Chapter 88

The sudden appearance of demons set off a chaotic three-way battle.

Suho and Esil briefly exchanged glances.

In the blink of an eye—

*Flash!*

Without waiting for the other, they bolted in opposite directions, beginning their demon hunt.

Suho sliced through the demons with Vulcan’s Horn, shredding their bodies entirely, while Esil skewered them like a spear through their flesh.

The two displayed a stark contrast.

The demons Suho killed sprayed black blood, their bodies gruesomely disintegrating as Vulcan’s Horn ravenously consumed their “demon souls.”

Meanwhile, the demons Esil killed had every drop of blood drained from their bodies, leaving them as shriveled mummies.

“Ahh, demon blood is truly the best,” Esil murmured.

The eldest daughter of the Radir family, once the pinnacle of all demons.

Esil, the last remaining demon noble of her kind, wore an ecstatic smile as she continued to absorb the demons’ blood.

When she first arrived on Earth, her strength was only equivalent to that of a C-rank monster.

This was because she had spent centuries on the run, pursued by other demons who drained her blood. The only way to recover her lost power was to drink blood herself, as she was doing now.

[You have defeated a low-rank demon!]

[You have defeated a low-rank demon!]

[You have defeated a low-rank demon!]

[‘Item: Vulcan’s Horn’ devours a demon soul.]

“Will I finally level up?”

Suho fervently hoped that there would be more demons hidden in this place.

Screech!

[How pitifully weak and pathetic. I am ashamed that I once dealt with such wretched creatures.]

Quay looked at the demons with utter contempt as he ruthlessly slaughtered them, erasing his own sordid past one kill at a time.

Meanwhile, Im Do-Gyun…

[…]

“…”

…was trembling, hiding behind Beru, who was no bigger than the palm of his hand.

“Suho! I asked if you summoned all these creatures!” Manager Lee Youngho roared at Suho while frantically slashing at demons.

“What nonsense is he spouting now?”

Even as Esil impaled demon after demon, she clicked her tongue in annoyance at Lee Youngho, who continued yelling accusations at Suho.

But before anyone could bother to correct the misunderstanding, the increasing number of demons made it clear to Manager Lee.

“Wait a minute! These things… are demons?!”

His realization came late, but seeing the crow-like masks on the demons’ faces sparked recognition in his mind.

The Hunter Association had been on high alert, searching for the creators of stardust factories.

And those culprits turned out to be demons.

“Ha! So, they were here all along! And there’s even a bounty on them!”

“Oh, we might actually make some cash here!”

Upon confirming the demons’ identity, greed gleamed in the eyes of the Black Tortoise Guild members.

Initially, they had been dragged here by their stubborn manager, but killing some kid and returning empty-handed had seemed like a waste. This, however, was a golden opportunity.

“Everyone, listen up! Leave Suho alone for now and deal with the demons first!”

“Already on it!”

“It’s not like that brat will survive anyway—wait, what?”

The hunters finally noticed Suho in action, slaughtering demons.

“…How is he so brutal?”

“Manager, didn’t you say he was a C-rank summoner?”

“He’s dual-wielding and cutting them down like a butcher!”

The only word that came to mind was butcher.

Covered in black blood, Suho looked like a grim reaper as he massacred the demons.

Suddenly—

Boom!

A bolt of lightning struck from a clear sky above their heads.

“What the hell?!”

Everyone’s eyes turned upward in shock.

Above the dense jungle, a massive demon loomed, glaring down at them.

“W-wait a minute!”

“What is something like this doing in a D-rank dungeon?!”

Manager Lee Youngho panicked, summoning every ounce of his mana.

“Everyone, stay sharp! That thing is at least B-rank—no, A-rank!”

His assessment was accurate.

[Transcended Mid-Rank Demon]

“Insane.”

The overwhelming aura made Suho’s sensory stat scream in warning.

‘This thing is at least on par with Quay… no, maybe even Lee Minseong during his prime.’

Currently, Quay was weaker than Lee Minseong had been, due to becoming a shadow soldier.

But the energy radiating from this massive demon matched the strength of Lee Minseong in his prime.

‘And what does “transcended” even mean?’

“How could this happen…?”

Next to him, Esil was gritting her teeth more fiercely than ever.

“That thing has consumed the blood of a demon noble.”

“A noble demon’s blood?”

Suho’s eyes widened as he turned to Esil.

“If not mine, then one of my family’s.”

A murderous aura erupted from Esil’s entire being as she charged at the mid-rank demon without hesitation.

Swoosh!

Her spear flew toward its heart, but the demon ripped a tree from the ground and swung it at her.

Crash!

“…!”

Esil failed to dodge and was sent flying sideways by the attack.

The Black Tortoise Guild wasn’t spared either, as the falling trees caused a chain reaction that crashed down upon them.

“What the hell?!”

“Get out of the way!”

The hunters scattered in panic.

But even now, low-rank demons were swarming, targeting their lives.

“Argh!”

Several Black Tortoise Guild members had their necks severed by the demons.

Seeing this, Manager Lee Youngho’s fury ignited.

“These bastards!”

His sword tore through the demons in an unstoppable rampage.

Despite the chaos, the demons were only C-rank at best.

As a B-rank, Manager Lee had no trouble holding his ground, even against large numbers.

However, the real problem was the massive demon.

‘I can’t take that thing down alone.’

But if his subordinates could buy enough time, he might stand a chance.

Cooperating against a powerful monster with a team of hunters—that was the essence of a raid. The critical final blow would naturally fall to the strongest member, Manager Lee Youngho.

To achieve that, tanks were essential to step forward and bear the brunt of the attacks.

“You idiots! All of you, charge at it together!”

“What?! Against that thing?”

“Then should I do it myself? Just hold it off for one minute!”

With his command, Manager Lee began channeling all his mana into a concentrated point.

It would take some time, but he was confident his skill could sever at least one of the demon’s legs.

‘With a big guy like that, the basics of raiding start with crippling its legs!’

“Aaaaaah!”

As Lee Youngho’s body radiated intense mana, the Black Tortoise Guild members mustered their strength and charged at the Transcended Mid-Rank Demon.

Then—

*Boom!*

Another bolt of lightning struck from the clear sky.

This time, it wasn’t just an atmospheric anomaly.

The lightning bolt, seemingly guided by intent, struck directly at Manager Lee.

“Guhhhh…!”

The electrifying surge tore through his body from head to toe.

Had it been a natural lightning strike, he would’ve lost his life on the spot.

‘It’s… a skill!’

Realizing this instinctively, Lee Youngho abandoned his offensive skill and hastily activated a defensive one.

Desperately, he sought out a healer and dove toward them.

But then—

*Crash!*

The Transcended Mid-Rank Demon began pounding the ground with the tree it had uprooted, indiscriminately smashing everything in sight.

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

“Aaaah!”

The Black Tortoise Guild members who had charged ahead were caught in the relentless onslaught.

They were thrown like bowling pins, some landing with fatal neck injuries.

‘We need to run!’

Seeing this, Manager Lee immediately turned to retreat.

His body was still trembling from the residual effects of the lightning, and the number of his subordinates who could serve as tanks had halved.

‘This is unwinnable! I need to escape and request reinforcements from the first team…!’

But the moment he turned his back—

*Slash!*

Low-rank demons, hiding flat against the ground within the jungle, severed his leg.

“…Huh?”

Wobbling, he lost his balance.

*Slash!*

This time, his other leg was severed.

*Thud.*

He collapsed onto the ground, unable to move.

Above him loomed the crazed, grinning faces of the demons.

That was the last sight Manager Lee Youngho ever saw.

Kyakak! Kyakak!

For some reason, the words he had arrogantly spoken to Suho at the dungeon’s entrance resurfaced in his mind.

—“If you let your guard down even a little, you’ll end up as monster food without leaving a corpse behind.”

And this truth applied even to high-ranking hunters.

Because everyone only had one life.

Unable to even scream, he perished.

Meanwhile, Suho was still battling demons when he noticed that the Black Tortoise Guild had disappeared.

“Did they all die? Do-Gyun hyung!”

“I’m fine!”

“…”

To Suho’s genuine surprise, Im Do-Gyun was unscathed and had managed to escape without a scratch.

Unlike the Black Tortoise Guild, who had fought head-on with the demons, Im Do-Gyun had focused solely on running away.

‘Looks like I picked the right guild member.’

It’s amazing how being skilled in one area, even if it’s running, can make someone so reliable.

Suho smirked and called out to Esil.

“Esil! If you’re done cleaning up over there, come here!”

“Got it!”

Esil, who had been knocked aside by the Mid-Rank Demon earlier, had already recovered and was hunting nearby low-rank demons.

She retrieved her spear from the body of a demon, then dashed toward Suho.

The two of them stood side by side, their gazes locking onto the rampaging Transcended Mid-Rank Demon.

“Now that the small fry are dealt with, let’s hunt the boss.”

As if understanding her words, the Mid-Rank Demon abruptly stopped its rampage.

Slowly, it turned its head, fixing a proud and menacing gaze on Suho.

[So, you intend to hunt me?]

For the first time, its voice emerged in a language Suho could understand.

The demon gathered all its remaining low-rank minions to its side, and the entire area was suddenly swarming with demons.

But then, the demon’s eyes fell on Esil.

[Wait. Could it be…? Are you a demon of the Radir family?]

As the demon gathered its forces, it finally noticed the distinct aura emanating from Esil, something entirely different from the other demons.

[Kuhahahaha! I can’t believe my luck!]

Greed lit up its eyes as it burst into laughter, issuing a command to its subordinates.

[Capture her! If I drink the blood of Radir, I will grow even stronger!]

*Screech! Screeech!*

Drooling and screeching, the low-rank demons surged forward.

But as Suho observed the approaching horde, a faint smile played on his lips.

When it came to overwhelming numbers, he had his own countermeasure.

Suho issued his command.

“Arise.”

At that moment, shadows began writhing and rising from the corpses of the fallen Black Tortoise Guild members.