"C-Crazy human!!!" Sabnak shouted in pallor.
They were in the territory of the Hellhound, one of the apex predators of the First Hell. Since the human attacked the Hellhoundās baby in her nest, the Hellhound was bound to run back here.
"Shit!"
Sabnak quickly swung the black blade he made with the Authority of Blades. He needed to silence the screeching baby Hellhound as soon as possible.
Slash!!!
The black blade cut the baby Hellhound from head to chest.
"Krrrk!Whineā¦"
The baby Hellhound died in one blow, unbecoming of its reputation as the strongest predator in the First Hell. Sabnak glared at Oh Kang-Woo after killing the baby.
"You crazy son of a bitch!! Do you want to be devoured by a Hellhound who lost its baby?!"
"H-Hehe," Kang-Woo snickered. "Whether the Hellhound kills me or you, itās all the same, dammit.""..."
Sabnak couldnāt refute Kang-Wooās logic. He remained silent because he was planning on killing the human and eating his heart
Sabnak narrowed his eyes. Although the Hellhound was one of the most powerful demonic beasts in the First Hell, he was a demon with an Authority; it was not like he didnāt stand a chance. No, he had a higher chance of victory.
āBut itās too dangerous.ā
Sabnak could win if the Hellhound were in a normal state but not even he could handle a Hellhound blind with rage because it would charge at him with the intent to kill without a care for its life. Sabnak may win if he were lucky but would likely die from the injuries he suffered in the battle.
"Dammit," Sabnak cursed and frowned.
The baby Hellhound was dead, making the battle impossible to avoid. The Hellhound, blinded by rage, would continue to chase his scent until it killed him.
āThen before thatā¦ā
He would kill the human and devour his heart. No one had any idea why but the humans who had been appearing throughout the First Hell lately drastically boosted the demonic energy of those who ate their hearts.
"I canāt believe Iām being forced to deal with this shit just because of a mere human insect." Sabnak glared at Kang-Woo with a frown. "Iāll have you pay for this with your life, human."
"What a load of shit."
Kang-Woo smiled as he panted heavily. Such lines werenāt even used in mediocre martial arts novels these days.
"And I told you, didnāt I?" Kang-Woo smirked as he slowly crouched. "If I die, Iām taking you with me. No, youāre the only one whoās gonna die."
"What?" Sabnakās eyebrows crumpled.
Kang-Woo stuffed his left hand into the baby Hellhoundās split chest.
āHere it is.ā
He felt something squishy in his hand. He grabbed it and pulled out the baby Hellhoundās stopped heart.
"..."
Kang-Woo gulped as he stared at the black blood trickling down his left arm. He wanted to quench his thirst with the black blood more than anything.
āEndure it.ā
It would be over for him the moment he drank the blood. To be more specific, he would become the target of the mother Hellhound the moment the blood got on his body.
āTheir sense of smell is highly developed.ā
Kang-Woo recalled how he wasnāt detected by the Hellhound when he was covered in poop. Just like dogs, they relied on their sense of smell to distinguish friend and foe.
āIn that case.ā
The mother Hellhound would naturally attack the one whom she could smell her babyās blood from.
"..."
Kang-Woo looked down at himself. His left arm was soaked in the black blood from shoving his arm into the baby Hellhoundās eye and pulling out its heart from its chest.
āBut nowhere else.ā
The blood did not splatter anywhere else thanks to him being on the baby Hellhoundās back when Sabnak killed the baby. Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes and looked down at the baby Hellhoundās heart in his left hand. He chuckled at the idea he had just thought of.
āItās insane.ā
However, he wouldnāt survive in this place unless he was insane.
"Huuu, huuu, huuu!"
Kang-Wooās heart beat rapidly due to the massive anxiety crushing him. He panted heavily and lowered his stance.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!"
He squeezed out what remained of his strength to charge at Sabnak.
"What the�"
Sabnak stepped back in confusion, not expecting the human to charge at him first, and reflexively raised his arm. The black blade gleamed as it swung toward the human.
"NOW!!!"
Kang-Woo smiled as he stared at the black blade.
āIf only my left arm is covered in the baby Hellhoundās blood, I just have to cut it off!!!ā
Kang-Woo swung his left arm holding the baby Hellhoundās heart with all his might at the black blade, so sharp that it could likely slice rocks like tofu.
Slashā!!
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!" Kang-Woo screamed. The gut-wrenching pain traveling up his left arm drove him crazy. "IT HURTS, IT HURTS, IT HURTS, IT HURTS!!!"
His cheeks were doused with tears. He wondered if this was how it felt to be scalded with a hot iron. Overwhelming pain he had never experienced before turned his mind blank.
"A-Arghhh."
Kang-Woo suppressed his screams with all his might and stared at his left arm. It was spewing so much red blood that it was hard to believe he had been suffering from severe dehydration. At this rate, he would die from blood loss instead of by the Hellhound.
"Huff, huff, huff!"
Kang-Woo tied the T-shirt he had used to collect the Hellhound poop to stop the bleeding, albeit poorly. He then turned around to look at Sabnak. The plan he had in mind had succeeded.
"Wh-What in the�"
The left arm Kang-Woo had swung as if throwing it had flown toward Sabnak after being sliced off. It collided with Sabnakās chest and the baby Hellhoundās heart burst with blood from the impact.
"I-It canāt be." Sabnak stared at Kang-Woo in disbelief. "Youā¦"
Sabnak knew how sensitive a Hellhoundās sense of smell was, and he was covered in the baby Hellhoundās blood.
"Son of aā¦"
Sabnak stared at Kang-Woo with trembling eyes. The human had swung his arm toward Sabnakās blade to throw the baby Hellhoundās heart at Sabnak. It wasnāt something anyone sane could do.
"Kuh!!"
Sabnak bit his lip and charged at the human. Now that it had come to this, he needed to kill the human as quickly as possible.
BOOMā!!!
"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!"
However, before Sabnak could swing his blade, the mother Hellhound battling the horned wolves returned to her nest with a thunderous roar. She was covered in wounds likely made from the battle against the wolves.
"D-Dammit!"
Sabnak quickly turned to the Hellhound. Nothing was more terrifying in the First Hell than a Hellhound blinded by rage.
Split!
"AAAAAAAAAHHH!!"
Sabnak did not have time to bother with the human. Another black blade sprouted from his other hand as he prepared to face the Hellhound charging at him.
"GRRR!WOOF!!"
"Kurgh!!!"
Befitting of its title as the most powerful predator in the First Hell, the Hellhoundās physical strength was extraordinary. The earth shook with each step the Hellhound took and she bared her sharp fangs at Sabnak.
"ARGHHHHH!!! MOTHERFUCKING HUMAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!" Sabnak screamed in fury as he faced the Hellhound.
The Hellhound was focused only on Sabnak as if she couldnāt even see Kang-Woo. It was only natural; not only was Kang-Woo not covered in her babyās blood, he was also covered in Hellhound poop. Although Kang-Wooās blood was dripping from his severed left arm, that was not important to the Hellhound who just lost her baby.
"Haaa, haaa," Kang-Woo panted heavily and crouched as he watched the battle between two monsters.
āIf I chose to fight those monstersā¦ā
Chills ran down his spine.
āFirst, I shouldā¦ā
Kang-Woo crawled to escape from where Sabnak and the Hellhound were fighting, making as little sound as possible.
"A-Arghh."
Tears flowed down his cheeks. Sharp pain radiated from the stump of his left arm. His vision blurred with even the slightest movement.
"Huff, huff, huff."
Kang-Woo bit his lip and held on to the string connected to his consciousness with all his might.
"Kurgh."
He could just crawl away but instead crawled up a rock about three meters tall. Despite being this high, the Hellhound was so large that he still needed to look up.
āHeās fighting a lot better than the wolves.ā
Sabnak was only a little taller than Kang-Woo but thankfully he, with his sharp black blades, was fighting on par with the Hellhound despite the massive size difference.
"Kurgh."
Kang-Woo endured the pain shooting from his left arm and grabbed one of the small rocks around the area. He had not crawled up this rock to observe the battle from above.
āEven if I run away, Iāll die soon enough.ā
Running away in starvation and exhaustion would not last him long.
āIn that case.ā
Kang-Woo couldnāt do anything about his severed arm but he at least needed to find something to eat and drink here.
"Iāll⦠kill both of them here."
He, of course, was nowhere near strong enough to kill either of the monsters.
āBut I can at least keep the battle neck and neck.ā
Kang-Woo gripped the rock and raised his arm high.
"RAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!" Sabnak roared as he ferociously swung his black blades against the Hellhound.
The Hellhound was already tired as if she had been in a battle before this. If that was the case, Sabnak had a chance to win.
"DIEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!"
Bash!
Just then, a rock flew out of nowhere and hit his head.
"Gah! Wh-What theā?!"
Sabnak swayed and momentarily stopped.
"ROOOOOOOOAR!!"
The Hellhound did not miss that chance and smashed Sabnak with her front foot.
"Kurgh! Urgh!"
Sabnak looked up even while being blown backward. On one of the rocks was the human who covered him with the baby Hellhoundās blood, with a rock in his hand.
"YOU BASTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARD!!!"
Sabnak gave the human a death glare.
"Pfft! Hahahahaha!!" Kang-Woo burst into laughter despite being in immense pain.
āAhh, yeah.ā
Even as the pain was turning his mind blank, he couldnāt stop laughing as he stared at the demon glaring at him.
āIām gonna survive.ā
No matter how pathetic, desperate, cowardly, unsightly, and low he needed to actā¦
āIā¦āKang-Woo gritted his teeth.āWill survive this goddamn Hell.ā