Leveling Up Through Eating

Chapter 453: For Elpis

The video of the Great Demon Verus and the demons’ invasion had garnered the highest ratings in the history of Athenae! Most of the game broadcasting stations had exceeded 50% of their viewership rating, an unbelievable record that caused most people to reevaluate their views about Let’s Eat Sect!

[So, the Food God is not really the strongest in Let‘s Eat Sect, huh…]

[That’s crazy! Did you see Khan’s fist? Doesn’t it look like the demons can’t do anything everytime he punches them?]

[How about Diablo and that thug NPC? Did you see him beating the hell out of Verus because his eyes aren’t nice? Verus was also scared of him.]

[Let’s Eat Sect is the best.]

The talented rankers all over the world were all tongue-tied at the amazing potential that Let’s Eat Sect was showing right now. However, not long after, they realized…

[The great demon and the demons have limitless regenerative abilities, right?]

[Ah, come to think of it, why aren’t the demonic beasts and the enslaved beings behind the demons not yet moving?]

One of the 72 Devils, Zagan, was leading a legion made up of hundreds of demonic beasts. There were also hundreds of slaves of various races tied with chains behind the old demon, Forcas. All of them have not yet made their move. It was as if they were testing the power of their enemies before they made their move.

***

The members of Let’s Eat Sect were already starting to get tired from pushing and pressuring the demons.

‘What the hell is this incredible regenerative power?’

‘We don’t have any chance of winning…’

There were quite a lot of monsters with tremendous and shocking regenerative abilities. However, they had never seen anyone that could continuously regenerate like the demons in front of them. Even if they incurred just a little injury, their HP seemed to instantly reach 100% again.

And Flauros, who was twitching on the ground by Khan’s side, murmured…

[This is definitely shocking. How can a human be as powerful as a God?]

“…?”

Khan looked at Flauros in doubt. When he turned around, he saw Zagan, the demon that Crow, Ace, Conir and Ghost Spear Ben were putting pressure on, smiling.

[I wonder how long you can fight against us? We’re only using a fifth of our powers, you know?]

‘Wh, what did you say…?’

‘A fifth?!’

‘What kind of bullshit is that?!’

Listening to their words made the members of Let’s Eat Sect tremble. They were putting their lives on the line, having a hard time fighting against enemies that had their powers sealed to that extent? If that was the case, then how strong would they be if the demons were at their full strength?

[Will you allow me to release the seal that restricts my power, O’ Great Demon?]

Verus, who had just been beaten by Brod, grinned at Zagan’s question.

[I grant you your request.]

At the end of Verus’ words, several bottles of potions appeared in Zagan’s hands. Demons were beings equipped with their own special attributes. In the field of alchemy, Zagan’s characteristics were special enough to rival that of a God’s. The purple liquid sloshing in the bottles in his hands suggested that a part of their power would be unsealed and restored.

“Stop hiiiiiiim!!!”

“Break those things!!!”

The members of Let’s Eat Sect shouted in agitation. Elf King Gorn’s arrows that were made of light sped through the air and aimed for the bottles of potions in Zagan’s hands.

Ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping!

Crack—

But Forcas approached him in an instant and broke the arrows that he sent out. The members of Let’s Eat Sect, the Dragon King, Elf King Gorn, and other Named NPCs immediately rushed forward.

But then, the black hawk on Flauros’ shoulder moved.

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!

The black hawk moved so fast that none of them could follow it with their own eyes. And with every flap of its wings, a huge explosion would burst out in their ranks and knock them down. And amidst the explosions, they saw…

Pop—

Pop—

Pop—

…Great Demon Verus, Zagan, Flauros and Forcas opening the bottles of potions filled with sloshing purple liquid and gulping them down.

Gulp, gulp, gulp—

Their throats moved as they continued to gulp the potion. Crow, who had collapsed on the ground from the explosions, rushed forward with his spear.

“We have to kill them now!!!” He shouted while running. However, the notifications that rang right after brought him immense shock.

[Great Demon Verus is devouring the demonic energy in the surroundings!]

[Humans will not be able to fight against this powerful force.]

[All of your stats will decrease by 20%. Your attack’s success rate will also decrease by 40%.]

[Your Physical and Magical Defenses will decrease by 30%.]

[The tremendous amount of demonic energy in the surrounding area has shackled you. If you get attacked under this state, you will receive double the damage.]

Still, Crow did not stop in his tracks. He continued to dash forward and thrust his spear to pierce through the neck of the old demon, Forcas. Alas, Forcas was one step faster than him, and had already lightly swung his scythe against him.

Slaaaaash—

[Your HP has fallen below 10%!]

[More than 80% of your HP has been shaved off in one go.]

[You have received a strong attack, you will not be able to control your body.]

“Keheok?!”

Crow collapsed on the ground. He could not stand up and could only twitch helplessly. Then, hundreds of potion bottles floated around Zagan, before soaring to the skies and falling on the ground and exploding.

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!

[Your HP has fallen below 50%!]

[You have been subjected to Demon Zagan’s potions.]

[You will experience tremendous pain, as if you’re being burned from the poison in the potion.]

[The burning pain will make it harder for you to control your body.]

“Keuhaaaaack!”

“Euaaaaack!”

The members of Let’s Eat Sect that were hit directly by the explosions from the potions screamed loudly. The explosions were so powerful that they shaved off 30% of their HP in one go. The worst part?

Clack—

Clack—

Clack—

Clack—

The slaves shackled by chains standing behind Forcas started to move.

“Chwiiiiiiiik!”

Baaaaaaaaaang—

One of the enslaved orcs punched Khan.

“Kghhhhhk! Wha, what kind of orc is this…?!”

If Demon Zagan was the master of alchemy, then Forcas was a demon that dragged countless beings down into the Demon World to make them his slaves. Through Forcas’ rigorous training, brainwashing, and torture, his slaves had become ten times more powerful than their original power.

Fwooooooooosh—

One of the enslaved elves shot an arrow that pierced through Elf King Gorn’s shoulder.

“Urk!” Gorn groaned as he collapsed on the ground from the pain. The Dragon King rushed forward to protect him. But not long after, Flauros’ black hawk passed by the Dragon King and set off another explosion.

“Keuaaaaaaaack!”

The explosion caused the Dragon King’s left arm to bend strangely and left one of his legs broken. All the Dragon King could do was fall down helplessly, his eyes wandering around in despair. He watched as Verus swung his sword and sent out thousands of explosions simultaneously.

“Huff!”

Brod did not let out a groan, despite being engulfed in the explosion. But when the cloud of dust settled, his figure was completely haggard and devastated. Blood was dripping from his head and his body was covered with the debris from the explosion. Elpis was also struggling to stand up to fight against Verus once again.

But it was completely useless. In another area, the NPCs and members of Let’s Eat Sect were collapsing one after the other. Their eyes were showing the mounting desperation.

“It’s over…” The Dragon King murmured as he looked up at the sky helplessly.

***

Brod was flustered after seeing the sudden leap in Great Demon Verus’ power.

‘How…’

He was at a level where Brod could not do anything against him. Great Demon Verus was fear and terror in and of itself. He was completely different from when he told him to open his eyes and make them look nicely earlier.

“Mercenary’s Pinnacle Swordsmanship’s Final Chapter. Wolf’s Death.”

Thousands of red wolves dashed towards Verus. But when Verus snapped his fingers…

[Great Demon’s Attribute.]

[The nullification attribute has been triggered.]

Swooooooooosh—

…Brod’s strongest AOE skill was rendered useless in one go.

‘The Great Demon’s Attribute is equivalent to the God’s Authority in power…’

The concept of the God’s Authority was similar to the King’s Authority. However, the two were most definitely not comparable. Brod swung his sword to try and stop Great Demon Verus’ sword.

Baaaaaaaang—

Unfortunately, he could only fly back helplessly while throwing up a mouthful of black blood the moment his sword collided with Great Demon Verus’ sword.

“Urk!”

[Human, didn’t you say that I should look kindly? Huh? Keuhahahahahaha!]

Great Demon Verus guffawed. Just when he was about to step towards Brod…

Clatter, clatter—

…Elpis, who was lying on the ground, threw his scythe and wound its chains around Verus’ ankle.

Crack—

Shockingly enough, the chains of his scythe broke the moment Great Demon Verus grabbed it with his hands.

Crack—

[Watch closely, Diablo. Your foolish decision will kill all of those that you love.]

Verus grabbed Elpis by the head and forced him to look at the terrible hell that surrounded them. The scene of Ghost Spear Ben falling on the ground as the enslaved orcs, elves and ogres pushed him back was seared in Elpis’ eyes. There was also Best Selling Author Aruvel, who was forced on his knee with a broken arm, struggling to stand up and fight. The members of Let’s Eat Sect were also screaming non-stop.

“…”

Tears welled up in Elpis’ eyes as he fell into deep sorrow. But then, he suddenly remembered what Minhyuk told him.

‘Elpis, why do you always cry? If you cry again, I will call you Wolfis. Huh? Speaking of Wolfis, I suddenly want to have some Koolpis! Keuhahahaha!’

Recalling Minhyuk’s words was enough to bring a smile to his face. So, he smiled. After all, this was what his lord had ordered him.

[Have you gone mad? You’re smiling when you’re already in this situation?!]

Verus sneered as he threw Elpis to the ground. Verus knew that he did not have enough time to stay in this place, he had to end everything right now. So, he leapt to the skies as a blazing black flame wrapped around his hands.

[Demon’s Blazing Flame]

[Your attack will increase by 7,000%. Everything within a 500 meter radius will be extinguished.]

The flames in his hands had far more destructive power than a dragon’s breath. The area that it could cover was also huge. When the flames in his hands grew large enough, he released it below him. A simple glance at this flame would tell anyone that it was more than enough to kill everyone, including the members of Let’s Eat Sect, and even remove Valhalla Fortress from the map.

‘I don’t have any regrets…’

Elpis did not have any regrets. He was glad that before he died, he was still a man that served the lord named Minhyuk. He cried with him, laughed with him, and shared stories with him in his territory. He really enjoyed their time together. Even if he died now, he really would not have any regrets. However, there was one thing that he wanted to do, even if it cost him his life. He wanted to protect everyone here.

Elpis’ ‘Devil Judge’ consisted of several chapters. He had a skill that was similar to Devil Judge’s Sword’s ‘Berserk’, a skill that strengthened and increased his power, but was a cut above it in terms of power and could be considered as one of his extreme penalty skills.

This skill was none other than ‘Judge’s Wrath’. It could triple his attack and defense for ten seconds. Once the ten seconds was up, his HP would plummet to 2%. But with the situation right now, having only 2% HP would spell Elpis’ death.

“Judge’s Wrath.”

Shwaaaaaaaaaaa—

A tremendous amount of demonic energy burst out of Elpis’ body. Then, he flew up to counter the falling Demon’s Blazing Flame that had already grown larger than a meteor. While everyone had fallen into the depths of despair, only Elpis stood up to fight.

“Elpis!!!”

“Elpis!!!”

“N, no!!!”

“Elpiiiiiiiiis!!!”

Everyone could tell that Elpis was sacrificing himself and they screamed his name.

The entire world shook from the shockwave of the collision between Elpis, who used Judge’s Wrath, and Verus’ Demon’s Blazing Flame. It created a huge cloud of dust that covered everything.

***

In one of Joy Co. Ltd.’s meeting rooms.

President Kang Taehoon shut his eyes. In the end, Elpis chose to save everyone and go down the path of death. No, in fact, Elpis might have thought that he saved them, but in the end everyone present would still die.

A deep silence draped over the meeting room. None of them could see anything through the thick cloud of dust.

“Hoo,” President Kang Taehoon sighed loudly as he stood up from his seat to try and open the window to release his frustration. But at that moment, strange and shocking notifications suddenly rang loudly in the otherwise silent meeting room.

[Player Minhyuk has sealed Demon Forcas.]

[Player Minhyuk has acquired Demon Forcas’ Treasure.]

[Player Minhyuk has sealed Demon Zagan.]

[Player Minhyuk has acquired Demon Zagan’s Treasure.]

[Player Minhyuk has sealed Demon Flauros.]

[Player Minhyuk has acquired Demon Flauros’ Treasure.]

The notifications rang in intervals of around two to three seconds.

“…?!”

“…?!”

“…?!”

Everyone was shocked. Then, President Kang Taehoon murmured in a trembling voice, “What the hell is going on within that cloud of dust…?”

The broadcasting stations’ cameras were filming at different angles but it was still hard to see anything since everything was covered by the thick cloud of dust. Then, they suddenly saw the silhouette of someone falling rapidly down the ground.

Baaaaaaaaaang—

A loud bang resonated through the screen. All of the people watching their screens assumed that the silhouette was Elpis.

[Right now, it seems like Diablo’s figure has fallen down on the ground.]

[Will Diablo really die in the end?]

[We can assume that Diablo, who protected Let’s Eat Sect until the very end, has taken his final breath.]

[We can hear the desperate shouts of the members of Let’s Eat Sect. Ah, my heart hurts so much.]

Right above the place where the silhouette fell, another silhouette was reflected. The silhouette slowly descended from the sky as it looked down on Elpis’ supposed collapsed figure. After a few tense minutes, the dust finally settled down. However, what greeted the entire world was a very shocking scene. The figure that fell down on the ground earlier was…

[Ve, Verus?!!]

[Great Demon Verus is the one that’s stuck on the ground!]

[What, what in the world happened?!]

The other figure that was descending from the sky was a man with silver hair and eyes. The man carried Elpis in his hands with a soft smile on his face as he apologized, “Sorry, I’m late.”

It was none other than Minhyuk.

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