◈ Episode 119. Crushed

The Oath.

It’s a story of an enemy that will keep the King of the Dwarves alive.

It was not an elf, not a dragon, but a small demon that brought down the king of the dwarves, who was like a mountain.

“King. Surely you are not taking this absurd tale too seriously…….”

It was so small.

It didn’t even seem like a threat to him.

It was the fact that he hadn’t struck it down in the first place that angered him.

“Be quiet. It’s not every day that you hear rumors from the outside.”

A Dwarves with little contact with the continent of Arcana.

The Small Demon had gained the trust of the Dwarf King with news from the continent.

His tales were tainted with impure intent.

“The humans both fear and envy the dwarves’ technology. For now, they fight amongst themselves, but who knows what will happen later? Besides, I’ve seen things…….”

Is it true?

False?

But the dwarves had no way of determining the truth of his words.

In the end, falling for his ‘malice’ was obvious.

It was as obvious as daylight.

“Shut up.”

“Don’t interrupt Jim’s play.”

“Hmph. What a boring story of internal affairs.”

The mountain was rapidly withering with evil.

The Dwarves King was no more.

Only a puppet to do the will of the Small Demon.

The dwarves put their heads together and pondered.

“Is there no way we can change the mind of our lord?”

“Damn…….”

“He doesn’t even want to listen to us.”

“This is why……. I feel like I’m looking at a completely different person.”

Technology rivals the magic of the Magic Tower.

The brilliant minds behind a glorious mechanical civilization.

However, even with such brains, no answers were forthcoming.

“But isn’t it possible that what he’s saying could be true?”

“……What? What are you talking about?”

“No, I don’t think I’m talking bullshit either.”

In fact, it caused internal strife even among the dwarves.

The agony didn’t end easily.

Until one day.

“Your Majesty, why are you alone…… this day?”

The small demon that had been hovering at his side had vanished.

He should have rejoiced.

He couldn’t.

“!”

Why?

His jet-black pupils looked even darker than usual.

The tone of his voice was distinctly different from the one I’d heard all my life.

“Come, talk to me again today.”

“……?”

“Jim’s in a good mood today, so let’s hear it.”

“!”

I was sure.

It was the voice of a small demon.

Not a few people noticed the change.

But the words were not easily spoken.

“Treason is so convenient.”

“……?”

“It means we can just kill them and accuse them of treason.”

How the hell am I supposed to resolve this situation?

It’s literally pitch black.

A bottomless pit of despair.

I couldn’t believe it.

That it all started with one little demon.

I mean, I couldn’t even imagine it.

“A man? How did humans find our home?”

Until I heard the soldier’s report.

“According to the man, he’s a demon hunter from Akshan, and the demon’s scent he felt while hunting led him here.”

“……!”

One man was going to fix this.

“……What have I done?”

Later that day.

The Awakened Dwarves King and Akshan made a pact.

It was a collaboration to hunt demons.

“Demons are more dangerous than anything else.”

The symbol of that pact was the Quernberg machine towers that dotted the continent of Arcana.

Long after the king had died and closed his eyes, the dwarves would not forget.

The Holy War.

Even in the face of the Great War, the Dwarves’ pact with Akshan remained strong.

They thought they could repay the debt they owed Akshan.

But they couldn’t.

Like a lie, they had cut off communication with Akshan.

“……No answer from Akshan.”

They didn’t communicate telepathically like mages do.

Between them and Akshan was a machine that mimicked the mage.

A machine built by them, by the dwarves.

It was not a question of performance, but of certainty.

“Continent, if not end to end. No matter where you are, your voice will be heard……. Weren’t we talking just last night?”

Something had happened in Akshan.

The dwarves, like themselves.

They sent letters to the forces involved in the Holy War.

To see if they had heard any news of Akshan.

And then they realized.

“……something is definitely wrong.”

The attitude of the Goddess Church and others had changed overnight.

By the time they realized the gravity of the situation, it was too late.

“No way……! How……!!”

In just one day, Akshan had disappeared from the continent.

.

.

.

In the Holy War, the dwarves made a pact.

that they would never again set foot on the continent of Arcana.

Never again would they show themselves to humans.

We do not know what ugly schemes surround the holy war.

With Akshan gone, humans were no longer a race worth dealing with.

And so it was.

The continent of Arcana was trampled by demons.

It didn’t matter if the soldiers of the Empire were annihilated.

Ironclad-!

The symbol of an oath.

The final weapon of the Akshans.

Until the Quernberg machine tower was activated.

“Demon hunters, we have found a survivor of Akshan!”

Chainwalker Hardrock, leader of the dwarves.

Chainwalker was sure of it.

“……I sleep.”

That silver-haired man, pouring magic into the demon, must be the demon hunter who had activated the Quernberg Machine Tower.

That was thanks to a lingering image in his memory.

“Can’t you see it too, the demons cowering in fear?”

In the past, a Dwarves King.

No, a small demon in a king’s robe.

The one who knelt before the demon hunter and begged for mercy.

-“My, my, I’ve done wrong. Spare me. Please!”

I could see him begging from the earthly demon.

But then and now.

There was no mercy for the demon hunter.

“Akshan, I am indebted to you once again.”

So the Chainwalker did not hesitate.

“Iron Castle, we are descending now!”

Now was the moment to fulfill his oath to Akshan.

*

Boom!

Demon Corps Commander, Etio.

Kichi plucked the elixir from the nape of his neck.

A gurgling sound.

A gush of blood.

Without blinking, Kichi shook it off. At least when she held the elixir in her hand, Kichi was a brutal, cold-blooded killer.

But then his eyes widened.

“I’m not going to do that nonsense again……!”

Zippy Ziggy.

Kichi had as much magical knowledge as any mage.

On the continent of Arcana, mages were resented in many ways.

It was not uncommon to receive requests for their lives, even if they were worth a thousand gold coins.

“There’s no way they can avoid it.”

But the magic that Ho Yeol manifested was different.

No, to be precise, the magic ‘s’ would be correct.

It was beyond the scope of Kichi’s mind.

It was a feast of simultaneous magical manifestations.

“Indeed.”

Marcelo recognized the magic item, the white wings.

Magical items that could store magic were not uncommon, even in magic towers.

However, Marcelo judged it to be of little value as a magic item.

‘Even if it can be stored and the assimilation process can be omitted.

The user would have to bear the brunt of interference and manifestation recoil.

Even if it could store a hundred attribute spells.

It meant that the amount of magic a user could pull out would only be a fraction of that.

He wouldn’t be able to go far, and he himself would only be able to pull out a dozen or so.

However.

“No one can utilize that tool better than Sir.”

For Ho Yeol, it was only a gesture.

Marcelo allowed himself a small smile.

“I can rest assured that I have you.”

.

.

.

Damn.

Even in the most optimized body of a Grandfell.

This time, the recoil was worse.

‘…… I’ve never been this ignorant before.’

He gulped down the herbs like that.

It was covered with items related to magic regeneration.

As expected, it wasn’t easy to pull out a hundred magics at the same time.

Besides, they weren’t just ordinary magic. There were a hundred attribute magic that required a magic-eating hippopotamus……!

Magic Exhaustion.

An overwhelming feeling of exhaustion.

But I am.

I stared at the Demon King, Flouros, with an unwavering gaze.

The light attribute magic made his skin fragile.

Fire elemental magic scorched the fragile skin.

A gust of wind fanned the flames.

Judgment from the sky, lightning strikes.

If you’re a demon, you want to avoid it, right?

But these are the spells you save for the crushing.

Among them, of course.

The only advanced magic I can manifest.

That is to say, it also includes the『Absolute Zero』.

“You inferior demon who claims to be a king.”

“……?”

“Bear the weight of your arrogance.”

“……!”

[The demon, Flauros, is ‘frozen’].

Absolute Zero.

A temperature so extreme that even molecules stop moving.

Even Karimzeva, the pinnacle of fire magic, could not resist this [『Anomaly』]. No wonder he couldn’t resist it.

Soon, a message appeared in front of him.

[You have leveled up].

[You have leveled up].

[You’ve leveled up.]…….

A level 850 boss monster.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t defeat it.

The fact remains that I took him down by myself.

It meant I’d gained enough experience to meet and exceed the experience requirement, which grows exponentially with each level up.

Also.

[Demon King, Flauros vs. Dwarves]

Demons and dwarves.

Who wins?

The Demon King and the Airship.

What kind of symbols are left behind?

It’s all up to you.

You shall reap the rewards of victory according to your achievements.

-Victory in the war against the demon king, Flauros. (success)

●Destroy the demon king, Flauros. (success)

And let’s not forget the quests.

The goal was to help the Dwarves win the war, but as you can see, I also accomplished the additional goal of slaying the Demon King Flauros. And yes, the achievements measured for that are…….

─Current Achievement: 1,000,000p

Exactly one million points.

Of course, I was the only player who did this quest.

I didn’t have anything to compare my achievements to.

However, I have a good eye.

I skipped the process and ended up defeating the Demon King alone.

I thought, ‘At least I can look forward to the reward, right?’

Suddenly, I remembered the [Recapture the Frost] quest.

The reward for that quest was the activation of Frost’s [Authority], which increases your relationship and influence.

But what kind of relationship or influence do I have with the dwarves?

It’s a much deeper pact than that.

At the very least, there will be different rewards than with Frost.

Even if it wasn’t a reward, I still owed the dwarves something.

I’m referring to the precious minerals in my inventory, the material of ego equipment.

“Well, that’s a lot to talk about.

[You’ve completed the quest].

I lifted my stiff head and looked at the dwarves’ airship.

The quest must have been successful.

If I were you, I’d meet up with the dwarves immediately.

I’d love to have a leisurely tea and chat with them.

[You have cleared the Rift in the Demon Castle of Hunting].

A message notifying me that the rift has been cleared.

Tsk-tsk.

At the same time, the space between the two began to collapse.

The landscape of reality begins to pour through the gap.

Kichi glanced at the airship, then asked me.

“……Do you think it’s okay if we split up like this?”

It wasn’t Kichi’s first rift.

She knows it’s hard to reunite with them.

But the words are not for her.

“Hiel.”

For me, it’s the Hiel Chrysiad…….

No, hereafter omitted.

I had Hiel, the eyes and ears of the continent of Arcana.

“Hiel, I have answered the call.”

……How come she seems to have gotten more elegant?

I could have sworn that spirits have a growing season, that their appearance changes every time I look at it, but I was told by Feiyan, a senior in Spirits Studies.

I gave him the name Hiel.

I suppose it’s because she was reborn as a {Unique Elemental}.

“……You have a contract with a spirit?!”

Marcelo exchanged a quick glance with Hiel.

Kitsch greeted with a hiccup.

Of course, there’s no time for me to exchange casual greetings.

Even at this moment, the rift was collapsing.

I sent a telepathic message to Hiel.

Immediately recognizing my meaning, his gaze darted to the airship.

Then he bowed his head in a noble gesture.

“I shall comply.”

Summoning Hiel and telepathy.

……Now that’s real magic!

It scratched my exposed underbelly, really.

So I turned my back on her.

Flutter.

Uselessly colorful and fluttery for now.

I am grateful for my white outer wings.

They’ll hide these fluttering legs…….

At that, Kichi barely stopped hiccuping and asked.

“Well, that……. You don’t mind if I don’t take any loot or anything?”

Grandfell is the epitome of integrity.

A man beyond greed.

I, Lee Ho-yeol, am not.

I’m a looter.

How could I forget the demon king drop items?

[Loot is automatically acquired due to high kill contribution].

It is already enshrined in my inventory.

.

.

.

[The Demon Castle of Hunting].

The players hesitated to enter, but finally decided.

“……Yes, it’s not another player, it’s Ho-yeol!”

After all, Ho-yeol had done for them.

It was a no-brainer: Ho-yeol was the one who had entered the rift at the right level, before anyone else, and without fear. It was a decision made with faith in him.

-Finally finished hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

-Let’s go in.

-I thought it would drag on for a few more minutes, but it didn’t. hahahahahaha

-I lived all the senses of broadcasting

It was only about 10 minutes.

Therefore, I didn’t even imagine it.

Suddenly, the player who had prepared everything stopped walking.

“……Wait, hold on!”

-???

-What are you doing? ㅡㅡ

-Ganojam

-mch? I’m seeing a collection angle here???

-Goddammit

An exploding chat window.

But the misunderstanding didn’t last long.

Soon, I realized why the players’ faces were so white in the angle.

The light.

The disappearing rift.

Ho-yeol and the two of them emerged from that intense light.

They were.

After Ho Yeol entered the Demon King Castle.

Exactly 10 minutes and 41 seconds had passed.

[The rift in the Demon King Castle had been cleared.]

Right after the regular update.

Three demonic castles appeared.

The time it took for the three demon kings to be defeated.

Just over ten minutes.

There was one word that could summarize the entire event.

It was.

That’s right.

Crushed.