Chapter 156: The Demon (5)

“Why did Seo-ha come here?”

“To grow stronger.”

“True, Seo-ha can kill demons. The beasts here are so strong, they’re good for muscle building.”

“……”

It wasn’t about muscles.

I glanced briefly at my body. My physique wasn’t muscular; it’s rather lean, shaped by the legendary martial arts of Black God Martial Arts. While having larger muscles did provide strength and advantages, my ideal body type maintained a firm balance.

Fundamentally, I might have broad shoulders, but I had compressed my muscles to be quick and explosive in an instant.

“Can you not call me Seo-ha?”

“Huh? Why?”

Kim Seo-hyun looked at me with clear eyes. From the moment Kim Seo-hyun arrived, Eternal Heaven had secretly created a barrier to ensure our conversation wouldn’t leak.

And it’s impossible for anyone else to hear this conversation. The Energy of Defying Heaven negated everything.

“I want to hide my identity.”

“If that’s the case, well…”

Kim Seo-hyun nodded agreeably.

Her expression was a bit peculiar. She looked at Sung Han-byul with a curious gaze.

“So, the masked man is Seo-ha. I had guessed as much.”

“You could guess that?”

“I told you. You can roughly tell by the joints, the shape, the physique.”

“……”

There seemed to be a mention of a sweaty smell.

I heightened my senses just in case, but I couldn’t smell anything.

‘Very faint.’

That’s how she guessed?

I was surprised but then accepted it. Her talent for pinpointing as the protagonist was exceptional. Besides, Kim Seo-hyun and I had worked out together. It was a sense of familiarity.

Or maybe she guessed using my skeleton or body type. I was familiar with Kim Seo-hyun’s physique and structure as well.

“How did you end up with the student council president?”

“We ran into each other while climbing the tower. It was tougher than expected, so we decided to stick together.”

“Really? Then shall we climb together?”

“Uh… I think I might retreat.”

“Retreat?”

Kim Seo-hyun looked puzzled as a figure from the Changcheon team approached us.

“Young master, it seems the interior of the Demon’s Tower is not normal.”

“Why?”

“The Changcheon unit has been annihilated. After examining the bodies, we confirmed that our unit could not properly resist and was wiped out.”

“What?”

Kim Seo-hyun asked, her voice blank with shock.

“It looks like a beast’s claw, but an immense magical energy is condensed within this claw. It indicates the opponent can handle techniques differently from regular beasts. And most of these belong to Mines. However, the magical response from the corpse is closer to that of a Demon.”

“A Demon’s?”

“……Yes. To be precise, this reaction is indeed that of a Demon. Other guilds might be skeptical, but our Changcheon Guild knows a lot about the Demon’s Tower.”

The team leader looked toward the entrance of the tower with fearful eyes.

“We thought that Demons do not resurrect in the Demon’s Tower, but perhaps……”

The Demon might have resurrected.

The team leader didn’t say it aloud, but everyone present felt the same after hearing his words.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“……”

A Demon.

‘Is this change due to the different levels of difficulty?’

Coincidentally, I didn’t know about the Demons that inhabited this floor because I hadn’t encountered any Demons that come from here.

However, one thing was certain.

‘Demons are dangerous.’

If extraterrestrial beings harbored negative emotions towards humans, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Demons were born from these negative emotions.

As long as the creature called ‘human’ existed, their existence was immortal. Demons had existed for thousands of years, even hundreds of thousands.

Over the years, depending on the negative emotions humans harbored, beings that accumulated in these layers existed. If there were dragons on the surface, then there were Demons in the underworld.

From birth, they possessed hearts imbued with almost infinite magical power and skin that deflected most attacks, unless countered by superior techniques refined through Nyeom or similar high-level arts. Demons were, in essence, war machines endowed with fierce combat instincts.

Rather than drawing strength from faith, they thrived on negative emotions, and although the realms they inhabited were a dimension lower than those of the gods, their power was not to be underestimated.

‘Fortunately, are we still on the lower floors?’

The situation seemed manageable, despite facing an unknown enemy.

I trusted in my own strength, but even more so because Kim Seo-hyun and Sung Han-byul were with me.

“Are you worried about the Demon right now?”

Kim Seo-hyun asked, smiling innocently.

She seemed utterly unfazed by the prospect of facing Demons, confident in her ability to overpower them.

She possessed a unique stat called ‘Radiance’. Her martial arts, combined with hundreds of magic spells and techniques, were specifically designed to annihilate demonic beings.

“If a Demon appears, I’ll take care of it. Don’t worry.”

“Okay, I’ll trust Seo-hyun.”

“Hehe.”

Kim Seo-hyun’s smile broadened at my response.

She was truly reliable.

“But we’ll have to go back. The expedition is important, but lives take precedence. First…”

Kim Seo-hyun was about to continue when suddenly,

Sssssshhhh!

A tremendous burst of magical energy erupted from the exit.

The sky was ablaze with explosive magical energy, its wielder making no attempt to conceal it.

‘No intention to control it.’

It was slowly advancing towards us. I clenched the Spring Sword tightly.

I had anticipated this might happen when the team leader mentioned the Demon. It always seems to go this way whenever such topics arise.

[Talent, Seductive Demon (A) is tempting your opponent. The proficiency of Seductive Demon (A) has increased.]

“……”

I realized I was the cause.

“Everyone, prepare for battle!”

Everyone swiftly assumed a battle stance.

The movement was vastly different from before. Those akin to tankers positioned themselves right in front of the magicians and priests, while warriors took their places.

The Demon had already approached close enough to be visible to the naked eye.

Its form was that of a black human shape.

However, its stature was anything but human-like. Standing nearly 3 meters tall, it had abnormally long arms, and in place of fingers, there were black blades.

“That’s a Demon…”

“I can feel the terrifying magical energy even from this distance…”

Several seemed to lose their will to fight at the sight.

I heightened my senses and dashed out swiftly, employing the Black Flash Sword technique.

“Don’t just rush out recklessly!”

“I’ll go too!”

“Ha, where do you think you’re going, Han-byul!?”

I heard the sound of someone trying to stop me and Kim Seo-hyun stepping forward. It appeared Sung Han-byul had also made a move.

Whoooosh!

The sword emitted a green light of energy as it hummed. This green light, intensely condensed with life, usually symbolizes positive power, but it transforms when intensely condensed.

-Human?

The Demon looked at me, puzzled.

-Strange. Why does a human possess the allure of a Demon?

“Does Seo-ha’s charm work on Demons too? Well.”

Kim Seo-hyun muttered as she swung her sword, from which a golden light burst forth, its brilliance lingering.

Kwoooo!

A golden dragon materialized and charged towards the Demon.

I ducked under the golden dragon as the energy of life condensed around me, more intensely than I could usually muster. It was the power of Conceptual Stat Alchemy at work.

The Demon swung its hand, creating a dense magical fog at its fingertips that morphed into sword energy, striking down the golden dragon.

I ducked and sprung up instantly.

-No trace of killing a Demon. A peculiar human.

The Demon reached out, curiosity evident on its face.

Click.

The blade instantly grew larger and targeted me. I swung the Spring Sword with all my might.

Clang!

When sword met sword, a massive shockwave swept the surroundings. The Demon swung its other hand.

I extracted the truth from the Seal of Dreams within the illusion and transformed it into alchemy. Emitting a golden light, I turned it into sword energy to block.

Clang!

A disturbing metallic sound rang out as the Demon spoke.

-You must be a challenger who broke the Tower of Dreams. Then you’re worthy of possessing the power of a nightmare demon.

The Demon took a step back.

-I am the 64th ranked Demon, Flauros. What’s your name?

“……”

I didn’t respond and aimed the Spring Sword at Flauros because Sung Han-byul was approaching.

-Not talkative. You don’t want to converse with a Demon?

Flauros chuckled and began to manifest more magical energy. An overwhelming force began to encroach on the surroundings, more intense than before.

-Come, my army.

Sssssh!

Flauros’s shadow grew, and magic inhabited its shadow, creating a door.

Creak.

As the door opened, all kinds of beasts started pouring out from the shadow.

Dozens of different kinds of beasts. Some were creatures I had never seen before.

-Is it because he’s a hunter?

One of his nicknames came to mind.

-Now, this should keep the intruders busy for a while.

The Demon’s eyes turned towards me.

-Now, let’s have a conversation, just the two of us.

Flauros spread his arms wide.

Kooooom!

The sky, dyed red like blood, responded. No, it wasn’t just that. The entire floor began to respond to the Demon’s will.

Manifestation.

Purgatory.