Chapter 9

"The devil is reinforcing the corpse golem! We need to sever the connection between them!"

Keeeee! The horrifying screams of the spirits echoed, and the party's bodies stiffened. It wasn't just a mental attack; the spirits had physical forms and were grabbing and pulling at their limbs. Holy water, holy oil, or something holy.

The party quickly used what they had brought to shake off the spirits.

Meanwhile, several more skeleton warriors had appeared.

"Thor!" Crack! Crack! White lightning bolts shot out from Ivan's body. This lightning, which was the most destructive force of the thunder god, was an extremely effective power against the undead.

Kwa-gwang! The sword swung swiftly after the thunder step.

The undead crumbled in one hit but quickly recovered and got back up.

It was all due to the necromancy of the decaying hand. "They're just not compatible with the kind of enemies who push through with sheer numbers!" For every step forward, they were pushed back one step.

An enemy that regenerates endlessly is not just annoying but terrifying. – "Offer me your blood and soul!" The devil, wielding a bone scythe, charged forward. Bang! Ralph, who stepped forward to block the decaying hand's attack, shouted in pain.

"It's not just an attack! It drains our strength!"

Life Drain, in other words, life force theft.

It was the most difficult type among all curses.

It meant that as one weakened, the other grew stronger.

The decaying hand, whose eyes burned brighter than before, cackled. – "Blood! Life! How long has it been since I tasted the flavor of a sacrifice!" At that moment, Emina, who had been continuously chanting a spell, opened her eyes.

Frost instantly spread from the ground, and a cold breath began to flow.

"Freeze!"

"Holding them for just ten minutes! We must defeat the enemy within that time!"

Thud, thud, bang! Using the frozen pillars as stepping stones, Yulia and Ivan soared up to the devil's eye level and bit into its neck. [Hungry Wolf Blade!] [Thunder Dragon Slash!] – "Pathetic ones!" Bang! The decaying hand violently unleashed magic, sending Yulia and Ivan flying. They were pushed back by the intense counterforce. While Sven shot an arrow to stop the devil's movement, the two adjusted their stances and put some distance between them. Bang! Kwa-gwang! The frozen undead began to explode one by one at the decaying hand's gesture. Sharp ice and bone fragments scattered, obscuring their vision.

'He's not unscathed either!' It was a perfect attack aimed at the neck. The devil couldn't be unaffected either. Bang! Dodging the explosion in a blind spot purely by sharp senses, Ivan charged forward.

"I'll clear the way!"

Ralph's voice rang out, and the obstacles blocking their view vanished in an instant.

– "Submit to my power!" The decaying hand, which was about to take flight, staggered. Ralph was close, shaking the devil.

"Ugh!"

A pained groan escaped Ralph's lips. His muscular arms had become thin.

He had been drained of life force in that short time. Despite this, he held on, giving Ivan an opportunity. 'Thor, Thor! Damn Thor! Give me your power!'

The weapon he held was a sword, no, a hammer.

A symbol of the destructive power that shatters giants' skulls and creates thunder.

Crack, crack! A white lightning bolt took shape. It was very light and easy for the thunder god, but very heavy and difficult for a mortal to wield.

"Roar!"

Ivan's biceps swelled as if they were about to burst. With the immense effort of lifting a mountain, he barely raised it and struck the devil's head.

Kwa-gwang! The devil's body was torn apart, and its core shattered. The insignificant soul, barely formed by the dungeon's magic, was torn and scattered.

– "Ugh, ughhhh!" Ivan's forehead was drenched in sweat as he landed on the ground.

'Damn, I might have overdone it.' His hands trembled.

His overworked muscles screamed in pain. Swoosh, swoosh! Bang! The sword Ivan held shattered into pieces. The sword turned to dust upon touching the ground.

It seemed to be too powerful for an ordinary iron sword to withstand.

"Phew, that was tough."

The feeling of exhaustion came from the strong power that had swept through his body. Although he wanted to collapse and rest, Ivan didn't let his guard down. The battle wasn't over yet.

Whew! Thud! Sssss! Suddenly, black smoke burst out.

Not just to obscure vision, it was toxic, causing Emina to cough violently and spit blood. Tap, tap, tap! And the sound of several people rushing in from outside.

The uninvited guests who had entered first and hidden inside finally began to act. Realizing this, Ivan grabbed Sven by the neck and slammed him to the ground. Thud!

"Ugh!"

Sven, who was slammed onto his back, let out a sound like the air being forced out of his lungs.

The impact was strong enough to crack the stone floor, but Sven was more surprised than in pain. 'How did he know?'

Ivan, who read his thoughts from his eyes, curled his lips in a mocking smile.

"Did you really think I wouldn't notice?"

Information leaks were possible. They had been in the village for two days, so anyone could have found out.

But the problem was that he only realized it after entering the dungeon. How could a group of that size pass through the forest without leaving a single trace? It was because they took a different route. And the only one who could do that was Sven, the guide.

If he hadn't known about the uninvited guests, it would have been different, but knowing made it easy to identify the culprit. Even a fool could figure it out.

"Ugh, when ."

When did you notice? It was a meaningless question.

What would change by knowing that? Crack! Instead of answering, Ivan applied force to his hand, breaking Sven's neck.

He wasn't the type to explain himself before killing someone. Let them fall into hell with their curiosity unsatisfied.

Seeing Ivan break Sven's neck and kill him, Ralph screamed.

"Ivan! Were you the traitor?"

He was still blocking the enemy's attack despite being poisoned, but the death of Sven, with whom he had a deep friendship, seemed to shock him, causing his stance to waver.

"Stop barking and hold your shield properly."

"What?"

"Are the attackers not familiar to you? They must be the ones Sven called."

"What the hell!"

Ralph shut his mouth. They were indeed familiar.

Their faces were covered by masks, but their equipment and build were very recognizable.

"Could Sven really have ."

Bullshit.

A mercenary of that caliber usually had a fixed party.

Rather than sharing treasure with others, they would betray them and take it for their own family.

Most of the mercenaries Ivan had encountered in this damn world were scammers, murderers, thieves, and human trash. Even the higher-ranked mercenaries recognized by the mercenary guild were only somewhat trustworthy, but even that meager trust didn't hold up in the face of the temptation of undiscovered relics.

When five people gather, one of them is bound to be trash.

A famous saying Ivan had never forgotten since opening his eyes in this world. 'No wonder I can't trust my comrades.

I can only be a side character.' Ivan chuckled and drew a new sword. The attackers flinched, thinking it was some magical weapon. Of course, it was just an ordinary iron sword from his inventory.

Clang! Swish! He deflected a flying arrow with his sword and cut down an enemy nearby. Then he dodged another arrow and slashed another enemy's neck.

After killing a few, the attackers' eyes began to waver.

"Damn! Why isn't that guy falling?"

The other party members were already poisoned and lying on the ground. Emina, the mage, was the first to fall, unable to resist the poison due to severe internal injuries. Yulia was already lying on the ground, and Ralph, the tank, had just lost consciousness despite his better stamina. It was understandable to be shocked seeing Ivan alone, unharmed, rampaging in the thick poison mist.

"Hmph, you should have brought a stronger poison."

Ivan's various skills, which he had practiced, lacked direct offensive power but had higher resistance levels than his peers.

The attackers should have taken Ivan's experience hunting hydras in the west more seriously.

Compared to the hydra's poison, which melted skin and destroyed internal organs and nerves, this was like ketchup on a pizza. Swish!

"Aaaah!"

The attackers weren't bad, but they weren't great either. After fighting the decaying hand, they seemed somewhat bland.

'They must have relied too much on the poison.' Poison was indeed difficult to handle if you weren't prepared. That's why Ivan had prioritized raising his resistances.

After dealing with all the attackers, Ivan began to search their bodies.

If they used poison, they must have had at least one antidote as a backup. Even if they drank the antidote first, they would have prepared more in case the effect wore off.

If they were going to die just because of bad luck, they should have brought more antidotes.

"Hmm, is this it?"

Finding antidotes in their bodies, Ivan gave one to each of the other party members. Fortunately, they were only stiff and unconscious, not dead. The poison wasn't too strong to avoid harming Sven or the subsequent attackers.

In fact, it was difficult to obtain a poison strong enough to kill instantly when dispersed in the air, and antidotes were rare.

There was no guarantee they would work properly. After giving the antidotes to Ralph and Emina and moving them to a less toxic area, Ivan looked down at Yulia expressionlessly and swung his sword. Sssss! Thud! But Ivan couldn't cut Yulia. As the sword was about to sever her neck, she sprang up and put some distance between them.

"Of course, you were awake."