CH 26

As mentioned, it doesn’t hold water for Choi Yu Seong to fight and win if there is another Demon King Worshiper.

‘Villains belonging to the group of Demon King Worshiper are at least B-Rank.’

This is because most of them are those who gained strength through contracts with the Demon King, who is still crouching in another world.

In other words, even Ghost who can kill Choi Yu Seong right now is only a soldier from the standpoint of Demon King Worshiper.

Therefore, Ghost is merely a role that appears when Kim Do Jin has grown to some extent and vainly dies in the original novel.

Choi Yu Seong forgot the original novel is Kim Do Jin’s point of view, which he read lightly.

For him now, any Demon King Worshipers are Death God without exception.

As he climbed the stairs thinking like that, the sweat that had cooled down with a deep breath began to form all over his forehead again.

‘It’s just not a feeling, but I think there’s really one more person.’

As he went up the stairs one by one, the heavier the weight pressing on his shoulders.

Is this simply because of the sense of gap with reality?

Choi Yu Seong walked up the stairs even while doubting.

By the time he reached the third floor, it was difficult to even breathe.

His vision was dizzy and he was filled with the feelings of wanting to run away immediately.

He was scared, but not awkward.

Choi Yu Seong has already fought against similar fears over and over again.

As he thought, he is growing through experience.

4th floor.

‘Only?’

It definitely feels like he was going up for quite a long time, but it seems to have been an illusion.

Seeing the number written in the dark and damp hallway, Choi Yu Seong clenched his fist tightly, bit his lips, and stepped on the next stairs.

Then he passed the fifth floor and climbed the stairs leading to a higher place.

Beyond the wide-open rooftop door, a yellow amulet floating in the air and the strange patterns spreading around it caught Choi Yu Seong’s eyes.

The center of Formation to use the Barrier Scroll.

‘It’s the Gate of Life!’

Found.

It was at that moment that the sweat that had filled his face with tension fell to the floor of the quiet hallway.

Drop.

Choi Yu Seong’s body hardened at the not loud sound but obviously ringing in his ears.

Silence.

In it, Choi Yu Seong hoped.

‘Is there… No one?’

There may be only some unknown threat and momentum.

With that in mind, the moment when he took courage again and went outside the rooftop door.

Woosh-! A hand popped out of somewhere and grabbed Choi Yu Seong’s neck at once.

“Kek-!”

Choi Yu Seong’s face turned white as he was pushed to the wall.

‘Where the hell…?’

In front of the questioning Choi Yu Seong,  a red-haired woman holding his neck with one hand tilted her head.

“Oh my, what’s this? I was looking forward because someone broke through my killing energy and came up here, but it’s a greenhorn.”

Gazes mixed with disbelief and curiosity.

However, those feelings are only superficial.

Choi Yu Seong read the latent emotions deep in her red eyes somewhat instinctively.

‘Killing intent and anger.’

The problem is that the feelings are too much.

Horrible might be a more accurate word.

Just facing her alone is enough to cause his whole body to tremble without realizing it.

It was completely different from the momentum that Choi Wu Jae gave off.

More essential and wilder than that, an unrefined kind of emotion was swirling around the woman as if to explode.

“He’s going to die like this.”

With a bright smile, she released her hand from holding Choi Yu Seong’s neck.

The woman tilted her head as she looked down at Choi Yu Seong, who slumped helplessly on the floor like a doll with broken threads.

“Seriously, how did you come all the way here? You kid can’t even breathe properly.”1

To tell the truth, Choi Yu Seong was suffocating as if he was submerged in the water despite the freed neck.

The fear of death immediately surged in his mind and he covered his shoulders with both arms without realizing it.

It feels like a child meets a tiger in the wild.

The torrent of emotions is so violent that it is difficult to even make eye contact.

Nevertheless, Choi Yu Seong forced himself to raise his head and look at his opponent.

What kind of determination and tenacity? Courage?

It wasn’t those cool kinds.

‘If you don’t raise your head, you die.’

The momentum of the red-haired woman was telling that.

It is only her curiosity that keeps Choi Yu Seong alive now.

“You’re quick to catch on. And… You haven’t given up yet. The eyes are alive. I like it very much.”

With a smile, she slowly bent her knees and made eye contact with Choi Yu Seong.

“Those are pretty eyes. What’s your name?”

“Choi… Yu Seong.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Rachel. Rachel Lopez.”

Rachel shed a smile and held out her hand.

Looking at her with a rather blank gaze, Choi Yu Seong’s dry lips fell.

“Slaughterer Queen.”

An S-Rank Villain at this point, one of the future Disasters was in front of his eyes.

***

It was somewhat ironic why Rachel Lopez, also known as Slaughterer Queen, became part of Demong King Worshiper.

‘Will it feel different to cut the Demon King’s head from killing humans?’

This pure curiosity and desire were always wriggling deep in her heart.

Going back to the beginning, it was the part where ‘would I feel at ease if I kill the stepfather who beat mother every day and treated me mercilessly?’.

On her 13th birthday, she was able to answer the question after cutting the neck of her stepfather, who crawled into her bed like a worm, with a kitchen knife she hid under the bed.

‘It’s nothing.’

Seeing her mother, a much bigger adult than her, rubbing her hands without even rebelling, she thought her father was a fairly scary and strong human being.

But when she cut his neck with a knife, he just vainly died.

It wasn’t without some danger at all, but it was a lot easier than she thought.

Her curiosity about the Demon King was similar.

She was curious about how he looks, how strong he is, and she wants to kill him.

The guys of Demon King Worshiper say that Demon King will ascend from another world someday to destroy this world and that the appearance of the dungeon is the beginning, but it’s unknown until you experience it in person.

Therefore, Rachel entered Demon Lord Worshiper.

Isn’t it only when the Demon King appears her curiosity will be satisfied?

Even that Demon King Worshiper can meet the Demon King before anyone else.

Except for the fact that she killed her stepfather as a child and was an Irregular upon Awakening, the rather ordinary(?) Hunter Rachel’s only reason to join the nonsensical organization called Demon King Worshiper was truly curiosity.

The way she looks at Choi Yu Seong now was not so different.

‘This kiddo is interesting.’

Rachel came to Korea under the organization’s order to convince Kim Do Jin, but she didn’t want to do anything directly.

Making colleagues is tedious for her.

Even in the entire Demon King Worshiper organization, she was a loner who acted alone.

She feels comfortable alone and also feels much easier to get things done.

This made her somewhat unrivaled even within Demon King Worshiper.

It’s annoying to keep pace with someone.

Yet it’s not to fight and kill. But to convince?

It’s inevitable but for her to not like it.

However, there was also no justification to refuse the request of the leader Godfather, her only favorite figure in the entire group of Demon King Worshiper.

Previously, Rachel didn’t fulfill three of the missions suggested by Godfather himself.

This is because none of the missions given recently were to her liking.

If she refused another request by this point, Godfather’s honor would be disgraced.

Also, there will be a lot of talk from the Presbytery, who does not like her.

From the viewpoint of Rachel, who wants to fight the Demon King first than anyone else, she could not completely ignore such words of the Presbytery even if she was annoyed.

It was a somewhat forced trip to Korea.

What she thought was a good thing was she heard that Ghost, one of the moderately easy-to-manage soldiers, was in Japan just in time. So, he summoned him.

Anyway, if she goes out on a half-forced mission that’s to convince Kim Do Jin in person, she could kill him if he doesn’t listen to anything and bothered her.

Rachel was convinced that the right person for this job was Ghost, not herself.

Of course, she will have to pretend that she does some work as well.

Only then will the Presbytery, who may be monitoring somewhere, close their mouths.

Therefore, she played the role of opening the Barrier Spell and protecting him.

Of course, she explained it like that but she didn’t mean to keep the Barrier Spell with all her heart and soul.

Practically, Rachel was just lying and rolling about on the rooftop, eating Korean snacks after ordering Ghost.

But it didn’t matter.

Even when Rachel lies down and idly relaxes, most Hunters don’t dare to approach her.

‘It should be an A-Rank Hunter at least to break through my killing energy, though.’

This was largely influenced by one of her skills, Killing Intent’s Wave (S).

It is not to the extent that ordinary people cannot bear it mentally and physically, but just approaching it closely drives them crazy in fear.

As mentioned, even Hunters were not much different except high Ranks.

However, Choi Yu Seong, who is visibly just an E-Rank no matter what, broke through her Killing Intent’s Wave.

It is impossible in the first place to avoid the effects of Killing Intent’s Wave with luck.

In fact, Choi Yu Seong, who came up to the rooftop, was already full of fear even before he met her.

‘It looks like he’s going to suffocate right now. Pretty cute.’

Rachel smiled inwardly, tilted her head, and asked.

“Shake hands, won’t you do that?”

“…”

Choi Yu Seong reached out his trembling hand and held her white but full of calluses hand.

“Seeing that you understand what I’m saying, you know how to speak English. Good. I’m going to ask questions now. I hope you answer sincerely. How did you come up here?”

“…By foot.”

“It wouldn’t have been easy, though?”

No, it is normally impossible.

Choi Yu Seong looked at Rachel’s eyes instead of answering.

What more is there to say?

Rachel nodded.

“I don’t think you’re lying. So the second question. What do you think will happen to you in the future?”

Slaughterer Queen is a nickname Rachel got while working as a mercenary for the U.S. Department of Defense.

Those who met her on the battlefield at the time, including soldiers, Hunters, and civilians, all died horrifically.

According to the records, those who fought Slaughterer Queen were torn to pieces, tossed to the ground, and turned into corpses in a very rough form.

Can Choi Yu Seong be different?

“I want… To live.”

At the words of Choi Yu Seong, who bit his lower lip tightly, Rachel tucked her red hair behind her ears.

“That’s what I like about you. Any human doesn’t want to die. But Choi Yu Seong, you seem to have a much stronger will. Nevertheless, you came this far ignoring my Killing Intent’s Wave. Is this something possible?”

While Rachel was engulfed in curiosity and questions alone, Choi Yu Seong gradually regained stability in the suffocating fear.

To be precise, he began to use his brain to survive from her.