After Ten Millennia in Hell

A dragon, a being that could not exist on Earth, was soaring through the skies with its giant wings. It was Echidna, who immediately came flying after receiving Oh Kang-Woo's call.

"… When did you prepare something like this?" Cha Yeon-Joo asked. She was sitting on a chair installed on Echidna's back.

"I didn't want to suffer like last time," Kang-Woo answered.

He thought about when they had ridden Echidna to Pohang. He had held on to one of her scales for dear life. He didn't want to experience that ever again.

"Are you the one keeping up this barrier as well?" Yeon-Joo said while touching the black barrier surrounding the chairs.

Kang-Woo nodded.

"I've become better than how I was then."

To be more exact, he now had more demonic energy.

After his Demonic Energy stat surpassed three digits, he had absolutely no problem maintaining the Authority of Projection to cover Echidna's body and block the wind with a barrier at the same time.

'The demonic crystal plays a big part too.'

After he'd made the demonic crystal, he'd become capable of using demonic energy more effectively.

He could now more comfortably use Authorities that had required more focus in the past. Thanks to that, although Echidna was flying at full speed, Kang-Woo's group was able to fly to Japan comfortably.

However, they couldn't do anything about the massive shaking.

"Urp! Urpp!!"

Goo Hyun-Mo was about to vomit, and a single tear trickled down his cheek.

"P-Please, a bit slower…"

"Just endure it since we're in a hurry."

"Guuuuuhhhh."

He agonized at Jang Hyun-Jae's sharp answer. It was the worst possible condition for someone who suffered from motion sickness.

[Kang-Woo, are you going to fight again?] Echidna said in a worried voice tone. [Don't do what you did last time.]

"Okay."

Kang-Woo nodded while smiling bitterly.

Unleashing the Ten Thousand Demon Core…

He didn't want to do something as reckless as that again.

'Although, I'll have to do it if absolutely necessary.'

He had also acquired a new power, the demonic crystal.

If things went well, he would be able to solve the incident without using the Ten Thousand Demon Core.

"Uhmm… Kang-Woo."

He heard a despondent voice. Kang-Woo turned around. Han Seol-Ah was sitting among Ranker-level Players.

"I-Is it really okay for me to come with you all?"

She felt like a cat among a group of lions. She looked at Kang-Woo with worry.

"It's okay. All you have to do is to keep us buffed from the rear."

"W-Wouldn't taking Si-Hun or Tae-Soo have been better? I'm not sure if I'll be of use to y—"

"I guarantee that you'll be of more help to us than them this time around."

Kang-Woo had chosen Seol-Ah as the last member.

Just like she'd said, Kim Si-Hun would've been of bigger help if what they needed was more power. However, he had chosen Seol-Ah for one simple reason.

'The buff I'd received before…'

Her buff Grace of Light could boost unique stats.

Because her level had gone up quite a lot, the effect would probably be bigger compared to before. Also, since his Demonic Energy stat was now in the triple digits, the buff effect would be enormous.

It wasn't a buff that she could only apply it to him, so he was expecting it to increase other people's strengths too.

'Now that I think about it, buff abilities are practically overpowered.'

A buff skill that increased your stat by an absolute number?

Considering how hard it was to increase one's stat the higher one's level became, its effect was no joke.

The reason why players tried so hard to get Legendary-grade equipment was mostly because of the stat boost.

[Kang-Woo, we're here.]

Kang-Woo raised his head. He could see a giant island—no, land.

Hokkaido was so big that it was weird to call it an island.

"…"

Kang-Woo remained silent after looking down at the island from above.

Tragic was the first word that came to mind.

Sapporo, which was where the SS-rank gate had appeared, was completely destroyed. It was like the city ruins in a post-apocalyptic film.

'I guess this is how a city that isn't able to handle the wave of monsters ends up.'

He heard there were also some cities like that in Korea, but none had been destroyed over such a wide area as Hokkaido.

Grrrrrr!!

A monster came into view as it flew out from between destroyed buildings. It was a giant dragon over ten meters long. Its skin was covered in hard rock, and its claws were so sharp that they could tear through steel.

It was a Drake, the SS-rank common monster that was the main culprit behind Hokkaido's destruction.

[Kang-Woo.]

"Go around it. We don't have the time to face that monster right now."

[Okay.]

Echidna flew around the Drake.

"Over there."

Hyun-Jae pointed. Near the ocean was a bunker that resembled a bunker from a certain popular game.[1]

It was the Sapporo Base, which had been made to retake Hokkaido, which had become heaven for the monsters of Japan. Although Japan had built a base, they hadn't seen any significant results yet.

Echidna quickly returned to her human form after landing on the ground.

As Kang-Woo released the Authority of Projection, they appeared as if they'd suddenly descended from the sky.

"Who goes there?!"

"Wh-Where did they…"

The Japanese Players guarding the base took out their weapons.

Hyun-Jae approached and talked to the Players in fluent Japanese.

Kang-Woo said, "Echidna, remember the interpretation magic you used before? Cast it on me."

"Okay."

After the magic was cast on him, he could understand the conversation between Hyun-Jae and the Japanese Players.

"I would like a report on the current situation."

"Prime Minister Yamada and Sir Fujimoto Ryoma are in the middle of a meeting. I will contact them immediately, so please wait for a moment."

Hyun-Jae nodded.

After a short moment, a very wrinkled old man and an attractive young man walked out of the bunker.

"Ohh, I didn't expect reinforcements to arrive so quickly… Thank you very much, Captain Jang Hyun-Jae."

"Not at all. Our neighboring country is in a crisis, so it is only natural that we overcome it together."

"The people behind you are…?"

Prime Minister Yamada quickly scanned the people. There were three familiar faces. He knew the Red Rose guildmaster, Cha Yeon-Joo; and the two captains of the Hwarang Corps, Baek Hwa-Yeon and Goo Hyun-Mo.

But he knew nothing about the other three.

"They are Players who have volunteered for the Demon Cult subjugation and the hostage rescue operation. I will vouch for their skills," Hyun-Jae said.

To be honest, he didn't know how strong Kang-Woo, Echidna, and Seol-Ah were, but he couldn't say anything that would lower the prime minister's trust.

"Hmm. I understand. I trust you, Captain Jang."

This wasn't the time to be picky.

As Prime Minister Yamada finished talking, Fujimoto Ryoma stepped forward and formally bowed toward Kang-Woo's group.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Fujimoto Ryoma."

He was tall and handsome. Although he wasn't as abnormally handsome as Si-Hun, he was still quite a good-looking young man.

His eyes were especially eye-catching. His left eye was blue, unlike his black right eye, which gave off a mysterious feeling. He was odd-eyed, as they said.

"First off, thank you very much for volunteering to help in this incident. You could have ignored it since it was not your country's business, but I am relieved to see how passionate you are to help as if it were your home cou—"

"That's enough formalities," Kang-Woo interjected.

Ryoma's face crumpled momentarily.

Kang-Woo said, "More importantly, we would like to hear about the Demon Cult's current location and the progression rate of the summoning ritual."

"Hmm…" Ryoma nodded while smiling again. "In that case, I will give you an outline of the current situation."

He guided Kang-Woo and the rest into the bunker.

There was a map of Sapporo in the bunker's meeting room.

"We believe that the summoning ritual is being prepared here." He pointed to the map with a long baton. "Sapporo Station, the place where the SS-rank Gate first opened. We believe they're making the preparations on the station's third floor. However, there are many variant monsters that we believe the Demon Cult has set free in the area. There are also a few Demon Cult members guarding this area."

The explanation continued.

"We cannot get through with our current forces, which is why we've asked for your help."

"What is the plan?" Hyun-Jae asked.

Ryoma pointed to two places on the map.

"We're planning on using a feint tactic. First, we will grab the Demon Cult's attention with a fake attack and then ambush them from behind. I would like to leave the ambushing to the Korean Players. I am sure they won't have information about you all, so it will have a high chance of success."

"Hmm," Hyun-Jae said.

A feint to grab attention from one side and ambush from behind…

It was a good tactic and had even been proven to be successful throughout history.

'That's the problem.'

The problem was that the plan was too good. The enemy could easily think of it and make countermeasures for it.

It wasn't like the Demon Cult was guarding a massive area like a castle.

They only had to guard the place of the summoning ritual and Kurosaki Yurie.

"I know what you're thinking," Ryoma said while smiling.

He pointed to another part of the map.

"To be frank, there is another part of the plan. Taking advantage of the confusion, someone will infiltrate the station through here and save the Miko of the Heavens."

The third card of the feint.

It wasn't a bad tactic if it worked. No, the feint itself was already good.

The Demon Cult didn't know that Korean Players were taking part yet, so it could perfectly catch them by surprise.

"I will be taking on this role. I believe I am most suited for it since it requires an individual to act alone."

He had the vigor befitting a World Ranker.

'No, it's not really vigor.'

Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. He could smell the desire from Ryoma.

'I guess he wants to be a hero.'

A World Ranker, only eight in the entire world, rescues the emperor's kidnapped granddaughter!

Kang-Woo could already picture the headline. The press could even make a drama out of it. Ryoma probably knew that better than anyone.

'Well, it doesn't really matter.'

Kang-Woo didn't care if Ryoma wanted to become a hero or not. The only thing that mattered was that the tactic Ryoma had proposed wasn't bad, and if it was successful, Kang-Woo would be able to stop Lilith's summoning.

"In that case, let's get started."

Kang-Woo stood up.

1. This is referring to the bunker in Starcraft. ☜