Adventure World Online (AWO) Chapter 233 233: The Seven Demons

"What just happened?"

Jane exclaid in shock, as the shadow clone's blade was re inches from slicing through her neck.

"What's wrong with Fuuma Kotarou?"

Crown and Duncan asked simultaneously. Hero, bruised and battered, managed to lift himself off the ground and quickly made his way to Jane, while keeping a wary eye on Fuuma Kotarou and his shadow clones.

"Thankhun, what did you do to him? Why does he look so hurt?"

Duncan questioned, glancing at Thankhun, who stood panting heavily not far from them.

"I punched him—right in the wrist, with everything I had,"

Thankhun replied. Feeling a sudden wave of curiosity, he called up the stats for his gloves, wondering why an attack that dealt no damage could cause such visible pain to a beast king like Fuuma Kotarou.

"Bonebreaker Gloves: Special Ability—Any unard attack has a chance to fracture the opponent's bones but reduces all unard damage to 0."

Thankhun's jaw dropped. He had never bothered to read the description of the gloves since acquiring them. He had been too preoccupied with a seemingly endless string of quests he had taken on impulsively from an NPC. But that did not matter anymore. The gloves had turned what seed like a hopeless situation in their favor.

"Let's go for it!"

Thankhun commanded, his voice brimming with newfound confidence. He did not want to waste a single second of his precious ten-minute skill duration. Thankhun rushed at Fuuma Kotarou, his teammates following suit. But Kotarou reached into his robe and flung a handful of purple powder at the group. It had no scent, yet it irritated their noses, mouths, and throats intensely. Everyone halted mid-step, coughing violently as their lips and nose tips turned dark purple.

"Poison!"

Hero exclaid, imdiately rummaging through his bag for an antidote.

"Hahaha. It's useless. This poison isn't sothing ordinary antidotes can counter. Die an agonizing death here, you'll never get to the treasure chamber!"

Kotarou sneered in cold voice. Ignoring him, Thankhun popped an antidote crystal into his mouth, quickly followed by several blood crystals. He charged Kotarou again. The others seed to share Thankhun's determination; after enduring so much and nearing their goal, they refused to die now. Though ordinary antidotes were ineffective, combining them with blood crystals at least delayed the inevitable.

Biting down on a blood crystal to crush it, Thankhun drove a fierce right hook toward Kotarou's face. Kotarou dodged, but he was imdiately t with coordinated attacks from Crown and Duncan, as well as bullets fired by Jane and Hero. anwhile, Big was locked in a fierce duel with Kotarou's shadow clone so distance away. Out of Thankhun's ten punches, two landed solidly. Judging by Kotarou's reaction, one blow appeared to have fractured his collarbone.At last, the demise of the beast king guarding the entrance to the treasure chamber ca to pass. When Fuuma Kotarou attempted to summon a giant toad using his ultimate summoning technique, instead of his usual colossal amphibian, a tadpole with barely-ford legs appeared. His energy was too depleted from the wounds he received from relentless coordinated attacks by Thankhun's group. Ultimately, both the summoner and his summon dissolved into white light, vanishing along with Kotarou's shadow clones.

Everyone collapsed to the ground, utterly exhausted. They continued consuming blood crystals, enduring the poison's tornt that made them wish for death just to escape the pain. Yet, they were driven by their will to survive rather than succumb to suffering.

"Found it!"

Jane's exclaid with joy after rummaging through her bag for a while. She held up a glass vial containing a clear liquid alongside a vial, two tis smaller the first one with dark green liquid.

"What's that?"

Crown asked weakly, barely able to keep his eyes open, using every ounce of effort to lift his eyelids even slightly.

"An elixir and an all-purpose antidote. One drop of the elixir for each of us, then a single drop of the antidote,"

Jane explained as she uncapped the elixir and let a drop fall into her mouth. Then passed it to Hero, Thankhun, Crown, and Duncan.

The group survived thanks to Jane's rare items. First, was the elixir, which instantly restored HP, mana, fatigue, and hunger, just enough to restore everyone's energy one minute. Then there was all-purpose antidote, which, as the na suggested, neutralized any poison. However, the antidote's foul taste and sll were so awful that even a single drop was enough to make everyone recoil in fear. After drinking the antidote, the group took ti to rest before continuing their journey, as their fatigue and hunger weighed heavily on them.

Food beca a scarce commodity during the al break. Big ate more than anyone else, and Thankhun lacked enough rations to sate him. The group pooled their canned food for Big, who devoured it all despite finding the taste unappealing.

"Look! Where did that golden key co from?"

Duncan pointed to a golden key about a foot long lying where Fuuma Kotarou had been slain.

"Let's move. Without a symbol appearing on the ground, it looks like we'll need to find the way forward ourselves,"

Crown suggested after the group had rested for a while.

"I think the treasure chamber's entrance is probably in that coffin. But, what did Fuuma Kotarou an about being an heir to soone nad Hayasa? When did that happen?"

Thankhun voiced his confusion. He still did not fully understand the purpose behind everything they had done so far, but he rembered Kotarou ntioning a treasure chamber and recognizing both the Rahu Shadow Armor and the Lunar Shadow Form skill.

"You'll find out soon enough, Thankhun,"

Hero replied with a cryptic smile. The others exchanged knowing grins. Thankhun shook his head in frustration, wondering whether answering his question straightforwardly would make them break out in fever or what.

Thankhun picked up the golden key and approached the large wooden coffin at the center of the cavern's hall. It was a dead-end at first glance, but after so searching, the group discovered a secret door. Behind it, a spiral staircase descended into the depths below, dimly lit by faint, flickering light. They began their descent cautiously along the damp and musty pathway. Thankhun was forced to seal Big back into the ring, as the staircase was too narrow to accommodate the massive creature. After nearly half an hour, they finally reached the bottom. Just a few steps away stood a massive black wooden door adorned with a raised carving of Rahu devouring the moon—identical to the symbol on Thankhun's Rahu Shadow Armor. At the center of the door was a small slot for the golden key. Thankhun moved closer and carefully inserted the key.

As the door swung open, the room beyond glittered with golden light reflecting off a mountain of treasures. Thankhun froze in awe, his eyes wide as he took in the sight of unimaginable wealth. A distance away, atop the treasure mound, on a stone platform, sat a white wooden throne, where a man observed them silently.

Curious, Thankhun approached the man. The mont the figure noticed the Rahu Shadow Armor, he stood abruptly, startling Thankhun, who stopped in his tracks, his guard up. As Thankhun was less than two ters from the throne, he noticed an orb the size of a football resting on one armrest of the throne. Inside the orb, sothing moved lazily.

"At last, my heir has co,"

the man spoke, his voice raspy from centuries of silence.

"Heir?"

Thankhun echoed, confused.

"Who are you?"

"I am Kamaku Hayasa, one of the Seven Pirate Kings. Don't tell you ca here without knowing anything!"

Kamaku exclaid, shocked.

"Uh… yes,"

Thankhun replied awkwardly, just as surprised to find himself in the tomb of one of the Seven Pirate Kings.

"Never mind. Co closer, and I shall pass everything on to you."

Kamaku gestured for Thankhun to approach. Hesitant, Thankhun glanced back at his friends, who nodded encouragingly. He stepped forward and did as instructed.

Kneeling on one knee before Kamaku, Thankhun watched as the Pirate King closed his eyes and focused. Kamaku placed his right hand on Thankhun's head, and a soft golden aura emanated from his palm, enveloping Thankhun completely. The light shone brightly before gradually fading into darkness. When the light disappeared, Thankhun appeared unchanged—except for a golden longsword now hanging at his waist.

"Player Thankhun has obtained the Divine Weapon: Northern Seven-Star Demon Blade and receive Demon Seal Skill and Demon Release Skill. Player Thankhun has inherited the title, Death's Shadow, which granted Player Thankhun 30% movent discretion and speed."

"Player Thankhun has inherited the Ninja Profession. Granted skills: level 1 Ninja Clone Skill, level 1 Ninja Fade Skill, and level1 Ninja Silent Movent Skill. Player Thankhun has completed the secret quest: Path to the King, receiving all the treasure in the tomb, valued at forty-three billion coins."

As the system announcent concluded, all the monetary treasure was automatically transferred to Thankhun's account. The other valuables—jewelry, weapons, clothing, and the like—were being gathered by Crown and the others.

Once Kamaku Hayasa, the Pirate King, had transferred everything to Thankhun, his body began to turn translucent, fading away bit by bit. Before he disappeared entirely, he spoke of the impending battle among the Seven Kings and strongly urged Thankhun to erge victorious, no matter the cost.

Thankhun joined his friends to collect the remaining treasures, most of which were minor compared to the vast fortune already deposited. He decided to give these items to his companions as a token of gratitude for their efforts in helping him reach the treasure chamber. Initially, he also offered to share the money equally, but everyone declined. Most of the items were placed in secondary storage bags to keep them separate from their main inventories, with the intention of letting their fallen comrades select first.

As they finished gathering the items, a familiar symbol of Rahu devouring the moon appeared on the ground. Just as Thankhun was about to step on it, sothing unusual occurred. The Northern Seven-Star Demon Blade began to tremble violently, and a shadowy figure shot out from the sword. It was a dark, hulking form, standing over two ters tall, with glowing red eyes fixed intently on Thankhun.

"The Demon of Brutality, Kyokan, manifests."

The system notification left Thankhun stunned. Was this entity always hidden within his sword? Was the sword's skill to summon demons ant for creatures like this? Before he could think further, the blade trembled again, releasing another entity. Soon, seven shadowy figures stood in a circle around him, each resembling the first with their dark forms and crimson eyes.

"The Demon of Wrath, Ikari, manifests."

"The Demon of Hatred, Daikirai, manifests."

"The Demon of Deceit, Kuramasu, manifests."

"The Demon of Greed, Gayoku, manifests."

"The Demon of Insatiability, Akunaki, manifests."

"The Demon of Vengeance, Kaishin, manifests."

All seven demons stared at Thankhun. Then, a low, murmuring chant began to echo, like an incomprehensible prayer. The sound grew more piercing, forcing everyone to cover their ears in pain.

"Blood, Blood, Blood, Blood, Blood, Blood, Blood…"

The chant was directed at Thankhun, and he was the only one who could understand it. The demons' mouths did not move, yet their voices resounded.

"Spill your blood to seal the pact. Let us drink your blood. Let us bathe in your blood. Spill your blood to swear eternal loyalty…"

"Spill blood?"

Thankhun repeated the words while the relentless chanting of the seven demons continued to echo around him. They repeated the sa phrase over and over. anwhile, Thankhun heard his friends screaming in pain. Turning to look, he saw them clutching their ears, blood streaming from their eyes, noses, mouths, and ears. He knew he had to do sothing to stop the demons from reciting their deadly mantra.

"Spill your blood to swear eternal loyalty…"

Thankhun echoed the words as he unsheathed the Northern Seven-Star Demon Blade. Removing the Bonebreaker Gloves, he drew the sword across his bare palm. Crimson blood flowed freely from the gash, and the seven demons fixed their eyes on it. Thankhun was unsure of what to do next, so they closed in on him. As the demons began to move closer, he panicked, thinking they might attack him. Instinctively, he flung so of the blood from his hand toward them. The demons paused, their expressions shifting to satisfaction. They began demanding more blood. Finally, when Thankhun's body began to glow faintly red—an indicator that his blood loss was nearing a critical level, threatening to put him in a coma—the demons rushed back into the sword, one by one…

"Player Thankhun has successfully forged a pact with the Seven Demons."

Thankhun collapsed to the ground. His friends rushed to his side worriedly, their faces pale with lingering terror. The sight of seven massive demons drinking Thankhun's blood, coupled with their bone-chilling chant that drained the life force of anyone who heard it, left them shaken to the core.

After resting and chatting for a while, Thankhun stood and walked toward the symbol of Rahu devouring the moon. He stepped onto it, and once again, their bodies were enveloped in the familiar sensation of dinsional transfer. When the solid ground steadied beneath their feet, they opened their eyes to find themselves back on the narrow path lined with towering bamboo trees.

-----

Read 'Adventure World Online (AWO)' before anyone else with more chapters at sjinovel/en