Chapter 18: A Sprout Raised by Beatings Grows Beautifully (2)
...Patzjik!
Electricity crackled.
A hundred-thousand-volt roast chicken.
That was the name of the rotisserie chicken place back in his neighborhood.
Two birds for 5,000 won.
Others said it was cheap.
But for his family, it had been suffocatingly expensive.
Still, he supposed he should’ve been grateful they could afford it for Grandma’s seventieth birthday. But for some reason, the memory of that chicken felt unusually vivid today.
Maybe because now he was the one being roasted?
"……."
Thinking that, Kim Jangcheol raised his head. He quickly assessed the situation.
'Got it!'
The hand he had just pressed against the wall.
He had deliberately inflicted a wound on his palm earlier. Using the blood that flowed from it, he unleashed Bloody Lightning. A violent spark surged along the bloodstains he had preemptively smeared all over the wall.
...Parkcheut!
Across the wall.
Along the ceiling.
Toward the Triple-Faced Ghosts that had seeped in at various points.
The searing might of electric power burst forth.
'……!'
The Triple-Faced Ghosts couldn’t even scream. They had just realized what mistake they’d made—what misunderstanding they’d been under—but it was far too late.
‘M-Madness…!’
‘We thought he hadn’t grasped us at all…!’
‘It was the opposite!’
‘That Demon Lord bastard understood us too well…!’
‘……Kraaaaagh!’
The Triple-Faced Ghosts, who had dared to toy with the Demon Lord by slipping into the walls and ceiling, now thrashed in agony. They desperately wanted to escape. But it was impossible. The sheer force of the attack had stripped away their ability to move.
A shock so intense it seemed to burn the very essence of their souls.
A blow so absolute, resistance was futile.
"……!"
Having taken critical damage, the Triple-Faced Ghosts fell from the walls and ceiling. Like mosquitoes suddenly doused with insecticide, they dropped to the floor, twitching helplessly.
Thanks to that, Kim Jangcheol...
‘Huh?’
Flinched.
And felt a serious sense of unease.
‘Why... why aren’t they dead?’
He swallowed dryly and stared at the Triple-Faced Ghosts. They twitched in reply from the floor.
They looked like they were about to die—but they hadn’t.
In gaming terms, they were in a “sliver of health” state.
The moment he saw that, Kim Jangcheol muttered under his breath before he could stop himself.
‘…I’m screwed?’
He thought he’d be able to kill them all in one blow.
But he hadn’t.
Why?
He could guess two reasons.
‘I can only use 20 percent of Credos’ magic power… so the full force didn’t come out. And also…’
It seemed the lightning had dispersed as it flowed across the wall and ceiling.
So the Triple-Faced Ghosts hadn’t died in one hit.
Then should he use Lightning again?
No.
‘That last strike burned away all the blood I’d smeared on the walls and ceiling.’
It had been a one-time use.
There was no recycling it.
And then...
"…Kaaahaaaack!"
The Triple-Faced Ghosts, writhing on the floor in their sliver-of-health state, suddenly let out monstrous howls. Their entire bodies twitched wildly like an anaconda struck with a knife. Their color began to redden.
Kim Jangcheol recognized the phenomenon well.
‘Possession Spirits.’
Kadedeuk!
He ground his teeth.
The moment he recalled the word Possession Spirit, he launched forward. He charged at the nearest Triple-Faced Ghost undergoing transformation and smashed its three heads in rapid succession.
Puck! Peok! Ppakak!
"…Kehk!"
The Triple-Faced Ghost mid-transformation into a Possession Spirit took the final blow. At last, it vanished, dissipating like smoke.
But the rest weren’t so easy.
“Kyaaaahaaack!”
“Kruruk! Karuk!”
The Triple-Faced Ghosts, once convulsing helplessly, were gone. In their place: 107 frenzied Possession Spirits in a sliver-of-health state now running wild!
"……!"
This was serious.
This was bad.
Kim Jangcheol realized it the moment he saw them.
‘Of all things, why did the lightning have to hit just hard enough to trigger possession transformation…?’
He should have killed them outright.
Or struck them a little softer.
Then they wouldn’t have become Possession Spirits.
But there was no use lamenting now. The only option was to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.
Kwa-jak!
Kim Jangcheol broke down the storage room door and emerged.
Then he shouted toward the Agricultural Corps members and Baal, who had been surrounding the storage room.
“Possession Spirits! Everyone! Prepare for battle!”
The unique trait of the First Star Lord’s legionaries: Possession Spirit.
Not knowing about it meant certain defeat.
That was what Possession Spirits were.
Once in that state, all rationality vanished.
Only primal instinct remained, seeking out nearby lifeforms. They would possess a target’s body, steal their flesh, and drain their life force.
And then?
The victim would experience rapid aging.
Meanwhile, the Possession Spirit would fully replenish its health. It would even steal one of the victim’s traits. Only then would it discard the now-useless body like an empty shell and depart.
With its health completely restored.
“……”
That was one of the reasons why clearing the Cliffs of the Dead in the First Star Lord’s territory was considered such hellish difficulty.
And now, that trait was being demonstrated in full force.
“Kahaaargh!”
“…Hkehahk!”
The 107 Possession Spirits, fully transformed, began rampaging in every direction. Drawn to nearby sources of vibrant life. They detected the fresh vitality of the Agricultural Corps' Demon youth association and charged like a school of piranhas out for flesh.
They did the same to Kim Jangcheol.
“Kihyaaaack!”
“You crazy—! Thunder!”
Bajak!
Kim Jangcheol dispatched the seven Possession Spirits rushing toward him in an instant. He had already memorized their attack patterns inside and out. Thanks to that, he eliminated all seven without a scratch.
But the others?
‘Will they be okay?’
A worried thought.
He looked around.
In that moment, he spotted it.
“Baal! Fight!”
Fwhooo-kahhhaaaak—!
Baal’s ridiculously massive twin-bladed axe tore through the air like it owned the space. With one wide, devastating sweep, four Possession Spirits were sent to the afterlife, hand-in-hand.
That wasn’t all.
“What are we?!”
“Agricultural Corps! Youth Association!”
“And what are we like?!”
“Cutie and sexy!”
Kwah-aang!
Everywhere, the young members of the Agricultural Corps were rampaging. They charged head-on at the Possession Spirits that looked ready to devour them, launching counterattacks with even more demonic faces than the spirits themselves.
Thanks to that, the bloodthirsty Possession Spirits…
“Kahaaaack… Kehk?”
Twohak!
…melted away helplessly in the face of flames spewed from a young demon’s mouth. Another was shredded by a member’s claws. One was even bitten back.
In short, the Agricultural Corps members were by no means losing to the Possession Spirits. If anything, they were overpowering them!
Seeing that, Kim Jangcheol came to a sudden realization.
“Ah.”
Come to think of it, these Agricultural Corps members…
They were super high-level mobs in the game too.
In fact, this place—Chavín de Huántar—was directly ruled by the Demon Lord Credos. In the game, this was the final stage, a zone even more difficult than the Cliffs of the Dead in the First Star Lord’s territory.
Whether it was Possession Spirits or anything else…
It made perfect sense the Agricultural Corps wouldn’t fall easily.
‘Then… what about Zephyros?’
Suddenly, he remembered that nagging adjutant. And the fact that guy’s level was only 15.
‘Where is he?’
With concern, Kim Jangcheol looked around. But Zephyros was nowhere to be seen. Just moments ago, he had been right beside Baal. He’d even been instructed to stay there. So where had he gone in this chaos?
“Hey! Where’s Zephyros?”
He ran to Baal and asked.
Baal, busy stomping three Possession Spirits, tilted his head.
“Hmm? Baal doesn’t know!”
“Hey! What do you mean you don’t know?!”
“But Baal was fighting so hard, Baal didn’t notice!”
“What about before the fight? Was he next to you?”
“Yes!”
“And right after the fighting started?”
“No idea! Baal swung axe because enemies rushed in! Fighting is fun again after long time!”
“……”
Kim Jangcheol’s expression stiffened.
Zephyros, who had been clinging to Baal right before the battle. And Baal, who had immediately gone wild, swinging his axe without a second thought the moment the fight began.
Then…
‘No way.’
Had Zephyros gotten caught in Baal’s attack?
‘That would be bad.’
Though annoying at times, Zephyros was one of the few reliable brains within the Demon Lord’s forces. On top of that, compared to the Four Great Demon Generals who constantly schemed to take his life, he was one of the rare companions Kim Jangcheol could relax around.
‘Damn it.’
A surge of anxiety hit him.
He frantically scanned his surroundings.
Fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—he didn’t see any pieces of Zephyros’ body lying around, cut in half by Baal’s axe. Instead, he spotted something odd.
‘…Hmm?’
Not too far away.
About thirty steps ahead.
Something on the ground glinted faintly. The silhouette was oddly familiar. Glasses. One of the lenses was shattered.
Ta-at!
The moment he saw it, he dashed toward it.
No doubt about it.
Those were Zephyros’ glasses.
‘Then that guy…?’
The spot where Baal had been fighting.
The spot where the glasses were found.
Drawing a straight line between the two.
He sprinted along it. Looking in every direction. Just in case. Desperately hoping. Thanks to that, he soon spotted him.
Zephyros—right on the verge of being devoured by a Possession Spirit.
"……!"
Blood streamed down Zephyros’ forehead.
It was probably from getting caught in Baal’s wild swing. Somehow, he had narrowly avoided being split in half—no, he had avoided a fatal wound, and instead had been flung through the air, landing where he was now.
And now, a Possession Spirit had found him.
“Zephyros!”
He shouted as he ran.
The adjutant turned toward him. His face pale. The huge, gaping maw of the Possession Spirit was about to swallow him whole.
‘Shit!’
Too late.
He was about to be eaten.
But it was too far.
He wanted to help.
He had to save him.
Bloody Lightning? No. Too far. Out of range. And Zephyros was too close to the Possession Spirit—he might get caught in the blast. Then… what to do?
He ran with all his might.
He racked his brain.
Desperately thinking.
The distance was still too great.
Zephyros, on the brink of being devoured.
Was there no way to save him?
He wanted to help.
But nothing came to mind.
‘Damn it!’
He panicked.
He had to do something.
Anything that could deal damage.
The Possession Spirit was fierce, but it only had a sliver of health left.
One clean hit would do it.
So…
In desperation, he reached out.
He grabbed whatever was nearby on the ground.
And hurled it with all his strength.
“Please—!”
Kwahahk!
The object Kim Jangcheol picked up in desperation—
He’d thought it was a rock, but it turned out to be something else.
A potato that had rolled near the storage room soared through the air. It carved the trajectory of a fastball fueled by desperation, smacking the back of the Possession Spirit’s head just as it was about to devour Zephyros. A perfect strike zone.
Even hit all three heads with a triple-cushion shot.
Ppap-papak!
“…Kahk?”
In that unexpected final blow—
The Possession Spirit was forcefully possessed by the object—a living organism—known as a potato. With a slurp, it was sucked right into it.
Churup!