Chapter 23. Demon’s Lair.

Why did I do that? This crazy bitch. Did I really lose my mind? How could I say such a thing to his face….

Swept away by a strange impulse, the words that tumbled out without a second thought left Grace with enormous aftereffects.

What made her even more troubled was what he said afterward.

– Okay, I understand your feelings, Grace.

The chain-smoking healer couldn’t understand the Captain-nim’s true intentions at all as he said that with a smile.

…Ah, fuck, I’m going crazy, seriously.

She started chain-smoking as soon as she woke up. She couldn’t bear to look at the Captain-nim’s face. She felt like her heart was rotting away.

The team members, even without appetite, stuffed this and that into their mouths to fill their stomachs and prepared to move again. The most energetic was, of course, Ludivine. She must have slept well, because her face looked very refreshed. On the other hand, the others all looked like they were about to die.

“…Shibal, this is really no place to be.”

Bruce, who had been tormented by nightmares all night, clicked his tongue, saying he had never been to such a terrible place before. Dog-head Zepopo agreed with the scar-faced hulk on this one.

Soon, everyone finished packing and slung their bags again. The dense demonic energy and deadly aura were still present.

“Did you sleep well too, you fucking skull-head bastard?”

Bruce kicked a skull lying on the ground. It rolled away and shattered against a stone wall. *Ttegul ttegul*.

“Let’s move.”

The formation was the same as yesterday. They walked again along the winding path.

*Huuk huuk*.

After walking for quite a while, they came to another fork in the road. This time, there were three paths.

Ji-hyuk stopped for a moment and took out the map from his backpack again. Ludivine, being perceptive, created a light orb to brightly illuminate the map. Everyone’s eyes were fixed on it.

“This way.”

Ji-hyuk pointed to the left path with his finger. He put the map back in his backpack. The meticulous Grendal had been periodically marking the walls just in case. It was a precaution. You never knew what might happen in a maze like this.

A while later, Ludivine broke the eerie silence, where only footsteps and breaths could be heard.

“I think the demonic energy is getting denser.”

As a mage sensitive to mana, she seemed to quickly notice even the subtle differences. Ji-hyuk nodded lightly. It meant they were on the right track.

“Keep an eye on it. If the demonic energy suddenly gets too strong, be sure to report it to me. Got it?”

“Yes.”

Here, you couldn’t miss even the slightest change. Because that was directly related to the appearance of a demon.

As far as Ji-hyuk knew, there were a total of three demons here.

One was the Demon of Shadows, Krinto. He looked like the grim reaper that people generally think of on Earth. If you couldn’t use mana, you couldn’t even attack him.

Another was the Demon of Pain, Agdali. His strength wasn’t that great, but if you were exposed to his demonic energy, you would suffer severe pain. He also looked like a hag with pus oozing out.

Finally, there was the Demon of Sloth, Daropim. This was the demon bastard Ji-hyuk was going to catch right now.

As the modifier “sloth” suggested, the energy he emitted caused living beings to become extremely lazy. It was accompanied by endless suffering and despair.

A helpless state felt from infinite despair and temptation. That was the sloth recognized by the demon.

Ji-hyuk chose this bastard for two reasons.

One was that the demon was also lazy and didn’t move a single step from the room where he was summoned. And the other was that this lazy energy could be overcome with mental strength, not physical strength.

Of course, breaking through it wasn’t easy. You had to overcome tremendous despair, pain, tragedy, and temptation. You had to overcome all trials and go to his face and cut off his grotesque body.

…Actually, even if they managed to do that smoothly, the problem was what came next.

If they got rid of the demon Daropim, would the other two demons just sit still and twiddle their thumbs? They would immediately notice and come running like crazy.

From here, a little luck was needed. It wasn’t easy to fight demons in this narrow place, so the key was to move quickly to the entrance while avoiding fighting as much as possible.

Of course, he didn’t think they could avoid it completely. He expected that they would have to fight at least one, if not both. Still, if they had to fight, the Demon of Shadows, Krinto, was better than the Demon of Pain.

“Let’s rest.”

The companions let their bodies, exhausted from the sharp tension, rest. It had only been about a day, but everyone looked so worn out. That’s why the demon bastards were so eager to pour out mental attacks.

They set off again. The team repeated moving and resting several times.

After taking a long break at the fork in the road, Ji-hyuk carefully examined the map again. They had almost reached the end of the path shown on the map. The part not drawn here was the path directly expanded by the Demon Cult.

Judging by rough calculations, it seemed they would arrive within half a day at the longest. Of course, in terms of distance, it wasn’t much, but since it was a dark demon’s lair without a single ray of light, their pace naturally slowed down compared to usual.

The tedious act of walking and walking continued. Dog-head Zepopo finally couldn’t stand it and said something.

“Who the fuck made such a shitty place…!”

Everyone deeply agreed with that. Ji-hyuk was no exception. But if they knew that there were several places even shittier than this, they would all be shocked.

Frankly, this wasn’t even considered a hardship. The real deal started when they crossed over to the Demon World and began to capture the master of the Demon World.

Every time he went on an expedition to the Demon World, he felt like chunks of his lifespan were being shaved off. But if he wanted to catch those bastards, he couldn’t not go, so it was truly maddening. He wanted to see the damn face of whoever created this shitty world. If possible, he wanted to punch that face, but… there was no way that would happen.

“Captain-nim, it’s getting stronger and stronger. Much more than before.”

Even the sensitive Ji-hyuk was feeling it on his skin. It was the energy of the Demon of Sloth. It seemed to be slowly affecting them already.

“…What the fuck, why is this happening.”

Bruce’s strength was draining, and his heart began to ache. Bruce walked along, looking dejected. Not only that, but that energy was spreading to everyone.

“Captain-nim, let’s rest for a bit.”

Dog-head Zepopo finally couldn’t stand it and said that to the Captain-nim. Ji-hyuk looked back at the exhausted team members and stopped walking for now.

“Everyone, pull yourselves together. This sluggishness is all the demon’s doing. He’s the Demon of Sloth. He gives you pain and makes you despair. …If you don’t keep your wits about you, you’ll end up like the skeletons next to you.”

Ugh.

Ji-hyuk’s warning brought the team members back to their senses a bit. But they couldn’t completely get rid of this painful energy. They were becoming more and more annoyed with everything. They just wanted to lie down and sleep right now.

That was no exception for Grendal or Grace. Grendal, at least, had a deep sense of loyalty and tried his best to overcome the lazy feelings. But for Grace, who also had anxiety, it wasn’t easy.

“Captain-nim… rest a bit.”

“No. Pull yourself together. We don’t have much left.”

They forced their tired bodies to move. Then, Bruce finally couldn’t stand it and plopped down on the floor.

“I really can’t go on, Captain-nim. It’s too hard. Let’s rest for a bit, yeah?”

Ji-hyuk sighed deeply. And he strode over to him, grabbed him by the collar, and slapped him hard across the cheek.

ㅡㅡ!!

The bastard’s eyes widened. Ji-hyuk’s face was terribly hardened.

“Everyone here is having a hard time, you bastard. Why did you come here if you were going to do whatever you wanted? Huh? You can’t even endure this kind of temptation? And you bragged about being Gold-class?”

…Ah….

Bruce swallowed hard at the Captain-nim’s fierce momentum.

“I’ll let it go this once. I won’t be so lenient next time. …The same goes for you guys. I won’t stand for any more weak talk. Got it?!”

Ji-hyuk scolded them strongly. The team members had never seen him get so angry, so they all snapped to attention. Grace also lowered her head, feeling sorry. …To whine like a child just because her body was a little tired. She was ashamed to face the Captain-nim.

“Everyone, keep your wits about you. I know you’re all having a hard time right now. But what can we do? Endure it. It’s not your body that’s tired. Overcome the temptation.”

“…Yes, Captain-nim.”

Still, there was no strength in their replies.

Ji-hyuk let out a long sigh and turned around and walked ahead again. The team members followed him again. Bruce, who had awkwardly gotten up and followed at the end of the line, gently stroked his slapped cheek. Zepopo smirked sideways.

“Serves you right.”

“Asshole.”

After that small commotion passed, the Warrior Team, who had been walking continuously, finally reached the end of the map. They could tell right away because there were no skull graveyards on the path expanded by the Demon Cult.

Ah.

The team members all sensed it.

From now on, it was the real deal.

An enormous amount of demonic energy was already pouring out, hitting them hard.

Fatigue.

Loss.

Despair.

Fear.

Those things relentlessly struck their hearts. Ahㅡ. Grace suddenly trembled and flailed her arms. Ji-hyuk quickly hugged her. At the same time, he told everyone to rest for a moment.

“I don’t want to do anything. I want to stay like this. …Everything is fucked up. Shibal, I can’t do it because everything is fucked up. Just leave me here and go. I’m not going anymore.”

The chain-smoking healer drooped, her eyes completely devoid of motivation. Ji-hyuk gritted his teeth.

“Grace… just hang in there a little longer. Huh?”

“Captain-nim… just abandon me now. I’m a fucked up bitch. Shibal, I should just die. …That’s good. I’ll just die here. Shibal, this fucked up life. Dog-like life. Shibal….”

“Graceㅡ!”

“I’m a useless bitch. I’m just a burden to you. Right? …Ha, yeah, that’s right. If I had just died from the beginning, this wouldn’t have happened. I should have died with Reig when he died.”

Ji-hyuk finally couldn’t stand it and slapped her across the cheek. Ahㅡ. Her hazy eyes flickered back slightly before drooping again.

“Hit me. Yeah, hit me until I die. I’m a bitch who’s not worth living. Just kill me. …Here.”

Then she grabbed Ji-hyuk’s hands and put them on her neck.

“Choke me. Still, if you choke me, it’ll feel a little better. I want to die by your hands…. Come on, hurry.”

Eventually, Ludivine, unable to watch any longer, jumped up and rushed at Grace, kicking her in the side. Ackㅡ. The chain-smoking healer tumbled to the floor.

“This shibal bitch is really…!”

Ludivine kicked Grace’s butt once more. Ackㅡ. The chain-smoking healer’s eyes sharpened. No matter how much she wanted to die, being beaten by Ludivine didn’t feel good.

“What the fuck are you doingㅡ!”

No matter what Grace said, Ludivine kicked and kicked her relentlessly.

“A crazy bitch needs to be hit, shibalㅡ! If you want to die, then die, you ssangnyeonㅡ! Ssangnyeon, you ssangnyeonㅡ!”

The red-haired mage stomped and kicked Grace’s butt.

“Ack, shibal, ack, shibal, ahp, shibalnyeonaa, ack, ugh…!”

Yeah, kill me.

Hit me.

More, more.

Something strange burst in Grace’s chest as she was being beaten. It was an unknown pleasure.

Yeah, I’m a bitch who deserves to die. Hit me, hit me, hit me until I dieㅡ!

“Ack, hit me, ack, kill me, kill me, ack, euht, shibalnyeon, ugh.”

She was a bitch who deserved to be hit. She had to be hit. Only then would she feel relieved. It felt like atonement.

A bitch who deserves to die. I’m a bitch who deserves to die. I have to be hit.

“Stop, Ludivine.”

Ji-hyuk stopped her. Ludivine stepped back, panting.

“Shibalnyeon. Hwak ssi.”

No, don’t stop.

Hit me.

“More, hit me, you shibal… just kill me, shibal… *heuheuk*.”

Tears flowed.

I have to be hit. I shouldn’t live.

Hit me until I die. Keep hitting me.

Hit me more.

More…,

Moreㅡ.

It felt strangely comfortable to be hit.

The guilt was lessened.

I had to be hit.

…I wanted to keep being hit.