Chapter 212: Serpent’s Head (5)

Massive demonic beasts crashed down into the clearing.

Boom! Thud!

“

Ugh...

”

“W-Why the hell do they look like that?”

Isabella covered her mouth in disgust as she stared at the horde of beasts that landed while Song Ha-Eun stood with her jaw dropped in horror.

“

Krrrk, kerk

.”

Their slimy skin looked as if it had been formed from yellow pus oozing out of burst blisters. They had no eyes or ears, just two massive nostrils and a mouth that ripped up to their temples. Bumps like a severe skin disease covered their backs, and bundles of writhing tentacles protruded from them like wings. They had long and hairy limbs that twitched like cockroach legs.

“What the actual fuck?” Kwon Oh-Jin also couldn’t help but curse as he stared at the grotesque monsters.

What kind of demonic beasts are these?

He had encountered and fought plenty of monsters before, but never had he seen such revolting appearances.

They looked like the twisted result of a mad scientist’s decades-long obsession with creating the perfect weapon to destroy humanity, a nightmarish chimera born out of pure madness.

“I-I didn’t even know demonic beasts like that existed,” Isabella said.

“I have also never seen such hideously formed creatures,” Vega said.

Even Isabella and Vega, who rarely made a fuss, looked disturbed.

“

Krrrrk!

”

The hideous demonic beasts flared their massive nostrils and crouched low. The grotesque tentacles on their backs squirmed disgustingly.

Song Ha-Eun turned away, unable to look any longer. “Fuck, I think I’m gonna throw up.”

For the first time, a demonic beast’s mere appearance had stirred up such intense revulsion.

“Do all the damn beasts in the Demon District fucking look like that?” Song Ha-Eun asked.

“How would I know?” Kwon Oh-Jin replied.

No one here had ever set foot in the Demon District.

“Enough chatter, all of you,” Vega quietly warned.

The ground shook as the demonic beasts encircled Kwon Oh-Jin’s group and charged in all at once.

Rumble!

“

Krrrk! Krrrrrk!

”

They cried out bizarrely and opened their large mouths. Their long tongues lashed out like whips.

“How unpleasant they are.” Vega flew into the air and spread her arms wide.

Blue sparks flew and danced around her.

Crackle!

“Spread.”

Blue sparks expanded like a net and swept across the battlefield.

“

Krrk! Krrrrrk!

”

The demonic beasts twitched violently in the blue net. The bulging bumps on their backs burst, releasing foul-smelling yellow pus.

Splat.

“Oh, hell no! I can’t take this shit anymore.” Song Ha-Eun grimaced and pulled out a cigarette.

Sizzle!

As the tip ignited, a massive flame blazed to life.

“Burn, you disgusting freaks!”

Fwoosh!

A massive wall of fire roared forth like a wave, engulfing the demonic beasts.

“

Krrk!

”

Thick smoke rose into the air as the beasts burned and writhed on the ground, screaming as the flames consumed them.

“That’s it!” Song Ha-Eun shouted and clenched her fist in triumph, but it didn’t last long.

As the burning beasts fell, more leaped over them from behind and charged forward with a sickening, phlegmy growl.

“

Krkrkrkrk!

”

The demonic beasts with cockroach legs came forward at a terrifying speed while launching the tentacles on their backs.

“

Ugh

, shit!” Song Ha-Eun barely held down her gag as she saw the tentacles dripping with sticky pus.

She clamped a hand over her mouth and quickly jumped back.

Sizzle!

The ground hissed where the tentacles struck and melted as if splashed with acid.

“You little shits!” Song Ha-Eun bared her teeth and spread her arms wide.

Six fire dragons coiled around her and ignited.

“Oh, fire!”

She stomped down hard and thrust her arms forward.

Boom!

“Burn them all to ashes!”

Fwoosh!

The six fire dragons danced wildly as if alive. They flew through the air and swallowed the demonic beasts whole.

Song Ha-Eun’s face turned deathly pale from the horrible stench of the burning yellow pus.

“W-Wait...

Ugh

.”

“Unnie!” Isabella stepped in front of the staggering Song Ha-Eun and coldly glared at the monsters.

A blood-red aura enveloped Isabella, and a dark crimson scythe materialized.

Slash!

Each time she swung the scythe, she cleanly slashed the approaching demonic beasts in two. Their bodies tumbled across the ground.

On the other side of Isabella and Song Ha-Eun, Kwon Oh-Jin held off more demonic beasts.

“Damn it, just how many of these things are there?” he asked.

The ones that first dropped from the rock numbered around two to three hundred. Now, it felt like they were multiplying endlessly.

This situation felt similar to what they experienced back in San Fruttuoso.

But these bastards are stronger.

He slashed through an incoming tentacle with his spear and stomped on the head of a beast bursting up from the ground.

Back in San Fruttuoso, the countless Anthorns were only one-star and could be managed somehow. However, these demonic beasts were at least six-star and boasted ample strength and speed. That wasn’t the only problem.

Each one of them had a slightly different attack pattern, making them harder to deal with. Some charged in with their enormous pincers like giant crayfish. Others fired saw-like spikes in every direction.

Kwon Oh-Jin frown deepened as he barely blocked the barrage of attacks coming from all sides.

“Mr. Oh-Jin, I’ll handle this side alone. Please back up Miss Ha-Eun and cover the opposite side.” Isabella walked toward the main path, where the largest number of demonic beasts flooded in.

“Will you be okay?”

“

Haha

. Are you worried about me?” Isabella turned toward him with a teasing smile.

From behind her, dozens of beasts rushed in. With her back still against them, she swung her scythe using only her wrist.

Slash!

A line of blood flashed through the air. She had instantly cleaved the demonic beasts charging at her in half.

Isabella smiled sweetly as their body parts rained down behind her. “You really don’t have to worry about me, you know?”

“Yeah, I can see that.” Kwon Oh-Jin dryly chuckled and turned away.

He didn’t need to worry about Isabella. He took his position opposite where Isabella stood. It wasn’t as crowded as her side, but hundreds of monsters still forced their way through.

He activated Exceed, drawing his mana to reinforce his spear.

Crackle!

“Ha-Eun, cover me from the rear.”

“Got it! Just leave it to me!”

“I shall assist as well!” Vega said.

Kwon Oh-Jin nodded and launched into the incoming wave of demonic beasts. He fired his wire shooter into the towering rock and soared into the air like an acrobat.

Bang!

The beasts scrambled after him, quickly climbing the rocks.

“

Hup!

”

He extended the wire and dashed through the air using Lightning Steps. Swinging around the rock, he used the wire that now stretched dozens of meters to wrap around the climbing beasts.

“

Krrrk! Krrk!

”

Tangled in the wire, the beasts frantically kicked their cockroach-like legs.

Kwon Oh-Jin grimaced at the repulsive sight and channeled his mana.

Explosive Lightning.

Crackle!

Lightning traveled through the wire and exploded with a deafening blast. The thirty-meter-tall rock couldn’t withstand the shock and collapsed with a roar, creating a giant dust cloud. When the dust cleared, a pile of shredded demonic beast corpses could be seen.

“

Urgh

.”

The yellow pus leaking from the corpses filled the air with a nauseating stench. Kwon Oh-Jin gagged slightly from the rising sickness.

At this level of disgusting, it might as well be a weapon.

What else could cause this much discomfort from just sight and smell alone? He prided himself on having a strong stomach after a life in the dumps, but these monsters pushed even his limits.

“

Krrrrk!

”

“My child!”

One demonic beast leaped off the rubble, but Vega shot it down with a bolt of lightning. Kwon Oh-Jin easily dodged the falling electrified beast and continued massacring the endless wave.

“

Haa, haa.

”

Had it been an hour or two? He had lost track of time in the chaos and just swung his spear nonstop.

The repulsive corpses of the demonic beasts had now buried the clearing where hundreds of Heaven’s Grace Guild members had previously fallen. Not a single human body could be seen anymore.

Kwon Oh-Jin gasped to catch his breath and drove his jet-black spear into a charging demonic beast’s jaw.

I can finally see the end.

Only around thirty demonic beasts remained. Isabella’s side still seemed more crowded, but it would all end in ten minutes at this rate.

Rather than rush in, Kwon Oh-Jin maintained formation in front of Song Ha-Eun. After hours of fighting, they all felt exhausted. He couldn’t afford to charge in blindly like at the start.

“Oh-Jin, you see those two over there?” Song Ha-Eun pointed at two demonic beasts who silently watched from on top of the crumbled rocks.

Unlike the other demonic beasts that had large noses and torn mouths, these two had glowing yellow eyes.

“

Haa...

What about them?” he asked.

“They’ve just been standing there watching us this whole time.”

Kwon Oh-Jin looked again. Sure enough, the two demonic beasts with different eyes quietly observed them like spectators.

“Are they bosses or something?” she said.

“Seems like it.” He narrowed his eyes and aimed his wire shooter at the two unmoving figures.

“

Huh!

”

“

Kyaaaaa!

What the hell are those freaks doing?!”

Both Song Ha-Eun and Kwon Oh-Jin couldn’t help but scream in shock.

One of the beasts climbed on top of the other and began violently thrusting its hips.

“What the fuck?!” Kwon Oh-Jin swore loudly and immediately looked away from the grotesque scene.

It already felt nauseating enough just looking at these demonic beasts. Now, two of them suddenly started mating right in front of them. No sane person could bear it.

“O-Oh-Jin! Oh-Jin, what do we do?!”

“Fuck, I don’t know!”

“Do something! Stop them, Oh-Jiiiiin!” Song Ha-Eun screamed from behind him.

Unlike him, who had turned away in disgust, she was stuck flinging fireballs behind him at the remaining demonic beasts and was forced to watch the live horror show of those two beasts getting it on.

“Oh-Jin! Oh-Jiiiiin!” Her scream echoed through the clearing. “T-Their tentacles are g-getting all tangled and—!”

“Don’t describe it!”

“

Kyaa!

T-They’re sucking each other now!”

“I said, don’t describe it!” Kwon Oh-Jin clenched his jaw and avoided looking as he fought off the nausea crawling up his throat.

“Oh-Jiiiiin! They’re laying eggs! It’s fucking laying eggs!”

“Why do you keep telling me this?!”

“Because ignorance is bliss, Oh-Jin!”

“So why?!”

“Don’t take the red pill!”

What the hell was this woman even saying right now?