Level Up Machine

Chapter 63 The Armor of the Demon God (8)

“Ugh, ah. Ahh. Pl, please, st, stop…”

In the dark passageway, only the faint light from the torches on the walls illuminated the corridor. Underneath, groans that seemed like they would stop at any moment echoed.

The source of those groans, Hendrick, was in a state so dire that describing it as ‘tragic’ would be an understatement.

His fingers and limbs were twisted in grotesque directions. His face was blotched with blood bruises. His body looked as if it had been slashed by sharp blades.

Hendrick, with wounds so severe it was a wonder he was still alive, lay writhing on the floor.

“Hmm, didn’t get as much information as I thought.”

Yeong-sik muttered in a calm voice as he looked down at Hendrick, who now resembled a piece of meat more than a human.

Yeong-sik wanted to obtain information from Hendrick about the ‘Armor of the Demon God’ discovered in the Ingrim Empire, but it turned out that Hendrick did not possess much information about it.

The armor was found by chance in the central part of the continent, at the site of the great war between the Ingrim Empire and the northern monsters, but its original owner was unknown.

According to the testimonies of the very few survivors of the great war, the ‘Armor of the Demon God’ was one of the decisive factors that led to the downfall of the Ingrim Empire.

Fascinated by this, Hendrick had ordered the kingdom’s best magical scholars to research how to use the armor.

Of course, it was impossible for the magical scholars to interpret the armor of the demon god, which contained no magic at all.

But Hendrick did not give up. He tried all sorts of methods to use the ‘Armor of the Demon God,’ and in the meantime, he neglected the management of Duke Erman’s hostage.

That was why Tiria’s family had died miserably in prison.

“Ugh, ah…”

Yeong-sik clicked his tongue as he looked down at the writhing Hendrick.

It wasn’t hard to guess why Hendrick had become so obsessed with the ‘Armor of the Demon God.’

Judging by the testimonies of the survivors of the great war, the armor was likely an SS-grade or even SSS-grade artifact, far more powerful than the S-grade rare items like the Archangel’s Blessing or Luminous.

An S-grade item was already considered a national treasure, so anything above that grade was beyond imagination. Especially for Hendrick, who couldn’t even use the hero Andras’ weapon ‘Luminous,’ the power of the armor was irresistibly tempting.

‘In the end, this suit caused Tiria’s family to die.’

Yeong-sik looked at the Armor of the Demon God with a complicated expression. He wanted to use skills like structural analysis or scan to investigate this mysterious suit right away, but there was no time for that.

“Well, it wasn’t much help, but you did your best, Hendrick.”

Yeong-sik crouched down and grabbed Hendrick’s hair. Fear filled Hendrick’s eyes, and he began to scream hysterically.

“Eeeeek! Eek! St, stop! Pl, please stop!”

Hendrick screamed in a desperate voice as if he had lost his mind. Given his current condition, it wouldn’t have been surprising if he had died from shock already.

Yeong-sik forcibly kept him alive by making him drink potions that boosted mental strength whenever his wounds worsened.

“Pl, please, just spare my life…”

Even in a situation where he could have died from the excruciating pain without the potion, Hendrick begged for his life.

Yeong-sik looked down at him with a dumbfounded expression. In a way, it was impressive mental fortitude.

“I have one last request. If you fulfill this sincerely, I promise I’ll spare your life.”

Yeong-sik spoke in a relaxed tone as he pulled out a recording crystal from his pocket.

“Now, just say ‘This attack on the royal castle was orchestrated by Luan’ into this. Simple, right?”

Hendrick’s face hardened at Yeong-sik’s words. No matter how incompetent he was, he wasn’t foolish enough to not grasp the implications of what Yeong-sik had just said.

“N, no way…”

He looked at Yeong-sik with a horrified expression. Yeong-sik twisted his mouth into a smirk and pressed the blade of his weapon against Hendrick’s neck.

“Which will you choose: your own life or your son’s safety?”

“…I, I’ll say it.”

The decision didn’t take long. For Hendrick, nothing was more valuable than his own life. Even if it meant sacrificing his own son.

Yeong-sik, as if expecting this response, nodded and held the recording crystal in front of Hendrick’s mouth.

“This attack on the royal castle was orchestrated by Luan.”

Thud!

“Ugh!”

“Put a bit more desperate emotion into it. Are you reciting a book or something?”

Yeong-sik struck his side roughly as he spoke. Hendrick, his face contorted in pain, hurriedly nodded.

“Th, this attack on the royal castle was all Luan’s doing. He tried to kill me to seize the throne!”

Hendrick shouted, full of desperate emotion as instructed. Yeong-sik nodded in satisfaction and placed the recording crystal into Hendrick’s chest.

“Now then, as promised, my life…”

Step. Step.

The sound of footsteps echoed through the passageway, cutting off Hendrick’s words. He turned his head toward the sound. There, walking towards him with a cold expression, was Tiria.

“Y, you…! This was all your doing!”

Hendrick shouted at Tiria with a face full of rage. Tiria ignored him and turned her gaze to Yeong-sik.

“…Thank you for handling the dirty work for me, Yeong-sik.”

“No problem. It was a useful time.”

Yeong-sik replied, thinking that he had obtained a decent amount of information about the black suit found in the royal castle report.

“How are the other plans progressing?”

“They are proceeding as you instructed. Though Yu-na and Gil-soo… had some difficulties.”

“That can’t be helped.”

Yeong-sik gave a bitter smile and stepped back from Hendrick. Hendrick looked up at Tiria with a pale, terrified face.

Tiria looked down at Hendrick with eyes full of contempt.

“Honestly, I want to see you struggle in excruciating pain for the rest of your life, but looking at you now, even that time seems wasted on someone like you.”

She spoke, raising her right hand. White lightning began to flicker in her hand.

Crackle, crackle!

“Hi, hiiik! Y, you’re breaking your promise! Y, you said if I did as you asked, you’d spare my life…” Hendrick shouted in a desperate voice. Tiria’s expression twisted at his shameless words.

Spare your life. Those were the very words Hendrick had once said to her.

‘But they all died. Father, mother…’

As she recalled the bodies she found in the underground prison, even the faint hesitation lingering in a corner of her mind vanished.

Tiria swung her hand at the struggling Hendrick.

Crackle!

“Aaaaaaah!”

The white lightning that had gathered in her hand pierced through Hendrick’s chest. His heart turned to black ash and scattered in the air.

Tiria looked down at Hendrick’s lifeless body and closed her eyes. Transparent tears streamed down her cheeks.

‘So that’s Tiria’s angelic power.’

Yeong-sik looked at the silver-white pendant hanging around Tiria’s neck. Before coming here, he had given her the ‘Archangel’s Blessing.’

Tiria, now able to use the angelic power flowing within her thanks to the Archangel’s Blessing, was emanating a powerful magic so intense that it made Yeong-sik’s skin tingle.

‘It’s no wonder Han-seong said she could match a level 103 ranker.’

He recalled Han-seong’s words as he waited calmly for Tiria to collect herself.

“Let’s go back, Yeong-sik.”

“Have you sorted out your feelings?”

“…No. I don’t think it will be that easy.”

Tiria replied with a bitter smile. Yeong-sik nodded with a heavy expression.

What she had gone through was harsh enough to drive an ordinary person to insanity.

Even though she had taken her revenge, her mind wouldn’t be at peace.

“You will overcome it, Tiria.”

Hearing Yeong-sik’s words, Tiria looked at him silently. His calm voice had a soothing effect on her mind.

Unconsciously, she reached out to Yeong-sik. Her hand touched his cheek.

‘…Soft.’

She had seen Yeong-sik’s right arm blast off during the previous battle and a hideous black object erupting from his back.

Although she didn’t fully understand what Yeong-sik meant by ‘machine,’ she knew it meant that his body wasn’t made of flesh and blood but of metal.

‘He doesn’t seem like that at all.’

Tiria thought as she felt the warm temperature transmitted through her hand.

His calm yet gentle voice. The feeling of his gaze, as if it ensnared her soul.

As she quietly looked at him, her heart began to pound.

‘?Why?’

She placed her hand on her chest, her expression complicated. To feel her heart race in this situation was unthinkable.

Since finding her family’s bodies in the underground prison today, she had felt an emptiness, as if her chest had been blown open. It was a profound void that seemed impossible to fill, no matter how much time passed.

‘No, maybe it’s because of that.’

Today, she had despaired. Unable to bear the overwhelming sadness and despair, she had broken down. It was Yeong-sik who had lifted her up.

“…Tiria?”

Yeong-sik called her with a puzzled expression, unable to understand her sudden actions. Tiria lowered her head and, in a barely audible voice, began to speak.

“…Please.”

“What?”

“Please, call me Tiria.”

“…No. I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

Yeong-sik showed a troubled expression. Calling the guild leader by her first name informally was inappropriate, considering her position.

Although Yu-na and Chae-rin affectionately called her ‘sister,’ Yeong-sik’s case was different. No male guild member spoke informally to her, and if he alone started treating her casually, it might appear as if they were lovers.

“Then at least when we’re alone.”

“…Alright.”

At her continued insistence, Yeong-sik reluctantly nodded. A faint smile appeared on Tiria’s lips.

“Let’s go back now.”

Yeong-sik turned and walked down the corridor. By now, the guild members who had completed their mission would be heading towards the Silentium Mountains.

‘First, I’ll move far away from the castle, then join the Dragonian hunt…’

Yeong-sik calmly planned his next steps as he walked.

‘I’ll also need to investigate the Armor of the Demon God.’

The image of the jet-black suit surfaced in his mind.