155. There Is Only One Difference Between the Hunter and the Prey
We had been helplessly caught by the Chimera"s chase.
Its giant body blocked our path.
It was as if a giant mountain was in front of us.
My entire field of view had been completely covered by its body, and I wasn"t able to see anything other than it.
Karin had fainted from just its appearance.
He must have been suppressed by the Chimera"s intense killing intent.
Belkoseu seemed fearful and amused at the same time, seemingly enticed by an idea.
He wouldn"t die, but I a.s.sumed that his worried expression came from worry about my safety.
Was it because of the friendship we"ve built up during our travels? No way. He must be worried that he couldn"t climb to the throne of the Demon King without my help.
Then what about that mysterious amused expression?
It could be that, with the appearance of the Chimera causing the demonic realm to be reduced back to its infancy, Belkoseu considered this to be a better opportunity.
I was even more positive now that I could not trust Belkoseu.
The Chimera"s speed was something that my eyes could not keep up with.
Since it did not possess any magic energies, I knew that I could not predict its location.
On top of that, its offensive capabilities and speed were far superior to mine.
I knew that rushing in to fight it would be nothing different from riding an express train to death"s door.
Due to fighting Ifrit from before, I also carried the fatal weakness of not having my Status Denial skill back up yet from its cooldown.
Without the Resurrection Ring and Status Denial, we did not have a second chance at this.
Thankfully, Jong Ho and my Warp cooldown was back up.
The Chimera wouldn"t be interested in a weakling like Karin.
And I knew that Belkoseu wouldn"t die.
This meant that we only had one chance to escape from it.
While the Chimera kept on ranting, I casted Ma.s.s Stealth Jutsu on Karin.
It was to protect Karin and escape with Jong Ho.
The Chimera should be able to see right through the spell, but Karin should remain invisible to other monsters roaming around the demonic realm.
However, since it sensed our magical energy right through our illusions, I concluded that escaping it for the next 5 hours was impossible.
It would also find us immediately with its incredible speed.
Just like that, my plan to flee had become that of facing against it instead.
Staring at the Chimera, I spoke.
"Well this is rather unfortunate."
"Krurung. Despite not even being a tribe leader of the demonic race, you carry strength far greater than anyone else."
"Since arriving at the demonic realm, I"ve heard that so many times that I grow tired of it. Seems you"ve been in many battles yourself….. Wouldn"t it be a lot more amusing for you if you fought the Demon King right away?"
"The Demon King…. It is true that the Demon King is the strongest in the demonic realm."
"Right. So even though you know that….. Why are you so dead set on hunting us side mobs like us?"
"Kururuhung! However, that strength is only based on the magical energy he has. I have existed since the beginning of the demonic realm. However, I cannot be unsealed without the help of the Demon King. This means that after this, I do not know when I will be able to roam the outside world again. I"ve searched for strong opponents for countless of years, testing my mettle against them. I have faced countless foes."
"……"
"I shall ask you one thing. Do you think that the strength you possess is weaker that the Demon King?"
"Won"t you, the monster, know better than I? You"re aware just how large and strong the Demon King Jamon"s magical energy signature is."
"Kurung. In my eyes, I see someone possessing strength far beyond that of the Demon King."
"What nonsense are you talking about….."
"I guess you do not know how to wield that power yet?"
"Are you speaking of my magical energy?"
"That"s right. You only have the limitless potential, nothing more. I am most disappointed. I do not have much time. Once all those orbs in the sky disappear, I will be sealed once more. Since things turned out this way, I"ll need you to use your strength to gift me an amusing battle."
"What are you trying to say?"
"Nothing of importance. I"m just saying that it"s a waste. If I only had more time. If only you"ve reached a point where you could use your magical energy! I could"ve had a lot more fun."
"It sounds like you"ve decided that we"ll be fighting against each other?"
"Kururu. That"s right. I do not have much time, and in that time, I also need to fight the Demon King….."
"I"m glad that at least I can get through to you. Then I guess you have no interest in the others?"
The Chimera looked over at Jong Ho, Karin, and Belkoseu.
It must be confirming their strengths.
After a brief moment, it spoke once more.
"They"re nothing of worth. That"s right. They"re far too weak to amuse me."
"Glad that"s the case. Let"s change the location of our battle."
"As I said before, I don"t have any interest in anyone else but you. I also do not have much time……"
"The amount you talk really matches your size. I"ll fight you with everything I got, so stop complaining and follow me. I shall give you something far greater than what you"re hoping for, and it"ll be a lot more fun than fighting the Demon King."
Without wasting anymore time, I casted Warp and headed through.
When I looked back to check on Jong Ho"s expression, it was a sight to see.
I knew that he would do everything he could to stop me, but because I acted rashly out of nowhere, it seemed that he was shocked beyond words.
Where I landed was the place that I took down Ifrit.
The reason I came here was simple.
Was it to prevent collateral damage around me?
No. After all, the Chimera was only interested in me.
All I had to do was to fight after making enough distance between everyone.
The real reason was to make sure that Belkoseu would keep our alliance.
What did I mean by that?
Getting to the point, I was going to use Eternal Rest on the Chimera.
It"s the skill that allows me to annihilate any existence.
However, imagine if Belkoseu saw that.
There was no way that our shaky alliance would last after that.
In Belkoseu"s mind, he was in the advantageous position in this alliance.
He had not the foggiest idea that the situation had severely changed after I obtained the Eternal Rest skill.
No matter what it took, I had to make use of him.
Until Ladin and the Demon King were defeated, I needed to make sure that the alliance between us remained.
However, if he saw me defeating the Chimera, there was no way that our alliance would last.
Since he wasn"t aware that this skill had a one time use, he would become extremely wary of me.
I had to trick Belkoseu.
I have to pretend as if I had escaped and that the Chimera was sealed away due to running out of time.
Since he could not read magical energy signatures in the first place, there was no way that he could sense the Chimera.
Of course, when the Chimera first appeared, Karin and Belkoseu recognized its presence.
However, that was due to the fierce killing intent that it let out.
From how the two of them were unable to sense the Chimera"s presence approaching in any way before, I knew.
It was true that after using Eternal Rest, I"d have nothing left.
After all, it was a one time use skill.
But there"s a saying that if you save something too much, it becomes useless.
I felt as though that saying was perfect here.
I had saved this skill in order to use it on Belkoseu later, but since the Chimera had appeared before me, I really didn"t have much choice.
I would definitely lose against the Chimera without this skill, and even if the Chimera defeats the Demon King and Ladin after, this did not guarantee the safety of Earth.
With the Gate that was already open, monsters would pour in without me having summons guarding it.
Also, Belkoseu or another demon tribe leader could attack Earth.
That"s why I had to kill the Chimera.
One could see this as a reckless wild flailing with no afterthought.
However, as long as the Chimera existed, there was no future for me.
The one thing that I was looking forward to was that this Chimera had been alive for far longer than these monster G.o.ds.
On top of that, it had fought countless battles, hadn"t it?
It was the definition of an experienced creature who has gone through just about everything, which was exactly what I wanted.
However, since it did not carry any magical energies, I had no idea if it would drop any artifacts.
I mentally prepared myself for a brief moment.
"I guess it is true that I cannot escape the Chimera. What is that insane speed?"
"Kwuhrururung. You do as you please, don"t you?"
It didn"t take 5 minutes for it to appear.
It had covered the distance that I ran for nearly 7 hours in 5 minutes.
This just confirmed my decision to use Eternal Rest was the right one.
After all, if I had tried to run away, I could"ve been done in instantly.
I could not win against him.
Unlike the demon king, where I could fight him on even ground after growing stronger, the Chimera, I could not.
It really was a peerless existence.
"Well, I hear that a lot too. You"ve found me pretty easily, didn"t you?"
"Kuru. You didn"t move locations in order to try escaping me, did you? If you moved locations to try doing that, I feel bad for you. No matter how much you try to escape, you won"t be able to."
"Well, it would be a lie to say that I wasn"t considering that. However, that wasn"t the only idea I had when I moved locations."
"Then….. I guess it is time that I had fun with a plaything before I head for the Demon King. I hope that you learn how to harness magical energies before….. you lose your life. I dislike easy fights."
"That won"t happen."
"Well, you"re not even a monster, so it would make sense that you cannot use your magical energy."
"While that may be true, this is going to end quickly. The fighting that you enjoy so much, that is."
"Kururung. Seems you lost your will to fight even before we began. How disappointing. Now, come! Try to leave a wound that won"t wash away, and see if you can leave a scar for eternity."
The Chimera moved its large body to come closer to me.
Stretching its wings as much as it could, it stood still in a steadfast manner.
The Chimera did not obtain any benefits from butchering opponents.
It wasn"t as if it could grow any stronger either.
It seemed that it only enjoyed killing and existed for that purpose alone.
The Chimera did have intelligence, but it was nothing different from a lowly monster that lived following only its instinct.
It waited for me, staying still.
It was waiting for me land the first blow.
The Chimera was clueless to the fact that I could deal an insane attack that even it could not handle.
"How kind of you. In a fight, victory goes to the one who attacks first. Are you sure that I can go first?"
"Kururung. Even though you are aware of your fate, you tongue still mocks me with empty words."
"Even though my words hold no weight, my fist will be heavy…… Let"s say our farewells."
"Kwuhuhuh!"
"Farewell, ugly!"
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