Demon King

[There are many things hidden by you that I cannot see.]

The spider responded, four pairs of red eyes glancing down at me. I shrugged.

“Isn’t it natural that I can’t tell you everything yet?”

[But it’s odd. I’m feeling an overwhelming wall between you and me, though we shouldn’t be so different.]

“I think our enemies are the same, so how about it? Will you cooperate with me?” I decided to ignore his comment, deciding I shouldn’t answer as to why that may be.

[My situation is not so easy, but…]

The chance to make a superior entity my subordinate, a possibility I hadn’t even imagined when I arrived here. Now that chance was right before me.

[But is it possible? I am subjugated to this enclosed space, but you have arrived here regardless and offered to free me.]

“Exactly.” I could feel his will to become subordinate to me, but as I tried to extend my dominance over him, I found myself blocked by a wall. It stopped my power dead in its tracks, frustrating me as I couldn’t break through it.

[Hm?]

I extended the mana of Jinma around me, focusing on the giant spider. Within the dense and pure mana the spider held within itself, I found something impure—the answer as to why I was stopped.

“Is there someone else here?” I lifted my head to gaze at the huge temple behind him. I could feel the same ominous mana that was in the final boss room of the Black Palace seeping out from it. It was a place where I would have to face the risk of more than just some severe injury, a place full of beings like this giant spider facing me.

[Do you know about red blood?]

Red blood. A memory tickled the back of my mind, of the final floor of the Black palace. The item I obtained from defeating the Bloody Arachne, that high-level monster, was the Red Blood Spider Key.

“I think I know how I ended up here now.” I showed him the key from my inventory, his four pairs of eyes flashing in recognition.

[I see. It must be fate, then.]

The spider paused for a moment, lost briefly in thought.

[The Red Blood clan is at the core of the great spiders that have maintained its reputation throughout the history of demons. They are known for their powerful forms, noble intelligence, and immense magical power.]

“I see.”

[The Red Blood predicted that there would be a calamity, at the end of which only destruction awaited. They were convinced that the balance between the elves and demons would be distorted by this Great Fusion that you mentioned, so they made attempts to prevent it. But they failed terribly.]

They, just like the elves, attempted to refuse the Great Fusion. It made me wonder if some sort of agreement really couldn’t be made between the two.

[They were intelligent but arrogant. They became overconfident and refused to trust others. I broke their laws and did something I was told not to do, and thus they cast me out and confined me here.]

My ears perked up at this part of his story.

[As such, I was the only one who avoided the disaster. But, as you see, I couldn’t escape from my binds here.]

“Then, this key…?”

[I can only guess, but it was probably the last attempt at resistance for those who failed. Maybe, they wanted to leave a chance at salvation for me.]

The spider’s words were bitter. For me, it was a story of an enemy I had to fight from now on, but to him, it was much more personal. While I was struggling to live, this spider was struggling in endless despair. It was a reminder to me that the Great Fusion had influenced more than just me and humanity. I couldn’t solve everyone’s problems, though, nor did I intend to try. But this one person right in front of me, I could help. I just needed to be stronger.

[You might be able to do it. Please bring rest to the foolish ones.]

“I’ll be back.” I unsheathed the Twilight Sword and held the web key, on my other hand, using the power of Reaper on myself as I stepped forward.

[What an exciting stealth technique.]

“It’s not quite the same as hiding.” I took another step, but it was like I wasn’t even there. There was only a specter of death. I couldn’t be too vigilant against monsters of the higher system, after all, especially not other demons. I was not too proud to act cautiously, especially given how dangerous I could feel this place was. I inserted the key into the iron gate that blocked the dungeon- Daishinjeon. The key melted into the door as they swung slowly open.

[May your sword guide you well.]

I entered without hesitation, confident no one would notice me.

[Kyahahaha!]

A spider leg as sharp as a spear-tip flew toward me, too fast for the eye to register. Rather, it was aiming right at the Reaper skill instead of me. ‘Does Reaper not work against higher-level entities?’ I wondered if that was the case as I stepped forward, the spider leg passing through where I had been, breaking the ground. Another attack came in right away, but it felt duller than the first blow. It felt like a casual attack that had no intent to kill.

The monster didn’t know my position; they had simply guessed the path and intruder would take and launched an attack. The entrance was narrow, and the path one could take was limited, so it shouldn’t be surprising that it had appeared that they tried to hit me directly. But after I succeeded in evading the first blow and entering the temple completely, I had many options where I could go.

[Kyaah! Kyaah!]

I moved forward, gathering information on my enemies. Content once I had done that, I used Ubiquitous to jump ahead. A moment later, spider legs came from every direction, attacking the alter ego I left behind in my place. The alter ego exploded in a flash of light, bringing the dark dungeon into the realm of day for an instant.

[Kiaahhh!]

The light was brief, but at that moment, my ability to sense exerted its power to its limit and engraved all the information it collected into my mind. It didn’t just make me aware of my surroundings; it felt like it also made me better working in the darkness I found myself back in. The darkness in which Reaper could show its greatest power.

[Gyaah!]

Though the spiders were accustomed to the darkness, they could not find me hidden in the shadows. They made harsh, crackling sounds and spewed webs all over. The webs had the powerful mana expected from higher-level entities, filling all sides of the room so that there could be no escape. They made it so I couldn’t help but come into contact with one, but I knew if I did, I would get caught. Their aggressive mana would dig into my body and soul, destroying everything it touched. If I didn’t move, I would get hit by the web, but if I moved, I would get hit by the leg that would predict my movement. The Red Blood clan had powerful short and long-range attacks, as well as the ability to coordinate in a group. They were strong enemies, for sure, but they would be easier to deal with if I could reduce their numbers.

‘Alright.’ I pushed my worries out of my mind and got to work. I began to exude my dark smoke around the spider webs, not to devour them but to activate them. The two manas collided, causing a silent explosion of magic. It took me a large amount of mana to manage it, but there was prey everywhere. Right now, I had to focus on maintaining the power of Reaper and start culling their numbers without being noticed.

[Kigahhh!]

[Kishaaa!]

The effect was better than I expected. The energies mixed together and began to hinder the spiders’ ability to move, their legs floating in the air as I focused my counterattack on that gap I made. I used Ubiquitous to move, leaving an alter ego with the power of Predation behind each time. Using these high-level skills continuously, I burned through my mana like no one’s business. Spider webs continued to fill the room, exploding as soon as they came into contact with my mana. The spiders were descending from the ceiling to attack me. With the explosions caused by the collision of our mana, and continually using Lunatic Trickster with the materials I saved, I was gradually turning their home turf into my territory. My mana that filled the air with didn’t just disappear; it remained in the air to transform the area into something I owned.

[Kiiii!]

I cut through five of the spider legs at once, the dark smoke around me immediately swallowing them whole. It had a sweet taste to it; the flesh of an enemy equal to me was so pleasant to devour.

[Kyak!]

[Kyasha!]

The spider that lost its legs collapsed on the ground, falling onto another’s web. This was the moment I had been waiting for when the order among the spiders was disrupted. I put the energy of Reaper in my sword, combining it with all the other techniques I had learned. I slashed out with my sword into the giant spider’s head before me, cleaving through it. My Predation left not a drop of blood as it greedily consumed the fallen spider.

[You have gained 34 experience.]

[You received 119 gold.]

Only

[You obtained a Red Blood Shell.]

[New Magic has increased by 1.]

Even without checking the notification window, I was sure that I succeeded in taking a step forward—the first one since I evolved. The feeling of anxiety that came about from stagnating vanished and my body felt lighter. Mana overflowed from me, making me even faster. I slashed out with my sword once more, severing the webs and the legs of spiders alike. Their numbers began to decline quickly.

[You have gained 31 experience.]

[You have gained 36 experience.]

[Level up!]

I took a deep breath, filled with joy at having gained a level already. Even with just one level, I could tell that the increase in my ability was incomparable. I finally succeeded in taking this step forward, and this army of spiders was there to aid me in it. I was so happy I could kiss them.

I stepped forward, intent on keeping my promise with the spider outside.