Summons (1)
At a glance, it was a residential area little different from a garbage dump—a cluster of hovels made by tangling together crumbling wreckage.
“Then I’ll be off, Ramyu.”
“*Cough*, *cough*! Be careful, Brother…”
From one of these hovels emerged a lanky young man who set off on his way after receiving a send-off from a small girl who was clearly sickly.
It was still early, the sky just beginning to brighten, but for those who lived hand to mouth, it was only natural to move while there was even a little light.
Because the hours bright enough to see one’s surroundings with the naked eye were not long.
*We don’t have enough to eat as it is, so I can’t waste fuel on luxuries.*
The young man, Riang, carrying a large backpack and walking briskly, looked up at the sky.
A gray sky riddled with cracks and fissures, pieces missing here and there.
Beyond those broken gaps, an abyss of pitch-black darkness flickered, and he hurriedly lowered his gaze.
“Whew, I need to be careful. If something happens to me too, there’ll be no one left to take care of Ramyu.”
For those who had been entranced by the abyss and driven mad, only death awaited.
He had heard from the older adults that the sky was originally a clear, clean blue, but to him, who had seen nothing but that sky since birth, it was no different from a fairy tale.
*There really was a picture like that in a storybook.*
Recalling a picture book he had been lucky enough to obtain long ago, he nodded.
It was something his younger sister had adored so much that she never let it out of her sight.
In the end, he had traded it for food, so he no longer had it.
*Back then, we had run out of food, so there was no choice. I couldn’t give up the necklace that was our parents’ keepsake. …Still, I hope I can find another storybook this time.*
Lately, his younger sister Ramyu’s strength had declined greatly.
They couldn’t afford to take her to a healer, so if her condition worsened further here, it would be truly dangerous.
If he could bring back a gift that would make her happy in times like these, it might help her recover her strength…
Perhaps thanks to having set out with such feelings and coming much farther than usual to work.
“Found it!”
Searching through the wreckage of a ruined, collapsed city for usable items, before long he truly managed to find a storybook.
And not just one or two volumes, but a colorful storybook set, even of such fine quality that it was unbelievable it had been buried in the ruins for so long.
And that wasn’t all.
As if luck was on his side today, heaps of items he normally never saw popped up around the area.
*This is a prime spot! I can just search around here for the next few days.*
Searching the surroundings diligently like that, in just a few short hours he had filled his bag to the brim.
If he could come out just a few more times and gain as much as he had now, he would be able to live comfortably for the next few months without worrying about every meal.
Perhaps he might even be able to take his younger sister to a healer…
*Today is my lucky day. Right, it’s been a while, so today we’ll have a rat meat party. If she eats meat, Ramyu will be able to recover her strength too.*
After covering up the traces of his rummaging by dragging over nearby wreckage, and leaving a mark only he would recognize, Riang energetically rose from his spot.
The sun was still far from setting, but since his bag was full, he planned to return early today.
*It has to be bright for me to read her the storybook. I hope she’ll be happy.*
Thus, rejoicing at the small fortune that had come his way, Riang took a large step forward.
Fzzz—
In that instant, at the ominous sound that suddenly rang out, he froze completely stiff.
A rupturing sound that was not very loud yet strangely clear.
It wasn’t a sound coming from nearby.
Having instinctively sensed where the sound originated, he looked up at the sky without realizing it.
“Huh?”
Strength drained from his arms.
Thud—
The backpack hanging from his shoulders fell to the ground with a heavy sound.
The bag filled with the small fortune that had come to him today.
But he no longer paid it any mind and sprinted forward with all his might.
“Ramyu—!!”
Toward the house where his younger sister would be waiting alone.
Fzzz— Crack! Rum—ble!
Though night was still far from coming, the world was slowly being submerged in darkness.
Following the prelude of destruction that resonated across not just this region, but the entire world.
And so.
The sky came crashing down.
***
A world that had already been designated a ‘Closed Dimension’ several years ago by Earth’s reckoning—Kosiyaseu.
After the heroes who had gathered from all regions to protect the world from the disaster decades ago had all perished, the dimension that had been racing toward destruction moment by moment had finally met its end.
“It’s finally over.”
Now that the ‘Last Messiah’ who had been struggling desperately to sustain the world had fallen, no one remained who could stand in his way.
Thanks to that, the Beoncheonhoeju, who had been able to re-enter this place ignoring the dimension’s resistance, looked down at his palm and nodded in satisfaction.
A sense of omnipotence surged endlessly.
How could he not be joyous, now that he was finally able to harvest the seeds he had painstakingly sown?
[…Dimensional Predator. You actually…]
He raised his gaze slightly at the voice calling him and looked at the opponent standing before him.
A being with blond hair and golden eyes that seemed to emit light on their own.
Though the surroundings were filled with darkness without a single point of light, the one facing him still revealed his presence clearly, defying all laws.
“Hah, this is regrettable. You tried hard, but this is as far as you go. Well, you’ve done enough all this time, so you have no regrets, right?”
[You…!]
At the Beoncheonhoeju’s mocking words, fierce rage erupted from the opponent’s body.
It was not any kind of energy.
Beyond the merely physical, encompassing even abstract concepts, everything comprising this world revealed its hostility, sharpening its blades to expel the invader.
“It’s useless.”
[Kuk!]
However, such a violent reaction did not last long.
With a light wave of the Beoncheonhoeju’s hand, the world twisted and warped, then soon gathered in one place and was firmly fixed.
Having already secured over half the influence over the dimension and guaranteed causality, there was no way left to stop him anymore.
Unlike when he was under restrictions, now able to wield his full power, he was literally no different from a god.
Even if his opponent was the possessed vessel of a god revered in this world, it was the same.
No, rather, if his opponent was also a being with divinity…
“Let’s wrap this up soon. I’m a busy man, after all. I need to move busily to make up for the losses I suffered not long ago.”
[Unforgivable! I cannot end like this…!]
It would make nothing more than a hearty, nourishing meal.
[Kuheuk!]
“Having incarnated, you’ve become quite human. Much better looking than before.”
The Beoncheonhoeju nonchalantly drove his hand into the incarnation’s chest, grasped something, and slowly pulled it out.
A crystallization of divinity shining with brilliant golden light.
It was everything of the existence that had been worshipped as the sole god in this world, Kosiyaseu, for a long time.
“As expected, with this much…”
Inside the crumbling world.
Using the divinity in his hand as a medium, he instantly absorbed the karma scattered throughout the dimension and took a deep breath.
Then, directing a mocking sneer toward the gaze of the Administrator that was watching him, he raised the corners of his mouth.
The Administrator, sometimes called the Lord God in some worlds, was an existence akin to a system that maintained the dimension.
Having secured causality through legitimate means, there was no way for it to sanction him, whether he killed a god or destroyed a world.
From the moment the ‘Last Messiah,’ which was effectively the final measure, had fallen, the game had essentially already been over.
*Now my business here is finished.*
The Kosiyaseu dimension ends with this.
Soon this place too would vanish completely, and before long, everything would return to nothingness.
Using the cognitive ability to overlook the entire world as a god, he sorted out a few remaining followers and turned his body.
And the moment he lightly took a step and crossed dimensions.
“Mmm.”
His vision shook, and the omnipotence that had filled his body vanished cleanly in an instant.
The causality that had freely unraveled now constricted his entire body suffocatingly, all sorts of restrictions stuck to him, and his cognition that had been close to omniscience was disrupted.
The sensation of looking at the world with eyes rolled back while wearing a straitjacket.
No longer finding it strange, the Beoncheonhoeju accepted it familiarly and immediately took care of outstanding matters.
Having finally returned to Earth, he intended to check what had happened while he was away and issue new orders, but…
“Hoh?”
Having just reaped a considerable harvest, his eyes, filled with contentment, twitched.
Wondering if he had seen wrong, he even called his Oracle to check, and the matter was even more astounding.
“Not only was the Southeast Asian branch annihilated… but even an Executioner?”
—My apologies, Hoeju.
The Oracle began with an apology, as if ashamed.
At that answer, he narrowed his eyes and slowly looked around.
*…The rising trend of the occupation rate has been broken.*
Be that as it may, Earth was his most important stronghold.
Plundering divinity and drawing energy from other dimensions was merely a means to an end.
He had been somewhat sluggish lately due to the presence of troublemakers, but he had trusted and left things alone because of past performance; he never thought things would turn out like this.
*Masquerade…*
The great adversary challenging the fortress of the Beoncheonhoe that he had painstakingly built over a long time.
Since they had begun to actively build their forces and operate, it seemed he needed to tighten discipline once more for a smooth response.
Immediately after the monster that had devoured yet another world returned.
The executives of the Beoncheonhoe scattered across Earth were all summoned at once.
***
After Halli had launched a surprise attack on the Dokgeom Sect’s headquarters.
The Guardian investigation team, which had been tightening the noose through repeated tracking, arrived there before long.
They tended to move somewhat inefficiently due to various restrictions, but even taking that into account, Guardian was a competent organization not easily replaced.
No matter how trivial their abilities, the synergy of those who had survived in various worlds was absolutely not to be underestimated.
Moreover, as they belonged to the ‘Returnees’ Association,’ which virtually represented the human rights of all returnees, their direct talent pool as well as the abilities of external personnel with whom they could cooperate were beyond imagination.
*Thanks to them stepping up so aggressively, our new employees were able to catch their tails more easily too, or so I heard.*
If not for that, it would have been hard to uncover the culprits so quickly.
And capturing the one behind it all would have been even more out of reach.
Their performance was far from a waste of taxes in many respects.
*I should donate some additional support funds to them.*
Thus, while Guardian and the investigators from the Criminal Investigation Department who had assisted in various ways were raiding the Dokgeom Sect to take Heukyacha Gwon Cheolyong into custody.
Halli, who had visited one step earlier, was already leisurely leaving the scene.
Having proudly secured the true prize, the shadow fiend.
[Kuk, how did you catch my tail so quickly? And just who are you? Could it be that the Blood Alliance truly had another Transcendent besides Phantom…!]
“Kahaha! What? Is it introduction time? Well, I don’t mind, but there’s an easier way, you see. Just bear with me a little longer.”
The fiend, Heukyeong, being carried like luggage, squeezed out his questions, but Halli laughed refreshingly and continued running toward a secluded area.
He gave the fellow who kept trying to escape until the end a knuckle sandwich to make him docile for a moment.
Finally arriving at his destination, he tossed the one he was carrying onto the ground.
[Kuk!]
Naturally, the fellow immediately turned into a shadow and tried to flee again… but.
“Stop.”
Before the one already waiting there, all of it was futile.
[Kh… Damn it… Phantom, Heinz…!]
“As expected, you still haven’t given up. Truly befitting one who has reached the very edge of the Extreme Realm.”
Though escape was impossible with the two of them right there.
Heinz II let out a low exclamation at the sight of him still scanning the surroundings with gleaming eyes.
Thinking that he had indeed chosen well with this method.
[What are you doing…!]
“Stay still. It’ll be over soon.”
Then he grabbed the man’s throat with one hand and focused his `Refined Blood Essence` on the tip of his fingernails.
[Y-you… you can’t be!]
Terrified by the foreign sensation burrowing into his throat, Heukyeong’s eyes went wide.
Realizing what his opponent was attempting, he gritted his teeth and glared at Heinz.
[It’s useless! My body is immune to all poisons. Killing me might be one thing, but no matter if you are a Level 9 Transcendent vampire, you cannot corrupt me!]
Indeed, turning him into a vampire was not easy, just as he said.
As if it weren’t enough that one’s resistance in this area naturally increased as their realm rose, he also possessed immunity abilities built up as an assassin.
*Of course, that would only be true if I were an ordinary pure-blooded vampire.*
Resistance? Immunity?
Like I care.
If one had ascended to the realm of Transcendence and shed the limits of existence, perhaps it would be different, but the resistance of one who hadn’t even crossed that wall was meaningless before his Divine Blood.
[Kkgh! How…? This can’t be—!]
Only then did he realize something was going terribly wrong, his pupils beginning to shake with confusion, but by then it was already far too late.
[……!]
The vampiric factor that burrowed into his entire body began to overwrite the very foundations of his cells from the root up.
The energy latent throughout his body transformed into blood demonic power, and in his once-firm mind, shackles originating from the bloodline firmly took root.
*The amount of energy needed to birth a vampire on Earth is roughly ten times that of another world. And if you consider the amount consumed in neutralizing the resistance due to his realm…*
That was the reason he had not carelessly increased his Blood Kin all this time.
Changing the affiliation of an existing vampire was one thing, but converting someone’s species entirely required far too much Blood Essence.
*Well, doing it like this occasionally shouldn’t be a big deal.*
Besides, his opponent’s ability seemed quite useful.
And there was something he absolutely needed to hear from his lips.
After a brief while—
To Earth’s bloodline, Heterosis, a new vampire was added.
“The Black Dragon Society, you say? If I play this right…”
Along with this tantalizing new information.