Kkekekeke-!
Unidentified demons that covered the walls and ceilings of the ruined Hapjeong Station like vines.
The sight was like a scene from an unpleasant nightmare.
Seo Ji-woo gritted his teeth.
‘I should have taken the gauntlets out of the car after all!’
It was a huge blow to my pride to be protected like this, even though I was a so-called S-class hunter.
“No, why on earth are you protecting me like this!”
[It’s noisy.]
But Harmakan would never tolerate Seo Ji-woo fighting.
It wasn’t just to protect her.
[It would be more helpful to the master if you remained still.]
“What help? Does Hunter Seongsuho have another purpose?”
[Hehehe. That’s the purpose… ]
In response to Seo Ji-woo’s frustrated reaction, Harmakan simply laughed instead of responding.
What is the purpose?
‘Of course, that’s leveling up, right?’
Harmakan laughed heartily.
Originally, those soulless dregs of the dimension would not have been able to give Suho any meaningful experience.
But it was different here.
What was an instance dungeon in the first place?
Wasn’t it a magic circle developed by the great sorcerer of the underworld, Candiaru, to help players level up?
So, no matter what their true identity was, at this point, they were all just monsters that existed to die while giving Suho experience points fairly.
‘So, my role in this battlefield is to thoroughly eliminate any elements that could steal even a little bit of my master’s experience.’
With that sense of mission, Harmakan managed Seo Ji-woo thoroughly to ensure that he did not act recklessly.
Seo Ji-woo was slightly moved by that sincerity.
“This is the first time since I woke up that someone has protected me like this… … .”
For some reason, the arms of my deceased grandfather came to mind.
But the emotion was short-lived.
My grandfather, no, Harmakan, was a fundamentally evil spirit.
[Okay. If you really want to fight, I’ll give you a chance.]
“… … !”
Flash!
Suddenly, an evil spell circle unfolded from Harmakan’s gnarled fingertips.
And within it, an ominous-looking full-body suit of armor appeared.
[This is the armor of an evil spirit. If you want to fight wearing this, I will release you.]
“… … It looks really creepy. Isn’t that armor cursed or something?”
As Seo Ji-woo looked at him with eyes full of great distrust, Harmakan smirked and created two more evil magic circles in the air.
[Don’t worry. It was originally armor for evil spirits, but it has been modified so that humans can wear it too.]
“Oh, an evil spirit?”
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Harmakan gently comforted Seo Ji-woo, who became even more embarrassed by those words.
[Heh heh. You’re so scared. For a normal person, there might be some side effects, but for someone like you, an S-class hunter, it shouldn’t be a problem.]
“Perhaps,” said Harmakan, swallowing his words and chuckling.
“Ha. I understand. I can’t let Hunter Seongsuho suffer alone since he came here at my request.”
Seo Ji-woo ended up nodding as if he was making a deal with the devil.
The devil chuckled at that.
[I thought about it carefully. I really wanted to try it on a human being, and it turned out great.]
“What, what?! Wait… … !”
Clink!
It’s already too late.
Seo Ji-woo’s eyes widened in confusion at Harmakan’s last muttering, and the evil spirit’s armor swallowed up his entire body.
There, Harmakan added a few more spells as if he had been waiting.
[Seo Ji-woo wears ‘Item: Demon’s Armor’.]
“hmm?”
Suho, who had been fighting in front, suddenly looked back with a puzzled expression at the system message that appeared before his eyes.
[Harmakan uses ‘Skill: Thorn of Pain’ on Seo Ji-woo.] [Shares all pain and damage received by Seo Ji-woo with the target attacked.] [Harmakan uses ‘Skill: Exploitation’ on Seo Ji-woo.] [Seo Ji-woo recovers health equal to 2% of the damage inflicted on the opponent.]
Then, there was Seo Ji-woo, armed like a Death Knight, staggering with a pale face.
I felt like I was going to throw up.
“… … Ugh. I think I’m going to get motion sickness from this.”
[Wow. Is that all? If I were a weak human, I would have probably died or fainted.]
“You swindler… … !”
Seo Ji-woo clenched his fist at the sight of Harmakan nodding his head in satisfaction next to him.
[Now, go out and fight. This armor is an artifact that reflects damage taken and restores health as you attack enemies.]
“what?”
Seo Ji-woo’s eyes widened at those words and he looked down at the evil spirit armor he was wearing.
[Experience the effect yourself.]
As Harmakan pushed Seo Ji-woo’s back forward, Seo Ji-woo leapt forward as if possessed and attacked the enemies.
Boom-!
Seo Ji-woo’s fist shot out like a cannon and hit the skull cap that the purple vine was wearing on its head.
Kekeke… … !
[?? has been defeated.] [‘Seo Ji-woo’ offers 100% of his experience points as a sacrifice.]
At that moment, messages appeared before Suho.
The experience gained by Seo Ji-woo was completely transferred to Su-ho through the medium called ‘Evil Spirit Armor’.
Seo Ji-woo still had a nauseated expression, but Harmakan’s experiment was successful.
[For the glory of the master.]
Suho couldn’t help but snicker as he watched Harmakan bowing his head towards him with a determined expression from afar.
‘Anyway, those guys called the Demonic Clan.’
It was Suho who initially ordered Harmakan to modify the demon armor.
The Demon’s Armor was a cursed armor that squeezed evil spirits to strengthen their power, and it was only recently that they were asked to devise a way for non-evil spirits to wear it.
But I never thought that I would just put that on Seo Ji-woo.
But Seo Ji-woo was still Seo Ji-woo.
“This armor… … is incredible!”
The performance of Seo Ji-woo, who accidentally became a death knight, was beyond imagination.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
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Seo Ji-woo was radiating his incredible strength in all directions to the point of surprising himself.
In fact, Seo Ji-woo had been having a hard time adjusting to the sudden increase in his power after his reawakening.
Since ancient times, power has had to be distributed appropriately depending on the opponent and situation, but because of the sudden increase in power, it was not easy to control it.
Because of this, Seo Ji-woo would use excessive force whenever she fought, unable to control the power that overflowed, and the gauntlets and armor she wore would inevitably become unnecessarily damaged.
But the evil spirit’s armor was harder than any armor Seo Ji-woo had ever worn.
In addition, Harmakan’s buff restores health as damage is inflicted.
“I feel like throwing up, but I can’t stop.”
Seo Ji-woo was fighting with all his might for the first time since reawakening.
“I guess I need to work hard on this too.”
A strong sense of victory appeared in Suho’s eyes when he saw that sight.
[Use the skill ‘Giant’s Armor’.]
Swaaaah!
The black flame burning from the dragon’s heart mixed with the shadow energy and enveloped Suho’s entire body.
Kekkekke… … !
A full body armor covered in black flames.
The purple vines that had come close to attacking Suho were startled by the hot heat and retreated.
But it was already too late.
Hwaruk-!
The flames of the solvent spread relentlessly through their vines, burning their entire bodies.
[?? Killed.] [?? Killed.]
… … .
Seo Ji-woo was amazed at the sight.
‘As expected, it was a tank! And it’s a fire attribute tank! It’s the strongest attribute!’
Suho, who was surrounded by them, was instantly transformed into a living disaster by them.
Bertha was delighted by the overwhelming majesty and applauded.
[Kieeeeek! How great! The little lord has now become a living meat shield!]
“Is that a compliment?”
[Of course it’s praise! But don’t forget the purpose!]
“know.”
Their goal now is not to exterminate them, but to find the hole through which they flowed in.
“Paving the way.”
The two horns of Volkan were caught in the guardian’s shining hands.
[Use ‘Skill: Storm of Black Flame’.]
Obtain the Heart of the Dragon and acquire a new skill that evolves into Storm Slash.
Kuwaaaaang!
A storm of black flames swept through, riding on two swords.
[?? Killed.] [?? Killed.] [?? Killed.]
… … .
[Level up.]
And the road was opened.
“……oh my god.”
Seo Ji-woo’s mouth fell open.
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Following the path of fire that Suho had spewed out in a straight line, countless vines were scattered and turned to ash.
At the end of the empty road, I could see the vines slowly appearing again.
“Over there?”
Suho ran straight forward.
Seo Ji-woo also ran after him.
Boom!
While repelling the mobs attacking from the left and right with both fists.
And finally.
“… … found it.”
“Double dungeon.”
Finally, an ominous dimensional crack appeared in front of Suho and Seo Jiwoo.
“It was right here that the dimensional dregs were crawling out.”
Antares clicked his tongue as he watched the purple vines creeping out through the dimensional rift.
“The inhabitants of the gap are always like this. They are like weeds that usually hide like dead mice, but when there is a gap, they spread their roots and sprout. This hole was probably made by the nightmare bud. Since then, other weeds have been coming in through this hole.”
As he listened to Antares’ explanation, Suho looked beyond the crack with glaring eyes.
“What are the chances that this is the sea of the afterlife?”
“It’s extremely low. But at least it’ll be a shortcut.”
[Your Majesty, are you planning to go in right now?]
“That’s right. Grandfather’s life is at stake.”
Suho looked at Seo Jiwoo next to him and asked politely.
“Hunter Seo Ji-woo, it might be a little dangerous, but could you come in with me?”
“Of course. I never dreamed it would be like this, but I also want to save my colleagues from sleep apnea.”
Seo Ji-woo also nodded while looking into Su-ho’s eyes with a determined expression.
“Then let’s go in.”
They stepped into the dimensional rift without hesitation.
Hurrruk!
Even at this very moment, burning the inhabitants of the gaps crawling out.
* * *
Meanwhile, at that time.
Krrrr!
The sky of the demon world was rippling ominously.
“… … Has the time come?”
Essil, the master of this territory and the only demon noble, was looking up at the sky from a high hill with his eyes shining brightly.
In fact… …Esil also didn’t know much about ‘how to become the king of demons.’
At best, that’s all I heard from my father when I was young.
Even at that time, Essil’s father probably didn’t know anything specific and didn’t tell her anything.
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‘When my father was born, the king of the demons was Baran.’
Baran, the king of demons and lord of the white flames.
He was the ruler of the demon realm who ruled over demons for a very long time.
But what is eternal in this universe?
Moreover, even the absolute being who created this universe was killed by his own creation.
A very long time ago.
Before ‘Baran’ became king, other demons ruled the demon world.
When the king died in the war of the rulers, Baran, who was a demon noble at the time, proudly proved his worth as king and inherited the throne.
That method was the ‘ordeal’ that Essil knew.
Kkurung! Kwarung!
But it didn’t matter if I didn’t know the details.
As a demon noble, his instincts were whispering to Essil what was most important.
“Listen, you demons who follow me!”
Eshil stood up in indignation and raised his voice.
“The sole demon noble and lord of this land, Esil Ladir, commands!”
At the sound of Essil’s thunderous voice, all the demons in the demon world raised their heads toward the sky.
Then, the entire place visible above the sky was ‘white flame’.
Pure white flames were coming down in branches, tearing apart the sky of the demon world.
Like a ‘weed’ that takes root in a dry land without an owner.
Eshil grabbed his spear and pointed it ahead, shouting.
“Arise and fight! The time of trial has come!”
Kikkekkekke… … !
That moment.
Purple roots began to creep in through the cracks in the demon realm.
An obsessive glare burst out from the eyes of the skulls wearing those hats.
Even the demons who were ignorant of the king’s qualifications instinctively realized this murderous aura.
“The ordeal has begun!”
“It’s a trial!”
“The demon realm is being polluted!”
If they couldn’t endure this moment, they would eventually be eaten by them.
No, the entire demon world will be devoured.
In order to avoid that, in the end… … !
“We need a king.”
Someone muttered.
A world without a king is so dangerous.
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Weeds always grow in land where there is no owner.
The moment they saw the true identity of those weeds, the demons instinctively realized their names.
“I’m a resident of the gap… … .”
“The people of the gap are targeting us… …!”
And as the commotion spreads, it leads to fear and dread.
Eventually, everyone’s eyes were fixed on the pure-blooded demon who was the right person to lead them.
The pure-blooded demons were happy to grant their wishes.
“I am Essil, the eldest daughter of the Radir family.”
Essil confidently states her name in front of the purple wave that invaded the demon world.
But at the same time, I couldn’t help but feel a bit of regret in my head.
‘Of all times, when Suho was away… … .’
But that’s okay.
This was something I shouldn’t have expected anyone’s help for in the first place.
If you can’t overcome the ordeal by your own strength, how can you possibly be qualified to become a king?
That is why Essil suppresses her fear and declares confidently.
“I will be your king.”
Chomp!
And Essil’s voice, as she raised her spear high and shouted, was brimming with confidence.
“Rise up, Death Knights!”
Ooooooh!
At that command, numerous demon knights wearing the ‘Item: Demon Armor’ rose up from behind Essil.
… … Honestly, Essil was confident that she could receive this much help.
