Chapter 998: You Reap What You Sow (5)


    “<em>AHHH! AAAHHH!</em>”


    The holy power rained down on Temr Simon.


    “Stop… <em>stooop!</em>” Temr Simon yelled.


    Draktaris stood at the helm of the spirits and holy knights. Their group sent wave after wave of holy power toward Temr Simon. Every time they stepped forward, Temr Simon would take a step backward.


    When the first row of spirits and holy knights cast their spells, the second row would cast theirs, and the third row would channel their spells at the same time. They were like archers lining up their arrows.


    The vanguards raised their shields and got ready to take on the enemy''s attacks. They all moved forward one step at a time. The knights raised their swords to punish the Temr, who sold his soul to a demon.


    "God’s hammer will smash the wicked who sold their soul to a demon!"


    <em>‘I’m sure he was upset.’</em>


    "God’s hammer will be used on the wicked who sold their soul to a demon!""That demon will be punished!


    I felt something surging inside me. I was an expert director, so the scene before me looked like a well-nned scene. It was thanks to me that the situation turned out this way, but I wasn’t the one who made this happen.


    The priests surrounded therge spider demon.


    A battle between good and evil; light and darkness was always an effective story.


    As always, the scene wasn’t all that different from any other simr scenes.


    When Temr Simon swung his legs, the spirits of the priests were swept away. Despite that, they remained fearless, and they didn''t retreat. The resentment that they had been umting for many years was etched on their faces.


    They also looked happy about finally fulfilling their long-awaited wish.


    "Retreat! Retreat!!!"


    The most important part was that I was in the center of everything.


    <em>‘Anyone would think I’m the one behind it.’</em>


    “Bestow upon him afortable… and eternal rest…” Draktaris muttered.


    The rangers who had escaped the maze were watching the entire thing in disbelief.


    “Father Lee Ki-Young…”


    “What is…”


    “What in the world…”


    Naturally, they looked at me enviously. I was the creator of this miracle, and who wouldn''t be jealous upon seeing this miraculous sight?


    <em>‘It looks amazing even in my eyes.’</em>


    “Hyung-nim, I told you it’s dangerous over there! Come over here!” Park Deok-Gu shouted.


    “It’s dangerous, hyung,” Rafael said.


    “Darling! What are you doing there?!” Cha Hee-Ra yelled.


    Hee-Ra noona, Park Deok-Gu, and Rafael cast worried gazes at me, so I took a step backward, but this memorable scene would forever stay in everyone’s memories.


    “Stop! Stoooop!” Temr Simon shouted.


    <em>‘What do you mean, stop?’</em>


    “<em>AAAHHH! </em>Bahamut! Bahamut!!!” Temr Simon yelled.


    <em>‘Stop calling for him, damn it.’</em>


    “Save… me! Save me!” Temr Simon begged.


    <em>‘There’s no saving you now.’</em>


    “You’ll be purified,” Draktaris said.


    <em>‘You’re getting purified, not killed, so just ept it.’</em>


    “<em>AAAHHH!!!</em>”


    The struggling spider’s stamina was higher than I thought, and I became anxious for some reason.


    <em>‘Shit.’</em>


    I had an idea as to what was going on, and it was all thanks to Park Yeon-Joo’s report.


    I could interpret it in many ways, but the mural told me that the demon seed inside Bahamut had already bloomed. The remarks that Draktaris had made about demons and the unique aura of the priests were hints as well, but it''d be a different story to see it for myself.


    <em>‘Stupid Bahamut.’</em>


    I warned him not to get obsessed with power.


    <em>‘Kim Hyun-Sung is a problem as well.’</em>


    The four-star Bahamut was afraid of the seven-star Kim Hyun-Sung, which was why he got so obsessed with power. He had to have been really afraid, and I was sure of that, as they had depicted Kim Hyun-Sung as the orange demon.


    I was sure he couldn’t understand it, and he also couldn''t ept that oue.


    In the end, Bahamut forgot about the Priest of Prophecy''s words and med everything on his ipetence. At the time, he actually couldn’t do anything.


    He couldn’t move because he was afraid that the demon seed inside of him would bloom, and he froze like a statue upon seeing Kim Hyun-Sung.


    He somehow managed to ovee his fears and make a move, but he was sted away by just one swing of Kim Hyun-Sung''s sword.


    He was the Hero of the Continent at the time, so he probably felt humiliated; Kim Hyun-Sung probably felt like an obstacle that he needed to ovee. He could also be suffering from PTSD.


    He was probably having nightmares featuring the so-called orange demon, who appeared one day and took everything he had. I was sure that the thought of the so-called orange demon alone was enough to make him tremble.


    <em>‘He couldn’t endure it and chose to be a demon.’</em>


    He walked a different path from Draktaris, who had decided to protect the Priest of Prophecy, the Underground Temple, and the continent.


    It sounded dangerous, but it was a good situation. I already knew through Doom Doom Hyun-Sung that going "Doom" wasn’t efficient. Skull Gray Hyun-Sung was strong, but he had his limits, so I was convinced that it would be the same for the others…


    “So why isn’t he dying?” I questioned.


    “You dirty bastards… you dirty priests!” Temr Simon shouted.


    <em>‘Why the hell are you so strong?’</em>


    “<em>AAAHHH! AAAAHHH!</em> I’ll punish all of you!” Temr Simon yelled.


    <em>‘Is he no longer human?’</em>


    Was that why his stats had increased? Was there another job advancement route upon going Doom? The thought of Doom Doom Hyun-Sung advancing like Temr Simon was scary, but I felt like the Doom Doom Doom Hyun-Sung route was already unlocked.


    <em>‘Hyun-Sung won’t be a spider, though...’</em>


    Perhaps he’d transform into a wolf or a griffon. He was obsessed with griffons, after all. I felt like he could turn into something more hideous than Doom Doom Hyun-Sung, but his appearance wasn’t that important.


    <em>‘This is bad…’</em>


    I had no idea how much stronger Bahamut had be upon going Doom.


    Temr Simon didn’t worship Bahamut; he was just afraid of thetter.


    It was none of my business whether Bahamut had abused him or not, but I was sure that many things had happened at the time.


    Temr Simon had to have witnessed everything, including how Bahamut had changed, as well as how cruel and dark he could be. The demonization had to have decreased his intelligence, but even a dumbed-down version of him was really afraid of Bahamut.


    “He’s really terrible. That spider… How can a person turn into a spider…” Park Deok-Guined.


    “...”


    “Temr Simon is a hunter, hyung,” Rafael informed.


    <em>‘I already know.’</em>


    “The raid is going well, and it''s all thanks to the spirits. It’s great that the allied forces barely have casualties… but I can’t really be happy about it," said the hunting dog of Rafael’s party.


    “What do you mean?”


    “Temr Simon is a hunter. The maze was his hunting ground, so he must be a boss monster made for that maze. We can assume there''s a limit to what he can do in arge ce like this. His Endurance must be low, and he can''t withstand the holy power of the Underground Temple’s spirits. That makes sense. I’m sure that’s why he advanced,” Rafael exined.


    “I understand what you’re saying,” replied the hunting dog.


    “I don’t know who this Bahamut is, but…”


    “Are you saying he’s stronger than you thought?” the hunting dog asked.


    Rafael nodded. He nced at me, and he seemed satisfied with his assumption. He looked like he wanted me topliment him, but I didn’t bother saying anything.


    <em>‘He </em>did<em> grow a lot.’</em>


    He grew taller and got smarter.


    “Bahamut! Bahamut!” Temr Simon shouted.


    I was sure he understood it better since he had experience fighting Draktaris.


    “It''s pretty clear…”


    It was pretty clear that Temr Simon was getting beaten up, but…


    <em>‘His resistances are really high.’</em>


    Temr Simon was a coward, but he was not weak.


    He was cautious and opportunistic. He wanted to draw a bigger picture by trapping our forces in the maze, but it did not happen. Unfortunately, it was undeniable that he was in his most efficient form. He chose to have sharp legs rather thanrge arms, and he also chose Agility rather than Endurance, as Agility would allow him to move quietly.


    Rafael was right. The maze was Temr Simon''s home. If the raid had started there, it would have easily be unsustainable.


    We were the ones who had chosen a battlefield that was advantageous to us, and the allied forces had the upper hand in terms of teamwork, but…


    <em>‘That’s not the case now.’</em>


    “Save me… I don’t want to die… <em>AAAHHH! AAAHHH!</em>”


    <em>‘Cunning bastard.’</em>


    Temr Simon curled up using his legs and climbed up to the ceiling by scaling the walls. He pursed his lips and hissed, shooting out spider webs.


    A holy barrier enveloped the expedition group, but the barrier shattered with a sizzle. The sticky and stic spider webs were acidic, which put us at a disadvantage. After all, Temr Simon could make use of that to transform the terrain into his hunting ground.


    <em>‘Phase two.’</em>


    “Are you analyzing it, hyung?” asked Rafael.


    I didn’t bother answering it because it was true


    Momentster, I looked up.


    “All right!” Rafael eximed.


    <em>‘At least he’s quick-witted.’</em>


    Rafael spread his gray wings and flew up. The spider webs converged on Rafael, sealing off his escape routes, but Rafael could still make it out of that encirclement. I gave Rafael his escape route, and he immediately followed it.


    <em>‘He’s pretty good.’</em>


    Rafael barely escaped the acidic spider webs, and he even started spinning in the air. The fancy moves were unnecessary, but he looked pretty cool. He cut down the ones he couldn’t dodge.


    The mission required quite a bit of focus because if the spider web touched him, he''d get caught in the web and would be forced to retire.


    He also had to cut them down with a single strike or…


    <em>‘Or he''ll get caught...’</em>


    Still…


    <em>‘His performance has improved a bit.’</em>


    Rafael was no longer a bumpy ride. However, it would still be absurd for me topare him to Bahamut, even though he was doing pretty well against Temr Simon.


    <em>‘But we have to get what we can.’</em>


    It wasn’t bad since we would obtain a sample. Actually, the more samples we had, the better.


    Meanwhile, Commander Jin seemed to have met the other guy.


    I looked at him using my telescope, and I saw him tapping his fingers together while seated.


    ***


    “Bahamut… ising…” Temr Simon muttered.


    “...”


    “...”


    “That''s all you know how to say, right?”