Han Dae Sung Returned From Hell - Chapter 22
# 22
022
[The location ‘River of the Dead’ recorded on page 134 has been recreated.]
[The River of the Dead has been sealed by a celestial being.]
The pure white space disappeared, and before I knew it, Daeseong was in a huge rock cave.
He immediately remembered that this rock cave was a passage leading to the ghost king’s territory.
At the edge of the vast rock cave, a river as dark as blood was flowing.
It is the river of the dead.
The problem is that if you cross this river, you can head to the ghost king’s territory.
‘I don’t have a boat.’
There is no means of crossing the river.
Due to the nature of the cave, there was no wood to make a raft, and there was no scaffolding suitable for carrying an adult male.
The length of the river that reaches the Ghost King’s territory is about 20km.
It is not an impossible distance to swim across.
What if this was an ordinary river?
‘If a demon tries to cross without permission, his body will melt.’
To be precise, the energy of death seeping into the river takes away not only the body but also the soul of the living.
Even if you have a bullet lodged in your temple, your body is still intact, but jumping into this place with your bare body is crazy.
The rate at which the blood and bones melt and the soul evaporates will be much faster than the rate at which the body recovers.
Still, just in case, Daesung carefully dipped his finger into the surface of the river to check the condition of the water.
Chic –
‘You’re in trouble.’
Daesung frowned as he looked at his fingers, where the skin and muscles were corroded and the bones were exposed.
However, after about 10 seconds, the muscle fibers were connected precisely and new skin appeared on the melted skin.
at that time.
[Quest has arrived.]
—–
Item Implementation Quest-1 (In Progress)
‘134p Ghost King’s Soul Count Reduction’
Difficulty: Medium
Contents: Eradicate the celestial beings occupying the River of Ghosts.
Time limit: 30 minutes
Target: White Holder 0 / 20
Reward: Protection of evil insects
Materialization: Soul count reduction + 50%
—–
[Unconfirmed interferer discovered.]
[Awaiting approval for removal.]
Inorganic sounds came from above my head.
I looked up at the ceiling to see something, and saw pure white spiders crawling among the densely packed stalactites.
To be more precise, it looked like plaster molded into the shape of a spider.
< White prop - upright >
Species: Machine life form
「It is an autonomous weapon created by heavenly beings.」
[Approved. Removes the interferer.]
Phew!
[A certain demon is sending a warning to the Absolute!]
As soon as the system voice was heard, one of the group spat out a round poison bullet.
The poisonous bullet flew at me at the speed of a bullet, but stepping back slightly was enough to dodge it.
Chiik –
The ground of the rock cave that came into contact with the poison bullet crumbled and whitish steam spewed out.
However, nothing of this kind appeared in Daesung’s eyes.
‘At this level, there’s no need to bother avoiding it.’
What would happen if, like the river of the dead, you completely submerge yourself and your body melts without any time to recover?
A lump of venom less than the size of a fist was not worth avoiding.
Phew-!
Of course, there was no reason to be so enthusiastic about it.
At the same time as one of the pillars on the ceiling spit out a poisonous bullet, Daeseong pulled out the dagger of judgment and threw it at the creature.
Whoosh!
The poison bullet fired from above and the dagger rising from below crossed and grazed each other.
Pakak-!
The dagger pierced right through the center of the strong torso.
[Crackling-! Chick-]
The guy who got hit let out a noise and fell to the ground.
“Tsk.”
Daesung clicked the tip of his tongue.
As he glanced at his collar melting after being hit by a poison bullet, he regretted his decision not to intentionally dodge it.
The skin behind the collar corroded as steam spewed out, but recovered in the blink of an eye.
The problem is that clothing doesn’t do that.
“You damn bastard…”
Blood rushed to Daesung’s forehead as he remembered that the clothes he was wearing right now were a gift from his family.
He ran towards the landlord who had just fallen to the ground and mercilessly smashed his head with his bare fists.
Sigh!
Within the exposed cross section, a blue bead was seen emitting brilliance.
It must be the core that is the actual lifeline of these guys.
Pakak-!
Daesung’s pot-lid-sized hand violently grabbed the core and then used his fingers to shatter it into pieces.
Pew pew pew!
As soon as one was killed, the remaining nineteen opened fire like machine guns.
‘I can’t stand my clothes melting.’
A barrage of poisonous bullets raining down from the ceiling was just before reaching Daesung’s body.
Paang-!
Daeseong’s body swelled greatly, pouring out a storm of magical power.
The vortex of magical power swirling around him became a shield and deflected all the poisonous bullets that rained down on him.
Pew Pew-! Phew-!
They fired a few more poisonous bullets, but they were helplessly blocked by the magic flames surrounding Daesung’s body.
‘They have no intention of coming down.’
The landlords were clinging to the high ceilings.
I had no intention of tearing them off the ceiling one by one.
then.
‘Drop it in one go.’
Sigh –
Daesung raised his arms, covered in red-hot energy, and slammed his clenched fists on the floor.
Quaaaaang-!
A thunderclap resounded throughout the cave, and the earth creaked indiscriminately.
Grumbling-!
The shock scattered around the epicenter eventually shook the ceiling, causing sharply protruding stalactites to fall like a shower.
of course.
[Crackling!]
It couldn’t help but affect the white-clad landowners who were clinging to the place.
The
cracked ceiling was wide open.
The spiders lost their support and fell to the floor in twos or threes.
It didn’t take long for all twenty to fall.
‘done.’
Now we have the conditions to approach them.
Just as the landlord in white did not give Daesung a chance, Daesung also did not give the guys a chance.
Pak-!
Jump out
and bang! bang-!
We steadily hit each animal one by one.
[Crackling!]
Every time the fists were thrown violently, a loud explosion of alcohol erupted.
Kkjjik-!
Every time Daesung swung his fist, the white pillars were crushed and torn down.
Kkjjik-!
Destroy the outer shell, insert your hand, grab the bead, and crush it. It was a repetition of a task that was not difficult.
When the last twenty ships were pierced and the core was destroyed, the system was updated.
[The Absolute One has met the clear conditions!]
[The quest has been completed and the materialization work is progressing!]
[The reward ‘Evil Insect’s Protection’ has been paid!]
[Current materialization rate: Ghost King’s soul count reduction 50%]
System message The fields disappeared, and a pure white flame burned on the ground for a moment before fading out.
Where the flames were extinguished, a suit of black plate armor was neatly revealed.
It must be the protection of evil insects given as a reward.
‘There is definitely a reason why the system provided armor now.’
Daesung checked the compensation information to find out the reason.
[Reward Information]
Name: Protection of Evil Insects
Category: Armor
‘Armor made from the iron armor that makes up the white lords. Reduces physical damage and is immune to the energy of the dead.’
Unique Performance 1: Defense increases by 20% only against attacks made by celestial beings.
Daesung’s attention was focused on sentences other than his unique performance.
‘Being immune to the energy of the dead…’
He was conscious of wanting to equip the protection of the evil insects on the floor.
Goooh –
Then, white flames bloomed around the armor once again.
White flames flew like a breeze and enveloped his body.
When the flames cleared, Daesung appeared wearing plate armor.
‘It’s nice that I don’t have to go through the trouble of putting it on one by one.’
Daeseong was satisfied and walked straight toward the River of the Dead.
As I did before, I first dipped my finger into the water. There was an
ominous
hissing sound, but the river water did not melt the finger parts of the plate armor.
After confirming the item’s performance, Daesung was more bold this time and put his leg deeper into the river.
I didn’t feel any pain either.
The plate armor clearly protected Daesung from the river’s curse.
“Then…”
Splash-!
Daesung jumped into the water without hesitation.
[The demonic beasts of Pandemonium feel sorry for not being able to help the Absolute One!]
[Some demonic beasts are amazed at the Absolute One’s excellent swimming skills!]
“If you know, just shut up.”
I thought it would be better to keep my mouth shut.
***
As I waded through the current and left the pitch-black passage, a vast expanse of distant ruins appeared.
The ghost king’s territory.
Daeseong reached the end of the river and stepped out of the water onto the ground.
Old trees with bare bones creaked on the dried earth.
‘There’s no one there.’
Since this is the area where the Ghost King was stationed, this place was originally full of the dead who hunted the living.
Is it because I was sealed in the dimension by some celestial being or something?
Apart from Daeseong himself and the old tree, nothing could be found on the barren land.
‘The old castle where the ghost king lived has also disappeared.’
Daeseong recalled the memory of storming into Goseong, killing the Ghost King, and making it his new residence.
Even at that time, about half of the old castle was destroyed in the aftermath of the bloody struggle.
But now, there was no trace of the building at all.
[The demonic beasts of Pandemonium are very sad about the disappearance of the Ghost King’s castle.]
The Ghost King’s castle was like a landmark in hell, to be honest.
It is inevitable that they will be sad because their proud heritage has completely disappeared.
‘It’s none of my business.’
At first, I expected that the method would be to enter the castle and then perform the quest, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
First, I just walked straight ahead.
And not long after.
Kugu Palace –
The ground began to shake and I felt an unusual energy.
‘Something is coming up.’
It felt like something huge was rising from deep within the mantle.
Daesung focused all his attention on the soles of his feet touching the ground.
‘The source is not here….’
A little further ahead.
Daesung’s eyes, scanning the ground, slowly turned forward.
Quad deuk-!
At the same time, it seemed like the ground was rising high, and soon a huge cylindrical pillar revealed its majesty.
< Heavenly Obelisk >
Category: Architecture
「It is a building designed by celestial beings and carved out of sacred stones. It acts as a detention center to capture and imprison ghosts who have nowhere to go.”
The size of the building within sight is slightly smaller than the Ghost King’s old castle.
The square tiles were cracked at the bottom of the pillar, and it looked like a doorway.
‘If I go in there, will the next quest start?’
He expected that, but the information about the quest that appeared in front of him showed that his guess was wrong.
—–
Item Implementation Quest-2 (In Progress)
‘134p Decreased Soul Count of the Demon King’
Difficulty: High
Contents: Eliminate the heavenly creatures created by the obelisk.
Time limit: 2 hours
Target: Celestial Creature 0 / 1000
Reward: Rune of Expansion
Reward 2: Achievement points + 5000pt
Materialization: Soul count reduction + 100%
—–
The lower part of the obelisk, which seemed to be the entrance, was completely cracked.
Kieeek-!
Kyaaaak-!
A terrifying howling sound came from the abyss inside the building.
[The demonic beasts of Pandemonium are saddened by the betrayal of their compatriots.]
[A demonic beast falls deeply into silence.]
The meaning of the message sent by the system was understood the moment the identities of the cries appeared outside the abyss.
Kieeek-!
They were dead people wearing white iron armor with tangled chains.
Humanoid monsters whose flesh melts and their bones are exposed.
They were once soldiers in the army led by the Ghost King, but things were a little different now.
Since they belong to the category of demonic beasts, whatever they were once soldiers of the Demon King must now obey Daesung.
One group of guys was rushing towards him, clearly showing hostility.
Doo doo doo!
‘It must be because of that pillar.’
Simple situation.
That pillar called the Obelisk is what caused the Demon King’s soldiers to defect.
phut-!
[‘Blood Naturalization’ is activated.]
[Turns the user into a half-human, half-demon.]
[When activated, a certain amount of HP is consumed per set time.]
[The attack power of all statuses and skills increases by 300%.]
Blood Naturalization Activating , Daesung, wearing a red sword, dove into the crowd without hesitation.
bang-! Daeseong’s legs, swung with a feverish wind, swept away the dead in the lead in an instant.
The goal is to kill a thousand.
If these were mechanical life forms equipped with a core, it would have been annoying as the work would have been doubled.
However, these were just ordinary demon beasts disguised as celestial beings.
‘A thousand of these guys were weaker than one ghost king.’
And it’s still the same now.
Byak-!
He didn’t even take a stance and just swung his fists messily, but that was enough to sweep away the dead in the autumn leaves.
At this time.
Kieeek-!
Keek-!
The dead, located in a blind spot, swung their long, sharp nails and scratched Daesung.
Kang-!
However, it failed to deliver an effective blow. Rather, it was the dead man’s fingernail that was broken.
It was a moment when the unique performance of the armor, which gave an additional 20% increase only to celestial beings, shined.
Thanks to this, Daesung was able to overwhelm them with attack and defense as one.
‘If you deal with them all one by one, there will be no end to it.’
Knowing that there was almost no time difference between reality and the Pantheon, Daesung wanted to shorten the time even further.
‘Being creatures of the obelisk means that they are receiving signals from that pillar.’
In other words, the Obelisk is their command center.
Sigh-!
Kek-!
Daeseong grabbed the neck of the deceased who was closest to him.
Then, using it as a shield, he lifted it forward and stomped on the ground.
Faba Park-!
Daesung repeatedly rushed forward with a terrifying force reminiscent of a large truck that had lost its brakes.
The demonic beasts in front were caught up in the storm and flew away, and the path to the obelisk was boldly cleared.
Tak-
Kwazijic-!
Daesung, who arrived right in front of the obelisk, tore the body of the dead man he had used as a shield in half and looked at the bottom of the pillar.
Kaaaaaaa!
Kieeek!
The entrance was as black as an abyss, and the dead were pouring out as if they were vomiting.
‘It would be more effective to destroy it from the inside.’
Daesung went inside without hesitation.
K-eh-?
The dead, who had allowed the enemy in front of them to enter the obelisk, expressed their disapproval.
A few guys looked restlessly at the obelisk.
That moment.
Thump-
thump-!
thud-!!
A crack appeared in the asbestos of the strong spire, and it soon snaked its way up to the top.
Finally.
bang-!
The desperate screams of the dead were mixed with the vibrations that rumbled inside the obelisk.
Kieeek-!!
The dead outside the tower shuddered as they recalled the horrors that were happening inside.
After a while.
Qua- ang!
As the top of the tall obelisk exploded, white debris flew out, and the
spire, which
had suffered considerable damage from the inside, lost its balance and began to slowly fall sideways.
Within.
bang-!
As soon as the obelisk fell to the ground, dust spread in all directions and swept away the large group of dead.
Those who lost their command center were swept up in the dust and disappeared without a trace.
It was an instant to fill the quest’s quota of 1,000.
Jerbug –
As Daeseong breaks through the acrid dust,
[The Absolute One has met the clear conditions!] [
The quest has been completed and the materialization work is making progress!]
[Current materialization rate: soul count reduction 100%]
[The materialization work is complete. !]
[The reward ‘Expansion Rune’ has been provided!]
[5000 pts of achievement points have been provided!]
As if to pay homage to Daesung’s struggle, systems emerged one after another.
“Noisy.”
On the contrary, Daesung was fed up.
Hwareuk –
As it had been up until now, the flame burned and materialized items and reward items were created.
There are two flames. One is the soul count and one is the expansion rune.
“Whoa.”
That was when Daesung walked towards the flame, sighing with a sense of accomplishment.
“huh?”
Next to the two flames, a golden light that I had never seen before was pouring out a brilliant brilliance.