Chapter 93

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At 7 PM, as dusk slowly fell over the old town of Mapo District, a power outage occurred, and all the lights went out in an instant.

However, a single point was still glowing with a deep blue light.

Buzz—zz—zz—zz—zz—!

There, a 15-meter-tall monster with horns stood upright. The bizarre scene resembled the manifestation of a demon from hell... However, its limbs were tightly bound with electrical wires, and the deep blue sparks that flowed from them crackled loudly, striking its body.

In terms of power transmission equipment, such an overcurrent would cause the fuse to blow and the power supply to be cut off. However, Park Junmo's power could forcibly extract the current even when the flow had stopped, and at the same time, minimize the 'discharge' to the lowest possible level.

“Gaaaah—!”

Thus, he controlled the current that should have scattered and flowed into the ground, continuously forcing it into the monster's body.

Soon, the surface of its body began to smolder, and the smell of burning filled the air.

‘Park Junmo, you’ve finally become a truly useful weapon.’

He was a rare talent discovered by Lee Hyunwook in a previous life.

However...

‘...This alone won’t be enough to kill that monster.’

No matter how much ‘ordinary electricity’ Park Junmo supplied, there was a limit to what he could achieve, just as Lee Hyunwook couldn’t kill a monster with ‘ordinary metal.’

This was a natural law of this era. Weapons not created with ‘magical power’ couldn’t break through a monster’s ‘barrier,’ especially not a 90-level demon’s avatar.

‘Still, electrocution is effective, so this is enough to keep it restrained.’

Click—

As the giant body was completely saturated with electricity, Lee Hyunwook took out the ‘Black Rhino’ and approached the monster step by step.

Its massive eyes repeatedly rolled back and forth, trembling.

In other words, it was currently in a clear state of paralysis...

“Good, keep it restrained like that! I’ll take care of it!”

Meanwhile, Seo Eunha and Kim Sehee kept an eye on the half-collapsed motel building. Knowing that Choi Taejun was with other demon worshippers, they were unsure what they might do.

Not only them, but AMT troops also appeared on the rooftops of nearby buildings, preparing to snipe.

Additionally, journalists who had caught the scent of the story were setting up their cameras at a distance. They couldn’t afford to miss this unprecedented scoop involving Lee Hyunwook.

With all eyes on him,

Lee Hyunwook raised the gun and pulled the trigger repeatedly.

Boom—!

Click—

Boom—!

The points Lee Hyunwook aimed for were the monster’s knees. Despite its muscles and tendons stiffening from the electric shock, each shot caused blood to gush out, and its thick legs bent like chicken bones.

Thud—!

Naturally, the gun was now aimed at the monster’s head,

Rumble—

—The ‘Black Rhino’s’ skill ‘Annihilation Spray’ is now available!

“With this, it’s over.”

Before pulling the trigger, Lee Hyunwook hardened his entire body, especially focusing on the joints.

As he pulled the trigger, he granted himself metal control to counter the recoil and prevent himself from being pushed back.

And the firing—

Boom—ka—ka—ka—ka—ka—!

Three magic circles appeared, and the ‘shells’ remaining in the ‘subspace magazine’ were all fired simultaneously.

The hundreds of ‘pellets’ being fired violently shook the air along their ballistic curves, creating visible waves.

It was a scene that could be aptly described as a ‘steel storm,’ as if a jet engine were being fired from the gun’s barrel.

Thud—thud—thud—

The face of the Moloch avatar, covered in the steel storm, was torn to shreds.

Its eyes were sunken, and pieces of its torn nose and ears hung on nearby utility poles. Behind it, the building walls were splattered with dark red blood, forming bizarre graffiti.

However...

Squish—squish—

With a strange sound, bubbles began to boil from the monster’s wounds, and its skin started to regenerate rapidly.

“Damn, even this isn’t enough...”

Despite his best efforts, this monster, receiving direct power from a demon, had defenses and regenerative abilities far beyond expectations.

No matter how powerful the ‘Black Rhino’ was, it lacked the absolute ‘grade’ to defeat it.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Lee Hyunwook continued to pull the trigger. However, the ‘shells’ were now depleted, and only flames from the ‘Agni Crystal’ were being emitted.

Even that was an incredible amount of firepower, but it could only char the monster’s fur.

Lee Hyunwook finally lowered the gun.

The monster was much stronger than he had anticipated.

‘Well, this form shouldn’t have appeared yet...’

Choi Taejun, who would later be known as the leader of the villains, ‘Dr. Bull’... This avatar form should have been completed only after nearly four years of immense offerings to Moloch.

But now, it had been forcibly pulled out through the nectar.

In other words, it was overpowered, and it was natural that it was difficult to handle.

‘I need to change my approach...’

He activated his ‘internal smelter’ to its maximum.

—The internal smelter is active, and metal absorption efficiency has skyrocketed. (+200%)

His stomach felt as if it were melting.

“Gah...”

Before the mission, Lee Hyunwook had asked Commander Kwak Sangphil for 100g of ore, which he had swallowed immediately upon receiving and had been slowly digesting since then.

‘My metal control is almost reaching 500kg...’

And at that point—

‘...I will have a weapon capable of crushing that bulk.’

He had intended to keep this as a ‘trump card’ for a decisive moment, but the current situation didn’t allow for such luxury.

Lee Hyunwook turned to Park Junmo.

“Park Junmo, can you hold on a bit longer?”

“—Gah, yes! I’ll try!”

Lee Hyunwook summoned an item from one of his AD-1s.

The giant sword Mogulay, which fell to the ground with a thud.

Thud—

Feeling a burning sensation, Lee Hyunwook gripped the hilt of Mogulay and turned to Seo Eunha.

“Lieutenant Seo, can you imbue this with holy power?”

***

“Gah...”

Inside the completely devastated motel, someone was letting out a faint groan.

“Damn, to be hit by such blind attacks...”

An old Japanese man with a scruffy beard was sitting in the hallway, clutching his side. Next to him, a black youth was rummaging through a bag.

“Master, don’t be disheartened. It was just bad luck.”

“No, it’s because I’m old. You, on the other hand, used the one-person protection shield skill from the bracelet, right?”

“That’s because I’m an assassin player, so my reaction was good. If I were better, I would have taken the bracelet off and put it on your arm...”

“Cough— Shut up...”

They had just emerged from the demon’s passage inside a mirror at the moment Lee Hyunwook had wreaked havoc on the fifth floor of the motel building.

Despite being on high alert, the old man still took a hit.

“Gah, this is bad... My internal organs are damaged, and the bleeding won’t stop... I might die...”

The greatest weakness of those who had reached the extreme of darkness through the power of demons was that they couldn’t recover through ‘healing.’ This was because the source of healing was ‘holy power,’ a natural mechanism.

Of course, there were black magic spells for recovery, but most required taking the ‘life force’ of others, making the process far more complex than healing.

“Master, I found a potion of life! But... the bottle... is broken... Still, about a third is left!”

“Yes, yes. It’s made from the refined blood of a seven-year-old girl, so it should be enough to sustain this old man—cough!”

He drank the potion with such terrifying ingredients.

“Phew... The pain is easing.”

He then made smoke rise from his index finger and summoned a small bug.

The bug spread its wings and flew out of the building, allowing the old man to see outside through its eyes.

‘The steel manipulator, Lee Hyunwook... He’s much more terrifying than I thought.’

Choi Taejun, Moloch’s servant, had become an avatar after consuming the legendary ‘nectar’ and directly communing with Moloch.

Knowing the power of the old man, he naturally believed that this monster would devastate the city.

During this time, he planned to recover and find a way to escape using all available means.

‘But to not only restrain it but also try to blow its head off... He’s a terrifying man.’

He looked down at the battered Moloch avatar and shook his head.

It felt wrong to see such a high-level being being beaten so helplessly. It was like a monkey taunting a lion...

“Phew... No matter what, the Moloch avatar won’t die.”

It could be restrained, but not killed. It was like a monkey taunting a lion but not being able to kill it.

However, there was always the possibility of a more powerful predator appearing, so he needed to find a way to escape quickly.

‘By the way, I heard that Gang Seoyoon, that woman, is here—her arrows, with all their special effects, would be hard for the Moloch avatar to withstand. I need to hurry.’

At that moment,

Whoosh—

His shadow suddenly lengthened, and something shot out from it.

It was two people.

“The Shadow Baron...”

The man in the gray mask was the famous ‘Shadow Baron.’ Behind him stood a man in a hood.

“Huh! Old Man Shinshoku, it’s a good thing you kept your blood sample, right? It’s a trade secret, but with that, I can find someone’s shadow!”

“Cough—”

“Huh? But... why are you lying there with such a weak expression? Is your arthritis acting up?”

The old man, called Shinshoku, shook his head.

“Tsk, if you had appeared a little earlier, it would have been better...”

“What? Weren’t our esteemed guests supposed to be in the demon realm of Incheon? We made a wasted trip. It’s disappointing...”

This was the method the demon worshippers had prepared to help Choi Taejun escape: the Shadow Baron.

He was a notorious criminal who, for a hefty fee, provided a convenient means of transportation, known as the ‘special train for criminals.’

And coincidentally, the villain forces were also keeping an eye on Choi Taejun, so their interests aligned.

“Hmm... Circumstances prevented me from going to the black market.”

At this, a chuckle came from inside the Shadow Baron’s mask.

“Ah— Did you, by any chance, get caught in an unexpected ‘rain’ and get drenched?”

He picked up a piece of metal shrapnel embedded in the wall. The building was clearly a scene of a ‘steel rain.’

“...Are you mocking me while I’m bleeding? Your business lacks service spirit?”

“No, that’s not it. I’m empathizing! We’ve also taken a hit, so I know how it feels! Isn’t that right? Hehehe—”

He turned to the man in the hood who had come with him.

“Shut up...”

The man gritted his teeth and took off his hood.

He was Okita Kaito, the Sword Saint.

However, his front teeth were golden.

“Ah, right, with ‘Mr. Steel Rain’ here, you probably don’t feel like taking my jokes.”

“Please, just shut up...”

“Sure, but today isn’t the time to settle your debt. I hope you keep your trigger finger from accidentally pressing the button.”

Indeed, Okita Kaito was suppressing his urge to rush out and take revenge on Lee Hyunwook.

As the Shadow Baron said, getting caught up in personal feelings at such a crucial moment would be foolish.

“Right... Today, I will focus solely on rescuing Choi Taejun.