Black Online

Fang Raon walked down the road—on his right side there was a field of wheat, and on his left there was a field of sunflowers.

The sunflowers were tall like trees—as if you could climb on top of them, and see the entire countryside from above.

He got close to the small house, and at that moment, he saw a dog that was lying in the sun, wagging its tail lazily.

There was a chain leash attached to the dog’s collar.

The dog was black in color, and it was big with pointy ears, and at that moment, as if it had smelled something, it raised its head.

It saw Fang Raon walk over.

It jumped to its feet and started growling menacingly.

"Calm down, boy."

Fang Raon looked at him with a hard look, and the dog turned timid under his hard gaze and sat down slowly, whimpering softly.

He walked to the dog, gave it a couple of pats on the head, and then the dog’s tail started wagging.

"Good boy."

Fang Raon then stood up and walked up the steps to the porch and raised his hand in an attempt to knock on the door.

But then he sensed something.

"Oh."

Fang Raon sidestepped, and at that moment, round-shaped pellets shot through the white wooden door.

CRASH!

The door was kicked open, and a long-bearded man, wielding a triple-barrelled shotgun, stepped out of the house.

"You’ve come to a wrong place, you demon-worshipping-zealot piece of shit!"

Peter the Farmer shouted and pointed the triple-barrelled shotgun towards the face of Fang Raon.

’A shotgun? Seriously? I thought this game didn’t have guns of real life.’

Fang Raon thought.

However, after a quick look, it wasn’t a weapon of the real world but more like a makeshift shotgun that used pellets instead of bullets.

Not as deadly. Not as dangerous.

Then.

Peter pulled on the trigger again, and the three barrels fired pellets simultaneously, like a burst of confetti from a party popper.

One pellet shot through Fang Raon’s cheek—one went through his abdomen—and a couple pierced through his legs.

[-444 HP!]

"Aargh..."

Fang Raon stumbled back, and then Peter the Farmer smashed the butt of the shotgun into his stomach, sending him flying back.

Then.

Peter flipped the shotgun the other way and pulled on the trigger, and a blue and orange light burst out from the barrel, enveloping Fang Raon in a blinding flash.

The pellets shredded through his armor and flesh.

"Cough!"

Fang Raon dropped on his knees, coughing blood.

[HP: 111/1250]

[...]

[-6 HP]

[...]

[-11 HP]

[HP: 94]

[...]

[HP: 69]

Fang Raon, with a trembling hand, wrapped his fingers around his Blackest Blade sword—and it activated his Blackened Immortality!

’I can’t be dying to some farmer...’

"You can tell those demons that I will not go quietly into the night. I will keep fighting. And I will keep protecting the Japan Town from them!"

Peter put the steaming hot barrel of the shotgun into Fang Raon’s head—ready to pull the trigger.

In that moment, he saw something at the pocket of his jacket, and out of curiosity, he took it from Fang Raon.

It was the quest poster.

"..."

Peter the Farmer’s eyes widened in a surprise, and he looked at Fang Raon, who was dripping blood.

"You came here for the quest?"

"...Yep."

Fang Raon nodded with a pained gaze.

"...Damn."

Peter realized his mistake, and he quickly helped Raon to his feet and helped him inside the small house.

"Lie down on the couch. I got some healing powders here with me!"

Peter laid him down on the couch, and then he quickly ran downstairs and came back with some herbs.

He put the herbs in a bowl and began to mix them together with water—soon they were in a paste that he gently applied to the wound.

"You should’ve told me!"

Peter clicked his tongue.

"I was about to, but then you shot me!"

Fang Raon shouted.

"You shouldn’t just come to a stranger’s doorstep unannounced... especially mine..."

Peter said with a dark look.

"...You were talking demons that, demons this... Are you perhaps a crazy old man?"

Fang Raon asked.

"Pfft, I am not crazy. You have no idea what you got into, didn’t you? You should head back to the Japan Town and give that quest to somebody stronger.

"You will only get yourself killed!"

Peter shouted.

"I will be fine..."

Fang Raon said.

He was still clutching onto the hilt of the Blackest Blade with his bloody hand because it was the only thing that was keeping him alive.

At that moment.

The healing paste started to do its magic, and his wounds started to heal up, and his HP began rising back up.

"You won’t be fine. If I almost killed you, the demons will rip you apart like they did to my family."

Peter said with a serious look on his face.

"I was just taken aback by your weapon..."

Fang Raon said as he looked towards the triple-barrelled shotgun, which he honestly did not expect to see.

Because of that, his reaction time to Peter’s attacks was lowered by just a little bit—but that was enough for Peter to gain the upper hand in their fight.

"That’s Demon-Killing Shotgun—one of a kind—I got it from my ancestor who was one of the first Demon Hunters of the Tower."

Peter said proudly.

It was the heirloom of his family, passed down through the generations.

"...What is this quest really about? I thought it was just searching and retrieving the Sword of the Sakura, but now you’re talking about Demons and Demon Hunters..."

Fang Raon asked with a sweaty face.

He was still recovering from the wounds, and that was causing his forehead to sweat quite a bit.

He still wasn’t sure whether Peter the Farmer was just a crazy old man or whether there was some truth to what he was saying.

Either way, that ’Demon-Killing Shotgun’ was an incredibly powerful weapon capable of killing a level 6 player!

"Sword of the Sakura is a key to open the Prison Gate that is said to contain the most evil being in the world—the demons."

Peter said with a dark look on his face.

"Zealots that believe in the Rise of the Demons went to Japan Town to steal it—and apparently they succeeded.

"My guess is that they’re currently over at the Prison Gate trying to open it to release the demons."

Peter said.

"So it’s too late?"

Fang Raon asked.

"They can only open the gate during the night of the demon moon—that night happens to be tonight."

Peter said.

"Where is the Prison Gate?"

Fang Raon asked.

"At the highest peak of this floor. While the demon moon is the way to open the gate, it has also been the reason why the gate’s power has been staying strong over the years.

"Whenever the demon moon comes to the sky, the spells of the gate are strengthened—demons are always, every day, trying to break through.

"That’s why the Prison Gate was built as close to the demon moon as possible, so the strength of the demon moon is amplified.

"Unfortunately, it’s a two-way street, and they can also use the power of the demon moon to release the demons."

Peter said.

"...Thanks for the information."

Fang Raon climbed to his feet, and his muscles were still quite sore, but at least he could move again.

"Don’t hesitate to kill the zealots. Everyone here will die if those demons get released."

Peter said.

"Got it."

Fang Raon changed clothes because his other clothes were bloodied and ripped to shreds because of the pellets.

Then.

He touched the Blackest Blade and could feel its vibrations—like it was somewhat scared to go there.

’The cursed sword is scared of the demons?’

Fang Raon tightly held the cursed sword, and slowly its vibrations ceased, and then Raon said to it, "I need your strength."

The cursed sword vibrated once, like it gave him an answer.

"Young man, here."

Then, Peter tossed him the Demon-Killing Shotgun, and he caught it mid-air—and it felt surprisingly heavy in his hands.

This weapon was powerful. He could feel it.

"If you’re too late and the demons happen to be released, use the power of this shotgun to send them back to hell!"

Peter shouted.

Fang Raon cocked the shotgun once, and then out of nowhere, a holder for the shotgun appeared on his back.

He then raised the shotgun over his shoulder and slid it inside the shotgun holder.

Peter watched him walk away towards the fields of sunflowers, and then he looked towards the sky.

Dark clouds were swirling atop the highest peak.

’Demons...’

Peter narrowed his eyes.

...

At the highest peak of the 36th floor.

A massive black gate stood in the middle of the mountain top, and there was a large magic circle engraved into its door.

"Khah’zul... ven... araith... Zola!"

The black-cloaked zealots surrounded the gate—praying and murmuring a chantation to summon a demon.

At the gate, the Sword of the Sakura was already inserted into the key hole, but it didn’t fully go in.

However.

The day was growing darker...