## Chapter 210 – 210. Underground Dungeon (5)
#210. Underground City (5)
The storm of lightning, which had raged as if to sweep everything away, gradually subsided after a short while.
But nothing remained in the wake of the storm.
No corpses, no bloodstains, not even the undead.
Dozens of undead had vanished without leaving even ashes.
Only the acrid smell of burnt corpses lingered in the air.
‘Still no coins.’
As expected, the summoned beasts didn’t drop any coins.
Moreover, even when I defeated the same kind of beast multiple times, the amount of coins I received kept decreasing, so I couldn’t earn much.
“Oppa, are you okay?”
Noel’s eyes, as she looked at me, were filled with worry and unease.
“It’s nothing much…”
Cough.
I quickly covered my mouth.
Dark red blood stained my palm.
It was the price for using 5th circle magic recklessly.
Thanks to it, I could wipe out the beasts in one go, but since it was lightning element, the internal damage was deeper compared to other elements.
‘…If I had mastered the Scarlet Cloud Lightning Art beforehand, the internal damage wouldn’t have been this severe.’
The reason I bought the Scarlet Cloud Lightning Art was because it was a martial art that dealt with lightning energy to its extreme.
If I could handle lightning energy more skillfully than now, I would be able to control the lightning element much more easily.
Of course, the Supreme Vajra Body was also a martial art that dealt with lightning energy, but the essence of the Supreme Vajra Body was the harmony of all natural energies.
If I focused on lightning energy, that harmony would be broken, and the next realm would only become more distant.
In that case, it was better to pioneer another path with a new martial art.
“Oppa…”
“Don’t worry, I’m not seriously injured.”
I stroked Noel’s head with the hand that wasn’t stained with blood.
Indeed, it was a good thing to have someone by your side who worried about you when you were hurt.
Even better if that someone was a beautiful woman.
“H, Hyun-woo, what was that just now…?”
Kim Yu-jun gasped for breath, stuttering.
Yang Su-ho, standing behind him, couldn’t close his gaping mouth.
Both of them looked pale and seemed on the verge of collapsing at any moment.
“First, have this.”
“This is…?”
“Holy water. Please share it with the others.”
It wasn’t that we didn’t prepare holy water as a party, but we had left it at the base camp along with other supplies.
Fortunately, the effects of the holy water were quickly apparent. The two men’s complexions visibly improved.
While they were handing out the holy water to the others, I approached Lee Ha-yan, who had collapsed unconscious.
‘Her condition is serious.’
If we were to pick the most seriously injured among us, it would be her.
She had been exposed to cursed energy in a semi-defenseless state.
If I hadn’t infused her with energy, she would have died long ago. No, if she weren’t a Wujin, known for their resilience, she might have died instantly before I could even help.
I fed the unconscious her holy water and infused her with energy again.
This should be enough for her to endure until we escape the gate.
“Yu-jun.”
I approached him as he sat slumped on the ground.
Even after drinking the holy water, he was still trembling, unable to steady himself.
“I, I’m sorry. I can’t get up right away…”
“That’s not it.”
I had been contemplating a lot.
The best way to prevent my story from leaking out was to eliminate the witnesses.
There was no need to deal with the other party members who were unconscious, but the two people in front of me were potential liabilities.
‘The best scenario would be to report that Kim Yu-jun, the party leader, detonated his mana core and took the demon worshiper down with him, and that Yang Su-ho, the supporter, lost his life to the undead during the escape.’
To be honest, I was still hesitant.
“Hyun-woo…?”
But I decided not to.
I wasn’t a pleasure killer or a psychopath.
“You two didn’t see anything.”
“…Pardon?”
“You didn’t hear anything, and the demon worshiper was dealt with by me, Noel, and the two of you working together. Understand?”
Silence followed.
The deliberation continued for as long as the silence lasted.
“…Understood.”
After a brief moment of consideration, he gave me the answer I wanted. Yang Su-ho, not being stupid either, nodded with a face full of cold sweat.
Of course, I didn’t think that the secret would be completely kept with just a verbal promise.
This was a deal.
I saved their lives, and in return, they kept my secret.
Nevertheless, if what happened today were to leak out, the two of them would simply die.
If they valued their lives, they would keep their mouths shut.
“Noel, can you protect the others?”
“Of course.”
Noel raised her double-edged axe with a confident expression. It was the weapon I had given her before.
In terms of weapon performance alone, the hammer she originally wielded was far better.
‘I gave it to her as a gift without knowing anything back then.’
To think she was still carrying it around.
A smile unconsciously spread across my face.
I put the staff I had brought for disguise into my inventory and drew Gillennium.
[The aura of exorcism writhes.]
The golden energy that bloomed on the blade met the blue sword energy and burned intensely.
I wished I could have dealt with the demon worshiper with the magic I had just unleashed, but my instincts were sounding the alarm.
It wasn’t over yet.
“M, Magician, you…!”
As expected, he revealed himself from among the rubble of the building. His already terrible appearance had become even more grotesque.
He was dragging his body, which wouldn’t be strange if it were rotting away at any moment, towards us.
“A ghoul couldn’t look any worse.”
I wouldn’t let my guard down.
I reinforced my body, strengthened with mana and internal energy, with auxiliary magic once more. My body screamed, but I ignored it for now.
Holding Gillennium, overflowing with golden sword energy, I charged towards him.
Supreme Vajra Body, Supreme Lightning Body.
Swoosh-
The demon worshiper’s head, severed in one stroke, floated in the air before falling to the ground and rolling away somewhere.
There was no fountain of blood spurting from the severed surface.
Only foul-smelling, rotten sludge trickled down.
No matter how powerful a black magician he was, he couldn’t be alive with his head cut off. He was definitely dead.
But an inexplicable sense of unease kept flashing through my mind.
‘…Something’s not right.’
Along with someone’s voice shouting not to let my guard down-
Crack.
An anomaly occurred.
The body of the demon worshiper, who should have been a cold corpse with his head severed, stood up on its own.
The bizarre sight didn’t end there.
Puwak!
“That’s…”
Something sprouted from the demon worshiper’s neck.
I had thought that if the opponent was a black magician, a demon worshiper, nothing strange could happen.
‘…But I didn’t expect a lion’s head to suddenly sprout out.’
I was speechless at the sight that far exceeded common sense.
“Ahem, um, ah… aah. Good, it’s working.”
A human voice flowed from the lion’s open mouth.
It was definitely a pleasant baritone, but an unidentifiable sense of unease kept running through my body.
“I don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve been on the surface. I don’t like caves, though.”
The lion-headed demon worshiper smiled grotesquely.
Every time his laughter pierced my ears, I felt chills.
The unique mana signature of a black magician that the demon worshiper had been emitting had completely disappeared, but an even more ominous and sinister mana was felt from him.
‘No human could emit such mana.’
But it wasn’t a living creature either.
An unknown being that defied the rules.
A sinister monster that didn’t breathe or live.
“Hey human, I have a few questions to ask.”
If my guess was correct, that was definitely a ‘demon.’
***
Devil.
A being from another dimension whose identity was unknown.
All I knew was that the Church was hostile to them, and that they had committed numerous crimes by making contracts with demon worshipers.
“I have nothing to say to the likes of a demon.”
“Hmm, excessively aggressive. Are you perhaps one of the Church’s people?”
“Not likely.”
According to the books I borrowed from the Research Society, there were a total of 71 known demons to date.
He was probably one of them.
Of course, specific information about demons was a top secret of the Church, so I didn’t know much, but it was certain that he was an opponent that should never be underestimated.
“That’s a relief. I find those Church guys rather unpleasant. So, what god do you believe in?”
“Why are you curious about that?”
“Well… would you believe me if I said it was personal curiosity?”
I stared at him without saying a word.
His face was unreadable.
“…I’m an atheist.”
I calculated that it was okay to say this much.
“Khehehe, is that so.”
“Don’t laugh.”
“Why? Afraid you’ll get attached?”
“…”
Silence settled.
It felt like I was frowning at his low-grade joke.
Was this a tactic to lower my guard?
“Just kidding. Do humans these days have no sense of humor?”
“I don’t think we’re in a position to share such things.”
“Well, you’re not wrong.”
The lion-headed demon worshiper kept grinning.
His appearance was so repulsive that I wanted to punch him a few times if I could.
“Anyway, it’s fortunate that you’re an atheist. How about believing in me, if you don’t mind?”
“…What?”
What did that lion’s head just say?
“There’s no need to be so surprised or wary. This is an extremely rational and attractive proposal stemming from genuine goodwill.”
The lion-headed demon worshiper shrugged. As if trying to lighten the mood.
A demon to a human?
It was an outlandish act that I couldn’t understand with my common sense.
As if knowing my thoughts, he tapped his eyes and said.
“I can share my contractor’s vision. I saw the beautiful magic you unleashed, and the wondrous attack that severed my contractor’s head. Magnificent lightning. Although your absolute power is lacking, if we only consider talent, there is no one to compare. You can be proud. I, Purpur, Count of Gehenna, who commands storms and lightning, guarantee it.”
“Purpur…?”
“Khehehe, are you surprised? You can consider it an honor. Very few know my true name…”
“That’s a really weird name.”
How could a person… no, a demon’s name be Purpur?
What was he, some kind of slime?
“…It seems some correction is needed for your somewhat insolent attitude.”
I flipped off the lion-headed demon worshiper who was spouting nonsense.
“You’re saying that a smelly lion’s head is going to correct me?”
If it were a succubus, maybe, but this was something I couldn’t let pass, even as a joke.
Whether he understood the meaning of my finger or not, his face instantly contorted.
Immediately after, I used the Supreme Step and charged towards him.
The fastest strike I could unleash, the one that had severed the demon worshiper’s head, drew a line of light and was about to reach his neck when-
Wooong-
Space distorted, and the lion-headed demon worshiper disappeared from before my eyes.
I immediately spread my senses and scanned the surroundings, but he was nowhere to be seen.
“…I got a little overheated for a moment.”
The lion-headed demon worshiper reappeared on top of the rubble of a building not far away.
‘Teleportation?’
But I didn’t sense any flow of mana.
As various hypotheses flashed through my mind, he raised both arms. As if surrendering.
“There seems to be some misunderstanding, I have no intention of antagonizing you. So, I’d appreciate it if you could put away that murderous intent.”
“I killed your contractor. I think that’s reason enough for you to antagonize me.”
“Hmm? Ah, was that it? Khehehe, you’re more timid than I thought. There’s no need to worry. The contract I had with him was just to share my power.”
Our eyes met for a while, and finally, I sheathed my sword.
Of course, I didn’t believe his words. I wasn’t stupid enough to believe a demon’s words at face value.
The time it took to deploy a barrier was approximately 0.23 seconds.
That was enough time to respond to a surprise attack.
“…So, what’s your business?”
“Khehehe, don’t be too surprised when you hear this.”
The corners of his mouth stretched abnormally long.
His grotesque smile, dripping with blood, was utterly repulsive.
“Become my ‘Apostle.’”
