Episode 634. Demon (2)

The demon Karkus.

Since he’s not very intelligent, he appears first in the original work.

His appearance alone was enough to make people uncomfortable, enough to make you frown even in a game, but seeing him in person was even worse.

His body, shaped like a water strider, had thin, long limbs attached, and every time he moved, it sounded like rusted iron scraping.

His fighting style was simple, just like his low intelligence.

Speed so fast it was invisible.

And the power that came from that speed.

• Demon…? Human…? Krrrk… Both taste good….

Karkus, who had been analyzing the creature before him, eventually gave up trying to understand and stretched out his limbs.

Whether Lee Hoyeon was human or demon wasn’t important to him.

Kkiikiiik-

Karkus’s fingers on his arms disappeared, transforming into something like a praying mantis’s forelegs.

This was Karkus’s form when hunting the strong.

Karkus was a demon.

Demons weren’t weak just because they had low intelligence.

They survived in the Underworld by crushing all the problems caused by their low intelligence with sheer strength.

Kkigig-

The moment that unpleasant mechanical sound filled the coastline.

Karkus’s body vanished from Lee Hoyeon’s sight.

“What the f*ck…!”

Kwaaang!

Speed too fast for the eyes to see and react.

The roar hit his ears the instant the Rune Barrier shattered.

The attack, faster than sound, easily broke the Rune Barrier.

Ttak-

Lee Hoyeon, using magic to propel himself backward, created distance between himself and Karkus.

The demon tilted his head again, looking at him who had survived the first attack.

‘Can demons exert power even without the black pillars?’

He had already confirmed there were no black pillars nearby.

Yet Karkus could fight at full strength.

‘No. He was definitely absorbing the Underworld’s magic.’

Lee Hoyeon watched the magic Karkus was absorbing through his Awakened Eyes.

He was receiving magic from a nearby source.

Lee Hoyeon was currently standing on the coast.

And the ominous darkness covering the sea was the Underworld’s magic emanating from the gates of hell.

An ordinary monster might be different.

But for a creature like a demon, this environment was more than enough to fight at full power.

‘Compared to Lucifer at full power… he’s definitely weaker.’

Lee Hoyeon analyzed the demon’s strength based on the recent attack.

Although the opponent was a demon, one of the Underworld’s apex predators, Lucifer was the successor to the Demon King.

He couldn’t compare Karkus’s current power to what Lucifer had shown.

However, that didn’t mean Karkus was an easier opponent than Lucifer.

His fight against Lucifer wasn’t a solo battle.

He had Nam Daeun, Scarlet, Irene, and Alice as reliable front-liners, and Lucy, Lumi, and Im Sol providing magical support.

There was Baek Ahyoung to heal wounds, and Rebecca, Moon Surin, and Liliana coordinating the battlefield.

Most importantly, the biggest difference was the opponent’s killing intent.

Lucifer hadn’t gone all out from the start, aiming to capture him and Liliana alive.

Ultimately, he was able to inflict serious injuries by exploiting Lucifer’s lapse in caution, and while the heroines bought him time, he managed to seize control of the fake dungeon’s magic circle.

But the Karkus before him was different.

• Human… Demon… If strong, tasty….

Karkus, drooling, stared at Lee Hoyeon with bloodshot eyes.

Karkus wasn’t trying to capture him.

What Karkus, the predator, was doing was hunting.

Whether the prey was alive or dead didn’t matter to him.

Kkeudeudeudeudeudeuk!

Kwaang-!

Karkus’s forelegs, which had suddenly appeared before him, slammed into the Rune Barrier.

Even though he had set it up thicker than before, the barrier trembled violently.

“What power…! Kkuh!”

Lee Hoyeon focused his magic into the Rune Barrier.

At the same time, an arc infused with magic spun rapidly, drawing a magic circle.

‘Spiral.’

The Spiral, imbued with wind magic, spun quickly, aiming for Karkus’s neck.

Since the magic was created outside Karkus’s field of vision, he only noticed the attack just as the Spiral was about to reach his neck.

• Krrrk… Kkgeuk?

Pasasasak-

The next moment.

The Spiral furiously dug into the sand on the coastline.

Karkus’s neck wasn’t severed; the demon was now sucking on a skull in his original position.

“… That guy is seriously ridiculous.”

There wasn’t even a scratch on Karkus’s body, and his thin legs still made that bizarre sound.

Honestly, I thought it was an attack that absolutely couldn’t be dodged.

But Karkus dodged it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

The overwhelming speed difference was enough to break one’s will to fight.

Even with his evolved Awakened Eyes, he couldn’t properly track Karkus’s movements.

Awakened Eyes involve focusing willpower into the eyes to read visible magic.

Karkus had magic too, but his fighting style wasn’t based on magic.

Kkaddeudeudeudeudeuk.

A strange sound echoed every time his knees bent and straightened.

Simply put, it was a difference in ‘species’.

Karkus, a demon who survived the Underworld.

He transcended the laws of physics with pure leg strength.

Karkus’s speed wasn’t powered by magic, so his Awakened Eyes couldn’t read it.

He truly deserved the word ‘monster’.

In contrast, Lee Hoyeon was human.

No matter how outstanding his abilities, he was still human.

• Krrrk. Strong human… can eat…

Demon Karkus thought as he looked at Lee Hoyeon.

After clashing magically a few times, he could be sure.

The prey before him was human.

A human strong enough to feel demonic, but slower than him.

At that speed, they could never catch him.

This hunt was a success.

“… You crazy bastard. Who said I’d let you eat me?”

He was in a position where he couldn’t give up, even if he wanted to.

Thump. Thump.

Every time he recognized Karkus’s strength, [Combat Sense] enveloped his body, making his heart beat faster.

Lee Hoyeon gritted his teeth and drew upon his magic again.

He accelerated his thoughts, trying to devise a way to kill the monster.

Head-on confrontation? He was outmatched in speed.

His body would be torn apart before he could even manifest magic.

Feints followed by simultaneous attacks?

The demon would dodge the moment the magic reached his neck.

Cast a Rune Barrier and then teleport?

The demon could move physically faster than Lee Hoyeon could teleport.

No matter how much he thought, he couldn’t find an answer.

To make matters worse, Karkus didn’t allow Lee Hoyeon the time to continue thinking.

Pwaang-!

Karkus, approaching with imperceptible speed, swung his forelegs right before his eyes.

The Rune Barrier, struck by Karkus’s sharp forelegs, couldn’t withstand the impact and shattered.

‘Accelerate.’

As soon as Lee Hoyeon registered the Rune Barrier breaking, he accelerated his body, repelled the magic, and retreated backward.

“… Hah.”

But this time, his luck ran out.

Ttuk. Ttuk.

Blood seeped into the sand on the coastline.

Even after using ‘Accelerate’, he couldn’t avoid the demon’s forelegs.

Lee Hoyeon glanced at his mangled right arm, then glared forward.

Just a brief graze from Karkus’s arm, and his right arm lost all strength.

• Krrrk. Krrrk… Tasty. Strong human…. Tasty…!

Karkus was licking his forelegs as if he had forgotten he was in the middle of a fight.

Seeing Karkus greedily licking his own blood made him let out a hollow laugh.

Dying to a bug with no intelligence, only instinct left, would be a disgrace for a human.

‘Facing Karkus requires a direct approach.’

Lee Hoyeon forcibly suppressed the pain in his arm.

Instead, he focused his magic into his eyes.

This opponent couldn’t be beaten with tricks.

To defeat Karkus, he ultimately had to read his movements.

Kkigig. Kkigigig…

The hunter didn’t leave the injured prey alone.

With a bizarre sound, Karkus, having tasted blood, charged even more ferociously.

Kwaaang-!

His sharp forelegs violently struck the Rune Barrier.

The force was transmitted directly to Lee Hoyeon’s body, and his right arm, which had started healing thanks to his high regenerative ability, began bleeding again.

‘… I need to concentrate more.’

Lee Hoyeon mustered all his concentration and glared at Karkus until the end.

The demon had low intelligence and simple patterns.

Charge at high speed and strike with his arms.

The problem was that the speed was too fast to perceive.

Kkigigigiiik-

Karkus bent his knees again.

He concentrated the strength of his entire body into his arms as he charged.

Kaaang-!

An impact delivered faster than sound.

This time, the Rune Barrier couldn’t hold.

“Kuhuk…!”

He hastily retreated again, but his left arm was grazed by Karkus’s leg.

Fortunately, the left arm was only lightly grazed, not as severe as the right.

• Human… tasty…

Kkirik. Kkigiiik.

The sound of Karkus twisting his joints sounded like he was mocking him.

It was a desperate situation, but Lee Hoyeon didn’t give up.

‘I’m starting to see it little by little.’

Lee Hoyeon began to reinterpret the phenomena before his eyes.

Ordinary Awakened Eyes couldn’t read the demon’s movements.

Lee Hoyeon was observing the world through his Awakened Eyes.

However, Awakened Eyes only capture magic, not everything in the world.

What he wanted to see wasn’t magic, but Karkus’s movements.

‘I’m not looking at Karkus. I’m looking at this entire space.’

Swordsmen predict their opponent’s target by the movement of their shoulders.

Because by the time you see the opponent’s sword move, it’s already too late to react.

As the skill level of both parties increases, the amount of information to observe grows.

In the realm of masters, even their gait and breathing become actions that give information to the opponent.

‘It’s the same for mages. Everything can be received as information.’

Jureureuk-

Blood flowed from his shining golden eyes.

But Lee Hoyeon didn’t stop focusing his magic.

His high regenerative ability would handle this level of pain.

In the end, the essence of combat is the same.

You must receive information from your opponent.

• Krrrk. Krrrk…? Human….

Lee Hoyeon’s eyes shone with a bright golden light.

The stronger the opponent, the more [Combat Sense] pushed Lee Hoyeon’s limits.

‘Mages need to be even faster. Abandon the arrogant thought that you can react based on the opponent’s movements.’

Lee Hoyeon was somewhat unusual among mages.

He had learned many counter-attack spells effective even when the opponent closed the distance.

But Karkus was different from anyone he had faced before.

Even using ‘Accelerate’, Lee Hoyeon, the mage, couldn’t become as fast as Karkus, and ‘Spiral’, which required direct impact to be effective, couldn’t even reach the demon.

‘I need to prevent him from approaching in the first place. No, I need more than that. I must grasp every single movement of the opponent.’

[Combat Sense] filled his body.

He channeled strength into his immobile right arm and forced his bloodshot eyes wide open.

The aftereffects would be severe after the battle, but Lee Hoyeon didn’t stop thinking.

He momentarily expanded his senses.

He blocked out all other information, focusing all his nerves on Karkus.

He predicted the opponent’s next move based on the flow of mana permeating the space.

• Krrreuk…? Human… blood….

Karkus couldn’t comprehend what Lee Hoyeon was doing.

All he understood was that his prey had suddenly started bleeding from its eyes.

Based on his experience, bleeding prey meant the hunt was almost successful.

• Tasty…. Strong human…. Krrrk…

Kkigigigig-

Karkus bent his knees.

And then, just as he had done before, he charged towards his prey.

The scene unfolded in Lee Hoyeon’s vision as if in slow motion.

Karkus bent and straightened his knees, rushing towards him.

Simply bending and straightening his knees allowed him to charge faster than sound.

That was Karkus.

His eyes rolling to confirm his prey, Karkus channeled the speed derived from his powerful legs directly into his forelegs.

His forelegs, densely covered in sharp thorns, were designed to tear the prey’s body to shreds.

A mere graze would be fatal to a frail human body.

Karkus didn’t even give him time to scream.

His forelegs, approaching at high speed, slashed across Lee Hoyeon’s chest.

Each thorn tore away at the prey’s flesh, shaping it into a form Karkus could easily devour.

Just allowing one proper attack sent Lee Hoyeon’s consciousness reeling.

He quickly regained his senses and aimed for a counter-attack, but Karkus didn’t let go of his captured prey.

In an instant, he severed the prey’s neck and began devouring the still-fresh meal.

…However, Lee Hoyeon felt no pain.

Lee Hoyeon looked down at his chest.

He had clearly seen his chest being ripped open, yet his chest was still intact.

Karkus, looking directly at him, was only now bending his knees.

Lee Hoyeon immediately understood what was happening.

What he had just seen was not reality.

It was a prediction of the future drawn by his eyes, which had interpreted the information in this space.

‘Spiral.’

As soon as he recognized this fact, Lee Hoyeon instantly created a vortex of wind in front of his chest.

A spiraling sphere of magic appeared slightly away from where Karkus had slashed his chest.

Kkigigigig-

In the split second Karkus leaped.

He abandoned even the Rune Barrier to create the ‘Spiral’.

A gamble close to suicide unless the opponent’s movements were predicted perfectly.

But Lee Hoyeon was certain.

His prediction would never be wrong.

No, this phenomenon had already surpassed the realm of prediction.

What he had just seen was not a prediction, but the truth.

Mana sensitivity and magic control abilities that had reached a divine level.

Immense concentration displayed during combat.

Overwhelming intuition stemming from [Combat Sense].

Lee Hoyeon’s destructive talent elevated accurate prediction to ‘precognition’.

[Future Prediction]

Kwaajijijik-

Karkus’s legs, which had burrowed into the center of the Spiral, were torn off like a water strider’s legs.