The Late Game Healer Is Way Too Strong – Chapter 186

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟖𝟔: 𝐊𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞 3

The flickering flames turn the surrounding area into a pit of fire.

The scorching heat flares up brilliantly, fueled by Kaise’s flames.

“Kuhk. . . Kuhkohk. . .!”

Kaise gasped for breath in front of the massive flames that had robbed him of oxygen.

The azure flame pillar had devoured all his attacks, turning the surroundings into a sea of fire.

The intense heat felt like his lungs were being scorched.

His eyes felt pierced with needles, and his nostrils stung as if they had been burned with a hot fire poker, and it was difficult to breathe.

“Krheuk. . . Uahk!”

He thrashed in agony, repeatedly enveloping himself with flames.

Fire was both his mightiest weapon and his sole shield.

‘𝘐. . . 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘚𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘰-𝘯𝘪𝘮. . . 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴. . .’

Kaise gritted his teeth to keep from extinguishing the flames, clinging to his fading consciousness.

His plans had always been perfect, and he had always achieved great success.

For the first time in his life, he heard praise instead of the word ‘terrible.’

The flames resembling blood color shielded Kaise’s body, exerting their last strength.

Fire devours fire.

“Ha, I surrender. . .! I, I. . . lost!”

Kaise spat out the words with a sinking feeling, sensing smoke rising in his lungs.

“So? What do you want me to do about it?”

“Kuluk. . .! Huh?”

But Kaise could only ask back in bewilderment at Siwoo’s indifferent response.

It was his own declaration of surrender.

This should have been a badge of honor to boast about for generations to come.

“Kuaahk! I-I lost. . . lost!”

“If you open your mouth, you’ll swallow fire.”

Siwoo’s azure flames burned Kaise’s shield and scorched his body.

“Kuaahk!! Kuhahk!!”

The tremendous firepower coiled around Kaise like a snake’s tongue, forcing him to let out agonizing screams.

Only after prolonging the torture to the point where the opponent could no longer resist did Siwoo finally extinguish the flames.

Kaise collapsed to his knees on the ground, barely clinging to life.

It seemed the curse’s effect had ended, thanks to his demonic energy being depleted.

‘𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭’𝘴 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵.’

It wasn’t 100%, but he could partially use healing.

Siwoo healed his wounds and purified the remaining troll’s blood before absorbing the ether’s energy.

Since it was a restoration based on life force rather than a typical heal, his body quickly regained its healthy state.

He left enough aether to wield flames and returned the rest to his core.

Kaise opened his mouth with a chuckle as he watched.

Perhaps because he no longer had to inhale smoke, his speech had returned to normal.

“Haha~ Incredible, truly. Did you recover the moment the curse ended? Is there any way to kill you in this world?”

“Well, I’ve never considered suicide.”

“You overcame all the traps. . . The troll’s blood, the Black Heaven curse, and the Oath of Mana were each a masterful plan. I never dreamed you’d overcome them all. I concede.”

Kaise shook his head slowly, his face pale.

He had never planned so meticulously before, and this was the first time one of his plans had failed.

For Kaise, this was more than a shock; it was an identity-shattering event.

“Was it not your sole decision but an intention from the <Pandemonium> dimension to target me?”

“Kukuk~ That’s right. It seems the organization was quite vexed by your growth. Given your past battle with the Demon King. . . It must have been concerning.”

“Since you failed, it must be eating you up inside, if not turning your stomach.”

“Hahaha~ Even so, there’s nothing that can be done. But from the 3rd Hierarchy onward, you can never underestimate them. I don’t know why you disappeared, but the demon race hasn’t been idle for the past 10 years either.”

Siwoo let out a chuckle at Kaise’s words.

He certainly hadn’t been idle for the past 10 years, so he didn’t pay much heed to those words.

He crouched down and glared at Kaise.

“What is it~?”

“Does your organization have a rank called ‘VIP’?”

“VIP~ you mean?”

Kaise tilted his head slightly before continuing.

“Why are you interested in that?”

“So there is such a rank. Then what’s above a VIP?”

“I don’t quite~ grasp the meaning of your question. What’s your purpose in asking?”

Siwoo let out a faint sigh and filled his eyes with a piercing azure glint.

“I have a disciple named Min-jun, and he said the order to kill him came from someone ‘above a VIP.’”

“Min-jun~ Min-jun, ah, the researcher who was killed by the lower-ranked Black Mamba.”

A glint appeared in Siwoo’s eyes.

Until now, no one had acknowledged knowing anything when asked about Min-jun, but Kaise was the first to react.

“Kukuku~ I don’t know the details either, but was his assassination order really given by someone ‘above a VIP’? That’s strange.”

“No need for any other unnecessary talk. So who is it?”

“But~ even if I know, it won’t really change anything. They’re literally ‘above a VIP’, after all.”

“They. . .?”

Siwoo frowned as Kaise used the plural form instead of singular.

Did that mean there was more than one?

“In fact, that’s~ an expression unrelated to the organization within <Pandemonium>. If we use the general standard, who would be considered a VIP?”

“The president, I suppose.”

“Exactly~ the president. And who would be above the president?”

Kaise asked with a delighted smile.

“Don’t tell me. . . the twelve. . .?”

“Indeed~ you catch on quickly. You’re right.”

Siwoo recalled the faces of the people who came to his mind.

Mistilteinn.

The twelve strongest transcendentals in the world.

“Which one of them belongs to <Pandemonium>?”

“Kukuku~ Unfortunately, I don’t know that. I’m merely a 4th Hierarchy at best.”

“I see.”

Judging that he had obtained all the desired information, Siwoo rose from his seat.

He grabbed Kaise by the nape of his neck.

“Krheuk. . . Kuhik! You’re not. . . going to let me live. . .?”

“Why would I?”

“Kruheu. . . You’ll regret this. . . later. . .”

“Die well.”

Hwararararuk━━!!

The scorching flames devouring the air pierced through Kaise’s entire body.

“Kuaahk!!”

He thrashed, letting out a scream of either ecstasy or agony, before crumbling into a pile of ashes.

“Mistilteinn, huh—”

Now there were only eleven suspects left.

Siwoo slowly reined in his energy and walked away.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

Diakan feels a wave of dizziness as he looks at the crystal ball.

Kaise, who had carried out every mission flawlessly until now, has disappeared beyond the pillar of flames.

In addition, Laban and Arumu, two very capable 4th Hierarchy, have also died.

“Is this even. . . possible?. . . We used every strategy we had, but. . . not only did we fail, but. . . we only ended up giving them information. . .”

To this extent, it was not a mission failure but close to a miserable defeat.

In particular, the fact that Kaise had told Min Siwoo about Mistilteinn was something that even Diakan had not anticipated.

The members of the 〈Pandemonium〉 organization had spread their roots in every corner of the world. 

After all, the organization itself was created because the Demon King judged that it was impossible to dominate humanity through simple tactics. It was only natural that its reach was wide.

However, while there were politicians and high-ranking public officials among those ‘various strata’, the fact that they had also spread to the Guild Leaders of large guilds, heads of state, and even Mistilteinn was something that only the upper echelons of the organization knew.

If rumors were to spread and lead to unnecessary investigations, the damage would be immense, so it was kept strictly secret.

And among them, Mistilteinn was. . .

‘𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵. . . 1𝘴𝘵 𝘏𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴. . . 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘯. . . 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘒𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦! 𝘚𝘱𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦. . .!’

Diakan curses inwardly and wonders how to wrap up this incident.

As many members of the organization were located all over the world, there were still many 4th Hierarchy.

Reinforcements would require some procedures since they were from different branches, but it was possible if requested by a 3rd Hierarchy.

However, the repeated mission failures and the death of Kaise, who had a direct contract with the demon race, would require a proper explanation.

‘𝘐 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵. . . 𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘚𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘰-𝘯𝘪𝘮. . . 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧.’ . .

Diakan’s position had been precarious lately, with the consecutive deaths of the 4th Hierarchy who had led the operation and the continued failure of the operation.

With the scrutiny of his fellow 3rd Hierarchy becoming more intense, this incident would be a more painful mark on his record than any other failure.

‘𝘗𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘩𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘳. 𝘙𝘺𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘥. . . 𝘐𝘧 𝘐’𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 3𝘳𝘥 𝘏𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘺. . . 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴?’

As he sinks into contemplation, he senses a familiar aura gathering in the shadows of the corner.

Diakan turns his head towards it.

“What is it. . . Penelshul?”

“Kukukukuk. You have a sharp eye. How did you know? I came in quietly.”

Penelshul replied with an elongated tape-like voice.

“Your presence. . . is quiet. . . but on the other hand, it’s too sticky. . .”

“Your analogy is quite unique. Kukukukuk. How did the operation go? Did you kill Min Siwoo as planned?”

“. . .Aren’t you asking me something you already know?”

Penelshul came to visit as soon as the operation failed. 

Since it was inappropriate for 3rd Hierarchy to spy on each other, he must have been observing the situation from somewhere near the scene of the operation.

“Oh, I’m not that insidious. I’m just a little bit mindful of the order in the Demon Realm. For example, if I sense an unfamiliar aura, I go to investigate, just like that.”

Penelshul slithers through the dark room and sits down on a chair and table as he pleases.

“Have you come to. . . offer me tea?”

“Kukukuk. No, I’ve come to discuss something.”

“What kind of discussion?”

“Would you. . . like to participate in my plan?”

“Penelshul, your plan. . .?”

Diakan looked at him with a puzzled expression.

Penelshul had always acted on his own.

He didn’t involve the 4th Hierarchy, let alone the lower ranks.

Rumor had it that he was a world-class high ranker but had found a magical book in a dungeon and become corrupted by darkness, killing his colleagues and becoming a criminal.

“That’s right. You don’t have any other plans anyway, do you? If you participate in my plan and succeed, the punishment for this failure will probably be reduced.”

“. . .First, tell me about the. . . details of the plan.”

“Kukukukuk. You’ll enjoy it too.”

Penelshul talked about the basic framework of the operation he was currently preparing.

Diakan’s initial expression was one of disbelief as he listened to the story, but he soon agreed that it was not a bad idea.

“But it doesn’t seem like my help is needed. . .”

“No, I’m going to focus on Part A, so I would like you to take care of B.”

“I understand. When are you planning to execute it?”

“Heh heh heh. It won’t be long. I’m still brainwashing. I’ll contact you when I’m ready.”

Penelshul disappeared into the shadows like he was being absorbed.

Diakan, who was watching him, let out a small sigh of relief.

If he participated in this operation and its success was recognized, at least he would not be demoted from the 3rd Hierarchy.

‘𝘈𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘗𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘩𝘶𝘭’𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘬𝘪𝘤𝘬. . . 𝘓𝘦𝘵’𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦.’

He had already completely forgotten about Kaise’s death and began preparing for the next operation.

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