Chapter 109
Nighttime arrived, and Seong-Hwi and the others were resting in the Training Room filled with exercise equipment. They were exhausted both physically and mentally after their sudden encounter with a demon, so they decided to take a short break to recover their strength.
A black shadow stood up without the others knowing and walked outside the training room. Two other shadows were on night watch outside.
“Huh? Is our shift over already?”
“It shouldn’t be.”
The shadow said to the two, “How much longer do we have to treat that prick like our boss? I’m running out of patience.”
“Huuu. I get how you feel, but endure it, Nakivarro. We need Cheon Seong-Hwi.”
“Yes. We’ll be killed if we act too hastily. The earlier incident proved he has the highest caliber among us.”
Nakivarro frowned at the two shadows and said, “Are we sure he knows where the Elixir is? He might be lying.”
“From my observation, he most likely does. He isn’t the type to lie.”
“But how did he find out? He isn’t a finder,” Nakivarro remarked.
“What does it matter? What matters is that he knows where the Elixir is. All we have to do is take it from him.”
The conversation between Nakivarro and the two shadows continued in the darkness.
“As long as we get our hands on the Elixir... Sir Kabuka will reward us astronomically.”
“Yes, much more than one billion Coins... But to do that, we must carry out his command. When should we do it?”
Nakivarro answered, “A backstabbing is the most painful in the most crucial, chaotic moment.”
The two shadows nodded.
“Good idea. The fewer people who know the secret, the better. Black Market will be broken up if rumors about the Elixir spread.”
“We should also kill Onie Yuki if we get the chance. I’m sick and tired of seeing her act all high and mighty just because she’s a High Ranker.”
“Our caliber might heighten if we kill the bitch. I’m salivating already.”
The three shadows discussed various plans about how to betray their teammates for a few minutes.
“I’ll take over as night watch from here, so you two can get some rest,” Nakivarro said.
“Okay. Thanks, Nakivarro. Hang in there, just a little longer. We’ll leave Cheon Seong-Hwi for you.”
“The team will be in danger without us. We’re a third of its force, after all.”
The two shadows entered the training room. Nakivarro, alone outside, walked along the corridor as if patrolling and crossed his arms in thought.
“Kekek!” he suddenly snickered, sounding excited yet chilling, and suddenly ripped off his face.
[Canceling Myriad Faces.]
The African, Nakivarro, instantly changed into the Asian, Cheon Seong-Hwi. His clothes and equipment also changed to those of Seong-Hwi.
“I suppose I made the right call to upgrade it,” Seong-Hwi remarked, staring at the Myriad Cheoyong Mask with a smile.
[Myriad Faces (Artifact Skill)
Rank: Shared - C(10)
Description: The wearer can change their face, language, voice, aura, body, and clothing into those of the individual they touch, once every 12 hours.
Duration: Proportional to mana capacity
Cooldown: 12 hours]
Now that the Myriad Cheoyong Mask was C-rank, it also copied the target’s clothing, allowing Seong-Hwi to lure the two spies and deceive them with ease. He paired the two people he was most suspicious of for night watch, and approached them while disguised as Nakivarro, who he was sure was a spy. With this, the number and identities of the traitors were clear.
“Betrayal leads to death. Don’t tell me you had no idea about this rule in the Mirror World,” Seong-Hwi mumbled as his eyes glinted with crimson bloodlust.
***
“Haaah! Die!”
“There’s no end to them!”
“Dammit! That side is being overwhelmed!”
Explosions and screams filled the mass incubation room as the tens of thousands of Chaos were released from the test tubes and attacked the birdfolk and undead. Although most were Shen-rank, there were so many that even the lowest rank of Chaos was a threat.
“Out of the way!” Krypta shouted as he raised the Demonic Sword Fatum, exuding a black aura.
[Demonic Sword Fatum takes the wielder’s Health stat.]
[Demonic Sword Fatum takes the wielder’s Dexterity stat.]
[Demonic Sword Fatum takes the wielder’s Wraith Force stat.]
...
“Ahahahaha! Such breathtaking power!”
Krypta was too charmed by the black energy, Demon Force, being generated from the sword, to care about his stats being lowered. He activated a skill built into the demonic sword.
[Activating Item Skill: Unholy Heaven Slash.]
He swung the greatsword, and the black slash made of Demon Force flew forward as if craving blood, destroying everything in its path.
“Ahaha! Does this mean I can use this power without restraint if I become a demon? Marvelous!”
Krypta burst into laughter as he stared at the Chaos, decimated by the slash, and the birdfolk, falling from the sky due to the generated shockwave.
“Hoot! Bastard! How dare you kill my people?!”
“Hahaha! Having wings doesn’t make you a superior race! I’ll destroy anything that stands in my way, whether they’re Chaos or damn birds!”
[Demonic Sword Fatum takes the wielder’s Strength stat.]
[Demonic Sword Fatum takes the wielder’s Sense stat.]
[Demonic Sword Fatum takes the wielder’s Magic stat.]
....
Krypta, corrupted by the madness of the Demonic Sword Fatum, sent slashes flying everywhere as he enjoyed the forbidden power.
***
[Activating Unique Skill: Mannequin Control.]
[Mannequin - Ronald Goliath]
[Mannequin - Nelson Xavier]
[Mannequin - François Damiens]
[Mannequin - Peter Musevski]
[Mannequin - Ioan Gruffudd]
[Mannequin - Deng Chao]
...
Onie Yuki summoned her mannequin army, numbering in the three-hundreds, to protect herself and kill the enemies. The mannequins clacked with every movement as Yuki quickly scanned her surroundings to get a better grasp of the battle.
There are too many enemies! I’ll run out of mana at this rate! she shouted inwardly.
Not only were there too many Chaos, but the few Adora and Uluhatu-rank Chaos in the midst used the Shen-rank Chaos as bait to kill the travelers, whose blood was drained into the many holes on the ground to flow somewhere.
Yuki controlled her mannequins as she mashed a button in her hand.
[Sending an emergency reinforcement request to Spy Drone Controller.]
[Emergency reinforcement request sent to Spy Drone Controller.]
...
She had received this button from Enrique before he left, but she had never expected to use it.
I didn’t expect an S-rank dungeon to be in such a massive league of its own!
Yuki had speculated on the difficulty of an S-rank dungeon using her excavation experience of a dungeon ranked A++, but it was far more difficult than she had anticipated.
Forget a clan; this is a dungeon that an entire race has to join forces to excavate. Securing an Elixir in this kind of environment is impossible.
Her mana supply rapidly depleted, and the mannequins she had collected until now were being destroyed one by one.
Yuki thought about the angels and demons’ true motives for holding a proxy battle between the birdfolk and the undead. If the two superior races had set the stage, assuming the inferior races would be annihilated, then it was highly likely that this excavation was just for show to cool down the heated dispute between the superior races.
At this rate—
As Yuki was thinking that the excavation might lead to her death, a white light flashed from the sky. A beautiful man with golden hair and eyes was floating in the air, with six pairs of beautiful white wings on his back. A halo was above the crown of his head, and he held a sword radiating holy light in his right hand.
“An angel?” Yuki mumbled, certain that the man was a member of the superior race.
“I am the fourth-grade angel, Seriel, a loyal servant of the almighty God of Heaven. From this moment forth, I will teach the heretics who go against Him the wrath of the sky!”
He raised his sword and swung it downward.
[Activating Race Skill: Sword of Glory.]
The golden light exuding from the sword flashed, illuminating the dark space. A ray of light traveled forward, penetrating everything in its path and killing hundreds of Chaos with just one attack. Krypta was crazily swinging his demonic sword on the other side of the space.
Do we... have a chance? Yuki wondered, feeling hopeful.
The number of Chaos decreased rapidly.
***
“Is this the way, Enrique?!”
“Yeah! Right there!”
Seong-Hwi and the others raced down a corridor, heading to where Yuki had sent the emergency reinforcement request to Enrique’s Spy Drone Controller.
We’re near Research Sector 9, so the battle is probably happening in the mass incubation room, Seong-Hwi thought as he recalled the map of Weishaupt Research Institute in his head. Perfect. It’s very close to the director’s room.
If the information Curiositas had imprinted into his brain was true, then the Elixirs were in the director’s room. He still had no idea why Curiositas planted such information inside his head. A demon like him might not even think much about an Elixir. Everything might be a game to him, which could explain his actions; he might simply want to witness the struggles of an inferior race.
If that’s the case, I’ll play your game as much as it takes!
“Halt!” Seong-Hwi ordered once they arrived at a forked road.
“What’s wrong, Commander? We have to go right,” Enrique said.
“But we have to go left if we want to obtain the Elixir.”
“What?”
Every team member stared at Seong-Hwi.
He continued, “This confusion is the perfect opportunity to secure the Elixir.”
“Hmmm... Seong-Hwi, I don’t think you’re lying, but... Did the demon we encountered at the closed research sector seriously tell you where the Elixir is?” Frank asked as he scratched the back of his head.
It was only natural to be skeptical. It was hard to believe Seong-Hwi’s claims because he had left out the fact that the demon was Curiositas, the unprecedented being.
“I’m sure, and the time to prove it has come.” Seong-Hwi simultaneously pointed to the left and right and continued, “We’re splitting up the team. One team will support Onie Yuki, while the other team secures the Elixir.”
He pointed at Gardner and said, “You’re the only healer on the team. Since we don’t know whether Onie Yuki is injured or not, you’re in the support team. Enrique can track, and Khanh Huyen can deal ultra-ranged damage, so you two are also in the support team. So is Yuri Nazakov and Nakivarro.”
“What? Why me?!” Nakivarro shouted in dissatisfaction.
It was a natural response since no one would want to join the support team and give up on one billion Coins.
“That’s an order, not a request. I am the team’s current commander,” Seong-Hwi said.
“And what if I refuse?”
“You’ll regret it,” Seong-Hwi remarked as his hand slowly moved toward his Zanaka Karambit.
“Whoa, there! Calm down, Nakivarro.” Gardner grabbed Nakivarro’s shoulder and turned to Seong-Hwi, saying, “Cheon Seong-Hwi. There is nothing wrong with your order, but this is a special case. Only the one who secures the Elixir gets the one billion Coins. You can imagine that it’s unfair for us.”
Yuri scratched the back of his head and agreed. “He’s not wrong. I love killing Chaos, but I could buy a high-ranking item with a billion Coins.”
“In that case, let’s divide it evenly,” Seong-Hwi suggested.
“Divide it evenly?” Khanh asked.
Seong-Hwi nodded and continued, “Whoever it is that secures the Elixir, we’ll divide the one billion Coins that we receive from Kabuka evenly among us.”
The ones assigned to the support team glanced at each other. It was not a bad deal since, excluding Yuki, they would each get 111 million Coins. It might seem small because the full amount was a billion, but considering the acquisition difficulty, the probability, and stability, it was satisfying enough.
Some people in the support team also thought, If it’s going to be divided evenly, the fewer people, the better.
Seong-Hwi said, “I’ll draw you a simple map, Enrique. Paired with your D Weapon, you’ll have a much easier time tracking.”