A corner of the Ruin Realm.
A massive mountain range settled there.
“There they are!”
Unwelcome guests whom no one here would welcome had arrived.
They were Demon Lords who had chased Shinhyeok from Earth.
Of course, they were individuals slightly stronger than Demons merely wearing the guise of Demon Lords.
“Kaaak! Damn plants!”
One Demon Lord tore away a piece of an Ent that annoyingly clung to him.
“We’ve finally arrived. Damn things.”
“How did we end up in this backwater!”
They vented their fury while suffering from the maddening Ents, recalling the warning given to them by their master, Paimon.
‘If you fail to find them, I shall reclaim the authority of a Demon Lord that I bestowed upon you.’
The reason ordinary Demons could grow into Demon Lords in an instant.
It was thanks to Paimon’s grace and blessing. A small, mysterious Stone of unknown origin.
They had to protect what they each harbored in their hearts.
“We must kill them.”
Gathered with strong resolve, they looked around.
Among them, the Black Orc Demon Lord radiated fierce killing intent.
“Come out! You human bastard!”
He slammed his axe into the ground, causing an earthquake that split the earth.
Rumble.
The other Demon Lords grimaced and distanced themselves.
“That orc-headed bastard. Does he think he’s the only one here!”
“Yeah! Bastard! I don’t expect cooperation, but don’t get in the way!”
The Black Orc Demon Lord, Heuseukak, snorted and warned the insects.
“Shut your mouths, you flies.”
“You—!”
“Hey!”
They were all angered, but did not rashly charge.
“I am Heuseukak, the Demon Lord of Earthquakes. If you wish to challenge my ranking, I do not refuse.”
“Tch.”
“How annoying.”
Heuseukak mocked and ridiculed them.
“You lot who can’t even rank in the top 100 sure are all mouth, tch!”
“So annoying I could die.”
They grumbled among themselves, saying all sorts of things, but did not dare approach.
“If there are no complaints, chase them down immediately.”
“Yes sir~ of course, my lord. Damn fringe-ranker little orc.”
Heuseukak turned his gaze toward the one who had just opened his mouth.
The vampire who met his gaze immediately turned his head away.
It was absurd, yet fearsome.
The goblin who locked eyes with the vampire spoke fussily.
“You opened your mouth, so take responsibility.”
“Bastard, let’s try to survive together. Did I open it alone?”
“Stingy bastard. Did your pride fly away when you became a vampire?”
“Ha! Look at this goblin.”
“Kaaak!”
When Heuseukak swelled his killing intent with a final warning, everyone fell silent.
“We waste no time. Move at once.”
The Demon Lords gathered here grumbled as they prepared to scatter.
“With my status, do I really have to do this here?”
“Damn. Same here! All my subordinates were deployed to Earth!”
“We got stuck at the hurdles and couldn’t even have any fun! Ugh. So f***ing bored.”
Rumble.
Suddenly, the earth shook.
Everyone glared at Heuseukak in annoyance at the tremor.
“Oh, come on!”
“Tone down the tyranny!”
“Good grief! How can anyone live in such fear!”
Heuseukak shouted in bewilderment.
“I-it wasn’t me!”
“Huh?”
Surprised by his claim that it wasn’t him, they all looked around.
Rumble.
The trembling was drawing closer.
Heuseukak moved his gaze to find the source of the shaking.
All the Demon Lords’ gazes were fixed, and none could close their mouths.
Kwagagagakwaaang!!
Literally, the mountain range was rising.
Rocks tumbled down in showers.
“Wh-what is that?!”
Heuseukak watched in tension at the unidentified thing rising within the mountain range.
“Heeeeuaaaah.”
It sounded like someone’s light yawn, yet it was like thunder.
Everyone covered their ears and watched.
“Keuk!”
“This is insane!”
He boasted a gigantic stature.
The giant, wearing not a single thread, looked at the insect-like Demon Lords with sleepy eyes.
“Annoying.”
Leaving behind a single slurred word, he raised his hand high.
Heuseukak shrieked and ran to avoid the giant hand bearing down.
“Run!”
All the Demon Lords fled, but it was too late.
No matter how they ran, the giant’s hand was simply too large.
Kwaaaaaang!
It left a giant palm print on the ground.
The giant dusted off his hand and rose from where he had lain.
When he stretched, the ground shattered and the surrounding clouds were pushed away.
“Haaaaaahm.”
The giant scratched his stomach and looked at the dirty black magical energy of those he had just crushed.
“Familiarrrrrr.”
He blinked his eyes, but ultimately could not overcome his drowsiness and closed them.
Stagger.
The giant’s body slowly tipped backward.
The wind shifted, clouds parted, and the atmosphere was torn asunder.
“Dodge, dodge!”
A few surviving Demon Lords shouted as they staggered.
“Kulk.”
The Demon Lords in the spot where the giant’s back would land looked up.
“Ah.”
It was already too late.
Kwaaaaaaaaaang!!!!!!
The earth vibrated heavily, and the giant fell straight into sleep.
“Y-you’re insane.”
The sole Demon Lord to survive this absurd event, Heuseukak.
He crawled pathetically on the ground with a flustered face.
‘He mustn’t wake up. Never, never!’
He walked quietly.
Kwarrung. Kuuuung.
Suddenly, a massive sound of the earth being trampled was heard.
Heuseukak hurriedly looked back.
The giant was rolling over onto his side.
“D-damn it!!”
Unfortunately, Heuseukak was right in that spot. He sprang up and ran for his life, looking only ahead.
“This crazy...!”
Kwaaaang!
An arm crushed the ground, and Heuseukak narrowly avoided the attack(?).
He gasped heavily, sprang up, and ran.
“Kyaaaaak!”
The giant exhaled roughly and fell soundly asleep.
* * *
“Hmm.”
Ichan was staring intently at the Yamyohonsik that had grown tall before he knew it.
“Hey, I don’t think staring at it will make it grow faster.”
Shinhyeok, passing by, spoke to Ichan, whose eyes were fixed on the plant.
“But I’m saying it looks like it’s almost fully grown. Hyung, isn’t this thing fully grown already?”
At those words, he poked at it.
[It is not fully grown.]
The System, perhaps annoyed by being asked so often, had grown curt in its replies.
“It says it hasn’t fully grown.”
“Ugh, hyung. I’m so anxious.”
“Go do your work. Staring at it won’t make it grow faster.”
Shinhyeok approached the city walls and inspected the work done so far.
“Are they all installed?”
The walls were packed with mana cannons.
Having handed over the tunnel-digging work entirely to Malakai, he had been able to focus on duplication.
This was the result.
They were packed tightly across the walls without a gap.
“It looks like everything’s done.”
The equipment was perfect.
Of course, the gunners operating the cannons were perfect as well.
“Now then. Everyone, take your positions! Fire as if you’re in actual combat! Without rest! Understood?!”
At the vigorous shout of the old knight, Greywein, the residents who had undergone explosive leveling answered with mighty voices.
“Yes!”
Shinhyeok smiled in satisfaction.
And quietly raised his thumb.
The old knight smiled bashfully upon seeing Shinhyeok.
“Now! Gunners ready, fire!”
“Ichan! Firing the cannons!”
“Argh! Give me a heads-up first!!”
Ichan scurried inside the walls.
Then suddenly, he whirled around and looked at the Yamyohonsik wistfully, shouting.
“Honsik!”
“That thing won’t die even if it gets hit.”
Shinhyeok grabbed Ichan by the nape and dragged him inside.
Going inside, Shinhyeok ran into Malakai, who had been digging tunnels.
“Egugu.”
“You’ve been working hard.”
Malakai smiled at the corner of his mouth upon seeing Shinhyeok.
“Hard work, nothing. Thanks to you, I’ve been having too much fun these days.”
“Thanks to me? It’s all thanks to you, Malakai-nim. I’ll continue to ask you for the tunnel digging.”
“Yes, yes, don’t worry. It’s just that I can’t match your speed, so what to do about that.”
The sound of cannons firing rang out from above.
Kwakwakwakwang!
Shinhyeok covered his ears and shouted energetically.
“It’s fine! Just keep doing it like you are now!”
Malakai expanded the trench falling into the void as much as possible on Shinhyeok’s behalf.
“Ichan, what about the Ghost Gate Formation?”
“It’s perfect. I improved it further with Mr. Jegal. Since Elder Malakai knows a bit of black magic, I had him add a few enchantments.”
“Oh.”
He had been so focused on duplication that he hadn’t known about the rest of the work.
“Good. Now we just need them to come. It’ll be soon, right?”
Shinhyeok looked up at the sky.
The sky of the city they resided in reflected the Netherworld.
The sky of the Netherworld, which perfectly resembled the Ruin Realm, was transparent.
Ichan also looked up at the sky and spoke.
“They overlap a lot. If not tomorrow, then the day after. But I think it’ll be tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
Shinhyeok checked the growth of the Yamyohonsik for a moment before heading toward the World Tree.
There, Arin was wholly devoted to circulating energy all day.
“Hoooo.”
She exhaled briefly and opened her eyes.
“It feels stifling.”
“Are you lacking a lot?”
Shinhyeok, who had approached before she knew it, spoke to her.
“Of course it’s not enough.”
Just as he had done for Malakai some time ago, Shinhyeok drew out the energy of the Mana Heart from his lower dantian and extracted more.
“What about what I gave you?”
She smiled.
“Thanks to that, I’ve filled about 5%. Thanks, mister.”
“That’s a relief. I’m glad it helps at least.”
Shinhyeok looked at the one person he was most worried about.
The most precarious-looking person, who had done nothing but circulate energy and meditate all week.
“How is Mr. Namgoong?”
Arin knew him the best.
Truthfully, he had had several seizures.
Each time, Arin had been the one to step in.
“He definitely doesn’t look well. The noxious energy in his body is stabbing and corroding his entire body.”
“That’s bad.”
Namgoong Sohye sat beside her grandfather, staying with him all day.
“Arin, don’t participate in the battle and just look after him.”
“Yeah.”
At that moment, Ichan’s shout came from the walls.
“Hyung-hyung! Honsik is waking up!”
“No way. That thing’s not even human. It has no reason to wake up.”
He turned and headed outside the walls.
The residents who had finished the cannon tests were already coming down from the walls.
Ichan was staring intently at the Yamyohonsik.
“As if it’s waking up. Looks like just a few more leaves grew.”
‘You little bastards! How dare you imprison the absolute being of the great Specter in this cramped tree!’
Something truly woke up.
“See! Hyung, you can hear it, right?”
“It really woke up.”
‘You damned bastard! Release me immediately! Kyaaak!’
Shinhyeok looked at the Yamyohonsik with an intrigued expression.
“But it feels kind of wrong to use this as a weapon.”
Ichan crouched down, resting his chin on his knees, and spoke.
“But it’s sharp and sturdy, so wouldn’t it be usable if we just pulled it out by the roots and swung it?”
‘Kraaak! How dare you!’
Shinhyeok poked it.
[The Yamyohonsik has grown sufficiently.]
[Please proceed with Sympathy to establish the master’s recognition.]
“It says it’s fully grown.”
“I knew it!”
“Wait, I don’t know what Sympathy is.”
Ichan pushed past Shinhyeok’s restraint and reached out his hand.
“I know.”
His finger was cut by a leaf.
A drop of blood welled from the wound.
Ichan placed his finger above the leaf and focused.
“Huh?”
Ichan’s pupils began to turn black.
At the same time, shadows rippled.
‘Shadows?’
Seeing this scene, he recalled the skill related to ‘Shadow Manipulation’ that had appeared on Ichan’s status window some time ago.
The shadow of the Yamyohonsik and Ichan’s shadow slowly overlapped.
“Now!”
The moment the ends touched, Ichan let the drop of blood fall.
Plop.
The shadows trembled, and Ichan collapsed sideways with a thud.
“Hey, hey!”
[Sympathy is in progress.]
‘Okay! Bring it on, you half-grown Dark Elf!’
The excited shout of the Lich could be heard as well.
“Damn.”
The Yamyohonsik trembled.
Shinhyeok quietly cheered for Ichan.
“Hurry up and win so you can come back. I’m saying it looks like we’ll be going to the present world sooner than expected.”
The blurry boundary was becoming clearer.
“Please, this time.”
Shinhyeok prayed earnestly.
‘May it be resolved smoothly.’
* * *
“Keuk.”
Heuseukak staggered and finally collapsed on the ground.
‘D-damn it.’
He lacked strength.
He could not replenish his black magical energy.
‘I need to bite and eat something, anything.’
To make matters worse, this bizarre world held not a single trace of life.
“Kraaaak!”
Screaming, he somehow managed to rise.
“I am Heuseukak! The Demon Lord of Earth ranked in the top 100! How dare—!”
Stagger.
After screaming, he had truly exhausted all his strength.
“D-damn...”
Thud.
He collapsed sideways just like that.
Heuseukak crawled across the ground, swaying.
“S-save me...”
Heuseukak, sprawled on the ground, desperately sent out a distress call, but no response came back.
“Damn it, damn it!”
Just as he thought he might have to give up, he detected a faint trace of black magical energy.
“Undead?!”
His head whipped around.
Where he turned his gaze, he saw a zombie staggering and heading somewhere.
“Come, you insect-like dead one! Offer your soul and strength to the great Demon Lord!”
When it did not come toward him despite his shout, Heuseukak—pathetic as it was—crawled across the ground in pursuit.
“Come here!”
The zombie whipped its head around.
However, it ignored the Black Orc crawling on the ground.
“Krrrk.”
“Why you dog-like...!!”
Heuseukak was overcome with emotion, but this was a crisis.
Squeezing out his last life, he lunged at the zombie with the will to kill.
“Keok.”
The bitten zombie collapsed on the ground with a thud.
Heuseukak savagely tore at the rotting flesh and devoured the black magical energy.
“I’ll survive.”
He had finally recovered the strength to move.
He wiped his mouth with his sleeve and looked ahead.
The undead were gathering toward some place.
“Good, someone has prepared a feast for me.”
Revitalized, Heuseukak immediately chased after the procession of undead.