, but decided to listen.
(The ancient texts of the demon realm describe countless dimensions filled with beings hotter than the sun, colder than the moon, and stranger than the Black Whirlpool. In a way, the blue-eyed one might just be at a crawling stage from a universal perspective.)
‘… Just hearing that is terrifying.’
(We, walking the path of the king… seekers in the realm, are correct to strive to become such higher beings, but it’s not the time yet. It’s like throwing a small bird’s egg at a boulder the size of a house and expecting something to happen.)
‘There’s no need to struggle against an irresistible being?’
(You know well. Meeting someone overwhelmingly stronger than you is just the act of a fool, not a strong person.)
‘Similar to your master’s perspective…’
The confident Azraelon warned me about the kind of being supporting the Demon King, and there’s nothing more to think about.
‘Thank you. Thanks to you, the decision I was stuck on has become firmer.’
(Hmph, but don’t worry. For such a formidable being to move to another world, preliminary work will definitely be needed. We just need to prevent that.)
Even if the damage to our world is greater, we must build a defensive line here.
We should avoid the act of crossing over to their base.
(One more thing to add. At your level, crossing over to the demon realm won’t even let you reach the toe of the Demon King. Who would think of catching an opponent who can’t even walk but can fly?)
Azraelon raised a paw in disbelief at what he had just said.
‘Before we even meet, we’ll get cut down by other demon beings… are we really that weak? Like the Transcendent of Reflux who caught you, or the likes of Jung-gil? There are still some strong ones out there.’
(Hmph, those who have come close to the biological end can’t fathom the opportunities, and unless they surpass a great wall, it’s pointless. If I were to mention any hope… among the humans I met recently, there was that Kang Yeon-su? She might have the potential.)
‘Oh… Yeon-su. She’s definitely impressive in terms of potential.’
(For some reason, I can sense the scent of demon blood from her. If you trace her ancestry, there must have been a high-ranking demon being somewhere.)
‘What…?! Is that for real?’
This was another absurd suggestion.
(Almost certain. The probability of demon blood manifesting decreases over generations, but the purity of that power doesn’t change.)
‘Yeon-su has demon blood… Now that I think about it, her appearance when she underwent [Divine Transformation] did have that vibe.’
Kang Yeon-su’s appearance after the Divine Transformation was the very embodiment of a devil.
(Ugh… I’ve talked too much unnecessarily. I need to get some sleep.)
Azraelon, about to head into a dungeon, said he wanted to sleep.
But this wasn’t the first time, and when it really matters, he would undoubtedly wake up to protect our party.
“Ah… Azra. Are you being overtaken by sleep again? Then… what about these guys—”
(I’m sleeping…)
Meanwhile, Eun-young was at a loss, with two beasts climbing up her head and shoulders.
But seeing the whip tightly gripped in her hand gave me the instinct that leaving the beasts with her wasn’t a bad choice.
“Then shall we go back in?”
The ‘White Alliance,’ except for me, planned to earn more experience in the ‘Living Statue of Strength’ for a few days.
So what about me?
‘I should go meet that Teacher Cha. I need to see this through to the end.’
The villain known as the leader of the evil ones, caught two days ago.
Having cut down all his comrades, he might have already left Jeju Island, but my twin siblings’ strong opinions after interviewing them were categorical.
“That guy won’t blink an eye whether we live or die. If he’s here, he’s probably still playing cards or drinking with women.”
‘In some way, he’s an impressive guy.’
“Y-yeah. Master… heh…”
I had to give a pointer to the twins, who were blushing while looking up at me.
‘Make sure to follow Jung Tae-hyung’s instructions.’
“B-but! We—”
‘I know how you feel. But don’t mess with that guy. Even I can only win three out of ten fights against him—so how could you even dream of doing so?’
The only reason I defeated the Grim Reaper was thanks to the surprise attack tactic and the help of Hwang Tae-wook and Mari.
Honestly, I wouldn’t feel confident beating the Grim Reaper again now that he’s had a boost in combat power from the Beast’s Heart Stone.
The twins pouted, rubbing their swollen cheeks like eggs.
“Sigh— Master. Do we really have to listen to instructions from that Grim Reaper? It feels wrong to us.”
‘The fact that he survived this long among S-rank hunters means he has solid capabilities. You can trust him at least not to harass or kill you, right?’
“*Ugh… understood. Master. Please, next time find some time to check on us. My body feels like it’s on fire…”
‘Just try to work on it.’
I comforted the disappointed twins, who hadn’t had a proper conversation since they became demon servants, and I flew back to Jeju Island.
*
Tap—
‘He’s staying at this hotel.’
Cha Seon-guk, known by the nickname Teacher Cha, is an A-rank Hunter.
From just the twin’s information about him being a textbook provocateur tanker, I quickly could envision what kind of opponent he was.
– A villain with qualities belonging to a Great Evil One detected nearby!
‘Even after the quest is over, he keeps notifying me? Well, that’s not a bad thing. Room 1704… I’ve been told he’s been enjoying life at a gambling den with women for days…’
It didn’t seem like he cared whether his comrades were missing or not.
‘Is he sleeping?’
The contrasting sounds of loud snoring and the calmness of the magic power emerged from inside the room.
‘Strong one… someone who could easily rise to S-rank…’
Compared to Park Jin-gon of the White Knight Guild, who just recently became an S-rank hunter, this guy was almost on par in sheer physical capabilities, if not better.
‘His stamina must be far superior to mine. And his strength might be about the same too.’
[Earth-Destroying Tunneler]
I began digging from the hallway, burrowing beneath the room he was in.
‘Careful… careful…’
I slowly split the floor to create a tiny gap.
[Weasel Walk]
Activating the skill I obtained from ‘Weasel,’ I slipped through the small gap into the room as if my body had turned liquid.
Inside the room, thick cigarette smoke hung in the air.
“Haah─ I wonder how long this guy’s going to sleep like this.”
“Leave him alone. He’s just now calming down.”
“True… after such a wild time with us yesterday…”
“I thought my legs were going to tear. It hurts down there. For real.”
“Pfft- You should’ve relaxed and not tried those impossible positions.”
The Teacher Cha was comfortably lying in bed between two general women.
‘Ladies, dreamland awaits—’
I sprinkled the sleeping agent ‘Simberum,’ which I had gotten from Noh Ha-yoon, into the air. The half-naked women chatting leisurely with Teacher Cha fell silent like mice.
Cha Seon-guk
– So far, he has killed a total of 317 people.
– A villain who cruelly murdered Awakened Ones for various reasons in the dungeons.
– He doesn’t hesitate to put a collar on hunters and make them walk on all fours, barking like dogs in their naked state to humiliate them. Moreover, female hunters…
‘Why is he detailing all this?’
The history of his various murders was so lengthy that it felt unreadable.
I dismissed the messages from my mind, amassed my magic power, and swung my sword straight toward his head.
Swooosh──!
“…What?!!”
‘What the…?!’
To my surprise, a small cloak resembling a snake’s skin was protecting his head.
Whoosh—
Taken aback by the cloak seemingly moving on its own toward me, I struggled to recall where I had seen it before.
‘I’ve definitely seen that somewhere… what was it?’
It was undoubtedly an advanced piece of equipment preserved in my past life’s memory.
‘Ah…! The “Leviathan’s Protective Cloak!”‘
The Leviathans, mentioned monsters usually discovered deep in the ocean.
During their breeding season, they ascend from the deep sea to shallower areas reachable by hunters, using their sheds to protect their young.
The mantle that protected Teacher Cha was made from that shed.
‘Did it have the ability to block lethal attacks while unconscious…? I should’ve anticipated this.’
It seems I prepared for situations like this, sleeping together at night.
But.
Swooosh—
“…?! What?!!”
His lower torso visibly shook as if in shock, the first reason being that the sturdy Leviathan’s skin ripped like paper.
Swoosh—
“Blood? This fucking bastard!!”
A long crimson line appeared on his face as blood gushed out, which became the second reason.
No matter how tough the cloak, it couldn’t withstand my swordsmanship that cuts through space.
Blood spouted high enough to stain the ceiling black.
Stumble—
In an instant, Cha Seon-guk—injured badly—wobbled.
Boom─!
But soon he regained his footing, his figure vanishing, and the sound of a bullet being fired followed.
[Flame of-]
[Distorted Green-]
I unleashed binding skills one after another, but the golden aura swirling on his forehead signaled he had some counter against the bindings.
‘Wukong’s Headband…!’
Just as I thought I wouldn’t see it for a while, it showed up in just a few days as a binding release headband.
‘Whether it’s the illusionist or this guy, did they all team up to buy it?!’
The surprise attack didn’t go as well as I had hoped, and the bindings were ineffectual.
I wasn’t being overly confident or careless in my ambush.
It simply turned out that my opponent was unexpectedly well-prepared.
The success of the first strike is undoubtedly the most crucial element in battle.
Just look at the fight with the Grim Reaper.
Whoosh—
I turned without hesitation and exited the room.
Crash-!
“Where do you think you’re running off to? I’ll kill you!!”
Despite being a provocateur tanker, he seemed to be even angrier with me.
‘Yeah, come chase me.’
I saw his equipment being summoned from space and automatically putting itself on.
Given that it wasn’t an artifact, it must have been granted such features due to his ludicrously high payments to a dwarf.
‘If I can kill him, there’ll be plenty of loot to take!’
I moved to the least populated beach, and soon we faced each other on the white sands where waves ebbed and flowed.
“Spit! You bastard! You’re the one who killed my crew, right?!”
“…?!”
He still called them “my crew,” so it seemed he wasn’t completely heartless.
Perhaps he had been waiting for me to attack him.
‘This is the perfect timing to taunt him.’
I wanted to provoke him, but if I skewed my stats with mimicry, the fragile balance would crumble.
“Ha… If an adult is talking, you should at least respond. From the looks of your gear, you seem to be in the same boat as me. Haha, you bastard!!”
Bang──!!
Teacher Cha seemed done with words and charged straight at me.
[Tactical Front Roll]
As his movement skill activated, a gigantic stone descended surrounding me from eight directions.
‘What the heck?! His casting speed is insane!’
Before I could react, I was surrounded by the stones.
At the same time, a mysterious power embraced me from the rocky mound.
– Resisting powerful provocation!
– Resisting powerful provocation!
The eight stones trembled wildly and emitted unknown sound waves, but I barely held out and quickly dug downward to escape.
‘Hoo─ that was close. I need to buy a Wukong’s Headband too, just in case.’
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
