Chapter 89 – Placing the Accent (2)

Se-min decided to acknowledge Han Su-in.

Although he was a guy who threw away his past honor and sense of duty to become Badurbarok’s dog, his situational judgment was quick.

He immediately turned around and fled.

The pitch-black figure turned into a small dot and disappeared in an instant.

“He’s fast.”

It was a wise choice. Although he did not know what to call it, facing this giant ogre was a suicidal act. Even he would have run away.

So Se-min thought.

He thought it would end like that.

The ogre reached out his hand and pulled back. The movement was painfully slow.

However, the moment the hand was pulled back, Han Su-in, who was disappearing in the distance, was snatched back in an instant.

It was a scene as if a thread were attached to his body.

Han Su-in flailed, caught in the ogre’s grip. Soon, his figure blurred. It was an attempt to escape that spot and materialize again, just as he always did.

But it was useless. The ogre’s power completely crushed Han Su-in, rendering all his tricks futile.

[An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.]

Saying so, the ogre grabbed Han Su-in with both hands, ripped him apart vertically, and threw him into the air.

The black figure was torn in half, fluttering before falling to the ground.

It ended in an instant.

It was an overwhelming difference in power.

The ogre looked back at the remaining magic beasts. The magic beasts could not even make a breathing sound. The entire area fell into silence.

The ogre spoke again.

[What are you doing in the sacred land?]

The magic beasts retreated.

As the ogre took another step forward, the magic beasts turned around and retreated. It looked like a flock of sheep scattering.

Watching the sight, the ogre reached out his hand.

In front of the fleeing magic beasts, the earth rose like a tsunami. The swept-up magic beasts fell down. It was the same in any direction. The magic beasts could not find a way to escape and flustered.

The ogre swung his fist downward.

As if a beast closing its mouth, or a door fitting its frame, the towering earth fell directly onto the magic beasts.

There was no scene of gruesome slaughter. The magic beasts were buried as they were. The things that had killed and devoured life were returned to the bottom of the ecological chain.

Subsequently, the ogre spread his hand.

Then, the disturbed texture of the earth returned to evenness. The uneven ground flattened, neatened as if nothing had happened.

With the magic beasts gone, only Se-min, Gaigatus, and the Orc stood in their places.

The ogre’s eyes now turned toward the Orc.

The Orc just stood there, with his two axes hanging limp.

It was a posture as if he had given up on everything.

[How ugly.]

The ogre said.

[To think there is such an ugly power in the world.]

The ogre clenched and raised his fist. The Orc felt a sense of crisis and raised his two axes, but it was a futile action. The ogre struck the empty air, and the giant pressure struck the Orc as it was, bursting him.

The Orc dissipated into a black current.

Se-min watched that sight, lost in daze.

“Is that an ogre…”

He had thought he had become strong, but meeting such an out-of-standard existence made it a different story.

Se-min looked around.

Suddenly, Han Su-in’s corpse was nowhere to be seen.

“…”

The corpse of the guy who had been torn apart like a rag had disappeared.

Looking back, the Orc vanished into smoke upon death. The fact that his shape remained, even if torn in half, meant that he was not dead yet.

Se-min expanded his sensory perception to search for Han Su-in.

The guy was floating in the air.

“Han Su-in!”

Se-min kicked off the air and soared up. However, he had no intention of dealing with Se-min. After swinging his sword to disturb Se-min with an air current, he began to flee just like that.

The ogre, sensing the anomaly, turned his head toward Han Su-in.

If this continued, he would be caught like before.

However, Han Su-in did not stay still.

[Go!]

With the shout, the Gaigatuses moved. The Gaigatuses advanced toward the ogre.

Se-min’s expression froze. They were the ones who had burned the Grand Marino Sea of Trees. Even if he was an ogre, if he was surrounded by those and exposed directly to the explosion, it would be hard to guarantee the outcome.

At that moment, the ogre raised his hand.

The Gaigatuses floated into the air. Although they were as large as giants, in front of a larger giant, they were like toys.

The Gaigatuses clumped together into one mass. They flailed and struggled to escape the ogre’s power, but it was a meaningless resistance.

Han Su-in shouted.

[Damn it! Just explode!]

Then, the bodies of the Gaigatuses began to heat up.

It was the prelude to an explosion.

“Damn it!”

Se-min raised his aura. Now, the ogre was not the problem, but Se-min himself was the problem. Se-min ran toward Kubar while keeping a close eye on the state of the Gaigatuses.

He had to survive somehow.

There were not many choices.

Should he run away, or should he deploy a protective shield with all his power?

In that urgent moment, a miraculous thing occurred.

A pile of soil rose from the earth and began to wrap around the clump of Gaigatuses. The soil covered them, covered them, and covered them, becoming a giant ball.

The ogre’s power wrapped around the sphere and squeezed it. The size of the sphere shrank due to the pressure.

Soon, a thunderous sound rang out, and the sphere was dyed red.

The Gaigatuses had exploded inside.

The sphere confined the explosion within. Cracks appeared on the surface, and flames and lava leaked through the gaps, but that was all. The heat only warmed the area, and no one was hurt.

The sphere soon became a fireball emitting bright red heat from its cracks.

The ogre threw it toward Han Su-in.

Watching the sight blankly, Han Su-in twisted his body. The fireball brushed past Han Su-in and fell to the ground. The flames did not spread or anything.

[Damn it! Damn it!]

Han Su-in fled like crazy. His figure turned into a small dot and disappeared. The ogre did not bother to catch him.

[…]

Instead, the ogre walked in the direction where Se-min was. Se-min thought it was directed toward himself, but the ogre knelt on one knee at a spot and bowed his head.

There lay the half-torn corpse of Kububu.

“Kububu…”

Se-min murmured the young ogre’s name. Although the time they spent together was not very long, he felt complicated, perhaps because he had grown attached in the meantime.

[Is this child’s name Kububu?]

The ogre spoke. Se-min nodded. The ogre covered Kububu’s corpse with his large hand.

[Wake up, Kububu.]

From his palm, a green light began to flow out. Plants and vegetation grew rapidly between his thick fingers.

Se-min watched once again, lost in daze, the miracle created by the ogre.

As the ogre withdrew his hand, Kububu, whose severed body was joined back together, lay with his eyes closed.

“My goodness, did you bring him back to life?”

[Since he was not completely dead, I merely restored him. He will sleep for a while.]

“Thank goodness.”

Kubar, who had been collapsed, also got up, staggering.

The ogre extended his index finger toward Kubar. From there, a refreshing green energy flowed out and healed his wounds. Kubar bowed his head to express his gratitude.

The situation was concluded.

Se-min soared into the air to match eyes with the ogre. He saw two glowing pupils in the middle of the rock-like skin.

“I am the Emperor.”

[The Emperor of humans.]

“The guys you saw earlier are creatures made by Badurbarok. I am trying to kill that Badurbarok, will you help?”

The ogre was silent for a while.

His steady eyes gazed at Se-min. Se-min felt as if his entire body was being scanned.

[I smell a familiar scent.]

“What?”

[Long ago, there was a human who visited me.]

Se-min was certain that human referred to his grandmaster.

“What kind of human was he?”

[He was very strong.]

“More than you?”

[Yes.]

Se-min was surprised by that answer, yet not surprised, falling into a contradictory emotion.

Although the fact that he was stronger than this ogre was marvelous, if he was someone around the level of Dokgo Cheonma’s master, it was not very strange either.

“Where did he go?”

[He left for another dimension. He possessed strange abilities.]

“What kind of place is the dimension he left for?”

[From what he briefly mentioned.]

The ogre thought for a moment and said.

[He said it is a very beautiful dimension where humans are the only intelligent life.]

“Only humans?”

Se-min recalled something, but soon changed the subject.

“Perhaps that person was my master’s master. I inherited that person’s martial arts.”

[Is that so. No wonder I felt they were very alike.]

“Soon we will wage war with Badurbarok. Will you help?”

[War.]

The ogre fell into thought.

Se-min knew very well that he should not leave ogres to think. If left alone, they were beings who would do nothing but think forever.

“We are late on introductions. I am Lee Se-min. What is your name?”

[My name is Gru.]

“Gru.”

Se-min repeated his name. Somehow, he liked the name.

“Gru, fight with me. You saw it. If this continues, even the Starlight Mountains will not be safe.”

[…]

“When the war is over, they will try to eliminate the ogres too, using those monsters you saw earlier. They will try to remodel the ogres just like that Orc.”

Gru’s face changed slightly.

Se-min thought that was an angry expression. Driving the momentum, he continued to persuade.

“If you do not fight, you cannot live peacefully like now.”

Gru was deep in thought for a while.

Eventually, he opened his mouth.

[Understood.]

***

Se-min stayed in the Starlight Mountains for one more day. He talked with Gru and also conversed with other ogres.

“Did you eventually drag in even the ogres?”

Kaorak said, as if impressed.

“I do not know if it is good luck or something else, but good work.”

“It was luck.”

Se-min readily admitted.

“How could I have known that Kububu would be hurt and Gru would wake up there?”

“Luck is also a skill.”

Kaorak giggled.

“Did the other ogres agree without saying much?”

“Yeah.”

After Han Su-in fled, Gru eliminated the Gaigatuses one after another. Soon, the Gaigatuses left the Starlight Mountains on their own accord.

Once the Starlight Mountains became safe and an existence named Gru appeared, the ogres readily agreed to participate in the war.

[Let’s fight, then.]

[I think the Emperor is right.]

[If we eliminate the fellow named Badurbarok, we will be able to think comfortably again.]

[To think they attacked Kububu, they are bad guys.]

It was a calm attitude, as if saying they should sunbathe for the day.

Even the newly born Kububu showed the power to pulverize magic beasts. Se-min felt pleased just thinking about how powerful the ogres would be.

“Now, let’s return to Sargassonia.”

Se-min decided to return to Sargassonia. The troops were waiting for him, and there were also problems to resolve there.

Se-min asked Biryu.

“What about the goblins?”

“They have completely seized the Cloud Mountains, and are now training with the dragons. The Goblin Lord is waiting for Your Majesty’s command.”

“What about the Orcs?”

“They are subjugating the bases of the magic beasts. They are engaged in sporadic battles, and everyone is itching to wage war in earnest. The Warchief is waiting for Your Majesty’s command.”

“What about the trolls?”

“They have left Hesse Island. Because they are strange beings, we cannot know exactly what they are doing, but they say they can join at any time. The Sage is also waiting for Your Majesty’s command.”

Se-min nodded.

Biryu was now maintaining connection with Gru as well. He could call the ogres at any time just by speaking.

“Has Kila said anything?”

“Not yet, but she said there will be good news soon. There was progress after connecting the Troll Sage and Kila.”

“We will know by the time we arrive in Sargassonia.”

Many things had happened. And all of them were merely preparation for the fight ahead.

The truly hard and painful times had not even arrived yet.

“Let’s set out.”

Se-min walked out.

Shozen, Gullard, Biryu, Kubar, and Kaorak followed.

The war was just beginning now.

***

Se-min’s party was returning toward Sargassonia.

Quite some time had passed since they left that place.

During that time, they met the Blue Wolf Tribe, visited the underground goblins, and then experienced the Orcs, trolls, and ogres in turn.

It was all deeply meaningful to Se-min. While experiencing various races and their unique ways of thinking, the Cosmic Flow was also advancing to an even higher realm.

“Emperor, why do you look in the mirror every day?”

“Appearance management. Appearance is also competitive power, you know.”

“Giggle, if you were a goblin, your competitive power would have been at the bottom.”

“What do you think you would be like if you were a human? You bastard, do not look down on people by their faces!”

“Do not express inferior feelings, Emperor.”

“Where did you learn such a word?”

Se-min pushed Kaorak away and looked at the screen beyond the mirror again.

During the journey back to Sargassonia, Se-min focused on the Transcendent Network.

Although he purchased a few martial arts with the points he had gathered in the meantime, they were of no great help. Now, it was more effective for Se-min to master the Cosmic Flow further.

For the upcoming war as well, he had to become stronger than now.

He recalled the majesty the ogre had shown. And he imagined the power of his grandmaster, Cheonma, who was said to be even stronger than that. To strike Badurbarok, one had to be at least at that level.

“How about we rest before going?”

Gullard, who followed behind, spoke. Se-min shook his head. They had to arrive in Sargassonia quickly. Se-min speeded up further. Although grumbling sounds were heard from behind, he ignored them and flipped through the Transcendent Network screen.

He was watching the video of Ferzen he had seen before and the newly purchased video of Dam Woo-gwang.

Shadowless Killer Dam Woo-gwang’s video was very practical. Instead of delving into the principles and origins of the world like the Cosmic Flow, he used a martial art filled solely with intent to kill and violence to kill the enemy.

Although he was normally a gentle and broad-minded brother, he was no different from a demon when it came to martial arts.

The moniker ‘Demon’ seemed rather suitable for Dam Woo-gwang.

Se-min learned various martial principles contained within Dam Woo-gwang’s martial arts. While learning the Cosmic Flow, Se-min referred to Dam Woo-gwang’s martial arts to transform it into a killing method to kill the enemy.

Although he had not yet used it in actual combat, he thought he had achieved some results.

Biryu, who followed behind, said.

“If we keep going, there will be a city.”

“A city?”

“It is a place that became ruins during the old war. Surely no one lives there now. Would it not be better to spend a day there?”

“Then let’s do that.”

Se-min nodded.

Just as he said, as they continued to advance, the outline of a city began to be seen in the distance.

Se-min felt a sense of déjà vu. He remembered wandering through ruins that looked just like that when he joined the American subjugation force in the past.

“In the past, it was a fairly prosperous city.”

“Is that so?”

Se-min’s party advanced into the city.

Like the city Se-min had seen before, the city was intact, but there was nothing living. The minor magic beasts that occasionally caught their eyes were reduced to targets for Se-min’s party.

“Let’s go there.”

Se-min pointed to a large building located in the center of the city. It was something always present in the cities of otherworlders.

“Let’s do that.”

Se-min’s party passed through the now-ruined city and reached a giant temple located at the center of the concentric structure.

Opening the door and entering, dust was piled up.

There was nothing special. It seemed they had taken all their belongings when leaving the city. Se-min’s party roughly cleaned up the place and prepared a shelter to stay.

The sun was setting.

Se-min sat leaning in a corner and looked at the mirror again. Although it was a device no different from a computer or a tablet to him, it would not look that way to the other companions.

He tried to ignore the whispering.

“Is he out of his mind or something?”

“I am worried.”

“Why is His Majesty doing that…”

“Did he go crazy because of the pressure?”

Se-min threw a stone he grabbed at them and focused again.

He had come to understand Ferzen’s painfully slow strike to some extent. Now he was confident he could imitate something similar. However, Dam Woo-gwang’s killing method still felt awkward to implement directly.

Brother Dam Woo-gwang was from an assassin background. It was his mission to kill the enemy without a sound and slip away leisurely.

However, thanks to his innate talent, his achievement in martial arts exceeded the level of ordinary assassins, and later he was even called the divine punishment.

Since everyone died if he wished to kill them, it was ultimately no different from a death sent by god.

Of course, Dam Woo-gwang’s fierce efforts were within it. He focused all his strength on the act of killing the enemy, and made his will to kill into a sword to cut down the enemy.

Now, Dam Woo-gwang could cut down enemies with killing intent, and had reached the stage where his will materialized to slay enemies.

A killing intent that powerful. And hostility.

That was difficult. Although Se-min was confident he could willingly exude such intent to kill in a situation where he faced an enemy, it was difficult to reproduce such emotions when training alone like this.

Perhaps Dam Woo-gwang was able to reach this stage because he was always an assassin dispatched to kill enemies.

Se-min tried to practice as close to actual combat as possible through image training.

Shozen, who watched that sight, said.

“Seeing the aura flickering, it seems he is training in his own way.”

“I do not want to go near him.”

Due to imitating Dam Woo-gwang, Se-min’s aura was filled with intent to kill. It was a sharp energy that felt as if it would cut just by going near.

Stimulated by this, Shozen and Gullard also stood up and began to cross swords with each other. Watching them, Kubar also punched the empty air alone, refining his routines.

Kaorak just lay down.

“Biryu, are you not hungry?”

“I am fine.”

“I am hungry… but it is bothersome to go catch magic beasts… if I just lie down and fall asleep, I will forget the hunger. Ah, I will just sleep.”

Kaorak closed his eyes and tried to sleep, but when Gullard tumbled and struck his body, he had to wake up. He grumbled and moved to a further spot.

Soon the night deepened.

Shozen, Gullard, and Kubar also stopped training now and lay down or sat in their places to take a rest.

In the silence inside the building, they fell fast asleep one by one. Only Se-min was awake in the darkness, gazing at the small hand mirror.

Although it would not be visible to others, the Transcendent Network supported a night-vision mode in its own way for Se-min. To him, the mirror looked glowing like a tablet screen.

Se-min tapped the hand mirror.

Emperor Lee Se-min: Brother Dam Woo-gwang! I want to cut everything down like you, but it is hard to imitate. TT I am just admiring while watching your video today as well TT You are amazing.

Shadowless Killer Dam Woo-gwang: My path is different from yours, little brother, so do not worry too much. Did you not learn Dokgo Cheonma’s martial arts? It is said that all paths return to the source, so we just need to meet at the end of the path; there is no need to go back and find a new path.

Emperor Lee Se-min: Thank you for the good words, brother! My eyes are opened wide today as well. Loyalty, loyalty!

Se-min admired while looking at Dam Woo-gwang’s comment. As expected of masters, mystery and wisdom linger in every single word.

Se-min tried to apply Dam Woo-gwang’s killing method to improve his actual combat skills even a little. However, that was merely a temporary measure for the fight before his eyes. It was natural that it did not work well.

What he had to do was not to squeeze himself to obtain killing intent, but to find a proper balance between the pure power of the Cosmic Flow and Dam Woo-gwang’s practical killing method.

However, it could not be helped that his heart leaned. Although the Cosmic Flow, the Transcendent Network, and becoming a transcendent were important, winning the war and killing Badurbarok came first now.

Se-min watched Dam Woo-gwang’s video once more.

Every time the gentle-looking middle-aged man in black martial robes swung his limbs, red sword energy like blood tore apart the surroundings. Just watching it sent shivers down his spine, and even his own realm seemed to improve.

Se-min thought that when this war was over, he would also visit Brother Dam Woo-gwang and offer him a drink.

But would that day ever come?

It was an unknown thing.

“The goal is to kill him. Let’s not think about what comes after.”

Writer: Emperor Lee Se-min

Title: On the Eve of the Final War…

Se-min suddenly began to write a post due to the rising sentiment.

However, the sentences did not easily connect. It should not lean too much on emotion, nor should it be too dry.

Se-min wanted to properly leave behind what kind of human he was, as well as his mindset and aspiration in entering this war. However, it did not work well.

While thinking to himself about why he was putting so much effort into writing today, Se-min ended up laughing.

Perhaps it was because he might not be able to write again, so he wanted to be remembered through a cool writing.

Se-min flipped the hand mirror.

He was not a soldier writing a will, so he decided not to do useless things. If one leaves such a writing, one will surely look back and feel embarrassed in the future.

Se-min looked around. The faint magic light raised by Biryu was dimly illuminating the surroundings. He saw the faces of the sleeping party.

“I should sleep too.”

Tomorrow, the grueling march would begin again.

Se-min closed his eyes and laid his body down.

Just as his consciousness was about to fall beneath a drowsy dream state.

[…]

At the sound of someone calling, Se-min opened his eyes with a start.

Nothing could be seen. Biryu’s magic light was off. Se-min felt the wall. The cold chill of the stone seeped into his skin.

He grasped Lupus in his hand and expanded his sensory perception. Although his eyes could not see, his aura was groping in all directions. Information more important than sight was inputted to him.

[…]

This sound came from a distant place.

Standing up, Se-min turned toward the direction of the sound. It was inside the building. Taking a step forward, Se-min thought this sound was somehow familiar.

He had heard it somewhere before, but he could not remember well.

Tracing back his memory to find the source of the déjà vu, Se-min advanced into the deep parts of the building. It was a place he did not bother to enter during the day.

There was a giant door. Se-min pushed the weight of the door using his aura.

Beyond the door, a pitch-black darkness stretched out.

Se-min’s aura crawled through the doorway and thoroughly scanned the interior. Nothing special was caught by his sensory perception. Only a wide empty space was spread out.

Then, suddenly, he found a misaligned interlocking part.

There was a hidden door.

Se-min stepped inside. It smelled of dust.

Se-min walked toward the hidden door that his aura was holding onto and placed his fingertips on it. A cool sensation was felt.

Sweeping along it, there was a minutely raised part. Since it was a very fine gap, it was a low groove that ordinary people could not even notice.

Se-min pushed his aura into that gap. Since aura was formless, it could easily penetrate even a small gap. Se-min filled the gap with aura to gauge the size of the door. It was not very large.

There was something beyond this.

[…]

Se-min raised his head with a start.

The voice became louder. There was something beyond this. After grasping the structure of the door, Se-min applied pressure to the locking device using his aura.

Normally, a key would be needed for that part, but Se-min broke it off with force.

Crack.

When he applied force, the door slid sideways smoothly.

Se-min hesitated before stepping inside. An ominous energy was felt from within.

It was an unwelcome feeling.

“Be careful.”

Instantly, Biryu’s voice was heard from behind.

Se-min looked back. Biryu was standing. A faint light rose and dimly revealed each other’s figures.

Biryu spoke in a low voice.

“It is a passage leading to the basement.”

“What could be inside here?”

“There must have been something important. There would have also been the core of the barrier protecting the city.”

“Then is it a dragon heart?”

“We would have to go to find out.”

The light wavered, casting shadows on Biryu’s face. Se-min stared at him for a moment and then gestured with his chin.

“Shall we go?”

Biryu smiled faintly and nodded.

“Sure.”

“Let’s go.”

Stepping inside, a stairway leading downward appeared. Se-min and Biryu went down side by side. The staircase went down endlessly in a spiral.

“Hold on.”

Se-min stopped and narrowed his brows, looking down through the gaps in the railing.

Something was felt.

Down below, in the middle of the stairs.

Something pitch-black was standing.

Se-min could not tell what that pitch-black shape was.

After signaling Biryu, he went down holding his breath. Since no substance was felt, he did not even grasp what kind of existence it was, or whether it was strong or weak.

He grasped Lupus tightly.

Now they were close enough to encounter it by walking two turns down the spiral staircase.

Biryu whispered from behind.

“Be careful.”

Se-min looked back.

“It is fierce.”

Since a smile still lingered on Biryu’s face, Se-min nodded and moved his steps again.

Se-min faced the black entity.

It was a black mass of unclear shape, but as Se-min approached, its shape wavered once. Then, the standing form lay down and transformed into the appearance of a four-legged beast similar to a dog.

[…]

At first, he did not feel anything.

However, gradually, hostility began to flow from it.

Se-min raised Lupus. The darkness wrapping around the spiral staircase bared its teeth toward Se-min. The entire surrounding area was hostile to them.

Only the dim magic light raised by Biryu protected them from the darkness.

“What is this?”

“Lingering thoughts.”

“You are protecting us, right?”

“Yes.”

“Take a step back.”

Simultaneously with the answer, Biryu stepped back. The magic light he floated also backed away. The density of light cast upon Se-min thinned.

At that moment, the beast rushed toward Se-min.

Since the width of the stairs was not wide, there was no room to dodge left or right. Se-min raised Lupus as it was and collided with it.

With an exploding sound, the dog of darkness tumbled.

Se-min approached, pointing Lupus at it. The opponent was exhausted. Although he did not know what its original strength was, he could feel that it had lost its power and collapsed over a long time.

Yet it did not submit and lunged at Se-min. A roaring cry echoed loudly.

Se-min swung Lupus again. The dog tumbled this time too. It stood up again.

Se-min continued to swing his sword as he went down the stairs, and the dog lunged at Se-min like crazy. It bared its teeth and barked even as its body split and dripped black darkness.

How many times, how many dozens of times did he cut it?

Se-min was eventually bitten on one leg by the dog’s violent resistance. However, in that gap, he stabbed its head with Lupus. Its shape scattered and melted onto the floor.

Still, it did not end.

It clung to Se-min, struggling to form its shape again. Se-min raised his aura and threw it away.

Even after being flung down, the black dog strove to assemble its shape again and confront Se-min. Se-min shook his head and said.

“What is this? Lingering thoughts?”

“Yes.”

Biryu approached Se-min again.

“Let’s keep going down.”

Se-min and Biryu went down the spiral staircase. Although the dog resisted, each time it was struck by Se-min and rolled down.

At this point, one might feel pity, but Se-min felt the opposite emotion instead.

Although that dog was weak, it was clearly trying to kill Se-min.

Se-min felt overwhelmed by that desperate intent to kill.

Only after striking the black shape dozens of times again could they reach the end of the stairs.

An old iron door blocked them.

Se-min gestured to Biryu to step back, then loaded his aura and struck the iron door.

The frame shook.

In the meantime, as the dog tried to bite him from behind again, Se-min struck it with his sword, pinning it to the iron door, and then struck it with sword energy.

A bursting sound echoed.

If it was a noise of this level, the companions might have woken up. While thinking so, Se-min kicked the now-tattered door. The loosened locking device could not withstand the impact any longer and broke.

The door opened.

Se-min put Lupus forward.

The dog had assimilated into the darkness before his eyes and become invisible before he knew it.

“This place is…”

“It is the place where the core of the barrier is kept.”

“So it is like the basement of the gladiatorial arena.”

“Yes.”

Biryu pushed the light forward to illuminate the interior.

Like the Room of the Throne Se-min had experienced, the front was entirely filled with magic circles and spell formulae, looking bizarre. Blood-red dye repeated concentric circles, and unidentified characters were written in full between them.

And at its center, there was a red-glowing lump.

Se-min knew very well what that was.

It was something he had seen in an illusion in the past.

Dragon Heart.

However, the Dragon Heart of that time was silver, and the one before his eyes was blood-red. Se-min took a step inside.

And he immediately stepped back.

“…It is a bit scary.”

Se-min said honestly. Biryu laughed softly and said.

“As I mentioned, it is fierce.”

A chillingly violent hostility was felt from it.

Even though it was merely an organ of a dead beast, a powerful will was embedded within it. He could now understand the meaning of the lingering thoughts Biryu spoke of.

“Do you know anything more about that?”

“…Just as Sargassonia built the gladiatorial arena to maintain the barrier, people sought various ways to maintain the barrier. I do not know the details, but it must have become like this as an aftermath.”

Biryu brought the light closer.

“Although the power has already vanished to the point it cannot maintain the barrier, its remnants still remain.”

“So the remaining part is such a dreadful thing.”

Se-min smiled bitterly. What had happened in this city in the past?

A red air current was fluttering around the heart of the red dragon. The dog that had bitten and clung to him until earlier also gained momentum and growled at Se-min beside the heart.

“Since you have confirmed it, it would also be fine to go back.”

“You are just saying that, right?”

“Yes.”

Se-min shrugged and took a step forward.

There must have been some reason that Biryu guided him here. Se-min had a vague belief in Biryu.

Soon his entire body entered the room.

He felt his hair stand on end all over his body.

Even the air inside this place tried to kill him. It was an overwhelming grudge. Se-min shook Lupus, shaking off that hostility.

What would he obtain here?

Se-min looked at the red-dyed Dragon Heart and the black dog growling beside it. The black dog was now dark red, mixed with blood.

It bared its teeth and leapt.

Inside the room, that thing seemed to gain more power. Its speed was different from before. Se-min raised Lupus to block the teeth, then twisted the blade to tear into the dog’s mouth.

However, the dog retreated in an instant and circled around Se-min, looking for an opening again.

“You son of a bitch…”

Se-min frowned at the sight of it constantly targeting his back.

“So that is how you are going to play.”

Se-min gave up on dealing with it and just stood tall. The dog could clearly see Se-min’s back. However, because he revealed his back so easily, the dog hesitated instead.

Se-min ignored the fellow and just ran forward.

“I am just going to take this, you dog!”

The red Dragon Heart drew close before his eyes.

Placed neatly on the stand, it was still faintly pulsing as if alive. Feeling goosebumps at that vitality, Se-min reached out his hand.

The dog ran over in a hurry.

Se-min raised the Dragon Heart as if teasing the dog.

At that moment, sharp killing intent like needles was shot toward Se-min from all directions.

Se-min saw an illusion for a moment.

Corpses stained all over with blood were reaching their hands out toward Se-min with distorted faces. Intense emotions enough to cause dizziness wrapped around him.

[…]

As if under hypnosis, Se-min raised Lupus with a calmness that surprised even himself. The lunging dog collided with Lupus and collapsed.

Even in the midst of that, something else was being imagined in Se-min’s head. Se-min could not know whether it was something he created himself or indeed a scene someone was showing him.

He blinked.

When he closed and opened his eyes once more, he was standing in a different place.

***

The barrier of the city was gradually weakening. Breaking the weak parts of the barrier, magic beasts even entered. Before it was too late, the humans began to battle to suppress the magic beasts and migrate elsewhere.

Every day, a slaughter of killing and being killed began.

Occasionally, humans subjugated the magic beasts outside, and at times, magic beasts squeezed into the barrier and massacred civilians.

People were dying.

There was no place left to bury people in the city anymore. Smoke from burning corpses covered the sky every day.

The person who managed the core of the city’s barrier was someone well-versed in dark power, unlike ordinary mages. He devised a way to maintain the power of the Dragon Heart, which only kept weakening.

He fed the dying, and those close to death, to the Dragon Heart.

The Dragon Heart devoured the lives and strengthened its own power.

“Horrible.”

Se-min closed his eyes. It was so miserable that the fight of gladiators could not even compare. Regardless of gender or age, those whose deaths were imminent were reduced to prey for the Dragon Heart.

The Dragon Heart turned into the shape of a black dog and devoured humans struggling to live.

“That dog is the materialized form of the Dragon Heart’s lingering thoughts.”

Se-min suddenly turned his head. Biryu was standing beside him. They watched the events of the old era together.

Se-min asked.

“I have seen something like that in the past too.”

When he joined the American subjugation force in the past, he met an unidentified mermaid. It invited Se-min to the ruins and showed him old stories.

That entity looked as if it wanted to let Se-min know something.

“If it was a mermaid, that Dragon Heart must have been silver.”

“Right.”

“It must have been a dragon that loved the sea. Silver Dragons are gentle. Even after death, it could not leave the city it protected. Pitifully.”

The scene changed.

The original owner of the Dragon Heart protecting this city was a dragon so ferocious it was called a demonic dragon.

The red-bodied dragon spewed flames and predated life regardless of race, so it was defined as an enemy of the empire and eventually subjugated by the Emperor.

Since its nature was so vicious, it is said that it poured out curses even as it died.

The guy’s Dragon Heart was large and strong, and it continued to pulse without stopping even after death.

Because the Dragon Heart was not an organ of the body but a core containing all the power and essence of a dragon, it remained alive even after the dragon died.

It was sealed, and with the appearance of magic beasts, it was used as a spell core to protect the city.

“It was originally a vicious dragon, and it became more evil while being used as a barrier. It became more wicked than its state when alive. Fighting against magic beasts as a barrier, swallowing humans given as its prey, and watching the cruel war and horrors, the Dragon Heart became contaminated.”

And, Se-min and Biryu came to witness the end of this city.

Se-min thought that all the residents of this city had migrated, but it was the opposite.

No one could leave this city.

“…”

The demonic dragon’s lingering thoughts became cleverer. If the barrier was strong, people did not die, and then they did not give it food.

The demonic dragon weakened the barrier on its own and let the magic beasts in.

It devoured the injured.

A mage who sensed the anomaly tried to reverse everything, but the Dragon Heart’s thought-entity bit even the mage to death.

In the end, people offered more sacrifices to maintain the barrier, and later there was no one left to sacrifice.

Dying to magic beasts, or becoming prey to the Dragon Heart.

The city thus collapsed naturally and became ruins where no one lived.

Time passed like that.

“It seems we are visitors after a long time.”

“Yes. It will be hungry.”

Before they knew it, they were standing in the room in the temple basement again.

Se-min set down the Dragon Heart. The dog that appeared again circled around Se-min. In Se-min’s eyes, this room now looked completely different.

The corpses of the dead and their gruesome ends kept flickering.

A suffocating density of death filled this place.

Se-min asked Biryu.

“What should we do with this?”

Beyond Biryu’s shoulders, illusions of the dead looking at them flickered. They were in gruesome states, with no eyeballs, crushed faces, or twisted limbs.

Se-min did not turn his eyes away from them but looked them in the face. All the deaths that had occurred in this room passed by in turn.

Biryu answered, bowing his head.

“Everything is as Your Majesty wishes.”

Everything is as Your Majesty wishes.

It sounded good, but it was actually a very scary statement.

Se-min glared at Biryu. Biryu took a step back with a smile on his lips.

“I merely follow.”

“So that is how you are playing.”

Both the decision and the responsibility were given to Se-min.

Setting down the bright red Dragon Heart before his eyes, Se-min fell into thought.

Lingering thoughts of a dragon remain in a Dragon Heart. The mermaid and the silver Dragon Heart he met in the past were also like that.

That entity wished for Se-min to know the tragedy that had occurred in the city. Perhaps it recognized Se-min’s destiny and foresaw the final war.

This time was different from then.

It was a monster of pure intent to kill, born from the combination of the demonic dragon’s grudge and thousands of bloods.

It was so filled with hatred and malice that even Se-min found it hard to breathe. Most people would have gone mad even before entering here.

What was he supposed to do with such a demonic object?

Se-min could feel that there were several choices given to him, and that Biryu already knew that. Biryu was always like that.

“Let’s just break it and leave. So there will be no other victims later.”

Biryu merely nodded.

“Yes.”

Se-min looked at Biryu’s eyes. As if that decision was a relief, peace was added to Biryu’s smile. Se-min stared at Biryu quietly and spoke again.

“Did you think I would say that?”

“Pardon?”

“Do you not know the reason why the Emperor’s Throne chose me of all people?”

Se-min had something he instinctively felt about the Dragon Heart.

It was originally an organ that functioned as a part of a living organism. Therefore, after swallowing grudges and obtaining a primitive ego, it wished to obtain a body to move freely.

And Biryu would also know that.

“Stay outside.”

Se-min said. Biryu merely bowed his head.

“Understood.”

He went out of the room.

Now only the black dog baring its teeth at him and the Dragon Heart remained in the room.

Se-min looked at the dog.

Originally, it must have been a large and ferocious beast. However, as it starved alone for a long time, the power of blood withered away, and it had now become a skeletal wild dog with only hatred and hostility remaining.

Nevertheless, its will was intense. Even knowing it could not defeat Se-min, it lunged like mad to bite him.

That spirit of unlimited intent to kill.

Hatred toward the living.

Se-min chuckle. To Badurbarok, he might feel like this small wild dog. Burning with revenge and straining to kill him, he had not gathered enough power to defeat Badurbarok.

They were alike.

“It’s like a dog.”

Se-min raised the Dragon Heart. It was pulsing in a slow rhythm. This persistent desire for life that did not fade even though it had been dead for a long time.

Every time the heart pulsed, it felt as if burning hatred was transmitted from his hand through his veins.

Se-min hesitated.

A single drop of ink dyes the entire water bottle black. He would not be able to turn back again.

But Se-min would bear it.

The Emperor’s Throne chose him. The Emperor’s Throne knew very well what kind of human Se-min was, and thus appointed him as the final Emperor to oppose Badurbarok.

The Emperors of the past were merely sage kings of peaceful times, not the type of humans who rolled in the mud themselves to kill enemies.

Se-min dropped his gaze.

The black dog was biting Se-min’s thigh. Even though its teeth could not advance, blocked by aura, and its own body was shaved away instead, the fellow did not give up and struggled.

Emitting a bizarre cry, bristling its fur, and hopping up and down, it bared its teeth at Se-min.

Se-min ended up laughing.

“We are alike.”

Se-min nodded.

Now there was no hesitation. He bit into the Dragon Heart. At that moment, red intent to kill and hatred turned into thorns and shot in all directions. Se-min did not stop even while his entire body was pierced by them.

Every time he tore off a piece and swallowed it, the Dragon Heart let out a silent scream.

***

“Ah, the energy here must be good. Having slept and woken up, my whole body feels refreshed.”

Gullard opened the temple door and stretched. The morning sun was leaking in. Kaorak, who was lying curled up, flailed.

“What is it, I am going to sleep. Close it. I hate sunlight.”

“Are you some kind of vampire?”

“I mean it is dazzling.”

“Do you feel an aura from me?”

“Shut up.”

Starting with Gullard, the companions stood up one by one. As soon as he stood up, Shozen tidied his appearance, and Kubar sat down to begin meditation. Kaorak just kept rolling around.

“Where is the Emperor?”

Gullard looked around. The Emperor, who was doing strange things while looking in the mirror all night, was nowhere to be seen.

Shozen answered.

“He seemed to go somewhere with Biryu in the night…”

“Biryu is over there, is he not?”

Biryu was sitting leaning against the wall with his eyes closed. He was a fellow who slept like a corpse. Gullard shrugged his shoulders.

“Did he wake up early and is swinging his sword somewhere? Let’s decide on the cooking duty.”

“There seemed to be no edible guys nearby.”

“That is why the one on duty has to suffer.”

“What is the category?”

“Something difficult…”

While Gullard was agonizing, suddenly the sound of footsteps was heard from the inside of the temple. Everyone looked in that direction.

It was Se-min.

“Hey.”

Blood was stained on Se-min’s body.

“What, is that blood?”

“It is nothing. A fellow was acting up, so I devoured him.”

“Did you have breakfast alone?”

“In a way. I am full, so eat among yourselves. Once the meal is finished, we set out.”

Se-min said so and stepped outside the temple.

Watching his back, Gullard scratched his cheek. Somehow, the Emperor’s atmosphere seemed to have changed. He felt more relaxed than before. Gullard shrugged his shoulders.

“Everyone gather. This time, let’s play hitting the target by throwing stones.”

“Are you doing that even after being severely beaten by me before? It seems you want to go out and suffer.”

“It will be different this time, you bastard.”

Like that, they scattered to find their own stones.

After looking back at them once, Se-min looked at the sunlight outside the temple.

Last night, he chewed and swallowed the entire large Dragon Heart.

He did not physically fill his stomach with that giant thing. Every time he chewed and swallowed the Dragon Heart, it scattered into pieces and flowed inside Se-min, now becoming a part of him circulating through his body. Now, the demonic dragon’s hatred rose from within him from time to time.

Just as the Emperor’s Throne was corrupted by consuming blood, he also swallowed the demonic dragon’s Dragon Heart and became a different being than before.

He raised Lupus.

He closed his eyes and recalled the forms.

Within his imagery, Dam Woo-gwang’s killing methods, which he had not been able to properly accomplish until now, were naturally implemented according to his will. The intent to kill and memories of killing that he lacked were completed through the Dragon Heart.

“Ugh.”

However, the grudge dwelling in the heart pressed down on his head.

The sins of the Dragon Heart now dwelt in him. Every time he raised his sword, things like resentful faces, screams of pain, and the bitter eyes of the dying awaited him beyond his eyelids.

“Are you alright?”

Biryu had approached his side before he knew it. Se-min nodded.

“I am fine. It is nothing.”

“You would not be, though.”

“It is a small price compared to what I obtained.”

“Did you not lose, rather than obtain?”

Biryu had eyes that seemed to reproach him. Se-min shook his head. Biryu was indeed different from him.

How far could he go to kill Badurbarok?

For Se-min, there was no limit.

It was even more so now that he had swallowed the Dragon Heart and stepped into an even darker realm.

Everything was for the fight with Badurbarok. There was no need to think about what came after now. That was a leeway given only to the strong.

“Do not worry too much. In any case, a new Emperor will appear once the fight is over.”

“I did not mean it in that sense.”

“Is that so?”

Se-min looked at him with a smile. Biryu was a mage who came by Kila’s recommendation, and although his level was very high, his inner thoughts were unknown.

Although he felt a strange trust, he did not know him well. Therefore, it was interesting to see him reveal his emotions even slightly like this.

Se-min raised Lupus.

“In times like this, a fellow like this is also needed. What do you think, is now not better than before to beat up that bastard Badurbarok?”

Aura wavered on the blade. His aura had always been pure white, but now, a dark red energy was mixed in.

It was an aura laden with grudges, different even from the black aura of those contaminated by Badurbarok. It was a type more suitable for killing enemies.

The harmony of all things in nature was distorted, harboring intent to kill. The white and dark red colors repeatedly crossed and sharpened the edge.

Even when he raised the Tai Chi Wisdom, his mind was not calm as before. Rather, he was excited, wishing to swing his sword.

“Understood.”

Biryu let out a sigh. Se-min smiled and tapped his shoulder. Biryu continued to speak.

“Everything is as Your Majesty wishes.”

***

Se-min’s party left the ruins.

Magic beasts lurked on every path they took. The number was too large to be magic beasts inhabiting in a natural state. Moreover, they were far stronger and more ferocious than ordinary magic beasts.

Se-min thought that Badurbarok, or at least Han Su-in, was playing tricks.

“Let’s go.”

Se-min said, slinging Lupus on his back. Gullard and Kaorak had displeased expressions. Se-min shrugged his shoulders.

“Why?”

“Something… well… yes, you have become hot-headed, Emperor.”

“I was originally hot-headed. Do you want to feel it?”

“Ah, no.”

Behind Se-min, red fertilizers were scattered on the earth. Those numerous magic beasts had been torn to shreds without leaving even a trace of their shapes.

It was a pack of powerful magic beast species that they would have guessed over while confronting for a while in the past.

“How much is left to go to Sargassonia?”

“We will arrive in a few days. Soon a grassland will appear.”

If it was a grassland, it was the land of the Wolf Tribe.

Once out of the basin of Sargassonia, a vast plain stretched out, surrounding the area in all directions. And what controlled that place was Gullard’s Wolf Tribe.

“Let’s stop by to say hello on the way back.”

“Ahem. Yes…”

After coughing, Gullard nodded. It was a face that was not very pleased.

It was obvious what would follow if they dropped by. They would seek cooperation in waging the decisive battle with Badurbarok. For Gullard, who was from the Wolf Tribe, it would be a worry.

However, Se-min did not bother to speak. Each had a share to bear.

“Let’s keep going. It seems the magic beasts will chase us soon.”

Kaorak shook his head.

“Let’s rest just a little before going!”

“Shut up. Your compatriots are fighting magic beasts in the Cloud Mountains even now; do you feel like resting?”

“I feel it very much.”

“I should tell Korox and Calpacino.”

“Ah, no. Let’s go quickly.”

If there were two entities Kaorak avoided, they were the goblin elder Korox and his former boss Calpacino.

Se-min suddenly felt something black flickering at the edge of his vision. When Se-min turned his head, it slipped back to the periphery as much as his vision turned. Even when he tried to look, it was not easily seen.

Se-min eventually realized what it was. It was the incarnation of the Dragon Heart Se-min had devoured in the temple, the black dog.

It kept glancing at Se-min’s Lupus, not daring to approach and only hovering around.

Se-min looked down at Lupus. He was told it was a sword in which a wolf dwelt. This was making that black dog’s illusion fearful.

Se-min smiled and walked ahead, slinging Lupus carefully on his back.

“Let’s go quickly.”

“Resting…”

“Shut up.”

They eventually reached a vast grassland area. The view was open enough to see the far horizon.

“Is that a Wolf Tribe village over there?”

The gers peculiar to nomads were seen gathered far away. The steps of Se-min’s party quickened.

And at the sight of the gers seen up close, they lost their words.

“…”

A similar thing had occurred when they first discovered the Wolf Tribe’s gers in the past, and it was the same this time too.

The gruesome corpses of the tribesmen lay scattered. However, the wounds on the corpses were different from that time. They were not inflicted by human weapons.

They were bodies dug up by magic beasts.

“Let’s go quickly.”

Gullard began to run. Everyone followed him.

Gradually, the number of the dead increased. The corpses of the Wolf Tribe were scattered all over the plains. However, the magic beasts were not in sight.

Everyone ran following Gullard toward the Wolf Tribe’s main base.

“Kubar.”

“What is it?”

“Please take care of these guys.”

Se-min entrusted the party to Kubar, the strongest. Not only did he have combat ability, but his situational judgment was good and his brain worked fast.

“What about you?”

“Because I caught something bothering me.”

Se-min glanced back. Something was felt at the periphery of the plains. Since the distance was so far, the others had not noticed it yet.

Kubar also expanded his sensory perception toward that direction and frowned.

“Certainly…”

Something was felt by him as well.

“Right?”

“Indeed. Be careful, Emperor.”

Se-min nodded and shot out from the party. As he sprinted, the bushes split left and right, opening a path for Se-min.

It was a familiar, yet slightly strange energy.

It was no different from the energy of the magic beasts he had felt so far, but somewhere was weirdly distorted. Although they were originally strange fellows, this one was a bit darker and gloomier.

Se-min soon reached a place where trees rose in clusters in the middle of the grassland. Since trees with dense bushes were gathered, the interior was not visible. It was heterogeneous in the scenery of the grassland.

Something strange was felt from within there.

Se-min grasped Lupus and entered the bushes as it was. He parted the bushes and rummaged inside.

His aura wrapped between the trees and bushes and leaked inside, scanning everything within once.

There was something in the center.

At some point, Se-min realized that mucus was being stepped on by his feet. It was the same as the bottom of the magic beasts’ city he had seen beyond the gate.

“I have a bad feeling…”

Se-min murmured and parted the bushes with Lupus to open his vision.

Something was standing.

It was a biological structure he had seen in the city in the past. Periodically throbbing and revealing its life force, it stood at a height twice that of a human.

Around it lay egg-like masses, connected to the central organic structure by something like umbilical cords.

It was the moment Se-min approached toward it.

Something flew toward Se-min.

He raised Lupus and deflected it. He did not just hit it, but returned it to the direction it flew from. Dark red aura formed on the object.

Clang!

The sound of metal pieces colliding rang out.

Se-min held Lupus and pointed in that direction.

The thing that flew in just now was a dagger. The thing that deflected it back must have been a long sword.

The opponent was an entity holding a weapon.

Was it a human, or an entity devoured by Badurbarok like Han Su-in?

Se-min approached holding his sword.

There stood something of human shape.

“Who are you?”

[You are late, Emperor.]

It was human, but a bizarre hybrid with most of its body replaced by that of magic beasts. Se-min narrowed his brows.

“Where is Han Su-in?”

[That gentleman is not here.]

“Seeing you refer to him as ‘that gentleman,’ you must be a underling. Even Han Su-in goes around getting beaten up by me, so is it right for you to hold your head so high?”

As Se-min strode closer, it took a step back. It was flustered by Se-min’s attitude.

[Wait a moment.]

“Wait for what?”

[I have a proposal.]

“I refuse.”

Se-min immediately swung Lupus. White sword energy flew out. It mixed with red color in the air, turning dark red, and slashed the opponent.

The opponent rolled on the ground in a hurry. A part of its shoulder was cut off.

Se-min raised sword energy again and prepared for the next attack. The opponent hastily shouted to Se-min while regenerating the severed part.

[If you just kill me, the Wolf Tribe will not be safe.]

“Would you guys say anything worth listening to?”

[The Wolf Tribe is captured by us now.]

“So what?”

Aura rose from Se-min’s body. And he immediately ran out and slashed its body.

The fellow kept retreating. Although Se-min’s attack did not land on it properly, wounds continued to appear on its body due to the aftermath.

[Hand over your sword to us.]

“What?”

[If you hand over that sword to us, we will release all the captured Wolf Tribe. Is it not that you can just use a new sword anyway?]

Se-min looked down at Lupus.

This unidentified claymore he had met on Earth was not just an ordinary sword. Se-min could feel that too. He had also heard that a wolf was embedded in it.

It would likely be related to the Wolf Tribe as well.

However, its exact identity was still unknown. Se-min held Lupus and shrugged his shoulders after waving it toward him.

“Why?”

[You do not need to know that much.]

“You must tell me why you covet this sword so that I can also think about your proposal, right?”

[Actually, I do not know either. I am merely performing the instructions I received.]

“If it is instructions, is it Han Su-in? Badurbarok?”

[You do not need to know.]

“It would be easier to just kill you.”

[I said the Wolf Tribe is captured.]

“Is that so?”

As Se-min tried to turn around, he shouted.

[Even if you just leave this place, the Wolf Tribe dies. You must give an answer here.]

“An answer, is it.”

Se-min nodded.

“I will give it to you.”

He suddenly threw Lupus. Because it was in an ambiguous position to catch, the opponent came forward and tried to hug it in its arms.

However, when Se-min swiftly pulled his hand, the sword returned.

The opponent failed to catch it and fell to the floor. Se-min walked forward and placed his foot on top of its head.

“Fine, I will give you the answer.”

[If you give the sword, the Wolf Tribe lives.]

“I do not believe you.”

Se-min drove the sword into its shoulder. The opponent let out a scream. Se-min twisted the sword and said.

“Does it hurt? There are many dead Wolf Tribe outside, do you not think it is right for you to die too?”

[…]

The opponent grit its teeth and took something out from its chest.

It was a small bead.

“What is it?”

Instead of answering, he threw the bead.

Then, an image floated in the air. The first things seen were familiar faces.

Kubar, Kaorak, Gullard, Shozen, and Biryu stood with stiff faces. Their figures were seen side by side, and then the angle turned again.

An immense number of magic beasts were confronting them, and between the magic beasts, the Wolf Tribe members were trembling in fear.

[My words are not a lie.]

Se-min looked at the image.

At the front of the magic beasts stood a semi-humanoid magic beast, similar to the half-man half-beast before his eyes, exchanging words with his party.

Gullard was looking at his clansmen with sorrowful eyes.

[I heard your companion is also from the Wolf Tribe. If you, the Emperor, abandon the tribe, your companion will not be pleased either.]

“Is this sword that important?”

[I do not know. The sword is just needed.]

“I see.”

Se-min scratched his head. Lupus definitely had a special power. However, he could not know its true nature.

He could not know whether these magic beasts would keep their promise or not.

[We swear we will keep the Wolf Tribe alive if you give the sword.]

“How do I believe you?”

[To us, the Wolf Tribe is not a big issue. They are just a weak human group. There is nothing to gain by breaking the promise. We would only lose myself and the numerous magic beasts over there to you. Even we admit that you are strong.]

He argued desperately.

[And my life is also precious. Hand over the sword. I will leave immediately.]

Se-min nodded.

“Right, so that is how it is.”

Se-min contemplated. Although Lupus was a good sword and he had been with it for a long time, the quality of a weapon was no longer a big issue to him now.

He was someone who had mastered the Tai Chi Wisdom and the Cosmic Flow, and even obtained Dam Woo-gwang’s killing method through the demonic dragon’s Dragon Heart.

“If you break the promise, I will surely kill you. As painfully as possible.”

[Y-Yes.]

Se-min tried to hand over Lupus.

It was at that moment.

Lupus trembled.

Se-min looked down at the sword with a start. To Se-min, it looked as if the sword was shaking its head at him.

Se-min grasped Lupus and brought his face closer. It was an action as if listening.

“What?”

The opponent standing in front tilted its head at Se-min’s action.

Se-min ignored him and put aura into Lupus. Then, Lupus’s trembling grew stronger. It was to the extent that Se-min’s entire arm shook together.

…

Se-min stared at Lupus. Something was formed on the blade. Se-min focused his eyes. Something was being reflected beyond the slender blade.

It was the back of a man.

Although the surface was narrow and the blade shook, causing the screen to keep turning, Se-min could tell that what was reflected beyond was someone’s back.

Within the trembling, his voice was transmitted through his hand.

…Everything has an end.

That day, the very scene Lupus had experienced was transmitted to Se-min.

…But that is not now. Your end, a day will come when it will be used greatly. So until then…

Se-min wished to see more than that, but the scene reflected on Lupus disappeared back into the flash of the blade.

And what appeared were two pupils.

The eyes of a wolf.

And something reflected beyond those pupils.

Se-min witnessed that and was startled.

The wolf’s pupils were connected somewhere. A wolf is a being that finds paths. He was already gazing at the place he had to reach with both eyes.

Se-min dropped Lupus without realizing it.

The sword fell to the floor.

Since obtaining Lupus, he had never dropped it like this. However, what he saw was too bizarre.

Se-min blankly stared at Lupus fallen on the floor.

[Have you decided?]

The fellow tried to grasp Lupus.

In Se-min’s head, two scenes intersected. The sight of numerous lives captured by magic beasts, and the wide-open pupils of the wolf—those two things pressed down on Se-min’s forehead from both sides.

Just before Lupus fell into the opponent’s grip.

Se-min caught Lupus again.

His head rang.

His goal was to kill Badurbarok. Kill Badurbarok. For that, use all means.

Kill Badurbarok.

[Huh?]

“I cannot give you this.”

Se-min raised Lupus again.

The opponent’s eyes wavered. Se-min organized his thoughts for a while while holding Lupus.

To kill the enemy, Lupus must be present.

Such a conviction settled in his heart. Lupus fitted into his grip even more snugly than before.

Lupus, the wolf dwelling within it, was nodding to Se-min.

“What a pity.”

Se-min murmured those words, not knowing to whom they were addressed, and slashed to death the half-magic beast before his eyes.

He would shoulder everything.

Se-min looked at the image from the bead still floating.

Perhaps a signal was sent, as the magic beasts emitted bizarre cries and began to slaughter. Death occurred in an instant.

The enraged Se-min’s party lunged toward the magic beasts. The gruesome battle continued. Se-min did not turn his eyes away from that scene.

Soon the image from the bead turned off.

Se-min returned to the place where the magic beasts’ structure stood. Something was breathing inside it.

Se-min slashed and hacked the central building, and split the egg-like objects connected to it.

There were humans inside.

They were half-man half-beasts who had received the power of magic beasts and became half-human and half-magic beast. They had appearances no different from the fellow Se-min killed earlier.

Looking closely, their faces were familiar.

They also seemed to be people he had seen while staying with the Wolf Tribe.

Since they were not dead yet, they narrowed their eyes and said something toward Se-min. Se-min did not listen to those whispers, and drove Lupus into their chests. All expired.

After tearing all the remnants of the magic beasts in the forest to shreds, Se-min headed to the place where the party was.

The battle had finished.

The magic beasts retreated, and his party could not pursue them further either. The corpses of dead magic beasts were piled up.

His party was not intact either. Gullard was sitting down, staring at the corpses of the dead Wolf Tribe.

“Have you come?”

Shozen said. Se-min nodded. Kubar waved his hand.

Se-min approached Gullard.

Sensing his presence, Gullard asked first.

“It seems you did not hand over that sword.”

“Right.”

“You must have thought the sword had that much value.”

“Correct.”

“I trust you.”

Gullard said.

“However, I will no longer accompany you.”

He declared a farewell.

Se-min did not persuade him, nor did he make excuses. He merely nodded.

“I understand.”

Se-min closed his eyes. The back of the man he had seen beyond the blade of Lupus and his voice came to mind.

…Everything has an end.

Se-min’s party returned to Sargassonia.

During that journey, he tried hard to draw out power to utilize Lupus more properly, but he did not succeed. After that event, it seemed as if the blade had even become blunt.

Se-min did not bother to use the sword and kept it slung on his back.

Lupus was assumed to be a sword related to the Wolf Tribe. And, whether willingly or unwillingly, he tolerated the annihilation of the Wolf Tribe to protect the sword. It must have been a sad thing for Lupus too. Se-min decided to respect its will.

“How will Sargassonia have become?”

Kaorak murmured.

“You are not from Sargassonia either, are you?”

“There is such a thing as feelings. Still, it is a place I grew attached to while being held there for a while. Shall I call it my second home.”

“This time, I will put you in so deep that you cannot get out.”

“Try it if you can.”

Perhaps because Gullard, who used to bicker with him, had disappeared, Kaorak spoke less.

“At that time, even the Emperor was green.”

“Could I have been as green as you?”

The past events came to mind.

At that time, Kaorak was an enemy who came from the side of the magic beasts to bring down Sargassonia. Due to the countless magic beasts, Se-min, Shozen, and Gullard—the three of them—were in trouble.

Of course, that crisis could be overcome thanks to Brother Ferzen.

“Shall we increase speed?”

“Let’s do that.”

Kubar, who went ahead, began to walk faster. The speed of the party rose.

Se-min soon confirmed the outline of Sargassonia shining beyond the horizon. Sargassonia floated there without change, like a mirage.

“Let’s go.”

Except for Kubar, it was a place everyone had visited at least once.

Se-min stuck close behind Kubar and speeded up. At the entrance, a couple of guards were managing people entering and exiting the city as in the past.

Even so, since there was no one coming and going, just standing was all they did.

“I wish to enter.”

As Kubar spoke, the guards were startled.

Although there was no instruction to exclude other races, cases where other races went in and out through the main gate of the city were rare. In their memories, there was none at all.

“Hold on.”

Flustered, they told him to wait a moment. Kubar shrugged his shoulders.

Se-min, who was behind Kubar, seemed not even properly visible, blocked by him.

“Hey.”

“Huh?”

One of the guards discovered the party standing behind Kubar.

The guard even confirmed Se-min’s face and stood still as he was for a few seconds. Soon he shouted toward Se-min.

“Your Majesty the Emperor?”

He recognized Se-min. Se-min nodded.

“Yes.”

“Please come in.”

Since Se-min had not been treated like a proper Emperor until now, this response from the guard was unexpected.

He had thought he would look at him with a frown and let out deep sighs, but the guard was polite as if welcoming an extraordinary guest of honor.

Like that, Se-min’s party returned to Sargassonia.

Other guards inside the gate escorted Se-min’s party.

“Please follow. A carriage is prepared.”

The interior had changed a lot.

The bustling atmosphere of the past had vanished, and it was subdued like a city preparing for war. Armed men came and went here and there.

“There is a place that Lady Kila told us to escort Your Majesty to when you arrive.”

Se-min’s party immediately boarded the carriage and headed toward the center of the city.

Se-min looked at the scenery of the city from inside the carriage. It did not look happy at all. Expressions stained with fear and anxiety were seen.

Looking at them, Se-min asked the guard.

“How has the city been in the meantime?”

“After Your Majesty left, the invasions of magic beasts continued. There were quite a few dead people too. Of course, Lady Kila said all of this was training. Your Majesty, I heard the news. Did the other races really all agree to the war?”

“Yes.”

“Thank goodness.”

He had an expression of true relief. He seemed to think that the probability of winning the war had risen significantly with the joining of other races.

Se-min looked at the scenery outside again. Children, knowing nothing, were playing war games among themselves holding wooden swords.

He had to win.

Se-min’s party soon reached the manor of a noble. That was the Gloria Family. It was a place they had visited before.

“We have arrived.”

The driver stopped the carriage. They got off the carriage in turn. Upon getting off, a familiar face was welcoming them.

It was Yuria Gloria.

She spoke toward Se-min.

“Se-min, no, Your Majesty.”

Her expression was bright. Se-min nodded back while looking at her.

However, her expression began to change strangely. At first she was smiling brightly, but the corners of her eyes fell slightly, and gradually her face froze.

Se-min looked at Yuria and spoke.

“Where is Kila?”

“Inside… she is waiting.”

Se-min immediately walked in the direction she pointed. Yuria did not follow.

Since Se-min’s sensory perception always stretched in all directions, he could hear Yuria’s voice whispering to a maid from a distance.

‘What happened… the atmosphere has changed immensely.’

‘Changed,’ Se-min admitted it.

The biggest thing was likely due to the Dragon Heart. It was gnawing at Se-min’s inside in all sorts of ways.

While passing through the gorgeously decorated garden of the Gloria Family, Se-min associated what kind of ruin this place would remain as after the war, rather than enjoying its beauty.

“You’ve come.”

Kila was sitting in the middle of the garden. It was a appearance he had not seen before. Se-min chuckled.

“You’ve got it easy now.”

“It is thanks to you. Speaking of which, the look in your eyes has changed.”

“It just turned out that way.”

“Sit.”

Se-min sat opposite her.

The other companions stood behind Se-min. Kila scanned the companions in turn. Her gaze stopped for a moment at Kubar.

“It seems the other half-wits have now become decent, and is the Orc friend from a practitioner background?”

At her words, Kubar asked.

“How do you know?”

“I smell the scent of an elder Orc.”

“Do you know that person?”

“I have seen him in the past.”

Kila spoke to Se-min again.

“Yes, you succeeded in dragging in all four races according to your wish: goblins, Orcs, trolls, and even ogres. It seems you also gathered the sleeping dragons, and the power is prepared as much as you wished. Congratulations.”

“What about the thing I told you to find?”

“The results will be out soon. We are right before it.”

“I heard similar words before too.”

“It is not done that easily. Do you think Badurbarok is some half-baked fellow?”

“Got it.”

“I do not see the Wolf Tribe fellow.”

“It turned out that way. It is because my virtue was lacking, I guess.”

“Is that so.”

Kila spoke to the servant standing behind.

“Guide these guys to their lodging.”

“Yes.”

“Biryu, stay.”

Kila said so.

Standing up and going to the lodging, Se-min glanced back. Biryu was sitting opposite Kila, conversing about something. However, their voices were not heard. They had set up a barrier with magic power.

“Are they talking behind my back?”

Se-min murmured. Kaorak nodded.

“For sure.”

The servant guiding them seemed to find Kaorak and Kubar fascinating. If he showed them a troll and an ogre, it would be even more fascinating; Se-min thought he should have brought them one by one.

***

At the news that Se-min had returned, the heads of each family came to exchange greetings.

They did not say much else, but the solemnity of those preparing for battle already lingered in their eyes.

When there was nothing special to do, Se-min refined the Cosmic Flow and Dam Woo-gwang’s killing method through the Transcendent Network. As the power of the Dragon Heart settled in his body, his aura gradually became dyed in a dark red light.

Its destructive power also became stronger accordingly.

Whenever Se-min trained in the training ground, his party and the knights of the Gloria Family appeared to watch or ask for his teaching.

Then one day, an unexpected guest visited Se-min.

While Se-min was swinging Lupus in the empty air, he felt a sharp momentum and turned around. There stood a familiar face.

It was Germanos, the sinner on the sand.

“I heard that you returned. You seem to have become much stronger.”

“Germanos.”

“It has been a long time, shall we cross swords?”

Se-min nodded.

As the two confronted each other, onlookers gradually began to gather. Even Spina, the head of the Gloria Family, came out of the manor to watch their spar.

“You could not match me before either, so what can you do now?”

Se-min provoked with a laugh, but Germanos merely shrugged his shoulders.

“We’ll know once we try.”

The two looked at each other and slowly approached with swords raised.

There were no flashy techniques. The two suppressed their aura and exchanged offense and defense solely with their respective swordsmanship. Due to extreme kinetic vision and reaction speed, they could not cut each other and continued a close contest where they were evenly matched.

To those who did not know swords, it would look grand, and to those who knew a little, it would feel like nothing much.

However, to the real powerhouses who had reached the realm beyond that, it was a feast of sword principles they did not want to miss even for a moment.

Every process of stabbing, slashing, blocking, and dodging was performed within a single breath. Neither fast nor slow, they exchanged their swords.

Soon, Germanos took a step back and said.

“How is it, did you learn a bit?”

“That is my line.”

Both claimed that they were better.

Now Germanos raised his aura. White aura rose strand by strand. At its scale, those who watched the spar let out exclamations.

Se-min smiled and he also pulled up his aura. A dark red light that could no longer be hidden flared up.

Germanos narrowed his eyes.

“Your aura has changed. You must know best what that means. I will not add more words.”

“It is because you have not suffered, old man. If you suffer a bit and experience hard things in life, it becomes like this. The liquor becomes sweet, and the aura becomes red.”

Germanos chuckled.

“Where does a young fellow…”

The two shut their mouths. And staring at each other, they shot out sword energy. The white aura and the dark red aura collided.

At first, they were similar. It was because Se-min matched the amount of his aura to Germanos. However, as the clash gradually grew intense, the aspect changed.

Se-min’s dark red aura began to split the white aura finely, as if eating away at the enemy.

The white aura faded and was soon scattered to pieces by the dark red aura. The dark red aura now flew toward Germanos, its next target.

Germanos raised his aura again to block it.

However, Se-min’s aura did not stop, and bit Germanos’s aura again like a living organism. It had become a greedy beast that never disappeared nor weakened.

Germanos brandished his sword continuously in panic.

“What on earth is this.”

Se-min stood with his hands on his hips and watched the scene.

The Tai Chi Wisdom that left his hand was now destroying the enemy on its own.

“Splendid.”

Once Dam Woo-gwang’s killing method was added to his martial arts, immense destructive power arose. Its attribute was bizarre enough to fluster even an experienced swordsman like Germanos.

As expected, not a single one of the transcendents in the Transcendent Network was ordinary. How could he have known that a big-hearted man like Brother Dam Woo-gwang would use such a terrifying technique?

Germanos barely tore off and eliminated Se-min’s aura. But he was already incredibly exhausted.

When Se-min raised the dark red aura again, Germanos’s expression froze.

He cleared his throat.

“Ahem, Emperor.”

“Yeah?”

“Since we met after a long time, let’s keep the greeting to this extent, and talk over a cup of tea about what has happened in the meantime. Are we not close enough for that?”

Se-min smiled and nodded.

“Let’s do that.”

Thus, the spar ended.

The onlookers around also dispersed, chatting about what had occurred today.

“Later, Lord Germanos only defended and did not attack. He must have gone easy on him for the Emperor’s honor.”

“He is indeed a person of great loyalty.”

“Did they not say that the Emperor won in the gladiatorial match in the past?”

“Would that not also be conceded by him for the greater cause?”

Se-min realized that some great misunderstanding was spreading, but he could not set Germanos on the sparring ground again at this point.

As Se-min glared at him, Germanos cleared his throat again.

“First of all, I gathered the tribes and villages that had been scattered in the meantime into one.”

In the garden located near the sparring ground, they sat opposite each other.

“You must have.”

Gathering the humans outside of Sargassonia was decided before Se-min left.

“In the midst of that, a person appeared who claimed to know you, Emperor.”

“Knows me?”

“I mean… he claimed to have come from the same dimension as you.”

“Who?”

“I did not hear his name. He just asked to meet you, so I am keeping him just in case. Will you see him?”

“I will.”

Se-min felt curious. Who could the one from Earth be? It might be someone he knew.

“I will go meet him later.”

Se-min and Germanos continued their conversation about the war preparations.

They were also continuously keeping in touch with other races. The upcoming war was scheduled to begin after the work of Kila and the mages was completed.

And that it was not far off would be known to them, and also to their enemy Badurbarok.

“It will be completed soon.”

“What a relief. I wondered what if it failed.”

Then they would not even be able to start the war.

What Kila and the mages were doing was tracking Badurbarok’s location.

Gates connecting from the otherworld to here were situated in various places. Among them, those connected to Badurbarok’s strongholds, like the city of magic beasts they visited in the past, were not many.

Where was Badurbarok?

He had rarely revealed himself at the front. His existence was certain, but it was rare for him to appear directly.

Even in the war of the past, he only showed himself for a moment, and most of it was battles fought with magic beasts.

“They say Badurbarok has settled at the location where the capital of the old empire was.”

“What an unpleasant fellow.”

“However, even that is no longer certain. Since that fellow has power to cross dimensions. He might be in an entirely different dimension now.”

“What does Kila say?”

“She expected he would still be there.”

“We should hope so.”

They stood up after discussing the structure of the upcoming war. The onlookers who were waiting to see if the two would spar again had also completely dispersed.

“Let’s go see the guy who came from my dimension.”

Se-min left the Gloria house with Germanos.

Se-min thought that the person who came from his dimension might be a Raider of American nationality.

Just like Andrew whom he met in the gladiatorial arena here in Sargassonia in the past, he guessed the person had ended up staying here while performing a subjugation force mission to recover a Dragon Heart.

“What kind of fellow is he?”

“You’ll know when you meet him directly.”

Germanos smiled and did not answer.

Se-min headed to Germanos’s residence.

Although it was not a grand manor like the nobles’, he also lived in a spacious house. Since Malshar, the entity created by the Emperor’s Throne, disappeared, everything became entirely his possession.

The troops following him were training around the house. When Germanos appeared, everyone stopped training and greeted him.

“This is the Emperor. Everyone should pay respects to this side rather than me.”

However, their reaction was not very favorable. Rather, they glared at Se-min with competitive expressions and roughly nodded their heads.

Se-min whispered to Germanos.

“Hey, old man. Are they your disciples?”

“I did not call them disciples, but… looking at it, they are. Since I am teaching them.”

“The look in their eyes is cheeky, can I beat them up?”

“That would also be good. They have not met a proper opponent other than me.”

Se-min nodded while scanning the faces of those fellows in turn. The disciples flinched slightly at that expression.

Se-min smiled and entered his mansion with Germanos.

The interior of the mansion was simple. As if revealing his personality, no special decorations existed, and only practical furniture and tools were arranged in the necessary places.

“He will come soon.”

Se-min sat in the reception room and drank the tea brought by the servant.

While talking with Germanos about the taste of the tea, the door opened, and Se-min came to confirm the appearance of the compatriot who was said to have come from Earth.

“…”

“…”

The two faced each other and fell into silence for a while.

There was no other reason.

It was a stranger. It was a face Se-min saw for the first time. However, the opponent seemed to have recognized Se-min’s face.

Se-min’s face was known on Earth as a Black-mark Raider. Se-min stared at him quietly and initiated a conversation.

“Hello.”

Then he also nodded.

“Hello.”

“What is your name?”

“I am Kim Won-jin.”

“How did you end up coming here…”

Kim Won-jin hesitated and looked at Germanos. Given the situation, otherworlders would be scary.

Se-min gestured for him to sit comfortably, and he sat down beside Se-min and Germanos.

Se-min listened to his story.

Kim Won-jin had been active as a Green-mark Raider on Earth. After the invasion of magic beasts began in earnest and the system collapsed, he barely survived by moving around small strongholds.

Then one day, he was fleeing to escape magic beasts, when a gate suddenly appeared at his feet, and he fell here.

After that, he wandered the otherworld and was discovered by otherworlders, and lived with them in a small village before being discovered by Germanos, who was recruiting outsiders again.

“How did you know I was here?”

“Since the Emperor’s name was Lee Se-min, I thought it might be the person I know. It is not a common name, is it? I wondered if it was, and the description matched, so…”

“Indeed.”

Se-min nodded. Although it was the first time seeing him, he was glad because he was a person from Earth. Since he had crossed over to the otherworld later than Se-min in terms of timing, he would also know the news of Earth well.

“By any chance, do you know the news of other people? Over there, the story of the Black Armor and the Heron Base?”

“Over there…”

His expression darkened.

“Just before I crossed over here, it collapsed. They said everyone died.”

“Pardon?”

Se-min stared at him.

He extended both hands to calm Se-min.

“It is true. The Heron Base was destroyed. They said no one survived. The magic beasts surged in, and an unidentified black human appeared and swept everything away. Although the Black Armor resisted, he could not stop them.”

Se-min leaned back.

It was unbelievable. The Black Armor, who had received black aura transplants, possessed a power that was strong in its own right.

He recalled conversing with the Director of the Raider Bureau right before he left. Although the Director was a human Se-min could never agree with, he was a person faithful to his own obsession to protect humanity from the magic beasts.

The fact that such a person collapsed was unbelievable.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. What a pity. Not only South Korea, but other countries were also collapsing one after another. Now Earth is completely ruined.”

He said, pulling his body back from Se-min.

Germanos grabbed Se-min’s shoulder. Se-min looked at his hand, and realized that dark red aura was rising from his body.

He had unconsciously become excited and released his strength. For Kim Won-jin, who was at the Green-mark level, it was a pressure difficult to bear.

Se-min calmed his aura and asked back.

“You are sure?”

“Yes.”

“…”

Se-min’s face was frozen.

He had come here with the thought of killing Badurbarok to save people before Earth was ruined. The reason he crossed to the otherworld was ultimately to save Earth. However, that foundation had collapsed.

Feeling that his motivation would somehow subside, Se-min forced himself to maintain his passion. The intent to kill and anger unique to the dark red aura helped him.

Se-min stared at Kim Won-jin before him, feeling the flames flickering in his chest.

He asked again.

“Really?”

Kim Won-jin nodded. It was a more serious movement than before.

“Yes.”

“Got it.”

Se-min nodded. A sense of emptiness surged in a corner of his chest. Germanos was holding Se-min’s shoulder.

“Are you alright.”

“…”

It was shocking news.

Even while nodding, Se-min felt himself that he was not fine.

The faces of the people around him whom he remembered, who were still remaining, passed by. There was a fellow like a little brother, and there was a friend. There were enemies too, but he did not wish for them to die to magic beasts.

Somewhere, there was a voice whispering that all struggles were useless.

Se-min let out a sigh.

He had gathered the four races. The war would be fought. That would not change.

However, his heart sank somehow.

The more he ruminated on the news, the heavier the weight of depression became. Se-min nodded.

“Yeah.”

“May I leave now…”

Germanos nodded instead. Kim Won-jin bowed his head and left the guest room.

Germanos asked Se-min.

“Are you alright.”

“No. My hometown has disappeared, how could I be alright?”

“…”

Se-min tapped his temples.

He organized his thoughts. When he left, the countries that survived were around South Korea, the United States, and China. He had not heard exact news about the rest.

“Please call that person back.”

“Will it be alright?”

“I have something to ask.”

Germanos looked at Se-min with complicated eyes, then told the servant again to bring him.

Kim Won-jin, who was called back, looked at Se-min with an anxious face.

“I think it would be better for you not to listen…”

“Tell me as you know. How did the Heron Base collapse?”

“I do not know well either. I just heard the news.”

“It collapsed over there, so how are the other strongholds still alive?”

“Since magic beasts have not been that active since then, the rest are just getting by.”

“Exactly where did you stay?”

“That is…”

He answered, rummaging through his memory. Se-min questioned him one by one. There were things he remembered, and things he could not.

Somehow, a strange discomfort was felt.

Se-min found it hard to believe Kim Won-jin. However, he could not know himself whether it was because Kim Won-jin was truly suspicious or because he hoped he was wrong.

Se-min quietly looked at Kim Won-jin. It was an ordinary face that one might see once while walking down the street.

However, he too would have his own life that could never be the same as others. That was why he was sitting face-to-face with Se-min now.

Led by something like a premonition, Se-min grasped the handle of Lupus that had been unfastened beside him.

And he stabbed.

Since it was done in a natural posture and in an instant, even Germanos sitting beside him could not react.

Lupus was driven into Kim Won-jin’s chest.

“Reveal your true form.”

Se-min said.

Kim Won-jin’s face distorted, then he soon grinned.

[How did you know?]

“…”

He tore through Kim Won-jin’s body with Lupus.

It was different from a human’s structure. The interior of magic beasts had been transplanted. The exterior was human, but this was closer to a magic beast.

“Who are you?”

[You should know too, right?]

“Are you Badurbarok?”

[That gentleman is busy with other matters. He has no time to care about a trivial fellow like you.]

“For that, the method is petty. Are you not doing this kind of trick because you are immensely scared of me?”

[Shut up.]

Kim Won-jin kept pulling up the corners of his mouth. Later, he twisted the corners of his mouth to a limit that could not be made with a human expression, creating a bizarrely distorted smile.

It was a hideous sight.

[What I said earlier is all true. You pitiful human.]

Along with those words, Kim Won-jin’s body began to tremble. Se-min realized what that meant and immediately deployed a barrier with his aura.

[Die!]

He saw Kim Won-jin’s eyes.

Kim Won-jin’s body was merely a bait, and the actual entity was connected somewhere else. Right before Kim Won-jin exploded, Se-min spoke toward the opponent controlling this body.

“Badurbarok is the one who will die by my hands.”

Kim Won-jin’s body exploded.

Se-min wrapped his body with aura. The aura barrier did not burst, but in the aftermath, an earthquake occurred in the area.

It was an explosive power that would have caused a disaster if it were not for Se-min.

Germanos’s gaze, which looked around the messy interior of the reception room, stopped in front of Se-min.

Within the aura Se-min deployed, the charred and mushy remains of flesh were clumped together.

“I do not know what this is about.”

“The fellow Badurbarok was too nervous, so he did a ridiculous stunt to shake me up. It seems he finds me scary.”

“I have never seen Badurbarok act like this. Disguising a human to leak false information and even committing a suicide attack must be because your actions are that threatening.”

Germanos shouted to the servant outside to bring a sack, and then asked Se-min.

“But how did you know just now that he was Badurbarok’s underling?”

Se-min answered honestly.

“I did not know.”

If he was perhaps truly an innocent human.

Se-min chuckled while looking at the remains of Kim Won-jin trapped inside his round aura.

If so, he would have said, ‘What a pity.’

Se-min did not believe the words Kim Won-jin spoke. There was no way Earth had already collapsed. It was a vague premonition, but he just believed it would be so. He also had the thought that the Director of the Raider Bureau would not be defeated so easily.

Kila and the mages continuously calculated Badurbarok’s location.

In the meantime, Se-min discussed future matters with the nobles or taught the training soldiers.

People who were outstanding in their own right from various places asked Se-min for teachings, and Se-min guided them.

Although some fell out due to the harsh method that simulated actual combat, Se-min did not care. Training before war cannot be done half-heartedly. The harder and more difficult the training was, the higher the probability of survival became.

And doing so was not unique to Se-min.

Kubar and Kaorak also became instructors to train the troops.

“Today, five people collapsed.”

“Giggle, I brought down seven people.”

“Damn it, it will be ten people tomorrow, so look forward to it.”

“A weak-hearted gent Orc like you can never do that.”

After training ended, the three gathered at a table placed beside the training ground to have tea time. Kaorak and Kubar even showed off about how many trainees they had made faint.

Se-min, who was listening quietly, chuckled.

“Still lacking.”

“Emperor, how many did you lay down to speak like that?”

“I brought down everyone.”

“What?”

Se-min said.

“Not a single person was standing. It has to be this much to be called real training. What do you goblins and Orcs know about real training?”

“Making racial discriminatory remarks without hesitation, this bastard Emperor is no joke. How did you do it?”

“Very easy.”

Se-min declared a battle royale at the end of the rough training.

He had told them that he would conduct hand-to-hand combat training, so they should fight wildly until the last five survived.

The trainees who were hesitant at first eventually got swept away by the madness of combat and brandished wooden swords, and not five, but three remained. And those three were beaten by Se-min under the pretext of final training.

In the end, everyone lay down.

The mages who ended up treating them protested to Se-min, but Se-min merely shrugged his shoulders.

This is why power is good.

“And is there not still one left?”

“What is it?”

“The instructors must train too. Right? Should we not also fight to the end?”

Se-min said, standing up.

They were drinking tea at the table installed beside the training ground. Kaorak, who was leisurely pouring tea water, stared at Se-min with surprised eyes.

“No, wait. What kind of sound is that.”

“My training is not finished yet. We must wage a final battle including the instructors. Set an example, instructors.”

“Kubar, Kubar!”

“Ugh…”

Dragged to the middle of the training ground, Kaorak and Kubar cooperated to attack Se-min. Since Se-min moderately limited his power, a fairly long clash ensued.

Eventually, the three successfully landed magnificent cross counters on each other and all lay down on the floor.

“The final blow…”

Kaorak stood up and began to crawl toward the collapsed Se-min. It was a movement filled with resentment.

Se-min watched that sight and threw the wooden sword while lying down. The wooden sword that flew like a top struck Kaorak’s forehead. Kaorak completely fainted.

“It is my victory.”

Se-min murmured while looking up at the sky, lying spread-eagle.

Not many days were left to fight Badurbarok. The moment Kila pinpointed Badurbarok’s location, everyone would move.

Not only humans but also goblins, Orcs, trolls, and ogres—everyone was waiting only for that.

“Your Majesty!”

Just then, someone called him.

“What is it?”

Se-min turned his head while lying down. It was Shozen.

Perhaps he had been helping with training somewhere as well, as dust and soil were smeared here and there on his clothes.

“Lady Kila is calling. Come quickly. It seems that thing you mentioned has finally succeeded.”

“What?”

Se-min immediately jumped up from the ground. Kubar also raised his body and slung Kaorak on his shoulder.

Together with Shozen, they headed toward the temple in the center of Sargassonia where Kila and the mages stayed. It was the place where the Council of Magic Formulae had previously controlled the minds of Sargassonia’s citizens.

When Se-min appeared, the troops guarding the place opened the path all at once.

It was a scene showing his position as the Emperor, but Se-min had no room to care about such things. Se-min’s party hastily went up the stairs to the temple.

Entering the interior of the temple, Biryu welcomed them. Following him, the mages were sitting around a table in a circle in the giant hall situated inside the temple.

In the middle, something like a vague hologram was rotating.

“Is that…”

“It is Badurbarok’s location that we found. It is still a rough appearance, but it is gradually becoming concrete.”

Se-min gazed at the hologram.

The blurry screen was gradually becoming clearer. It was too cluttered to recognize accurately, but as he kept watching, he could tell it was in the middle of ruins.

“You’ve come.”

A familiar voice, it was Kila.

She stood beside Se-min.

“We finally specified Badurbarok’s energy and found the place where the guy is. As expected, he settled at the place where the capital of the old empire is.”

“Since you knew that, why did it take this long?”

“You cannot possibly know how large the empire’s capital is, or how great a deal it is to trace them when the energy of those magic beast bastards is so bizarre. Just watch.”

The screen of the hologram was still inaccurate. It wavered here and there like waves, so it was not easy to intuit its shape accurately.

“By tonight, we will likely be able to see it in a proper shape.”

“What about the other races?”

“Since we are sharing the screen with them, they must be watching the same thing. I have contacted them all to prepare.”

“Good work.”

Se-min placed his fingertips on the blade of Lupus slung on his back. Lupus was also trembling.

The war was drawing right before his eyes. Although it somehow did not feel real to Se-min, his heart beat as if something he had awaited for a very long time was approaching.

“As soon as Badurbarok’s location is completely grasped, we will march out as quickly as possible.”

Se-min said.

That was soon the Emperor’s command. His words were transmitted to Kila, and through the mages under Kila’s command, to all families and the entire region of Sargassonia. Furthermore, it was propagated to all races.

“Is the long fight now moving toward the end.”

Kila murmured in a voice laden with regret.

They might win, or they might lose. That was unknown.

However, either Badurbarok or one of them would be completely finished. It was a war with that in mind.

“Did you not know it would turn out like this from the moment you brought me?”

At Se-min’s words, Kila chuckled.

It was Kila who put Se-min, who left Earth and came to the otherworld, into Sargassonia. He became a gladiator through her, and learned the secret of the Emperor’s Throne hidden in the basement of the gladiatorial arena through the tournament.

In the end, he became the Emperor through the trials of the Emperor’s Throne.

“No way. I just threw you in because a strange fellow came along when I was feeling bored.”

Even while saying so, Kila was not sure what her heart was like at that time.

It seemed there was also a vague premonition. That was why she gave him help even when she first met Se-min wandering the otherworld.

The weak, yet desperately fighting fellow of that time to survive had now become the Emperor and was preparing to fight Badurbarok.

Although she had studied magic all her life, the logic of the world is truly unknown.

Kila asked Se-min.

“Did you know it would turn out like this?”

It was rare for her to ask ambiguously in this manner. In a way, it was a question that was even pedantic.

Se-min answered, looking at the hologram before him that was taking shape at a slight speed.

“Of course.”

“Since when?”

“Since when, you ask…”

Se-min could now roughly recognize the city of magic beasts built on the ruins of the old empire. That demonic city he had seen beyond the gate was unfolding in an appearance several times larger.

Se-min blinked and ruminated on Kila’s question.

Was what she spoke of the decisive battle with Badurbarok? If asked so, Se-min could answer that it was when the disaster-class magic beast goblin he met on Earth died.

The moment he heard Badurbarok’s name, Se-min foresaw a moment like this.

Whether he died, or that fellow died, one of the two would end up dead.

That he became the Emperor and gathered other races in the process was just details; the essence was no different.

However, tracing further back, he seemed to have anticipated a moment like this even before knowing Badurbarok’s existence.

He used to imagine going beyond the gate someday, striking the main base of the magic beasts, and completely saving Earth. It had been so since he decided to become a Raider.

However, such an answer was too vague.

Se-min felt the thought that he had to pick the single point with the highest persuasiveness and answer. And while searching for that single point, he came to remember a certain scene.

The time when a gate opened inside his small, small room.

That miraculous moment when transcendents stepped into his room.

Perhaps Se-min had foreseen such a destiny since then. Otherwise, why would the Transcendent Network have been given to a dropout like him?

A miracle with neither context nor ground occurred to him. There must surely be a reason. And he stood here now.

Recalling the time when he wrote malicious comments on the Transcendent Network and shrieked at Iana and Dokgo Cheonma, Se-min ended up laughing.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Just, there was such a time.”

“Bear it in mind, Emperor.”

Kila tapped Se-min’s shoulder with her staff.

“We mages study the causality of the world. Vague premonitions, sudden intuitions—all of them have meaning. If you have ever foreseen today, make sure to remember that moment. It will guide you when you wander. For there is no coincidence in the world.”

Se-min nodded.

Even while doing so, his gaze was fixed on Badurbarok’s city unfolding before his eyes.

***

Se-min accessed the Transcendent Network and calmly read through all the posts he had purchased.

Needless to say the Tai Chi Wisdom he learned first, he reflected on them one by one, down to the early martial arts including the Form-Intention Fist, the Three Talents Swordplay, the Grand Purity Sword Method, and the Cloud-Ascending Steps.

The Cosmic Flow, which was a list of meaningless words but eventually memorized perfectly, and even Dam Woo-gwang’s killing method obtained while preparing for the war—he engraved everything into his head.

And he left a post on the board.

That his dimension had practically disappeared, and he crossed to another dimension for revenge, was known to everyone.

During the war, there would be little time to access the Transcendent Network. In preparation for that time, Se-min did what he could do.

Emperor Lee Se-min: Brother, I will surely visit later to repay your kindness. I will at least offer you a drink. Loyalty, loyalty!

Dragon Lord Imuncazer: Right… do not forget…~~! For big bro… a drink… that is enough…~~!

Support from transcendents was transmitted to him, who was now preparing for the final fight.

Even the fellow Alaste, who had only selectively written unpleasant comments in the meantime, left a message of support this time.

Night Emperor Alaste: Fighting

Even so, he would not leave that bastard alone later.

One more reason not to die by Badurbarok was added. He would become a true transcendent, cross over to that guy’s dimension, and beat him up.

He also separately sent greetings to the people he was grateful to.

Emperor Lee Se-min: Sister Iana. Even if something goes wrong with me… you must be happy…!

Grand Wizard Iana: Are you crazy?

There were those who treated him as usual.

Sword Demon Ferzen: TT TT Se-min, do not die!! Live~! Got it~~! TT TT You must win~! TT

And there was also someone making a fuss.

Besides them, Dam Woo-gwang, Geherdt, Kim Bong-hak, Kaien, etc.—those who had been in that place since he first accessed the Transcendent Network—all left posts.

First Demon of All Time Dokgo Cheonma: Do not die.

Emperor Lee Se-min: Yes, Master!

With Dokgo Cheonma’s post as the last, Se-min turned off the Transcendent Network.

And he raised his head.

He was standing on top of the temple. Below, all the citizens of Sargassonia gathered and looked up at him.

Se-min grinned and squared his shoulders. Everyone awaited the Emperor’s words.