'Something doesn't feel right'However, I don't feel anything threatening or something. I cannot really put my finger on it, like my mind is warning me of something yet my body fails to react to it. 'Like I thought… the energy coming out is pitiful compared to when I first entered here.'The imps didn't dare to attack instead they just continued to run towards the exit, scrambling and tumbling as they went. It is as if the monsters ahead are so freakishly terrifying. That moment I was assured. Whatever is inside there is a formidable foe. '…Certainly, I shouldn't let myself get disappointed now. Do I?'Hadeon finally gave the order to move forward "Straight ahead!"The members that had been waiting for instructions all started to move as one. One by one, we slowly entered deep inside the cave. '…'Watching them, I followed closely behind.[Welcome to the Demon's Lair. Congratulations, you are the first to discover one of the ruins of the Underworld: the Hell's Gate! Rejoice as yo
Thick clouds of moist air surrounded the northern side of the island. The visibility is almost zero so it is hard for them to find out where they are. "Heighten your senses…. There might be monsters nearby," Valhalla commanded. To heed to the command everyone raised their weapons and silently scanned the whole vicinity. Scuffle! Scuffle!Valhalla heard something was rustling on the bushes surrounding the area, "There!" She threw her dagger straight at an unknown enemy. The monster screeched in pain and everyone scattered and surrounded the creature, Valhalla went close to the corpse and saw a heavily wounded Demonic Imp. It was a clean hit in the head but the Demonic Imp has injuries in other parts of its body. 'It looks like it just barely escaped from great danger, could it be that a predator monster exists here…?"Valhalla carried the corpse and dugged a deep hole on the island soil, "We should at least give this one a proper burial…" she said to herself and gently buried it in
As I stood up, the General brought out its weapon; A legendary Spiked Axehead, made of Lorestān bronze steel, The Wrath. He rested the axe at his shoulders and laughed derisively. "You'll pay for this, human!" The General gestured, and the troop who had been binded by my was partially freed by his demon magic. Soon enough, the Demon Army was able to surround me on all sides. Fortunately, the effect of my spell is still active making their movements sluggish. “How far will you last against the full force of the Demon Army, I wonder?” Unbeknownst to me, my expression turned unbelievably cold. Since the beginning of my birth, I already had a desire to fight against strong opponents, challenging myself again and again, but, to be honest, this was the first time that I had come across someone that I genuinely wanted to destroy, not just because he was strong— It's the end of the line for you, you trashy bastard. Slowly approaching the target, I spoke with a low voi
The sorcerers fixed their gaze on me. It looks like they figured out that my strength is not enough to fight against this many opponents at the same time. They just need to bombard me with whatever attack to preoccupy me and their General will soon find the right timing to strike. To accomplish this, the sorcerers began to recite an incantation."…"Their lips started to move quickly."O striae tenebrarum! Attende cantilenam nostram, Quia in ipso aurorae periturus est!""It’s over, human!"The sorcerer’s mouth curled into a smile. Just in time, I felt the movement of demonic energy as the sorcerer continued the chant. "When was the last time I received a multi-layered Curse Enchantment?" I asked myself as I met one of the sorcerer's gaze. Its face was clearly thinking that they had already won. Unlike normal magic, curses normally could not be evaded. Once activated, it will manifest in its target. The only known way to stop it is to directly enchant an anti-curse rune enchantment i
As I was thinking about what I should do with these quest rewards, Valhalla, along with the few members of the guild, went to the other members' aid. Hadeon, on the other hand, tried to stand up on his own. Even though he seems to have already recovered from his injuries, his expression was dead and his eyes were droopy. I was about to approach them when Mr. Mulligan suddenly blocked my way, "It seems like the situation had been dire." "Yeah, a lot of things just happened…" I replied and scratched my head. A little later, I noticed I was still holding the Satanic Twin Blades."Ah, before I forgot, thank you for lending me the Short Swords, Sir…." I said, "I guess I should return it now…" I tried to hand him back the Twin Blades but he vehemently shook his hands."Don't bother, I already decided to give it to you anyways…" Mr. Mulligan smiled. I was tilting my head as I tried to be confused, when he suddenly mentioned my name, "I know that is you Azriel…." Unable to expect that he'
"Hadeon! Wait…." Valhalla called his attention. On the other hand, Hadeon pretended not to hear her and continued to make himself busy tending to his wounds."Are you purposely avoiding me!?" Valhalla lashes out. Hadeon has never acted like this before, and she seems to have an idea what exactly the reason is, "Ok, let me get this straight… I knew you were the one who called the association," she confessed. Hadeon's face soured as he heard her valid accusations, "Is there something wrong about that? He deliberately acted on his own…. Besides, why are you so overprotective of him now!?" Hadeon proceeded to raise his voice. "Hadeon, that's not the point! The situation is an emergency! You could've died there if he hadn't acted!" Valhalla asked. "That would've been better!" "Hadeon, are you hearing yourself right now…." Valhalla clenched her fist and looked dead straight into his eyes. "What do you want me to do then, thank him!? After he humiliated me in front of the guild?" Hadeo
I positioned the Satanic Blades in reverse grip, indicating that I'm going to take this seriously. At the same time, Valhalla and Hannah distanced themselves, now more determined to use everything in their arsenal to bring me down. I tried to used the to escape.But before we could even escape, a group of NPCs went forward towards us and a familiar NPC greeted us profoundly. "Greetings! I'm Nathaniel von Valenschtein, Challenger's Association's Officer in Charge, and Head Representative of the Monitoring Division. I'm pleased to meet you Mr. Iliac, congratulations for being officially regarded as a Candidate," Mr. Nathaniel monotonously introduced himself. "As for you, Ms. Luvia. I'm glad to have finally met you…."Ivana froze in place for his sudden appearance. However, I find it odd how much she is shuddering in anxiety."I see that you're also here, Ms. Hannah," Mr. Nathaniel, who is supposed to be the most emotionless NPC I know, suddenly gave a lovely smile.I
I tried to locate the origin of the sound and noticed a screen featuring a girl— small and delicate as one seems to be. Her age could be anywhere from 16 to 19. It's striking to say that she's fair in a flawed, accessible way. [Ah, sorry. This is … uhm, you could say that she is the A.I. interface of the system that governs the whole operation of Evangelion.]"The Developer is a man of culture, I suppose," I told myself as I noticed how he was simping on a 2D projection. The artificial interface with the name seems friendly enough to make me less cautious but the mystery behind his motivation to create such a system still baffles me. Well, it's not that knowing his preference will change anything, I simply came here to finally have answers to my questions. [You know, I've been quite curious about you for quite a long time now, even before the Daejeon Underground Subway incident. To be honest, I never thought that you would survive for this long, even after being regard