Chapter 35 ….
‘What…?’
As always, when Hyunjin entered the Demon Lord Dungeon, he felt something off the moment he passed through the gate.
A pungent, unpleasant stench.
Blood scattered across the field.
He had seen such scenes countless times before.
It was all too familiar.
But today, he couldn’t act with his usual cold composure.
Because the people of the Demon Lord Dungeon were gathered, weeping.
The dungeon, always peaceful, had been reduced to ruin.
“…What happened?”
Villagers and children crying. Orcs #1 and #2 lying down, applying herbs to their wounds.
As Hyunjin’s pale face assessed the situation, Griffith rose, his own face pale.
He had been applying herbs to the injured orcs just moments ago.
“Hyunjin.”
Hyunjin glanced around the dungeon with a dark expression.
The traces of battle extended far and wide.
‘If I remember correctly, there’s supposed to be a forest at the far end.’
Intermittent thuds echoed from that direction. The battle was ongoing, still in progress.
“An intruder has entered.”
“An intruder?”
“The Demon Lord said I can’t handle him, so she’s facing him alone. Over there, in the forest.”
Griffith’s face contorted in anguish.
For Griffith to struggle against them meant the intruder was at least S-rank.
Most likely a Hunter from the Hunter Association.
“He had red hair.”
“Someone I know.”
Hyunjin exhaled sharply and immediately headed across the field toward the forest.
Griffith grabbed him.
“Why?”
Griffith looked at Hyunjin desperately. In his blue eyes, indescribable grief flickered.
“…Please help the Demon Lord. I beg you.”
Griffith lowered his head. Hyunjin flinched and looked away.
The villagers, Gu, Saint Joanna, even the children surrounding the orcs were soaked in tears as they looked at him.
That gaze made Hyunjin feel something strange.
‘…Well, I’m not sure if my help is needed.’
Ana was strong. She wasn’t someone who would die instantly to AJ.
But at least… one thing was clear.
‘Kim Ana is loved by these people.’
She was irreplaceable here.
Something beyond even a ruler.
These people cared above all for Ana’s safety.
“…I’ll bring her back safely.”
Hyunjin nodded and hurried toward the forest where the battle raged.
KWAANG―!
AJ, flying through the air, slammed into a thick wooden pillar.
“Gah.”
The impact tore into his organs, and he vomited blood onto the floor. His forehead was cut open, blood streaming into his vision.
Thud… thud… Through his blurred vision, black boots approached.
Ana grabbed his hair, forcing his head up.
“Hey, let go of me…”
Through the mask’s eyeholes, her blood-red eyes glowed.
Initially dark, her eyes gradually turned red, vivid as fresh blood.
For the first time in battle with Ana, AJ realized he was outmatched.
‘I thought I could handle this at first… but why?’
Their skills had seemed even at the start.
AJ was genuinely surprised. To match someone this closely with an S-rank Hunter… The Demon Lord’s rank was [unmeasurable] by current techniques, but he assumed she was just one tier below him.
‘But maybe not.’
As her eyes darkened and clarity slipped away, he felt her sealed power explode.
Not just A-rank.
Beyond S-rank.
‘What the hell…?’
The longer the fight continued, the stronger she became. No, it was more accurate to say she grew ferocious.
Sharp tendrils shot toward his head as he lost himself in thought.
AJ barely managed to cut them off.
‘…There’s someone higher ranked than me?’
Behind her, black tendrils undulated like seaweed.
“Hey.”
She tightened her grip on his hair.
“You tend to charge in without thinking when angry, huh?”
The Demon Lord’s voice, devoid of pitch, sent shivers down his spine.
He couldn’t even imagine what expression lay behind that thick bone mask.
“Let go… Demon Lord.”
Gritting his teeth, AJ secretly pulled a poison-coated knife from his inventory.
‘I’m going to kill her.’
He couldn’t tolerate the existence of someone stronger than him.
Someone stronger than me? That had to die.
Burn everything—the land, the villagers who remembered his shame—everything.
“But what should I do…? I get more rational when I’m angry.”
“Shut up and die!”
AJ stabbed the poison-coated knife at her heart.
Or at least, he thought he did. A thin black membrane covered her chest, protecting her.
Ting.
The knife easily snapped in half. All of AJ’s weapons were shattered by her hardened shadow tendrils.
Ana picked up his knife with her other hand and crushed it entirely in her fist.
“Daydreaming?”
Wham!
“Argh!”
She slammed his head into a wooden pillar. His face was flattened, a scream escaping as the pain crushed his facial bones.
“I even warned you personally—why crawl in here?”
“Argh!”
“If you intended to touch my people, you should have come prepared for this.”
“Damn it!”
Her grip exceeded anything imaginable. The wound on his forehead split, blood soaking his eyes.
AJ swung his elbows.
Thud!
Crack! The upper part of her mask shattered.
Fragments fell, revealing her terrifying red eyes underneath.
She tilted her head without blinking.
The sight chilled him to the bone.
‘She’s gone mad… damn, her eyes have completely gone insane.’
The terrifying glow in her eyes left no trace of rationality.
As if another being had consumed her consciousness.
Then Ana twisted his arm in the opposite direction.
“AAAH!!”
“Don’t whine thinking a potion will fix it. You tried to kill all my people.”
“AAAH!!”
“This is mine.”
She sneered at him and kicked his abdomen.
Gurgle. With a deathlike moan, AJ flew up and crashed to the ground.
Rolling across the dirt, he got up quickly. Before he could take a potion, she charged.
AJ hastily drew the axe he had used earlier.
Screech!
With a sharp sound, black tendrils poured down. AJ drooped his injured arm, desperately blocking them.
Clang! Clang!
While the tendrils moved frantically, Ana muttered calmly.
“An opening.”
“!”
She kicked AJ’s side with her leg.
“Gah!”
As he fell to his knees in pain, Ana grabbed his head.
“Let go!”
Simultaneously, his head was slammed into the dirt again.
“Gah.”
At the same time, she swallowed something remaining in her mouth.
A blue window appeared, visible only to Ana.
[100%]
[‘Poisonous Mushroom’ ingestion 100% complete.]
[A new skill is unlocked.]
[New skill: Hell Path (地獄道)]
Kneeling on AJ to hold him down, she read the status window and curled her lips into a smirk. Seeing her like that made AJ struggle even more violently.
Ana didn’t move and asked.
“Hey, do you want me to show you?”
“W-what…?”
“Hell.”
“….”
“The place where guys like you go when they die. I’ll give you a little peek. Okay?”
“Hey, damn it.”
“I never liked that you didn’t value human life. I’ll fix that for you.”
“…Damn, l-let go!!”
“Yeah, this skill suits a guy like you perfectly.”
AJ frantically turned his eyes to her, trembling.
Then a tar-like sticky liquid oozed from beneath her black sleeve.
“If you touch my people, this is what happens. Got it?”
Ana secretly hoped he’d learn this lesson and report it to the Hunter Association. Even though he had lost control, she felt that way inside.
The liquid covered AJ’s eyes, seeped into his mouth, and crawled into his ears.
“Ugh… ugh…”
No! Argh!
His screams were swallowed by the black liquid entering his mouth.
AJ thrashed in agony.
And before him, hell unfolded.
