◈ Episode 101. Demigod War (2)

The demon hunter’s senses, now even more intense, told him.

‘It’s true, I’ve grown.’

This was a different kind of growth than leveling up or increasing stats.

To put it simply, it felt like the skill level of the [Natural Enemy] had increased. Even though there was no such thing as skill proficiency in [Natural Enemy].

‘That doesn’t mean I can’t get in between them.’

Don’t forget. Understand the topic.

Suppose [Natural Enemy] is triggered.

My combat power was nothing compared to those demigods.

Furthermore.

“I’ll ask you to deal with the demons, Chief Lee!”

Senios didn’t seem to want me to get involved in the fight, so my job on the battlefield was simple. I’d do what I was good at.

Demon hunting, that is.

A gaze from above, looking down on those below.

Indeed, a Grandfell’s view.

I stared at the demons pouring out of the rift.

By the looks of them.

They didn’t look like normal demons.

‘It must be the Demon Army.

Their appearance was similar to the demons I had seen in Decaravia.

Oh, and the heat.

An army of demons advancing on me and Senios.

But of course.

“Insignificant.”

I didn’t feel intimidated.

No, I shouldn’t.

Not in the face of any demon, not with the pride of an exalted Grandfell.

‘Only compared to that question mark I saw on Vanguard…….’

Yes, I had the experience.

‘It was a different level of power, that one.’

The demon that appeared from the rift, ‘????’.

As if that weren’t enough, I had faced a nameless demon that tore a piece of the rift and swung it around, and I had cut off one of its arms with a [『Anomaly』].

Yes, this was well-founded confidence.

I opened my mouth to speak.

“I will allow no further approach.”

At this moment, the demons are pouring in.

The collapse of the rift must be rising rapidly.

Just as Decarabia did.

Demons devour their own subordinates, even demons, as sacrifices.

Demons pouring into the ritualistic rift.

You can’t stand by and watch.

No matter.

“But I will not allow you to escape.”

Nor will I allow them to return to the Arcana continent.

Therefore, with a heavy sense of pride.

I have no choice but to hunt down the overflowing demons.

I kept my mouth shut.

A belief in not engaging in unnecessary conversation with my prey.

Yes, silence was my declaration of war.

Gooooo-!

Magic power surges with the effect of [Natural Enemy].

On top of that, I had prepared myself and consumed as many herbs as I could without overlapping, all of which were said to be good for regenerating magic. I immediately manifested my magic.

Quadruple!

The process of assimilation and interference is omitted.

“!!!!!”

The ground where the advancing demon army stood turned into a carpet.

Through the [The Pentagram of Pure Knowledge], I gained knowledge of all minerals. The ground, the earth, is like the palm of my hand at my disposal.

kwakwakwakwakwakwang─!!!

Demigod.

Karimzeva made lava.

Senios froze the atmosphere.

I can cause earthquakes.

“?!!!!!!”

The ground cracks.

Demon armies falling beneath it.

How far have they fallen?

No one knows, but one thing is certain.

‘This is tough.’

Demon army.

That’s because they’re demons of the higher demons.

No wonder an earthquake can’t take them down. The lack of a level-up message was a clear indication of that, but I didn’t hesitate.

It manifested once more.

Quadruple quadruple quadruple!

It wasn’t a series of earthquakes.

Even I, who has mastered the [Natural Enemy] and is an expert in herbal medicine, cannot manifest magic on a scale comparable to those demigods.

‘No matter how efficient I am.

I’m level 333.

My absolute magic power was even lower than that.

But at this moment.

Koo-koo-koo-koo-koo-!

The ground was shaking just like before.

It was shaking with a roaring sound.

The ground cracked.

As if it wanted to swallow the demon that had fallen underground forever.

Its gaping mouth began to close firmly.

“Haha. How about that, Karimzeva. Does he still seem like an adventurer brat in your eyes?”

“……!”

“Well, it’s time for us to retire, since we’ve grown too big for our britches. How long are you going to be distracted, anyway?”

It was enough to make even the battle-engrossed Karimzeva and Senios look away.

…… It looks plausible to me, too.

A spell that tears apart like an earthquake and then puts it back together again. It sounds like a very high level of magic, but only I know what it really is.

“It’s just a reversal spell.”

It was.

It was just a reversal spell.

A simple reversal spell that transformed a silver dagger and restored its durability. Only on a larger scale, but the principle was the same.

And, of course, the mana cost was tiny.

“You must be mistaken.”

To Karimzeva and Senios, who were unaware of my humble beginnings, it must have seemed like I was manifesting an unusually high level of magic.

Of course, I had no intention of telling them this crude truth.

Koo-koo-koo!

Reversal.

When the cracked ground returned to its original form once more.

The Demon Army’s numbers were noticeably reduced.

Those who remained were also unable to move quickly.

I looked down at the ground and spoke.

“The only place you are allowed is underground, in the Maw.”

Yes, this was my best.

Soon, my finest began to manifest itself in messages.

[Demon Army cavalry suffer a ‘fracture’].

[Demon army infantry suffer ‘choke’]

[Demon army white captain is ‘burned’] …….

Feeling the ground.

The weight of the ground.

And geothermal heat.

“At best, it’s just scientific common sense.”

If this is also strange, it’s also a [『Anomaly』].

As if to prove it.

A series of messages popped up.

[You’ve leveled up].

[You’ve leveled up].

[You’ve leveled up]…….

*

The portal had disappeared from the tower.

The news spread like wildfire.

-What’s going on???

-I’m finally realizing the value of this tower.

-What do we do if we find the rift?? There’s no way to get there.

-What’s wrong with them? Where’s the Magic Tower?

Some players were able to use the portal. However, the effectiveness of the portal was far from being comparable to Magic Tower Portal.

“Not only is the amount of magic consumed enormous. Every time a portal user enters, the same amount of magic is consumed, so it’s currently impossible for players to enter the rift quickly…….”

Guilds from all over the world.

They weren’t flocking to Seoul, South Korea, where the Magic Tower is located.

Of course, there were those who realized this before the rest of the world.

That’s why they took action.

“We have no choice but to recognize reality and make a choice.”

Nam continued.

“At our level, it’s impossible to visit all eleven rifts, especially now that the portal is gone. That’s why we need to be clear about our goals.”

Jesse Heinness.

Camilla.

Kazuma Hisagi.

Leonie.

Each and every one of them is a ranked player who wouldn’t be left out no matter what level they were at. But they couldn’t argue with Nam Tae-min’s words. They realized the situation.

“He may not need our help.”

“No, the portal disappeared from the magic tower…….

“I’m sure that’s what you mean.”

But we couldn’t just stand by and watch.

Even if the other players didn’t know it.

They knew the weight that Ho Yeol carried.

Ignorance is bliss, or knowing but turning a blind eye?

To borrow a phrase from Ho Yeol…….

Yes, because it was against their pride.

“Our target is the nearest rift.”

Nam Tae-min’s plan was simple.

Enter the nearest rift, with or without Ho-yeol.

Clear that rift.

Of course, he wasn’t sure how much that would help.

If he could share Ho Yeol’s burden for a little while.

“Huh-”

I felt like my heavy heart would be relieved.

Since we had the same destination, there was no need to divide the group.

Gaon’s private plane.

The players were quickly boarding.

Someone spoke up.

“Huh?”

It was breaking news that caused the plane to turn around.

“……Wha, the rift has been cleared?!”

What?

I remembered the emergency update, and it had only been a little over an hour since the rift was created. I was surprised, but I figured it could be a hoax.

But then.

“Wait, this is a different rift than that one, right?”

“Huh? What, they’re actually in different places?”

“The difference is that two rifts have already been cleared!”

Yeah.

There wasn’t just one rift cleared.

Two.

No, three.

No, in real time.

“……Wait, does this make sense?”

Breaking news was emerging.

This wasn’t some misinformation from a newspaper.

It was an official announcement from the AAU.

──────

[AAU] Cleared 8 of 11 rifts created…….

──────

The news turned my world upside down once again.

Had the news reached the studio?

Someone played a video.

An exasperated host’s voice came through.

-What’s going on? I thought no players had entered the rift yet?

-That’s right, not officially, but you know what? I’m pretty sure Lee Ho-yeol made the move, otherwise it wouldn’t be explained!

-This is unbelievable. I knew Ho-Yeol was amazing, but I didn’t realize it was like this……!

Rift collapse, missiles, nuclear bombs.

Things were going to extremes.

Good news in such a situation.

It’s no wonder the world is buzzing.

Of course, the players aboard Gaon’s private plane were thrilled.

There were sighs of relief all around.

“……Thank goodness.”

The rift was being cleared in real time.

Most importantly, it meant that Ho Yeol was safe.

But it was not enough to celebrate.

Like I said.

They knew.

“Shit.”

Duduk─

Nam Tae-min clenched his fists unconsciously.

Barely suppressed emotions surged.

Leonie muttered.

“So it looks like he’s on his own this time…….”

*.

A fading anomaly, a rift.

Marcelo said, manifesting a portal.

“That leaves two rifts left.”

Marcelo and the other senior mages closed the nine rifts.

Those who closed the first rift joined the others.

Naturally, it took less and less time to close each rift.

But Marcelo knew. The ritual process of the Descent of the Demon King, Decarabia, in Frost.

“The Lord said that not all demons are equal.”

He said there were hierarchies even within the demonic realm, except for the Demon King, so Marcelo kept a watchful eye out for them as he closed the rift.

“But none of them stood out.”

So he had a hunch.

“The rift that remains will be different from this one.”

High ranking demons in the remaining rift.

And there would be a High Criminal, Karimzeva.

The evidence was in front of me.

“Lord Ho-Yeol and Senios, even at this moment.”

That Hoyeol and Senios had not joined them.

That meant they were still in the rift.

Marcelo looked at the manifested portal.

“We must hurry.”

Ho-Yeol was right.

It would do no good for this trip to be known outside.

Marcelo knew how the adventurer’s world worked.

“My lord said that the moment we close the rift, the news will be known to all.”

Which is to say.

The purpose of the tower might be hidden.

The fact that they had closed the rift could not be hidden.

After all, he was representing the Magic Tower who couldn’t go out.

It meant that it was Ho-yeol who had to take responsibility.

Zerbuck─

Senior mages entering the portal.

Suddenly, Matisse stopped walking and turned to Marcelo.

“Chief Lee must be tired.”

Matisse knew that, too.

“Yes, and since we can’t go out, it looks like he’s going to have to take on the task of closing this rift on his own, and he’s going to have to deal with the rumors.”

The conversation between the two ended there.

In the end, once again, I owed Ho Yeol a favor.

To repay this debt, I must move more quickly.

He didn’t have to say it, but he understood.

In the end, it was Vanguard Tom who was frustrated.

‘……Wait a minute, isn’t it nice to have the world’s attention?’

He thought.

After thinking about it, Vanguard shook his head.

I’ve figured out the problem.

With my simple mind.

With two seniors.

How can I fathom the great meaning of Senior Matisse?

*

The importance of practice.

I was feeling the words in my body.

[Levels up].

[Leveled up].

[Levels up.]…….

No, away from the rising level.

BANG─!

Fire and ice clashing with a deafening roar.

Karimzeva and Senios.

The magic exchanged between the two elder mages was unlike anything I had ever seen before. This was not something that could be lumped together as high level magic.

The pinnacle of fire magic and ice magic.

Two pinnacles of magic.

It was the extreme of fire and ice magic.

A secret magic that had never been revealed to anyone.

“How is it? Do you still believe in the supremacy of the opposite element, Karimzeva?”

Such visions are met with visions.

“Shut up. Fool.”

The two struggled.

“His innate magical talent was such that he could mimic most magic simply by looking at it.”

So that I can look at a higher ‘level’.

It was making my eyes open.

No demon could distract me from the sight.

[Shartan, the commander of the Demon Corps, is affected by ‘fear’].

Even if it was a Demon Corps Commander.