The five brothers the monster queen created were, in fact, ‘bait’ to destroy the Exalted Wings.
The five brothers had already destroyed the Heracles, Coma, and Perseus-Pisces Superclusters and were pushing the Shapley and Laniakea Superclusters to the brink of ruin.
If they crushed Choi Hyuk’s resistance and slaughtered all the soldiers attempting to flee, the queen calculated that the Exalted Wings would have no choice but to act.
The monsters’ forces were simply too powerful. With the five brothers that were comparable in strength with Exalted Wings and 13 early transcendent-level monsters, their forces equaled almost a third of the alliance’s total strength.
A third, this was the ratio the queen had painstakingly decided on. A force powerful enough that many of the Exalted Wings would have to personally partake in the battle to stop them. A force just powerful enough that they would be able to stop them if they overexerted themselves a little.
There was no doubt that the alliance would drag the five brothers deep into their formation to reduce losses, focus their forces, and prevent any of the Exalted Wings from dying in battle.
This was what the queen had predicted.
She predicted that at least eight Exalted Wings and many high-ranking warriors would participate in the battle since that would be the only way to stop the five brothers without taking any large losses.
The moment the battle began, the queen’s trap was complete.
The special youngest brother, Myeol. It was a booby trap.
The moment Myeol died, a demise-ranked monster would be born in the middle of the alliance. It was expected that the monster that could collapse an entire universe on its own would slaughter all the Exalted Wings gathered there and break all the systems in the alliance. Even if they were Exalted Wings, they wouldn’t be able to confront a demise-ranked monster without any prior preparation and in an exhausted state after fighting the five brothers.
However, this plan was ruined thanks to Choi Hyuk.
The five brothers, who had promised to meet once they annihilated the Shapley and Laniakea Superclusters, had lost Myeol before they could even gather.
Thanks to this, the booby trap that the queen had prepared had activated, not in the middle of the alliance, but in the Laniakea Supercluster, which could be considered to be at the border of the alliance.
This was great news for the alliance.
To the warriors participating in Dragonic’s defense, however, this was a nightmarish situation.
Even Choi Hyuk, who loved fighting, was somber regarding this situation.
Only its arm had come out, yet it felt like the entire universe was screaming.
This wasn’t the underdeveloped demise-ranked monster he had killed with Flame-Rain in the past. This was a fully matured demise-ranked monster.
In this current situation, where Flame-Sky, the alliance’s strongest warrior in history, was no longer alive, it was the only existence to have overcome the limits of the transcendent level.
Kuaaaah`!!!
The demise-ranked monster’s roar burst through Myeol’s ripped belly.
That moment, Choi Hyuk grabbed Baek Seoin and retreated. That wasn’t all. The other transcendent warriors hastily flew back as well. Chu Youngjin held Shiro as he ran back.
“Kueh… Ak….”
Yet, Baek Seoin and Shiro, who were both highest-ranked warriors, couldn’t endure the impact and trembled. Blood burst from Baek Seoin’s eyes and ears, and sparks flew from Shiro’s body accompanied by the sound of creaky, rusted gears.
It was the same for Choi Hyuk. Instantly, the senses in his entire body seemed stunned.
When he blankly turned around, he saw warriors breaking ranks and retreating like a receding tide. The ones who fled were lucky. Even though the monster had only roared, he saw quite a few whose chest had exploded from the vibrations.
The ringing of its roar vibrated and burst the warriors’ veins. A bloody taste lingered in his mouth as though he had eaten steel.
‘This is unbelievable…’
He saw a fear-stricken Kalon. It seemed Chu Youngjin’s legs had frozen up as he was punching his thighs. Light-Maze and Dark-Feet looked fine, but their bodies were trembling subtly.
Choi Hyuk had no choice but to admit that his thoughts were completely wrong.
‘There is a huge gap between reaching the limit of the transcendent level and my current level.’
Encountering a true demise-ranked monster felt like a shock, similar to when he saw the monster Narci back when he was a middle-ranked warrior.
No, it exceeded that because the demise-ranked monster made him feel that they couldn’t win. This was the first time he felt this way since meeting Dark-Sound for the first time when he joined the alliance.
Baek Seoin trembled in his arms as he barely managed to say,
“Le… Leader. Those… machines. Those machines… Reactivate them…”
It seemed he was trying to tell him to reactivate the devices that suppressed his karma before. Choi Hyuk smiled bitterly as he shook his head. It didn’t seem possible to stop this demise that had already started to move with the machines. Also, there was a bigger problem.
“Sorry, I didn’t know how to turn them off so I cut everything that looked to be a power source.”
Baek Seoin’s eyes were filled with disappointment.
“God… Damn it… This is why you have no friends…”
Baek Seoin had always been respectfully, but it looked like he bore quite a grudge. Currently in a state where his rationality was paralyzed by the fear of this demise, his inner thoughts made their way out his mouth.
It felt like he was seeing an acquaintance talking nonsense under an anesthetic.
Choi Hyuk ended up chuckling when he saw Baek Seoin grumbling nonsense while wasting away.
Thanks to that, his stiff body relaxed.
He left Baek Seoin, who had almost fainted, with the other Berserkers and examined the situation once more.
“We need to disperse in different directions!!”
Dark-Feet, who had been relatively calm, shouted.
“Do you think we can escape the demise like that?”
Light-Maze ridiculed while trembling.
Even the transcendent warriors were stricken with fear.
‘Still, this is a bit much…’
No matter how amazing a demise-ranked monster was, these reactions were too severe for experienced transcendent warriors.
A bigger problem was that Choi Hyuk himself wasn’t much different either. This was true now even though he had regained his cool. Something like a scream rampaged inside him and rocked his karma. It felt like his body wasn’t his own as though he was possessed by a ghost.
‘Ah…’
Thinking about this, Choi Hyuk found the answer.
What was scared wasn’t him.
It was the universe.
The universe itself was seized with fear at the appearance of demise. Choi Hyuk’s karma was of the universe in the end. It rolled and shook along with the scared universe.
Choi Hyuk couldn’t do anything about this universal phenomenon.
‘Flame-Rain’s father slew a monster like this on his own?’
He smiled bitterly as he mumbled,
“Just when are the support troops arriving?”
Around the same time.
Lights went on simultaneously at the ‘Brain’, which was located in Alliance City.
The screams of Exalted Wings filled the ‘Brain’.
{A demise! A demise-ranked monster has appeared!}
{There was no hint of it until now!!}
{That’s not the problem! It has appeared in the Laniakea Supercluster, where Army Leader Choi Hyuk and the others are isolated in!}
{If it’s that place… Isn’t that where Exalted Wings Dark-Sound and Leviathan requested support troops?}
{We need to let them know of this situation and cancel support!}
{…}
In the midst of their buzzing voices, it was Dark-Sound who was quiet. He felt like his heart was being sliced into thin pieces.
‘Shiro… So I lose you in the end as well.’
He had believed that he could give up many things for that child, yet… for a demise-ranked monster to appear. That was his limit. If he didn’t cancel sending the support troops, then even they would be annihilated, and if that happened, his grand scheme would be off the table as well. He had longed for this grand scheme his entire life – for revenge. Even if it was Shiro, he couldn’t protect her whilst giving up on his grand scheme.
‘A cruel world until the end…’
While uncertain to whom he should resent, Dark-Sound broke his silence and contacted his support troops.
{A demise-ranked monster has appeared in the Laniakea Supercluster. The 13 Exalted Wings demand the support troops to retreat.}
{Hmm…}
Leviathan groan in grief when he heard Dark-Sound’s message.
The other 11 Exalted Wings waited quietly. Soon, a reply came from the middle of the Brain.
{Is that so?}
{…}
Then there were no more words. To say, ‘Is that so?’ instead of ‘Understood’?
{We demand you retreat! Did you hear us?!}
Flame-Fog shouted in an irritated voice, unable to contain his patience.
Yet, there was no reply.
Just then, the demise-ranked monster was about to show its face. Its two shoulders and arms had already come out and were grabbing the universe. The distant stars looked stretched thin like a meteor shower due to how the universe was bending.
Those who wanted to flee had already fled.
Even the monsters fled. They were unconcerned about formations as all things that lived with a fate couldn’t help but run when faced with ‘demise’.
The only ones who remained were the transcendent warriors. They knew better than anyone else that running was useless. They were the only force that could resist it.
“Our goal… is to inflict even a wound the size of a fingernail. We need to make it constantly use up its strength… so that the warriors who come after us will be able to fight it a bit more easily. Leaving even the smallest wound on its body will be evidence that we lived as warriors of the alliance.”
Light-Maze resolved himself, having already given up on his life.
While Choi Hyuk was very displeased with how he assumed they would face defeat, he couldn’t correct him.
Even his fighting senses that had reached their peak after fighting Myeol was of no use. When looking at the demise-ranked monster, all he saw was demise. There was a fundamental difference between them. He couldn’t even guess its weak points, let alone find them.
Kuoaaaaah!!!
The monster’s second roar rang out. It rang more loudly this time as its entire head was extended out from Myeol. The demise-ranked monster didn’t have eyes, ears, or a nose. All he saw were its widely-opened mouth filled with teeth.
“Keuk!”
Kalon, who was the weakest among them, lowered his head. His flowing nosebleed drenched his front.
“Keuuuuh!!”
With his nose bleeding as well, Chu Youngjin bitterly endured it. His eyes were so bloodshot that blood dripped from them.
With just its roar, it was able to damage warriors who had reached the transcendent level.
Seeing them like that, Choi Hyuk silently stepped forward.
His sheath, which he threw, spun as it flew towards the other side of the universe.
“I still have to try.”
Choi Hyuk tightly gripped his sword handle.
He acknowledged that the monster was stronger than him.
He acknowledged that he couldn’t see any openings.
He acknowledged that he could die.
Acknowledging all this, Choi Hyuk stepped forward. The moment he aimed his sword at the now fully extended head, he once again denied everything.
He would break its strength, create an opening, and reject death.
Choi Hyuk’s sword shot towards the demise-ranked monster.
A completely reckless strike.
Yet, a miracle opened up behind his sword.
Kwaoooh!!!
Choi Hyuk’s sword extended towards the monster’s head while erasing space. A gate that looked like it could swallow an entire planet opened up just above it.
It looked like a prosperous sky was opening up behind Choi Hyuk’s back.
The boom that exploded from the gate erased the lingering effects of the monster’s roar.
It was a stronghold enshrouded in delicate flames. The stronghold, which could be called a planet, fell directly towards the monster’s head.
Everything changed at that moment.
Everyone felt it. The fates that had left this great universe had returned on a large-scale. This new inflow of fates awakened the universe.
A fiery shout resounded throughout the universe.
“Look at you all!! Pull yourselves together! Everyone attack!”
It was Flame-Rain’s voice.
The support troops Leviathan had promised Choi Hyuk before the situation changed had arrived.
Flame-Rain had left the monsters’ universe. As difficult as her mission was, she led a force that made up 15% of the alliance’s strength. In it were five warriors that ranked in the top ten excluding the Exalted Wings, eight in the top 50, and ten warriors at the transcendent level outside of that. Her force consisted of the most elite warriors as she was the only Exalted Wing leading it.
That wasn’t all. Each of the three dimensional strongholds mobilized to colonize the monsters’ universe was comparable to the size of Earth.
The largest and sturdiest among them, ‘Deus’, had crossed over with Flame-Rain and was charging at the demise-ranked monster. Having already exceeded its max speed, ‘Deus’ didn’t slow down as it fell directly onto the monster’s head.
Though the gate opened a bit behind Choi Hyuk, it instantly passed him and crashed into the monster’s head.
Booooooom!
The sound wasn’t as loud as expected.
The moment the gigantic stronghold impacted the demise-ranked monster’s head, it crumbled, reducing in size.
The enormous object that was larger than a planet crumbled to reveal its core.
Deus’s colossal mass compressed into the size of three watermelons as it pierced into the monster’s head.
“Kuah?!”
The monster opened its mouth wide under the impact.
However, the true impact had only begun.
It could be considered that Deus’s core largely consisted of three power sources, but in reality, there was only one.
Karma weapons of fallen warriors taken from the Tower of Warriors;
The Flames of Beginning that remained from the Big Bang; and
A black hole also known as the hole of the universe.
There was only one in the end, however, as the black hole devoured the karma weapons and Flames of Beginning.
The black hole born from this exhibited such a powerful force that it could be considered a world inside the world.
The black hole was, by nature, an isolated world. There were even scientists from Earth who guessed that the universe we live in was also inside an enormous black hole.
The black hole used as Deus’s power source was a black hole, which was a small universe, granted with the essence of karma.
The black hole grew by devouring karma weapons and the Flames of Beginning, and it freely manipulated space-time to create a ‘complete world’ which even Exalted Wings couldn’t easily approach.
A world crashed into a demise.
“Kuaaahhh-!”
The monster’s scream erupted after a delay, but there was a pitiful note to it.
‘We’ll win!’
The warriors drew hope from the monster’s scream.
Flame-Rain didn’t miss this opportunity.
With herself at the lead, the 23 transcendent warriors charged forward with their lives on the line.
Light-Maze, Dark-Feet, and Chu Youngjin, who were watching blankly, regained their senses and also charged towards the demise-ranked monster.
“We end it in a single clash!!”
Flame-Rain’s voice ignited the warriors’ fighting spirits.
The demise-ranked monster didn’t have eyes, ears, or a nose. It only had an enormous mouth.
Its teeth had even densely filled the ceiling of its mouth, and each one exceeded the power of the transcendent warriors’ karma weapons. Like karma weapons, fate was indwelled in each of its teeth. ‘Demise through disease’, ‘Demise through war’, ‘Demise through time’… In the end, they were all demise.
Every time it roared, its densely packed teeth resonated to release the power of demise without restraint.
“Someone shut its mouth!”
“Yes!”
Flame-Rain’s right-hand man, Light-Blue, who was ranked 20th, replied cheerfully.
The speckled lights which made up her body created a long needle and thread from the production factory inside. Like a skilled physician, Light-Blue sewed the monster’s mouth in an instant.
Keu-!!!
Its mouth shut, the demise-ranked monster could no longer shout as it struggled. The warriors’ attacks shot down from above.
Their attacks could slice through continents, pierce through skies, and freeze and burn as though they were creating hell. The monster helplessly endured their attacks as it hadn’t regained its senses after being hit by Deus and having its mouth sewn.
Brrrrk!
Until its teeth popped out above its sewn mouth.
It was a strange sight. The teeth inside its mouth came out one after another and ripped its lips. The lips Light-Blue had robustly sewn together were powerlessly ripped apart.
It opened its mouth once more.
Crunch!
It bit down on the world.
It was similar to Choi Hyuk’s ‘denial’. No matter how far apart they were, the distance between them was devoured and disappeared. When they came to their senses, they were already inside the monster’s mouth. Six transcendent warriors were swallowed.
Drip.
Each drop of blood stickily flowing from its mouth and shined like warning lights. Light-Blue, who had sewn its mouth, and Kalon, who had participated in the defensive battle for Dragonic, instantly lost their lives.
Without even the time to register the shock from this unreal scene, the monster roared again.
“Kuaaahhh-!”
“Kuah! Block it! Block it!”
It felt like flames were blazing – flames known as fear. In an instant, their once optimistic mentality evaporated and their bodies trembled. The warriors attacked violently out of desperation to flee from the monster’s nightmarish teeth.
Their attacks naturally avoided its teeth, concentrating on the back of its head or its shoulders.
Choi Hyuk, who had been diligently wielding ‘Choi Hyuk’s Denial’ while mixed in with Flame-Rain’s support troops, retreated at some point.
His eyes narrowed.
The demise-ranked monster received a huge shock from Deus’s self-destruction attack and had yet to recover. However, it was quickly regaining its strength. While, at a glance, the warriors’ desperate attacks seemed to overwhelm the monster, in reality, they weren’t able to deal the decisive blow.
‘Its head and shoulders aren’t its vital points.’
Choi Hyuk concentrated. Its weak points, which he couldn’t see previously, slowly became visible.
His fighting senses which reached their extreme peak in his fight against Myeol finally shined. Like how he could later see Myeol’s fist, which he could barely see at first, in detail, he currently saw the demise-ranked monster.
Choi Hyuk’s eyes shined with a black light.
“It’s the teeth!”
Choi Hyuk shouted.
Light-Maze, Dark-Feet, and Chu Youngjin, who were fighting nearby, reacted to his voice.
‘… Its teeth?’
Its teeth had instantly slaughtered six transcendent warriors. Its teeth had powerful enough energy to make their bodies freeze just by looking at them. Yet, for them to be its weak point, it was hard to believe.
However, the one who said this was Choi Hyuk. They couldn’t simply ignore it.
During this time, Choi Hyuk’s sword went through space and clashed against the monster’s tooth.
Jjoong!
“Keuu…”
Choi Hyuk let out a groan.
‘Denial… didn’t work on it?’
At first, Choi Hyuk’s karma smoothly burrowed into its tooth, yet the moment it was about to cover the tooth, it was bounced away more quickly and smashed into his chest.
It felt like smashing his hand into a metal plate. The palm of his hand hurt, and a ringing resounded throughout his body.
However, Choi Hyuk slashed out with ‘denial’ once more. Though it was bounced away, his karma did burrow into its tooth.
‘Let’s see how long you can last.’
Jjong-!
“Keuk!!”
The demise-ranked monster, which seemed fine no matter how much they attacked its head and shoulders, finally showed a reaction. Even though his hand panged with pain as though it was being torn apart, Choi Hyuk became certain. In some ways, it was similar to when he was facing Myeol, Kwe, and Jae. Monsters were different from humans. Their weakest points weren’t their weakness, rather, their strongest points were their weakness. There was no other way to kill the demise-ranked monster besides breaking its teeth.
It was the most dangerous method, yet the only method.
The monster opened its mouth wide. He saw its densely packed teeth. Would there be any effect from breaking one? Hundreds of teeth which exceeded Choi Hyuk’s strength attempted to swallow him like they did the six warriors before.
“Block it!”
Light-Maze’s voice rang out.
Baang!
Chu Youngjin’s sword stabbed into its cheek and exploded. While the monster flinched momentarily, its blank face scowled scarily as it bit towards Choi Hyuk.
Blaaze!
However, its teeth didn’t reach Choi Hyuk. Dark-Feet stood in front of Choi Hyuk as he glared at the monster.
“No one can touch my body without my approval.”
Dark matter, which couldn’t be seen or touched, filled the universe. While it filled the universe, dark energy couldn’t be seen or touched.
While their names were similar, one possessed gravitational force while the other possessed a repulsive force that pushed stars away. The common notion among earthlings was that these two things were different. However, the great warriors of the Dark Tribe could manipulate both of them. They could consume their bodies to create dark energy. The dark energy inside the monster’s mouth expanded explosively. Like stars growing apart at a speed faster than the speed of light, the monster’s lower and upper jaw were swiftly pushed apart. Roaring, the monster’s face scowled more severely.
“Kuaaah!”
Just then, Light-Maze pushed its cheek. He was attempting to make it turn its head to devour a different area. The speckled lights in his body created a propellant like rocket fuel. Light-Maze’s brilliantly shining body looked like a comet. The monster’s head gradually turned, but it was slightly too late.
The demise-ranked monster suppressed the dark energy, which had expanded by squeezing Dark-Feet’s life, and devoured a part of the universe again.
Crunch-!
The demise-ranked monster’s teeth missed Choi Hyuk thanks to Light-Maze frantically turning the monster’s head. However, Dark-Feet, who was in front of him, couldn’t avoid them and was sucked into its mouth. As a member of the Dark Tribe, he didn’t bleed a single drop of blood. A clump of invisible energy simply slapped Choi Hyuk’s cheek.
All this happened in a moment.
Choi Hyuk was powerless.
Grrt!
He gritted his teeth. He wasn’t taken aback or scared, nor did he blame himself. He simply raged. ‘Choi Hyuk’s Denial’ smashed against the monster’s teeth.
Jjong!
Due to swinging his sword at an extreme speed, there was only one impact though he swung three times.
Vomiting blood, Choi Hyuk was ricocheted away.
“Kuaaah-!”
The demise-ranked monster’s scream was the news he had been eagerly waiting for, and its broken tooth was his spoil.
It was the first effective strike since the stronghold ‘Deus’ smashed into its head. The warriors’ gazes fixated on Choi Hyuk and the monster’s broken tooth.
Choi Hyuk didn’t cheer since he only successfully broken a single tooth out of hundreds.
Choi Hyuk got into position once more and swung his sword. As always, the distance between the monster and him was instantly ‘denied’. Choi Hyuk stood in front of the monster and attacked its tooth.
Jjong!!!
‘More! More!’
Choi Hyuk was impatient. Though he was already overexerting himself and heat boiled from his body, it still wasn’t enough.
‘Denial’ was undoubtedly effective. However, the instant the fate of demise inside the tooth was denied, it was filled up again like a spring. He had no choice but to instantly swing with an overwhelming strength like before to cut that flow off.
A battle of attrition.
In addition, time wasn’t on Choi Hyuk’s side.
‘Before it recovers from the impact!’
Even now, the monster had only partly recovered from the impact from Deus. Yet, it was already this difficult.
‘More!!!’
Choi Hyuk swung in desperation.
Jjong!
The monster’s tooth emitted a loud sound as it shook, but it wasn’t enough. He couldn’t continuously wield the same strength as before.
Cough!!
His internal injuries became more severe from the recoil of not being able to break its tooth. He drew bloody saliva. It was difficult to breathe as if he was biting down on a blood-soaked rag.
The problem was their incompatibility.
‘Denial’ was the power to erase everything and return it to nothingness, but ‘nothingness’ and ‘demise’ weren’t greatly different concepts.
Choi Hyuk’s Denial denied even demise, but the space where everything was turned into nothingness became the home for demise again. The two powers endlessly snatched each other’s space. Choi Hyuk had exhausted too much of his strength from fighting consecutive battles to cut this cycle instantly.
Thud.
Someone supported Choi Hyuk’s back, who was pushed away from the recoil.
“I’m here.”
Her voice sounded like she had been on a walk.
A sword shrouded in transparent flames passed above Choi Hyuk’s exhausted shoulder and hit the tooth he had swung at just now.
It was the Weapon of Conclusion Flame-Rain possessed, ‘Flame-Rain’s Glory’.
Her flames burrowed into the monster’s tooth, which was filled with nothingness through Choi Hyuk’s Denial.
Glory bloomed in a place with nothing.
The moment her karma and Choi Hyuk’s karma lingering in its tooth met, a powerful explosion erupted as though oxygen was fed to a flame.
Baaaang!!
It was much more impressive than when Choi Hyuk forcefully broke a tooth earlier. The monster’s tooth exploded as even its roots were pulled out. It was easy and snappy, like making popcorn. Everyone’s gazes were stolen by this scene, even the demise-ranked monster’s.
“Huh…?”
Choi Hyuk blankly stared at Flame-Rain.
“…Ah?”
Flame-Rain also foolishly looked at Choi Hyuk.
The two of them shuddered at the chemical reaction of their karmas.
In a dazed voice, Flame-Rain said,
“Uh… I think we’re quite compatible?”
The problem of incompatibility.
If there was a glory that surpassed all glory, it would be the creation or resurrection of a world.
‘There is light.’
In the world of nothingness created by Choi Hyuk’s Denial, Flame-Rain’s Glory became the light announcing a new beginning.
Kuaaah-!
The monster’s belated scream didn’t register in Choi Hyuk and Flame-Rain’s ears as they looked at each other.