There were some familiar faces.
The guild masters of the Five Guilds. Among them was a face that I knew.
Alin. The woman who led the Dambi Guild. In my previous life, she had suffered serious burns from the creatures in my dungeon and kept chasing after me to her death. Two years ago, she also failed to scout me.
Alinli was wearing a white dress and came up to me first.
“Nice to see you. It has been a while.”
Kim Yong-woo quickly shook her hand and said.
“Haha. How are you?”
“I shouldn’t lie. This year is a little…there was a lot of work.”
The emergence of the angels. The gathering of creatures. The monster wave. Every day was hectic. Countless Awakened died and the guilds suffered a considerable blow.
“But the Dambi Guild seemed to have fared well.”
“I was lucky. By the way, shouldn’t you introduce the people behind you?”
She peeked at me slyly.
Alin’s gaze was complicated. Was it regret for missing the fish? A mixture of annoyance and self-deprecation. In many ways, she was filled with both love and hatred.
“This! I was too short-sighted.”
Kim Yong-woo turned to introduce me.
“Ahem…can you give me some time?”
A bald man wearing sungla.s.ses approached. He caught my eyes and laughed.
“I won’t fall again today.”
The bald man spoke in a friendly manner. I frowned slightly.
“Who?”
“Oh, you don’t seem to remember. I thought I gave a strong impression…it was two years ago but I didn’t forget. I went to scout you two years ago. I am Park Min-woo, leader of the Arirang Guild.”
Arirang Guild. It was also one of the Five Guilds. No matter how I looked, I couldn’t remember him.
Then another person jumped in.
“Omo, why are you talking among yourselves?”
Wavy, long hair and glamorous lips. Park Min-woo sighed as the woman in her mid-30s approached.
“Miss Kim. I came here first. Don’t you know the order?”
“There is an order to greet someone?”
“Why shouldn’t there be an order when doing greetings?”
“I don’t care!”
The woman pushed aside Park Min-woo and smiled at me.
“Hoho. You are the leader of the raid group Devil Hunters? I am the master of the ‘Sorigo Guild,’ Kim Suk-soo. I sent you a letter two years ago…do you remember?”
Sorigo was also one of the Five Guilds.
“I don’t remember.”
But I still had no clue.
I searched through my memories but there wasn’t anything.
“Pink envelope, lipstick mark, love. Nothing comes to mind?”
“If there was such a thing then it is gone.”
“Ah…was I too intense?”
Kim Suk-soo moaned and slipped into the background as Kim Yong-woo exclaimed.
“No, what are you guys doing?”
Park Min-woo spoke like it was deplorable.
“I’m sorry but please be a little understanding. Devil Hunters is the number one raid group in South Korea and everyone wants to meet the strongest Awakened. Don’t you know how rarely he is seen?”
“Don’t you have any dignity? The guild masters of the Five Guilds should maintain an order.”
“Miss Kim, did you hear? The guild master of Heaven’s Will is telling us that there is an order.”
Kim Yong-woo’s face was flushed. Somehow his expression seemed like he was used to this.
Jaengurang!
Then the sound of a dish breaking could be heard in the middle of the party.
“Che! Today’s food tastes bad.”
Naturally all eyes were directed towards a young man who was complaining furiously. Other young people were gathered around him. However, everyone looked nervous.
“He broke it. Ahyu~”
Yoo Eun-hye clicked her tongue. She wasn’t interested in the youth, but the mood was now tense.
“What is going on?”
“Listen for a while.”
Yoo Eun-hye slightly lowered her posture and talked stealthily.
“…That young man br.i.m.m.i.n.g with ambition is the only child of Chairman-nim. Half a year ago, he became an Awakened and used his money as a seed to start a guild.”
“Seed?”
“Well, it was for his own self-interest. He wanted to cause an uproar like the Five Guilds, but failed. Even today, he didn’t receive an invitation. He is just trying to get attention, don’t give it to him. He will just give you a headache. Okay? You absolutely can’t.”
Yoo Eun-hye emphasized. But I didn’t understand things like this.
The cool atmosphere quickly disappeared. The guests held hands with each other, danced or had conversations while sipping gla.s.ses of wine. However, my face was still stiff.
‘Human parties are quite different from what I know.’
That’s right. I felt goose b.u.mps. I now knew the definition of ‘party.’ I had no idea it would have such a friendly atmosphere.
Basically, I had never partic.i.p.ated in a party as a human. I didn’t know, so I had let Yoo Eun-hye lead me. I intended to follow the basic ‘rules.’ But…the party only involved dancing and chatting, so I was disappointed.
I was born on the battlefield in the Demon World. Despite being a dreary place, even the low level demons lived well. In particular, the party held once a year was enough to be called the salvation of their lives.
“Captain-nim? Where are you going?”
Yoo Eun-hye’s eyes widened. She had wondered about my mood while the guild masters were trying to talk to me. But now I was walking forward towards the young man.
South Korea’s leading corporation, Ilsung group. The Chairman Sung Hwi-jang was arrogant and only did as he pleased. His behaviour seemed like there was nothing to fear in this world. The only ones in his eyes were the guild masters of the Five Guilds.
He just enjoyed everything in the vicinity. I hated people like this. The original Earl Brigsiel that I killed in the Demon World had a similar nature. He was someone who believed in ‘good blood.’ I couldn’t stand people like that. He would ridicule his enemies whenever there was a fight.
“Yesterday I hunted the orcs alone. They were noisy and kept saying chwik chwik. I cut their throats and everything became quiet.”
“Gyu-taek. Did you really hunt orcs alone? They look scary…it would be difficult to catch them.”
“Wah~”
Sung Gyu-taek. That seemed to be the young man’s name. He was busy telling stories to the women surrounding him.
“Those guys aren’t my opponent. I managed to reach the 5th floor. Understood? The 5th floor.”
“Yes. I’ve heard that harpies and mud golems are found there. The Devil Hunters raid group also struggled. Gyu-taek, be reasonable.”
“What? You don’t think I can catch creatures like that? Are you ignoring me now? If Devil Hunters succeeded then I can as well. They are just lucky to become famous, but the Awakened in my guild are much stronger.”
His inferiority complex exploded. In his words, Devil Hunters were ‘lucky’ to become famous. The woman, who was sweating, opened her mouth but couldn’t say anything. The attention on Sung Gyu-taek didn’t last long.
All eyes were on me. Both men and women.
“Ah…”
And all the women around Sung Gyu-taek showed an expression of ‘oops.’ All of them were well aware of the members of Devil Hunters. Even so, Sung Gyu-taek’s back was to me as he kept on talking. There was no reason for me to tolerate it.
Sung Gyu-taek turned his gaze towards me now that I came closer. He didn’t seem to like me and spoke with a frown.
“What…cough!”
Bam!
But I didn’t give him a chance. There was a short and concise sound as all eyes around me widened.
The chairman’s pampered son was lying on the floor with a bleeding nose!
This party was in the house of Chairman Sung, so the aftermath wouldn’t be small. ‘Why?’ filled their heads but they couldn’t readily ask the question.
“Y-you dog b.a.s.t.a.r.d!”
Sung Gyu-taek wiped his nose with the back of his hand and stood up. His face turned red and his right hand quickly clutched a sword.
“How funny.”
A mocking smile was on my face.
As far as I knew, a party…
It was a place to compete with each other in skills.
One day every year. It was a day when everyone was equal in battle. I could request duels with superiors in an attempt to kill them. If a duel was refused then they would be attacked by all the demons around them.
There were bad humans so I expected a similar scene here, only to end up disappointed.
There was a small break, but now it was time to have a bit of fun.
“What? Is this funny?”
Sung Gyu-taek stood up with anger in his eyes. He couldn’t accept such treatment. He aimed his sword at me. However, it didn’t connect with anything.
Ppak!
“Eh eh?”
The blink of an eye. Sung Gyu-taek lost his centre and collapsed. But he couldn’t understand why he collapsed. He only realized I hit him in the back after feeling the intense pain.
‘How?’ Sung Gyu-taek questioned how I got behind him before falling unconscious.
Chaeeng!
People hovered around Sung Gyu-taek. Sung Gyu-taek’s guild members quickly pulled out their swords from the scabbard.
“We won’t excuse any more acts of violence.”
“Acts of violence…if you can’t forgive it then try and stop me.”
I smiled, revealing my teeth. They weren’t even worth considering. There were very few strong Awakened among them. It was the same for Sung Gyu-taek.
Tension started spreading. Many people were aiming their swords at me.
“Even the captain of Devil Hunters can’t deal with so many people…!”
“No?”
I pushed against the ground. My sword sliced through all the Awakened rabble. There were dozens of them. Using only a little bit of power was sufficient.
I would create a fun party atmosphere.
After a while, those remaining at the party couldn’t help freaking out at the scene.
Dozens of Awakened were kneeling.
In less than five minutes. In addition, I still didn’t look tired.
Those who saw me moving for the first time had their mouths gaping open.
“Stop!”
A large number of bodyguards appeared at the entrance in order to stop the situation. And there was a bald man with a big belly in front of them.
His body trembled as he saw his son and the Awakened collapsed on the ground. He urgently sent a bodyguard to check his son was still alive as anger filled his face.
“Who dares cause a riot like this?”
But he didn’t take action immediately. A wise decision.
“Randalph. I am the captain of the raid group Devil Hunters.”
Tak!
Kim Yong-woo slapped his forehead in the distance.
The chairman formed tight fists.
“Your name is comparable to a celebrity these days. However, you can’t act freely just because of your name. If you don’t explain things properly then you might not leave here alive.”
The bodyguards drew their guns from the holsters. Guns were originally illegal, but this was a different world. Now it was common for people to be in possession of a firearm. Much less Chairman Sung who always had bodyguards with him.
However, none of them would be able to hurt me.
“I don’t like this party.”
“…What?”
“I’m not laughing.”
Cheok. I took one step closer. The atmosphere became even more tense.
“South Korea and the world is entering the path of destruction. A large disaster that can’t be compared to simple orcs will be coming soon. Yet all of you are in a luxurious mansion and only care about singing, dancing and drinking. No one even pointed out this issue. It is a deplorable charade.”
I clicked my tongue.
My interview with the reporter had spread across the country. I also said that a monster wave would soon happen. Chairman Sung and the people here must have heard it.
But…people were playing around in this place. They should be busy planning operations and keeping an eye on the dungeon. This meeting was just a sh.e.l.l. It was absolutely useless.
“You don’t know? Or are you pretending not to know? South Korea’s power has reached a cliff. Angels appeared, creatures gathered and there will be a monster wave in a few months. The number of Awakened lost in Saudi Arabia also can’t be ignored. Things will worsen over the next few months. How many safe days do you think you will have once a monster wave happens?”
It was apparent that many humans would die. This was a time for the officials to be tightening their belts and conserving their power.
Everyone was silent. Those familiar with the situation had a gloomy expression on their faces. It was the same for the guild masters.
I took one more step.
“There is already an insufficient amount of preparation time. There is no time to waste celebrating in a place like this. I saw signs that a monster wave is going to happen with my own eyes. The only way to stop it is to jump into the fire. I wanted people to be resolute and willing to partic.i.p.ate but…it is disappointing.”
Kyaooooh!
Lightning G.o.d cried out.
Everyone was overwhelmed by its shape. Many of them were surprised. Lightning dragon. The dragon had appeared when the angels were fighting the creatures. They never imagined that it would emerge here.
One last step and I stood in front of Chairman Sung.
“Get out of the way. I have no intention of being complacent.”
* * *
At that time.
Yihi poked the flesh.
“Hehe. Are you hiding something from Yihi?”
Thanks to becoming an Origin Fairy, Yihi could now reliably see through things. And she realized that the flesh had something hidden.
“Tell me. Yihi won’t hurt you ~”
Kkuok! Kkuok!
The flesh continued to flinch back as he was poked. But he didn’t bring out the hidden item.
“Bah, I’ll say this. Do you really want to continue keeping it from Yihi?”
Yihi pledged to tear the flesh apart as she went back to the Tree of Origin. She intended to seek the opinion of the Dungeon Master but he was long gone.
Therefore she got a sharp root from the Tree of Origin.
“I’ll say this right now. Yihihi. This will hurt a little bit!”
Kk.u.mdul!
The flesh instinctively perceived the threat to his life and moved quickly. But it wasn’t enough.
“Flesh. You should have brought it out. This isn’t Yihi’s fault.”
Yihi was grasping a sharp root. She intended to split apart the flesh to find the hidden item.
Puok!
Yihi gave a cruel smile and pierced the heart of the flesh with the root. But…she couldn’t separate the flesh.
A bright light poured out from the area where the root pierced the flesh.
Hwaaack!