Chapter 178 : Chapter 178

Chapter 178 - Treatment (1)

“Oh.”

Those words came out naturally as I stood before the boss room.

When I stopped my wristwatch, a beep sound was heard, and the ‘record’ of my breakthrough so far appeared on the screen.

“A new record, nice.”

“...A new record?”

“It's a thing.”

I said, peeling off Seo Ah-in who was still clinging to my back.

She had been stuck to me so strongly that she hadn't let go for a single moment throughout the journey so far, but this time, it couldn't be helped.

Thanks to the spray trio, the path had been cleared with great ease until now, but what lay ahead was the real boss battle.

It was a section where even I might have a hard time clearing it if I didn't prepare properly.

“Hey. Snap out of it.”

“Umm, yes, yes. If you have any worries, tell this big sis all about them...”

“...”

I gave Seo Ah-in, who was trying her best to open her eyes alluringly and babble something at me, a powerful flick on the forehead.

With a bonk! sound, it felt like the top of her head had been flattened.

“O-ow! What are you doing to your big sis!”

“You were much more charming when you weren't a big sis.”

“...”

When I shot back those words lightly, she blinked her eyes and stared at me blankly.

“...Pardon?”

“I said you're much better when you're your usual self than you are now.”

“...Oh.”

As I said that, the darkness that had been embedded in her forehead felt like it was seeping out through the back of her head.

The curse that had been polluting her mind was being completely dispelled.

“...What, no way...! Mr. Kim Gyu-sik chose the right words for the situation...?!”

“Tomorrow, the sun will rise in the west, no, at least two suns will rise...”

“...Are you not even going to question the fact that an archdemon's curse is being lifted by just one word from that person anymore?”

My head throbbed as I listened to the murmuring behind me.

To be honest, it wasn't a line I had come up with entirely on my own.

I gestured with my eyes to Ms. Meirin, one of the spray trio who were now struggling to detach from each other as the adhesion was finally wearing off.

‘It’s right to say it like this, isn’t it?’

‘For now, it’s okay!’

I nodded at Ms. Meirin, who gave me a thumbs-up.

Right. She said it would be dispelled if I said it like this, and indeed...

“Of course...”

“Just Kim Gyu-sik...”

I decided to ignore the grumbling Evangeline and Ms. Seo Hye-in.

“...Huh, what. I feel like I've been scammed. Can't I get a refund on that?”

“No.”

I scolded Seo Ah-in, who was looking at the curse that had left her head with a lingering, regretful gaze, and picked up the walkie-talkie.

It was to contact Kim Kang-in before entering the boss room.

I would handle the boss battle myself, but the ‘aftermath’ that would follow was where his help was essential.

“Ah, yes. Senior. Are you ready?”

[Yeah, I'm ready. But what on earth are you doing in there?]

“...Pardon?”

[Everyone's just hanging around outside with nothing to do. But lord-class demons are still being subjugated inside the building. Almost everyone here is on the verge of fainting.]

“...”

Geez, why make a fuss over something like that.

Didn't I say from the beginning? I'll do all the work, and you guys are just the supporting cast.

“Then what are you going to do about what comes after this?”

[What?]

“I’m going to subjugate the archdemon within 10 minutes from now.”

[...]

***

“I have been waiting. Please come in.”

As I entered the boss room, a familiar face greeted me.

Raven. A follower of the King of Flies.

If this were a game, that phrase would probably be floating above her head along with her health bar.

‘Lucky.’

And any veteran player of Conqueror would realize that encountering this situation itself was the result of having progressed through the strategy correctly.

If I had dragged my feet getting here, what I would be facing would not be Raven cradling the King of Flies' ‘core’, but the fully summoned main body of the creature.

And the problem with that boss battle was, well.

No matter how you cleared it, someone would ‘die’.

Even if I were to clear it with no damage while tap-dancing, to have a casualty among the party members?

This was an unacceptable mistake for a top-tier veteran. Indeed, indeed.

“...Hmm.”

And upon seeing her, Seo Ah-in stroked her chin and looked back and forth between Raven and me.

Then, after thinking hard about something, she slapped my back with her palm.

...What was that for?

“Are you really asking because you don't know?”

“I'm asking because I don't know.”

Seo Ah-in huffed and pointed at Raven with her finger.

“She's a woman.”

“...?”

“A woman and an enemy! Just how many are you going to manipulate like this...!”

“...”

Hey.

No.

At this point, I'm not even sure what I should say anymore.

“No. That's Mr. Kim Gyu-sik's fault. How many times has this happened before...”

Even the sentence Ms. Meirin added with a sigh from the side was incomprehensible.

What on earth did I do wrong?

“Really... you’ve done something unbelievable so casually. I never thought you would get here in such a short time.”

Perhaps not pleased with the sight of us bustling about even in the final boss room, Raven smiled bewitchingly and slowly gathered the King of Flies' core she was cradling towards her.

“However, even if you can wield such mysterious power, I cannot allow you to advance any further. For the sake of his great cause, you must die...”

“Wait. Wait a minute.”

I waved my arm and interrupted Raven, who was continuing to speak.

“Can’t I skip this?”

“...Pardon?”

“No, you talk too much. Didn't you see how the guys before you were dealt with?”

“...”

Raven, who recalled the sight of the lord-class demons being scattered as ash by the demon-exclusive extermination spray without even being able to finish their lines, immediately shut her mouth.

Compared to that, I've given you pretty special treatment, you punk.

I didn't even lay a hand on you while you were reciting a two-paragraph-long speech.

“...Hmph, hehe. How arrogant. I wonder how long that attitude will last?”

With a clearly wounded pride, she began to inject mana into the King of Flies' core.

Seeing that, I nodded and began to make my own preparations.

Well, as I said before. If you were to face the main body of the King of Flies, it was a necessity for some of your party members to die.

But to be honest, even if you just faced Raven, the same kind of thing was bound to happen.

“I wonder if you can maintain that attitude even when the person you cherish most dies...!”

With those words, the King of Flies' core flew towards Seo Ah-in and embedded itself in her.

It was a crazy speed, as if the process itself didn't exist, only the ‘occurrence’ and ‘result’ of the action.

“...Huh?”

Seo Ah-in's eyes widened as she looked at the black sphere embedded in her lower abdomen.

Although she had been cursed before, she probably felt it instinctively as well.

What was embedded in her now was the core of an archdemon with the power to sway the world.

“Ha, haha, acting as if you know everything. You look like you didn't even expect this!”

Raven burst into a mad laugh at me, who was standing still and watching the scene.

-!

And then, from within the sphere embedded in Seo Ah-in, black ‘thorns’ began to squirm out.

Like a parasite that had taken root in a host. Anyone could see that it was ‘corrupting’ Seo Ah-in.

“...Uh, huh, th-this...”

“Seo Ah-in. Listen to me carefully.”

I nodded with a straight face and continued to speak to her, who was still looking at the scene with her eyes rolling around as if she hadn't grasped the situation yet.

“Do you trust me?”

“...Uh, th-yes?”

“I said, do you trust me?”

At the sudden words that came out of nowhere, Seo Ah-in stared at me with a blank gaze.

But, before she could even ponder her answer, her mouth had already spat it out.

“I do.”

“Alright. Then I'll be honest. You're going to die once, right now. You'll be swallowed by the archdemon, your body's control will be handed over, and your personality will be completely annihilated.”

Seo Ah-in's and Ms. Meirin's faces turned pale at the same time, but I paid them no mind and continued to speak to her.

“But clench your stomach and hold on.”

I continued with a smirk.

“I'll save you somehow. Okay?”

“...”

She looked back at me with wide eyes, then stroked her chin and pondered for a moment before.

Nodding her head with a determined will.

“Okay!”

And with those last words, she clenched her fist and was swallowed by the curse.

“...”

Hmm. That one.

Come to think of it, she has some serious nerves of steel.

Even though I said I would go and save her, she acted as if she had been asked to run an errand to buy some groceries at the supermarket, when she was told to hand over her body to an archdemon.

“Struggle in despair. Your nightmare begins now!”

And for Raven, who was cackling beside me, appropriate measures would be necessary.

[Formless]

[Double Pulse]

[Shadow Secret Arts: Forceful Blow]

[Mastery: Sword - Source Slash]

[Thunderclap Palm]

-!

-!!

-!!!!!

As I mixed all my offensive skills and slammed them into her, Raven, who was saying something, was struck by the blow and began to flutter like a paper box in a storm.

It was quite comical to see her bouncing around like a rubber ball.

And to her, I spoke with a serious expression.

“Be quiet in the operating room.”

“...”

I raised my hand with a solemn expression to Ms. Meirin, who was looking at me with an expression that said she didn't know what this madman was spouting out of the blue again.

“...What are you doing?”

“Nurse. Scalpel.”

“...”

Hmm.

I guess she doesn't understand when I say it like this.

Sighing, I pointed at Seo Ah-in, whose eyes were slowly losing their light.

The sinister mana billowing from her entire body was clearly not a good sign.

Well, a boss battle with her as the host was about to begin, so it was natural.

But even if you cleared that, it was practically a Pyrrhic victory, as it was a predetermined future that there would be casualties among the party members no matter how I cleared it with no damage.

Then what was I to do?

“There's a patient with a malignant tumor over there, isn't there?”

“...”

“We will now treat that with a surgical procedure.”

It was to make the boss battle a ‘non-event’ altogether.

Now.

The 4.5-star technique that had so many Conqueror dream-tree enthusiasts raving.

The secret technique for clearing the King of Flies.

‘The Surgeon’.

I will now begin the operation.

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