Chapter 72. The Hyenas (2)
The villains who called themselves Hyenas immediately disguised their identities with masks and gear at their leader’s command, ready to move at a moment’s notice.
“Move quietly.”
Demonkin Nam Woo-won also concealed his face once more with his robe and armed himself with his staff, silently following after them.
He personally stepped in to prevent any unexpected variables.
The stakes of this operation were simply too high for him to risk even a minor failure.
The thirteen Hyenas, all known figures within Teraium City, moved stealthily under his orders toward their target: the hospital.
As the most prestigious hospital in the Primordial City, of course it had guards.
Unfortunately for them, they were the kind used to dealing with drunkards and daily disturbances—not enemies like the Hyenas, who specialized in dealing with people.
No, in truth, they didn’t even stand a chance.
The Hyenas, armed with stealth skills and items, approached and swiftly subdued them without resistance.
Nam Woo-won watched them from a distance and sent a signal.
— Go in. Capture the target and bring him before me.
The reason he didn’t enter personally was simple.
Once the Hyenas brought the target out, he planned to get what he wanted and bury them all together, including the target.
Even for him, handling all thirteen Hyenas directly would be a hassle.
Not that he’d lose—those E~E-rank-level thugs couldn’t possibly defeat a D-rank Demonkin like him.
He just didn’t want to waste time fighting when the job called for silence and speed.
He began preparing a trap using black magic, while the Hyenas, unaware of their leader’s true intent, followed orders and slipped into the hospital.
There were fewer than 20 people inside the hospital.
Fourteen of them were residents, meaning they could be ignored.
Only six had combat capability.
But why would they be in the hospital? It meant they were injured or recovering—hardly fit to fight.
They were no match for the Hyenas.
Even healthy, it would have been difficult.
Expecting them to fend off a surprise attack in their condition was absurd.
The Hyenas knocked out all the residents but murdered the players.
Hurting residents came with system penalties, which was too bothersome.
But players? No such protection.
It was a twisted kind of fun—muffling their screams, torturing them, and then killing them.
All five players, except for Shin Juha—who was in a high-class VIP room thanks to the recommendation of the head of security—were brutally slaughtered within minutes.
This too was within Nam Woo-won’s expectations.
Those unhinged, violent thugs wouldn’t pass up the opportunity for blood.
If anything, this delay gave him time to perfect his trap.
Having satisfied their bloodlust, the Hyenas moved to the hospital’s top floor.
Only one life force remained there.
They charged into the luxurious room where their target lay sleeping—
Completely unaware they were walking straight into the jaws of an overwhelming predator.
* * *
I sense movement.
I feel killing intent.
The stench of blood sharpens my mind.
My calmed heart begins pounding like mad again.
Slide.
The hospital room door opens, and the presences of thirteen men rush toward me.
And the thought that crosses my mind is…
“Filthy insects.”
Arrogant mana rises through my body.
Manbyun, bound to my wrist, transforms into a sword.
The five bugs that reached me first are sliced down.
A single strike.
They couldn’t even resist or fight back.
An invisible sword slash split their upper and lower halves apart.
“Holy sh*t!”
“What the hell, they died in one blow?!”
Their screams of disbelief are followed by the slow rise of fear.
Before they could even realize they had picked the wrong target, I moved.
A voice screams in my mind.
To tear these presumptuous beasts apart immediately.
To punish them for looking down on me and sending this pathetic assassination attempt.
I was used to this voice by now.
But this time, I didn’t see any reason to reject it.
I moved in sync with the Whispers of Arrogance.
As if pleased I finally obeyed, Arrogance raged like a god gone mad.
Ash-colored overwhelming mana flowed into my blade and tore through my enemies.
Not one of them could last even a single exchange.
I wasn’t even using a proper skill.
The weapon projected by Manbyun wasn’t some legendary divine sword.
The difference was simply in class.
The gap between them and me was just that vast.
Had I been attacked like this before entering the Abyss—or the Hidden Stage—I might’ve struggled.
But now?
〚Skill: Ganggwi’s Might is being activated!〛
〚Skill: Strength of the Titan is being activated!〛
The two skills synergize.
Ganggwi’s Might boosts my strength by 1.5x first, then Strength of the Titan multiplies it by another 5x.
On top of that, the World Destroyer title doubles the final damage.
This is not something that pathetic villains swaggering around Stage-0 can endure.
It’s not even my full power—but it’s close.
Even those ranked in the ‘C’ category wouldn’t survive this strike.
Left to right.
My blade slashes.
Along that line, the power of Arrogance explodes.
The sheer destruction splits them apart.
No, not splits—detonates them.
The upper bodies of six vanished.
The last remaining Hyena stumbled back in horror, collapsed, and wet himself.
I took a step toward him and asked,
“…What are you?”
“Ugh…”
Slick.
I sliced off the arm of the one who wouldn’t speak.
I forcibly sealed his mouth with mana as he was about to scream in pain.
He was on the verge of losing his mind to agony and fear, yet paradoxically, his survival instinct kicked in.
His eyes pleaded to tell me everything.
As I withdrew the mana, his mouth opened.
“We’re a villain group in this city! Among ourselves, we go by the name Hyena! Our leader ordered us to steal the recommendation letter you received from clearing the quest!”
The recommendation letter?
Ah, the Cardinal’s Letter of Recommendation from the Holy Kingdom. That was one of the quest rewards.
‘Now that I think about it, that’s pretty important to me too.’
The reward from Quest No. 478 had already been sent to my Inventory through the system when I killed the monster.
I had forgotten about it because it wasn’t much compared to the Hidden Stage, but it was actually a very important reward for someone like me who had business in the Holy Kingdom.
If it weren’t for these guys, I might’ve completely forgotten about it.
In that sense, I should thank them—by killing them.
One more question.
“Where’s this leader of yours?”
At the word leader, the Hyena’s gaze changed.
As if reassured by having someone powerful backing him, he became slightly more confident and defiant.
“H-he’s a Demonkin! He’s someone incredible from the Ten Thousand Demons Palace! How dare you do this to his servant!? You’re dead once he finds you! Haha! He’s waiting for us to bring you to him, just beyond that mountain over there!”
Yeah, I heard you loud and clear. But you see…
“If I were afraid of that, I wouldn’t have killed all of you. I would’ve restrained you and extracted info first.”
If these weaklings were his underlings, I didn’t even need to see the guy to know his level.
‘Though I’ll admit being a Demonkin is a bit surprising.’
Those who make contracts with demons or demonic races.
Betrayers of humanity, committing wicked deeds.
They’re of no use even if they’re kept alive.
Without hesitation, I sliced off his head and turned to look out the window.
Inside the hospital room where only death and silence remained, a red-burning Sun Eye appeared in the sky.
“There you are.”
I returned Manbyun to its bracelet form, opened my Inventory, and retrieved Longinus.
“Just the right guy to test this on.”
A perfect opponent had shown up.
Whrrrrrr!!!
As I began to activate Longinus, I invoked the Rune’s ability.
“10x acceleration.”
Time around Longinus was accelerated tenfold.
Its startup rate rapidly surged, and its Authorities began to unlock.
1%… 2%…… 3%……… 5%.
In just one minute, it reached 5%—what I considered my current limit. That much was plenty for real combat.
〚Divine Weapon: The Holy Spear of Godslaying, Longinus, has reached 5% startup!〛
〚Limited Special Authority: Slayer of the Unavoidable is now active!〛
〚Limited Special Authority: Weapon Stained with Divine Blood is now active!〛
〚Limited Special Authority: Cruelest Divine Weapon is now active!〛
〚Limited Special Authority: Returning Holy Spear is now active!〛
〚Limited Special Authority: Death That Pierces the Cross is now active!〛
Each of these Authorities had special effects: unavoidable strike, fixed damage, unhealable wounds, auto-return with additional damage, and continuous fixed-damage DOT.
I hurled Longinus toward the man reflected in the Sun Eye.
BOOOOM!!!
A massive roar erupted as the glass windows shattered, and Longinus streaked through the night sky like a meteor.
I too leapt out, chasing after the spear toward the mountain where the so-called leader—the Demonkin—awaited.
In the blink of an eye, I crossed several buildings and reached the mountain, where I saw him:
Two-thirds of his body had been blown away.
His skin was blackened, horns sprouted from his head—he looked consumed by demonic energy.
“Demonization, huh?”
An awakening-type transformation used by Demonkin to better harness the power of demons or demonic races.
A skill that altered their bodies to resemble demons.
Naturally, it came with buffs that raised physical stats and attributes.
And yet, he couldn’t block Longinus.
I never expected he could.
But still—just 5% of Longinus produced this much power.
A true Mythical-grade Divine Weapon indeed.
I retrieved the spear, shook off the filthy Demonkin blood, and stored it back in my Inventory before approaching him.
Surprisingly, he was still alive.
“A skill? Or maybe a title? It wouldn’t be a Rune… likely a Unique Ability that lets you survive a fatal blow once.”
Otherwise, there’s no way he’d still be breathing.
Not after a strike like that—one even I would struggle to survive.
‘It’d be nice if I could stack those two strength-enhancing skills on this too.’
Unfortunately, increasing my strength didn’t correlate with Longinus’ damage.
That was determined purely by startup rate.
Of course, the World Destroyer title’s 2x damage still applied.
That’s probably why the result turned out like this.
“Khak… If… If you kill me…!”
“What? The Ten Thousand Demons Palace will come for revenge? Doubt it. You’re nobody.”
“You’re a mere D-rank. A bug who got lucky and bloomed demonic energy by signing a contract.”
I’m certain. The Palace won’t care about your death.
Maybe a few friends will try to avenge you—but if they’re anything like you, I doubt they’re strong.
If anything, your presence here will just alert people to the existence of demons in Stage-0, and the city’s security will tighten.
And most of all—
“I’m leaving for Earth.”
So what?
Without hesitation, I projected a sword with Manbyun and severed his head.
—
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