Dungeon Hunter

A white s.p.a.ce stretched out endlessly in front of me.

I opened my eyes in the centre.

‘This place?’

I frowned. It was the first time I had seen a s.p.a.ce like this, and I didn’t remember moving here. I could only speculate that it happened after the fire essence tackled me.

"Give me what is inside of you.”

Flames appeared in this white s.p.a.ce.

It was a familiar presence.

“Fire essence?”

The two-legged dragon. A human-like dragon.

This world seemed to be his.

“My name is Ifrit. One of the nine fire essences. The half that Contegonom stole was transferred to you. If you don’t give it back to me, I will destroy you.”

I had no idea what he was talking about. I guessed that something entered me when I killed Contegonom.

“Ifrit. Even if you are right, it became mine the moment it entered me. I would hand it over if there was a deal, however simple threats won’t work.”

"I have been trapped...but now it is different! This is my world, so you can never beat me. If you don’t...I will possess your whole body!”

Gugugung.

The world shook and Ifrit’s body changed.

After a while, Ifrit became the size of a huge giant.

There was enormous fire magic power! Ifrit was truly amazing. His magic power had to be over 100.

But...there were many ambiguous points.

He said that he was only ‘half.’ The other half had entered me. Nevertheless, he was still in the transcendental realm? Even a half transcendental being would be too much for the dark spirits to handle.

I couldn’t understand how he didn’t break the cage. At the auction, I had clearly seen Ifrit trying to break the bars to escape. The cage was made in the name of the devil, but it wouldn’t be enough to keep a transcendental being in.

‘This is a dream.’

I laughed. Additionally, he was the one who gave me the big hint.

This was his dream.

Originally a work of fiction is called a ‘dream.’ It was a world that covers the truth and only shows lies. Even the impossible could take place here.

So...it was possible that Ifrit made himself appear transcendent in this landscape.

I started to see cracks as soon as I realized the truth.

I opened Mind’s Eye. I would be able to reveal all of the truth if I used Mind’s Eye.

Uniqueness: One of the nine fire essences. Their role is to act as guardians for the fire spirits. Currently, he has lost half of his ability to ‘dominate.’

Skill: Image Implementation (Epic), Power of Fire (Epic)

 I knew it.

The stats that I saw with Mind’s Eye were considerably less than mine. The feeling of oppression was due to his ‘manipulation.’

"How about it? I will spare your life if you give it to me now.”

Ifrit thought I was wavering due to his words.

A laugh emerged from my mouth.

I never thought that the ‘Great Fire Essence’ would try to scam me.

The fire spirits worshipped him, but he was nothing more than a scammer.

"You talk too much.”

I said curtly.

There was no need to start a conversation. It was something I developed over my long life as a demon. There was a winner and loser. The winner had the right to take everything. Words weren’t needed.

It was a sign of insecurity. Ifrit might be half complete, but he had failed to recognize my ‘rank.’ He wanted to beat me with a bluff.

The attempt was good, but I didn’t bite that easily.

“I will give you a chance. I hate using force when it isn’t needed.”

Ifrit still hadn’t stopped talking.

There was a degree of bravado.

So I opened up my magic power and concentrated it on my throat.

“Reveal the true appearance, Ifrit.”

At that moment.

Kururung!

The world convulsed.

This world had no power over me once I realized the truth. It was far too rough to catch me.

"U-unbelievable...!"

Ifrit had returned to his original size.

He stepped back with confusion.

But I had no intention of leaving him alone.

I gripped Wrath and the Emperor’s Sword.

"This is a dream world so you won’t die. No, can a fire like you even die in the first place?”

It didn’t matter.

Whether he could die or not wouldn’t change the fact that I would attack until he was destroyed.

Ifrit shouted in surrender.

"Stop! I lost. I’ll acknowledge it.”

But I still struck.

I used my full force.

This was a world of dreams, but a strike from a transcendent person would still deal a significant blow. From the beginning, this place was meaningless to me.

Yet he still had that att.i.tude.

"You’ve maintained your consciousness.”

I thought he needed more punishment.

“P-please...”

Ifrit’s flesh was stretched out like a rag. The dream world tried to restore Ifrit’s broken body, but my damage surpa.s.sed the regenerative power.

It couldn’t keep up with the speed of destruction and now Ifrit’s body was strange. His hands were on his head while his face was at his feet.

I gave a low laugh. I smirked and once again split apart his body. The flames around Ifrit’s body were weakened.

"Stop! Stop! Aaaagh!"

Screams echoed through the entire s.p.a.ce.

Ifrit lay on the ground in pain.

"I will destroy you! Once I die, the power inside you will run wild! Don’t think that you will be safe!”

“Stop talking.”

"Every word from your mouth is a lie. And...this is also a bluff.”

It was easy to distinguish the second lie. Even if Ifrit was correct, there was no reason why I couldn’t control it. A little force would allow me to overcome it.

Kwajik!

I stepped on his mouth.

After one more hour of beatings, Ifrit’s att.i.tude changed.

“S-spare me. I can’t be destroyed yet.”

"The reason?"

"I haven’t met my son in 20,000 years...”

"Do I have to continue listening to a dog?”

I clicked my tongue. By default, Ifrit was ‘fire.’ It was impossible for him to conceive.

It seemed like I needed to hit him a few more times.

Ifrit cried out desperately as my sword flashed.

"The ninth fire! The fire that symbolizes ‘courage’ is derived from me! I haven’t seen him in 20,000 years so he must be heartbroken.”

“So I should give you back unharmed?”

“T-that’s right.”

It was new information. I thought about it for a moment.

The great fire essences held important meaning to the fire spirits. A total of nine had been born since the creation of the Fire Spirit World.

This meant he had access to the fire of ‘courage.’ Needless to say, my influence was rising.

Ifrit continued nervously.

"I can work directly with the Fire Spirit King. If I can communicate with the Fire Spirit King...he will reward you. The Fire Spirit King can’t ignore it if both my son and I speak to him...”

“I will give you back.”

I interrupted him.

Ifrit was delighted.

"Really?"

"However, I won’t hand over what is inside me. There is also no way I will let you go so easily.”

Ifrit stiffened. He instinctively realized that my tone wasn’t normal.

I aimed my sword at him and declared.

"Come inside me. I have no intention of eating you like Contegonom. You are a type of spirit, so a ‘contract’ is available.”

"That...!"

I randomly stabbed a spot. I didn’t hesitate to inflict damage.

A contract.

It wasn’t comparable to a contract with an ordinary spirit.

If I made a contract with the higher fire essence, the fire spirits wouldn’t be able to deal with me. I would also be able to use his power.

Anyway, ‘half’ of him was inside me.

Not only that, I was looking forward to meeting the fire in charge of ‘courage.’

“I will give you two choices. Destruction or a contract. Pick which path to walk on.”

"It is unprecedented for a great fire to contract with someone. I acknowledge your strength, but this is completely different.”

"Then you will be destroyed.”

I erased my smile and took an attacking stance.

He had chosen his own death.

It seemed like there was no other way.

I would make an excuse to the fire spirits, maybe by blaming Pandemonium and Contegonom.

Ifrit sensed my determination as I raised my hand.

“Wait! Although there is no precedent, there is no rule against it. Contract...I will contract with you. However, this contract will be automatically destroyed if the fire spirits are harmed.”

"I will only act if they point their swords at me first.”

I shrugged.

I had to maintain the alliance with the fire spirits for a while.

One of my goals was to incite them to move. They would pressure the dark spirits.

"I will give you the source of fire, so don’t reject it.”

Hwaruruk!

After his words ended, an intense fire soared from Ifrit. The fire swallowed me up.

‘It isn’t hot.’

It felt strange. It was more warm than hot.

Do you accept?

 I nodded and a new window appeared.

-Impossible achievement! For the first time, a demon has formed a contract with a great fire essence. In the future, the fire spirits will give ‘Randalph Brigsiel’ even more preferential treatment.

3,000,000pt will be paid.

2,000 achievement points will be added.

 It was better to form a contract than to use force.

This seemed like the right path when looking at the future.

"I can’t return to the Spirit World, unlike normal spirits. I have no choice but to make a home in your body.”

Ifrit spoke in a gloomy tone.

“Where is your other half?”

"The heart. It is hidden there.”

It was in the Heart of the h.e.l.l Monarch...

I wondered why I couldn’t sense its presence.

"The contract is absolute. Ifrit won’t be able to kill me.’

Furthermore, the Heart of the h.e.l.l Monarch was powerful.

If Ifrit tried something then the heart wouldn’t stay still. It would become a true ‘prison’ for Ifrit.

Others might feel a little panicked, but I was different.

My body also contained Lightning G.o.d. There was no way I wouldn’t know if Ifrit made any strange movements.

“Okay. Go to the heart.”

Kururung!

After that, the fake world started to crumble.

When I returned to reality, I couldn’t see the fire essence in front of me.

Under the contract, he had already moved to my heart.

At the same time, the two forces combined.

"Is this the power of domination?’

Ifrit. He was the fire essence responsible for ‘domination.’ I could subtly feel the power inside me.

The power of ‘Ifrit’ has been forcibly combined with the ‘Heart of the h.e.l.l Monarch.’

-Ifrit’s power of ‘domination’ has settled in the user ‘Randalph Brigsiel.’

 What was this?

‘Combined power?’

The contract could exert power on the target.

Yet it had forced a combination and made an alternate form available to me.

‘Ifrit is shackled by the Heart of the h.e.l.l Monarch.’

I roughly understood.

It was unexpected but it wasn’t a bad thing.

Once I looked at my status window, a skill had been added.

Description: You can ‘dominate’ opponents that are in a critical state. The success will depend on the user’s magic power and the opponent’s intelligence. If the opponent is dominated, they will gradually lose their ego and follow you.

** Invalidates the ‘territory declaration.’