After sending the Third Legion retreating in a single blow—
“Hm?”
Thanatos turned around with a thoroughly satisfied expression, but for a moment, a flicker of doubt crossed his eyes. The enemy following the beasts was far calmer than he had expected.
He hadn’t anticipated an extraordinary reaction, but he figured they’d at least be a little surprised. After all, one of their comrades had just died so easily—it was only natural they’d glare back with some resentment.
Sure, here and there, some faces twisted in pain, but they quickly bit their lips and restrained themselves to an extreme degree. As if they had expected their advance to be blocked.
“Hmm… Are they counting on something?”
If so, that would be interesting in its own way. Still, Thanatos dragged his feet forward with a slightly deflated look. But that didn’t last long. Suddenly, a flicker of recognition sparked in his previously dull eyes as he slowly scanned the area and caught sight of a familiar face.
“Wait a minute, you!”
Thanatos’s finger pointed sharply at someone.
“…You’re alive?”
Standing where his finger landed was Ansol, wearing a somewhat uneasy expression. Realizing he’d been singled out, Ansol swallowed hard, clutching the necklace around his neck tightly as he hesitated and stepped back. Meanwhile, a sly smile crept up on Thanatos’s lips. His next target was decided.
“Well then…”
Of course, Thanatos didn’t know much about Ansol. But this was the human Satan had been so wary of. In fact, the moment this woman summoned the heroes’ souls, the tide of battle had shifted dramatically. No doubt, killing her here and now would leave a much cleaner aftertaste.
Just as Thanatos pulled his right arm back for another strike—
“Come forth! Aranya! The deathly web that rules the Thirty-Second Legion!”
“Come forth! Imprison! The iron-bound captor of the Forty-Ninth Legion!”
Suddenly, two identical voices rang out in quick succession.
“What the—?”
From behind, dozens of webs and steel chains shot forward, wrapping tightly around Thanatos’s body.
“…No way!”
Thanatos’s eyes snapped wide open as he hurriedly turned around. Though he tried to act unfazed, the threat from Behemoth had been nagging at him quietly. Now, with the sudden summoning of the beast legions, his suspicions flared.
In that split second—
More precisely, while Thanatos was turning—
Four things happened in rapid succession.
Kim Yuhyun quickly gave a signal.
Ansol slipped back in an instant.
A man quietly and swiftly muttered a spell.
And a lone small “monster bird” waiting at the rear began to move stealthily.
The entire sequence unfolded in the blink of an eye, and Thanatos didn’t catch a single detail. A regrettable miss.
“Phew. What the hell. I thought Gehenna herself had appeared.”
Thanatos exhaled in relief as he spotted the man holding two staves. More accurately, he relaxed after seeing the summoned beast legions behind him.
No matter how many legions they summoned, Thanatos had already dismissed the top-tier Third Legion as “just a minor nuisance.” So why would he bother with the far weaker lower legions?
“Hey~ You scared me. If you wanted to die first, you should’ve just said so.”
Thanatos regained his composure and spoke kindly to the man. The man scratched his head awkwardly but then spoke calmly.
“Ah… I’m sorry if I disturbed you. But I needed to pull you out as quickly as possible.”
“Pull me out? What for?”
“To buy time.”
“Time? Heh.”
Thanatos tilted his head, then burst out laughing at the idea of buying time. With a casual twist of his body, the webs and chains tangled around him snapped all at once. Thanatos enjoyed the man’s subtle expression and placed a hand on his hip.
“Congrats! You bought yourself a whole minute.”
But for some reason, the man responded with a gentle smile.
“Well… that’s enough. Ha, ha.”
“…What?”
Then—
“Shinsangyoooong! Give me mineee!”
Suddenly, a clear shout echoed across the battlefield.
At that moment, the man—no, Imprison!
Shinsang Yong stretched out his left arm and threw what he was holding with all his might. At the same time, the chains extending in the same direction snatched the Order of Law and flew like an arrow toward the source of the voice.
A moment later—
“Good! They’re all dead! Come forth! Behemoth! Ruler of the Third Legion, the final king who purifies the enemy!”
As the voice faded, a dark mist quickly spread around.
And then—
“Yohohoho! Greetings! Strong and mighty morning! If you ask who I am, my name is Behemoth!”
Thanatos’s jaw dropped as he saw the death knights swiftly charging through the smoke.
What was going on? He had just killed the summoner himself and forced a recall, yet here they were again, as if daring him to stop them.
The answer was simple: the key lay in the user shop’s mechanics. Lee Yujeong had previously obtained permission to use Kim Suhyun’s GP as a proxy.
Using the same method, as soon as Lee Hyoul learned of the summoner’s death, he used the authorized GP to purchase a wish and resurrect Vivian. The revived Vivian immediately rushed to the battlefield through the now-active warp gate and summoned the Third Legion once more.
What was crucial here was that over twenty thousand users had contributed GP. In other words, until the GP ran dry, the Northern Continent Alliance could resurrect endlessly.
“You…?”
“Hmm. You climbed back up faster than I expected.”
Behemoth arrived nearby in an instant, swinging his greatsword mockingly. The situation had returned to its original state. Thanatos, who had been scowling, forced himself to calm down. Pride wouldn’t allow him to show weakness.
“Oh, what a shame. I was just about to finish tattling and watch your reaction.”
“Reaction…?”
“Oh! Want to hear it?”
“Go ahead, then.”
Behemoth clenched both fists tightly, then wildly shook them up and down as if pounding something, shouting—
“Eeeek! Eeeeeeeek!”
Thanatos’s forced composure crumbled, his face turning pale again.
“That’s what happened. He was absolutely furious. Thanatos, you’re in big trouble now.”
“W-What?”
“Oh! Don’t get me wrong. He’s talking well and running around fine now. The squeaking is just a habit. So only take it seriously when he’s pretending not to like it or really angry…”
“Wait. Gehenna did that? Really?”
Thanatos cut in, but Behemoth blinked dumbfounded. He’d been talking about Suna’s reaction, not Gehenna’s, and had no idea what Thanatos was on about.
But since Thanatos had no way of knowing that the King of Hell—Suna—had been born, it wasn’t strange for him to think Behemoth was mocking him.
“What nonsense are you spouting now?”
“Phew… Never mind. I don’t know how you popped back up, but I’ll just kill you again. This time, I’ll make sure your soul is completely destroyed.”
“Oh? It won’t be as easy as before.”
“Ha ha ha! Hey, Gehenna’s not the only one with subordinate legions, you know?”
Thanatos laughed heartily, then suddenly spread his arms wide and threw back his head, letting out a long, roaring bellow.
“────! ────!”
As incomprehensible sounds echoed—
Thud thud thud, thud thud thud!
Suddenly, the ground shook violently.
The source of this power was one of Thanatos’s abilities: summoning evil spirits. Like when he summoned the beast legions, black clouds billowed up, quickly enveloping the Northern Continent and the beast legions.
Soon, dark flames flickered within the mist, gradually taking shape. Though not fully revealed yet, the ominous aura flowing from them made it clear they were no trivial threat.
Then Thanatos strode toward the Northern Continent. As long as the summoner was nowhere to be seen, the Third Legion could be left to the evil spirits. More importantly, he thought it best to deal with that human named Ansol as soon as possible.
A sound judgment, indeed—but—
Did Thanatos truly realize?
From the moment he glanced back at Shinsang Yong until now, the Northern Continent had already completed some kind of preparation at a near-impossible speed.
If Erwin—or rather, Satan—were here, they might have suspected the eerie silence from the enemy at least once. Especially since, despite being surrounded by summoned evil spirits and unable to break through the podium, Thanatos remained unnervingly calm.
But Thanatos, confident enough to face the entire enemy force alone, felt no need for suspicion. It was a kind of margin born from absolute confidence.
Meanwhile, on the Northern Continent, a defensive formation had already been established. As if caught in a mass Hold spell, everyone stood with tense faces, silently waiting for Thanatos to approach.
But Thanatos, unfazed, strode forward. Spotting Ansol standing right at the center, he broke into a satisfied grin and let out a sharp whistle.
“Oh? You’re still here? Impressive. You could’ve just run away, you know.”
“…”
“Well, sorry to keep you waiting.”
“…”
With a sly smile, he lazily stretched out his arm toward where Ansol stood. Then, he twirled his hand playfully, as if teasing.
He kept up this casual act until the very moment he began to summon the dark energy.
Thunk!
Roll roll roll…
Suddenly, something angular tapped him on the head and fell down.
“Ouch?”
Thanatos instinctively rubbed his head, startled. Reflexively, he glanced up—and his sharp eyes narrowed instantly. Dozens of square-shaped boxes were tumbling down from the sky.
“…What the hell is this now?”
Quickly snatching one of the falling boxes, he tilted his head in confusion.
That was when—
Flash!
Dozens of boxes scattered around Thanatos simultaneously emitted a pale, eerie glow.
At almost the exact same moment, Ansol raised his staff, lips moving silently.
---------------------------= Author’s Note =---------------------------
Why people spend money on games.txt
Pay-to-win warrior Ansol!