Chapter 455. Abyss Predator

Translator: Boko

The expedition force, composed of the churches' elite troops and led by Mahakan himself, quickly arrived at the Evil God Worshippers' main base in Mt. Tetra.

They came through the intercity transfer gate of the Daltrak Region's largest city, Dalturion, and joined up with Burkan and the 100 Fighters.

"We're heading for the abandoned mine," Mahakan ordered, and the expedition force immediately did as they were told.

It was an all-out surprise attack. That was their strategy at its core. They wanted to destroy the Evil God Worshippers before they had the chance to prepare themselves.

Although the abandoned mine was as large and complex as a maze, Burkan had already found their base, so he was able to lead them through it without any issues.

"Heretics!"

"Enemies!"

"For Jaila!"

The Evil God Worshippers and their demons poured out of the abandoned mine's various passageways and attacked the expedition force. However, the expedition force easily dealt with them.

After all, the expedition force was comprised of various churches' elite forces, which included the High Priest of Blood and Iron, the Invincible Gladiator, the 100 Fighters, the Brilliant Paladin, Barus (from the Church of Light), Tasla (the saintess that led the Church of Fate's forces), etc.

In other words, the expedition force was an all-star team.

"Purify them!"

"Oh god!"

The expedition force was able to reach the Evil God Worshippers' temple with ease.

Kyahaahk!

Shaa!

Kya! Kya! Kya! Kya!

Kek!

A temple, built like an inverted triangle or an opposite pyramid, was surrounded by countless demons.

The expedition force felt a chill run down their spine. If these demons were set free, then the Daltrak Region would be filled with death.

"Ask the Great Jaila for forgiveness!"

"Punish the heretics!"

The Evil God Worshippers, who stood amidst the demons, spoke lines befitting religious zealots. One of them, however, was eye-catching.

His upper body was bare, and he was covered in tattoos depicting people writhing in pain. He was one of the Evil God's Disciples, Slaughter Lubatchi!

"How dare you set foot here!? Kill them all." His murderous voice resounded throughout the mine.

Kuhaaahk!

The demons let out various cries and rushed at the expedition force.

"Let's go!"

"Lord Garuda!"

"Please grant me courage!"

As stated, the expedition was composed of the churches' best. They radiated bright light, and prepared themselves for the incoming dark red demons.

And...

The fierce battle began.

* * *

"Then, if you'll excuse me." Kang Oh was finished here, so he left the Security Bureau.

However, there were countless people waiting for him outside.

"Mr. Kang Oh!"

"What happened to Red?"

"Where did you catch him?"

"Was it really Red?"

Once he stepped out of the Security Bureau, a crowd of people began speaking and asking him questions. It was like a busy marketplace.

Kang Oh raised his hand. He was asking them to be quiet.

"Mr. Kang Oh is trying to say something!"

"Be quiet!"

"Ah, shut up already!"

The commotion slowly died down.

"Red is..." Kang Oh briefly paused. Several people were staring at his lips, just waiting for him to finish his sentence. Kang Oh smiled and continued, "Finished. Forever!"

His voice exuded absolute confidence!

Many players had been hurt by Red and Red Moon's actions. But news that Kang Oh had caught Red relieved the victims. 'See!?' 'That's what you get!' they said, and they never felt better.

"Uwaaaah!"

The crowd began to cheer. It was loud enough to hurt one's ears, like the crack of thunder.

"Then, if you'll excuse me!" Kang Oh waved his hand, pushed through the crowd, and left. Then, people began to cheer his name.

"Kang Oh! Kang Oh! Kang Oh!"

"Kang Oh! Kang Oh! Kang Oh!"

Countless people followed him and chanted his name. This continued until Kang Oh entered the intercity transfer gate and disappeared.

However, their praise continued on through the community sites.

- God Oh!

- Justice is served!

- Kang Oh destroyed Red Moon by himself!

- We finally got you, you bastard!

- Murderer Red's villainous acts.

...

Arth's largest community site, Arthtory, was filled with posts exalting Kang Oh. The other sites faced the same situation.

"The Worst Criminal, Red, has finally been caught!"

"Kang Oh was the one who caught him!"

TGN, VG, GBS, and the other gaming networks broke the news to the public.

"Hurry up and get in touch!"

"Ask him if he has any footage of him catching Red. If he does, buy it no matter what!"

Kang Oh received countless offers for his footage, and was also asked to do an interview.

* * *

Kang Oh returned to Talastrum. Then, he looked over Ubist's updated information from within the sewers.

[Demon Sword Ubist (Lv432/+4)]

Max Gemina, a peerless blade created by the legendary artisan, Max.

It contains the spirit of the King of Demonic Beasts and Abyss Predator, Ubist.

Darkness dwells within the blade, and the serrated pattern is representative of Ubist's fangs.

Shares its level with its wielder.

Untradeable.

Upon death, there is a high chance that the demon sword will drop, or the wielder becomes a monster under the demon sword's control for 24 hours.

+ Predation: Consumes all items. When the sword is completely sated, the blade will become stronger and gain a special ability.

[Satiation: 0.00%]

+ Gluttony: By consuming a BB-rank or higher item, you enter Gluttony mode. All abilities are doubled for a limited amount of time.

Stats are stolen from fallen enemies. A maximum of 500 stats can be stolen. Cooldown: 12 hours.

+ Abyss Blade: A jet-black blade made of darkness. It is capable of cutting the immaterial like ghosts or spirits.

May absorb magic coming towards you once every 30 seconds. If magic is absorbed, satiation increases.

+ Rip Apart: The upgraded version of 'Fang Bearing Blade'. You have a fixed chance of ignoring your target's defense. At this time, Ubist's damage will be increased by 50% of damage dealt. Black shards are indicative of the effect.

+ Abyss Predator: The upgraded version of 'Everlasting Darkness'. Releases the full extent of Ubist's power. Its power is absolute. Using this item effect consumes 10 stolen stats. Active/Skill. Cooldown: 10 minutes.

Rank: SS.

Abilities: Attack Power 1006, Physical +250, Darkness Damage +20%.

Minimum Requirements: Clear the Trial of the Demon Sword.

Demon Sword Ubist had become much stronger. However, it didn't gain any new abilities this time. Instead, its existing abilities were upgraded.

'Rip Apart and Abyss Predator.'

'Fang Bearing Blade', which ignored his target's defense, had changed to 'Rip Apart'. Unlike its original counterpart, Rip Apart would increase his damage by 50%.

Everlasting Darkness had been upgraded to Abyss Predator. Instead of 3 stat points consumed, it would take as much as 10 now.

'It must be that much stronger now.'

He liked its description: 'Its power is absolute.'.

Finally, the demon sword's attack power had exceeded 1,000. Plus, it also increased darkness elemental damage by 20%.

Not only that, but his stolen stat limit had increased from 400 to 500, and Gluttony could now be used every 12 hours instead of every 24 hours now.

Although it hadn't gained any new abilities, the upgrade had exceeded his expectations.

'Is it because it consumed Kaik? It's way better than I possibly could have imagined.'

Kang Oh's body tingled with excitement. He wanted to try out Abyss Predator ASAP. However, he couldn't afford to use it just anywhere; after all, it consumed 10 of his stolen stats at once.

'I have just the opponent in mind.' Kang Oh left the Talastrum sewers, which smelled abhorrent. Then, he saw a normal Tuslam, but ignored them in favor of even bigger prey.

Sometime later...

He finally found a suitable opponent: a Tuslam Warrior!

Kang Oh gripped both Ubist and Sarahoff, and attacked him. A fierce battle ensued.

At first, Kang Oh seemed like he was getting pushed back, but at some point, Kang Oh gained the upper hand. He quickly began to overpower him. This was all due to Sarahoff's Frost Demon's Domain. The effect lowered his opponent's core temperature, which reduced their abilities.

'Now then, it's about time I give it a spin.'

The Tuslam Warrior still had a lot of HP left. What if Abyss Predator killed it regardless?

'It'd definitely be an absolute finishing move.'

After all, the Tuslam Warriors possessed power superior to most bosses and even some raid bosses too!

Only the Numbers and the most powerful high rankers had a chance at beating them one-on-one.

"Haaht!" Kang Oh swung Ubist vertically, his heart pounding in his chest.

Abyss Predator!

[You have used Abyss Predator.]

[10 stolen stats have been consumed.]

[Physical -5]

[Mental -3]

[Magic -1]

[Sense -1]

[Cooldown: 10 minutes]

Whoosh.

His jet-black blade unleashed a massive amount of darkness. That darkness spread far and wide, devouring the Tuslam Warrior whole.

The rushing darkness, which appeared like the darkness of night, was inescapable.

'Hoh.' Kang Oh was amazed.

Originally, Everlasting Darkness could only be shot in a straight line. To an observer, it looked like he was swinging a giant pillar of darkness.

However, Abyss Predator spread like a wildfire, and devoured everything in its path like a starving beast.

[You have defeated Tuslam's Descendent, Warrior Bayaba.]

[You have defeated a powerful foe. You have received more experience and proficiency than usual.]

"Hehe." Kang Oh grinned as he read over the system message.

'Its power really is absolute.'

Abyss Predator.

He really liked it.

* * *

The expedition force, which sought to end the threat of the Evil God Worshippers for good, had completely eliminated the demons, even though their numbers were far less than the opposing force.

It was an obvious result.

After all, the expedition force was made up of only the churches' best.

The Brilliant Paladin, Barus, had pierced through countless demons' hearts, while Judge Odir's hammer and Battle Priest Taylor's holy spells returned the demons to whence they came.

Mahakan and Burkan had killed hundreds of monsters themselves.

However, the expedition force didn't look too happy once they entered Jaila's Temple.

"It's completely empty."

"There's no one here."

The paladins said after searching the temple.

"Mm!"

While the expedition force was fighting the demons, the disciples and the remaining Evil God Worshippers had fled to the temple. However, they were nowhere to be found.

They didn't see any of the other disciples, the sacred treasures, or the ceremonial tools that should've been here.

If they failed to destroy the ceremonial tools, then the Evil God Worshippers would be able to perform a horrific ritual someplace else...

"So they've already fled," Paladin Barus said angrily. This place was basically an empty fridge.

"They must've been prepared to flee whenever the need arose. If not, then they wouldn't have been able to escape so quickly," Saintess Tasla said.

"I know. That's why we came so quickly." Judge Odir looked disappointed.

"It isn't all bad. We did manage to destroy one of their bases," Battle Priest Taylor said. Silver ornaments hung from his priest vestments.

"We're going to demolish this temple and bury it so that they won't be able to come back here again," Mahakan ordered.

"Yes, sir!"

"Destroy the temple!"

The expedition force completely destroyed the temple, caved in the mine, and returned to the Great Temple of Rakan.

But as soon as they arrived, they received some shocking news.

"H-High Priest!"

"Nazaran...!"

"He stole the sacred treasure!"

Nazaran had betrayed them, and had delivered the sacred treasure to the Evil God Worshippers.