Chapter 138
“Yes. You’ve been through a lot too.”
Choi Hyun-seok nods continuously as if he understands everything.
While doing so, he patted the demon’s shoulder.
“The higher-ups only think about principles and don’t know anything about the situation on the ground. How can work progress if they just throw things at us and tell us to figure it out?”
“That’s right!”
“It’s always demons like us fighting on the frontlines who suffer!”
The demon gave Choi Hyun-seok a meaningful look.
“Are you a demon?”
“Hey! That hurts my feelings.”
Choi Hyun-seok operates his demonic energy.
[Fulminium Mode]
Horns grew from his head and long blades protruded from his forearms.
His skin color also changed slightly, showing a light gray that could hardly be considered human.
The demon’s eyes widened at seeing these changes.
“T-that form?”
“I received Lord Rotark’s grace and achieved demonification, that’s what.”
“I see!”
“Anyway, demons like us fighting on the frontlines always need to be careful.”
Choi Hyun-seok suddenly looked around and whispered in a subtle voice.
“Do you know how cunning humans are? They smile to your face while hiding a knife behind their back!”
This was the human hero Choi Hyun-seok earnestly introducing himself.
The innocent and naive demon kept nodding.
“I’ve heard plenty about how wicked humans are.”
“That’s right! Here we are in the middle of enemy territory teeming with such humans! At times like these, demons need to stick together.”
“Your words are right, Choi Hyun-seok.”
“Right, right. Your name is Jalmus?”
Jalmus nodded.
Before they knew it, the two had become close friends after exchanging names.
“Let me formally introduce myself. I’m Commander Choi Hyun-seok of the 3rd Corps Direct Regiment.”
“Regiment Commander… I thought you were just a Company Commander when I left?”
“I’ve gotten much stronger since then.”
Choi Hyun-seok grinned.
“No need to stand on ceremony now. We’re in different units anyway. We’re friends now, right?”
“Hmm… We’re friends…?”
“Of course! Where else would you find a connection like this!”
Choi Hyun-seok patted Jalmus’s back vigorously.
“Friends are supposed to be comfortable with each other. So keep being comfortable.”
“Alright, Choi Hyun-seok. You’re a good demon.”
“Of course. You think Lord Hemis raised me in the Demon King’s Army for nothing?”
“Sigh… So there was a reason after all. I can’t even begin to imagine how deep her foresight is.”
Jalmus now trusted Choi Hyun-seok one hundred percent.
“So… About that…”
Choi Hyun-seok sensed it was time to get to the main point.
“You said what you’re doing here is testing newly developed magical tools? Converting magical power to demonic energy?”
“That’s right. This is finally the start of our Demon King’s Army counterattack.”
“Converting magical power to demonic energy… When was this developed?”
“Lord Rotark has been researching this for a long time. Actually, verification is complete, and this operation is the first field test you could say.”
“Lord Rotark is amazing indeed.”
“Of course. He’s the one who established and created magical engineering technology. I heard the human side has been researching magical engineering recently, but they’re probably decades behind Lord Rotark’s work.”
“Oh…”
Though he tried to appear calm, Choi Hyun-seok felt chills.
‘That rat. I thought he was only doing chimera research, but he was doing this behind our backs too.’
It was fortunate that Hemis dealt with him, albeit late.
If he had survived, he would have been a constant thorn in their side.
“So you use that magical tool to convert magical power to demonic energy. Then the demonic energy density in the atmosphere increases… And finally creates undead?”
“That’s right. From here on, our Corps Commander Onyx’s role becomes important.”
“I don’t know much about Corps Commander Onyx since I’m new.”
“Ah, is that so.”
Jalmus nodded and muttered, “I guess that makes sense.”
“Lord Onyx is one of the few necromancers in the Demon King’s Army.”
“So a necromancer is the magician who raises undead?”
“That’s pretty much it.”
After speaking, Onyx suddenly showed a gloomy expression.
“You probably don’t know, but necromancy is shunned among demons. It’s considered an undignified, cowardly, and dirty technique.”
“Ah, so that’s why the operation is being conducted secretly…?”
“Right. That’s why only the Demon King, Lord Onyx, and Lord Rotark know about this.”
“The other Corps Commanders don’t know at all?”
“No. There’s nothing good about them knowing. Especially Lord Hemis, who’s been famous for shunning necromancy from way back.”
“Is that so…?”
It was unexpected information that Hemis also shunned necromancy.
Now it was useless information since she was dead.
“Then shouldn’t you not tell me? What if I tell Lord Hemis?”
Jalmus smirked at Choi Hyun-seok’s words.
“The preparations are done anyway. As I said, this is the first field test after all preparations are complete. Once the effectiveness is proven here, it’s over.”
“So you’re saying it’ll all be revealed soon anyway.”
“That’s right.”
This was truly problematic.
The Demon King’s prepared counterattack.
Perhaps the grand plan that could turn the continent upside down had already reached its completion stage.
‘I need to extract as much information as possible from this guy. He knows a lot of things. He’s quite smart for a demon.’
I will extract information until he becomes completely dried up like a squid.
Choi Hyun-seok continued the conversation naturally without showing his anxious feelings.
“I’d like to see that magical tool.”
“It’s right under your feet.”
“Huh?”
“There are already about a hundred of them spread around this village. One of them is buried under your feet.”
Choi Hyun-seok looked down at his feet.
Come to think of it, the ground was strangely even and the soil was soft compared to the surroundings.
When he put his hand in, he grabbed something solid.
“Is this it?”
When pulled out, a disc about 50cm in diameter was revealed.
The disc, intricately intertwined with strange magic circles, looked extraordinary at first glance.
“When you breathe demonic energy into this device, it converts magical power into demonic energy for a certain period.”
“So it’s not perpetual motion.”
“If that were possible, we would have converted all the magical power in the world into demonic energy.”
“Right. That’s true.”
Jalmus took the disc and continued with additional explanations.
“The demonic energy that comes through the magical tool isn’t just ordinary demonic energy. It’s demonic energy with properties suitable for necromancy.”
“Are there different types of demonic energy?”
“Of course! While the fundamentals are the same, the properties differ slightly. Don’t you know that higher-ranking demons have stronger characteristics in their demonic energy?”
“Ah, yes, that’s right.”
Thinking about it, it made sense.
Weak demons all felt the same, but demons above a certain level were different.
Their characteristics were so distinct that you could identify who they were just by their demonic energy.
In Hemis’s case, it was so different that you might doubt if it was even the same type of demonic energy.
‘Come to think of it, it wasn’t just demonic energy but magic power too.’
4th Corps Commander Park Hyun-a.
She had very distinct characteristics even when handling magic power.
Magic power that was sharp and aggressive, almost rivaling demonic energy.
Looking at things like this, it seemed that neither magic power nor demonic energy were all the same.
“I’ve confirmed that the density of demonic energy has become sufficient recently.”
Choi Hyun-seok snapped out of his thoughts at Jalmus’s words.
“Oh. So?”
“All that’s left is to proceed with the undead ritual.”
“How do you do that?”
“That’s also prepared. I’ve already drawn large-scale magic circles in the vicinity.”
“Ah, is that so…?”
“Yes. It’s done once we activate it. This area has seen many wars in the past, so materials are abundant.”
“Aha… That’s impressive…”
This demon is unnecessarily thorough in his preparations.
Choi Hyun-seok stood up from his spot.
‘I need to quickly destroy this disc and remove the magic circles.’
There really wasn’t much time left.
He needed to move right away.
“Jalmus. I’d like to see those magic circles you mentioned.”
“Hmm, that would be difficult.”
“Why?”
“I put a lot of effort into hiding them. The magic circles were drawn ingeniously using the terrain features, so they’d be hard to recognize even when observed from the sky.”
“…”
“It’s no exaggeration to say that the past 6 months were spent essentially drawing those magic circles!”
Pride could be felt in Jalmus’s words.
Choi Hyun-seok forcibly held onto his fading consciousness.
‘You’re the Demon King’s Army… Please act more carelessly like you’re supposed to!’
This demon. Just how elite could he be?
He couldn’t help but lament the fact that such talent existed in the Demon King’s Army.
“Jalmus. Shall we head back for now? We shouldn’t be away from our posts for too long.”
“Ah, you’re right.”
“So, where are you staying? You must have a place where you’ve been hiding.”
“I’m in the middle of a mountain a bit away from here. Being near the village would risk detection, you see.”
“Ah…”
“But I won’t be going back today.”
“Huh? Why?”
Jalmus looked up at the sky.
The blazing sun had started to set stealthily.
“Because I’m about to start the necromancy soon.”
“What!?”
Choi Hyun-seok asked back in shock.
“You’re starting? Today!?”
“Yes. Since preparations are complete, there’s no need to delay further.”
“I see. So that’s how it is…”
Choi Hyun-seok quietly clenched his fist.
‘Is this it… Still, thanks for the information.’
Although he wanted to extract more information, if he didn’t kill him right now, a catastrophe would occur.
‘Goodbye, Jalmus.’
Just as Choi Hyun-seok raised his fist.
“Ah, actually I don’t really need to be here… Should I step out for a bit?”
“What are you talking about? The necromancy is about to begin, how can you not need to be here?”
“I’m not the one activating the magic circle.”
“Huh…?”
Choi Hyun-seok blinked.
The fist he had raised was now hidden behind his back.
Jalmus continued speaking.
“Necromancy isn’t my specialty. The activation of the magic circle will be done by colleagues who specialize in necromancy.”
“You had colleagues…?”
“Did I not mention it? Including me, there were three of us who came here!”
“I see! Haha…!”
Choi Hyun-seok forced a smile while grinding his teeth.
At that moment, a system alert was heard.
[Hero Quest has been updated]
[The previous quest has been automatically marked as complete]
[Gained 500 Hero Points]
[Experience points gained]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
The messages continued.
Then with a ‘ding!’ sound, a quest appeared.
â ââ â Hero Quest! â ââ â
You have not only identified the murderer but also uncovered everything about the incident!
But now comes the real challenge.
Stop their large-scale necromancy!
- Objectives:
- Deal with the demon mastermind.
- Stop the necromancy.
- Reward: A large number of experience points and 2,000 Hero Points
After seeing the quest content, Choi Hyun-seok’s expression became serious.
“Jalmus, when exactly does this necromancy begin?”
“Well… Probably right when the sun sets?”
“The sun has already set though?”
“Then it’ll start soon.”
“Ah! I see!”
Choi Hyun-seok smiled brightly.
‘Damn… How am I supposed to clear this!’
It was already way too late.
But he couldn’t give up.
Not just for the reward, but for the sake of the 2,000 villagers, he had to complete this quest.
