Chapter 157
Shakhan the Dark Frost Troll was the hidden boss of the 4th floor stage. However, after the God of Death had made Shakhan into his apostle, he disappeared and the content of the stage changed completely.
Each stage of the tower presented a world that was a replica of a world in another dimension. The gods either lured exceptional individuals from these dimensions to their side, or if they failed to do so, they destroyed the real world and collected the souls there.
Those whose existence were erased by the gods could then no longer do anything on their own and became dependent. They lost their energy source to the gods. Their clones were constantly being made and by defeating these clones, challengers could accumulate their achievements.
These clones were just like dolls that exist to help the challengers grow. Lee Shin was able to look into their past using his title as He Who Knows Death and uncover their secrets.
‘Shakhan.’
The previous Shakhan whom Lee Shin had known from the 4th floor no longer existed. Nothing had changed on the outside, but Shakhan’s class and power seemed to have increased drastically, because even Lee Shin was not able to see through him clearly.
"Why are you here?" Lee Shin asked Shakhan.
Shakhan looked around and hung his hooked scimitar over his shoulders.
"Do you remember why I left the Dark Frost Tribe?” Shakhan asked Lee Shin.
"Yes," Lee Shin replied.
The Trolls of the Dark Frost Tribe had been deceived by the God of Blessings and were put through plagues, which made their life miserable. Therefore, Shakhan had left the Tribe in order to seek revenge against the apostles sent by the God of Blessings.
"Are you saying that that guy is here right now?” Lee Shin asked.
"That's right," Shakhan replied.
The God of Blessings was the god who had been showing hostility toward Lee Shin since their encounter on the 4th floor. Lee Shin had already somewhat expected that the God of Blessings would use this opportunity to send an apostle to restrain him.
‘If Shakhan is here, it’s highly likely that the God of Blessings is here.’?
Lee Shin did not know exactly why, but he felt a connection with Shakhan. Perhaps it was because they both dealt with the Power of Death.
“Why did you reveal yourself to me?” Lee Shin asked.
“Well, I thought you would attack me if I didn’t do that,” Shakhan explained.
Recalling the recent situation, Shakhan hardened his expression. He had originally thought that the reason he lost against Lee Shin on the 4th floor was because he had not received the power from the God of Death then. However, at this point, he thought differently.
‘That feeling of being drained...;’
It felt like the unique abilities and power that had become part of him for a while now were being taken away. Therefore, confronting Lee Shin sent chills down his spine.
‘Grruk! What kind of power does Lee Shin possess?’
Although Shakhan tried to hide his thoughts from him, Lee Shin was now accessing Shakhan’s inner thoughts.
‘Is it because of my Divine Realm Breaking Force?’
The Divine Realm Breaking Force was a skill that not many people could use easily, even if they ascended to the class of transcendence. The apostles thought of the Divine Realm Breaking Force as a power that denied them of their worth.
"If you don't go against me, there is no reason for me to attack you," Lee Shin said.
"Grruka! Alright, Lee Shin. I will help you," Shakhan replied.
"Are you trying to lure the apostle of the God of Blessings out?" Lee Shin asked.
"That's right. Lucky for me, because I found you before that guy did," Shakhan replied.
The connection he felt with Shakhan aside, Lee Shin did not entirely trust Shakhan’s words. He could not be sure whether Shakhan had truly found him by luck or not.
"You don't trust me?" Shakhan asked Lee Shin.
"Yeah,” Lee Shin answered honestly.
"Don't worry. You and I are under the protection of the God of Death," Shakhan said.
"What do you mean by protection? I have never received any abilities from the God of Death," Lee Shin replied.
"But the Power of Death is embedded in your mana. As long as you possess that power, even if you're not a follower of the God of Death, he won't be hostile to you," Shakhan explained.
Shakhan’s shining eyes looked directly at Lee Shin.
"Besides, I have no intention of harming the one who saved me. Grukka!" said Shakhan.
Lee Shin chuckled and approached Shakhan for a handshake.
“I’m glad you’re here,” Lee Shin said.
Shakhan shook Lee Shin’s hand.
"I will capture the apostle of the God of Blessings for you, no matter what,” said Shakhan.
"No, you can just stand by and support me when necessary," Lee Shin replied.
Thinking about the mischiefs the God of Blessings and his forces had been up to, Lee Shin was not going to go easy on them.
‘The God of Blessings probably thinks he has the upper hand now that I came to a realm outside the influence of the tower, but I’ll show him that that’s not the case.’
"But, it's my duty to capture that apostle," said Shakhan.
"Well, you don’t know if that apostle is the one who ravaged your tribe," Lee Shin explained.
"If not, I'll find out who that guy is, even if I have to torture this one," Shakhan said.
"That's why I'm saying I’ll capture this apostle, and put an end to this one. Save your strength and focus on killing the one who made you like this," Lee Shin said.
Shakhan nodded as he contemplated Lee Shin’s words.
"That makes sense," said Shakhan.
"If we find the one that you’re looking for, I'll hand him over to you," Lee Shin said.
"Got it," Shakhan replied.
A temporary alliance formed between Lee Shin and Shakhan—a team of death.
***
"This place is where the dangerous devil resides," said Shakhan.
"I know," Lee Shin replied.
Lee Shin and Shakhan arrived at Sayr’s castle and were contemplating how to enter.
"I have a way,” said Shakhan.
He took out one of the dozens of fang ornaments he wore on his body and infused it with mana.
"This is the fang of a person who is skilled at forming astral bodies. Grab my arm," said Shakhan.
Lee Shin grabbed Shakhan’s thick arm. As Shakhan began reciting an unknown spell, the fang he was holding snapped, and Lee Shin and Shakhan’s bodies began to blur.
"If they don't realize the existence of such power, others won't be able to see us. So, if we want, we can even pass through walls. But restrain yourself from using mana,” Shakhan said.
"How did you acquire this ability?" Lee Shin asked.
"I gained it while searching for apostles," Shakhan replied.
Shakhan put his index finger to his lips and moved to the inner part of the castle wall. As their bodies naturally passed through the wall, they could see devils patrolling inside. Shakhan looked at Lee Shin; he was pointing upward. Shakhan nodded, and quickly moved to an area where no one was standing and got into his position.
Thud—
Shakhan and Lee Shin jumped. Although the ground sank because of them, no one noticed it because there was no one nearby. Hanging on the top of the building, the two of them could see the view of the territory.
Sayr’s territory was so vast that a single glance was not enough to see it in its entirety, and there were dozens of buildings within the castle walls. Among them, a large and majestic castle stood out. It was undoubtedly Sayr’s castle.
‘There's an unidentifiable barrier blocking mana detection.’
Such a barrier seemed appropriate for a castle of the Great Devil. Lee Shin was aware that their immediate goal was not to charge in there and confront Sayr. What was more important was to rescue Sevrino. Therefore, they first had to find out where he was, but the problem was that it was difficult.
"Hey, did you also hear that? This time…”
A voice came from the room directly below the top of the building. Lee Shin immediately put his head closer, through the walls and into the room, and tried to listen in on the conversation.
"Mr. Aron brought in an incredible gemstone from the outside. It's likely to increase the success rate of this experiment..."
The two devils were sitting on a sofa, conversing.
‘A gemstone and an experiment?’
Instinctively, Lee Shin felt that the conversation was about Sevrino. Pulling his head out, Lee Shin activated his mana.
"We're going inside," said Lee Shin.
"Got it," Shakhan replied.
The time limit of their astral bodies was almost up, so they immediately entered the room and stood behind the two devils, who were unaware of their presence and engrossed in their conversation.
Swoosh—
After a moment, the two startled devils stood up abruptly when they noticed the two who slowly revealed themselves.
"How dare you enter this place! Who are you?" one of the devils asked.
"You don’t need to know who I am. Just finish the conversation you were having earlier," said Lee Shin, approaching the devil slowly.
“You fools. How dare you! Do you even know where you are?" the other devil shouted.
The next moment, demon power shot out from the devil’s hand, trying to engulf Lee Shin, but it dissipated as he drew Martyr and cut through the demon power.
"From now on, for every attempt to deceive us, a part of your body will fall off, one by one," said Lee Shin.
A sharp blade was pointed at the devil’s throat.
"How dare you— Keugh…!” When the devil who was standing next to him tried to fight back, he was struck by Shakhan and slammed into the ground.
"W-Why are you doing this to us?" The devil immediately realized that he would not be able to win against the overwhelming force emanating from Martyr and gave in.
Divine power and demon power were natural enemies, but in particular, Lee Shin’s divine power sent shivers down their spines because it was like nothing they had felt before.
Swoosh—
Thud—
"Kuhaaack!" the devil groaned in pain.
"It will be the same, even if you don't answer," Lee Shin said.
The devil, who just lost his left wrist, grabbed his bloody hand and gritted his teeth.
“What kind of experiment is it? And who’s conducting it?” Lee Shin asked.
“...” But the devils did not answer once again.
“How loyal… But let’s see for how much longer you can keep your loyalty,” said Lee Shin.
Lee Shin knocked the devil down using Psychokinesis and stepped on his chest and started to piece through his heart with Martyr.
“Ah! Stop! Please, stoppp—” the devil screamed.
Although the devil was screaming, Martyr did not cease.
- All evil must be eradicated!
One of Martyr’s abilities was the power to eliminate evil. With Lee Shin’s increasing divine power, Martyr had become significantly stronger, effortlessly erasing the existence of the devil. The devil realized that Martyr was quickly nullifying his demon power and felt as if his sanity was slipping away.
Very slowly, the devil felt that his existence was being erased. It was more painful than dying, as he endured each moment of feeling his being wiped away.
"Elf!" At the devil’s urgent cry, Martyr finally paused.
"An old Elf is conducting an experiment to open up a dimension. The experiment is taking place in Sayr’s outhouse... So please..." the devil, trembling, pleaded desperately.
In response, Lee Shin pointed Martyr at the devil’s neck.
"Lead the way. If it's true, I'll let you go without pain. But if it's a lie, you'll suffer for eternity; you’ll be neither dead nor alive," Lee Shin said.
"I’m telling the truth!” the devil shouted in terror.
"We’ll figure that out once we arrive. Besides, you'll have to put on a good show for me as well." Lee Shin laughed.
***
Lee Shin and Shakhan brought one devil along. However, both of them were walking behind the devil with their hands shackled. As they walked, they saw another devil approaching them from a distance, holding a trident.
"Act well," Lee Shin whispered quietly from behind the devil.
"Mr. Edir, what are these?" The devil who approached them pointed to the two standing behind Edir.
"One is a Troll and the other is a human. I found them outside," Edir replied.
"Oh... is that so? Huh, how did a Troll and a human manage to get in?" the devil asked.
"That's why I'm planning to interrogate them," Edir replied.
"I see. But... Why do you look so pale? And why are your hands trembling?" the devil asked again.
Gulp—
Edir tried to look away to avoid the curious gaze of the devil and coughed.
"Well! I have to interrogate them quickly at the laboratory, so step aside,” Edir said.
"Alright, sir," the devil replied.
The devil glanced at Lee Shin and Shakhan for a while, but continued on his way.
"I did well, didn't I?" Edir asked Lee Shin, looking proud.
"Yeah, if you had hesitated, you could have been in big trouble," Lee Shin replied.
"Kek!" At Lee Shin’s harsh words, Edir accidentally choked on his saliva and coughed.
He continued walking. They had a few more encounters with others along the way, but no one found them suspicious. After all, devils often kidnapped various beings from different dimensions, so it was not uncommon for them to bring trolls and humans like these.
"Here we are," said Edir.
Contrary to the image of a Great Devil, the interior of the outhouse looked clean and neat. As they went inside and descended the stairs, they realized that this place inside was much larger than they had anticipated.
"Mr. Sayr is making a significant investment in this project," said Edir.
"A project?" Lee Shin asked.
"Yeah, it's called the Mousehole Project. Heh! I don't know the details of the project! So, don't look at me like that!" Edir shouted.
Lee Shin shook his head, looking at Edir, who was trembling at even the slightest glance from him.
"By the looks of it, this seems to be an experiment site... but where's that Elf?" Lee Shin asked.
"I don't know either. I’m serious!" Edir shouted in terror.
"Tsk." Lee Shin clicked his tongue.
"From this point on, it’ll be difficult for me to move. Besides, it will look more suspicious if I take you guys along,” said Edir.
"Well then, there’s no other choice,” Lee Shin muttered.
It was not surprising that this devil did not know the details or the exact location of Sevrino. Just by looking at how much he knew and observing the behavior of the other devils outside, Lee Shin could tell that this guy held a relatively high position in the Demon World.
‘We were lucky.’
The next moment, Lee Shin drew out Martyr.
“Hieeek!” When he saw Martyr in front of his eyes, Edir covered his mouth and swallowed his scream.
Lee Shin swung Martyr at Edir.
Thud!
"Keuk…!" Edir, who gasped, was hit by the blade of Martyr and collapsed to the floor.
"Are you going to let him go?" Shakhan asked.
"Since he brought us here, he will have to die anyway," Lee Shin replied.
Lee Shin pierced the wall using his magic and put Edir inside.
"In that case, wouldn't it be better to just kill him? If he gets caught, he might be tortured. Since he helped us, shouldn’t we keep our promise?” Shakhan asked Lee Shin.
"A promise? Shakhan, you haven't quite met devils yet," Lee Shin replied.
"What do you mean?" Shakhan asked.
"He followed us simply because we were strong. Given their wicked deeds, I don’t find it harsh even if we kill them all,” Lee Shin replied.
"Hmm... is that so?" Shakhan muttered.
"But, I think we don't have to punish every wrongdoing that did not affect us. That's why I’m giving him a chance," Lee Shin muttered.
"What kind of chance are you talking about?" Shakhan asked.
"Well, we never know, but he might be able to be brought back to life if Sayr dies," Lee Shin replied.
"Oh, that’s a possibility…” Shakhan muttered.
"Besides, if he’s really lucky, he might be able to survive until Sayr dies without getting caught," Lee Shin suggested.
After saying that, Lee Shin smirked and moved on.
"What are we going to do now?” Shakhan asked.
“Well, we will have to find Sevrino," Lee Shin replied.
Lee Shin saw devils moving busily around here and there. They were hiding their presence, so the devils could not notice them easily, but they knew it would not take long for them to be discovered if they stayed like this. Therefore, Lee Shin spread his mana in all directions and focused all his senses on the mana wave. As they entered the building, nothing interfered with his mana wave.
‘I found him...!’
Eventually, Lee Shin detected an individual who dealt with mana, not demon power. There was definitely someone with a very pure flow of mana far under this place.
"Shakhan, there's someone down there who could be Sevrino. Is there any way we can get there quickly?" Lee Shin asked.
"Hmm... I used up all my power to form spiritual bodies before…” Shakhan replied.
"Tsk, I guess we don’t have any other options then,” Lee Shin muttered.
[Shadow Space]
A giant Skeleton appeared from Lee Shin’s shadow. It was a beast called Skeleton Mole. The summoned Mole beast began digging the ground with its sharp claws.
Babababam—!
The floor of the underground laboratory started to shake, causing a commotion nearby.
"Is it alright for us to make such a loud noise?" Shakhan asked, looking worried.
"It's fine. It would take too long to go quietly all the way down there. It's better to do this quickly," Lee Shin replied.
Since Lee Shin encountered Buren, uneasiness had been haunting him. Wouldn’t the devil guys somewhat know that Lee Shin was going after Sevrino? The chances of them not knowing the full details was high, but since Lee Shin was looking for Sayr, someone could have noticed it.
In this case, it would not be surprising even if an apostle who was in the fourth realm had told Sayr about Lee Shin. Since the apostles entered Sayr’s territory without permission, it might not be easy to have a conversation with Sayr, but that was something Lee Shin could not be sure of. Regardless, time was not on Lee Shin’s side as he had to rescue Sevrino.
‘Even if a battle breaks out, I must secure Sevrino first, then battle.’
Lee Shin, with a firm expression, lowered his head and looked into the hole. Several layers had been penetrated already, and through the hole, Lee Shin could see devils who were looking up.
"Let's go," said Lee Shin, looking at Shakhan.
They jumped down from above. After landing on the ground, Lee Shin could finally see Sevrino.
"Who… are you guys…?" Sevrino, who was sitting at his desk, contemplating something, could not hide his surprise when he suddenly encountered the two.
The little Goblin who was sitting next to Sevrino shook like an aspen leaf when he saw them.
"Are you Sevrino, the Sage who Traverses Dimensions?” Lee Shin asked, looking at Sevrino.
At Lee Shin’s question, Sevrino frowned instantly.
"I don't know where you heard about me and came to find me, but if you don't want to die, leave right now," said Sevrino.
"Why do you think I’ll get killed?” Lee Shin asked.
"Well, that’s because I am a slave of Sayr. And he treasures me quite a bit," Sevrino replied.
"Do you want to be his slave?" Lee Shin asked.
"...No, that's not it," Sevrino replied.
"Then come with me," Lee Shin suggested.
Even with Lee Shin’s words, Sevrino’s rigid expression did not show any signs of loosening.
"As long as Sayr is here, it will be impossible to escape,” said Sevrino, with fear.
"Then we can just kill Sayr,” replied Lee Shin with a smirk.
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