Chapter 253: Chapter 251

[Item: Kamish's Wrath (Damaged)]

[Acquisition Difficulty: ??]

[Type: Dagger]

[Attack Power +1,500 (-1,000)]

[S-such a precious treasure...!]

[...It's damaged—!]

The shadow dwarves trembled with shock and horror, their beards quivering.The most joyous and heartbreaking moments of their lives happened simultaneously.

[To think I would see a weapon made from a dragon's tooth in my lifetime!]

[I finally got to see such a beautiful treasure after death! I'm glad I died! It's an honor to my family!]

[But how many fierce battles did you go through with this to dull the blade so badly?!]

The beards of the shadow dwarves, talking all at once, fluttered. It was truly amazing. For ordinary dwarves who weren't part of the Shadow Army, crafting something with dragon teeth would have been something only possible in their wildest dreams. Where and how would they even get dragon teeth in the first place? It wasn't like a passing dragon would generously pull out its fangs and give them away. Perhaps the only time dwarves could see dragon teeth in their lives was right before being devoured by one. But... Those ferocious things had actually appeared before their eyes. And even in the form of well-crafted daggers.

[Khahaha! Magnificent! Truly magnificent!]

[Even with the blade dulled like this, the sharpness is outstanding! This is a dragon's tooth...!]

[Kieek! Enough with the chatter!] Beru's shout made the shadow dwarves come to their senses.

"So, can you fix it?" When Suho asked again, they eagerly offered their opinions.

[Of course we can!]

[If the blade is dull, we just need to sharpen it again!]

[However, a dragon's tooth won't be sharpened with an ordinary whetstone.]

[We need a hard whetstone!]

[If you bring us a material harder than a dragon's tooth, we will do our best to repair it!] Suho had a confused expression at their words.

"...A material harder than dragon teeth? If there's something like that, can't I just use it to fight?"

[Haha, you misunderstand.]

[Not everything hard can be made into a weapon.]

[The harder it is, the easier it is to break. But this dragon's tooth is hard, doesn't break, and has good mana sensitivity...!] The bearded dwarves were once again noisily praising the weapon.

Beru clicked his tongue and advised, [They're like this... Always so noisy, but they're excellent blacksmiths that can create anything if given the time and materials. And it just so happens that I know a material harder than a dragon's tooth.] Beru had been following Sung Jinwoo for a long time and had seen countless times how the blacksmiths of the army repaired his weapons and created stronger ones.

"There's a material harder than dragon teeth?"

[Yes. There are many, but the easiest one to obtain now would be dragon bones.]

"Ah."

Come to think of it, it was a very simple principle. Dragon's teeth and bones were fundamentally the same material. If they used harder bones from different parts, it would be possible to sharpen the dulled blade of 'Kamish's Wrath.' The shadow dwarves were delighted at those words.

[Ooh! Do you have dragon bones, Master?!]

[Kraa, as expected! Our Master is an amazing person!]

"No, not me, my mother has them." Suho, the unfilial son, suddenly wondered how his mother was doing.

* * *

A while later.

Flash—

[The King of Demons, the Monarch of Gluttony, enters Gate: 'Sea of The Afterlife'.]

A sticky, pitch-black sky, a boundless expanse of melting darkness.

Splash.

A small raft was launched onto it.

[Row!] The shadow dwarf's command fell behind Esil. And the ten demons who boarded the raft together split into two sides and began to row vigorously.

Splash—

As the raft finally cut through the sticky black water and moved forward, the shadow dwarf cheered.

[Alright! It's a success!] The raft he built had successfully begun sailing on the Sea of The Afterlife!

[Oh, King of Demons! Choosing my raft over that shabby rowboat was a wise decision.]

The shadow dwarf approached the captain of this ship, Esil, who was silently staring ahead, and subtly flattered her. He was extremely pleased that She chose his raft over the upgraded version, the 'Rowboat of the Afterlife.' The shadow dwarf gritted his teeth as he thought of his despicable kin who built the rowboat just to gain favor with the master.

[The rowboat might seem much sturdier now, but in the long run, it's right to start with a raft. Because if you start with a wide base, you can build a much larger ship later.]

"..."

[You're a quiet one, aren't you?] The shadow dwarf was embarrassed as he received no response from Esil.

"..."

Esil hadn't said a word since entering the Sea of The Afterlife, just staring straight ahead.

Breathe in — Breathe out. She quietly inhaled and exhaled.

Debuff: 'Death'

As expected the death energy flowing in the Sea of The Afterlife didn't harm the demons, just as Beru said. '...It really feels like I've come home.'

This sticky, ominous air wasn't 'death' to demons. Rather, it made them feel a cozy sensation as if they had returned to the time before they were born. Not only Esil, but also the ten demons who followed her felt the same way. However there was a fine line between 'cozy' and 'dizzy.'

Splash—

This was the abyss. Unknown ripples were appearing here and there on the black surface. The creatures had already noticed the demon's arrival.

"Good." Esil finally smiled. The smirk of the one who became the Demon King shone white in the abyss.

Splash—!

[It's the weeds!] With the shadow dwarf's cry, numerous weeds sprang up from the sea around the raft. And hideous tentacles stretched out from all directions to grab the demons, clinging to the raft.

[They're trying to destroy the ship! Stop them!] The shadow dwarf fussed.

But the demons didn't rush. They were all survivors who endured the trial. And Esil was their king.

"We've confirmed that the ship floats. So..."

Swish.

Esil raised one hand to the sky and commanded, "All demons. Gather before me." The King of Demons was here, and wherever the king was, that was the demon world.

"Hell's Army."

Flash! Flash! Flash—!

Hundreds of magic circles were created simultaneously around Esil's raft, which was under attack by the weeds. Those formations forcibly twisted the dimensional wall and summoned all the demons who pledged allegiance to the king to the Sea of The Afterlife.

...Flash!

Through those Gates, countless rafts appeared all at once.

Kikekekek—!

Rafts of the Afterlife, each carrying ten demons. The weeds, witnessing that amazing sight, cheered and shook their tentacles. A terrible hunger welled up. Unable to bear that greed, the weeds stretched out their tentacles without hesitation. It was only natural. No matter how many demons there were, would they be more numerous than the weeds here...? Besides, the demons didn't seem that strong individually. But...

There weren't just demons on the rafts. There was one shadow dwarf on each and there were also escorts to protect them until the raft grew larger.

Whoosh—!

The black shadows crouching on the raft stretched out in all directions, numerous creepy legs touched the ground and rose. A massive body the size of a house with dozens of eyes, a hideous mouth and a pair of giant pincers. Its identity was none other than the boss monster that Suho defeated and extracted in the Sanctuary of the Fang Monarch.

'Tomb Spider Arachne'

Among the creatures Suho retrieved from the Sea of The Afterlife this time, there were many spiritual bodies of magical beasts that were the same race. And they were some even stronger individuals than Arachne.

[Shadow Spider Lv.1]

[Elite Rank]

[Shadow Spider Lv.1]

[Elite Rank]

[Shadow Spider Lv.1]

[Elite Rank]

[...]

[Kraaaaaaaaa*—!]

Splash— Slash! Slash!

Black spider webs spread out from the raft in all directions like a net.

[Alright! Sweep up all the materials! We need self-sufficiency!]

[The corner of the raft is torn! Wrap the ship tightly with spider webs!]

[As expected, it's perfect as an adhesive!]

The shadow dwarves were very excited. The demons' raft that appeared on the vast sea began to grow larger and larger.

* * *

The Tomb Berserk Dragons.

In the middle of wasteland, where gray ashes were fluttering, the ribs of dragons that died during the war were buried.

"Cha Hae-In." Cha Hae-In, sitting blankly on the giant dragon bone, turned her head at Sirka's sudden call.

"We have contact from Suho."

"From my son?" Cha Hae-In's eyes sparkled as she brushed back her messy hair and replied.

[The King of the Snow Folk, the Monarch of Frost, uses Skill: 'Echo'.]

Sirka, the descendant of Sillad, could communicate with the dead Monarch through 'prayer.' But despite calling it prayer, its actual use was more like a direct phone line to Suho.

[The King of the Snow Folk, the Monarch of Frost, grumbles about the lack of respect for one's ancestors.]

"...Anyway, so Suho needs the dragon bones here?"

"Hmm." Cha Hae-In and Sirka, having learned about Suho's situation through Sillad, looked around with slightly awkward expressions.

"...Will this be enough?"

"I wonder."

The dragon bones that had been left in this desolate land for a long time were severely decayed due to the aftermath of the war and the passage of time. Perhaps even more so than 'Kamish's Wrath,' which Suho used as a weapon. If the goal was to sharpen the blade, it seemed like these bones would be ground down first.

"But just in case, shall we look for the most intact ones?"

"Let's do that. It's good timing since we have nothing to do."

Cha Hae-In and Sirka were still in the Tomb Berserk Dragons because the shadow wyvern, Kaisel needed to recover. As a result of that, they were receiving the necessary supplies from outside the Gate and leisurely enjoying camping in the middle of this desolate dimension. But camping should have good scenery; in reality, it was more like staying in outdoor lodgings.

Yawn—

Kaisel, who had been curled up and sleeping next to them, suddenly stretched and spread his black wings wide as they energetically got up. But his size...

"Huh?"

"Oh."

Cha Hae-In and Sirka's eyes suddenly sparkled. Kaisel had grown tremendously! A smile appeared on their lips.

"With this, we can bring them ourselves."

The gift for her son, whom she hadn't seen in a long time, was decided to be dragon bones.