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chapter 199
[You have entered the event dungeon.]
Splash!
Lee Hyun felt as if he was being submerged underwater.
At that moment,
Wheeeeeee!
The Ginkgoa, already in motion above his head, spun even faster.
A dazzling, incandescent glow spread out.
It looked almost like the halo that Raphael and his angelic legion once bore above their heads.
[“Holy Relic: Ginkgoa” activated to strengthen consciousness and protect the mind from external intrusion.]
[“Nimbus Cloud” activated to maximize physical protection.]
Lee Hyun, following Sun Wukong’s prior instructions, used Ginkgoa and Nimbus Cloud to safeguard his mind.
‘By the way… is this the deep sea?’
The black ocean enveloped him. Breathing was difficult, but after regaining his demon senses, it became much easier to manage.
“Y-you are… who…?”
“Human…? Are you human…?”
“But… this place… humans cannot enter… what are you…?”
Lee Hyun realized he was surrounded by dozens of monstrous creatures, all observing him.
Each one’s eyes were filled with madness or demon energy.
‘These are the subordinates forming the Demon King.’
Then, suddenly—
Ding!
[Dungeon: “Deep Sea of the Demon King”]
[You have entered the subconscious world of the Demon King, Bokhae Daeseong, while failing to complete the first trial. The overwhelming demonic energy has caused you to be drenched in madness.]
[The Demon King was originally a Maou formed from countless monsters and demons.]
[He constantly harbors a subconscious anxiety of being incomplete, and is always starving.]
[Survive his hunger and eliminate the source of his demonic energy.]
[Objectives]
-
Survive.
-
Remove the source of demonic energy.
[Success: Qualify as a victor.]
[Failure: Death.]
‘Do I have to defeat all of these monsters?’
Lee Hyun hesitated briefly.
But then,
‘No. That would waste too much time. Even if my spiritual power holds, my body might not last that long.’
Crack, crack—
The steel core of the Sangbo Simgeumpa continued to gnaw at his body.
Though completing it would bring immense growth—enough to call it a metamorphosis—he could not afford to waste much time now.
‘Roughly… I have about an hour here?’
Right then:
[Ginkgoa strengthens its mental barrier to resist demonic influence. However, due to fatigue, it cannot last long in this dungeon.]
[Current fatigue: 71]
[If too much time passes, fatigue will exceed 90, risking near-death.]
[Maximum safe time: 1 hour]
[Time attack begins.]
[01:00:00]
[00:59:59]
[00:59:58]
The Ginkgoa displayed messages so Lee Hyun could intuitively track his remaining time.
That was actually good—it meant all he needed to do now was move quickly.
‘How can I avoid fighting all of these monsters…’
Scanning the sea of monsters, he spotted massive ones resembling a humpback whale and a Megalodon. His eyes sparkled.
‘That’s it.’
A wide grin twisted across his face.
[Using a fragment of Astrafe!]
From the Kirisis, the Snow Sapphire erupted into the air, unleashing a brilliant white light.
A compressed form of the Astrafe Staff, designed to easily cast magic while wielding the Teeth of Duokshin.
―ᛇ.
Runes appeared above the sapphire, crackling with electricity.
[Summoning: “Thunder Whale”]
Krarrrrr—
A cyan-white lightning streak shot in all directions around Lee Hyun along with the Nimbus Cloud.
Having poured all his mana into this, the summoned white whale dwarfed anything he’d previously called forth.
“Th-this….”
“Not human…?”
“A demon like us… but far more terrifying….”
Sharpening his demonic senses, Lee Hyun watched as the monsters flinched and slowly started avoiding the Thunder Whale.
[Trait: Dual Currents – Maximizes demon senses. You begin to display demonic traits.]
[Demons now recognize you as one of their kind.]
[Lower-ranking demons flee.]
[Large demons show great interest in your Thunder Whale.]
[First objective successfully completed.]
“Let’s go. Downwards.”
The Thunder Whale dove, fin slicing through the water, carrying Lee Hyun deep into the abyss.
Lee Hyun descended for a long time.
‘So many monsters merged together… such a mix of species.’
The spectacle he saw in Jack and the Beanstalk was only a fraction of this.
Here were countless oceanic creatures and sea kings.
If he had fought without transforming into a demon, he wouldn’t have even covered 10% of the distance before time ran out.
‘And the deeper I go, the more foul-smelling monsters appear.’
Most of them bore the mark of madness around their eyes. The Demon King’s condition was clearly worse than expected.
‘Even after drinking the holy water Raphael gave me, it’s this bad… How much worse was it before?’
It was a wonder the Demon King had managed to maintain consciousness intermittently.
[00:18:27]
‘Is this it?’
After a long descent, Lee Hyun reached the seabed.
‘…As expected, a mess.’
The abyss was far more horrific than anticipated. The stench was so bad it bordered on poisonous.
The blackened floor was a forest of spikes, many monsters impaled and dying among them.
Energy Drain.
It drained normal monsters’ energy while continually generating those drenched in madness.
At the center stood a towering rock pillar. Embedded at its core was a massive orb, silent and immobile—like the eye of a slumbering giant.
[Combat Sense (S+) triggers an alert!]
‘That’s it.’
Lee Hyun intuitively recognized it as the Demon King’s demonic essence, the Uma-sal.
What caught his attention most was the jagged lightning scar across the giant eyeball.
A familiar mana scent lingered.
‘The Vessel of Lightning… connected to the Uma King’s left eye?’
The Vessel of Lightning—a magical tool Raphael had refined to seal the Uma King. The scar appeared here from direct strikes against the Uma King’s will.
Lee Hyun had to proceed with extreme caution.
‘I have to destroy this demonic essence in one strike. Otherwise, it could backfire.’
And after breaking it, he had to bury the Sangbo Simgeumpa’s steel core deep inside.
A nearly impossible challenge—but Lee Hyun poured mana into the Teeth of Duokshin without hesitation.
Crackle!
Krrrrrr—
[Nimbus Cloud adopts storm cloud properties, supplying lightning energy to its limit.]
[Duokshin’s Thunder Breath (SSS) releases maximum heat!]
The massive axe blade was instantly bathed in cyan-white light.
As he brought it down,
Flash!
The Uma King’s eye opened.
‘Finally… you’ve come. I’ve been waiting.’
A rough voice echoed in his mind.
‘…Trap!!’
Kukukukukuku!!
Spikes that had hunted monsters across the seabed turned toward him.
Clenching his teeth, Lee Hyun brought down the Teeth of Duokshin.
The cyan-white pillar plunged into the ocean floor.
[Duokshin’s roar explodes!]
Krarrrrr!
Kabang! Rumble—
The spikes targeting him were obliterated.
Simultaneously, the Thunder Whale self-destructed, creating violent whirlpools that devastated the surrounding area.
“Impossible… to approach…”
“Too dangerous!”
Monsters attempting to approach were blocked by the currents.
[Duokshin Trust activated!]
A temporary path opened between Lee Hyun and the Uma King’s eye.
Flash—
Using the Nimbus Cloud, Lee Hyun launched toward the eye with explosive momentum.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Kwang!!
The Uma King’s pupil moved relentlessly, sending torrents of mana that caused explosions wherever Lee Hyun passed—even attempting to curse his ankles.
‘Since you resemble the youngest, I thought you might come here to solve Bokhae’s problem. And you really did.’
Swish!
Lee Hyun reached the Uma King’s eye.
Right before the axe struck, the Uma King did not even blink.
‘I thought it would be worth talking to you at least once.’
Crack!!
The axe pierced the Uma King’s eye.
Krrrrrr-
Kabang! Krack!
Lightning spread across the eye.
Shatter—
The Uma King’s eye shattered like porcelain. Mana spiraled out through the cracks and was absorbed into Lee Hyun.
‘I do not intend to harm you. If I did, I would have done so when you were first consumed by Bokhae. I merely have questions.’
It was the Eye Technique.
The Uma King’s “Honyo Sa-an,” a powerful magical eye capable of piercing the mind, much like Sun Wukong’s Flame Eye.
[Honyo Sa-an (Soul Radiant Evil Eye)]
Penetrates the target’s mind, visualizing desires and fears, distorting the mind completely.
-
Type: Divine Power, Magic Eye
The Uma King had imprinted fear and malice into the Demon King’s collective consciousness—
And now, it began to target Lee Hyun.
Flare!!
[The Uma King attempts to corrupt your Flame Eye.]
[A portion of the Flame Eye is overtaken by Honyo Sa-an.]
Lee Hyun’s left eye, glowing brightly, turned crimson—the same color as the eye that had consumed the Demon King’s subconscious.
Lee Hyun staggered briefly.
Then…
‘You… your aura is not ordinary…’
“What now?”
He lifted his head despite bulging veins and swelling. Pain did not show—only a dark, sarcastic smile.
“I have no curiosity about you.”
At that moment—
Crack!!
The steel core of the Sangbo Simgeumpa pierced through Honyo Sa-an.
“I’ll still make good use of the gift you gave me.”
[First trial shattered the second trial!]
[The Vessel of Lightning reactivated. Sealing the Uma King’s demonic essence.]
[Seal: Left Eye.]
‘Aaah! What on earth are you trying to do!!’
Sparks flew. Currents spread from the left eye. Lightning scars were etched anew.
[Using Yoihwae’s ultimate recovery to restore the shattered left eye.]
[Honyo Sa-an forcibly trapped in the Flame Eye. Two magic eyes now intermixed.]
[Violent backlash occurs.]
[The Vessel of Lightning enhances the Sangbo Simgeumpa, ignoring the demonic backlash.]
[Sealing in progress.]
[1, 2, 3%…]
‘Damn it… that bastard again…!!’
The Uma King’s horrific roar struck Lee Hyun’s ears.
Kukukukukuku!!
