Chapter 302 - The Devil's Touch
When Heo Taeseok first heard about the mission for the 19th round, he felt a dark and perverse desire stirring within him.
‘This is an opportunity. A chance to kill that bastard I despise.’
The player Heo Taeseok had been watching was none other than Alex Pearson. Everyone, including Eom Jun-seok and Black Scythe, knew there had been conflicts between them.
So, he decided not to act immediately and to observe the situation a bit more before making his move.
However:
[The fifteenth death has occurred.]
[The nickname of the deceased is 'Raichacha'.]
[10 minutes have passed since their death, so the player will be eliminated.]
[Remaining players: 128]
[Eliminated players: 15]
[Time remaining until the end of the round: 70:27:19]
In just an hour and a half, 15 people had already died.
‘That means they are killing each other.’
They didn’t hesitate to turn their weapons on their companions from yesterday. Such is the unpredictability of human nature depending on the situation. Just as Heo Taeseok felt now.
‘It’s time to start killing.’
Heo Taeseok, who was hunting monsters in the nearby forest, decided to go after Alex.
[The face and nickname match. Tracking the target’s location.]
[Player ‘Alex’ has been located.]
[Currently at a distance of 2,038 meters.]
[To track the target, follow the arrow that appears ahead.]
Surprisingly, the distance between them wasn’t that great.
‘God is on my side.’
Kill him quickly and make his body disappear to erase the traces. That way, there will be no evidence, even if there are suspicions.
‘Even if Black Scythe and Eom suspect me, it won’t be a problem. Just deny it.’
If he shouted it was an injustice and acted, anyone could be fooled. Heo Taeseok, who had planned a perfect murder, smiled maliciously as he shortened the distance.
After walking for 20 minutes, when the number of deaths had increased to 20, he noticed that the distance to Alex had reduced to 500 meters.
‘If I get within 500 meters, it will be detected by peripheral scanning.’
Perhaps Alex already suspected as he saw the distance shorten on the tracking list.
‘It’s better to approach quickly and finish him before he has time to react.’
Heo Taeseok planned to use his demon transformation to fly and bombard him with black arrows. There would be no way for Alex to resist that.
Just as he was about to use his demon transformation, he heard a strange voice.
[So this is the human Moros was talking about.]
Heo Taeseok blinked, surprised by the sinister voice that suddenly resonated, thinking he might be hallucinating.
[Why are you so paralyzed? It’s not the first time you see a demon.]
In front of him appeared a figure with red skin, wings, and a long tail, about two meters tall. It was clearly a demon. Although his appearance was seemingly normal, Heo Taeseok instinctively felt he was not an easy opponent.
And he was right.
[Expecting me to introduce myself? Very well.]
The demon smiled maliciously while emanating a sinister energy.
[I am Archduke Plunictos. Ruler of the underworld.]
Before the 19th round began.
Plunictos frowned as soon as he heard Artaros’ plan.
‘So, you’re telling me to buy time while you recover your strength?’
Artaros had suffered numerous deaths, accumulating significant penalties. Currently, he had no power.
[To recover my strength, I need time. So you must intervene, Plunictos. Until I regain my power.]
[But you know I can’t do anything against Black Scythe with my abilities. Even you were defeated...]
For a moment, Artaros’ gaze turned fierce, but Plunictos didn’t back down. He had to speak his mind.
[If you ask me to buy time, I will. But I don’t want to die pointlessly, especially not at the hands of a human.]
[When did I say you should die pointlessly?]
[You just asked me to intervene...]
[I’m not saying to face him directly.]
[Then...]
[Destroy his mentality.]
[What?]
[In the 19th round, kill all the companions he cares about. Don’t engage in a direct confrontation.]
In other words, he had to weaken all forces except Black Scythe.
[If that’s the case, no problem. Ha, ha, ha.]
The corners of Plunictos and Artaros’ lips lifted simultaneously.
-----------
Plunictos, after recalling the conversation, looked at the human in front of him. His appearance trembling with fear was pathetic.
[Is your nickname correct?]
“How do you know that...?”
In this world, nicknames aren’t visible, so how did he discover it?
Although the human’s expression reflected confusion, Plunictos had no intention of revealing it. He wasn’t crazy enough to disclose information received from a god.
‘Just as Moros said, this human is filled with malignant resentment.’
Even though he was trembling with fear now, Plunictos, as a Demon Archduke, could perceive the hidden murderous intent within him.
[Weak human. Where were you headed?]
“...”
[It seems you’re going to kill someone... is that true?]
Heo Taeseok visibly trembled as if hit on the mark.
However, he suppressed his nervousness and pointed his staff at the demon in front of him. Plunictos let out a laugh.
[Humans are stupid. Without knowing who they face, they immediately point their weapons.]
“You’ll regret those words.”
But before Heo Taeseok could attack, Plunictos’ eyes glowed red.
“Ah!”
An immense pressure crushed Heo Taeseok’s entire body. Telekinesis, Plunictos’ specialty, forced him to kneel and bend forward.
“Grrr!”
He tried to resist, but it was useless. He ended up sprawled on the ground like a crushed frog.
‘No... I can’t move.’
Heo Taeseok, unable to move, tried to resist but finally gave up. He couldn’t cast a single spell in that state.
[Weak human. Do you desire power?]
“...”
[Don’t worry. I didn’t come to kill you. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.]
Plunictos smiled and released his telekinesis.
Heo Taeseok, freed from the constraints, stood up with a groan.
Then he looked at the demon with puzzled eyes.
With an expression that questioned why he had been released.
Fortunately, the doubt was easily resolved.
Plunictos explained it directly.
[I will give you power. A power much stronger than what you have now. With that power, you can seek revenge at your will.]
“What...?”
Before he could ask more, Plunictos’ tail pierced Heo Taeseok’s crown.
Puuuuk!
“Aaaahhh!”
His mind went blank, and he felt his strength leaving his body.
However, he didn’t die.
On the contrary, he felt as if a new and unknown power was replacing the old one.
[I told you, right? I won’t kill you. But...]
“Aaaaah!”
[It will hurt a bit.]
------
“I’m telling you to take this.”
“It’s too heavy for me.”
“You need this to be safe, you idiot!”
Victor silently looked away while Sophia yelled at him.
Anyone would think Sophia was the older sister, but she was actually the younger one.
Although he understood his sister only wanted to protect him, Victor really didn’t want to carry a shield.
“I haven’t put almost anything into strength stats, so it’s heavy.”
“Even so, carry it! It’s your only chance to survive!”
“I don’t need that, okay? I already have a good shield here. What are you worried about?”
Sophia sighed at seeing Victor’s expression.
It was the epitome of stubbornness.
“That mentality is wrong from the start. Think about protecting yourself first. Don’t rely on me.”
“When have I relied on you? Weren’t you the one who came looking for me?”
“Aargh!”
Messing up her hair and screaming at the air, Sophia finally gave up on giving him the shield.
She convinced herself there would be no problem if she herself became the shield.
“Ugh, arguing with you exhausts me.”
“Tell me if you get tired. I have plenty of healing potions.”
“If only you’d stop talking... tsk!”
The siblings spent their time arguing.
They had to survive 72 hours, so they saw no need to move unnecessarily.
They decided to settle in a safe location where there were no monsters and thus conserve energy. They had been there for an hour and a half.
It’s not that they were doing nothing; they were using tracking and scanning skills to stay alert.
“Hey? Someone’s approaching.”
“Who?”
“The first on the list.”
“Huh? It’s true.”
“Are they coming toward us?”
Victor nodded silently.
He wasn’t sure, but it seemed so.
‘We’ll wait and see what happens.’
He didn’t think they were approaching with bad intentions.
It was someone familiar.
A moment later.
“Hello.”
As expected, the person on the list approached the siblings.
“Alex?”
“Hello, Victor. And Sophia, you’re here too.”
The three already knew each other.
They belonged to the same cult, and Alex had even traveled to Nigeria to recruit an elite team.
“Did you come to look for my brother?”
“Yes. I didn’t come with ill intentions... it’s just that...”
When it came time to speak, Alex appeared a bit shy and hesitant.
"In round 16, you saved me with a life potion. I’m grateful for that and also for agreeing to join my elite team without hesitation. So, I thought I’d come..."
“So, you came to protect my brother, didn’t you?” Sophia, getting to the point, made Alex nod in agreement.
“Then you could have said it directly. Really...”
“Stay still.”
Victor reprimanded his sister and then smiled at Alex.
“Thanks for coming to help. As you can see, I just focus on making potions and I’m scared of encountering monsters. But with you here, I feel much safer. Thank you.”
“Hehe... you’re welcome.”
“And what happened to the proposal to form the elite team?”
“Oh, didn’t I tell you? Black Scythe said it wasn’t necessary, so it was canceled. It only caused misunderstandings about creating factions.”
“Misunderstandings? Did something happen?”
“We have time, tell us.”
The three sat down to chat about pending matters, neglecting to keep an eye on their surroundings.
Step by step, the sound of someone approaching interrupted their conversation.
“What happened next...? Wait a moment.”
Alex was the first to notice someone else’s presence within detection range.
The siblings also felt it and fell silent, turning their heads in the direction of the approaching person.
“Wait, is that person...?”
“Master Heo?”
They were surprised by Heo Taeseok’s unexpected appearance, but even more by his condition.
“Krck, krhh...”
Heo Taeseok seemed to be in an alarming condition.