Chapter 219: The Most Dangerous Creature in the World Is… (6)

Those guys… They’re surprisingly eager to help?

The pair showed an unexpected degree of enthusiasm. Lee Han was the one who brought up their past connections, but he himself never thought things would work out this well.

I only made the offer because they still smelled like human beings…

In fact, if it wasn’t them, but Number 5 and Number 6 who were alive, he would never have proposed this alliance. In those two’s case, not only did he smell too much blood on them, he also didn’t know much about them.

As was the case in any organization, circles would be formed. In Lee Han’s case, his circle consisted of him, Number 7 and Number 9, Number 10, and Number 11.

…Out of those people, Number 9 and Number 10 backstabbed him because they wanted his number, so he cut their lives off.

Regardless, it was good that things worked out well.

After all, if they weren’t…

Whoosh-!

Clang-!

“Number 8, be careful! Even you won’t be safe if you get hit by that curse head-on!”

“What’s gonna happen if I get hit by it?”

“Your loved one could get an incurable disease. Or your fingers could turn into tree trunks.”

“…Yep, I’m not letting that thing touch me.”

How am I supposed to counter that curse?

That thing’s scary.

Also, these curses are way harder to deal with than magic.

In most cases, one only needed to be strong enough to endure magic spells head on. But, in the case of curses and shamanism, not only were they difficult to avoid, they were also difficult to deal with.

It was really fortunate that he didn’t kill Number 11, or rather, Yan.

One of the reasons he didn’t touch him in their scuffle was because he already knew that Yan was a shaman, while the other reason was because he knew exactly that the guy was a shaman. A shaman was pretty much a Pandora’s Box; no one knew what was inside it until they opened it, and it wouldn’t be anything pleasant when they did.

There was even a saying in the continent that if someone were to touch a shaman, they’d be cursed for three generations.

However, since the shaman was a strong ally instead of an enemy…

As expected, you need a strong wizard in a monster hunt.

Lee Han felt extremely relieved.

[Monsters of the Underworld].

Also known as ‘Hell Monsters.’

“…Hell Monsters are monsters that live in the underworld. I heard from the organization that since they belong to the underworld, they covet the bodies of the living. Although, they eat the bodies of the dead and the living alike. However, their power and influence are suppressed in the world of the living, so they cannot act recklessly.”

“Do you know about their characteristics?”

“They have a notable regenerative power and predatory ability. I guess those count as characteristics?”

“Any way to kill them?”

“Just keep hitting them, there’s no other way. Once everything they eat gets digested and they start to get tired, they’ll automatically disappear.”

“So that means we have no choice but to endure.”

“That’s right.”

“…What a terrible thing.”

Lake let out a wry laugh, something he rarely did.

Dealing with the thing sounded extremely simple. It would disappear as long as it finished digesting what it had eaten and got tired. However, this also meant that the thing was impossible to kill.

It was a monster that grew in the underworld, the world of death, so it was a contradictory life form which had no concept of death. In addition, it had strong physical strength as well as resilience that enabled it to not show any signs of fatigue, and the power of curses, which prowess didn’t need to be explained anymore.

“…Is it on par with the Ghost King?”

It was a creature that had both strength and difficulty that rivaled the Troll King that Lee Han had some time ago. He still remembered how terrifying that monster was. So, facing a monster on the same level as that thing made him want to shiver.

However, if there was one thing that was better than back then, it would be none other than…

Boooooom-!

There were strong people behind him that he had no choice but to acknowledge.

“Hahahaha! Die, you monster!”

Maximus’ battleaxe struck the Hell Monster’s body indiscriminately. Then, as if to help him, Dyna’s single-point explosion struck the monster repeatedly.

“To think that I’d do something like this again…”

Lake split his spear into two, turning it into two short poles with something like red flame engulfing it before striking the monsters with it. Since it would regenerate quickly even when it was stabbed, all that mattered was to strike it hundreds or thousands of times.

And of course, Lee Han…

Boom-!

“Our attacks are really working, right?”

Was doing his best to punch the monster. His fists emitted strong wind pressure, Hundred Steps Divine Fist and many other techniques were mixed in those punches.

However, since all of his strikes felt meaningless since he felt like hitting rubber, he didn’t feel like they were winning at all.

[No, you are definitely winning. Every time you attack, that monster’s presence is fading.]

“…Really?”

[If you don’t trust yourself, then trust me. I’m the Guardian of the Holy Relics.]

The Aegithalos assured Lee Han wholeheartedly. Seeing this, he couldn’t help but nod his head.

Guess I can just treat this one like I do with a game monster.

Monsters in games, or to be exact, back in the days when game characters were made by dotting, monsters were like that. No matter how much the user hit them, they wouldn’t get hurt. Yet, their HP bar proved that their health was gradually decreasing.

That should be the case for that monster.

It’s just, unlike in games, I can’t see its HP bar.

He decided to think simply while trusting the Aegithalos. Then, he kept hitting his opponent without stopping.

Right.

I just have to hit it until it dies.

He was confident in his stamina.

…Those guys are scary.

As Yan was helping his former enemy fight against the monster by inflicting appropriate curses from a distance, he felt at a loss for words.

[KEEE!!?]

It was only natural. After all, the Hell Monster was being beaten one-sidedly.

Some might argue that the Hell Monster was weaker than it was portrayed to be. But he’d say to their faces that they were talking nonsense.

A Hell Monster’s overall strength would increase depending on the number of lives it’s eaten. At its weakest, it would probably still be on a similar level to the Ghost King from the other day. In other words, even if it was still starving, it could still destroy a small country in less than half a day, just like the Troll King.

Hence why the reason the Hell Monster was being beaten was simply because…

Those guys are too strong.

“Don’t come to me!”

“You’re the one coming at me!!”

“Hahaha! I’ve been wanting a sandbag to beat up like this for the whole month…!”

Even though Yan was counteracting the curse, he couldn’t stop the evil spirit—the ‘Aura of Death’—that the Hell Monster was spewing out. However, the three of them just endured it while striking it as if it was another Tuesday.

Crack-!

Suddenly, the Hell Monster sprouted thorns from all over its body, making itself look like a hedgehog and threatened them. But the three knights…

Boom-!

Just crushed it.

Crackle-!

Destroyed it.

Boom-!

And crumpled it like a piece of paper.

The sight of the knights overwhelming the Hell Monster was simply unbelievable…

When a shock wave blew through his body, he could only chuckled wryly.

“So, they are that strong, huh?”

Since he had heard about them so many times, he knew that those three were strong. In this current era, they were the closest to the realm of Aura Users, or [Superhuman], as well as the only ones who had the potential to reach that level.

…There’s such a big difference between hearing about them and seeing them firsthand, huh?

However, as if to prove that knowing something and seeing it firsthand were completely different things, Yan, who had the opportunity to observe their activities up close, was sweating profusely.

This much power…

Only the Archbishop and the First Apostle possess this kind of power.

To be clear, the nature of strength was different. The three were pure humans who were advancing to the top of their species, but the leader of his organization was someone who was ‘evolving’ into something slightly less human.

Although…

Whoosh-!

“…That guy doesn’t look human either.”

Yan let out a wry smile as he watched the ridiculous skills of a certain knight who was now called Lee Han. The guy just suplexed the giant hell monster that was over 9 meters tall.

…It made him suspect that the gene injected into Number 8 was not just a gene of normal troll but the Troll King.

“They’re probably still fighting fiercely now.”

“You are so cruel. They are still important executives of the Black Moon. I never expected that you’d sacrifice them like that.”

“Aren’t they ‘sinners’ anyway? The Fifth and Sixth Apostles in particular had gone too far. The Seventh and Eleventh Apostles might have felt wronged, but… It was a necessary sacrifice.”

“You know that’s just a cowardly excuse, right?”

“You can even dismiss it as me being a hypocrite. At the end of the day, I am going to be burned in hell anyway, so what does it matter if I do something evil?”

“…You won’t be the only one going. I’ll be going with you so you won’t be lonely on the way.”

“That’s unexpectedly comforting.”

“Hehe.”

The middle-aged man and the young boy laughed together.

They looked to be more than 30 years apart in age, but they both had an air of old age and melancholy that wasn’t fitting their appearance.

Standing on the top of a building while laughing, they were facing the wind and rain, as if they were high priests who had attained enlightenment.

Just a moment ago, it had been a quiet night with a clear view of the crescent moon, but for some reason, dark clouds suddenly made their presence known, covering the moon. Soon after, the dark clouds were spitting out thunder and raindrops.

At first, the raindrops were just gently soaking the ground, but now they were falling like heavy rain. At one point, it became difficult to even see what was in front.

“Did you predict this rain will come too?”

“They called me the Prophet, but you know that I’m not a true prophet, right?”

“Then…”

“The great heavens and the Creator of Life, the Light of Brilliance probably realized…”

Step-! Step-!

At that moment, the middle-aged man heard some footsteps that pierced through the sound of the rain. Countless footsteps gathered, walking through the rain and mud without hesitation.

“…That his wrathful lambs are going to punish his servants.”

A sound grander than any orchestra.

The man claimed that he was not a prophet, but the future seemed to already be visible in his mind.

Tonight.

The world will be turned upside down.