Chapter 89

[Shadow Extraction is available.]

[Shadow Extraction is available.]

[Shadow Extraction is available.]

...

Black vapor roiled violently over the Hyunmoo Guild members’ corpses, rejecting their deaths.

Then, the moment Suho gave his command, eerie wails rang through the air.

"Aaaaaah!"

The corpses’ black shadows swirled furiously, beginning to form new bodies.

WHOOOOSH!

[Shadow Infantryman Lv.1]

Normal Grade

[Shadow Spearman Lv.1]

Normal Grade

[Shadow Shieldbearer Lv.1]

Normal Grade

They might have been the Hyunmoo Guild’s second string, but these hunters formed a perfectly balanced raid party.

Of course, extracting them as shadow soldiers left them slightly weaker than they had been in life. But they had an overwhelming advantage that more than compensated for that drawback.

Immortality!

The instant they became undying shadow soldiers, they transformed into a demonic army that charged forward without regard for their own safety, intent only on slaughtering the enemy.

["Graaah!"]

["Grrroar!"]

Thunderous roars erupted from their mouths, which had lost even the power of speech.

["Th-this can’t be...!"]

The Transcended Intermediate Demon could only stare in horror at Suho’s shadow soldiers.

Impossible.

Something truly impossible had happened.

The intermediate demon here—no, every demon still alive after the War of the Monarchs—was effectively a defeated soldier who had gone into hiding to escape the war.

As such, none of the demons here had ever gotten a proper look at the war’s victor, the Shadow Monarch.

But as a being superior to ordinary lesser demons, the intermediate demon instinctively recognized the aura of death spreading out from Suho.

["The Shadow Mon—!"]

No, the Shadow Monarch wasn’t supposed to be on Earth right now!

If the Shadow Monarch were still here, they would never have dared invade this place.

["Grr! Yes, that’s impossible! If you were the real Shadow Monarch, you would have annihilated us the moment you saw us!"]

The intermediate demon unleashed its savage presence and blasted mana at Suho. At the same time, all the lesser demons attacked his soldiers.

["Kill them! Kill every last one! They will serve as valuable materials for our grand plan!"]

KRAKOOM!

Lightning struck from the sky once more.

'It really is a skill.'

Suho kept his eyes on the sky as he mercilessly cut down the demons.

The lightning tore his shadow soldiers to pieces.

But that didn’t matter.

WHOOOOSH!

["Kihahaha!"]

The torn bodies of the shadow soldiers returned to their original forms amid black vapor. Then, like evil spirits, they once again severed their enemies’ heads and pierced their hearts.

["Kwahahaha!"]

At the very front, laughing maniacally, was Section Chief Lee Youngho, reborn as an armored knight.

The moment he became a soldier of death, he began pouring all his cruelty onto the demons as Suho’s faithful servant.

"Who knew the guy was so hardcore?"

Suho let out a disbelieving chuckle at his vicious fighting style, cutting off demons’ heads and even using them as weapons.

'I can leave the small fry to them, then.'

His mana was draining rapidly as the shadow soldiers regenerated over and over.

[You have purchased ‘Item: Intermediate Mana Potion.’]

Suho drank the mana potion and called to Esil.

"Esil!"

"Got it!"

By now, she understood without his having to explain.

The attack power of Vulcan’s Horn, raised in Suho’s hand, had been tremendously amplified by the souls of all the demons he had slain so far.

But that alone wasn’t enough. To kill that enormous demon, he needed a stronger demon’s soul.

At his call, Esil immediately assumed her Spirit form and flowed into Vulcan’s Horn.

[Vulcan’s Horn devours a demon’s soul.]

WHOOOOSH!

An immensely powerful, ominous energy swirled around the blade of Vulcan’s Horn.

And one more thing.

"Rakan!"

As Suho raised Rakan’s Fang in his other hand and shouted, an answer came from far away.

[The King of Beasts, the Monarch of Fangs, nods in permission.]

WHOOSH!

A sacred energy coiled around Rakan’s Fang.

A smile formed on Suho’s lips as he held up both swords.

"And Giant’s Armor on top of that."

[Using ‘Skill: Giant’s Armor.’]

WHOOOOSH!

Armor made of aura enveloped Suho’s body!

He grew larger and larger, and the twin swords in his hands expanded to match.

He immediately lunged at the intermediate demon.

SHING! SHING! SHING!

["Grrroar!"]

The intermediate demon stretched out its hand and showered Suho with lightning.

But even as the bolts struck him head-on, he never stopped attacking.

[Using ‘Skill: Storm Slash.’]

KABOOOOM!

Lightning and storm tore into each other, ripping the sky apart.

At their center, Suho and the intermediate demon clashed fiercely.

["Grr!！"]

Forced onto the defensive by Suho’s sudden onslaught, the intermediate demon pulled an object from its clothing.

CRUNCH!

As it crushed something in its fist, violet powder enveloped its entire body like smoke.

Esil’s voice rang inside Suho’s head.

["Oh my god! Isn’t that a bloodstone?!"]

"A bloodstone? What’s that?"

["Highly refined demon blood! Think of it as a mana amplifier far more powerful than Stardust!"]

"Stardust? So it’s getting stronger?"

["Of course! We have to kill it before it absorbs all of the bloodstone! It’s an imperfect bloodstone anyway, so it’ll take time to digest!"]

Suho continued attacking even as they spoke.

["Kwahaha! This much power, even from an early version! But it’s no waste! If I capture the demon noble right here, I’ll be able to make an even better bloodstone!"]

An ecstatic expression spread across the intermediate demon’s face as it reveled in its rapidly surging strength.

Then it blocked Suho’s attack with one hand and brutally sent him flying.

BOOM!

"Gah!"

Blood burst from Suho’s mouth.

["Young Monarch!"]

Beru flew over in alarm, but Suho immediately got up and put a potion to his lips.

"I’m fine. I can still handle this."

The demon had its bloodstone to boost its power, but Suho had potions.

His increased health pool meant his HP filled a little more slowly now, but he could easily buy that much time.

And deliberately pushing himself to his limits like this had paid off.

DING.

[‘Skill: Toughness’ has leveled up.]

[Physical defense +80% → +100%]

Suho grinned.

Savoring the sensation of his heightened defense, he watched his first soldier in action.

FWEEEEESH!

Up in the sky, Quay became a streaking spear, ambushing the intermediate demon whenever it showed an opening.

Those streaks of light crisscrossed like a spiderweb, throwing its vision into confusion.

["You dare make my Master bleed?"]

["Grrroar!"]

After becoming a shadow soldier, Quay had lost the ability to use royal jelly.

It was a poison for brainwashing an army of his own, and now that he was a mere shadow soldier, he no longer had the right to lead an army.

But that didn’t mean his extreme aggression had vanished.

Lee Minsung, who had spent his whole life scheming from behind the scenes and ordering his underlings around, had now established himself as a vanguard commander who charged ahead of everyone else to slaughter the enemy.

And Quay was quite pleased with this new version of himself.

["This is fun."]

Even against the enormous demon, he felt no fear.

["Such fun."]

The immortality he had so desperately desired.

And the strength to crush an enemy with his own pure power, without resorting to petty schemes behind their backs.

["What a delight. Is this..."]

Quay’s spear finally plunged into the intermediate demon’s shoulder.

["Is this strength?"]

THUNK!

["Aaargh!"]

["Die. Die. Die. Die! Die coughing up ten million times more blood than my Master shed! Kwahahaha!"]

FWOOSH!

At last, the bloodstone’s energy began leaking back out through the wound Quay had pierced.

Despite the ferocious clash, less than five seconds had passed.

In that brief interval, Suho had recovered enough to move his body, at least.

He had also restored enough mana to use Iron Body Arts to his heart’s content.

[Using ‘Skill: Iron Body Arts.’]

KABOOOOM!

Black energy coated both of Suho’s arms.

With the skill’s level so high now, maintaining Iron Body Arts consumed an enormous amount of mana.

But its attack power had increased just as much—no, even more.

GRAB!

["...!"]

"Got you."

Suho’s black hand finally broke through the bloodstone’s energy and seized the intermediate demon by the throat.

The demon’s eyes trembled as they met his.

["W-wait...! This energy, could it be?!"]

It had been gravely mistaken.

To think it had mistaken someone like this for the Shadow Monarch!

["You’re the heir of the Monarch of the Iron Bo—!"]

CRACK!

Its neck snapped before it could finish speaking.

[You have defeated the Transcended Intermediate Demon!]

[‘Item: Vulcan’s Horn’ devours a demon’s soul.]

[You have leveled up!]

[You have leveled up!]

Countless messages appeared before Suho.

But the message that followed surprised him.

DING!

[You have acquired ‘Title: Demon Slayer.’]

"Oh."

Suho’s eyes lit up.

After killing so many demons, he had acquired a perfectly fitting title.

[Title: Demon Slayer]

A title granted to hunters skilled at killing demons. All stats increase by 40% when facing demon-type monsters.

"That would’ve made killing it a lot easier if I’d gotten it sooner."

WHOOSH!

Suho’s body shrank back to its original size, and Esil emerged from Vulcan’s Horn.

Then she flinched at the energy of ‘Title: Demon Slayer’ emanating from him.

Her demonic instincts now recognized Suho as a predator.

"Why are you standing so far away?"

"I-it’s nothing."

When Esil came to her senses, she found herself hiding behind Im Dogyun.

Meanwhile, Suho checked a message he had been too busy to read earlier.

[You have completed ‘Emergency Quest: Defeat the Enemies!’]

[Would you like to check your rewards?] (Y/N)

"Confirm."

[The following rewards are available.]

Reward 1. Status Ailment Recovery

Reward 2. ‘Buff: Battlefield Roar’

"A buff?"

Interest flickered in Suho’s eyes.

'I should save this for a crucial moment.'

Putting off claiming his rewards for now, Suho looked around.

Esil was already standing atop the intermediate demon’s corpse.

WHOOOOSH...

Red energy flowed out of the body and was drawn into her hand.

"... Suho."

Esil called to him, her expression grim.

"That bloodstone was made from my blood."

"Your blood?"

"Yes. It looks like the ones who hunted me in the Demon Realm are somewhere around here."

["Young Monarch."]

At Esil’s words, Beru turned to Suho with a grave expression.

["If that is true, I fear this will not be an easy battle."]

Beru clearly remembered the Radir Clan he had seen during the War of the Monarchs.

Anyone who had brought that clan to ruin and amplified their power with its blood would certainly not be friendly toward the shadow army.

Suho nodded seriously at his words.

"Then there’s definitely a factory somewhere around here."

"Right. The ones who went beyond Stardust and even made bloodstones are somewhere in this place..."

The problem was that they had lost their means of finding the factory.

"Maybe I should’ve left one alive."

Suho looked regretful.

With their corrupted mana, demons couldn’t even be subjected to Shadow Extraction.

"For now, let’s search every inch of..."

That was when they heard Im Dogyun, who had been darting all over the place as he ran for his life.

"Suho! There’s something over here!"