Chapter 346 - (Hellish) Party (3)

“What the hell?”

Kim Si-Hun stared at the green tentacles in surprise. They looked familiar; they were the tentacles that were on Yogg-Saron, Satan’s subordinate, and he had also seen them when he had charged into the dungeon where Rakiel had been to rescue Oh Kang-Woo. Si-Hun did not hesitate for long.

“Sir Si-Hun!” Iris exclaimed.

Si-Hun summoned Holy Sword Ludwig and charged toward Marquess Berocca, who had turned into a hideous monster. He flew into the air while leaving afterimages that looked as if he was being stretched.

Slash—!

He split Marquess Berocca in two with a single slash. Yellow pus splashed all over the place as the green tentacle was cut. Si-Hun fluidly dodged the pus; it splashed on the floor of the imperial palace, which melted as soon as it came into contact with the pus.

“Wh-Whoaaa!”

The eyes of the nobles shone after watching Si-Hun cutting down the demonic beast with a single slash.

“P-Please save me!”

Tyrande Westwood, one of the noble ladies that had approached Si-Hun earlier, quickly ran toward Si-Hun. Behind her was a hideous Undead that looked as if eight legs were forcibly attached to it. As she was running with her face pale, a middle-aged man next to her yanked her.

“You’re just a bitch from a mere viscounty!” the man shouted as he threw Tyrande down toward the demonic beast. He waved at Si-Hun. “Please help me first!”

Crush!

“Grrrrrk!”

“Argh! Kurgh!”

However, the demonic beast ran right past Tyrande for some reason and attacked the middle-aged man first. It wrapped its eight legs around the man and bit down on his neck with its rotten teeth. Crimson blood sprayed everywhere.

“Shit!”

Si-Hun quickly shot a wave of sword energy to cut down the demonic beast, but the man whose neck had already been ripped apart by the demonic beast could no longer stand. Not just the man, but screams sounded out from all over the party venue. Si-Hun grimaced.

‘There are too many of them.’

Si-Hun could face these demonic beasts easily, but protecting the people from the demonic beasts was a whole other issue. It was impossible for him to eliminate the countless demonic beasts at once all by himself.

‘What are the guards doing?’

It had been over a minute since the commotion in the party venue sounded out, but there were no signs of guards arriving. Considering this venue was within the imperial palace, that was absolutely impossible; there was no way there would be no guards in an area where so many nobles were gathered.

‘If they’re not coming despite that, it means...’

The guards had likely been attacked by demonic beasts as well.

“Hyung-nim...”

Si-Hun looked around for Kang-Woo, but he was nowhere to be found. He could not see Han Seol-Ah, who had also attended the party, either.

‘I have to do it alone.’

Si-Hun gripped his sword tight. He could not let the demonic beasts run amok any longer.

“Huuu.”

He took a deep breath and spread the Qi in his dantian throughout his body. Every single one of his meridians were filled with enormous amounts of Qi.

‘Don’t be shackled by form.’

Si-Hun did not have any techniques that would be able to wipe out the countless demonic beasts in the party venue all at once, since he was but a swordsman who slayed demonic beasts with a sword.

‘If my sword is the problem...’

Si-Hun closed his eyes and imagined the shape of a sword. A transparent sword made of Qi formed in his mind.

‘I’ll abandon the shape of a sword.’

Si-Hun manipulated the Formless Sword. It was but a weapon formed with his Qi; it did not necessarily have to be in the shape of a sword. It was such a simple thought that he had no idea why he hadn’t thought about it earlier, but that simple thought brought about a massive change.

Slash, slash, slash!

“H-Huh?”

“Wh-What’s going on?”

Hundreds of hands made of blue sword energy spread throughout the venue, tearing apart the hundreds of demonic beasts that had invaded the venue.

“Graaaaaaaaaahh!”

A few demonic beasts dodged the blue hands and charged toward Si-Hun. Si-Hun lowered his stance. If they were aiming for him instead of the people, there was no need for him to use Formless Sword.

‘Heavenly Dragon...’

Si-Hun brought the sword to his waist as if to perform a sword draw technique. He twisted his hips with his right leg as the axis and swung Ludwig.

‘Flash!’

Fwoosh!

Pure-white condensed sword energy surged from Ludwig. The ten-meter-long sword energy horizontally slashed the demonic beasts charging at him in half.

Fuuu.

Si-Hun took a deep breath and raised himself up.

“Wow...”

“How can a person be so powerful...?”

The nobles who had witnessed Si-Hun’s true power could not keep their mouths closed. Facing five hundred rebel army soldiers was nothing compared to what they had just witnessed, since they knew after experiencing the war against demons, just how powerful and terrifying demonic beasts were.

“It’s not over yet,” Si-Hun remarked quietly as he stared at the nobles who were walking toward him.

He walked to Iris’s side as if protecting her and stared at the wall of the venue. He could feel thick demonic energy from across it.

Crash!

“Grrrrrr!”

“Skreeeee!”

Just as Si-Hun had thought, the wall shattered, and demonic beasts poured into the venue from it. Although there were not as many as before, each of them was much stronger. They scanned Si-Hun from a distance instead of rushing in recklessly. Si-Hun gazed at the demonic beasts with sharp eyes.

‘They’re all Undead.’

There had not been a single demonic beast that had attacked the venue that was alive. They were all hideous monsters that looked as if they had been made by forcibly stitching dead demonic beasts together. They were more difficult to face because they did not stop their charge even if they were decapitated or dismembered. They needed to be slashed into bits to the point that they could no longer move.

Whoooom.

Just then, the communication crystal in his pocket vibrated. After raising the crystal to check who it was, Si-Hun exclaimed, “Hyung-nim?!”

Kang-Woo’s voice flowed out from the crystal.

[Si-Hun. I’m in the VIP room, but...]

“Have the demonic beasts attacked that area as well?”

[Yeah.]

Like Si-Hun had thought, the party venue had not been the only place that was attacked.

“Hyung-nim, where could these demonic beasts have come from?”

[I have no idea. Kuh! These sons of bitches!]

“A-Are you okay, hyung-nim?!”

[I’ll take care of things here, so you protect the princess. Got it?]

“Understood, hyung-nim.” Si-Hun nodded and put the crystal back in his pocket. He turned to the nobles who had survived the first wave of demonic beast attacks and remarked, “Everyone, please gather around me.”

“G-Got it!”

“

Sniff!

Waaaaah!”

“What the hell are the guards doing?!”

The surviving nobles gathered around Si-Hun without hesitation. Si-Hun walked forward and adjusted his grip on his sword. He had not been able to save every noble because they were far too dispersed, but that was no longer the case.

Fuuu

.

Si-Hun had consumed a considerable amount of Qi from using Formless Sword, but he was still fine. He could fight.

“Sir Si-Hun...”

“Please stay right behind me, Your Highness.”

Si-Hun stood right in front of Iris and focused. He glared at the demonic beasts. Facing these demonic beasts was not an issue for him. Although they were much stronger than the ones from the first wave, considering the fact that Si-Hun was strong enough to face the princes of Hell, demonic beasts of this level were nothing to him.

‘The problem is...’

He needed to fight while keeping the princess and the nobles safe. Fighting while protecting someone was far more difficult than fighting all by oneself.

‘Even so...’

Si-Hun gripped his sword tighter. It had been none other than Kang-Woo who had asked him to do it.

“Grrrrrr!!”

The demonic beasts that had only been watching began to charge. Si-Hun cut down the demonic beasts.

***

“Aaaahh. My subordinates...” Vernaak groaned.

He was watching a live feed of Si-Hun cutting down the demonic beasts.

“Kurgh. After all the time I had taken to create those Undead Chimeras...”

“Come on, you can always make more. I’ll help you out.” Kang-Woo lightly patted the dejected Vernaak’s shoulder.

Although half of the Undead demonic beast army that they had diligently made for the past few months before crossing to Aernor had been wiped out, it had been a necessary sacrifice.

“Ahem. I understand, Master.”

“More importantly, it’s almost time, my king,” Lilith expressed.

“Got it.”

Kang-Woo turned around. It was time for the main event of the (hellish) party that he had planned for Si-Hun. It was time to make the seed of demise sprout in Aernor.

‘Let’s do this.’

Kang-Woo leisurely walked toward the party venue.

‘I've been wondering which coin to invest in this time.’

He had thought about Vaal Zahak at first. The demon king that the hero Reynald had defeated invading the continent once more was not a bad plot. However...

‘It’s too weak.’

Unlike what Vaal Zahak had boasted about, he had not been as infamous in Aernor as he had made himself out to be.

‘It would be weird to create a completely new being as well.’

Kang-Woo could also make up a completely new character like he had done with Rakiel. He had not revealed the group known as the Four Heavenly Kings for nothing.

‘But...’

Kang-Woo clicked his tongue. Even if it was the same song, it being sung by a world-renowned singer versus a street performer was completely different. It was simply a matter of public recognition.

‘It would be difficult to plunge the entire continent in fear if I used a completely new character.’

He needed to become a being that everyone in the continent knew and feared.

‘Well... I say all that, but there’s only one person who fits the bill.’

There was no need to think too deeply about it. Kang-Woo covered his face with his hands and used the ability he had acquired back in Shade.

“Mimicry.”

Kang-Woo was enveloped in black shadow. He grew larger, and ten black wings sprouted from his back. Although they were black wings, they were different from those of a fallen angel. His hair grew longer, and his teeth grew sharper. Goat horns sprouted from his forehead, his skin turned light purple, and a long tail extended from around his butt. Treacherous crimson eyes shone.

Kang-Woo had transformed into Lucifer, the Prince of Pride, who was known as the Evil God in Aernor.

‘Alright.’

Kang-Woo snickered at how perfect the transformation was. He walked toward the party venue where Si-Hun was fighting the demonic beasts.

‘Let’s begin.’

Kang-Woo took a deep breath.

[━━━━━━━━!!]

A demon roar that transcended sound itself shook the party venue. Hundreds of demonic beasts moved to clear a path for Kang-Woo and bowed down.

Step, step.

“Y-You’re...”

Kang-Woo could see Si-Hun’s eyes quivering. He smirked and spoke as if humming.

[It is nice to see you again, humans.]

He slightly bowed with his right hand on his chest as if he were a butler greeting his master.

[I am the almighty. I am the mocker. I bring demise to mortals, and am the master of the demonic, enchanted by pride.]

‘Shiet, I spent a whole week thinking about this fucking line, you know? Huh? Do you sons of bitches have any idea?’

[I am...]

Kang-Woo slowly raised his torso.

[... Lucifer.]

Silence fell on the party venue. Suffocating fear spread throughout the palace from the return of the Evil God.

‘Good, good!’

The plan was a massive success. Kang-Woo suppressed his laughter with all his might.

‘Yes, that’s it! This was the reaction I wanted to see!’

He couldn’t help but shrug in satisfaction from seeing the people stricken by fear.

“D-Dear!” Just then, a middle-aged woman who had been hiding in a corner called out to him. “Dear! Where have you been all this time...?!”

The woman trembled as if unable to believe what she was seeing. She ran up to Kang-Woo and embraced him with tears in her eyes.

“

Sniff

. I’ve missed you. I’ve been waiting for the day that we would meet again, my love.”

Kang-Woo looked down at the woman with silver hair.

[Pardon me?]

‘Who might you be?’