#079.
「Are you ready?」
Baphomet asked, holding a golden-yellow parchment in its hand.
What it held in its hand.
It was a ‘scroll’ engraved with the language of magic capable of sealing the Gate of Hell that was even now opening.
The purpose of a scroll is simple.
A kind of consumable made by carving the power of magic into special paper so that it could be manifested.
Before the regression, I had frequently made use of scrolls as well.
Because as a mere Strengthening Smith, I didn’t have any special abilities like the others.
That’s why I used to overcome crises by utilizing the magic imbued in scrolls and various authorities.
Of course, the golden parchment before me now was engraved with an extremely powerful magic, incomparable to anything I had encountered before.
『??? Hell ??? Seal』
Even with the Sage’s information, I could only faintly interpret it; it was the ‘Primordial Language.’
An unknown language that even the Sage could not perfectly comprehend, decipherable only by certain divine beings who knew the true history.
‘So the part about sealing the Gate of Hell was true.’
At least, through those fragmented words, I could clearly tell that what it was trying to do was seal the Gate of Hell.
However, the length of the golden parchment containing that incantation…
‘This is no joke.’
The parchment hanging down from Baphomet’s hands stretched long.
Its length alone appeared to be roughly 10 meters.
‘No wonder the incantation will take a while.’
If it had to read all the languages packed densely on that parchment, this would certainly be a task requiring a long time.
I turned my gaze away from the golden parchment and looked over the party members standing to block different paths, one by one.
“Are you ready?”
I wasn’t the only one who needed to prepare.
Currently, four paths spread before us, and we had to face the demons that would pour out from these four divided directions.
Starting with the left as the first.
Hero and William took the first.
Jeong Dohwan and Chairman Kang took the second.
Liuyan and Yale took the third.
And I took the last, the fourth.
We had to prepare thoroughly, because not even a single one could be allowed to approach Baphomet.
“I’m ready!”
“I’m ready.”
“All preparations are complete.”
Everyone signaled that they were ready.
「We are ready.」
And I conveyed that to Baphomet.
「Let me say it again. This will not be easy for you insigni… humans. The strength and numbers of the evil spawn pouring out from the Gate of Hell are not easily endured.」
A divine being repeatedly offering warnings?
This meant it would be tremendously difficult.
「We are well aware.」
But there was no choice.
‘Because even if I gave up here, it was obvious that thing would kill me.’
What if I got scared by its words and abandoned the mission?
I would die immediately.
Baphomet’s lines were obvious.
‘You insignificant humans. How dare you abandon the trial I have given you—you have no value in existing.’
It would be something like that.
That’s why, if there was any way to survive, I had to accept its proposal and endure somehow.
「This incantation requires tremendous concentration. You may be able to endure for a time, but remember. If you are continuously exposed to their attacks, the spell will be canceled, the Gate of Hell will open, and this world will face a calamity it cannot withstand.」
「I dare assure you. To the Goat of Sabbat, never shall the hands of wicked spawn touch your sacred body.」
「…I shall watch.」
Meaning it would kill us the moment things went wrong.
「It seems you are prepared, so let us begin.」
Its incantation began, not forgetting its final warning.
Hwaahak!
Along with that, a brilliant golden radiance began expanding from around Baphomet’s body.
“Prepare yourselves.”
I spoke to the party.
If that brilliant light illuminating the surroundings reached the end of the catacombs, the spell would be completed and the Gate of Hell would be sealed.
Of course, this was no easy task.
「Grrr—」
I heard it.
The low growl of beasts.
The hellish minions that had squeezed through the cracks of the Gate of Hell were approaching.
Eyes brimming with tension, and stiffened muscles.
I moved my body once, slowly relaxing my rigid muscles before looking straight ahead.
「Keung!」
What finally revealed itself.
It was a massive dog with stiff black fur like thorns.
“Hellhound.”
The hellish hound that feeds on sulfur.
Its tough hide deflects ordinary physical attacks, and its long, protruding claws and fangs can tear even through iron.
A mutt that can lightly chew up an Awakened or two.
But these hellish hounds numbered in the dozens, not just one or two, and revealed themselves before each of the blocked paths.
Drip, drop—
The moment the sticky saliva flowing from their mouths fell to the ground.
「Keung keung!」
They leaped from the ground and charged ferociously.
Explosive speed utilizing developed hind leg muscles.
But.
Swish!
My hand was faster than the mutts.
A trajectory drawn in the air split the Hellhound’s body vertically.
Tough hide?
Don’t make me laugh.
That was by ordinary Awakened standards; with my strength and the power of a high-grade mystic weapon, I could easily cut through it.
Of course, I wasn’t the only one capable of that.
Wham!
「Keheng!」
One rolled pathetically from Hero’s fist.
Surprisingly, one Hellhound with its tongue hanging long died instantly.
Without a proper weapon, with bare hands?
‘If it’s him, it’s possible.’
The basic ability of the Fist King is the Iron Fist.
When fighting bare-fisted (without wearing anything, forced to use bare fists), it boasts a durability that rivals most weapons.
Those fists alone were powerful enough, but on top of that, he had undergone full-body strengthening twice.
‘Though he really gets stronger starting from his second evolution…’
Even now, it was enough.
Moreover, he was growing at an incredible rate through his Worthy Rival, so he would soon achieve his second evolution as well.
And Hero was far from being the only major factor in the party’s combat strength.
William—he had achieved tremendous growth during the previous ancient fragment recovery.
Rustle—
Flower petals fluttering alongside a light breeze.
The flower blooming from the red trajectory emanating from his sword scattered countless petals.
Slash!
However, these were no ordinary petals.
Each one was a powerful sword slash capable of cutting through steel.
Swoosh!
The corpses of Hellhounds cut by the petals piled up.
‘The Twenty-Four Falling Plum Blossoms Sword Technique.’
It wasn’t the sword technique William had used before the regression.
Of course, I had known of it through Sword Art Copy, but since he mainly used other powerful sword techniques, it was rarely seen.
But.
‘To think he would be possessed by the Huashan Sword Demon.’
The Martial World.
One of the trials that must be faced in the apocalypse, and one of the greatest stages.
One of the transcendent experts whose name could occasionally be heard upon that stage.
Of course, he hadn’t revealed his name, calling himself Nameless, but.
‘If there’s a Sword Demon who knows the Twenty-Four Falling Plum Blossoms Sword Technique, he is the only one.’
One of the few beings who knew the true essence of the Plum Blossom Sword, which is based on splendid technique, had personally demonstrated it.
Having absorbed that, William was incredibly powerful now.
Of course, in terms of overall combat strength, Jeong Dohwan was above him.
「Death…」
「It is the Master’s command.」
The legion of death he led overwhelmed the Hellhounds.
The soldiers and knights of death were powerful enough, but.
「Geueu—」
「Gueo!」
He raised zombies using the corpses strewn around.
Their numbers easily reached the hundreds, and even if the specters were insignificant compared to Hellhounds, they overwhelmed them in number.
The zombies blocked the path as if blood vessels were clogged with fat, preventing the Hellhounds from approaching.
Kwaaang!
And from behind, Chairman Kang attacked the Hellhounds along with the zombies.
What arose from his hand was the flames of the Explosion Demon.
Jeong Dohwan’s summons blocked the front while he poured out fierce attacks without regard for the zombies’ safety.
That was the combination of Jeong Dohwan—the one called the Guide of Death, a One-Man Army—and Chairman Kang, who possessed the mighty ability known as Trait Absorption.
But if there was a being who overwhelmed even Jeong Dohwan and Chairman Kang?
‘As expected!’
It was the Poison Demon, Liuyan.
Not long after joining, he was somewhat taciturn and hadn’t yet blended in with the existing comrades, but his ability alone was outstanding.
“….”
He just stood there.
But then.
Thud, collapse!
They fell.
The Hellhounds that had been viciously barking and approaching with ferocious speed just moments ago collapsed, foaming at the mouth.
He didn’t lay a hand on them.
Only.
Hssss!
The powerful poisonous mist he raised acted fatally on the Hellhounds, leading them to death in an instant.
The green fog was a poison invisible from the outside, one that melted internal organs.
If one inhaled even a little of it, their five viscera and six bowels would melt, causing instant death.
Jeong Dohwan also didn’t exert his own strength, utilizing his summons instead, but he needed corpses, and their numbers kept decreasing.
In contrast, Liuyan simply erased the surrounding Hellhounds just by standing there, just by raising poisonous mist.
‘Already a 2nd stage evolution. And on top of that…’
The Poison Demon could manifest the poison he had swallowed.
The poison he had swallowed not long ago—that was the Formless Extreme Poison.
Which meant.
‘He can manifest the worst poison in history.’
But releasing powerful poison externally consumed considerable stamina.
There was no need to use a knife for slaughtering cattle to catch chickens against small fry like Hellhounds.
Watching that scene, I could be certain.
We were strong.
To the extent that it didn’t matter even if this was a Wave—a form where we had to block endlessly pouring monsters.
‘Still, letting my guard down is forbidden.’
I knew the danger of waves better than anyone.
Now the wave had begun.
The reason this type of trial was terrifying was because stronger enemies appeared as time passed.
Not to mention their overwhelming numbers.
Proper stamina management was a given.
‘Preparation to face the powerful beings that would appear later.’
Knowing that, I didn’t act rashly.
I only killed the mutts in single strikes to conserve as much stamina as possible.
*
As expected, the Hellhounds were only the beginning.
When I had finished off the hundreds of charging mutts, what appeared was the Demon Wolf.
A superior monster to the Hellhound, a very annoying mutt that spewed powerful lava.
And it wasn’t just them.
At first, only the lowest-grade demonic beasts that were usually seen only in the lower levels of Hell appeared, but gradually, those from the upper levels revealed themselves.
Needless to say, the higher the level of Hell the monster came from, the trickier it was to deal with.
No, not just tricky—it was hard.
That was only natural because Hell was a place with a clear hierarchy.
Naturally, the difference in strength between demonic beasts was considerable.
The higher the stage, the difficulty increased exponentially.
Still, when they changed from Hellhounds to Demon Wolves, they were somewhat manageable.
But when they changed from Demon Wolves to Fire Imps that used fire magic, it got a bit difficult.
And when fighting the Walker, a red-caped human, after the Fire Imps, we struggled quite a bit.
And now.
「Blood, pleasure!」
「Torture, amusement!」
The appearance of Cruks, the hellish combatant with all kinds of weapons—swords, blades, spears, axes—stuck in its body and melted skin, was enough to make one recall the word ‘struggle.’
Swish.
The sword Cruks swung brushed past my cheek.
Pain flaring fiercely, and blood seeping out.
‘This isn’t easy.’
It definitely wasn’t easy.
Cruks was a soldier tasked with torturing souls that entered Hell, capable of wielding all weapons beyond mastery.
It wasn’t carrying those weapons in its body for nothing.
It was creating a completely different fighting style from before based on sophisticated weapon techniques.
Those that had initially appeared alternating with the Walkers had now completely surrounded me.
A situation of solitary isolation.
Unlike my comrades, I had to overcome this battle alone.
‘It’s not that difficult.’
Gdeuk!
I recovered my stamina depleted from enduring the wave with a Gongjindan.
And at that moment.
“Haap!”
From beside me, Hero’s fighting shout rang out.
And he wasn’t the only one.
“Hueok, hueok!”
William exhaling breath filled to the brim.
The desperate fighting shouts had increased noticeably.
Well.
If I was struggling this much, they must be having a hard time too.
But this wasn’t a situation where I could go help them.
What I had to do now wasn’t worry about my comrades, but deal with the enemy before my eyes—Cruks.
Especially since the area I was in charge of was the widest, it was a place where I had to face that much greater numbers.
I couldn’t help.
No, even if someone helped, it wouldn’t be me.
‘Liuyan.’
He should become a great strength to his struggling comrades.