Chapter 218: The Most Dangerous Creature in the World Is… (5)

In the military, when someone was on night duty, they’d end up watching a lot of movies. No, it wasn’t slacking off, they just had no other choice but to watch those movies since the others were asleep.

Although, in Lee Han’s case…

-Are you reading martial arts novels and internet comics again?

-Dokgo hyung, it’s not internet comics, it’s webcomics.

He didn’t watch movies much since he had his preferences.

-Isn’t that the same thing?

-…Dokgo hyung, are you really in your mid-20s?

-What do you mean?

-I’m just calling you mature.

-Sseup… I don’t think you meant it that way…

-Oh, look, there’s a movie you’d like!

-…

On the other hand, his superior enjoyed sci-fi movies as much as martial arts novels. Not only that, he was also one of those so-called omnivorous people who wouldn’t care whether the movie was a superhero movie or a thriller as long as it had sci-fi elements in it. Because of him, Lee Han had to go to the cinema once in a while, and he ended up watching quite a lot of them.

-Dokgo hyung, you really love that kind of stuff, huh?

-Because I read a bunch of American comics when I was young.

-Your early education is a little…

-What did you say, you rascal?

He also made Lee Han watch various movies about parasitic aliens and he’d often ask immature questions to him.

-What do you think we should do if those parasitic aliens really exist?

-Really? Asking such a thing at your age? …But if you want me to answer, then, shouldn’t we hurl high-powered explosives at them, first and foremost?

However, since Lee Han was also immature, they ended up debating about such things for 4 hours straight.

And now…

See this, Dokgo hyung?

[KEEEEE!!!]

We aren’t actually immature. We’re just way ahead of everyone!

At that moment, the blood-red liquid monster gradually grew in size as it ate the corpses of the dead Half-Demonic Humans.

Squelch-!

Squelch-!

The dark red liquid looked so dirty and terrible that even touching it would make one feel unsanitary. At a glance, it looked like hot lava, the red gave off an impression that made it seem like it was filled with flame, but at closer look, it was more like a lump of unrefined oil.

Well…

If there was one thing Lee Han could be sure about this thing, it would be…

[Don’t even think of touching it. It’s ominous.]

“…You don’t need to tell me that.”

Even without the Aegithalos’ advice, Lee Han, Lake, and Maximus all ran away, trying not to touch the dark red liquid. Their survival instincts were screaming at them that if they touched it, it would never end well.

Wriggle-!

Wriggle-!

The dark red liquid monster was melting the corpse of the Half-Demonic Humans—no, it’d be more appropriate to say that it was eating them. Regardless, it was a horrible sight.

“…I never thought I’d see that again.”

“You’ve seen it before?”

“Mhm. Do you remember when they summoned a bunch of monsters at the Academy half a year ago?”

“There’s no way I could forget about that incident.”

Everytime he remembered about that time, Lee Han couldn’t help but jump out of his sleep since he realized just how much trouble he was facing back then.

“Hmm, so you also know that there was a mastermind behind the incident back then, right?  The mastermind that Galahad and Lionel subdue.”

“…Well, that one’s new to me.”

“Alright, I’ll tell you about it then. Among those masterminds, I fought a priest named Andrea Laurent. That priest sacrificed his own body to summon ‘that thing’.”

“…”

“Also, I had to rest for over two weeks after fighting it back then. That thing’s quite—no, extremely strong and difficult to face.”

“…I could guess that much.”

Even without Maximus’ advice, Lee Han had no intention of looking down on that monster in the first place.

Its horrifying appearance was one of the reasons why.

But, that wasn’t all.

Gooooooo-!

The aura it exuded also made him feel dizzy.

As Lee Han and the two knights hardened their faces and raised their fighting spirit, a laugh echoed from somewhere else.

“Hehehe, that Prophet, I never thought he would do this to our bodies…”

“So he set it up so that the [Spell] would activate automatically when we die, huh? What an annoying guy.”

Number 7 and Number 11 muttered as they watched their comrades, Number 5 and Number 6 being swallowed up. Then, they began to giggle.

“Well, this kind of death isn’t so bad.”

“Killing them is better than running away anyway, no?”

They didn’t even show any resistance. It was clear from their gloomy eyes that they had lost their will to survive. Not only that, it was as if they knew that this day would come too.

Seeing their faces, Lee Han.

“Look at you two, playing dirty when you can’t even control your shit and piss.”

“!?!!”

“Well, since you two are going to die anyway, I’ll just ask you two this. Is Aunt Lime alive? I want to kill her with my own hands.”

“You…!”

There seemed to be a lot of meaning behind that ‘you’. The pair of man and woman glared at Lee Han with wide eyes, but he just continued, ignoring what they were thinking.

“Ah, right, didn’t you say you wanted to run away from the organization and open a bakery? Well, seeing that you’re still here, I guess being an assassin is your true calling, huh?”

“…!!”

“Who…are you?”

“Haven’t you realized yet?”

That question bore other questions as well, such as, ‘How could you know a secret that only they know?’, but Lee Han just shrugged his shoulders and said his past ‘nickname’ out loud.

“It’s me. ‘Cutie’.”

“????”

“…What are you guys looking at?”

When he did that, the spear bastard and the big guy stared at him like he was crazy. He shouted at them without realizing it.

…Why? It was to hide his shame, of course.

…Fuck.

I didn’t give that nickname to myself, okay?!

[KEEEE!!]

The writhing liquid monster, or rather, the monster that absorbed all the corpses, roared against the world. It looked like it had hatched from an egg, and at a glance, it looked like a combination of a mollusk and a demon.

Its skin seemed to be covered in crimson leather.

The aura of death emanating from the monster’s body—which didn’t even have a clear shape—was thick. If there were civilians here, they’d have been consumed by that thick death aura and suffocated to death.

That was how strong and vicious the aura the monster gave out.

Suddenly…

Boom-!

[?]

Flames burst out from the monster’s body.

“Y-You’re really Number 8!? That Number 8!? H-How could that be… No matter how much someone changes, there’s no way they could just change their species entirely! Not even the monster genes should be able to do something like that! I think…”

Its source was a bomb demon who was mumbling such incomprehensible words without stopping, and that bomb demon continuously created flames and explosions.

However, the monster just quietly watched the heat that enveloped it.

…To it, it just itched.

[KEEE!!!]

Then, the monster went wild.

It didn’t have a proper form yet, but it was already incredibly strong.

Boom-!

Every time the eight arms that had sprouted from its body was swung, a strong shock wave spread, turning the surroundings into a wasteland. If they were currently at a city center, not the Sacred Treasury protected by countless Mystics, the whole place would have collapsed long ago.

“It’s as strong as a giant.”

Bang-!

The only person who had ever faced a giant in this place said such words as he endured the monster’s rampage. However, that didn’t mean he was letting his guard down.

Whoosh-!

The monster wasn’t just strong, it also periodically spit out a powerful [curse], something which was like a fatal poison to a knight.

“Of all things, why curse…?”

The spear bastard voiced his frustration for once.

Since ancient times, unprecedented powers such as curses and sorcery have been the natural enemies of knights.

Knights were strong against mages, shamans were strong against knights, and mages were strong against shamans. Such a rule of affinity applied everywhere in the world, and this time it was no exception. In that sense, it was natural that the spear bastard  was so frustrated.

After all, if they were hit by the curse, they’d be permanently disabled.

Hence why…

“That cutie Number 8 has changed into something like that… What a sad time.”

The existence of a ‘shaman’ played a huge role here.

“[Oom].”

The Eleventh Apostle, also known as the shaman Yan, spat out a [spell].

Clang-!

In an instant, the evil spirits and curses emanating from the monster’s body shattered like glass. Although Yan’s spell wasn’t as strong as the curses emanating from the monster, he could counteract those things appropriately with his skills.

Looking at this, the big guy didn’t hold back his praise.

“Commendable!”

“Hahaha, still, this much isn’t worth your praise. Unlike mages, we don’t need much Magic Power to unleash our spells as the process is more elaborate, like solving a puzzle.”

“…You are better than the shamans of my family.”

Shamans were rarer than mages. Even those who were born with the talent to be a shaman were few in number. In Pendragon, shamans were extremely rare. Since the temple had been suppressing them, their seed had pretty much dried up in the South.

Although, there were still those who barely managed to keep their lineage alive thanks to the support of Galahad and Lionel. And, as if to show the reason why the two great families did not spare their support to the shamans, the only shamans inside the Sacred Treasury showed his presence.

He clearly showcased why shamans were the natural enemies and counters of knights.

“Hahaha, now that I think about it, you were the most dangerous one amongst your friends. Had we been a little more careless, we would’ve been in big trouble.”

“I appreciate the compliment, however, let’s focus on what’s in front of us for now. That thing hasn’t finished growing yet.”

“Mm!”

The big guy nodded greatly at the shaman’s words.

After all…

Squelch-!

That thing was still changing form, trying to grow even more threatening than before.

Looking at that, the big guy, Maximus, felt fortunate that the shaman had sided with them, even though just a moment ago, they were out for each others’ blood.

“It was fortunate that my brother managed to persuade you, even if this is only a ‘temporary alliance’.”

“…Although, in turn, both me and her are still pretty much in shock.”

Yan turned his gaze to the man who had persuaded them.

-Don’t you two still owe me something? I saved you from that bisexual bastard Number 2 back in the day, no? Sure, you can go and die if you want to, but at least pay that debt first. I’ve gone out of my way to protect your chastity, you know?

Just like he said, he was a benefactor who had saved them in the past.

Boom-!

…But now, he was just a former colleague who could counter the monster’s assault with nothing but his fist.

You really grew into a strong person, no, a dangerous [creature], Number 8…

“…Ha.”

Yan couldn’t help but laugh in vain. After all, this was a situation where a shaman willingly followed a knight’s instruction—something they’d only do if they were possessed.

Sure enough, even he felt like he had been possessed by a ghost—no, a knight.