Record of a Thousand Lives - Chapter 58

Chapter 58
Kang Yoon-Soo stabbed his Sword of the Holy Cross into Rekimond’s chest, but Rekimond did not even bat an eye as he coldly stared at Kang Yoon-Soo.

“The secret of this place changed me. I managed to escape death, but I am now under a curse. Now, I need blood to stay alive…” Rekimond said coldly as his eyes slowly turned red. He continued with a deafening shout that shook the large altar, “As long as you are inside this place! Your blood is all mine!”

Rekimond’s flesh started to tear apart; dense, thick bone grew over his once feeble-looking body and his skin turned ghastly pale. A pair of wings unfolded from his back as he slowly turned darker and darker. The newly transformed Rekimond let out an ear-splitting howl. “Gruwwaaaah!”

[A Lesser Devil—Frost Demon (Level 261) has appeared!]

The Martial Blood Clan members at the foot of the altar panicked. One of them shouted, “M-monster! It’s a monster!”

“What?! He wasn’t going to reward us for the quest?”

They all fell into a panic, as the one who should have given them a reward for the quest had turned out to be a monster.

It was Kang Yoon-Soo who reacted first while the others were still in shock. He ran down the altar and shouted, “Get away from the Mana Golem!”

The clan members hurriedly moved some distance away from the Mana Golem; Sally immediately jumped down from the golem as well. Suddenly, while standing at the entrance of the room, the Mana Golem suddenly smashed its arms down into the ground.

Booom!

A large boom reverberated through the room, and the frozen ground was split in two.

“I, follow the commands of the Great Adventurer Rekimond Aurel, kill you all,” the immensely strong Mana Golem declared. The golem that had been a dependable ally to the adventurers until then had suddenly turned into an enemy.

The Frost Demon took the chance to spread its wings and shout in a commanding voice, “Storm of ice, heed my call! Attack these fools who will serve as my food and blood!” It cast its wide-area magic, and hundreds of sharp ice shards flew toward the party.

Kang Yoon-Soo immediately shouted a command, “Shaneth, Sally, raise a wall of fire!”

“Pyrokinesis!”

“Wrath of the Flames!”

The two layers of flame pillars merged into one, blocking the sharp icicles that rained down from above. However, they could not fully melt all of the icicles; some of the ice shards managed to pass through.

The Mana Golem attacked at ferocious speeds with its two large arms as soon as the icicles rained down from above, repeating, “I, follow the commands of the Great Adventurer Rekimond Aurel, kill you all.”
Boooom!

“Aaack!”

Three clan members of the Martial Blood Clan were immediately crushed under the golem’s fists; they were the first casualties of the raid. However, Kang Yoon-Soo seemed calm and unfazed, thinking, ‘I didn’t expect to conquer the ruin without any casualties in the first place.’

They were now stuck between the Frost Demon casting wide-area ice magic and the gigantic Mana Golem that was blocking the exit. Kang Yoon-Soo had to raid both boss monsters at the same time.

“Storm of ice, heed my call! Freeze these sacrifices meant for me!” The Frost Demon on top of the altar called out, casting another wide-area spell.

Kang Yoon-Soo urgently shouted, “All of you, cover your weapons in holy water!”

Holy water looked just like normal water, but it would imbue a weapon coated in it with the holy property, causing the weapon’s surface to glow. Just as Kang Yoon-Soo’s party had experienced at the Castle of the Dead, holy-attribute attacks inflicted heavy damage on undead and devils.

“Swordsmen and spearmen, form a line in front; archers, stand back and shoot at the Frost Demon,” Kang Yoon-Soo commanded.

The Martial Blood Clan members immediately got into formation. However, the Mana Golem behind them suddenly raised its arms up again. Their formation did not matter, as they did not have a way to block the Mana Golem’s attack; what awaited them was certain death.

“Henrick, stretch out your mana threads,” Kang Yoon-Soo commanded.

“I understand what you mean!” the quick-witted Henrick said, nodding.

Henrick stored all of his dolls into his summoning box and stretched out his mana threads; they extended to fifty meters in length. He called out, “Thread Tying.”

Henrick had used one of the most basic skills of a Puppeteer. ‘Thread Tying’ was a skill that could tie monsters up in exchange for giving up control of the caster’s dolls. The mana threads that shot out of Henrick’s hands wrapped around the arms of the Mana Golem.

“I can’t tie this guy up for long! Hurry up and do something!” Henrick shouted, struggling to keep the Mana Golem under control.

Kang Yoon-Soo looked at Iris and called out, “Iris.”

“What is it?” Iris asked.

“Dig,” Kang Yoon-Soo ordered.

Iris had feasted on the hearts of the Ice Landworms before they entered the room. Ice Landworms were monsters that had the ability to dig through the thick frozen ground, and Iris had absorbed that ability from their hearts.

Large teeth that resembled those of the Ice Landworms emerged from Iris’ arms and she asked, “Where should I dig?”

“Beneath the feet of the Mana Golem,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

Iris started to dig diligently underneath the feet of the tied-up Mana Golem. She was able to dig at a frightening speed thanks to the Ice Landworm’s ability she had absorbed, as well as the innate monstrous strength of the doppelganger species. The Mana Golem leaned toward one side and collapsed to the ground.

Boooom!

“Go, subdue the golem so it can’t get up,” Kang Yoon-Soo ordered the undead legion.

The 600 Undead Ahinkuls acknowledged the command and charged at the Mana Golem. Meanwhile, the archers aimed their bows and shot arrows dipped in holy water toward their target.

“Airborne Shot!”

“Triple Arrow!”

“Precision Sniping!”

Numerous arrows from various skills flew toward the Frost Demon, but the monster was still able to finish casting its spell.

Whooosh!

A raging blizzard started to build up around the Frost Demon, seemingly threatening to rip anyone who dared come close to it to pieces. The arrows shot by the archers were all swept away by the blizzard and fell helplessly to the ground. The blizzard started to grow larger and larger, inching closer toward the clan members that were near the foot of the altar.

“Ack! My body!”

“A graze can freeze you! Be careful!”

It was a bitterly cold blizzard that threatened to freeze anything in its path; the rough winds blew snow all over the place, hampering the clan members’ vision. They could not properly wield their weapons, as their hands were slowly freezing from the blizzard.

“Sally,” Kang Yoon-Soo called out.

“Flame Equip!” Sally raised both of her arms and used her skill. A dazzling flame covered the clan members’ weapons, and their now burning weapons thawed their frozen hands.

“Forest of Curses,” the Frost Demon called out.

A creeping black fog covered the ground and turned it dark. The clan members felt their strength fade away; their grips on their weapons loosened and they no longer had the courage to fight. Some of them coughed as if they had caught a deadly disease.

“It’s a curse!”

“Be careful not to breathe it in!”

‘I have to make the Frost Demon come down from the altar first.’ Kang Yoon-Soo thought. The Frost Demon was a powerful enemy that used powerful wide-area offensive spells and debuff curses. It was bound to keep raining its magic down on them as long as it stayed on top of the altar.

“White, come here,” Kang Yoon-Soo ordered the beast.

“Marknok!” The beast who had fully pledged its loyalty roared, immediately running toward Kang Yoon-Soo.

Kang Yoon-Soo got on top of White and commanded, “Run toward the demon.”

“Ramirukra?” White asked.

“Use your claws and run along the walls,” Kang Yoon-Soo commanded.

White ran at a frightening speed and did not stop even though the blizzard was freezing its eyes and cheeks. However, it did not run toward the altar directly; instead, it chose to run and jump toward a wall instead. It extended its claws, clinging to the wall and running along its surface.

It was at that moment that Kang Yoon-Soo suddenly heard an eerie, chilling sound from behind.

“I shall feast on your blood first!” the Frost Demon exclaimed as it spread out its wings and flew toward Kang Yoon-Soo. “Ice Touch,” the demon called out as it swung its black arm, sending out a wave of cold air.

Kang Yoon-Soo instinctively jumped off White’s back, but there was nothing nearby to land on as he quickly fell from the sky. The Frost Demon was already below him, glaring hungrily at him. ‘A few seconds will decide life and death,’ he told himself, stabilizing his breath.

In the next moment, as Kang Yoon-Soo was halfway to crashing into the ground, a strong blizzard crashed into him. The icy winds blew so intensely he could not open his eyes. However, he gripped his sword with his eyes shut and muttered, “Abyssal Sword.”

It was the sword skill he had learned from the Death General Kalriven. ‘Abyssal Sword’ enabled him to deal a significant amount more damage the stronger his opponent was. Kang Yoon-Soo swung his sword imbued with both the fire and holy properties; his attack resembled a flash of lightning.

Kwachik!

Kang Yoon-Soo’s strike cut across the Frost Demon’s chest that still had the Sword of the Holy Cross embedded in it, dealing a critical blow. He then stabbed his sword into one of the demon’s thick black wings to keep himself from falling to the ground.

“Get off me!” the Frost Demon screamed, flapping its wings fiercely in an effort to shake off the human clinging onto it.

However, Kang Yoon-Soo had no plans to let the demon go that easily. He stabbed the demon in the chest three consecutive times, desperately muttering, “Abyssal Sword. Abyssal Sword. Abyssal Sword.”

The sword skill he had learned from the Death General consumed a huge 20% stamina each time it was used, and was quite risky to use consecutively as he had just done. However, the three strikes would deal massive damage to the demon if they successfully landed.

The damage Kang Yoon-Soo inflicted on the Frost Demon was amplified thanks to the Sword of the Holy Cross he had stabbed early on into the demon’s chest. He was able to disturb the Frost Demon’s flight pattern as a result.

“Keheuk!”

The Frost Demon decided that it was suicidal to try and stabilize its flight when the enemy was on its back; it slammed itself into a nearby wall in an attempt to shake the human off it. Its body and wings trembled from the impact, but Kang Yoon-Soo maintained a firm grip on the sword embedded in the demon’s wing, holding on like a stubborn parasite.

“Damn human!” the Frost Demon growled, before suddenly diving down toward the ground.

Kang Yoon-Soo suddenly jumped off the demon at that moment and commanded, “All units, focus down the demon.”

“Uwaaah!”

More than two hundred clan members charged at the demon that was now on the ground. They swung their weapons imbued with holy power, and the archers rained down arrows imbued with the holy property toward the demon.

The Frost Demon snarled angrily at the humans before swiping its claws and shouting, “Cold Armor!” It used a high-tier defensive spell that covered its entire body with armor made of ice. All of the weapons and arrows used by the clan members froze upon coming into contact with the armor.

“Your blood and flesh shall give me strength! Give it to me!” the Frost Demon howled, skewering five clan members at once. It then crushed the corpses and began to consume them. As it did so, its wounds healed and it grew larger, now looking more formidable.

[The Frost Demon had feasted on human corpses.]

[The demon will grow stronger the more it consumes human flesh and blood.]

The Frost Demon slammed its fist into the ground.

Baaam!

Crack!

A crater formed at the epicenter of the demon’s punch. The demon was now much stronger after it had consumed the flesh and blood of several humans, and the clan members’ faces paled at the sight of its new form.

Right as the clan members were stunned by the demon’s sudden power-up, however, a brunette woman ran toward the front and shouted, “Fire Strike!”

Shaneth’s Death Scythe was enveloped in flames as she slashed downward at the Frost Demon’s chest. As an Ignus Warrior, Shaneth’s flames were vastly more powerful than the flames that enveloped the others’ weapons. The Frost Demon grimaced in pain and wildly swung its arm toward Shaneth, but Shaneth quickly avoided its strike and retreated before shouting, “Sally!”

“Wrath of the Flames!” Sally shouted, and a vortex of flame shot out from both of her arms. However, the flames hit Shaneth instead of the Frost Demon.

The Frost Demon smirked and cackled before shouting at Sally in delight, “Stupid fool! You can’t even aim properly, and you hit your own ally!”

“Oh, do you really think so?” Shaneth retorted, walking out of the flames with a confident smile on her face.