The Berserker’s Second Playthrough in the Game - Chapter 119



Only Krnovel

Episode 119. The Star that Pierces the Truth (4)

The devil sat silently in the darkness.

The attire was a black robe, with a pair of horns visible above the hood pulled up inside out. He was holding a staff with a real human head on it, and despite being in such a state, he occasionally let out moans of pain, as if he was not dead.

“Hehe, hehe… … .”

– … … .

The devil is a cunning and sensitive being.

This was especially true in this devilish case.

Not long ago, the demons of the Alliance Territory were in a frenzy. It went on a rampage, destroying even places it would not normally touch, and eventually swallowed up the entire city of Soltana and used it as a base.

It was understandable. After all, a high-ranking demon had descended after a long time. And not just any ordinary high-ranking demon, but the demon of life and death, ‘Febillatus’, who reigned as one of the living legends in Hell.

There was no demon stronger than Pevilatus in hell. However, there was no devil as powerful as Pevillatus. The descent of a famous high-ranking devil who had risen from an insignificant low-level devil to just below the top of hell, and his order to lay waste to the eastern part of the continent like a demonic landscape, were enough to make the blood of all devils boil.

But even in the meantime, this devil did not lose his cool.

Humans are not stupid. Normally, they are helpless, but when demons cross the line, they always come up with outrageous deterrent measures. That was no exception 300 years ago, when the Great Devil, the supreme devil of all evil, descended on the Demon World. At that time, he had personally died once, so the devil knew that fact painfully well.

So, the demon, while associating with the maddened crowd, deliberately did not receive the blessing of Pebillatus. Instead, he steadily gathered pain and despair and searched for an escape route. The moment the ‘absurd suppression measures’ reached Soltana, he was ready to be expelled at that very moment.

Has it been about two months like that?

Indeed, the devil’s prediction was correct.

No, to be precise… … She misunderstood that she had hit the mark a little early.

Seeing the elders and battle mages of the Magic Tower entering Soltana, the demon thought that a deterrent had been introduced and immediately ran away. As a result, Pevillatus died and the outbreak ended… … The devil couldn’t help but think that his judgment was right.

In any case, the demon had been gathering a lot of pain and despair throughout its rampage. It was only one step away from promotion. While wandering wherever its feet took it, it found a village called Quirn, sealed it off, and with the pain and despair it had gained, it reached the realm of a ‘higher level demon’ that it had longed for.

It’s not that there weren’t saboteurs. As soon as I achieved my promotion, a wizard came to visit me. The bastard treated himself like a desirable trophy and went hunting.

‘It was worth the wait. Finally, I have two horns. Now all I have to do is kill you and take you to the magic tower… … .’

So the devil ripped the guy’s head, spine included, and made a staff out of it.

“Hehe, hehehe… … .”

– You’re so noisy about this topic. Be quiet and close your mouth before I rip out your tongue.

“… … .”

A ‘high-level devil’ is a being that has reached perfection. Even high-ranking wizards who mastered demon hunting were no longer a match for demons.

The demon realized that he was much stronger than before. He also realized that the despair of a wizard was more valuable than that of a normal human. He had originally planned to leave right after his promotion, but he thought that it wouldn’t be a bad idea to stay here for a while and turn the wizards who came to visit into living wands.

But around that time, I sensed something unexpected.

– Hmm… … ?!

The sensation of the curtain that had been carefully erected on Quirn suddenly being shattered.

Woohoo!

He quickly drew a magic circle and activated his detection magic. And then the devil saw a face that was not so unfamiliar.

– No, that guy… … !?

300 years ago, the berserker who was with the priestess who trapped him in a shamanic space and killed him… …

… … An unidentified barbarian who looks similar to.

– … … .

A human can’t live for 300 years. Unless you’re blessed by a god, or make a deal with a demon, or drink elf blood… … . Maybe a distant descendant of that guy back then or something.

Still, my intuition and intelligence as a honed demon told me to avoid engaging with it as much as possible and run away.

But… … There were also feelings against it.

By nature, demons tend to have the strongest desire to win when they have just acquired new horns. Having easily defeated a high-ranking wizard, running away in fear of a mere barbarian was a difficult choice for a high-ranking demon who had just been promoted.

For a long time, I clutched the wizard’s head with my fork-like hands and suffered.

“Hehehehe, hehehehe… … .”

– … … .

The devil finally made a decision and ordered his servants.

– Lure the barbarian who broke the tent here. Be careful not to go anywhere else… … .

– Gigig, geeeek… … .

– Kueeeek!

In the darkness, the cries of the servants who followed their master’s orders echoed eerily.

The devil narrowed the eyes that were glued to his face and smiled meaningfully.

*

Because he was trapped inside the tent, the village chief had no information about the devil’s stronghold or location.

It wasn’t much of a problem. The demons often appeared as indicators and guided the way. The demon’s magic itself was like a vivid lighthouse to Kadim, guiding him on his way forward.

Duncan was with him on this hunt. It wasn’t because he thought it was dangerous to leave him alone. Kadim was also starting to realize that there weren’t many opportunities for the peddler to gain practical experience.

“Leave the bag to me and take out the dagger. Although the demon energy is not strong, it is best to breathe as shallowly as possible. “If the demonic energy becomes too strong, I will order you to step back, so just follow me until then.”

“Whoa… … Oh, I understand, I’ll be better… … .”

Of course, once the journey is over, there will be no need to encounter demons or monsters, but… … Neither Kadim nor Duncan bothered to bring up that fact. As if this journey would continue forever, as if the days of searching for and slaughtering demons would continue, both of them prepared themselves and moved forward.

The Magi’s traces led into a cave with its black mouth wide open.

Duncan was shocked and his shoulders trembled. Suddenly, I remembered the goblin cave where I first met the devil. Although I had grown considerably in experience and strength compared to then, the fear imprinted inside me could not be easily erased.

On the other hand, Kadim, then and now, just moves forward in a detached manner. Duncan, stimulated by the sight, shook off his fear and entered the cave.

The passage was deep and long. The ceiling was intermittently covered with luminous stones, so the interior was not too dark. Thanks to this, Duncan, who was almost half-blind compared to Kadim, could see ahead without difficulty. It was also easy to hide his presence without holding a torch.

The tension that had been binding his ribs loosened slightly. Duncan took shallow breaths as advised and slowly parted his lips.

“Thank goodness, I’ll get better. I was worried that I might have to start a fire because it was dark… … . “With just this much light, you could go to the devil without being noticed by the monsters at all.”

“It will probably be difficult. “Among monsters, there are some species that can see ahead even without light, and cannot be seen with the human eye.”

“Huh? Are there such monsters in the world?”

“Yeah, like this kid.”

Kwasik – !

– Squeak!

A small ball of blood exploded from Kadim’s grasp. It looks as if it was squeezed out of the air and burst.

“Huh!”

But thanks to the previous story, Duncan could guess that the savage had captured an invisible monster and crushed it.

Kadim calmly rubbed the meat scraps on his clothes. Then, he took out a hellfire dagger in both hands and lashed out.

Hwareuk – !

“It’s a ‘Pixie.’ They’re really annoying flies. You can’t see them with your naked eye anyway, so don’t bother trying. Instead, when the fire spreads, they won’t be able to tell us apart, so just draw your hellfire dagger and swing it around like I did.”

“Yes, yes? “But, did you know where they were and wielded it?”

“Don’t worry, there’s going to be one around here anyway… .”

Whoosh, whoosh – !

“… … “There are hundreds of them, so you can swing them anywhere and you will get hit.”

– Squeak! Squeak!

– Kikikikik!

A crimson flame burning a pile of transparent aircraft.

The sight of a blazing flame spreading across the peddler’s stall was a signal for the remaining pixies to rush towards the two at once.

– Wow! Wow!

– Giggle, giggle!

– Kikikikik!

Strangely twisted cries, Kadim held the daggers in reverse. Even though the range was shortened, if you used it like swinging your fist, you could cut faster and spread the flames faster. The blades passing like beams of light created a storm of flames in the darkness.

“Huh, huh, huh!”

Grumbling – !

Duncan also hurriedly took out his hellfire dagger and swung it. His breathing was disrupted and his movements were difficult, but it was still enough to spread a weak flame around him. Even though I got scratched and scratched by Pixie’s nails, I didn’t stop and fought hard.

But then I started to wonder about what Kadim had said. When the fire spreads, these guys won’t be able to tell us apart? What does that mean?

It wasn’t long before I realized what it meant.

– It’s good!! Wow!

– Squeak! Squeak!

“……uh?”

As soon as the fire spread sufficiently between the pixies, from that moment on, they stopped attacking the two people. Instead, they let out piercing screams and rushed towards each other as if they were going to kill each other.

Seeing that, Kadim put the dagger back and made a gesture with his hand.

“Let us pass now. Hide your dagger in its sheath, and bend down so as not to inhale the smoke.”

“Call, Cough! How did this happen, Nauri? Why don’t they attack us and fight among themselves… … .”

“Those flies sense their prey by heat. If you light them all that fire, they won’t even be able to recognize their own offspring. By the time we get back, they’ll probably have killed themselves fighting each other.”

Kadim goes ahead with a simple explanation. Duncan looked at the back with eyes full of respect and admiration.

After that, other monsters, traps made with sorcery, and curtains blocking the path appeared one after another in the cave. Kadim dealt with each obstacle one by one and gave Duncan a lot of advice.

– Kueeeek!

“It’s a shadow lizard. You’ve probably seen it on the Golden Road. They are extremely sensitive in the shade, so approach them as quietly as possible and kill them.”

Guuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu… … .

“The demons’ traps are usually vulnerable to relics or new soldiers. If you find a shaman and stab them with the Hellfire Dagger, most of them will be destroyed. However, some types will activate the moment they are destroyed, so it’s best to avoid touching them as much as possible.”

Qua – Ang!

“Even a curtain made of hex magic will break if sufficient physical force is applied. “If you end up trapped in the tent like the villagers later, just rip it off with moderate force.”

“… … .”

Not all of the advice was realistically helpful, but it was information I couldn’t get anywhere even if I paid money. It was knowledge passed down by a warrior who had killed thousands of demons with his own hands… … . Duncan listened to all the advice seriously, like a rookie hunter learning from an experienced hunter.

As I frantically followed the traps and monsters that were spread out like indicators, I eventually reached the deepest part of the cave.

The demonic energy was quite thick in this area. I was thinking about telling Duncan to go upstairs and stay there. However, although Duncan’s eyes were tired due to fatigue, there was no sign of being possessed by the devil.

“Are you okay, Duncan? Can you hold out?”

“Ah, ah, yep! Phew, it’s a little dizzy… …but I can bear it, Your Majesty!”

Kadim raised his eyebrows slightly.

It didn’t really seem like there was any problem, not just the guest. Maybe, when he gave his blood before, he also increased his resistance to magic…

“… … Then I will come kicking the devil, so hide behind this rock. I’ll leave the bag with you again. “If you feel too dizzy, go upstairs on your own.”

“Yes, yes! Understood, Your Majesty! Take care!”

Kadim took his weapons and went out alone.

The entrance to the main base was also blocked by a curtain. It was clear that this tent was made with more care than other tents. A thick color with deep magic energy. At this level, even a decent paladin would not have been able to easily break through even if he brought a weapon.

Of course, it wasn’t enough to block Kadim’s path.

Flash – !

――――――――― Kwagwagwagwagwang – !!!

When the thunderbolt was struck, the curtain shattered like a glass wall. Kadim indifferently crossed over the shattered area and entered the interior.

A room covered in darkness. Empty eyes scanned the space, piercing through the darkness consumed by magic. The ceiling height and width were moderately spacious… … There were no special devices or traps to be seen. Under a large rock on the right, Kadim was able to find one of the things he had been aiming for.

The corpse of a high-ranking wizard in red robes.

“… … .”

But only the body remained, and the head and spine were nowhere to be seen.

Kadim frowns slightly.

It wasn’t just the head of the silk wizard that was missing. For some reason, the demon’s nose was also nowhere to be seen. At first, I thought he was hiding and trying to make a surprise attack, but that wasn’t the case. I didn’t feel even a hint of murderous intent, and even the magic that had been filling the surroundings gradually faded away as time went by.

Although it was a rare occurrence, it was not something I had never experienced before. At the time of the first episode, it was a behavior that was often seen by demons who were really cool and had good feelings. My guess was finally confirmed when I found a hastily drawn drawing of a ghost shot in the corner.

“Tch, damn it… … .”

Kadim clicked his tongue. At this point, it was impossible not to know.

This ‘mysterious species’ high-level demon… …was so scared that he abandoned his base and ran away.