Ch.135Iseratia

# 135. Iserateo

Demon.

In games, demons are the worst enemies, ones that people fear to even speak of or think about. But demons causing havoc in reality happened so long ago that it became legend, and only clergy and dark mages truly understood how dangerous demons were.

The clergy would have genuine seizures at the mere mention of demons, while dark mages, despite knowing the dangers, continuously researched ways to use them for their own benefit.

As more time passed and the perceived danger of “demons” faded further…

A certain faction of a certain mage group in a certain city, underestimating the danger, summoned a demon using the third son of a lord as a medium. This became the catalyst for unearthing demons that had been buried alongside the hero’s achievements.

The Hellfire Demon, Iserateo, would later become the vanguard demon in what would be called the “Second Demon Invasion.”

**

“We need the lord’s help. What is the lord doing?”

“He probably fled as soon as the demon appeared. Or he’s hiding somewhere.”

One way or another, we needed to cooperate. The situation was urgent, we had the holy sword at stake, and perhaps because our raid party included Soyu noona, an Arc Bishop, they seemed to finally understand the gravity of the situation, so there was no need for harsher words.

But I almost let another harsh curse slip out.

‘I expected this, but fuck this city to hell.’

A magic tower corrupted by worldliness to the point of summoning demons, and mages who, instead of cleaning up their mess, just made it worse.

The lord and church, who should be cleaning up this mess for the citizens’ sake, were too scared and either hiding or running away.

Regardless of world, nation, or ethnicity, it was always the powerless common people who suffered the most hardship and pain.

[Defeat the demon.]

When I entered the half-collapsed church with Eden’s Fragment, the message changed, but there was no further interaction. If the message had demanded I hand over Eden’s Fragment to the church, I would have been even more pissed off, but anyway.

I spoke with a stronger tone.

“With the lord’s help, your survival chances would increase, right? Clergy members. Are you that eager to join your goddess?”

“Y-you insolent!”

“That’s blasphemy!”

“Blasphemy my ass! I’ll be dealing with the demon instead of you who abandoned your duties, so you go convince the lord to bring troops. You should be able to handle the tower mages and demon minions, if not the demon itself.”

I waved Eden’s Fragment again.

“We don’t need many people to request support, right? Just send two as messengers and everyone else stays with us. And I’ll be in command, by the way.”

“The only ones who can command us are the goddess and her representative—”

“Did your goddess command you to cower in a corner of the church and do nothing? Soyu noona, what does the goddess say?”

“She’s probably telling us to judge that demon. The divine power is going wild.”

Probably.

The last part was so quiet that the clergy couldn’t hear it, but my not-quite-threat seemed to work as they finally moved their heavy backsides.

“Rahan.”

“I’m listening.”

“There’s a saying: ‘Outside the blanket is dangerous.'”

“…Outside the blanket is dangerous? That sounds like a coward’s saying.”

“Hehehe! Outside the church is dangerous!”

Hearing my joke laced with frustration, Rahan looked back and forth between me and the church, then sighed.

“Adventurer Seonghyeon, if I hadn’t accompanied you, this would have been a futile effort. This place might have become my grave.”

“So please control those people for me. Once I start dealing with the demon, I won’t be able to focus on anything else.”

“Understood.”

“If they start complaining about command or whatever, dump it all on me, and if they still make a fuss, beat them up.”

“Will do. I like that.”

Eight from Veritas.

Rahan, leader of the Wandering Group.

Eight from the Magicant Church.

A total of seventeen people advanced toward the massive demon burning down the eastern district.

**

The Hellfire Demon, Iserateo.

Generally, the earlier a boss appears, the lower its specs should be, but specs and difficulty were different matters.

Iserateo’s weakness was obvious due to its setting of being constantly on fire, but its strengths were equally clear, making it far from an easy challenge.

Melee damage dealers were almost completely ineffective, and mid-range damage was reduced by half. Long-range attackers could deal normal damage, but it was extremely difficult for melee fighters and tanks to maintain their positions, causing aggro to bounce around and create chaos.

The countermeasure was water attributes, high fire resistance, and magic resistance settings.

Since Iserateo itself wasn’t the type to go completely berserk, it wasn’t an impregnable boss if handled properly.

However, I kept in mind that we were facing Iserateo now—a boss that should only appear at the end of Chapter 5 and be fought in early Chapter 6—meaning we would need to endure longer and hit harder.

“Haha— HAHAHAHAHA! Burn! Burn everything, Hellfire Demon!!!”

“The end—is coming!!!”

As we got closer to the demon, people who had lost their minds from confronting such evil were wildly casting magic corrupted by the demon’s influence. The demon’s minions were also joining in the chaos.

It was a sign that the raid was imminent. The church messengers who went to request the lord’s support seemed to have been ignored or something, as they still hadn’t returned, but we had to make do with our current numbers.

“Rahan! Take the clergy and break through that path!”

“Got it! Church members, follow me! We’ll crush those insane mages! The goddess is watching!”

“Ohhh— For the goddess!”

“Warm compassion and cold tolerance!”

“Light upon all faces and fair justice!”

Rahan, having figured out what kind of people the clergy were, skillfully controlled them by tacking on mentions of the goddess at the end of his commands.

Then he charged straight in.

“URARARARA!”

“Receive judgment, you fiends!”

“God, grant us strength!”

The charge of the bulked-up 2-meter-tall wolf Ayor and the properly consecrated heavy-armored holy knights was a disaster for the crazed mages and demon minions.

The recklessly cast spells barely singed fur or armor parts, but in return, their heads were severed from their bodies, skulls crushed, or torsos separated from their lower halves.

But the mages who had already lost their minds didn’t lose their fighting spirit and instead howled even louder as they swarmed…

“Go!”

“I’m counting on you!”

This created an opportunity for us.

We broke through the temporary gap, and when some tried to cling to us, Rahan shouted to draw their aggro.

“He’s quite the charmer, isn’t he?”

“Indeed.”

But it seemed they couldn’t buy us much time. Setting aside the mages, the demon’s minions would keep appearing unless we defeated the demon itself… taking it down as quickly as possible was our best option.

“Ugh… seeing it in person, the pressure is…”

“How are we supposed to hit that thing?”

“I can’t find an angle…”

“My-my body won’t listen…”

“Mollang! Barang! Ddangddang!”

BOOM- BOOM- KWANG-!

Iserateo, looking like a massive flame with arms attached, seemed completely unconcerned whether its minions and followers were being slaughtered or dying, focusing solely on burning Magicant and expanding its territory.

It was huge.

And overwhelming.

That thing was a natural disaster.

That was my first thought upon seeing it, but…

“Everyone, don’t chicken out, [Focus].”

It was doable. And we had to do it.

“[Subin is the spear, Yehyun is the armor]. [Subin’s attacks can’t stop, and Yehyun’s coating can’t break.] Everyone else moves to protect these two—that’s not an exaggeration.”

I poured mana into waking up the raid members who were crushed by Iserateo’s presence. I could see the power of ‘Command Enhancement’ gradually loosening their stiffened bodies.

“[Concentrate.] Who are we? We’re Veritas. We can take it down without losing anyone. Even if this bastard showed up early.”

I massaged each raid member’s shoulders. In truth, despite my words, I was scared shitless too. But if I showed that, everyone would become anxious…

So I smiled.

I spoke with a smile.

“Subin.”

“Yes.”

“It’s time to properly confirm the results of your long training.”

“Right.”

“With your most powerful shot.”

“Confirmed.”

Subin, who usually cast spells without chanting or by breaking incantations, closed her eyes and entered a state of concentration.

“Yehyun.”

“Yes!”

“Prepare the coating.”

“G-got it! Mollang!”

And Yehyun noona’s spirit stood by, ready to increase the water resistance of the entire raid party at any moment.

‘How much damage Subin’s first hit deals. That’s the key.’

Subin opened her eyes. She was finishing her incantation. I nodded to Yehyun noona. Her spirit circled widely around us, sprinkling water droplets. The heat was significantly blocked.

“—Freezing. Compression applied. Compression. Compression. Compression. Compression. Compression. Speed applied. Acceleration. Acceleration. Acceleration. Acceleration. Acceleration.”

Meanwhile, Subin’s staff pointed at the demon was trembling madly. She gritted her teeth and controlled it.

The raid was truly imminent now.

“—Rotation applied. Rotation. Rotation. Rotation.”

‘3.’

“—Dispersion applied. Dispersion. Dispersion.”

‘2.’

“—Detonation applied. Detonation.”

‘1.’

“—Ice flower, full bloom.”

“Now!”

Something between an ice grenade and a flower flew at incredible speed toward Iserateo, and simultaneously…

“Seyeon 6, Yuri 5, Arang 12!”

Seyeon, Yuri, and Arang, protected by Yehyun noona, charged forward.

The Iserateo raid had begun.