Chapter 577: Demon Contractor (1)
‘It is a contract.’
I was almost certain of it. I didn’t hope for an answer, but someone answered almost immediately. The face of the person grinding his teeth, holding onto the magical shield, looked even scarier.
“Yes, to kill you, we even sold our souls.”
“…”
“We sold everything. Our souls, our pride, even our lives… just to kill you.”
I could hear the sound of teeth grinding as they breathed with anger.
“Why do you still not know that light always triumphs? Do you know that your actions will be more disadvantageous for Jin Qing? Didn’t you want to reclaim his honor?”
“He’ll understand. Don’t utter his name with that dirty mouth of yours…”
“Jin Qing was a demon summoner, but he was a man who valued his pride more than anything else. There’s no way you don’t know that… you probably never understood him.”
“Stop speaking of his name with your foul voice!”
“Why does it matter whose name I call?”
“You trashy dictator bastard!”
‘I was worried about what to do afterward anyway, but I’m so grateful that they prepared the ground for me on their own.’
“Dieee!”
Some of the guards stabbed him all over his body, but he didn’t show any reaction.
Instead, he looked straight at me and knocked on the protective shield, raising my curiosity about which demon they had made the contract with.
‘Should I consider their contractor as a major corps?’
Of course, I naturally thought it wasn’t Belial. I didn’t feel the peculiar energy of the 27th Corps.
Considering the power they gained seemed to transcend death, it was probably…
‘It isn’t someone ranked higher than Belial, is it?’
It wasn’t clear at that moment which demon and what kind of contract it was, but factually speaking, it was a reasonable option for them. There was no way they wouldn’t know that attacking me with nothing was no different than trying to break a rock with an egg.
They would’ve thought they needed a way to fill the power gap between our side and theirs, and it seemed that they had chosen to go down that path. The option they had chosen was a little surprising, but I guess they couldn’t find any other way.
There was nothing better than that when one’s in dire need of great power in an instant, after all.
Their plan must’ve been to ensure Lee Kiyoung’s death in the government building. They would’ve thought they didn’t have to tell the continent’s people about what was happening in there…
Still, they probably didn’t care that much either whether they found out or not.
It was already decided that those bastards would die regardless of the plan ending in success or failure anyway. Hence, there was a high probability that what their reputation would be after the incident no longer mattered to them.
It wasn’t a lie that they betted their lives and souls on their current scheme.
A contract always came with a price. The same went for the summoning itself. My case was a little special, but it didn’t mean that others would get the same kind of preferential treatment.
Considering that it was impossible to summon a Major Corps-level without Jung Hayan’s magic, something must’ve been sacrificed in the summoning ceremony.
‘I don’t know who or what it is, but that demon must’ve filled up with achievements.’
They put their own lives and souls as payment, and what they gained in return was a body that wouldn’t succumb to death under normal circumstances combined with a tremendous ability that could exceed that of high-ranking adventurers.
‘Not all of the members of the Order have signed the contract…’
Only those at the executive level and those who could handle that kind of power probably accepted the deal.
‘This is getting quite complicated…’
I pretended to be fine externally, but in truth, my anxiety had begun to rise.
The guys whom I thought to be puppies turned out to be wolves, maybe even tigers. I was no longer certain whether I could safely leave the place with the power I currently had.
Park Li-ahn and my other guards were indeed competent, but they couldn’t do anything beyond their own abilities.
The twin-blades user Park Li-ahn, who always remained expressionless, started looking a bit anxious since she was probably nervous about what to do if she couldn’t execute the mission successfully.
As if she thought it was impossible to continue confronting them, she continued to move, leading the guards and me, but she couldn’t stop her own wounds from accumulating.
The shield, which looked like it could be maintained for a long duration, was also reaching its limit due to the suicide bombing event, and it started to feel like we were being led to where they wanted us to go, rather than evading based on our decisions.
“I think we’re being driven.”
“I feel the same way, but it looks like there’s no other way for us to go. I think it would be better to buy as much time as possible…”
“I’m sorry. Um… Vice Guild Master.”
“Yes?”
“Since there seems to be no other way out of here, at least the Vice Guild Master…”
“No. You don’t have to do that. What I’m worried about isn’t being trapped and dying here. Nobody shall die here. Don’t think about or say anything reckless. It’s risky, but I have a plan. As I said, let’s delay as much as we can. Are your wounds and stamina okay?”
“It’s not that good.”
“I like that you’re honest.”
As soon as I took the Bomb of Light potion, a brilliant radiance began to spread in all directions with a ‘whooooosh’ sound.
Not only did the explosions cleared, but the undead blocking us were immediately exorcised and disappeared.
‘It’s dazzling… So dazzling.’
Whooooooooooshhh!
Since the range of effect was wide, the rays of light constantly extended along the passage.
With the wounds and stamina of the guards forced to stand their ground recovered in an instant, the item I used certainly had an impact worthy of its grade. I hoped that I would be able to wipe out even the demon contractors, but a dark, pitch-black aura began to envelop them soon enough.
I thought they’d resist, but it didn’t affect them as much as I thought.
‘They must’ve contracted with a high-ranking demon.’
The moderates wouldn’t be hostile to me, so it was probably someone with a radical inclination.
I thought I would have a moment to spare, but reinforcements immediately came and filled the holes in their formation. The calculation that they would back down a bit was a miss, and they knew that there were restrictions on the use of Bomb of Light potions.
Noticing the confidence in their eyes that they could do it, it seemed that they thought I used the potion earlier than expected.
‘Did I use it too early?’
However, it was better than being unable to use it after saving for too long.
‘This isn’t good.’
It felt like this had been turning out just the way they pictured. The executive-level demon contractors were definitely wary of the Bombs of Light.
What they planned might be to come in after all the Light Bomb potions had been used…
No, regardless of what I thought, it wouldn’t be wrong to judge that the purpose behind their actions was that. Until they arrived at the place which they planned to be the final stage…
“They’ll make me use all of my potions.”
“What did you just…?”
“It’s nothing. Can you contact the people outside the building by any chance?”
“We can’t establish a connection.”
“They’re most likely using the disturbance propagation used by the Demon Summoner in our last battle with the Republic.”
“Yes, I’m trying to find out exactly where the radio waves are spreading from…”
‘It wouldn’t make sense for us to come and change our formation now. This is annoying…’
“…”
“Keep pushing! Make them use their stamina as much as possible! Don’t let them rest!”
“Support troops! Support troops!”
“Block the front… Block- ahhhhhh!”
“This dirty bastard! Useless bastard! Continent’s cancer!”
“Don’t back down. Don’t be scared! Think about Jin Qing. Think of the one who died screaming desperately!”
“The Order dies here today. But we won’t die alone. We will close our eyes with that dictator. Move!”
“The traitors who made a contract with the demon are talking too much. You can’t even tell who’s just and who’s evil or which side is light and which side is dark. You need to be enlightened. I can’t say you’re sane right now, demon contractors.”
‘There isn’t much of a reaction.’
The leaders had become a bit colder.
‘It’s not that good…’
Once again, I was stuck, and I couldn’t tell exactly how much time had passed, but I hoped the cooldown to use the Bomb of Light potion once again had ended.
‘I shouldn’t have used it earlier. Sigh…’
Whooooooshhh!
Radiance spread across the halls once more. It affected their troops immediately, but like before, humans and powerful undeads filled up the vacancy.
I thought I was constantly being chased with no way to resist.
There were still another Bomb of Light potion and my shield, and yet we were outnumbered and couldn’t cope with the enemy troops in that atmosphere.
“A little bit more!”
“Push! Just keep pushing them!”
We were running like crazy, but we had no choice but to go where those motherfuckers were dragging us.
One of the factors that played to our disadvantage was that the structure of the government building was unfamiliar to us. The second was that we couldn’t withstand their number.
Even though I knew we were being led to the tiger’s mouth, we had no choice but to go into it.
Eventually, we arrived at the place where they wanted us to go.
‘Fuck…’
I watched the demon contractors surrounding me in the large room. The way they were wearing large cloaks like teenagers looked stupid. All the motherfuckers who started our problem were in that place.
‘Except for Mikhail and Natalie.’
“Finally…”
The guards began to get closer and closer to me, but they only swallowed hard as if they couldn’t find any way out of it.
Contrary to my expectation that they would attack immediately, they spoke as if they were enjoying the moment. “You’re finally here, you filthy scammer.”
“I guess you haven’t seen the light that just burst out. It’s a bit painful to be called a scammer… I’m a divine messenger chosen by God. Didn’t you witness the brilliant rays of light directly with your eyes? The scammers are you, whose actions don’t match with what you say, not me.”
“I don’t know how you can use the power of light, but everyone here knows that you’re a trash scammer.”
“So that’s why you even signed a contract with the demon.”
“It’s an unavoidable choice needed to achieve a great cause. We borrowed power from him to kill you, not for any other reason.”
“Every criminal and every wicked person has a good story. But you know what? No matter how moving the story is, criminals are still criminals in the end. It was the same for Jin Qing, who you believe and follow. Regardless of his reason, he’s a war criminal, and he paid the fair price for the crime he’s committed.”
“You dirty scammer! Do you think you really deserve to say that…?”
“Aren’t I making it clear already? Light and darkness, good and evil. Even from a 1-kilometer distance, you still wouldn’t look normal. Your eyes are red, your body is twisted, and you’re surrounded by pitch-black darkness. Who would think of you as members of a group committed to the continent? I’ll give you a chance to repent. Whatever you do, I won’t die anyway.”
“Don’t make me laugh! We know you’re diabolic inside. You are the real demon! That deceitful tongue you use to deceive the people is the real demon. You’re wearing a mask of light, but you really thought we wouldn’t know about your dirty plans? The other people in the continent might not be aware, but we… we’re facing reality properly. This continent is not your stage. Those who live on this continent are also not chess pieces for you to play with.”
“I’m not sure what you’re talking about, but… I’m not here to rule the continent. I don’t know why you don’t recognize that I’m here to protect it.”
“Human trash! I will pull that dirty tongue out and make sure you can’t use it anymore.”
“As a person who claims to be the protector of the continent, it seems that I can no longer tolerate the rage of the evil groups who have made a contract with the demon. Oh, Great Benignore. Please forgive me for my choice.”
‘I have no other option…’
As I slowly looked ahead, I could that the faces of those surrounding me changed little by little.
They were looking at me with their lips tightly bitten. It was also noticeable that they felt as if their thoughts were correct and that they were the ones who were right.
“Vice Guild Master… That’s…”
“I know. Three hours.”
[A Semi-Mythic-grade class conversion has been generated.]
[Alchemist of Light has been switched to subclass.]
[The Plaguelord of Darkness has been assumed as the main class.]
No other words were needed.
“Bone Grave.”
When I chanted the spell, thorns made out of gigantic bones began to emerge from all over.