Chapter 39 : Chapter 39

Chapter 39: Sand Hell (2)

From the commonly seen scorpion-type demonic beasts of Hamdel to fallen greenskins like bats, wolves, and goblins.

A variety of demonic beasts charged toward me all at once.

Normally, different species of demonic beasts would fight among themselves, but these did not.

A horde of demonic beasts, perfectly united, rushed at me with their eyes fixed solely on me.

However, under the judgment that facing a horde of demonic beasts offered a much higher chance of survival than clashing with Alkmyon, I [Rushed] into the heart of the monster wave.

The horde was as numerous as it was varied, so with every swing of my sword, I could cut down two or three demonic beasts.

The problem was that the number of beasts lunging at me with ferocious jaws far exceeded the number I could cut down.

Up until now, the Dragon Heart had not followed my will.

I hadn’t yet developed the ability to fully control it.

But the situation is different now.

Perhaps sensing the crisis, the Dragon Heart pulsed strongly in accordance with my will, pumping mana throughout my body.

Boom!

An explosion echoed from behind.

It seemed Alkmyon had charged in after me, breaking through the midst of the demonic horde.

Glancing back, I saw Alkmyon ignoring the other beasts, targeting only me.

I used [Rush] repeatedly to evade Alkmyon while killing the demonic beasts.

No matter how many I cut down, I couldn’t feel their numbers decreasing.

The demon responsible for this chaos was nowhere to be seen.

All that filled my vision were countless demonic beasts and the purple strings connected to them.

Even now, more beasts poured down from the ceiling.

Giving up on fleeing, I dashed toward the wall and [Rushed].

Reaching the wall somehow, I cut down a hanging torch, letting it fall.

Sparks spread across the floor.

I diligently stamped them out while simultaneously slashing the beasts that pressed in with their numbers.

The surroundings darkened in an instant.

But there were still torches left on the other walls.

‘When will support arrive… For now, I need to move as fast as possible.’

Some demonic beasts didn’t care about the darkness, but Alkmyon was different.

I had to limit its vision as much as possible.

To do that, I needed to move quickly.

[Rush], [Rush], [Rush].

I pushed against the endless wave of demonic beasts, extinguishing the torches on the walls.

Each time a flame went out, the surroundings grew darker.

I finally gathered the mana I had been emitting back into my body.

Without the support of mana, my movements slowed, but I had no choice.

I needed to reduce even the light emanating from my body.

Using [Rush] again, I distanced myself from Alkmyon, which had drawn closer.

But perhaps because I couldn’t fully utilize my mana, I didn’t gain much distance.

Boom!

Alkmyon swung its fist at me.

I met its fist with my sword while enveloping myself in Intangible Armor.

The force was partially mitigated, but fragments of the Intangible Armor scattered through the air.

Blocking a single attack consumed 40% of the Intangible Armor’s capacity.

This was only because I had deflected the blow; a direct hit would have caused far greater damage.

I didn’t have many opportunities left.

If I couldn’t freely wield mana as before, I had to rely on the body I had trained.

I [Rushed] again, creating distance.

Alkmyon charged, crushing demonic beasts into pulp, but I had no time to look back.

Once more, once more.

I destroyed another torch on the wall.

Now, only one torch remained.

Given the vastness of the cavern, reaching it wouldn’t be easy.

But there was no time to falter in fear.

The cavern had grown quite dim.

I could feel the number of demonic beasts had decreased compared to before.

It was a pity I couldn’t unfold [Wings of Ainsitel] due to the flames emanating from its feathers, but I kept moving relentlessly.

Roarrrrrr!

Alkmyon’s roar echoed.

Its cry was laced with demonic energy.

My body nearly stiffened for a moment, but I snapped out of it and leaped forward.

In this situation, I couldn’t block every attack from the demonic beasts.

I stopped using Intangible Armor to shield minor wounds, focusing solely on cutting down the beasts in front of me and reaching the final torch.

[Rush]

Finally reaching the last torch, I yanked it out and shoved it into the mouth of a charging demonic beast.

Krkk! With a scream, the beast collapsed, and complete darkness fell.

Roar! Rarghhh!

Alkmyon continued to bellow.

In the darkness, I could see its eyes glowing increasingly red.

Normally, Alkmyon’s HP dropping below 10% would trigger its frenzy.

But there was a way to forcibly induce frenzy even before reducing its health: placing Alkmyon in complete darkness.

This was just the beginning.

* * *

I hung from the Branch of the World Tree embedded in the ceiling, holding my breath.

My eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness.

Occasionally, beasts with keen eyes in the dark approached me, but I kicked them away, sending them falling.

The beasts that fell became prey for Alkmyon below.

I watched the massacre unfolding beneath me.

Alkmyon, its eyes now fully red, roared and swung its fists wildly, stomping with its feet.

Each time, countless demonic beasts burst apart.

The beasts, which had initially seemed organized, lost their formation.

At some point, they began attacking the frenzied Alkmyon or fighting among themselves.

There were still many demonic beasts left, but their numbers no longer increased as before.

‘Should I escape while staying out of sight…?’

I had to decide for myself.

Even though Alkmyon was in a frenzy, this was a state induced through a trick.

To avoid external stimuli, I had even turned off the communicator connected to Nofen.

Instead of fleeing, I chose to fight to the end here.

Not only was it risky to miss the support’s arrival and end up separated, but I didn’t want to let the demon who set this trap escape.

Though Alkmyon’s rampage had shattered their command structure, the demonic beasts had clearly been moving under a unified system until then.

If so, wasn’t the demon controlling these beasts hiding somewhere here?

If support arrived and the situation stabilized, I might be able to pinpoint its location.

Roar!

As I continued my thoughts, I noticed Alkmyon, even in its frenzy, was starting to take wounds, perhaps exhausted by the beasts’ onslaught.

Yet, it still displayed overwhelming strength.

Then, I felt the flow of mana in the air twist.

The demonic beasts fighting suddenly froze in place, standing still as if petrified.

This wasn’t good.

The demon might have regained control over them.

A blue light formed in the air, coalescing into an oval shape.

A portal.

The arrival of reinforcements was welcome, but the timing was poor.

Even the red glow in Alkmyon’s eyes was starting to fade.

Alkmyon grabbed the neck of a beastman-type demonic beast in front of it, ripped it off, and hurled it toward the portal.

Then, it charged toward the glowing portal itself.

Boom boom boom boom!

The cavern shook with each step it took.

I couldn’t let it proceed unchecked.

I had experienced spatial travel through portals a few times, and the state right after emerging was never good.

Nausea and dizziness lingered for a moment.

Whoever the reinforcements were, if they were hit by Alkmyon’s attack right after exiting the portal…

I pulled out the Branch of the World Tree embedded in the ceiling.

Leaping down toward Alkmyon as it charged at the portal, I swung my sword.

Slash!

Even with [Severance] activated, I couldn’t cut through its neck in one stroke.

I only realized how thick its neck was.

But I had definitely drawn its aggro.

Instead of rushing toward the portal, Alkmyon began swinging its fists at me.

Its eyes still glowed red.

As a result, its attacks came in chaotically.

Alkmyon’s movements were massive, allowing me to anticipate its attacks by the twitching of its shoulder muscles and dodge accordingly.

But this kind of fighting wasn’t familiar to me.

I always tried to read the flow of battle, seizing the opponent’s rhythm and imposing my own.

Yet now, Alkmyon swung its fists relentlessly, ignoring even the tearing of even its own joints.

There was no rhythm to its attacks, but the power behind each punch was overwhelming.

Boom!

I dodged as best I could, but I couldn’t avoid every attack.

The frenzied Alkmyon’s punch shattered my Intangible Armor in one blow.

The impact of the attack, which the Intangible Armor couldn’t fully block, sent me flying, and blood spurted from my mouth, as if I had sustained internal injuries.

Alkmyon charged at me without stopping.

Then, the flow of mana twisted again.

An ice harpoon pierced Alkmyon’s shoulder.

‘Frost Harpoon?’

I saw its shoulder begin to freeze from the point of impact.

Another harpoon flew in soon after.

Crack!

The harpoon lodged in Alkmyon’s thigh, seeping into its existing wounds and starting to freeze them.

Yet Alkmyon didn’t stop.

Even with its muscles frozen and twisted, it looked like a demon.

Roar!

Alkmyon screamed, and I released all the mana I had been suppressing within me at once.

“Captain! Pour it all in at once!”

Keldric’s resolute voice rang out.

Alkmyon and I shot toward each other like bolts of light.

Beside us, I saw Keldric’s form, his fist brimming with mana.

Another Frost Harpoon flew in as soon as it was cast.

Crunch!

Unleashing the gathered mana in a burst, I slashed through Alkmyon’s wrist as it cut through the air.

Using the force of that swing, I spun my body and drove my sword into its neck.

At the same time, Keldric’s fist and the Frost Harpoon arrived.

Grkk…

The red glow in Alkmyon’s eyes slowly faded.

Thud.

Alkmyon’s massive body collapsed.

A lethal attack that didn’t even give it a chance to frenzy again.

No matter how powerful a Grade 2 demonic beast was, it succumbed to the cumulative damage taken in its frenzied state, compounded by a single devastating blow.

“You did well. We’ll handle the small fry.”

“Thank you.”

Eidon spoke briefly and turned away.

I felt a chill rising from where he stood.

I pulled my sword from Alkmyon’s throat.

The thickest purple mana string was connected to Alkmyon’s chest.

The mana string I had thought was linked to a demon belonged to this creature.

Feeling hollow, I sat down and watched Eidon and Keldric clean up the remaining demonic beasts.

As I sat there in a daze, another mana string entered my vision.

It was a thin string, like those connected to lesser demonic beasts, but it was somehow linked to the Boundary Stone.

Staggering, I followed the string toward the Boundary Stone.

Nothing stood out.

The area was teeming with demonic energy, so my senses picked up nothing.

But I reached out toward where the purple string pointed.

“Argh! Let go, you filthy thing!”

At my fingertips, a small demonic beast thrashed in my grasp.

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