Chapter 34 – Into the Devil Forest
The journey to Jirisan Devil Forest was like walking into the mouth of a demon.
Jagged cliffs surrounded them. The wind howled unnaturally, as if the forest itself was alive and warning them away. Birds didn't sing. No beasts stirred. Only silence… and death.
Ji-ho and Ye-jun stood at the forest's edge, cloaked in black, eyes hard and unwavering.
"This place feels like it's feeding on fear," Ye-jun muttered, gripping his blade.
Ji-ho nodded. "That's because it is."
The Jirisan Devil Forest was infamous—a government-sealed zone, forbidden to civilians. Rumors said it was a dumping ground for failed awakeners and cursed experiments.
Rumors, Ji-ho now knew, weren't rumors at all.
They were evidence.
He closed his eyes, focusing. His Destructive Aura now pulsed with poison energy, swirling like a storm around him. His new Shield of Poisonous Destruction wrapped him in a veil of death, the land beneath his feet wilting as he stepped forward.
As they crossed the invisible barrier, reality bent.
The trees twisted. Their bark dripped black sap. Bones littered the ground—some human, some unrecognizable.
And then, they arrived.
A clearing.
In the center stood a fortress-like facility, covered in roots, rust, and bloodstains. Armed patrols of B and A-rank awakeners surrounded it, masked and alert. But Ji-ho wasn't afraid.
He wasn't here to sneak in.
He was here to declare war.
"Brother," Ye-jun said, his aura rising, "We start?"
Ji-ho raised his hand.
And the sky split.
A destructive ray surged from above, raining down like divine judgment. The first three awakeners didn't even scream—they were vaporized.
Sirens blared.
Ji-ho stepped forward, eyes glowing.
A dozen awakened hunters charged at them, blades drawn, abilities flaring—fire, shadow, wind, ice.
But it didn't matter.
Ji-ho didn't move his hands.
He didn't need to anymore.
With a thought, the Destructive Ray bent, twisted, and sliced through their ranks like a crimson serpent. Each strike precise, fatal. Heads rolled. Blood painted the forest floor.
Ye-jun moved beside him, a blur of speed and fire, tearing through the stunned forces like a reaper.
Within minutes—over 60 bodies littered the jungle.
Then a voice echoed from the fortress loudspeaker.
> "You're brave… but foolish."
From the entrance, a giant figure emerged. Bare-chested, covered in scars, fangs tattooed on his neck, his eyes glowing green with poison.
Yoo Sang-rok.
The Beast of Jirisan.
"I've been waiting for one of you," he growled. "Let's see what made the last four die screaming."
Ji-ho's aura exploded. The pendant pulsed, feeding him energy, his Destructive Poison Ray forming in both hands now—one like a blade, the other like a storm.
"No more words," Ji-ho whispered.
"Just death."
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