Chapter 404: The Shrine Where the Dead Sleep (2)

“*Screeeeeee!*”

“Fresh flesh… so alive…!”

As they ventured deeper into the ruins, the parasitic creatures lurking within began to stir.

Their appearance was somewhat similar to various monsters, but the strange pincers protruding from their bodies revealed they were far from ordinary.

*Szzzz…*

Purple powder emanated from their bodies, a substance that could gradually paralyze anyone exposed to it for too long.

Parasitic creatures resembling ogres, orcs, trolls, and lizardmen drew their weapons.

“We’ll cut off your legs first… can’t have you running around and making it annoying!”

The first to move was a massive ogre, swinging a battle axe as large as an adult man through the air.

But then—

*Bang!*

The axe, which seemed poised to split the heavens, stopped mid-swing.

“*Huh?*”

The ogre tilted its head in confusion. No matter how much strength it exerted, the weapon wouldn’t budge.

Even with strength three times that of an average ogre, the axe didn’t move an inch.

“If this is the best you’ve got, I’m disappointed. I came here expecting tougher opponents.”

Jinhyuk began applying pressure to his dagger.

And just like that, the ogre’s massive body started to slide sideways.

“Y-you prey… how dare you…”

“That’s my line.”

*Slash!*

A clean, crisp cutting sound.

A spray of dark red blood filled the air.

*Thud!*

The ogre collapsed, its upper body severed completely.

“……!”

“……?”

The snickering from the parasitic creatures ceased instantly.

They instinctively realized that this intruder was entirely different from the others who had come before.

“You two focus on tanking. These parasitic monsters can’t latch onto you anyway.”

Both undead and homunculi were immune to parasitic infestation.
This was precisely why Jinhyuk had brought them along for this raid.

“*Clatter. It’s an honor to fight alongside Master.*”

“I don’t mind.”

T-Bone and Frey drew their greatsword and spear, respectively.

*Bang!*

The three of them leapt into action simultaneously.

—

*[T-Bone activates Lv16 ‘Wide Area Taunt!’]*

T-Bone charged into the middle of the parasitic creatures, drawing their attention.

Weapons of various shapes and sizes rained down on him, but none could breach his bone armor.

Even the pincers and tentacles—the core tools of ‘parasitic infestation’—failed to penetrate his skeletal frame.

His hollow eye sockets glowed with green light as he held his ground.

*Thwack! Thwack!*

T-Bone single-handedly neutralized the movements of over a dozen enemies.

Seizing this opportunity, Jinhyuk leapt into the air.

With the +10-enhanced *Crimson Lotus* in one hand and the well-balanced *Barnard* in the other, he moved with unmatched precision.

“*Screeeee!*”

“*Graaah!*”

It didn’t matter if the creatures were medium-sized brutes or nimble small ones.
They couldn’t even keep up with Jinhyuk’s movements.

*Thud!*

The twin-headed ogre fell as a gaping hole opened in its chest, straight through its heart.

‘The feedback is amazing.’
Jinhyuk couldn’t help but let out a small sigh of satisfaction.

Even though the parasitic creatures near the ruins’ entrance were relatively weaker, they were still three to five times stronger than normal monsters.

But *Crimson Lotus* seemed to ignore such things entirely, blazing fiercely as it cut through them.

—

Using *Shadowstep: Mortal Slash*, Jinhyuk teleported behind a troll and swung his blade again.

Before the troll could even let out a scream, its head was sent flying.

“So… strong.”

“We can’t win.”

“Warn the higher-ups! A monster has arrived!”

Realizing they had no chance, the parasitic creatures turned to flee.

“Left side. Five are escaping. I’ll handle them.”

Frey immediately sprang into action.

*Thud!*

Her spear arced gracefully through the air, crushing the skull of a goblin-like parasite.

Before anyone could process what had happened, Frey had already intercepted another fleeing goblin.

“The probability of you escaping unscathed is 1.35%.”

Her expression remained neutral as she coldly recited the odds.

Even as she silenced her enemies, her face betrayed no emotion.

“*Screeee?*”

*Squelch!*

Her spear pierced through the throat of another parasite, emerging on the other side.

—

“Good work, everyone. For our first time fighting together, this wasn’t bad. Let’s keep this up.”

After clearing the battlefield, Jinhyuk approached T-Bone and Frey.

The fight had lasted barely three minutes, yet everyone had executed their roles flawlessly.

“This much is basic, Master. Honestly, it feels beneath me to be dealing with such vermin.”

If only that one would shut his mouth.
One day, when he outlived his usefulness, Jinhyuk would surely boil him down for stock.

Next to him, Frey blinked in surprise.

“Did… well? Even me?”

“Yes, Frey. You did great.”

“…I see.”

Frey tightly gripped her spear.

“I’ll stab more. I won’t leave a single one alive.”

*Drip… drip…*

Blood trickled down the edge of her spear, the sight sending a chill down Jinhyuk’s spine.
Even though she was an ally, there was something unnervingly cold about her presence.

If anything went wrong, there was a real chance things could take a very dark turn.

—

Just as they opened a new section of the ruins—

“*Aaaaargh!*”

“P-please spare us!”

Screams rang out ahead.

Multiple sources of mana suddenly flared up, ones that hadn’t been detected earlier.

“…Screams?”

Jinhyuk’s eyes narrowed.

No raiding party should be here.
Any major guild would know how dangerous this place was and steer clear.

But those screams weren’t the kind monsters would imitate.

“Frey! T-Bone!”

“Yes. I’ll secure the perimeter.”

“Clatter!”

The three of them charged forward in unison, heading toward the source of the screams.

—

By the time they arrived at the site of the cries, it was already too late.

*Clang! Clang! Clang!*

Players were desperately swinging their weapons in a frenzied attempt to fight off the creatures.

But over a third of their group had already become cold, lifeless corpses—or worse, transformed into parasitic monsters themselves.

“*Heh heh! Come on… join us.*”

“Yeah. Feels way better than being human, doesn’t it?”

“You don’t have to deal with that weak body anymore. Hahaha!”

Players who had succumbed to the parasites swung their swords and spears with bloodshot eyes.

“*Aaargh!*”

“Run! Get out of here!”

“Damn it, what kind of ruins are these?”

“I told you we shouldn’t have come in at all!”

The frontlines were crumbling.
Already overwhelmed by the parasitic creatures inhabiting elven hosts, they now faced their former comrades turned enemies.

It was a nightmare.

—

At that moment, a red flash streaked through the battlefield like a meteor.

A radiant burst of light descended upon the parasitic elves, striking them with pinpoint precision.

*Boom!*

A massive crater erupted, flames roaring upward from the impact.

The combination of [Scarlet Mana Bullet] and [Heaven’s Devouring Venom] left no survivors.
The searing heat alone was enough to make the skin of bystanders sting.

Jinhyuk retrieved *Crimson Lotus*, embedded at the center of the crater, as he refocused his mana into his fingertips.

“Is everyone all right?”

“P-Player Kang Jinhyuk?”

“Is it really you?”

“How… how are you here? We thought you’d already moved on to the 30th floor….”

The surviving players stared at him with wide eyes, clearly astonished.

“I came here for personal business. But what brings you all to these ruins? As far as I know, both the Awakener Association and the major guilds have banned entry to this place.”

Jinhyuk had heard from Kim Hee-woong and Oh Ji-won that the last raid here had resulted in the loss of seven rankers within the top 3,000.
Considering they were capable of solo-clearing B-rank dungeons, this meant the difficulty of these ruins far exceeded expectations.

And yet, this group had ventured inside recklessly.

Jinhyuk’s gaze fell on their armor, which bore a turquoise spider emblem—a guild insignia he had never seen before.

“So, you’re here to promote your guild,” Jinhyuk said with a sigh. “Really… is everyone out of their minds?”

“Haha… Well, you know how it is. For new, small guilds like ours, this is the only way to get noticed,” one man replied sheepishly.

“So, you all decided to march to your deaths? Even with your strongest player barely at an A-grade level?”

“W-we were only planning to fight near the entrance and then leave quickly. That would’ve been enough for publicity.”

However.

“Someone blocked the entrance. That’s why we were forced deeper inside.”

“Blocked the entrance?” Jinhyuk’s expression hardened. “But there’s no Gate Guardian in these ruins. How is that even possible?”

“We don’t know. Everything happened so fast….”

The man shook his head, clearly disoriented.

Despite the limited information, Jinhyuk began piecing together the situation.

The low-level parasitic creatures shouldn’t have the ability to seal the entrance.
This meant it was either a lingering trap left by the Demons or a sign that some Demons were still active in these ruins.

Either way, the situation had just become far more interesting.

*The Depths of the Shrine Where the Dead Sleep.*

Once a site of desperate attempts to summon a Demon King, the ruins had become a graveyard filled with dormant parasites.
But not entirely.

A few still remained.

These remnants were what was left of the *Demon Association*, shattered after Jinhyuk had defeated their leader, Nietzsche, and the Round Table knights.
The remnants had reassembled into a fragile shell of their former glory.

—

Blood poured endlessly around a circular altar nearly 10 meters in diameter.

“Where is he now?”

A succubus with striking beauty asked the question.
She was *Remia*, sent by Guntafer to investigate the ruins.

The gathered demons immediately responded.

“He’s passed through Zone 3 and is moving deeper inside.”

“At his current speed, he’ll be here in about two days.”

“The Death Knight and the blue-haired woman with him are quite powerful. Fortunately, it seems Ataraxia’s head and his other allies aren’t with him.”

Standing beside Remia were the interim leader *Mordred* and knights *Percival* and *Tristan*, along with twenty other demons and *Melena*.

“So, just the three of them.”
A crooked smile spread across Remia’s lips.

Jinhyuk had built a notorious reputation for being a thorn in their side, but now, her concerns seemed excessive.
In fact, she began to wonder if the preparations they had made were overkill.

“Remia.”

“Yes, Mordred? Speak.”

“When the time comes, may I have the honor of delivering the final blow to that man?”

Mordred’s face darkened as the weight of the past flooded his mind.
Plans had been shattered, and his life had been spent fleeing from the government and guilds.

Without the driving force of vengeance, he might have gone mad long ago.
But now, the time had come to settle everything.

And with the direct support of one of the Demon King’s lieutenants, no less.

“If you grant me this chance, I will not fail.”

“As long as I get what I want, you can do as you please afterward.”

“Thank you.”

Mordred bowed deeply and stepped back.

Remia reclined in a chair spun from green spider silk.

“Come on, then,” she murmured. “I’ll make sure you become one of the many dead souls resting here.”