novelraw Chapter 116 : You Won’t Be Able to Handle It
Chapter 116 : You Won’t Be Able to Handle It
Chapter 116: You Won’t Be Able to Handle It
He didn’t know why the Corpse Golem listened to Maria’s words.
It wasn’t that there had never been cases of humans taming monsters.
Still, not many people would look at a Corpse Golem and even consider the option of taming it.
‘Just looking at it, it’s clearly highly aggressive.’
He didn’t know what method she had used, but he focused on what was in front of him and retreated backward.
Kwaaang!
The Corpse Golem’s bulk ignored the height difference.
Just standing upright, its head nearly touched the ceiling.
Naturally, there was no difficulty in fully transmitting the force carried in its fists.
“Leave it to me!”
Sigbard brought his rod down toward the fist the creature had thrust out.
Splat.
Instead of the crisp sound of something breaking, it sounded like throwing a stone into mud.
Sigbard’s eyes widened slightly.
It wasn’t the expected feedback.
The Corpse Golem absorbed the impact.
“If this doesn’t work!”
As Sigbard yanked the rod back, chunks of flesh came off with it.
“Then harder!”
Puh-buk!
A heavier blow than before.
Along with the sound of flesh bursting, the Corpse Golem’s arm fell off.
Crk-crk-crk.
From the shortened upper arm, bone jutted out—
Pshhk!
—and shot straight forward.
A bone spear, white bone covered thickly with red flesh.
Sigbard flicked the bone spear away with his rod.
The sharply flying bone lost its force and fell in front of Robin.
Chiiiiik.
‘Acid?’
The flesh melted away, leaving a grotesque mark on the floor.
The stench of rot assaulted his nose.
“If you surrender even now, I’ll end it without pain.”
Perhaps she thought it was doable.
Confidence settled on Maria’s face.
“What are you ending?”
Robin released his fighting spirit.
The fighting spirit that cut through the air reached the Corpse Golem.
“Keoaar!”
Wounds were carved all over its body.
However, the power wasn’t enough to completely sever it.
Which meant there was only one thing to do—draw up more fighting spirit.
“You seem to be mistaken.”
Woooong. Woong.
The fighting spirit stretched straight out along the blade, reaching a length of three meters.
It was no different from the sword instantaneously becoming longer.
“You can’t beat us.”
Robin brought it down in a diagonal slash.
After a line was drawn from the Corpse Golem’s nape down to its shoulder—
Chwaaaak.
The Corpse Golem’s head was cleanly decapitated.
Like something made of clay, its head fell to the floor with a dull splat.
“Well done!”
Sigbard cheered.
Shaking the flesh stuck to his rod loose, he looked down at Maria.
“If you stop here, I’ll kill you without pain.”
He returned her words exactly as they were.
She should have panicked, but Maria remained calm.
“No matter how strong you two are, you won’t be able to handle it.”
Squirm, squirm.
At the cross-section where the Corpse Golem’s head had been—
the flesh wriggled, and a new head was formed.
‘It’s a monster, but that’s seriously disgusting.’
Anyone weak-stomached would have vomited dozens of times already.
The Corpse Golem didn’t stop at regenerating its head.
The head that had fallen to the floor moved as if it were alive—
then slapped onto its feet and fused with the body.
“I can mince lumps of flesh all day long!”
Sigbard shouted boldly, but Maria remained composed.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Dozens of heavy footsteps echoed.
In response, the people strewn about like ghouls moved toward the edges.
“Unfortunately, it’s not just one.”
Grrrraaar.
Behind Maria, another Corpse Golem revealed itself.
‘One, two, three… ten?’
Even behind the ten, the presence of dozens more could be felt.
Maria raised her hand upward and gave the command.
“Kill.”
Kroooooar!
More than ten Corpse Golems swelled their bodies.
Thud! Thud!
The floor shook as if an earthquake had struck.
Sigbard curled the corner of his lips, and Robin leveled his two swords.
Kwaaang!
The two men and the monsters collided.
Nearly thirty Corpse Golems lay fallen.
The place where they had stood had become a vast pool of blood.
The floor, mixed with blood and flesh, made squelching sounds with every step.
“They were quite the troublesome monsters.”
Sigbard wiped the blood off his body.
His skin was reddened as if burned in places, but it soon began to heal.
‘He really is tough.’
The blood of Corpse Golems was acidic.
If it touched bare skin, it would be fatal, but Sigbard hadn’t suffered serious damage.
In contrast, holes had formed in Robin’s clothes, and the skin on his arms and legs splashed with blood had peeled away and blistered.
‘Looks like I’ll have to spend some money to get treated.’
Fortunately, they weren’t serious injuries.
Even the lowest-grade potions would be enough to heal them.
“All the humans are gone.”
“There should be more space further inside.”
During the battle, he had seen Maria and the humans walking inward.
It must have been to avoid getting caught up in the fight.
Maria had been relaxed right up until she disappeared.
‘Did she really not expect us to win?’
Either way, what Robin had to do was already decided.
Together with Sigbard, he headed toward where Maria had vanished.
“Robin, your sword’s damaged.”
“We just need to finish this quickly and take care of it afterward.”
“It’s a sword you cherish—will it be okay?”
Robin let out a shallow breath.
“It can’t be helped. Weapons wear down the more you use them.”
The blade had corroded after coming into contact with the Corpse Golem’s blood.
He had tried to minimize the damage by wrapping it in fighting spirit, but there were limits.
‘It’s still usable.’
It was a sword he had used for ten years.
His affection poured into the weapon was anything but ordinary.
Naturally, it wasn’t as if his weapon had never been damaged before.
Thinking that he would sharpen the blade once he reached the city, he arrived at the end of the passage.
“There’s demonic energy overflowing from inside.”
Demonic energy was seeping out through the gaps in the thick iron door.
A malice he hadn’t felt even when facing dozens of Corpse Golems.
He realized the intention of the person who had made this place.
Even that person must have judged that whatever was inside should never be allowed to escape carelessly.
He gripped the large circular handle with both hands and turned it with force.
Kiiik. Kiigigigik.
Perhaps it hadn’t been oiled—sharp metallic screeches rang out.
Thunk.
The sound of the latch releasing felt like a signal.
A signal telling him to prepare to face something he shouldn’t see, something he wasn’t meant to see.
Robin didn’t stop and pulled the iron door open.
“You’ve come?”
Maria rose from the chair set against the wall.
It was so natural, as if she had been waiting for Robin to arrive.
“What is that.”
In the center of the spacious room, a single bed had been placed.
Around it, humans like ghouls were gathered at a distance.
“The purpose of building this place.”
Maria approached the bed and looked down at the one lying atop it.
A boy about Maria’s age was sleeping.
‘Demon Tribe?’
Purple skin and a horn sprouting from the right side of his forehead told him he was of the Demon Tribe.
With a faint smile, Maria stroked the boy’s cheek.
“It’s true that I said I opposed luring you two in.”
“Now you say that?”
“It’s true that I suggested luring you at first. But watching from the side, I realized something.”
Maria withdrew her hand and looked straight at Robin.
“You’re both incredibly strong.”
“And yet you were the one who led us here knowing that.”
Robin raised his sword.
The tip of the blade pointed at Maria.
“I can’t let this secret get out to the others.”
“The outcome won’t change. You die here today.”
“That’s harsh. You’ve come all this way and still don’t get it?”
Maria spread both hands and turned her head left and right.
“Don’t you want to know what happened here?”
Robin stared at Maria without saying a word.
“We were kidnapped and used as experimental tools. It was an experiment to use the Demon Tribe’s magic.”
“An experiment to combine humans and the Demon Tribe?”
“That’s right. And as you can see…….”
Looking at the boy lying there, Maria continued.
“It succeeded.”
“Half-human, half-demon actually exists?”
“Yes. The experiment to use magic while remaining human failed, but becoming part of the Demon Tribe is possible.”
“Who planned all of this?”
“Does that matter? Even if you find out, you’ll be assassinated without anyone knowing.”
Maria laughed emptily.
It was a laugh that seemed resigned to something.
“Have you ever fought the Demon Tribe? Probably not.”
Robin didn’t answer.
“No matter how strong you two are, dealing with magic won’t be easy.”
“Are you saying you can use magic?”
“No. Evan here will wake up.”
Maria leaned close to the sleeping boy’s ear and whispered.
“Evan, it’s time to eat.”
The sleeping boy opened his eyes and slowly raised his body.
His face was expressionless, devoid of any emotion.
From the moment they entered, Robin and Sigbard had been closely watching that boy called Evan.
Because he was the source of the overflowing demonic energy.
“They’re extremely strong people. Don’t let your guard down.”
It was impossible to tell whether Evan heard her words or not.
Evan planted his feet on the ground and stared at Robin and Sigbard.
“Did everyone who entered here become that thing’s prey?”
“Yes. Evan periodically needs the life force of living people.”
“How many have you killed so far?”
Maria pondered for a moment, then opened her mouth.
“Well. Roughly, wouldn’t it be over a hundred?”
There was no trace of guilt on her face.
Her tone was flat, as if deciding what to eat for lunch.
“Don’t you think you’ve done something wrong—”
Ki hi hi hi.
Before Robin could finish his sentence, a chilling cold swept over him from behind.
Bwoong!
As Sigbard swung his rod, the advancing Wraith faltered.
“Robin! Kill the Demon Tribe!”
The Wraith that Duncan had been drawing attention to suddenly surged in.
‘That bastard summoned monsters.’
There was no need to think deeply.
It wasn’t the first time he’d seen a member of the Demon Tribe control monsters.
He had to kill that half-human, half-demon called Evan.
Saaak.
The lightly released fighting spirit was blocked by the surrounding humans.
Sreogeo-geok.
‘They’re not ghouls. Is he controlling even those people?’
Evan was merely standing there.
He hadn’t raised his hand or issued any command.
He was controlling monsters and humans with thought alone.
‘Troublesome.’
Just as Robin decided he would have to get close and cut him down directly—
Thud.
The humans near Evan collapsed one by one.
They looked like trees dried out completely, as if all the moisture had been drained from their bodies.
‘He absorbed their life force.’
Evan extended his hand toward Robin.
Robin’s pupils dilated, and a dark orb was fired.
Shooong.
He barely twisted his body to evade it, but the orb he thought had merely grazed past transformed into the shape of a small Wraith.
The Wraith formed of demonic energy followed behind Robin at a slower speed than before.
‘It doesn’t just end as a projectile—it chases?’
It was the first time he had seen such magic.
Robin, who had been about to cut Evan down in one swift motion, widened the distance for a moment.
Saak. Sak.
He slashed with a sword wrapped in fighting spirit.
In the brief moment Robin diverted his attention—
Evan continuously released dark orbs.
Shooong.
“Sigbard!”
Sigbard, who had been blocking the Wraiths at the entrance, quickly dodged.
Just like with Robin, the orb transformed into a small Wraith and followed Sigbard.
“This is an annoying spell!”
Sigbard also took no direct damage, but in that brief instant, he ended up exposing an opening.
Ki hi hi hi.
The Wraiths rushed in all at once and began rampaging in all directions.
Watching the scene, Maria spoke to Evan.
“Finish it quickly, Evan.”
As if he understood her words, Evan raised both hands.
With an expressionless face, he hurled dark orbs toward Robin and Sigbard.
Shuuwoong.
The orbs didn’t reach the two of them, but they were enough to disrupt their movements.
With his attention split on evasion, it became difficult to find the timing to attack.
The guided attacks following from behind were especially troublesome.
‘If this keeps up, it’ll never end.’
It was a vicious cycle.
If the current pattern continued to repeat, it wouldn’t be easy to escape later even if he wanted to.
Just as Robin was about to draw up his fighting spirit, even if it meant overexerting himself—
Wuuuuwoong.
Sigbard’s rod let out a fierce howl.