Chapter 52 – Shall I Help?

The subjugation force smoothly continued their operation.

At this rate, they would return after successfully completing their mission.

After finishing their battle, Se-min and his team members opened their combat rations in an empty lot. They had reached the farthest position they had marched to so far.

Ending with today, they were planning to focus on clearing out the areas they had already occupied.

“You two are close.”

“Does it look that way?”

Camilla and Bang Yu-bi were sitting opposite each other, eating combat rations. Since Camilla had joined, Bang Yu-bi had stayed close to her. Whenever it was mealtime, they were always together. Se-min thought they had become friends.

Kim Ah-reum did not seem to agree.

“Thinking that way probably makes you feel at ease.”

She held a piece of chocolate in her mouth while making a strange remark.

After finishing their meal, they were just about to change direction and march.

Frantic radio transmissions came through.

Because it was blabbered in English, Se-min looked at the others. Namgung Gae had the exact same expression. Only Camilla, Kim Ah-reum, and Bang Yu-bi were focusing on the radio with serious faces.

“It’s a request for support.”

There had been no requests for support so far.

The US had carefully selected the location. No magic beasts that the subjugation force’s strength could not handle had been observed.

“We are the closest. We must go quickly.”

Se-min immediately moved the team.

The one requesting support was Guillermo’s team, with whom Se-min had bad blood. According to the map, they had advanced quite far. Frantic voices continued over the radio. Kim Ah-reum kept explaining.

“They say unidentified magic beasts have appeared. They seem to be Black-rank. They don’t have enough forces right now. Apparently, a few have already died. Damn it.”

“Let’s speed up.”

Se-min’s figure quickened. The team members could not keep up with him.

“I’ll go ahead. If anything happens, I’ll return, so radio me.”

Se-min shot forward.

He traversed the forest of the other world. Damp, gloomy scenery swept past endlessly behind him. Magic beasts caught his eye, but they were not dangerous species. Se-min ignored them and sprinted.

The path led to the hills.

It was a terrain surrounded by high hills. The noises of battle were heard from beyond the ridge. The sound of the wind, the cries of magic beasts, and the shouts of humans mingled together, confusing his ears.

Se-min kicked off the hill and ascended.

And at the sight that was revealed, he momentarily hesitated.

A landscape he had never imagined unfolded.

It was ruins.

Broken buildings were aging, entangled with plants. It was a style that seemed to resemble Earth’s but was exotic.

Around a giant temple-like building, small houses were situated, drawing concentric circles. The entire basin was a single city.

But there was no time to admire it.

In the center of the ruins, Raiders, who had laid out complex equipment, were being attacked by magic beasts.

The magic beasts were flying species. They circled the sky, then descended to bite the Raiders. The Raiders seemed flustered by the unfamiliar type of magic beasts.

Magic beasts that crossed over to Earth usually operated on the ground.

There were none that went to the sea at all, and even for individuals with wings, there were not many cases where they soared.

But the other world was different.

It was a place where flying species were as common as birds.

His judgment was swift.

Se-min stepped on the air and sprinted.

A Raider was snatched by a magic beast. Floundering in the air, he discovered Se-min rushing toward him. Their eyes met. He opened his mouth.

“What the…”

Se-min swung Lupus.

The magic beast dropped the man due to the impact.

Se-min blocked the talons and glanced down. The Raider seemed to have landed safely. Se-min’s speed increased. His sword qi mingled with the magic beasts.

Another individual targeted Se-min’s back.

He was surrounded by two beasts and attacked with talons and teeth.

Having no way to block them, he raised an aura barrier. As the magic beasts struck the barrier, a sharp friction sound arose.

Se-min switched to defense to protect himself and observed the battle situation.

The magic beasts seemed to be above Platinum-rank and below Black-rank. Gradually, the Raiders were pushed back. While Se-min was thinking, another Raider was sacrificed to a magic beast.

That Raider had been busy facing the magic beast in front of him and could not see behind him.

The magic beast’s maw descended on his head.

As the magic beast raised its head, the man’s body was separated from the neck and collapsed. The head was swallowed by the magic beast, leaving no trace.

The magic beast flapped its wings and flew up. The fallen body rolled on the ground in the chaos of battle.

“Bastards.”

Se-min increased his output.

Aura burned white on his body. Lupus’s sword qi expanded. With a single swing, several magic beasts fell simultaneously. Terrified, the magic beasts did not dare approach him.

Se-min changed direction and plummeted downward. On the ground, Raiders and magic beasts were locked in a chaotic fight.

He saw Guillermo struggling.

“Guillermo!”

Lupus drove into the maw of a magic beast. The aura exploded, tearing through the creature’s body. The magic beast’s body shattered and scattered into pieces of flesh. Shaking Lupus clean, Se-min shouted.

“Is that all you’ve got?”

Even though the language was different, the meaning was conveyed.

Guillermo’s expression changed. Rousing his strength, he tore off a magic beast’s wing with his axe. Then he grabbed its neck to prevent it from flying any further. The magic beast frantically flapped its wings, but it was a futile resistance.

Holding the magic beast with one hand, Guillermo repeatedly struck down with his axe. The magic beast convulsed and breathed its last.

“That’s more like it.”

Guillermo spat and returned to the fight. With Se-min joining, the tide of battle turned.

Having descended to the ground, Se-min realized there was another enemy.

There was something underground.

During the battle, the ground cracked and tentacles rose to attack the Raiders. Though their numbers were not large, the stalks were hard and strong. They bounced off ordinary aura, causing the attackers to suffer damage instead.

Left alone, the damage would grow.

Se-min took a large step. Sensing the vibration, a tentacle snatched Se-min’s ankle. Se-min also grabbed the tentacle and began pulling it up.

The flying ones attacked Se-min, but Guillermo took care of them instead. When their eyes met, Se-min grinned. Guillermo twitched his lips and turned his head.

Se-min pulled the magic beast hidden underground. The Tai Chi Wisdom supported his body. The tentacle resisted, but under the pressure of the Tai Chi Wisdom, it gradually began to be pulled up.

In the end, the creature revealed itself.

It was a snake with multiple tails. They were tails, not tentacles. Perhaps for digging the ground, several horn-like things were attached to its head.

The creature swung its tail toward Se-min.

It elongated.

Se-min cut at the tail, but the scales were too hard to slash through. The creature wrapped its tail around Se-min. With his limbs bound, it was hard to exert power. The more he struggled, the more it tightened.

It was hard to breathe.

At that moment, rather than his own situation, the sight of a Platinum Mark Raider in danger caught Se-min’s eyes.

In a life-or-death struggle, life and death reverse at every moment.

A single life could be decided by his choice.

All possibilities flow anywhere across causality.

Se-min did not resist the magic beast’s tail. Instead, he projected force in the same direction. The moment the tail dug further into his body, the aura exploded inside. The tail was torn apart by the shockwave.

Though his insides shook from the impact, his meridians were protected by the Tai Chi Wisdom.

Se-min immediately rushed toward the other Raider.

Before the magic beast’s talons could pierce the Raider’s heart, Lupus intervened between them.

The Raider was flung back after colliding with the blade. Se-min used the impact to spin around and sliced the magic beast as he was.

The magic beast was cut in half.

Everything had happened in an instant.

Se-min raised his head. He saw another flock flying toward this place in the distant sky.

If even those joined, the casualties would increase further.

Se-min lowered his stance. Aura boiled up. The Tai Chi Wisdom formed an air current. Squeezing out all the remaining energy in his dantian, he finished preparing to release it into the air.

As they approached close range, Se-min immediately swung Lupus.

At that moment, the rune characters engraved on Lupus emitted a faint light.

The aura took form and attacked the swarm of magic beasts.

The leading magic beast lost its wings and fell. The impact caused a ripple. The magic beast behind it, and the one behind that, staggered in the air. Some fell, while others flapped their wings and gained altitude.

They circled the sky, then turned around and flew back in the direction they had come from.

“Sigh.”

Se-min sat down.

He had used too much power in a short time.

From beyond the ridge, he saw his team arriving.

Having seized the upper hand, Guillermo’s team also spurred their combat. Se-min’s team joined and finished off the magic beasts.

The battle ended.

Guillermo expressed his gratitude to Se-min.

“You’re welcome.”

Se-min waved his hand.

They retrieved the bodies of their dead colleagues.

Guillermo’s team consisted of ten members, and half of them had died. The corpses were in a gruesome state. None of them had died intact. They gathered the severed corpses and pieces. Guillermo cut open a magic beast’s belly and pulled out his colleague’s head.

The corpses were wrapped in vinyl.

The Raiders did not cry. Instead, they leaned on each other’s shoulders, comforting their grief. Guillermo also controlled his emotions. It was not too late to shed tears after returning to the base.

Once the situation calmed down, Se-min’s eyes caught the sight of this place once again.

Taking Kim Ah-reum along, Se-min went to Guillermo.

“What is this place? What are those objects?”

Kim Ah-reum conveyed Se-min’s questions to Guillermo.

He let out a sigh.

He had an expression of conflict over whether he was allowed to speak. Se-min stared at him intently. After contemplating for a while, he opened his mouth.

***

There was not much Guillermo knew.

He said that the reason the US was trying to construct a base in the other world was because of this ruin site.

Why such artificial buildings existed in the other world, and what was hidden here, was unknown even to Guillermo. The mission given to him was to secure this area and install equipment.

“He says after they installed the equipment, there was a reaction, and the magic beasts rushed in after that.”

The equipment was like a heart rate monitor. The lines displayed on the screen distorted periodically. What it meant was unknown.

“If there is a reaction, then what next?”

“They say it’s to secure this place until the follow-up team arrives. It was originally classified, but they are telling us because we saved them.”

“He barely told us anything anyway.”

So, it meant there was something here. And Guillermo did not know what it was either. Se-min looked around.

The buildings had cracks from being wrapped in plants, but the frames were intact.

“Shall we go in?”

“He says absolutely do not approach. The higher-ups warned them.”

Se-min chose a small building and walked over.

He kicked the part assumed to be the door. The door broke off, tearing the plants.

Se-min stepped inside.

There were a dining table and chairs. He also found what was assumed to be a fireplace, and a kitchen-like area. In the bedroom, a decaying bed was wrapped in vines.

It was indeed a house.

Se-min wiped the table. When he cleared away the plant stems with Lupus, he saw scratches on the table.

Looking closely, it was a drawing carved with a knife.

It was clumsy, seemingly a child’s work. A human holding a sword stood with a dog. Wouldn’t the kid who carved this have been scolded by his parents?

Se-min chuckled.

Memories of the other world passed by.

He had plunged into an unfamiliar land because of Noh Hak-jae. He had fought for survival every day. He had killed and eaten magic beasts. He had wandered through terrains he did not even know the names of. It was exactly the misery he had described to people.

And at the end of it.

He had met a denizen of the other world.

It was a brief encounter. With the help of the denizen of the other world, Se-min had been able to return to Earth. Just before crossing the gate, she had given Se-min a necklace.

Since they could not communicate, they had only used hand gestures and body language, but the moment he received this necklace, he could understand her words.

‘You cannot run away.’

She had said so.

Just as she said, Se-min could not run away from the magic beasts. The magic beasts targeted Earth. Even if he left the other world, he was destined to fight in the end.

Perhaps the inhabitants of this land had abandoned their hometown just to delay that end even a little.

How long ago had the inhabitants here left this place?

Se-min recalled his meeting with the director of the Raider Bureau.

He must have known about this place.

The existence of denizens of the other world was not known to the world. The other world was only described as a hell where magic beasts lurked. What were the Raider Bureau, the Raid Security Agency, and the World Headquarters of the Raid Union planning?

Se-min came out of the building.

Bang Yu-bi and the Raiders were waiting for him.

“Is there something inside?”

“It’s just a house. Go look.”

“I’m scared of getting cursed. A virus might have woken up.”

She blabbered nonsense as she slinked inside to take a look.

“Huh? This is a real house?”

“What?”

Soon realizing the possibility of denizens of the other world, they chattered noisily.

“You mean humans lived here?”

They began to open other buildings. It was the same for all of them. They were houses kept clean, aging while retaining their old appearance.

“Do otherworlders really exist? Have you seen one?”

Bang Yu-bi grabbed Se-min’s arm and shook it.

Se-min simply shrugged.

Guillermo was reporting the current situation to the camp. Se-min could not understand the words, but he could sense the serious tone. Guillermo continued the radio transmission while looking at Se-min. Soon, the transmission cut off.

Guillermo said something to Se-min.

Even he could understand the words “Return to base.”

***

The base was waiting for their return.

Guillermo and his team members laid down the bodies of the deceased.

Everyone expressed their condolences in their own way.

The bodies were handed over to the staff. They would hold funerals after returning to Earth. The American Raiders gathered and sang a song. A requiem mourning their colleagues echoed through the base for a while.

“Se-min.”

An American Raider called him.

It was Jonathan’s call.

Se-min headed to Jonathan’s barracks with Kim Ah-reum.

Jonathan was pacing in front of his desk.

“Hey, Jonathan.”

“Se-min. Sit here.”

He offered Se-min a seat. The two sat opposite each other. He wanted Kim Ah-reum to leave.

“He wants me to step out since it’s an important conversation. This person will interpret for you.”

“Oh, sorry for calling you for nothing.”

“No, it’s fine. Do your work.”

Beside Jonathan was an American interpreter. He was a Raid Security Agency employee of Korean descent. He conveyed Jonathan’s words as if having a conversation.

“Do you know about the denizens of the other world?”

Jonathan got straight to the point.

Se-min shrugged. It was a neutral gesture. Jonathan continued speaking.

“I heard you wandered the other world for three years. As you saw while rescuing Guillermo, we are looking for something in the ruins of the otherworlders.”

“What are you looking for?”

“We believe the denizens of the other world have the power to resist magic beasts.”

Se-min looked at the ceiling and thought for a moment.

Everyone was looking for a way to end this fight.

The Raider Bureau researched black aura, and the Murim Alliance tried to develop martial arts. The Raid Security Agency was rummaging through the ruins of the otherworlders.

“For people with such power, they all seem to have run away.”

“It might be migration rather than running away.”

“Or they all died.”

When Se-min replied cynically, Jonathan gave a bitter smile.

“Se-min. I will get to the main point. I know you well. Why don’t you naturalize to the US and lend us your strength?”

“Pardon?”

Until now, he had spoken as if having a direct conversation with Jonathan, but this time he looked at the interpreter.

The interpreter nodded.

“It is correct that Jonathan suggested naturalization.”

Although the pronunciation was slightly awkward, the expression was fluent. It was not a mistranslation. Se-min looked at Jonathan again.

“If there are results in this operation, we will expand the subjugation battles. We intend to save humanity with the technology of the otherworlders. You have experience in the other world. If you join us, I am sure success will be brought forward.”

“Why are you suddenly making such an offer?”

“It’s not sudden; we originally planned to make the offer after the subjugation battle ended. I and the US highly value you. We believe you will reach the Unique Mark soon.”

Se-min grew rapidly.

When he returned from the other world, he possessed strength of about the Platinum Mark, but as experience accumulated and he polished his martial arts, he reached the Black Mark. Not long ago, he had even beaten up Guillermo, who was of the same Black Mark.

He had certainly shown the potential to reach the Unique Mark.

The Unique Mark is a force comparable to nuclear weapons.

Everyone was watching him from places unseen.

Se-min asked again.

“What on earth is the technology of the otherworlders?”

“Since it is confidential, I cannot explain it until you agree to join us. I will tell you just one thing. We have encountered an otherworlder.”

Se-min fell into thought.

He had also met an otherworlder.

Thanks to her, Se-min had been able to return. Surely she possessed a mysterious power. But it did not seem like she could fight the magic beasts.

“If they have such technology, why did the otherworlders here abandon their city and leave?”

“We do not know either.”

“Mmh…”

Whether they really did not know or were hiding it was impossible to tell.

As Se-min rested his chin on his hand and contemplated, Jonathan looked into Se-min’s eyes and spoke.

“Se-min. Listen to me carefully.”

Jonathan’s pupils were dark.

Suddenly, the unicorn epaulet on his shoulder caught Se-min’s eye. Jonathan was one of the few strongest Raiders in the world, having his own unique emblem. He was in a position where he could enjoy whatever he wanted.

Yet, why did he always have a gloomy expression?

“Danger will strike soon.”

The hint about the upcoming crisis brought to mind the warning Seol Mu-jin had given.

‘The world will fall into chaos.’

Jonathan took Se-min’s hand.

“South Korea is in danger, and China is arrogant. I am confident that the US is taking the most correct path. Please help us save humanity.”

Perhaps not expecting an immediate answer, Jonathan stood up from his seat right after he finished speaking.

“Once the subjugation battle is over, our staff will visit you. Please make a decision by then. There is not much time.”

Se-min shook hands with Jonathan.

When he walked out of the barracks, the scenery of the base entered his view.

The base was gradually taking shape. Some barracks took the form of buildings using modules. The follow-up team would bring more supplies to completely fortify this place.

The Raiders were sitting in comfortable spots, opening their combat rations.

“Brother, come and eat.”

Bang Yu-bi waved her hand. The team members were gathered and pouring water. Se-min approached them. His portion was prepared too.

Steam began to rise from the heating pack.

“I want to go back quickly and eat something delicious.”

Namgung Gae picked up on Bang Yu-bi’s words.

“We should have a company dinner when we go back. Have a drink too. Isn’t that right, Team Leader?”

All the team members stared at Se-min.

They had expectant looks in their eyes.

“Of course the Team Leader is buying, right?”

“He’s a Black Mark, so he must make good money.”

“Let’s agree that Se-min is buying.”

“I’ll enjoy the meal.”

They were already reaching a conclusion among themselves. Se-min chuckled.

“I will invite you to the Dragon BBQ restaurant.”

Everyone’s complexion turned sour.

Rumors about Dragon BBQ were already rampant. However, the Raiders avoided it. It was because they knew the hideous appearance of magic beasts.

“Can’t we eat something normal…?”

“I have a weak stomach…”

Se-min laughed.

Being like this, the grand talk he had just shared with Jonathan felt distant. Although magic beasts appeared, the world would somehow keep turning, and as always, the apocalyptic theories might be absorbed by time and disappear.

‘Tai Chi is Yin and Yang, Heaven, Earth, and Man, and furthermore, it points to Origin, Prosperity, Utility, and Preservation.’

In an instant, those words flashed through his mind.

Se-min was startled.

“What’s wrong?”

When he suddenly flinched, people stared at him.

Se-min made an excuse.

“My pager went off.”

He was not of the pager generation either. It was a joke he had heard somewhere.

Everyone except Bang Yu-bi chuckled.

She did not understand the humor of the past generation. Bang Yu-bi demanded an explanation, but everyone wore strange smiles and did not answer.

“What is that?”

“Kids don’t need to know.”

“What is it? Is it a dirty joke or something?”

“It’s not that.”

***

Se-min rose from his seat.

In the silence, only the breathing sounds of sleeping people were heard.

Something was calling him.

[— — —.]

Carrying Lupus on his shoulder, Se-min stepped out of the barracks. Sentries were guarding the outside. After concealing his presence with the Shadow-Dwelling Walk, Se-min left the barracks area.

Two moons hung in the purple sky.

Thanks to the moonlight, it was not completely dark.

Se-min suddenly discovered a magic beast.

It was curled up and sleeping between rocks. It was probably an individual they had failed to wipe out and missed.

Se-min cut its neck with Lupus. The magic beast drew its last breath just as it slept.

[— — —.]

Leaving the magic beast’s corpse behind, Se-min advanced again.

Although it was not the area he was in charge of, the direction the sound came from was a place he had already experienced. His figure quickened. Unfamiliar terrains swept past.

He crossed the hills and reached the basin.

Faint moonlight fell upon the ruins. The abandoned city rose white in the darkness. The houses surrounding the temple in concentric circles crouched low, as if offering worship.

[— — —.]

Se-min walked forward.

He had not come to the wrong place.

An hallucination floated before his eyes.

It was the appearance of his biological mother whom he had seen a few days ago. Se-min examined her in detail.

She was unfamiliar. It was impossible to know whether an unidentified entity had pulled up the face of his biological mother from his subconscious, or if it had simply associated a random face with the memory of his biological mother.

Either way, he did not like it.

Then, the illusion flickered and transformed into another form.

It was Bang Yu-bi. She smiled brightly and gestured to Se-min. Se-min knit his brows and shook his head again.

This time, it became Lee Yu-jin.

It became clear that it was reading his memories.

Se-min raised Lupus.

Threatened by him, the illusion ultimately changed form once more. This time, it was his own appearance.

The mermaid he had seen in the pond back then stood there.

However, now it was human legs instead of a fish’s lower body.

Se-min cleared his throat.

The woman tilted her head, and when Se-min kept avoiding her gaze, she finally materialized clothes.

She gestured to Se-min.

He followed the woman into the ruins.

Although they were walking together, only his footsteps were heard.

Walking through the ruins with an unidentified entity under the purple sky of the other world was a strange feeling.

“Why did you call me?”

Se-min asked.

The woman’s illusion spun around, looked at Se-min, and said something.

[— — —.]

It was still a faint resonance.

Human auditory organs probably could not hear it properly.

As they kept walking, the corpses of the magic beasts killed during the day appeared. Se-min bypassed them.

They soon reached the giant building in the center.

Se-min thought of it as a temple, but its exact purpose was unknown.

The illusion disappeared.

And then, the real mermaid appeared.

She stood at the top of the stairs leading up to the temple. She actually possessed human legs. She gestured to him. Se-min climbed the stairs.

The two sat side by side on the stairs, looking at the scenery of the ruins.

The buildings surrounded them in a circle.

Se-min asked.

“Why did you call me?”

A smell of the sea drifted from the mermaid.

[— — —.]

“Cut that out and make it understandable…”

It was the moment Se-min spoke.

Her appearance began to change.

No, the entire world changed. The purple night sky became a midday sky, and life returned to the ruins. Countless people were passing around Se-min. Unknown languages echoed noisily.

Se-min stood up.

The prosperous old days, where people moved around vibrantly, unfolded before his eyes.

Se-min reached out his hand.

His body passed through the people.

His feet were also fixed to the spot. All he could do was watch the city flow by from where he stood.

The temple where he had been standing originally did not exist.

In the center of the city stood a plaza and a market.

Although science was not developed, the otherworlders used a strange magic way to build their civilization. Flames burst from hands, and when someone breathed on cold beer, thin ice floated up.

It was a vibrant city that did not grow boring even after watching for a long time.

At some point, the scene switched.

Magic beasts invaded the city.

Warriors formed ranks and swung their swords.

They handled aura skillfully. While the warriors cut down the magic beasts with sword qi, the mages stationed behind raised flames and lightning to strike down the magic beasts.

The combat power of the otherworlders surpassed that of modern Raiders.

There were also several warriors who displayed terrifying martial prowess. It was a combat power that could be evaluated as Black Mark Raiders or higher. Every time they swung their swords, magic beasts were slaughtered.

But there were too many enemies.

Magic beasts invaded endlessly.

Battles occurred almost every day. The magic beasts persistently invaded the city.

Clearing out what was in the center of the city, the otherworlders began to construct something. It was a giant temple erected from underground after digging deep into the soil. They did not stop working even while continuing desperate battles with the magic beasts.

Finally, the temple was completed.

Everyone bowed toward the temple in front of their houses.

A robed figure conducted a ritual in the center of the temple. In his hand was an unidentified silvery lump, from which a massive amount of magic power gushed out.

He drew a magic circle and chanted a spell. Magic power gushed out from the lump and connected to the temple. The entire temple wavered.

Soon, light soared from the temple.

The light split in the sky, rushed toward the boundary of the city, and turned into a giant hemisphere enclosing the area.

The otherworlders bowed deeply.

The one who achieved all these miracles went inside the temple holding the silvery lump. The otherworlders bowed until he returned. He reappeared empty-handed.

The ritual ended.

After the barrier was created, the magic beasts did not invade the city. The creatures did not dare violate the barrier and just hovered around.

As more time passed, the city became a land forgotten by the magic beasts. The residents only went outside the barrier secretly when necessary; otherwise, they stayed in the city to avoid the magic beasts.

The otherworlders’ time stopped back then. They eked out their existence in their small haven.

But nothing lasted forever.

The barrier was weakening.

They gathered in the temple to hold a meeting, and eventually, the entire city prepared for migration. They left the city, packing only the things they needed.

Not long after they left, the barrier stopped. So much time passed. Now, the city became a ruin where magic beasts hovered and otherworld plants encroached.

Then one day, a group of Raiders came here.

It was Guillermo and the US Raiders.

What happened next was the same as what Se-min knew.

[— — —.]

The world darkened again.

Se-min was sitting beside the mermaid in the darkness of the ruins.

For a while, he chewed over the illusions he had seen.

The otherworlders had been strong, but they were insufficient to completely block the magic beasts. So they had built the temple and protected the city using the unidentified lump.

What could it have been?

Although it had a silver color, the lump looked like a large creature’s organ in his eyes.

Yes, it was a heart.

A giant silver heart.

Perhaps the US had come here in search of that.

Se-min looked at the mermaid. At the same time he looked at her, the mermaid also looked at Se-min.

“Why did you show me this?”

She answered, but Se-min still could not understand the resonance.

Wondering if the necklace he received from the otherworlder would help, he took it out and showed it, but the mermaid shook her head.

Instead, she began to draw something on the ground.

“This is?”

There was a human holding a sword and a dog.

It was a drawing he had seen somewhere.

“You are…”

She smiled at Se-min. And she leaned toward him. Se-min flinched, but since there seemed to be no intention to harm, he remained still. Her face drew close.

Soon, the mermaid’s breath brushed against his ear.

It was a cool breeze.

[— — —.]

Se-min, for an instant, felt like he understood those words.

He opened his eyes with a start.

In the darkness, the breathing sounds of his fellow Raiders were heard.

“…”

He was lying down.

It was inside the barracks.

Se-min sat up. Just now, he had definitely been at the ruins. The mermaid had summoned him and shown him the old memories of the ruins.

Was it a dream?

Se-min suddenly discovered Lupus leaning against his cot.

He pulled it out.

His eyes, adjusted to the darkness, could see the magic beast’s blood dried along the blade.

It was not a dream. While running at the call of the mermaid, he had cut down and killed a magic beast that was sleeping curled up. The trace remained.

He had definitely been at the ruins.

In order not to forget what he had seen, he ruminated on the detailed memories. The otherworlders had constructed the temple to resist the magic beasts, and sealed the unidentified lump there. It looked like a heart.

‘— — —.’

Se-min raised his head.

He wanted to trace that sound again, but uncontrollable sleepiness washed over him.

Se-min fell asleep with the image of the silver heart that the priest had raised as the last thing on his mind.

***

The subjugation reached its final stage. In just two days, they would return. They cleaned up the magic beasts near the base, turning the area into human territory.

And Se-min was possessed by a certain thought.

“What are you thinking about so much?”

“A cell phone…”

“Pardon?”

“Is there none…?”

“Of course there isn’t.”

Bang Yu-bi was startled.

Why was a person who didn’t even have many friends looking for a cell phone? Was it because of that he had been distracted and lacking motivation lately?

Could it be that he was slumping like that because he missed his high school classmate who was said to be a celebrity?

“Hmm…”

Bang Yu-bi fell into worry.

On the other hand, Se-min was thinking about something else.

The Transcendent Network.

He wanted to access it.

He had something to ask Dragon Lord Imuncazer, who went around meddling in everything like a neighborhood unemployed middle-aged man.

Through the mermaid, Se-min had witnessed the past of the ruined city. The otherworlders drew power from an unknown silvery lump to protect the city. In Se-min’s eyes, that lump looked like a giant heart.

Speaking of a heart, what came to mind?

The peak of fantasy clichés.

Dragon Heart.

There was only that.

Se-min wanted to ask Imuncazer if, by any chance, his elder brother’s heart was silver.

He wanted to press him on whether swallowing his elder brother’s heart would grant formidable power.

“Whew… I should contact him when I go back.”

When Se-min muttered so, he felt Bang Yu-bi flinch and look at him.

“You’re going to drill a hole in my face.” Se-min blocked her gaze with his palm.

“Don’t look.”

“Che.”

Se-min slumped his shoulders again.

Was there really no way to connect? He should have learned the secret method of saying “Mirror, mirror” like the other elder brothers to connect to the network. Or at least the method of lighting incense on a crystal ball and chanting a spell.

At that moment, a flashing thought crossed Se-min’s head.

“No way…”

The Transcendent Network was accessible through internet connection tools like computers and cell phones. For transcendents of other dimensions, they used things like magic crystal balls. There was one commonality in their connection methods.

Communication tools.

In the case of crystal balls, they were communication tools of the mage elder brothers, and in the case of Dokgo Cheonma, she used something called a thousand-mile mirror to see distant scenery. She said she contacted her subordinates in distant places through it.

If so, wouldn’t any medium that can connect with another person be linked to the Transcendent Network?

The Transcendent Network was a mysterious power whose true nature even transcendents did not know.

There was a sufficient possibility.

Se-min fiddled with the radio connected to his ear.

What if it was this?

Se-min sprang up.

“Let’s finish work quickly and return.”

The resting team members stared at him.

Bang Yu-bi and Namgung Gae whined.

“Why? Let’s rest a bit more before working.”

“Team Leader, let’s rest just a bit more.”

The corpses of magic beasts were scattered around them.

They had not just fought a battle. These corpses had been dead for several days. After clearing the area, the subjugation force was carrying out burial work to bury the corpses so as not to attract more magic beasts.

Se-min knit his brows at them.

“The Team Leader is very disappointed in you.”

He yelled.

“If you finish early, you can return early. Do you want to rest in this dust pit, or finish work quickly, return to the barracks, and comfortably perform personal maintenance? The choice is yours. Now, everyone, up!”

Although he called it a choice, the conclusion was a command.

The team members got up sluggishly. They had expressions that showed they didn’t think Se-min was wrong, but felt reluctant to follow like this.

Se-min picked up a shovel and dug the ground.

“The Team Leader values leading by example.”

Digging the ground with aura, he was like an excavator. Se-min dug a pit and pushed in the corpses of the magic beasts. However, a magic beast caught under his foot let out a faint cry.

Bang Yu-bi, who was beside him, was startled.

“What, was it alive?”

Se-min smacked the magic beast’s head with the shovel. The magic beast lost consciousness. Whether it was dead or fainted was unknown, but it did not matter. It was the same once buried in the ground anyway. Se-min kicked in the magic beast’s body.

“Cruel…”

Soil piled over the magic beast’s corpse.

Next year, trees that sucked the nutrients from the corpses would sprout lush leaves here.

“Hurry, hurry! The Team Leader is watching!”

They buried the magic beasts and finished the leveling work. Because there were not a few corpses, everyone was covered in sweat. Se-min clapped his hands.

“Thank you for following the Team Leader well. Now, return!”

Finishing their daily routine, they began to return to the base.

On the way back, Se-min changed the radio channel and muttered softly.

“Transcendent Network…”

There was no response.

“Connecting… Network… Transcendent Network… I am Raider Lee Se-min… No password, Level 2 member… Initiate Transcendent Network connection…!”

Because Se-min was muttering something in an barely audible voice at the front, the team members were anxious, wondering if he had lost his mind.

And Se-min.

He heard that voice.

[Qualification requirements have been verified.]

“…!”

[Welcome, Raider Lee Se-min.]

[Transcendent Network.]

[A community connecting transcendents of each dimension.]

[Switching to voice interface mode according to the user’s connection environment.]

It was a gender-neutral voice.

[Please state your command as follows. If you wish to access the general board, say ‘General Board Access’. If you wish to access the tips board, say ‘Tips Board Access’. If you wish to check member information…]

Yes, there was no way it didn’t exist.

Among the transcendents who occasionally appeared, there was one named Blind Swordsman Go Ryu-hyang. If he was a real blind swordsman, how could he have accessed the Transcendent Network?

Se-min began to run.

“Double-time to the base! Left foot! Left foot! Left foot!”

The team members protested, but he ignored them.

***

[A comment has been posted. Author: Dragon Lord Imuncazer. Content: Yo, comma, younger brother, comma comma comma, by any chance, comma comma comma, are you, comma comma comma, coveting, comma comma comma comma, my heart right now, comma comma comma tilde tilde question mark question mark.]

Because of Imuncazer’s unique way of speaking, listening to it was tiring.

For others, the Transcendent Network even performed the emotions suited to their lines, making it feel like talking to a real person.

However, because Imuncazer overused commas, it kept breaking up.

Se-min organized the conversation with him on a sheet of paper.

It was as follows.

Raider Lee Se-min: No, of course not! How could I… haha. I just saw a large silver heart somewhere… and I’m just asking… haha

Dragon Lord Imuncazer: By any chance,,, did you kill,,, our kin,,,? The grudge of the clan,,, I,,, Elder Dragon,,, Dragon Lord,,, Demon Dragon of Extinguishing Hellfire,,, Kingslayer,, Imuncazer,,, will avenge it,,,~~~!!!

Raider Lee Se-min: I didn’t kill it;;;; And you’ve killed a lot of humans too, Brother;;; You just said you killed an emperor…;;;;

Dragon Lord Imuncazer: Ahem,,, hum,,, I made a slip of the tongue,,, in my youth,,, there was a time when I wandered too,,,, anyway,,,

Dragon Lord Imuncazer: If it’s silver,,, it’s a Silver Dragon,,, it seems you did find a Dragon Heart somewhere,,,,

Raider Lee Se-min: If I swallow that… will I gain tons of power..? haha

Dragon Lord Imuncazer: Our heart,,,, if, by any chance,,, you eat it, Brother,,,,

Dragon Lord Imuncazer: You’ll drop dead instantly,,,~~!!

Raider Lee Se-min: Gasp

Dragon Lord Imuncazer: Because to humans,,, a Dragon Heart is poison,,, even if you eat it, your body will explode,,, so throw away your greed,,~!

Se-min became sulky.

Moreover, according to Imuncazer’s explanation, the heart in the temple seemed to have already exhausted its usefulness and lost its magic power.

Unless there was some special treatment, reviving it was a distant prospect.

Whether the US possessed such technology was unknown, but to Se-min, it was a useless item.

Dragon Lord Imuncazer: A Dragon Heart is,,,, a gift,,, and also a curse,,, so, Brother,,, learn well from that Dokgo fellow,,, and go your own path,,,,~~!!

Imuncazer said such words.

Somehow, he felt like he could understand.

The Transcendent Network was a place where transcendents of each dimension gathered. As far as Se-min knew, Imuncazer was the only dragon.

To a dragon naturally born with powerful magic power, training might be a futile action.

However, to become a transcendent, bone-shattering training and self-cultivation were indispensable.

Because they were too strong, the dragons might have actually drifted further away from the realm of transcendence.

Se-min expressed his gratitude to Imuncazer and closed the connection to the Transcendent Network.

“Are we returning the day after tomorrow…?”

Although not much time had passed, he had already become accustomed to life here.

Subjugating magic beasts, being mobilized for carcass burials or fortification work, and once the daily routine ended, returning to the base to eat dinner and spend time playing soccer or chatting.

Although casualties had occurred in the battle at the ruins, other than that, they were days without any particular incidents.

Se-min gripped Lupus.

There were so many things he could do with this sword.

Yet, he could not do what he really wanted to do.

He concealed his presence with the Shadow-Dwelling Walk, he went out to an empty lot outside the base.

Raising Lupus, he aimed at the empty air.

While facing the Black Castle, he had broken down one wall.

Yet something was lacking. He still could not guess what the realm of transcendence was like. The stronger he became, the more anxious his heart grew.

He raised aura minutely.

If one was walking the correct path, even a handful of aura could perform a miracle.

Needing a large amount of aura meant that the method was wrong.

Se-min infused the things he knew into the tip of the blade.

Form and intention connected as one.

Thinking, the rising of aura, and the swinging of the sword occurred simultaneously.

He unleashed the Three Talents Swordplay.

Heaven, Earth, and Man were contained in his sword.

It connected to the Grand Purity Sword Method again.

He attempted to realize the Way of Tai Chi with the sword.

But failing to achieve his intention, the aura scattered. Watching the power condensed on the blade fade away, Se-min withdrew his aura.

The path to achieving the Tai Chi Wisdom was far away. Se-min wondered whether he could really reach that realm.

Se-min thought again.

Everything in the world was connected.

If so, why was the Transcendent Network given to him?

What did it originate from?

“Stop peeping and come out.”

Se-min said.

Then, Bang Yu-bi slinked out from the bushes.

She stuck out her tongue and laughed.

“I didn’t watch on purpose.”

“How did you know I was here and come out?”

“I have a hidden move too.”

Bang Yu-bi looked around. It was clean without a single thing broken. It was different from other Raiders who wrecked the surroundings under the pretext of training.

“You’re always working hard, Brother.”

Bang Yu-bi said.

“You were weaker than me when we took the exam in the past.”

“What are you talking about?”

“If there had been no time limit back then, you would have been beaten by me.”

“You’re the one who would have been thrashed by me, you know?”

She looked at Se-min’s face. He was looking down at her with cocky eyes as always. That was the one thing that hadn’t changed from the past.

Bang Yu-bi chuckled.

“Why are you laughing?”

When she first saw him, he was just an insignificant Raider aspirant.

He had a bad relationship with Kim Seon-ha, whom she liked, and she had also seen him frozen in fear in front of a magic beast. So she thought he would just be a passing acquaintance.

She was a highly talented prodigy, and Se-min was just one of countless aura-compatibles.

She had thought they were on different levels.

Yet every time they met again, he had changed.

He showed skills beyond expectations at the Raider qualification exam, and when they met as Raiders a few years later, he had become a Platinum Mark like her. And after a little while, he transformed into a Black Mark Raider whose skill far surpassed hers.

How could that be?

She realized the reason while participating in the subjugation battle together.

Se-min was desperate.

Even when the subjugation ended and everyone was resting and relaxing, he went out alone and swung his sword.

He seemed to always be calculating a way to become stronger in a corner of his mind.

If so, why was he doing that?

A man named Lee Se-min did not indulge in luxury like ordinary Raiders, nor did he enjoy fame, nor did he chase women.

Though he seemed to enjoy fame a little bit, in any case, there was something different about him compared to others.

“Why do you try so hard to become stronger, Brother?”

At her question, Se-min tilted his head.

“Why…”

Somehow, it was not easy to say.

There were various answers, but when he thought deeply, none of them seemed to be the real answer. He could say dozens of things if he just wanted to respond, but if he was asked again if that was his true heart, he would somehow hesitate.

Rational reasons and emotional responses were entangled, leaving even Se-min confused about what lay inside.

So Se-min spoke briefly.

“Just because.”

As Se-min grinned, Bang Yu-bi also ended up laughing.

He raised Lupus again.

Bang Yu-bi’s question created a ripple in him.

Until now, he had resolved to himself that it was because he wanted to become a transcendent, or because he wanted to eliminate the magic beasts. But if asked if that was really all, it was hard to nod.

“I don’t know either.”

Saying so, Se-min slashed at the empty air.

His sword connected to the next movement, and then the next, without a single trace of hesitation.

It was a sword path so clean that beauty was felt.

Bang Yu-bi admired it.

“That’s good.”

Se-min chuckled.

“Right?”

And he continued the sword movements.

The subtle principles of Form-Intention Fist were alive in his sword, and through them, he realized the profound meaning of the Three Talents Swordplay. Then the sword cruised along the Way of Tai Chi on its own. It was harmonious, and because there was no resistance, not a single thing went awry.

But that was as far as it went.

The realm of becoming Tai Chi itself was within reach but eluded him.

Se-min swung Lupus chasing Tai Chi for a while, then soon gave up and lowered the tip of the sword.

“I don’t know about this either.”

Se-min looked at Bang Yu-bi.

She had a dazed expression.

“What was that just now?”

She was indeed a talented girl. An ordinary Raider would have treated it as just clean swordsmanship, but Bang Yu-bi seemed to have caught a glimpse of the true value of the Tai Chi Wisdom.

“Teach me too.”

“If it could be done by teaching, would I be like this?”

“That’s true. Ah, how does it become like that?”

“It’s effort, effort. If you engage with passion, there’s nothing you can’t do. Got it?”

“Old man! Want to duel?”

She swung her sword. Se-min blocked it. The weapons of the two collided.

Although Bang Yu-bi tried desperately to find an opening and squeeze in, Se-min’s Lupus was always ahead of her.

The duel continued for a long time. Bang Yu-bi attacked, and Se-min responded. Yet, she could not even touch Se-min’s clothes.

“Ugh.”

She was about to step forward but flinched upon seeing Se-min’s sword already aimed at her brow.

She backed away and then rushed in quickly.

This time, Se-min was behind her.

When had the gap widened like this?

Bang Yu-bi ultimately declared surrender.

“I lost, I lost. The Black Mark is amazing. A lowly Platinum didn’t know her place and rushed in…”

However, Se-min did not stop and continued to circle around her, brandishing his sword. When he picked a fight by aiming at her neck and then her brow, she glared at him with furious eyes.

“Stop it. I told you to stop.”

Se-min did not stop playing.

When he tapped the crown of Bang Yu-bi’s head with the flat of his blade, she threw a body slam at him.

“Take this!”

Se-min was flustered by the sudden physical clash and fell.

He ended up pinned by Bang Yu-bi, having lost his sword.

Bang Yu-bi’s flowing hair touched his cheek.

She looked down at Se-min with the sky at her back.

Her skin was fair.

Her eyes were clear.

Her lips were a vivid pink.

Quietly staring at that face, Se-min muttered before he knew it.

“…Surrender.”

***

The subjugation operation ended successfully.

The South Korean Raiders, including Se-min, returned to Earth through the gate.

Some of the US personnel also went back, but Jonathan remained at the base to continue his mission.

He sat in his barracks, lost in thought.

The barracks opened, and a Raid Security Agency employee entered.

“We have secured the item.”

“Its state?”

“No aura is detected.”

“I expected that.”

He checked the photo sent from the site.

A giant silver heart was placed on an altar made of stone. Around it, unidentified magic circles and characters drew concentric circles.

“It’s fine. The Doctor will be able to revive it.”

“And…”

“And?”

“The members said they saw an unidentified woman.”

“An otherworlder?”

“I don’t know. They said she vanished like a mirage, but everyone testified to the same thing. They said there was a smell of the sea.”

“A smell of the sea.”

Jonathan smiled.

“It seems a sea nymph guarding the altar had visited.”

He moved the computer mouse installed in the barracks.

The monitor, which had been in sleep mode, displayed the standby screen. When Jonathan typed in the password, the things he had been viewing reappeared.

“Is Sophia conducting the next operation?”

“Yes. They say she has already started.”

“I see.”

A panoramic view of the ruins was displayed on his monitor.

It was not the place explored by this subjugation force.

As he clicked the mouse, the photo shrank and was arranged in a grid format. Dozens of abandoned cities appeared.

Jonathan enlarged the photos of the ruins and went through them one by one. Though they were all in different locations, a giant temple was built in the center of each, without exception.

Cities abandoned and left behind by the otherworlders were countless like this.

Where did they go?

His eyes sank darkly.

The employee spoke abruptly.

“I don’t know if letting them in here was a good choice.”

‘Them’ referred to the subjugation force from South Korea.

Jonathan said.

“It was a good choice. It was better to observe him.”

“But because of that, South Korea must have noticed too. There surely was an agent.”

“They would have known eventually anyway, and even if they didn’t know, they would find out. Nothing will change now.”

Jonathan had noticed the South Korean Raider who went around recording various things about the base.

If her name was Kim Ah-reum, who was in charge of interpretation, she was probably an undercover agent affiliated with South Korea’s Raider Bureau.

“Still… the bastards from South Korea’s Bureau are troublesome.”

“It’s fine since we observed Lee Se-min.”

For this operation, which was originally scheduled to be carried out on their own, South Korea’s participation was accepted on the condition of including Lee Se-min.

“He is different.”

Jonathan was a Raider who had reached the Unique Mark. Therefore, he understood Raiders and aura deeper than anyone else in the world.

But he could not understand Lee Se-min.

From the moment he first saw him in a video, he realized he was special. His aura moved in a completely different way. Jonathan harbored a vague premonition that he might show a different path.

Perhaps it was his misconception.

A pitiful self-consolation wanting to believe that hope would be somewhere.

Jonathan turned off the monitor.

“There is no time. We must quickly set up the system and gather as much as possible.”

“Yes.”

“Has the UK finished preparations?”

“The core personnel will migrate soon.”

“The Queen?”

“They say she is staying.”

“Is that so…”

Jonathan gave a bitter smile.

“I hope she survives.”

“I agree.”

“Will humanity be able to overcome this trial?”

“Yes. As we always have.”

“May God watch over us.”

Jonathan drew the sign of the cross.

“Were you not an atheist?”

“I decided to believe.”

He stood up. It was a gloomy world where one could not hold out without leaning on something. He had constantly denied God, but now he could believe.

If the devil existed, how could there not be a God?

The day of apocalypse was approaching.