------------------
[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
------------------
Chapter 326
"Isn't that crazy...?"
Niaiv stared at the portal Jeong-hoon had entered with a baffled expression.
"How arrogant."
Kanteon also pressed his forehead in disbelief.
He wasn't even certain it was safe to enter yet, and he just went in on his own?
No matter how skilled he was, this was recklessly arrogant.
"I'm going in after him."
At Siron's decision, everyone turned to look at him.
"Wait. Can we really just decide this so impulsively?"
Niaiv frowned.
This was an abnormal dungeon boasting a daunting Level 2,500.
The reason they had postponed the subjugation until now was precisely because of its difficulty.
Even with the addition of a strong warrior capable of defeating Dregar, there was no guarantee of a 100% success rate.
"We have to go in. If we stand by and watch that outsider die, the slight chance we had of clearing this dungeon will drop even further. If that happens, we'll have no choice but to accept the penalty."
"......"
Faced with the facts, Niaiv fell silent.
Seeing this, Siron let out a quiet sigh and continued.
"Why did we even form this alliance in the first place? Wasn't it to delay destruction, even a little?"
"He's right. I'm going in."
Palud agreed firmly with Siron's stance.
Although they had formed an alliance, they had only been gathered in one place without much progress.
If they kept postponing the abnormal dungeon just because of its difficulty, there was no point in maintaining the alliance.
"...I agree as well."
The elven elder, Ereshion, added his support.
"Then we're going in."
Yurina also voiced her agreement, and soon the rest of the leaders followed suit.
The master of this abnormal dungeon was the Demon King Veronica.
The fortress standing proudly here closely resembled the Demon King's Castle from the 96th Demon Realm.
'A Demon King boasting Level 2,500...?'
The Demon Kings Jeong-hoon had faced previously hadn't even reached Level 1,500.
Yet Veronica far surpassed that by over 1,000 levels.
'I've heard there are different ranks among Demon Kings, but I didn't expect the gap to be this vast.'
Even so, Jeong-hoon felt confident.
He hadn't spent all this time gathering fortuitous encounters for nothing.
Now that he had pushed his abilities to their limits, Jeong-hoon stood at a level where he could rival a Sovereign. To him, Veronica was nothing more than prey.
'Master, look ahead.'
Mukho pointed forward.
Demons were guarding the castle gates.
"Yeah. Let's deal with them quickly and get out of here."
To finish this secret episode swiftly, they needed to move as fast as possible.
Jeong-hoon stepped forward using the Heavenly Demon Lord's Dominion.
There were five demons visible to the naked eye.
He cut them down in an instant.
In his hand was the Shadow King's Spear, which he swung diagonally in a wide arc.
“An intruder...! Gah!”
“Kehek!”
The demons, unable to properly read Jeong-hoon's movements, had no chance to resist as their heads separated from their bodies, killing them instantly.
'Are those cowards not planning to come in?'
As Jeong-hoon prepared to force his way through the castle gate, Anima turned back and muttered.
'Who knows.'
They hesitated, but with Siron present, they would soon follow.
Jeong-hoon forcefully pushed the castle gate open and entered the fortress.
"Attack!"
The waiting demons immediately launched an attack on Jeong-hoon.
Kwaaang!
Jeong-hoon evaded their attacks by stepping with the Heavenly Demon Lord's Dominion and swung his spear.
[Activating Shadow Moonlight.]
With the activation of Shadow Moonlight, a pitch-black spear strike swept over the demons.
“Kehek!”
“Gah!”
Jeong-hoon relentlessly swung his spear, slicing through the demons' necks.
In less than twenty minutes, the first floor was littered with corpses.
Not a single demon remained alive.
"Let's go up."
As he shook the blood off his spear and moved toward the central staircase, Siron and the other leaders were just arriving inside the fortress.
"This... this can't be..."
They stared in disbelief at the demon corpses strewn across the floor.
Although they were strong enough to subdue these demons with sufficient information, doing so in such a short time — and alone — was impossible.
“What kind of human is he...?”
Dregar muttered in shock.
Until now, the only human he acknowledged was Siron.
To the giants, humans were nothing more than an inferior race.
Yet after experiencing human strength firsthand in a duel, he had begun to take notice of Jeong-hoon.
Where had someone with such power been hiding all this time?
If he had this level of strength, he should have already made a name for himself.
“You’re later than I expected.”
Jeong-hoon turned his head slightly and addressed Siron.
“Apologies. From here on, we’ll join the fight as well.”
“Yes.”
* * *
The path to Demon King Veronica was far from smooth.
As expected of a Level 2,500 fortress, the castle was a maze-like labyrinth.
The problem wasn’t the castle’s structure itself, but the illusion magic cast throughout the area, causing them to circle the same spot repeatedly.
Of course, this wasn’t much of a problem for Jeong-hoon.
He possessed the title Demon Slayer, and thanks to that, he could use Purification's Gaze, which revealed the path upward in clear detail.
However, Jeong-hoon couldn’t move ahead.
It was because Siron was at the front, leading the group of leaders.
[Follow Siron to reach the boss.]
[You cannot overtake Siron.]
That’s right.
Upon reaching the second floor, Jeong-hoon was no longer able to act independently.
[Follow them silently.]
[If you intervene, the quest will fail.]
Additionally, he was instructed not to give advice and only observe the situation.
‘Ha... this is so frustrating.’
‘Master, can’t we just push through all of them?’
Both Mukho and Anima were frustrated with the quest’s restrictions.
‘Why though...?’
Meanwhile, Jeong-hoon found it puzzling.
Episode quests normally didn’t impose such strict limitations.
Since these quests were set in already-destroyed worlds, they usually allowed for a great deal of freedom in terms of actions.
Yet this secret episode was suppressing his freedom to act.
‘…Nothing seems unusual, though.’
He carefully checked his surroundings in case there was something else to uncover while exploring the castle, but nothing stood out.
“I found it! This seems to be the way up.”
After wandering for some time, Siron finally discovered the correct path.
Jeong-hoon nodded and followed him up.
At the end of the path, Veronica was seated on her throne.
“Yaaawn, that sure took a while.”
[Lv. 2,500 Archdemon Veronica]
A demon king radiating a level of oppressive presence far beyond ordinary demon lords.
She lazily yawned, stretched, and rose from her seat.
“…What’s the plan now?”
Kanteon, preparing for battle, asked Siron.
“What else? Now that we’re here, we have to defeat that demon.”
“As if that’s so easy…”
At that moment, Jeong-hoon, who had been at the rear, suddenly leapt forward using the Heavenly Demon Lord's Dominion.
‘This has dragged on too long.’
The restriction that had been holding Jeong-hoon back vanished the moment he reached Veronica.
He no longer needed to stand back and watch.
[Black Field has been activated.]
[All stats are boosted by 1.8 times.]
[Due to the effects of Black Field, all monsters within its domain have their stats reduced by 15%.]
Starting with Black Field, Jeong-hoon rapidly deployed buff-type items and activated Ultimate Aura.
With this, Jeong-hoon's abilities completely overwhelmed Veronica.
"Hmph, you're acting out of your league."
Unaware of the situation, Veronica sneered and gestured with her hand.
It was an attempt to suppress Jeong-hoon using her abilities.
However, Jeong-hoon was faster, swinging his spear a beat ahead.
[Shadow Moonlight has been activated.]
The pitch-black spear strike engulfed Veronica in an instant.
"Argh!"
The spear's slash carved diagonally from her right shoulder down to her left hip, splitting her in half and sending a fountain of blood and entrails spilling out.
Jeong-hoon didn’t stop there.
He continued to swing his spear relentlessly, slicing her apart until no intact area remained. Only then did Jeong-hoon finally lower his spear.
For a demon king boasting a Level of 2,500, the fight ended far too easily.
‘It’s over.’
‘The gap must’ve been too overwhelming for her to endure a fatal blow.’
Jeong-hoon hadn’t just increased his stats in the Demon Realm.
With each acquisition of a Seven Deadly Sins item, his Rank Ascension skill advanced by one additional stage.
No matter how skilled Veronica was, she couldn’t possibly stand against Jeong-hoon.
‘Alright, let’s move on.’
Retrieving his spear, Jeong-hoon turned back.
“H-How…?”
Siron couldn’t hide his shock.
He knew this outsider was strong, but he never imagined he was this monstrous.
How could someone who hadn’t even reached Level 800 slaughter a Level 2,500 demon king in an instant?
No matter how he thought about it, it made no sense.
“We don’t have time. Let’s go.”
After all, thanks to someone, they had already wasted plenty of time in the castle.
“W-Wait! I’m coming too!”
Siron hurriedly followed behind Jeong-hoon.
* * *
The abnormal dungeon subjugation continued afterward.
“Kegh!”
“Gaaah!”
The dungeon’s rulers were all apostles or demon king-class transcendents, yet they all met their end at Jeong-hoon’s hands.
“...Wasn’t Level supposed to be an absolute measure?”
Niaiv, watching from a distance, muttered to herself.
“I don’t know either...”
Kanteon, who was a full 135 levels higher than her, clicked his tongue in disbelief as he watched Jeong-hoon fight.
Level was supposed to be absolute.
Ever since strength became quantified by Level, all races had developed the habit of gauging strength through that number.
Those with higher levels were naturally revered, while those with lower levels were looked down upon.
That’s why no one expected much when this outsider appeared.
795.
It wasn’t a low number, but compared to his own 1,230, it was undeniably inferior.
But when Jeong-hoon instantly overwhelmed Dregar, a Level 1,130 being, Kanteon’s understanding of the world shattered.
Yeah.
Taking in what happened with Dregar is one thing.
But a Level 2,500 demon king is a different story.
Taking down a demon king with more than triple the level difference in an instant is simply absurd.
What's more, he seemed tireless, relentlessly clearing abnormal dungeons without rest, accumulating incredible achievements.
“It’s surprising that you’re even alive.”
Yurina, the beastkin leader, said to Dregar.
“…I survived because Siron intervened midway.”
Dregar now fully acknowledged Jeong-hoon.
At first, he felt humiliated and resentful that he had lost without even getting the chance to display his abilities properly.
But after seeing Jeong-hoon effortlessly subjugate enemies far beyond his own power — starting with Veronica — Dregar realized Jeong-hoon had been holding back.
If Jeong-hoon had fought at full strength, Dregar would have died before Siron even had the chance to step in.
“……”
Meanwhile, Siron silently watched Jeong-hoon’s subjugation efforts.
His brow furrowed slightly, as if something about it unsettled him.
“Siron, is something wrong? You don’t look well.”
Falud quietly approached Siron and asked.
“It’s nothing.”
Siron responded with a bright smile, shaking his head.
“Really?”
“Yes. I just feel bad for standing back here watching.”
“Well, that’s understandable.”
Siron was a hero, a role model for all races.
He always stood at the forefront, vanquishing evil and working to unite the different races. No one opposed him being the leader of the alliance.
For someone as righteous as Siron, it was only natural to feel guilty watching from the sidelines while leaving everything to the outsider.
“……”
With a faint smile still on his face, Siron kept his gaze fixed on Jeong-hoon.
After that, no one saw his expression change.
------------------
[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
------------------
