Dungeon Monsters Keep Offering Sacrifices

56 – The Forces of Death (2)

Dark night.

The moonlight illuminated a procession of a certain group.

Their appearance was far from ordinary.

Some of them in the group were armed with crumpled armor and decaying flesh.

They were ghouls.

Cold death was in their eyes, and unknown insects crawled between their decaying teeth.

They moved forward slowly, emitting unpleasant cries.

As they passed, flowers and plants along the road began to wither rapidly.

But it wasn’t just ghouls.

There were other beings within the group of ghouls.

They exuded beauty like butterflies flying through the darkness.

Approach them only by their outward beauty, and you would be captivated by death.

Sweet yet dangerous allure, they were succubi.

The assembly was composed primarily of ghouls and succubi.

But that wasn’t all.

Among the assembly, there were knights clad in dark plate armor, wielding shields—death knights.

And beside them stood Ark Lich, adorned in an elegant robe, holding thick tomes.

Their appearance resembled an army of death itself, emerging from hell.

Someone might say:

The forces of death.

Leading them at the forefront was none other than Azmo.

“Sigh….”

Azmo, who led the army of death, looked at the hunters who had appeared before him with pure admiration.

“Hunters are indeed a swift tribe.”

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Since Azmo emerged from the dungeon, hunters had continuously appeared before him.

These hunters, appearing one after another, consistently obstructed Azmo’s path.

While within the dungeon, he had been unaware, but their response speed was faster than anticipated.

Of course, that wasn’t a problem.

The hunters he had encountered so far, as well as those currently before him, were just pieces on the board.

Azmo just needed to execute the will of his master.

“To block my path is no different from obstructing the grand plan of a magnificent being. I implore you all to show mercy. Please step aside.”

Azmo spoke to the hunters before him with the gentlest voice possible.

In reality, since emerging from the dungeon, Azmo had been avoiding ruthless slaughter.

Even those hunters who had obstructed his path were gently persuaded and appeased to the extent that they turned back.

However, occasionally, there were those who rushed in fearlessly, excluding them from Azmo’s mercy.

Mostly, these individuals directly confronted death knights, and Azmo had no need to intervene.

They would be swept away by the sword swung by the death knight, eventually transforming into ghouls and joining the army.

Excluding such cases, Azmo showed mercy to everyone.

Even now, the hunters, having heard Azmo’s words, began to waver.

“….”

Did Azmo’s words reach them?

After a brief moment, the hunters before him began to lower their weapons.

It was an action indicating their absolute lack of intention to fight.

Hunters knew it well.

No matter how they proclaimed to protect the world, they couldn’t stop the imminent threat of death before them.

Rushing forward would be nothing short of suicidal.

Just by seeing the ghouls’ appearance, weren’t they armed with familiar gear?

That alone indicated that before them, previous hunters had succumbed to becoming ghouls.

To turn into ghouls meant something grave.

‘There’s a Death Knight present…!’

This monster wave wouldn’t be easy.

No, it was certain to become the worst event.

“As expected, you catch on quickly. You’ll all become valuable workers for the esteemed figure someday. To reach that glorious moment, you need to conserve yourselves.”

Seeing Azmo had no intention to attack, the hunters swiftly abandoned their weapons and vanished from their positions.

The weapons left behind by the hunters returned to the ghouls and incubi.

Azmo continued onward, showing mercy to everyone in this manner.

Azmo didn’t act out of compassion for humans; everything was a move toward the master’s plan.

‘Mercy…’

Azmo pondered for a moment.

Recollections of what Lady Celia once told him surfaced.

She said the master was compassionate.

Hence, one had to display the master’s mercy to others.

Of course, Azmo’s concept of mercy differed from Celia’s.

If Celia believed mercy meant subjugating them into the master’s embrace, Azmo argued that mercy meant leaving them be, not through oppression but by being an obedient worker for the master.

A relationship built on oppression was too contrived.

Artificial methods were not beautiful.

To naturally praise the esteemed figure, to make oneself extol the noble figure, that was the true beautiful form.

For the sake of that beautiful form, Azmo avoided ruthless slaughter.

However, it didn’t mean there wasn’t a plan.

Continuing onward, the aim was to meet a king who ruled a nation.

After meeting the king, the plan was to convey the will of the esteemed master and seek cooperation.

“Of course, the process wouldn’t be easy.”

It would’ve been easy if Lady Celia herself stepped into the current situation.

But the problem was that he didn’t possess the same power as Lady Celia.

Even though he might not realize it immediately, powerful hunters would probably start flocking here soon.

Having been in the dungeon until now, he had sensed the strength of the hunters. He knew.

“But still, if it’s for the esteemed one…”

At least proving his loyalty to serve his master was all that was necessary.

Azmo glanced back for a moment.

Fortunately, among those following the esteemed one were apostles—Death Knights and Dark Lich—who were with him.

Nevertheless, they weren’t his full strength.

Yet, their presence here was a great help in itself.

Since everyone’s attention would be directed towards Death Knights and Dark Lich.

As Azmo was pondering over his thoughts…

“Oh.”

Another group of hunters appeared.

“They seem quite different from the cronies we’ve met so far.”

They emitted an entirely different aura compared to those encountered before.

Hunters possessing formidable power.

Moreover, there were several humans around them.

Each of them carried something that Azmo was familiar with—the camera.

Once, during the pursuit of extreme beauty, he had taken the cameras from intruders in the dungeon.

Azmo learned that it was a device for capturing images and could record the beauty of himself and his subordinates.

That camera was still safely stored in his dungeon.

This notion of recording was a symbol exclusive to those with authority.

Azmo speculated that these cameras weren’t used by average humans.

In other words, the hunters before him were formidable. Otherwise, why would there be humans carrying cameras around when they might die at any moment?

Furthermore, such humans were not few in number.

Undoubtedly, they were saying that those individuals weren’t considering their impending defeat. Perhaps, the gathering of numerous people was to record the moment of triumph. Recording strength… That too, with many people adding their input. This likely meant that the hunters before them were closely connected to those in power. Or perhaps, they were the powerful figures themselves. If they were leaders of the nation, they would likely be close to ruling monarchs. At least, that’s what Azumo thought. That’s why, unlike earlier, he introduced himself with more formality. “I am Azumo, a follower of a great individual.” To spread the master’s intentions widely, it was essential to first approach the king. “I wish to negotiate with you. Could you take me to your king?” However, there was no positive response from the other party. “Ha, talking nonsense.” Instead, weapons were drawn towards Azumo. Yet, Azumo calmly continued speaking. “I believe it’s a good option for all of you as well. I am offering an opportunity. A glorious chance to follow a great individual.” “Where does a monster like you spout such nonsense? All of you will die here today!” A man who seemed to be the leader of the group of hunters erupted in anger. That leader was Han Jung-chul, an A-rank hunter. He was the team leader of the Emergency Response Team under the Hunter Association.

* * *

“Sir, Team Leader!” Imi-rae, a hunter from the Emergency Response Team, shouted while looking at Han Jung-chul. “Still, wouldn’t it be better to consider negotiations…? Even if just to minimize the damage-” “No!” Han Jung-chul replied, drawing a firm line despite Imi-rae’s plea. Of course, her words were valid. Negotiation. Sweet words indeed.

In reality, among monsters, there were those with high intelligence.

Hunters who negotiated with the dungeon’s owner by exploiting that fact also existed.

Of course, calling it negotiation was a stretch; most of the time, it was pleading for mercy from the stronger side for the weaker one.

And in the current situation, negotiating was absolutely out of the question.

Because.

“Why did the Emergency Response Team, which has not revealed its presence for so long, mobilize this time?!”

“Are those monsters over there part of the monster wave?”

“What is the Association’s stance on this situation? Couldn’t preventive measures have been taken in advance?”

Seeing the Emergency Response Team revealed after a long time, the reporters couldn’t stay silent.

Thanks to them, Han Jung-cheol let out a sigh.

Some even included individuals broadcasting privately.

No matter how awakened they all were, the current situation was dangerous.

Anything could happen at any moment.

Yet, they followed here.

‘Hmm…’

It wasn’t that hard to understand.

The more attention a dangerous scene garnered from the public, the more valuable it was for coverage. Moreover, with the Emergency Response Team present, they might have thought they were safe.

“For now, leave it all to the reporters!”

Han Jung-cheol shouted to his team.

The more eyes around, the more restrictions on their actions.

For example, if they agreed to the negotiation the monster mentioned earlier, and something went wrong after not agreeing, they would face criticism accordingly.

“Speaking of negotiation….”

He pondered on the word negotiation.

What they were talking about now was a different scenario.

The one who had been at the forefront a while ago spoke.

“Follow the great one…?”

Their demand had just been one thing.

Follow their master.

Of course, regardless of the presence of reporters, it was such nonsense that Han Jung-cheol had no intention of negotiating at all.

Han Jung-cheol’s gaze turned to the knight in black armor behind him.

The atmosphere was incredibly ominous.

Perhaps that fellow is the mastermind behind this incident.

He might even be the owner of the dungeon.

Ghouls and succubi filled the surroundings.

The ghouls, in particular, were equipped with hunter gear.

“Looks like they’ve turned hunters into ghouls already,” Han Jeong-cheol shouted to his team.

“Be careful, everyone. The opponent is an A-class monster, Death Knight! But don’t let that be your only concern!”

Even the succubus, who had been discussing negotiations a moment ago, exuded an unsettling aura.

And that wasn’t all.

Next to the Death Knight was a Lich.

“Team leader, it can’t be an Arch Lich, right?” Lee Mi-rae asked with determination.

“We already have a Death Knight, an A-class monster. But to have another A-class appear here is unlikely, isn’t it?”

Han Jeong-cheol wanted to believe it was just the Death Knight and Lich for now.

‘An Arch Lich….’

The ways to deal with a Lich and an Arch Lich were as different as heaven and earth.

While a Lich simply exploded the undead, an Arch Lich was said to have the ability to resurrect the dead as skeletons.

But now, with a Death Knight here, too, was there also an Arch Lich?

Absolutely not.

It must not be.

Han Jeong-cheol took a deep breath.

“Prepare for combat, everyone!”

It was time for the real battle.

“Most of them are undead! Lee Mi-rae, unleash your holy attack first!”

At the leader’s command, Lee Mi-rae summoned her divine power.

Light began to emanate from her body.

“Buff Mi-rae! We need to finish it in one strike!”

There was no room for a second attempt.

We had to maximize damage with this attack.

Of course, he didn’t believe that he could eliminate Death Knights.

The targets of this attack were Ghoul and Lich from the beginning.

If they could handle the rest, they might at least be able to confront the Death Knight.

Imira’s body was gradually glowing.

And then.

The light shot into the crowd of monsters.

Boom!

In an instant, the light exploded, driving away the darkness and creating a hazy smoke.

“It worked!”

Even Han Jung-chul, who was watching, considered this attack a great success.

He immediately commanded his team to prepare for the attack.

“When the smoke clears, everyone attack!”

However, the atmosphere did not flow as he thought.

“…!”

Not only Han Jung-chul.

His teammates were also silently staring at an unusual scene.

The journalists who were making noise just a while ago, even those doing private broadcasts, fell silent.

“Huh?”

Someone broke the silent moment.

“W-what is this? It doesn’t make sense.”

It was Imi-rae.

The current situation was absolutely incomprehensible, just as she said.

The powerful attack that everyone had unleashed with all their buffed strength was blocked by the Death Knight’s shield.

Flutter-

Something was fluttering in front of the Death Knight’s shield.

“A, a maid outfit…?”

It was a maid outfit.

A maid outfit was fluttering in front of the shield held by the Death Knight.

Everyone’s mouths hung open at the current scene.

What on earth is happening now?

“Utterly eerie.

Terrifying.

“…….”

They couldn’t utter a word.

The current scene was being vividly captured by the cameras of journalists and private broadcasters, broadcasted for all to see.

Naturally, the reaction was chaos.