The difference in power between higher-ranking demons and lower-ranking demons is evident.
Lower-ranking demons can handle only one familiar at best, while higher-ranking demons can typically handle up to three. Additionally, they have the capacity for thought.
“These filthy creatures! They’ll break through the barrier. Let’s put our strength elsewhere… huh?”
‘Look at this.’
‘Indeed, they have the capacity for thought.’
‘What seemed like a disturbance in some groups turned out to be different. It wasn’t just a minor disturbance; the entire group of lower-ranking demons was hit. It wasn’t a simple scuffle. Someone launched a series of attacks, igniting their flesh. It wasn’t until I approached that I realized it.’
“Intruders!”
A higher-ranking demon suddenly shouted. But they couldn’t detect Jong-sik’s presence either. Therefore, they resorted to numbers.
“There’s an intruder! Summon the familiars!”
The demon army led by Count Hymos possesses a common ability: the ability to control familiars.
This place is their territory, and the familiars reside within their domain.
“Look around you. Whoever didn’t summon their familiar is the intruder. Kill them!”
Upon the command of the higher-ranking demons, the lower-ranking demons hastily summoned their familiars.
“There’s an intruder? So it wasn’t you who attacked me?”
“No. It wasn’t me! It wasn’t!”
“Dare you! Dare you! Kill them! Kill the intruder!”
“Where are they? Where are they?”
From the foul earth emerged the weakest type of demon, Dark Earthworms. But it didn’t stop there. Zombies, ghouls, and more. They turned their heads according to their master’s will.
“Where are they? Where are they?”
“It wasn’t me. Hehehe.”
However, no matter how much they looked around, there were no demons without familiars. In other words, they couldn’t find the intruder.
【Concealment】
This was because Jong-sik had already slipped away from the group. He was moving toward the rear of the higher-ranking demons rushing toward the lower-ranking demons.
It was to make a decisive strike. With the solid barrier in front of the lower-ranking and higher-ranking demons, they had no escape route.
The number, which had swelled to over a hundred, swelled even more with the addition of familiars. For Jong-sik, it was nothing special. It was just a few more ants to kill.
Jong-sik looked at the fish caught in the net and immediately recited a prayer. Then, he cast a wide-area spell.
【Slash】
A collaboration between the aphorism taught by the saint and the wide-area magic taught by the expedition team members.
With a destructive roar, an attack infused with holy power cleaved through the foul earth.
“Screaaam!”
The effect was tremendous. With a single casting, more than half of the personnel were swept away. It was like a tsunami.
“Hurry, let’s go.”
This is the Demon Realm. There’s no need to hold back its power. There are no cameras filming, and there’s no need to protect anyone while fighting.
【Slash】
【Holy Wave】
【Shaolin Palm】
He unleashed wide-area magic without hesitation. Before the overwhelming force of unmatched magic and holy power, the demons couldn’t stand their ground. If demons were affected, what about the familiars they controlled?
Kwaaaah!
The rotten earth split, and simultaneously, the bodies of the demon were torn apart. It was truly a scene of carnage.
“H-Human?”
Gradually, as the bodies of his comrades crumbled, Jong-sik’s figure emerged. The demons couldn’t hide their astonishment at Jong-sik’s appearance.
It was natural for them to think the intruder was from the same demonic race.
For example, the Northern demons who had engaged in battle over territory disputes. Or the demons under Baron Baefum’s command, whom they often ridiculed.
In any case, the existence of humans was beyond their expectations. Moreover, a human as powerful as Jong-sik.
“H-Human, how did you-!”
“Well.”
In response to the shocked demon, Jong-sik casually replied, and there was no further conversation.
Because the blade-like wind had severed all their throats. Jong-sik wielded the ethereal sword freely, wreaking havoc on the enemy lines.
And then it happened. A flash of energy surged behind Jong-sik.
“How dare you trespass here!”
It was Count Hymos, controlling over a hundred familiars.
Having momentarily entered a state of vigilance, he quickly reacted to the sensed enemy presence.
Kwaaaah!
“…Human?”
So swift was his response that he realized the target was a human after the attack.
He was momentarily taken aback.
And that moment of hesitation quickly became a swift path to death. Instead of unleashing his tentacles, he should have moved his hundred familiars. If he had done so, perhaps he could have bought a little more time.
Jong-sik did not evade the force charging toward him.
Kwaaaah!
The transformation of the ethereal sword into a beam of light happened in an instant.
“Gah…!”
The beam shot straight and finally sliced through the abdomen of Count Hymos.
As the demon lost balance and fell to the ground, Jong-sik approached him. The demon was furious but also curious.
Curious about how Jong-sik had come here, what his identity was, whether he was truly human, or if he was a demon wearing the skin of a human. And if there was any willingness to spare his life…
“Wait. We found the portal to the human world. We’re leaving the Demon Realm soon. If you fancy this land, take it. Otherwise, joining us wouldn’t be a bad idea. There’s no need for us to fight each other.”
“So, you’re going to die.”
“What do you mean?”
“Ancestor or descendant, demons are all the same.”
“No way…”
However, the words that lingered in his mouth couldn’t come out. Jong-sik had plunged the ethereal sword into the demon’s throat. He couldn’t even scream; he simply perished. At the same time, the demon’s body turned into a handful of ashes.
On the ground lay a large number of gray runes and a black ring. Jong-sik collected them, while a few surviving demons watched.
“The Count… the Count is dead!”
“Eeeek!”
They had no choice. Like cockroaches scattering in all directions, they fled.
A moment later, standing before the last remaining cockroach, Jong-sik hesitated for a moment.
He had never spared demons before. Except for Ramus, he had killed them one by one. But today was an exception.
“There’s no better strategy than knowing your enemy.”
With that thought, Jong-sik spared the two remaining demons. Then he retraced his steps, dragging the two demons along.
Toward the dimensional door outside the castle. That’s how Jong-sik crossed the threshold again. He had left alone but returned with two.
“Let’s go.”
Of course, Jong-sik didn’t forget to seal the open dimensional door. And so, he returned to Earth.
***
After a day of labor, the meal tastes heavenly. Especially for the expedition members who had been starving for five days. They had barely survived by drinking only water concocted by the elementalists. But today, that ordeal came to an end.
The members gathered around the lunch boxes. It wasn’t a large quantity, but it wasn’t enough for everyone to eat their fill either. They cautiously reached out, eyeing each other.
There were potions that supplied nutrients, but they were solely focused on the lunch boxes.
And the moment they tasted the rice and bulgogi, they glimpsed paradise.
“Ahh, it’s so delicious.”
“…Hmm, huh?”
“Am I the only one feeling this? This energy?”
Exclamations burst out all around. The taste was exquisite, but there was something more—a surge of vitality. It was the energy one would expect from drinking a monster energy drink.
“Did they develop a new Korean dish while we were in the dungeon? Is this a test product?”
“If we try another one, we might figure it out… American hunters said they drink potions, so even if we eat two fist rice rolls, it should be okay, right?”
Someone remarked, and the members nodded in agreement.
But by then, it was already too late.
Amidst the uproar of the Korean hunters’ enthusiastic response, a US hunter set down a potion and joined the line.
“Um, um. About that. We also want to try it.”
“…Didn’t you say you hated Korean food because of the smell of garlic?”
“Did I say that? Hmm. It just smells fragrant, doesn’t it?”
“Stop talking like that and share some.”
“What the! Is this really Korean food?”
“I want some too, I want some too.”
“Hey. I said one each.”
A dispute broke out unexpectedly over the lunch boxes. And just then, the overpowering stench that was hard to adapt to vanished, and the environment surrounding them collapsed. The dungeon disappeared.
They found themselves standing in a redevelopment site not far from the dungeon’s entrance.
Simultaneously, gray runes fell from all around, and Jong-sik appeared. The time it took for the Commander Jong-sik to disappear and reveal himself again was only about thirty minutes.
“Uh, uh?”
“What’s this…”
“Commander Jong-sik!”
They all had a gut feeling that all of this was happening because of Jong-sik.
“We succeeded in conquering the dungeon! The commander defeated the dungeon boss.”
“But can a dungeon disappear like this?”
They finally broke free from the barrier and rushed toward Jong-sik. Each of them asked their own questions.
“Commander Venom, are you okay?”
“Are you going alone to defeat the boss again?”
“Thanks to the supplies you brought, we were able to recover our condition. Thank you.”
“…But what is that? Is it a monster… or a person?”
Questions poured in. Jong-sik looked at those around him and opened his mouth. But what came out of his mouth was neither information about the boss nor an answer about the being he brought with him.
“Supply bag? Surely you didn’t touch the lunch inside, right? Those are personal rations, not supplies. Of course, the lunch I brought was for myself to eat.”
At that moment, the gathered individuals visibly displayed their surprise, and Jong-sik furrowed his brow.
“…Ahaha. Commander Jong-sik. That’s the thing”
***
The operations headquarters was in chaos. The conquest team, whose expected return time had been over two weeks, had finally returned.
No one was unaware that it was all thanks to Jong-sik.
Pathfinder, who had opposed Jong-sik’s entry, came late to apologize.
“I apologize for being rude. And thank you for bringing back our colleagues safely.”
“It happens when you’re at work. Well, you must be busy, so go out and do your job.”
Sending the Pathfinder away like that, Jong-sik lay on the treatment room bed lost in thought. Of course, he had no wounds. It was merely to relieve accumulated fatigue.
Anyway, lying in bed, he contemplated the words of the demon duke.
‘The demon duke mentioned that a demon infiltrated Earth using humans as hosts, right? The demon invasion is fast, and the humans here are still unprepared. Ugh… I really don’t want to step up. But maybe using the non-arrest privilege or something like that to find out might work…’
“Commander Dok!”
However, there was a hindrance that prevented him from continuing his thoughts. Without a care, the conquest team members entered the treatment room.
“We’re here. Are you feeling better?”
“You might be better off quietly.”
“…Are you still angry? We’re really sorry for eating your lunch, Commander.”
“To be honest, it was confusing at the time, but I’m fine now. Anyway, I’ll have more at home.”
“Oh, right! In that case, Commander, can we ask you something?”
“?
“We’re curious about the name and location of the restaurant your younger brother operates.”
Already the third time. He received such a question.
“Dok’s Family Restaurant. Seoul…”
Jong-sik recited the restaurant name and address mechanically. The conquest members burst into laughter. But just then, someone else entered the treatment room.
“Huh? Commander Kang Chang-soo, you’re here.”
“Why are you here again?”
“Haha. I’m here because there’s something to report to the commander.”
The commander of this operation, Kang Chang-soo himself, keeps coming to report. This is already his third visit.
“No need to report to me. I told you, it’s unnecessary.”
“No. It can’t be like that!”
