Chapter 138 …
Fortunately, it seemed we hadn’t arrived too late.
After ordering Orc No. 1 to assist Han Hyeonjin, Orc No. 2, No. 3, and I sprinted toward the bridge.
Of course, none of us had the skill to stylishly steal a car or create wings, so we suffered quite a bit running there on our own two legs.
And then, with perfect timing, we ran straight into it.
“Water Dragon!”
Azure scales, long, twisting white whiskers, and a huge, slick body like a giant eel.
The moment I saw it, I shouted as I dove straight into the Han River.
“Transform!!”
Sure, I could grow gigantic without shouting it out loud—but this was for the vibes.
The instant I grew to twice the height of the bridge, the water dragon whipped up a massive splash, sweeping people off the bridge. I immediately plunged my hand into the Han River and stirred it around, pulling people out.
Ahn Baekho was among them.
With my enormous palm, I churned the river and rescued around fifty people.
Soaked to the bone like drowned rats, they stared up at me with dazed expressions.
Some snapped back to their senses and fled in a hurry, while others…
“Th-thank you! I’ll never forget this kindness—never, really…!”
A middle-aged woman with a face streaked with tears bowed repeatedly to me while holding a drenched young girl, then hurried across the bridge.
I jerked my chin toward Ahn Baekho, who was left standing alone.
“You should go now. There’s going to be a fight from here on.”
As if on cue, the water dragon continued swimming threateningly through the Han River.
Ahn Baekho tilted his head and stared at my gigantic form for a long moment before speaking.
“Honestly… I think I understand a little now why Hunter Han Hyeonjin kept entering the Demon King Dungeon.”
“Huh?”
“It’s nothing.”
With an expression I couldn’t quite read—somewhere between conflicted and thoughtful—he bowed politely and left, following my instructions.
While Orc No. 2 and No. 3 searched the bridge for anyone left behind, I clenched my fists and cracked my joints.
After all… that bastard was circling me nonstop, generating ominous waves around us.
It moved like an apex predator stalking its prey.
Yeah, well—too bad. I’m one level above you.
Just as I finished loosening my fists and rolling my wrists, the creature that had been lurking underwater sprang up with a towering column of water.
Kyaaaaaak—!!
It lunged at me with its jaws stretched wide enough to swallow an entire building. Razor-sharp fangs glinted.
As water splashed over me, I immediately activated a skill.
[Skill: Hellfire (Karma Flame)]
Flames that burn everything.
Now wasn’t the time to waste.
No matter how many people were sent, this was a fight between Baek Junhyeok and Han Hyeonjin. I needed to get to him as soon as possible.
I intended to roast the water dragon whole on my way—
Kiek, kieeek!
Amazingly, even while being scorched by my flames, the creature endured and snapped straight for my arm.
“Gah!!”
No matter how much of a Demon King I was, getting pierced by those sharp fangs was definitely going to hurt.
I half-collapsed and braced myself against the bridge.
Crunch—when I reflexively grabbed and bent part of the steel structure, Orc No. 2 and No. 3 staggered backward in panic.
“Demon King!!”
“I’m fine!”
“We’re the ones who won’t be if this keeps up!!”
“You little—!”
“If the bridge collapses, we die!!”
I drove my knee straight into the water dragon’s jaw.
A massive tentacle extending from my body sliced through the Han River and wrapped tightly around the creature.
But its slick body slipped free of my grasp like a loach.
“Damn it… is it resistant to fire because it’s a water dragon?”
What a nuisance. This is getting annoying.
I needed to finish this quickly and go help Han Hyeonjin!
“Demon King, calm down! Think this through!”
“I’m always calm!”
Just as I was about to use Hellfire again, the creature vanished beneath the Han River.
I couldn’t exactly burn down the entire city just to catch it.
So I waited.
After all, it would come back to me eventually.
Okay—calmness, check.
Now it was time to use my head.
‘If it were Han Hyeonjin… what would he do…?’
If there was a symbol of calm thinking, it was Han Hyeonjin.
And on top of that, he was the protagonist of this world.
Naturally, my thoughts turned to him.
The guy who crushed monsters no matter what, whether they ended up as soup or rice.
As I thought of Han Hyeonjin, it felt like… a solution was starting to take shape.
The water dragon circled around me. Its blue scales repeatedly surfaced and sank beneath the water.
It looked like it was taunting me—but that was fine.
I was waiting for my moment.
“Whew.”
After steadying my breath, I slowly stretched an arm into the air. Tentacles extended from my body and gathered at my fingertips, gradually taking form.
In an instant, I shaped them into a massive, jet-black sword.
It was an imitation of Han Hyeonjin’s Ego Sword.
“Alright….”
I gripped the enormous blade with both hands.
And then—
Kyaaaaaak—!!
The water dragon, brimming with malice, burst through the surface.
Its open maw lunging toward me was fairly intimidating, but to the perfectly calm and composed me, it was no problem at all.
“Ultimate Demon King Strike!!”
Honestly, I didn’t even need to name it.
It had no special effect—it was just a brute-force swing! I named it for flair!
I swung the sword horizontally at the charging water dragon.
Whooom—
The heavy blade cleaved through the air.
The sensation from when I’d used Han Hyeonjin’s Ego Sword to save Lucy came back to me.
Han Hyeonjin silently slicing the human-faced beast cleanly in half overlapped with my vision.
After my swing, the water dragon froze stiff in midair.
Then, a moment later—
Crack—
A long horizontal fissure appeared across its ferocious face.
The creature split cleanly in two and plummeted downward.
Splash—!
Its massive body crashed into the Han River, sending up a wave so large that water splashed up to my gigantic chest.
I looked down at the monster floating limply on the river’s surface.
I neither had the time nor the ability to purify such a high-grade monster.
It would’ve been nice if it could’ve become an ally… but it was probably brainwashed by Baek Junhyeok anyway.
Setting aside my regret, I twirled the sword once like Han Hyeonjin and shook it clean.
Still—fighting like that felt pretty cool.
If Han Hyeonjin had seen it, he would’ve fallen for me all over again…
Feeling secretly proud, I was wiping my nose when—
“Orc, help! Gurgle!!”
“I—I knew this would happen… please save me!! Blugh!”
Huh?
I turned my head to see the orcs flailing helplessly in the Han River.
“…What.”
When did those guys get swept away?
The moment he passed through the suspicious gate beneath the Association, Han Hyeonjin opened his eyes in an unfamiliar dungeon.
It was a dark dungeon illuminated by a faint blue glow.
Judging by the lack of any presence, it seemed to be a privately controlled dungeon owned by the Association.
That didn’t mean he could let his guard down.
[Be careful, Han Hyeonjin. I sense something twisted and sinister.]
At the Ego Sword’s warning, Han Hyeonjin quietly nodded.
He felt it too.
It was different from the aura Baek Junhyeok gave off.
What is this?
The dungeon consisted of a long, tunnel-like cavern.
As he felt his way forward through the darkness, Hyeonjin suddenly recalled a conversation he’d had with Ana before parting ways at the National Assembly building.
More precisely, the words Ana had spoken as she grabbed him before he left.
“Be careful, Han Hyeonjin. Baek Junhyeok—that guy isn’t normal. No… I guess I should say he’s not a normal human.”
“Not a normal human?”
“…Would you believe me if I said he’s someone who’s repeated his life hundreds of times?”
A shadow crossed Ana’s face.
Unlike her usual cheerful self, she looked deadly serious.
“The one he’s targeting isn’t me—it’s you, Han Hyeonjin. So be even more careful.”
Her serious expression lingered in his mind.
He hadn’t had time to hear the full explanation, but he felt he understood what she meant.
Ever since waking up on Earth a hundred years later, he and Baek Junhyeok had been locked in a cycle of bad blood. Sometimes, whenever Baek Junhyeok looked at him, Hyeonjin sensed a hatred far deeper than his own.
Lost in thought, he continued down the tunnel until the end came into view.
A faint light spilled into the passage.
“That’s….”
At the end of the tunnel was a wide, open space like a clearing.
There stood Baek Junhyeok, side by side with a suspicious machine.
Han Hyeonjin silently raised his sword.
Baek Junhyeok lifted his head to meet his gaze.
“So you’ve finally come, Han Hyeonjin.”
The moment he saw that scene, Han Hyeonjin knew.
Perhaps today was the day their long, bitter entanglement would finally end.
Han Hyeonjin and Baek Junhyeok faced each other, both prepared to die.
