Chapter 246.

Kain the Puppeteer .

The setting of my novel became more and more vague the farther it went, but Kain was an especially ambiguous character .

The keywords I used to describe him were [puppeteer], [slimy], [emotionless], and [cruel] . Since he wasn’t meant to be an important character, I didn’t write anything more than what was necessary about him .

Although Kim Suho easily cut him down in the original story, we had to be wary of him now, with the co-author having changed many things .

—…Meetings are always beautiful . A meeting like ours is especially so .

Kain’s soliloquy continued while I was thinking . It felt like I was being licked by his slimy voice .

“What is that crazy guy saying…”

Aileen frowned as she activated her skill .

Wooong…

Blue aura rose up from the ground and seeped into her body . She was using a special skill called [Magic Power Amplification] .

“Uk!”

But at that moment, Aileen clenched her heart and kneeled on one leg .

“Ai—!”

“I’m fine . ”

She got up before anyone could say a thing .

“Huu… . ”

Cold sweat formed on her forehead, but she didn’t outwardly show any signs of exhaustion and glared at Kain who was dancing on the chandelier .

—Dance like a puppet, smile silently .

Kain’s subdued voice approached me frighteningly .

Aileen pointed her finger at him .

“You, come down . ”

Magic power seeped into those three words .

“Spirit Speech dictating actions won’t work well . ”

I stopped her, knowing that it would be useless . As I said before, the Demon King’s mid-bosses were all protected by his Authority .

Of course, it could be overpowered with enough magic power, but that would only be a waste of magic power at this point .

“…Fine . ”

More importantly, Aileen’s Spirit Speech was powerful even if she didn’t force someone’s action .

Aileen released her magic power into the air and formed a spear .

“This spear is going to pierce your heart . ”

Her words shot the spear forward . It was impossible to dodge the spear, as Spirit Speech had determined an absolute result .

The Spirit Speech spear pierced Kain’s heart .

But what should have been an easy attack caused Aileen to agonize in pain .

“Uk… Become light . ”

She continued even while groaning .

The spear piercing Kain’s heart released light and exploded .

Along with a burst of light, the chandelier fell along with Kain .

His body scattered into dust without touching the ground .

“W-What, he was just a smallfry?”

The battle had seemingly ended easily .

Dumbfounded, Aileen furrowed her brows, but I shook my head .

It wasn’t over yet .

“No, he’s probably—”

As if he was waiting for me to speak, organ music began to flow from the darkness underneath . It was the prelude to the continuation of the battle .

—Sing with the flowers… a silent song… .

Kain’s voice rang out with a sinister organ sound .

There wasn’t just one voice .

Many voices were singing together as if a choir was present .

—Humans are dirty, but they possess one beautiful thing… .

Tick .

Then suddenly, all sound cut off .

Aileen flinched inside the sudden silence .

Next, a bright spotlight lit up the room .

—Slaughtering, dismembering… flower birthed from death…

Hundreds of Kain appeared before us .

There wasn’t a distinction between his real body and clones . As Kain created puppets using his heart as material, each puppet was equivalent to his real self .

—Let there be blood!

The puppets shot out blood-colored magic power .

A wave of magic power shot toward us, dancing as though it were on stage .

Standing in front of it, Aileen shouted confidently .

“You can’t pierce my Barrier—!”

Aileen created a barrier around both of us, blocking the magic power shot by the puppets . However, the puppets’ attacks were endless . There were many that began to charge at us with weapons . Although it seemed impossible for any of them to pierce Aileen’s Barrier, just staying on the defensive wouldn’t allow us to win .

I glanced at Aileen .

“Uk… . ”

She was having a hard time just keeping up her Barrier . Although her curse had been healed, the ‘scar’ it left behind must be reacting to the Demon King’s demonic energy . If I was right, then it was impossible for Aileen to advance any further .

“Hold on just a bit . ”

I took out the Desert Eagle .

Kain was a bad opponent for me .

Although it was my specialty to fight against many, I was limited in Stigma, which was what I needed to kill Kain .

I could easily kill six demons with [Punishment and Discipline], but Kain’s puppets were all considered individual demons . With hundreds of them being here, this Authority had little use .

“Let’s go . ”

I transformed my gun into its assault rifle form . There was no need to worry about anything . I just had to buy time until Cheok Jungyeong got here .

I had about a thousand bullets . That was more than enough .

I began to fire inside Aileen’s Barrier . The barrage of bullets all flew toward each puppets’ vital points – their joints . I emptied a magazine in less than second, and puppets without limbs fell to the ground .

The puppets tried to avoid my bullets, but it was futile . None of my bullets missed . I was only shooting as my instincts told me to, but as expected of grade-2 Master Sharpshooter, its accuracy was godly .

Thwack—!

Then suddenly, a puppet jumped on Aileen’s Barrier . The puppet’s body began to bulk up . It was using the best attack to destroy a barrier – self-destruction .

“A storm will push you away!”

Aileen muttered quickly . The self-detonating puppet was sent flying, where it then exploded with a huge boom . Though most of the damage was mitigated, Aileen’s Barrier was weakened nonetheless .

“Do a better job so they can’t do that . ”

“…Okay . ”

I activated Bullet Time and began focusing on shooting down the closest puppets . I fully utilized Reinforced Bullet, the new subordinate Gift I got when Master Sharpshooter was promoted to grade-2 . The power provided to each bullet by this Gift was enough to push back the puppets who had powerful resistance .

—What a beautiful flow . Tragedy strikes heavier the more desperate one struggles…

I attacked while Aileen defended . But as time passed, Aileen was getting more and more exhausted .

“…Haa, haa . ”

Her breaths were getting rougher, while the Barrier was getting thinner .

But this was enough .

I whispered to Aileen .

“You can rest now . ”

“Don’t say strange things . I’m perfectly fine . ”

As soon as she said that, an arm of a puppet flew at her Barrier and exploded .

BOOM—!

The earth trembled, but Aileen’s Barrier was fine . Still, Aileen was struck by a huge recoil from the shock, causing her to kneel in pain .

“You don’t look fine . ”

“…I can still go on . Run while I can still maintain this barrier . I got your back . ”

“Ooh…”

I was touched, but I had no plans to run away .

At that moment, Kain muttered arrogantly .

—What I want is a banquet of death . It isn’t bad for a dwarf and a human to die together…

…It seemed Aileen was determined to be a dwarf .

“T-That son of a bitch . ”

Aileen reacted sensitively to the word ‘dwarf’ .

I took off my coat silently . Then, I put it over Aileen’s trembling shoulders .

“…What’s this?”

“Just rest . ”

I placed my hand on Aileen’s head .

“Eh?”

“I’ll finish the rest . ”

“Are you crazy? Whose head do you think you’re touch… huh…?”

I released Stigma’s magic power, sending it inside Aileen’s body .

“Ah… hey, what did you do… I’m getting… sleepy… . ”

Those were her last words .

The barrier protecting us disappeared, but I didn’t need one anymore .

The reason was simple .

It was because the world’s most reliable ally had finally arrived .

“Oi . ”

A deep voice rang out behind me . I picked Aileen up and took a step back .

Cheok Jungyeong frowned .

“Why are you with that brat?”

“It just turned out this way . The enemy is in front of us . You can see him, right?”

“Yeah, there sure are a lot of them though . ”

His displeasure at seeing Aileen only lasted a moment, as a big grin emerged on his face .

He was simply happy to be able to fight . His opponent’s strength only made him excited .

—A new actor joins the fray .

“But what’s up with those guys? They all look the same . ”

Cheok Jungyeong asked as he cracked his knuckles .

“The guy’s a puppeteer . Oh, and a psychopath . ”

“Oh . ”

I didn’t need to give Cheok Jungyeong a detailed explanation . He nodded his head and began to stretch .

“So I just have to slaughter them all?”

“…Yeah . ”

Crack, crack .

As soon as Cheok Jungyeong finished stretching, Kain’s voice rang out .

—I am the art-loving maestro…

“Oh yeah?”

Cheok Jungyeong activated [Secret March] . His steel-like body turned even tougher .

“That’s great . ”

Cheok Jungyeong activated yet another skill .

Unique skill – [Infinite Magic]

A skill that gave its user an infinite supply of magic power . Once this skill was activated, Cheok Jungyeong was completely unrestrained .

“I’m the same . ”

Guooo… .

Blue aura erupted from Cheok Jungyeong’s body .

—I found the actor who can become a part of…

Cheok Jungyeong shot forward like a beast before Kain could even finish talking .

A terrifying ball of energy was concentrated on his huge hand .

“—!”

With the roar of a beast, he jumped into the sea of puppets . Although the puppets immediately began to counterattack, their attacks all scratched the air .

—…Shoot .

Kain’s flustered voice rang out .

“Kuhahaha—!”

Cheok Jungyeong’s laughter thundered .

He jammed his Energy Blast into the ground .

BOOM—!

The Energy Blast destroyed the ground with an earth-shaking rumble .

“Ha…”

Blasts of energy shot up like volcanic eruptions and destroyed the puppets .

I stared at the scene of destruction in a daze .

A cloud of dust rose up, hindering one’s normal field of vision .

I chased after Cheok Jungyeong with my Thousand-Mile Eyes . He was smashing one puppet after another with his bare hands . There was no gap in his movements, and once caught, no puppet could survive .

“Geez… . ”

His overwhelming battle prowess took me by surprise .

Cheok Jungyeong had gotten several times stronger than in the original story .

“—!”

Cheok Jungyeong roared once again amidst the rising torrent of magic power .

I caught sight of Cheok Jungyeong’s burning eyes . A chill immediately ran down my back .

**

[8F, Crevon – Knight Hall]

Meanwhile, Jin Sahyuk was in the middle of a boring meeting in Crevon . As its Knight Commander, she had to determine how to lead the knight order . Of course, she was only there to appear dignifying . The important talk was done by other staff members .

“Then in exchange for increasing the number of knights on night patrol, the royal court can increase welfare for the knights and their families… . ”

Jin Sahyuk shot up from her seat as soon as the discussion reached a decision .

“Okay, that’s the end of the meeting . ”

“Yes, Knight Commander . Ah, we still have to talk about the 9th floor . ”

“We can do that later . No, actually, just record your discussion in a crystal ball . I’ll look over it . ”

Jin Sahyuk shooed the staff members away with her hand . Was it because she just finished the 7th floor’s Unique Trait Reinforcement Surgery? She was especially sleepy today .

“““Yes, take care, Knight Commander!”””

“Haaam… . ”

Jin Sahyuk left the meeting room while yawning .

After walking down the Knight Hall’s stairs, she visited the stable . Her beloved steed, ‘Ataly’, neighed in happiness .

“Knight Commander Shin Jahyuk-nim?”

When she was about to hop on her trusted steed, a silvery voice rang out . Jin Sahyuk turned around .

“Rachel?”

Rachel was standing there . She gave Jin Sahyuk a gentle smile . It was the smile of a real noble, tender and not capricious . Looking at her, Jin Sahyuk decided to give her some time .

“What’s up?”

“Ah, there’s something I wanted to give you . ”

“You? To me?”

“Yes . ”

Jin Sahyuk tilted her head, as Rachel handed her a bracelet and a leather jacket .

“…What are these?”

She didn’t care much about the bracelet, but she liked the black leather jacket . Jin Sahyuk glanced at Rachel, then put the jacket on .

“Thanks, but why?”

Rachel answered without much thought, “It’s a memento . To celebrate you joining Club Fenrir . ”

“…Huh?”

“There’s a symbol of a wolf on the back . ”

“… . ”

Jin Sahyuk became speechless .

Club Fenrir . It was a group formed by fans of Kim Hajin .

“If you continue to work hard… . ”

Rachel glanced around for a moment, then whispered quietly .

“I can let you meet him . He owes me a small favor . ”

Jin Sahyuk was taken aback . But Rachel only smiled brightly .

…To explain this situation, a past event had to be explained .

‘Kim Hajin is Kindspring . ’ To resolve her suspicion, Jin Sahyuk had secretly asked Rachel about Kim Hajin .

At first, Rachel answered her without much thought . Kim Hajin was famous as ‘Fenrir’ and ‘Lotus Killer’, so it wasn’t surprising for someone to want to know about him .

But once Jin Sahyuk’s questioning increased, Rachel began to grow suspicious . Jin Sahyuk gave her the following excuse .

“I, I’m also Fenrir’s fan . ”

It was the best excuse she could come up with at the time .

In fact, she still couldn’t think of a better excuse .

Returning to the current situation at hand, Jin Sahyuk replied with an awkward smile .

“Uh, yeah, thanks . ”

“Do your best!”

Rachel smiled back and gave Jin Sahyuk a fighting pose . Jin Sahyuk stared at her dumbfoundedly and then nodded reluctantly .

“…Yeah, I will . ”

“Great . I’ll keep my promise too . ”’

“Uh, yeah… . ”

For some reason, Rachel had recently started to smile more often .

Of course, Jin Sahyuk wasn’t bothered by it . She had a good impression of Rachel, who never showed displeasure at her rude behavior and even gave up the Knight Commander seat to her .

“Okay . Then I’ll be returning to Earth now . ”

“Uh, yeah, take care . ”

Rachel went back to Earth after a short goodbye .

Whish—

The wind blew . Left alone, Jin Sahyuk stared at the bracelet in her hand . It was a simplistic bracelet with the symbol of a black wolf .

“Fan my ass… . ”

She was about to chuck it away…

“…Ehew . ”

But put it in her inventory instead .

There wasn’t much meaning behind it .

Jin Sahyuk herself didn’t know why .

She just did as she felt .

**

[28F – Demon King’s Castle]

Aileen slowly opened her eyes .

Was this Heaven or Hell? That was the first thing she wanted to know .

“…?”

But her body moved well for someone who was dead . The intense pain that bothered her disappeared as well .

“What’s going on?”

“Ah, you woke up?”

“Huh?”

Aileen widened her eyes at the sudden voice . Kim Hajin was staring at her from the side .

‘Why is he here…? Oh right, I was fighting the puppet guy with him . ’

She remembered the memory she had momentarily lost .

“Where are we…?”

Aileen asked carefully . They seemed to be in an enclosed space, like the inside of a tent . It felt comfortable and safe… were they back in the Colosseum?

“It’s a level 8 tent . We used it last time, remember?”

“Ah!”

Kim Hajin had prepared this tent knowing that he would have to sleep outside starting from the 27th floor . As the tent had an air-purifying functionality, Aileen could recover somewhat after resting here for 8 hours .

“Mmm… . ”

Aileen rubbed her eyes in a daze . She stretched a few times, then raised her upper body .

“…What happened?”

“You fainted, so I—”

“No, not that . I mean the crazy 8th-grade syndrome guy . ”

“Ah~”

Kim Hajin grinned .

“Look outside . ”

“Outside?”

Aileen crawled over and pushed the tent’s cloth entrance to the side .

“… . ”

Immediately, her mind blanked out .

She couldn’t understand the sight she was seeing .

It seemed as though a natural disaster had swept the land . Or perhaps, there was a stampede of a beast horde of thousands of monsters .

“W-What the…”

There were apocalyptic cracks all over the ground, with broken puppets littered everywhere .

“I told you to rest easy, didn’t I?”

Kim Hajin approached her . He handed her a pot that gave off a tantalizing smell .

“Eat . ”

“…What is it?”

“Porridge . ”

“… . ”

Aileen looked at Kim Hajin and thought, ‘I wasn’t in my best condition, but that puppet guy wasn’t weak . In fact, he was incredibly strong . Kim Hajin really did all this with just a gun? I thought this last time, but this guy… he really is super strong… . ’

Seeing Aileen in a daze, Kim Hajin picked up the porridge and fed her .

“Ah, what are you doing? I don’t want it… . ”

Aileen’s mouth said no, but her body said other otherwise .

The moment she tasted the porridge, her eyes widened . She immediately began to salivate .

“It’s good, right?”

“Uh… yeah, a bit . ”

Aileen nodded . Kim Hajin gave a bright smile .

“I’m glad . ”

Aileen’s heart skipped a beat when she saw this smile . She looked up at Kim Hajin with a slightly dazed expression .

“Here . ”

He gave her another spoonful of porridge, and Aileen carefully opened her mouth . A warm, aromatic porridge entered her mouth .

Nom, nom…

Aileen’s face was slightly flushed as she nibbled on the porridge . That was how good Kim Hajin’s cooking was .

**

[28F – Heart of the Demon King’s Castle]

Kim Suho’s party reached the heart of the castle after working through a maze and killing monsters . To be honest, it wasn’t all that difficult . The occasional monsters were all ordinary, so they were able to advance quickly and easily .

It was about time for something difficult to happen . Kim Suho’s party stepped forward with such a thought .

“…There’s someone there, Suho . ”

At that moment, Jin Seyeon pointed at a beautiful woman standing in front of a huge door .

“It’s the witch . ”

Kim Suho answered .

The woman in front of them was the same woman who had tricked them into entering the Colosseum .

—You’ve finally come .

The witch’s voice rang out .

Kim Suho and the others stopped to hear her out .

—I am here to test whether you have the qualifications to challenge the King .

Testing whether they were qualified . Everyone knew what this meant .

—…Now, follow me, everyone .

Kiiik .

The huge door opened, and the witch walked in .

Tip: You can use left, right, A and D keyboard keys to browse between chapters .