Chapter 194

Chapter 194

Crunch!

Kerperaos approached Bedaya.

He leisurely observed the creature scraping at the transparent membrane with its long claws.

“You look human, but you possess the essence of a higher deity. Who are you? I’ve never seen this deity before, you know?”

Pop-!

As the membrane she was scratching vanished, Bedaya staggered and regained her balance.

Her face was filled with anger beyond mere irritation.

“You dare mock me, you demon king?”

Pshshsh-!

Red masses burst forth beside Bedaya.

They merely appeared before being crushed flat by Kerperaos’s black mana, then burst apart.

“Well, that won’t do. Once is cute, but I won’t let the second time slide. Stay put.”

Squeeze-.

Kerperaos seized Bedaya’s throat.

His aura clashed with Gelahan’s, canceling each other out.

No, Kerperaos’s aura overwhelmed, stripping Gelahan’s aura from Bedaya’s body.

“Kyaaaah!”

Kherperaos, gripping with all his strength, looked at Bedaya, whose hair was slowly turning white, and said indifferently.

“How many years have you lived? You’re nothing but an old hag.”

Before long, Bedaya’s once smooth, white skin became wrinkled and shriveled.

Her back bent, her height shrank, and everything sagged.

“Gasp…!”

Barely clinging to life, Bedaya gasped for breath.

“Tsk. Since the mana itself is murky, the magic you can draw is limited, isn’t it?”

Kerperaos, who appeared by stealing Dojae’s essence.

Even manifesting alone consumed an enormous amount of essence, so he drew essence and mana from the demon lords of the demon realm, but even that wasn’t substantial.

Barely enough to strip all essence from one unknown deity.

“Spare me… Lord Gelahan…”

“Gelahan? Who is Gelahan? I’ve never heard that name before.”

Kerperaos tilted his head.

He was a demon king from the era before the Seekers.

The name Gelahan, who appeared much later, was unfamiliar to him.

“Lidiran… Valen… Havik… Help me…”

Bedeya called out the names of the traitors pitifully, her voice trembling.

Kerperaos grabbed Bedaya’s hair and spoke.

“Oh ho. You want to live? It’s laughable for a god to beg a demon king for mercy…”

Thud.

Kerperaos drops Bedaya to the floor and folds his arms behind his back.

Then, turning to look at Dojae, he says.

“Very well. Accept my demonic energy and become my subordinate. Though for now, with only this pitiful mana, I can only create you as a low-grade demon…”

Kerperaos gave Dojae a meaningful smile and continued speaking.

“If the seal is broken, I’ll restore your youth and make you my three thousand eight hundredth wife. Excited?”

Hearing this, Dojae glared at Kerperaos.

Clash with Bedaya, and Kerperaos also expended considerable power.

There was no chance of breaking the seal on the Black Scales, a dragon’s sacred relic and the demonic artifact that sealed the Demon King.

Dojae believed he was merely bluffing.

Nevertheless, unable to discern his thoughts or plans even with a golem’s eyes, Dojae watched Kerperaos carefully.

Warak!

“Becoming a minion of the Demon King is not what Lord Gelahan desires!”

Bedeya spread her arms wide and embraced Kerperaos.

She squeezed the last remaining dignity of Gelahan.

Kerperaos tried to break free in irritation, but the scattered red masses all surged toward Kerperaos and Bedaya, engulfing them.

“Dammit… Representative Kwon! Launch those things as high as possible!”

Dojae shouted at Kwon Ranhee and commanded the golems.

‘Take all A-rank and below Awakened ones and escape as far out as possible!’

The golems, receiving the order, swiftly carried the hunters through the monsters and moved away rapidly.

As the command was issued, Dojae’s golem armor materialized over Pyohoon, Kwonranhee, Eunhee, and Jiyoon.

As for Young-jin, he had already sensibly donned chainmail golem armor, so no separate golem armor was applied to him.

Push-!

Dojae reached out toward the large red mass enveloping Kerperaos and Bedaya as they rose into the air.

Using ‘Golem’s Nerves’ and ‘Golem’s Skeleton’, he lifted the ground into the sky.

The dark sky grew even darker as the shadow cast by the ground, spanning the size of eight football fields, deepened.

“Forgive me, Lord Gelahan…”

Inside the red mass.

Bedeya, clutching Kerperaos, squeezed the last remaining essence of Gelahan.

Bubbling-.

Bedeya’s skin quivered as if boiling.

“You, right now…!”

Thud-!

Kerperaos broke free from Bedaya’s grasp.

But it was already too late.

Bedeya, swollen to her limit.

Enormous energy burst forth, tearing through Bedaya’s skin.

Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwang-!

***

Thud-thud-.

Thick dust disperses.

Dirt, rocks, and red liquid fall through the gaping holes in the ground.

As the explosion and mana pressure dissipated, one by one, they rose from their positions.

Their golem armor bore cracks and shattered marks, but the damage hadn’t penetrated to the core.

Thud-thud-thud-!

Young-jin rushed to support Do-jae, who was staggering.

As Dojae released his mana, the ground that had risen into the empty pit slowly settled back down.

“Brother! What happened? Is it over?”

At Young-jin’s question, Do-jae lifted his head toward the sky.

The lone figure of Kerperaos visible far above.

Neither Bedaya’s aura nor Gelahan’s mana could be sensed.

“It seems so…”

The lonely Kerperaos, floating alone, had its blue skin peeling away, revealing its black flesh and bones.

Yet, there was not even the slightest change in its expression.

Kerperaos slowly descended toward the ground.

“Damn it. To refuse the Demon King’s benevolence.”

As Kerperaos landed on the ground, he slowly restored his body.

Where black smoke had covered him, fresh blue flesh sprouted, and wounds healed.

Dojae left Youngjin behind and approached Kerperaos.

“The old lizard is gone… and the divine aura I sense from you feels new too?”

Kerperaos surveyed his surroundings.

Whether it took much mana to restore his body, the black smoke cleared and the dark clouds vanished, letting clear sunlight pour down.

“There’s another unknown divine presence over there… Huh? And another one? But what is that? It’s almost embarrassing to call it a divine presence.”

Kerperaos glanced at Eunhee and Jiyeon once each before picking up the black scales Dojae had missed.

“Damn. Should’ve listened to that lizard bastard…”

The black scale handed over.

Dojae could tell Kerperaos had barely any power left to manifest.

“Looks like there are more of them left besides that bitch. Next time you summon me, you better be prepared, kid.”

Kerperaos gradually faded.

Dojae understood what his words meant.

This time, he urgently sought the Great Demon King’s aid. Ultimately, Bedaya sacrificed herself to exhaust Kerperaos’ power, but it had nearly led to a disastrous outcome.

Whether it would achieve complete resurrection by taking Dojae’s essence, or make Bedaya its subordinate and await a new resurrection.

“Don’t worry. Next time I call you, it will be to destroy you.”

This experience made him realize the Great Demon King was a being beyond imagination.

Even with only the power and mana borrowed from Dojae and the demon realm, he had annihilated Bedaya.

If he were to summon Kerperaos again, it would be when Doja himself possessed sufficient stature.

Or when a being or situation that could benefit him arose.

Swoosh-.

Kerperaos, scattered into black smoke, was sucked back into the black scales.

“Brother!”

“Brother!”

Young-jin and Ji-yoon ran toward Do-jae.

Behind them, Eun-hee, Pyo-hoon, and Kwon Ran-hee, seemingly exhausted, collapsed where they stood.

“Young-jin, Ji-yoon.”

Do-jae pulled a potion from his pocket and handed it to them.

Young-jin and Ji-yoon gulped down the potions with relief.

Then he asked them to handle the cleanup.

“Please clear up the monsters with the golems. Now that Gelahan’s mana is gone, they’re just 3rd and 4th-tier monsters. I’m sorry, you must be exhausted too.”

Even if stamina and mana could be replenished with potions, the exhaustion from combat couldn’t be restored that way.

The clash with Bedaya, the mana stolen by Kerperaos, and the mana drained by Dojae had consumed a significant amount of mana, and natural recovery required some time.

“No, big bro! Leave it to us!”

“That’s right, Oppa, you look exhausted. We and the other guilds will finish up the remaining sites.”

“Thank you.”

Young-jin and Ji-yoon moved toward the monsters.

Dojae approached Eunhee, who was wearing a happy expression.

Plodding along.

“Eun-hee, we’ve eliminated the second traitor too.”

Do-jae, walking with a heavy step and hunched back, said in a cracking voice.

Eun-hee rose from her seat and embraced Do-jae.

She gently stroked Dojae’s back.

“You’ve been through a lot.”

Eun-hee’s voice resonated softly.

Do-jae smiled faintly and rested his face on her shoulder.

“Let’s go home.”

***

A month passed since then.

By the time the broadcasts covering the Daejeon incident no longer dominated the news topics.

“The existence of transcendent beings is now an openly acknowledged fact worldwide.”

A meeting was underway at the Republic of Korea Hunters Association.

This was not a meeting for our nation’s guilds, but one gathering representatives from government agencies and hunter organizations around the world.

“Due to the villain hunt that occurred in South Korea, our Hunter Association has determined it can no longer be concealed. We wish to inform you all about the transcendent beings, the renegades, and request your assistance.”

The large-scale monster invasion in Daejeon was not classified as an extermination or a raid.

It was the hunt for a criminal: Carter Colt.

The U.S. Hunter Bureau, which had been tracking Carter Colt’s movements, closely observed the Daejeon incident and confirmed the existence of an entity named Bedeya there.

Thanks to this, the United States, having realized the danger, thoroughly investigated the situation and persistently demanded that Korea pursue the Hunter Association and conduct a thorough investigation.

“I must honestly admit that our association only recently learned about the traitor and Gelahan. I will now explain how dangerous the current situation is.”

The Hunter Association spokesperson began the announcement.

The information heard from Dojae, the additional visions seen by the prophetess Helen Lopez.

Though the story wasn’t long, each detail was capable of plunging the entire world into ruin. Representatives from each nation listened with stunned expressions, holding their breath.

“Therefore, close cooperation is essential. We humans face an unprecedented crisis. I ask each nation’s representative to deliberate carefully and provide a prompt response.”

The decisive purpose of this meeting is to gather the S-Class individuals together.

Until now, S-Class individuals had been utilized more for political roles than for their ultimate goal of monster hunting.

But not anymore.

Politics requires humans and nations to exist.

The entire world facing extinction now has a just cause to unite its strength.

“Then, we will conclude the meeting here.”