“Let’s put that aside for now and take care of business.” Yeon-woo looked at Brahm, Galliard, Phante, and Edora. Everyone nodded with serious expressions as Yeon-woo pulled out several books from Intrenian. They were De Roy’s records, which he had found at the Kelat Auction House. One of the good things about it was that you could finish quests easily with items there.

[You have destroyed ‘De Roy’s records (Part Three)’.]

[The hidden piece is being revealed.]

[‘Demonic Studies’ skill proficiency has increased by one level.]

[You have destroyed ‘De Roy’s records (Part Six)’.]

[You have destroyed ‘De Roy’s records (Part Four)’.]

…..

De Roy’s records had been split into ten parts, and Yeon-woo had six of them. The rank of his Demonic Studies had gone up to BB+ now, and he activated the skill and released his power. The Black Bracelet trembled as it emitted a ray of black light.

[The 3rd Soul – Hundred Nocturnal Ghosts]

Kyaaa! With a scream, souls poured out, making Phante and Edora flinch instinctively. Now that he’d taken his mask off, Yeon-woo was showing them the powers he’d hidden from them one by one. They shivered at the thousands of souls, not because they were scared, but because they were uncomfortable with all the souls whirling around in their intangible forms. Yeon-woo looked at the spirits circling around him with calm eyes.

[Number of collected souls: 3,511]

As his understanding of the dead increased, the capacity he had to store souls in his collection also increased. Even though there were already over 3,000, there was still plenty of room left. What was more shocking was that he could now control the souls with a flick of his finger.

He realized how amazing his new power was. ‘A power…I wonder, will I be able to make one of my own some day?’ Even his genius little brother hadn’t made a power. His Sky Wings were close to it, but in the end, even he was never able to surpass that limit.

Yeon-woo gave orders to his souls. “Scatter.” Thousands of souls scattered across the red sky, scouring the area for Demonic species and entering their bodies. As they possessed the Demonic species, the creatures realized that something was amiss and tried to escape but they couldn’t move. The souls took over their nerves and brains, making them freeze in place. Their eyes turned black, the color of the souls.

‘It’s done.’ Yeon-woo’s eyes flashed as he felt the consciousness of thousands of souls. With Demons and Monsters, Yeon-woo continued practicing inserting the souls into monsters and Demonic species. He discovered that the process was easier the lower the intellect or health of the creature was. Fortunately, the Demonic species had a lower intellectual level than most monsters, so it was easier than he’d expected to control them. “Move.”

The souls that controlled the bodies of the Demonic species forced them to jump inside De Roy Lake. The Demonic species began to tear each other apart under the lake. As one ate up another, another would enter to swallow it down. The process was repeated over and over, and the lake was in bedlam. Kyaaaaa!

“Horrible.” Brahm shook his head. But he didn’t turn away, his eyes glowing with the fascination of a scholar. The man who had tried to create Ceratopsian Dinosaurs with Devil Trees was greatly interested in Yeon-woo’s method.

Yeon-woo used the souls to incite fights between the monsters and collected the souls of the dead monsters. Thanks to that, the number of souls in his collection continued to grow, and the predator under the lake became larger.

Grr! A Ceratopsian Dinosaur lifted its head above the water. However, another Ceratopsian Dinosaur appeared next to it and tore at its neck. Several other Ceratopsian Dinosaurs appeared, and the chaos grew worse. Pieces of flesh floated on the water, and all the Devil Trees around the lake were crushed.

Galliard, who hated demons to his very core, looked pleased. Edora wrinkled her face. Phante clenched his fists as his eyes sparkled. “This is dope!”

Just then, Brahm shouted. “It’s starting. Get ready.”

They all braced themselves and pointed their weapons at the lake. The violent dance of the Ceratopsian Dinosaurs and Demonic species was over. Now that thousands of Demonic species were blended in its stomach, the last Ceratopsian Dinosaur suddenly began to eat itself.

It was a monstrous sight. When only its head was left, the dinosaur’s skull cracked open, and a naked man with snow-white skin and a pair of black wings crawled out like a moth emerging from a cocoon. He looked at Yeon-woo and the others with a delighted expression. “Ah! What a refreshing breeze.”

[You have succeeded in artificially growing a lower-level demon.]

[Congratulations! You found a new way to control death. The range of your power has broadened.]

[You have succeeded in recognizing the foundation of magic and demons. Your understanding has dramatically increased.]

[Your properties and control have increased by 30 points.]

[You have learned a great amount of Demonic Factors.]

[You have learned a great amount of Demonic Factors.]

…..

[Your understanding of souls has become more profound.]

[The storage capacity of your collection has increased.]

[Your ability to control souls has grown. ‘The 3rd Spirit’ power proficiency has dramatically increased. 21.5%]

[You have earned the trait ‘Dark Lord’.]

[You have earned the title ‘Guide of Evil Spirits’.]

[You have made an achievement that is not easily accomplished. Additional karma and rewards will be provided.]

[You have received 15,000 karma.]

[You have received an additional 30,000 karma.]

[The skill ‘Demonic Studies’ has evolved. A search for a new skill is being undertaken in consideration of your stats and traits.]

[The influence of the trait ‘Dark Lord’ has been received.]

[The superior skill ‘Demonic Magic’ has been created.]

[Demonic Magic]

[Number 19]

[Proficiency: 0.0%]

[Description: The form of the Demonic Studies has been promoted several levels. Although it is a lower-level demon that isn’t considered a real demon, the creation of a demon gives you understanding of the properties of demonic spirits. With this, your black magic and related powers will surpass their current limits.]

[*Demonic Energy

The demonic energy needed to activate this skill will be produced through the Demonic Factors.]

[*Demon’s Curse

When black magic learned through a skill book is expressed, its rank will increase. The increase of rank is incomparable to the Demonic Factors.]

[*Devil King Poison

You can create a more effective poison than Devil Poison. Its quality depends on the amount of Demonic Factors you possess.]

Endless messages popped up about the traits, skills, and titles that he’d gained. His accomplishment was incredible by any standard, and the ninety-eighth floor was filled with confusion, just as they had been when he bound Brahm to himself.

[Many gods and demons of the 98th floor sigh.]

[Many godly societies are looking at you with strange expressions.]

[Most godly societies are reserving their judgment of you. A few gods feel amused.]

[Athena is looking at you with pride.]

[Hermes nods his head in satisfaction.]

[Poseidon is having a conversation with someone. They reserve their judgment of you.]

[Azrael expresses his hunger for you.]

…..

[Many demonic societies are seething.]

[A few demons are engaged in serious conversations about you.]

[Agares reveals his appetite for you.]

[Chaos licks his lips.]

[A demon of , Tao Wu, expresses his interest in you.]

However, it was a little different now. With Brahm, the godly societies had been enraged, and now, they looked at Yeon-woo with interest, some even nakedly expressing their desire for him.

‘My inventory of powers has increased.’ Yeon-woo looked at the number of powers in the Channel he left open. Even those that had been unsure about him had jumped onboard. The more achievements he piled up, the greater his inventory would likely become. That meant that his strength would increase in parallel with his achievements.

The lower-level demon smirked, oblivious to the situation. “I’m very grateful that you’ve awakened me from my deep sleep. I’ll accept you as my faithful—!”

“Shut up.”

“Ugh!” He suddenly gasped and knelt, his shoulders trembling as though a heavy weight had descended on him. Veins bulged out on his pale skin. “Wh-what have you done?” He was breathless from the curse of the thousands of souls. The demon tried to circulate his demonic energy to get rid of the souls, but Brahm had already activated the transmutation circle around the lake.

Chrk! Divine iron flew out to bind the demon, and new magic circles fell over him. It was a sealing circle that imitated the buildup of the Philosopher’s Stone. There was no way a newborn, lower-level demon could bear it.

“N-no!”

“Yes.” Boom! Yeon-woo smiled coldly and space folded, crushing the demon. An object fell into the lake with a plop. The souls picked it up and brought it to Yeon-woo.

“So this is it.” Brahm approached with trembling eyes as he stared at the pitch-black stone in Yeon-woo’s hand. It was the Devil Core of the demon.

Yeon-woo gave it to Brahm. Brahm’s hand shook as he accepted the Devil Core. With it, he could cure Sesha, and he was beyond happy that what he’d been praying for had finally appeared.

Yeon-woo activated his Cores. Although the process had seemed simple, binding a demon had used up the magic power he had, and his stamina had fallen greatly. Even a lower-level demon was a demon, and it would be impossible for him to repeat the process right away.

Fortunately, the Philosopher’s Stone worked furiously, and his magic power quickly filled up again. Phante looked at him strangely. “Do you know what you said?”

“What?”

“You said something when that demon showed up.”

Yeon-woo was puzzled.

“You said ‘shut up’ like it was no big deal.”

Yeon-woo turned away like he didn’t hear anything.

“Gosh, that personality…” He could hear Phante complaining behind his back, but he ignored him. He didn’t have time to deal with Phante when he could sense countless players descending on the lakeshore.

He was expecting something like this to happen since he’d swept up all the Demonic species in the area. Also, since Yeon-woo was responsible for previously messing up the twenty-third floor, a lot of people were curious to see what he was up to now, especially since he had been lying low for the past few months.

Edora and Phante felt a threatening presence and gripped their weapons. Galliard turned his head to the group that detached themselves from the large crowd. They looked like a military unit and wore red armor.

Thanks to the diary, Yeon-woo recognized their leader. ‘Marquis Caliburn.’ He was one of the Gluttony Emperor’s cherished swords.

The marquis asked, “Are you the Hoarder?”

***

The Summer Queen and Troy looked down at the three pieces of the tablet.

“This is the Philosopher’s Stone.” The Summer Queen’s eyes glowed with a bright light as she gripped the tablet tightly. The pieces had appeared so suddenly, it was as though the heavens had deliberately sent them to her as a gift.

All her life, she had never believed in coincidence or serendipity. As a dragon, she’d always known that things never showed up by chance, and this tablet was clearly a result of many hidden hands.

Ordinarily, she would have thrown it away or investigated the motives of the people behind it, but in her desperation, she had no choice but to accept it at face value. Her Dragon Heart was turning into stone and cracking, and her body was on the brink of ruin.

If this continued, the powers that she already had a tenuous grip on would vanish complete. Fortunately, she couldn’t see anything suspicious about the information inscribed on the tablet. She’d examined it with her Dragon’s Knowledge, and all she could see was complex alchemical formulas. She even learned things that her Dragon’s Knowledge hadn’t been aware of, and she felt like her wisdom had grown.

She couldn’t find a single mistake or even the hint of a trap. ‘Unless it’s a god playing a dirty trick.’ But she couldn’t imagine anything like that happening, so she wasn’t concerned. The Summer Queen moved her magic power according to the instructions on the tablet. While her subordinates made the Philosopher’s Stone, she was planning on sealing her Dragon Heart first.

The rate of destruction of her Dragon Heart began to slow, and parts of it were even repaired. The Summer Queen trembled ecstatically now that the bindings that trapped her like a curse were disappearing. She felt like she might even be able to return to her old self.

She wanted to smile and laugh at Heaven Wing. Even though he’d destroyed her, he was dead, and she was alive. The Summer Queen wouldn’t die; she would be born again to defeat Allforone and rise to the ninety-eighth floor. And Heaven Wing would be her sacrifice!

Just as she was laughing, the Summer Queen screamed. “Aagh!” Her rebuilt Dragon Heart suddenly broke, and magic power exploded out. Her Magic Circuit was destroyed and her Draconic Factors crushed.

Her flesh turned black, and the rate of her body’s destruction began to speed up. The poison that merged with her magic power ate up her body at a quick pace. It was Devil Poison.