My Demons

Chapter 134

My Villains Chapter 134

35. The Legendary Bloodline (2)

The diluted potion touched the wound on Simos’ shoulder. Bubbling sounds rose up with smoke.

“…Damn it.”

Simos muttered through gritted teeth, and Siren, who was tending to her brother, looked at her with a worried expression.

“Are you okay, Simos?”

“It’s a bit better now.”

Simos poured the remaining potion into her mouth, then drew a sword from her waist.

“Is the potion all used up?”

“Damn it.”

Simos muttered softly and began chanting a spell calmly.

“Ethan, get up now. The spirits are coming.”

Ethan, whose robe was stained with blood, stood up unsteadily. He glanced back and gritted his teeth.

“…I’ll pay you back someday.”

“Ethan.”

Ethan’s green eyes were filled with hostility. His sister patted his shoulder with a complicated expression.

“Let’s just focus on getting out of here alive first.”

“We can’t follow that witch’s words. She’s planning to use us as bait.”

“There’s no other way.” Siren took out a silk pouch from her clothes and put her hand inside. Ethan’s brow furrowed.

“You’re going to use that?”

“I’ll just use a little.”

Her hand pulled out a handful of sand. Siren kissed it and whispered something. The sand, which had been bubbling like boiling water, began to overflow out of her hand. When Siren shook her hand, the sand swelled at an enormous speed, turning the area into a desert-like landscape.

Then Siren threw the last clay doll. Thanks to the power of the ‘Breathing Sand’, a golem that was sturdier and larger than usual was completed.

“Damn it.”

Ethan let out a groan, but the young man also seemed reassured by the sand flowing beneath his feet.

Due to the tangled magic in her body, Simos muttered for a long time before completing the spell. As electricity began to flow through her longsword, something rose from beneath the surface.

“…What the hell is that?”

What emerged was a beautiful young man with smooth muscles. Or rather, a mass of water mimicking the appearance of a young man.

Unlike the perplexed Ethan, Siren had her mouth wide open.

“It’s a high-level spirit.”

The spirit with a statuesque face extended a swirling spear.

“Damn it, damn it, damn it.”

Simos drew upon her magical power. Intense sparks flew from her sword, and her hair turned blue.

Meanwhile, in the west, Utequais was engaged in a fierce battle.

“Lyati, anluc (Divine, embrace)!”

With a shout, Slonhe’s Maul struck a massive lump of flesh.

Boom!

The lump of flesh was shattered, but it soon began to squirm on the ground and started to merge with the fragments of other undead.

“Gua lune’te (Annoying thing)!”

Utequais, his upper body stained with blood, let out an angry roar. But his cry was drowned out by a deafening sound.

Crack!

The spirit world was crumbling. Amidst the chaos, the gray rift leading to the Underworld continued to pour out undead without pause.

Most of them were zombies and skeletal soldiers. They marched in rows and columns, as if they were an army.

Tap, tap, tap.

Hands the size of oxen, with pale skin, crawled across the surface, tapping the ground like playing a keyboard. The ‘Crawling Hands’ dripped rotten blood from their severed parts as they moved their fingers diligently.

Growl, hiss!

The ‘Suffocated’ ones, trailing behind the army, were desperately gasping for air. Their purple lips and bulging eyes showed no signs of improvement, despite their labored breathing depleting the area’s oxygen.

Finally, the lump of flesh that had been pummeled and regained its form blocked Utequais’s path.

“Filthy, savage.”

“I’ll tear your body apart.”

“Come, become one with me.”

The lump of flesh, with seven legs and five palms, charged at him, rolling. Even as it did so, the twelve heads embedded in its torso spewed all kinds of curses.

“Disgusting thing!”

Lifting the stone mace, Utequais’s upper body swelled greatly. Then, as the glistening muscles tightened, the hammer struck the lump of flesh like lightning, bursting it apart.

“Uncle!”

A voice came from behind, and Utequais turned around, knocking away three skeletal soldiers with his hammer. Atalante was waving her arms frantically.

“Hurry, hurry!”

“I’m coming now!”

As Utequais turned, the skeletal soldiers clicked their teeth and drew their bows. Dozens of bone arrows were fired, but they could not penetrate the wind barrier.

Gripping the hammer tightly, the warrior charged across the surface with all his might. The two tails of his feathered headdress fluttered like wings.

“Huff, huff, huff!”

Despite his muscular build appearing clumsy, Utequais was an excellent sprinter, as one would expect given his physique.

Most of the undead fell behind, but the persistent Crawling Hands clung on. As Utequais passed through the Void Sphere, Atalante gritted her teeth and summoned her mental power.

“Ugh!”

Two purple spears shot out from her neck, piercing the Crawling Hands that were chasing Utequais.

Tap, tap, tap

The Crawling Hands with their palms impaled writhed like insects, but Utequais was already far away.

“…Ugh, I’m exhausted.”

Atalante staggered for a moment, then gripped the white thorns and launched herself forward.

“Uncle, to the right!”

At Atalante’s shout, Utequais planted his left foot on the ground and slid, spinning. Using the momentum, he swung his hammer.

Crack!

The one charging from the right had its three fingers crushed and fell, while the Crawling Hand on the left was reduced to rags by Atalante’s spear.

Catching his breath, Utequais frowned at Atalante, who was leaning on her spear.

“You look unwell.”

“…That’s not something you should be saying.”

Utequais, his upper body covered in wounds, snorted.

“The body, eating meat, will heal. The mind, not so easily.”

“I’ll recover quickly. Just resting at home will clear my mind.”

Surveying the approaching army of lions, Atalante shrugged her shoulders.

“The problem is I don’t have a home.”

“Hmm.”

“…Don’t react like that. You’re making me feel even more pitiful.”

As Utequais let out a chuckle, Atalante’s eyes sparkled.

“Okay, crouch down and cover your ears.”

“That’s not a pose befitting a Hatanka.”

Atalante lay down on her belly and let out a mischievous smile.

“Then stay like that. But I won’t take responsibility if you go bald.”

“…Ugh.”

Thud!

Utequais quickly crouched down, and Atalante’s eyes began to shine brightly.

Flare!

Far in the distance, a purple explosion occurred. Even with their ears covered, the tremendous vibration resonated in their eardrums.

After the explosion, Utequais cautiously raised his head. As if a giant spatula had scooped it out, a large section of the army was missing.

Utequais clicked his tongue and muttered.

“Impressive. It’s like a divine punishment.”

“Save the admiration for later. *Ugh* Let’s retreat for now.”

Atalante, who had barely managed to get up, staggered and leaned on her knees. With an expression as if she was about to vomit, she continued.

“Ugh, I’m dizzy. I think this is really the end.”

“Can you run?”

“Phew- I’ll just run with my eyes closed, I guess.”

“Good. Let’s go.”

As Utequais and Atalante were retreating, Druid Zhanabas returned, accompanied by eight mercenaries.

“Phoenix!”

“What in the world is this?”

Amias’ group exclaimed in shock upon seeing Phoenix, due to his horrifying condition.

The fact that both his legs and his right hand were severed was horrifying, but the most striking thing was the transparent something surrounding Phoenix’s entire body.

“…Scales, perhaps?”

“It looks like eggshells or molted skin.”

As the Amias group muttered, Ellen spoke up.

“Troll’s blood.”

“Ah, yes, here it is,”

Lanky Boonie handed over a leather pouch, then flinched.

“Uh, Miss Ellen, are you alright?”

The Amias group finally noticed Ellen. Her rosy pink lips had turned pale white.

“Give it to me.”

Her complexion looked like she could collapse at any moment, but Ellen’s voice was resolute.

“There’s no time to waste. Hurry.”

“Yes, yes.”

After receiving the leather pouch, Ellen wavered for a moment. Calm Jenesa tried to help, but Ellen ignored her and opened the cap.

Troll’s blood gushed out. The transparent something surrounding Phoenix turned a deep red. But soon, as the pouch emptied, the reddened membrane returned to transparency.

“Next.”

The second pouch was emptied. Seeing this, Mira, the freckled, muttered unconsciously.

“…How much is that?”

“They said fifty gold coins per pouch.”

“They’ve already used a hundred coins?”

“Now it’s up to a hundred and fifty.”

At the conversation between Mira and Boonie, veins popped up on bald Steedman’s head.

“It’s not even their own, and they’re complaining?”

“No, it’s not that it’s a waste…”

Before the hesitant Boonie could respond, Mira frowned.

“It’s not ours, but we do have a certain share in this, right?”

She trailed off, freezing as she made eye contact with Ellen.

“Uh, I mean…”

Glancing briefly at the trembling Mira, Ellen looked at Amias.

“Go and stop the undead.”

“Huh?”

“Utequais and Atalante need time to catch their breath. You need to buy them that time.”

Although Amias had an uneasy expression, he soon nodded.

“Ah, I understand. Let’s give it a try.”

“Zhanabas, help your comrades.”

Zhanabas looked at his comrades battling the high-level spirit and furrowed his brow.

“This is not something the four of us can handle…”

“Just stall for time. I’ll send Utequais to you.”

“…Understood.”

Ellen opened the cap of the fourth pouch and poured it all onto Phoenix without leaving a single drop.

Thump, thump.

Phoenix, having absorbed the last drop of troll’s blood, began to pulsate, surrounded by a red scale membrane.

It was pitch black. I was swimming endlessly in a space with nothing.

Though I could see nothing, I knew everything.

This was my inner world. The inner world shrouded in all kinds of blemishes and scars.

I was neither Kim Seung-soo nor Phoenix now. My body belonged to Phoenix, and my soul was closer to Kim Seung-soo’s, but I could not distinguish them completely.

My physical and spiritual aspects were blending. Just as the body was staining the soul, the soul was also seeping into the body. I was neither Kim Seung-soo nor Phoenix. We had merged, transformed, and evolved.

The fuel for this progress was Akanku Karamek’s soul.

One of the scars etched into the inner world became blurred. The soul that had carved the scar became clearer.

In step with the soul, the flesh also advanced. This advancement occurred in a way I had never anticipated.

Suddenly, a massive presence invaded my inner world.

Ssssss.

A snake flicked its tongue. It was a gigantic snake with steel-like scales, burning eyes, a body coiling the earth, and fangs that could defile the sea.

I realized its identity.

“You know me?”

The snake’s hissing voice rang clearly in my ears.

“The Apostle of the Apocalypse, the blood-drinking snake.”

I chuckled and added.

“Blood-drinking snake? Isn’t the original a bird?”

“You speak nonsense that I cannot comprehend.”

The fierce black vertical pupils looked down at me.

“What are you?”

“…Who knows.”

“My blood flows in you.”

The tongue flicked.

“It’s very pure.”

“I didn’t know I was a reptile.”

The snake fell silent. But I could hear its laughter.

“The distinction of species is meaningless to us.”

“Us?”

“Yes, you and I.”

Suddenly, a familiar scent wafted in. The aroma of lime…

“How nice.”

“What?”

“The blood.”

The snake spoke in a fervent voice.

“Pure, familiar, and powerful.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“The preparation is complete.”

Before I could ask anything, the snake’s jaws opened wide.

I was swallowed in an instant.