Chapter 327. Ark-Roa (6)

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-Roaarr!-

“Ahhh!”

‘Fuck!’

After seeing Hades rolling on the floor in pain, Dionysus immediately activated his movement skill to run away.

-Boom!-

Skill, Fog of the Night.

A skill that covered the surroundings in a thick fog, creating a swamp of clouds.

A normal person would melt just by entering the fog itself, but of course, Dionysus didn’t even want such a thing to happen.

‘Run while this distracts him!’

“Traitor!”

He heard the shouts of Hades, but Dionysus ignored it.

They could not win.

The moment he saw the man with horns, he knew.

But if he could get away, he might be safe.

Since that monster over there wouldn’t let such a large meal go.

He could run away while the monsters fought amongst themselves.

‘Farewell, you bastards…’

Then-

-Swooosh!-

A hand reached out from the fog and grabbed him.

“Huh?”

‘How? He should still be behind me!’

Dionysus freaked out at first, but soon brightened up after seeing who it was that grabbed him.

“Hermes! Where did you…”

But Hermes, who had a giant hole on one of his shoulders, made a bitter expression as he cut Dionysus’s words off.

“I’m sorry.”

“Huh…?”

-Boooom!-

A giant bolt of lightning pierced through the fog and smashed into Dionysus.

-Crackle!-

“Ahhh…!”

‘No…’

Dionysus realized who the owner of that bolt of lightning was, and started panicking.

And Hermes mumbled while holding onto his wrist-

“Let’s go together.'”

-Booom!-

After reinforcing his leg with his skill, Hermes lifted his leg up and smashed Dionysus in the stomach.

“Ugh…”

‘Bastard… Why?’

Dionysus’s skills dispersed, and the fog followed suit.

And Dionysus fell into despair as he stared at the man walking towards him, who was dragging Hades and Apollon along with him.

***

-Rumble-

“Ugh… Damn it! Why are we being imprisoned? What can we do against a monster like that?!”

Apollon glared at Hansoo, gritting his teeth.

Red smoke was constantly entering his, Dionysus’s and Hades’s bodies.

And he knew the moment his smoke entered his body that they were now slaves.

Hermes and Zeus, who were following behind them with a blank expression, proved it all.

The red smoke entered his body and settled around his muscles, nerves, and spine.

-Zzzst-

He felt chills and cold sweat running down his back.

A feeling of some thing grabbing hold of his spine that was wondering whether to twist it apart or not.

“Kuaaaak!”

But Hansoo didn’t care about all this.

“Be quiet for a bit.”

He couldn’t change the fact that the Arc Roa had already evolved.

But this wasn’t the only variable.

There was a bigger one in fact.

The one who wanted revenge against him.

‘I could win but… If I did, I’d just get stabbed behind my back.’

Hansoo mumbled.

There was a very high chance that this being had a method to hide from the Arc-Roa.

That person would aim for an opening while he fought with the Arc-Roa.

Even Hansoo wouldn’t be able to defeat both at the same time.

Which meant that he would need to utilize the guys he’d caught as much as he could.

‘… There’s probably something you guys can do as well.’

-Rumble-

Hansoo chuckled as he looked at the five who had red smoke entering their bodies.

***

-Rumble-

After devouring the creature that had named itself Hephaestus, it had evolved into another level.

After receiving sufficient energy from its food, this released the genes that had been locked inside its body and caused it to transform in an explosive manner.

The shadow-like body of the Ark-Roa thrashed about as if it were about to explode.

But only for a moment.

-Crack-

-Snap-

The shadow-like form fused into itself as it turned into a humanoid.

The Ark-Roa, which had turned into a two-meter tall black humanoid, looked at its newly-evolved body.

“Ah. Ahhh. Ahh. Go… Good. It’s Good.”

The voice was raspy at first, but soon it cleared up into an actual human’s voice.

And then the skin of the Ark-Roa bubbled as it formed a set of armor on its body.

A set of armor similar to those worn by the things it had eaten.

Though it looked more and more human after donning on armor, the Dark King’s instincts constantly screamed at him.

He could feel a monster that was on a whole other level from inside that thing’s human-like skin.

The bloodthirsty aura currently blasting at him made his skin feel like it was being ripped apart, that proved it all.

“Uahh… AHHHH!”

The Dark King freaked out from this aura, and he struggled to run away.

And after a while, he’d managed to go all the way up to the fortress which he had ruled in the past.

Of course there wasn’t anything that could protect him here, but there was nothing else in the Dark King’s mind.

Only the thought of hiding from that monster.

“…”

Ark-Roa looked at the Dark King struggling to run away, and smiled.

There was too much to eat.

It had to get stronger, faster.

Then-

-Stomp!-

The Ark-Roa smashed its feet onto the ground.

Kyakakakayak!

“Uaa… Uaaahah!”

Metal spikes rose up from the ground and smashed through the Dark King’s remaining leg.

A skill once used by Demeter, who it had devoured.

But as the Ark-Roa approached to feast on the Dark King while listening to its scream, a huge sound echoed out as the spikes that pierced through the Dark King were smashed apart.

-Booom!-

And the Dark King was at a loss for words after seeing who had saved him.

“Why…”

Zeus grit his teeth as he looked at the Dark King.

He had become like this after becoming interested and getting involved with the Dark King.

He wanted to rip the Dark King apart, but he could not.

Since any form of help would be useful at this moment.

“Shut up, you bastard. You come help as well. I’ll kill you if you become annoying.”

‘Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.’

Zeus looked at the monster that was staring at the five of them, all of whom had become Hansoo’s slaves, and thought of Hansoo’s words.

— You’ll be the bait. Attract its attention as much as you can. Once an opening appears, I’ll attack it right away.

It was a good plan, but there was a fatal flaw.

Their own lives were at risk.

So the five of them had asked:

Then, what of them?

But the reply that had come was too simple.

— That’s why I’m telling you to do your best. The better you do… The more openings will occur. Once I attack, then you’ll be able to live.

‘Damn it. Damn it…’

Zeus grit his teeth, started up his skills and sent them towards the monster.

“Die!”

-Boooom!-

Then-

The five of them, and the Dark King as well, started to unleash their attacks on the Arc-Roa.

-Boom!-

-Swoosh!-

-Crackle!-

Every attack was more than strong enough to smash apart hundreds of normal adventurers.

But none of the six had on pleasant expressions, but rather, they wore the exact opposite.

While this was all happening, the Ark-Roa just chuckled as it looked at the six with amusement.

“Kahah.”

And the moment the six of them heard this laugh, all of them fell into despair.

It was clear what that laugh meant.

It was looking down on them.

Then-

-Booom!-

The Ark-Roa’s body disappeared.

-Crunch-

“Uaaaaak!”

Apollon screamed.

Something appeared right before his eyes and chomped on his arm.

“Fuck… You bastard!”

-Boooooom!-

Flames rose up aggressively from Apollon’s body.

A powerful force which had been traded with the crystals he’d had gained from sacrificing the lives of thousands of humans.

But sadly, it had no effect on the Arc-Roa.

-Chomp, Chomp-

“Kuuuhh… KUAHHH!”

Apollon screamed once more.

It wasn’t that his skills weren’t working.

Since the obsidian-like skin was slowly melting away from the flame, lightning, and poison.

But as the Arc-Roa continued to feast, its skin regenerated the moment it melted.

“Damn it!”

-Crunch!-

Everybody roared as they continued to pour out their skills.

‘Daaammittt! I. Will. Not. Die. Here!’

“You bastard! Attack already!”

Zeus, who had been throwing out bolts of lightning one after another, roared at Hansoo with rage.

It was clear that they wouldn’t be able to win.

Him.

They needed him to attack to survive.

And… the moment he attacked the monster.

They would all attack Kang Hansoo and kill him.

‘Bastard… I’m going to kill you!’

Zeus burned in rage as he thought of the man who had shoved him into this hellhole.

No matter how strong the toxins inside their body, it wouldn’t be under anyone’s control after Hansoo died, and at that point they could just slowly release it from within their bodies.

Right now, the one he hated the most was Hansoo and not that monster.

And the moment Hansoo attacked the monster would be the moment he’d be buried in his grave.

Since their attacks would be landing on Hansoo’s back.

‘Come… Attack!’

“BASTARRRD!”

-Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!-

The transcendents continued to throw out their skills at the Arc-Roa, which had just finished eating Apollon and was now looking towards them with greedy eyes.

***

-Crack-

-Crunch-

“Hahahaha! I won! I… won!”

Zeus was in glee as he looked at Hansoo and the monster that had fallen at his feet.

His plan had succeeded.

The monster had been split in half from Hansoo’s attack.

And after they attacked Hansoo from behind, they’d managed to blow out his heart.

Both of them.

‘What a monster… two hearts? He even has horns… He’s definitely not a human.’

Well anyway, he had won.

And as for the ginormous crystal the beast had left behind…

Once he devoured that, he’d be able to become stronger than even Kang Hansoo himself.

Plus there were all these items that Hansoo had left behind.

‘Dumbass. Using us as your slaves? You really thought we were going to be that easy?’

-Smack!-

Zeus smiled in glee after kicking away Hansoo’s corpse.

He was now the king of his region.

He would enslave every female that came up.

Every male would be food for the abyssal crystals.

He would chase down the man who had created him, and kill him.

He’d enslave Athena who had yet to appear, and he would kill Karhal and Ekidu in the most painful way possible.

‘No, I’ll leave Ekidu alive. So she can become friends with Athena… Hehehe.’

Then-

A voice appeared out of the air.

“What are you thinking about?”

Zeus was shocked, and looked at the female who had spoken to him with puzzlement.

“Huh? Aphrodite? How are you…”

Aphrodite smiled at Zeus’s words.

“What do you mean? I have to eat you.”

“Wha…”

Then-

-Crunch-

“Kuggghuk…”

Zeus groaned out loud as he felt the tremendous amount of pain coming from his heart.

-Crack!-

Cracks appeared in the air as reality started to break down.

Well, more like the illusion.

‘Aphrodite’s… Skill. Fu…ck.’

Zeus fell into despair.

Illusory Dreams.

A skill which showed a scene the opponent desired the most, turning them defenseless.

Pain had made him break through the illusion as he started to see the true reality.

Kang Hansoo had not arrived, even after all six of them had been devoured.

The only ones left were him and the monster currently eating his heart.

‘… Lying bastard.’

Then-

-Crunch!-

Arc-Roa gulped down Zeus’s head in one go as it finished up its feast.

“Heh.”

As the Arc-Roa made a satisfied expression while it felt the powers from the six, a storm was occurring inside it.

-Rumble!-

The spores that had been sent into the bodies of the six became agitated, and fused inside the Arc-Roa’s stomach.

“Kuaa… AHHHHH!”

The Arc-Roa abruptly grasped onto its stomach and screamed.

***

UAAAAHAHHHHH!

‘Nice and clean.’

Though it wouldn’t be easy to kill it off with the Pandemic Blade, it would be more than enough to buy him time.

Hansoo heard the scream echoing out from the distance as he looked at the man in front of him and spoke.

“While that thing is rolling around, let’s finish our business. Why do you hate me so much?”

“…”

The man who had been standing near the elevator stared at Hansoo, seething with rage.