Chapter 258. The Demons’ Capital (1)
On the way to Dis City, monsters resembling demons continued to appear.
The first ones they encountered had been flying types with wings, but as they advanced farther, they began seeing far more walking monsters that looked like ordinary demons.
“Could these things be getting produced specifically to stop us?”
“They might be something like white blood cells.”
Once they crossed over the walls, an enormous city spread out before them.
“So this is Dis City, the capital of Pandemonium...”
“It’s the name of the city of Hell in Dante’s Divine Comedy.”
If it had still been intact, it would probably have been a highly developed metropolis.
But now...
it had been completely destroyed by the plant-like entity believed to be Lucifer.
A round building still remained near the center of the city.
The plant-like entity seemed to be spreading outward from that point.
“That must be it.”
Heracles frowned.
“The Nameless King’s group doesn’t seem to have arrived yet.”
“It would be dangerous for us to approach that place alone.”
“Lord Heracles, then what should we do?”
“It would be better for us to move west so we can regroup with them as quickly as possible.”
“Don’t enter the city carelessly.”
“We’ll move along the walls.”
Following Heracles’s instructions, the group did not descend into the city.
Instead, they continued moving along the top of the wall.
“There don’t seem to be any small fry inside.”
“If anything, that probably means something stronger is waiting... Lord Kang Yujin, wait.”
Joo Minha suddenly fell silent and stared into the city.
“There’s something there.”
“What?”
They stopped and looked.
A group of demons was walking out from the center of the city.
“Six... no, seven?”
“They look lifeless.”
“They may be Demon God-class demons who had their spiritual energy drained, like Bune.”
“Everyone, stay alert.”
Heracles spoke cautiously.
“You already fought Bune, so you should know this.”
“Having their spiritual energy drained doesn’t necessarily mean their combat power has dropped much.”
“They may have fallen in spiritual rank, but their magic power and physical strength should still remain.”
“Lord Heracles, but with bodies that weak-looking...”
Alexandros was still speaking when something strange happened.
The lifeless demons walking toward them...
suddenly tangled together.
“What?”
Kang Yujin leaned forward in confusion.
The forms of the intertwined demons collapsed into a grotesque mass of flesh...
then rapidly began expanding.
"...!"
In the blink of an eye, the mass swelled to one hundred meters.
Then two hundred.
A head and limbs emerged from it.
It took on the shape of a human with all its skin peeled away.
But a pair of goat-like demon horns protruded from its head.
“A fusion demon?!”
The moment Heracles shouted, the enormous mass formed from seven demons began moving.
It raised both arms over its head.
Then the arms suddenly stretched.
“Dodge!”
Using the elongated limbs, it smashed down toward the section of wall where Kang Yujin’s group stood.
That thing’s ridiculously strong!
Kang Yujin clicked his tongue as the wall collapsed from a single strike.
It seemed all seven demons had been Demon God-class.
“I’ll take it from the front.”
“Alexandros, move left.”
“Kang Yujin, take the right.”
“Understood!”
“Got it!”
Following Heracles’s instructions, Kang Yujin moved in the opposite direction from Alexandros.
Meanwhile, the fusion demon focused its attacks on Heracles charging straight toward it.
BOOM! BOOM-BOOM!
It repeatedly tried to crush Heracles with its freely extending arms.
But Heracles avoided every strike with nimble movements.
Then he swung his metal club at one of the demon’s arms.
“Hm!”
Even after taking the blow, however, the fusion demon seemed barely affected.
The club gouged deeply into its flesh...
but it kept swinging its arms as though nothing had happened.
“It feels like hitting ground meat...!”
Heracles continued attacking.
But he still seemed unable to deal meaningful damage.
“Lord Heracles! I’ll aim for the head!”
While Heracles held the fusion demon’s attention, Alexandros leaped onto a nearby building.
It was one of the few high-rises that hadn’t collapsed yet.
He planned to use its height to jump onto the demon’s shoulder.
“Stop, Alexandros!”
Heracles suddenly shouted.
“What?”
Alexandros halted just before leaping.
And at that exact moment...
a tentacle shot out from the fusion demon’s forearm right in front of him.
"...!"
Alexandros tried to knock it aside with his club.
But just like when Heracles attacked the creature, the tentacle only deformed slightly.
Then it writhed around Alexandros and wrapped him up.
“L-Lord Heracles!”
“You idiot!”
Heracles hurriedly pulled out his bow and drew the string.
One of his laser-like arrows sliced through the tentacle halfway.
Alexandros barely escaped.
“Th-Thank you!”
“This is troublesome...”
Heracles frowned and stepped back.
“No matter how much we hit it, it just feels like kneading ground meat.”
“Heracles, what do we do?”
“Joo Minha!”
Heracles called to Joo Minha, who had been supporting from the rear.
“Do you have enough firepower to completely erase this thing?”
“No.”
“With my current strength... I don’t think I can.”
“My arrows probably won’t be enough either.”
“This is annoying.”
“No choice, then.”
Kang Yujin removed the [Saint’s Divine Fist] from his hand.
“I’ll use my Awakening Skill.”
If he used [Shatter Everything], he could probably reduce that mass of flesh to dust.
“Wait, Kang Yujin.”
But Heracles stopped him.
“You should save your Awakening Skill until the very end.”
“But...”
“A Skill that can destroy almost anything should be kept as your final trump card.”
Then Heracles looked toward his own Contractor.
“For now, it would be better to leave this to Alexandros.”
“Alexandros?”
“I agree.”
Alexandros slowly nodded.
“I think I can kill it with my Awakening Skill too.”
Alexandros had originally been a sickly boy.
Because of polio, he had always needed crutches.
His family was poor, so he couldn’t receive proper treatment.
He was also badly malnourished.
With a body much smaller than other children his age, Alexandros had shuffled around awkwardly every day.
The one thing that gave him hope...
was a picture book telling stories about ancient Greek heroes.
Among all of them, Alexandros became fascinated by the Greatest Hero, Heracles.
Again and again...
he wished he could become strong like Heracles.
Then one day, a medical volunteer organization came to his village.
Looking back now, they had been connected to Pandemonium’s pro-war faction and had received technology from Ha Mina.
But back then, Alexandros knew none of that.
He simply accepted their treatment.
He was hospitalized together with several other children in similar circumstances...
and endured days that felt like Hell.
After countless surgeries and rounds of medication, Alexandros regained a healthy body.
No.
It was far beyond merely healthy.
He gained a muscular body more than two meters tall.
But the volunteer organization had no intention of releasing him.
