Chapter 176
Ch.176 Just Cut Off One Horn and Give It to Me
“Haa… haa…”
The Hero Party lay sprawled again.
Their attacks had no effect.
By game standards, the level gap between them and the Demon King was immense.
Their attack and resistance were vastly inferior—and every other stat trailed behind.
This was their third clash—and they’d inflicted no meaningful damage.
Leah shouted, frustrated.
“Damn it!”
Her voice echoed in the canyon—but it meant nothing.
“There’s no helping it. Your strength or gear is insufficient to defeat this Demon King.”
Leah’s attacks had unique properties—if they landed, they’d deal heavy damage.
But the Demon King, having faced her before in the human world, dodged them effortlessly.
Thus, she couldn’t land clean hits—and defeat was inevitable.
The Demon King, now in human form, spoke:
“I’m bored.”
He’d initially enjoyed the revenge—but repeating the same outcome had dulled the thrill.
Fair enough.
But—
“Ghk—!”
The Hero Party, enraged by his taunt, faces flushed crimson.
“Enough. Call it quits today.”
No need to fight further.
He’s clearly stronger.
Unless I give them ‘Equality’.
And Leah still doesn’t know how to use the Altarion’s Staff.
The Altarion’s Staff is a cheat item—lets you cast any magic.
But she keeps spamming high-damage spells, which are slow to cast.
Of course, with the Demon King’s magic resistance, it’s expected—but if you don’t land, it’s useless.
Cecilia boosted their stats with holy magic—but the base stat gap was too wide to matter.
Nekhuf and Scarlet fight in close range.
So they suffer the most from stat disparity—and fall fastest.
“Ugh—!”
All of them scowled at my words.
Their pride was wounded.
Especially Scarlet.
Her face twisted like a demon’s.
I remembered when she first fought the Golem.
She’s the lowest in self-worth here.
She’s been tormented by infamy since before.
“Again…”
Scarlet ignored me, gripped her dagger, and slowly advanced toward the Demon King.
“Scarlet?”
Cecilia stepped forward and grabbed her wrist.
“Rest a bit. This isn’t the time.”
Scarlet glared at her.
“Let go.”
“It’s meaningless now.”
“You’re right. It’s meaningless.”
I agreed with Cecilia.
This gap can’t be closed in a short time.
Months of grinding from the bottom—’at least’—would be needed.
Of course, ‘months’ here means: acquiring new items from the ‘Dragon War’ and ‘King of the Dead’, and accumulating experience.
“Hahaha… still want to fight despite this gap?”
The Demon King’s provocation made me frown.
“Enough. In a few months, they’ll beat you one-on-one.”
The Demon King looked incredulous.
“You think this gap can be closed so easily?”
“Yeah. Me.”
—Pff.
He smirked at me.
“Don’t you see? Their swords don’t even graze me. Even if they land, they can’t pierce my skin.”
“I know. I knew it before you even fought.”
According to hidden game data, the Epic Demon King’s level approaches 130.
Considering the game’s level cap is 100, you understand how overpowered he is.
But even with level differences, if players use efficient gear, they can win.
Literally—swap Scarlet’s dagger, and her damage spikes.
Swap her boots, and she dodges his attacks.
Same for Cecilia and Mia.
Just swapping their gear would improve them drastically.
And defeating new sub-bosses would make them stronger.
With the Altarion’s Staff? Not months—’weeks’.
“So don’t be discouraged.”
As I thought this, a thought struck me.
“You think that’s possible? Seriously… this adversary must’ve been a dreamer.”
“Shut up.”
I silenced him, clinging to a thread of hope in my mind.
With the Altarion’s Staff… maybe I should find those forgotten endgame items?
I’d completely forgotten them, assuming this was another reality.
I focused only on the main quest of ‘King of the Dead’.
Sub-quests didn’t matter—they’d be fine even if uncompleted.
So naturally, I obsessed over the main story—the world-ending plot.
And now, nearly ten years had passed since I arrived.
Memories of those items had faded.
I’d written down everything important… but the Dragon War’s opening had sunk the ship, and those notes were lost.
If that’s true… then handling Roy wouldn’t have been hard either…
The regret hit me like a hammer.
Icira’s death crushed me.
I’d been too complacent.
I assumed the fourth seal stone breaking was inevitable.
Knowing game mechanics mirrored here, I assumed we’d definitely stop the fifth.
But my prediction failed.
The fifth seal was shattered.
Regret flooded me—for my negligence, for forgetting critical information.
Damn it… am I really an idiot?
Deep shame, and the agony of forgotten knowledge, made me tremble.
I buried my face in my hands, shuddering.
“Master?”
“Hans?”
I felt their stares. I lifted my head.
“Leah?”
“Yes?”
I fired at her in rapid succession.
“Use the Altarion’s Staff to return to the human world. I’ll give you a map. Get the items. Kill the monsters.”
“But… if the King of the Dead comes—”
I shook the notebook Auros gave me.
“I’ll send a signal with this.”
She looked uncertainly between me and the Demon King.
“But… it’ll take minutes to teleport. You’ll be alone with him?”
“He can’t kill me. See this armor?”
I pointed to the Arbiter’s Armor—but their unease remained.
“But what if—?”
“Yes! It’s too dangerous! How do we know he didn’t make a pact with the God of Death?!”
Scarlet and Cecilia protested—but I shook my head.
“It’s fine. If I die, he dies too. Do you think the God of Death will honor his promise?”
I asked the Demon King. He shook his head.
“I know the God of Death well. I’ve faced him. A pact with such a being is extremely dangerous.”
The God of Death is evil.
He tricks Roy and his followers with promises of peace after death—then forces them into eternal prayer, draining their souls to forge divine power.
“I hate gods… but he’s the worst of them all.”
“You see? This guy isn’t the type to make pacts with the God of Death. Of course, after this is over, we’ll be enemies.”
“But judging by his current form, we might win.”
At the Demon King’s words, I shrugged.
“Wake up. With me here, do you think it’ll be easy?”
I tapped Equality.
“Hahaha… I’ll look forward to it.”
I turned from his smug grin to the Hero Party.
“Go. Get the items I told you. Now. Fast.”
“But—”
I looked at their doubtful faces.
“Be honest. With your current strength, you can’t beat him. Do you think you can beat Roy?”
Honestly? I don’t know.
The Epic King of the Dead would crush the Demon King like a snack.
But the one coming now? Not an Epic boss. Just a regular one.
Stat-wise? He’ll get demolished by the Demon King.
But… what qualifies as Epic?
What conditions turn defeated bosses into Epic bosses in Hell or Heaven?
Do they become Epic only if killed in the human world?
If so…
—Gurgle…
What if bosses become Epic ‘when they enter Hell’?
Oh, shit.
I looked at the Hero Party and Nekhuf.
They can’t even beat the Epic Demon King.
They’ll never defeat Epic Roy.
They won’t even resist—he’ll dissolve in seconds.
“Go. Now.”
“O-okay. Teleport!”
As Leah pulled out her staff and cast the spell, they vanished instantly.
“Demon King.”
“What?”
“I’m curious… when the King of the Dead enters Hell, does he get stronger?”
He nodded.
“Naturally. Hell grants immense power to the wicked.”
“Haa… nothing goes my way.”
“Don’t worry. I’m the Demon King. The strongest in Hell.”
I stared at him.
“I knew the Hero Party couldn’t beat you. By the same logic—you can’t beat the King of the Dead.”
Simple: the Demon King is a boss on floor 30 of Hell.
Epic King of the Dead appears on the highest floor of Heaven.
In endgame content, Epic Roy reigns supreme.
Sure, the Demon King is a floor-30 boss.
But Roy > Auros > Demon King in strength.
And he drops great rewards.
Maybe killing the Epic Demon King grants a special item?
In-game, he was a notorious item-dropper.
I stared at him greedily.
He took a step back.
“W-why are you looking at me like that?”
“Do you have any good items?”
He hesitated.
“Good items? Hmph… items are for the weak. A strong being like me doesn’t rely on them.”
One of the Epic Demon King’s signature drops: ‘Demon King’s Horn’.
Just storing it in inventory grants massive stat boosts.
I cautiously asked:
“You have two horns, right?”
“That’s true… why?”
I stepped closer.
“Cut off one. Give it to me.”
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