Chapter 100 – Transmission

He walked the path.

Se-min continued forward in the darkness.

It was impossible to tell how much time had passed. Whenever doubt arose in his mind, evil things appeared through the gaps in the darkness, trying to delude him.

‘You are new here.’

When he was looking around to see if there was an owner at the A Man Must Strengthen Himself Gym, a man suddenly appeared from behind. The shadow under his prominent eyebrows, due to his developed supraorbital ridge, was noticeable.

‘I am the gym owner, Kim Deok-bae.’

Was he alive?

Something mauled him. His face, which had been smiling warmly, was stained with blood.

Se-min could not turn his eyes away from it. However, to advance along the path, he had to pass by it.

Se-min took another step, feeling his blood pouring onto his body.

‘Brother.’

Someone called him. It was Park In-jae.

He was a brave boy who had stepped forward instead when Se-min was too terrified to move. For that kid’s sake, Se-min had caught Einckel and returned his lost arm.

But was he alive?

Everyone he knew surrounded Se-min. Those who had bad relationships with Se-min, those who liked and admired him, and all those who had fought alongside him as colleagues stood in the darkness, staring blankly at Se-min.

Se-min patiently moved his steps.

Each and every step was painful. Past memories and his regrets revived. The problems of the mind escaped the interior and bound his physical body. Se-min’s steps stumbled slightly.

Then, pitch darkness.

Nothing was visible.

Se-min fumbled through the darkness and retraced his steps. Then, a faint single line emerged.

He must not stray from this path.

However, to walk upon it, he had to face all of those things.

Se-min raised his head.

Everyone was looking at him. People Se-min knew, faces faded in his memory whose identities he could not even tell, and all the connections that had brushed past his life stood in line, staring into Se-min’s eyes.

Do not look.

Se-min wanted to say that.

However, sound did not exist in this space. Se-min could neither speak nor hear their words.

Se-min quickened his pace.

He wanted to leave this harsh scenery.

However, as fast as Se-min ran, they followed and surrounded Se-min’s vicinity just as they were. Like shackles that could not be cast off, they surrounded Se-min and stared at him from that spot.

‘Do not doubt, and only walk the path given to you.’

Gulad had said so.

Se-min repeated those words.

Do not doubt.

Walk the given path.

However, he fell into deep thought.

If a path had been given to him, when did that path begin, and where did it lead?

Was it when he met the Transcendent Network? Or was it when his talent for aura was discovered?

Going back further, was it perhaps when he was conceived by parents whose faces he would never know? Or perhaps even before that, at the moment the Heavenly Demon obtained the Primordial Core and came to cross dimensions?

‘You are not a coward.’

Those words.

Those words changed everything.

Se-min raised his eyes.

There was an incomprehensible evil called Badurbarok. It destroyed everything.

His universe was miserably ruined. A universe like that, where one could not die even if they wanted to and only increased suffering eternally, could not be tolerated.

Se-min erased the doubt that had risen in his mind.

Then, the scenery before his eyes looked different.

They were not a delusion.

It was a send-off.

As his steps drew closer to the end, the appearances of everyone surrounding him became clearer.

Se-min made eye contact with them one by one. Once he cast away fear, everything became clear.

Se-min chuckled.

What all of these things wished of him was the same as always.

“Yeah, dumping it all on me again, are you.”

A voice came out.

If sound did not exist, he just had to make it.

He was no longer the dropout who was dying from blocked meridians back then.

He was a transcendent.

A transcendent was not bound by the laws of the world.

Se-min now began to run.

He saw a wall situated at the end of the tunnel.

Se-min ignored Gulad’s advice and looked back.

Countless beings were packed tightly in the vast space. Everything of Earth, and everything of the world he had just left, was there.

The entire universe he had just escaped was watching him.

Everything relied on him.

The fate of the world pressed down on his shoulders.

However, he did not run away.

“Yeah, just trust me.”

Escaping one universe, he reached the universe beyond. Before him was a large, giant wall. This was something that could never be crossed. That was the law of the world.

However, Se-min did not care.

He swung Lupus.

The wall crumbled.

What spread before his eyes was endless darkness.

Badurbarok’s universe.

A familiar smell wafted. He had seen this place in the past.

Was it in the memories that Badurbarok had shown?

He could not tell. In fact, such a thing was not important. Badurbarok would be somewhere far away.

Se-min jumped into the unfamiliar world without hesitation.

***

When the allied forces arrived, a man was standing on the ruins.

“Gulad!”

Shozen ran over.

“What happened? What about His Majesty?”

“He has departed.”

“Where to?”

“He leapt into that guy’s world to kill Badurbarok.”

Gulad stared blankly back at the structures of the magical beasts. This place had been a city of magical beasts, but now it was abandoned and dying.

“He went to that guy’s world?”

“Badurbarok returned to his own world, and His Majesty pursued him.”

“Did he really have to go that far?”

“Simply driving him out is not enough. If we do not kill him, this fight will not end. He is preparing even more things in his own world. He will return in the future leading more terrible things.”

Although he did not understand precisely, Shozen realized that the Emperor had once again crossed dimensions at the risk of his life.

No matter how strong he was, that place was Badurbarok’s dimension. And that meant he had to fight against the entire world.

“His Majesty…”

He collapsed to the ground.

“He left without even saying goodbye.”

The Sage walked out from behind. He had just arrived riding on Izerkazin together with Ilgar.

Gru also came running, kicking up sand dust as he halted. Kubar jumped down from Gru’s shoulder. He brushed off the dirt from his body and stared at the place where the gate had been.

“The Emperor has departed, so what should we do now?”

At Kubar’s question, the Sage pointed to the biological structures of the land they were standing on. Understanding the meaning, Gru strode over and began to smash the debris.

The world Badurbarok had departed was no longer threatening to them. Now, the ones being hunted would be the magical beasts.

The Sage spoke again.

“We must eliminate the magical beasts and rebuild.”

“Rebuilding.”

Kubar looked back. The troops of the allied forces that had followed the Emperor were arriving one after another.

When the news spread that Badurbarok had departed and that the Emperor had chased him to another world, the allied forces fell into a commotion.

“Rebuilding when we do not even know if the Emperor can win, is there any meaning to it?”

“There is meaning.”

“Yeah, I suppose there is.”

Kubar sighed.

“That bastard Emperor, going off all by himself…”

It was a half-victory.

They failed to kill Badurbarok, and the Emperor had also departed.

However, the allied forces survived today and reclaimed their land. Now, there would be peace for the time being.

Humans, goblins, orcs, trolls, and ogres gathered together to celebrate their victory.

Watching that scene, Killa spoke.

“Are you at ease now?”

“Yes.”

“That is a relief.”

Bi-ryu was standing beside her.

The forbidden spell that revived the previous Emperor, who was already dead, was established under certain restrictions based on the target’s pain.

The restriction given to Bi-ryu was time, and therefore, he could only maintain his body until the world was liberated from Badurbarok.

Now Badurbarok had departed. Although he did not see that guy die, the limit of the spell’s effectiveness was approaching.

“Do you have any words for the Emperor?”

“Please tell him he worked hard.”

“If that fellow returns alive, I shall do so.”

“He will return alive.”

“How do you know?”

Bi-ryu smiled.

“I can see it. Can you not?”

“Is that so.”

His figure began to fade away. Killa stood right there leaning on her staff.

“You must have seen it.”

However, the answer could not be heard.

Bi-ryu’s figure shattered into ashes and faded away. A sudden gust of wind swept his remains and carried them up into the sky.

His body would fly to that far-off place, settle somewhere, and become soil again to circulate through the world.

“Rest now.”

Killa recalled when she first met him.

Remembering their first meeting and the countless events up to this day, she prayed for his peace.

***

“We still cannot contact the American side.”

“It is a common occurrence. It will open soon, so do not worry about it.”

“Understood.”

Oh Jeong-hee coiled up his whip.

A long time had passed since the world was destroyed. Humans were still alive.

Raiders, with the Dark Armor as the main axis, defended the base and maintained the defensive line, fighting a daily struggle against the magical beasts.

“I am going to meet the boss. Get some rest.”

“Yes.”

Oh Jeong-hee left the command room.

The Raider Bureau’s Heron Base was now the headquarters commanding all bases on the Korean Peninsula. Everything was managed here. For civilians, it was the sole hope.

However, only a tiny fraction of people knew what the person who planned and decided all of this looked like.

Oh Jeong-hee went down to the basement of the Raider Bureau. The guards recognized him and bowed their heads. Oh Jeong-hee nodded and went further down, stopping in front of a giant iron door.

“I am here.”

There was no answer. Oh Jeong-hee waited as he was.

Before long, the lock mechanism lit up, and the locks opened one by one.

The iron door opened.

Oh Jeong-hee wrinkled the tip of his nose as he stepped inside.

“Why does it smell like this?”

[The ventilation system broke down. It will start working again soon, so bear with it.]

“Boss. Things don’t look good on the American side. We can’t contact them.”

[There is no need to worry about those guys. They are the type to survive on their own somehow.]

“I thought so too.”

[What about the Chinese side?]

“It seems the situation is bad there, but they appear to be holding out. They brought up the idea of transferring the Black Armor technology to them.”

[Only now?]

“They must be desperate.”

[Wait a bit longer to make them more urgent. Let’s watch how they act.]

“Yes.”

[And…]

An image floated before Oh Jeong-hee’s eyes. It was a map of the Korean Peninsula. On it, territories according to the distribution of the magical beasts were marked in different colors.

At first, it was full of red, but as the marked time reached closer to the present, the color gradually grew lighter.

[What do you think?]

“It is getting better.”

[The gates have stopped opening.]

“Pardon?”

[Newly supplied magical beasts have disappeared. The ones left are all those breeding on their own now.]

“Is that true?”

Everything of the Raider Bureau was managed by the director in front of him. Crucial information was classified by him, and he had twisted the viewing system so that only he could verify it.

However, Oh Jeong-hee did not have any particular complaints. He highly trusted the director. Although he was in a state that could hardly be called human anymore, his judgment was always rational.

In the first place, if the director had not existed, humanity would not have remained on the Korean Peninsula.

“It seems like good news, but then it also doesn’t…”

It was like this just before the Gate Incident occurred long ago as well.

When everyone was relieved because gates suddenly stopped appearing, an immense number of gates suddenly opened simultaneously and poured out magical beasts.

There was no law saying that the same thing would not happen this time either.

Oh Jeong-hee was pondering, the director suddenly asked.

[Do you by any chance remember Lee Se-min?]

“Se-min? How could I forget.”

[Right. What about the fellow who is his younger brother?]

“Hyeon Jae-yeong is also doing well.”

[Are there other close acquaintances of his?]

“I heard Bang Jin-yeong is an acquaintance, and also a woman named Lee Yu-jin…”

[Family, friends, acquaintances—closely monitor everyone related to him.]

“Pardon?”

[Make sure to keep them under control.]

“Yes. Understood.”

Oh Jeong-hee did not bother to ask.

He could tell what the director in front of him was thinking even without asking.