Chapter 180: Death And Rebirth
Through the drifting clouds of sediment and blood, Seo-jin could still see the boss's aura. It burned red and dense, but it was draining. His own body felt hollow and spent, every scrap of power emptied into that last strike.
[You should eat. Grab a lesser and—]
'Not necessary. Look.'
The water slowly began to clear. From farther back, the brood watched in tight silence, muscles coiled, ready to rush in if their Broodfather needed them. When Gundant's shape finally came into view again, several of them eased their stance.
The giant stood motionless.
Chunks of his body were simply gone. Both arms were carved open, his wrist shredded beyond repair. He remained upright by sheer stubbornness, not even reacting to the missing foot or the deep cleft torn through the side of his skull.
Min surged up from the ocean floor, her aura burning like a torch as she landed beside Seo-jin.
'That was close.'
She studied the giant for a moment, then glanced to Seo-jin when he didn't respond.
He was staring at her like he'd just seen a ghost.
She sneered.
'Quit it. Ever seen a woman before?'
'...yeah...just not with a face like that.'
'Fuck off.'
She barely looked human now. Half woman, half shark. Her skin had darkened and roughened, a fin cutting from the center of her back. Her jaw had stretched wider than it should, packed with rows of jagged teeth. Her eyes were pitch black.
[Must be her trump card.]
Whatever it was, Gundant wasn't about to give Seo-jin time to study it. The giant finally moved.
He released his axe.
Then he slowly tipped backward and sank until he sat heavily on the ocean floor, blood leaking steadily from the ruins of his body.
His eyes lit for a moment as they fixed on Seo-jin.
'How strange. I feel cold… yet my skin burns.'
He lifted his arm. The hand dangled uselessly from the shredded meat of his wrist. Gundant looked at it, then gave a faint smile.
'What an interesting day.'
Seo-jin could see it clearly now. The giant was dying. He could end it here with one clean strike. Min had already started forward, but Seo-jin stopped her with a hand on her arm.
Instead, he swam closer.
He drifted down until he was well within the giant's reach.
'High-lord Gundant, before you pass… would you mind telling me what you meant by my corruption? What was sealed?'
The curiosity in the giant's eyes faded.
Something harder replaced it.
For a moment the water tightened with tension. Min stiffened beside Seo-jin and several broodlings shifted closer, but Gundant didn't move. Instead he coughed wetly, a dark chunk drifting from his mouth as he leaned closer.
'Knowing won't change anything. It would only make things worse.'
His voice had grown rough.
'Knowledge like this never comes free. And the price… would be far too much for you.'
Seo-jin didn't answer.
Gundant watched his expression and understood immediately. The answer hadn't satisfied him. But he also knew nothing would.
The giant exhaled slowly.
His skin had begun to gray. The blood pouring from his wounds had slowed to a sluggish drift. Even the hand at his ruined wrist had begun to stiffen.
'Little imp… if you truly wish to uncover the truth, you will need the strength to carry it.'
He looked directly into Seo-jin's eyes.
'Become a Demon-lord. Only then will you be able to stand against it.'
Seo-jin's brows tightened.
'Stand against what?'
'Your fate.'
Gundant's aura flickered.
'And the fate of the Six Realms.'
The red glow inside his body faded further. His pulse slowed until even Seo-jin could barely sense it.
Death was already closing in.
Seeing the end approach, Gundant slowly reached a trembling hand toward him.
'Finish me.'
His voice softened.
'Grant me the honor of a warrior's death.'
Struggling with the weight of Gundant's words, Seo-jin forced himself not to press further. The urge to tear the answers out of the giant was there, sharp and insistent, but he pushed it down. He steadied his breathing and tightened his grip on Butcher's Wrath.
Exhausted, barely able to hold himself upright, he still felt a strange respect for the fallen warrior. Gathering what little strength remained, he drifted upward until he hovered above the giant's head.
'Anything else you wish to say?'
Gundant smiled faintly. Half his skull was gone, blood drifting slowly from the exposed ruin. He closed his eyes.
'Do not reveal your origin. Not to anyone.'
A weak breath escaped him.
'Especially the gods.'
'I'll heed your warning. It was a good fight, Gundant. Pass with honor.'
[-2SM]
[SM // 43/52]
[Rend // Activated]
[+15% Slicing Damage]
Two massive cleavers formed above the giant's head.
They came down hard.
The blades sank deep into Gundant's crown, ending what remained of the High-lord's life.
[+1200Exp]
[+100SM]
Crimson system light erupted across the battlefield. Panic, Hex, Snare, Synapse, Bile, and Widow all leveled.
Seo-jin did too.
[Exp // 22972 -> 24172 / 24161]
[Level Up +1]
[Level // 23 -> 24]
[+1 AGI / +1 INT / +1 FLH / +1 SM / +3 AP]
[Spawn Limit +1]
[Network // Notification]
[Dungeon Quest // Prison Break // Complete]
[Distributing Rewards....Exp Potion x2 / Gundant's Axe / 1500DP]
The rewards slipped into his inventory as more notifications filled his vision, translucent panels stacking over the drifting blood in the water. One in particular caught his eye.
[System // Notification]
[Broodling / Synapse // Level 10 Achieved]
[New Class Available // Flesh Architect]
[Assign Class to Broodling // Synapse]
[Yes/No]
Seo-jin glanced toward the broodling. Synapse was glowing brighter than the rest, the light rolling off his body in steady pulses. Seeing no reason to hesitate, he selected Yes.
The moment he did, the glow around Synapse erupted. It surged outward, then snapped inward, wrapping around him like a cloak. Numbers and symbols began crawling across the light as it folded around each limb, his torso, his head, the script multiplying until his entire form was wrapped in shifting code.
Then the script detonated.
The light burst outward in a violent pulse. Synapse's bloodlight surged like a breaking tide, forcing Snare, who had been floating nearby to kick hard and clear the blast of current. Loose silt and blood rolled away from the shock.
When the glow finally settled and the water calmed, Synapse remained where he was. His eyes burned bright as suns. Lines of numbers and symbols streamed across his pupils like a living display before slowly fading into stillness.
[System // Notification]
[Broodling / Synapse // Flesh Architect Class Acquisition Successful]
[STR +4 / AGI +3 / VIT +4 / INT +16]
'Flesh Architect...sounds interesting.'
He wanted to dig into the class immediately, but something else pulled at his attention. Something he had no chance of ignoring.
The boss drops.
A chest stood beside Gundant's corpse, formed from the same dark blue Network light as the one he had seen in the Fae dungeon. It pulsed softly like it was waiting for him.
'Finally I get to open one.'
[Hope it's something good.]
Swimming forward, Seo-jin felt a quiet excitement building, the same feeling as staring at a gift waiting to be opened. Ignoring the giant corpse beside him and the distant chittering of the brood, he placed a hand on the chest's lid and lifted it.
Golden light burst out.
Three objects slowly rose from the glow and floated in front of him. Two were easy to identify at a glance. One was a necklace made of dark metal links spaced with long animal fangs. The second was a chunk of coral, pale pink, its surface slick with an oily aura that drifted off it.
The last object was harder to place.
It looked like a chunk of dried meat, dark and shriveled, somehow dry even submerged in water. Thick strands of brown aura pulsed around it like a heartbeat, each slow thump sending a faint vibration through the water.
Seo-jin reached out and grabbed it.
The moment his fingers closed around it, a jolt ran up his arm. The thing felt unusually heavy, and strangely alive despite its dried appearance.
A system notification appeared in his vision.
It reflected off the grin spreading across his face.
'Would you look at that. Don't you think this would be perfect for Tomb?'
[I was literally just thinking that. Ohhh this is gonna be good!]
As he read the notification, his mind immediately began to picture it. Somewhere nearby, Tomb felt a faint tingle crawl across his skin at the same moment.
[System // Notification]
[Consumable // Giant's Gallbladder]
[Mutation Bloodline // Mountain Giant (High-Lord) // Acquired]
Seo-jin stored the item in his inventory and felt a deep satisfaction settle in his chest. Mutations were rare. Until now, the only ones he'd gained had come from system quests.
Knowing they could drop from bosses too opened far more possibilities than he'd expected.
[He only needs a few more kills to level. You should have him finish a few lessers and—]
'Not yet. I want to wait until after I evolve. Who knows, he might get a bonus or something.'
[It's possible. Well hurry up then. I want to see Tomb's mutation.]
Seo-jin rolled his eyes, but the system wasn't the only one getting impatient.
The necklace and the coral chunk still floated above the open chest, their faint glow reflecting off the drifting blood in the water. Seo-jin reached out, grabbed both items, and stored them in his inventory. He would examine them later.
For now, there was only one thing left.
The final requirement for his evolution.
Reaching into his mouth, Seo-jin focused. His teeth lengthened into fangs. He gripped one, wrenched it free, and tossed it forward.
[-2SM]
[SM // 51/53]
[Spawn Broodling // Activated]
The tooth cracked open. Black ichor spilled out, spreading and thickening as it gathered itself into shape. Meat and bone formed from the mass, muscle pulling tight over a growing frame. In seconds, Seo-jin's tenth broodling took shape.
His final requirement.
Curled within a cocoon of solidifying flesh, the newborn finished forming. The water around it bubbled from the heat bleeding off it. Slowly it stretched, uncurling as it turned toward Seo-jin.
Its skin was pitch black, darker than the cavern shadows. The horns were darker still, thin and curved, sweeping back and up from its brow. Its build was solid, more muscle than Panic had at birth but leaner than Pain. It stood straight immediately, shoulders set, meeting Seo-jin's gaze without hesitation.
Its eyes were a deep yellow.
The voice that reached Seo-jin's mind was calm, smooth for something just born. Even through the broodlink, the confidence in its tone was clear.
'Master.'
The broodling knelt, but its eyes never dropped.
[System // Notification]
[Broodling x1 // Spawned]
[Would User like to assign a name?]
[Yes/No]
A name was already circling Seo-jin's thoughts. His mind felt crowded. Too much had happened, and Gundant's final words still rattled around in the back of his head. Creativity wasn't coming easily right now.
The name would do.
[System // Notification]
[Name // Assigned]
[Broodling // Fang]
Bloodlight erupted from the newest member of the brood. A second notification followed immediately after.
The one he had been waiting for.
[System // Notification]
[Broodlings Spawned has reached Class Limit]
[Evolution Requirements // Achieved]
[Evolution Unlocked // Imp Tyrant (Mawspawn Variant)]
[Accept Evolution]
[Yes/No]
The world seemed to still.
Imp Tyrant.
The name carried weight. It felt heavy. It felt right.
Seo-jin glanced down at his hands, at the pale human flesh he was still wearing. After a moment, he shook his head.
This form wasn't right for the moment.
And he needed to shed some weight before accepting.
System light spread across Seo-jin's torso as he stripped down to a bare chest. The twin growths on his back convulsed and began to retch as he forced the humans inside them out.
'Subdue them quick and force them to drink.'
Slims, Split-jaw, Lynn, and the others spilled into the water in wet chunks of flesh that rapidly pulled themselves back together. They surfaced screaming, eyes wide and wild, their bodies shaking with Madness.
The broodlings moved immediately. Even Grimm put in some work, his intestines holding the humans tight. Teal just watched as she pulled a couple sips from her flask.
Each human, now pinned against the seabed, had a drink forced to their mouths as they fought and thrashed. One by one the struggle faded. Breathing slowed. Eyes cleared.
Standing warily, each of them carried fresh scars from what they had endured inside the growths.
Min swam up beside Seo-jin, her form now returned to normal.
'What's next boss? Where the exit?'
'We're not leaving yet. I need all of you to guard me first. And make sure nothing happens to Gundant's body. I have a feeling I'm gonna be hungry after this.'
Min frowned.
'After what?'
Seo-jin smiled as he removed the last of his clothes, the water brushing across his bare skin.
'You'll see.'
His body began to stretch.
The human flesh darkened and split as something older pushed outward. Horns forced their way from his skull. His spine lengthened. A tail cracked free behind him.
Flexing his claws and rolling his neck, Azakh-Tur settled into his true form.
Then he pressed Yes.