Chapter 692: Population Reduction Specialist ( Bonus )

The Devourer Egg continued feeding in secret, and Lian moved it whenever he had the chance before rejoining the group.

None of his companions noticed this, but even with all these efforts, the flow of prisoners toward the center did not stop.

At that moment, the last powerful Withered in front of him fell to the ground.

And the familiar sound of the system echoed in his mind.

[ Level Up! ]

[ Level: 37 → 38 ]

Lian looked at the notification for several seconds and then gave a small smile.

Level thirty-eight.

Since the beginning of the day, he had gained three full levels, he also had three new skills and one powerful fused skill.

If he managed to complete the Main Quest, the reward of five levels could bring him to Level 43.

He looked around, in some places, the corpses of the Withered covered almost the entire surface of the passage.

The red mist of Bloodborne Calamity Domain was still floating between the pillars, and hundreds of corpses could be seen along the path, most of the Withered had not even had the chance to approach him.

The number of Withered he had killed since this morning was extremely high.

It would not be wrong to say that he had even carried out a large-scale population cleansing...

If an organization existed to protect monster rights, he could definitely compete for a place among the greatest criminals and mass murderers.

Just as he was about to continue moving, the familiar sound of the system echoed in his mind.

[ You have eliminated a considerable number of creatures from the same race ]

[ Your remarkable contribution to population reduction has been recognized ]

[ New Title Acquired! ]

[ Population Reduction Specialist ]

He stopped.

"..."

He stared at the window in front of him for several seconds.

Then he read the title’s name once again.

Population Reduction Specialist?

His eyebrows slowly drew together.

What kind of ridiculous name is this?

After killing so many Withered, he had expected to receive a title like Executioner of a Thousand Souls, Ruler of Death, or something similar.

But apparently, the system had a different opinion.

Population Reduction Specialist...

Lian looked at the corpses around him.

’It named me like I’m an employee at the census office.’

He let out a short breath and opened the title’s information window.

[ Population Reduction Specialist ]

[ Title Effects ]

[ Population Cleansing: When fighting a group of enemies, damage dealt increases by 15%. ]

[ Killing Efficiency: After every 100 kills, you gain 5% additional EXP from every monster you kill for 30 minutes. ]

[ Cleansing Reward: During the same 30-minute period, you receive 2 additional Fragments for every monster killed. ]

[ Population Terror: Weaker creatures may become afraid when facing you and be weakened by up to 20%. ]

He remained silent for a moment and then read the title’s information again.

Wait...

Fifteen percent more damage when fighting large groups.

Five percent additional EXP for every monster killed within thirty minutes.

And two additional Fragments for every kill during the same period.

Considering the number of Withered in this area, he could gain a considerable amount of additional EXP and Fragments in just half an hour.

The corner of his mouth rose slightly.

’Well, at least the benefits are good.’

Lian looked at the title window.

’But seriously, couldn’t you choose a better name?’

For a moment, he imagined himself standing before a powerful enemy one day and announcing his title with great pride.

I am Lian Vorhelm, the Population Reduction Specialist!

"..."

The image was so stupid that even he could not stop himself from laughing briefly.

"Forget it." He sighed, in any case, he should not expect everyone to be as good at naming things as he was.

He shook his head.

’The name doesn’t matter, what matters is that it’s useful.’

"I think that’s enough for now." Then he looked at his companions, they were not in good condition at all.

Rindo let out a short breath.

"Finally."

Noah immediately sat on one of the stones.

"Thank God! I was starting to think you wouldn’t let us rest until we killed the last Withered in this prison, I was sure you were trying to torture us!"

Lian laughed.

"Don’t worry, in any case, it doesn’t look like their numbers will run out anytime soon."

"Please don’t say that."

Alicia also sat beside them and looked at the path behind them for a moment.

Several hours of continuous fighting had made their exhaustion clear in their movements, even with the group’s high skill and experience.

"There isn’t much time left until the next Judgment." Rindo looked at the sky.

Lian nodded, he had also been keeping track of the time between Judgments.

The Eighth Judgment...

If the number of prisoners was one hundred again, it could be an important sign of the judge’s changing condition.

They were now much closer to the center than they had been the previous day.

Some time later, the four reached a wide passage with several white channels passing through its ceiling and walls.

Rindo looked around for a moment.

"I think this path leads more directly to the center than the others."

Lian examined the mana flows with [ True Sequence ].

"That’s very likely."

But at that exact moment, he felt a weak fluctuation in one of the channels.

The mana flows slowed for a moment, and then the white light around them changed.

Young Vorhelm raised his head.

It’s time.

"Everyone, stop."

Rindo immediately looked at him.

"The Judgment?"

"Yeah."

Lian raised his right hand.

[ Hive Dominion ]

One and Two returned to the Colony House before the Judgment process fully began.

The four remained on the stone platform, and at that moment, a deep voice echoed throughout the prison.

It did not come from any particular direction, but rather, it was as if the walls and huge pillars themselves were carrying the judge’s voice.

The white channels remained still for several seconds, and then threads of golden light descended from the structures above.

Noah raised his head.

"It’s starting again..."

Ten thin pillars of light appeared in the huge hall, and just like the Seventh Judgment, each pillar divided into ten separate threads.

In total, one hundred golden threads moved along different paths.

Some moved toward distant areas, others disappeared into cracks in the walls, and several threads moved directly toward the floating platforms holding the prisoners.

This time, even the prisoners who were still in a state of stillness were not safe from the judge’s selection.

One of the threads stopped above the head of a huge prisoner.

The sealing rings around the creature’s body opened for a moment.

The prisoner raised its head, but before it could make a move, the thread of light reached it.

A moment later, its body fell motionless.

On another platform, a four-armed Withered tried to resist the light.

But the golden light passed through its defense without slowing down.

The sentence was carried out.

The judge gave no explanation and offered no chance for defense, it simply selected and carried out the punishments, as if it was worried.

Lian looked at the threads of light for several seconds.

One hundred again.

So the number of prisoners had not increased compared to the Seventh Judgment, but it was still ten times higher than the earlier Judgments.

[ True Sequence ]

After the sentences ended, the golden energy entered the white channels again.

But this time, Lian was much closer to the center, he was able to follow the energy flows through several different paths.

The large channels from different areas connected to each other, and then their energy flows continued along a single path.

The farther they went, the thicker and brighter the channels became, until finally, all the main paths ended at one point.

He remained still for a moment.

’Found it.’

Rindo noticed the change in his expression.

"What happened?"

Young Vorhelm pointed toward the dark passage ahead.

"I think I found the main path."

Noah raised his head.

"The center?"

Lian nodded.

"We’re probably not far away."

"Then we’d better move before the path gets darker." Alicia looked toward the darkness for a moment.

Young Vorhelm agreed.

The final hours of the eighth day arrived.

The group was still moving through the depths of the prison, but the paths had changed compared to before.

However, the strangest thing was the absence of the Withered.

After hours of fighting hundreds of creatures, the group was now passing through paths that were almost empty.

"Strange." Noah looked behind him for a moment.

"A few hours ago, we couldn’t even pass through a passage without fighting. But there’s almost no one here."

"We can’t even hear the prisoners moving anymore." Alicia also looked around.

Lian looked toward the darkness ahead for a moment.

This silence was unusual.

But he still did not know the reason, perhaps most of the Withered had entered the central area through other paths.

Or perhaps something was preventing them from entering this part.

The farther the group moved, the fewer ruined structures they saw.

Broken pillars and collapsed walls were replaced by the remains of much larger buildings, buildings that had still kept much of their original structure despite the passage of an unknown amount of time.

White and golden channels passed through cracks in the ground, and all of them extended toward a high area in the distance.

The sky was slowly getting darker.

The red sun of sunset could be seen between the gray clouds, casting the shadows of the ancient pillars across the ground.

Lian looked at the mana flows for a moment.

’We’re almost there.’

After moving for some time, the stone path ahead turned into a wide passage that extended between two rows of huge, broken statues.

Some of the statues had no heads, while others were half-buried in the ground, their giant stone swords and spears were also scattered around.

At the end of the passage, the ground slowly rose.

The four climbed the gentle slope, and finally, a huge scene appeared before their eyes.

A wide, circular plateau stood above deep cliffs.

The sky above it had turned dark gray, and the last red light of sunset shone through the scattered clouds onto the plateau’s stone surface.

A cold wind moved throughout the area, carrying light ashes between the broken pillars.

Around the plateau, the remains of ancient structures could be seen, huge pillars, some of which were still standing, while others lay broken and collapsed on the ground.

Several giant stone statues could also be seen at different distances.

Most of them were damaged, and it was no longer possible to recognize their original faces.

Rindo looked at the scene ahead for a moment.

"I think we’ve finally arrived."

Lian nodded.

The center of the prison.

But before he could examine the surrounding structures more carefully, his gaze stopped on something in the center of the plateau.

Or more precisely, on the creature standing there.

A knight.

The creature was almost four meters tall and wore very heavy, dark armor.

The thick armor plates on its shoulders and chest were covered with ancient patterns, and in some places, signs of wear and narrow cracks could be seen.

But despite the unknown amount of time that had passed, it still stood firmly, and both of its armored hands rested on the handle of a huge sword.

The sword’s blade was buried partway into the stone, and the knight’s head was lowered.

It was as if it had remained in that position for a very long time.

But what caught the group’s attention most was the creature’s wings.

Twelve gray wings.

Six pairs of large wings extended from the back of its armor.

Their long, dark feathers covered a large part of the space behind the knight, even while the wings were folded.

Some of the feathers looked worn, but the wings were still complete and magnificent.

The cold evening wind passed between the gray wings and gently moved several long feathers.

But the knight itself did not move at all, and even as the four humans approached, it did not raise its head.

"What is that thing...?" Noah said in a low voice.

Even the knight’s presence alone was enough to make all their bodies tremble with fear, and this could be considered the first time they had reacted to such an extent.

Rindo raised his spear slightly.

Alicia also looked at the creature’s huge sword for a moment.

The way the knight’s hands rested on the handle, even while motionless, showed that it had probably been a very experienced fighter.

But Lian still did not answer his companions because something else had caught his attention.

On the knight’s forehead, right in the center of its helmet, there was a dark mark.

A small seal with a complex structure, and at its center, a compressed piece of an unknown material could be seen.

He narrowed his eyes.

What’s that?

Whatever it was, it felt strangely familiar to him.

The energy inside it was neither like ordinary mana nor like the power of the Withered.

Lian examined it more carefully for several seconds, and then the strange feeling of familiarity inside him grew stronger.

Wait...

He knew this energy, not from its appearance, but from its nature and unusual density.

He stared at the seal for a moment.

’A Demon’s Core?’

But what was on the knight’s forehead was not a complete core, it looked more like a small piece of a larger core.

Even so, that small piece still held very special energy inside it.

Lian thought for a moment.

’Why would a piece of a Demon’s Core be on this creature’s forehead?’

Was it part of the sealing structure?

Or was it connected to the knight’s own power?

Perhaps it was being used for a completely different purpose.

He still did not know.

Young Vorhelm took his eyes off the seal and looked at the knight again.

’Four.’

The Nine-Venom Castellan’s answer came into his mind almost immediately.

’At your service, my lord.’

’We’ve reached the center, there’s a four-meter-tall knight in front of me, wearing heavy armor, with twelve gray wings and its sword buried in the ground, do you know it?’

This time, Four’s answer came after a slight delay.

’Aye, my lord.’

Then his deep, heavy voice echoed in Lian’s mind.

’He is a servant of White Oblivion, my lord.’

At that moment, one of the knight’s armored fingers slowly tightened around the handle of its sword

—-

( Visualization )