Chapter 95:

Chapter 95:

Chapter 95

Kang Dohyeon's face became even more bewildered upon hearing that. It was understandable since their opponent clearly appeared to be a demon.

'If I hadn't checked the Destiny, I might have thought it was a demon too.'

[Name] Yang Sera

[Rank] Spirit First-class

[Attribute] Earth

[Status] Cursed, 'Shape-shifting'

"This is a human, he's cursed."

Kang Dohyeon's expression went from momentarily surprised to sharply focused.

"How did you figure that out?"

"Thanks to Linnie's influence, I can detect curses."

While Seo Gangrim was offering an excuse involving Linnie, the statue launched another attack.

- Kwaang!

Kang Dohyeon urgently grabbed Seo Gangrim's collar and pulled him down. The statue, with a frozen face, exhibited neither hostility nor vitality. It simply mechanically moved toward its target.

"I'm pretty sure there's something up there."

As the two of them descended the stairs to the first floor, the statue ceased its movement. It seemed to initiate an attack when someone entered a specific area.

Seo Gangrim silently observed the statue. Kang Dohyeon, looking bewildered, asked, "Seo Gangrim, what are you doing?"

Ignoring the question, Seo Gangrim immediately rushed at the statue. The statue immediately started to react to intruders, but it was too slow for Seo Gangrim. He struck the statue's face with his fist.

- Puek!

The statue writhed and rolled on the ground. Seo Gangrim observed it for a moment.

'Is it dead?'

He had intended to knock it out rather than kill it, but he put more power to the punch than he expected. Nevertheless, judging by the faint trembling of its body, it didn't seem to be dead. It was unclear whether the statue was weak or Seo Gangrim had grown stronger but from by Yang Sera's rank of Spirit First-class, it was probably the latter.

'It looks like advancing to level 30 has had a significant impact.'

After Seo Gangrim successfully subdued the statue, Kang Dohyeon also ascended the stairs. He gazed silently at the fallen statue.

"...You've definitely gotten stronger."

Seo Gangrim overheard Kang Dohyeon muttering. Kang Dohyeon seemed to have something else to say. "So, what's your plan now? Are you just going to leave it unconscious like this?"

"We need to lift the curse. Linnie, come here."

Linnie, who had been hiding in a corner, approached cautiously and tapped the statue's head with her forehead.

[Ability 'Purification' activated!]

[The curse on the target has been lifted!]

A bright light emanated and the oppressive aura gradually dissipated from the statue's body. Then, the statue's surface began to turn golden, and its shell fell away like a molting insect.

Kang Dohyeon looked around and said, "If the others found this place first, it would have been a big problem."

Several shattered statues could be seen throughout the staircase. They appeared to have been killed by the first group of people who entered.

Seo Gangrim initially activated 'Destiny Theft' against them but quickly canceled it. 'Their rank is too low, and they've been dead for too long.'

In the meantime, the human who had been released from the curse was coughing violently and slowly opened her eyes. She looked at the people in front of her with a vacant expression.

Kang Dohyeon examined her face and asked, "What's your name?"

"Ah... uh..."

Instead of a name, only a strange sobbing sound came from her mouth. Her body had returned to human form, but her mind seemed far from recovery.

Seo Gangrim glanced at the woman for a moment and then moved toward the restaurant.

"I should inform Agent Annaby."

It was more important to inform her about the statues than the survivor. If they encountered the statues and destroyed them, it could be a problem.

Seo Gangrim went into the restaurant, but everyone seemed to have disappeared.

'Where did everyone go?'

Using Destiny Analysis, Seo Gangrim could discern that there were both types of statues mixed together. Unfortunately, Kang Dohyeon and Annaby couldn't see this.

After Seo Gangrim swiftly kicked down another approaching statue, he said, "I can tell you which ones are humans, but there are too many..."

"Just tell us which ones are humans."

Kang Dohyeon took out a talisman from his pocket. It seemed to be talisman for sealing.

"The fourth one from the front, the fifth one, the seventh one."

- Chwajak!

As he finished speaking, Kang Dohyeon dashed through the statues. The statues Seo Gangrim had indicated were suddenly attached with talismans and stiffened. Breaking the rest of the statues was a matter of moments.

"Seo Gangrim-ssi, you're truly amazing. If it weren't for you, it would have been a disaster."

After quickly resolving the situation without any casualties, Annaby praised him with admiration. Kang Dohyeon remained silent but shared Annaby's sentiments.

'Seo Gangrim... I always thought he's special since the training facility. Maybe it's because he received a good god.'

As Kang Dohyeon silently stared at Seo Gangrim, their eyes met for a moment, and Kang Dohyeon quickly averted his gaze.

He suddenly spoke loudly, "Slow down, Seo Gangrim. Let's go upstairs."

Reaching the fourth floor, they moved up to the fifth floor, which had a similar structure. Kang Dohyeon looked around the area. "That strange thing the woman mentioned must be up here."

Perhaps because of Yang Sera's words, the darkness on the fifth floor seemed even deeper. When the three of them went upstairs, there were no statues, and the place was eerily quiet.

It was then that Kang Hyun stared into space and his brow furrowed.

"Kang Dohyeon . What's wrong?"

"Do you smell that?"

"Smell?..."

"It's a foul smell."

Seo Gangrim could also perceive the smell. It was a mixture of decaying corpses, the stench of blood, and an unknown foul odor.

There were no other rooms in sight, only an endlessly long corridor with no lighting. As they walked along the quiet, unlit corridor, a sound came from beyond the darkness.

-Crunch, crunch...

A sound as if something was being crushed or chewed.

"Demon? No, it seems human..."

As Annaby said, at the end of the corridor, there was a person. With long white hair and a beard, the figure appeared to be an old man.

"Eh... eh..."

The old man, who had been eating something, raised his head to look at the approaching group. The sunken eyes between his disheveled hair and beard lacked focus.

"There are survivors. We need to secure him quickly..."

Annaby was about to rush towards the old man when Seo Gangrim suddenly grabbed her arm. She looked at him in surprise. "Seo Gangrim-ssi, why are you...?"

"Do you remember when the last party entered this place, except for us?"

"Based on what we've heard, it was about a week ago..."

"But a week outside is equivalent to several years here."

At least several years had passed, so if someone had entered a few months ago, they would have spent several decades here. When that man first entered this Demon Realm, did he look like this?

"If you eat the food arranged here, you become a demon. But that man didn't."

"...!"

Only now did Kang Dohyeon seem to realize that something was amiss. He urgently took out a talisman. The old man hesitantly stood up and approached them, swaying.

"It's been too long for someone to survive just by eating food brought from outside."

"Then how...?"

"They must have survived by eating supplies from the outside, even if it wasn't food."

The moonlight shining through the window illuminated the old man. In the bright light, it was clear that he appeared middle-aged despite his white hair and beard. Now they could see what the man had been eating. It was human hands.

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