Chapter 199 – Demons’ Forest (14)

“Kuk, kuuuk…..!”

Runt couldn’t understand what had happened to him.

He thought everything was over. He had thought that he would finally be able to end the life of the one who humiliated him. He had run all the way here with that mind.

But the explosion from the Ceratopsian Dinosaur had swallowed everything up.

De Roy Lake, which had seemed so deep, had evaporated, leaving the bottom of the lake open to see, and everything around him that had been destroyed from the previous attack was destroyed again.

His subordinates who had been running with him couldn’t be found. It was like even their bodies were melted. The same went for the Blood Land.

Also.

Above the gasping Runt, Yeon-woo was looking down with an indifferent gaze, pressing down on his shoulder with his foot. Under his mask, his eyes were shining like will-o’-the-wisps.

Runt did whatever he could do to get up.

He was the successor of the great god Freya. He couldn’t be lying down in front of a mere human like this. People that were of lower status than him should bow down and look at him with respectful eyes. They shouldn’t have those kinds of eyes when looking at him.

But Yeon-woo just stepped on him harder. Crunch. Runt’s body was planted even deeper in the ground.

“Keackkkk!”

Runt shouted at the pain. Though he had barely survived the fire, he still had burns. Since his skin was being ripped on top of that, it felt like his body was being shredded apart.

Yeon-woo just put more strength on his foot, not caring about Runt. As his shoulder bones broke, his body became twisted at a weird angle.

“So why did you follow me? You should’ve lied low and stayed quiet. Why did you follow me to suffer like this?”

“I’ll kill you!”

“You guys are too stupid. That arrogance is gonna be the end of you someday.”

Runt didn’t even hear what Yeon-woo said. All he was thinking about was that he needed to escape from this pain and get the humiliation over with.

His last bit of pride left pulled him through it.

“Hehe! Hehehehehe! Fine, kill me! Kill! But! Don’t think that it’s over just because you caught me. Even if I die here, Aether is probably already…..!”

“I know.”

But Yeon-woo coldly cut Runt off.

Runt’s eyes shot open. Anxiety flashed through his eyes.

“Didn’t you think about that?”

Yeon-woo’s lips curved up looking at the guy.

“This might all be a trap.”

“What…..!”

Runt screamed, wanting to know what Yeon-woo was saying, but Yeon-woo no longer answered his questions. He just swung Vigrid like he was bored.

Runt’s head was cut off from his body and rolled on the floor. His face was still filed with shock. As blood poured out, the ground turned red.

Then, Yeon-woo’s shadow stretched out to swallow the corpse and the soul.

[Hehehe. I feel like we got a big one today.]

[I’ll be able to eat to my full this time.]

A High Elf’s soul, other souls of Superior species, and even the players of the Blood Land.

They were all skilled, so Shanon and Hanryeong couldn’t help but feel overjoyed. And they were all guys they caught without even working too hard for it.

A trap to catch the Elohim.

The plan that Yeon-woo suggested to Brahm was extremely simple.

If Yeon-woo moved as the bait, the Elohim would split up. Then, Yeon-woo and Brahm could attack each party.

Of course, it was easier said than done. Yeon-woo, Phante, and Edora would have had to go against an unknown amount of force.

But Yeon-woo had been expecting that like the Elohim, other clans would be interested in Brahm and Sesha, although he hadn’t expected it would be the Blood Land.

Still, he was right, and he had led them to their demise.

Even if a clan like the Blood Land had arrived, he hadn’t been too worried because when he exploded the demonic energy inside the Ceratopsian Dinosaur, the surroundings would be completely destroyed.

Yeon-woo slowly turned around. There was someone who was still alive. It was Lao.

“Why……even…..us…..!”

Lao looked at Yeon-woo with an unbelieving expression. He was almost at his end, but he wanted to know the answer.

He had thought things were going smoothly. Also, he had even helped Yeon-woo. He didn’t understand why he was being like this.

And to his question,

“Does this satisfy your curiosity?”

Yeon-woo slowly lifted his mask.

“…..!”

Lao’s face was filled with shock when he recognized Yeon-woo’s face. The face of the one he thought was dead was there.

His stiffened face realized something as he spoke.

“Is that…..it. We….were just used by you…..we’ll have a struggle with the Elohim…..!”

Lao fell back as Vigrid cleared through his head and died.

There was only one thing he was worried about as he took his final breath.

Because of Yeon-woo, the relationship between Elohim and the Blood Land would be ruined. He was hoping his emperor would take care of the situation wisely.

But Yeon-woo just scoffed at Lao and activated the skill he had prepared.

[Extrasensory Perception – Synchronization]

And like a lie, he turned into an imitation of Lao. In that condition, Yeon-woo moved rapidly and began to leave his trace around. Next, he copied Runt and the other players.

It looked like there had been an intense battle.

If someone came, they would probably think that the two sides clashed, and everyone died from the Ceratopsian Dinosaur’s explosion.

Then, the crack between the Elohim and the Blood Land would deepen.

‘While I’m at it, I should increase the scale. So it’s bigger.’

Yeon-woo’s eyes on Jeong-woo’s face were flashing sharper than ever.

***

“So they’re here.”

Brahm clicked his tongue seeing Aether and the Elohim pass through the barrier through his crystal.

Where they passed through was where the arm was.

He had made it to grow the purple Devil Flowers and summon demons, but it was also a defense against the Elohim, who could attack at any time.

Why were they doing exactly as he presumed? Were they arrogant, walking in here to his world with their own two feet, or were they stupid.

It occurred to him that arrogance and stupidity might not be that different.

Galliard smirked as he looked at the crystal.

“Seems like they regathered their forces in that time. But is Hemera here too? They were biting at each other’s heads. I guess twins are still twins after all.”

Since in this world full of fighting and disharmony, you only had your siblings to lean on. Galliard nodded his head in understanding.

But Brahm snorted like there was no way.

“Love between siblings? Don’t make me laugh. You think those bastards filled with self-love and arrogance would still have those emotions left?”

“Then?”

“Those bastards are people who’ll even kill their parents to get what they want. Obviously, Hemera approached Aether knowing his hands were tied. And if she can…..”

Brahm lifted a corner of his mouth. He was laughing at them.

“She’ll probably even try to kill Aether when everything’s over.”

Galliard’s eyes widened.

“She would? I don’t think…..”

“No. You still don’t know. This is a god’s society. They’re people who could do that and more. They won’t share the rewards.”

Brahm firmly shook his head.

He felt like he could see Hemera and Aether’s futures already. He could already tell from how they were being wary of each other.

Also, Hemera seemed to have the upper hand with their forces. It seemed like she would backstab Aether the moment she could. And although he didn’t know what it was, Aether had also prepared for when that happened.

That was how a god’s society was. Olympus, Asgard, Deva….. There were thousands of temples that all had different names, but in the end, they were all the same.

This was probably the fundamentals of being a god. Position, rank, holiness, and legends. Only these things would prove them on the 98th floor.

And the Elohim, who were split from the gods, were no different. They were filled with people who would backstab each other if needed. The Devil Army, where the members were ready to die for each other, might be better.

Galliard shut his mouth looking at his friend. He knew about his friend’s pain more than anymore.

Brahm crossed his arms and continued with what he was saying.

“The funny thing though, is that although they seem messed up, they’ll fight each other after they get what they need. You, take care of Sesha well.”

“Sure.”

Galliard nodded his head and left to put Sesha in a safe place. What they wanted was Sesha. He was going to place her in a place that wasn’t easily noticeable if possible.

After Brahm and Galliard confirmed that Sesha’s presence was gone, they slowly opened the Book of Mercury.

Today, those bastards would be used as sacrifices to treat Sesha’s illness. It was the last thing he could do for her mother, Ananta.

And also, it was a repentance for that guy who wasn’t here anymore.

Whoosh!

The Book of Mercury let out its shine.

Brahm’s consciousness slowly settled down, and the Imaginary World inside the barrier started to rotate.

Creak, creak—

With the sound of a joint that hadn’t been greased properly.

***

“Everyone stay on guard.”

At Aether’s orders, Hemera and the others’ faces all hardened.

They could all feel it too, that the air of the forest had suddenly changed. It meant that the magic of the Illusionary World had been activated.

It meant that this was the official beginning.

They were prepared for this, since they had chosen to enter Brahm’s territory.

But thinking of something and actually experiencing was different.

The air was heavy, like it would squeeze your lungs, and the curse that was poking their brains completely drained their magic power.

And in front of them, the trees and the black sky, and even the dark god made their sense of direction faint.

It was completely different from when Yeon-woo came. <Maze in Fog>. It was a large scale magic circle Brahm had prepared to deal with intruders.

“This is so annoying here.”

Hemera frowned and complained like she was unaffected, but her eyes were flashing sharply.

She continued to call for the light spirits, will-o’-the-wisps, but every time she did, the spirit melted in the fog.

Will-o’-the-wisps didn’t just light the dark. They were also effective in resisting and blocking attacks.

But the fact that they were disappearing so easily meant one thing.

‘He’s revealing his holiness.’

If the Illusionary World that the god Brahma made was this strong, everyone here needed to be careful.

Then.

“Havelle? Where did this kid go? Havelle?”

One player suddenly stopped and looked around in confusion.

Aether and Hemera paused to look back.

“What’s going on?”

“I, It’s, I haven’t seen Havelle for some time!”

“What?”

While Hemera furrowed her eyebrows, other players began to shout.

“Num Pan also suddenly disappeared. He was just next to me earlier…..!”

“Same with Ran!”

The sudden disappearance of their subordinates.

Hemera ordered them to move in teams of 3.

However.

“W, What’s this?”

A player named Noose suddenly pulled his sword out in fear. Everyone turned to look at him. Noose shouted with a pale face.

“Tanhan! Tanhan was suddenly snatched away by something!”

“Shit. Everyone gather together! Don’t fall apart!”

The fog wasn’t just swallowing the will-o’-the-wisps. It was also swallowing players.

Feeling danger, they all followed Aether’s orders to gather as one. They prepared for attacks that could strike out any second.

But even if they strengthened their defenses, their anxiety was multiplied. Even like this, their comrades disappeared one by one.

Thinking that this wouldn’t do, Hemera looked back at her subordinates. She was planning on hiding it until they met Brahm, but she felt like she would be in danger if she didn’t use it now.

And from earlier, she had felt the strength steadily leaving her body. Like water was dripping on from a broken pot.

Something was strange.

‘There’s something in this fog, no, this ground. Something’s eating my holiness…..!”

Hemera thought that Brahm was absorbing their holiness to fill his lack. If that wasn’t it, something similar to it was definitely happening.

If this went on, everyone would be dried up of their power to death.

At Hemera’s gaze, her subordinates nodded their heads and began to recite a spell.

As they did, Hemera’s body began to shine. Although it had been a while since the Protogenoi species were kicked out from society, they still had a powerful holiness.

So families in the Protogenoi species tried to gather as many apostles as they could to strengthen their holiness.

The apostles were servants bound to their family, and they were ready to give their life for their masters at any moment.

“Shit…..”

Aether had lost most of those servants in the last battle, so he looked at Hemera enviously. As he did, he felt shivers down his back. Hemera’s holiness seemed to have gotten stronger than he knew.

Meanwhile, Hemera got everything ready, and spread her hand out. Her holiness, ‘Day’, was activated, and it lit up their surroundings.

“White Light.”

The fog around them began to fade away. As the fog disappeared like it was erased by an eraser, the bright forest was revealed.

“It wor…..!”

Hemera and her subordinates cheer with tired faces. But their faces became stiff again.

Where the fog was gone, there were countless will-o’-the-wisps lit up.

As if all the Demonic species on the 23rd stage had been led here, the high Demonic species that were sparkling purple and the tens of Ceratopsian Dinosaurs were licking their lips.

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