The Underworld and Pandemonium.
Somewhere out there.
[Abyss]
Bunea returned to his base, the 14th Legion, in a rather unpleasant mood.
– Have you returned?
Seeing Letaka, his strategist, acting as if everything was fine to avoid provoking him,
– Fools.
Bunea exuded a slight killing intent.
– I am ashamed. Please kill me.
At the mechanized response, Bunea clicked his tongue.
Of course, the ragged experiments were a complete failure, and the plan to move the corpse legion through the Gate of the Underworld had also gone up in smoke.
In the end, he had only poured his heart into dealing with the lackeys of Claris, and it was a situation that could hardly be seen as befitting of the Great Demon’s prestige.
Still, it wasn’t entirely without gain.
He’d soon be able to bring the woman Tobiel had wanted to the Underworld, and he had preemptively dealt with a kid who showed the potential of a hero.
– Well, that’s good, but… khehe!
If other Great Demons caught wind of this news, he would surely become the laughingstock, but if he nurtured that brat, it would be enough to re-evaluate him as a true asset.
– By the way, there’s someone in the Academy who can close the Gate of the Underworld?
– Yes, …it seems so…
Bunea hurriedly followed Letaka’s footsteps.
First, he needed to check the Gate of the Underworld.
If there was no anomaly or if it was just some nonsense mistake, he planned to punish the responsible party by locking them away at the bottom of the abyss to work hard as punishment.
– Hmph…
And he’d found a girl he liked after a long time.
– I should caress every single soul, right? Khehe! Tonight will feel extremely short.
Tasting the maiden’s blood must come first…
He simply hoped that the so-called war heroes would cleanly kill them and send them to Pandemonium.
– Khehehehe!
*
Opening the Gate of the Underworld isn’t as easy as being the local locksmith.
Bunea knew this as well; it required a significant amount of mana.
But for me, I have the Tarchangel Transformation, which reduces the consumption costs of all skills.
Tarchangel Transformation.
There was no time to waste, so I began the incantation immediately.
– Fwaaa!
[Tarchangel Transformation: The cost to use skills is dramatically reduced!]
With that one phrase, what had been blocked was blown away,
and dark magic began to erupt around me as if it were exploding.
Induction Incantation.
Then I stacked Tarchangel Transformation in a twofold manner with the Induction Incantation.
[Tarchangel Transformation: The cost to use skills is dramatically reduced!]
– Ssssssssssssssssssssss!!!
The Gray Ashen Bolt seemed to have been waiting for this moment and started to open its greedy mouth wide.
It grew much faster than during the Black Armor raid.
I fixed it beneath my feet, then redirected the flow of dark magic beyond the Gate of the Underworld before it went berserk.
– KIIIIIING!!!
– Kukukukuku… BOOM!!!
The Gate of the Underworld began to open forcefully and under duress.
At the same time, the putrid smell of ghouls stuck to the area nearby saturated the air, but I ignored it and focused.
– Swoosh. Swipe. Slide.
Then dark magical runes belonging to demons, as well as black magic circles, began to be drawn in my mind.
– Ding!
– [E,VLD;]
– [FFINV,;]
– [,TADPPO;]
Ah, right. The proficiency issue.
It dawned on me that due to my lack of proficiency in the language of demons, I couldn’t fully interpret it.
…But judging by the feeling, it was likely giving the connection location of the gate, with the most recent selection being displayed at the top.
This must be it.
>[E,VLD;]
Once the selection was completed,
– Sssssssssssssssss!!!
The whirlpool beyond the gate began to spin recklessly, and my mana started to deplete rapidly.
When I felt dizzy from the rapid exhaustion, I drank a mana potion to replenish.
After tossing the empty bottle carelessly, I finally cast the Induction Incantation to activate the Demon Transformation.
– ShAAAAaaaan!
[Demon Transformation: The power of your skills increases!]
At last,
– Grraaaaaaaaar!
– Ka-cang!
The statue demon’s jaw unhinged as the flames of hell began to blaze beyond the whirlpool…
The hell gate had opened.
The time to open this gate was extremely limited.
“Just one hit.”
The simplest way to lift the curse on me and Yeriel was to kill the caster.
Having made up my mind, I took about three steps back before injecting the remaining dark magic into the grounded Gray Ashen Bolt.
– KIIIIIING!!!
“I wonder if this will work…”
The big and beautiful Gray Ashen Bolt.
Compared to it, the crossbow bolts I had on hand appeared awkwardly insignificant because I hadn’t farmed them properly.
I had also added good crossbow bolts after the Closed Beta.
Moreover, since I had optimized to open the Gate of the Underworld by using Tarchangel Transformation instead of Demon Transformation, I felt like the might might be slightly lacking.
There was no time to do any damage calculation…
If Bunea wasn’t taken down here, both Yeriel and I would be dragged to Pandemonium.
We would experience that absolutely worst ending that one couldn’t even see in the game.
-?
At that moment, I spotted a glowing spear lodged between the corpses of the ghouls next to me.
– Ding!
———————————————————
[Zesty Family’s Annihilation Spear]
[Rarity: B+]
[A long spear with annihilation properties. While the weapon’s own performance is not top-tier, it seems not to have major issues with the essence of annihilation itself.]
[Activation Effect: [Annihilation] – Additional damage +30% against demon-type enemies (compound effect), grants annihilation property (1-time use)
[Equippable]
———————————————————
“Huh?”
This couldn’t be a weapon used by ghouls. Did those fellows just have it?
As I picked up the spear,
thanks to the demon race trait of being able to handle all weapons,
[Wind Archery – Apply Shadow Annihilation?]
[Apply Activation Effect of Annihilation Spear?]
[Expected Damage Multiplier: 4780%]
Naturally, the spear’s activation effect applied itself seamlessly to the Gray Ashen Bolt.
“Sweet!”
At that moment,
– Pachiiiiiiiiing!!!
As if the sparks were dancing, a massive amount of mana began to gather around the crossbow.
– Uuooooooohhh!!!!!
The demon’s mana swirled chaotically, giving shape to the screams of hell.
‘I’m going crazy…’
That anxious feeling that if I pushed too hard, the Gray Ashen Bolt might swallow me appeared in my chest.
– ZIING!! ZIINNNG!!!!
Maybe that was why? Even while I was holding on with all my might,
it thrashed violently as if begging to be released.
– GGOOAAA!!!
“Gate of the Underworld – Interaction.”
– Ding!
[Do you wish to move?]
“Yes, and annihilate.”
Now it’s really the end.
I pulled the trigger at the right moment.
…
…
…
Pandemonium, a landscape where the red hell reaches out.
Bunea stepped forward in front of the legion of corpses arrayed in rows.
And, the [Gate of the Underworld].
Upon Bunea’s inspection, there was nothing wrong with the dimensional gate itself.
However, before he could test it, he had to wait for his mana to regenerate…
In this situation, Bunea’s anger had already reached the top of his head.
– Letaka… It seems we’ve known each other for quite a while now?
– !!
– A worthless piece like you… How dare you insult me?
It was merely a simple command to deploy the corpse legion into the dimensional gate.
Did there need to be such a worthless adviser and vanguard in the world that couldn’t execute even this simple task?
– Almighty Great Demon Lord…! This…
– Trash like you doesn’t even deserve punishment…
Sadly, Letaka’s excuses and Bunea’s rampage wouldn’t last any longer.
– GRRRRRR… KABOOM!
– ?
The Gate of the Underworld opened of its own accord.
And…
– ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■
The loud sound lasted only a moment; after that, there was nothing.
– #%#@&$@$?
– #$#@&$%!!
It was literally nothingness.
Was an absolute god aiming to punish and exorcise all malevolent spirits appearing?
– Kiiieeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!
The Gate of the Underworld screamed as if to tear itself apart,
and a white light…
Devoured Bunea, along with his entire legion.
– …
Eventually leaving behind only a beeping sound,
the existence of Bunea was…
Erased from Pandemonium.
…
…
…
[Triggered by the effect of ‘Hierarchical Conflict’, Anniliation activates!]
– Diiingdiingdiingdiingdiing!!!
[A new achievement has been unlocked!]
[You can obtain a reward!]
[Crossbow Proficiency has increased to Level 8!]
[Observation from Pandemonium has increased!]
[72 Demons: 26th – Bunea has been defeated!]
[Remaining Great Demons: 55]
[Hierarchical Conflict triggered! You can inherit the abilities of Great Demon Bunea!]
[Named – Letaka the Strategist has been defeated!]
[Remaining Named Entities: 138]
[Named – 6th Vanguard Captain Volacru has been defeated!]
[Remaining Named Entities: 137]
…
…
…
[The souls bound to Bunea are freed!]
[The 14th Legion of Pandemonium is partially decimated!]
[Total Kills: 1421]
…
…
…
*
…
…
…
Receiving the shocking news of the appearance of the Great Demon, Aria stood in the last place she had met Lev, the Old Commercial District.
– …
In this desolate place, only a silent darkness settled in,
and even the moon, which uniquely illuminated this place, was veiled with clouds.
As if to hide what had just happened in the Academy.
Lev had vanished hours ago after leaving the first-grade rated S Dailen and Raymond in her care.
Since those two had yet to regain consciousness,
apart from Aria, no one could know where Lev had gone.
“Lev… Denec, what could you possibly be?”
Every time she thought of him, the silhouette of Andras appeared in her shadow.
Surely, there’s a saying that culprits always return to the scene of the crime.
And… Aria’s hunch soon proved accurate.
– Clatter.
Unexpectedly, a man crawled out from the sewer.
“!”
It wasn’t a matter of caring about a smell.
He was half-dead.
“A-Are you alright…?!”
Just moments ago, Aria was suspicious of Lev, yet upon seeing his state, her worry came first.
His body was riddled with wounds.
They were so densely packed that it was impossible to gauge their size.
It was chaotic enough to leave her confused about where to start helping him.
“!!”
And, what a terrible battle had he fought with the demons that even his black magic was overwhelmingly steeped!
Simply being near him was enough to send chills down her spine.
-…
He trudged towards Aria.
“…!”
And simply passed her by.
“Where are you going…?!”
“….”
Aria instinctively sensed his condition was critical.
If he continued like this, it was inevitable that he would die.
Aria spoke calmly, without panicking.
“Stop. We’ll go to the Seongyeok first…I can’t possibly manage the level of healing needed with my sacred power alone…”
It was as she said. Before treating his wounds, to cleanse the black magic, she would have to fully strip him and dip him into highly concentrated holy water to wash it away.
But Lev was resolute.
“I’m busy.”
“…No, you really should listen to me.”
“I made a promise to a girl I met for a short while… and things happened to be a mess…”
“…Huh?”
“Making promises with a woman… can be quite hard to handle afterward…”
Suddenly, he was saying nonsense.
But Aria deemed his safety more important.
“You can’t go. First, we have to treat you…”
“…!”
As Aria approached worriedly, Lev gently pulled her into an embrace.
“Aria, you’re so kind…”
“……”
“Didn’t I say I was suspicious?”
“That was…!”
Why was he creating this mood again in such a situation?
Lev, towering two heads taller than Aria, smiled as he patted her head.
“Sorry, but I have to go.”
“…”
“I’m counting on you, Aria is so kind.”
“…!”
His sweet words almost made Aria let go of his hand for a second.
However, as a priestess, her sense of duty towards the patient was far greater.
Where on earth was he trying to go in such a state?
Lev Denec’s original personality wasn’t this emotional.
With a small sigh, Aria scolded him.
“……Fine. Tell me where you’re going. We’ll treat you first, and then you can go with me… That works, right…?”
“…Together? That might not work…”
“…Huh?”
Lev’s tone had turned notably serious.
-…
The two of them locked eyes closely.
“Lev…?”
Aria’s sapphire-like eyes were trembling.
This scene felt oddly familiar.
But…
“Yeriel.”
Unexpectedly, that name escaped his lips.
“Yeriel….”
That was all there was to it.
“……”
– Thud.
Lev’s knee hit the ground as he fell into Aria’s arms.
