#62
062
Among the 15 lords of hell, the Demon King was the only one who commanded the ‘Great Prince’.
Although the other 15 magical beasts, such as the Flame King and the Heavenly King, had exclusive familiars under their command, they did not lead large corps as ignorantly as the Demon King.
‘If you want to get stronger and more summoned beasts at once…’
It was the easiest way to embody the ghost king in this world.
Just as while embodying Valarc, the Annihilator Dragon and the Iron Sentinel that were under him were also embodied at the same time.
If you embody the Ghost King, you will be able to take control of the countless armies of death bound by the Ghost King’s power.
[Enter the Pantheon.]
[Pantheon recognizes the ‘Journal of the Absolute.’]
Daeseong entered through the light and beyond the gray stone gate and immediately gave an order to the system.
“Field Implementation Quest.”
As soon as I ran out of words, the system showed me a list of fields that could be implemented.
[One. [Predator’s Forest 2. Ghost King’s Territory 3. Flame King’s Territory 4. Annihilator’s Nest 5. Spider Valley]
A problem that you don’t need to worry about.
I entered the Pantheon with the purpose of embodying the Demon King.
“To the ghost king’s territory.”
It was only natural to choose the time when the place where he lived was invaded.
Sigh-
The last page of the journal that contained Ballark’s Iron Castle on page 122 was turned a little further back.
[134p: -7 years. Memories recorded on day 198 are restored.]
[Load the save data of the field ‘Ghost King’s Territory’.]
Memories of that time clearly flowed into Daesung’s mind.
Memories of a grueling fight that lasted for days and days, going back and forth between life and death.
It was a terrible past that I didn’t even want to call a memory, but I had to be thankful that I could recall that memory as vividly as if I had just experienced it.
‘The Ghost King’s territory is a crazy place.’
This is because I am once again stepping into a living hell that cannot be compared to the iron castle of Ballark.
The Ghost King was a madman in that he toyed with dead souls in hell, which was already the land of death itself.
‘You can’t let down your guard.’
Just because you have memories and experiences doesn’t mean you can relax.
It was around the time Daesung made up his mind.
Tong-
[134p: -7 years. It goes back to 198 days.]
Daesung’s spirit, separated from his body, entered the passage of light that leads to the past.
***
[The soul of the Absolute connects with the physical body of the past.]
As soon as I pass through the passage of light and darkness fills my vision.
Beep-
What Daesung felt was the ringing in his ears, the pain of his skin being torn, and the tightness of both wrists.
‘It starts with the shitty part.’
Daesung cursed under his breath and slowly opened his eyes.
I saw a basement with rotten water dripping from the ceiling and a foul smell of sewage.
Kiaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Kaaaaagh-
As soon as I opened my eyes, a scene of cruelty filled my vision.
Various magical beasts were being tortured with their limbs tied in chains.
A demonic beast hanging upside down, flesh burning on its iron, a demonic beast whose body is tied to a wheel filled with spikes, trapped in a coffin, and slowly dipped into a boiling cauldron of lava.
It was such a spectacular sight that it would not be strange for someone with normal mental ability to foam at the mouth and pass out as soon as they saw it.
However, rather than turning his head, Daesung looked straight into the torture room with his eyes wide open.
And he was able to find out.
‘That guy.’
Grrr-
A demonic beast wearing a black helmet is carrying out all this torture.
‘Wraith collector.’
He was the torturer of this place and a servant of the Demon King who offered the souls of the dead to his monarch.
The more painful the death of the ghost to be offered to the Ghost King, the stronger its power becomes.
While the bastard was faithfully carrying out his given mission by inflicting sadistic torture, the quest arrived.
[Quest has arrived.]
—–
Field Implementation Quest – (In Progress)
‘134p Ghost King’s Territory’
Difficulty: Unknown
Contents: Defeat the Wraith Gatherer.
Time limit: None
Objective: Kill the wraith gatherers.
Reward 1: Achievement points + 6000pt
Embodiment: Demon King’s Territory + 33%
—–
Even without checking the quest, it was clear what to do.
Daesung looked again at his current situation.
Jinglang-
His wrists were tied in handcuffs with long chains, and his arms were spread wide.
‘It’s not something we can solve with our current strength.’
At this point, it was after Balark was defeated.
Even though he was in the twilight of his 80 years in hell, it was extremely difficult to break the chains.
‘Just like back then, I borrow the power of blood naturalization.’
Since it is difficult to escape from bondage with pure physical strength, there is no choice but to rely on the help of skills.
Paang-
A red air current shook Daesung’s body as he activated the skill.
[‘Blood naturalization’ is activated.]
[Attack power of all statuses and skills increases by 300%.]
Colorful veins began to sprout all over his body, and a torrent of overwhelming power swept through both hands.
Daesung, with the power of blood naturalization permeating his entire muscles, pulled both of his wrists, causing blood to form in his neck.
Bump-bump-bump-
Damn it –
Then, the joint on the ceiling where the chain was fixed gradually began to crack.
If you apply a little more force like this, it will only be a matter of time before you can tear off the connection and regain your freedom.
but.
Grrr-
It makes no sense that the wraith collectors would not notice this commotion.
The guy who was concentrating on torturing heard a sudden noise and turned around.
And when he saw Daesung struggling to tear off the chain, he began to approach him with great strides.
‘Can not help it.’
Getting caught was inevitable.
Also, enduring the pain that will follow is an unavoidable ordeal.
Sigh-
The hook swung by the ghost collector hit the top of Daeseong’s head with force.
However, Daesung did not bleed to death.
Knock knock knock-
Instead, the hook attempted to pull out the entire root of the soul sleeping inside the top of the head.
‘I endure with mental strength.’
The only way to withstand the hooks that ghost collectors used to extract the souls of the living was mental strength.
A strong and strong mental force that somehow holds the soul to the body.
Ugh-
While the ghost collector pulls the hook as if playing tug-of-war.
To prevent his soul from being taken away, Daesung clenched his teeth so hard that his molars would crush and put all his strength into his wrist.
It is an extremely cruel ordeal in which if you lose even an inch of your strength, your soul will be ripped out by the roots and even your chains will have to be torn off.
‘There’s nothing I can’t do.’
However, in the past, Daesung had already achieved it and it was unacceptable to fail at what he had already achieved.
Ugh-
The ghost collector seemed puzzled by the souls that were rarely picked.
and.
Quad Deuk-
The moment the force to loosen the restraints reached its critical point, dust fell from the connection between the chains and the ceiling.
It meant that you just had to do a little more.
at that time.
Passu-
Ugh-
Suddenly, the ghost collector’s hand holding the hook began to crumble, starting from the wrist to the shoulder.
“…hmm?”
Not only the ghost collector but also Daesung was a bit surprised by the unexpected situation.
Because I didn’t remember this scene.
However, the system message that followed immediately provided the answer to that question.
[The spirit of the absolute that permeates the body blocks external interference.]
‘is it.’
Although his current body is from the past, the soul imbued within him is from the present.
The spirit of the Absolute, which should not even be touched by a mere ghost collector, has become an unexpected coil.
‘Not bad.’
A moment when Daesung is grateful to himself and smiles with satisfaction.
Quad Deuk-
Kwasik-
The ceiling joint was completely torn off and the chains were pulled out.
Jinglang-
As soon as Daesung was freed from his restraints, he wrapped the silver chain extending from his handcuffs around his wrists and rushed towards the ghost collector.
Ugh-
While the ghost collector was fixated on his arm, which was crumbled like charcoal ash, Daeseong quickly wrapped a chain around the guy’s neck.
As soon as the ghost collector gave a yelp at the feeling of his throat being tightened, Daeseong kicked him in the abdomen and yanked his chained wrist back.
Squeak-
Then, the man’s airways suddenly became blocked, and the sound of his neck bones breaking resounded loudly.
The breathless ghost collector dropped his head helplessly and at the same time, a message appeared indicating the completion of the quest.
[The quest has been completed and the implementation work is making progress!]
[6000pts of merit points have been awarded!]
[Current implementation rate: Ghost King’s Territory 33%]
Now it’s time to move on to the next step.
Sereung-
Daeseong picked up the ghost collector’s hook that was lying on the floor.
At that moment, my vision became blue, as if a filter had been placed on the world.
And what was invisible began to become visible.
The sight of souls rising above the bodies of demonic beasts that died while being tortured, including a ghost collector who had just lost his life.
‘A sacrifice is needed to cross the River of the Dead.’
To be more precise, it was the fare that would win the heart of the boatman who would take him across the river.
‘The better the sacrifices were and the more numerous they were, the more effective they were.’
Now I don’t have the < Blessing of Evil Insects > that I got during the Soul Count Reduction Implementation Quest.
In order to enter the ghost king’s territory, there was no choice but to borrow the power of the boatman who guarded the River of the Dead.
Whilick-
Daeseong swung his hook and collected his souls one by one.
The souls caught on the hook soon lumped together like balls and gathered in his hand.
Eventually, a strange lump of soul that looked like translucent facial skin mashing together was completed.
‘This is enough.’
Daeseong threw away the hook, which was useless except for collecting souls, and left the torture room holding a handful of soul chunks in his hand.
He slowly crossed the long cave filled with eerie silence.
Soon he reached the end of the passage.
[Arrived at the River of the Dead.]
[To cross the river, pay the price to < Boatman Bork >.]
The witch, whose back was bent like a hunchback, was waiting for a reward.
I don’t like it, but there is no way to cross the river without him.
The moment my body touched the surface, not only my body but also my soul melted at the same time, so there was no option to swim.
Even more so.
[The special skill ‘Flight’ of < Annihilation Dragon Knight Valark’s Armor > is not activated.]
[If you cross the River of the Dead without paying a fair price, an endless labyrinth will trap you.]
The option of spreading dragon wings and flying away was also useless here.
Either pay the price and get a boat.
Or, if you are not afraid of your body and soul melting, you can swim across it yourself.
It was a choice.
Ki-Ik- Gi-Ik-
The boatman, perhaps tempted by the lump of soul held in Daeseong’s hand, made a fretful sound and held out his hand.
The boatman, who was naturally greedy, would take anyone to the ghost king’s territory as long as they offered the right sacrifice.
‘It’s a loss to kill him.’
If he could enlist the help of a guy like this, there was no need for him to refuse.
Daesung willingly handed the chunk of soul into the guy’s hand.
Wow….
The boatman looked at the lump of soul with his bright red, round eyes, like those of a pigeon, shining greedily.
Soon, he picked up the pole that was standing on one side and walked towards the wooden raft anchored in front of the river.
Daeseong followed behind, got on the raft, and his body swayed as the river water sloshed beneath his feet.
‘I shouldn’t have felt relieved just because I was on a boat.’
As the raft slowly moved forward down the river with the boatman rowing his pole, Daeseong recalled the past.
In the past, he managed to change the boatman’s mind and cross the river, but when he tried to relieve his tension, he got into trouble.
like this.
with a splash-
Kaaaaak-
Because fish-shaped monsters protruding through the surface of the river were coming at me at every moment.
It was a dead fish that only lived in the River of the Dead.
Kwasik-
There are no two mistakes or two carelessness.
As soon as the dead fish appeared, Daesung stretched out his arm and pinched the fish’s gills, popping them.
‘We can’t wrestle with these guys until we get to the territory.’
At this speed, it would take close to two hours to get out of the river.
It was a waste of energy to have a war of nerves with the dead fish during that time.
Daesung activated the subspace pocket.
‘This must have been there after defeating Balark.’
Daesung, let’s take out his arm that is locked inside the space.
Pasig-
In his hand, he was holding a polearm with blazing lightning.
‘Balark’s thunder spear.’
Trophy obtained from defeating Balark.
Daesung took out a thunder spear and dipped the blade, with bright yellow lightning crackling, under the water.
That moment.
It’s so scary!
Lightning flashed in all directions of the black river and strong spray splashed.
As the tremendous current spread all the way to the bottom of the river, the dead fish that were hunting for prey under the raft were literally struck by lightning.
Kiaak-
Beneath the river of death, the screams of the dead fish echoed and foam rose.
Fluffy-
After a while, electric-grilled dead fish began to float in various parts of the river.
‘Now I can go more comfortably.’
Only then did he loosen his grip a little and sit down on the raft.
Two hours have passed since the raft slowly sailed down the river.
‘I can see it.’
Finally, the dark passage completely expanded and the territory appeared.
A land of complete death where all life has dried up.
A gathering place for the dead and the hometown of the Ghost King who commands his legion of commanders.
[Arrived at the tomb garden.]