Chapter 1217. The Demon King of Sunset’s Castle, the Final Story (10)

It was exactly what I intended. There were variables, of course, but anyway, I successfully drew this stubborn guy in the direction I wanted him to go. It also wasn’t a bad way to gather clues about the "thing" inside me.

This power was supposed to be purified before it was handed over to Woo Hyo-Yeol, but I didn’t have any time to purify it.

Things were flowing in that direction.

“N-No! Mr. Hyo-Yeol!” I shouted urgently.

“That power...” I mumbled.

Visually, it looked impressive, but it actually wasn’t that big of a deal. It was like an awakening booster bought with coins. If I had to give an example, it would be fitting to call it a permanent enhancement potion on the same level as the serum that I made when I was trying to turn Park Deok-Gu into Captain Park Deok-Gu.

The "serum" was actually really valuable to low-level players, but for Woo Hyo-Yeol and William, that wasn’t the case at all. Despite that, I took it out in order to show Woo Hyo-Yeol the path.

‘He has potential.’

Just because I was helping someone awaken didn't necessarily mean that they would actually overcome their limits and awaken. Even if they had already reached a certain level, venting out their fury wouldn't automatically awaken them.

‘You can overcome your limit.’

“No! No!” I shouted.

‘Please... please let him turn out good. I won’t expect much. Just be a little better than Doom Hyun-Sung.’

“No! If you absorb that power!” I paused.

‘It also synergizes well with you.’

Doom Doom Hyun-Sung was quite impactful, but... to be honest, it didn’t really fit him. Speed was one of Kim Hyun-Sung’s strengths, but that wasn’t the only thing he had going for him.

‘Woo Hyo-Yeol can’t really use any sword techniques.’

Kim Hyun-Sung was clearly a genius when it came to the sword. His understanding of the sword was so great that his physical abilities hardly mattered to him. It was pretty obvious. After all, he was called the Sword of Sunset rather than the Runner of Sunset.

Woo Hyo-Yeol on the other hand...

‘Does he even have an idea of what swordsmanship is?’

Physical ability. He had reflexes and intuition beyond human limits, along with a natural talent for combat. He was a genius for a different reason. Regardless of what methods were used, there was no denying that this was the best way for him to awaken.

“Please! No!” I shouted.

‘Yes!’

“Mr. Hyo-Yeol! Woo Hyo-Yeol!” I called out.

‘Hang in there!’

“You can resist it. I’m sure you can...” I said.

‘Don’t resist it. Accept it. That’s your destiny. Live life as a monster!’

The moment the sticky black blood enveloped him, he didn’t resist it. It seemed like he had yet to realize that he was being covered in blood, as he was twisting around while grabbing his head.

He wasn’t

so

stupid that he wouldn't realize the fact that the black blood was showing him the way. He was more than qualified, so he could unlock his potential by following the path he was being shown.

It was truly the perfect Dark Evolution tech tree, and it was a masterpiece.

‘I wonder if he’ll look good.’

He wasn’t visually appealing to begin with, but looks were actually important. He just had to avoid looking like Bahamut, and I would celebrate it as a successful evolution.

“M-Mr. Hyo-Yeol,” I said.

"Grr... grrrr..."

I heard growling noises similar to what one would hear from a beast. The monster had slightly unimpressive horns. He looked like he couldn't fully transform into a monster. He still had his human form, and his figure coated in blood stood out the most.

‘Three... tails?’

This was a good sign because just like Kim Hyun-Sung, they looked like they could be used in battle. I was sad that his claws weren’t particularly long, but he had some menacing fangs. Even his face was coated in a crimson hue.

He opened his mouth wide with a

snap

,

revealing two tongues flicking about.

‘I don’t think he can use that in battle, so why does he have two tongues?’

I couldn’t understand his design at all.

His horn wasn’t as long as Doom Doom Hyun-Sung's, but it looked as strong as Doom Doom Hyun-Sung's horn. It wasn't long, but it was thick. It seemed like his horn was designed for ramming his target.

His eyes became slightly bigger, and his conflicted pupils were shaking nonstop.

Thankfully, one of his eyes was still shining and if I were to evaluate his overall look...

‘His appearance is a bit disappointing...’

However, the jerk actually looked strong. He looked like a monster born to be a killing machine. He was like a monster with nothing but his instincts. He looked around slowly and opened his mouth wide...

"Rooooooooooooooar!"

He roared, and it was so loud that I thought it was going to blow the Demon King’s Castle away. Rather than signaling that he was here, it sounded like he was warning everyone here of his presence.

“Mr. Hyo-Yeol... Mr. Hyo-Yeol!” I shouted.

He stomped forward, and there was a loud explosion. With a single stomp, he destroyed a few walls, and his destination was obviously where the Monarch of Sunset was located. He became a monster who only cared about revenge, so he charged at Kim Hyun-Sung and crashed into him.

Boom!

The Monarch of Sunset seemed to have allowed the attack, and he was blasted away into a wall. Unfortunately, the damage was low. What surprised me more than his decision was William covered in his own blood.

"Uh..."

“I-It’s Mr. Hyo-Yeol,” I revealed.

"How..."

“You should get away for now,” I suggested.

"Pardon?"

“Tend to your injuries—”

"Could you tell me why... Mr. Hyo-Yeol looks like that?"

“It’s all... It’s all my fault,” I answered.

"Could you explain in detail?"

“I can’t,” I answered.

"Why?"

William was pretty quick-witted.

I was sure he had already realized why Woo Hyo-Yeol went crazy. He knew that it had to be because Woo Hyo-Yeol was forced to make such a decision.

"Why?! Mr. Lee Ki-Young!"

“I-I can’t tell you right now. More importantly—”

Booooooooom!

I heard a loud sound at the perfect moment. The sudden explosion made me think that the Demon King’s Castle was shaking.

‘I should hide the corpse.’

It wasn't likely that they’d find it, but if William ended up finding it, the situation would become pretty annoying. It'd become even more annoying if Kim Hyun-Sung ended up finding it.

“Move with the familia and the party members. Hurry!” I yelled.

"W-What is that, Mr. William? That’s..."

"I think it’s Mr. Hyo-Yeol."

"What? That’s... Hyo-Yeol oppa?"

"I don’t know the details either, but we should move first. The plan..."

"Why in the world is Hyo-Yeol oppa... Did Mr. Lee Ki-Young not tell you anything? We can’t move right now. If we leave him, Hyo-Yeol oppa will—"

"We’re not retreating. We’re simply... regrouping, so for now... Watch out!"

Craaaaaaack! Kabooooooooom!

The battle was getting intense. I knew this was going to happen.

'I knew they'd be useful.’

It was impressive how his three tails were moving nonstop. It was a fitting evolution since he enjoyed fighting dirty. If I were to exaggerate a bit, I'd say it was a lot better than having five arms.

He swung his two arms at Kim Hyun-Sung, and whenever there was an opening, he would swing his tails. His incredibly powerful fangs were pretty intimidating as well.

Even though he was running rampant, his attacks weren't haphazard and reckless.

He knew that his body would be destroyed if he allowed Kim Hyun-Sung to hit him even once. Rather than performing heavy attacks, he pressured him, kiting rather than a head-on fight.

He was easily distinguishing which moves were blockable and unblockable. If Doom Doom Hyun-Sung was an uncontrollable beast, then Doom Hyo-Yeol was a calculative and ruthless hunter. He knew that the Monarch of Sunset would become weaker and weaker as time went on, as he was losing his reason for some unknown reason.

"Keeeeeegh!"

"..."

Swish!

Something stretched out from his coated arm.

‘Was that something he could control?’

Sharp thorns sprouted out of his arm and flew toward Kim Hyun-Sung. His coated skin transformed into something that resembled an axe, and Woo Hyo-Yeol immediately started swinging it.

Like a porcupine shooting its quills, sharp projectiles shot out from his tails and arms. His attack seemed impossible to block with a single sword, so Kim Hyun-Sung moved back a few steps. He knew he wouldn’t be able to block them even with his wings.

He thought it would be better to be in the air, so he flapped his wings and took to the skies.

Doom Hyo-Yeol saw that, and crimson wings sprouted from his back. He flew into the air, and the two immediately started fighting.

Whump! Crack! Crash!

Those noises told everyone the intensity of the battle up above.

The Monarch of Sunset was swinging his sword, and Woo Hyo-Yeol was swinging his tails while dodging the former's attacks.

Kim Hyun-Sung grabbed Woo Hyo-Yeol's tails with one hand and threw him away.

Woo Hyo-Yeol slammed into a wall, but he abruptly stopped before impact.

The reason he stopped was that his tails had pierced the walls, allowing him to stay in midair, defying the laws of physics.

Kim Hyun-Sung swung his sword once more, but his attack missed.

Woo Hyo-Yeol landed on the ground and swung his tails once more before stretching his arm toward Kim Hyun-Sung's legs. He crawled on the ground, used his other tails to climb the wall, and bared his fangs at Kim Hyun-Sung.

His fighting style couldn't be described as "human," but it seemed to fit him the most.

‘What if he wins?’

Why was he fighting so well? Of course, I considered the fact that Kim Hyun-Sung was at a huge disadvantage, but I wanted to applaud him for doing more than what I expected.

‘He might actually win.’

Kim Hyun-Sung's mistake started when he came out and placed a penalty on himself. It was then followed by another mistake, which was fighting the guild members before fighting Jung Ha-Yan and Han Sora.

The consecutive fights had to have consumed a huge chunk of his stamina. As always, his mental condition was off. He seemed to be thinking that he needed to be cool-headed, but he wasn’t in a situation where he could do that.

He wasn’t solely focused on blocking Woo Hyo-Yeol’s attacks, but I could tell that he was losing his composure. His resources were limited, so he couldn’t use any powerful attacks.

I was sure he wanted to use his ultimate move, but he realized that there was a high chance of getting immediately recalled upon doing that. The worst part of all this was that Doom Hyo-Yeol was aware of his penalties.

‘He might actually be able to do it.’

I clenched my fist, betting everything on the chance that Kim Hyun-Sung would get recalled.

“I knew you could do it, damn it!” I shouted.

Thud.

Kim Hyun-Sung’s sword severed Woo Hyo-Yeol’s tail, sending it rolling away.

"

Keeeeeeeeegh!

"

It wasn’t a roar or a threat. It was a scream of pain. Damn it.

‘I underestimated him too much.'

I couldn't help but think that way. Although the distance between the two was instantly widened, Kim Hyun-Sung wouldn’t let his enemy go.

Boom!

Kim Hyun-Sung’s fist landed on Doom Hyo-Yeol’s abdomen, and crimson blood spurted out from his mouth as he bent forward like a shrimp.

‘Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.’

Despite that, he still bared his fangs at Kim Hyun-Sung.

However, Kim Hyun-Sung punched his face, breaking his fangs.

‘This jerk... he really is going to... punch him to death.’

Doom Hyo-Yeol was recovering in real-time, but Kim Hyun-Sung was beating him up faster than he could recover. His tails, which recovered at some point, targeted Kim Hyun-Sung again, but he simply severed them once more.

Doom Hyo-Yeol's fangs recovered and were shattered immediately afterward. Kim Hyun-Sung's focus was Doom Hyo-Yeol's eyes, but Doom Hyo-Yeol covered his head using his tails and arms. Clearly, he wasn't going to let Kim Hyun-Sung touch his eyes.

‘He hasn’t... lost his mind yet.’

“Wake up! Mr. Hyo-Yeol...! Mr. Hyo-Yeol!” I shouted, not having any other choice.

The story could change if I could control him.

“Mr. William! Mr. Hyo-Yeol is—” I called out.

"..."

“Mr. Hyo-Yeol! Can you hear me? Don’t give in to the darkness, please,” I begged.

‘Give in only halfway. Just half.’

“Please come back,” I added.

‘Just don’t lose your sanity! That’s all you need to do! Don’t change your body and don’t lose your sanity.’

“Get a hold of yourself, Woo Hyo-Yeol!” I shouted.

"Keeeeeeeegh!"

“Don’t surrender to the darkness!” I yelled. It was a desperate shout filled with tears.