1 Chapter 1 - The Demon Lord Byrhemmoth [1]

"IT'S USELESS! OUR LORD WON'T REMEMBER YOU!"

Explosions sounded very close as laughter filled the battlefield that was full of corpses. Flames were at every end–burning corpses and carcasses without mercy. Then, the monsters surrounded him with laughter that never stopped.

A human stood between them, with a body full of deep wounds and blood that looked like it wouldn't last any longer. He rolled his eyes and ask the horde of monsters,

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM!?"

Val is in critical condition. His blood-covered right hand is gripping his sword, while his left hand had been cut long ago. He cursed when the pain spread through his body.

Then, the dreadful laughter came back, filling the battlefield.

"OUR LORD HAS ACKNOWLEDGED HIS EXISTENCE."

Rage filled the mind of the Hunter, The human finally cursed.

"DAMNED!"

He instantly jumped. Swinging his sword while gathering the yellowish aura at the tip of his sword. The burning rage was so vivid, until–

"GO DIE!!!"

BOOM!!!

Huge explosions decorate the fight in the tower. He wiped out all the monsters in front of him emotionally.

"You killed my friends, and also–"

He killed five monsters that surrounded him in a slash. The aura of hatred was very evident around him.

"–transforming my friend into that ugly creature."

After spouting some useless words, his eyes now turned to the silhouette standing at the end of the battlefield. The mist surrounded the monster with a body three times larger than the human and the creature emitted a terrifying aura that made the hairs on his spine stand on end.

However, he ignored it. The pain in Val's chest and left hand is more concerning. Val gritted teeth with a groan.

'My body won't last long,' Val thought, realizing that his vision was getting blurry.

The look in his eyes changed as the pressuring footsteps approached. Val hated this situation, because every time he saw that creature, his guilt piled up.

"Are you satisfied after killing my friends?" Val asked, his breath getting ragged.

However, there was no answer except for the stopping footsteps. The mist still surrounded him, so Val had to squint.

"You killed them all like killing an ant colony…"

Groaning in pain, Val lifted his face. In a critical state–his gaze still felt so cold.

"Why? I'm doing this because it's fun!" replied the monster with a sinister smile.

Hearing the monster answer, Val started to lose his calm. His patience had run out and his right hand which was holding the sword was trembling.

He screamed, "I WON'T LET U LIVE IN PEACE!"

He quickly swung the sword that had been stuck on the ground to support his body, then the sound of the wind slashing felt so beautiful to the ears …

The Demon Lord.

"BYRHEMMOTH!!!"

Laughter roared from the Demon Lord as his name was called with so much hatred.

"Even one snap of my finger is enough to erase your puny existence!" said the Demon Lord, arrogantly.

But Val didn't care, his mind was wondering about how to deal with this situation. The sword was in his right hand, the blood on his chest and left hand were dripping non-stop.

"DIE!"

He ran towards the Demon Lord and jumped until he managed to get close to the head of the Demon Lord who looked like his dead friend. The vertical slash he did aim at the top of the Demon Lord's head.

"[Rebound]."

Val was thrown back and hit the tower wall as his attack was returned to him. He broke his back and his mouth is spitting blood.

'Ah, damned ….' Val cursed.

He fell after hitting the tower wall with such a strong force and now … his eyes were fixed on the ceiling of the tower which was completely unattractive.

Dark and terrifying.

"Damn ...."

He coughed, then tried to force himself to get up. His body had reached its limit, to the point where he couldn't even move.

However, the silence gave him goosebumps, all his hair stood up. The shadow is in front of him, and it is getting closer.

Val was about to look up before his heart seemed to be stopped by the familiar voice.

"Please, kill me."

It was as if the soul truly existed, his brain was about to explode, one hand that had been supporting him to stand up was trembling. His eyes widened so much that the unstable emotion made him move.

"Val …."

The sound of the familiar voice made him shrouded in guilt. He lifted his head. The expression on the Demon Lord's face–

"Erus?"

Yes. He called the name of his friend who had died in front of him. In the blink of an eye, the Demon Lord's face changed. His eyes widened as if threatening Val.

"If you dare say that name again, I will kill you right now."

His face was so close to Val, he said,

"For an ant, you are pretty strong to stay alive this long."

Val seemed to be affected by his gaze and finally realized that the Demon Lord's sword was already on his back and he was ready to stab his heart at any moment.

"Give Erus' body back!"

However, Val didn't care about his body. His gaze was colder than the Demon Lord mocking gaze.

"A monster like you doesn't have the right to use that body."

It was the coldest voice from their many conversations.

"Even in this situation, your willpower hasn't dried out," said the Demon Lord, holding back his rage. "It seems that you have the qualification to be our Monarch's vessel."

"Whoever it is, there will be no one that is able to control my body, because–"

Val's left eye gave off a yellowish aura. It's getting brighter and brighter, the Demon Lord senses a bit of danger from the rising aura.

"We are going to hell together!!!"

"YOU DAMNED HUMAN!"

The concentrated dark aura from the Demon Lord's scythe is ready to stab his heart. Luckily Val's fragile body was able to dodge the attack and immediately got away from the Demon Lord's attack range.

"YOU–"

SCREECH!!!

Before the Demon Lord got closer to Val, a black shadow suddenly appeared from under the Demon Lord's feet. The shadow tied his whole body and made him lose the grip of his sword.

The unknown shadow locked the Demon Lord's movements in an instant, allowing Val to survive an attack that could be fatal to him.

'What's that?!'

Val was shocked as he was standing not too far away from the Demon Lord. His eyes widen while seeing the unexpected thing occur.

Yes. The shadow was not his doing.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS! DAMNED!!!"

The Demon Lord was struggling to remove the shadow, while Val was taken aback by the unpredictable occurrence. The shadow directly bound tightly to the Demon Lord's body and wrists. Then, it slowly moves towards his neck to strangle him.

"DAMN–VAL! QUICK KILL ME!"

Val gasped when Erus's voice returned to his ears. His eyes caught the Demon King movement was a bit dull, Erus was struggling to compete, controlling and removing Byrhemmoth from his body.

"VAL!"

"I–I can't!"

His dead friend had returned, Val couldn't gather his willpower to kill Erus. The man who had become a Hunter didn't want to get his hands dirty to kill innocent humans, especially his childhood friend.

"There must be a way to save you!"

"Val–YOU DAMNED–Just kill me already! This bastard has been playing with my body for too long–DAMNED, THIS SOUL!"

Val was furious. Unknowingly, he gritted his teeth and clenched his right hand tightly. The regret and desire to help Erus were greater than leaving him to the god of death.

"HOLD ON, ERUS!"

"JUST KILL ME!"

In the end, he wastes his time struggling to make a decision. The Demon Lord succeeded in removing some of the shadows and then it happened.

"YOU MUST–"

Stab.

The Demon Lord's scythe managed to pierce his heart. His heart seemed to have stopped and at that moment Val vomited quite a lot of blood.

"That's why you shouldn't overestimate yourself."

Just as he was groaning from the pain that had exceeded his limit, the Demon King approached him. The shadows that wrapped around his body had been annihilated with flames all around his body.

'He annihilated all those shadows?'

Val was shocked. He didn't expect that the Demon Lord who had been busy struggling from the indistinct shadow was now able to stand up straight with the flames wrapped around his hands.

[Fiery Soul].

It was one of the Demon Lord's strongest [Active Skills] that would cover the user's entire body with flames and give [Strength] and [Defence] boost up to one minute.

His vision was getting blurry at a visible rate as his blood kept pouring out. However, the appearance of a hologram in front of him successfully evokes his rage.

[Constellation of Parade feel sorry for you]

[Constellation of Parade has given you a new Special Quest!

Quest Content:

Kill Byrhemmoth

Time Limit: 00:59:00

Compensation: A Title from Constellation of Parade.

Warning! Sponsor from Constellation of Parade will be terminated if you fail this mission]

Val doesn't even care about the compensation. But, if he loses his sponsor contract with Parade then he will lose all the [Skills] that he had earned.

'Shit, there is only one way.'

He didn't even know the reason he accepted Parade as his sponsor. His naivety brings misery.

"Ant will always be an ant, weak and helpless, not even worth dirtying my hand."

The Demon Lord's laughter filled the entire battlefield, making the tower seem to collapse.

"You–"

Val coughed up a mouthful of blood just before he could finish his sentence. It looks like this is his end, he could die at any moment.

'Shit!' he cursed.

"Let me ask you one thing, is it all only for entertainment?" Val asked the Demon Lord, his breathing ragged and his body temperature rose.

Confused looks appear on the Demon Lord's face. "Why else would I do all of this if it's not for entertainment?"

The playful answer from that vile monster completely burns the little bit of patience left in Val's mind and successfully makes Val lose his mind.

"BYRHEMMOTH!!!"

Val was furious, but he didn't have the strength to cast his [Skill] anymore. Too much of his blood had been wasted.

Val is helpless.

"GO DIE!!!"

There was nothing he could do with a body stuck like that. The Demon Lord burst out laughing, it was so funny for him to see a Hunter in a dying state spit out completely pointless curses.

[Constellation of Parade feels proud of you]

At that moment, the hologram completely interfered with his vision to see the look on Erus's face who was possessed by Byrhemmoth's soul.

"You?" Byrhemmoth's laughter didn't fit with Erus's face. "Even to break free from that scythe isn't–"

BOOM!!!

[Constellation of Parade laugh at the struggling Demon Lord]

Parade seems to be bored watching all the fights without end. There was an explosion just beside the Demon Lord.

"WHO IS IT NOW!?"

It seems that the Demon Lord Byrhemmoth is losing his temper. He became more irritated when the scythe from one of his greatest [Active Skill] disappeared as well.

Val, who was considered an ant to him, had been released and was now on the ground covering the stab wound on his stomach with one hand in the pit of his heart. Coughing, he looked up.

The shadow reappeared. The explosion came from the ownerless shadow. Thinking that the Constellation of Fortune was feeling sorry for Val, he gathered all of his remaining strength to use an [Active Skill] that would result in his death.

"If the deaths of my friends are not avenged …."

The aura next to him formed a sword. Val grabbed the aura sword stuck in the ground with one hand, then stood up.

"I won't be able to live in peace, so …."

The aura sword in Val's hand was getting denser and brighter. Even the ground shook as Val moved.

A small earthquake occurred around them with rocks–both large and small–floating around Val.

"LET'S GO TO HELL TOGETHER YOU VILE MONSTER!"

His anger, hatred, and revengeful feeling for the Demon Lord gathered together to form power. It was clear from his wide eyes that his body was surrounded by a dense golden light.

The Demon Lord felt threatened by the golden light, he quickly stretched his fiery arm to Val's torso.

"[TEMPEST]!!!"

"[FIRE SPIRIT]!"

A thunderstorm suddenly appeared as Val pulled out his aura sword. He raised the sword above his head and let the wind swirl around him. A vortex was created on top of Val's head.

The Demon Lord senses a dangerous feeling from the thunderstorm and immediately summons fire from his palm. Skeleton's hands arose from the ground to help him, some of the hands tried to reach Val as he was controlling the little bit of power that he had left.

When the wind was formed, Val destroyed all the skeleton hands that were coming toward him. In the blink of an eye, the effect of his skill [Tempest] was able to create such a big tide.

At that very moment, Val drew his sword and bent his knees. Then, he slashed the aura sword again and again as the flames from the Demon Lord grew bigger.

Thunderstorms from [Tempest] and the fire burst from [Fire Spirit] collide. The clash between two different elements created a massive explosion inside the tower.

BOOM!!!

The explosion created a massive wave that hit the Demon Lord giant body.

"NO!!!"

The golden wave blows the Demon Lord's body into smithereens. It was one of Val's [Skills] that required a bit of luck to burn anything on its path. Even the monsters under the Demon Lord's command were unable to act after getting hit by the waves.

However, Val who had been weakened was also blown away by the Demon King's [Fire Spirit]. He hit a big tree and fell. His body is now leaning against a tree trunk that is still standing firmly.

His breathing was ragged, his gaze was blank. Blood continued to flow from his outstretched heart, his left hand was missing, and his mouth spits out blood.

"Erus …."

The name kept ringing in his mouth. Such a faint voice.

In the painful seconds of his death, Val's body was already numb from being filled with internal wounds. He was no longer able to heal himself.

Nevertheless, his goal has been achieved.

[TRING!]

Val already knows where that sound came from. It was from the [Special Quest] that Parade had given him before, he had finished the quest, and now is the time for the [Compensation] to be paid. But, he doesn't care about the compensation, what use of compensation would be for a dying man like him?

[You have killed the Demon Lord Byrhemmoth. A Special Quest from Constellation of Parade had been completed. The compensation will be sent to your inventory.]

The [Title] that he had gained has no use as he would die soon.

Val's breath was rough. "Byrhemmoth, huh? He died too easily …."

He groaned in pain because the throbbing in the pit of his heart was getting worse. His right hand was trying to stop the bleeding. However, his efforts were in vain because his left hand also needed help.

Val ended up lying down. He couldn't control his breathing properly.

'How long must I suffer before the end comes?' thought Val.

The pain in his body was unbearable.

[TRING!]

Again.

A system sound once again disrupts Val's train of thought. But he wasn't able to read the system message anymore. His eyes were blurry.

'This damned system, quickly kill me and bring me to the underworld or even hell at once!'

His vision was getting worse, the blueish hologram slowly faded, and was replaced by endless darkness.

He greeted his death with a smile.

"At last …."

His consciousness faded, and the darkness greeted him. However, the unexpected appeared in front of the body that was already inhabited by the soul.

[Constellation of Eternity likes you.]