Chapter 93: Dungeon Eater (1)
‘You’re basically a god here, huh?’
『Not surprising at all.』
The tentacle replied indifferently to Jin-young’s remark.
It already ruled like a god even in sub-space.
It received worship from Jacob, Dmitri, the variants, and others—so it was only natural.
More importantly, seeing the devil mistake the tentacle for a god confirmed that the deity worshipped by these devils was likely the Demon King.
That meant hell had a deep connection to the Demon King.
It would be worth opening the Gate of Hell later to explore the ‘real’ hell.
‘Since this dungeon is still part of hell anyway, you should be able to extend your influence here, right? How about it?’
『I need a medium. Something to bind me to this dungeon.』
Originally, hell was connected to the tentacle through the ‘Gate of Hell’ as a medium, but this dungeon lacked that connection.
Therefore, for the tentacle to exert influence, it required some kind of intermediary.
‘Hm. What do you need?’
『Anything that penetrates the entire dungeon will do.』
‘Like the pipes running throughout the city?’
『That wouldn’t be bad.』
‘Let’s deal with this guy first and then go check it out.’
Jin-young looked down at Vritra, who was still prostrated and praying.
“Please save Nine City, O God…”
The tentacle was about to grab him but paused for a moment.
Jin-young also reconsidered simply tossing him into sub-space and thought about how to make use of him.
‘Since he’s treating you like a god anyway, why not act like one?’
『That sounds like a hassle.』
The tentacle muttered that, then approached close to Vritra’s face.
Vritra lifted his head and stared straight at the tentacle.
Crimson heat seemed to blaze in his pitch-black pupils.
Even ordinary people—let alone Hunters considered quite powerful—wouldn’t dare meet the tentacle’s gaze directly.
Yet Vritra looked at it as naturally as if gazing at a stone.
Perhaps devils of hell had some kind of resistance.
『Vritra.』
“Ooooh! To speak my name… what an honor!”
The moment the tentacle called his name, Vritra trembled violently with emotion.
Even his voice quivered faintly, sounding almost like someone speaking to their first love.
‘He’s completely entranced.’
From Jin-young’s perspective, Vritra’s rationality had already collapsed.
Of course, facing a god in person would naturally paralyze one’s reason.
It spoke to how overwhelming the tentacle’s presence was.
At this rate, they might clear the dungeon without much effort.
『Why did you seek me out?』
“Our Void Church has been persecuted by the main Church for hundreds of years. We were driven out of Gehenna and chased to the very fringes of hell. We wish to rise again—by borrowing your great power.”
Vritra pleaded earnestly.
So the Void Church’s ultimate goal in summoning a god was to avenge past humiliations.
From his words, Jin-young could infer several things.
There was a religion that worshipped the Demon King, and the Void Church was one sect within it.
He didn’t know exactly where Gehenna was, but it was clearly the most important region in this hell.
‘When I go to the real hell later, I should start by looking for Gehenna.’
While Jin-young organized his thoughts, the tentacle continued.
『Where do the pipes that stretch across all of Nine City begin?』
“At our Red Industry’s Flameheart Power Plant. I can take you there immediately.”
『Lead the way.』
At the tentacle’s command, Vritra sprang to his feet and headed toward one wall of the office.
There stood something resembling a luxurious elevator, but when the door opened, a mirror appeared inside.
Vritra placed his hand on the mirror.
Tsutsuts—
An oval-shaped dark-crimson portal opened.
Jin-young followed Vritra through the portal.
Shuuut—
The place they arrived at was a power plant filled with dozens of massive steam engine facilities.
Push— push— pssshhh—
It generated power using the hell lava flowing down from the mountain valley, supplying energy to the entire city.
“Buildings, trains, even the hellfire used by us Red-Horn Tribe devils—everything is produced here. Thanks to this, Nine City has managed to survive until now.”
It was precisely because of this power plant that Vritra had been able to continuously regenerate his body and spew hellfire without end.
‘Exactly what we were looking for.’
A medium that influenced the entire city.
『Then I’ll begin.』
Tsutsuts—
A portal opened in front of one of the steam engine facilities, and the tentacle emerged.
Kwaduduk— kugugugugu!
It rapidly grew larger, tearing the portal apart as it fully revealed itself.
Crash crash crash!
“Aaah! O great Ruler of the Void!”
Overwhelmed by the majestic sight, Vritra raised both hands in worship and immediately prostrated himself on the ground.
Kwagwagwagwa—
The enormous tentacle wrapped around an entire steam engine facility in one go.
Kwazuzuz—
Immediately afterward, black mana surged out and began infiltrating the interior of the steam engine.
Though invisible to the eye, Jin-young could clearly sense it with his psionic energy.
‘The power is starting to flow through the pipes.’
From the power plant, black mana spread along the pipes, permeating every corner of the city.
***
“The reason Nine City has a class system is also because of the Void Church. When society is divided into strict hierarchies, the powerful don’t even need to step in—the lower classes are too busy monitoring and controlling each other.”
Once Guard Captain Ulan finished speaking, Yoon Soo-ho asked,
“How did a mere cult gain that kind of power?”
“Thanks to Red Industry. It’s an open secret that the megacorporation feeding the entire city has deep ties to the Void Church.”
“Isn’t there something like police?”
“They’re all in on it. Vritra, the branch manager of Red Industry, effectively doubles as Nine City’s mayor. Everything in the city is run by the Cult Leader and Vritra.”
“No central government, so it’s complete chaos.”
At Yoon Soo-ho’s comment, Choi Hee-yeon chimed in.
“Since every region is essentially self-governing, you could say hell is made up entirely of city-states.”
There were countless cities in hell, but there was no overarching nation that governed them all.
As a result, there was no real central government—each city handled its own affairs.
That seemed to be the rule of hell.
“The one exception is the Hell God Religion, which does interfere with the cities. When heretical acts are discovered, they impose appropriate punishment.”
“Didn’t you say the Void Church is a cult? How hasn’t it been caught?”
“Officially, the Void Church does not exist in Nine City. That’s why mentioning it carelessly could get you into serious trouble.”
While discussing the Void Church, Red Industry, hell, and Nine City, they gradually drew closer to the city.
“When we return to Nine City, never mention the Church.”
“We’ll keep that in mind.”
Yoon Soo-ho and Choi Hee-yeon nodded at Ulan’s warning.
They completed their patrol duty and returned to Nine City.
Passing through the checkpoint they had visited earlier, they entered the true downtown area of Nine City.
The closer they got to the center, the taller the buildings became, and the pipes were webbed across the city like spider silk.
Watching the trains running overhead, Yoon Soo-ho asked,
“Can’t we ride those to get around?”
“We’re not allowed to.”
“Why not?”
“Because we’re the lowest class.”
Ulan’s concise and clear answer made Yoon Soo-ho drop the subject.
The atmosphere grew awkward for a moment before Ulan spoke again after a brief pause.
“Actually, things are a lot better now than before. In the past, Watchmen couldn’t even dream of entering the city proper.”
“The more I hear, the more dizzying it gets.”
Yoon Soo-ho grew curious about exactly how the lowest class of Nine City lived.
Of course, he didn’t feel any sympathy for them.
They weren’t even from the same world, and once the dungeon was cleared, they would never meet again.
In game terms, beings referred to as ‘NPCs’ were nothing more than tools for clearing the dungeon.
That was why some Hunters occasionally took out their frustrations on weak and easy-to-handle NPCs.
They vented their resentment toward the very existence of dungeons on Earth onto those unfortunate beings.
In truth, no one had ever proven any connection between NPC-like beings and dungeon creation, but to the Hunters, that wasn’t an important issue.
Yoon Soo-ho understood the feelings some Hunters harbored, but he was the type who believed there was no reason to take it out on NPCs.
Those kinds of people were usually the weak ones who couldn’t even properly kill monsters.
“Damn it.”
Ulan, walking ahead, suddenly let out a low curse.
Yoon Soo-ho spotted a group of Red-Horn Tribe devils in blue uniforms approaching from the opposite direction.
Unlike the Watchmen with their shabby armor and crude weapons, these ones carried gleaming firearms.
They were none other than Nine City’s police force, responsible for maintaining public order.
“Isn’t that Guard Captain Ulan? What’s a guy who should be wandering the wasteland doing here?”
“Hello, Officer Verkin. I was showing some newly arrived otherworldly beings around the city.”
The man called Verkin raised an eyebrow.
“On whose authority?”
“The checkpoint chief—”
Thud!
Before Ulan could finish, Verkin kicked him hard in the stomach.
“Ugh…”
Ulan collapsed, clutching his abdomen.
Choi Hee-yeon instinctively tensed as if ready to charge in, but she stopped at Yoon Soo-ho’s gesture.
“Who said you could talk back? You think becoming a guard captain makes you something special? You’re just the best among the lowest scum—still the lowest scum. Got it?”
“Yes…”
The police officers snickered as Ulan struggled to rise.
“Kekeke.”
“Look at this bug crawling and begging for his life.”
Even under their mockery, the Watchmen couldn’t say a word—couldn’t even look up.
“……!”
At that moment, Ulan’s eyes widened as he stared past Verkin and the police officers.
Yoon Soo-ho and Choi Hee-yeon also wore shocked expressions, but they immediately prepared for combat.
Seeing this, Verkin twisted his face in fury.
“How dare some otherworldly trash—”
Mid-sentence, Verkin suddenly felt a sharp prickling at the back of his head.
Then an inexplicable, bone-chilling cold crept down his spine.
Crack— Pukwak!
A horrifying sound came from behind.
The sound of bones snapping and flesh bursting.
The instant Verkin turned around—
Splat!
A black tentacle wrapped around his face in the blink of an eye.
Pop!
His head exploded instantly, killing him on the spot.
“Kyaaaaah!”
“R-run!”
Passersby who witnessed the police officers’ heads bursting into gore screamed and fled in panic.
“……”
Ulan simply stared up at the tentacle in a daze.
Choi Hee-yeon’s legs gave out, and she sank to the ground without realizing it.
Instinctively, she averted her eyes, as if looking directly at it would be dangerous.
“This power is…”
Even so, Yoon Soo-ho sensed something familiar in the tentacle.
The evil black mana wielded by the Prophets of GODS.
But it couldn’t be them.
Only three people had entered this dungeon: Psycho and the two of them.
Once a raid began inside a dungeon, no additional entries were possible.
“Perhaps something in that place is handling black mana.”
Yoon Soo-ho guessed that the Void Church might be the ones dealing with black mana.
And if that tentacle-like thing was some kind of demonic beast controlled by the Church…
“This raid… isn’t going to be easy.”
Shhh—
The tentacle vanished through a portal that appeared in midair.
Yet the lingering aftershock of its overwhelming power still hung heavily in the air.
“This isn’t the time. We need to leave before misunderstandings arise.”
At Ulan’s urgent words, everyone nodded and quickly moved away from the scene.
After they left—
Tsutsuts—
A portal opened, and the corpses of Verkin and the other police officers were sucked inside.