Episode 209 [ Final Battle – 1 ]
———————
After this world became like a game, strange places began to be created all over the world.
For example, the abnormal ecosystem that goes against the mother nature of the Earth, or the remains of this race that were left behind by human civilization… Their true identity was the result of a part of the dungeon inside the gate being flooded into reality through an event called ‘erosion’.
And the players called such places ‘labyrinths’…
Ku—gu—gu—gu…
The lava cave located 4km below the ground was one of them.
pop–!
The scenery there was mysterious and threatening.
Should we say that it looks like the ruins of an ancient civilization that were eaten by Mother Nature?
Lava poured down like a waterfall along the black stone wall with various patterns engraved on it, and it pooled at the bottom to form a red lake.
pop–!
And gas spurts often burst out from holes in the wall, and the sound was similar to thunder rumbling from the ground—it shook the entire cavity softly, and each time it did, sulfur gas rose up together, creating a smokey haze.
But…
“…I’m sorry.”
A man’s voice was echoing in this hell-like space.
“…This guy knows the location of the ‘heart of the land’ and is penetrating in a straight line.”
It was none other than Gordon Price’s voice.
And as can be seen from his words, the name of this place was ‘Heart of the Earth’.
In other words, it is a temple of the Ancient Red Drake race, and was originally a sacred and secret place where only a few elders, including Agaidika, the guardian of the red volcano, could enter, but now… – A ‘Demon King’s Castle’ is being created in the area
. (99%)
In this way, it was reduced to the invaders’ living room.
“At this rate, he’ll be down here in a few minutes. No way… I honestly never thought that I would be able to make a drill out of a female pole and a mogley.”
The place where Gordon Price was standing was a pyramid-shaped altar rising above a lava lake in the very center of the cavity.
And there, the Necromancer’s flying fortress, the ‘Flower of Death’, had landed and was spouting out black smoke… One difference from before was that the roots at the
bottom of the flower were embracing and protecting something.
Gulp—gulp—
it was some kind of huge film.
It was like the placenta of an animal, and it caught my eye because it was constantly writhing as if something would tear it open at any moment.
Gordon Price looked at it for a moment and then spoke again.
“…And it’s unclear how to hold on any longer. “No matter how much magic shield you put up, it will melt like cheese in front of that drill.”
Although he was reporting his failure to the Demon King, he still had a confident expression on his face.
He has been holding this world in his hands for quite some time, so he has always lived as a predator. Therefore, no matter what the situation, I did not bow down and go in. That attitude is still maintained today.
But the reason his hands were getting wet with sweat was not just because this space was hot.
‘The devil…’
It was because he knew that his fate was entrusted to him and that he could easily kill him.
‘…my head might explode right now.’
Latent spell… The same method he used to control the villains was binding him.
Then a voice was heard.
“So… are you asking me for the answer again?”
A voice that resonated throughout the entire cavity… It contained a certain level of status that made the relatively low-level beings cringe.
It was no different for Gordon Price. After feeling dizzy for a moment, he finally opened his mouth while trying to choose his words.
“…Yes, I would like you to lend me your wisdom one more time.”
There was no answer for a while, and Gordon Price slowly swallowed dry saliva.
pop–!
Gordon Price unconsciously shook his shoulders as he heard the sound of gas erupting from somewhere.
If the Demon King had his way, he would not die comfortably through a latent spell, but would be thrown alive into that lava lake and slowly boiled.
“I…”
Soon the Demon King opened his mouth again.
“…Among the villains in your dimension, even though I trusted you and entrusted you with many things, you still show below expectations until the end.” “……..” “As I have emphasized
several
times, in order to complete the Demon King’s Castle, I must He said he couldn’t shift his attention elsewhere. That’s because you get a penalty. Still, I had to force myself to take the time to go up and do the chore of sealing the sky. Because you guys didn’t do your job. But what happened in the end?”
As the voice finished,—whoosh—
!
Black smoke flew in like a whip and entangled Gordon Price’s body.
“Tsk!”
And he lifted it into the air.
Ugh—
he couldn’t do anything. The more force he applied, the stronger the pressure became. It felt like every bone in his body would be crushed if he resisted for no reason. So he had no choice but to
comply.
“Gordon… what the hell? “Why are you so disappointed? The way you are now is not what I wanted. It’s not what I know.” The
Demon King’s voice became somewhat passionate. The tone that usually exuded exaggerated solemnity disappeared and his voice seemed to be complaining somewhere. In other words, quite a bit. It was a human feeling.
He was a demon lord who had never shown such emotions before.
So I couldn’t help but become even more anxious.
‘If this continues, I will be finished too.’
He used all his strength to open his mouth.
“ Ugh… I- somehow- I have to
figure out a way…”
A figure came down, stepping on the leaves like stairs. A being wearing
a robe,
carrying a black scythe, and wearing a dark green aura all over his body… was a necromancer.
“…That’s not wisdom, it’s just a poor survival instinct. Isn’t that right?」
The voice was heard again, but the necromancer’s mouth did not open.
The voice was echoing from behind the necromancer’s back… and soon a tentacle rose up on the necromancer’s shoulder.
That was the devil.
Tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk
tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk t ht of tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk of a tentacle swelled up… Didn’t it suddenly change into the shape of a human being?
“Look at me, Gordon.”
“Huh—”
“I have one last thing to show you.” One of
the tentacles, that is, the demon king, who was transformed like that, became a man.
Gordon Price asked in bewilderment.
“…is that really what it looks like?”
That was because it was so similar to him.
Tsutsutsutsu—
An upper body resembling himself slowly approached, hanging from a tentacle. And as I stopped right in front of his face, I was able to take a closer look.
It couldn’t be said that it was just an imitation of his own appearance. He had deep wrinkles and gray hair, making him look obviously older.
In other words, it looked like it was a few years later.
“…….”
“I’m not surprised. Without even suspecting it. Because I expected that. yes? Me in another dimension.”
At those words, Gordon Price struggled to smile despite the pain that twisted his entire body.
“…Ha—yeah, I guessed it to some extent since you said you came from another dimension with the necromancer.”
He pointed at the necromancer with a nod.
“Because I was the one who raised that guy. Does that mean… I was destined to win this game in the end?”
He realized that the great demon king was himself.
But he was not happy.
Because he knew one inconvenient fact.
‘William Bernard…’
The first dimension shifter appeared and suddenly killed his past self.
Why is that? And although I still didn’t know what it meant, I couldn’t help but feel uneasy in many ways.
He exhaled slowly and looked at the Demon King.
“In that case, give me another chance.”
「…….」
“I, I, will do everything possible to buy time until the Demon King’s Castle is completed! If you were me… believe in yourself for the last time!”
Next, he quickly used his brain to come up with a plausible plan and presented it:
“You know that there are Guardians out there who think of me as their comrades, right? Lee Seong-yoon! He doesn’t know me—he still thinks of us as trustworthy comrades. That’s it! By talking to him, he took some time with various excuses, ‘mind-controlled’ several players, caused confusion, and at that moment blew up the passage that Steele Rain had opened…” “Ah— ah— Gordon.
”
The Demon King interrupted.
It was a bad sign.
“huh?”
“You are making a big mistake.”
“…….”
“I am no longer the same person as you.”
“What?”
The Demon King instantly returned to his tentacle state.
“Are you saying that even after seeing this figure in front of you? Do you believe that I will treat you as the same as me and show you mercy? Huh?” “Ah…
”
“I am Gordon Price, just a human being… I am a being who has evolved to the next level by breaking away from that weak appearance… I am a quasi-transcendent.”
Gordon Price’s mind went blank for a moment. At the moment when he had to persuade him somehow… It was because something incomprehensible like that of a quasi-transcendent came out.
“What that means… I don’t know yet. It seems like information that wasn’t known in my time…” “
I’m sorry, but I can’t give you a chance to buy time.” It seems. I… I can’t show my uglier side any more than this to get points.”
“What? Huh! Who are you talking about showing your ugly side to?”
Then the eyes on the tentacles—the Demon Lord’s eyes—looked skyward.
“They… are watching this situation and are always evaluating who is suitable to be the next Transcendant. Maybe they have already reconsidered their choice. Instead of me, they are looking for another test subject. ….”
The Demon King still spoke incomprehensibly.
Gordon Price could not understand a single word.
“What? “Poetry test subjects… And who are they talking about?”
“It’s simple. The rulers of this game. “The ones who make this game.”
Gordon Price’s eyes widened at those words.
“Yes, I know best that this is exactly the story you wanted to hear. The truth about this game. And the reward you can get at the ending.”
“Reward… If that reward is a transcendental person, does it mean becoming a god?”
But at that moment—
boom—
“—boo!”
The thorn extending from the devil’s tentacle pierced Gordon Price’s heart. And I felt countless small thorns sprouting from those thorns, turning my heart into a honeycomb.
“Korea…”
This was an irreparable wound.
“It’s a god… I believe that too and am carrying out the new quest they gave me. And one of those quests… is to kill me in another dimension like this.”
“…….”
“But the reason I kept you alive until now is because I thought you would be useful in many ways until the last moment… like this. “If it happens, it’s better to just collect it, right?”
With a thud, Gordon Price’s body was torn into pieces, and several parts of it fell into the lava lake and burned.
At that moment, the Demon King’s body—the tentacles—trembled. The symptom was completing a certain quest and receiving a reward.
And…
「Ugh, that’s right… Just the right amount of ability has increased. “If it’s like this…”
At that moment—
thump— thump— thump— thump—
The sound of a violent heartbeat began to echo through the ground. The vibration caused the lava lake to fluctuate…
“…We will be able to complete the Demon King’s Castle in time.” The
unidentifiable
film contained in the Flower of Death began to tremble.
***
Kwa—ga—ga—ga——!
Hyunwook Lee closed his eyes and focused almost all of his senses on the ends of the huge drill, or the four mogleys.
He was currently pouring a huge amount of mana into moving the huge drill, as he had to constantly operate Sudarsana, which acts as a motor, and extend the main body of the drill, the female pole, to a length of 4 km.
That’s why multiple wizards were coming up to his back and performing ‘mana injection’, a high-level skill that transfers one’s mana to someone else.
Ugh—
but all of those wizard players had shocked faces.
“Wow— crazy…”
“What the heck does this guy’s mana tank have…”
That was because even though they were pouring all their mana into it, they only filled up this man’s Steelaine’s mana tank very little.
In that way, dozens of high-ranking wizards ranging from B to A had already been consumed.
“One player has this much mana?”
“…That’s not a wizard type either, is it?”
Some wizard players were debating that this made no sense in theory, but there was no way to come up with an answer.
“Steelrain’s performance itself makes no sense in the first place, right?”
“Well, and does this game even make sense in the first place?”
“…Oh, that’s true too. It’s a time when common sense has disappeared.”
Ku—gu—gu—gu——!
Just like that, the so-called ‘Yeoui-bong Drill’ controlled by Lee Hyun-wook rotated at high speed and penetrated the ground quickly.
‘4km… We’re almost there now.’
And soon he could feel it.
Whoop——
The Mowglei, which had been crawling through the hard rock for about a dozen minutes, began to idle…
which meant it had reached an empty area.
“… That’s it. .”
At Lee Hyun-wook’s quiet words, the players waiting around turned their heads one by one, and tension and solemnity slowly appeared on their faces. Lee Hyun-wook’s words just now were a signal that the time had finally come to face the devil. And
one by one, their eyes focused on the red-haired giant.
Agaidica.
He said that as the ‘guardian of the red volcano’, he could have some level of communication with this land.
Soon, he closed his eyes, knelt down, and touched the ground. He placed his hand on it.
“…….”
After a while, he opened his eyes again, slowly stood up, looked at Lee Hyun-wook, and nodded.
“…That’s right. It reached the heart of the earth.”
Lee Hyun-wook immediately began to shrink Yeouibong.
Ku—gu—gu—gu——!
Then, as Yeouibong quickly shrunk, a loud noise was heard as if a subway was passing through a tunnel, and about a minute later, the rope at the end of Yeouibong was heard. They escaped all the way to Mowglei.
A long vertical passage was created like that… A hot wind blew out from a place that could be called the abyss, and white steam began to rise like a geyser. Whoo-ooh-ooh-
oo– !
Everyone glanced at the black hole, then turned their heads one by one to look at Lee Hyun-wook.
And Lee Hyun-wook also looked back at the players.
Maybe it was the time before the final battle… Instead of giving a fancy speech, he said a short word.
“Now . Now…let’s prepare for the demolition of the Demon King’s Castle.”
