Chapter 211

There was something about being in a foreign land that made people's hearts flutter. This was especially true for those that lived in Seoul.

The party walked down the road at night while gazing at the bright stars and the Milky Way.

“It has been a while since I could watch the stars like this. It's very pretty.”

“Don’t you work on the Moon as a researcher, Ms. Chelsea? You should have gotten a lot of opportunities to see the stars.”

“You really don't know anything, Mr. Sungyoon.”

Chelsea wagged her finger.

“There is a clear difference between watching the stars from space and from Earth. They both evoke completely different emotions.”

The others nodded at Chelsea's words.

Sungyoon and his party were heading toward Lee’s house. However, even though he was going to eat dinner, Sungyoon looked disappointed. When Lee had invited Sungyoon to dinner, he was in agreement.

Sungyoon kept looking backward.

Jimin let out a sigh and said.

“It is just a couple of hours. You're usually separated from her for a longer period, so why are you acting this way today?”

“That’s for work, so it can’t be helped. But we're on vacation. What if Shinhae wakes up? What if she becomes disappointed by her father's absence when she wales up?”

Shinhae and Jiyoon weren't going to the dinner.

The little girl had been swimming all day, so she was tired. She had gone to sleep, and Jiyoon stayed behind to look after her.

“Shinhae told you she was tired and wanted to sleep. It's true that Shinhae doesn’t like being separated from you, Mr. Sungyoon. However, she’s not the type of girl to cry without a good reason. Don’t worry about her.”

Shinhae had spent a lot of time away from Sungyoon, so she did become lonely easily. However, she had also developed an independent streak thanks to this experience.

Even if Shinhae were to look for her father on waking up, Jiyoon was there to give an explanation. Shinhae would be disappointed, but she would understand it and wait for her father.

“If you're like this right now, what will you do when she gets married?”

Jimin spat out her words.

Sungyoon came to a stop. His head moved in a mechanical manner as he looked at Jimin.

“… Marriage?”

“You don't have to react in such a stereotypical manner. Stop it.”

Jimin shook her head from side to side and walked forward. The others let out a burst of bitter laughter as they walked.

Lee’s house was located atop a hill in an isolated location, so the road was quiet and didn't even have proper illumination. It was a scary environment, but none of them felt fear.

The world-famous Knight and his party had negotiated with the current country, and they were allowed to carry their Devices and Gems. Since they were fully armed, they had no reason to be afraid.

Boom!

“Huh?”

The party stopped walking. They heard a pretty large explosion and saw flames reaching high in the air.

By the location of the flames, the party could tell that the explosion had occurred at their destination, Lee's house.

“Mr. Sungyoon!”

When Grace called out his name, Sungyoon immediately increased his speed.

“The two of you should accompany Ms. Jimin and Ms. Chelsea!”

Since these two couldn't fight, Sungyoon left them in the care of Grace and Emily. Then, like a bullet, he shot forward toward the fire. As he moved closer to the red conflagration, the smell of smoke got thicker. Sungyoon put more strength into his legs.

When he arrived at Lee’s house, he saw a large flame dancing and engulfing the picturesque white bricked house. It was a horrifying dance expressing the devil’s delight.

Sungyoon was about to check if anyone was inside and save them, but he couldn’t do it.

- Hmmph! Your resistance is futile.”

‘Monster?’

His eyes clearly saw a monster.

This monster was much larger in size than a human. Horns, wings, and black needles were all over its body. It couldn't be anything other than a monster, but...

‘It spoke?’

Of course, monsters were incapable of speaking. They didn’t possess a rational mind.

However, the monster in front of him had spoken.

Of course, this was his first time seeing a monster capable of speech, so Sungyoon was taken aback.

‘Did this guy do all this?’

Sungyoon looked between the burning house and the monster. He couldn’t fathom the identity of this being, but one thing was for sure. It was not to be underestimated. Sungyoon quickly took out his weapon.

- Some poor bastard came in. I guess he doesn’t value his own life.

The monster already knew Sungyoon had arrived on the scene, so it didn’t look surprised. It turned toward Sungyoon. Sungyoon wondered how to respond when meeting the first monster capable of speech.

He didn't know whether to immediately attack or to ask it a question.

While Sungyoon was having a hard time making up his mind, Kevil’s eyes widened.

- What the hell? This guy is better than this one!

The delight in its voice was evident. Kevil unloaded something from his shoulder and carelessly threw it aside. Sungyoon finally realized Kevil had been carrying Lee. He was still alive since he was groaning. But Sungyoon could tell he was in a rough state.

He was missing an arm and a leg. His entire body was coated in blood. Sungyoon could see white bone sticking out where the limbs had been severed.

The version of Lee, who had been deeply moved by meeting Sungyoon, could no longer be seen.

For some reason, the monster in front of him had attacked Lee, and it had set the house on fire.

Sungyoon raised his sword and shield. He had no idea how strong the monster was, so he overclocked his Gems.

“Did you do this?”

His voice was low and calm. However, anyone that knew Sungyoon would have heard the suppressed rage in his voice.

However, Kevil didn’t respond to Sungyoon’s question.

-Ke ke ke! It is really hard to find sacrifices. I can’t believe a good one just happens to be nearby. I’m really lucky on my first expedition!

“I asked if you did this.”

Sungyoon asked once again. However, Kevil ignored Sungyoon’s words once again.

Boom!

Kevil took a big step forward. Sungyoon raised his shield in preparation of the attack.

No, he was trying to prepare.

Kwahng!

He had no idea what had just happened. Sungyoon’s eyes shot open.

“Kuh-huhk!”

It was as if a groan had risen up from the deepest part of his body. His entire body hurt.

If he was a normal person that needed to breathe, he wouldn't be able to thanks to the pain.

-Huh? Did you regain consciousness? You are pretty amazing.

He heard an ominous sound. He shook his fuzzy head as his eyes came into focus. He looked ahead.

From a good distance away, the demon type monster was approaching him.

He quickly tried to get up, but his body wouldn’t move. Sungyoon looked down at his body.

Absolute mess.

That was the only phrase that could describe what he saw.

All his limbs were broken, and they were pointing at odd angles. The middle of his armor was destroyed. He could see his chest caved inwards.

Cough!

He could taste something metallic rise up into his mouth. He threw up. Red blood flowed down his lips. He was sure his organs were damaged. He could see his axe and shield in the distance.

He was now aware that he had been hit by the monster.

However, he didn’t remember what kind of attack it was, and how he had received it.

-If you stayed unconscious like that guy, you could have avoided feeling the pain.

Kevil spoke in a sarcastic manner. Sungyoon ignored the pain as he moved his broken hand. He activated his healing Gem.

His twisted limbs returned to normal, and the pain slowly dampened itself.

-Oh ho. You are different from that trash over there. I can see why you are letting out that strong of a scent.

It was an odd choice of words. The monster said he was letting out that ‘strong of a scent.’ However, Sungyoon couldn’t afford to pay attention to its words.

He had to either defeat the monster in front of him, or he had to run away. He had to change the tide of the battle somehow.

Sungyoon activated his spells.

Boom!

Massive gravity hit Kevil.

Puh-uh-uhk!

At the same time, spikes made out of rock shot up from the ground. The spells were much weaker compared to the moon, but he couldn’t afford to be picky.

Bul-duhk!

As soon as he got up, he put distance to the monster. His body still ached, but he couldn’t afford to rest.

Sungyoon re-summoned his sword and shield.

Kwahhhhhhng!

The rock spikes surrounding Kevil was destroyed into pieces. Then a long whip of fire shot towards Sungyoon.

“Koohk!”

He was barely able to dodge it by bending down. The attack grazed past above him.

However, that was all that was needed to cause damage. The effect caused by the attack was astonishing.

Hwah-roo-roohk!

‘Hot!’

The attack didn’t even brush by the surrounding land, yet the grass was set on fire. Sungyoon felt as if he was walking within the volcanic region of the Great Labyrinth.

Boom! Boom!

The rock spikes were destroyed and they melted from the heat. Kevil appeared from the aftermath. There was a long flame in his hand. It looked like a fire whip.

Kwah-doo-doohk!

The long toenails protruding from its black feet crushed the broken pieces of the rock spike.

-Good. Good. It is fun when the prey puts up a fight.

Puh-uhng!

Kevil swung the fire whip in a threatening manner. Just this movement caused his surrounding to combust into flames.

However, Kevil didn’t look satisfied by it.

-Tsk! Places with no magical energy is annoying. How much power did I lose?

It wielded a shocking amount of power, yet it complained about the reduction of its power. Sungyoon was baffled by it.

Kevil once again focused his attention on Sungyoon.

-That one was too weak. He almost lost his mind from fear when he felt his great presence. I give him some points for putting up a fight even as he cried to protect his family. Still, he is trash. His family was burning in front of him, yet he could only cry. He wasn’t able to put up a decent fight. I hope you fight back a bit harder. If not, this won’t be fun for me.

Sungyoon’s face crumpled.

His wife was a failure, but Sungyoon treasured his daughter. This was why he couldn’t forgive any violence against Lee’s family.

It happened at that moment.

“Mr. Sungyoon!”

Someone called out towards him. The party members, whom he had left behind, had finally arrived.

The faces of Jimin, Chelsea, Emily and Grace were pale. They watched the flames rage around Sungyoon and Kevil.

-Are they your comrades?

Kevil asked the question. Sungyoon could clearly see the devil type monster smile.

A chill went up his spine, and he could feel cold sweat run down his back.

Kevil’s red eyes looked down at Sungyoon.

-This is great timing. The spices to the main dish have arrived. What will you do?

Sungyoon could hear the loud sound of the heartbeat within him.

However, the heartbeat wasn’t the only thing that had sought out Sungyoon this time around. He felt like foaming at the mouth. It felt as if he was having a seizure. His hands shook violently, and he couldn’t put strength into his hands. He wanted to just sink to the floor.

He was having trouble moving his body.

Ba-dump! Ba-dump! Ba-dump!

It felt as if he was hiding, and a scary giant eye was looking down at his back. He felt fear.