Dungeon Hunter - Chapter 82

Chapter 82: Episode 22. Angels (2)

People couldn’t help but be confused. A massive doorway had suddenly opened up in the sky, and angels poured out of it in droves. Then, they flew towards the dungeon and began raining down a barrage of attacks. Although they clearly weren’t hostile towards humans, intense discussions about the possible responses to the aftermath raged on regardless.

They needed to help them. No, they had to let them be.

Their opinions split them into two camps, and they showed no signs of reaching an agreement.

If those winged creatures were really the angels that humans knew of, then it seemed rather obvious for them to attack the evil dungeon. However, from the perspective of South Korea, which had suffered greatly from the Monster Wave, it wasn’t as simple to come to a decision.

If they made yet another error in judgment, they would definitely not be able to bear the consequences. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that their future was dark and uncertain. The society as a whole managed to find some stability only recently, yet the entrance of these angels ended up pushing the people of Korea back into the pit of confusion, instead.

“We need to help the angels. They’re God’s ambassadors.”

“We mustn’t disobey the master of the dungeon. What if the angels fail? Then it’d really be the end for us. Don’t you know that getting caught in between two titans is the worst?”

“If we help them, the angels will win. Doing nothing is no different from voluntarily becoming slaves!”

“Forget about it. How much of help can we really be, anyway?”

The opposing sides’ opinions were deep-rooted, and instead of reaching a middle ground, they grew even further apart.

However, that made sense. After experiencing the Monster Wave and meeting the dungeon master, groups that respected her had popped up. She was deified and classified as someone not to mess with. That was how great an impression the dungeon master had left.

Sure, angels might have appeared, but this world was already filled with miracles and unexplainable mysteries. Unless real, tangible hope presented itself, humans wouldn’t easily make a move.

Of course, this didn’t mean that firm believers in God’s emissaries didn’t exist nor that they were unwilling to on their beliefs. However, there was only so much they could do. Frankly speaking, the best they could do at this point was cheer them on from the sidelines.

Unfortunately, even that activity fell by the wayside after the following piece of news made its rounds: “From China, the Philippines, India, Pakistan, and Indonesia… a monster horde of unprecedented size is fast approaching. All citizens are recommended to evacuate to safe zones immediately.”

Wheeeeee—!

Air-raid sirens went off everywhere. Every TV channel switched to emergency news broadcasts, and all of them kept discussing the incoming danger.

South Korea felt that they were especially disadvantaged during the appearance of the massive hordes of monsters. The satellite images captured the sight of the monsters marching over from various countries, and their numbers easily numbered in the tens of thousands, even in a casual count.

Some countries tried to at least stop the monsters’ march in some capacity, while others couldn’t even manage to do that.

To make matters worse, many ridiculously powerful monsters could be spotted in the hordes as well, perhaps to announce how serious the monsters were in this venture. After calculating exactly where they were headed, people came to the conclusion that every single one of these creatures was currently marching towards South Korea.

“It’s over… We’re doomed.”

On a road that was crammed beyond belief, one man was listening to a radio broadcast while stuck in the middle of traffic, as countless cars were stuck in sheer confusion. He heard the news and muttered to himself, then he suddenly leaped out of the car and looked up at the sky.

Hundreds of Wyverns were flying in the sky.

The Fragrant Herb of Courage.

The Droplet of Victory.

And finally, the Bead of Fervor.

These were the remaining three items that I had purchased during the Devildom auction.

I had bought them in the hopes to use them for a possible large-scale battle, since when these three items worked together, even the most hopeless ragtag bunch would become warriors capable of taking on hundreds of enemies.

They were all strength-type items—the Fragrant Herb of Courage enhanced the power of allied forces by one point for the duration of one entire day after one inhaled its fragrance. By diluting the Droplet of Victory in water and having allies drink it, the allies’ speed would experience a boost, while the Bead of Fervor also increased strength by one point for a day just from looking at it once. One’s actual abilities didn’t matter, as anyone using it would see a definite improvement, so their versatility and usefulness were no joke.

Both the herb and the droplet were consumable, but their values would continue to shoot up the later they were used. At some stage, it’d become impossible to purchase them, even with an abundance of points. That was why I bought them the moment I saw them.

‘Although, I never predicted that I’d be using them so soon…’

Currently, on the dungeon’s first floor, monsters that were mid-grade and higher were lining up according to their species. At a quick estimate, their numbers were about 1,500 in total.

The main combat force was made up of 70 Nagas, 83 Werewolves, 92 Lizard Men, 47 Dark Elves, and 40 individuals per species of Minotaurs, Mammothdons, and Dark Bears. There were also 563 Saber Tigers.

The rest were made up of Trolls, Pyroks, Lychis, high-grade Golems with four attributes, Dwarves, and a small number of mutants.

Even a casual glance would show that this combat force specialized in land battles, meaning air combat was practically impossible. However, angels wouldn’t continue battering the outer walls forever. The angel units entering the dungeon on foot would appear soon.

These creatures were there precisely to greet those angels.

The monsters weaker than mid-grade were all pulled back, since they wouldn’t be much of a challenge to the angels. The main strategy was to use the 1,500 monsters gathered at the entrance to stop the angels and to keep the other demons in the wings just in case.

‘And also, in case of an emergency, Giantes, Griffin, and Krathra will guard the highest floor. The Dungeon Core needs to be protected at all costs, after all. My enemies aren’t only the angels. I can’t forget.’

The demons and monsters coming from surrounding countries were definitely dangerous. With an event of this magnitude, it was pretty obvious that they would show up with massive armies in tow.

‘If only Hashumal wasn’t here, I’d have taken aim at some of the empty dungeons, but…’

I massaged my forehead roughly.

A handful of demons would no doubt show up here after mobilizing all of their main forces. If only the Dimensional Gate hadn’t opened in South Korea or Dominions Hashumal hadn’t appeared, I’d have gladly taken this chance and robbed a few of the empty residences, but in my current situation, that was merely a pipe dream.

I wasn’t the one who had set this stage, so every variable, every stepping stone, needed to be checked before I crossed it.

At least for this event, I couldn’t afford to be adventurous. The Korean dungeon was my main focus of development, so I had to defend it no matter what. I didn’t know about the others, but losing this dungeon would make my dream of becoming the Dark Lord so much harder to achieve.

“Krithli, your responsibilities this time will be very important.”

“Oh, my dungeon master, please rest your worries. Although created in a hurry, did you not create many Spartoi through the Earth Dragon’s remaining corpse?”

Kneeling on one knee, Krithli spoke to me.

She possessed the skill Undead Creation (Ex U). With a little bit of effort, it was laughably easy to manufacture Spartois from the Earth Dragon’s remains. Seven high-grade level-one Spartois were lined up behind her. In this type of situation, no other creatures made as dependable reinforcements as them.

“Your role is to command the monsters and defeat all the invaders. Do not forget that.”

“I shall engrave your order in my heart, Master.”

The odds of Krithli becoming suspicious after being spotted by other demons were very low. There was an enormous difference between how she had looked while locked inside a cage, deeply ill, and her current appearance. It was almost like the difference between a firefly and the full moon. Not only that, but the quality of her current Mana had risen up considerably as well. Surely, they wouldn’t even imagine she could be the same creature.

“By the way…. Oh, my dungeon master. How do you plan to prepare for the assault on the outer walls?”

Krithli slightly raised her head.

While looking at the entrance of the dungeon, I replied, “I’ll be using every card that I can.”

Kaboom!

KABOOM!

Lights exploded as the dungeon’s barrier wavered precariously.

Hashumal lowered her hand diagonally, and a stroke of pure light thunderously came crashing down from the heavens. Every time the light struck, all the creatures in a radius of a few miles found it difficult to keep their eyes open.

Not too long afterward, three pairs of wings spread open wide from Hashumal’s back. The sight was truly magnificent to behold.

Even from afar, her presence could still be felt quite vividly.

Powerful divinity spread out from her six wings and gently embraced the angels in her surroundings. Their stamina recovered at a frighteningly quick rate, and their attacks became even fiercer than ever before.

Hashumal paused her attacks to observe her surroundings.

There were one Virtus and three Powers, all carrying spears of light, eight Rulers outfitted with bows of light, and around four hundred angels wielding their individual weapons.

This army was hopelessly small to raid a dungeon with.

As if she had found something that wasn’t to her liking, Hashumal frowned ever so slightly. Despite being so beautiful that one would lose oneself looking at her, her expression remained icy cold. And with such an expression, she raised her hand, prompting two hundred or so angels and four Rulers to descend from the sky to enter the dungeon’s entrance on foot.

She was planning to hit the outer wall and the inside at the same time.

Hiss!

Grrr!

Not too long after they entered the dungeon, the screams of monsters resounded. The angels were merciless; they wielded their weapons of light without rest and decisively cut through the monsters’ ranks.

She decided that the number she had deployed inside should be enough for the job.

Just as Hashumal meant to resume attacking the barrier…

Stab!

A black needle flew at her and pierced her body.

As if it was laced with a powerful poison, she detected a toxin quickly spreading throughout her body. She unfurled her wings even further and purified the poison in an instant. After pulling out and discarding the needle that had emptied its load, she shifted her cold glare towards the one who had dared to attack her.

Hundreds of Wyverns had shown up. A demon riding on one cackled hoarsely, “You damn stinking celestials! Why don’t you quietly surrender your heads?!”

Hashumal simply drew a cross in silence, but that caused a flood of bright light to pour out from the empty air, eventually becoming hundreds of spears the next second. Every single one of them was a powerful spear, capable of causing grievous wounds!

The expression on the demon’s face crumpled to resemble someone chewing on a turd. “Dammit! Spread out, now!”

The demon leading the Wyverns was merely the start. Infamous monsters, including thousands of invisible insects, hundreds of Banshees and Beholders, tens of Dark Warriors, and even Death Knights showed up. The demons leading these hordes of monsters numbered thirteen.

Thirteen… For a number appearing in a country as tiny as South Korea, that was rather considerable. If there was any consolation, they were only aiming for Hashumal and the army of angels at that moment. Unfortunately, no one could tell exactly what would happen once the angels were hunted down if these demons didn’t get their fill.

“Delate! Demons under Oculus’ banner are famed for their laziness, but you somehow managed to drag yourself over here!”

“Shut your mouth, Anastasia. I don’t know if you’re still Pandemonium’s favorite whore or not, but the rotten stench of semen wafts out every time you open your mouth.”

“What did you say, you son of a b*tch?!”

With many demons present, inevitably the factions would be varied, as well. They quickly congregated among their own factions and showed off their power.

Gathered in the middle of them were Hashumal and the angels.

Clang! Baaang!

Hashumal continued to fire the spears of light. Even the demons were boggled by the incredible might of those attacks.

“As expected of a fourth-seat celestial who’s used to wielding light.”

“What a waste of time it is to bicker with you fools.”

Despite that, their eyes were overflowing with greed.

No matter how strong the angels were, they were a pitifully small group. This was undoubtedly an opportunity to earn a massive amount of points in one go. Who would give up this chance?

The demons used their monsters to attack the Celestials. Over a hundred monsters were incinerated by each of Hashumal’s attacks, but even then, the overall number of them didn’t seem to decrease at all.

Soon, the angels started ignoring the monsters and began attacking the demons instead. Even if their arms were cut off and their legs were ripped apart, even when half of their faces were destroyed, they were healed in an instant through Hashumal’s powers. The angels that kept rushing forward while defying death—no, they weren’t even dying in the first place—left the demons utterly dumbfounded.

To top it all off… The real enemy of the demons was actually the other demons. They were worried about being stabbed in the back, so the main forces had been left in the background. Meaning, the monsters that weren’t on one side ended up dying in droves instead.

Bam!

“Protect the angels!”

“Assist the guardians of heaven!”

As the battle fought only between angels and demons continued, unexpected attacks rained down on the monsters out of the blue. The demons turned their heads and confirmed who their new adversaries were.

“Looks like these human insects have lost their sense of fear.”

A group consisting of hundreds of skull mask-donned awakened heroes had shown up. That mask was the Devil Hunter’s token, but when so many awakened heroes wore them at once, it gave off a whole new vibe.

Even then, the demons were simply smirking.

Insects. Humans were no better or worse than insects.

Just like a worm would writhe around if stepped on, the human army put up a fair amount of resistance, but that was about it. If the demons wanted to step on them, they could easily do so. The demons were just biding their time, waiting to land that one irresistible blow to end this once and for all.

Indeed, this gathering of humans looked like nothing more than a collection of free points to the demons.

Ridicule filled the demons’ eyes.