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Reincarnator – Chapter 321 : Darkness (3)

As the man drove Rangkom's Stake onto the ground, the mana node started to shake.

—brrrrr—

The man smirked as he felt the vibrations.

He sensed that the giant seal blocking the five senses of 'it', which flowed through the mana node, had been released.

'Good, I hope he likes my gift.'

A gift only had value if there was a person to receive and if the person receiving it had been surprised by it.

So he had hidden it.

Until the time was ripe.

And now—

—the person to receive the gift had arrived.

Right now was the perfect time to gift it—when the receiver had no idea about it.

—rumble—

The man continued to smile as he felt the vibrations ringing from the depths of the earth.

'It begins.'

Nurture.

The ones nurturing others never realize that they're being nurtured at the same time.

Evil devoured other evil things to become a bigger evil.

And to raise a larger evil—

—you needed a lot of small ones.

'You all grew well, right? You should've…since I've only picked the good ones.'

People who didn't care about anything else in order to raise their own strength.

People who wouldn't bat an eye at someone else's pain for their own advantage.

He had specifically chosen those types since they would have the quickest growth.

The man smiled as he thought of the 'seeds' he had planted.

.....................…..

Amidst a field about 1,300 kilometers away from the War Fortress.

In the middle of the Empire's border city of the past, two people stood atop a guard tower.

Then the man looked towards the woman with sharp facial features.

"Woah, Demeter. You built a nice city."

The woman called Demeter frowned as she spat back her reply:

"I said not to call me that, it makes me uncomfortable. Call me by my name. Ugh, why did Miguel suggest we do this…?"

The man continued to smirk as he replied.

"Why? I like this idea of Zeus's very much."

"…Grow up. Please."

The man shrugged as he spoke:

"Just ignore Zeus entirely then. He was the one who suggested we build the city as well. Look, look at how well you built the city."

The man looked towards the vast city below them as he chuckled.

The man was called Hermes.

His hearing and sight were considered top class even among the transcendents.

And in his eyes—

—he saw everything in their surroundings within a hundred-kilometers radius.

—boom!boom!boom!boom!—

The first thing that caught his attention was the thing right below them.

There was something continuously making noise below the guard tower.

Somewhere behind the walls, hundreds of malnourished people were slamming at something with hammers.

Countless materials were being mixed together, and melted down with flames.

Metals were turned into weapons, while other rare materials were turned into useful objects for the transcendents.

'Mmm….this is one thing I did better than Demeter.'

Hermes continued to look around with a content expression.

Towards the vast icy plane past the castle walls.

Screams of rage and pain continued to echo out.

Thousands of adventurers had spread out around the icy planes to hunt.

For materials to be used in alchemy.

Of course, if he, a transcendent, fought with them, it would be easier for them to hunt, as well as much safer.

But no that wouldn't do.

How could they, who'd reached the level of gods, do such a trivial task?

Plus, they had something else to do anyway.

'Oh? Running away?'

Hermes whistled as he looked to Demeter.

Though he didn't need to tell her, he wanted to get on her good side whenever he could.

"Filthy bugs."

Demeter's expression turned dark.

Then—

She slammed her foot on the ground.

—crunch!—

—crackle!—

Revealing a power that was similar to what Hansoo had displayed by using his Spirit.

Then—

—kakakakakak!—

A giant metal pillar shot out from beneath the man who was trying to run away and pierced right through him.

And shockingly, the man didn't die.

Hermes shrugged at this scene.

He knew why she hadn't killed the man.

'So thrifty.'

The man who had run would soon realize that he should have just died back then.

Since he would soon be dragged to the nursery.

'But, anyway… where did she put it?'

Previously, it seemed to have been in the upper regions of the city, but now it had apparently disappeared.

But after a moment of searching, the man realized where it was.

It was right below them.

Deep below them.

Screams continued to echo out from deep underground.

Screams of humans being ripped apart by abyssal beasts.

'She complained about it being ugly… I guess that's why she moved it underground…' 'Demeter… how venomous, this is even bigger than mine.'

He thought he had a pretty large nursery, but Demeter's nursery was at least twice the size of his own.

He himself filtered out pretty females to make a harem, so he had a certain order around the city, but Demeter seemed to despise all humans.

To Demeter, all other normal beings on this floor were slaves that could create weapons for her, and deliver her the Abyssal Crystals.

'…She'll get stronger much faster than me at this rate. I guess I'll need to go back and expand my nursery.'

Strength was law.

Though they had formed an alliance out of fear for the being who'd made them, if the balance of strength between them were to break, who knew what would happen?

'What's going on inside that guy's head anyway? Why were we given freedom…?'

Well, it was a good thing anyway.

Since they were given time to grow stronger.

'Yes, we must get stronger.'

At this point, Hermes was speaking with a slightly annoyed voice.

"Why aren't Hades and Zeus coming?"

The reason he'd come was for a meeting.

The topic of today's meeting was to discuss the issue of Ekidu and Karhal.

And how they would erase them.

Though they'd merely been pressuring them up until now because they were too lazy to fully deal with them, those two bastards continued to be an annoyance.

Since it had come to this, they were going to uproot them entirely.

'And…they seem to be getting stronger even faster than we are, despite not utilizing their territory…'

Hermes had traded blows with Karhal recently, and his right hand was still throbbing from pain.

Then—

—rumble—

'Hmm?'

Hermes frowned at the minute vibrations that rang out from deep under the ground.

Hermes stole a glance at Demeter.

'Did she not feel it?'

Apparently, Demeter hadn't felt it.

Well, it made sense.

Even he, the one with the most heightened senses, had barely felt it due to his focus on the nursery.

Very minute vibrations that had originated from very far away.

'What…'

Hermes was about to mention it to Demeter, but then, he didn't need to.

Since the vibrations were getting stronger by the second.

And soon even Demeter could feel it.

"…What the hell…is this?"

The vibrations were getting increasingly stronger.

They thought that something had blown up beneath the earth, but soon they realized what was really going on.

The vibrations weren't getting stronger, but rather the thing causing it was getting closer.

At a tremendous speed.

—rummmble!—

'It's coming through the mana node!'

"F***! What the hell?"

Demeter shouted out in shock.

The aura of the mysterious thing heading towards them was extremely vicious and evil.

To the point where she couldn't determine what it could be.

Demeter pondered for a bit and then spoke to Hermes.

"Let's run away."

"Run away?"

Hermes clenched his teeth.

'Can we even get away?'

The mysterious thing was moving way too fast.

To the point where he'd barely be able to escape even at his fastest speed.

Demeter nodded.

"Yeah. With your skill, you could move fast enough even if you carried me."

"…"

Demeter clenched her teeth as she looked at the silent Hermes.

'This bastard. He's always nagging at me to sleep with him, but…'

It seems the moment their lives were on the line, even Hermes was having second thoughts.

But there was nothing else she could do.

Though she was stronger in terms of strength, she was much inferior when it came to speed.

Demeter shouted at Hermes:

"If we get out of this, I'll grant you one wish, so… let's just try running away first."

Hermes pondered for a moment but then shook his head as he lifted Demeter up.

'Let's just think of it as doing some charity work. I'll be getting a wish anyway.'

He had slept with countless beautiful women.

What he wanted now was a strong woman.

A woman even stronger than himself.

'…Though that Ekidu girl is who I really want, this is still good enough.'

"Let's go."

—rumble—

The wind spirits started to gather beneath Hermes.

And the space beneath his feet folded onto itself.

But right at the moment when Hermes and Demeter looked close to flying off—

"Wait."

"Huh? Why?"

Demeter urged Hermes on after he had stopped.

That mysterious thing was charging towards this place at a tremendous speed anyway.

While releasing that terrifying aura that pricked her skin.

She wanted to leave as fast as possible, but why had he stopped?

Hermes smiled at Demeter.

"Dumbo. We need to clean things up before we leave, right?"

Then—

—rumble—

Demeter extended her feet and slammed down onto the ground.

—rummmble!—

Thousands and thousands of spikes shot up everywhere within a radius of a few kilometers around them.

Right from beneath the feet of the adventurers.

—kwadddduk—

—kaduk—

While Hermes was shocked by the noise, Demeter just lifted her feet and said:

"Let's go. It'll take a bit of time for that thing to eat all of this."

Hermes smirked.

"What a smart girl."

'Sexy.'

Then—

—boooom!—

The guard tower that they'd been standing on blew apart, and their bodies instantly turned into a dot in the distance.

Ahhhh!

Uaaahhh!

The only thing left behind were the adventurers who were still screaming.

........................…

"Look at this, Sir Kang Hansoo."

Hansoo frowned at what Akran had hurriedly brought over.

A dark piece of rock.

"You found this in the maze?"

"Yes, more specifically, near the mana node that passes through the maze."

Hansoo mumbled as he looked at the dark piece of rock that some lifeform had created.

'I wondered why there were no higher grade races…'

With this around, no other races could really settle down.

"Someone seems to have the same thoughts that I did."

'…The same thoughts?'

Zeus looked confused by Hansoo's words.

Reincarnator – Chapter 322 : Ark-Roa (1)

There were countless strange creatures and races.

But no matter where one went, there was always a higher mountain among the races.

.......................

Hansoo continued to look at the dark rock in his hand as he spoke to Zeus.

"There's something you need to do."

"Something I need to do?"

Hansoo nodded.

"You said you guys had a way to contact each other, right?"

Zeus nodded.

Though most of them preferred going solo, they still had forms of communication since they were in an alliance after all.

After seeing Zeus nod, Hansoo continued:

"Tell them all to gather here if they want to live."

Zeus frowned at this.

Hansoo's expression had always been very carefree.

Even while fighting against him, Hansoo had never lost his composure.

Even when he told Hansoo that there were twelve of them, Hansoo hadn't seemed scared but rather excited to beat them all up.

But right now, Hansoo was making a very grim expression.

'What is this…?'

While Zeus was quietly trying to figure it out, there was someone who couldn't hold back his curiosity.

"What is this anyway?"

Akran's expression was full of worry.

'… I didn't want to get tangled with these guys.'

Akran really, really did not want to get tangled with the transcendents.

But after seeing these tracks, he couldn't ignore it.

The tracks of something that had passed by.

The tracks left by that mysterious creature stood out so much that everyone could figure out which direction it was heading to.

But the scouts did not dare.

The vicious and greedy aura left behind in those tracks were terrifying enough.

Not to mention the hint of gluttony mixed in.

And shockingly, there was no aura of craziness or evil that they normally felt from a transcendent.

This made it even scarier.

Since this thing wouldn't hesitate for even a moment before it devoured them.

As if the reason for its very existence was to eat.

So Akran had come to find Hansoo.

He felt like Hansoo would know about it.

Hansoo crushed the stone in his hand and spoke:

"Ark-Roa."

"…Ark-Roa?"

At least back when he roamed around the Abyss, the other races called this race the Ark-Roas.

The dark shadows.

They didn't have actual bodies or even any form of conscious.

Just pure gluttony.

"…Damn. All sorts of damned things exist, huh? Is there only one? Do these things reproduce as well?"

Akran, and those nearby, frowned at Zeus's question.

One was terrifying enough.

If these things covered the world, then they wouldn't be able to survive.

But Hansoo shook his head.

"It can't reproduce."

"Phew…"

But Hansoo continued to speak.

"Because this is only a baby."

"Baby?"

Hansoo nodded.

"Well, not really a baby in biological terms, but…more like an egg. It will reproduce after it fully grows up…Yeah, it cannot reproduce. Yet."

"…What? This is an egg?"

Zeus mumbled, sensing the terrifying aura that radiated from the stones.

At least according to the biology they knew, eggs were weaker than babies.

An existence that can only protect itself with its hard shell.

But an egg that was this strong?

'…What would it be like if it hatches?'

As Zeus and the others gulped—

—Hansoo was having different thoughts.

'…What an unfitting place for it to descend.'

Ark Roa.

If this thing was let loose and allowed to freely devour and evolve…

It could chew up dragons for breakfast, and the demon kings as dessert.

And even Hansoo had only seen one that was fully grown in his previous life.

One had been able to grow while the races of the 6th level of the Abyss were fighting each other.

By the time the other races realized its existence, this thing had grown to the point where it didn't need to hide itself anymore.

And realizing the situation, all other races came to a ceasefire and united under a single banner to get rid of this one monster.

They had won in the end, but the number of beings on the 6th floor of the Abyss had been reduced to a fourth of its original population.

All from fighting a single Ark-Roa.

So all the races would instantly destroy them as soon as they detected it while still in its infancy, and thus, weaker.

Because of its terrifying potential, it was a race that had reached the point of extinction.

That was the Ark-Roa.

Of course it didn't belong here.

The place for this thing was the Abyss.

The Abyss where countless races fought amongst each other inside the humongous dimension.

'…Maybe it could come down because it was an egg.'

Though the elevator seemed to send down anything that came its way, it abided by one strict rule.

The objective of the elevator wasn't to annihilate the humans, but rather, to watch them fall into misery and despair.

So naturally, there was really a limit to who could come down.

Which meant that this thing really was an egg.

An egg that had been beaten halfway to death, and the weakest amongst its race.

Which made it even more dangerous.

Since a weakened foe was bound to be more aggressive.

Though he didn't know why it had been calm up until now, it would soon devour everything once it started to move.

To evolve past an egg.

To gather nutrients to be born as a baby.

"So hurry and tell your comrades. Tell them to gather here if they don't want to get killed."

Then—

Zeus made an understanding expression as he spoke:

"So you're throwing the others away, right? Only taking the useful ones."

Akran's expression turned dark.

And Zeus smirked.

'No matter how good you act…you're still a transcendent.'

But Hansoo cut Zeus off.

"The normal adventurers don't need to worry about it. The rest of you do, though."

"Huh?'

Hansoo chuckled.

"Have you ever seen a lion lick up ants off the ground?"

...........................…

—rumble—

"Haaa…Haa…"

'This should be enough.'

Hermes dropped Demeter down after reaching the guard tower of his city and sighed out.

—crackle—

The dimensional crack that he'd gone through could still be seen behind him.

'Ugh, all that running is making me real tired.'

It had really been a very long time since he'd run that madly.

It was even more strenuous since he'd been carrying a person along the way.

But Demeter looked worried as she got down from Hermes's grasp.

"Why did you come here? Why didn't you go further?"

Demeter and Hermes's territories were the closest.

Since Hermes settled near her.

Of course it was still a little bit over a hundred kilometers away, but thinking back to that thing's speed made her worried.

But Hermes chuckled as he grasped her shoulder.

"Why are you in such a rush? You said you'd grant me a wish."

'This horny bastard…is that why you came here?'

Demeter frowned inwardly, but soon nodded.

Since she needed him nearby to run away.

'Well. Let's just think of it as a form of payment.'

She didn't really dislike Hermes either, and she felt like they had enough time anyway.

It would take some time for that thing to eat all those bugs, and come all the way over here.

And plus, there was a lot of food beneath them as well.

Right as Demeter was about to hold Hermes, who was slowly approaching her—

"Ah, one moment. How rude of me. Go wait below, and let me prepare something."

"…?"

Hermes backed off as he jumped down from the tower.

'…What did he prepare? He seems to be much more romantic than I'd thought.'

But the moment Demeter sat on the bed.

—shiver—

A chill ran down her back.

Something was approaching them quietly.

From below the very tower where she was in now.

Then—

—boooom!—

The sound of a huge explosion blew out from where Hermes had jumped down to.

The sound of activation for Hermes's skill, .

And Demeter realized what had happened as she roared out loud.

Hermes had detected it a step before she did.

That the thing had been silently chasing them the whole time.

"You f***ing bastard! How dare you use me as bait!?"

—booom!—

It was too late to run.

Demeter quickly slammed down her foot as she felt the terrifying aura charging up towards her.

—rumble!—

The tower collapsed as thousands and thousands of spikes shot out and started attacking the monster.

But it was too late.

—kudududududuk!—

The thing that had made her and Hermes run in terror had charged through the spikes and chomped off her lower body.

"Uahh!!…Uhh…"

She knew the moment she got bit—

—that she wouldn't be able to survive.

The lower part of her body that had entered its mouth quickly disintegrated, and was sucked away.

Towards another area in its dark body.

Krrrrk.

Urrk.

Demeter was at a loss as she looked at the creature that was devouring her.

It wasn't some dumb monster.

'It learned, huh? That we wouldn't run if it did that.'

She didn't know where this thing had come from, but it seemed like the other creatures that lived nearby this thing previously hadn't been able to run away from it in time, and it hadn't realized that things could actually run away.

Which was why it had openly charged at them in the beginning.

But as soon as it sensed them running, it changed its tactics.

It hid its aura and launched a sneak attack instead.

Kwaaaaaa.

'F***ing…bastard.'

Her eyes filled with hate, Demeter looked towards the direction Hermes had run off.

She then slowly closed her eyes with a smile.

'…At least everyone else will also get killed. Let's all meet again inside its belly.'

As she left that curse behind, Demeter lost consciousness.

And as her body was devoured, the surface of the dark Ark-Roa changed colors and transformed.

........................….

"Hurry up."

Hansoo spoke towards Zeus and Akran.

They didn't have a lot of time.

Akran gulped as he nodded.

According to Hansoo's stories, this world would end if that thing was allowed to grow up.

'Damn…Why is he making me do this?'

Zeus frowned as he retorted:

"…What are you going to do while we do this?"

Hansoo replied with a short answer.

"I'm going to end this.'

The seed's voice rang out within his mind.

Reincarnator – Chapter 323 : Ark-Roa (2)

—rumble—

Hermes looked back to where his territory had been as he wiped off his cold sweat.

"Haa…Ha…"

If Demeter had noticed it before he did, then he would've become its food instead.

Since Demeter would've made the same choice he did.

'Don't hate me that much…'

Hermes sighed as he pondered.

As to what he would do.

But he didn't need to think about it that long.

'Why am I even thinking about all this? I just need to go up.'

This was good actually.

That crazy thing would be running around while hunting for beings like himself.

Rummaging through this entire world.

Once it devoured all the transcendents in this world, it would then turn to the normal adventurers.

'This is going to become a land of the dead.'

Hermes decided to head towards the elevator right away.

Though it was a shame to throw away his painstakingly created territory, it was better than being killed.

He could always make a new land after going up anyway.

But then—

—parararararak—

Hermes frowned as he felt something flying towards him.

'…This Flier is for emergency contact only… Did the others notice it as well?'

Then it would become troublesome.

Since he would only be able to escape to the elevator if the others acted as bait for him.

If everyone headed towards the elevator, then it was obvious where that monster would go to.

After reading the message, Hermes sighed in relief.

It seems they hadn't found out yet.

But the message was still shocking.

'…Zeus? You're asking for help?'

Hermes was actually surprised.

This guy would never ask for help even if he was tortured.

But Hermes shook his head.

'Why should I?'

Of course they were on friendly terms.

But there was no reason for him to when he was about to go up.

That monster he'd encountered was too terrifying for him to stay any longer than necessary.

'F***ing dumbass. Captured? What the hell happened to you? Just deal with it yourself.'

Nobody would respond to Zeus anyway.

Hermes chuckled after deeming none of his comrades to be useful, and he charged towards the elevator using his .

.......................

—rumble—

Hansoo checked the status of his body after moving about a hundred kilometers away from the War Fortress and into the tundra.

There were no signs of life nearby.

Well, there were non-humans.

Kiiiing.

A Dakrama charged towards the cave where Hansoo was standing.

But after sensing Hansoo's horrifying aura, it immediately made a U-turn and ran away.

The dark red smoke slowly drifted out of his body.

And Hansoo chuckled at the sight.

It had made a wise decision.

There was a reason why he'd headed so far away from the War Fortress.

If he failed here, then everything in the nearby vicinity would be annihilated.

If he failed, then his body would become a humongous living weapon.

The Pandemic Blade's soul spoke to Hansoo.

Hansoo nodded.

He was different from the other transcendents.

He had to plant the Skills of Annihilation in his body one-by-one.

Right from the beginning, that had been the aspect of his trait, the .

A trait which allowed one to absorb the experience and knowledge of the creator of the skill, and even allow oneself to take it a step further.

It only looked like a normal evolution on the surface.

Though it was impossible to rise up a step by devouring some random skill, but devouring a skill of annihilation would allow him to evolve a skill to the next level.

Like how he had crossed a wall when he evolved his Demonic Dragon's Reinforcement two years ago.

The next skill to be evolved was already set.

Pandemic Blade.

Usually, this skill would evolve faster the more it was used to kill.

Like how the owner of the Pandemic Blade had done in the past.

The creator of this skill had melted an entire world, and from that incident, had trained the skill to its limits.

And it was the obvious path to take.

Though it would take longer, it was safer and more fun to do so.

But there was a way to shorten the time as well.

Like how the owner of the Nine Dragons Spear had done in the past.

But Hansoo chuckled.

"Only those who need to die should die. Where's the meaning in a world if everyone dies?"

The Pandemic Blade's soul mumbled.

<…Whatever. You're the one dying, not me. At least you stopped playing around like a clown.>

Then—

—rumble—

The spores of the Pandemic Blade started to overflow inside Hansoo's body.

The dark red aura that had been devouring his insides.

The quickest and most efficient way to raise the mastery level of Pandemic Blade.

[Forcefully make the number of spores go on a rampage and make your body get used to it]

Gather the spores that are used to melt enemies and use them to melt your own body.

Turn your own body into a container for the Pandemic Blade.

This was the fastest and most efficient method indeed.

If one discarded the dangers.

'Insane.'

The owner of the seed sighed.

This guy had been doing this ever since his egg form.

Though the Demonic Dragon's Reinforcement had risen to another level, the Pandemic Blade continued to reproduce to melt his nerves and intestines.

Because of this, his muscles, bones, and tendons that had been enhanced by the Demonic Dragon's Reinforcement could not stand the pressure, and prevented them from working properly.

He had to use a part of his mana to forcefully protect those parts of his body.

He couldn't even use the Pandemic Blade as a weapon.

Since the spores were focused on burning up his body.

He'd even got injured by things that he could crush with a finger, like that Dark King or Zeus.

Someone who had fully mastered a skill and someone who'd merely bulked up using crystals; the difference was like that of the heavens and earth, even within the 1st-star transcendents.

Though both were made of iron, a baton and a sharp sword were vastly different.

'Though the mastery level of the Pandemic Blade did go up fast…'

He had done so up til now since there had been no real dangers, but now everything had changed.

Hansoo had poured most of his mana into the Pandemic Blade instead of the Demonic Dragon's Reinforcement.

Then—

—roaaaarr!—

Hansoo's mana jade released a torrential amount of mana.

Not to protect his body but to increase the number of spores.

Then—

—shhhhhhhh!—

The dark red aura started to run rampant inside his body.

The spores continued to reproduce, greedily devouring Hansoo's mana, melting his body down and seeping out from inside him.

Dark red smoke seeped out from his seven orifices, and his skin was soon covered by a red, toxic substance.

—chiiiiiiiiik!—

His entire body melted down as smoke rose up.

And caused the Demonic Dragon's Reinforcement and Immortal Soul to retaliate furiously.

A battle of time.

Whether his body could withstand this and allow him to rise up to another level.

Or melt down under the pressure.

'Ugh, why is he willing to go through all this…? He just needs to melt down about half the people in this world.'

Who cares if the others died? Hansoo just needed to ignore that Ark-Roa, climb up and slowly train.

And it would be even faster if he used the Pandemic Blade to train against those who would be dying anyway.

Why was the future 'Demon King' acting like this?

He was the owner of the being who had melted down an entire world to rise up as a transcendent, and he didn't understand this situation.

'Well… some already view this guy as a Demon King now.'

The soul then thought of Zeus, who should be running towards a specific location.

The soul had heard Hansoo ordering Zeus to tell the others to gather if they didn't want to die.

But couldn't they just go up?

Hansoo, who was now fully covered in a dark-red shade, spoke with difficulty:

"It…doesn't…ma…tter…Somebody…else will…act instead…"

<…Who? Karhal? Ekidu? Those guys?>

Hansoo shook his head.

..............................

—rummmmble—

— swoooosh—

'Good, good. I'm almost there.'

Hermes, who had been ripping through space like a bolt of lightning, smiled as he neared the giant elevator.

That Zeus guy was pretty useless, but he did give him an important piece of information.

That the War Fortress was rebuilt and the adventurers were slowly gathering more Abyssal Crystals.

Which meant that he could just pick up the crystals on the way.

'If there's some pretty girls… seven will do.'

He would need at least that much if he was going up to a new world.

But as Hermes continued to fly with a smirk on his face—

—he suddenly stopped after seeing a familiar back.

'…What the? Did he notice it as well?'

The most silent one of them all.

Though he had no skills related to the underworld, he was called Hades because he acted like a grim reaper would.

And Hades was now standing on a hill, staring at the Elevator.

All while hiding his aura.

'…I don't feel good about this.'

It was always best to follow suit if he had no information about what was going on.

Hermes also hid his aura as he asked Hades.

"…What? Hades? Why are you standing here?"

Hades nodded in greeting and only pointed towards the elevator.

Towards a location near the giant elevator to be specific.

And Hermes's expression turned stiff as he looked.

The one who'd made them.

The being who stood in the deepest corners of their hearts like a heavy stone.

That being had been slowly fading away from their memories because he had left without asking them for anything.

But for him to appear at this time.

And his objective seemed to be very clear.

Kuaaaaa…

Their creator.

And the person who was being crushed under his feet.

Hermes clenched his fists as he looked at this scene.

............................

"Aahhhhh…"

The Dark King, who couldn't win over his fear of death and had tried to go up, had been caught and was now crying out loud.

And the man who had cut off the legs of the Dark King chuckled as he looked around at the elevator.

He didn't ask anything of them.

Since no owner would ask the pigs they raised for anything.

But it would be annoying if they went up.

Because then the thing he had released would have less food.

'Let's see… One or two should have been eaten already. Kang Hansoo, where are you now?'

No one could go up.

The man who had released the Ark-Roa and had made the transcendents then laughed coldly next to the elevator.

Reincarnator – Chapter 324 : Ark-Roa (3)

Crunch.

Crunch. Crunch.

As it finished devouring another person, the Ark-Roa's color and shape became more and more defined.

Limbs sprouted out, and its body shrunk down in size.

Though it was now smaller, it had become stronger overall and even its intelligence had risen.

And slowly, the memories of the humans it had eaten started to appear inside its head.

Well, it had the memories after consuming them actually.

It just didn't have the intelligence to decipher the meanings behind them up until now.

It had solely been focused on instinctively hunting and finding nutrition.

But not anymore.

There were about thirteen nutritious ones left.

Ten of which were comrades of the two it had eaten.

Two were enemies with the ten.

One was feared by all.

Kirrrik.

Ark-Roa pondered with its newfound intellect.

It was not a match for the being that everyone feared.

But it wasn't hard to reach that level.

It would just need to eat about four more to get to the next stage.

Then everything would be over.

It could then devour the world.

Ark-Roa continued to think.

It was time to choose.

Either to eat the two who were separated from the others, and then head for the ten.

Or head towards the ten.

Of course, it didn't have to think very long.

Its hunger had continued to call out to it.

And it was even worse because it had absorbed the greed of the humans it had eaten.

Greed for power.

Greed to crush everything beneath its feet.

Though it wasn't within the memories of the humans it had eaten, it had a feeling that it needed to get stronger as soon as possible.

This newly enhanced greed and gluttony drove the Ark-Roa past the great tundra.

..................…..

'F***…F***. F***. What do I do?'

Hermes was at a loss.

He knew instinctively that the monster standing below the tower was a level above them.

But then—

A familiar voice could be heard behind him.

"You bastard, you just tried to run away, right?"

Hermes shrugged his shoulders.

"Don't fuss over it that much, you would've done the same thing."

"…Ugh."

Zeus gave up.

They were all like this.

Since that man had deliberately picked people like this in the first place.

'What a shitshow.'

One after another, their allies started to gather.

—ssssss—

"What's up? Why did you call us to meet up?"

"F***…Did you call us over to deal with him?"

'One…Two.Three.'

Zeus frowned as he counted.

Other than Hades, Hermes, and himself, there should be nine left.

But only five had come.

"Where's Demeter?"

Zeus asked in confusion.

He never knew what that b**** Athena was ever up to, and the other two were arrogant so it made sense that they wouldn't come.

'Athena is really hard to meet. I've seen her maybe…once? Twice?'

But this Hermes kid always followed Demeter around while wagging his tail.

For someone whose territories were so close to not come together…

Hermes inwardly jolted at the question.

'Should I answer?'

But the answer came from someone else.

Kyle, also known as Hades, raised his hand.

"She was eaten."

"What? Don't joke around…What could even eat us?"

One of the girls who had arrived after Zeus scoffed, but Zeus cursed out since he knew the identity of the Ark-Roa.

"F***…it's that fast already. Why did you just leave if you knew she was being eaten? Why didn't you help?"

"…Apparently, you haven't seen it yet."

Hades replied with a heavy expression.

They wouldn't really help each other if they were dying anyway.

Even if their own children were being eaten, they wouldn't actually go and help them.

Hades really didn't want to approach the creepy creature that devoured Demeter. Afterwards it had gone through some sort of metamorphosis, making strange noises all the while.

The other trancendents noticed the strange tension between Zeus and Hades, and grew uneasy as well.

"Hey, what's up? What really happened?"

"Why did Demeter die?"

Everybody was making confused expressions.

And Hermes realized the gist of the situation.

'That bastard… I know why he made us now.'

Hermes clenched his teeth.

He realized why that man had made them and left them alone to roam freely.

And why that man had reappeared the moment that black monster appeared.

Why that powerful man was now just guarding the exit to go up.

He realized it all.

'We…we were raised as livestock…'

The only exit had been blocked and that horrifying monster now roamed this world.

Then—

A thought appeared in Hermes's head.

"Hey Zeus, you said you got caught by someone, right?"

"…"

Zeus frowned.

Hermes ignored Zeus's expression and continued to speak.

"You said that he has a bad relationship with that man over there right? It looks like that man was the one who released the monster that ate Demeter."

Zeus nodded.

Hermes's guesses were mostly on point.

"But…how did you know that Demeter died?"

Hermes cut Zeus off as he continued to speak.

"That's not important. Anyway, that guy who caught you hasn't run away yet since he's confident, right?"

"Right."

Hermes chuckled.

"Let's go to him."

"Huh?"

"What else can we do? Let's go help him. That's the only path we can take at this point."

Help the mysterious man who they had no information about.

But, then again, their choices were very, very limited.

At this rate they would only become food for that monster.

But seeing that the guy had called them over, it looked like he had something up his sleeve.

Which meant that right now, no matter what, they had to help that man who had captured Zeus.

Whether to stab him in the back or run away without fighting him, that would only matter if they survived from this fight.

There was nothing for them to gain from just loitering around here anyway.

Zeus frowned at Hermes's words.

'…Dumbasses. You'll all probably be his slaves if you go to Hansoo…'

He hadn't gathered them here to listen to Hansoo's instructions.

But rather to ask for help.

To suppress Hansoo, and just leave him at the point of death.

Once they pressed him down with their weapons, they could just leave him with a breath of life remaining, and keep him in a safe place. And then he would be free.

But it looked like that wouldn't work anymore.

'Damn…'

As Zeus frowned.

A voice rang out.

"Retards. You go do that. I'm betting my luck on something with higher chances."

"Huh? What are you planning to do?"

Hermes frowned at the curvaceous woman who had stepped out.

The woman looked over her body, and then gulped.

"If he's also a man…something will happen, one way or another."

"Come on, Hera…"

"You f***er, call me by my name. Grow up, did I say I was going to be his wife?"

Hera—real name, Allison—cursed at Zeus.

No matter what angle they looked at it from, the man who had created them held the absolute advantage.

Shouldn't they stick to the winning side? At least she was going to.

'Yeah… If you're also a man, then…'

She was useful, strong and beautiful.

Usually, she would pull out the eyes of anyone who had such thoughts towards her, but with their current situation, she had to utilize everything she had at her disposal.

Allison quickly headed towards the man standing below the tower.

.....................….

—rumble—

The Dark King violently trembled.

When this man had attacked, he felt as if the world had collapsed.

'Was there this much difference…?'

If he knew the differences were this large than he wouldn't have even tried to climb up.

The Dark King trembled in fear as he stared at the man stepping on him.

"Ughhh…"

The man raised his eyebrows.

"Why does this dumbass just keep screaming…?"

The man put his hand on the Dark King's back.

Then—

—swoooosh!—

The dark red aura started to get sucked out from the Dark King's brain and his heart.

Into the hands of the man.

"Ahhh…haa…"

The Dark King even forgot the pain of his cut-off legs as he made a joyous expression.

Since the pain of his severed leg was nothing compared to what Hansoo had given him.

The man ignored the Dark King and focused solely on the dark red cloud in his hand, poking it with his finger.

—chiiiiik—

The dark red aura tried to savagely burn his finger, but it couldn't withstand the aura surrounding the man's body and it soon dispersed into the air.

And the man smirked.

'…Was he only this strong?'

The man sighed in relief.

He had been uneasy the whole time he'd planned this.

He had vowed for revenge, but he didn't know how strong Hansoo had become in the past two years.

This was why he had released the Ark-Roa, which even he was wary of.

He felt like his own strength wouldn't be enough.

But it looked like there was no need for him to release the Ark-Roa.

'Well, let's go beat up Hansoo first…'

But the man soon shook his head.

Since a girl had come to bother him.

Unlike the other twelve, including the Dark King.

The one who had escaped his watch as soon as she was made.

'If only everyone was this easy to read.'

"Hello?"

The man smiled coldly as he looked at the woman who was approaching him with a charming smile of her own.

..................…..

800 kilometers west of the War Fortress.

—rumble—

"Haa…Haa…"

Taesang was gasping for air after having run for so long.

'…F***. I don't know if I'm doing the right thing.'

He had been running like a crazed person to find that man's friends, who all apparently lived in the west.

But he was scared out of his wits because of that Ark-Roa thing that was roaming the lands.

'No, it shouldn't be interested in weaklings like me. He said it wasn't interested in ants…'

Though he was more of a dog than an ant.

Of course, that wasn't really reassuring.

The fact that he had some strength was the reason why he'd been entrusted with this job anyway.

Though he wasn't the main target of the Ark-Roa, he was able to pass through the tundra which the others would have a hard time crossing.

—boooom!—

Kyaak!

Taesang continued to run after turning four Kang-Kions into powder.

Well, until something blocked his path.

—OOooong—

The space in front of him had split apart.

Then—

"Where are you going? I've never seen you before."

"Ahh!"

—boom!—

Taesang freaked out, and slashed out with his sword at the silhouette of the woman. But his blades, which could chop apart abyssal monsters with ease, were caught by the woman's hands.

'What the hell…!?'

—toong!—

Taesang cursed, and backed off.

"Hmm…"

The woman figured out where Taesang was heading off to, and then smiled as if she realized something.

"I don't think you'll need to go?"

"Huh?"

"It should be done by now."

Reincarnator – Chapter 325 : Ark-Roa (4)

"Ahhh…"

Hera—or Allison—was screaming, while being choked in mid-air.

And bleeding profusely.

'This maniac!'

Allison grit her teeth at the man who was choking her, treating her like some random street dog.

Why was he being so cold when she had listened well, and was even willing to offer her body?

The man smiled coldly as he stared at Hera's confused expression.

'How dare you scum…'

Of course, using this girl would've been beneficial for him.

Since the others over there would also listen well.

But he himself might get mixed up as food for the Ark-Roa if he tangled with those kids.

And another thing.

He did not like these kids at all.

He actually wanted them to die in misery.

—boom!—

"Argh!"

The man threw Allison down on the ground, and even kicked the Dark King.

"Kuhuk!"

"Take this guy too, and do whatever you want with him."

The man smiled as he saw the movements of the people standing on the hill above.

'Yes, run far, far away, and get devoured…'

........................

—tatatatatak!—

"F***… He's just insane!"

Hermes cursed and ran away after seeing the man attack Allison immediately.

He was sure that madman had never planned to let the twelve of them live in the first place.

Which meant that there was no room for negotiation.

'F***…do we really have to become that thing's food?'

Hermes grit his teeth.

He could not allow that.

He believed that there was always a way.

'I don't know what the hell I can do with these retards though.'

Hermes glanced over at Ares who was chewing on his nails beside him.

"Ahhh…No way. Why? Why, when he has so much strength…"

The guy, who looked to be barely twenty, was almost going mad with worry.

Of course it made sense.

Since he was part of the lucky few.

He had been able to come up to the Green Zone without facing a single hurdle in just one year.

And the moment he got up to the zone, he had become a transcendent after being found by that guy.

To him, this current life was probably much more fun than his old one back in the real world.

He was probably an A+ nerd who'd been ignored by everyone.

But after coming here, he had basically become a king.

He hadn't hesitated to abuse his power either.

Even Hermes was shocked at how good Ares was at killing and pouncing on women.

That was one of the reasons he had named him Ares as well.

'…We have no other options. We have to go to that man.'

That man probably had something up his sleeves since he was preparing to fight that monster.

'…I just don't have enough intel. Damn… I don't like having to get help from some unknown stranger.'

But as Hermes was about to speak to Zeus—

—parrrrrrrrk—

A bird flew towards them at a very fast speed.

To Ares.

'…Flier? A message? From who? Athena? Poseidon? Or is it Artemis?'

Very childish names they were, but they were easy to memorize.

'I hope it's Athena…'

Hermes mumbled, as he thought about the mysterious woman who always seemed to have been hiding something.

Ares shouted out in glee.

"We can live! Hahahaha! We'll live! Long live Poseidon! Hahaha!"

"Huh? What are you saying?'

Everybody made confused faces at Ares who was laughing like a madman, and he continued to scream:

"It's done! Poseidon has almost killed that monster! With Artemis! Hahaha!"

"Huh?"

The faces of everybody changed.

The fire was put out.

According to Hades, that monster had the ability to find them like a hunting dog.

That was why they'd been afraid.

But that monster was now dead.

Though that man guarding the elevator was strong, he wouldn't be able to find them.

Just how large was this continent?

They could just all split up and slowly get stronger.

'Good! Good! Good!'

Ares smiled.

This was how it should've been.

No matter how strong the monster was, it shouldn't have been able to threaten transcendents like themselves.

Humans were the king of the world, and only other transcendents were worthy opponents for them.

If a monster that strong already existed, why hadn't they seen them around by now?

At this point, there should've been plenty of monsters who were weaker than that black shadow, but stronger than the Kang-Kions all over the continent.

But as Ares smiled—

—Hermes smiled back and said:

"Then… Our business is finished, right? Let's split up then."

"Huh? What?"

Then—

—boooom!—

The space below Hermes exploded as his body disappeared in a flash.

Into the distance.

And Ares was at a loss.

'Why is that fogey in such a rush?'

They could at least discuss their next plan of action, right?

It was really rare for so many of them to gather in one place.

But Ares suddenly realized something as he stared at the shape of Hermes disappearing into the distance.

'Where is he…?'

The direction which the Flier had come from.

Which was the direction where Poseidon's base was located.

Hermes was going in that exact direction.

Ares had forgotten about it for a moment.

That monster was also an abyssal creature.

An extremely strong one at that.

'F***! That thing should have left a ton of crystals!'

He didn't know how Poseidon and Artemis had almost killed it, but if that thing was as strong as he'd heard, those two should be half dead as well.

So if one of them could get there, and then finish them all off, then they could reap an endless amount of benefits.

Then—

"How cold. I'm going to go help Poseidon."

"Me too, I'm quite close with Artemis."

The transcendents started to leave one-by-one.

"Damn it!"

—booom!—

Ares started to charge towards Poseidon's base as well.

'If I can have that crystal… I'll be able to beat that b****, Athena!'

The woman who'd made his heart beat.

Which was why he'd always been depressed about it.

Since she was stronger than him.

If she was weaker, he would've been able to dominate her.

This was the perfect chance.

For revenge.

He had been beaten halfway to death after trying it get it on with her in the past.

Ares threw away the message and disappeared into the horizon as well.

To chase after those who had gone first.

"Damn…what's going on?"

Zeus was at a loss for words as he looked at his comrades charging off with greed-filled eyes.

Even the Dark King, whose feet had been cut off, was charging over.

'I don't feel good about this.'

With a worried expression, Zeus picked up the message Ares had thrown away.

It was clearly Poseidon's handwriting.

But something felt amiss.

Zeus made a different decision as he headed towards Hansoo's location.

..................

—rumble—

A snow-covered tundra.

A giant hill which originally held a cave had melted down entirely.

—bubble bubble—

And from the middle of the melted-down land—

—a man stood up.

'Good.'

Hansoo moved his hands around as he checked the status of his body.

The attempt was a success.

The spores of the Pandemic Blade were no longer a threat to him.

No, they were now a powerful part of his strength.

—sssssk—

Hansoo mumbled to himself as he looked at the red cloud floating around his body.

'Should I have done this from the beginning…?'

Hansoo felt the tremendous amount of strength inside him.

With this, he would be able to do a lot more.

But he soon shook his head.

—bubble bubble—

Everything within a few-hundred-meters radius had entirely melted down.

He hadn't been able to fully suppress the toxins of the Pandemic Blade during the process.

If he had done it with ease, this wouldn't have happened in the first place.

Which meant that it was a very close call.

He had only succeeded because his body had gotten used to it; if he had tried this from the very beginning then it wouldn't have stopped at just melting him.

—bubble bubble bubble—

Hansoo stood up from the bubbling land and looked towards the distance.

'Let's head on over.'

Then—

"Yo! Did you succeed?!"

A familiar voice was heard.

Zeus's voice.

Hansoo jumped up, landed by Zeus and spoke to him.

"What a dissapointment. I told you to bring everyone else, but you only brought one?"

Zeus was at a loss.

He brought someone?

—sss—

Somebody appeared out of thin air.

"Ugh… Amazing. This is one of my hidden cards."

"Huh?"

Zeus was shocked to see the man who had followed him.

He was someone who should not be here.

"What the…Hermes? Why are you here?"

Hermes touched the goosebumps on his arms as he spoke.

"I didn't feel right about it."

'So I lured them away.'

There were plenty of brains within the group.

.....................….

"Hahaha! Poseidon! Where are you?!"

'After I get the crystal, I'll find that b**** Athena first, and… see how she screams.'

Ares looked around once he arrived.

Indeed, a battle had occurred here.

—rumble—

Poseidon's former lake-side city had been half destroyed.

All the people seemed to have already run away, but they weren't within his interests anyway.

'Anyways, those fogeys are real slow.'

Ares laughed as he thought of the others who would be running over.

If you left out Hermes, his own speed was the fastest of them all.

'Anyway, Hermes should've arrived first. Where is he?'

As Ares looked around with a hurried expression.

He saw someone on the ground in the distance.

And he rushed over the moment he realized who it was.

'…Poseidon? Did he get killed?'

That colorful outfit was hard to miss.

Ares flew over and shook Poseidon.

"Hey! What happened! You said you almost won! Where did that monster go!?"

He didn't care about Poseidon's health, but if that monster was still alive and kicking, it would be a huge issue.

Then—

A strange voice came out from Poseidon.

"Right…here."

"Huh?"

While Ares was feeling shocked by the strange voice—

—crunch—

—Poseidon's body started to twist and turn in a weird angle.

"Ahhh!"

Ares freaked out and tried to push Poseidon away, but it was too late.

A dark mouth charged out from Poseidon's shoulder and chomped down on Ares's hand.

—kwaduk—

"UAHH!"

A happy voice came out from Poseidon's mouth.

"If…eat…you. Two more."

It even knew their names.

Demeter, Artemis, Poseidon, Ares.

Two more.

After two more, it would be able to evolve.

—crunch—

Poseidon's mouth split apart as he swallowed Ares whole.

—crunch crunch—

The Ark-Roa's shape started to change again.

To look like Ares which it had just eaten.

Then—

A strange voice came out from his mouth.

"He…hey! F…found it! Found it! Guys, I found it!"

It started off weird, but soon it was able to perfectly copy Ares's voice.

It then started to laugh coldly at the thought of the others who should be rushing over at any moment now.

Reincarnator – Chapter 326 : Ark-Roa (5)

"What?"

Hermes was wary of Hansoo but nevertheless, he shrugged his shoulders and spoke:

"No matter how you think about it, it's suspicious. Don't you know how selfish they are? Why would they send a message when it's almost been killed?"

Anyone would have figured it out after some short thought.

That those guys weren't that kind-hearted.

Which meant that this was a trap.

But who would buy them time if everyone knew it was a trap?

If that thing had made a trap, then that meant a trap was needed.

A trap being needed also meant that somebody needed to fall into the trap.

So he had indeed lured them away.

To rouse their innate greed and competitiveness.

'Retards. That's what you get when strength is handed over to you.'

Hermes clicked his tongue.

The only ones with the right to possess strength were those who'd gone through countless struggles, and could make the correct decision in any situation.

Like Ekidu or Karhal.

But weak people who run away from danger were bound to act stupidly after they gained strength.

"f***…"

"What, is there an issue?"

Hermes was confused at Zeus who was looking at him in anger.

It didn't matter right?

Those guys weren't pushovers.

It would be for the better if they weakened the monster's strength as they fought.

Zeus remembered a fact he had forgotten to mention.

'Dumbass… That thing gets stronger the more it eats…'

Of course he wouldn't have been able to imagine it if Hansoo hadn't told him either.

For something to eat and absorb the skills, intellect and memories of the things it had eaten.

This dumbass just handed over 7 huge chunks of meat.

Hansoo chuckled from behind and whispered.

"How about it? Now you understand why I wanted to put leashes on you guys right?"

"…?"

Hermes's expression froze.

Didn't Zeus said he wanted them to gather for a cooperation?

What was a leash about?

Then.

Boom!

The space below Hermes exploded as his body disappeared.

His skill, , sent him hundreds of meters away in an instant.

'I was fooled!'

Hermes grinded his teeth.

He was laughing at those who had fallen into that monster's trap but it seems he has also fallen into a trap.

By walking into it as well.

'What a dumb move on my part…'

Hermes ran away on his maximum speed.

Chills continued to run down his back.

The expression of the worried Zeus and the screaming Dark King at the elevator flashed by his eyes.

'Still…It won't be easy to catch me.'

Hermes signed out in relief as he ran away.

He could feel the presence of that guy getting further behind him.

He had been able to even run away from that monster.

In terms of speed, he was the fastest out of the twelve.

Zeus grinded his teeth as he looked at Hermes running away at an explosive speed.

"Are you gonig to let him go?"

Hansoo chuckled at Zeus's words.

"No."

Then.

Crunch.

Crack.

Strange changes started to happen on Hansoo's body.

The dragonic energy, which hadn't been able to shine properly because of the Pandemic Blade, started to spread all over his body.

His muscles bulged.

It wasn't three like when he went through the Racial Metamorphsis, but his now even more powerful two hearts were pumping blood throughout his body at a crazy rate.

The Mana Jade, which had now completely integrated with his body, was pouring out mana like a storm.

And changes weren't only occuring on the insides.

Chiiiik.

An extremely thin layer of transparent scales appeared and covered his skin.

Then.

Tdddddk.

'WHAT THE HELL!!'

Zeus's jaws dropped as he looked at Hansoo's change.

How was it possible?

For horns to grow from the head of a human.

But it had really happened, in front of his eyes.

Tddk.

Two horns were growing out from Hansoo's head.

They weren't large but those two horns clearly indicated his difference from humans.

Then.

Boooom!

A tremendous flood of aura exploded out from his body.

Energy created from mixing the dark gold energy of the Demonic Dragon's Reinforcement and his newly evolved red Pandemic blade.

And Zeus slowly backed up as he saw this.

With the melted down land as the background.

A man with two horns was standing while releasing a horrifying aura.

'f***… We were all just playing house compared to this guy…'

As Zeus, or Miguel, tried his best to suppress the fear rising from his mind.

Hansoo looked towards the direction Hermes had disappeared to.

Though their strength was useful, they were using it in the wrong methods.

And Eres wanted him to kill them all.

But that was such a waste, was it not?

If he can just perform on them, they would become very useful.

"Hahahaha! Farewell!"

Hansoo smiled as he heard the voice of Hermes echoing out from the distance.

'Yeah. My actual job is to put dog leashes on you and whip you around.'

Hansoo tightly grasped the Forked Lightning in his hand.

Then.

Booooom!

The golden spear in Hansoo's hand.

Split through space and disappeared into the horizon.

Towards Hermes who was smiling as if he had successfully ran away.

...........................…

Crunch.

Crunch crunch.

Hephaestus freaked out as he saw the monster devouring Hera while having the form of Ares.

'…f***!'

Hera's look mixed in with the look of Ares it was transformed.

Something continued to bubble up above as it continued to transform back from woman to man.

Demeter, Artemis and Poseidon's faces all appeared and disappeared one by one.

Hephaestus turned and started to run away at this horrendous sight.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

He had originally been proud of his large body but now, he was deeply hating it.

The thing had stopped imitating others now.

The dark humanoid creature stared at the running Hephaestus for a moment.

Then.

Boom! Boom!

It started to charge over.

With a huge desire to devour him.

It just needed one more.

It didn't even need the others running behind him.

If it could eat this one, it would evolve into a whole another creature.

It could then figure out the identity of the annoying aura that had been continuously pestering it and pull it out of its roots.

Kyaaaaak!

The black Ark-Roa's hand extended out as it chased after the running Hephaestus.

"Ahhh! You bastards! Wait for me!"

"Haa…! Haaa!"

The Dark king ignored the desperate screams of Hephaetus as he madly clawed away with his arms.

It was slowler than running but this was what was allowing him to live.

He had naturally fallen behind because he had been slow and that had helped him to be the furthest away from the monster.

'F***…F***! Wasn't it the end after becoming a transcendent?'

Crunch Crunch!

Other transcendents caught up to the Dark King who had been running away while cursing.

Only four of them had been left other than Hephaestus in the distance.

Dionysus, Apollon and Hades.

But they seemed to be quite calm as they were running.

And the Dark King was at a loss.

'Retards, do you think surviving here is the end?'

Of course he himself would be caught before them.

He was weaker and he didn't have his legs either.

But what about after him?

There was nowhere to run from this hell.

And as if Apollon had read his mind, he kicked the Dark King while frowning.

Boom!

"Kuaaaak!"

It wasn't just a normal kick.

His arm burnt up as the kick had been imbued with flames.

Tatatata!

The Dark King couldn't withstand the pain as he rolled on the ground as Apollon laughed.

"Hahaha! You should just become food since your legs are cut off anyway! I didn't injure you that much so good luck!"

"You f***ing bastard!"

That guy hadn't let him off easy for him.

It was only because the less injured he was, the longer he would be able to fight.

And into the ears of the Dark King.

The desperate calls of Hephaestus could be heard.

"Ahhh! f*** off!"

Boom!

Kyaaa!

The Dark King fell into despair as it looked at the mysterious dark creature who had caught up to Hephaestus.

...............

Rumble!

Dionysus asked with a worried expression after running for a bit longer.

"Hey! What are you going to do?"

They would be able to escape for now but an answer not existing was still the case.

But Hades replied instead.

"Athena. Find her. She might have some methods up her sleeve."

"…Against that thing? Even if she does, do you even know where she is?"

And Dionysus was shocked as he saw Hades nodding his head.

Athena had always been very mysterious and lonesome.

Boom! Boom!

Apollon shouted at Dionysus.

"Is that really what's important!? Let's just agree to not backstab each other first… Even if the others die, we have to survive and go up. Okay?"

He could not die.

The world was such an amazing place, how could he die like this?

Then.

Sssss.

"Of course. You won't be able to backstab anymore. I don't know about surviving and going up though."

"What…!?"

Apollon freaked out as a man appeared out of thin air in front of him.

Where did he come from?

But even before he could complete this thought.

Hansoo's right hand swung at him and smashed onto his stomach.

Boom!

"Kuaaaak!"

"It was a light punch, don't overreact."

Dionysus trembled in fear at the man who had appeared out of thin air and had attacked Apollon.

'Light?'

One attack.

One attack was enough to cause Apoolon to scream out and fall onto the ground with a huge indent on his stomach.

This was light?

'…Where did this f***er pop out from?'

He wanted to run but his feet didn't listen to him.

Since he felt like he would get killed the moment he tried.

Hansoo spoke as he looked at the one rolling around the ground and the two frozen in place.

"Yeah, I'll have to recycle for now. If your friendship hasn't changed… Then you guys would've been a bit happier."

Hansoo chucked as he sensed the exploding aura of the monster.

If these guys worked together to fight and didn't abandon their comrades then they would've bought enough time until he got here.

And he would've been able to easily suppress the Ark-Roa.

But it seems the Ark-Roa has been able to pick them out one by one and successfully evolve.

Whatever.

Fighting that thing was part of these guys's destiny as well.

"F***ing…Hell."

As Apollon spoke out in despair.

Rumble.

A dark red aura started to seep out around Hansoo.

Reincarnator – Chapter 327 : Ark-Roa (6)

Roaarr!

"Ahhh!"

'F***!'

After seeing Hades rolling on the floor in pain, Dionysus immediately activated his movement skill to run away.

—boom!—

Skill, Fog of the Night.

A skill that covered the surroundings in a thick fog, creating a swamp of clouds.

A normal person would melt just by entering the fog itself, but of course, Dionysus didn't even want such a thing to happen.

'Run while this distracts him!'

"Traitor!"

He heard the shouts of Hades, but Dionysus ignored it.

They could not win.

The moment he saw the man with horns, he knew.

But if he could get away, he might be safe.

Since that monster over there wouldn't let such a large meal go.

He could run away while the monsters fought amongst themselves.

'Farewell, you bastards…'

Then—

—swooosh!—

A hand reached out from the fog and grabbed him.

"Huh?'

'How? He should still be behind me!'

Dionysus freaked out at first, but soon brightened up after seeing who it was that grabbed him.

"Hermes! Where did you—"

But Hermes, who had a giant hole on one of his shoulders, made a bitter expression as he cut Dionysus's words off.

"I'm sorry."

"Huh…?"

—boooom!—

A giant bolt of lightning pierced through the fog and smashed into Dionysus.

—crackle!—

"Ahhh…!"

'No…'

Dionysus realized who the owner of that bolt of lightning was, and started panicking.

And Hermes mumbled while holding onto his wrist—

"Let's go together.'"

—booom!—

After reinforcing his leg with his skill, Hermes lifted his leg up and smashed Dionysus in the stomach.

"Ugh…"

'Bastard…why?'

Dionysus's skills dispersed, and the fog followed suit.

And Dionysus fell into despair as he stared at the man walking towards him, who was dragging Hades and Apollon along with him.

...........................

—rumble—

"Ugh…damn it! Why are we being imprisoned? What can we do against a monster like that?!"

Apollon glared at Hansoo, gritting his teeth.

Red smoke was constantly entering his, Dionysus's and Hades's bodies.

And he knew the moment his smoke entered his body—

—that they were now slaves.

Hermes and Zeus, who were following behind them with a blank expression, proved it all.

The red smoke entered his body and settled around his muscles, nerves, and spine.

—zzzst—

He felt chills and cold sweat running down his back.

A feeling of some thing grabbing hold of his spine that was wondering whether to twist it apart or not.

"Kuaaaak!"

But Hansoo didn't care about all this.

"Be quiet for a bit."

He couldn't change the fact that the Arc Roa had already evolved.

But this wasn't the only variable.

There was a bigger one in fact.

The one who wanted revenge against him.

'I could win but… if I did, I'd just get stabbed behind my back.'

Hansoo mumbled.

There was a very high chance that this being had a method to hide from the Arc-Roa.

That person would aim for an opening while he fought with the Arc-Roa.

Even Hansoo wouldn't be able to defeat both at the same time.

Which meant that he would need to utilize the guys he'd caught as much as he could.

'…There's probably something you guys can do as well.'

—rumble—

Hansoo chuckled as he looked at the five who had red smoke entering their bodies.

..........................

—rumble—

After devouring the creature that had named itself Hephaestus, it had evolved into another level.

After receiving sufficient energy from its food, this released the genes that had been locked inside its body and caused it to transform in an explosive manner.

The shadow-like body of the Ark-Roa thrashed about as if it were about to explode.

But only for a moment.

—crack—

—snap—

The shadow-like form fused into itself as it turned into a humanoid.

The Ark-Roa, which had turned into a two-meter tall black humanoid, looked at its newly-evolved body.

"Ah. Ahhh. Ahh. Go…good. It's good."

The voice was raspy at first, but soon it cleared up into an actual human's voice.

And then the skin of the Ark-Roa bubbled as it formed a set of armor on its body.

A set of armor similar to those worn by the things it had eaten.

Though it looked more and more human after donning on armor, the Dark King's instincts constantly screamed at him.

He could feel a monster that was on a whole other level from inside that thing's human-like skin.

The bloodthirsty aura currently blasting at him made his skin feel like it was being ripped apart—that proved it all.

"Uahh…AHhhhh!"

The Dark King freaked out from this aura, and he struggled to run away.

And after a while, he'd managed to go all the way up to the fortress which he had ruled in the past.

Of course there wasn't anything that could protect him here, but there was nothing else in the Dark King's mind.

Only the thought of hiding from that monster.

"…"

Ark-Roa looked at the Dark King struggling to run away, and smiled.

There was too much to eat.

It had to get stronger, faster.

Then—

—stomp!—

The Ark-Roa smashed its feet onto the ground.

Kyakakakayak!

"Uaa..Uaaahah!"

Metal spikes rose up from the ground and smashed through the Dark King's remaining leg.

A skill once used by Demeter, who it had devoured.

But as the Ark-Roa approached to feast on the Dark King while listening to its scream—

—booom!—

—a huge sound echoed out as the spikes that pierced through the Dark King were smashed apart.

And the Dark King was at a loss for words after seeing who had saved him.

"Why…"

Zeus grit his teeth as he looked at the Dark King.

He had become like this after becoming interested and getting involved with the Dark King.

He wanted to rip the Dark King apart, but he could not.

Since any form of help would be useful at this moment.

"Shut up, you bastard. You come help as well. I'll kill you if you become annoying."

'F***. F***. F***.'

Zeus looked at the monster that was staring at the five of them—all of whom had become Hansoo's slaves—and thought of Hansoo's words.

It was a good plan, but there was a fatal flaw.

Their own lives were at risk.

So the five of them had asked:

Then, what of them?

But the reply that had come was too simple.

'Damn it. Damn it…'

Zeus grit his teeth, started up his skills and sent them towards the monster.

"Die!"

—boooom!—

Then—

The five of them, and the Dark King as well, started to unleash their attacks on the Arc-Roa.

—boom!—

—swoosh!—

—crackle!—

Every attack was more than strong enough to smash apart hundreds of normal adventurers.

But none of the six had on pleasant expressions, but rather, they wore the exact opposite.

While this was all happening, the Ark-Roa just chuckled as it looked at the six with amusement.

"Kahah."

And the moment the six of them heard this laugh, all of them fell into despair.

It was clear what that laugh meant.

It was looking down on them.

Then—

—booom!—

The Ark-Roa's body disappeared.

—crunch—

"Uaaaaak!"

Apollon screamed.

Something appeared right before his eyes and chomped on his arm.

"F***…you bastard!"

—boooooom!—

Flames rose up aggressively from Apollon's body.

A powerful force which had been traded with the crystals he'd had gained from sacrificing the lives of thousands of humans.

But sadly, it had no effect on the Arc-Roa.

—chomp chomp—

"Kuuuhh…KUAHHH!"

Apollon screamed once more.

It wasn't that his skills weren't working.

Since the obsidian-like skin was slowly melting away from the flame, lightning, and poison.

But as the Arc-Roa continued to feast, its skin regenerated the moment it melted.

"Damn it!"

—crunch!—

Everybody roared as they continued to pour out their skills.

'Daaammittt! I. Will. Not. Die. Here!'

"You bastard! Attack already!"

Zeus, who had been throwing out bolts of lightning one after another, roared at Hansoo with rage.

It was clear that they wouldn't be able to win.

Him.

They needed him to attack to survive.

And…the moment he attacked the monster.

They would all attack Kang Hansoo and kill him.

'Bastard… I'm going to kill you!'

Zeus burned in rage as he thought of the man who had shoved him into this hellhole.

No matter how strong the toxins inside their body, it wouldn't be under anyone's control after Hansoo died, and at that point they could just slowly release it from within their bodies.

Right now, the one he hated the most was Hansoo and not that monster.

And the moment Hansoo attacked the monster would be the moment he'd be buried in his grave.

Since their attacks would be landing on Hansoo's back.

'Come…attack!'

"BASTARRRD!"

—boomboomboomboomboom!—

The transcendents continued to throw out their skills at the Arc-Roa, which had just finished eating Apollon and was now looking towards them with greedy eyes.

.....................…

—crack—

—crunch—

"Hahahaha! I won! I…won!"

Zeus was in glee as he looked at Hansoo and the monster that had fallen at his feet.

His plan had succeeded.

The monster had been split in half from Hansoo's attack.

And after they attacked Hansoo from behind, they'd managed to blow out his heart.

Both of them.

'What a monster… two hearts? He even has horns… He's definitely not a human.'

Well anyway, he had won.

And as for the ginormous crystal the beast had left behind—

Once he devoured that, he'd be able to become stronger than even Kang Hansoo himself.

Plus there were all these items that Hansoo had left behind.

'Dumbass. Using us as your slaves? You really thought we were going to be that easy?'

—smack!—

Zeus smiled in glee after kicking away Hansoo's corpse.

He was now the king of his region.

He would enslave every female that came up.

Every male would be food for the abyssal crystals.

He would chase down the man who had created him, and kill him.

He'd enslave Athena who had yet to appear, and he would kill Karhal and Ekidu in the most painful way possible.

'No, I'll leave Ekidu alive. So she can become friends with Athena… hehehe.'

Then—

A voice appeared out of the air.

"What are you thinking about?"

Zeus was shocked, and looked at the female who had spoken to him with puzzlement.

"Huh? Aphrodite? How are you…"

Aphrodite smiled at Zeus's words.

"What do you mean? I have to eat you."

"Wha…"

Then—

—crunch—

"Kuggghuk…"

Zeus groaned out loud as he felt the tremendous amount of pain coming from his heart.

—crack!—

Cracks appeared in the air as reality started to break down.

Well, more like the illusion.

'Aphrodite's…skill. F*…**.'

Zeus fell into despair.

Illusory Dreams.

A skill which showed a scene the opponent desired the most, turning them defenseless.

Pain had made him break through the illusion as he started to see the true reality.

Kang Hansoo had not arrived, even after all six of them had been devoured.

The only ones left were him and the monster currently eating his heart.

'…Lying bastard.'

Then—

—crunch!—

Arc-Roa gulped down Zeus's head in one go as it finished up its feast.

"Heh."

As the Arc-Roa made a satisfied expression while it felt the powers from the six—

—a storm was occurring inside it.

—rumble!—

The spores that had been sent into the bodies of the six became agitated, and fused inside the Arc-Roa's stomach.

"Kuaa…AHHHHH!"

The Arc-Roa abruptly grasped onto its stomach and screamed.

........................…..

UAAAAHAHHHHH!

'Nice and clean.'

Though it wouldn't be easy to kill it off with the Pandemic Blade, it would be more than enough to buy him time.

Hansoo heard the scream echoing out from the distance as he looked at the man in front of him and spoke.

"While that thing is rolling around, let's finish our business. Why do you hate me so much?"

"…"

The man who had been standing near the elevator stared at Hansoo, seething with rage.

Reincarnator – Chapter 328 : The Grand Scheme (1)

Hansoo confirmed who the man was and frowned.

'…He's young.'

He didn't even look twenty.

As Hansoo frowned at this young boy, who should've only been at high school or even younger—

—rumble—

—the boy, Kael, frowned.

Where had it gone wrong?

Hansoo should not have been able to reach him.

The spell from the Rangkom's Stake should've hidden him from the Ark-Roa.

The Ark-Roa should've eaten the transcendents in quick succession, and then become stronger from the easiest to the hardest targets.

And then finally it would reach Hansoo.

Then he himself would attack them both when they were half-dead from fighting each other.

This was his plan.

But instead, Hansoo had used the team he'd been raising for the Ark-Roa against him.

'This guy is dangerous. This was why he'd been able to lead Sir Jang Oh to his death.'

Kael tightened his grip on the Rangkom's Stake.

Whatever. This is good, too.

Since he should use his own hands to deal with his own issues.

<…I'll leave the rest to you.>

Kael thought of Jang Oh's last wish as he started to gather up strength.

—rumble—

An abnormal world.

And its insane rules.

Outer appearances did not prove the true power of a being.

And as if Kael was trying to prove this, a storm of energy started to rush out from his body.

Hansoo frowned at this.

'2 star indeed.'

This kid had climbed over the wall too.

And he was different from the ones who'd used the to grow stronger.

—booom!—

After completely gathering up his strength, Kael swung the stake at Hansoo.

The white stake, surrounded by a golden aura, aimed for Hansoo's heart.

And the moment Forked Lightning and the stake collided—

—boooom!—

—a tremendous explosion occurred as it swept through the surroundings.

—crackle!—

And Hansoo laughed as he sensed the tremendous amount of lightning crackling around his body.

'He gathered a lot of energy into the stake, huh? And this is the Golden Demon's Reinforcement.'

Golden Demon's Reinforcement.

Skill rank 19.

The body, after being shrouded by golden light, boasted an ironclad defense and a very solid attack to match.

—booom!—

—boom!—

The golden spear and the white stake clashed, causing countless shockwaves to ring out.

The ground split apart and lightning fell.

Though it was only a clash between two people, the surrounding few hundred meters collapsed and the geography changed.

—sssss!—

The red spores seeped out from Hansoo's body and multiplied inside the boy's body to melt him down, right as the golden aura charged at Hansoo to smash apart his body.

—crunch!—

"Uaaahhh!"

As Forked Lightning was about to pierce through Kael's defenses and go through his heart—

—Kael ignored the spear as he was also aiming for Hansoo's heart with the stake.

—boooom!—

Hansoo quickly retreated to defend the attack, frowning as he looked at the insane boy.

That clash had been completely planned.

The boy had purposely let down his guard around his heart, and then waited for an opening.

All just to kill Hansoo, even if it meant risking his own life.

'…I've never even seen this kid before, why does he hate me so much?'

The boy was too insane for this to be just simple rage.

A resolution to kill him even if it meant losing everything.

Then—

—Booom!—

Kael, who had been smashing at Hansoo with his golden aura, roared out in rage.

"If you hadn't pushed Jang Oh that far! If you hadn't brought the Abyss!"

Kael thought back to two years in the past.

Jang Oh had become a mess after his fight with Hansoo.

He had lost the fight and because he had overdrawn his soul, Taehee had been forced to act out personally, which had caused even more of a backlash.

But Jang Oh had tried to save his villagers despite his condition.

And he would have succeeded.

If the Obelisk hadn't broken apart, which had caused a new, harsh environment to cover the entire Green Zone.

If the elevator hadn't fallen into their world, which had brought down countless beasts with it.

Jang Oh and everyone else had tried their best, but it hadn't been enough.

The damage on Jang Oh's body had become worse after he'd overexerted himself trying to go up.

And Kael had asked.

As to why they had to try so hard to go up.

Because the ones led by Kang Hansoo were defending the line from a distance.

Though they were slightly damaged from the beasts, they were hunting in relative safety.

But Jang Oh shook his head with a bitter expression.

Their situations were different.

If they remained… they'd be wiped out.

Because of the winners, they had to go up.

They had to go up and find a new way to survive.

'Damn it.'

Kael grit his teeth as he thought of the past.

Jang Oh had died.

Fighting while the villagers went up.

He and the villagers could only shed blood and tears, unable to help.

Under Jang Oh's protection, they had been able to safely gather runes and raise their respective mastery of skills.

But there was a limit to this.

A plant raised in a greenhouse will snap once it meets a storm.

And only when Jang Oh had fallen did they realize that the only ones who could rise up within the storm and face it head on were those who had gained their strength within the storm.

'F***ing… bastard! It's all because of you!"

—booooom!—

Kael grit his teeth as he pushed Hansoo back more and more.

He had constantly been raising his strength for the day he would meet Hansoo.

He wasn't dumb.

He realized that the strength gained through training—and not through something like the nursery—was the only true way of becoming really powerful.

He'd realized that fighting in real life-threatening battles was the true way of becoming powerful, so he'd roamed through the entire 4th area to hunt the beasts and absorb their strength.

This was why there were no powerful beasts within the entire 4th area.

Because he had devoured them all.

He had almost died a few times, but he'd been able to reach the 2nd star.

And he had constantly gathered energy into the Rangkom's stake just in case.

And finally—

—he had met Hansoo.

The man who had turned Jang Oh into a mess and smashed apart the stage they'd been standing on.

The man whom he'd thought he could easily kill with this painstakingly-gained strength.

'Why… why?!'

—boooom!—

Kael grit his teeth as he stared at Hansoo.

The reality was harsh.

His strength was not fake.

He had confirmed it after smashing everyone apart, including the transcendents.

He hadn't slacked off even after reaching the 2nd star, so he had been confident that he could beat Hansoo, even if Hansoo had become a 2 star.

But what was this?

What of the two years he'd spent training like a maniac?

Then—

—swoosh!—

The golden spear flashed past the stake and smashed into his shoulder.

An attack much more fierce than his own.

"Ahhh!"

Kael screamed.

And the memories he had been suppressing slowly rose up.

Memories that had been locked away in case they might have been detrimental to his training.

He'd thought of the conversation he had with Jang Oh before his death.

He had beaten Jang Oh who had trained for over twenty years.

For someone who had only been in this zone for a year to become that strong, what would his life have been like?

And then he slowly thought back to the achievements this Hansoo guy had done in the past.

Achievements that he himself would fail even if he had ten lives.

'…I see.'

Kael fell into despair.

He had been ignoring it until now.

No matter how hard he ran.

There was always someone who was soaring through the skies above him.

That just by simply trying his best didn't mean he could beat everyone.

—crunch!—

As his resolution crumbled, more and more openings appeared.

And his opponent was not somebody who would miss such a thing.

Kael smiled as he felt Hansoo smash his body with his spear, breaking through his reinforcement.

He wasn't enough.

But.

If he, the runner, was not enough.

He could just ask.

That person who was also soaring through the skies.

Kael closed his eyes and thought of the last conversation he'd had with Jang Oh.

'Oh Mr. Jang Oh, this is the end for me. I have lost already. And… please help me. Clementine.'

The person who he'd idolized more than Jang Oh.

The moment he called out to the person who would be soaring through the skies far above them.

The voice of the fragment's owner, Taehee, could be heard inside his mind.

And soon—

—kwaaaaadddududuk—

The soul fragment that had been hiding in the corners of his mind started to devour him up from inside.

.....................….

Above a mountain a bit to the west of the War Fortress.

—kiiiiing!—

A blue semi-shaped sphere, four meters in size, had been casted around four people, all of whom sat in the middle.

Two males and two females.

And one of the males, Taesang, looked at the couple in amusement.

'…So these are Karhal and Ekidu, huh?'

A couple from the legendary era of the past.

The people that man had been searching so hard for.

But he could not figure out the identity of the other person.

This woman who stared into the distance, holding onto a flail which reached down to her feet.

As Taesang looked in confusion at this lady who had basically abducted him into this place.

The lady raised her eyebrows and mumbled:

"Huh? This isn't good."

"He was crazier than I thought…"

Ekidu, Karhal, and Taesang finally asked her the question they had been trying to figure out for so long.

"Who are you?"

The mysterious woman who had saved them.

Without the woman, they would've been swallowed alive.

Since they had seen how the monster had come searching for them while it hid its aura, and then moving away after failing to find them.

'…How does she know how to use that anyway?'

The flail in the woman's hands.

The woman had been using the energy of the mana node with proficiency, which was why they'd been able to watch over the situation from relative safety.

This barrier seemed to disrupt that monster's senses.

Of course, they still couldn't approach the monster.

The woman pondered for a moment and then spoke.

"Hmm…just call me Athena for now. I'll tell you later."

It was childish.

But she really liked that name.

"…You're the last of the twelve? But why are you helping us?"

Athena smiled at the suspicion in Karhal's words.

"Because it is now time to move."

Athena muttered as she looked towards the War Fortress in the distance.

Reincarnator – Chapter 329 : The Grand Scheme (2)

—rummmblee—

"It's been two years. We didn't get a chance to finish our conversation back then, right?"

Hansoo raised his brows at the boy's sudden change in attitude.

And it wasn't just his attitude alone.

His posture, aura, and his eyes had all changed.

Those eyes which he had previously seen on Jang Oh.

Hansoo mumbled as he stared into those eyes.

'This boy inherited the soul fragment, huh?'

But even before Hansoo could finish his thoughts.

Taehee, who was now in full control of the boy, smiled.

"Well, the situation is much more different now.'

Then—

—booooom!—

The moment the stake swept through the air, the Seven Strands Spear which Hansoo had experienced in the past shot out instantly.

—boom!—

Though it was sent out in haste, the power behind it was not weak.

The Seven Strands Spear charged towards him as it ripped the space apart.

A power which could even cause the Dark King to become a pile of meat in an instant.

'As I suspected.'

There were no openings.

Unlike the Dark King, who was basically playing around with random skills, or the boy, who had still been experienced, this person was dimensions apart.

A skill that had been polished, over and over again.

Hansoo smiled coldly as he looked at the seven-colored spear which had manifested for the sole sake of destruction.

He had been hurt by this quite a lot in the past, but—

—now he had something very useful up his sleeves to counter it.

Kirrrrrrik!

He pumped out a few dragons from his heart, and they ran towards the tip of his spear.

His heart continued to pump as it supplied every nook of his body with warm blood.

He poured out waves of his mana, causing the mana jade to go into overdrive.

And in the brief moment it took the Seven Strands Spear to reach Hansoo, four dragons had crawled up the spear and had condensed into a single point.

Then—

The dark orb flew out.

—booooooom!—

The seven-colored light and the dark orb collided, creating a huge shockwave.

—kudududuk—

But soon, the black-colored orb smashed apart the seven-colored light as if it were trying to prove that it was the higher level skill, and almost instantly reached Taehee in control of the boy.

—swoooosh!—

Though it had been weakened from the collision with the Seven Strands Spear, it was still more than enough to destroy a life.

Even though anybody would freak out if they were to see such a powerful attack approach them, Taehee merely smiled.

—bubble bubble bubble—

The area surrounding Taehee began to bubble.

As if she was being covered in boiling water.

The air and space itself bubbled up.

Affecting Hansoo's attack as well.

As Hansoo's black orb approached Taehee, it gradually started bubbling bit by bit.

And as these two collided—

—booooooooom!—

—another tremendous shockwave was let loose, shaking the entire perimeter of the place.

And Hansoo frowned at the sight.

"…Elemental Outfit."

A terrifyingly powerful skill which absorbed the surrounding elements to defend and attack.

For skills at the level of Solo Numbering 1,2, and 3, there wasn't much difference of power between them and the Zero Numberings.

To the point of being able to beat Zero Numberings if the Solo Numbering 1,2, and 3's masteries levels were higher.

From what he could see, Taehee's mastery over this skill was miles and miles ahead of its limit.

'…The Witch. She was annoying in the past as well.'

Hansoo shook his head as he looked at Taehee walking through the residue of the explosion.

Though she had the look of a twenty-year-old boy, he could visualize the beauty who had fought so confidently in the past.

A person who had terrifying potential and monstrous skills.

With a personality that enjoyed battles.

She would've been a very good comrade if not for the fact that she had long been blinded by Clementine's vision, skills, and potential.

To the point that she'd been willing to offer up her own life.

'Well, everyone who follows Clementine is like that…'

Anyway, this would not end so quickly now.

Since she wouldn't back down that easily.

—crackle—

As Hansoo tightened his grip on Forked Lightning, Taehee walked out while wearing a colorful outfit that seemed to burn up her surroundings.

"Well, it's been a while, so I didn't want to say goodbye this soon, but this is the end of our reunion it seems."

"Your actions and words contradict themselves, did you know that?"

Taehee smiled at Hansoo, who chuckled after seeing her body burn up even brighter.

"Well, it's not like you're going to just let me go, right?"

Hansoo replied by gripping his spear even tighter.

It was just as she'd said.

He didn't know why she was trying to avoid a fight with him, which meant that this was important.

And since letting them succeed in their plans wouldn't be good for him—

'I'll just…break your legs right here!'

Hansoo smiled coldly.

HIs strength was overflowing.

Another step closer to his past life's original power.

The four skills were roaring out from within him.

Use us.

Hurry and use us.

Use us to crush your enemy.

Prove you are superior.

Taehee herself might be an issue, but he didn't plan on losing to someone being controlled by Taehee.

—boooooooom!—

Hansoo's spear and Rangkom's Stake collided, creating a huge shockwave.

The shockwave continued to extend outwards.

And soon it reached a creature that was rolling around the ground in pain.

The Ark-Roa which was trying its best to suppress the Pandemic Blade.

.....................….

—rumble—

The shockwave from the distance pricked its skin, but the Ark-Roa had no time to worry about such a thing.

There was something much more important at stake.

"Krrkrrkr….Krrrk."

The food it had just eaten was rotten beyond reason.

The ones it had eaten were nothing more than empty husks because all their sources of mana had been devoured by these spores.

It had devoured six, all of which had been filled to the brim with these spores.

It hadn't gained much strength from them, and instead had just received a lot of pain.

"Ugh…Kuhuk."

The pain hadn't reached the point of killing it, though.

It was just a bit annoying.

For something to give this much pain to itself…

The Ark-Roa slowly suppressed the spores as its eyes filled with rage.

Of course it wasn't acting according to its emotions.

The shockwaves from the distance was telling it that this place wasn't safe.

It needed to heal back up, it needed to evolve even more.

It needed…more food.

Much, much more food.

The Arc-Roa started to focus on its left arm.

—swoosh—

The veins, muscles, and mana circuits started to crazily push the spores towards its body.

The spores multiplied at an insane rate to devour its entire left arm, but as they moved, they soon realized that there was much more energy in the actual body.

And after fully curing its left arm of the spear, the Ark-Roa used its right arm to cut its left arm off.

—crunch!—

The Ark-Roa's left arm turned to mush as it fell down to the ground.

—squirm—

There was no blood.

Only a bit of life.

Soon—

Another left arm regenerated.

And shockingly, the same thing was happening to its original left arm.

—wooosh—

—crunch—

The left arm quickly grew larger and larger.

It expanded into a giant, gruesome sphere, about the size of a man, but then started folding into itself.

Grrrrr.

A giant hunting dog came out as a result.

Graaaaar!

As its claws and teeth sprang out, it started to dash away with a roar.

There was no point in giving it an order.

The Ark-Roa was the dog, and the dog was the Ark-Roa.

The Ark-Roa's true body smiled as it looked at the dog while it continued to suppress the spores.

A clone of itself that was created just for the sake of devouring.

Though it had only expanded a bit of strength since it needed to quickly suppress the spores, that dog would be more than enough to sweep apart the entire zone.

Though the remaining beings were weak, once he devoured the millions alive, it would be of great help towards its next stage.

Then he would eat them all.

The ones from below who were going to come up.

And the ones going up.

And everything on the 7th floor as well.

Then…it would have the right to go back to where it had come from.

But there was something it needed to do before that.

Grrrr.

As the Ark-Roa growled out while thinking of the weak, weak human beings who lived upon this land.

—boooom!—

Something flew over and loudly landed next to it.

Then—

A young boy's voice could be heard through the smoke.

"Ah… he really wasn't an easy opponent. Seriously."

Taehee, who had cut through space to arrive here, smiled as she looked at her empty hand.

She'd been forced to throw away the stake and run away.

And there wasn't much time left now, either.

Since the one who had caused all of this would soon arrive.

'Ugh, I'll need to finish things up before then… but damn. He's really strong.'

Taehee shook her head as she thought of Hansoo.

She had thought of herself as being quite strong, but it seemed like Hansoo was numerous levels above her.

Although she would win if she brought her true body over since they were in different zones, that didn't even qualify as an excuse.

Since she had come to this world twenty years prior to Hansoo.

Taehee smiled bitterly and shook her head.

She didn't like lingering on useless thoughts.

She just needed to accomplish her objectives.

Taehee then smiled towards the Ark-Roa in front of her.

"It's been a while, right? Since I sent you down here when you were an egg."

"Grrrrr…."

Though it looked different, the aura was the same.

The past.

Ark-Roa grit its teeth as it saw one of the beings which had turned it to such a mess and had forced it to run away on the elevator.