The belt of the fused world encircling Earth.
At the center of the Demon Realm located at the innermost part, a desert of endlessly accumulated black sand stretched out.
In that desert, a splendid tent was spread out.
Paimon was reading a book, leaning against a black camel.
Thud. Thud.
Paimon looked at the one producing footsteps with eyes flickering with blue flames.
“Arisa. Is the matter on Earth already finished?”
“Great Demon God. It failed, just as you predicted.”
“Naturally. It was destined to be so.”
Paimon resumed reading and stroked the black camel.
“What of him?”
“I sent him to the Ring.”
At those words, Paimon set down the book.
“Just now, a skeleton that seemed to be my kin died in the Ring.”
Paimon stared at Arisa.
“No doubt it was that bastard.”
“What should we do?”
He gave a faint smile and opened the book again.
“How many Demon Kings reside in the Ring?”
“Roughly over a thousand.”
“Send half. Right now.”
Paimon waved his hand.
Then the desert split apart, revealing a cross-section of the transparent universe.
A solitary, noble world floating above the Ring came into view.
“There it is.”
Arisa looked at the place Paimon showed and bowed her head.
“I shall send them immediately.”
“Good.”
Paimon looked at that place, showing interest.
“I wonder if he will survive this time as well.”
* * *
Shinhyeok, who had been communicating while looking at Earth, felt relieved at the answer that came back.
“It worked for now. Thank you.”
‘It was nothing. Hyung……’
The voice grew faint again.
“Priest?!”
‘Oh dear. I’ll go collect some funds and return.’
The voice cut off abruptly.
Arin felt puzzled listening to Shinhyeok’s words, and anger surged up.
“Mister, explain this to me. Don’t come?! Do you know what situation we’re in right now!”
She glared at Shinhyeok as she spoke.
“It’s a crisis. A situation where our lives are threatened every passing moment.”
“Then why!”
“If the Commander comes to return immediately, what about Korea?”
Baek Arin’s mouth shut tightly at those words.
“And the people abandoned along with these folks.”
Ichan pouted at such broad-minded heroism.
“Hyung, we were abandoned too.”
“…….”
Shinhyeok was momentarily speechless at Ichan’s sideswipe slipping through the gap.
Arin sighed deeply and asked.
“So, Mister, what are you going to do?”
Shinhyeok smiled and said.
“What do you mean, what. We have to do what we always do. We’re good at that.”
“Wow……”
Ichan and Arin shook their heads.
“I’m not going to live to see my natural lifespan.”
Ichan agreed with those words.
“Whew, I’ll be satisfied if I can just open my eyes tomorrow.”
Leaving behind the two who agreed, Shinhyeok looked at the others he still needed to persuade.
Those who had been forced to share their fate.
The residents of this city and the martial artist Zusun they had met at Dol Mountain.
Shinhyeok approached them to explain the situation and spoke to ask for their understanding.
“My words will likely be very perplexing.”
The old knight and the old wizard nodded, saying they were fine with it instead.
“We survived thanks to you. We trust you. So please lead us. We too are tired of being pushed around.”
The hearts of this world’s residents were all the same.
They all wanted to counterattack, and they all wanted revenge.
Nangong Jincheon held Sohye in his arms and asked.
“What are you going to do?”
“We are going to launch a surprise attack on that Demon Realm. Of course, we need various powers, help, and opportunities. But I—no, we—can do it.”
Nangong Jincheon let out a hollow laugh at the gaze filled with conviction.
“Do you not know it is unreasonable to ask for understanding after driving one into a dead end?”
At those words, Shinhyeok gave an awkward smile.
Nangong Jincheon stared at Sohye for a moment.
Sohye smiled bashfully and hugged her grandfather tightly.
“Grandfather. Can we go home?”
Jincheon knew his granddaughter’s wish and nodded.
“Promise me just one thing.”
Shinhyeok listened intently to his words.
“Not the Nangong family, but the martial world…… save it first. Promise me you will save the Central Plains occupied by the evil ones.”
Shinhyeok swore at his desperate request.
“I promise you with everything I have. I will definitely save it.”
Everyone agreed and promised to follow Shinhyeok’s will.
The old knight smiled and asked Shinhyeok.
“Then you are our commander now. Commander, sir. What should we do first?”
Shinhyeok looked at Earth at those words.
“First, we must leave this place.”
They were exposed in too dangerous a position.
This world floating conspicuously on the belt was too noticeable.
“If we stay here, we’ll be bombed immediately.”
‘……Ahhh.’
Communication resumed at a very opportune moment.
“Priest! It’s urgent! Right now!”
[…You must… get away… from your current… position…]
A faint system message floated in the air.
‘Yggdrasil?’
[That’s right. You must get away immediately. There will be an all-out bombardment in thirty, no, ten minutes.]
Her voice seemed very urgent.
Shinhyeok focused on her urgent voice.
[I can help you. However, only one of two options is possible.]
‘Please tell me.’
[I can pull you slightly or push you from your current position.]
‘Details.’
[I can pull you closer to my side, but you will still be exposed to danger. No, rather, it would be even more dangerous.]
‘Understood. Then what about pushing?’
[It is impossible to predict how far you will be pushed. You may not be able to return.]
Shinhyeok had only one choice he could make.
‘Then please push us far away.’
[I’m sorry.]
‘It’s not your fault. And if you feel so sorry, may I ask one favor?’
[Anything.]
‘I need a system. To be precise, I need Insight.’
[Understood. I will transfer you a backup containing the system.]
Yggdrasil explained what was needed to execute this.
[One thing is needed to reach that place.]
‘What is it?’
[You must draw upon the authority of Aujar, that god, through the Link.]
At those words, Shinhyeok thought of the remaining cooldown period.
‘I haven’t checked, but there should be quite a bit left.’
[I will bear the remaining backlash. Please tell me when you are ready.]
Shinhyeok answered immediately without needing to prepare.
‘I will do it right now.’
[You will naturally understand the rest once the Link connects.]
Additionally, she gave him advice so that he would not struggle.
[Even if you cannot see him, he is connected to you.]
‘Is it because I intervened?’
[Yes, he is your creation.]
His communication with her ended there.
Shinhyeok looked around and said.
“We will escape from our current position now. And it seems we’ve already been found. They say enemies will swarm here soon.”
Everyone’s eyes widened.
But just as he said, the surroundings trembled dangerously.
‘Already……!’
Clouds of dense demonic energy were gathering.
‘Priest.’
He called him immediately.
Eizar answered immediately.
‘I heard. Shall we go right away?’
‘Yes.’
Closing his eyes and focusing, his voice grew clear and even his figure became visible.
“You have worked hard.”
Eizar was standing before the masses, delivering a sermon.
He too smiled and faced Shinhyeok.
“Brother, you have worked harder than I.”
“Pfft.”
They laughed together.
Eizar approached and extended his hand.
“You probably won’t be able to use this again.”
“That’s a shame. It was like my ultimate move.”
“Hehe, once Brother is ready, it will work again. So train diligently and create.”
Shinhyeok and Eizar’s entire bodies were shining.
The radiance of the golden sun was flowing out.
“I hope to see you again soon.”
“……Me too.”
When he opened his eyes, Eizar’s figure had disappeared.
Instead, he saw one of Yggdrasil’s roots extending fiercely and a demon approaching right before him.
The root reached him before the demon.
[Done!]
The root snapped cleanly.
And immediately curling into a ball, it fell with a thud toward Shinhyeok, and the world was pushed far away with a fwooom.
To be precise, it was launched like a bullet.
[Then… I wish… you… luck…]
Her hologram faintly scattered.
Shinhyeok felt the omnipotence he sensed in that moment and reached out his hand.
He used Transmutation toward the countless demons surrounding him like clouds.
The target was Yggdrasil’s severed root.
What he wanted to create was an Ent he had already made once.
He thought, designed, and achieved it without any base material.
“Kraaaaaaa!”
The Ent made from Yggdrasil declared calamity upon half the Demon Kings.
“Block it!”
The world was launched away, and Shinhyeok immediately fainted from the approaching backlash.
‘I shouldn’t… do this… yet……’
His consciousness was forcibly switched OFF.
* * *
He thought it was but a moment, but he woke up several hours later.
“Huaaack!”
Shinhyeok rose with a strange gasping cry.
“Oho~ you’ve opened your eyes.”
“Nangong Hyung-nim! The young man has awakened!”
Shinhyeok blinked at him, happy to see him.
He was wearing martial arts robes similar to Nangong Jincheon’s.
The only differences were that he held a folding fan and had a delicate, slender body unbecoming of a martial artist.
“Young Hero!”
Nangong Jincheon happily welcomed the awakened Shinhyeok.
“What a relief. Truly.”
Following him, Baek Arin, Hong Ichan, the old knight, and the old wizard Malakai arrived immediately.
“Hehe, you’ve awakened. It’s a miracle.”
Fortunately, everyone was happy for him, but Shinhyeok looked around.
This place was underground.
The other residents were here as well.
“Just where have we come to?”
At those words, the fan-wielding martial artist explained.
“Let me explain. This place doesn’t have a separate name; just think of it as a dumping ground.”
The explanation was ominous.
“It’s a sort of trash bin where broken worlds destined for annihilation are stuffed.”
He smiled broadly and gave it a nickname.
“It’s convenient to call it the Destruction Realm.”
Shinhyeok was bewildered that the space sent to save them was such a strange place.
“Des… truction Realm?”
Shinhyeok staggered up from his spot.
As he tried to immediately get out and go above, Nangong Jincheon stopped him.
“The outside is a bit dangerous. Do not cross the boundary.”
Shinhyeok went above ground at those words and looked outside.
Beyond the area where this castle stayed, there was only ruin and barren sand.
Thud. Thud.
Baek Arin cautiously approached behind Shinhyeok.
Shinhyeok asked her at the perplexing sight.
“Where in the world…… did we come to?”
Baek Arin cautiously answered the perplexed Shinhyeok.
“Mister, I think we came too far.”
“How far.”
“Quite far.”
Shinhyeok looked at the desolate beyond and checked the strange stone fragments placed around.
‘What is that now?’
Shortly after, the fan-wielding martial artist came up and checked the surroundings.
“Hmm, the east is changing again.”
He grasped what was changing and moved the stones by hand.
“Done.”
In an instant, something surrounding the area collapsed and was immediately restored.
In that fleeting moment, the auras of quite a lot of monsters were felt.
‘They aren’t just monsters.’
The pressure felt was comparable to that of a Gate boss.
The mysterious martial artist saw Shinhyeok’s stiff expression and made a surprised face.
“You felt that? It’s quite a distance.”
Shinhyeok was dumbfounded.
“They’re howling as if to be heard openly; how could I not hear them?”
At those extremely obvious words, the other nodded and said.
“Of course, the distance is several zhang! Hehehe.”
Leaving him marveling, Shinhyeok rummaged through his pockets.
‘That thing.’
He remembered the item Yggdrasil had given him saying it was a backup, but he couldn’t see it.
“Hyung, you looking for this?”
Hong Ichan was holding an apple.
He presented it carefully.
“It’s Yggdrasil’s fruit. You had this, Hyung.”
When he received it, a hologram floated in the air.
[Staticcccc.]
[#4@!#@%@!]
It clicked off after an incomprehensible message.
Ichan made a regretful expression.
“I think this is broken.”
“Ah. Damn it.”