Mind Demon's Path of Domination

A dome building stood in the middle of an old modern city.

This was a rather popular area, unlike the many other cities abandoned due to being too close to the Mega Dungeon; there were many cities out there in the Hunter World like that.

This city was abandoned but not empty of people, though.

Many men were still working in many areas here.

Construction workers were shipping materials into trucks, some others were destroying the already existing buildings to get reusable materials from them, and there were also other illicit underworld works like drugs going on in the shadows here.

Meanwhile, some army personnel were planting traps for the demons who would inevitably stumble here when the mega-dungeon expanded.

From far up in the skies, Mark looked down at the entire city. To him, from this high, everything seemed like a chess game. Some were pawns, some were kings, but in the end, a very low amount were players.

He himself couldn’t be considered a player yet. In this world, the players were Tier 2 Demons and A-Rank Hunters.

In fact, even they were pawns in a sense in the bigger game of thrones between the Hunter World Will and the Demon World Will.

Mark was a wild example of a true pawn.

He even had a mission from the biggest player in this all, the Demon World’s Will. It told him to move a certain way, and if he did, he would get some benefits.

What an exemplary game of chess.

Once again, his gaze moved to the city down below.

Everywhere he could see, it was full of boards saying, "Explosive traps inside, do not touch," or, "Poisonous gas alert, don’t go in."

Indeed, humans were vengeful creatures, and they were not going to give their cities away to the demons without a fight.

When the mega-dungeon first covers this area and the demons begin storming in, a city full of explosions and traps awaits them.

Yes, truly lethal bombs and such would be deactivated and destroyed by the Demon World’s Will—that had always been the case—but some small bombs would be left, and that might hurt some demons at least.

"..."

Even though, more probably than not, that would be of no use against demons with Resistances. His eyes moved back to the Dome building on one side of this once bustling city—the building was an easily visible sight due to its impressive architecture.

The world-class laboratory that Yuri mentioned. It was that building.

Mark floated above the clouds, out of sight of the workers, and looked at the scene for a long time.

His Soul Sense could indeed sense a Dungeon inside that building, and with a single glance at a big board outside it, he could guess why no one had noticed that Dungeon even in the middle of a still semi-functional city.

"Don’t go in. Incredibly toxic contaminants inside!!!"

Who’d have guessed that a Dungeon Demon would somehow find a way into the lab and make a Dungeon inside it even before the Mega-Dungeon arrived?

Dona clung to his chest and looked down with a bored gaze.

She had long since forgotten any fear of flying through the skies, and she was rather adventurous these days. She was not worried, either, since she had complete trust in her mate to keep her safe.

Mark’s gaze roamed the area before it came to a halt at the sight of a familiar truck.

It was Choi Sung. The C-Rank Hunter was inconspicuous in the driver’s seat in his simple driver’s uniform and broken sunglasses.

He was looking into his phone with a lazy expression.

Making himself as small as possible, Mark looked for the place with the least chance of humans looking towards him and slowly reached the clouds above a silent parking lot.

Then, he flew down as quickly as possible and hid amidst the vehicles before he rushed for their truck.

His body was too big, so hiding it was impossible for long, and a little boy looked at him with wide eyes from inside a car.

Mark winked at the boy and didn’t mind him. The kid was too small to snitch.

He silently reached Choi Sung’s truck before opening its backdoor forcefully and entering the cargo. Then, he closed it behind him. Choi Sung, having heard the twisting sound of metal, looked back from the driver’s seat and nearly paled at the sight of the average car-sized Demon.

Golden eyes slowly gauged Choi Sung.

"Why are you so big?" the Hunter asked with a gulp. "—And so naked."

Mark shrugged. "Effect of evolving. And it’s not even that big..."

Choi Sung looked at Mark’s dick with a deeply shook expression.

What a big manhood.

’Poor Demoness and that poor Mad Scientist...’

Mark nearly filled the entirety of the cargo’s room. He was so big.

What was he, a small car?

It was especially the wings!

They were already shrunken, but they still seemed intimidating.

"So, what’s the deal inside this Dungeon? Can I handle it?" Mark asked.

Choi Sung sat up straighter and took a deep breath. He was still thinking of that Demon’s aura and the sense of incredible fear. Now, standing in front of Mark, he felt a nascent sensation of that fear.

Maybe, if Mark grew serious, he was equal to the Demon inside.

"There are a lot of Tier 0 demons inside. Demonlings. I don’t know about the others, but I think there should at least be a Tier 1 Demon inside."

Mark looked out the truck’s window with a contemplative face.

"Too many humans are around. I don’t want to move out now and become a sensation around the area. Who knows? A-Rank Hunters might be summoned we’ll both have to die. So let’s wait till night hits, and we’ll go into the Dungeon then."

Moreover, since his Defensive Magic Skin had been broken, he also had to rebuild it. The rebuilding was a natural process, but it took about 5 hours for it to be repaired and returned to full health.

Mark had noticed it last time.

"I will have to join you in this Dungeon hunt?" Choi Sung asked wryly.

"Of course, you can hold back the Demonlings until you are exhausted and then come out."

Choi Sung sighed, removed his broken glasses, and looked at Dona. Even the Demoness was already stronger than Choi Sung.

She even had fire abilities like his own; yes, she didn’t have ice abilities, but still, Choi Sung didn’t have a bit of confidence he could defeat her.

And maybe, soon enough, she too would evolve and become a Tier 1.

If Mark indeed had a method to make normal humans into Hunters, Yuri would also soon become a Hunter. Day by day, Choi Sung felt more and more despondent.

A long silence stretched in the truck, and for a while, nobody spoke.

Dona just comfortably nudged up to Mark’s chest and ignored Choi Sung like he was air.

"Why do you wear the broken sunglasses?" Mark asked, his voice calm but curious.

Choi Sung was silent for a second. He looked at the sunglass with a deep gaze.

He said with a downcast face, "This is the sunglass my sister wore when she died. It was a Hunter who killed her, and I already killed that dude. She was my only family, you see?"

The Hunter shook his head and leaned back on the truck, hiding his eyes with his arm. "How can you know the worth of a family? You are a demon, after all."

Mark was silent for a second. He asked, "So, the sunglass is her memento for you?"

"No. It is a reminder for me."

"Reminder?"

"Yes. It’s a reminder that one day, I have to grow so strong that I might be able to revive her. Who knows? Magic is possible, and maybe revival is too. That’s my dream: to revive my sister, find a good man for her to marry, and then retire myself to some wilderness and live without any regrets."

Then, the Hunter shook his head. "Yeah, it’s more of a coping mechanism at this point than a dream. I live every day like I am dead. Well, nobody really cares."

Mark sighed. "Don’t worry, I’ll marry your sister if you ever revive her."

Surprisingly, Choi Sung immediately retorted, "Marry my sister off to a demon? No way in hell. I’ll find an angel or something for her." Understanding what he said, Choi Sung immediately started to sweat but then sighed again.

Whatever, Choi Sung thought.

Mark just chuckled.

"Well, if someone asks why I wear broken glasses," Choi Sung scratched his cheek, "tell them that I wear the glass to look cool. It’s like I just came out of a battle every time, after all. I tell that to everyone. This is the first I’ve told the truth..."

They both smirked, and soon enough, they fell asleep in the truck.

Even Dona fell asleep against Mark’s chest, and just like that, the sun dipped down the horizon, and night soon began to creep up.

"Wake up, Choi Sung, let’s go for a hunt."

Mark’s powerful body ducked down and walked out of the truck’s cargo with Dona on his back.

His Mind was finally back in full health and he could sense something different with his Soul Sense. Somehow, his Soul Sense had a slight weight to it. But that was it.

With calmness, he walked towards the dome building, and a sleepy Choi Sung in a quickly worn yellow hazmat suit followed behind him with a yawn.

The contamination inside won’t hurt Mark because it didn’t hurt other demons, but it surely would hurt Choi Sung. He had to take some safety precautions.

Just before they actually entered the dungeon barrier, they exchanged a glance and nodded at each other. They became much more serious.

Then, Choi Sung opened a small metallic door, and as green gas tendrils floated outside, they entered. They left the door open just in case.

If they had to escape, they could escape quickly.

Mark’s golden eyes shimmered as he faced nearly a hundred Demonlings.

His goal was the Dungeon Core.