“Aaaaaaagh!”
One Demon King let out a fierce roar.
He was holding up the giant’s foot with both hands.
“Pathetic.”
The giant snorted and pressed down.
“Ghk! Eeeek!”
Boom!
In the end, he could not overcome the giant’s brute strength and was crushed beneath him.
“Grrr.”
Blue’s mouth was drenched in blood.
He roughly shook off someone’s flesh.
“Hah. Would you look at these reckless, insane breeds.”
Dantalion, a demon at the very bottom of the hierarchy, gave a hollow laugh.
“To think there are two bastards standing at the threshold of transcendence lurking here. What is wrong with this neighborhood!”
The giant straightened his back gracefully and looked down at the demon.
“Demon. Now it is your turn to suffer.”
“You keep acting like what Paimon did was done by all of us, but that’s completely different, you know?”
“In the end, you are the same kind.”
The giant’s massive foot rose again, then slowly descended toward the ground.
“Well, damn. What do these bastards take demons for?”
The many faces that formed Dantalion trembled.
“I am the demon who handles your thoughts and memories.”
Dantalion spread his arms and cried out with a fishy smile.
“You dare come at me?”
The giant flinched.
He shook his head violently, confused.
“I, I…”
A vast amount of black demonic power erupted from the demon.
It was so dense that the aura alone made one feel terrifying fear and dread.
“Faith, ideology, memory—all shall be distorted. Deny your own existence.”
The giant’s memories were blurring.
He shook his body violently and resisted.
“Kraaaagh!”
As the giant thrashed, the surroundings shook.
Kwa-kwa-boom!
The earth shattered, and the aftershock raced through the area.
“Puppy. Shouldn’t you be set free now as well? Do you not think so?”
Blue scratched his head with a forepaw, looking indifferent.
“……”
Dantalion was flustered when his authority failed to work.
Blue watched him for a moment, then, seeing that he was perfectly fine, spat out.
“Idiot.”
“Eeeek!”
Excited, Dantalion eventually poured out all his dependents.
“Fine, good! Let’s settle this here! All of you, come out!”
The faces that formed Dantalion’s entire body gradually bulged forward.
“Hoo.”
A holy knight clad in bright priestly robes appeared with hollow eyes.
He politely knelt and offered greetings to his lord.
“My lord. I answer your call.”
“Yes. My faithful servant, Elion.”
Elion slowly rose and looked back.
“What shall I do with that beast?”
“Kill it. And thereby exalt me.”
“Yes.”
Elion nodded lightly and stepped forward.
Radiance swirled behind his back, and faded wings spread wide.
A total of six wings unfurled.
Half were shedding their feathers, and half had hardened in petrification.
He drew his sword and aimed it at Blue.
“Beast. You have dared insult the Lord. Receive your punishment gladly.”
Blue tilted his head.
“That’s the Lord?”
“……”
Elion’s expression turned displeased.
“Yes. That person is my glorious Lord!”
Elion immediately kicked off the ground.
Blue slipped aside and looked at him in puzzlement.
“His aura is different.”
“What is seen is but a mere illusion!”
“Grrrk.”
Blue moved to avoid the mad breed.
Dantalion, seeing that, was pleased.
“Good. It’s different when you see a proper fellow, isn’t it, you bastard!”
Dantalion spread his arms and made his move to finish things for certain.
“Come. My dependents.”
Crackle.
A faint light swirled from him, and the sound of something breaking echoed around them.
“What a waste. To squander my origin in a place like this.”
Countless gates appeared around Dantalion.
From them, all sorts of demons and troops began to emerge.
“Kraaaagh!”
The giant, having overcome the chaos, looked at Dantalion with difficulty.
“How dare…”
“You’re one to talk. You oversized giant and nothing more!”
Dantalion’s troops filled the area around the giant.
“Let’s see you do this properly, descendant of the last Titan race.”
“Uaaaaaap!”
The giant began stomping all around.
“There’s a fellow perfectly suited for you.”
A gate opened enormously, and the air began to tremble.
From within, a dragon stained black poked out its head.
“My second Demon King. Go and show your power.”
“Krrrraa!”
A dragon roughly the same size as the giant charged at him.
“Move! How can a great guardian possibly…!”
“Who called me a guardian? I decide my own fate.”
Kwaaaang!
The giant and dragon tangled together, shaking the earth.
“Haha! This is it! This is so easy, yet that bastard Paimon made such a fuss because he couldn’t do it! Hahaha! Pathetic bastard!”
Dantalion watched comfortably.
“Now then. I just need to find that worm and finish him off.”
He thought leisurely and looked around.
“Where is he? With all kinds of miscellaneous things clumped together, he’s hard to find.”
As he was looking, he saw a hazy black thunderlight somewhere.
‘What is that?’
Dantalion stuck his head out to take a closer look, but the light passed by in an instant.
Literally, he was struck in the blink of an eye.
“How grotesque. You monster.”
“Kraaaagh!”
The black thunderlight swept over him.
Crackle.
Black sparks flew, roughly burning his skin.
Dantalion forced his pain-filled body upright.
“How dare…”
Everyone looked at Namgung Jincheon, who was floating in midair.
“There are many trifling things here. No doubt you are the same kind as Paimon, that base creature.”
Dantalion flew into a fit.
“You bastard! Why are you blaming me for what he did!”
“Shut your mouth. Receive the price of your evils.”
Namgung Jincheon drew his sword and swung black lightning.
“I shall be your sky. I shall judge you all.”
“Damn it. Everyone, come out!”
The area around Namgung Jincheon was swarming with the troops Dantalion had drawn out.
“I’ll shut that mouth of yours for good.”
“We shall see.”
Namgung Jincheon smiled as he spoke.
[Trait activated.]
Suddenly, the surroundings turned black, and thunder began to rage in the sky.
[The authority of the Night Thunder Lord Body is activated.]
[A Night Thunder resonance phenomenon is occurring.]
[The World Tree of Night temporarily shares its power.]
[Drawing out power beyond the limit.]
Black thunderclouds formed around Namgung Jincheon,
and clusters of lightning struck the ground.
“Keuk.”
Dantalion was flustered after reading a certain transcendent will mixed into the lightning.
“The World Tree of Night?”
He had seen something that should never have been heard of or seen.
“No, that can’t be! Paimon, that bastard, definitely uprooted it.”
Namgung Jincheon looked at the surviving Demon Kings around him and spoke.
“Now it is your turn to suffer.”
Rumble.
An endless storm of lightning raged.
“Kraaaaagh!”
Everyone except Dantalion was struck down.
Amid the endless lightning, Namgung Jincheon threw himself forward.
“Damn it. Damn it!”
Dantalion was flustered as he watched the World Tree of Night bring down demonic power.
“Of all things. The divine power of night!”
All the Demon Kings were being rendered helpless.
“Everyone retreat!”
In the end, Dantalion withdrew.
Wherever the black lightning struck, demons and Demon Kings froze.
As the lightning brushed past them, they felt drained, as if all strength had left them.
“Damn it!”
Everyone fled in haste, and in the end, only three remained on the battlefield.
“Hah. Would you look at these crude fellows. They ran from only this much?”
Namgung Jincheon gave a hollow laugh.
Then he looked at Blue.
“Were you here first?”
Blue nodded.
“You worked hard. Let us go now.”
“Yeah.”
Thump. Thump. Thump.
The giant trudged toward the group.
Namgung Jincheon looked up at the giant watching him.
“I thank you as well. Thanks to you, we overcame the crisis.”
The giant stared blankly at Namgung Jincheon.
“It was nothing. But do you live here too?”
“It somehow turned out that way. I ask for your favor from now on. It seems we will be seeing each other quite often.”
“Good neighbors.”
“That is right. I hope we become good neighbors.”
Seeing Namgung Jincheon call him a neighbor, the giant quietly nodded.
“An enemy of demons is my friend.”
“That is truly to my liking.”
Namgung Jincheon smiled as he spoke to him.
He would surely be of help.
“We came from over there. If anything happens, come to us.”
“Understood.”
He checked the direction Namgung Jincheon pointed.
It was the central area.
The giant stared blankly at Blue and Namgung Jincheon as they returned.
“Good neighbors.”
He kept repeating those words.
* * *
“Keuuuk.”
Sinhyeok got up, clutching his head.
“My head hurts…”
He quietly complained of the pain.
A terrible headache filled him.
[Due to excessive mental strain, your brain has been overloaded. Rest is recommended for the time being.]
“You don’t have to tell me. I need to rest from this.”
[For your information, eight hours ago, an army of Demon Kings led by a demon appeared.]
At the shocking news, Sinhyeok’s headache was suddenly forced to vanish completely.
“Why?”
[The exact reason is unknown, but based on the collected audio data, it is connected to Paimon.]
“Damn it.”
‘That bastard really does every damn thing he can.’
Sinhyeok, now awake, dismissed Akashic’s information and looked around.
“More importantly, where’s Mister?”
[Look up.]
When Sinhyeok raised his head and looked up, Namgung Jincheon was clearly visible.
He had become black lightning and was walking through the air.
“So it worked.”
Namgung Jincheon saw that Sinhyeok had woken up and waved his hand.
“Can you see me, Young Hero! I have mastered heavenly thunder!”
[Status Window]
Name: Namgung Jincheon (LV.124)
Class: Martial Artist (Hwagyeong)
Strength: 2983
Agility: 3864
Stamina: 2894
Internal Energy: 4.4 gapja
Trait: Night Thunder Lord Body (夜雷主身)
[Owned Skills]
=====================
[Main]
Heavenly Thunder Emperor Divine Art (天雷帝王神功) (LV.MAX)
Night Thunder Qi (夜雷氣) (LV.7)
Heavenly Wind Movement Art (天風身法) (LV.84)
=====================
“Your level went up a lot.”
He had also gained many fascinating traits.
“It is all thanks to you, Young Hero!”
Namgung Jincheon laughed energetically and waved his hand.
Watching him, Sinhyeok quietly smiled.
“Please don’t ever get hurt again!”
“Hahaha! Of course not!”
Everyone laughed.
Sinhyeok decided to enjoy this brief moment of leisure.
‘Let’s rest today.’
Sinhyeok stood up and shouted to everyone outside.
“Let’s have a party today! Of course, all we have are potatoes!”
“Hear, hear!”
“Waaaaah!”
Everyone was exhausted from the continuous battles and tension.
They lit a fire in the wide circular clearing, then threw potatoes in to cook them.
Blue came over and sat beside Sinhyeok.
Sinhyeok stroked his fluffy fur.
“Our Blue. Your level went up a little, huh?”
“I ate quite a few cores.”
“Ah. The Demon Kings had cores?”
“Yeah.”
No wonder his level had risen so much.
It should not have gone up.
Without cores, level increases were truly insignificant.
“I hope more come in the future. So everyone can shoot up.”
Sinhyeok quietly got up, avoiding the noisy people, and headed to the World Tree.
“Hrrng~ This place really is comfortable.”
Sinhyeok leaned his back against the tree.
Seeing the flames burning brightly around the castle and the residents, he smiled for no reason.
‘One day like this should be fine.’
Sinhyeok raised his head and looked at the World Tree of Night.
“You’ve been through a lot too.”
Ripple.
The bark of the World Tree wavered and formed an old fairy.
“Are you talking to me?”
Heh.
Sinhyeok nodded.
“You’ve worked hard too, Elder.”
“Haha. Of course. You people may not know, but things are fierce on this side as well.”
Sinhyeok smiled at him, as if the old fairy were asking to be acknowledged.
“I don’t have much to give, but would you like this at least?”
[Extraction - Fragment of Bu Sinhyeok’s Origin]
A little bit of origin rested in his hand.
He immediately dropped it near the World Tree.
“Uheut.”
The old fairy trembled, then made a strange expression.
“T-this! This is so g-good!”
He wore an expression of ecstasy, then smiled brightly.
[The level of the World Tree of Night, Notdrasil, is increasing.]
[Status Window]
Name: World Tree of Night (LV.2)
Vitality: 20,000
Spiritual Power: 40,000
Traits: Origin of Spirit, Origin of Shadow
[Owned Skills]
=========================
OS Notdrasil (LV.2)
Cradle of Shadows (LV.1)
==========================
The status window suddenly appeared, and the tree began growing rapidly.
“Whoa.”
Sinhyeok immediately got up and moved far away.
Notdrasil soared upward without end.
[The level of OS Notdrasil has increased, allowing additional functions to be introduced to the system.]
[The new skill Cradle of Shadows has been born, and mysterious lifeforms will begin appearing from the World Tree of Night.]
Before long, it had grown to a massive size comparable to the castle.
“Wow…”
[Notdrasil has grown sufficiently and no longer requires photosynthesis.]
[From now on, travel between the living realm and the netherworld can be controlled.]
Seeing the message that appeared before everyone, they all cheered.
“What!! Whoa!”
“Nice!”
“Waaaaah!”
There was no longer any need to defend.
“Good. We’re almost there. I’m starting to see hope.”
Smiles appeared on everyone’s faces.
[Administrator. Please select an additional system function.]
[Based on the Administrator’s current authority, the functions that can be introduced are as follows.]
[List]
[1. Encyclopedia of Knowledge]
[2. Pet]
“Hmm.”
To Sinhyeok, both looked ambiguous.
“What’s the difference?”
[In the case of the Encyclopedia of Knowledge, you may consider it a lower-compatible version of the Akashic Cabinet. If you ask questions within a limited number of times, it will answer.]
“Then what about Pet?”
[Regardless of class, if one has sufficient affinity with a monster or spiritual beast and forms a bond above a certain level, it becomes bound to them.]
“Hmm.”
It was a function that made him hesitate.
‘Pets could be useful too. More like Blue could appear.’
But for some reason, the Encyclopedia of Knowledge especially bothered him.
“I’m strangely drawn to that one.”
In the current situation, the Encyclopedia of Knowledge was not immediately helpful.
It merely organized vast amounts of data and allowed questions.
‘But it was useful for me. It helped me quite a lot.’
Pets might help in immediate combat, but the Encyclopedia of Knowledge might be able to overturn the board.
“Let’s go with the Encyclopedia of Knowledge. There may be a lot of people who need this.”
‘For example, someone like Farrell.’
[You have decided on the Encyclopedia of Knowledge.]
[The relevant function will be upgraded.]
[The system will be suspended for approximately five minutes for the OS upgrade. Please take note.]