Leveling Up through Eating

When Hell’s Emissary Verak asked how long he thought Minhyuk would take to deal with Great Demon Verus and his devils, he thought it would only take a minute.

Anyway, that was the thought that flashed in Verak’s head when he saw the confident expression on Minhyuk’s face and his straight and firm posture despite standing in front of Great Demon Verus and his devils.

‘This is the Beyond the Heavens’ Emperor…!’

Verak felt something hot boil from deep within his heart.

“Maybe about a day?”

“...Eh?”

Alas, Minhyuk's words were completely different from his confident appearance. After all, he seemed ready to wipe out all the demons at once.

“I thought you could wipe them all out right away?”

“How can I wipe out the Great Demon and all his devils at once? What kind of demon hunting are you on about…?”

At that moment, Great Demon Verus and his devils sent a barrage of attacks upon them.

Minhyuk spoke calmly. “Verak, activate Hell’s Barrier.”

Hell’s Barrier would manifest an invincible barrier for two minutes. The problem was that it only worked against beings from Hell and beings who possessed demonic energy.

Verak activated Hell’s Barrier and asked, “Your Majesty…?”

“Do you know what’s the most important thing to do in a large-scale battle?” Minhyuk asked while he activated Absolute Defense. “It’s killing the enemy commander first.”

With Absolute Defense protecting him, Minhyuk could resist the attacks that Great Demon Verus and the devils had sent to him. Of course, he had also already equipped the Black Dragon Armor on his body.

Verak, inside his absolute barrier, watched Minhyuk’s back as he ran to where Great Demon Verus and his devils were.

‘Wow… what?’

The man said that it would take them a day to deal with the demons, a statement that was contrary to Verak’s one-minute battle expectations. Yet Minhyuk did not shrink against all of the demons. He was even moving swiftly and agilely among them.

[BASTARD!!!]

The lizard-like eyes of the gigantic Great Demon Verus, who stood taller among his devils, followed Minhyuk’s figure.

He had been waiting for this day for a very long time.

They went so far as to find a way to break the rules of the Barrier Between Good and Evil that was situated between Heaven and Hell. They also willingly endured the pain that was equivalent to the pain of their bones being torn apart just so they could eat the Glutton’s Authority’s egg.

All of this was because of Minhyuk. After all, he was the one who drove them into this hell.

Great Demon Verus clearly remembered the day that he died.

[You bastard. In the end, you are nothing without your vassals.]

Verus mocked the young man while in glee. Why? Because the wolf-like man and the old man with the spear were nowhere to be seen in this place.

‘The Heavens are helping us!’

The only reason why the man was able to win against them was because of his vassals.

[A long time has passed! We have already become stronger!]

Slash, slash, slash–!

The attacks never stopped falling on Minhyuk. The demons, who had become much stronger than before, were waiting for Minhyuk’s Absolute Defense to disappear.

[You trivial and worthless bastard…!]

Great Demon Verus cackled. To his astonishment, the young man was suddenly in front of him.

“That may be right.”

[...?!]

“Back then, I received a lot of help from Brod and Ben.”

They weren’t the only ones. Minhyuk had received a lot of help from a lot of people. Without their help, he wouldn’t have been able to kill Great Demon Verus.

“Just like you said, a long time has passed since then. Yes, you bastards have grown stronger.”

But there was also something that changed.

“Of course, I, too, am completely different from back then.”

[Keuhahahaha!]

Great Demon Verus cackled. Humans were inherently weak. Even if they reached the realm of a god, they would eventually face limitations and no longer be able to grow.

However, there was a grin on Minhyuk’s face. “Back then, I think my level was around Level 400. Or maybe it was around Level 500?”

Verus, who watched Minhyuk’s barrier slowly fade, felt delighted. At long last, he would be able to wring this bastard’s heart dry!

Then, Minhyuk, with a cold expression on his face, said, “I’m over Level 700 now.”

[...?]

It was at this moment that Verus realized that something was wrong. They had clearly become stronger compared to before. Nevertheless, they had only grown 1.3x stronger than in the past. But in Minhyuk’s case, he had grown at least 1.7x stronger.

“That’s my growth only in terms of levels.”

Minhyuk held Comrade in his left hand.

“Of course, the other aspects have also experienced significant growth.”

The Minhyuk of today was wearing the Black Dragon Armor. He also had the Sword of Aeon and Comrade in both hands. These were things that Great Demon Verus had never seen on him before.

Then, there was also the fact that a player would experience a huge boost in power whenever they broke through the walls that separated every 100 levels.

Minhyuk glared at Verus coldly and said, “Overpower.”

THUD–!

The moment Minhyuk’s Absolute Barrier disappeared, Great Demon Verus was left in a two-second stunned state that he could not resist.

As mentioned before, Minhyuk has been receiving the attacks of Great Demon Verus and the 72 Devils non-stop. In fact, the attacks had not ceased.

“Transcendence.”

Black energy surged out of Minhyuk’s body and began to morph into the shape of a gigantic black spear.

Verak stared at the gigantic black spear in front of him in a daze. He could not help but ponder over Minhyuk’s words earlier. He murmured, “Kill the enemy commander first…”

Transcendence’s effects had temporarily increased Minhyuk’s stats and skill level. With Black Dragon Armor equipped, his damage was 1.3x stronger. There was also his holy power, which increased his attack damage by 1.5x against beings with demonic power. All of this was applied to the Transcendental’s Spear that was forming in front of him.

At this moment, Verak realized why Minhyuk said that it would take them a day to deal with the demons. ‘He will trample on the demons one by one after killing Great Demon Verus!’

A glimmer appeared in Verak’s eyes.

At that moment, the gigantic spear sent by the human emperor named Minhyuk pierced through the Great Demon Verus’ heart. The shot forced Great Demon Verus to curl in on himself, unable to let out even a single scream of pain.

But there was a reason why Great Demons and demons were very difficult and tricky to deal with. This was because their regenerative abilities were far beyond anyone’s imagination.

[Kuehaaaaaack…!]

The demons continued to bombard Minhyuk with attacks. They hoped that this bombardment of attacks would help them save Verus, who was now screaming from the pain.

[Your HP has dropped below 40%.]

Despite the glaring notification, Minhyuk did not budge. With the two swords in his hands, he said, “Absolute Defense.”

Before coming here, Minhyuk used his Save skill to store Absolute Defense. That was what he used now.

At the same time, the beautiful sound of bells rang in the entire area.

Ding~

Ding, ding~

Ding~

(Ramas’ Bell)

Rank: Legendary

Restriction: Minhyuk’s attributed artifact.

Durability: ∞/∞

Special Abilities:

•Increases your Holy Power by 10% just by possessing the artifact alone.

•Active Skill: Pope Ramas’ Bell

•Active Skill: God’s Miracle

Description: This bell is the third of the Pope’s Treasures. The 13th Pope, Ramas, was said to have escaped the clutches of death in the Demon World by ringing this bell. It was said that he was able to survive by leaving the Demonic Humans and Demonic Races in pain and distress after ringing the bell once.

A burst of bright light erupted from Ramas’ Bell and scattered holy power all over the place. Thanks to the skill “God’s Miracle” attached to the Ramas’ Bell, the demons were left temporarily blinded. God’s Miracle was a skill that made it impossible for evil beings who had heard the ringing of Ramas’ Bell to open their eyes for a few seconds.

The demons tried to force their eyes open. Despite the constantly flashing lights from the burst of holy powers, the demons still tried their best to save Great Demon Verus.

Shwaaaaa–

With great difficulty, Great Demon Verus was finally able to pull out the Transcendental’s Spear that was lodged in his left chest. At the same time, he released a huge amount of black demonic energy.

When the demons finally opened their eyes that were forced to close by the bright and glaring light of the holy power, they were met with the sight of Minhyuk slashing and hacking at Great Demon Verus with the two swords in his hands.

The screams of Great Demon Verus echoed in the Boundary Between Good and Evil as his body got hacked and torn apart. But before the demons could make a move, they were once again blinded by the white light created by the holy power that rose once again.

[Lord Verus!]

[Great Demon!!!]

The vision of the demons, who were calling out to Verus desperately, finally returned once again. However, they were greeted by the sight of a black chain sickle slashing at Verus’ neck and a puppet stabbing him all over his body.

Then, there was Minhyuk with his white cape carrying the symbol of a fork and knife crossed together fluttering in the wind as he casted another skill.

“Annihilator’s Sword.”

Shwaaaaa–!

Verus was already being bombarded with attacks that did not give him any time to regenerate. These attacks had already turned his body into a tattered rag. And in that state, the Annihilator’s Sword, with 11,000% additional attack power and various additional effects inflicted tens of thousands of damage upon him.

Swoosh–!

Minhyuk swung his sword horizontally and released a huge amount of holy power. At this moment, Great Demon Verus realized that he was about to face another death.

Those who were residing in the Boundary Between Good and Evil were already beings who were sent to Heaven or Hell. As soon as they died in this place, their bodies would be dragged back to the realm where they were sent before and taken in front of the god who was leading that realm. In other words, if Great Demon Verus died here, he would be dragged in front of the God of Death. Then, the God of Death would extinguish their souls himself.

Verus found it unbelievable. In just a year, this human being named Minhyuk had grown three times stronger.

Shwaaaaaa–!

With the swing of Minhyuk’s sword, the demonic energy that enveloped the place dried out and disappeared.

[Keuhaaaaaaaack!!!]

The Great Demon Verus was the one who led the 72 Devils in the past. He was the strongest of the three Great Demons and was someone who did not know fear. Yet this very same being appeared to be struggling from pain in the eyes of the demons, who were finally freed from the constraints of the holy power. He, who did not know fear, was being trampled by a mere human being. A mere human being was making him suffer like that.

At that moment, the human slashed Great Demon Verus’ neck with the two swords in his hands.

Slash–!

Stab–!

Thud–!

The 72 Devils fell into despair when they saw Verus’ head fall and roll on the ground. Then, an explosion erupted in the now headless body of the Great Demon Verus.

BANG–!

The man landed on the ground and looked at the 72 Devils coldly. “Are you not going to come at me?”

Flinch–!

The demons faltered as the unfamiliar feeling of fear and terror engulfed their entire being for a brief moment. At the same time, a series of notifications rang in Minhyuk’s ears.

[The morale of the demons, who have lost Great Demon Verus, have gone down.]

[All of the demons’ powers will decrease by 10%.]

[You have made progress in the Quest: Hunting the Good and Evil’s Devils.]

[You have killed the Great Demon Verus.]

[You have acquired 5 stat points. They will be allocated randomly to your stats.]

[You have gained 2 STR.]

[You have gained 1 AGI.]

[You have gained 1 Will.]

Killing Great Demon Verus gave Minhyuk five times more stats than killing other demons.

Meanwhile, Verak felt like he was in a dream. He watched as Minhyuk glared coldly at the demons and said, ‘Are you not going to come at me?’ while walking toward them. With every step that he took, he saw the demons falter and stagger on their feet.

Then, blazing hot flames shot out from the blade of Minhyuk’s sword.

Crackle–!

The power of the Supreme Overlord’s Technique devoured the panicking demons, who were unable to move any further.

Baaaang–!

Slash, slash, slash–!

Minhyuk watched them as they got swept away by the huge explosion.

Not long after, Verak saw the man appear beside him. Verak felt like this was a day that he would never, ever forget.

“Verak.”

Verak, who listened to Minhyuk’s arrogant voice, knew that he would follow this man’s orders no matter what. He answered with a deep and sonorous boom, “Yes, Your Majesty!!!”

“Run.”

“Yes?”

“Run at full speed.”

“Ah. Uhm…? I thought you were going to kill them all?”

“It’s going to take a day! We have to kill them one at a time. Run!”

“Yes, sir!”

Today, Verak realized one more fact about Minhyuk.

‘His Majesty…’

He was currently in a “fanboy” state after seeing Minhyuk cut down the Great Demon Verus just like that. So now, every action that Minhyuk made seemed cool to him.

‘...is really good at running away. Kyaa~ Look at how fast his legs are going! I can’t even see them moving!’

Verak was moved to tears after seeing Minhyuk run ahead of him and get ahead by 200 meters in just one go.