Chapter 30: Lord of the Flies (1)  

The S-rank dungeon ‘Stairway of Sighs’ fused with Lotte Tower.  

In the process, the internal structure of Lotte Tower became completely jumbled.  

But only the 1st floor lobby lounge maintained its original position and structure.  

Milky marble floor, antique red carpet, and the chandelier’s colorful lights.  

The 1st floor lounge that once gave elegant first impressions to Lotte Tower visitors.  

Now it was.  

KWABANG-! KWAKWAKWAKWAKWABANG! KWAKWABANG-!  

A battlefield filled with flying marble fragments, thick dust clouds, gas, and flames.  

Floors and walls gouged deeply as if scratched by giant claws.  

The ceiling with huge holes vibrated precariously, as if about to collapse any moment.  

A red-haired woman shouted irritably.  

“Hey! Cheok Junseong! What are you gonna do? Huh!?”  

A+ rank 6th, Red Mage Tower Lord Shin Sodam glared at Cheok Junseong with furrowed brows.  

Cheok Junseong straightened his sword and muttered.  

“I’ll defeat it.”  

“Hey, you idiot! Can’t you read the situation? Can’t you see that!?”  

Where Shin Sodam pointed, about twenty hunters lay collapsed.  

A-rank and B-rank veteran hunters assembled for the Lotte Tower conquest. All gravely injured, barely clinging to life.  

Then.  

…STEP. ..STEP. …STEP.  

Something began slowly walking out from the darkness opposite.  

Black mana swirling around it like a vortex.  

…..STEP.. .STEP.  

…….STEP.  

Soon, a knight in black armor emerged through the murky currents.  

<Death Lord>  

– Danger Level: S  

– Discovery Location: Sincheon-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul Special City ‘Stairway of Sighs’  

Lord of death granted the authority of Gluttony by the great demon ‘Beelzebub’.  

His authority transforms the surrounding area into a land of death where life cannot settle, spreading burning thirst and insatiable hunger to nearby living beings.  

The pinnacle of Death Knights, the Death Lord.  

A bona fide S-rank ultra-high-tier magical beast.  

Soon, the Death Lord began eyeing the fallen hunters.  

[……………..]  

Sunken cheeks and deeply hollow eyes.  

Skin dried and blackened to a crisp.  

A form reminiscent of an ancient Egyptian mummy.  

Meanwhile.  

AEEEEENG-! AENG-! AEAEAENG-!  

As the Death Lord approached, a chilling sound rang out clearly.  

Soon, the black armor enveloping the Death Lord began WRIGGLING.  

AEAEAEAEAEAEAENG~!  

The black armor covering the Death Lord’s entire body.  

Its true nature was tens of thousands of swarming flies clumped together.  

Soon, the collapsed hunters let out pained groans.  

“HUK, HUK, HUK!”  

“KRRGH! UGH!”  

“W-Water…….”  

Hunters clutching their throats and chests in agony.  

Except for Cheok Junseong and Shin Sodam, the rest were crushed by the S-rank beast’s immense mana, unable even to breathe properly.  

Watching this, Shin Sodam frowned and snapped.  

“Hey, if you leave them like that, they’ll all die?”    

“Got a sword jammed in your ear!? I said retreat! Can’t tell courage from recklessness? Got a brain issue?”  

“I ”  

“What did you eat to get so stubborn? Fine, how are you gonna defeat it? Let’s hear it, huh? ‘Slice it to death’. Say that and I’ll burn every hair on your head, seriously!”  

Every time Shin Sodam raged, red embers CRACKLED around her.  

Soon, Cheok Junseong slowly spoke.  

“Shin Sodam. The Lotte Tower conquest has failed. Take the injured and escape.”  

“Oh, now we’re talking. But what’s with the commanding tone?”  

Cheok Junseong looked at Shin Sodam with a serious expression.  

“I’ll hold it back. I can last about 3 minutes.”  

……What?  

“Tell my master I’m sorry. Please.”  

“Oh, bullshit. Seriously……!”  

Shin Sodam irritably ruffled her hair.  

She pointed at an A-rank hunter and continued.  

“You! The one in relatively good shape! Said you’re A-rank 17th? Take the injured and get out now! Tell the Association to scrape together every A+ hunter they’ve got! Hurry!”  

The instructed hunter began fleeing with the injured.  

Shin Sodam and Cheok Junseong immediately assumed combat stances.  

But.  

[…….]  

The Death Lord merely watched the hunters escape.  

With an indifferent expression, like observing insects in a jar.  

Only empty red glow emanated from its hollow eyes.  

Then Cheok Junseong spoke, eyes fixed on the Death Lord.  

“Why stay?”  

“What are you saying, idiot. I don’t take orders from weaker people? And…….”  

At that moment, six red mana rings appeared above Shin Sodam’s head.  

“Red Mage Tower Lord Shin Sodam fled abandoning Swordmaster Cheok Junseong. Try spreading that rumor. Our guild master would crush it?”  

“…Thank you. Shin Sodam.”  

“UWEGH, ‘Thaaank yooou~ Shiiin Sooodaaam~’. So gross, shut up. So what’s the plan? You’ve got one, right?”  

Cheok Junseong thought briefly and answered.  

“I was going to slice until it fell. Originally.”  

“Crazy psycho. Why did I stay? Damn…… should’ve just left.”  

“But with you here, we can use a different strategy.”  

Cheok Junseong pointed at the Death Lord and continued.  

“Did you notice? It hasn’t defended at all since earlier. Taking my sword strikes and your magic directly with its body.”  

“So what? Plenty of brain-dead monsters sacrifice defense for all-out attack. Orc berserkers. That ogre legion we took down last time. Didn’t expect an S-rank to be like that. Wait…… no way, you want to do that again?”  

Shin Sodam recalled a few months ago.  

When they wiped out over 100 ogres.  

The moment Swordmaster and Red Mage Tower Lord linked their ultimates like a combo.  

Before Shin Sodam could reply, Cheok Junseong kicked off the ground and charged.  

“Then I’ll buy time.”  

Golden radiance began blooming from Cheok Junseong’s sword tip.  

HUM- HUMHUM- HUM-  

Sticky condensed aura wrapped around the blue blade like liquid.  

Aura nearly solid in form.  

It clearly showed Cheok Junseong had reached the pinnacle of Graduate, just below Swordmaster.  

Soon. Cheok Junseong’s golden blade surged toward the Death Lord.  

“Goksan Cheok Style 1st Form: Iron-Cleaving Flash”  

The golden blade swept horizontally through the surroundings.  

-SWHOOOOOOOOOSH!  

The swarming flies around the Death Lord were torn apart and vanished.  

But only briefly.  

WHOOOOOSH WHOOOOOSH WHOOOOOSH WHOOOOOSH-  

The Death Lord’s wounds healed in the blink of an eye.  

[………]  

The Death Lord stared fixedly at Cheok Junseong.  

Rotten, decayed features.  

And hollow eyes.  

In the empty sockets, neither joy, sorrow, anger, pain—nothing could be felt.  

All of it.  

The Death Lord slowly raised its hand.  

Then gently, very lightly, swung a hand chop toward Cheok Junseong.  

Then.  

KWAKWAKWAKWAKWAKWAKWAKWAKWAK~!  

A crescent-shaped sword energy erupted from the Death Lord’s fingertips.  

Black sword energy erasing everything in its path as it charged.  

Cheok Junseong swung his sword from top to bottom, then bottom to top.  

「Goksan Cheok Style 2nd Form: Returning Wheel」  

A golden vortex surged upward to counter the Death Lord’s slash.  

KWAKWABANG-! KWAKWAKWAKWABANG-!  

As the two sword energies clashed and raged, the surrounding area was sliced, exploded, and gouged.  

Blood began flowing from Cheok Junseong’s eyes, nose, mouth, and ears.  

“Shin Sodam! How much longer!?”  

Meanwhile, at that moment.  

Shin Sodam was engraving a complex magic circle on the floor with red dye from her inventory.  

After completing the circle, she began drawing red runes on her hands, backs of hands, and arms.  

“Don’t rush me! This is why sword-swinging idiots suck. Think magic’s just juice? 6th class magic just POOF POOF? Huh? CHEW- At least give me time to install ActiveX, plugins, and log in with a public certificate?”  

Incantations for mages are usually long and complex.  

Thus, mages often omit incantations and use silent casting.  

But silent casting only works for lower-tier magic.  

For 6th class or higher, incantations are mandatory.  

Incantations suppress mana runaway and properly form the spell—a safety device.  

And what drastically simplifies such inconvenient incantations is the magic circle.  

The spell she was casting was the strongest 6th class high-tier magic she could use.  

An original skill created by Shin Sodam herself.  

Soon, Shin Sodam pulled dozens of potions from her inventory.  

23 IV-form potions into arms and neck.  

36 types of powder, pills, and liquids through the mouth.  

18 patch-type supplements on joints.  

“Hey, Cheok Junseong! If doping reports come later, I’m blaming you! CHEW!”  

ROIDED Shin  

Her pupils turned red, and lava-like crimson energy began BUBBLING around the magic circle.  

BUBBLE BUBBLE BUBBLE BUBBLE BUBBLE BUBBLE BUBBLE……  

The six red mana rings merged into a massive mana ring.  

Meanwhile.  

CLANG-! CLING-! CLAAAANG-! CLANG-!  

Every time the Death Lord swung its hand, black slashes flew.  

Cheok Junseong barely blocked them.  

“Shin Sodam! Hurry! Come on……!”  

“Almost done, stop nagging! Muscle-brain!”  

Shin Sodam formed a triangle with her hands.  

WHOOSH-!  

A giant eyeball made of flames appeared in the gap.  

Soon, Shin Sodam concentrated all her mana into her hands.  

Red mana flowing along her palm lines BUBBLED like lava, filling the magic circle.  

A moment later.  

-WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH!  

A massive lava sphere formed above Shin Sodam’s head.  

It resembled the sun.  

Soon, Shin Sodam’s eyes blazed with terrifying momentum.  

「Red Secret Art 1st Fusion: Neutron Bomb」  

FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH~! BUBBLE BUBBLE BUBBLE BUBBLE BUBBLE BUBBLE BUBBLE……!  

Flies touching the crimson flames burned with an acrid smell and vanished.  

The lava wave soon reached Cheok Junseong and the Death Lord.  

Cheok Junseong raised his sword high as if waiting.  

Goksan Cheok Style 8th Form: Returning Wheel Dark Light Slash  

The golden aura wrapping the blade swirled and soared.  

The towering sword current and wave of flames merged.  

Soon, a massive storm of light formed at Cheok Junseong’s sword tip.  

KWAKWAKWAKWAKWA!  

The baptism of flames swallowed the Death Lord.  

Marble floor CRACKED and shattered, ceiling structures torn away by the storm.  

Burning, distorting, crumpling.  

Soon, the heat storm and flames compressed into a single point and began vanishing.  

KURRRRRRRRRRR!  

A sight like a star’s death throes scaled down.  

All that remained was a massive crater in the ruins.  

Through the fading heat and smoke, Cheok Junseong and Shin Sodam spoke.  

“Historic firepower.”  

“Of course! Whose magic is it!”  

But at that moment.  

WHOOOOOSH WHOOOOOSH WHOOOOOSH WHOOOOOSH WHOOOOOSH  

Something wavered where the smoke cleared.  

BUZZ BUZZBUZZBUZZBUZZBUZZBUZZ!  

It was a biological shield formed by countless flies.  

Soon, the Death Lord walked out from behind the dispersing swarm.  

Completely unscathed—no burns, no scratches.  

Even Swordmaster and Red Mage Tower Lord’s combined ultimate did nothing.  

And that wasn’t the only problem.  

PSSSHHHHHH-  

Dark blue smoke began filling the surroundings.  

It poured relentlessly from the burned fly corpses.  

Only then did Shin Sodam hurriedly cover her nose and mouth.  

…..Poison gas!? Since when?’  

But it was already too late—she had inhaled it.  

Her legs gave out instantly, vision fogging like mist.  

-THUD!  

Shin Sodam collapsed to her knees.  

Something crushed her throat; she could barely breathe.  

“HUK…… HUK…….”  

Shin Sodam desperately concentrated mana in her fingertips.  

But the flames gathering there scattered powerlessly.  

Cheok Junseong stood upright, eyes wide open but unconscious.  

Soon.  

STEP STEP STEP STEP-  

The Death Lord began walking.  

Black flies swarming around like vanguard.  

The Death Lord’s black eye sockets fixed on Cheok Junseong and Shin Sodam.  

Suddenly, one word flashed clearly in Shin Sodam’s mind.  

Death.  

At the same time.  

“……! ……! ……!”  

A heavy, sticky emotion welled up like never before.  

Despair and fear crept up her body.  

Had she ever faced such an overwhelming existence?  

An ant.  

Before the Death Lord, she was no different from an ant.  

Her limbs trembled uncontrollably, tears streaming.  

STEP STEP STEP STEP-  

Regardless, the Death Lord did not stop.  

‘D-Don’t wanna die. Someone……. please, help…….’  

At that moment.  

KWAKWAKWAKWAKWAKWAKWAKWAKWABOOM-!  

A crescent-shaped black sword energy sliced ceiling and floor in a straight line, charging toward the Death Lord.  

Swarming flies were sliced and POPPED.  

Even as they died, the flies spewed dark blue poison relentlessly.  

But.  

KURRRRRRR~!  

The black sword energy devoured even the poison and advanced.  

Soon reaching the Death Lord.  

The Death Lord immediately raised its hand and grasped the slash.  

CRUNCH!  

Then crushed and extinguished it in one grip.  

Shin Sodam couldn’t help but feel a strange dissonance.  

It was the first time the Death Lord had defended.  

At that moment, a clear, pure voice rang from the far side of the lobby.  

“Long time no see. Lord Vinsfeldt.”  

Shin Sodam turned toward the voice.  

In her eyes: black hair fluttering in the wind.  

And white bones covering the entire body.  

“A Death Knight?”  

That was Shin Sodam’s last words before losing consciousness.