Chapter 95: Dungeon Eater (3)
Psssh— pssshhh—
Nine City’s industrial district was the hottest area after the power plant.
That was because it continuously produced all kinds of goods using the hellfire energy generated from the power plant.
Not stopping for even a single second.
The items manufactured in Nine City were said to be exported to every corner of hell.
Even now, hazy smoke billowed thickly from the factory chimneys.
Muleta, who had guided them to the industrial district, spoke to Jin-young.
“The raw material for my Dark Crescent Blades—Hellstone—is also refined here.”
“Dark Crescent Blades? Ah, those spinning things.”
Jin-young recalled the rotating crescent blades that had tried to dismember his limbs.
Stopping them with psychokinesis hadn’t been difficult, but crumpling them had required more force than expected.
Even among the various dungeon items currently used on Earth, weapons of that hardness were extremely rare.
What was even more surprising was that the raw material for those blades was being mass-produced right here in this factory.
“The entrance to the underground temple of the Church is in the abandoned factory zone at the end of the industrial district.”
Muleta pointed toward the endless rows of factories as she spoke.
The reason they had come to the industrial district wasn’t to sightsee the factories, but to locate the Cult Leader’s residence.
The Void Church had its temple hidden deep beneath Nine City, with entrances scattered throughout the city.
Among them, the entrance in this industrial district was the one closest to the heart of the underground temple.
『Even underground in the city and at the edge of the industrial district, my influence still hasn’t reached yet.』
The tentacle said.
The pipes that started from the power plant naturally extended into the industrial district as well, but certain sections had already been dismantled.
Precisely—the area filled with long-abandoned factories.
Since the pipes in the abandoned factory zone had all been removed, the tentacle’s influence couldn’t reach there.
“Let’s go. While we’re at it, I want to pick up anything useful along the way.”
“Yes, O God.”
Jin-young planned to take large quantities of Hellstone refined in the industrial district.
Of course, he himself had no need for it, but it would be enormously helpful to Earth’s Hunters.
It would reduce risks not only during dungeon raids and contaminated zone subjugations, but also when facing villains like GODS.
And for the possible Second Great Cataclysm that might come in the future, a general upgrade in overall specs was essential.
Jin-young followed Muleta deeper into the industrial district.
『I’ve succeeded in taking control of all of Nine City except for the areas where the pipes don’t reach.』
‘Then does that mean you can mentally dominate every devil in the city like that one?’
『Controlling all of them simultaneously is difficult. It’s similar to the situation with the old Prophet in Taiwan who controlled the Demon Flower.』
‘The one where countless mental worlds overlapped, making mind control difficult?’
『Exactly. This time they aren’t overlapping—they’re all separate and individual, which actually makes it even harder. When things are condensed, I can focus my power. When they’re spread out, the power gets dispersed.』
‘I get what you mean. Anyway, there’s no real need to dominate every devil in this place.’
If he really wanted to, he could. If the number was the problem, he could simply reduce it.
Of course, he had no intention of actually doing so—it was just curiosity.
Knowing the limits would make future dungeon strategies much smoother.
『Instead, swallowing Nine City whole is possible.』
‘Hm?’
Jin-young doubted his ears at the tentacle’s words.
‘Swallowing Nine City whole?’
『Literally. I mean moving this entire city into sub-space.』
‘That’s possible? Is there enough space?’
Jin-young knew sub-space had been steadily expanding, but he hadn’t paid much attention to it.
After all, managing sub-space was mostly the tentacle’s job.
『Aren’t you being a bit too indifferent? After swallowing Nine City, there would still be plenty of room left.』
‘When did it get that big?’
Nine City was roughly the size of Gwangmyeong City in Gyeonggi Province.
No matter how much sub-space had expanded, he never imagined it could hold an entire city.
『Think about everything we’ve swallowed so far.』
‘Hm.’
Jin-young recalled the two Disaster-grade Knights, the Prophets of GODS, countless contaminated zone boss monsters, and massive amounts of Manastones.
Indeed, he had absorbed quite a large quantity of black mana.
Moreover, the tentacle had been efficiently expanding sub-space by managing black mana like an investment portfolio.
And it would continue to grow.
‘Then… would it be possible to relocate Nine City to the current “real” hell?’
『Probably.』
‘That actually sounds pretty tempting.’
If he moved Nine City to the hell where cities were presumed to have been destroyed, they could continue producing high-grade materials like Hellstone indefinitely.
On top of that, he could siphon off the energy from the hellfire power plant.
‘So how exactly do we move Nine City intact into sub-space? If I just crush it with psychokinesis, it’ll be useless.’
『A massive spatial magic circle. We’ll reverse-engineer the power of that Cult Leader guy.』
While listening to the tentacle’s plan, Jin-young moved forward.
He inspected the factories along the way, checking what was being produced.
Then, a familiar silhouette caught his eye.
Jin-young stopped Muleta and stepped into one of the factories.
On the ceaselessly moving conveyor belt, Hellstones were flowing past at regular intervals.
Passing between the devils managing the machines, he approached a man and a dog.
Crunch— crunch crunch—
The black dog was diligently chewing on something hard.
When Jin-young made his presence known, the man turned around.
It was Stalker Dmitri.
“Ah, we meet here.”
“What are you doing?”
“Giving Anu a special treat.”
Dmitri answered Jin-young’s question with perfect nonchalance.
Jin-young had sent him to explore the dungeon, yet here he was feeding the dog.
Upon closer inspection, Anu’s “special treat” was none other than Hellstone.
The creature was chewing the Hellstone as casually and happily as if it were a snack.
Dmitri watched the sight with evident satisfaction.
“Now that I think about it, this thing used to belong to a Prophet who handled hellfire.”
Jin-young recalled the first time he encountered Anu in an underground tomb in Egypt.
He never imagined the creature had any connection to hell.
“The more it eats, the stronger it gets. It might even become a Disaster-grade demonic beast soon.”
Dmitri spoke proudly.
Indeed, Anu’s condition was incomparably better than before.
There were no particularly noticeable external changes, but pure, high-density mana continued to accumulate inside its body.
If, as Dmitri said, it evolved into a Disaster-grade demonic beast, it would become quite a powerful asset.
Jin-young considered putting Dmitri and Anu back into sub-space but ultimately decided to leave them be.
Once Nine City was relocated into sub-space anyway, they would return together.
“How much farther?”
“We’re almost there.”
Muleta answered Jin-young’s question.
Soon, rows of old, dilapidated abandoned factories came into view.
Perhaps because the hellfire energy didn’t reach this area, the temperature dropped sharply, turning the air chilly.
Muleta walked with familiar steps into one of the abandoned factories.
Sssss…
When she placed her hand on the wall, a staircase leading underground appeared.
“The Cult Leader is down here.”
***
“Cult Leader-nim, the tracking captain has entered the abandoned factory zone along with the otherworldly being.”
“As expected of Muleta. She’s a bit later than promised, but still.”
The Cult Leader’s lips curled upward upon hearing that Muleta had returned with the otherworldly being.
However, the reporting follower’s expression had been strange for a while now.
He looked hesitant, as if debating whether to speak.
“You seem to have something more to say.”
At the Cult Leader’s prompt, the follower immediately opened his mouth.
“The relationship between the tracking captain and the otherworldly being seems suspicious.”
“Suspicious? What, did the two of them become lovers in the meantime?”
“No… it’s more like the tracking captain has become the otherworldly being’s subordinate. I couldn’t approach closely because of some unknown power, so I’m not certain, but…”
“Is this just your gut feeling?”
The Cult Leader’s sharp tone made the follower flinch.
“I-if I may be so bold… yes, it is.”
“Are you perhaps interested in the tracking captain position?”
“N-no, absolutely not!”
The follower shook his head vigorously in denial, but the Cult Leader’s lips curled into a smile.
“Muleta is a sharp blade, but she’s so sharp she might one day cut even her master. Once the Church grows larger, she’ll eventually turn on me. What do you think?”
“……”
The follower couldn’t respond to the Cult Leader’s words.
“You’re very cautious. I like devils like you. At the very least, you don’t think about betraying me carelessly.”
“I will never betray you, Cult Leader-nim.”
The follower’s eyes shone brightly as he spoke with firm resolve.
“Good. I’ll trust your instincts this once. Balrog.”
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Tsutsutsuts—
At the Cult Leader’s low call, a heavy rumble echoed from the darkness.
Soon after, the massive devil appeared in the assembly hall where the Cult Leader and the follower stood.
It was Balrog, dragging his greatsword behind him.
“Speak, Cult Leader.”
“When the otherworldly being arrives here, tear off his limbs immediately. Make sure he can’t pull any tricks.”
“Understood, Cult Leader.”
The Cult Leader then turned to the follower.
“And Zilakan, you stay hidden. If Muleta shows any suspicious behavior, bind her.”
“Understood.”
The follower called Zilakan vanished silently into the shadows.
Only the Cult Leader and Balrog remained in the vast assembly hall.
“He’s coming.”
It wasn’t long before the Cult Leader sensed Muleta’s distinctive mana.
Normally, she kept her power tightly concealed, so for her to radiate it so openly was unusual.
Zilakan’s intuition had been correct—something was indeed off.
Creaaaak—
Soon, the massive iron doors of the assembly hall opened, and Muleta stepped inside.
Following behind her, the otherworldly being walked in with leisurely confidence.
The Cult Leader had expected Muleta to have already severed his limbs or broken his mind into a vegetative state.
But there was no sign of anything like that.
At that moment—
Thump— thump—
Balrog, standing beside the Cult Leader, moved his massive frame with surprising agility, kicking off the ground and leaping into the air.
Flap—
The enormous wings hidden on his back spread wide.
Just as the Cult Leader had instructed, he flew toward the otherworldly being to tear him limb from limb.
Before he could even swing his greatsword—
“Balrog, something feels weird with my body.”
Balrog, who had suddenly frozen mid-air above the otherworldly being’s head, muttered in a dazed voice.
“You’re Balrog, huh.”
The otherworldly being looked up at him.
“Balrog, I have to tear off your limbs.”
“My limbs? Why?”
“The Cult Leader told me to.”
“You sure listen well.”
“Balrog listens to the Cult Leader well.”
The moment Balrog finished speaking—
Pukwakwakwakwak—
His sturdy limbs were dismantled as easily as a toy.
Dark-crimson blood poured down like heavy rain across the assembly hall.
The next instant—
Shu—
Zilakan, who had been hiding in the shadows, appeared behind Muleta.
But before he could even launch a surprise attack from behind—
Kwadududuk— crack!
Zilakan’s body was instantly compressed into a ball shape, then fell to the floor with a wet thud along with a spray of blood.
The Cult Leader watched the scene with interest.
“That power… now I understand. You’re a heretic.”
Shuuuoot—
The dismembered body of Balrog flew toward the Cult Leader.
The Cult Leader raised a hand toward Balrog’s body.
Kuwaaaak—
In an instant, Balrog’s body was engulfed in hellfire, and his limbs were instantly restored.
Thud—
Balrog landed on the ground on his own.
“That guy’s strong.”
“Yeah. The one I met before was pretty strong too.”
At the Cult Leader’s words, the otherworldly being grinned.
“There’s quite a lot of information to squeeze out of you. Very nice.”
“You plan to interrogate me? Interesting.”
Shssss—
A dark-crimson barrier enveloped the Cult Leader’s body, radiating immense power.
Kwadudud— kwakwakwakwakwa!
The otherworldly being’s psychokinesis tried to tear through the dark-crimson barrier, but it didn’t break so easily.
The Cult Leader had once encountered an otherworldly being who wielded the heretical power called psionic energy.
Without that prior experience, he might have ended up like Balrog—limbs torn apart.
This opponent definitely wasn’t someone to take lightly.
But now, with thorough preparation, there was no way he would lose to this heretic.
“Oh, it’s pretty sturdy.”
“Heh heh heh… an unexpected harvest. With you, I could finally complete Balrog.”
As the Cult Leader raised both arms—
Kwakwakwakwakwa—
An enormous amount of mana erupted from his body.
A force infused with demonic energy so vile it could rot anything it touched.
“Oh? Imitating the Demon King’s Army’s power, are we?”
“You know of the Demon King’s Army? Impressive that you survived. No—since you’re here, you must not have survived after all.”
“You’re a walking information bundle.”
“Experience what happens when you die once more in hell.”
The Cult Leader extended his hand toward the otherworldly being.
Kwaaaaa—
A massive storm of demonic energy surged toward him.
At that moment—
Tsutsutsuts—
A portal opened, and a pitch-black tentacle emerged, instantly devouring the demonic energy.
“What in the…?”
The Cult Leader’s face twisted in shock.
His pupils trembled faintly as he stared at the tentacle.
Kwakwakwakwakwakwa—
The demonic energy—enough to shred the walls and floor of the assembly hall into ruin—was completely absorbed by the tentacle without a trace.
Like a sponge drinking up water.
No ordinary living being could withstand that level.
The Cult Leader quickly withdrew his mana, realizing further release was meaningless.
But in that instant—
Shuuuoot—
The tentacle that emerged from the portal grew massively larger and stopped right in front of the Cult Leader’s face.
Then two voices pierced his ears simultaneously.
“Kneel.”
『Kneel.』