Player who Returned 10,000 years Later
chapter-56

"Die!"

The men surrounding KangWoo charged toward him simultaneously.

'Twelve.'

KangWoo lowered his body, quickly checked out his surroundings, and counted the number of opponents.

The one on the forefront tried to smash him while shouting.

Clang-!

"Huh?!"

He was pushed back the moment he clashed with KangWoo's sword.

He couldn't believe what had happened, so he looked at both swords.

He wasn't the only one surprised.

KangWoo easily dodged the attack of the person that tried to hit him with an axe from behind.

He used the Authority of Speed and moved at an incredible speed.

'Authority of Iron Defense.'

KangWoo dismissed the Authority of the Blade and instead used the Authority of Iron Defense on both hands.

Black energy covered his fists and created a form that resembled gloves.

The combination of the Authority of Speed and Iron Defense…

The opponents were swept away by the fast and strong punches that had the strength of a cannonball.

Paf-!

"Ugh!"

The ones who received a punch were pushed back.

Crack-!

"Argh!"

It was useless if they tried to block the punches with their weapons.

Thanks to the Authority of Speed, KangWoo could easily twist his body a bit and hit body parts that the enemy couldn’t block.

The men rolled on the ground while sounds of bones breaking spread.

"What the..."

"From where did someone like him come..."

As three people fell instantly, nobody could hide their surprise.

They weren't weak by any means.

Everyone there had finished the fifth Awakening. Not only that, but their leader was someone talented who had done the sixth Awakening.

Players couldn't raise their levels easily without a high-ranking Attribute, so he was definitely someone talented among players.

Not only that, but there were twelve of them.

Even if the opponent had achieved the seventh Awakening after going through level 59, which is known as 'ultimate effort,' he shouldn't have been so overwhelmingly powerful.

"D-don't tell me… Eighth Awakening?"

"There's no way."

The men couldn't believe what had just happened, so they grabbed their weapons again and charged toward KangWoo.

But the result was the same as before.

No, it was worse.

Crack-! Slash!

"AAGGHH!!"

The men who had lost their arms and legs began screaming.

Them running toward the fire made them look like moths.

KangWoo didn't need to use any special or psychological warfare technique.

KangWoo beat them with just overwhelming speed and strength.

The number of people with all of their limbs was reduced to half.

"M-monster..."

Fear could be seen in the faces of the men.

The difference in their strength was overwhelming.

They were being unilaterally beaten up.

The one who looked like the leader among them opened his mouth while frowning.

"Everyone, unlock your power..."

"B-but, Leader…"

"If things keep going like this, we're all going to die anyways!"

Everyone's expression stiffened after hearing the order.

'What are they trying to do?'

KangWoo frowned after hearing them talk about unlocking their power.

Those doubts were soon answered.

As the men began casting in an unknown language, demonic energy started to come out from their bodies.

'Demonic energy.'

KangWoo's eyes narrowed.

The fact that they were using demonic energy could only mean one thing…

'Were they members of the Demon Cult?'

Now he was even more confused about why they were obsessing so much about a video like that.

'Was there something I missed?'

KangWoo tried to remember the five-minute-long video.

But no matter how much he thought about it, there was nothing except for the miracle of birth.

"GRRRR!"

The facial expressions of the men using demonic energy distorted.

Their blood vessels swelled hideously, and their eyes became red.

Their skin turned darker, and the muscles of their body grew.

"Oh."

KangWoo looked at them with great interest.

'They're turning into demons.'

Up until recently, they were so close to human that KangWoo hadn't noticed they had demonic energy inside them, but their bodies were changing and getting closer to becoming demons.

'But…'

KangWoo's eyes narrowed.

'They're low-level, huh?'

Low-level…

There was no other way to explain.

Once you accept demonic energy into your body, it starts to get closer to a demon's.

Once that happened, there were two possible outcomes: the first one was turning into a demon while maintaining your original appearance, and the other one was turning into a grotesque demon.

The body of a demon constantly craved to fulfill desires.

At first, it doesn't sound that bad. But for a human to resist that, it isn't easy.

If you get drunk with the power spreading through your body, it may devour your mind. And once that happens…

'You turn into a demonic monster rather than a demon.'

KangWoo looked coldly at they who could not be called human anymore.

If we compare it to a martian arts novel, they were people that became crazy because of magic, and KangWoo was an expert who could perfectly control it.

"Tsk. I won't be able to ask them why they're so obsessed about this video."

KangWoo looked at them after clicking his tongue.

* * *

Because their minds were completely devoured, he couldn't ask them for the information they had, even with the Authority of Fear.

"GRRRR!"

After they became creatures with darker skin color and red eyes, they threw their weapons and charged toward KangWoo.

Echidna stood in front of KangWoo.

"I won't let them touch KangWoo."

Unlike before, she could feel dangerous energy coming from them.

After sensing danger, she stood in front of KangWoo to defend him.

The demons shrugged a bit after sensing the strong demonic energy coming out from her.

"Echidna…"

"KangWoo...?"

Echidna looked worryingly at KangWoo, who placed his hand on her shoulder.

"KangWoo, it's dangerous. You could get hurt. I'll take..."

"There are a few things you still don't know about me."

KangWoo's mouth twisted while he took a step forward.

"These guys will never be able to win against me."

Ten thousand years…

To become the ruler of ten thousand demons, he had fought and devoured many demons.

There probably wasn't anyone in the world who knew better than him how to fight against demons.

Clack-

A sword made of demonic energy appeared in his hand.

The men who’d turned into demons charged toward KangWoo.

Was it because of the increased physical capabilities?

Every time they stepped forward, a bit of the concrete sank.

"GRRRR!"

KangWoo easily dodged their attacks and stabbed a demon in the chest.

A sword that was about 30 centimeters big penetrated its chest.

If it were a human, it would've probably died instantly.

'But if you're a demon, that's a whole ‘nother story.'

Their bodies had a regenerative ability that couldn't be compared to humans.

KangWoo put demonic energy into the sword.

Crack-!!

The sword stuck in the demon's chest grew and tore the demon apart from inside out.

Dark-red blood began flowing out as if it were a fountain.

'You need to do this much to kill one.'

KangWoo looked coldly at the pieces of flesh on the ground and began moving again.

Slash-! Crack!

"GRAARR!!"

Every time KangWoo moved, the painful screams of monsters spread through the place.

Although the man had unlocked their power with determination, the flow of the battle didn't change.

No. KangWoo's movements had become more aggressive after concluding that he wouldn't be able to take information from them.

"GR, AAHH."

You could see the fear in the expressions of demons who had lost their minds.

—It was their subconscious that was screaming.

They weren’t facing something they could hunt.

What they were facing wasn't food.

It wasn't someone demonic monsters like them could face.

—It was someone that ruled over them from a higher place.

"GRAARR!"

The demons tried to escape while screaming.

KangWoo smiled after seeing them trying to escape.

"It's a little bit late for that."

KangWoo extended his right hand.

Strong demonic energy started to flow through his body. The sword made of demonic energy entered the floor and began moving on its own as if it were alive.

'Earth Blades.'

Slash-! Slash-! Slash-!

Thousands of swords rose from the ground, breaking the concrete.

As if it were a wave, the swords struck the fleeting demons.

Their bodies were scattered by the thousands of swords that rose from the ground.

"Oof."

After swiping away all the demons, KangWoo caught his breath while taking out his smartphone.

"Just why would they do that for this...?"

He took out his smartphone and looked at the video again.

He only could hear the sound of flesh and the moans of a woman.

"Hmm."

KangWoo frowned.

'It doesn't matter how many times I look at it, it's just porn.'

He looked at the screen as if he couldn't understand it.

Slam-!

"Is it here?!"

"Yes! I clearly received a signal from here..."

He could see Chae YeonJoo and Baek HwaYeon approaching him at a surprising speed.

'Chae YeonJoo?'

KangWoo seemed surprised at her sudden appearance.

"KangWoo...?"

Chae YeonJoo's eyes also widened as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"H-how are you here?"

"That's what I want to ask. Why did you come here?"

"Ah...!"

As if she finally remembered why she'd come there, Chae YeonJoo quickly turned her head around.

"KangWoo, didn't you see a memory card with a video?"

"Are you talking about this?"

As KangWoo showed her a memory card for a smartphone, Chae YeonJoo's eyes shone.

"Yes, that's it!"

"But why would you need something like this..."

"It's a memory card with a very important video."

"What...?"

KangWoo looked at her, stunned.

Chae YeonJoo answered him with a serious expression.

"It's something I need."

"This...?"

KangWoo looked at her with a stiff expression. Chae YeonJoo nodded without thinking twice.

"I need to use it right now. So give it to me."

"..."

KangWoo's body trembled while looking at the memory card.

He thought of the video that was inside it.

'She needs to use it right now?'

‘What is she going to use it for?’