Chapter 100: Prelude to the Great Cataclysm (3)
Shuuut—
Chae Jin-young stepped out of the return portal and back onto Earth.
“What the hell? Why’s the atmosphere like this?”
A chilly wind blew across the desolate Siberian plain, where two groups stood facing each other.
Yoon Soo-ho and Choi Hee-yeon. And on the other side, Dmitri Petrov and Anu.
Come to think of it, they were complete strangers who had never met before.
“Psycho. Who’s that guy? Didn’t we enter the dungeon just us?”
Yoon Soo-ho asked as he spotted Chae Jin-young arriving late.
Though he was wary, to a Zero-Grade like Yoon Soo-ho, Dmitri was no different from an ordinary person without mana.
His physical abilities were still at 1st Grade level, but in his current state, even Choi Hee-yeon could beat him.
However, the one Yoon Soo-ho was truly watching wasn’t Dmitri—it was the jackal Anu.
The one who had devoured the hellstone was now radiating an intensely hot and malevolent aura, like hellfire itself.
“Ah, I forgot to introduce him. That’s Dmitri—one of my sub-space residents. He used to be more famous under the name Stalker.”
“Stalker? You mean GODS’s infamous assassin?”
Choi Hee-yeon’s eyes widened at the codename Stalker.
“That’s right. As you can see, he’s reformed and become a dog trainer now. You introduce yourself too. This is Association President Yoon Soo-ho, and this is Advisor Senior.”
Chae Jin-young introduced Yoon Soo-ho and Choi Hee-yeon to Dmitri as well.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Dmitri. And this is my partner, Anu.”
“Woof!”
Anu barked lightly once.
“Likewise, pleased to meet you.”
Choi Hee-yeon bowed her head in greeting.
But Yoon Soo-ho merely stared at Dmitri and Anu with a displeased expression.
After biting his lip for a moment, he finally spoke to Chae Jin-young.
“Psycho. I didn’t ask before, but now I want an explanation. What exactly were those tentacles we saw in the dungeon? And why is a GODS bastard living in your sub-space?”
“Why didn’t you ask earlier? I can’t stand holding back when I’m curious—impressive restraint.”
“Not everyone pries secrets by breaking fingers like you do.”
Perhaps because he had mustered the courage once, Yoon Soo-ho began saying everything he wanted to say.
Chae Jin-young smirked and replied,
“The tentacles are a guy who absorbs polluted zone monsters and the black mana of GODS bastards. He’s a friend living in my sub-space.”
He gave a simple explanation, deliberately omitting things like the Demon King or ability absorption.
There was no real reason to hide it anymore, but he wasn’t sure what kind of impact the word ‘Demon King’ might have on them.
“Absorbs black mana? Then that guy too…?”
“Yeah. Dmitri became nicer after having his black mana absorbed. Well, most of them turned into a handful of ash, though.”
“I see……”
Yoon Soo-ho nodded.
In truth, this didn’t completely satisfy his curiosity, but he didn’t press further.
Knowing more wouldn’t change anything anyway.
“How about it? Feel like your trust in me just got a bit thicker?”
At Chae Jin-young’s question, Yoon Soo-ho clamped his mouth shut for a moment.
It had struck right through his psychology.
Of course he was curious about the tentacles and Stalker, but ultimately, he wanted to know more about the agent called Psycho.
In a way, the fate of not just Korea but the entire world could be said to rest in his hands.
Yet he knew almost nothing about him.
“I’m sorry for asking something unnecessary.”
“What’s there to be sorry about…”
Chae Jin-young waved off Yoon Soo-ho’s apology.
“Instead of words, you can just pay me back properly later. Right?”
“I knew I shouldn’t have said anything.”
Regret flickered in Yoon Soo-ho’s eyes at Chae Jin-young’s follow-up.
“Anyway. Is this all the clear rewards?”
The basic rewards were 3 1st Grade manastones per person, totaling 12.
One artifact from the hidden objective—the Holy Ring.
Plus the chalice Choi Hee-yeon had secured, and the final reward: the hellstone demonic sword.
“First off, what you got is mine.”
“…What a shame.”
“You can’t even use it anyway.”
“I was going to feed it to Anu.”
The three 1st Grade manastones Dmitri was holding flew straight into Chae Jin-young’s hand with a whoosh.
“The ring would be better for you to use. It’ll enhance your Purification Power.”
“I took down the hidden objective boss, so naturally it’s mine, right?”
It was only fair—Yoon Soo-ho had been the one to kill the hidden objective boss, Archangel Regael.
“I don’t think I’ll have any use for this chalice.”
Choi Hee-yeon took the chalice out of her sub-space backpack and handed it to Chae Jin-young.
He pulled it toward himself with psychokinesis and immediately stored it in his sub-space.
“Here, Senior. Use this.”
Chae Jin-young used psychokinesis to hand the hellstone demonic sword—obtained after killing the cult leader—to Choi Hee-yeon.
“Huh? But this is…”
“I’m sick of swords now. And if you use this, it’ll improve your mana sensitivity, making it easier to master lightning abilities.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re about to absorb manastones and reach 1st Grade anyway, so just ask Heavenly Sword to train you hard.”
At Chae Jin-young’s words, Choi Hee-yeon nodded with a resolute expression.
“We should head back soon…”
At that moment—
『The variant says it’s coming here. It has something urgent to report.』
‘Really? Tell it to come.’
Since a contaminated zone was right nearby, the variant appeared in front of Chae Jin-young almost immediately.
Yoon Soo-ho and Choi Hee-yeon spotted the demon suddenly rising from the contaminated zone and immediately assumed combat stances.
“That one’s on our side too.”
At Chae Jin-young’s words, Yoon Soo-ho furrowed his brow and muttered,
“Just how many things do you have locked up in your sub-space…?”
As soon as the variant stepped out of the Creep, it returned to human form.
Seeing that, Yoon Soo-ho and Choi Hee-yeon stared in astonishment and curiosity.
Ignoring their reactions, Chae Jin-young spoke with the variant.
“What’s going on?”
“GODS terrorist attacks are occurring simultaneously all over the world. Including in Korea, of course.”
Chae Jin-young scratched his head at the variant’s words.
“All over the world? There’s no way Michelle wouldn’t have noticed that.”
Before leaving for the raid, he had definitely received future information through Michelle.
He had known about GODS terrorism in Korea, but he hadn’t heard anything about simultaneous attacks worldwide.
Since Michelle had no reason to hide such a future, the only conclusion was that even she hadn’t foreseen it.
“Then shouldn’t we hurry back to Korea right now?”
Choi Hee-yeon asked with a worried face. As always, Chae Jin-young listened with a completely relaxed expression.
The variant continued.
“For now, all the perpetrators who tried to carry out terrorism in Korea have been subdued.”
With the Heavenly Thunder Divine Sword and Eun Ji-eun—the tactical nuke-like existence—there was no need to worry separately.
Even if the Godfather himself appeared, they could at least buy time.
But Chae Jin-young was more curious about something else.
“Did you manage to extract any information about what they’re planning?”
“The yakuza seem to have just been used as bait by GODS. The real problem is the mastermind—he absolutely refuses to open his mouth.”
Chae Jin-young stretched lazily and said,
“Looks like I’ll have to go do some surgery. Where is he?”
***
“It would be better if you opened your mouth.”
“Hehehe… With that weak mindset, you’ll never get me to open my mouth for the rest of your life.”
Shin Soo-jeong pressed the long spear blade to the man’s throat and threatened him, but it had no effect whatsoever.
The Heavenly Thunder Divine Sword, floating idly beside her, spoke.
『Young lady, though this man is a black path thug, his loyalty seems genuine. The only mercy we can show him is a swift death.』
“That won’t do. If we don’t get information, we’ll just have to face these incidents over and over. Eventually, we’ll sink into the quagmire.”
Shin Soo-jeong knew well that Michelle’s foresight wasn’t omnipotent.
To glimpse farther futures—or greater destinies—one had to pay a corresponding price.
That was precisely why they still hadn’t pinpointed the Godfather’s location.
“My father has already given you scum plenty of chances. But you’re the ones who threw them away. Before the new world arrives, the filth will be washed away.”
“…….”
The man spoke with mad, gleaming eyes.
Why did these people harbor such blind faith in the Godfather?
It wasn’t simple brainwashing. Even Hannah Adams, considered the best in the mental category, had said as much.
『Now that I look closely, he’s more like a typical demonic cultist than just a black path thug. I know their kind well. Even if it costs him his life, he won’t tell you what you want.』
The Heavenly Thunder Divine Sword was certain.
In the past, the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult—branded public enemy of the martial world—had fought countless battles with black path forces.
They had captured fanatics, tortured them, interrogated them—yet gained nothing.
He had thought no one could be more stubborn, but here they were.
The man let out an unpleasant laugh.
“Hehehe… Kill me. If you don’t, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life. This hollow country you were born in, its cities, its homes—everything will burn to ashes. And your family will beg for mercy as their flesh chars.”
Tremble.
The more extreme his words became, the more the tip of Shin Soo-jeong’s spear shook.
The urge to stab his throat right then and there slowly crept into her mind.
“And you—you will be violated by us chosen ones until death, and even after death, you will be defiled.”
『How dare you…!』
Pzzzzzt!
Unable to endure any longer, the Heavenly Thunder Divine Sword unleashed its aura upon hearing those words.
The more it happened, the more excited the man became, raising his voice even higher.
“All things shall kneel before Father—”
Kwaaaang!
The man, veins bulging on his forehead as he shouted, suddenly slammed his head straight into the ground.
The impact was so severe it made one worry whether his skull had cracked.
In fact, his head shattered the floor and buried itself deep into the earth.
『That wasn’t me.』
“…….”
Shin Soo-jeong stared ahead in silence.
A man walked out from the darkness.
“So talkative, yet you still haven’t gotten a single piece of information out of him?”
Chae Jin-young approached with his hands in his pockets as he spoke.
At his appearance, the tension drained from Shin Soo-jeong’s entire body, and color rapidly returned to her face.
“Heavenly Sword, I attached you as support—what the hell were you doing?”
『Ahem……』
The Heavenly Thunder Divine Sword merely cleared its throat awkwardly.
Puwaak—
At that moment, the man pulled his head out from the ground.
“Khehehehe… You appeared faster than I expected, false prophet.”
For some reason, an irrepressible smile stayed plastered on his face.
“What the hell is he babbling about?”
Chae Jin-young asked, and Shin Soo-jeong translated.
“Your city, your home—they’ll burn too. And your family will scream in agony as they—”
Crack-crack-crack—
The man’s limbs twisted 360 degrees as if wringing out wet laundry.
“…Ugh. Uuu……”
The pain was so excruciating that not even a proper scream escaped; he simply trembled violently.
“Name.”
“Uuuu……”
The man was in too much agony to even speak his name properly.
Crack-crack-crack—
But the more he resisted, the more grotesquely his limbs bent.
“Name.”
“…Yukio……”
The very first wall that Shin Soo-jeong and the Heavenly Thunder Divine Sword had struggled so hard to break through—getting his name—was solved in an instant.
“Good, Yukio. You timed it perfectly the moment I stepped away and caused chaos all over the world. Where did you get the information?”
“…….”
Pu-kwaak—
A sound like something bursting rang out, but Yukio’s outward appearance remained intact.
Gush, gush.
Soon after, blood began pouring from his mouth.
Chae Jin-young had crushed his internal organs with psychokinesis.
“Next is the liver.”
“Heh… hehehe……”
Yukio looked up at the sky and suddenly began laughing like a madman.
Chae Jin-young decided it was time to switch from physical torture to mental domination.
Just as he was about to open a portal and bring out the tentacles—
Yukio stared straight at Chae Jin-young and spoke.
“How loyal do you think the politicians of each country are to us…?”
“So it really is enemies from within.”
It wasn’t surprising.
People who bow to the greater visible power exist in every era and every place.
“Hehehe… Civil wars within nations. Conflicts between neighboring countries. Use those, and we can plunge everything into chaos with almost no effort on our part.”
Yukio suddenly began spilling everything as if his heart had moved him.
It should have been good news, but Shin Soo-jeong felt something off.
There had to be a reason he was talking so freely.
Sure enough.
Yukio continued.
“While you fools are distracted by trivial little terrorist attacks, the relay zones have already been activated.”
At those words, Shin Soo-jeong’s face hardened as she spoke.
“The simultaneous terrorist attacks were meant to overload Michelle’s foresight, weren’t they?”
If Michelle had tried to foresee every single simultaneous attack, it would have placed an enormous strain on her body.
And if she had tried to look at the relay zones on top of that, she might have lost what little eyesight she had left.
“In other words—you’re already too late. Khehehehehe…”
Yukio looked triumphant, as if he had already won.
But even hearing that, Chae Jin-young maintained a perfectly calm expression and said,
“If the relay zones are activated, then next comes the disaster-grade dungeons.”
The timing had been moved up a bit, but the appearance of disaster-grade dungeons meant the second Great Cataclysm was imminent.
Chae Jin-young recalled what he had gone through during the second Great Cataclysm thirty years ago.
“Renard… it might open again.”