Ch.187Demon Awakened from the Seal (6)

# 187. The Demon Awakened from the Seal (6)

Skills that openly declare “I’m attacking you” are easy to counter. Whether they’re AoE, single-target, or debuffs, such skills typically come with warning signs, patterns, and delays.

But this unpleasantness was, strictly speaking, neither an attack nor a debuff. If it had been an obvious debuff, not only I but also Soyu noona would have noticed it.

I don’t know the exact cause. But the phenomenon exists. If not just me but the entire raid party is feeling the same discomfort, and if it’s having a negative impact, we’re essentially already under attack.

It could be because it’s a demon, or it could be a penalty for waking it earlier than scheduled.

What matters is eliminating or mitigating this discomfort.

So I ordered Soyu noona to protect the minds of all raid members.

“Dispel, I dispelled it!”

“Dispel?”

Dispel?

With Soyu noona’s shout, the raid members suddenly stopped in their tracks, clutching their heads. I too squeezed my eyes shut and reopened them due to a sudden dizziness. It was like that feeling when you spin around ten times quickly and then stop.

I understood why everyone was acting that way, but it shouldn’t be happening.

“What are you doing! Everyone, snap out of it!”

When I shouted forcefully, adding a skill for emphasis, the raid members startled back to attention. Thankfully, we hadn’t properly engaged the Sealed Demon yet. As someone who knows well what a one-second hesitation or misjudgment could lead to…

*- I will kill you all and confirm my existence.*

…in other words, I had also given time to the Sealed Demon.

After spewing that still-unpleasant voice, the Sealed Demon surrounded itself with dark, murky magical energy and began spinning it like a washing machine.

“[Mana Radiation Pattern!]”

A simple but annoying pattern where it protects itself with murky magical energy that damages on contact, then suddenly bursts it to deal AoE damage and apply a defense-reduction debuff.

The standard response was to stop DPS, move outside its range, and wait. Alternatively, we could accept some damage and risk by bursting it down with focused DPS before it could detonate its shield.

The textbook approach was obviously the first method. Our raid party did that too until we understood the pattern and built up experience. But once we became proficient, we switched to the second method to reduce clear time.

So normally I would have chosen the second method, but this was right after an anomaly had occurred. So I opted for the first method.

“[Fall back!]”

“[Soyu, shield!]”

The raid members retreated just far enough to avoid attacks from monsters outside the boundary. They seemed to understand my intention to observe exactly how far the mana radiation would spread.

About five seconds later, the black sphere burst with a pop—like a balloon. It was a somewhat anticlimactic sound compared to its threatening appearance.

“…gulp.”

But its power was anything but anticlimactic.

The range didn’t seem much different from the game, as Soyu noona’s shield wasn’t even scratched, but everything within range was completely devastated.

‘A demon is a demon. It’s strong.’

But if you asked whether it was beyond our ability to handle, the answer would be no.

We’d figured out its range, shield duration, and power.

Its power is great?

Just don’t get hit.

*- ■■*

After the mana radiation pattern ended, we returned to our original positions. But then…

“[Mana Radiation!]”

This bastard Sealed Demon started wrapping itself in magical energy again.

Even though patterns aren’t completely standardized, this was ridiculous—coming out this dirty from the start?

It didn’t look good.

The response itself was easy, but the problem was we couldn’t maintain DPS. There was nothing good about a boss raid dragging on too long.

And then…

“This is crazy, [Mana Radiation!]”

Was this some kind of dog training?

The Sealed Demon started surrounding itself with magical energy again just as we got back into position. My face involuntarily scrunched up.

‘I don’t think we should respond the same way.’

To test its durability on the spot, I called out to Soyu noona and Seyeon.

“[Soyu, shield on Seyeon!]”

“Got it!”

“[Seyeon! Enter the edge of its range!]”

At my order, Soyu noona cast a shield on Seyeon, and Seyeon moved into the blackened ground alone, applying self-buffs.

The result was immediately apparent.

Soyu noona’s shield was destroyed, but Seyeon wasn’t even scratched.

It looked like we could use the second method after all.

However, I didn’t overlook the fact that shields are also affected by the target’s defense, and Seyeon had the highest defense among us.

*- How dare you.*

Perhaps that displeased it. The Sealed Demon finally changed its pattern.

Waving its arms in the air like an orchestra conductor, it began to darken only the raid area.

“[Dark Rain Pattern!]”

“[Group up! Soyu!]”

The infamous Dark Rain—an AoE pattern that first reduces visibility by coloring our entire area with overwhelming magical energy, then rains down black magic-formed droplets.

This was exactly why the Sealed Demon was such a pain.

The range covered the entire area with high density, leaving nowhere to hide. Each raindrop did minimal damage, but they fell like actual rain, so damage stacked rapidly if not defended against.

You might think we could just attack while shielded, but visibility becomes extremely limited.

That’s why I ordered everyone to group up as soon as I saw the pattern. This was to conserve Soyu noona’s holy power by reducing the shielded area, and to prevent us from being picked off individually.

“Sunghyun.”

“We have no choice. We need to play defensively for now.”

In the darkness as complete as a solar eclipse, we confirmed each other’s safety through presence, body heat, and voices. Lights were useless. Enduring was the only answer.

After what felt longer than the 10-15 seconds this pattern usually lasted in the game, the brief but deep darkness dispersed. The first things we saw were the now more chaotic battlefield and the more menacing Sealed Demon.

“[Subin! Yehyun! Dry the ground with fire!]”

This wasn’t some mud festival—how could we move properly on ground like this? The game had “wet” status effects too, but this was excessive. I thought it was a quick judgment and appropriate order, but…

*- Quietly.*

“Holy shit…”

As monsters writhing outside the area were forcibly summoned…

*- Become nourishment for my existence.*

The Sealed Demon entered the mana radiation pattern once again.

“Don’t tell me this was the plan?”

“Captain!”

“Oppa!”

“Sunghyun!”

Our feet were stuck as if in mud, making it impossible to escape beyond its range. Outside the area, monsters were forcibly pushing themselves in despite suffering from the Sealed Demon’s presence. And at the center, it was preparing an even stronger mana burst than before.

We were caught between a rock and a hard place.

Really? Those three repeated mana radiation patterns were just setup for this?

‘Hah… I see. So that’s how it is.’

Of course, I could be jumping to conclusions. But I recalled my ominous feeling from just minutes ago.

“Subin.”

“Yeah.”

If we were forcibly dragged into an unexpected situation…

“That wide-area magic you developed. It’s time to use it.”

“…Alright.”

Why not just flip the whole situation?

“[Everyone hold out until Subin’s ‘thing’ is complete!]”

“So we just need to fucking endure?!”

“[Yes! Fucking endure!]”

At the order to fucking endure, the raid members began doing their best.

Soyu noona cast a new barrier, and Yehyun noona created a fire barrier with her fire elemental. Seyeon drew aggro and established a defensive formation, while Yuri attacked those breaking through the fire barrier. Arang sniped enemies trying to attack Subin from afar.

The Sealed Demon released its mana radiation during this, causing damage, but Seyeon’s cover and Soyu noona’s healing protected us in the blink of an eye.

*- Persistent.*

Perhaps frustrated that its combo was blocked, the already unpleasant voice of the Sealed Demon became even more grating. The self-willed creature waved its hands in the air again, this time beginning to create something like a black sphere.

‘Elite Summon Pattern!’

While the creatures currently charging at us were existing ones that the Sealed Demon forcibly pulled in, now it was forcibly injecting magic into normal monsters to evolve them into elite monsters.

‘Since it couldn’t break through with normal monsters, it’s planning to use elite monsters.’

For something that had been sealed for so long, it seemed to be thinking… but it was futile.

Because the magic skill Subin had prepared, after painfully realizing the inadequacy of area attacks, was…

“Stack. Stack. Stack. Three stacks three times. Apply. Spread. Omnidirectional.”

It wasn’t something that would be stopped by mere elite monsters, let alone a boss.

“Spread.”

Inferno.

KWAAAAAAAA—————-!!!

The pinnacle of area attacks, the true face of a sorcerer, was revealed.