Chapter 743: Descent

“Kieek.......”

“Get a hold of yourself. That was the last one just now.”

“Ah, is that so?”

The fierce battle came to an end.

The enemies that had flown toward us.

However, they had instead become prey that could not escape from us even if they tried.

Dealing with them was actually far easier than dealing with that horde of zombies.

They were originally beings from another world.

Beings that, from the start, were not optimized for this world’s environment.

'Originally, they must have intended to invade this world while receiving support from that other side.'

But fortunately.

Guuuuuuuuung......

Thanks to the hunters’ secret art succeeding after they ate my cooking.

A situation that might have become the worst possible case......

The approach of that “other side” had been stopped.

If we had not responded before it got close enough, then at that point there would have been no way to respond with the hunters’ power alone.

Thanks to that.

The power that should have supported those things vanished.

And on top of that, this world’s environment had even begun showing hostility toward them.

'A situation similar to creatures that can’t even swim fighting in the deep sea.'

They were beings that must have originally possessed powerful strength.

Their power had no choice but to become pitifully weak.

It was something possible because they were invaders, not even refugees.

And.

“......So this is.”

Several awakened.

More precisely.

The awakened who were not originally human stared blankly down at their hands and spoke.

“Leveling up.......”

Because they had originally been powerful monsters, they had been judged to be at fairly high levels.

To the point that it had been difficult for them to gain enough experience even in the battle against those zombies.

However.

The ones we fought this time must originally have been tremendously powerful enemies.

The System absorbed their power, and part of it was converted and granted as power for the awakened who had earned battle achievements.

'Everyone’s levels rose tremendously.'

That much experience had come in, in other words.

Even awakened from other species, for whom additional growth had not been easy, had now become able to achieve growth on the same level as awakened.

Surprise settled on the faces of those who felt that change.

'......Well, not enough for me to level up, though.'

Even for me.

It was not as if I had gained nothing.

Srrrk......

The corpses of the monsters that must have held tremendous power.

That enormous number was all sucked into my shadow.

They were monsters I had never seen before, and their types were varied as well.

They would surely be a great help.

Yes.

We had won the battle.

And the spoils were not bad either.

However.

As I looked up at the sky, I thought.

'......The other side is definitely moving farther away.'

The world that had originally been approaching this side.

Fortunately, the world of the other side had been pushed back under the influence of the hunters’ secret art and the power of my cooking.

However.

“......They’re still coming down.”

“So they are.”

Separate from the ones that had attacked us.

Even from the receding other side, there were still beings somehow swinging those ash-gray wings and crossing over into this world.

The place they were headed was not toward us.

Rather, they were avoiding the light we emitted and settling far away.

Most of them were descending across this vast North Korean land.

And the place the greatest number among them were heading toward was.

'......That city.'

The place where an unidentified energy was shooting upward.

That city.

I looked at that place with a frown.

The pillar that had forcibly pried open the ceiling of our world and made the other side descend.

Even while the world of the other side was moving farther away, that pillar was still connected over there.

And.

I did not know about the others, but I could feel it.

'Inside there.......'

At the presence of something.

Just as I was frowning.

“......You, wh......!”

Pak! And.

There was someone who launched itself toward me.

“Sergeant Shin!”

“Be careful, sir!”

Several soldiers reacted to that and threw themselves forward.

They tried to swing their weapons, as if to protect me.

However.

“It’s fine.”

“......!?”

I reached out and stopped them from protecting me.

Then.

Grab!

The being seized me by the collar.

“Tell, me......!”

“.......”

The goblin corpse.

Whether because its organs of speech had rotted away, or for some other reason, I did not know.

“What, happened......!”

In a trembling voice.

It said that.

***

“What, happened......!”

“.......”

Yes.

This thing was certainly a powerful being.

But its essence was a parasite, no different from those other zombies.

It was merely a being that had worked hard to increase its hosts, exactly as the instinct engraved into it dictated.

The structure of the world, or its hidden side.

The absurdly enormous beings lurking behind it.

It would not have had any interest in such things.

“To our...... city.”

That was why.

It knew nothing about the current situation.

“To the prince...... what, happened......!”

This thing had originally not been very emotional.

But I could feel great agitation, enough to shake even its soul.

“Sorry, but I don’t know exactly either.”

“.......”

“Don’t worry.”

Of course.

Even I, saying this, was only a little better than it.

It was not as if I had grasped everything that had happened precisely.

“There should be others who can explain.”

I only...... had something I could guess.

When I turned my head.

The goblin’s gaze also turned that way.

Then.

“As you commanded, Legion Commander, we attempted to gather information on this land.”

The ones who stepped forward at my words were.

The hunters who had left with Ariella when she departed that city.

“Starting from Jangsangot, where they would have moved through the formation on Baengnyeong Island, we traced their route backward. Perhaps the number of people who had crossed here from other regions was considerable, or perhaps additional personnel had joined them here...... but their scale gradually grew larger.”

“And?”

“Through the traces they left in various places...... only a short while ago, we succeeded in guessing their objective.”

They looked up at the sky.

“When the barrier created by the System disappeared, what vanished was not merely the boundary between each region. Thanks to that...... it seems something that had been impossible before became possible.”

“Something that had been impossible before.”

At those words.

There was something I could guess.

-What is this formation for? Is it a formation that summons a powerful demon’s minion...... or maybe even a demon itself?

-No way. Even if they received help, at most it would have been something like being taught knowledge.

In the past.

I recalled the conversation I had shared with Choi Wonjun on Baengnyeong Island.

-Doing something that incredible should be impossible.

They spoke, cold sweat running down their faces.

“Originally, it was impossible. No, in truth, it should still be impossible even now. But...... for some reason, they seem to be trying to realize it despite forcing it greatly.”

“Forcing it?”

“A direct descent is still impossible. However...... a part of it, meaning, for example.”

That pillar that was still connected to the other side.

Yes, I could feel it.

“If it is only the soul, it might be possible.”

The presence of someone......

That could be felt inside that pillar.

“What, do you...... mean.......”

The goblin frowned, as if it could not understand the flow of the conversation.

However.

The hunters continued speaking calmly even in response to its question.

“That is why...... what is needed is a vessel to contain that soul.”

Only then was I able to realize it.

This situation we had experienced.

The way our souls had been shaken by seeing the other side in the sky.

And the fact that we had been forced to fight monsters that had descended from the other side.

'All of that was merely...... the aftermath.'

At first, I had thought that might have been the reason that pillar appeared.

But no.

Those things were merely side effects that had occurred because the pillar appeared.

Like someone trying to walk down a road and, by chance, sending a stone flying after kicking it.

We had merely won against that flying pebble.

The true reason that pillar had appeared lay elsewhere.

“Descent.”

The being that had kicked that pebble.

It was easy to guess who that was.

'A demon...... is descending.'

From the world of the other side.

Through that pillar, a demon was descending.

***

Kuuuuuuuuuung......

The enormous pillar that had been enveloping the entire city.

Inside that pillar, there were people looking up at the sky.

“Ah, aaah.......”

Up in that sky.

A form personally descending here from the world spread out in that distant place.

At that enormous presence, countless people knelt.

“Наш господин.......” (“Our lord.......”)

“Our......”

“Our master.......”

A considerable number of humans.

They were praying with both hands clasped together, but the languages coming from their mouths were somewhat different.

Russia, China, and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea.

Those who had spread through nearby countries and built their own faiths.

Not long ago, they had gathered in this land and faced their brothers from other lands.

Because the master of their souls had desired it.

And now.

They looked up at the sky with eyes more desperate than anything.

'Even the System abandoned us.'

Though they had possessed somewhat unusual jobs.

They had still been within the category of awakened.

[The awakening conditions have changed.]

[Awakening is canceled.]

[Your class, stats, skills, and abilities disappear.]

But not long ago.

The System’s power that had resided inside their bodies had suddenly left them.

They had despaired in a world without a god to protect them.

And yet even the System had abandoned them.

That was why.

'The only one who did not abandon us is that one.'

They gritted their teeth and clung to the last remaining lifeline.

Relying on the power transmitted from a distant otherworld, they survived in this land and carried out their mission.

And only a short while ago.

-Why.......

They...... the followers, had completed their mission.

Something handed down from above.

And a single dagger made by scraping together the misfortunes of this land.

The task of driving that into someone’s chest.

Even if they could manage to make the dagger.

Driving it in was something so dangerous that, for them, who had become no different from ordinary humans, it required them to stake their lives.

-I wish to stand together with you...... humans......

Fortunately.

That task had ended more easily than expected.

For some reason, the target had not shown any wariness toward them at all.

And.

Thanks to that......

Srrrk......

The thing that had descended from that sky finally touched the ground.

It settled into the dagger they had made.

And seeped into the body into which that dagger had been stabbed.

And at the same time.

Kuuung......!

There was a change felt in their souls.

They were not awakened.

They did not have senses that could react sensitively to changes around them.

Even so, there was one reason they could feel it.

'This world.'

Because that change was so enormous.

That even without sensitive senses.

As long as one was life of this land, everyone could feel it with their soul.

'Is changing.'

A great change.

Was taking place.

“Ahh...... finally!”

Yes.

That was none other than.

“Have you come, our master?”

Their master.

A being that, merely by reaching the ground.

Changed the laws of this world to suit itself.

A being that imposed its own laws on the world merely by existing.

“O great god......!”

A being that could be called divine.

They bowed their heads and pressed them to the ground.

With the greatest sincerity they could offer, they prostrated themselves before that thing and paid respect.

Srrrk......

The skin that had been dry as if starved regained vitality.

And growth that had failed to occur due to malnutrition rapidly took place.

“Ah, ah. Ahem. Hm.”

At last.

The being transformed into the form of a beautiful young man.

“Well, this much...... isn’t bad.”

The demon smiled.