Chapter 84: Hell (4)

Hopia smiled at Yuris story.

"Hehe, you're quite clever. Since you're such a clever kid, I'll tell you something special."

"What is it?"

"Ten times. Just endure ten times, and 5 million points will be yours."

Yuri's face lit up upon hearing this.

"Well, that's a very hopeful story."

With that, Yuri stomped his foot on the ground.

Thud.

The heavy sound made Yuri's figure tremble.

Despite the loud noise, Yuri's movement was swift and silent.

The Redner Family's secret martial technique, Cloud Step.

Yuri moved like a ghost.

His sword, which approached Hopia, flashed like lightning.

Swoosh.

Yuri's sword, enveloped in a luster and electric current, flew towards Hopia.

It was a powerful sword he had recently mastered.

At the moment he launched the powerful sword,

Yuri read the determination in Hopia's eyes that followed his every move.

At the same time, a chill ran down his spine, and an alarm sounded.

He immediately used Cloud Step again.

Whoosh.

In an instant, Yuri retreated.

And in just about a second, a punch struck the spot where he had been.

Boom!

Seeing the ground explode, Yuri swallowed hard.

'She's strong.'

Even though he sensed the danger and moved immediately, the situation was still quite precarious.

Meanwhile, Hopia's eyes sparkled as she saw Yuri dodge her attack.

"Good instincts? Or good eyesight? Even though I held back, you dodged it? Well, that's good. This is one. Nine more to go."

With that, she casually cracked her neck.

Crack.

"Now that you seem to have some skill, I'll hit you a bit harder from now on."

Hearing this, Yuri's face hardened even more.

Palm, fist, fingers, back of the hand.

And arms and shoulders.

These unconventional attacks, using all parts of the body freely, were something Yuri had never encountered before.

Especially the 'punching distance' instead of 'sword distance' left him even more perplexed.

He glared at Hopia, who stood about 5 meters away.

'From now on, I can use Thunder Wing once... at most twice.'

In the past, he could only use Thunder Wing twice, but now he could use it four to five times.

Certainly, this was a significant improvement, but in the current situation, it was still woefully inadequate.

Meanwhile, Hopia was also surprised.

She alternated her gaze between her fist and Yuri.

"You're really something, aren't you?"

Just a moment ago, she had genuinely tried to knock Yuri out with her attack.

But that kid had deflected her attack.

Not just once, but four times.

"Six more. Then I'll try a bit harder."

As she said this, Hopia clapped her fists together.

Clang.

A clear metallic sound echoed, and the metal gauntlets began to change.

First, a transparent luster appeared across the gauntlets.

Then, they turned red as if placed in a furnace.

Finally, red mana flames enveloped the metal gauntlets.

Yuri's eyes sparkled.

'Strength, Speed, Fire.'

The changes from the first to the third level of the public rank.

And then...

Sizzle.

The mana flames shrank and were instantly absorbed by the metal gauntlets.

Soon, the gauntlets appeared to be wrapped in a translucent red film.

'That's the Demon Rank.'

The example of the homework given by Johann was right in front of him, but Yuri couldn't feel happy.

He had to face it right now.

A hint of conflict appeared in Yuri's eyes.

'Should I use the Demon Current?'

But he soon shook his head internally.

'Not now.'

His body wasn't in good condition.

Even if he used the Demon Current now, he couldn't prevent his defeat.

Then...

'I'll save it for later.'

It was already a lost cause today.

He would save it for the next challenge, to achieve a more perfect victory.

Yuri made up his mind.

Then he smiled slightly, as if giving up.

"Ah... It might hurt a bit."

With that, Yuri charged at Hopia.

'Even without using the Demon Current... I haven't lost yet!'

Yuri advanced, aiming for the extremely slim chance of victory.

Despite the high probability of defeat, his face looked strangely clear.

Swoosh!

Boom!

Lightning shot into the night sky, followed by a loud explosion.

Silence descended upon the forest of animals.

* * *

"Ouch..."

A groan involuntarily escaped Yuri's lips.

He finally managed to open his eyes, which were sunken.

'I... I'm dying.'

It wasn't an exaggeration; the pain was so intense it felt like he was dying.

From head to toe, there wasn't a single spot that didn't hurt.

Even the joints of his fingers ached.

This was the price of using Thunder Wing to its limit.

'I understand now why the old man couldn't even go to the bathroom and got constipated.'

If he had overused Thunder Wing, he would have frequently experienced this kind of pain.

Getting constipated would have been inevitable.

Certainly, this pain was so intense that he couldn't even think about going to the bathroom.

"Phew..."

Yuri took deep breaths, trying to forget the pain.

He gazed at the unfamiliar ceiling with blurry eyes, recalling his battle with Hopia.

'...Just one hit.'

Despite his bold charge, Yuri was knocked out in just one hit.

Even after using Thunder Wing twice more.

'In terms of speed, I'm not far behind.'

The problem was the destructive power.

'Is it a Demon Sword... or should I call it a Demon Fist?'

No matter how much he attacked, his powerful sword couldn't penetrate Hopia's Demon Fist.

It felt like striking a lump of steel.

Moreover, the destructive power was so terrifying that his grip was instantly torn apart.

If Hwindi hadn't been a white steel sword,

And if he hadn't mastered the powerful sword recently, the sword would have broken.

'Now I understand what the Demon Rank is.'

The Strength, Speed, and Fire levels merely enhance the inherent functions of a weapon.

But the Demon Rank transcends mere enhancement, imbuing it with a destructive power that is almost supernatural.

It was a force that had completely transcended the physical realm.

Almost like the magic in stories.

'That's why it's the Demon Rank.'

And Hopia was someone who handled the Demon Fist.

'The problem is... it doesn't seem to be the end.'

From his battle with Hopia, he realized that her skills were far beyond the public rank 4.

She had only shown him skills at the public rank 4 level.

Her true strength was still unknown.

'How can I possibly catch her?'

Even if all 50 of them attacked, they probably couldn't catch her.

One of her punches could knock out a dozen people.

'I need to think of a strategy to challenge her again.'

Thinking this, Yuri blinked.

Only then did his blurry eyes return to normal.

"...Where am I?"

Looking closely, he saw that the ceiling was made of cloth.

'It looks like a tent.'

But who had brought him here?

Damn it, I don't care, I'll just sleep more.

Just as he was about to close his eyes,

"You're awake."

"I'm hungry."

Two faces suddenly appeared in Yuri's field of vision.

On the left and right.

The sudden appearance of faces from both sides startled Yuri.

"Shit, you scared me!"

As he wriggled in his lying position, sharp pains shot through his limbs.

"Ouch!"

Seeing Yuri scream in pain, Arin and Poppie tilted their heads.

"Why are you like this?"

"Are you hungry?"

Arin, who kept tilting her head, poked Yuri's arm with her finger.

Poke.

"Ugh!"

Poke.

"Did you...?"

"Yelp!"

Poke.

"Have the...?"

"Ouch!"

Poke.

"Nerve to...?"

"Yeeek!"

Poke, poke, poke.

"Bad boy!"

"Ouch!"

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud.

With each finger poke, Yuri's body twitched as if struck by lightning.

Finally, after Yuri started drooling from the pain, Hopia seemed to calm down and retracted her finger.

"Phew... I'll let this slide this time."

Of course, Yuri, who was already half-conscious, couldn't respond.

Meanwhile, Poppie, who had been watching her, gave an awkward smile.

He placed his hand on Yuri's body.

Yuri flinched reflexively at Poppie's approaching hand, having already been tormented by Arin.

Ignoring his reaction, Poppie started kneading Yuri's arm.

Yuri's eyes widened.

'...What? It feels refreshing?'

Even a simple touch had caused intense pain.

But the areas Poppie kneaded felt the pain subside and a refreshing sensation spread.

Knead, knead.

Poppie kneaded Yuri's body for quite a while, and soon let go.

After that, Yuri blinked and slightly raised his upper body.

* * *

"Ouch..."

A groan involuntarily escaped Yuri's lips.

He finally managed to open his eyes, which were sunken.

'I... I'm dying.'

It wasn't an exaggeration; the pain was so intense it felt like he was dying.

From head to toe, there wasn't a single spot that didn't hurt.

Even the joints of his fingers ached.

This was the price of using Thunder Wing to its limit.

'I understand now why the old man couldn't even go to the bathroom and got constipated.'

If he had overused Thunder Wing, he would have frequently experienced this kind of pain.

Getting constipated would have been inevitable.

Certainly, this pain was so intense that he couldn't even think about going to the bathroom.

"Phew..."

Yuri took deep breaths, trying to forget the pain.

He gazed at the unfamiliar ceiling with blurry eyes, recalling his battle with Hopia.

'...Just one hit.'

Despite his bold charge, Yuri was knocked out in just one hit.

Even after using Thunder Wing twice more.

'In terms of speed, I'm not far behind.'

The problem was the destructive power.

'Is it a Demon Sword... or should I call it a Demon Fist?'

No matter how much he attacked, his powerful sword couldn't penetrate Hopia's Demon Fist.

It felt like striking a lump of steel.

Moreover, the destructive power was so terrifying that his grip was instantly torn apart.

If Hwindi hadn't been a white steel sword,

And if he hadn't mastered the powerful sword recently, the sword would have broken.

'Now I understand what the Demon Rank is.'

The Strength, Speed, and Fire levels merely enhance the inherent functions of a weapon.

But the Demon Rank transcends mere enhancement, imbuing it with a destructive power that is almost supernatural.

It was a force that had completely transcended the physical realm.

Almost like the magic in stories.

'That's why it's the Demon Rank.'

And Hopia was someone who handled the Demon Fist.

'The problem is... it doesn't seem to be the end.'

From his battle with Hopia, he realized that her skills were far beyond the public rank 4.

She had only shown him skills at the public rank 4 level.

Her true strength was still unknown.

'How can I possibly catch her?'

Even if all 50 of them attacked, they probably couldn't catch her.

One of her punches could knock out a dozen people.

'I need to think of a strategy to challenge her again.'

Thinking this, Yuri blinked.

Only then did his blurry eyes return to normal.

"...Where am I?"

Looking closely, he saw that the ceiling was made of cloth.

'It looks like a tent.'

But who had brought him here?

Damn it, I don't care, I'll just sleep more.

Just as he was about to close his eyes,

"You're awake."

"I'm hungry."

Two faces suddenly appeared in Yuri's field of vision.

On the left and right.

The sudden appearance of faces from both sides startled Yuri.

"Shit, you scared me!"

As he wriggled in his lying position, sharp pains shot through his limbs.

"Ouch!"

Seeing Yuri scream in pain, Arin and Poppie tilted their heads.

"Why are you like this?"

"Are you hungry?"

Arin, who kept tilting her head, poked Yuri's arm with her finger.

Poke.

"Ugh!"

Poke.

"Did you...?"

"Yelp!"

Poke.

"Have the...?"

"Ouch!"

Poke.

"Nerve to...?"

"Yeeek!"

Poke, poke, poke.

"Bad boy!"

"Ouch!"

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud.

With each finger poke, Yuri's body twitched as if struck by lightning.

Finally, after Yuri started drooling from the pain, Hopia seemed to calm down and retracted her finger.

"Phew... I'll let this slide this time."

Of course, Yuri, who was already half-conscious, couldn't respond.

Meanwhile, Poppie, who had been watching her, gave an awkward smile.

He placed his hand on Yuri's body.

Yuri flinched reflexively at Poppie's approaching hand, having already been tormented by Arin.

Ignoring his reaction, Poppie started kneading Yuri's arm.

Yuri's eyes widened.

'...What? It feels refreshing?'

Even a simple touch had caused intense pain.

But the areas Poppie kneaded felt the pain subside and a refreshing sensation spread.

Knead, knead.

Poppie kneaded Yuri's body for quite a while, and soon let go.

After that, Yuri blinked and slightly raised his upper body.