Chapter 120 : Chapter 120

Chapter 120 - Hunting (3)

Although the demon race usually liked to lie low, if they were to start something in earnest, they were the type who liked to make everything explode spectacularly.

Recalling the time when the Master of the Magic Tower's tournament was ambushed during the Guild Grand Unification Event, and just looking at the sky near Kellyville immediately turning pitch black, it was clear.

“Wh-what is this?!”

“A-a demon! A demon has appeared!”

Right.

Even these fools who would immediately brand an innocent person a witch were right this time.

The black gates opening nearby were undoubtedly imbued with demonic energy.

“A demon’s gate? No, it’s a bit... cruder than that.”

And seeing that phenomenon, Cornelius stroked his chin and diagnosed it as such.

“Well, they’re not complete demons. They’re probably at the ‘seed’ level.”

“Seed?”

“It’s one of the methods they use. They continuously infuse humans with their energy to slowly transform them into demons.”

“Was there such a thing?”

There was.

It was probably a phenomenon that had come to light so recently that even this man, the head of the demon hunters, didn't know about it.

After the Third Ordeal was over, there would be a lot of involvement with them.

“...”

And in the center of it all, there would be a story that unfolded with our guild master sitting there.

Until then, it was best to maintain a friendly relationship with Cornelius and the Master of the Magic Tower.

That way, the attention focused on that side would be somewhat dispersed.

“Anyway, the opponents are human, but there’s no need to go easy on them. The fact that young men have been disappearing frequently is all because they were kidnapped and used for human sacrifices.”

He himself was a bit of a crazy guy, so unlike Edgar who approached things cautiously, he would have accepted anything and everything under the condition of ‘getting stronger’.

“...Was there such a crazy guy?”

“There’s Batan Gilius. The Berserker of the Valhalla Guild.”

“Ah, the one who was with you in the Second Ordeal?”

Exactly.

He probably contacted Raven right after the ordeal, and enraged to the point of a blood vessel bursting in his head just because he lost to me, he probably thought only of killing me, no matter what happened to him.

To the point of not batting an eye at kidnapping innocent people and offering them as ‘sacrifices to the demon’.

“That... smells of heresy.”

Cornelius said with a vicious smile next to me.

“...Why are you smiling hearing that?”

“You know, the position of a guild leader is more stressful than you think.”

“...”

So you needed a punching bag.

It was a relief that he was at least a person who wouldn't take out that desire on the wrong place.

However, there was a process to follow before letting this man run wild.

“So.”

I grinned and spoke to the pale-faced villagers.

“I think you’re starting to understand why I said what I said.”

“...”

“What are you going to do? I don’t really care if I watch you all die in this spot.”

Of course, there was no need to say what kind of answer came back.

***

“They’ll be pouring into the village soon. Can I ask you to take care of that side?”

“Thank you. There’ll be many things to hit.”

Well.

I wondered if there was anyone else besides you who would express that as thanks.

A bitter smile naturally formed on my face as I watched Cornelius disappear down the ridge with a ferocious smile.

He gathered some strength and took a couple of leaps, disappearing in an instant as if he were flying. A crater-like mark remained where he had jumped.

What an absurd physical ability every time I saw it.

“...Why.”

And the remaining one was clearly a person whose combat power wouldn't lose out much compared to him, but right now, she just looked confused.

“Why did you do that?”

“Huh? What?”

“...I just thought, you would rather shackle and work them to the bone for the rest of their lives than receive an apology like that. I don’t understand. The same goes for asking that man to protect the village just now.”

“...”

Hmm.

I was starting to wonder how the people around me perceived me.

“Can’t I do something nice once in a while?”

“What?”

I continued with a smirk.

“It might not be important to me, but it could be important to you. Isn’t that enough?”

“...”

Evangeline stared at me blankly, then let out a smirk as well.

“...Right. I suppose so.”

And after pondering for a long time.

She let out a huge cough.

She scratched her head, averted her gaze, and opened her mouth.

With a demeanor that expressed embarrassment with her whole body.

“Thank you. I see you had that side to you too.”

Right.

It wasn't that I didn't have that side.

Of course, that side was by no means the main one.

[ 1 skill share slot for the target ‘Evangeline’ will be opened. ]

That’s right.

As expected, one must speak well.

“...”

“Huh? What’s wrong? Why are you suddenly looking up at the sky?”

“No. Just trying to assuage my guilt a little.”

“...?”

I left the tilting-her-head Evangeline and immediately moved my body.

Hmm. Right.

It would be best to relieve this feeling by beating up another guy.

***

“Is that it?”

Evangeline looked at the black... ‘something’ that was screaming and floating in the air.

Its limbs were intact, it was wearing armor all over its body, and it was holding a greatsword as big as itself, but no matter how you looked at it, it didn't look like a human who was maintaining their sanity.

“...Unpleasant. Doesn't it look like it's mimicking the appearance of a knight.”

I nodded at Evangeline’s muttering.

“It is mimicking it.”

“...What?”

“They’re probably preparing to create something like the demons’ Round Table. That guy is an experimental subject for that.”

“...Again, with the information that even the Guardian wouldn't know, so casually as if giving alms...”

I gave a smirk to Evangeline, who was muttering as if she was getting dizzy, and prepared my necklace.

Basically, ‘demons’ were the ones most deeply involved in the main story among the dimensional beings, and the Knights of the Round Table were their antithesis.

Demon hunters would also play a part, and spirits would join as helpers depending on the route.

But in the end, it was these guys who had to put a period on it.

In that respect.

“Watch and learn well.”

“What?”

“Because it’s something you all will have to do in the future.”

This battle would be a good early education.

Because I was going to raise them to a level where they could at least one-shot demons when they encountered them.

Thinking that, I walked steadily towards Batan, who was puffing out black energy.

His reason would be gone, but his body would have at least learned the reason why he had gone that far.

The gleaming eyes that turned towards me as soon as I appeared proved that fact.

[ Ka....hak...! You.... you....! ]

“Hi. Long time no see. Been well?”

Of course, there was no way he had been well, but a person should always greet others. Hmm.

[ Die-!! ]

Look at that. As expected of a demon’s seed, he just cut to the chase and charged like that.

The darkness that had been spreading around like sticky goo all charged at me with hostility.

Previously, I couldn’t deal with this at all and had to tear off Lee Si-yeong’s stats to deal with it.

But, now.

“...Hey! Are you okay!”

“Of course, I’m okay.”

I was even able to brush off the goodwill of the person behind me who wanted to help.

[ Arcane Burst: Modified ]

[ Observation ]

Activating the skills in order, I picked up a nearby stone.

Ah, it’s been a while since I've done this.

I think I did this when I was testing skills before too.

Of course, compared to back then, my stats and skills were now incomparably stronger.

A prime example was just looking at the upgraded Share skill.

[ Synthesize the target ‘Kim Kang-in’s’ Share skill ‘Formless’ with another skill? Y/N ]

[ Formless-Observation Synthesis Roll... ]

[ Skill: Focus Shift is activated. ]

[ Points where all strikes will become critical hits are automatically displayed. When hitting that point, all defense types are ignored, and fixed damage is dealt. ]

“...”

No.

This felt a bit too much.

I had thought it would just enhance the weak point display moderately, but to think it would automatically mark points where fixed damage was doubled.

No joke, if I used this well, it was a buff that could beat a dragon race to death with bare fists. If I could hit them, that is.

However, the guy in front of me was certainly powerful, but he was nowhere near the dragon race.

In that case.

[ Double Pulse ]

It meant it was possible to catch him with just a stone.

The stone, which flew with a fierce momentum comparable to a missile, exploded on Batan’s chest like a spear.

[ Gak-! ]

And at the moment it went in properly, the demon's mana nearby all flinched.

‘That’s it.’

Seeing that, I nodded my head.

The Focus Shift from the synthesis roll was a very powerful skill, but it was impossible to beat a demon with just that.

These guys were definitely a broken race. It wasn't for nothing that they were the main enemies of the latter half.

The incidents that would happen inside the Tower would also soon start to fall under their influence.

If you asked why they were broken, the problem was the very nature of that mana, which acted as a top-tier buff almost constantly.

While that mana was properly active, the demon was at a level where it received transcendent regeneration, attack power, and defense power simultaneously.

So players had to find all sorts of unique ways to remove it. Whether it was making holy water or procuring weapons that created light attribute mana. They had to do all sorts of troublesome things.

However, in my case.

I just had to ‘hit properly’.

Right. In fact, I came to beat up Batan to test that.

So.

[ Mana Dominion / Unique Passive Skill ]

[ Upon successfully hitting with a mana spell, you can temporarily neutralize a unique skill held by the opponent for one time. A 30-second cooldown is applied to the same target. ]

This one. The new passive attached to the Gnosis’s Heart.

If it worked well, it was a skill that could be treated as the ultimate weapon in anti-demon warfare.

And the fact that this was as effective as I thought meant what?

“So. You wanted to kill me so badly that you kidnapped and killed innocent people. Sold your humanity. Threw away your dignity.”

I sighed at Batan, who was writhing in pain.

No, just.

After doing all that, even I felt a prick of conscience thinking about what would happen next.

“Well, what can you do.”

I’m sorry, but a ‘fight’ itself couldn't be established between this guy and me.

It was just.

“You’ll have to accept it as your fate.”

Only to be crushed like a bug.

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