Crack-!
Boom-!
"Wh-what?!"
The players’ eyes widened.
A giant demon over five meters tall with a massive body rushed toward the panicked players.
"It… it…"
Paf-!
Before the player in front could open his mouth, the demon’s knee hit his chest.
The upper half of the warrior-class player exploded with just one attack.
[What are you doing in the sacred battle place?]
The demon frowned as if he found it unpleasant.
He knew that the humans in front of them were underestimating them.
He laughed in disbelief.
'They put their guards down? Mere humans?'
It was as if a deer was yawning in front of a tiger.
That was how the humans looked.
Even if they fought together, they would struggle, so seeing such an attitude made him feel insulted.
[You've insulted me.]
That was enough reason to kill them.
The demon started to move. Explosions and screams spread through the battlefield.
"Wh-what's going on?!"
"D-demons are this strong…?"
It was at that moment that fear appeared in the eyes of players.
They had reacted high and mighty after hearing news about the Demon Cult.
Korea, China, and South America…
Weak demons that died without being able to do anything were nowhere to be seen.
Boom-!
A young man covered with blue energy stomped on the ground.
He rushed through the battlefield and appeared in front of a demon in the blink of an eye.
He lowered his body and moved his left leg back before stepping with his right foot and soaring through the air.
Slash-!
[Cough!]
The demon that had been sweeping the players away was cut in half.
"D-Dragon Sword!"
"Dragon Sword! Dragon Sword is here!"
The players shouted in excitement.
"You…"
Kim ShiHoon turned around.
"Haha! As expected, it wasn't luck that you beat Jason… Cough! Ugh!"
He extended his hand and grabbed a player by his collar.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Eh…"
Boom-!
"What. Are. You. doing?"
"Cough! P-please let… me go…"
Strong killing intent came out from him.
Kim ShiHoon looked at the players with burning eyes.
"Get out of here."
"Yes?"
"We don't need dumbasses that don't know how to respect a formation. Get the fuck out, right now."
"…"
Aggressive insults left his mouth.
The players gulped and looked at each other.
Unlike the rumors, the demons were extremely strong.
They were in the middle of a battlefield, so there was no way they'd be able to return alive.
"P-please give us a chance!"
"We didn’t think demons were so strong!"
"…"
They were begging in desperate voices as if they were asking for their lives.
Kim ShiHoon frowned as if he didn't like it.
"Haa…" he sighed.
If it were up to him, he really wanted to leave them alone in the middle of the battlefield, but he couldn't do that.
'It isn't time for that.'
He bit his lips.
He turned his head. The situation was bad.
Players were in a panic since they weren't expecting demons and Demon Cult members to be that strong.
"Damn."
He remembered KangWoo's words.
'Hyeongnim was right.'
Everything had been solved too smoothly because of Oh KangWoo’s incredible strength.
The humans that had been protected like a plant in a greenhouse looked pathetic.
It reminded him of…
Himself.
* * *
"…"
He remained silent.
He could see himself in the humans that were overwhelmed by the strength of demons.
'Me too.'
He looked at his sword.
His hands were trembling.
His body could feel the fear. Just looking at a demon was enough to take his breath away.
The demon with the red mask…
As if it was made from darkness, the demon’s mask floated in the darkness.
- Struggle. Struggle desperately and remember me.
A low voice…
Just remembering his voice made his consciousness fade.
"If this…"
He wasn't that different from them.
He laughed in disbelief at how pathetic he looked.
He clenched his fist, and a thick tendon bulged out.
'How long are you going to keep following from behind?' he asked himself.
Stomp-!!
He aggressively stomped on the ground, and blue energy swirled from his dantian.
"Fight as one!'
He used his Qi to spread his voice.
A scream loud enough to cover the entire battlefield made all players, demon, and Demon Cult members focus on Kim ShiHoon.
He stomped on the ground and rushed forward, swinging his sword toward a demon that didn't seem to be a being that a human could overcome.
Slash-!
Black blood poured in all directions.
He cut away demons in just one attack.
Players, who were overwhelmed by the unexpected strength of demons, looked at Kim ShiHoon with intense eyes.
He raised the sword.
Blue light spread in circles, and he shouted aggressively from the bottom of his soul.
"For Guardian!!!"
"WOAAHH!!!"
The players’ screams covered the battlefield.
* * *
The battle intensified.
Demons and players continued fighting against each other.
KangWoo, who was looking at the situation from behind, turned his head while tearing up.
"I was prepared for it, but as expected, it's hard to watch and not do anything."
"Mr. KangWoo…"
Gaia called him in a worried voice.
KangWoo shook his head and turned around.
"I'm going away for a moment."
"Yes."
He walked out of the tent that was located at the rear of the battlefield.
"Fuck."
KangWoo shook his head while hitting his cheeks.
"I almost laughed."
He knew he had to keep acting serious, but he couldn't help but smile at the constant pinging of the message window.
He also felt refreshed after seeing all the new Guardian players who hadn't taken the issue more seriously.
'I hope it weeds out well.'
He wasn't sure if making a comparison like that was correct, but the war was, in a sense, a 'refining' job.
A war to select the players who, despite feeling fear at the strength of demons, were able to overcome them and fight until the end.
Tap-
He lightly stomped on the ground.
KangWoo's body rose into the air, and he moved to the top of the mountain from where he could get a clearer view of the battlefield.
The four he could call his underlings were waiting for him there.
He didn't need to act like the Warrior of Light in front of them. They knew the real face of the demon called Oh KangWoo.
Echidna, Balzac, Balrog, and Lilith…
He walked toward them.
The one who ran to him first was Echidna, and she grabbed his sleeve.
"Seol-ah?"
"She's in the healing squadron in the rear."
"Hahaha. My death knight is secretly protecting her, so you don't need to worry."
Balzac hit the floor with his wand.
A creepy laugh was heard.
"It's the death knight I created using Reinald's corpse. It's the best one I've made yet. An average 9th-hell demon probably isn't going to be a match for it."
"Good."
He nodded and sat on the rock from where he could see the battlefield.
Echidna tried to sit on his lap, her eyes shining.
"Ugh."
"Fufu. Kid, move back for a moment."
Tentacles grabbed Echidna.
She wiggled, but the opponent was Lilith.
It was a great demon who was even capable of facing an archduke.
"Let me go."
Echidna glared at her.
Lilith shrugged her shoulders and ignored her.
After approaching KangWoo, she spoke in a seductive voice.
"Mr. KangWoo, do you want a cup of coffee?"
"Yes."
He grabbed the cup of coffee and looked at the battlefield.
'They're better than expected.'
They weren't that weak in the first place…
It was just that they'd underestimated demons too much.
He was worried after seeing them panic after the first confrontation, but thanks to Kim ShiHoon's performance, the panic had died down.
'Well done, my child!'
He wanted to clap because of how proud Kim ShiHoon made him feel.
Even if he was prepared to see some blood, he didn't want humans to be annihilated by an overwhelming difference.
Thanks to Kim ShiHoon, they were able to avoid the worst situation.
"Then…"
If it was that much, the goal to wake players up had succeeded.
He began seeing a few players Awakening during the battle.
It was time to move.
"Get ready," he said in a low voice.
Balrog, Lilith and Balzac knelt.
Echidna looked around, and then she also knelt.
"While they're distracted with the battle, attack the interior of the Demon Cult's base."
"What should we do with the humans inside the base?" Balrog's asked.
"Do you even need to ask?"
The tips of KangWoo's mouth went up.
It was something that wasn't even worth asking.
During the ten thousand years he'd spent in Hell, he'd moved according to one simple law…
"Answer evil with an even bigger evil."
He calmly opened his mouth.
Balrog smiled.
"Answer killing intent with an even bigger killing intent."
He stood up and looked at the huge Demon Cult base carved into the mountain.
"Sweep everyone away."
* * *
Boom-!!
Slam-!
"AAGGHH!!"
The sound of screams filled the passageway.
A thick smell of blood and a horrifyingly loud sound made her senses blurry.
A woman was running through a passageway that was shaking as if an earthquake was happening.
"Haa! Haa!"
Yulia Vilkova…
She was a very important executive of the Demon Cult who had the position of ‘Apostle of Evil’.
She managed to walk out of the crumbled tunnel.
"Damn, damn!!"
Her beautiful face was distorted.
The Tibet Temple was one of the five most important branches of the Demon Cult.
They were on the verge of collapsing.
'Since things became like this…'
She bit her lips.
It wasn't that all the preparations were ready.
If she moved carelessly, something that couldn't be reversed might happen.
But…
'I have no other choice.'
It was obvious that, if things kept going on like that, the Tibet base would collapse.
She had no other choice.
Slide-
Deep within the mountain, a door leading to the center chambers opened.
As she opened the door, intensely hot air hit her.
"I must wake him up."
The Phase of Fire…
Emperor of the Fire Road…
She had to wake up Mamon, the Archduke of Greed.
