2. How well?

“Why did the head of the guy who swung the axe fly off!?”

“No, why is that guy over there completely fine!?”

The guards’ fingers pointed towards the execution platform.

Swish.

There, Joo-yeon was calmly standing up.

It was thanks to the ropes binding him being cut by the guard’s axe swing.

However, he himself was just as bewildered.

‘I used it in a hurry as soon as I saw the trait.’

What? The Demon King’s unique trait?

<Reflect> was clearly the name of the Demon King’s strongest skill.

Because of that ability, one person died every time, so there was no way he could forget it.

‘It was the same even after recruiting a new companion and obtaining a Mythical-grade weapon.’

The reason the Hero died instead in the previous round was because of that trait.

No wonder every player’s goal was to find a way to nullify <Reflect>.

There were many times when he thought that if only that ability didn’t exist.

It was a top-tier ability that was infamous to players to that extent.

Yet, who would have thought that he would obtain that ability.

But it was real.

Joo-yeon had just blown away the guard’s neck with <Reflect>, the Demon King’s power.

<Unique Trait: Reflect>

<Rank: Unique>

<Ability: Reflects everything directed at the user>

It was a simpler explanation than any other ability.

If there was something questionable, it was this.

‘Unique?’

Even if it was only Hero-grade, one could be treated as a great general of a country.

How many Legend-grade abilities could there be in an empire?

Mythical-grade was an ability that was hard to find even on the continent.

But Unique-grade?

It was a grade that even Joo-yeon, who had played tens of thousands of rounds, was seeing for the first time.

‘Since it’s an infamous skill, it must be higher than Mythical-grade, right?’

After all, a Unique trait meant that it was an ability that existed only once in the entire universe.

‘Wait, does that mean that the Demon King doesn’t have Reflect right now?’

Of course, having <Reflect> wasn’t a good situation.

<Currently in [Weakened] state>

<Currently in [Frail] state>

Right now, he had the worst debuffs on him.

He would get short of breath just by walking a little, and he would get major injuries from minor wounds.

In reality, his chest felt a little stuffy and it was hard to breathe, so it wouldn’t be strange if he collapsed at any moment.

He was in a state where he could die right away if he got hit just once.

‘It doesn’t matter. There’s an easy way to fix this.’

First, he had to escape this place.

But his thoughts were interrupted.

“How dare you kill me, you death row inmate.”

“What are you all just standing there for! Hurry up and kill him!”

Murderous voices erupted towards him.

A completely unprecedented incident in the prison, where a guard’s neck had been severed.

The guards, who had been out of their minds until now, began to move.

“Kill him now!”

“Avenge Johnny!”

The guards charged at him with their weapons.

The prisoners were terrified and backed away, worried that they might get their necks cut if they stayed too close.

But just then.

“Keugh!”

“Kuaaagh!”

The guards who had swung their weapons at Joo-yeon collapsed instead.

The ones who attacked his head bled from their heads, and the ones who stabbed his chest bled from their chests.

They all collapsed on the spot.

Some of the guards didn’t even move, as if they were already dead.

Just like the guard whose neck had been cut earlier, they suffered the same fate as Joo-yeon’s attackers.

The prisoners’ eyes widened in shock.

“What the hell is going on……”

“Wh, what’s happening?”

There was only one conclusion they could come to.

“It’s a curse……. It has to be a curse! Whoever touches him will die!”

“The guards died because of the curse too. I saw it! The guards died even though he didn’t do anything to them!”

The prisoners tried to run away in fear.

But someone blocked their way.

It was the warden, who had been standing still until now.

“Who gave you permission to move?”

“I, I, well. We just had to use the bathroom really bad……”

The warden grabbed one of the prisoners by the head.

“You dare think of moving without my permission!”

His voice was accompanied by the sound of the prisoner’s head exploding.

Bang!

The prisoners, who saw the blood, fell to the ground and cried out.

“We’re sorry!”

“Please forgive us! Please…… Spare our lives……”

However, the warden’s eyes flashed.

“Fight if you don’t want to die by my hand….”

Eek!

“Don’t just stand there gaping. Jump him! Even if you just grab him!”

The prisoners with their eyes tightly shut charged at Joo-in.

Thud!

Joo-in didn’t resist and just stood there.

The prisoners who had grabbed him also stood still without moving.

The warden let out a scornful laugh at the sight of him being held motionless.

‘As expected, they can’t bring themselves to kill a fellow inmate. I don’t know what tricks you used…but that shallow compassion will be the death of you.’

The prisoners were just meat shields anyway.

The warden turned around and slowly raised his weapon.

Swish.

The nightstick was stained red from having beaten numerous prisoners to death.

The warden, who had soon reached Joo-in’s square, swung the nightstick fiercely.

“Die!”

He brought it down squarely on Joo-in’s skull.

It was a blow that could knock out an ox with a single hit.

However.

Crack!

“Cough… W-what the!”

It was the warden who ended up spurting blood from the back of his head.

His skull was badly dented.

The warden turned around with a look of disbelief on his face.

‘T-these filthy prisoners… How dare they attack me?’

But there was no one behind him.

‘Huh?’

All there was was an empty space.

The warden’s pupils couldn’t help but shake.

“Who on earth…”

He was never able to find out the answer.

The warden collapsed to the floor with a look of incomprehension.

Thud!

* * *

Joo-in let out a chuckle.

‘It’s a more useful ability than I thought.’

He had expected it, but he never imagined it would even reflect attacks from a blind spot.

Joo-in turned away from the fallen warden.

“Anyone else want to try?”

Naturally, none of the prisoners responded.

Instead, they began to cheer.

“The guards…… they’re all down?”

“Even the warden is dead. That means there’s no one left to stop us?”

“Freedom! We’re free!”

This hellish place can be escaped.

Every slave that had gained their freedom began to rush outside. However, they soon tilted their heads as they looked at Joo-eun who was still standing there.

“Hey! Aren’t you going to escape?”

Joo-eun let out a hollow laugh at the slaves’ cries.

“Why should I escape?”

“Why!? Don’t you know what kind of place this labor camp is? If you stay here any longer, you might die from treason!”

“You guys go on ahead. I have something important to do.”

“What’s more important than escaping?”

Joo-eun’s lips curled up.

“I plan on meeting the warden.”

The prisoners finally looked at him as if he had gone crazy.

“Are you crazy to want to die?”

“I don’t know how you suddenly gained the ability to kill the guards! But do you think the warden is the same as the other guards? That bastard is a former ‘knight’! He’s different from the others!”

A knight was not just a human wearing armor.

“Do you know how that human is in charge of this large labor camp? That guy is……!”

Oh, I know very well.

Joo-eun, who had experienced the ‘Valentino Saga’ for a long time, also knew very well about the power of a knight.

‘One-man army.’

A single knight could easily take on a hundred soldiers.

It was because of their special abilities.

The power to lift heavily armored armor as if it were a feather and run hundreds of meters in an instant.

<Knighthood>

Even those outside who claimed to have some strength could not even compare to the warden.

But so what.

“That’s not a reason for me to be scared of him.”

“No, listen to me a little more. Even if it’s you, the warden is…….”

“Stop bothering me and get out of the way. I’m the one who has business with that guy.”

Joo-eun pushed away the slaves who were blocking his path.

The prisoners had expressions as if they were looking at a fool.

“He’s acting cocky just because he knocked down a few guards.”

“Well, what can we do if he wants to die instead of us. It’s better that way. He’ll buy us some time to escape.”

The prisoners moved while ridiculing Joo-eun.

“We were going to take him with us and sell him, but it’s a shame.”

“Right. Since his face is pretty, we would’ve gotten a good price for him.”

“It would’ve been better for you to have been sold.”

However, the prisoners did not know.

‘That’s the path to hell. How many of those guys do you think will survive?’

From Noble mtl dot com

It was clear that they were all blinded by the thought of freedom.

Every prisoner in this labor camp had signed a ‘slave contract’.

They would continue to be hunted until the magically-binding contract was destroyed.

‘And those contracts are in the warden’s office.’

Well, those guys probably thought they could just run away and deal with it later.

But this wasn’t just any labor camp.

This was a playground for nobles who treated humans like pigs. If they tried to escape without destroying the contracts, they would be brutally killed.

Of course, Joo-Heon had another reason for needing to meet the warden.

‘I can’t leave until I get my revenge on those bastards who exploited me.’

Joo-Heon smirked.

* * *

Clank, clank.

Finding the warden’s office wasn’t difficult.

Thanks to all the torture he had endured at the warden’s hands during his time in this body,

‘It’s practically carved into my bones.’

The face and voice of the man who had tormented his mind were still vivid.

Of course, even without his memories, he could easily find the warden’s office.

All he had to do was follow the sounds.

“Uwaaagh!”

“Die! Die, you monster!”

“Drop your weapons! Keep that thing from getting closer… Eugh!”

Someone was fighting.

Most of the voices were familiar, so it was clear that they were other prisoners.

Those who held grudges against the warden, like Joo-Heon, had arrived first.

Boom!

The wall in front of Joo-Heon shattered, and a prisoner was thrown out.

He was already dead, blood gushing from his mouth.

“This is it.”

Joo-Heon stepped inside the broken wall.

Hell was already breaking loose inside.

“P, please spare me…”

“You dare aim for the contract. You’re just laughable rats.”

Crunch!

A man’s kick shattered a prisoner’s head.

His body was covered in crimson blood. Even the sword he was holding was dripping with blood.

It was the warden.

“Die, you rats!”

Swish!

Crimson bloodstains appeared in an instant.

The terrified prisoners were carved up alive.

Thud.

The surroundings were a sea of blood.

As many as dozens of prisoners died. Only one prisoner survived.

He too had death right before his eyes.

“P… Please save me…”

The warden raised his sword at him.

But then it happened.

“Is the contract okay?”

“……!”

The warden was startled.

It was because Joo-yeon had entered the room.

“Huh? I’m sure you were supposed to be executed today… Wait. How on earth are you alive?”

“Well?”

The warden let out a hollow laugh as if he were taken aback by Joo-yeon’s words.

He was a slave that he usually doted on.

Why was he acting like this all of a sudden when he used to tremble at the sight of him?

Could it be that he thought something had happened to him since the slaves had revolted?

‘That slave.’

The warden’s lips twisted with sadism.

“I guess I need to teach you your place again. You piece of trash.”

In an instant, the warden’s body disappeared.

He appeared right in front of Joo-yeon.

“Die!”

The warden’s huge fist headed for Joo-yeon’s face.

Bang!

With a loud bang, Joo-yeon’s body, which was blocking with his arm, was thrown away.

Creak!

It was the sound of bones breaking in his arm.

Of course, that wasn’t enough.

The warden intended to cripple Joo-yeon.

“First, I’ll crush all the fingers that reached for the contract like a rat.”

But just then.

“Huh?”

The warden’s face contorted.

And a scream rang out.

Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like