30 Years After Reincarnating, It Turns Out This World Was A Rofan?! novel Chapter 219

"They're actually trying harder than I expected?"

It was an unexpected level of enthusiasm.

He had leveraged their past connections, but Ihan hadn’t truly expected things to go this smoothly.

"I only made the offer because they still smelled somewhat human..."

Had it been Numbers 5 and 6 instead of these two, he never would have proposed an alliance.

Those guys reeked too much of blood—both literally and figuratively—and Ihan knew too little about them to trust them.

Just like in any organization, people naturally formed cliques.

For Ihan, the ones he was closest to were Numbers 7, 11, 9, and 10.

...Though, 9 and 10 had tried to betray him and ended up dead by his hand.

Regardless, things had worked out in his favor.

Otherwise—

WHOOOSH!

CRACK!

"Watch yourself, Number 8! Even you won’t survive if you take that curse head-on!"

"What happens if I get hit?"

"Your loved ones could develop an incurable disease, or worse, your fingers could turn into tree branches."

"...Yeah, definitely not getting hit by that."

Because there was no way to counter it.

"That thing is terrifying."

It was even trickier than magic.

With magic, most attacks could be dealt with by blocking or enduring them head-on. But curses and sorcery?

Not only were they hard to avoid, but countering them was a nightmare.

It was a damn good thing he hadn’t killed Number 11—Yan.

He had intentionally left Yan alone, not just because he was a shaman, but because he knew exactly what that meant.

Ihan had plenty of chances to take him out in the past, yet he had always held back.

Because shamans...

You never knew what kind of counter curse would hit you if you messed with one.

There was a reason people said screwing with a shaman could ruin three generations of your family.

But now—now—with a shaman as an ally instead of an enemy?

"A monster raid just isn’t complete without a solid mage in the party!"

Ihan had never felt more reassured.

***

[Abyssal Fiend].

That was the name given to the creatures known as Hellspawn.

“...Abyssal Fiends are exactly what they sound like—monsters from the underworld. According to what I heard from the organization, they crave the bodies of the living. And if they can’t get living flesh, they’ll devour the dead instead. Also, their strength and influence are severely weakened in the world of the living, which is why they can’t operate freely here.”

"And their traits?"

"Regeneration and devouring. Those are their main abilities."

"And how do you kill it?"

"You don’t. You just keep hitting it. Over and over. Once it fully digests what it’s eaten and starts to exhaust itself, it’ll eventually disappear on its own."

"So, the only option is to endure."

"That’s right."

"...What a nightmare."

For once, even Raq let out a dry chuckle.

At first glance, the conditions for killing it seemed simple.

Just stop it from eating, keep it from replenishing its energy, and eventually, it would self-destruct.

But looking at it from another angle...

That also meant it was impossible to truly kill.

It was a being that originated from the underworld—the realm of death itself—where the very concept of dying didn’t apply to it.

Add to that its sheer physical strength, insane regeneration, endless stamina, and the eerie aura of curses surrounding it...

It was a horrifying enemy.

"...So it’s on par with a Demon King."

It was as troublesome as the Troll King they had fought the day before.

That monster had been bad enough, and now another one of equal strength had appeared?

The thought alone made his skin crawl.

But at least, compared to yesterday’s brutal battle, there was one advantage they had this time.

BOOOOOOM—!!

—They had undeniable powerhouses fighting alongside them.

"HAHAHA! DIE, YOU MONSTER!"

Maximus’s battle-axe smashed into the Abyssal Fiend relentlessly, while Dyna launched a relentless barrage of pinpoint explosions to assist.

"I can’t believe I’m doing this again."

Raq’s spear split in two, transforming into a pair of short rods.

Infused with Red Aura, the rods slammed into the monster’s body repeatedly.

Piercing attacks were useless—it would just regenerate.

The only way to deal with it was to hit it thousands of times until it gave out.

And Ihan—

BOOM!

"...This is actually dealing damage, right?"

He unleashed his Shattering Strike, mixing it with Hundred Step Divine Fist.

The force of his punches generated massive shockwaves.

...But each time he struck, it felt like he was punching rubber.

No real impact.

It felt like they weren’t making any progress at all.

[No, you’re definitely winning. Every time you hit it, its presence weakens.]

"...Really?"

[If you don’t believe yourself, then believe me. I am the Guardian of a Holy Relic, after all.]

The owl’s words carried conviction.

Seeing the sheer seriousness in its eyes, Ihan had no choice but to nod.

"Alright... If I think of this thing as a game monster, it makes sense."

Back in the old days of sprite-based games, there were monsters like this.

No matter how many times you hit them, they wouldn’t show any visible damage.

But if you looked at their health bar, it would still be going down.

"This thing is just like that."

The only difference?

There was no visible health bar.

With that in mind, Ihan made his decision.

He would trust the owl’s judgment.

And he would keep hitting.

Fine...!

"I’ll just beat the damn thing to death!"