episode_0036

The final boss, Draken, leads four henchmen.

Necromancer, Druid, Paladin, and Demon.

Among them is Belphegor, a grand demon who claims to be Draken’s right-hand man…

|I. The grand demon Belphegor shall manifest in this world|

“Mijung. Step back.”

“…Okay.”

Why did that guy pop up here?

Without even giving time to understand the situation, Lawrence’s corpse rises to its feet and stands on two legs.

His bloodied, distorted face grimaces and makes a sound.

Lawrence has been dead for a long time.

The magic that was inside him spreads out, forcibly moving his corpse.

|So, the one who has been recklessly destroying dungeons is…|

Possessed.

When someone makes a contract with Belphegor, their body becomes Belphegor’s, and he can possess it whenever he wants.

I didn’t expect to face Belphegor like this.

I quickly assess the situation.

|It was you|

“Ha…”

Damn. I was wrong.

I can’t win against that.

The difference in power is evident from the amount of magic touching my body.

I’m at a level where I’m not sure if I can even beat Yerina with all my strength.

There’s no way I can defeat the Four Kings.

The only fortunate thing is that Belphegor is using a human body, so his stats are significantly reduced.

The key is how much they have decreased.

|The dungeons all screamed as they met their end, apparently at the hands of a tall man and a child|

“Ah. I see.”

It seems our Four Kings are quite angry.

They might just destroy a dungeon or two and walk around.

We shouldn’t have shown up so early because of those guys.

‘No. Did I wake him up?’

I realize that Belphegor didn’t come looking for me.

I woke him up.

In the game’s story, Belphegor’s early actions are not revealed.

Even during the past 12 rounds, I never encountered Belphegor early on.

But it turns out he was hiding inside the respected mayor of Kyrn, Lawrence…

I accidentally poked the beehive.

“Mijung. Run away. Go up quickly and ask for help.”

“…”

There’s no answer to this.

If we show our backs, we both die.

Someone has to face Belphegor and stall for time.

Mijung has to lead reinforcements.

That’s the best chance of winning.

“…I can’t.”

“Hey!”

But Mijung just stands there, frozen.

It seems she’s immobilized by Belphegor’s dark magic.

As a monster, she can’t resist a higher-level monster.

This is bad.

|Consider it an honor to die at the hands of the grand demon Belphegor|

“Ridiculous…”

Thud.

A rock fragment flies from where he was standing.

And then, he disappeared.

Without a trace, cleanly.

“Huh?”

I was definitely watching him.

Is that the speed that even my magically enhanced vision can’t keep up with?

Realizing this, my body moves instinctively.

“Argh?!”

|A swift one, indeed|

As I lower myself as if to fall, a sharp energy passes by my eyes.

I don’t even know where it came from.

I roll backward on the dungeon floor, barely stopping my speed, and meet eyes with Belphegor approaching me again.

The face had become so grotesque that it was hard to tell where the eyes were.

“Darn it. This is like a bug level of speed.”

He was confident in his agility, not lagging behind even compared to Yerina.

With a fivefold exaggeration as a guardian knight, and another boost with stat enhancement through magic control.

Yet, I never expected to fall behind so much in terms of speed.

Even when I faced the main body in the previous chapter, it didn’t seem to be as fast as this.

That speed is impossible to deal with.

My hands tremble, and a sense of helplessness washes over me.

“Huh? Faster than the main body?”

Wait a minute.

Something is off.

In the previous chapter, I fought against Velfegor’s main body.

Back then, Velfegor was definitely fast, but not to the point where I couldn’t even perceive his movements.

But now, with Velfegor borrowing a human body and weakened, is he this fast?

Even with my current strength and speed with magic control, I should be much stronger and faster than in the previous chapter.

It doesn’t add up.

|Slow to give up. If you surrender, I’ll let you rest comfortably in hell…|

“You. Isn’t that your original speed?”

|…|

That speed is not something Velfegor can normally achieve.

Whether there’s a cooldown, a usage limit, or some other restriction, there must be some kind of limitation.

One thing is certain, it’s not a technique powerful enough to finish me off in one shot.

|You’re talking nonsense…|

“Come on. Come at me again.”

Spitting out a click, I adjust my stance once more.

If that guy really had the speed to disappear from my sight in an instant, then it doesn’t make sense that he didn’t cut my throat just now.

He should have beheaded me before I even realized it.

In other words, his overwhelming speed is an illusion.

Naturally, that’s the conclusion I come to.

“Why. Scared? Should I go first?”

|Haah…|

Taking a deep breath, Velfegor exhales more magic.

The dungeon interior is now filled with dark air, making my throat dry with each breath.

That guy was the main culprit of air pollution.

|Die.|

“…!”

Thud.

Once again, he disappears from sight after kicking the ground.

At the same time, my instincts scream at me.

Roll down immediately and retreat.

But this time, I don’t follow my instincts.

Instead, I turn my head to look at the back where I sense dense magic…

“Ugh?!”

Suddenly, the guy appears behind me, swinging his magic sword right at my neck.

Exactly at the angle and height suitable for turning my whole body into minced meat if I had rolled as my instincts told me.

As I roll forward to dodge, the guy seems confused and his movement stops.

“I get it now.”

Even though his face is distorted, I can roughly see his expression.

He must be wondering how I knew and dodged.

“You. It wasn’t speed, it was teleportation, right?”

His body trembles and shivers.

Bingo.

Finally, a clear answer emerges.

Velfegor wasn’t as fast as to be untraceable by my eyes.

The running and kicking the ground were all fake.

In reality, he teleported behind me.

It might have looked like he disappeared from my sight, but he actually teleported.

But even after using teleportation twice, I’m still alive?

There must be some serious flaw in the technique.

“Shacky. Using a familiar technique.”

As the thought reaches this point.

A bitter laugh escapes me.

It felt like a familiar technique for some reason.

Unlimited teleportation should mean that I should be dead in the blink of an eye. If not, it means there’s a limit to the ability. And quite a significant limit at that. For example, being able to teleport to a target, but not within a 5-meter radius of the target.

|What the…!|

How did you know that?

It’s simple.

Because I’m a veteran who has memorized all the hidden items and abilities in this game.

Random ability ‘Jump’.

Allows teleportation within a 5-meter distance from the hostile target.

I thought Velphigor would have eaten it this time.

|Oh, what a fool. Tripped over nothing.|

“Oh, really? How about getting up close and personal to fight?”

|······!|

The way to counter ‘Jump’ is simple.

Approach quickly and close the distance first.

If you get within 5 meters, the teleportation is blocked.

Since I’m the only one hostile to him, he can’t teleport away.

|You’ll regret this!|

“Regret what?”

As I rushed in to approach, Velphigor just staggered, not responding in any way.

I thought he might have a trick up his sleeve.

But I soon realized.

It was just that I was too fast.

He was too slow to react to my speed.

Realizing that, I no longer needed to be cautious.

|Argh!|

Swish.

The sound of flesh being torn apart by the blade echoed.

At the same time, Velphigor’s limbs were severed from his body and scattered in all directions.

Even as his limbs were severed and he collapsed to the ground, Velphigor could only weakly scream and do nothing.

This is almost embarrassing to call a fight.

“Hah. This was too easy.”

If I hadn’t hesitated from the beginning and just attacked, I would have caught him easily.

Ah. Maybe he wouldn’t have realized he had ‘Jump’.

In any case, it’s a big gain.

When I fight his main body later, at least he won’t be surprised if he suddenly disappears from sight.

|You…! Reveal your name, human!|

“Would you reveal yours if you were in my place?”

The moment I reveal my name is the moment I’ll be chased to my death.

There’s no way I’ll reveal it.

It’s over.

As I was about to plunge my sword into the struggling Velphigor’s heart, trying to finish him off.

|I didn’t intend to go this far!|

“I guess the second phase is inevitable…”

Boom!

Dark smoke spewed from his body and engulfed me.

I had to quickly retreat from the searing pain that engulfed my skin.

|Remember this as your glory. I have allowed a bit of my true power to be unleashed by you|

What filled the place of the missing limbs was magic swirling in black.

Velphigor’s entire body was now filled with dense magic.

He was practically a walking weapon.

“Hah. Even if you bring your main body, you won’t win, buddy.”

I tried to boast, but I was reaching my limit.

Perhaps it was because I had been using my magic control at maximum output for too long.

My eyes were already closing, and my body was getting heavier.

It was the precursor to magical exhaustion.

I had almost no magic left.

With just one strike, I had to kill Velphigor, who had entered the second phase and turned his whole body into a weapon.

Can I do it?

“Hah…”

He was making strange noises.

Whether I can do it or not doesn’t matter.

I have to do it anyway.

Adjusting my posture to spring away, I gripped my sword.

A charge after the strike, without considering defense.

A basic stance that focused solely on speed.

‘Dakia-style swordsmanship. 0th form, First Strike.’

Everything would be decided with a single strike.

Whether I die, Velphigor dies, or we both die.

And as I was about to spring away.

“Enjoyed it, human.”

“This is insane.”

Kwaaaah!

Magic spewing from the severed limbs covers my vision as it flies towards me.

If I get hit by that, it’s a gruesome ending with my body torn apart and bleeding out.

I have to avoid it.

But what comes after dodging that?

I’ll soon collapse from magic exhaustion and be done for.

I only have one chance to move.

If I dodge it, there’s no next move.

I have no choice.

I have to run towards that magic, prepared for death.

If I don’t want to die, I have to jump into the midst of death.

“No way!”

“What?!”

At that moment, the magic covering my vision disappears with a tearing scream from Mijeong.

Mijeong, wielding a wooden club, comes into view, attacking Velfegor.

She dodges the waves of magic coming at her and immediately counterattacks Velfegor, who was trying to retaliate.

“Ugh! Ugh! Cough!”

Mijeong’s movements are swift.

She used to be slow and clumsy, but now she moves gracefully.

Mijeong swiftly dodges every flying magic like a spinning top and continuously strikes Velfegor’s face with the wooden club.

“Thanks, kid.”

Thanks to her, a gap is created.

I squeeze out the last remaining magic and rush forward like a flash, cutting off Lawrence’s ugly head in one stroke.

At the same time, the wriggling magic is sucked into a single point in an instant.

“I’ll find you and kill you! I’ll find you and kill you! I’ll find you and kill you!”

Even until the moment the magic disappears, she keeps shouting without a break.

When the magic finally gathers in one place,

the eerie voice that echoed throughout the dungeon also fades away, leaving everything quiet as if nothing had happened.

Only the dismembered bodies roll around.

In the condensed magic, a stone emitting a sinister light lies alone.

Could this be a magic stone?

“It’s over.”

It’s all over now.

Finally, unable to resist the overwhelming exhaustion, I collapse heavily.

I need to recover a bit.

[Fame points increase.]

[Accumulating fame points due to unknown name.]

The system window that pops up.

Indeed, Velfegor didn’t reveal my name.

Velfegor will be immobilized for a while due to the recoil from the death of the possessed body.

I don’t have to worry about being chased by him.

“Phew.”

Things turned out much better than expected.

There will be traces of Velfegor’s possession on Lorein’s body.

So, if I carry out the dismembered body, it will easily justify the murder.

Then Cornelia will be freed, I’ll gain a solid backing, and everything will be fine.

All’s well that ends well.

But…

“Haa. Haaa. Haaaah.”

“Mijeong?”

Mijeong’s condition seems strange.

Why is she acting like that?

Her eyes are shining brightly and she’s panting heavily.