The hounds of hell lunged all at once.
GRRRRR! GRRR!
However, if it was only this much, it was worth holding out against.
"Shin Ji-ho! Heo Il-kwon!"
-Yes, sir! No problem!
-Understood!
Because this three-man combination with Yoon Chan-ho was called the strongest shield even within the Phantom Guild.
"Let us just get out of this place...!"
-Yes, Mr. Yoon Chan-ho!
-Let us make it out alive no matter what!
Even if it was difficult to win against the hounds of hell, they could at least survive and make it out.
SWISH—!
SWISH!
"Yelp, yipe!"
Led by Yoon Chan-ho, the defensive formation, built without a single gap like an impregnable iron fortress, was not pierced so easily.
Against the Hunters whose fighting spirit was sharply raised, the hounds of hell could not easily approach either.
"Once we get out of here...!"
Yoon Chan-ho was furious.
As long as he could make it out alive, he intended to use all of his authority.
He planned to seize on even the smallest pretext and grind the Gladi Guild into dust.
"I will tear you to pieces and kill you without fail, Lee Gyeom-shin...!"
Step.
Step.
It happened while he was slowly stepping backward with his subordinates, preparing to retreat.
Trudge, trudge.
At that moment, he appeared nonchalantly.
As though nothing at all were happening.
"......?!"
Gyeom-shin walked slowly across, cutting right between the hounds of hell.
"L-Lee Gyeom-shin...?!"
As though he were the master of the hounds of hell.
"Lee Gyeom-shin? H-how is he over there...?!"
"Where did you go that you are only showing up now?!"
Gyeom-shin was still in a defenseless state.
Grin.
"Sorry, I really had to use the bathroom."
However, that expression was close to a sneer.
"That crazy bastard...!"
Yoon Chan-ho felt it instinctively.
"Is this a trap you dug, you bastard?!"
That all sorts of malice were brimming inside that smile that seemed to look down on him.
"...I don't know why they're barking so loudly, but... there are quite a lot of puppies here."
There were no hounds of hell barking here.
He had said it in reference to Yoon Chan-ho's group.
Trudge, trudge.
Gyeom-shin was walking confidently between the hounds of hell.
Even so, the hounds of hell did not show hostility toward Gyeom-shin or lunge to bite him.
"...Though these ones are docile."
Ding!
[The Demonic Sword, Ades's trait 'Brainwashing' has been activated.]
This too was the power of the Demonic Sword, Ades.
The souls of the hounds of hell were intoxicated by the mana of the Demonic Sword, Ades.
"Looks like they have no intention of attacking a good person like me?"
No, going a step further, the hounds of hell instead gathered around Gyeom-shin.
As though trying to guard their master.
-Haa, this is crazy....
-How could something like this....
Fwoosh!
Even so, Gyeom-shin did not suffer any burns from the red flames wrapped all around the bodies of the hounds of hell.
At the unbelievable, wondrous sight, no one could close their gaping mouths.
"See, a person really has to live a good life."
Grin.
At that moment, Yoon Chan-ho realized.
"Could this crazy bastard possibly...!"
That this sloppy-looking man right before his eyes, whom he had thought was an easy mark....
"Did you tame the hounds of hell...?!"
Was actually a tremendous powerhouse.
Most of it was the power of the Demonic Sword, but it was a situation where he could not help being mistaken like that.
'He tamed this many of them...?!'
Nothing else could explain it.
Other than the fact that he had single-handedly tamed dozens of B-Grade monsters, Hell Hounds.
'Th-that is impossible...!'
With this alone, Gyeom-shin was far transcending the realm of present-day Hunters.
"...Th-that's right! Maybe these guys aren't actually that ferocious...."
Someone who had lost his grip on his sanity from extreme fear even spun a delusional wishful thought with an absurd hypothesis.
"St-stop! Heo Il-kwon...!"
"Ah...?!"
And the result was utterly gruesome.
GRRRRR!
GRRRRRRR!
"Gaaaaah...!"
FWOOOOSH—!
At the broken battle line, the hounds of hell lunged toward him.
Before long, that Hunter had his limbs torn apart by the sharp teeth of the hounds of hell, his entire body dismembered and ripped to shreds.
Not only that, he was engulfed in the flames spewed by the hounds of hell and reduced to a pile of ash.
"Aaah... th-this is Hell...!"
Flop.
Yoon Chan-ho's remaining subordinate also lost his will to fight and collapsed to the floor.
However, this was only the beginning.
RUMBLE—!
"......Uuuugh?!"
RUUUUUMBLE—!
Soon, along with a tremendous earthquake, the sound of the ground splitting apart echoed out.
And from within that split earth, something appeared.
"I-I've never even seen anything like this...!"
A huge giant dressed in black clothes, easily standing dozens of meters tall.
['Analyzer' has been activated.]
In a situation like this, the only person smiling was Lee Gyeom-shin alone.
"It finally... showed up."
He already knew.
"Mr. Yoon. Chan. Ho. The boss monster that you and the Phantom Guild were searching high and low for."
「 Monster Name: Yama
Grade: A0 / Level: 380
Type: Ghost / Attribute: Darkness 」
The fact that an entity far transcending the level of present-day Hunters reigned over this place.
<Yes, it is you bastards.>
That monster even knew how to speak human language.
<The ones disturbing this Underworld that I rule over.>
It did not speak by moving its mouth.
The will of this colossal humanoid monster was transmitted to everyone like telepathy.
An imposing appearance overflowing with dignity, with long hair, a black beard, and a large coronet on its head.
"Eeeek...! G-Great King Yama...?!"
It was truly the King of Hell himself.
The last surviving subordinate of Yoon Chan-ho was so paralyzed with terror that he wet himself.
<From this moment forth, I shall pass severe punishment upon you bastards!>
Though it had the appearance of a god, this was a monster.
Gyeom-shin already knew what kind of verdict this monster would hand down.
<You bastards who are worse than beasts shall fight amongst yourselves, and only the victor shall survive!>
That it would create a very valid reason for him to legally kill Yoon Chan-ho.
Grin.
"That boss monster is telling us to fight and kill each other, huh? What should we do...?"
Only then did a devilish smile blossom at the corners of Gyeom-shin's mouth.
He had finally pulled it off all the way to this point.
"Looks like I don't have a choice either...?"
"You bastard...!"
At that moment, the sharp-witted Yoon Chan-ho felt it instinctively.
That no matter what move he used, he would not be able to escape from that colossal monster.
"Could it be that you aimed for this from the very beginning...?!"
"...Who knows?"
That killing Lee Gyeom-shin and his own subordinate, Shin Ji-ho, right away was the only way to survive in this place.
"Think whatever you want."
"Hey, you crazy bastard. What kind of grudge do you have against me to go this far?!"
And even the fact that all of this was Lee Gyeom-shin's trap.
"......."
Trudge, trudge.
On the other hand, ignoring Yoon Chan-ho's words, Gyeom-shin headed toward his subordinate who had even wet himself.
"You're really lucky. Use this."
Swish!
And he handed over an item.
It was a top-grade return item that allowed immediate escape from a hellish place like this.
"Th-this is...?!"
Usually, because it was so expensive, it was rare for Hunters to carry one around.
Deceiving them that this dungeon was a mid-grade dungeon was also to prevent them from preparing an item like this in advance.
"Th-thank you so much! Sob. I will never forget this grace...!"
The reason he was saving this man even while giving away this expensive item was simple.
"...Yeah, never forget it."
To spread the word.
Because later on, he would become an excellent witness to testify that Gyeom-shin had 'no choice' but to kill Yoon Chan-ho.
"Thank you...! Thank you so much!"
Shaaaa!
FLaaaash!
Once the witness had disappeared like that....
"Ah...? You just asked me, right? Why I'm going this far against you."
"Uuuugh...!"
"Because...."
Now that only the two of them were finally left, Gyeom-shin answered Yoon Chan-ho's earlier question with a devilish sneer.
"I just don't like the way you smile."
Yoon Chan-ho was on the verge of going mad.
On the other hand, Gyeom-shin knew very well about the greed he possessed.
"Because you do not like my expression, you say?"
"Yeah, especially that grinning face of yours."
It was a smile he had already been fooled by several times.
So Gyeom-shin had used his greed against him.
"This crazy bastard...!"
"Thanks for the compliment."
Appropriately manipulating the dungeon difficulty and expected rewards to lure him out had been easy.
Because the Guild Master, the Sword Flower, had cooperated with him.
"And now I finally like how you look."
As a result, he had brought things all the way to this point.
He had safely spared and sent back the witness too.
Now, only killing the bastard remained.
"...Yeah, that's the face."
"What?"
A face distorted with rage.
"That distorted face is your true face. Isn't it?"
That was the first genuine expression of Chan-ho's that Gyeom-shin had ever seen.
And out of everything he had seen up until now, he liked that expression the most.
['Analyzer' has been activated.]
Ades reacted to the enemy's malice.
「 Name: Yoon Chan-ho
Grade: A- / Level: 302
Type: Archer / Attribute: Water 」
Yoon Chan-ho was a Hunter who was never left out whenever the frontrunners of the next generation were mentioned.
His skill was far superior for his age.
"Stop running your mouth and come at me, you bastard!"
WHIZZ—!
WHIZZ!
Several arrows clad in water magic that he shot flew all at once toward Gyeom-shin's heart.
"I do not know how you tamed those dog bastards, but they are useless against me!"
WHIIIIZZ—!
SHIIIIING—!
It was not a bluff.
However, those arrows were soon blocked by a shield of blue flames spewed by the Demonic Sword.
"Is that so...?"
It was terrifying skill that never missed its mark.
Even so, it did not work on Gyeom-shin.
Piercing through Ades's mana was impossible.
"Well then, shall we watch and see whether it's really useless or not...?"
GRRRRR!
A frightened dog always barks louder.
In a desperate situation of life and death, Yoon Chan-ho instead put on even more reckless bravado and bluster.
Gyeom-shin knew that trait of his.
"If possible, it's more convenient for me too if you die to the monsters."
"......?!"
GRRRRRR!
Meanwhile, Chan-ho noticed belatedly.
That Gyeom-shin had not only brainwashed the hounds of hell so they would not attack him.
"You, could it be, you bastard...?!"
GRRRRRRR...!
But had also made them obey his orders.
He had completely tamed them like summons.
In other words, his plan worked.
The horrific sight that soon unfolded was Hell itself.
SWISH—!
"Gaaah!"
The hounds of hell lunged at Chan-ho all at once and began tearing into him with their teeth.
It was rare for them to pounce as a pack, but they had charged under Gyeom-shin's orders.
GRRRRR! GRRR!
"Gaaah...!"
At first, Yoon Chan-ho had been confident because his water attribute had an elemental advantage over the hounds of hell.
However, he realized it was futile.
"These crazy sons of bitches...!"
SWISH—!
"Get off me! You dog bastards...!"
"Yelp, yipe!"
If it had been one or two of them, he would have won.
GRRRRRR...!
However, dozens of them were lunging at him.
And from all directions at once, at that.
"Gaaah...!"
There was not even time to draw his bowstring.
Without any order of who went first, the hounds of hell ferociously lunged at Yoon Chan-ho.
They clung tenaciously to his limbs, trying to tear them apart with their teeth.
"Get the hell off me! You sons of bitches!"
"Yelp, yipe!"
GRRRRR...!
The fiery energy spewing from the entire bodies of the hounds of hell could be neutralized by the water energy Yoon Chan-ho possessed.
However, even excluding that hellfire, the jaw strength of those bastards was beyond imagination.
CRUUUNCH—!
In the end, no one could stand against a mob beating.
Yoon Chan-ho collapsed in front of Gyeom-shin.
"Gaaah...!"
The sharp teeth of the hounds of hell shattered Chan-ho's bow-drawing shoulder on the spot.
"Gaaah...! Gah...!"
RIIIIIP—!
At the same time, the teeth that had dug in relentlessly finally tore one of his arms right off his torso.
"Gaaaaah—!"
Archery skill close to that of a divine archer.
With one of those proud arms torn off, he could no longer hold a bow.
"Uuuugh... ugh...."
THUD!
Ultimately, he collapsed to the floor, and Gyeom-shin alone quietly watched that sight.
Grin.
"Serves you right."
The sight of Yoon Chan-ho dying miserably.
That was what Gyeom-shin had wanted to see.
"That's a very nice picture, Yoon Chan-ho."