Chapter 234: Failure

Episode 234

‘Baal…?!’

Yoo Jun-ho only knew one Baal.

Whenever he encountered a Demon Lord or a similar boss in the demon world dungeon, he would hear,

[Demon God Baal is always with us!]

[For Demon God Baal!]

‘Then where are we?!’

The problem was that he had never met a Demon God in his life.

It meant that this was a dimension he had never experienced before, a completely unfamiliar and unprepared-for dimension.

And it was clearly a dangerous dimension.

A dimension where Baal, the strongest being in the Demon Realm, was standing right before him.

[Oh my~!]

“……!”

His blood ran cold as he heard another voice from beside him.

Could it be…?

[It’s been a long time since we’ve had so many Middle Realm creatures in this place!]

[This is perfect timing! We were getting bored!]

[Let’s kill them all.]

[Oh ho ho~! They’re all so cute, I want to play with them!]

Voices came from all directions.

He gulped, his mouth dry.

‘There’s more than one Demon God!’

And there were many of them. He could see over 30 in his field of vision alone.

‘…Why are there so many of them?’

Even Kim Jinsung, the mastermind behind this plan, was surprised.

‘They didn’t seem interested when I told them about the plan.’

[They might have acted indifferent, but they were excited inside. A big event like this is rare in the quiet final floor of the Demon Realm.]

‘Good grief…’

He clicked his tongue and observed the situation. He was floating high in the air, concealed.

He was hidden in plain sight, in the place with the highest concentration of Demonic Energy in all dimensions. Even Hemingston, the strongest hunter, wouldn’t be able to find him easily.

Hemingston, like the other Vice Masters, was focused on the Demon Gods surrounding them, not on searching for Kim Jinsung.

‘The plan is going perfectly.’

There had been only one variable: the possibility of him being attacked while he was focusing on shifting the dimension of the Vice Masters’ meeting location.

But that hadn’t happened, and the Vice Masters were now facing a dire situation.

‘Even with all those powerful hunters gathered in one place, they won’t be able to escape this.’

No, they might even be wiped out.

They would struggle to defeat even Baal alone, and they were now surrounded by over 40 Demon Gods.

‘Hemingston, what are you going to do?’

His gaze shifted to Hemingston.

As far as he knew, Hemingston was the only human who had ever fought a Demon God.

He had failed, of course, and only a few of his companions had survived.

‘But he experienced it. It means he knows a way out.’

But the situation was much worse now.

Hemingston had only faced one Demon God, Andromalius, but now they were surrounded by over 40.

And unlike before, their escape route was completely blocked.

‘It looks hopeless. If they weren’t surrounded, he might have been able to come up with an escape plan…’

“It’s open!! Everyone, get inside!!”

‘…? ‘

He turned his head, hearing an unfamiliar voice from inside the encirclement.

‘What?!’

His eyes widened as he recognized the voice.

A dimensional rift had appeared, and hunters were pouring out of it like a waterfall.

They were all men, wearing the Alpha Clan uniform.

‘What the…?!’

This was unexpected.

They had created a dimensional rift to the final floor of the Demon Realm!

‘How did they get the coordinates…?’

No, how could they create a dimensional rift so quickly?

As far as he knew, it took at least 10 seconds to create a dimensional rift, even with the fastest methods.

But they had created such a large rift in less than 5 seconds?

“Activate your protective gear!!”

“Protect the attendees with your lives until they escape!”

The Alpha Clan members quickly formed a protective formation around the Vice Masters and activated their devices, creating a thick shield.

“Everyone, get inside!!”

He saw Hemingston shouting at the Vice Masters and charging towards the dimensional rift.

‘Not so fast!’

He channeled his Demonic Energy, activating the ‘Dimensionalization’ trait.

He was going to force the dimensional rift to close.

The Demonic Energy in the final floor of the Demon Realm responded to his actions.

It surged towards the rift, and the opening started shrinking rapidly.

At that moment,

“There you are!!”

Hemingston’s voice boomed right in front of him.

His eyes widened in shock.

‘No…!’

Hemingston, who had been charging towards the rift, was now standing right before him, his palm outstretched.

And he hadn’t even sensed his approach.

‘Damn it!’

He gritted his teeth and twisted his body, trying to dodge the attack.

But he couldn’t avoid it completely and had to create a shield around his body.

His Demonic Energy, which had been focused on closing the rift, dispersed, and the ‘Dimensionalization’ trait deactivated.

**Thud!**

Hemingston’s Mana attack bounced off his shield.

But his goal wasn’t to injure him with this attack.

“I’ve marked Kim Jinsung with a tracking skill! All ranged attackers, fire at will!”

He shouted at the Alpha Clan members, already back near the rift.

Some of the clan members aimed their ranged weapons at him.

Missiles came flying towards him at high speed.

‘Damn it! They’re Abyss missiles!’

He recognized the missiles from the dense Mana contained within them and focused on dodging, rather than defending.

**Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!**

The missiles exploded along his path.

He was using the ‘Flash’ trait, which allowed him to move at the speed of light, so he was able to dodge the attacks without much difficulty.

‘But I need to stop them…’

He looked at the Vice Masters entering the rift, his heart pounding with urgency.

[Where do you think you’re going?!]

[You came here on your own, but you’re not leaving so easily!]

The Demon Gods surrounding them were unleashing powerful skills.

Every skill created a deafening explosion, and the shield protecting the Vice Masters shook violently.

The shield even broke a few times, but the Alpha Clan members’ response was impeccable.

“Ugh…! The shield at 95 degrees is down!”

“Send reinforcements immediately! Evacuate the injured through the rift!”

“Request additional shield devices from headquarters!”

They moved like a single unit, seamlessly replacing the broken shield with reinforcements.

Even Dantalian was impressed by their flawless teamwork against the Demon Gods.

[Hmm… They’re incredibly well-trained.]

The Alpha Clan was the strongest clan on Earth for a reason.

‘This isn’t working!’

Kim Jinsung gritted his teeth, seeing his plan failing.

He decided to take a gamble.

**Boom!**

He charged towards the Vice Masters, taking the risk of being hit by an Abyss missile head-on.

‘Ugh…!’

He couldn’t avoid all the damage.

The Abyss missile was powerful enough to pierce through his shield and skin, even with his enhanced defenses.

It was the most powerful missile in existence for a reason. The Abyss Mana stone used in the missile was a rare and valuable item, containing an immense amount of Mana.

But the damage was within his expectations. It wasn’t a major problem.

‘I need to damage the dimensional rift…’

He continued flying towards the rift at full speed.

But he couldn’t reach it.

‘…No!’

He gasped in horror, seeing Hemingston appear before him once again.

Not only was he incredibly fast, but he couldn’t even sense his approach.

‘How can he be faster than me, with my Flash trait… Huh!’

**Clang!**

He barely managed to block Hemingston’s attack with his sword.

The force of the attack, coming from the strongest man on Earth, pushed him back.

“Everyone, retreat!”

Hemingston, having successfully stopped him, shouted at the Alpha Clan members, already back near the rift.

He saw the last of the Alpha Clan members entering the rift.

‘Damn it…!’

He gritted his teeth.

His plan, which he thought was flawless, had failed.

Because of Hemingston.

‘…I need to move on to Plan B.’

He was disappointed, but he couldn’t let his emotions control him.

He was about to use the ‘Dimensional Teleportation’ skill to execute Plan B when

[I see.]

Dantalian’s voice echoed in his mind.

‘What?’

[That Middle Realm creature you just fought.]

‘Hemingston?’

[I wasn’t sure at first, but I’m certain now, after seeing his movements.]

He continued,

[That Hemingston, he’s a time manipulator.]

‘…What?’

He couldn’t help but ask back in disbelief.

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