Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Escape

At this moment, I firmly resolved.

Never again would I doubt the words of Kung-du Poporu.

-CRAAAAAACK!!

Several seconds had passed since the thunderous roar burst out from the front.

The Titan that had been like a great mountain collapsed.

“Waaaaaaaah!! This crazy seal!!!”

Aris, who was just as shocked, screamed too.

Even until Poporu reached it, I had been half in doubt, but he had truly smashed it apart.

“B-Boss! The rocks are falling!!”

Aris shouted while deftly putting on the Child-Sized Bulletproof Helmet all by herself.

I checked the debris pouring down from the front and the swarm of Titans that had grown quite close behind us.

This was the path Poporu had opened.

From here on, I would trust my luck and run.

“Uh, uh, uh, we’re just going straight through!?”

I lifted my head and checked Poporu’s position as he fell through the air.

First, I ran that way and grabbed Poporu’s smooth head.

“Ddu!?”

After firmly securing him at my side, I kicked off the ground with all my strength.

The exit was right in front of us.

BANG! BANG! BAAAAANG!!

“Kuwwaaaaaak! Waaaah!”

Aris screamed without pause at the debris raining down like a storm.

“It’s going to hit us! This one is really going to hit us!?”

At the rock that missed by a single step, Aris frowned with a sigh of relief.

How exactly was this happening?

What kind of trick did one have to pull to avoid being hit by hundreds or thousands of pieces of debris?

It felt as if every piece of debris was falling while avoiding Ryu Jin.

“Huh? U-Uh, uh!? Booooss!! One of them is about to throw something!!!”

Even Ryu Jin, who had not cared about the debris, turned back this time.

A Titan was drawing back a spear as massive as its body.

Normally, the standard move would be to run in a zigzag pattern to make it harder to aim, but I kept running straight.

If it was going to fly at me anyway, it was better for it to strike the center than to clip me in some awkward way.

Before long, the spear came flying with a whooshing sound of wind.

“Gyaaaaaaak, we’re going to dieeee!!”

Using Evil Eye to gauge its arrival time, I kicked off the ground in sync with the timing.

Then I turned my body and pushed out the shield.

CRASH!!

The shield activated instantly and deflected the massive spear.

CRUNCH!!

The physical force generated from that crushed the head of the Titan that had just thrown the spear.

Before I knew it, a dizzying smile had formed on my lips.

I had believed it would activate, but if I said I had not been scared, that would be a lie.

“Huuuuu.”

After sticking up my middle finger at the swarm of Titans rushing toward us.

I threw myself into the exit we had reached.

[Leaving Basement Floor 100 of the Labyrinth!]

[Entering the Labyrinth Personal Lobby!]

Since I had thrown myself in, there was no way I could enter normally.

I rolled across the lobby floor with a crash.

Thank goodness.

Thank goodness I had cleaned it beforehand by spending 500 Lowest-Grade Magic Stones.

Ryu Jin rolled onto his back and stretched his arms and legs wide.

“Haaaaaaa!”

My breath burst out as if it had been waiting.

Perhaps because I had been gasping for air, my heart was pounding like mad.

“Whoa, damn.”

Aris, who had gotten up one limb at a time, fiddled with the bulletproof helmet.

It had been heavy and cumbersome, so she had wondered whether she really had to keep wearing it.

But just a moment ago, it had blocked at least ten of the small stones that had poured down.

Squeak, squeak.

She carefully cleaned the bulletproof helmet with Poporu’s clothes.

She would have to keep wearing it properly from now on.

By the way.

Gulp!

Aris swallowed dryly and looked at Boss Ryu Jin.

She realized it once again.

This human really was not normal.

A swarm of Titans that would grant instant death with a single blow had been chasing them in droves.

Ordinarily, it would have been a situation where fear made rational judgment impossible.

Yet even then, Ryu Jin had not stopped running until the very end.

He had made a judgment in an instant.

That the moment he suffered even the slightest delay, he would have to face the swarm of Titans.

If that was the case, it was better to trust Poporu and break through the debris instead.

It was still vivid in her memory.

The way he had charged into the falling debris without caring about it.

The way he had not even blinked at the thrown spear that had come right before his nose, and instead lifted the corners of his mouth, despite having Last Breath and the shield.

She swallowed dryly once more.

‘He isn’t normal...!’

Among demons, there was a saying.

Whatever it was, one should not touch anything crazy—

Hic?!

Ryu Jin suddenly turned his head, and their eyes met exactly.

“You were insulting me, weren’t you?”

“I wasn’t!”

“Then why were you glaring at me?”

“I was just looking at you!”

“Really? Fine, then wake Poporu up.”

“What do you mean, wake him up? He is already awa—No, this seal again!”

After charging bravely at a Titan, he had fainted again.

“Huh? Boss? This lousy seal became really small. Hey, seal! Wake up!”

“Du? What is this, du? Is this heaven, du?”

“What kind of demon talks about heaven? If you disappear, you’re going straight to hell.”

I went closer and looked down at Poporu.

He had become almost as small as his outside Miniature Mode.

“Poporu. Why did you get so small?”

“I used up all the strength I had stored earlier, du.”

“So something like that is possible. In other words.”

As I answered, I glared at Aris.

“You dared to conserve your strength in the middle of that?”

“Huh? Me? I can’t do anything like that?! It’s true!”

When I narrowed my eyes and stared at her, Aris desperately shook her head from side to side.

She did not seem to be lying.

It looked like there were differences between demons.

I got up and walked to the corner of the lobby.

There were the 700 Lowest-Grade Magic Stones left over after cleaning the lobby and the 300 Lowest-Grade Magic Stones accumulated as taxes.

After bringing over 300 in a box, I split them in half.

“These are for you, Aris.”

“Oooh!! Thank you, Boss!”

Nom, nom, nom!

Aris picked them up like steamed buns and stuffed them into her mouth until both cheeks bulged.

Poporu seemed to have no strength, so let us feed him.

“Poporu. Open your mouth.”

“Duuuuuu.”

I worked hard delivering Magic Stones into Poporu’s mouth.

Crunch! Gulp! Crunch! Gulp!

Perhaps because he was extremely hungry, he chewed and swallowed them in an instant.

‘Oh, that’s fascinating.’

The more he swallowed, the more Poporu’s body gradually inflated.

He was like a water balloon.

[Aris di Carsia leveled up!]

[Aris di Carsia leveled up!]

[Level 17 achieved!]

[The level of the Unique Trait Evil Eye has increased! Current Level: LV4]

The additional Evil Eye ability Motion Analysis has been unlocked!

Like Motion Detection, it activates only when the target is within sight!

It allows you to understand the principles and applications of the movement seen within your eyes!

[Poporu leveled up!]

[Poporu leveled up!]

[Poporu leveled up!]

[Level 14 achieved!]

[The level of the Unique Trait Kung Fu has increased! Current Level: LV3]

New technique Iron Mountain Lean acquired!

You can explosively push away an attached opponent using your shoulder or back!

“I express my gratitude to my lord, du! I have fully recovered, du!”

Not only had Poporu returned to his original size, but even his skin had become smoother.

After stroking his soft head a couple of times, I flopped down again.

“Haaaa.”

It was my choice to go, but how should I put it?

That had truly been unbearably exhausting.

Let us lie here for just a little while, then leave.

---

Chomp, chomp, chomp, chomp!

Nom, nom, nom, nom!

Poporu and Aris were devouring chicken with tremendous noise.

Ordinarily, I would have watched their mukbang blankly, awed by it.

But not today.

Crunch, crunch, crunch!

I, too, joined the mukbang procession, tearing into drumsticks and wings without pause.

What was this insane hunger?

The moment my tension eased, it began flooding in, and the more I ate, the more it amplified instead of shrinking.

“This is incredibly delicious!”

Aris picked up Hot Spicy Wings.

Even I found those too spicy to eat easily, yet she was focusing fire only on those.

“What is that, du! Give me some too, du!”

Poporu, who had instantly deleted one serving of pickled radish, reached for the Hot Spicy Chicken.

How much time had passed after he put a large piece into his mouth?

“Dduaaaaaaaaagh!!!”

He screamed louder than he had when we went to the Labyrinth.

THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!

Aris struck Poporu with the drumstick bone she had finished eating.

“Keep your mouth! Quiet! For once!”

“My mouth is burning, duuuu!”

I quickly poured Zero Coke into him.

That did not seem to be enough, because he even drank the pickled radish juice beside him.

Knock, knock.

At the same time as the delivery app notification, there was a knock.

It seemed it had arrived.

The friend that formed the two great mountains of the delivery food world alongside chicken.

After confirming that the footsteps had moved away, I quickly opened the door and brought in the pizza.

When I spread it out on the dining table, Aris and Poporu looked at it with eyes full of doubt.

“What is this? It looks so strange!”

“It looks similar to the starfish monsters that lived in my sea, du...!”

“Try it. It is incredibly delicious.”

As a demonstration, I brought a slice of classic pepperoni pizza to my mouth.

“Mmm!”

As soon as I bit into it, the savory richness of the cheese, the sweet tang of the tomato sauce, and the salty flavor of the pepperoni blended together and spread through my mouth.

Perhaps because I ate it so deliciously, Aris picked up one slice for now.

She trembled and took a bite.

“Is this real!?”

She exclaimed in admiration and gave two thumbs up.

Then.

“It’s really incredibly delici—”

[One-Inch Punch]

CRACK!

She flew away together with the pizza.

Every time she spoke, she had sprayed all over Poporu’s pizza, so she had ended up receiving proper discipline.

Table manners had been forcefully injected.

“Duuuuu...! Incredible, du! It is an unbelievable food, du!”

Unconcealable happiness rose on Poporu’s face.

As expected of one of the two great mountains of delivery food.

It never disappointed.

Aris, who had been thrown far away and slammed together with the pizza, returned.

Perhaps deciding that eating was more important than counterattacking, Aris began her pizza mukbang with nom, nom sounds.

I ate a few more pieces too, then drank Coke and leaned my back against the wall.

I must not eat more.

I might actually burst.

By the way, I was surprised every time I saw it.

Where did all of that fit inside such a miniature body?

Slurp!

Poporu erased yet another serving of pickled radish.

Usually, people left the juice, but Poporu downed it in one shot.

Even if he could not eat spicy things, he seemed to like the sourness of pickled radish.

Nom!!!

Aris seemed to have had her fill.

After instantly devouring the last two slices of pizza, she patted her round belly.

Aris, who had been licking her fingers, looked around.

Then she picked up a one-liter bottle of Coke nearby and swung it like a baseball bat.

“Dduk!”

Poporu, who had been eating mindlessly, was struck in the back of the head and face-planted into the chicken box.

“Ah.”

I reached out without realizing it.

Of all places, he had fallen into the Hot Spicy Chicken box.

“Dduuuuuuaaaaaaagh!!”

Whether he screamed as if his throat would tear or not, Aris kept beating him nonstop beside him with the Coke bottle and chicken bones.

As I kept watching, I felt that the house would not survive like this, so I quickly entered the Labyrinth Personal Lobby.

Even after entering, Poporu and Aris continued their bloody battle.

While desperately pretending not to see it, I stared at the Unique Skill Plum Blossom Venerable on my Status Window.

Now that I was full, let us slowly go in.

To meet the Plum Blossom Sword Venerable, Jin Hwayeon.