Chapter 181

Trace of the Monarch (4)

*"Meeeow!"

The Iponia, Cat's cry reverberated sorrowfully.

I brought it through the [Door of Hope].

"You'll have to help me again this time."

It had eaten up an enormous curse called the [Seed of Mercadius] and didn't put anything near its mouth even if after we gave it a skill card because the seed kept it full for a good while.

However, it was starved a little at the time, and recently it started pestering for food again. Hibiki once told me that it didn't even look at C-Class or lower skill cards, unlike before.

Of course, we couldn't starve the Iponia just because the goal why we started to take care of it had been met.

Anyway, I owe it to Cat, and it was a bit weird to call it a reward, but I thought I would continue to take care of it.

It's a pet that cost a lot to maintain, but it was nothing for me.

And unexpectedly enough, we got help from Iponia again today.

"Meeeeeow!"

A sad cry from Cat that I had never heard of before resonated in the underground city.

As soon as I placed it on the floor, it ran, approached Hibiki's bed, and jumped up.

Then it crouched by Hibiki's head and licked her hair nonstop.

It showed similar behavior to how cats groomed each other.

"Meeeow!"

As if it knew Hibiki was in bad condition, it looked at her with its eyes wide open.

And then as if it had reached a decision...

Hissss!

I didn't even tell it to, but bright light began to linger in its eyes.

"Wait! You'll get a stomachache if you eat it up that way."

I hurriedly pulled up the god's power.

That was because although it had nearly reached maturity, there weren't only one or two curses to be removed that day.

As insurance in case of emergency, I brought out the power of the god of life, 'Rom.'

Whooong!

The fog-like divine power was released from the back of my hand, enveloping Cat.

The Iponia leaped through a few years to reach an age when it was in the most powerful stage in its life cycle.

Perhaps it's because it had already experienced it before, but it didn't even panic anymore.

The Iponia glared at Hibiki's heart with the eyes of a predator in front of its prey.

The sharp light flashed in its eyes.

"Now, there you go. Eat it up!"

"Meeow!"

A blue wave spread from Cat's eyes.

And it poured out toward the cursed Hibiki's heart, her Mana Core.

As the curse itself wasn't manifested in a similar living form as the [Seed of Mercadius], it didn't put up fierce resistance as the seed did.

There was also no howling of the hunted beast.

Shhhhh!

It was almost too easy for the Iponia.

The red Mana pattern that surrounded Hibiki's heart weakened evidently.

Then it slowly separated from the Core and fell off.

"Hisss!"

Cat hissed.

The moment the curse was completely separated and fell out of her body, it rushed toward the Mana agglomeration, which looked like a spider's web or a vein due to its wavering shape.

It then released a much sharper and more precise attack than when it hunted my heart's seed.

"It's done!"

The red Mana was torn to pieces in the air.

Cat devoured the shredded curse without leaving a single piece.

"Meooow!"

It sat in a majestic position and wagged its tail after it succeeded in vanquishing its foe.

"It's not time to be full yet."

Following my instructions, Cat also began to eat the curse of the remaining people one by one.

It was literally an eat-all-you-can day.

"Ah, Guild Master!"

After the curse disappeared, I approached and cast a recovery spell.

The devils were shocked, seeing that the rotten portions that didn't heal no matter how hard they tried had cleanly disappeared as if they never existed in the first place after the curse had been lifted.

The guild members looked at Iponia and me as if we were saviors, saying that they've suffered indescribably terrible pain.

Hibiki, who served as the leader of the Earthlings sent to finish the quest, apologized as soon as she regained her energy.

"... I'm sorry. I should have paid more attention."

She walked toward me like she's ashamed and bowed her head down.

I tapped her shoulder encouragingly.

It was absolutely not something for her to be sorry about.

"No, it's hard to predict what kind of Unique Skills your opponent has. Furthermore, if they invisibly placed the curse during a fight, it would naturally be harder to counter."

That was the case without the [The Successor's Eyes].

On the other hand, at that moment, unlike her, there was someone who was expressing anger profusely.

"How dare those inferior bitches place a curse on my body!"

It was the dragon that tagged along to recharge everyone's Mana, Euclid.

She expressed her terror and shame into anger. She spoke about falling helplessly to the doings of a race that couldn't even reach her foot in terms of Mana.

For reference, because she hadn't been able to maintain a polymorph until she was treated, she had been quarantined by a barrier, occupying an entire vacant lot in an underground city.

There was a reason why the devils put up a new barrier.

The terrible smell emitted by a dragon rotting alive... It was similar to hundreds of tons of rotten meat piled up, forming a mountain of decay.

"Now, calm down."

The dragon, steaming and breathing fire to relieve her rage, returned to a bald elven shape through polymorphism.

I finally addressed everyone as a Guild Master.

"You've done great, everyone."

eyes.

"I know. We still have blood to be paid back."

One hunter was killed in the collision against the Roheems.

It was a pity.

"I'll take care of the revenge and the rest of the quest. For now, all of you return to Earth and remain on stand by."

I added words so they wouldn't misunderstand.

"It doesn't mean that I'm reprimanding you for failing the mission. As long as we know that the opponent's Unique Skill is a curse, there is a risk of taking revenge with the same member composition. It's not like the Iponia can indefinitely eat up the skill as well. I have to step up."

The guild members agreed and went back one after another through the [Door of Hope].

The remains of the hunter that died were also recovered and carried away with them.

However, some Hunters insisted on staying despite my instructions.

They were Nate, Hibiki, and Euclid.

Nate and Hibiki, who took the role of leading the guild members, wanted to help me since they desired to see the responsibility through the end. Euclid didn't care about any of that. She just wanted to take revenge against the disgusting apes.

Nate seemed immune to the decay curse, so I easily allowed it, but I contemplated about Hibiki and Euclid for a moment.

"Alright, I'll allow it."

But I agreed soon enough.

"Even if an emergency occurs, one person... plus dragon should be able to be taken care of by Cat."

I looked at the two humans, a dragon, an alien animal that looked like a cat, and the devil that followed me.

"Well, let's go return this disgrace by multitudes."

*

In a forest far from the underground city of devils, a devastating scream resonated.

"Aaaargh!"

The man tied to the tree was a species leader called the "Knight" by the devils of the forest.

His thighs had already disappeared.

And the cut section was so tattered that it was difficult to look at.

Traces of cruel torture.

At that moment, the hand that was tormenting him was approaching again.

Tssssss!

"K-eeeeup!"

Fireball made from magic seared his groins.

However, the Knight stared at his opponent with fierce eyes, even as he vomited blood.

He snapped at the Roheem race that tortured him.

"Kill... Me! Whatever you do to me... I won't tell you anything!"

The Roheems, who were in charge of torture, shook their heads as if it was unbelievable.

"Tough little bastard. I can't believe he's holding on so strong."

Then one of the torturers turned his head and called someone.

"Hey! Trade places with me. I'm tired."

"Okay, I'll take over."

The approaching being grumbled as he gathered Mana in his hands.

"Look, you probably think we'll give you an easy death if you keep acting like that, but you're mistaken. Do you know how many points we spent just to get here?"

The price of a Leap Ticket needed to enter a dimension not connected to any Gates was high.

Since it turned out like that, they had to get their money's worth.

They were trying to find out where the "Monarch of Evolution" faced his end, a secret that only the Knight knew.

"Never... I will never tell you!"

"Is that so?"

The Roheem species laughed.

"I'm going to be a little different from the previous ones. Unlike them, I actually specialize in this."

From his hand, sharp Mana debris fluctuated like a sandstorm.

"Now, I'm going to put this in your mouth from now on. And it will tear your gums, tongue, and mouth ceiling apart like sanding..."

The threat didn't happen as the tormenter intended.

Crush!

It was because there was a sound of something hard breaking behind his back.

"What was that?"

The Roheem species member who was about to begin the torture turned his head urgently.

One of his colleagues was slowly falling, the head of which was nowhere to be found.

"Oh, damn it!"

The faces of the Roheem race who identified him were dismayed.

The one who just died was an Awakened who used a special curse with the Unique Skill.

"We're being attacked!"

Soon the raiders appeared from the woods.

Seeing them, the Roheem muttered with a bewildered face.

"Human?!"

The Earthlings were supposed to die soon from rotten organs caused by the curse they inflicted upon them.

Since the Celestial Dragons Guild Master had stepped up, it became child's play to track them down no matter how far they ran away.

Seo Jin-Wook, who showed his face in front of them without any plans to hide his identity, held the broken sword in his hand and approached silently.

Whooong!

The Mana was converted to divine power, and a bright light wrapped around the halved blade.

It soon manifested a light sword, eradicating any signs of imperfection.

Seo Jin-Wook spoke using a small voice, glaring at his prey with wrath and rage.

"Leave the one that I'm pointing at now, and slay the rest."

The Roheems took out their weapons and spat out.

"Crazy bastards. You think five of you...."

Before he could even finish speaking, the five Earthlings began a frantic slaughter.

"K-argh!"

Screams resonated nonstop.

To prevent the kidnapped Knight from getting caught up, they avoided a wide-area attack and killed their foes by killing them one by one.

Seo Jin-Wook, of course, was the lead in the hunt.

Every time he swung his sword, one of the Roheems died.

One life for every motion. He displayed efficient movements.

A brief flash of his sword swiftly and unconditionally brought down death.

As ten people left for the underworld in an instant, the Roheems seemed to notice that something was wrong.

"N-no, wait. This is-!"

Genograche was also madly charging and cutting open Roheem necks, causing alien blood to coat him, and Nate's zombie horde gnawed and tore Roheems by relentlessly attaching themselves to their targets.

Hibiki crushed the enemy by distorting gravity with a stern look on her face. Euclid, who stood beside her, also burned and torn the aliens using the spell she learned from Hibiki instead of focusing only on charging Mana as she used to.

The Roheems had been enveloped by terror and fear at that point.

"R-run!"

The Roheem, who shouted so, was also butchered by Seo Jin-Wook's sword mercilessly.

His attack was more like a bombing than a cut or a stab.

When the lightsaber grazed, the target's whole chest was blown away, and blood splattered down.

The Terran shouted in a wrathful voice.

"How dare you!"

- I'll take this area.

Genograche chased the ones fleeing, launching his body as if he had no intention of letting any of their foes leave with their lives intact.

The magic species' sword drew a sharp line, and the alien's body was split apart vertically.

Those who Genograche touched had left a relatively "intact" body.

At least compared to the small pieces of ground meat left behind Seo Jin-Wook's wake.

"How can a human being be such-!"

Someone shouted then.

They had finally recognized the identity of the new human being who was definitely not a part of the expedition team.

"Seo Jin-Wook! It's Seo Jin-Wook!"

"What? No way! They surely said he was dispatched to another mission...!"

Listening to the hectically exchanged conversation, Seo Jin-Wook was able to see why they did it.

While he, who was considered the only threatening entity among the Earthlings, was absent, they meant to finish the job and destroy the evidence altogether.

However, Seo Jin-Wook finished his work faster than expected and had returned to Earth.

And he ran over right away to save his guild members.

"Aaaargh!"

When Seo Jin-Wook moved to where the Roheems were gathered, more than ten Awakened beings were torn apart as if a grenade exploded amid them.

Plo-plo-plop!

Intestines, flesh, and blood rained down all over his vicinity like a storm of ground corpses.

His sword no longer even needed to touch the bodies of the Roheems. A graze was enough for their flesh fragments to burst out.

"N-no way!"

Perhaps he was lucky. The Roheem that had only his leg cut crawled and desperately spread his distance.

However, the extended life span brought fortune lasted only a few seconds.

Crush!

Following the trajectory of the sword swung without looking in the direction, a sharp beam thundered through.

It penetrated the Roheem's chest as he was crawling.

The movement of the alien, which was reaching out desperately with its heart pierced, stopped.

The Terran murmured lowly.

"I won't miss."

"K-aaargh!"

In the forest where the Knight's screams used to echo, the slaughtered Roheem's cries filled the atmosphere.

As they continued to exact vengeance, the forest's fine humus soil became deeply stained with blood from the aliens.