Chapter 446
Black, short fur covered its entire body.
In stark contrast, its pupils gleamed a bright yellow.
It was Eli, the feline mid-level administrator.
She was also the one in charge of overseeing this round of “Produce Heavenly Demon 101.”
“Nyaa~. How did you know?”
How did I know?
“You administrators made a complete mess of this theme, so of course, I was keeping an eye on it.”
“M-Mess? That’s a bit harsh… This is merely a minor internal issue….”
“A minor issue? Are you saying involving the Demonic Realm in Produce Heavenly Demon 101 is nothing? Wow. Since when were upper forces allowed to meddle this deeply in the stairway conquests?”
“N-Nyaaah… T-That is….”
“Enough. Spare me the excuses. I already know whatever comes out of your mouth is nonsense.”
Kang Jinhyuk cut Eli off.
“So, the 30th floor has thousands of different themes, making it a nightmare to manage. You were just following orders from above, so you had no clue things would turn out like this.”
“That’s right! That’s exactly what I wanted to say!”
Eli nodded so enthusiastically she looked like she had just downed an entire carbonated churu. The relief of finally getting that frustration off her chest was just a bonus.
Jinhyuk’s tone suddenly shifted.
From blame to sympathy.
“Yeah, I get it. I really do. You’re stuck in the middle, suffering. Barely any authority, but the weight of all the responsibility… If you do your job right, no one cares. But the moment you mess up, everyone dumps on you. Must’ve been rough.”
“Ugh… Nyaaah! It really was! They kept threatening to strip me of my position! I don’t even fully understand what’s going on…!”
“That’s why you need to find out who’s truly corrupt from the inside. Only then can both administrators and players avoid getting caught up in this mess.”
The one behind all this had to be someone within the Bureau of Administrators.
Not just Hastings—there were bound to be other vermin helping him from the shadows.
“B-But…”
“Think about it. If you expose corruption on this scale, a promotion would be a given. Hell, forget minor theme management—you might even get to oversee an entire stairway.”
A mid-level administrator overseeing other mid-level administrators.
A position just below the top-tier administrators—one everyone envied.
Saying she wouldn’t be tempted would be a lie.
“……!”
Eli’s pupils trembled.
Would she remain stuck as a forever-suffering mid-level administrator?
Or would she seize this opportunity and change the game?
The outcome was practically decided.
“Nyaa… What do I need to do?”
“Remember every word I’m about to say. Here’s how we’ll do this…”
Jinhyuk slowly began explaining his plan.
* * *
Zap!
A blinding light shot down from above.
Kim Donghwan’s attack descended toward the Heavenly Demon’s head.
Boom!
The Heavenly Demon barely dodged by activating [Heavenly Demon Dominion Steps].
If his reaction had been even a second slower, his body would’ve been riddled with holes.
But he couldn’t relax.
His opponent could use [Heavenly Demon Dominion Steps], too.
Boom!
Kim Donghwan closed the distance in an instant.
His relentless attacks came like a raging storm.
And to make things worse…
“Ugh!”
“Argh!”
Not far away, Dark Emperor and Phantom Shadow Swordsman staggered back.
They had already exhausted themselves beyond their limits.
Against the remaining Heavenly Demons, they were completely outmatched.
The two collapsed, bodies covered in blood, gasping for air.
At this point, they could no longer even stall for time.
“Heh, after all, a real fight should be settled with a frying pan and a kitchen knife.”
The Heavenly Demon Chef, Cheon Jong-won, casually twirled his cooking utensils.
Beside him stood Heavenly Demon Cain, who toyed with a metal soccer ball, and Heavenly Demon Nilberken, who had taken on the persona of an aristocratic madman.
They had already mastered Heavenly Demon Divine Arts, meaning their bodies alone were lethal weapons, even without external gear.
“Keep struggling all you want, but you’re only making this harder on yourself. Just accept your fate. If you do, I’ll make sure you go out with one clean strike.”
Kim Donghwan smirked as he crouched in front of the Heavenly Demon.
“You think taking a hostage would mean anything to me?”
“Yeah, I know—it’s ridiculous to talk about hostages with a Heavenly Demon. Even if you asked anyone here, the answer would be the same.”
But.
“You’re the exception. Even if you act like you don’t care, you’ve been making unnecessarily large movements just to protect your subordinates.”
[Kim Donghwan activates Lv28 ‘Emperor’s Sword’!]
Zap!
A blue aura surged along the length of his fountain pen.
“Let’s end this with your life. I’ll spare the rest.”
Now, all that was left was to snap the chicken’s neck and the fight would be over.
But just as Kim Donghwan was about to deliver the final blow—
“…Huh?”
A new magical presence suddenly appeared behind him.
This was the same distortion of mana that happened whenever a Gate opened.
No way.
“Kang Jinhyuk!”
The only one who could have shown up was that player Guntafer had warned about.
But the one who emerged…
Wasn’t Jinhyuk.
BOOOOOM!
A massive barrage of powerful weapons erupted from within the Gate.
“Weapon #22—Cassius Spear.”
A colossal lance, reminiscent of those wielded by heavy cavalry.
A total of twenty-two spears rained down, targeting Kim Donghwan and the Heavenly Demons.
Boom!
Clang!
It was a surprise attack, but the Heavenly Demons responded with expert precision.
“Beauregard… What the hell are you doing?!”
“Jeez, why are you acting like a jilted lover? We were never that close. I just switched to the side that suits me better.”
“…That’s what he says.”
From beside Beauregard, Jinhyuk peeked out with a smirk.
“You really grabbed onto a rotten rope, huh? Betraying us for a fool like him.”
“Hey, that’s a bit harsh. Rotten rope?”
“If you knew just how promising our company is, you’d be begging to join us right now.”
“Alice.”
“Yes?”
“Gather the survivors and get them out. Once you’re outside the gate, head straight to the place I mentioned and stay hidden.”
“Got it. What about you, Contractor?”
“I have to make sure those guys don’t try anything stupid.”
“Watching us? You?”
At Jinhyuk’s words, Kim Donghwan’s eyebrows furrowed sharply.
His anger was inevitable.
The tone implied that Jinhyuk would actually try to stop the actions of beings who had once devoured entire worlds.
“Are you asking to die?”
“No, I actually want to live a long and happy life.”
Their gazes locked.
“Nyaa! Everyone, please stop right there.”
A piercing, high-pitched voice interrupted them.
It was the mid-level administrator, Eli.
“Eli…?”
“Why are you here?”
“Aren’t administrators supposed to remain neutral?”
For the first time, the voices of the Heavenly Demons wavered with confusion.
They had never imagined that Jinhyuk would show up with Eli.
But that didn’t matter.
Ignoring their questions, Eli simply continued speaking.
“From this moment on, I will add a clause using my authority as a mid-level administrator.”
[To maintain fairness in the theme ‘Produce Heavenly Demon 101,’ the player will be granted a special privilege.]
[Veteran Corporation may request assistance from factions on the 30th floor or higher. If the request is accepted, unrestricted stair manifestation will be possible.]
[This contract is established by the approval of Senior Administrator ‘Bendivia’ and the enforcement of Mid-level Administrator ‘Eli.’]
A hidden trump card, prepared to counterbalance the Demon Realm and Olympus.
This marked the beginning of the counterattack.
“I will seek help from Berial of the Demon Realm and the deities of Egypt.”
Jinhyuk confidently called upon the divine beings he had ties with.
However—
[…….]
[…….]
For some reason, the two deities did not appear.
‘What the… Why isn’t it working?’
Jinhyuk gathered his mana again.
Yet the result remained unchanged.
“As expected, I knew you’d try a trick like that.”
With a chilling voice, the figure of ‘Agrok,’ one of the upper-ranked bloodlines among the Heavenly Demons, began to transform.
Crack!
Crunch!
“Graaaah!”
With a scream, Agrok took on an all-too-familiar form.
“Whistle. This is quite the hassle. But before I kill you, I wanted to see the face of the bastard who’s been such a pain.”
Guntafer.
Though not his true form, he was using the body of a bloodline member as a medium.
“You… knew I would call Berial and Anubis?”
“Of course. Those two have always been close to you. Naturally, I anticipated that you’d try to exploit the administrator’s authority to summon them in the name of fairness.”
But even if that were possible…
“If they lack the ability to help you, they have no choice but to ignore the summons.”
A twisted smile formed on Guntafer’s lips.
At the same time, beyond the gate from which Jinhyuk and Alice had emerged, another stairway began to reveal itself.
It was the stairway where Berial and the Egyptian deities resided.
Screeeech…
“Death… to all!”
At the moment, Olympus’ great heroes and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse had descended upon the Oasis.
“Those bastards…!”
“They’re outright invading now.”
Anubis, Horus, and the other Egyptian deities were completely occupied dealing with them.
With a fire at their own feet, they had no room to concern themselves with anything else.
Moreover, Berial’s domain was being bombarded by Demon Kings allied with Guntafer.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The sky was painted black with blood and ash.
“Of course, that leech Berial might still try to help you, even at the cost of sacrificing part of his territory.”
But even that had been accounted for.
A specialized pursuit unit, composed of the direct bloodlines of the Demon Kings, was solely targeting Berial.
The noose had been tightening around him for a long time.
There was no way Berial could leave the Demon Realm.
Meanwhile, the rest of Veteran Corporation’s members were all isolated, each clearing a different theme.
A complete and perfect trap.
“When an enemy plans one step ahead, I always plan two—no, ten steps ahead. That is the difference between me and a fool like you, who won’t even live a hundred years.”
—
Jinhyuk licked his lips.
Think.
The card he had prepared was useless now, so he needed an alternative way to turn the situation around.
But, of course, Guntafer wouldn’t give him time to think.
“Behemoth. That one is your target.”
Guntafer gestured with a tilt of his head.
“It still feels ridiculous that we’re going this far for a single human, but orders are orders.”
Step.
Behemoth walked toward Jinhyuk.
A petite girl with short hair.
She had a pair of small horns on her head and, in stark contrast, a massive greatsword in her hands.
No one looking at her would ever suspect she was a divine beast on par with Kraken and Leviathan.
No.
Judging by appearance alone would be sheer madness.
A shiver ran down Jinhyuk’s spine.
‘She’s condensed an absurd amount of mana into that small body.’
It was getting worse and worse.
At this rate, escaping with the Heavenly Demon and his master wouldn’t be easy.