Chapter 449
“……!?”
“……What is this?”
The first to sense the anomaly were Guntafer and Behemoth.
A voice echoed along the valley.
The cry of “Mooogi” sounded like nothing more than a playful shout, yet it carried an immeasurable amount of magical power.
There was no mistake.
It was the mascot of Veteran Corporation and the Ancient Species that Jinhyuk always carried with him.
Guntafer had assumed that Jinhyuk would be too preoccupied dealing with his blood kin and rallying the remnants of the Murim Alliance.
‘So, he anticipated our movements and prepared in advance? Moreover, the trust he holds among the Murim seems to be far stronger than I expected.’
This was going to be more troublesome than anticipated.
If an Ancient Species was present here, this battle would be anything but easy.
“What do you plan to do? Should I step in?”
Behemoth shrugged.
As one of the Ancient Species herself, she couldn’t help but find Goguma’s presence intriguing.
“No. I’ll use the Heavenly Demons.”
“Are you sure? The collateral damage will be significant.”
“I’m not sure how much of its power has been unsealed, but if we send enough numbers, we can handle it.”
“Hmph. So you’re planning to use them as disposable pawns.”
“That’s exactly why I brought them.”
Guntafer glanced at the approaching Heavenly Demons.
Indeed, each one of them possessed immense strength…
But that was all.
A successful hunting dog must be killed to prevent future troubles.
From the beginning, Guntafer had no intention of letting any of the Heavenly Demons survive.
That was why he deliberately maintained distance, ensuring that no information would leak.
But at that moment—
“Hehe…!”
A chuckling voice broke the silence.
Succubus Remia.
She had been brought along to continuously cast illusions on the Heavenly Demons.
“What’s so funny?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. It’s just… this is the first time I’ve seen you so flustered. You, who always moved according to your own plans.”
“Flustered? You think I, Guntafer, the Overlord of the Demon Realm, am flustered?”
“Your reaction says otherwise. Seems like I hit a nerve.”
“You wretched mutt… I kept you alive because you were useful, and now you’re just begging to be killed.”
Guntafer clenched his fist.
“Arghhh!”
Remia let out a sharp scream, writhing in pain.
“I’ll kill you last. After I make sure you understand who the true superior is. And then… I’ll grant you the most horrifying death imaginable.”
[Guntafer activates ‘Eyes of the Abyss’!]
Rumble!
A massive eye appeared above the valley.
A white pupil surrounded by burning black flames.
It roamed wildly, as if observing everything from above.
And then, suddenly, its gaze stopped.
……Found you.
“They’re moving along the flow of the mist. I heard they weren’t that intelligent, but maybe that’s not entirely true.”
Still, the moment their position was revealed, the battle was already decided.
“Relay the message to the Heavenly Demons. We’ve found the target.”
—
“Mo, Mogi Mogi!”
Goguma flapped its wings desperately.
“Boss, wait for us!”
“Huff, huff…!”
“The master just told us to buy time and ran off! What the hell are we supposed to do?!”
“Does that even matter now?! If you want to live, run! Run!”
“Eek!”
“Everyone, shut up. My head hurts.”
Thudududu!
The Spirit Beasts frantically followed behind.
They had been playing this game of cat and mouse for who knew how many hours.
If they hadn’t received prior knowledge of the terrain, they would have been caught long ago.
But the map Jinhyuk had provided gave them precise escape routes, even within the thick fog.
“Tsk!”
“Slippery little bastards…!”
The Heavenly Demons tightened their encirclement.
Swords imbued with sword energy slashed through obstacles—trees and boulders alike—cleaving them without mercy.
Slash!
Crunch!
The frustrating chase was finally reaching its end.
Using his ‘Pathfinder’ ability, Heavenly Demon Lim Giyoung had already reconstructed the paths they had taken, creating his own map.
And so, they reached the final point.
With a sheer cliff behind them, Goguma and the Spirit Beasts prepared for their last stand.
The prey had finally been cornered.
“As expected, manifesting in your true form is too difficult, huh?”
“The owner isn’t a deity, just a player. It’s only natural that he wouldn’t be able to fully handle the Ancient Species’ true power.”
“Surrender what you’re carrying, little lizard.”
“Mo, Mogi!”
Goguma clutched the Ancient Species’ egg tightly with both hands.
As if declaring that it would never let go, no matter what happened.
The Spirit Beasts also gathered their magic, preparing for battle.
“If we lose the egg, we die.”
“No way our demon-like master would accept failure.”
“If we’re going to die either way… might as well go down fighting.”
“A last stand, huh?”
“If you insist on taking the hard way…”
“I’ll make this quick.”
Boom!
Magic power from both sides clashed instantly.
Elemental magic struck the Heavenly Demons’ bodies with force.
But the Spirit Beasts’ attacks barely scratched their protective energy.
An emperor who once unified the continent after being born as the disgraceful Third Prince of an empire ruled by corrupt nobles.
A ranker who started as an F-rank Hunter with a sickly mother and younger sister, only to rise to S-rank.
A superstar who began in a tiny apartment room and eventually swept the world with his fame.
They were all beings who had climbed to the pinnacle through sheer will and determination.
Zap!
Swords carved through the air, drawing deadly lines.
“Hiiik!”
A blade neared Undine’s face.
Even as a Spirit of Water, a sword imbued with sword energy would deal a fatal wound.
But dodging recklessly would mean letting go of the ‘Eternal Campfire’ in her grasp.
At that moment—
[Goguma activates Lv?? ‘Fear’!]
Rooooar!
A crushing aura seized the space.
A fearsome presence reminiscent of an Ancient Dragon.
And that wasn’t even the end.
Rumble!
A brilliant white light began to condense into a single point.
A power surpassing even a dragon’s breath—the authority of an Ancient Species.
[Unique Holy Chant ‘Blade of Condemnation’.]
…This is dangerous.
Not even protective energy would last a second against it.
Realizing this, the Heavenly Demons flung their bodies to the side with all their might.
Boom!
A single streak of light shot forward in a straight line.
It burned even the air itself—an executioner’s sword that judged and destroyed all hostility in its path.
Its power was incomparable to that of a fully manifested form, but even this much was enough to send the Heavenly Demons into a state of terror.
Sizzle!
The terrain had transformed in an instant.
“Urgh!”
“I didn’t expect it to be this strong.”
“If that had hit us directly, we wouldn’t have even left behind bones.”
Even though they had managed to dodge at a considerable distance, they still suffered internal injuries.
Had their reaction been any slower, it wouldn’t have ended with mere wounds.
“…Wow. That’s way beyond my expectations. Just what classification is that thing? I’d love to see its fully manifested form.”
Behemoth’s lips curled even higher.
Her body itched with excitement, and she looked ready to jump in at any moment.
“Mo… Mogiii….”
Goguma panted heavily.
It had poured everything into that last attack.
It had certainly disrupted the Heavenly Demons’ formation, so the effort wasn’t entirely in vain, but…
…the problem was that there were no follow-up attacks from its allies.
“Blame your master for choosing poorly.”
At some point, Guntafer had appeared behind Goguma.
Swoosh!
The Ancient Species’ egg vanished from its embrace.
“Mogi!”
“Stop him!”
“Nooo!”
Goguma and the Spirit Beasts screamed in despair.
Crunch!
Guntafer’s hand plunged into the egg.
With a sickening crack, the shell shattered, and yellow liquid splattered everywhere.
But then—
“…What is this?”
Guntafer’s face twisted in shock.
The object he had believed to be an Ancient Species’ egg contained no trace of magical power.
To be precise, the magic that had been leaking from it before its destruction had vanished without a trace.
No way…
“Yeah. That ‘no way’ you’re thinking of? You got it.”
A sly voice rang out.
From atop the waterfall above the valley, Jinhyuk stood, holding an identical-looking egg.
“You sure put in a lot of effort chasing a fake.”
“This… this is impossible….”
The only known method to hatch an Ancient Species’ egg was the ‘Eternal Campfire.’
And that was undoubtedly in the hands of Undine, the Water Spirit.
As Guntafer spoke, a realization struck him.
“You filthy rat… You put on this entire act just to buy time!”
“That’s right. If the campfire was real, no one would doubt the authenticity of the egg. Just coating it with a bit of its scent and magic was enough to fool you.”
Thanks to that, Jinhyuk had arrived at the valley just in time.
Not only had he ensured the presence of the elite forces from the Murim Alliance, but all his other preparations had also been completed.
“So what? You bought yourself a little time. What difference does it make?”
Even if Jinhyuk had the real egg, it still needed time to be warmed by the Eternal Campfire to hatch.
And there was no way Guntafer would just stand by and let that happen.
Tch.
Guntafer glanced at the martial artists from both orthodox and unorthodox sects surrounding him.
“Or did you think that a measly human encirclement would be enough to handle me, the Demon King?”
“Hunting a Demon King is no small feat. You really think I’d only prepare something so simple?”
Don’t worry.
I’ll show you something that won’t disappoint you.
Right here. Right now.
Snap!
Jinhyuk flicked his fingers.
At that moment—
[The ‘Stairway Opener, Heimdall,’ manifests!]
A special privilege granted through Administrator Eli.
A divine summons.
Through it, Jinhyuk had requested aid from a deity he had some ties with.
To transport everyone here to another floor.
“I will grant your request, but Player Kang Jinhyuk, you must also fulfill the task we assigned to you.”
Heimdall, appearing in the sky, extended his long staff forward.
“Don’t worry. I always keep my promises.”
“Very well, then….”
Heimdall swung his staff horizontally.
Wooooong!
A unique ability to shift between floors was activated.
“Damn it… Heimdall!”
Guntafer roared, gathering his magical power.
His intent was clear—to kill Heimdall before the ability could fully manifest.
However, he never got the chance to attack Heimdall.
Because something far worse was already unfolding.
Jinhyuk played his second card.
[Unique Ability ‘Ancient Barrier’ activates!]
[12-Star Barrier ‘Edge of Deep Slumber’ activates!]
Wooooong!
Blue magical energy surged throughout the valley.
Dozens of hexagrams surfaced, inscribed with ancient runes, before they all merged into Remia’s body.
The influence of Guntafer’s authority and Remia’s unique ability had placed the Heavenly Demons under mental manipulation.
And this barrier was designed to break that control.
“Urgh…?”
“W-what’s happening?”
The Heavenly Demons clutched their heads.
As the Succubus’ mind control unraveled, their distorted consciousnesses began to return to normal.
To account for this possibility, Guntafer had placed various magical seals on them.
But—
Clatter!
The seals were already resting in someone else’s hands.
“Betrayal really is a nasty business.”
Beauregard held a handful of colorful gemstones, smirking.