The Player Who Eats Steel - Episode 209
209fury.
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After this world became like a game, strange places began to be created all over the world..
For example, the abnormal ecosystem that goes against the mother nature of the Earth, or the remains of this race that were left behind by human civilization... … Their true identity was the result of a part of the dungeon inside the gate being flooded with reality through an event called ‘erosion’..
And the players called that place a ‘labyrinth’.…….
Ku—gu—gu—gu.......
The lava tube located here now, 4km below the ground, was one of them..
pop——!
The scenery there was mysterious and threatening..
Should I say that it looks like the ruins of an ancient civilization that were eaten by Mother Nature??
Lava poured down like a waterfall along the black stone wall with various patterns carved into it, and it pooled at the bottom to form a red lake..
pop——!
And gas spurts often burst out from holes in the wall, and the sound was similar to thunder rumbling from the ground—it shook the entire cavity softly, and each time it did, sulfur gas rose up together, creating a smokey haze..
however…….
“……sorry.”
In this hell-like space, a man's voice was echoing..
“……He knows the location of this 'heart of the land' and is coming through in a straight line..”
It was none other than Gordon Price's voice..
And as you can see from his words, the name of this place was ‘Heart of the Earth’..
In other words, it is a temple of the Ancient Red Drake race, and was originally a sacred and secret place where only a few elders, including Agaidika, the guardian of the red volcano, could enter, but now it is a sacred and secret place.…….
- A 'Devil's Castle' is being created in the area.. (99%)
In this way, it was reduced to the invader's living room..
“At this rate, he'll be down here in a few minutes. no way… … To be honest, I never thought I'd be able to make a drill out of a stick and a mogley..”
The place where Gordon Price was standing was in the very center of the cavity, a pyramid-shaped altar rising above a lava lake..
And there, the Necromancer's flying fortress, the 'Flower of Death', had landed and was spewing out black smoke.…….
One thing that was different from before was that the roots at the bottom of the flower were embracing and protecting something..
Gulp—gulp.—
That was some kind of huge film..
It was like the placenta of an animal, and it caught my eye because it was constantly writhing as if something would tear it open at any moment..
Gordon Price took a look at it, then spoke again..
“……And it's unclear how to hold on any longer. No matter how much magic shield you put up, it will melt like cheese in front of that drill..”
Although he was reporting his failure to the Demon King, he still had a confident expression on his face..
He has been holding this world in his hands for quite some time, so he has always lived as a predator. That is why he did not bend his spirit and enter under any circumstances. That attitude is still maintained today..
But his hands were getting wet with sweat... … It wasn't just because this space was hot..
‘Devil…….'
It was because he knew that his fate was entrusted to him and that he could easily kill him..
‘……Right now, my head might explode.’
Potential order… … The same method he used to control the villains was binding him..
Then, a voice was heard.
「So you… … Are you asking me for the answer again this time??」
A voice that resonates throughout the cavity... … Because it contained a certain status, it made even beings of relatively low status cringe..
It was no different for Gordon Price. He felt light-headed for a moment, tried to decide his words, and finally opened his mouth..
“……Yes, I would like you to lend me your wisdom one more time..”
There was no answer for a while, and Gordon Price slowly swallowed dry saliva..
pop——!
Gordon Price unconsciously shook his shoulders at the sound of gas erupting from somewhere..
If the Demon King had his way, he would not die comfortably through a latent spell, but would be thrown alive into that lava lake and slowly boiled..
「I…….」
Soon, the Demon King opened his mouth again..
「……Even among the villains in your dimension, even though I trusted you and entrusted you with many things, you still fall below expectations to the end..」
"........"
「As I have emphasized several times, in order to complete the Demon King Castle, I cannot shift my attention elsewhere. That's because you get a penalty. However, I had to force myself to take the time to go up and do the chore of sealing the sky. Because you guys didn't do your job. But what happened in the end?」
As soon as the voice ends—
Whoosh—!
Black smoke flew in like a whip and entangled Gordon Price's body..
"Pfft!”
And lifted it into the air.
Wow—
He couldn't do anything. The more force he applied, the more intense the pressure became. It felt like every bone in his body would be crushed if he tried to resist..
So I had no choice but to comply.
「Gordon… … Why are you so disappointed? You are not what I wanted you to be now. It's not like I know.」
The Demon King's voice became somewhat passionate. His tone, which usually exuded exaggerated solemnity, disappeared, and his voice sounded like he was complaining somewhere. In other words, it felt quite human..
He was a demon lord who had never shown such emotions until now..
So I couldn't help but become even more anxious..
‘If this continues, I will be finished too..’
He struggled to open his mouth..
“Pfft… … Well, I— somehow— found a way.……."
「Now I can't believe I'm finally telling you how…….」
At that time, one of the petals of the Flower of Death drooped down, and a figure came down, stepping on the leaf like a step..
Jeopuk- Jeobok—
A being wearing a robe and carrying a black scythe, and with a dark green aura covering its entire body... … He was a necromancer.
「……That's not wisdom, it's just a poor survival instinct. Isn't it??」
The voice was heard again, but the necromancer's mouth did not open..
That voice was ringing behind the necromancer's back... … Soon, a tentacle rose up on the necromancer's shoulder..
That was the devil.
Tsutsutsutsu—
However, the tentacles gradually swelled... … Isn't he suddenly turning into some kind of human being??
「Look at me, Gordon..」
"Pfft—"
「I have one last thing to show you.」
One of the transformed tentacles, that is, the Demon King, became a man..
Gordon Price asked in bewilderment:.
“……Is that the real thing??”
That was because it was so similar to him..
Tsutsutsutsu—
An upper body resembling himself slowly approached, hanging on a tentacle. And as I stopped right in front of his face, I was able to take a closer look..
It couldn't be said that it was just an imitation of his own appearance. Her wrinkles were deep and her hair was grey, making her look noticeably older..
That's what it looked like a few years later.
"......."
「I'm not surprised. Without even suspecting it. Because I expected that. yes? Me in another dimension.」
At those words, Gordon Price struggled to smile despite the pain that twisted his entire body..
“……Ha—yeah, I kind of guessed it since you said you came from another dimension with the necromancer..”
He pointed at the necromancer with a nod..
"Because I was the one who raised that guy. That means... … In the end, I was destined to win this game?”
I realized that the great devil was himself..
but I wasn't happy.
Because he knew one inconvenient truth..
‘william bernard…….'
When the first dimensional shifter appeared, he suddenly killed his past self..
I still didn't know why or what it meant, but I couldn't help but feel uneasy in many ways..
He exhaled slowly and looked at the demon king..
"Well, then give me another chance.”
「.......」
"I, I will do everything I can to buy time until the Demon King Castle is completed! If you were me... … Lastly, believe in yourself!”
Next, he quickly thought of a plausible plan and presented it..
“You know that there are Guardians out there who consider me a colleague, right? I mean Lee Seong-yoon! He probably still considers me, no—us, as a trustworthy ally! Talk to him and use various excuses to stall for a while, 'mind control' a few players to cause confusion, and at that moment, blow up the passage that Steele Rain had opened.……."
「Ah— ah— Gordon.」
The Demon King interrupted..
It was a bad sign..
"huh?"
「You're making a big mistake..」
"......."
「I am no longer like you.」
"what?”
In an instant, the Demon King returned to his tentacle state..
「Are you saying that even when you see this image in front of you? Do you now believe that I will treat you as the same as me and show you mercy? huh?」
"ah……."
「I am just a human being, Gordon Price... … A being that has evolved one step further by breaking away from its weak appearance... … He's a semi-transcendent..」
Gordon Price was momentarily dizzy. At the moment when you need to persuade somehow... … Quasi-transcendent, because such incomprehensible words were said..
“Well, what does that mean... … I don't know yet. It seems like unknown information in my time.……."
「I'm sorry, but I don't think I can give you a chance to buy time. I am… … To get points, you can't look any uglier than this..」
"what? Pfft! Who are you showing your ugly side to??”
Then the eyes on the tentacles—the eyes of the devil—turned to the sky..
「they… … We are watching this situation and always evaluating who is suitable to be the next transcendent. Maybe you've already reconsidered your choice. Not me, but another test subject.…….」
The devil still told an unknown story.
Gordon Price didn't understand a single word..
"what? Poetry, an experiment… … And who are they talking about??”
「It's simple. The rulers of this game. Those who make this game.」
Gordon Price's eyes widened at those words..
「Yes, I know best that this is exactly what you wanted to hear. The truth about this game. And the reward you get at the ending.」
"compensation… … If the reward is transcendence, does it mean becoming a god??”
But at that moment—
deeply—
"—Ugh!”
The devil, the thorn extending from its tentacle pierced Gordon Price's heart. And I felt countless small thorns sprouting from those thorns, turning my heart into a honeycomb..
"Wow!……."
This was an irreparable wound..
「God... … I believe that too and am carrying out the new quest they gave me. And one of those quests is… … Like this, you're killing me in another dimension..」
"......."
「But the reason I kept you alive until now is because I thought you would be useful in many ways until the last moment... … If this happens, it's better to just collect it.?」
With a thud, Gordon Price's body was torn apart and several parts fell into the lava lake and burned..
At that moment, the Demon King's body—the tentacles—trembled. The symptom was completing a certain quest and receiving a reward..
and…….
「Ugh—yeah… … There was just the right level of increase in ability. This is enough……」
That moment—
Thump—thump—thump—thud—
The sound of a violent heartbeat began to echo through the ground. The vibration caused the lava lake to fluctuate.…….
「……Will I be able to complete the Demon King’s Castle in time?.」
Grumpy — Grumpy—
The unknown film contained within the flower of death began to tremble..
***
Kwa-ga-ga-ga——!
Hyunwook Lee closed his eyes and focused almost all of his senses on the ends of the huge drill, that is, the four moghlays..
He was currently pouring a huge amount of mana into moving the huge drill, as he had to constantly operate Sudarsana, which acts as a motor, and extend the main body of the drill, the ray rod, to a length of 4 km..
Therefore, multiple wizards came up to his back and gave him 'mana injection', a high-level skill that transfers one's mana to someone else..
yes—
But all the wizard players had shocked faces..
"Wow— crazy……."
"This guy, what the hell is Mana Tong?……."
That's because even though they poured all their mana, they only filled up this man's mana tank a little bit..
Just like that, dozens of high-ranking wizards ranging from B to A had already been consumed..
"One player has this much mana?”
“……It's not a wizard type either.?”
Some wizard players were debating that this didn't make sense in theory, but there was no way they could come up with an answer..
"In the first place, Steele Rain’s performance itself makes no sense.?”
"Well, and this game makes sense in the first place?”
“……Oh, that's true too. It's a time when common sense has disappeared.”
Ku—gu—gu—gu——!
Just like that, the so-called ‘Yeoui-bong drill’ controlled by Lee Hyun-wook rotated at high speed and quickly penetrated the ground..
‘4km… … We're almost there now.’
And soon, he could feel.
Hung——
It was discovered that Moglei, which had been digging through hard rock for about several tens of minutes, began to idle.…….
That means we reached an empty place..
"......done."
At Lee Hyun-wook's quiet words, the players waiting around turned their heads one by one, and tension and solemnity slowly appeared on their faces. Because Lee Hyun-wook’s words just now were a signal that the time had finally come to face the devil..
And one by one, their eyes focused on the red-haired giant..
Agaidica.
He said that as the 'Guardian of the Red Volcano', he can have some level of communication with this land..
Soon he closed his eyes, knelt down, and placed his hands on the ground..
"......."
After a while, I opened my eyes again, stood up slowly, and looked at Hyunwook Lee. and nodded his head.
“……That's right. reached the heart of the earth.”
Lee Hyun-wook immediately began to reduce Yeouibong..
Ku—gu—gu—gu——!
Then, as Yeouibong quickly shrunk, a loud noise was heard as if a subway was passing through a tunnel, and after about a minute, even the Mowglei at the end of Yeouibong came out..
A long vertical passage was created like that… … Hot wind blew out from a place that could be called the abyss, and white steam began to rise like a geyser..
Whoo-ooh-ooh——!
Everyone glanced at the black hole, then turned their heads one by one to look at Lee Hyun-wook..
And Lee Hyun-wook also looked back at the players..
Maybe it's time before the final battle... … Instead of giving a fancy speech, he used short sentences instead..
"Now… … Let's prepare for the demolition of the Demon King's Castle..”
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