chapter 66
For the overlords of hell, besides their personality and magic, they also had their own distinct characteristics depending on their physical appearance.
Because of this, demons and demonic humans also had different physical appearances depending on the overlords they served.
“The symbol of Asmodeus, the overlord of lust, is a beast.”
That was why Asmodeus’ followers take the form of an animal/beast.
The demonic monster that guarded the sealed witch’s soul resembled a giant gorilla, and Saluzia, who was a high-ranking demonic human, had a deer’s antlers and the wings of a winged animal.
“An unparalleled powerful monster. A beast that doesn’t get exhausted.”
In addition, Asmodeus, the overlord of lust, was also a swordswoman.
According to the Devil Book of the Solari denomination, which predated the Guardians of the Holy Cross, she was the greatest swordmaster in hell.
She was an overlord with a beautiful appearance and beautiful sword movements.
Her appearance while she moved her sword was so beautiful that there were stories about how the enemies she fought had lost their will to fight because of their lust.
“But Belial is different. You could say that he’s the exact opposite.”
Belial, the overlord of corruption.
His appearance was so terrible looking that it was difficult to describe it.
For this reason, the Devil Book referred to Belial as similar to Asmodeus, that both of them should not be directly seen.
Because Asmodeus’ seductive beauty made her enemies go crazy with lust, while Belial was so gruesome and disgusting that it made his enemies lose their minds the moment they faced him.
“If Asmodeus is a beast, then Belial is an insect.”
Belial, also known as the Lord of the Flies, had an insect appearance just like his nickname.
Therefore, his demons and demon followers also had forms close to insects when they used his power.
“I’ll crush and trample you! I’ll make you beg me to kill you!”
As Zarakul shouted in an angry voice, his appearance rapidly changed.
His horns and huge body remained the same, but a hard shell formed all over his skin, and his face also changed in an instant.
His eyes became that of a dragonfly’s large compound eyes, and transparent wings that were unique to insects sprouted from his back. His mouth also turned like that of an insect’s, making him look hideous.
‘As expected of a mid-ranking demonic human.’
Low-ranking demonic humans did not have much changes in their appearances even in their demonized forms, but for mid-ranking demonic humans, the distinct characteristics of their overlords were vividly revealed.
‘He’s been weakened though.’
His injuries were severe. Though his appearance had completely changed, it was not intact.
The shell that covered his whole body was broken everywhere, and one of his leg pairs that grew between his waist was completely missing. Judging from the way he dragged his right leg, it seemed that he was having difficulties in walking too.
And it was at that moment. While Jude was calmly examining Zarakul’s condition, Cordelia had a completely different thought.
‘Di-disgusting.’
She had thought that it was disgusting back when it was still a game, but it was even more disgusting now that she had seen it in person.
She found the boss disgusting, so she honestly wanted to run away rather than to fight. It was as if ‘that’ showed up in her room.
(T/N: ‘That’ refers to cockroach, hahaha.)
Moreover, Zarakul began doing something more gruesome.
“The Great Overlord of Corruption will punish you!”
When Zarakul loudly shouted, dozens of holes appeared all over his body. Cordelia’s face turned pale in fright at that gruesome sight to the point where she couldn’t even scream, and Jude instantly flinched and couldn’t move from his spot. But what happened next was more shocking.
Chiiiiiiiiiiirrrrrrr-!
Flying insects poured out from the holes in Zarakul’s body. The hundreds of insects that poured out were so many that they made a loud noise in the air as they formed a huge cloud of bugs.
“Go! Eat them clean!”
As Zarakul shouted in high spirits, the insect swarm that looked like flies rushed towards Jude and Cordelia.
It didn’t matter if the insects were small, but their clearly gruesome appearance made someone act recklessly.
Jude quickly came to his senses and as he tried to evade, he saw Cordelia. On the other hand, Cordelia reflexively chanted a spell the moment she saw the swarm of insects.
“
A huge fireball that contained an excessive amount of the witch’s magic rushed towards the front. The fireball exploded the moment it collided into the insect swarm.
Booooooom!
It was quite a big explosion. It caused some of the swarms of insects that soared and covered the sky to disappear.
But Zarakul didn’t lose his composure.
“Hahaha! You can only do that much!”
Zarakul exclaimed. Instead of moving himself, he called out more swarms of insects. Numerous insects emerged through the heat of the flames.
“Kyaaaa!”
Cordelia eventually screamed.
She already knew about Zarakul and thought that it would be fine if he looked a little disgusting because she had defeated him dozens to hundreds of times in the game, but the reality was different. There was a difference in viewpoints as she had never encountered hundreds of bugs in real life compared to when it was just a game.
“Cordelia!”
Jude cried out. At the same time, he used Twenty-Four Gale Steps and drew closer to Cordelia.
“Chant the spell!”
Jude yelled as he simultaneously grabbed Cordelia on her waist and carried her away from the insect swarm. Several whirlwinds rose and created a dizzying wind, which then shook off some of the flying insects.
‘She needs time to adapt!’
Even though he had been through all sorts of hardships, Jude found himself in a tough spot as he couldn’t even punch those bugs, so Cordelia’s reaction was quite understandable.
But no matter how gruesome it was, she would eventually get used to it if she kept looking at it. So for now, he had to buy some time and focus on evading.
However, he was wrong.
He didn’t have to do that.
It wasn’t because Cordelia suddenly adapted to the reality before her eyes. She still had a white face and was on the verge of crying.
But something else had already been triggered and overpowered her feelings of fear and disgust.
Cordelia’s fighting instinct, which Jude himself had admired several times, had already been triggered the moment she faced the enemy.
Flame.
Flames shot up from both of Cordelia’s hands as it reached the whirlwinds that Jude created.
At that moment, Jude understood what Cordelia’s instinct was trying to do.
And the conclusion that she instantly reached while bypassing the process.
“I think I know what to do! Let’s do it!”
Thud!
Jude kicked the ground. As if traversing space, he distanced himself from the insect swarm at once, and after he immediately let down Cordelia in a fairly high place, he charged towards Zarakul.
“Come! Come here if you can!”
A purple aura rose from Zarakul’s whole body as he loudly shouted.
He was a powerful warrior before he had become an insect master.
But Jude didn’t run to him. He kept running around Zarakul, as if he was drawing a circle with Zarakul at the center.
“Your trick is useless!”
Are you thinking of hitting my back after making me dizzy?
Zarakul mockingly laughed at Jude. Hundreds of insects swarmed and completely covered him and his back.
But it was all according to Jude’s plan.
“Cordelia!”
Jude called out.
Cordelia responded immediately. The witch’s black flame was ignited and burned in the air.
Hissssss-!
The flame burned.
It was a small flame.
But the wind caught it.
It was the whirlwinds that Jude had created.
The ones that began to rotate following Jude’s movement.
“Great Storm! Help me!”
Cordelia raised her arms high. And then there was a strong glow from the golden tattoo on her left arm. She began to manipulate the flow of the whirlwinds that Jude had already created and the new ones that he was creating too.
It was the blessing of the wind.
Swoooooooosh-!
The whirlwinds merged into one.
Those that were already rotating along a certain trajectory had merged and became a huge whirlwind.
“More! More! More!”
Jude increased his speed. Whirlwinds continued to be created with his Twenty-Four Gale Steps.
Thus, the whirlwinds increased and added to the huge whirlwind.
And the huge whirlwind became more and more powerful under the control of Cordelia!
Wooooooooooooooooo!
Finally, it became a tornado.
The great tornado tore the air apart, and Zarakul’s insect swarm couldn’t properly fly.
And the flame.
The black flame burned in the wind.
It quickly spread and became one with the wind. The tornado was reborn as a massive fire tornado.
“Yaha!”
Jude cheerfully exclaimed as he moved away from the tornado.
He could tell. It wasn’t just Jude and Cordelia who moved. Violent Avalanche who was high up in the sky was also adding power to the tornado.
Although Violent Avalanche had been weakened, this land was still its sanctuary.
The power of the wild god who ruled the sanctuary was added to the flames and wind, and the fire tornado’s burning power became terrifyingly powerful.
It was impossible for Cordelia alone to create such a massive fire tornado.
Rooooooaaaar-!
The fire tornado completely trapped Zarakul. Hundreds of insects were instantly turned into ashes, and the nearby snow melted away at once.
The released heat was so intense that it was difficult to breathe near the fire tornado.
Jude stopped running. After Cordelia saw and confirmed that Jude was at a safe enough distance, she once again shouted with all her might.
“F*ck bang!”
The first one was an explosion.
The second one was another explosion!
The fire tornado’s swirl of flames swallowed Zarakul. The dancing black flames choked Zarakul from all sides, as if the tornado itself squeezed him with two hands.
“Aaaaaaaaahhhh!”
Zarakul’s scream was buried by the roaring sound of the wind.
The mountain debris were sucked by the tornado and turned into fearsome blades that ruthlessly tore and crushed Zarakul’s body.
The witch’s black flame set him on fire.
“Amazing.”
It was spectacular.
Though they were at a considerable distance, their bodies could feel the tremendous heat.
Jude unwittingly admired it as he smiled in astonishment, while Cordelia increased the mana she used even more, as her dark red hair fluttered like flames.
“Finish!”
Cordelia shouted as she widely stretched out her arms to the side.
At that instant, the fire tornado let out a final roar.
Baaaaangggg!
The flames exploded. After a while, the tornado disappeared, and the air fluctuated once more as the wind blew in all directions. And the terrible heat intensely melted all the snow on the surface.
Whoooosh!
And Zarakul’s figure was revealed.
His whole body was broken and burned to the point that his figure was unrecognizable, and afterwards, his body literally fell apart.
As he had already suffocated from the flames, his body immediately became ashes and scattered around.
‘You have acquired the title ‘The one who defeated a mid-ranking demonic human.’ When fighting against demonic humans, all stats are increased by 1%.’
A voice came into their heads. At the same time, rings of light surrounded the bodies of Jude and Cordelia.
There were three for Jude and four for Cordelia.
“Haa.”
Cordelia’s shoulders drooped as she let out a sigh. Her nose then bled, and both of her legs weakened.
“Ah.”
But Cordelia did not fall to the ground.
Instead of falling to the ground, she found herself on Jude’s arms, who had suddenly rushed to her side.
“You worked hard, my princess.”
“Our…combo…was good…”
Cordelia raised her thumb as she buried herself in Jude’s arms, and Jude fixed her position as he carried her in his arms before he looked up at the sky.
He smiled towards Violent Avalanche who was looking down from the wooden board.
***
“You can be at ease now. They have been punished for destroying the sanctuary.”
“You’re the ones who destroyed the sanctuary! You two!”