Chapter 89: Chaos and Hero (7)
“A legion of demons stronger than ever is definitely in my hands…”
The Lord of Demons, Garthin. Once a powerful figure who stood above even the Demon King’s generals, ruling over the demonic realm.
At the very least, with the seal lifted, he could easily handle a few rookie hunters from Earth.
In fact, he had overcome the execution authority and repelled Ji Chang-hyun, Chris, and Chae Yeon, all of whom had attacked him.
However, his greatest strength lay not in his own physical power, but in the legion of demons.
The legion of demon creatures he commanded was an assault team that knew no fear, a merciless violence that trampled everything in its way.
“But… what the hell are those things?!”
With blue light flashing from the eye sockets of his skull, Garthin clicked his beak in anger.
The demon legion, which had just trampled the insolent humans with overwhelming strength, was now being pushed back, completely outmatched by what it had only just boasted about.
“Uggggh!”
One of the excellent mainstays of the demon legion, a swamp gorilla clad in tough scales, let out a cry.
The five-meter-tall gorillas, equipped with four arms and skilled in close combat, were being helplessly torn apart by massive four-legged beasts with huge fangs and massive spiders with sharp venomous fangs.
Garthin could not even think of those black monsters as demons. Their form, which brilliantly amalgamated the traits and strengths of various creatures, was closer to a chimera, a once-popular black magic in the demonic realm, rather than a natural living entity.
However, the genetic manipulation technology possessed by the legion and the accumulated experience and data could not be compared to such synthetic monsters.
“What the hell…”
And then there were the demon legion’s shock troops, the demonic desert lobsters.
Literally, these massive lobsters with four pincers lived in the desert, their size comparable to a large bus. Within the demon legion, it fell into the category of large.
Thump—
However, these lobsters, which could easily crush human tanks, were instantaneously stomped and burst open.
As the enormous creature charged forward, swinging its massive hammer head adorned with spear-like protrusions, dozens of demons exploded and were skewered.
“Those guys…”
In Garthin’s trembling eyes, he saw a Demonic Earth Puppy that was being ripped apart alive, its head torn off by a similarly formed black-shelled monster.
In the sky, an aerial type with a spider’s mouth was spewing flames, incinerating the grotesque creatures.
As the lord of demons commanding demons, he could not believe this reality. Hellish indeed. Even demons would see this as hell.
‘Are they really living beings!?’
Catching himself for a moment, he skewered an aerial type that was rushing at him with claws bared.
There was not a moment of hesitation, nor a sound of screams. They simply charged, fought, and died.
Of course, his demon legion also fought according to his orders.
But demons were undoubtedly living beings, and they had emotions.
“My dominance!!”
An agitated Garthin shouted. His control over the demon legion was gradually weakening.
There was one reason: the demons had begun to prioritize survival over his commands.
That meant they had developed fear and terror towards their opponents.
“Do you really think so?!”
With his magical power erupting, Garthin flew through the air towards the giant species that was breaking the formation of demons.
He aimed a spear imbued with magical power to pierce its tough shell. The strike he unleashed through the spear was powerful enough to penetrate the giant’s head and the ground beneath it.
“Wh-why…”
However, the giant did not die instantly. While most species had their brain located in their heads as a weak point, the giant species, to begin with, did not possess a developed brain like that of a legionnaire.
At that moment, three advanced species guarding the giant charged at Garthin, brandishing their spears.
“How dare these mosquito-like creatures…!”
In a fit of rage, he swung his spear like a windmill.
The advanced species demonstrated swift movements to disrupt his attacks.
When two of them parried his spear, one would surely stab him in his moment of weakness.
Although his magical power vastly exceeded that of the advanced species’ engines, they collaborated seamlessly, as if moving as one.
“Worms of the ancient land! Assist me once more!”
Confident of victory but sensing that if things continued this way, his legion would be annihilated, Garthin decided to put all his chips on the table.
The battlefield shook as if an earthquake had struck. The legionnaires had sensed the tremors in advance and swiftly dodged, but in the end, the giant species he was on was upturned and crushed by a massive creature that burst from the ground.
“Clear them all away!”
The death worm that emerged from the earth was far larger than the previous ones that had attacked the allied forces.
Garthin smirked as he soared in front of the death worm, knowing that just one movement from this massive creature would result in many enemies’ deaths.
“You primitive beings cannot even pierce this creature’s tough shell…”
But at that moment, the enormous shadow that had been shielding him vanished, disappearing completely.
He turned back with a dumbfounded expression.
The death worm, which had just erupted from the ground, had completely disappeared, leaving only a hole.
“Y-you can let go now. But can you really handle it? It’s so big.”
“That’s our main base, bro. One of those little larva is no problem. But that one is.”
Kang Do-yeon, holding Shin Woo in her arms, landed on the ground. In Shin Woo’s hand was a cellphone that had just recorded the death worm.
“This… this creature… human! You human!!!”
At least he sensed that Shin Woo had schemed something, igniting Garthin’s rage more than ever as the blue light in his eye sockets flared up.
“Stay back now, far away. The others will protect you.”
“…Got it.”
Kang Do-yeon handed Shin Woo off to the advanced species and stood in front of Garthin.
In that instant, Garthin’s spear flew through the air, aiming for her heart.
“…!”
However, Kang Do-yeon barely managed to twist her body to avoid the strike and swung her flaming wings, slicing through Garthin’s magically-enveloped body.
“You’re just a female with a monster’s body, wearing a human’s face!”
Garthin thrust his magically-covered spear once again.
Kang Do-yeon twisted her body, extending her wings, and as their wings and spear brushed against each other, they left deep, long marks on the ground in an explosion.
“You’re just like those humans. Unnecessarily flashy, inexperienced, and childish.”
They exchanged blows, but Garthin was a step faster. As he spat out the words, he hit her stomach with the retrieved spear. The barrier shattered instantly.
As the armor wrapped around her abdomen shattered, crimson fluid erupted from her mouth.
“…How can you still rise?!”
However, Kang Do-yeon, with terrifying determination in her eyes, immediately stood back up. Although she had taken a hit, unlike Chae Yeon or Ji Chang-hyun, she could regenerate instantly even with ruptured organs and broken limbs.
And she felt no pain.
As long as there was a will to fight, she could always fight due to the blessings her legion bestowed upon her.
“How dare you… how dare you, how dare you!!!”
Garthin shouted in fury over the unbelievable reality, but by now, silence filled the surroundings.
“Is that all you have, skeleton?”
“…What are you again?”
Instinctively recognizing the call of his name, he clicked his beak and turned.
Eve, with glowing eyes from beneath her mask, dropped the head of a wolf demon she had been holding.
“Now you are all alone. Excluding those being sent as samples, we’ve worked hard to analyze the remaining ones as much as possible. Even if we return with nothing, knowledge will remain.”
Eve said as she surveyed the area. Garthin fell silent upon witnessing this scene.
The demon legion had been completely exterminated. Now, only the legionnaires remained in this area. Furthermore, the special species, the Sacred Tree, which had grown from the ground, and the sticky slime acted as a wall, decomposing the corpses of the demons.
This area had essentially become a part of the legion.
“Raise your sword, commander. That guy’s skills are considerable, so we should face him together.”
Moving her body, Eve unsheathed her sword. She handed the sword held by the advanced species beside Kang Do-yeon to her.
“I guess we have to beat them all and take their heads as proof to report to the king.”
Garthin scoffed as he raised his spear upon witnessing their stance.
“…!”
However, as Eve and Kang Do-yeon simultaneously sprang from the ground and swung their swords, Garthin’s eyes widened in shock as he witnessed the spear slicing through his wingbone.
‘Once more.’
There was no need to exchange words, nor to send signals to each other. Trusting her partner, her back was unguarded.
They focused solely on attacking. Eve’s thrust from the spear was parried by Kang Do-yeon, and the kicks aimed at Kang Do-yeon were blocked by Eve.
The deafening sounds and shockwaves produced by the clash of swords and spears, bones, and flesh were unbelievable.
Garthin, who was putting all his effort into his flawless attacks, found all of them thwarted, and the magical power enveloping his body gradually weakened.
As he furiously swung his spear with full force, Eve leaped off Kang Do-yeon’s back to evade it. As she performed a backflip in mid-air, Eve’s eyes met with Garthin’s shocked gaze, just inches away.
“Ugh…”
Finally, Eve’s fiery strike deeply cut Garthin’s shoulder.
In that moment, Garthin, focusing on Eve, did not notice that Kang Do-yeon had sliced through his ankle as she rolled on the ground.
As Garthin’s ankle was severed, his body fell apart.
Landing gracefully, Eve severed the arm holding the spear, while Kang Do-yeon, who had tumbled to the ground, knelt and cut off the remaining leg.
The synchronized technique they had just performed was a new skill devised by Eve, utilizing all her acquired knowledge.
Thoroughly tailored to the human body and resonant methods, this skill was something Eve had created solely to teach Shin Woo.
‘To fight alongside him.’
The very purpose of making this skill into a synchronized technique was to one day fight together.
With all resistance lost, Garthin writhed on the ground.
