I was skeptical.
Do demons manifest in reality this way too? Ten years have passed, but not much has changed, huh?
The unfolding situation felt eerily identical to the Demon Hunter's questline.
The moment the system window flashed, I became certain.
A demon had taken over Cheolmin's body.
Instantly, posts from online forums flashed through my mind.
↳Demonkind are the real problem.
↳Their base level is high, but the debuffs are what really fuck you over.
↳Classes like mages or priests can endure it since they have high willpower, but warriors like us are literally just punching bags without buffs or pots.
Demons in reality were definitely troublesome monsters.
Still, there was no guarantee they'd be identical to the demons I'd encountered in my quests ten years ago.
But I knew that when facing a demon, I didn't have the luxury of idle speculation.
『 Paradoxically, Grandfel Claudi Arpheus Romeo's pride soars to its absolute highest when standing before a demon.』
I didn't know what kind of demon had possessed Cheolmin.
I didn't know its level.
I didn't even know what status effect it could inflict.
Tap─
And yet, my vision had never been clearer.
There was not a shred of hesitation in my steady stride.
Confronting the demon, I spoke in a cold voice.
"As I had surmised, you truly are a demon."
My declaration sent shockwaves through the crowd.
Jeonghoon stammered.
He looked back and forth between me and Cheolmin before slowly retreating.
"W-what do you mean by that? A d-demon?"
"Demon! I knew something felt ominous."
"Wait, if it's demonkind… do we even stand a chance against it?!"
Amidst that shock, Cheolmin—no, the demon burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! Took you long enough to notice, you dumbasses!!"
The demon seemed to enjoy this situation.
Of course it did.
Negative human emotions were fuel for a demon's power.
"You humans are just soo~ hypocritical."
But I had no intention of listening to its blabbering.
"A mutt, through and through."
Before long, a silver dagger was in my hand.
"Though I doubt an inferior species such as demonkind ever possessed elegance to begin with."
Of course, demons had a clear hierarchy.
That was something I had heard endlessly while completing my class quest in Akshan.
Low rank, mid rank, high rank.
Above them stood the Named Demons, and far beyond were the Demon Kings: the self-proclaimed rulers of demonkind.
But as I said:
『 No demonic temptation, deception, or tribulations can blemish the noble pride of Grandfel.』
At the end of the day, to Grandfel—meaning me—they were all just demons.
Therefore, there was no hesitation in my actions.
Skill 'Natural Enemy' activated.
Natural Enemy: Combat power increases exponentially when fighting against the demonkind.
With [Natural Enemy] now active, my physical capabilities were dramatically heightened.
Swish!
In one clean, swift motion, I drove my dagger straight at Cheolmin's neck.
Clang!
Plate armor, indeed.
I hadn't expected it to shield the gap at his neck.
A voice thick with confusion resonated.
"…Hahaha! Are you out of your mind? You're even crazier than me! We were getting along just fine a second ago, and now you swing a blade out of nowhere? What the fuck is wrong with you?!"
I had no intention of tolerating such insolence.
"You are not permitted to address me so."
"…W-what?!"
"I shall not squander my breath upon mere prey."
Swish!
Piercing plate armor with a silver dagger was impossible.
Then aiming for the joints is the right move.
Before the demon, my body moved on pure instinct.
I could feel that both my physical capabilities and brain processing speed were on a completely different level compared to when fighting gnolls.
Stab!
I drove the silver dagger deep into the inner elbow.
Skill 'Exorcism' activated.
I don't know how far Exorcism's effect will go, but it doesn't matter.
What that message implied was simple.
It meant I'd landed a clean hit on the demon.
Startled out of its mind, the demon stumbled back a few steps.
"Crazy bastard!! That's fucking silver!!! Fuck, fuck, fuck! What the hell are you?"
Instead of answering, I swung the dagger again.
The seam along the flank.
The joint at the knee.
And even the tiny gap along the nape.
Pshhh─
Black blood poured from those wounds.
The demon shouted.
"You crazy bastard… Can't you see the blood?! He's gonna die at this rate. If you kill me, this guy dies too! No, I'll drag him down with me no matter what! You think I'm dying alone?!"
I couldn't help but laugh internally.
Ten years had passed, yet demons hadn't changed one bit.
As if I'll fall for that.
While [Exorcism] was active, a Demon Hunter's attacks harmed only the demon.
No matter how long ago it was, I hadn't forgotten basic common sense.
Not me.
Outwardly, though, my face betrayed nothing.
"Prey exists for no purpose but the hunt."
Stab!
* * *
"Big bro, don't overdo it. Try to avoid dangerous rifts as much as possible."
"Yeah, yeah. I heard you, little bro."
"I'm not joking. Things have been getting dangerous lately. That's why I'm saying… why not just join my guild? There are plenty of things you can do as a player without running rifts. Like being an analyst, for instance."
He simply didn't want to live pathetically.
"It's hard to believe they're brothers when they're nothing alike."
"You'd better step up if you don't want to bring shame to your younger brother's name."
"I heard Taemin succeeded in another boss raid. Pass along my congratulations."
He simply didn't want to be a burden to a younger brother who was far more successful than him.
Watching his body move of its own accord, Cheolmin could only ask himself one thing.
…Where did it all go wrong?
His memories had been hazy from the moment he entered the rift.
But he clearly remembered the messages that had popped up.
A low rank imp is watching you.
Willpower is too low.
Status Effect: Possession has occurred.
…An imp?
An imp was a level 200 demonkind monster.
Cheolmin was well aware of how dangerous demons were.
All thanks to what he had seen and heard from his younger brother, Taemin Nam.
Cheolmin bit his lip.
Don't go in! Everyone will die!
But no voice came out.
Right, another party… If we can get help from another party!
His mouth spewed out words that weren't his own.
"But hey, no need to worry. This is a transfer station, so it's pretty huge. As long as we pick our route well, we can hunt without overlapping with other parties."
He was literally driving his party members into a death trap.
"Cheolmin! Hey, bro!"
His erratic behavior continued.
In the end, Jeonghoon and the rest of the party were surrounded by a pack of gnolls.
It's because of me. All because of me!
Move.
Please move!
I have to help them!!!
But Cheolmin Nam couldn't move even a single step.
He could only stand blankly and watch.
"What the fuck! What is wrong with you?! Hey, Cheolmin Nam!!!"
It was all his fault.
It was his own lack of ability.
From sheer helplessness, Cheolmin's heart began to crumble.
…Taemin, I guess I should have done what you said.
And that was exactly what the imp wanted.
Cheolmin finally let go of the fragile thread of consciousness he'd been clinging to.
All he could hear was a faint voice.
"Hey, Cheolmin! Did you think you were hot shit just because I followed you around calling you bro? Fuck, if it weren't for your younger brother, you'd be nothing!"
Jeonghoon was completely right.
'Cheolmin' was just a nobody who amounted to nothing on his own.
"Hahaha. Kuhahaha."
The imp's manic laughter rang in his ears, ruthlessly mocking his powerlessness.
And yet, that relentless mockery was cut short.
"As I had surmised… you truly are a demon."
He recognized the demon's presence? How?
At those words, Cheolmin grabbed onto the thread of consciousness once more.
Then, an unbelievable sight appeared in his field of vision.
…He's overwhelming the imp?
It was a ridiculous situation.
Demons weren't troublesome just because of their high levels.
It was because they constantly inflicted status effects.
[Fear], [Despair], [Exhaustion]…
Countering those vicious debuffs required a high willpower stat.
Or an overwhelming level gap that made them completely irrelevant.
…Who on earth is this man?
Even watching it happen, he couldn't believe it.
This wasn't a fight.
Yes, it was just as the man said.
It was a one-sided hunt.
The imp's shrieks echoed in Cheolmin's ears.
…If the imp dies, so do I? In that case, I will gladly die.
Cheolmin made up his mind.
Because of him, his party was facing certain death.
Even if an imp had taken control of his body, that was no excuse.
He had heard demons preyed on weak humans.
In the end, his own powerlessness was to blame.
Even if I die, I need to at least earn my keep. Right, Jeonghoon? Taemin?
Fortunately, the silver-haired man showed not a shred of hesitation.
Regrettably, I won't have any way to repay my debt to you.
Just as Cheolmin thought that—
Stab!
The man's dagger struck the nape of his neck.
He felt something slipping out of his body.
Blink─
Somehow, he could open his eyes now.
"…?"
Soon, the subway ceiling came into view.
The flickering lightbulb was bright enough to make him squint.
Amid that light, a voice rang out.
"Did I not assure you?"
It was a voice full of supreme composure, dripping with elegance.
"While I stand among you, there is naught here worthy of your fear."
* * *
You have slain a low rank demon, 'Imp'.
Level up.
Level up.
Level up.
.
.
.
My level kept climbing.
Counting the system messages, there were twelve notifications.
I had only killed a single imp, yet my level went up by a whopping twelve levels.
What the hell, is this for real?
I recalled the battle with the imp, trying to gauge the level of a monster that had basically showered me with experience points.
But no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't understand it.
Honestly, the gnolls were a trickier opponent than the imp.
Gnolls were only around level 30.
That left only one simple explanation.
High expectations only lead to great disappointment, but… isn't this already far beyond what I anticipated?
It seemed the 'natural enemy' dynamic between Demon Hunters and demonkind was far more absolute than I had anticipated.
Maybe it's because this demon was low-rank? A mediocre gap in strength wasn't enough to overcome the match-up.
The notification messages didn't stop there.
Proficiency for 'Silver Mastery' has increased.
Silver Mastery (24%): Grants additional attack power and special effects to silver weapons.
Thanks to slaying the imp with a silver dagger, the skill proficiency increased significantly.
The proficiency, which was at 19%, jumped straight to 24%.
The imp didn't drop any items, but I didn't feel disappointed in the slightest.
Perhaps it was because I had gained massive amounts of experience, or because of Grandfel's character setting of caring nothing for wealth and glory.
I honestly couldn't tell.
Rather than that…
What mattered more was that I had kept my word.
"Did I not assure you? While I stand among you, there is naught here worthy of your fear."
Because if I hadn't kept it—
I would have literally died of embarrassment on the spot.
Through experience, I'd come to know one thing with absolute certainty.
My actions, wrapped in this dark past named Grandfel, could not be corrected.
Even in life-threatening moments, my rigidly held neck proved as much.
So really, I had no choice but to adapt.
Fortunately, I seemed to be adapting pretty well.
"Sob… Thank you so much. I will definitely repay this debt!"
"Bro, are you okay? Seriously, what on earth just happened?"
"Whew. What a relief, seriously."
"Whoa. Amazing!!!"
Heavy, awestruck gazes rained down on me.
I accepted them effortlessly, as if such a reaction were only natural.
I simply thought:
The nerve I've got.
No wonder they say kids these days have no shame.
Turns out, they were right.
* * *
[Title: Review of today's Line 4 Rift Raid!!! >x<]
Author: Jeongmini
Content: Today's raid was almost a total disaster ㅠㅅㅠ The party leader got possessed by an imp ㅠㅠㅠㅠ I really thought our party was gonna get wiped out ㅠㅠ But one of our party members was insanely strong and beat the crap out of the imp, so we survived!!! The party leader was crying his eyes out apologizing and thanking him ㅠㅁㅠ
Comments:
↳Aaaand Jeongmini's back at it again with the "Navy SEAL high school girl" LARP lol. Graduating from roleplay to straight-up fanfic now?
↳At least make the fake story believable, Jeongmini. A gnoll party taking down an imp? Make it make sense.
↳Couldn't even be bothered to come up with a fake name? Calling him a 'party member' is just lazy.
↳Excuse me, it's actually real though ㅡㅡ? I wanted to ask his name too! But seriously, you guys had to be there to get it… he had this crazy intimidating vibe where you couldn't even approach him. How do I even describe it? Like actual aura?! It felt like he was on a completely different level from us???
↳??? What kind of bs is this?
Level 368.
Player Rank 11.
Taemin Nam let out a snort while reading the post.
"So big bro, you expect me to believe this? Seriously?"
Standing in front of him was his biological brother, Cheolmin Nam.
"Yeah. It's real."
Cheolmin looked at Taemin, dead serious.
"I'm the party leader who got possessed by that imp."
"W-what?"
Get the latest chapter and best reading experience at www.novatls.com
Comments