Chapter 445
Fwoosh!
Burnt trees and a battlefield reduced to tatters.
It was impossible to gauge the intensity of the battle.
The only indication was the sea of corpses—evidence of an unspeakable massacre.
“Whew. That was a hell of a fight. Can’t remember the last time I bled this much.”
“What’s with the Heavenly Demons of this world? Even with four of us attacking together, we barely managed to gain the upper hand. Does that even make sense?”
“If we hadn’t gotten reinforcements from the Demon Realm, we’d have been screwed. Especially because of that monster…”
“Ptui! Damn it. Back in my day, Woo Hobup was just some idiot plotting to stab us in the back, but this old bastard is ridiculously tenacious.”
In the middle of a pool of blood, a few figures stood.
They wore attire completely unfitting for the Murim.
Among them were six Heavenly Demons.
Heavenly Demons from various regions had united.
Adding to the catastrophe, Guntafer had awakened the Ancient Behemoth, and the divine beasts under its command had further plunged the battlefield into despair.
“Heh. I thought after going through two life cycles, there wouldn’t be anyone left to challenge me… yet there’s still a mountain left to climb.”
“That’s just because you wasted your time playing soccer and regressed. A so-called Heavenly Demon bragging about winning a Ballon d’Or and a World Cup? Ridiculous.”
“Gah! And you spent all your time raising kids. A fool who only talks about his daughter dares to mock my golden foot?”
“Please. If my daughter slapped you, you’d be transferred straight to the afterlife league the next day.”
The seven lower factions had already been wiped out.
Even the higher factions had only a handful of grandmasters and vice-grandmasters barely clinging to life.
“Kh… ‘cough!’ Damn it, if only I were ten years younger…”
“Haa… This is getting rough.”
The Dark Emperor and Soul-Chasing Shadow were still holding out, but the tide had already turned.
Now, the only question was whether to preserve their pride until the end or retreat to fight another day.
That was all that remained.
“Supreme One, we will buy you time. You must escape.”
“…….”
At the Dark Emperor’s words, the Heavenly Demon clenched his fist.
A burning rage, as if molten iron was being poured down his throat, threatened to erupt.
But the Dark Emperor was right—the battle was over.
With his severe internal injuries, if he recklessly used his inner force, he would succumb to Qi Deviation.
And his enemies were not ones who would fall for a blind, desperate assault.
…They were strong.
Each of them strong enough to wipe out the entire Murim on their own.
It wasn’t just raw power—they also had the experience of countless life-and-death battles.
Compared to them, even the monstrous Shub-Niggurath had been easier to deal with.
Step.
A figure in a black suit approached.
The third-generation conglomerate Heavenly Demon, Kim Donghwan.
“There are a lot of ways to crush an opposing corporation. But the most effective? Collusion. When the big players team up, taking down one rival is a piece of cake. Though, in my world, that was technically illegal.”
“Despicable bastards… Calling yourselves supreme beings, yet you gang up on your enemies?”
“Don’t be so harsh. We got an offer we couldn’t refuse. Just… chalk it up to bad luck.”
A crimson aura gathered at Kim Donghwan’s fingertips.
—
Pzzzt!
[Hermes’ Mirror disappears.]
“…….”
Jinhyuk bit his lip hard.
The proud Heavenly Demons, who believed themselves to be the strongest, had joined forces?
He had never considered that possibility.
Guntafer must have pulled some insane trick to make this happen.
“Alright!”
Paris clapped his hands together.
“Now, it’s time to choose. Will you hand over the Heavenly Demon and rush off to save your comrades? Or will you fight us to the death over one man’s head and let everyone else perish?”
It was time for the worst possible decision.
No matter what he chose, he would suffer heavy losses.
“Contractor…”
“What are you going to do?”
Alice and Chun Yoosung looked at him with concern.
The answer was already decided.
There was no way he was abandoning the Heavenly Demon and his teacher.
More importantly, if the Heavenly Demon of this world was eliminated, the entire stairway conquest would fail.
But—
Wuuuung!
That didn’t mean he was going to let that smug Greek bastard have his way.
A white light gathered in Jinhyuk’s palm.
“Everyone, just trust me and get ready.”
Mandala activated…
…and an accelerated arrow shot forward like lightning through the Realm of Wind.
“You’re going to fight? Heh… What a foolish choice.”
Paris immediately nocked an arrow on his bowstring.
Kwaaaang!
Two beams of light clashed at a single point.
At that moment, the battle ignited.
“Kik! Now this is getting fun!”
“That guy’s head is mine!”
“You’ll pay for your sins against Guntafer!”
Guntafer’s bloodline unsheathed their claws.
The killing intent in the air grew thick and suffocating.
Jinhyuk could feel the accumulated grudge multiplying by the second.
“Everyone’s so hyped. Fine. Let’s really go wild.”
Jinhyuk began casting spells in rapid succession.
With Triple Magic, even high-circle magic took less than a second to manifest.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions of fire and ice created a massive temperature contrast, unleashing a flood of steam.
“Pathetic!”
“You think something like that will stop us?”
The demons charged straight through the spells, unfazed.
But—
“Huh?”
“What the—?”
They stopped dead in their tracks.
When their vision cleared—
Jinhyuk and his team were gone.
Like vanishing smoke, they had disappeared completely.
The blacksmith Heavenly Demon, Beauregard, was also missing.
“They… ran?”
“Did they really do something that stupid?”
They knew their destination.
With a chase, it would only be a matter of time before they were caught.
It was an obvious blunder.
Or so they thought—
Until they noticed that not everyone had escaped.
A few were left behind, abandoned.
“…Damn it.”
Chun Yoosung’s entire body trembled with rage.
“J-Jinhyuk?”
“Where did everyone go?”
“He told us to trust him, didn’t he?”
Even Undine and the other spirit beasts tilted their heads in confusion.
But only for a moment.
Their doubts quickly turned into certainty.
“He used us as a distraction and escaped with the Heavenly Demon in the meantime.”
Leaving behind only the minimum necessary forces while preserving the main troops.
This way, Beauregard wouldn’t have to be abandoned, and there would be time to rescue the other Heavenly Demon.
A flawless strategy—
—except for those left behind in hell.
“I’ll kill him! That bastard! Aaaahhh! He betrayed me again!”
Chun Yoosung’s screams echoed like a wailing storm.
“Harsh. Even we don’t abandon our comrades…”
“The biggest weakness of humans is their attachment to emotions… But that man seems to lack even that.”
“An enemy without mercy… this won’t be easy.”
Even the demons swallowed nervously, their expressions rigid.
—
How far had they run?
Tap.
Finally, Jinhyuk stopped moving.
They had put enough distance between themselves and their pursuers.
The weather manipulation by Malang had helped them ride the wind, speeding their escape.
“You did well. As expected of one of the Four Divine Beasts.”
“Heh… I only helped because I didn’t want to be left behind, but… Are you really okay with this? Chun Yoosung and the spirit beasts are strong, but taking on the demons is another thing entirely.”
Hmm…
It wouldn’t be easy.
Even after his second class advancement, Chun Yoosung wasn’t invincible.
“But he’ll survive.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because… he has to survive if he wants revenge on me.”
“Ah…”
Malang nodded as if completely convinced.
“Yeah, that guy is the type to crawl out of hell itself for revenge.”
“Exactly. But we have bigger problems to deal with.”
Jinhyuk turned his gaze toward the man on Malang’s back.
[Emerald ‘Jade’ Pendant]
If a Heavenly Demon took enough damage, their pendant could be stolen.
That pendant was a penalty imposed by the system—the price for letting Heavenly Demons from other dimensions remain in the Tower of Trials.
Jinhyuk had already crippled Beauregard’s right arm.
And thanks to Glacial Sculpting, he had further sealed his energy flow.
At this moment—
“He-Hey… Wait—!”
Rip!
Jinhyuk ripped the pendant from Beamount’s neck without hesitation.
Immediately, the aura leaking from Beamount’s body weakened drastically.
“Now… shall we have a proper conversation?”
“Tch… This is ridiculous. I was waiting for the right moment to recover… Who the hell are you? And how did you know about this?”
“I just figured… a necklace that doesn’t suit a Heavenly Demon might be worth taking.”
“…Tch. That’s the worst excuse I’ve ever heard. Damn it. I was stupid for even asking. Just tell me what you want. You must have a reason for bringing me here despite the risks.”
“Ah, I’m glad you’re reasonable.”
Jinhyuk grinned.
This was why he preferred experienced warriors.
If they saw no chance of victory, they were quick to give up.
“Betray Guntafer and join us. I’ll guarantee your life.”
“Oh? And what makes you think I’m on Guntafer’s side? I just followed the contract set by the system and that damned cat.”
“No. You made a double contract with Guntafer. More precisely, you fell into a trap set by one of his succubi.”
Remia.
Jinhyuk had wondered why the proud, self-centered Heavenly Demons had suddenly allied.
Guntafer must have used the succubus Remia to manipulate them with golden shackles.
He had probably promised them the throne of the new Murim world while secretly binding them to his will.
‘The reason I didn’t get any additional contact must be because Guntafer found out.’
This confirmed it—
He had lost more ground than he expected.
The enemy had set up even more traps than anticipated.
However—
They still didn’t know that Jinhyuk had figured this out.
Meaning, he still had a chance to turn the tables.
“Khahaha! Now this is fun. So you already noticed, huh? Hmmm…”
Beauregard suddenly burst into laughter.
His dead, cold eyes now gleamed with madness—the same look he had when they first met.
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
“But… even if I join you, what can you do? There are twenty-five Heavenly Demons who have joined forces. Not to mention the demons and the Greek heroes backing them up.”
He had a point.
Even if Jinhyuk struggled, the outcome was already decided.
The balance had already tipped beyond repair.
Unless—
Unless there was something that could re-balance this broken game.
If such an existence didn’t appear—
Then Beauregard was completely right.
“…I know you’re watching. Come out.”
Jinhyuk spoke toward empty space.
And then—
Pzzzt!
A blinding spark lit up the air.