Chapter 405. The Price (1)

A person’s mana and stamina were the two most important things in a battle.

So most skills used these two as the price to work.

But even if they were precious, sooner or later a person could recover what was used.

What’s truly priceless are the things… that cannot be recovered once lost.

So the demons were tempted by such things the most, and they prepared a large amount of strength to gain them.

Great and attractive power.

In order to snare these so-called ‘priceless’ things, they wouldn’t hesitate to entice all those wishing to borrow their strength.

***

-Boooom!-

R-Eronia Nell dazedly looked at the man who was sweeping the entire surroundings while being covered in darkness.

‘What the…?’

Screams continuously echoed out through the communications panel.

— Damn! Send us a ship with some support! Please!

— Ahhhhh! My arm! My arm!

The darkness around the man devoured everything nearby.

Everything from the Flame’s power to the Dragon God Armor that the soldiers were wearing.

Everything.

Any obstacles in its path were instantly devoured as the man continued on his path of destruction.

If one added up everything that he had devoured up until this point then it would’ve at least spanned the length of a tall building.

In terms of the energy he had eaten, the total amount could erase a couple of cities in an instant.

But the man’s appearance hadn’t changed a single bit.

R-Eronia Nell clenched her teeth at the man who was causing utter destruction to everything around him.

‘Damn… My calculations were way off. At this rate, we’ll be massacred.’

The Flame’s Blessing could not be received by just anyone.

Dragon God Soldiers were those that had precise control over the M-Waves and therefore could command the Dragon God Armor. Only they could receive and control the Flame’s Blessing.

And from what she could see, dumping a few more Dragon God Soldiers with the Flame’s Blessing wouldn’t change anything.

It was like chucking hay into a huge fire.

‘… Ugh.’

R-Eronia Nell made a decision.

This was beyond her capabilities.

Reporting this to the family head would brand her as an incapable piece of trash that couldn’t even complete a simple task, and it would lower her position within the family. But that wasn’t important right now.

Well, failing to complete her task was an issue but if she let this become an even larger issue then it would spiral into an even bigger problem.

If she wasted time in this place and let that man charge straight into the capital then it would be the end for her.

R-Eronia Nell sighed and spoke to the Technorat nearby.

“Contact… the family head. An urgent matter has come up.”

“… Understood.”

The Technorat seemed to have similar thoughts as R-Eronia Nell and quickly opened up the communications panel.

-Kiriririri!-

R-Eronia Nell stared at the battle scene and then added a few words.

“Record and send that too. So the head can understand the situation better.”

‘… The head will understand.’

She told the Technorat to add it for better understanding but it was more like an excuse on her part.

If the head saw this, it would be understandable.

How in the world would she be able to handle it?

‘Yeah. This is better.’

Deciding that this matter was already out of her hands, it made her feel much lighter.

R-Eronia Nell looked at the monstrous being on the panel screen, her mind at ease.

The alien who was shredding apart the Dragon God Soldiers of the Neropa Union.

‘Anyway… Why wasn’t he using that power if he had it all along?’

R-Eronia Nell thought to herself.

The reason why she had underestimated him was because she’d been observing him for quite some time.

She had watched him ever since he caused that ruckus inside Reyunion’s territory.

Wouldn’t it be easier for him if he’d used that power in the Flameless Lands?

She had expected him to have a bit of hidden strength, but not this much.

‘… Why?’

At that moment…

-Kiriring-

… The communication link connected as a panel opened.

R-Eronia Nell then saw an expressionless face on the panel.

— Hello, R-Eronia Nell.

“… Yes. Family Head.”

There was no expression, but R-Eronia Nell could clearly see the rage hidden within his eyes.

R-Eronia Nell gulped as she looked at the family head, K-Merrow Nell, before her eyes.

***

-Booooom!-

Kiriel pummeled a Dragon God Soldier down and loosened up her joints.

They were much easier to handle in comparison to the Nerpa they had fought in the past.

But there was another reason why she was so laid-back.

‘There’s nothing to do.’

-Booooom!-

“Aaahhh!”

Kiriel felt worried because she kept hearing screams echoing from the distance.

There was no need for her to do anything.

Hansoo was sweeping through everything and everyone.

None of the enemies’ attacks worked on him and every strike on his end ignored their defenses and devoured them.

An already strong opponent had basically gotten hold of a cheating software.

If someone like that was charging towards her then it would basically be a physical manifestation of a nightmare.

But this worried Kiriel.

‘… A single skill can be that strong?’

Every single one of Hansoo’s skills was overpowered. This was a fact.

But there was an unbroken rule between all the skills.

The higher the risk, the higher the gain.

The stronger the skill’s power, the higher the price they had to pay.

If used correctly, the Nine Dragons Strike was an attack that pulverized all the bones within one’s body, whereas the Pandemic Blade was a skill that basically devoured one’s mana.

Hansoo could use those skills because of his disgustingly high-leveled physical ability and a never-ending supply of mana, but if somebody else, like herself, used those skills then it would easily half-kill them just by activating the skills.

The Demonic Dragon Reinforcement and the Immortal Soul’s powers weren’t as strong as Hansoo’s two skills, so despite being on the same rank, the price one had to pay was lower as well.

This meant that to use the skill that Hansoo was using, he had to at least pay a price that was equal to or higher than the Nine Dragons Strike or the Pandemic Blade.

No, from what she could see, he had to pay a price that was several times higher than that.

But he wasn’t paying anything.

It didn’t seem like his body was being destroyed nor did it look like he was using a tremendous amount of mana.

So this made her even more worried.

If he wasn’t paying with mana or stamina or anything else…

Then what did one have to pay to gain such a ridiculous amount of strength?

At that moment…

-Chiiijijik-

… A sound could be heard from the visors of the soldiers.

The sound was in some form of a military code so it was hard to understand, but she could guess to a degree.

The moment the soldiers heard that sound, their expressions brightened up and they acted instantly.

-Sssssss!-

-Zzzzztzt!-

Light blue particles appeared in the air and started to surround the bodies of the surviving Dragon God Soldiers.

Quantum Transmission.

-Whooooosh!-

The particles surrounding the Dragon God Soldiers were so bright that they almost looked like shiny treasures.

‘I understand, but…’

Kiriel thought.

If she had to fight against that monster, she would also have a similar expression if she managed to receive a path to survival.

As the Dragon God Soldiers disappeared, she approached Hansoo with a worried expression.

This didn’t look simple at all.

“Haaaa…”

“… Are you okay?”

He had only used it because they were in a bad situation.

He did not want to use the Demon’s Gate.

The demons were unpredictable.

They were strong and intelligent as well.

They never did a trade that was disadvantageous to them, and they always had to fulfill their desires.

The thing the demons wanted the most was his suffering.

It was now time to pay the price.

It would be nice if it was something like his lifespan, mana, or a part of his body, but…

If it was something that affected his mental state, it would be a huge problem.

Hansoo barely managed to speak to Kiriel.

“Get… away from me. As far as you can.”

“Pardon?”

But before she could receive a reply.

-Clank-

Hansoo fell to the ground unconscious.

***

— Heheh, I’ve looked at your memories in detail. How cute.

Barmamunt, who was sitting inside Hansoo’s mind, smiled as he looked at Hansoo in front of him.

He had to know about his opponent if he wanted to steal the most precious thing he had.

Reading his memories was part of the contract, one of the most basic options.

And after doing so, Barmamunt had to accept the fact that Hansoo was very interesting.

‘But things don’t connect very well.’

According to his memories, he’d lived a very normal life.

He had lived a normal life until he was 20 years old, experiencing nothing that related to fighting.

But the moment he came over to this world, he showed a tremendous amount of potential that was beyond comprehension and charged forward.

And he didn’t seem like he was fighting to become stronger or just to survive.

Well, he did fight for those things, but they weren’t goals. Rather, they were a small procedure towards a bigger goal.

His goal was… to unite humankind.

But there was no source for his motivation.

Every human being had some form of motivation driving their actions but he did not.

And the sudden appearance of his insane skills could not be explained either.

Well, to be exact, there were a few parts that could explain it that were hidden here and there.

But Barmamunt could not read them.

‘It means those Faeries did something…’

Barmamunt chuckled.

Well, he had all the clues he needed, he could figure it out now.

Maybe it was some random scum but he was a demon who controlled one of the thirteen demonic territories.

He had gathered countless amounts of information.

Of course, he knew an explanation to this as well.

An explanation for this guy’s strange past.

This also told him why Hansoo knew his true name despite just being a bug.

— You bastard… You used the Dragon Race’s treasure and came back from the future, didn’t you?

Barmamunt looked at the expressionless Hansoo with a cold smile.