Chapter 236 : Chapter 236
Chapter 236 - Demon Realm (6)
[Entering Pandemonium.]
This was the beginning of the true Demon Realm Melu had spoken of. Suddenly, the scenery before my eyes changed, and a new world unfolded.
A red sky, gloomy air, and even the constant sound of an ominous wind. It was exactly the image of the Demon Realm I had vaguely imagined.
And then there was the mysterious number assigned to the old man and me: 31772.
“The atmosphere of the Demon Realm has changed rather drastically. Would you not say so, Ji-han?”
As he said that, Old Man Heo Gyeong-woo raised his head and looked at the flock of Wyverns drifting through the sky.
“It has.”
The monsters in the air were flying about while spewing all manner of arrogant, raucous shrieks.
The place was so full of monsters that even top-tier species like those moved in flocks of hundreds. Such a sight was one of the many details that laid bare the atmosphere of this place, which had been named Pandemonium.
FWOOOSH!
Then, at some point, a fireball the size of a bull shot up into the red sky.
The flames struck the flock of Wyverns flying high above. Soon, the formation of Wyverns broke apart, and the black dots in the sky began thrashing wildly.
Then seven of them were roasted whole and came crashing down.
Someone had fired a flame attack into the sky to hunt them.
“That must be one of the demonfolk of Pandemonium.”
“That was quite powerful. It was incomparable to the demonfolk we have seen until now.”
Since coming to the Demon Realm, we had ascended through a full twenty dimensions.
With each dimension we crossed, the demonfolk had grown explosively stronger. Even so, none had been as powerful as that just now.
After all, until now, we had not even seen any at the level of a Sword Expert.
“It seems the demonfolk gain some special power the moment they enter Pandemonium.”
“That must be why they all instinctively carried murderous desire. They were drawn all the way here by such power.”
“Do you perhaps feel disappointed?”
“About what?”
“No matter how many dimensions we ascend, we do not change at all.”
“No. If one covets something like this, trouble is sure to follow. I intend to live simply as I am.”
But for someone who said he lived simply as he was, the old man’s realm was far too high.
After all, excluding me, he was the only Sword Master among the billions of people on Earth.
A short while later, a sharp-eyed woman walked toward us.
She was the one who had just shot the fireball into the sky.
The number floating above her head was 2921.
But there had still been no message explaining what it meant.
“You two! Judging by your number, you look like newcomers. Am I right?”
Her tone was steeped in the confidence of an old hand.
I nodded.
“Two newcomers at once? Now that is rare!”
As she said that, the woman looked at us with interest.
I found her just as intriguing.
Even when I expanded my qi sense, I could not feel any energy from her, as she was one of the demonfolk. But there was still such a thing as presence.
If she were a sword fighter, she would be around the level of a Sword Expert. If she were a mage, she would be capable enough to serve as the guild master of a decent magic guild.
Judging by the technique she had used to hunt the Wyverns, she was closer to the latter.
“Does this number indicate the order in which we entered Pandemonium?”
“No.”
“That is unexpected.”
I had naturally assumed it did.
“I am the one who finds it unexpected that a newcomer would ask that!”
“What do you mean?”
“When you first entered Pandemonium, did Lord Demon King not personally explain the basics to you?”
“Not really.”
I had heard no explanation apart from the Abyss message saying that this place was Pandemonium.
That had been frustrating for me as well.
“Strange. When I was a newcomer, I am certain Lord Demon King explained it himself.”
And, surprisingly, she said she had been a newcomer roughly four hundred years ago.
She added that one did not age here in Pandemonium.
“So what does this number mean?”
“What an amusing newcomer. Do you expect an esteemed senior like me to answer everything for you?”
“If I hear the answer, I will at least let you live.”
“Wow! You are insane! I heard the lower levels of the Demon Realm have been a complete mess because of Zombies lately, but you truly are a madman, are you not? Did receiving uncontrollable power when you entered Pandemonium make you blind to what is in front of you?”
I immediately summoned a dagger, and the woman before me snorted at the sight.
“Surely you are not planning to throw that?”
No sooner had those words left her mouth than the dagger left my hand.
The blade skimmed over the crown of the woman’s head, sending strands of her red hair flying.
Then she stood there blankly.
Surprisingly, the number floating above her head remained unchanged, even though the dagger had passed straight through it.
“Next time, it will be lodged in your forehead.”
“Ridiculous! Do you think I will just stand by and let that happen?”
When I summoned another dagger without replying, she quickly opened her mouth.
“Hey, newcomer! You still want to challenge me after seeing my Pandemonium rank? I am rank 2,921, you know?”
That was the number floating above her head.
“So that number was a rank within Pandemonium?”
“That is why I am telling you not to get arrogant! Rank 31,772! There is a full tenfold gap!”
It likely was not an indicator of actual power, but from my rank, I could at least infer the population of Pandemonium’s residents.
“I am curious. What meaning does this rank hold in Pandemonium?”
“Do you think I will answer again when you ask like that?”
Then she immediately glanced at my dagger and hurriedly continued.
Her ability to sense danger, at least, deserved praise.
“If you want to challenge the throne of the Demon Realm, of course rank matters!”
“By the throne, do you mean the Demon King?”
“You really are a newcomer, asking something so obvious.”
I was also able to hear about Pandemonium’s ranking system.
If one reached rank one in Pandemonium, one gained the right to challenge the Demon King’s throne.
Until then, one could raise one’s rank by challenging higher-ranked individuals.
“Then what about challenging the one ranked first in Pandemonium at once? Is that possible as well?”
The woman snorted at my question.
“Listen, dear newcomer. Does Pandemonium look like a joke to you? Even this exalted person standing right here has become immensely stronger compared to four hundred years ago, when I first arrived in Pandemonium. Do you have any idea how long the current first rank has been entrenched here?”
Naturally, I had no way of knowing.
“A full one thousand eight hundred years. Do you not think our adorable newcomer should spend at least that long here before even thinking of challenging him?”
“I am asking whether the challenge itself is possible.”
“No! That is impossible too.”
My current rank was 31,772. Those in the ten-thousands could challenge only as high as the thousands.
In the same way, those in the thousands could challenge only up to the hundreds, and those in the hundreds only up to the tens.
In that sense, the woman before me had a rank tailored perfectly for me.
“A pity.”
Because I had promised not to kill her in exchange for explaining things to me.
“Newcomer! Then let me ask you one thing too. A favor given deserves a favor returned, does it not?”
“I doubt there is much I can tell you.”
“No. You are the only one in Pandemonium right now who knows this. It concerns the lower dimensions of the Demon Realm.”
“Hmm.”
“Is it still a complete mess down there? It feels as though some time has passed since Melu went down to put things in order, yet there has still been no news.”
The corner of my mouth lifted slightly as I answered her question.
“The Demon Realm will remain a complete mess.”
“What does that mean?”
“Because Melu died by my hand.”
“What? Wh-who died?”
At that moment, another member of the demonfolk appeared behind us.
I had already heard his footsteps.
“Amelda! What are you doing here? Did you forget that we agreed to raid the Trinida Plateau together?”
The number floating above his head was 2,664.
His rank was similar to that of the woman whose name I now knew was Amelda.
Then he noticed the number above my head and frowned.
“What is this? Amelda, were you so busy idling around with a newcomer that you forgot your promise to me?”
“He is a newcomer, and we have not had one in ages! I was merely entertaining him for a moment because there were a few things I was curious about.”
“Then let us go! You know very well that dealing with lower ranks is utterly useless.”
The two of them looked ready to leave at once.
“Wait.”
So I immediately called them to a halt as well.
“What? Do you still have business with us?”
The man glared at me with an apathetic expression.
“You seem as though you might be somewhat useful to me.”
“What?”
“How does one challenge a higher-ranked individual?”
At my question, the man let out an incredulous laugh and approached me.
“What is this? Are you saying you want to die the moment you arrive in Pandemonium?”
“Just answer the question. How is a challenge performed?”
It was Amelda who answered.
“All you have to do is attack with genuine intent. Even a surprise attack is acceptable. That is the only privilege lower-ranked people have.”
Judging from that, it seemed impossible for a higher-ranked person to attack a lower-ranked person first.
It appeared to be a mechanism for maintaining Pandemonium’s balance.
“Ha. Damn it! A dim-witted newcomer who knows nothing wants to challenge me? Then go on and try!”
Naturally, I held no personal grudge against him.
Also, since he was one of the demonfolk, I had no qualms about killing him.
A fellow with the appropriate rank had conveniently appeared before me, and I had no reason to leave him alive.
I raised the dagger in my hand.
“Ha! What do you intend to do with that?”
“Be careful, Raman! It might be better to defend yourself in advance.”
Despite Amelda’s warning, the one called Raman merely glared at me.
“I will decide after I see what this bastard is trying to do.”
In truth, attacking someone so defenseless first was not my style, but Pandemonium’s rules were what they were, and he did not care in the slightest, so I had no choice.
WHIZZ!
The dagger flew.
Since the distance was so close, rather than saying it flew, it might be more accurate to say it simply embedded itself in his forehead.
Raman’s eyes were still raised in a glare, and he died without even realizing his own death.
The number above his head vanished in an instant.
The numbers above Old Man Heo Gyeong-woo’s and Amelda’s heads each advanced by one place.
[Your Pandemonium rank has become 2,664.]
In the end, I obtained Raman’s rank.
“You! You! What in the world are you?”
Amelda began stepping backward as if she could not believe what had just happened.
“There is no need to be afraid. I promised I would not kill you, did I not?”
Besides, it had now become impossible for me to attack her first.
I had not tried yet, but I could instinctively tell that the Abyss’s restraining force would activate.
“You are the only one who made that promise!”
The one Amelda was worried about was not me, but the old man.
“I have no interest in something like Pandemonium’s rankings. I shall simply hunt monsters until this Demon King falls and the Demon Realm collapses!”
At least three challenges remained before I could become the number one rank in Pandemonium.
Setting the rest aside, the most crucial issue was finding out where that rank one fellow was.
And one question arose.
Why had the Demon King not spoken to us at all when we first entered Pandemonium?
He had not even explained Pandemonium’s rules.
“Hey, Amelda.”
“Huh? Yes?”
“About the Demon King. He did not say anything just now, did he?”
“Right! Normally, when a challenge takes place like this, he says at least something.”
Just before entering Pandemonium, I had definitely heard the Demon King’s voice.
It had been an enraged voice ordering the demonfolk there to kill me.
In any case, it did not matter.
Whether the Demon King wanted it or not, I would be meeting him soon.