Chapter 284 : Chapter 284

Chapter 284. Asmodeus’s Key

“Go!”

“Take this!”

“Get hit!”

Radel’s bizarre shouts continued.

And so did his stone-throwing.

THUD!

WHAM!

The two-necked hydra was being mercilessly battered by the stones Radel hurled.

-SSSSS!

The stones no longer carried the same power as the first direct hit, but Radel kept picking them up and throwing them without pause.

Among them, one or two strikes occasionally landed with real destructive force.

“Hyaaah!”

BOOM!

The hydra’s right head burst apart after taking a direct hit from Radel’s stone.

“Yes!”

However, the hydra’s greatest strength was regeneration.

The severed surface wriggled, and a new head began to grow.

FSSSH!

The rapidly regenerated right head immediately lunged at Radel.

-SSSS!

But Radel did not waver.

He simply threw another stone and shouted with all his strength.

“Take this!”

BANG!

‘That counts as not chanting?’

Leon’s expression twisted.

Even he could not decide whether something like that should be considered a chant.

With Radel’s original amount of Magic Power, this method should have been impossible.

It was nothing more than crudely forcing Magic Power into a stone.

‘With that pitiful amount of mana, how is he even……?’

A normal stone, neither a magical tool nor inscribed with any formula, should have scattered the mana instantly.

Maintaining power even briefly would normally require an enormous amount of Magic Power.

To pierce the hydra’s hide, it should have taken every last drop of mana Radel possessed—and even then, it would have been questionable.

‘Did he drink a Magic Power Recovery Potion?’

Leon recalled the potion Radel had drunk earlier.

But no matter how exceptional a potion was, producing that level of power should have been theoretically impossible.

And then Leon realized the truth.

“Ha!”

BANG!

“……Ha.”

A hollow sound escaped Leon’s mouth.

Radel had not infused every stone with Magic Power.

No—more accurately, he could not.

Even with a potion, it was impossible to rapidly infuse multiple stones with Magic Power.

WHOOSH!

Leon’s eyes scanned the stones Radel threw.

Some glowed faintly blue, but others carried no Magic Power at all.

“Hyaaah!”

BOOOOM!

And yet, every throw landed.

That was pure, raw strength.

A trick that could hardly even be called magic, let alone no-chant casting.

Leon’s face stiffened in disbelief.

***

Radel steadily closed the distance between himself and the hydra.

No matter how strong its regenerative ability was, the constant damage caused its regeneration to slow.

‘If I keep this up, I can finish it.’

Radel’s gaze flicked backward.

There stood an opponent far more troublesome than the hydra, watching him with cold eyes.

Eyes that promised instant execution the moment he chanted a spell.

Leon—the one forcing him into no-chant magic.

‘You said you would teach me the essence of magic.’

Is this supposed to be it?

Radel sighed inwardly and picked up another stone from the ground.

“Well, it is better than nothing.”

If his Magic Power had been sealed as well, there would have been no answer at all.

Thanks to Ancestor Hayden, even this kind of attack was possible.

At least he was not chanting, so he barely met Leon’s standard.

Of course, Leon simply had not found a way to apply his standards to this situation…….

“Go!”

The stone flew, wrapped in bluish Magic Power.

BANG!

-SSSS!

The hydra writhed in pain, its mouth opening as black poisonous mist poured out.

But it had no effect on Radel, who was still under the influence of the Hayden-style Intermediate Potion.

Radel calmly gazed through the mist.

If he wore it down a bit more and regrouped with the others, even Leon would have nothing more to say.

‘Wait. Something feels like I am forgetting something……?’

Suddenly, it struck him.

‘The Key of Seal!’

This was no time to be dragging things out.

From past experience, the Key of Seal only appeared at the moment the boss monster was defeated.

Leon’s ridiculous demand for no-chant magic had made him forget.

Just then, loud voices echoed from the cave entrance.

WHOOSH!

“How many did you get? I am at 145!”

“I have 146.”

“That is impossible……! Just watch—I will kill the boss monster right now and even it out!”

It was unmistakably Inette and Gusto.

They must have finished clearing the Green Serpents and were heading this way.

Radel checked his status window.

The effect of the Hayden-style Intermediate Potion was about to expire.

This was his only chance.

‘I have to kill it first. Only then will I get the key.’

Radel kicked off the ground.

TATAT!

No sword.

No chanting.

That left only the stone in his hand.

-SSS.

-SSSSS.

The two-headed hydra flicked its tongues.

It had spotted Radel charging through the poisonous mist.

-SSS!

-SSSS!

The stench grew closer.

The hydra was already furious from Radel’s constant harassment.

A hydra.

The apex among snake-type magical beasts.

A being on a completely different level from ordinary serpents.

Though it only had two heads now, it firmly believed that one day it would grow nine and regain its true form.

And yet this worm-like human, incapable of even using magic!

Throwing stones as if chasing away a trivial snake.

Even the sounds he made were infuriating.

Get hit.

Get hit again!

Take this too!

The sheer insolence of treating them like targets.

In hundreds of years as a dungeon boss, this was humiliation beyond compare.

The hydra’s rage reached its peak.

It would tear that insolent human apart!

Both heads lunged at Radel simultaneously.

SWISH!

SWISH!

Faster than expected.

Radel twisted his body and kicked off the cave wall.

THUD!

A sword.

A chant.

If neither was allowed……

“Ghk!”

Radel clenched his fist.

CRUNCH.

His only remaining weapon.

The stone was in his hand.

‘This is it.’

He stopped thinking and focused.

Then he slipped to the hydra’s side and drove his arm forward.

More precisely, the fist gripping the stone.

BOOOOM!

The hydra’s neck exploded.

Leon’s eyes widened as he watched from behind.

“!”

He instantly infused Magic Power into his eyes.

Radel’s movements came into sharp focus.

The stone filled with Magic Power.

Radel’s hand gripping it.

And the Magic Power enveloping his hand.

Something Leon had missed while focusing on the stone now became unmistakably clear.

“……That is.”

Leon swallowed.

DING.

[The user’s body has been damaged.]

[Trait, Troll’s Heart, is activated.]

[Warning! Severe pain is incoming!]

Ignoring the notification ringing in his ears, Radel swung his fist again.

SPLASH!

Blood sprayed across Radel’s body.

The hydra’s blood was acidic.

SSSSSS!

His fist began to melt, tendons exposed.

It was already mangled beyond recognition.

But Radel did not care.

BANG!

“One more time!”

Magic Power gathered into his fist.

This was all the Magic Power he had left.

Radel’s final attack.

Leon, watching intently, realized it as well.

‘Do it.’

Leon did not take his eyes off Radel until the very end.

FLASH!

Magic Power wrapped around the fist holding the stone.

The will to bring the hydra down.

Will becomes magic.

“Take this!”

At the moment Radel’s attack pierced toward the heart, Leon saw it clearly.

Magic Power was moving, guided by will.

Not on the stone—but around Radel’s fist itself.

‘……No-chant casting.’

Veins bulged at Leon’s neck.

An indescribable emotion surged within him, and he unconsciously clenched his fist.

BOOOOM!

From the sensation in his hand, Radel knew his attack had succeeded.

-SSSSS.

But the hydra was not done yet.

Twisting its body despite the pierced heart, it bit down on Radel’s thigh.

CRUNCH!

“Ghk!”

DING.

[The user’s body has been damaged.]

[Trait, Troll’s Heart, is activated.]

[Warning! Severe pain is incoming!]

That was the hydra’s final act.

THUD.

The light faded from its eyes.

Before it went out completely, there was something Radel had to do.

Dragging his injured leg, Radel approached the hydra and spoke.

“Answer me. Who is your master?”

A faint light returned to the hydra’s eyes.

-……SSSS.

‘Asmodeus.’

At the same time, a darkly glowing green key appeared in Radel’s hand.

The reward he had been seeking.

Before he could even rejoice, familiar voices echoed.

“Your Highness!”

“Radel! What happened to you?!”

Gusto and Inette rushed into the cave, calling his name.

Radel quickly tucked the key into his clothes.

“Are you insane? Do not tell me you killed that thing alone!”

Inette paled at the sight of Radel’s injuries.

Gusto’s expression also turned grave.

Trying to reassure them, Radel turned with a casual expression.

“We had to kill it quickly to get out of here, right—”

DING.

[Warning! Severe pain is incoming!]

Before he could finish, overwhelming pain surged through him.

“Ghk!”

As the adrenaline of battle faded, the true pain finally caught up.

Radel collapsed to his knees.

THUD.

“Radel!”

“Your Highness!”

Behind the rushing Inette and Gusto, Leon stood frozen, panic written on his face.

‘You were threatening to kill me earlier. Why do you look like that now?’

Radel let out a faint chuckle.

His consciousness blurred as his body gave way.

The world went dark.

***

“Lies!”

Asmodeus’s beautiful face twisted.

It was unbelievable.

The 8th Prince had obtained yet another green key.

When the Key of Seal dropped into the pouch, Asmodeus felt as if his heart had dropped with it.

Even if collecting the keys restored his soul, he had never wanted them to be completed in the hands of the 8th Prince.

“Even if that brat collects them, it means nothing!”

Asmodeus ground his teeth.

His power had grown stronger, yet he felt no joy at all.

Worse still, after the key was transferred into the new pouch, it no longer connected to the keys outside.

The space expansion pouch created by Ishan Rau was protected by anti-scan magic.

“With this, I cannot even see what is happening outside.”

Leviathan snickered beside him.

“At least you can see everything about the 8th Prince, right?”

“What does that matter?”

“If you do not know, then stay ignorant.”

Leviathan chuckled as he looked at Asmodeus.

Asmodeus had always been slow-witted.

Otherwise, would he have been used and discarded by someone like Hayden?

‘Fool.’

The 8th Prince was weakened right now.

And Asmodeus did not even realize this was an opportunity.

Leviathan, the Archdemon of Envy, slowly licked his lips with his split tongue.

Belphegor, who only slept, and Asmodeus, who lacked intelligence.

Neither of them was a match for him.

“It is my turn now.”

Envy.

There was no human who did not feel it.

Especially the 8th Prince, who had grown up constantly compared to his twin brother.

Deep within him, unbearable envy was surely hidden.

In truth, he probably hated his brother enough to want him dead.

Leviathan gathered his power and checked Radel’s condition.

A dark room.

The 8th Prince lay there.

He had to enter before Radel regained consciousness.

“Heh heh. Shall I try controlling the 8th Prince’s mind?”

Slipping silently, Leviathan entered Radel’s consciousness.