Chapter 142
Abelson breathed heavily.
Her legs were trembling, and the mace in her hand felt unbearably heavy.
‘How much time has passed…?’
She looked around.
The surroundings were filled with undead remains.
However, there were still more undead wandering around than those defeated.
One thing was certain – she had taken down quite a number of enemies.
‘I used too much holy power recklessly.’
The problem started when she excessively used holy power to protect the villagers at the beginning of the battle.
Just two releases consumed about half of her total holy power.
Considering that normally one doesn’t even use a tenth of their total capacity when using magic, this was clearly an overexertion.
Moreover, it wasn’t even proper magic, just a crude release of power.
It was essentially an act deliberately meant to wreck her body.
Having fought for hours without rest in such a worst-case scenario, Abelson’s body had reached its limit.
‘Is Mr. Choi Hyun-seok alright…?’
Abelson turned her head to look at Choi Hyun-seok.
“Hahaha! Another level up!”
Choi Hyun-seok was swinging his fists while laughing like a madman.
Large horns had grown on his head.
The environment filled with demonic energy seemed to be giving him strength instead.
While he looked far from a hero, it was fortunate that there seemed to be no problems with his fighting ability.
“These skeleton bastards. They’re surprisingly satisfying to hit!”
She deliberately turned her gaze away from the hero spouting crazy words.
‘… He should be fine.’
Though his mental state seemed a bit concerning, it was far better than having physical pain.
Abelson checked on Bobo next.
“Kwaaang!”
Bobo is also still going strong.
Even with the increased number of high-ranking undead as time passed, he showed no hesitation in destroying enemies.
This was actually natural.
After all, Bobo is the strongest among their group from the start.
Crunch, crunch!
Bobo occasionally chewed on enemies during battle, perhaps feeling hungry.
But shortly after, he would spit them right out.
“Ptui!”
Bones and flesh scattered everywhere.
His low growling suggested he was quite angry.
Probably irritated because it didn’t suit his taste.
‘At least holding out until the dominant entity appears shouldn’t be a problem.’
The dense demonic energy was empowering both Bobo and Choi Hyun-seok.
While it was the worst situation for Abelson, those two were the core fighting force anyway.
If they were fine, that was enough.
‘Perhaps really…’
Hope began to appear.
Though enemies were still numerous and even growing stronger, nevertheless.
‘We might be able to win.’
They couldn’t prevent one village from being annihilated.
However, they might be able to prevent it from spreading into a greater catastrophe.
Abelson gripped her mace firmly and gathered her resolve.
Gooooo…!
Suddenly, the demonic energy began to swirl.
An enormous amount of demonic energy was gathering at the center of the village.
Abelson bit her lip hard.
‘Could it be…’
The demonic energy that had been floating in the air suddenly pierced into the ground.
Whaaaa!
Abelson frowned at the storm of demonic energy blowing past.
‘It’s beginning.’
The demonic energy that seemed like it would devour everything disappeared in an instant.
Instead, the ground began to shake as something started to rise.
Push…!
A massive bone broke through the soil and revealed itself.
It belonged to a magical beast.
Even though it was made only of bones, its size, and intimidating presence were tremendous.
‘A Dragon!?’
For a moment she thought of the legendary magical beast Dragon, but soon shook her head.
‘It’s not a Dragon. What is it?’
It was too small to be a Dragon, and its appearance was different.
Crucially, the massive wings that symbolize Dragons were nowhere to be seen.
‘That is…’
Abelson’s eyes narrowed.
Something was perched atop the giant magical beast made of bones.
Judging by the size, it is human.
In its hand is what appeared to be a weapon, a long staff.
‘I got it!’
Abelson’s eyes widened.
She finally realized the identity of the enemy.
At the same time, the question that had lingered throughout the battle was resolved.
‘This is where the Stancanar Forest used to be.’
Abelson had been wondering all along.
What kind of place was this?
What happened in the past for so many bones to be buried here?
Moreover, they weren’t just human remains.
In fact, more than half of the bones were presumed to be those of demon folk.
This meant it was a place where demons and humans had waged war.
‘250 years ago, the battle was fought in Stancanar Forest.’
Looking at that giant magical beast and the human mounted on it, she finally understood.
This was the site of a great war 250 years ago.
‘And the man on the magical beast is probably Lophar Dozer.’
Lophar Dozer was the greatest hero of that time.
A man who was called not just a hero of the Mariette Kingdom, but the greatest hero of the continent.
People had no doubt that he would soon become a legend.
However, sadly, he died at the young age of thirty-seven.
Right here, in the Stancanar Forest.
‘He led the battle to victory at the cost of his life, and finally became a legend.’
Those who survived the battle all said the same thing.
That Lophar Dozer was not just any hero.
He was already a legend himself.
***
Choi Hyun-seok was startled.
Suddenly, demonic energy swirled and a giant monster made of bones rose from the ground.
“What is that…”
“I’m not sure either…?”
Choi Hyun-seok frowned at Rachel’s answer.
“What do you actually know?”
“Well, I know that you’re in deep trouble now, hero.”
“Shit.”
Rachel was right.
The situation is not good at all.
‘The demonic energy is on a completely different level from the others.’
It was such powerful demonic energy that just facing it made his skin crawl.
Choi Hyun-seok quickly took out his combat power meter.
[Combat Power: 192,450]
“As expected.”
It barely registered on the combat power meter that could measure up to 200,000.
Though not as high as expected, it still wasn’t an opponent to be taken lightly.
“Ms. Abelson! Is that monster the dominant entity!?”
He asked for confirmation even though it clearly seemed to be the dominant entity.
However, the answer he received was unexpected.
“That magical beast is not the dominant entity!”
“What?”
Choi Hyun-seok blinked.
With a height of at least 10m and combat power almost reaching 200,000.
If this wasn’t the dominant entity, then what is?
“Look above the magical beast!”
Choi Hyun-seok raised his gaze.
Then he saw a skeleton mounted on top of the magical beast.
“What is that?”
“Lophar Dozer! A hero from the past, whose power was practically legendary!”
“What…?”
Choi Hyun-seok had a dumbfounded expression.
Power at a legendary level?
This was a completely unexpected situation.
Choi Hyun-seok had never even seen a legend before.
Even the Demon King’s Army Commanders, who were considered on par with legends, were worse.
‘The rat. Park Hyun-a. The lip monster…’
All of them were monsters he couldn’t deal with.
There wasn’t even a glimmer of hope.
With a desperate heart, he checked the figure with his combat power meter.
[Combat Power: Unmeasurable]
“Damn…”
The curse came out involuntarily.
As Abelson said, the real threat is that skeleton up there.
“It might sound silly asking this now, but can we win?”
“Well…”
Even Abelson had a tense expression.
Could they defeat the legend, Lophar Dozer?
She gripped her mace tightly.
“This is our only chance. Having just awakened, he’s much weaker than when he was alive. Besides, Lophar Dozer reached legendary status after death. He’s not a complete legend, so it’s not impossible.”
“Hmm… I understand.”
Choi Hyun-seok understood Abelson’s words in his own way.
‘It was the same with Nicolo’s hero’s party.’
Even when revived as undead, they couldn’t fully retain their power from when they were alive.
No matter how close to legendary status this Lophar Dozer was, he wouldn’t be at full strength now.
“Still, he’s stronger than us, that hasn’t changed.”
“…”
“He’ll regain his power as time passes. Before that happens, we must defeat him right here, right now.”
Abelson said with a determined expression.
This was the unexpected appearance of a major threat.
With most of their core forces positioned in the demonic realm, the inside would be much more vulnerable.
If Lophar Dozer were to be set loose, losing a city or two would be the least of their worries.
In the worst case, an entire nation might be destroyed.
“Understood.”
Choi Hyun-seok loosened up his body.
“It’s too late to run away now anyway. Let’s give it a try.”
***
The magical beast swung its huge front paw.
It was surprisingly agile for its size.
Choi Hyun-seok quickly stepped back.
A thunderous sound rang out as the front paw struck where he had been standing.
“By the way, what is this magical beast!?”
“It was the beast raised by the commander of the infamous Demon King’s Army 3rd Division. Though Lophar Dozer killed it.”
“Ha! How ironic that he’s lounging on top of the beast he killed.”
Choi Hyun-seok clicked his tongue, looking at Lophar Dozer who still hadn’t come down from the top of the magical beast’s head.
“Well, they’re all undead now anyway.”
It was a strange irony that those who had been at each other’s throats while alive were now united in undeath.
“But why does Lophar keep doing that?”
He couldn’t understand why Lophar Dozer wasn’t participating in the battle even after considerable time had passed.
Abelson shouted urgently.
“He’s recovering his power! We need to quickly defeat this magical beast and pull down Lophar Dozer!”
“Got it! Let’s go! Bobo!”
Choi Hyun-seok and Bobo charged forward.
The magical beast was so large that even Bobo, who was the size of a decent elephant, looked small in comparison.
“You’ll draw their attention! I believe in you!”
“KWAANG!”
The magical beast and Bobo are roughly equal in terms of combat power.
Choi Hyun-seok charged forward, trusting in Bobo.
‘I need to drag him into combat before he recovers more.’
As Abelson said, if Lophar Dozer was in the process of recovering his strength, they couldn’t let this continue.
They needed to somehow drag him into battle and end this while he was still in an incomplete state.
‘Once we finish him off, this situation will be resolved.’
There was no need to worry about the other undead.
If they could just kill the dominant entity, the Lophar Dozer, all the undead would stop in their tracks.
Finally, Choi Hyun-seok grabbed the magical beast’s tail and began climbing up.
“Oh! Hero! You look just like a gymnast!”
Climbing onto the magical beast while it was swaying in combat wasn’t easy.
It was especially difficult since there was nothing but bones to grab onto.
Nevertheless, Choi Hyun-seok continued sprinting up the magical beast’s body while barely managing not to fall.
‘There.’
At last, he could clearly see the Lophar Dozer.
He was still sitting comfortably at the very top of the magical beast’s head.
‘Is that a spear in his hand?’
He was holding a long stick, and judging by its tip, it appeared to be a spear.
‘While he’s turned away, I’ll finish this in one go.’
Choi Hyun-seok activated his demonic energy.
[Crepitus Mode]
The backs of his calves and both palms transformed into something like exhaust pipes.
Demonic energy exploded from these points, sending Choi Hyun-seok flying at tremendous speed.
‘This has to succeed.’
In Crepitus Mode, Choi Hyun-seok could fly and move much faster than normal.
Though it was risky to use in actual combat due to his lack of control, now wasn’t the time to worry about such things.
Choi Hyun-seok flew straight toward the Lophar Dozer.
‘Here I go…!’
Finally, Choi Hyun-seok arrived above the Lophar Dozer.
He twisted his body 180 degrees in mid-air.
Gritting his teeth, he maximized his demonic energy output.
KWAAAA-!
A massive explosion erupted from the back of his calves.
Choi Hyun-seok’s leg dropped vertically.
‘It’s going in perfectly!’
Choi Hyun-seok cheered quietly.
Though it was nearly an acrobatic feat, fortunately, it succeeded.
His leg was flying directly toward the Lophar Dozer’s face.
The speed was so incredible that even Choi Hyun-seok himself would have trouble reacting to it.
‘It’s too late to dodge.’
The Lophar Dozer, in his sitting position, couldn’t avoid the attack.
That’s when he began to move.
In a completely unexpected way.
Thuk.
The Lophar Dozer simply caught Choi Hyun-seok’s leg.
‘This is insane!’
It was an attack that rivaled any fighting techniques in both speed and power.
Yet he caught it with his skeletal hand.
As if it were nothing.
Flames flickered in his empty eye sockets.
-Are you… A demon?
Instead of answering, Choi Hyun-seok launched his other leg.
NobilraceÂ
Type 2 – Expression of Respect
Originally a fighting technique meant as a leg kick targeting the opponent’s lower body.
However, since Choi Hyun-seok was now positioned relatively higher, it ended up targeting the enemy’s head.
-This…
This attack seemed unexpected, as Lophar Dozer’s reaction was slightly delayed.
KWAAAA-!
A purple flash erupted as shin met the temple.
“A demon?”
Choi Hyun-seok grinned and finally answered his question.
“I am a Hero.”
