Dungeon Hunter - Chapter 88

Chapter 88: Episode 24. Hashumal (2)

Splat!

Blood was gushing out.

Even though this performance was necessary to hide my real intentions, it certainly didn’t feel so nice to get stabbed.

“U-unit leader!”

The emotions of helplessness spread in the eyes of the attack unit members, which included Yoo Eunhye and Lee Jihye. I raised my hand and stopped them from coming closer. “Escape from this battlefield. Once the angels are massacred… It’s unknown where the monsters will head off to next. Draw the battle line and prepare for their attack.”

Not many monsters remained currently. Less than three thousand, perhaps.

M1 and M2 were in the Berserk state, and the monsters from my dungeon added enough of a threat to the mix, but there was no guarantee that every demon present would quietly retreat.

It was too obvious what would happen next after all the remaining angels were hunted down. A few of the starving demons would give out the orders to devastate the nearby human settlements. There was a need to prepare for that.

South Korea was already in a sorry state. It had lost all will to fight back after the monsters from overseas flooded in.

Even if I dispatched Krathra, the deaths of many were already set in stone. We should be able to stop the enemies, but the battles would surely be quite arduous.

Plop!

I collapsed on the ground along with Hashumal.

Numerous demons and monsters aimed for Hashumal and pounced on us, but M1 and M2 blocked them. Then, a Lich stepped out from the dungeon to walk over to us, before hoisting both me and the angel on its shoulders.

“Where are you taking our unit leader?!”

Yoo Eunhye’s eyes were ablaze as she dashed forward, electricity crackling on her sword. Unfortunately, even within the high-grade class of monsters, the Lich was an upper-level creature.

No matter how strong she was as an awakened, the gap between their current levels was insurmountable.

Pow!

The Lich’s staff lightly smacked her in the abdomen, and she flew back to ungainly tumble backward on the ground. Edward hurriedly supported her, and at the same time, held her back.

“Edward?! Let me go! We can’t let them take the unit leader away like this!”

Like a horse without reins, Yoo Eunhye bucked her entire body wildly. However, the other attack unit members including Lee Jihye managed to subdue and drag her away while shaking their heads.

This was the last chance to make their escape from here.

Everyone was aware of the fact that missing this opening created by the pair of silver-armored Golems rampaging around would result in them getting massacred on this battlefield. Although this whole thing was truly lamentable… There was a need to coldly analyze the situation.

The woman who seemed to be the leader of the angels had her wings ripped off. With that, the defeat of the angels had become a certainty. The only remaining thing was to evacuate from here as quickly as possible.

Yoo Eunhye continued to doggedly resist, but she couldn’t win against many by herself. In the end, the awakened quickly retreated from the location.

The Lich wordlessly observed this scene before heading back to the dungeon.

“You rotten Lich! Hand over Hashumal, now!”

“You shameless bastard! At the very last second, you dare to snatch away the prey we’ve been hunting all this time?!”

The demons wouldn’t sit back and let this be. So, high-grade Golems quickly showed up to provide extra support. The Lich standing among them raised its voice.

“The remaining… angels… divide them among yourselves. Our dungeon master only wants Hashumal and no one else.”

To the casual listener, its voice sounded eerily similar to a scream. The ear-scraping voice dug deep into the demons’ hearing.

A Lich would become even stronger in a place overflowing with corpses like this one.

Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-boooom!

The undead raised its staff and initiated a chain of “Dead Body Explosion” skill indiscriminately. The ground quaked violently.

“Once you’re finished with hunting the angels… Get out of our sight! Our dungeon master… does not enjoy watching you rampaging around in front of the dungeon.”

Delate stepped up while gritting his teeth. “I don’t know who the master of this dungeon is, but you are making a serious mistake! Archduke Pandemonium will never let this matter off lightly!”

“Geuh-heuh-heuh… If you wish for a confrontation… ‘We’ will not stand idly, either. However… It is not really recommended…”

The mystery behind these words had an unexpectedly powerful effect.

It was quite obvious that all sorts of maneuverings would take place in the future just to find out who the master of South Korea’s dungeon was. But until the truth was revealed, the demons wouldn’t make a careless move.

It went without saying that no good would come from a confrontation between different factions. The other two Archdukes would be the ones to benefit from such an event. And with only a three-year gap between them, one could confidently say that no Archduke would carelessly make a move when the superiority had not been truly established yet.

“You bastard…!”

Marquis Delate trembled from rage.

He managed to successfully capture a “Virtus”-rank angel and earned over a million points. Even then, he couldn’t help but feel that he missed out by not catching the big fish before his eyes.

He feared that an incident of this nature might take place and that’s why he tried to kill Hashumal as quickly as possible, but in the end, someone else swooped in to snatch his prize away. He might have been able to deplete Hashumal’s stamina and divinity, but couldn’t land the most important “deciding blow.” It was a miscalculation.

The Lich started moving again. Several high-grade Golems protected it and soon, they successfully returned to the dungeon.

I immediately poured a bottle of potion on my wounds as soon as we entered the dungeon. Foams bubbled up and the wounds healed at a visible rate. I felt dizzy from the blood loss for a moment there, but “The heart of Hell Lord” pounded crazily away to replace the lost amount.

“How inconvenient.”

Tsk. I softly tutted.

This performance was the optimal way to enter the dungeon without anyone suspecting me. This dungeon would no doubt become the target of the demons’ relentless surveillance for the foreseeable future. I couldn’t think of a way more natural than this one, one that was as inconspicuous as a flowing stream.

“Congratulations on your successful return,” said Krithli, while kneeling on one knee and waiting for my call about two steps away from my current position.

I gave a satisfied smile. “Krithli. Your accomplishment this time is truly commendable.”

While I was carrying out my mission outside, Krithli was stopping the angels in the dungeon. Not only that, but she also did it outstandingly, too. I had been thinking that out of the initial 1,500 or so monsters, six or seven hundred of them surviving would be an excellent result. Yet she somehow managed to preserve well over a thousand. This worked wonders when trying to overwhelm the demons. If she had failed to make it happen, then the battle against them would’ve been endless.

“However… oh, my dungeon master. I have let slip one Celestial. Although the creature’s death on the 15th floor, near the Tree of Origin, has been confirmed, it nevertheless was my negligence, my lord.”

Krithli was honest. And that honesty was her strong point. At the very least, she’d tell me everything without holding back. After going through the ceremony together, she saw me as her soul companion.

Her honest confession was something I found quite pleasing.

Of course I shook my head. “Even if one slipped by you, it matters not if the prey died before reaching the highest floor. Besides that… If I were to bestow upon you a reward, what would you like to receive?”

Krithli’s expression became serious in an instant. She then very cautiously spoke, “Oh, my dungeon master. Would it be possible to increase the number of the Dark Elves?”

I’d have preferred if she had asked for something personal, but it wouldn’t have been easy for Krithli’s personality to do that.

“Increasing the number of Dark Elves, huh?”

I rubbed my chin.

For sure, their number had decreased noticeably after they were mobilized in various battlefields. The currently remaining Dark Elves numbered about thirty. There was a need to bolster their ranks so that they could look after the Tree of Origin, and for me to assign them with various tasks.

“I shall bestow upon you 150 healthy Dark Elves.”

“M-my lord, we don’t need that many.”

Krithli was flustered. She hurriedly waved her hands around. She was aware of the immense amount of points needed to acquire 150 additional Dark Elves. However, her contribution this time was more than enough to offset the cost and then some.

“Think of it as a reward for following me until now. If someone else has made an important contribution, tell me about them. I shall reward them, as well.”

In my previous life, I’d never have said something like this.

However, things were different now. I had realized that there was a limit to operating alone, and learned to be magnanimous enough to reward someone under me if they had contributed greatly.

“In that case…”

Krithli contemplated for a while, then recommended a few monsters. She must’ve used only the most objective analysis, based on her detailed explanation of the contribution each individual had made.

I listened, and if the contribution was worthy of a reward, I handed it out.

Thanks to this, the examination of merits and awarding of suitable rewards didn’t take too long.

“Strictly guard the entrance and keep a close eye on the movements of the demons. If the monsters on the outside display strange behaviors, report to me immediately.”

After issuing my new orders, I turned around to leave. The Lich carrying Hashumal on its shoulder followed me.

**

“Dear child, light exists in all places. And you are the one to guide that light. You must never be stained by the darkness. Your role is to purify the darkness and give birth to light.”

Angels were born from eggs. Those were the words that the King of Heaven told Hashumal when she broke the eggshell and emerged into the world.

She was born into the second sphere. And as the highest seat in it, the “Dominions” class angel, to boot. She had to bear such a heavy responsibility from the moment she was born.

She received education and polished her skills without rest. She was born with her divinity, but learning how to utilize it was up to her.

The stories of the “middle earth” she’d heard now and then from other angels were enticing and fun. She thought about going there to visit at least once, but the reality wasn’t so kind.

The duties given to Hashumal all boasted a high degree of difficulty. They were not something that regular angels could complete, and most of the time, related to the Devildom, as well. A land where sweet emotions such as dreams and hopes were impossible to find…

She set off on many expeditions to the Devildom by traveling through the Dimensional Gate. Every time she came back, though, it felt as if something important to her had been shaved away.

And so, by the time the thoughts of demons being her mortal enemies and the Devildom being the place she must subjugate took over her mind…

Hashumal had become a truly excellent Dominions-class angel.

“The multi-dimensional laws of causality has been broken. This inconceivable breaking of the law originated from the Devildom. Lead the angels and commence with your investigations.”

To answer the command of the King of Heaven, Hashumal led the army of angels bestowed unto her and entered the Dimensional Gate.

But… Somehow, the code was altered in the process, and they ended up in a location they didn’t recognize.

This was not the Devildom, but it didn’t seem to be the middle earth, either.

“It’s a completely different dimension. But, what is this great magical power I sense coming from nearby?”

Her fluster at seeing a completely new place lasted only for a short while.

A location oozing with a massive and impure aura existed here. When she got closer to it and confirmed the truth herself, she finally figured it out.

“Demons were playing games here.”

She proceeded to destroy the dungeon. However, its barrier over the outer wall was extremely tough. To think that the combined assault of the Dominions’ divinity and hundreds of other angels didn’t work. She grew deeply curious about the truth of this location.

Unfortunately, the destruction of the dungeon didn’t come to pass. Not too long afterward, numerous demons and monsters revealed themselves.

As she thought, the demons were scheming something in this world. And now that she learned this truth, she couldn’t just sit back and do nothing.

She instinctively understood that it’d not be easy, but Hashumal still acted without hesitation.

She killed, and then killed some more.

She fought nonstop for two days, and massacred several thousand monsters.

And, after exhausting her divinity and falling into someone’s embrace, she… lost her wings.

“Ah!”

She sat up abruptly. Cold sweat trickled down her skin.

Was that a nightmare?

She touched her back.

“Not there.”

Her wings, they were… gone.

Which meant it wasn’t a dream, but cruel reality.

Since she had lost the source of her divinity, her wings, she might need several years to regain them. Maybe even decades.

However, the wounds from the swords had healed perfectly.

She tried to make sense of it all, but it wasn’t easy. She was certain of losing her consciousness from the shock of losing her wings. However, surviving in the middle of a battlefield where monsters and demons were rampaging around was not possible. The only possibility was that her body would get crushed and her soul would join the cycle of reincarnation.

Where was this place?

She wiped her sweat away and looked around.

A comfortable bed. A cool breeze. A strange underground-like location.

And a man reading a book while sitting on a wooden chair…

He closed the book right then and smiled coldly.

“Should I call you an old acquaintance? In any case, good to see you again.”