Heavenly Destroyer: Cheon-ma cocked her head at the nickname.
“Long live, long live, long live our…?”
One of the demons, kneeling and cheering, was forced to stand like a puppet on a string. It was a technique similar to the one Cheon-ma used before.
“Heavenly Destroyer, huh? That’s a pretty impressive nickname. Do you know anything about it?”
“…Jin Mu-zhen, the leader of the Elimination Group, greets the Heavenly Demon.”
“Enough, just answer the question.”
“…”
The man’s expression hardened. Since he was asked to do so, he had to answer. However, the man stuttered, repeatedly opening and closing his mouth. But he couldn’t hold off against Cheon-ma for long.
“The man who will break and reach Heaven. I heard that the young members of the Main Cult who witnessed the fierce battle at the Horizon Lake that day are calling the Young Master that way.”
He gave his answer, preparing for death.
“By any chance, does Heaven mean the Demon Cult’s leader?”
The air-cooled.
“It has been s-several decades since you have appeared in p-public, My Lord. The young demons of the Cult…”
Jin Mu-zhen, the leader of the Elimination Group, stuttered and hurriedly made excuses. Indeed, he had to do at least that much. It was like confessing to Cheon-ma that rebels had emerged.
“…Please kill me.”
Jin Mu-zhen lowered his head quietly and stretched his neck out in preparation. However, Cheon-ma waved her hand as if it was just annoying.
“Enough. My doubts have been resolved, so get out of my way.”
“…It’s my honor.”
It wasn’t strange for the new master to kill the old for control both in doctrine and history. And, recently, Cheon-ma had lost interest in her life as the leader. What this woman was concerned about now was not the Demon Cult at all.
“Did you hear that? Heavenly Destroyer?”
Cheon-ma brought her attention back to Yoon-seok. There was a wide smile playing on her lips.
“…Please don’t make fun of me.”
“Why? Isn’t that a cool nickname?”
Yoon-seok sighed. To be honest, it was pretty good for a nickname.
“What are you going to do now?”
It wasn’t only her gaze that was focused on him now. He had a feeling that annoying things would continue to happen until this mission was over.
‘Besides, nothing has been resolved yet.’
Yoon-seok glanced sideways. The man who had been picking a fight with them was now trembling, unable to breathe properly from the moment he discovered their identity.
“Oh, come to think of it, this guy was still there.”
As Cheon-ma murmured with a shine in her eyes, the man began to struggle to hold his mind together and barely opened his mouth.
“If you kill me, you also receive a penalty…”
Despite shuddering with fear, he instinctively sought a way to live. However…
“Penalty. Right, I thought there was such a thing.”
Cheon-ma didn’t even blink.
“But, what do you mean by that? Could that be a reason why I won’t kill you?”
“T-that…”
Was this answer unexpected? The man, his mind turned into a blank page, couldn’t find the right words.
“…If the Heavenly Demon permits, I will dare to tear up this trash.”
Jin Mu-zhen drew his sword and stepped out after listening. Cheon-ma pondered it for a moment before nodding slightly, and immediately a light flashed. Although he wasn’t top-ranked in the Duels, he was quite impressive. However…
“What are you doing now?!”
Clank-clank!
The Expedition Leader Zrayburn intervened and took the blow instead with a roar.
“You can’t stand your emotions and want to kill a member of your crew during the expedition? Are you crazy?”
His violent spirit pierced the air and spread over them. However, Mu-zhen wasn’t pushed back.
“…Crazy? Do you dare say such reckless things? I will pluck out your tongue.”
In an instant, the atmosphere took on a ferocious tone, and the other Challengers participating in the mission stepped back to observe.
“…”
“I know that you have great power. However, to accomplish the mission, individual strength alone is not enough.”
“So, what do you want me to do? Apologize by cutting off your tong-?”
“Then, according to my authority as the leader of the expedition, I will expel the four of you who interfere with the mission’s harmony.”
Expedition Leader Zrayburn made his decision.
‘Wait, four?’
Cheon-ma, Jin Mu-zhen, and the man who picked the fight. One was missing.
‘…Don’t tell me, including me?’
It was unfair for Yoon-seok, but he seemed to have decided that he was also one of the main culprits.
“…”
A flow of mana surged through the Expedition Leader’s body.
“Wait!”
Yoon-seok shouted urgently. However, he was frustrated that it was too late to prevent him. But-
Slash-!
There was someone who moved one step faster.
“You’re so noisy for someone who’s not even human.”
Thud.
Two heads fell to the ground and rolled around. One belonged to the man who fearlessly picked a fight and served as the primary cause of all this. The other…
[The Expedition Leader Adam Zrayburn has died.]
[The difficulty of the mission will increase significantly.]
[Special achievements related to Adam Zrayburn will disappear.]
[According to this, the final goal of the scenario will change.]
…was the Expedition Leader.
* * *
“That’s insane…”
One of the challengers spat out the words without realizing it and then quickly covered his mouth. Jin Mu-zhen, who was about to pluck out the Expedition Leader’s tongue, turned his head.
“What did you just say?”
“I-I didn’t say anything.”
“…I certainly heard you muttering something. Are you lying?”
As Jin Mu-zhen pushed him, the challenger’s complexion turned white. Yoon-seok, who couldn’t bear to see it, stepped up.
“Let’s stop here.”
“Young Master? This person just now…”
“Still, it gives me a headache. Do I have to say it twice?”
“Understood.”
Jin Mu-zhen hurriedly bowed his head at the sharp voice. It felt like something would happen if he answered wrong, and it seemed Jin Mu-zhen wasn’t the only one who felt that.
“Is it possible that I caused the accident…?”
Cheon-ma asked cautiously. Yoon-seok stared at her without answering.
“But I couldn’t help it. If I hadn’t killed him…”
If she hadn’t moved quickly, they would have been removed from the mission. Yoon-seok acknowledged what he had to admit and moved on.
“No, you did a good job.”
“But why are you so cold about it?”
“It’s not like that. I just thought that the situation became a little troublesome.”
“Oh, is it because of the increased difficulty? Then you don’t have to worry about it. I just need to figure it out on my own…”
Jin Mu-zhen’s eyes went wide. Cheon-ma, the ruler of a thousand demons and the supreme leader of the Demon Cult… was she trying to comfort him?
‘H-how could this happen…’
It felt like the sky was falling. Either way, Yoon-seok sighed and smoothed the thorns out of his voice.
“No. You don’t have to.”
If it weren’t for her, he wouldn’t be going through the mission anyway.
“Isn’t it better this way?”
“What’s that?”
“The penalty.”
Yoon-seok was unable to hide his heavy heart. In a way, it could be said that she sacrificed herself to prevent the worst consequences. He felt it.
“Fufu. Could it be that you’re worried again? Are you worrying about me?
“…”
“It’s embarrassing, indeed. But I am okay. Penalty? It isn’t that big of a deal. It is said that the reward for mission completion will be reduced by half, but for me, I don’t care about pennies.”
Pennies? That was true. After all, the reward for the mission was small compared to duels. However, if you clear the challenges instead, you could acquire rare equipment or abilities not sold in the shop.
“Pennies, huh… then you must have come here to complete the challenge.”
“Why are you talking like that?”
“But if that’s not the case, why…?”
“I told you. It was a coincidence I had two tickets.”
“Coincidence, huh…? Yes. All right.”
He Immediately understood what Cheon-ma meant. Instead of putting it to an end by giving him one ticket to the mission, she thought of repaying him by seeing the mission through. But, well, it was a scale that proved difficult to follow for an ordinary person. However, he decided to postpone thinking about it and deal with the situation at hand first.
-If you kill more here, the penalty may increase, so can you please refrain before I say anything?
Cheon-ma nodded as Yoon-seok sent her a voice transmission. That concluded what preparations he could take. Yoon-seok wouldn’t let her harm anyone else if he could help it, though the others weren’t aware of this.
That was why they were still keeping quiet and watching.
“…”
After all, they might die in the blink of an eye if they offended Cheon-ma. Besides, the Challengers who came this far knew nothing more foolish than getting caught in something useless. Yoon-seok decided to use that mindset to his advantage.
“Unfortunately, the position of the Expedition Leader is now vacant. What do you think about choosing someone to fill that position?”
Most of the Challengers agreed with Yoon-seok they needed a leader. If they could be the leader themselves, they would also build up a lot of contribution. However, that was a trap.
“Those who want to, please step up.”
At Yoon-seok’s prompting, several people stepped out as candidates.
“I used to be a general before this. I’m confident in my knowledge of commanding troops.”
“I used to duel. I was on the 19th floor just before it closed.”
On top of having colleagues to support them, they also appeared to have some skills. Even if Yoon-seok or Cheon-ma nominated themselves, it would be difficult to beat them to gain the support of the expedition team in the normal way.
‘Well, they probably stepped up because they know that.’
-Step up. As energetic as you can.
Yoon-seok sent a voice transmission to Cheon-ma. She tilted her head for a moment but then stepped forward energetically at his request. And…
Boom!
Her destructive energy spread like ripples over a lake. Each of these people were high-ranking challengers who had reached the 21st floor. None of them were so naive as to not know what this action meant.
“…I will withdraw my nomination.”
“…I’m sorry. Please spare me. I just wanted to help. I didn’t mean to go against you.”
The candidates who understood Yoon-seok’s intent withdrew.
“Unfortunately, there is only one candidate. But still, we will simply vote and move on. If you agree, please raise your hand.”
Starting with Jin Mu-zhen, the demons raised their hands enthusiastically, giving off a murderous aura toward those who didn’t comply immediately. In the end, the challengers could not win and raised their hands one by one.
The result was a majority victory of about 70%.
“Ah, I see!”
“…?”
“This is what Earth’s democracy is all about!”
Cheon-ma looked very pleased.
* * *
“That’s insane…”
When someone murmured that, Jeffrey wanted to shout the same thing.
This is insane!
‘She killed the Expedition Leader?’
Adam Zrayburn, the only NPC in the current expedition and a being who could lead Challengers of various races with the power of Dimensional Exile. In addition to providing special challenges, he was also a decisive key point in the final battle.
But she killed him less than 30 minutes after the mission started.
Slash- thud.
She cut off his head.
‘Fuck, after that, they’re playing a power game…?’
There was nothing else to say. After voting with that unspoken threat, she became the Expedition Leader.
‘Stupid bastards! If the mission fails, everyone will die. Are you just going to watch?’
It was hard to hold out without cursing. Jeffrey didn’t have much he could say, though. After all, he was also one of those who couldn’t resist the threat and raised his hand. But unlike the others, he had room for excuses.
-I think you should help us out a bit.
At the time of voting, Yoon-seok sent a voice transmission like this only to Jeffrey. Not raising his hand there was like saying that he didn’t approve.
“Heavenly Demon!”
“Our master is the only Expedition Leader now.”
“O’ Expedition Leader, please give us your order!”
“There is no reason to stand still. Let’s march again!”
As soon as the new Expedition Leader assumed the role, she acted as if they were all her loyal followers and ordered them to march. Unlike before, the formation was clumsy, and Jeffrey trailed along as not to be left behind.
But before long, Cheon-ma and Yoon-seok approached him.
“Are you the same guy from before?”
Jeffrey shouted like a newly enlisted soldier.
“Yes, yes! I’m that guy from before!”
“What was your name? I don’t remember because I’m old.”
It was natural that she didn’t remember. She made him kneel and asked a lot of questions, but she never asked for his name. However, Jeffrey swallowed those words.
He didn’t think this woman, who even cut off the Expedition Leader’s head, would treat him any different.
“Jeffrey. I’m Jeffrey Vetra.”
“Right, so what do you guys think?”
“Pardon?”
“This guy who was called the Expedition Leader is dead. What should I do now?”
He had a lot to say. Jeffrey heard a rough outline from the challengers who had gone through this mission before. Soon, they would see a wall ahead. The dimensional wall could only be unlocked with the Expedition Leader’s unique skill. That was why he appeared as the only NPC in the mission.
Jeffrey, feeling angry while thinking about what was wrong, spoke honestly.
“I have no answer. Perhaps that is why the final goal of the scenario has changed.”
Originally, it was necessary to break through the dimensional wall and continue the expedition to reach the Queen. But now, they were blocked by the wall. There was no significant danger on the way to reach it, but now the only person who could tear it down had been slain. However…
“It didn’t lead to immediate mission failure. I’m sure there must be a new route, but I don’t think I’ll be of much help on that part.”
Cheon-ma and Yoon-seok didn’t bother listening.
“Then, if we solve that wall, can we follow the original route?”
The problem was that no one could break through. He wanted to shout, but Jeffrey forced himself to nod.
“Yes. I guess so.”
This masked man. At first glance, he didn’t seem like a normal person because he used honorifics every time, but Jeffrey felt now he was just as crazy as that woman.
“Ah, you said it’s a wall. I guess it’s that one.”
At the same time, a wall appeared in front of the advancing Expedition Team, a blue translucent barrier stretching up.
“Looks like it’s my turn to step up.”
“No. This time I will do it.”
What the hell were these two talking about? Did they even hear anything?
‘No, they weren’t listening to me.’
Yoon-seok raised his sword. Seeing this, Jeffrey smiled sadly. In the end, they only had power, and they would have to check it out in person to admit their lacking.
Whoooosssh-!
What should he say if they failed and asked for advice? Jeffrey didn’t think they would step down even if he said there was no other way. Even as a wave of dark energy collided with the wall, Jeffrey was shaking his head.
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