Episode 14: The Ordinary and the Archdemon [1]

“Alright, so you know to come here next week, right?”

“Yes.”

“Good, get home safe.”

Eve Maitner waved her hand in circles as she bid farewell.

“Phew… My limbs really don’t move as I want them to.”

Still, thanks to that, I was able to gain quite a bit of valuable experience.

‘I thought I’d be somewhat accustomed to combat from full-dive machine games, but I was really surprised to find out otherwise.’

In games, attacks come in familiar patterns, so I could dodge them by timing it right, but unfortunately, this world I’ve possessed doesn’t seem to work that way at all.

‘Who would’ve thought she’d use guaranteed-hit skills twice in a row…’

One of Eve Maitner’s attack skills, Electro Field, releases a powerful electromagnetic wave over a wide area, inflicting a short 1-2 second stun—practically a guaranteed-hit skill.

Since it doesn’t summon thunder but rather emits weak electromagnetic waves, if you deploy a barrier to block it, you won’t be able to barely block the lightning magic that follows.

‘Still, it’s a matchup where I have a chance if I can just close the distance… Who knew she’d fire electromagnetic waves twice in a row?’

The only thing I could learn from the one-sided beating disguised as practice was… that this world is indeed not the world from the game.

Even when I went to collect hidden pieces scattered near Seoul, all I found were traces of them already being taken, with only the hidden pieces meant for the protagonist left intact.

[“Please enter your destination.”]

“Home.”

[“Estimated time is 30 minutes. Would you like to switch to manual driving mode or continue with autonomous driving…”]

“Autonomous mode, please.”

After instructing the car to drive itself, I leaned back into the plush seat, exhausted from being scorched by lightning magic.

‘Since this car costs at least 600 million won, it’s nice that it comes with all sorts of options.’

I can never forgive Yun Seong-ho, but at the very least, I should be grateful for the high-end cars, underground lab, and Yuseong Group he left me.

‘Deok-bae must be rolling around in stress by now.’

I told him not to contact me unless it was urgent and to use his discretion, and since Yuseong Group’s stock keeps rising and I haven’t received any messages, the knowledge of professional management I subtly implanted in him must have paid off.

‘Thanks to Eve spreading my words to the domestic guilds, I don’t even need to wage a public opinion battle. How great is that?’

If only the protagonist could enroll in Raon Academy, grow smoothly, and then behead the final boss—how wonderful would that be?

‘If the final boss is defeated, I might find a clue to return home.’

<Main Quest>

<Help the protagonist defeat [Demon King Mephisto] and save the world>

<Reward: An audience with God, 1 Wish Ticket>

The only quest I received after possessing this world—and the one I strongly suspect will be my last.

Is the “God” I might meet after clearing this quest really the one who sent me to this world?

‘If I just stay still, I’ll never escape this world.’

As I thought this and closed my eyes in the car heading home, right at that moment…

[“A powerful Gate reaction has been detected nearby. Recalculating route…”]

“…There’s nothing but mountain roads ahead. A Gate appearing in the mountains… I guess passage will be impossible until the heroes arrive…”

-KABOOM…!

With that alert, the car suddenly began shaking violently…

“W-Wait…?!”

As if being sucked into a massive black hole, I could only grip the car’s safety bar and helplessly watch as the vehicle was slowly pulled into the enormous Gate.

And when I regained consciousness, what I saw was…

“…Where is this?”

A dark cave interior, littered with the crushed remains of countless monsters.

…

…

…

“Ugh, what’s this foul smell?!”

The only thing I could discern while looking around was that I had no idea where this place was.

“I thought the phone might work since it functions somewhat inside dungeons… But I guess calls are still impossible…”

My phone had long since stopped working.

Still, since the Gate I glimpsed while being sucked in was quite large… I could only hold onto the slim hope that someone who saw it would report it to the heroes.

-Click, THUD…!

From inside the now-deactivated car, I grabbed the pistol I’d made in the lab after killing Yun Seong-ho, thinking I might need weapons.

-CLACK!

“Didn’t expect to test it out in a place like this.”

-BANG!

Pulling the trigger, the harpoon attached to the barrel shot out at high speed.

-CRASH!

Confirming it had embedded itself firmly in the cave wall, I began stretching by moving my legs repeatedly.

‘Now, time to move.’

-ZIP!

When I pressed the button near the trigger, the rope connected to the harpoon rapidly retracted, making me feel weightless as I was pulled forward.

‘To explain the dungeon’s structure… There’s the safest entrance, the monster area with weak mobs, the hidden room with hidden monsters or items, and the boss room with the boss monster.’

The place I needed to find was the entrance where people who properly entered the Gate would appear. Since the Gate formed suddenly when I was pulled in… That place definitely wasn’t the entrance.

‘The entrance isn’t that small to begin with—it’s supposed to be wide open.’

Moving through the massive cave like a red-spandex-wearing spider-human from superhero movies, I realized the monsters appearing inside the Gate were unusually strong.

‘I thought the monsters lying where I appeared were already high-level…’

The fallen monsters were upper-tier B-rank. I assumed they’d killed each other in a territorial fight, but…

‘There are a lot of A-rank monsters. At least there aren’t any flying ones—that’s a relief.’

If there were flying monsters, I wouldn’t have been able to move this freely. I’d have been caught in 2-3 seconds and turned into monster food.

‘Giant Crocodile, High Goblin… It’s definitely a cave-type dungeon.’

Normally, cave dungeons are dominated by low-tier C-rank “Giant Bats,” but… judging by the bat wing fragments scattered around, they must have “been here” at some point.

‘Psychokinesis—nice.’

If I hadn’t created a translucent barrier with psychokinesis to distort visibility while moving, the chances of being targeted by ground monsters would have been much higher.

After some time, I finally found what seemed to be a massive entrance.

And I could also sense someone entering the Gate.

‘Got it, I need to quickly request support…’

Just as I was about to swiftly ask for help from whoever came through the Gate…

-BEEEEEEEEP

‘……!!!’

-CRASH!

Right before reaching the entrance, I changed direction and hid my presence behind a nearby boulder.

‘Why is that bastard here now?!’

A being that absolutely should not appear in South Korea at this point in time.

Skin so dark it could be mistaken for a corpse, blood-red eyes eerily resembling human blood, and the overwhelming demonic energy and killing intent unique to Archdemons.

“Haa… I came here thinking there’d be nothing, just for fun… Who knew ‘this thing’ would be here? The First Seat would love it.”

‘Why is Shena appearing at this point in the story?!’

One of the Seven Archdemons serving the final boss.

Though the weakest in combat among them, she possesses mental manipulation abilities on par with Yun Se-ah, earning her the Fourth Seat among the Seven Archdemons.

Shena of Envy.

Why is such a powerful boss monster, who should appear only after Yun Se-ah’s subjugation, showing up here?

‘What’s going on? Could the butterfly effect from killing Yun Seong-ho have already started?!’

Did Yun Seong-ho have some connection to the Archdemons?

‘In the original story, after killing Yun Seong-ho, the Archdemon arc unfolds, so I just accepted it… But could the “experimental site in Korea” mentioned in the Archdemon arc actually be… Yun Seong-ho’s lab?!’

“This demonic energy deep inside… It definitely feels like His Majesty’s ‘that thing’… But why do I also smell something else~?”

‘If she means the Demon King’s “that thing”… Is she talking about the fragments of the seal? I heard they were in Korea… But were they inside this suddenly formed Gate?!’

-Click

Her footsteps grew closer.

“Hmm, maybe it’s just my mood? Well, I am hungry after coming all this way… And the ‘Restriction’ is making me feel all fuzzy.”

‘A Restriction?’

So she’s not at full condition…

‘If I strike now, can I take her down?’

If I kill Shena now, I can prevent the massacre that happens later.

Unlike other Archdemons, Shena’s mind control leaves severe aftereffects—once it takes hold, breaking free is nearly impossible. Most importantly, among the Seven Archdemons, Shena has the loosest discipline, so killing her here could significantly delay Mephisto’s revival.

‘And since she’s also a mental manipulator…’

There’s a chance I could strengthen my [Hypnotic Evil Eye] using parts of Shena’s remains.

As I thought this and tried to reposition…

-Rustle

‘……….!’

“Found you, little thief.”

A chillingly beautiful voice echoed from behind.

“Damn it…!”

-STAB!

“……!!”

I tried to resist, but the blade piercing my abdomen in an instant made me drop the pistol—my only means of resistance.

‘Dammit, this situation wasn’t in the ga…!’

If I recklessly use [Hypnotic Evil Eye] and Shena resists… I’ll be forcibly teleported to her lair without any chance to fight back, becoming either an experiment subject or a corpse.

“Now now, your blood looks delicious. Why don’t you come with me?”

As if not giving me time to think, I met Shena’s gaze—and in an instant, my body floated upward before I lost consciousness.