Chapter 179
Ch.179 At Leah’s Words, Everyone Spread Out Near the Rocks
A brilliant, glowing sphere.
A skill of the Demon King.
This looks dangerous…
Just as I moved to intervene—
—Ssssh!
A sharp cut of air rang out—then an arrow embedded itself in the Demon King’s arm.
—Ghk!
As the Demon King winced mid-cast,
Scarlet lunged with blinding speed and severed his wrist.
—Aaaah!
A scream of agony echoed—then flames erupted from his body.
—Burn to ash!
Intense heat blasted outward, fire spreading in every direction.
“Spirit of Water! Protect us!”
At Mia’s cry, five wolves of water materialized, forming a barrier.
—Chiiizik!
The searing heat instantly vaporized the water—but the barrier held.
Soon after, as the heat faded, the water spirits were re-summoned.
As thick steam rose—
Nekhuf charged the Demon King, swinging his blade.
—Shing! Shing!
The Demon King blocked Nekhuf’s strikes with his bare hands…
—Puff!
Scarlet didn’t miss the opening—her dagger plunged into his back.
—Kraaaagh!
Is this enough? Did they really get this strong just because their gear changed?
The weapons of the Hero Party—Nekhuf included—had all been upgraded to endgame gear.
Leah now wielded the Vallien’s Staff—the cheat item.
Why were they this strong? There’s no experience system here.
I was puzzled by their actions—but it didn’t matter.
I didn’t need to kill the Demon King.
—Aaaah!
The Demon King roared—his wounds healed rapidly.
—I won’t forgive you! I can’t forgive you!
Ignoring Nekhuf and Scarlet, the Demon King surged toward Leah, Cecilia, and Mia with terrifying speed.
His massive frame pierced the air like a bullet, closing the distance in an instant.
It was time for me to act.
As his enormous hand reached for Leah—
—Shing!
I raised the Sword Saint’s Blade and blocked it.
“This should be enough?”
I casually pressed the muzzle of Equality against his belly.
“Or should I kill you… and let you wake up with a little more sense?”
—Ugh… Aaaahhh!
Furious, the Demon King roared.
—AAAAAAAH!
So loud.
Fine—he’s angry. But loud is still loud.
Then—suddenly—silence.
His voice returned, calm and cool, as he exhaled a hot breath.
—Huuu… Let’s deal with the King of the Dead first, Hero and Adversary.
“Fine. We’ve got work to do anyway. Let’s take care of him first—then fight if you want.”
I sheathed my blade, confirmed he’d reverted to human form, and turned to the Hero Party.
“You’ve all gotten stronger than I expected.”
They all shifted uncomfortably.
“We… we don’t feel any stronger.”
“You’re this strong and you say that?”
They glanced at each other.
“It’s just… the gear is so good?”
“Yeah. Just wearing the rings, and my magic cost for controlling spirits dropped.”
“I put on one cloak, and my senses feel sharper.”
I nodded.
Of course.
These were the endgame items in the game.
Once equipped, no more farming was needed. This was the optimal, perfect build for the Hero Party’s playstyle.
Destiny’s gear granted stats and unique effects.
For example, Scarlet’s ‘Dagger of Sorrow’ boosted agility and movement speed, which in turn increased attack power by percentage.
Her new boots further amplified agility and movement speed.
That meant her damage output skyrocketed.
And since her evasion scaled with agility, those boots were perfect for her.
“So… being stronger is all that matters, right?”
They fell silent.
“Well… yeah…”
“But we didn’t get stronger through effort…”
They looked… hollow.
“Anyway—let’s talk about how we catch Roy.”
I glanced at Leah.
“Leah… the magic artifact Icira made?”
Damn… Icira.
Just thinking of her made my heart tremble.
“It’s in my spatial bag. I can retrieve it from there.”
“Huh?”
Mia added gently:
“Icira said… if anything happened, it’d be better if multiple people could access it. So she shared the spatial coordinates.”
“Ah…”
Had Icira anticipated this?
Had she feared she might die?
And chosen this?
I’d never felt so… embarrassed in my life.
Shame. Disappointment in myself.
If I’d taken this more seriously…
If I’d tried harder…
If I hadn’t underestimated Roy from the start…
If I hadn’t been blinded by my player arrogance…
So much could’ve changed.
Seeing their eyes on me, I rushed on:
“Right. So… the magic?”
“It’s faster than before, but still slow.”
I fell silent, thinking.
If we attack head-on, Roy will easily block it.
We’ve built our gear specifically to reduce his magic resistance.
We’ll get some effect.
“Then… hmm…”
The one thing that always annoyed me about Roy? His regression.
But this Roy is stronger than before.
What do we do?
Fight head-on?
But this… is our last chance.
Our only chance.
I won’t fail—what Icira died trying to protect.
But I’m terrified.
So I think. Thoroughly.
I’ve fought Roy many times.
Each time I gained the upper hand—
but he escaped using his regression.
“Head-on might be too hard.”
“Then what?”
Leah asked, as if to say: ‘If not head-on, then what?’
But I had no answer.
We lacked information.
“How long from the Demon King’s Hell Gate to here?”
“About ten days’ journey.”
“By human standards?”
He shook his head.
“I mean by King’s standards.”
I didn’t understand.
“King’s standards? Like you’ve met the King of the Dead?”
The Demon King shrugged.
“I haven’t met him. But I know where he is.”
“What? You know?”
He nodded.
“Recently, my subordinates have been tracking him. He’ll arrive in a few days.”
Wait—why tell me now?
“Hey! You should’ve said that sooner?!”
He countered:
“Didn’t you say to wait until the Hero Party arrived?”
“True, but—”
We needed Leah’s power to defeat Roy.
We couldn’t overpower Epic Roy with brute force.
We had to use Icira’s magic to suppress him… then enter Selena’s ritual.
I didn’t know what to do inside—but I had to get in.
“What’s Roy doing right now?”
The Demon King turned his gaze south.
“He’s coming this way.”
“Then… let’s ambush him?”
He looked confused.
“Ambush? It doesn’t appeal to me.”
“Can you move us to a spot far from Roy?”
He nodded.
“Possible. But why?”
“Roy knows you can attack him, right?”
“Of course. We’re undead in Hell. He knows we have no interest in serving the God of Death.”
“Then… distract him first.”
He frowned.
“What?”
“We’ll ambush him while you draw his attention.”
Fighting here—where the God of Death is sealed—wasn’t ideal.
We didn’t know how the seal worked.
And why had Roy beaten us before? Because we fought ‘at the seal stones’.
We didn’t know where he was.
We didn’t know where he was hiding.
That’s why we lost.
But now?
The Demon King knew Roy’s exact location.
“Will the ambush work? Doesn’t he have infinite regression?”
“We don’t plan to kill him. We’ll convince the vessel to expel him. And then…”
I subtly showed them Levi’s Dagger.
“…We handle him with this.”
If his soul is outside his body?
Easy.
Lock it in the Soul Prison.
“Hmm… Fine. I don’t fully trust you—but you’re the Adversary. I’ll follow your plan.”
The Demon King raised his hand—and the scenery shifted instantly.
No longer the valley.
Now: rivers of lava, crimson earth.
“Where’s Roy?”
He pointed to the southern sky.
“There. Very far.”
“He’s flying?”
“Yes.”
“Then we hide here. When he flies past—we strike.”
Then Leah asked:
“Master… this place is wide open. How can we hide?”
She was right.
A flat, barren plain.
“Ugh…”
We needed cover.
But there was nothing—just small rocks and a few larger boulders.
“First, hide behind the biggest rocks.”
I scanned the area.
A few large boulders were visible.
We couldn’t all hide together—but if we spread out? We could manage.
“And it’s so hot here.”
Cecilia fanned herself.
“We’ll die of heatstroke.”
She wasn’t wrong.
Lava flowed nearby.
And she wore thick priest robes.
“I’ll fix that with magic. ’Ice.’”
A small ice crystal formed above our heads—cooling the air instantly.
“This will block the heat.”
“Ooh? Nice! I’ve never seen this magic in the game.”
Leah shook her head.
“The game you described isn’t reality. It’s just a virtual copy of this world. So practical magic like this… probably wasn’t needed.”
“I agree.”
If Destiny was a game to select the Adversary, it didn’t need everyday magic.
It valued freedom—but implementing every practical spell would’ve been impossible.
“Alright. Everyone hide. When Roy appears—”
“I’ll signal.”
At Leah’s words, everyone scattered toward the rocks.
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