Chapter 69: Summoning Ritual (4)

Crack.

A black rift formed in the air as if a sheet of glass was breaking.

The rift, which started small, grew larger very quickly.

Thick demonic energy leaked out of it.

'Demonic energy from Hell.'

Oh Kang-Woo's expression hardened. He was used to this kind of demonic energy.

The light shining from the summoning circle darkened.

"That's…"

"Wh-what's happening?"

The voices of the members of Hwarang's 2nd Squadron began to tremble.

A rift had appeared out of nowhere. It was as if a Gate had appeared inside another Gate.

The squadron members couldn't help but feel unbearably uneasy.

"Hahahaha!!! Now, immortal beings, come forth! I beseech thee, use your power to destroy these petty mortals!" Yoo Tae-Shik shouted in a voice full of madness.

He took his hands off the summoning circle and spread his arms wide open. Not even he knew which demon would come out of the summoning circle. He just wanted the demon to be as violent and powerful as possible.

[GRRRR.]

A low-pitched cry…

A giant hand emerged from the rift…

A muscular arm with black skin…

Crack!!

The demon's arms pulled the rift wider as if tearing a piece of paper. The black rift became larger, revealing red shining eyes.

[Who has called me, Oriax, a demon of the Seventh Hell?]

"Ohhh…!"

Tae-Shik fell to the ground after hearing the voice coming from the rift. He then bowed toward the demon coming out of the rift.

"Lord Oriax!! This humble mortal greets the immortal one!"

[Are you the one who has summoned me?]

"Yes, my lord," Tae-Shik answered the demon who had just appeared.

Oriax looked down at Tae-Shik with his red shining eyes.

"Th-That's…"

"A demon…?"

The members of the Hwarang Corps became stiff after looking at the being that came out of the rift.

Oriax was a giant almost seven meters tall and had a muscular physique and bat wings.

They could see the madness in his eyes and the two horns on his forehead.

Even if they didn't know that the purpose of the summoning had been to summon a demon, they would immediately be able to tell that the entity before them was a demon.

[Why have you summoned me?]

Tae-Shik shouted in response to Oriax's question, "I desire the flesh and blood of pathetic mortals! I beg you to guide your worshipers to eternal life with your almighty power! I will lay down everything for you as long as I can escape the fate of mortality!"

[So you want to be immortal.]

Oriax looked down at Tae-Shik condescendingly.

Since Oriax had lived as a demon from the day it had been born, he found the human bowing his head just to escape the chains of mortality all too pathetic.

[Do you want eternal life?]

"Yes!"

[Do you want a life of infinite desires and endless pleasures?]

"Yes!!" Tae-Shik shouted excitedly.

Bang!

Tae-Shik smashed his head down so hard on the ground that his forehead was split. Blood seeped from the wound.

"I want to be immortal! I want to have great power and eternal life just like you, Lord Oriax!"

He looked at Oriax with eyes full of madness.

A demon from Hell…

They were the ideal of the Demon Cult, their messiahs.

'Eternal life! Infinite desires! Endless pleasure!'

The words Oriax said filled his head.

Before he became part of the Demon Cult, Tae-Shik was one of the very few Muslims in Korea. He had desired to break free from his earthly body and live for eternity by his God's side. But one day, a man in a red demon mask had completely turned his life upside down.

The man's teachings had changed his ways of thinking.

- Is there a need to pursue eternal life with such ambiguous beliefs? We can give you eternal life here on Earth. The eternal life spoken of by your god is nothing but self-consolation supported by your beliefs. What's the point of eternal life if you have to die to obtain it??

His words had shocked Tae-Shik.

To think that one could aim for eternal life while staying alive!

To think that one could live life without fearing death every single day!

As long as you were born on Earth, there was nothing more certain than death.

However, demons were beings that had broken free from that inevitable fate; there was absolutely no reason to follow and worship them.

Boom!

[Hahahaha! Good! I like your desires, human!]

Oriax could feel the strong desires coming from Tae-Shik, and those passionately blazing desires stimulated Oriax.

[Now, tell me, human. Where are the sacrifices that will bring me the pleasure of slaughter?]

"Over there."

Tae-Shik pointed toward the Hwarang Corps. An intense bloodlust leaked from Oriax.

[Kehehehe. Not bad as sacrifices for slaughter.]

The corners of Oriax's mouth rose up. The power that he could feel from the beings pointing their weapons at him stimulated him. He wasn't sure how such petty mortals had managed to acquire such power, but they were good opponents for him to run wild with.

"Kuh."

"So that's a demon…"

Cha Yeon-Joo warily glared at Oriax. She touched her bracelet.

Oriax clearly felt different from the monsters that she usually fought—he felt more destructive and violent.

"Squadron, prepare for battle! I'm not exactly sure what's going on, but you'd better focus up and keep those buttcheeks clenched!"

Goo Hyun-Mo swiped up his sunglasses and took out his two short swords. Mana began gathering on their edges.

"Fuu. What a stupidly scary-looking creature."

Hyun-Mo gulped and looked at Oriax. He didn't become nervous often, but even he couldn't help but feel nervous in front of Oriax. That was how strong the energy leaking from Oriax was.

"There will most definitely be a huge uproar if that monster gets out of the Gate. We have to stop it here, no matter what."

Baek Hwa-Yeon also took out her white longsword and prepared to fight.

Yeon-Joo clicked her tongue.

"It would've been easier if I had brought my guild members…"

"There's nothing we can do about it. We have to be satisfied with the fact that we made it here before that demon rampaged outside the Gate."

It would've been better if they'd been able to stop the summoning itself, but it was already too late for that. The only option they had was to kill the demon that the Demon Cult had summoned.

Yeon-Joo and Hwa-Yeon gathered their mana and glared at Oriax.

"Oh, Immortal Oriax! Please show those petty mortals your greatness!"

[Kekekeke. Very well. Battle and slaughter are the forms of entertainment that I, Oriax, enjoy the most.]

Oriax stood up, and his height reached almost seven meters. He unfurled his wings.

Crack. Crack.

His muscles swelled, and intense demonic energy enveloped his body. Oriax's eyes met the members of the Hwarang squad. The thought of the battle he was about to have with them made him tremble in excitement.

.

Oriax violently stomped on the ground and extended his hand. From the rift that remained, a giant scythe appeared.

[Come, you filthy bugs!] Oriax shouted while wielding the giant scythe.

The ones who moved first were Hyun-Mo and the members of Hwarang's 2nd Squadron.

While gripping his two short swords, Hyun-Mo shouted, "Formation C! Let's show that muscle pig how strong we are!"

"Yes, Captain!"

The members of the Hwarang Corps began moving in perfect order—their formation resembled a sharp spear.

Hyun-Mo, who was at the forefront, smiled and shot forward.

Boom! Clang!

"Kuuurgghh!"

The scythe and the short swords clashed against each other.

A short grunt came out of Hyun-Mo's mouth, and he was violently flung back. As expected from Oriax's build, the demon possessed enormous power.

"It's so damn strong!" Hyun-Mo shouted while trying to calm down his trembling hands. If he were fighting the demon one-on-one, it wouldn't have been weird if his body was split in two by the demon's subsequent attack.

But…

"Haha! I can't believe you were blown back after putting on all those airs!"

"That's our captain for you!"

Hyun-Mo wasn't alone. The squadron members who had followed him attacked the demon endlessly like a storm. Most of their attacks were blocked but not all of them.

Oriax was being injured more and more.

[Good!]

As wounds began appearing on his body, Oriax shouted in excitement.

The thrill of battle surged from within him.

Fwoosh!

He swung his giant scythe.

Fan-shaped demonic energy residues were left in the scythe's path and exploded.

"Kurgh!"

"

Cough

!"

The Hwarang Corps members were swept away by the explosions as if they were leaves.

"Hahahaha! Did you see that, you pathetic bastards? This is the power of a demon! One who has grasped the power of immortality!" Tae-Shik shouted in a voice full of madness. He became excited after seeing how powerful Oriax was.

'To think we'd summon one so strong on only our first summoning!'

The dimensional wall was weakening each day. That meant that they would be able to summon even stronger demons from now on. Once that happened, it would be child's play for the Demon Cult to have the entire world under their feet.

Living in a world where he ruled without worrying about death…

Just imagining it made him excited.

[Hahaha! Is that all you have, humans?! Entertain me more! Excite me more!] Oriax shouted while relishing in his madness.

He looked around to see if there were any stronger opponents. At that moment, he saw a human standing still and looking at him from a distance.

[Hm?!]

Oriax's expression rapidly hardened after he saw Kang-Woo.

[Wh-Wha… H-How…?]

Oriax looked at Kang-Woo in fear.

He dropped the scythe in his hand and began trembling severely.

[Wh-Why is he… N-No. That's impossible.]

He mumbled as if he'd suddenly gone crazy. Trembling in fear, Oriax looked desperate.

"Lord Oriax…?"

Tae-Shik looked at Oriax in bewilderment. Oriax looked toward Tae-Shik.

[C-Cancel it, human!!]

"… I'm sorry?"

[I TOLD YOU TO CANCEL THE SUMMONING RIGHT NOW!!]

"Wh-What do you…"

[I-I am going back to Hell! Cancel the summoning and send me back this instant! Aaaahhh! That monster is getting closer! Send me back to Hell now!]

Oriax's desperate screams echoed throughout the cave.