Chapter 1472

<Chapter 1472> 1472. The Abandoned World

“Big bro, please stay here and guard this place.”

“Guard? I thought you’d ask me to charge in with you.”

“If you’re with us, Big bro, it’s a big help. But I’m more worried about this world. If some evil spirit priest comes through that tower and hides on Earth… Ugh, just thinking about it gives me the creeps.”

Pak Suho sighed deeply with a serious expression.

I couldn’t help but feel slightly exasperated. Followers of the evil spirit are already active on Earth. Though their pseudo-religion has collapsed, they’re definitely up to something else.

‘Having beings from another world come over isn’t exactly pleasant.’

I looked at the red tower on the building rooftop. Could we use its door to return to the tattooed world instead?

“Alright. Since it’s serious business, I’ll help too. What should I do while you’re handling your part?”

“I’ll attack the red tower with Belrophine’s soldiers.”

“You want me to deal with any bastards trying to escape here while you attack the red tower?”

“Yes, please, Big bro.”

I stared intently at Pak Suho and asked,

“Can you handle it?”

“Of course! I’ve gotten stronger since last time. Belrophine has also developed with support from the Selle cult.”

Pak Suho was brimming with confidence.

The energy radiating from him was indeed stronger than before. He had grown significantly faster. Though he hasn’t surpassed me yet… I have a feeling he might soon.

‘Pak Suho surpassing me? That would be kinda annoying.’

Should I step up my game and get stronger?

Pak Suho continued explaining the plan to attack the red tower. Honestly, I wasn’t that interested so I only half-listened. My job is solely dealing with whatever comes out of Earth’s red tower. The rest is Pak Suho’s responsibility.

“We’re planning to attack the red tower in three days.”

“In three days. Got it.”

In three days.

Leaning against the railing on the building rooftop, I gazed at the red tower. It had grown larger compared to three days ago. The red tower is gradually crossing over into Earth. Worse still, neither the Hunter’s Association nor ordinary citizens can perceive its existence.

‘Pak Suho did well discovering this tower is here. It wasn’t by chance; does he have special abilities?’

Pak Suho is a hero.

A hero chosen by the spirits.

As a hero, I wish he’d hurry up and grow stronger to deal with the evil spirit.

‘Just don’t get stronger than me.’

That Brahasen bastard already knows who I am. He must be aware that I’ve interfered with his work several times already. When the opportunity arises, he’ll surely try to kill me.

KWAANG!

An explosion sounded from the red tower.

‘Hmm? Is it starting?’

I glanced down from the rooftop casually. The citizens walking on the street seemed completely unaware of the explosion and continued strolling calmly.

I stroked the hilt of the Hwaryeon sword tucked at my waist as I glared at the entrance of the red tower.

KWAANG! BOOM! KRAKABOOM!

The explosions were getting louder.

I tensed my body. I could sense someone inside the red tower moving toward the entrance.

The door burst open forcefully.

Out came a man wearing gray clothes soaked in blood. With crimson skin, fang-like teeth, thorn-like protrusions instead of hair, and two fiery red eyes, he was clearly a monster.

“A priest of Brahasen, huh.”

“What are you?!”

The monster cackled loudly in a demonic tongue, retaining its sanity despite being driven by madness. Proof that he was indeed a priest of Brahasen.

I drew the Hwaryeon sword and pointed it at him.

“Arrogant bastard! You dare…”


“I don’t have time to deal with your sorry ass! I’ll spare you this once—now get lost!”

“Why would I be here for any other reason than to kill whatever emerges from there?”

Raitenryu Rai Sen.

I swung the blade through the empty air, releasing a blue sword qi infused with crimson lightning that advanced toward the bastard. In panic, he raised his arm to block the attack.

The blade failed to sever his arm.

“Tougher than an average monster’s body, huh? What a freak.”

“This is the body granted to me by the divine! Hah?! You think such a measly attack could—”

The arrogant grin was wiped off his face as he suddenly dropped to his knees, screaming. He raised both hands to the heavens, his eyes rolling back.

“Brahmasen has spoken to me! Brahmasen ordered me to slay you here! You are our greatest enemy!”

I gripped the sword with both hands.

An odd sensation washed over me—it seemed Brahmasen had possessed him. And now, through his eyes, Brahmasen was watching me.

“I know who you are. You’re the most dangerous being in this world. I’ve come to take you away.”

“Not before I kill you first.”

[Shunja (Moment) activated. Stacks remaining: 6]

[Shunja (Moment) activated. Stacks remaining: 5]

[Shunja (Moment) activated. Stacks remaining: 4]

Accelerating repeatedly, I dashed toward him. In an instant, I reached him and swung the blade at his head without hesitation.

Raitenryu Rai Kō.

A flash of crimson lightning bisected Brahmasen’s disciple from crown to groin. The moment his body split into two, tentacles erupted from the grotesque wound and coiled around my arms and legs.

-HahahaHAHAHA!

“Shit.”

I immediately unleashed a bolt of lightning. ZZZZT! A piercing blue current incinerated the tentacles. But as they burned away, new ones sprouted from the corpse, lunging at me.

-I thought today was already the worst day ever. That damn toy turned out stronger than expected, so I was about to give up on gender entirely.

Hundreds of tentacles stretched out from all directions. No matter how many I slashed or burned with lightning, they regenerated endlessly.

‘Should I destroy the disciple’s corpse?’

Dodging the tentacles while closing in had its limits—I needed to prevent them from grabbing me.

[Tenshin (Heavenly Heart) activated. Duration: 1 minute.]

[Shunja (Moment) activated. Stacks remaining: 3]

The tentacles trying to grab me slipped off. Unimpeded, I surged forward and swung the blade at the corpse. Swinging with all my might, I pulverized it beyond recognition.

KIIIING.

Behind the corpse, a red tower began emitting an eerie sound and collapsed.

‘And yet here I am, dealing with the most annoying bastard of all! Just thinking about the divine plan you ruined still makes my blood boil. Die already, mysterious meddler.’

It was useless. Even the smallest shard of the corpse transformed into tentacles, filling the space and enveloping me.

-What a lucky day this turned out to be.

With a grimace, I plunged the blade into the wall of tentacles, dragging it downward to slice through them. The lightning emanating from my body set the tentacles ablaze.

Emerging from the mass of tentacles, I froze.

This wasn’t Seoul.

The ground was a dull black—a dead land devoid of life. The sky glowed like blood-red paint, and no wind stirred.

I scanned my surroundings. There was no one. Not even a single tree or weed marred the desolate landscape. Aside from me, there was no sign of life here.

‘…Did I fall into hell?’

That was the only explanation that made sense. I cautiously moved forward, aware that no one would come to rescue me if I stayed put.

‘It can’t be an illusion… there’s no way anyone could penetrate my mental defenses.’

From my inventory, I pulled out a Spatial Teleport Scroll and tore it open. Nothing happened—I couldn’t return home. The situation was worse than I imagined.

‘The fact that the teleportation scroll doesn’t work means this place might not even be Earth.’

Is this part of Bak So-ho’s tattoo world? Could such a realm exist within it?

As unease bubbled up inside me, I began running forward.

At the base of a hill, I spotted a moving creature. It wasn’t human—or animal.

Its crimson skin was pierced with jagged bone spurs protruding from various parts of its body.

‘A follower of Brahmasen…!’

The thing wandered aimlessly before stopping to mutilate itself. Then it resumed wandering, continuing its cycle of movement and self-harm…


Wandering around, harming myself, and endlessly repeating it. That cycle broke when that thing spotted me. As soon as it saw me, it started charging like a lunatic. There wasn’t a trace of sanity in its crimson eyes—just pure madness.

“Torturing this madman won’t reveal anything… I’ll just kill it.”

Raitenryu (Lightning Heaven Style): Rai Sen (Lightning Flash).

The blade of energy soared and cleaved through it. I approached cautiously, on high alert.

“It might regenerate using tentacles like that guy earlier and attack me.”

The corpse didn’t regenerate. No tentacles appeared. Even prodding it with my foot elicited no response.

“Definitely dead.”

I summoned a bike from my inventory and rode around. After two hours of speeding, aside from the occasional roaming followers of Bramasen, I found nothing. Not even water.

The scenery was all the same—it was worrying whether I was just going in circles in the same place.

“At this rate, it could take years to find a way back.”

Food isn’t an issue.

My Leisure Life app is still working, so I can bring food from other worlds. I won’t starve.

“How am I supposed to live in a place like this? Don’t make me laugh. No matter what, I’m finding a way back to Earth.”

An item came to mind.

[Absolute Monarch

Activate Absolute Monarch once.

You can issue an absolute command. If you command the universe to collapse, it will collapse. The command lasts for one minute. Nothing can resist it.

Price—

※Caution

The command only lasts for one minute.

Think carefully before using.]

Could I use this to return to Earth immediately?

“…Now that I think about it, it feels too precious to waste. And there must be another way besides this.”

[Fragment of Omniscience

You can ask three questions and receive answers. No matter how difficult the question, the Fragment of Omniscience will provide an answer—even if it’s about the distant future.

Current uses: 2

Price: –

※Caution

Questions related to the Leisure Life app are ignored.]

I pulled out a small stone from my inventory.

Fragment of Omniscience.

Out of the three questions, two had already been used, leaving me with one.

I asked the Fragment of Omniscience:

“How do I get back to Earth?”

[Bramasen’s altar must be activated to open a dimensional gate to Earth. To activate the altar, a sacrifice is required.]

Psshhht.

The Fragment of Omniscience crumbled into dust and disappeared.

Having obtained the answer, I was about to start my bike when I hesitated.

“And where exactly is this altar?”

There was no answer to my question. The Fragment of Omniscience had already turned to dust.

“No guarantee I’d find it just by wandering around aimlessly…”

After pondering for a moment, I launched a state-of-the-art drone from the “Vampire Detective” world into the sky. The drone, soaring high above, was perfect for scouting the surroundings.

“…Found it. With nothing else around, it was easy to spot.”

Four priests were conducting a ritual at the altar. Upon closer inspection, it seemed more like a prayer. Surrounding them were throngs of Bramasen’s followers—there had to be at least 300,000 of them.

Break through that alone? Insanity.

“Even summoning Yuria and Elena would only give me one minute of full strength. There’s no way I can take them all out.”

Should I use Phone Ta to nuke everything?

“The altar would get caught in the blast. If it breaks, I might not be able to return. Is there another way?”

After much deliberation, I fiddled with the Leisure Life app. One of the quests I hadn’t checked in a while caught my eye.

[Paladin: Journey Against Evil

Long ago, evil ran rampant.

It’s terrifying.

Evil tempts humans, deceives them, and devours them.

Humans fall into evil, corrupting themselves, and the world becomes stained with wickedness.

A few righteous beings strive to protect this world.

It’s tough.

This world has far too much evil.

Demons who spread evil mock the righteous.

But there is a goddess bringing light to this cruel world. She is the last remaining hope. You are the light she spreads across the world.

Destroy evil.

Eliminate the great demons.

Raise this world drowning in darkness with light.

Quest Success Condition: Defeat the great demons

Quest Success Reward: Divine Manifestation

※Penalty exists.]