I Start with 13 Hidden Traits Chapter-120

Ch-120

—

So it was all the more reason to push forward.

“…?”

Seeing what I was doing, Demon Pamel tilted his head in puzzlement.

Understandably so.

Gurgle—Gurgle—!

I was raising the holy grail and drenching myself from head to toe in holy water.

*

*

KWA-ROOM!

KWARURURUNG!

KUAaaaAAAAANG!

Lightning struck without pause.

A violent typhoon swallowed everything, and a tsunami surged in, drowning everything in its path.

“Ever since the ‘Red Warp’ appeared on Jeju Island, abnormal phenomena have continued!”

“The warp is getting bigger! The ‘Hero Alliance’ is still refusing to give a clear answer regarding the phenomenon!”

“The government has raised the ‘Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters’ alert from Level 1 to Level 3.”

“All residents of Seogwipo City have now evacuated…”

Every news station on terrestrial TV was broadcasting urgent coverage of the situation.

But everyone instinctively felt that this was not an ordinary weather anomaly.

The Red Warp, growing in real time.

It had already grown to the size of a ten-story building—far too big to hide any longer.

“What on earth is about to come out of that thing?”

“The apocalypse! This is the apocalypse! The end has finally come!”

“Hallelujah!”

And not just terrestrial broadcasts.

Cable channels and countless media outlets had also joined the frenzy.

Even compared to the warps appearing around the world, this one was incomparably massive.

And it was still expanding.

Curiosity and pressure mounted—until the “Alliance Leader, Park Taewoo,” was forced to step forward and announce the seriousness of the crisis.

“An entity called ‘Baal’ from the ‘Otherworld’ is currently invading. The warp that has appeared in Seogwipo, Jeju, is presumed to be the doorway Baal will use to emerge…”

“Mr. Park Taewoo! What is Baal?”

“You mean Baal, the ancient Syrian sun god?”

“One of Solomon’s 72 demons?”

“You’re not talking about Baal from games, are you?”

At the press conference—

Journalists hurled questions before Park Taewoo could even finish speaking.

Damn it. He sighed inwardly.

He didn’t know whether to explain the truth as it was or tone it down a bit.

“…Baal is one of the ‘Four Calamities,’ the most dreadful monsters of the Otherworld’s ancient era. Numerous ‘Dimension Warriors’ attempted to stop Baal’s invasion but failed.”

In the end, Park Taewoo decided to state things as they were.

Because the fall of Cartel meant Baal’s arrival.

If they wanted to minimize casualties—even slightly—they had no choice but to warn people honestly.

“Was Gracia one of those who fought?”

“…Most likely, yes.”

“A-Are you saying Gracia is dead?”

“We believe so.”

A city had fallen. It had sunk into the abyss.

Returning alive would be a miracle.

Clinging to a probability that hovered near zero was foolish.

Reporters were shaken.

Gracia—dead?

The hero who radiated overwhelming power, who unleashed hundreds of swords and slaughtered monsters kilometers away—that Gracia.

—If someone like Gracia died, just how strong is Baal?

They couldn’t even imagine it.

People on Earth had never faced a monster of such caliber.

So Park Taewoo added:

“Not just Gracia. Tens of thousands of warriors died trying to stop Baal. Many powerful Dimension Warriors were among them.”

“…!”

“Alliance Leader! Do we have no countermeasures?”

Countermeasures.

…Countermeasures, he thought bitterly.

How could they possibly have any?

South Korea had fewer than a thousand players total.

How could they accomplish what tens of thousands of trained warriors had failed to achieve?

Their combat power and fragments were insufficient.

The only “solution” they could offer:

“…We must abandon Jeju Island.”

They had to abandon it.

Cut it off before it rotted further.

Otherwise, the casualties would only increase.

“Abandon… Jeju?”

“What do you mean abandon it?!”

The reporters erupted.

The statement was too shocking for anyone to remain silent.

Park Taewoo took a deep breath and spoke the grim truth.

“Exactly that—abandonment. Baal is a being that disappears after devouring space. Once it consumes Jeju Island, it will vanish.”

…Of course, it wasn’t a 100% certainty.

But the *possibility* was high.

The likelihood that Baal would sink Jeju into the abyss and then move on to another warp connected to it.

The problem was that unlike Pangenia, this was Earth.

Pangenia’s spaces were unconnected, so warps were the only travel path. But Earth’s spaces were all linked—by sea, by land.

“Still, since warps have appeared around the world, there is a chance…”

That was just wishful thinking.

A desperate hope.

Because Baal was a walking disaster.

“What about the residents who haven’t evacuated?”

“The storm is too violent—planes can’t take off!”

“Same for ships!”

The issue was the people left behind.

Those whose homes were on Jeju.

Should they simply be abandoned?

“…”

Park Taewoo couldn’t open his mouth.

Even with ten mouths, he’d have nothing to say.

He couldn’t bring himself to utter the words:

We must give them all up.

Jeju’s population was 680,000.

Only a small fraction had escaped.

Hundreds of thousands would die.

Ordinary humans—non-players—would simply evaporate before they could resist.

“What about the Master? Isn’t the Master alive?”

“We tried asking for help… but he refused.”

He refused outright.

Because he was convinced that there was no hope for Jeju.

“We’re running out of time. The government needs to make a swift…”

“That is the official position of the Alliance? To abandon Jeju?”

“…”

“Then is the Alliance refusing to intervene in this incident?”

“That’s…”

The reporter was spot-on.

The Alliance intended to abandon Jeju, assess Baal, and then fight.

It was not an easy decision.

But even if they were cursed and vilified, they had no choice.

If they were wiped out on Jeju, then humanity truly had no future.

But they had even less time than they thought.

《Evolution of ‘Calamity Baal’ is complete.》

《‘Calamity Baal’ has ascended into ‘The One Who Is the Abyss Itself.’》

“Aaah…”

Park Taewoo forgot he was in a press conference, rubbing his face with both hands as he let out a deep groan.

*The brightest radiance—*

Blurred vision.

Blood ran down, obscuring my eyes.

Through the haze, I could see the ‘messages.’

《You have hunted ‘Demon Pamel.’》

《Unbelievable result! You have overcome an ‘unavoidable force’ difference!》

《You have acquired the title ‘One Who Won an Unwinnable Battle.’》

《You have acquired the title ‘Demon Slayer.’》

《Honor +300》

《Contribution +1,500》

《‘Demon Heart’ has been left behind.》

《51 constellations of the People’s Hall begin observing you.》

“Huff… huff…”

My whole body felt waterlogged and heavy. My ragged breathing wouldn’t settle.

The guardian knight Pamel—

A level-13 monster—was, as expected, no easy opponent.

If not for the holy water’s modifiers and the penetration effects, I would be the one lying dead right now.

The fact that I survived at all was a miracle.

Had I fought Pamel without exhausting the other knights after killing the Darkan Lord…

…it would have been impossible.

Was I simply lucky?

‘I took too long.’

I bit my lip.

The fight against Pamel dragged longer than I expected.

Meanwhile, Baal had completed his evolution.

Because the number of survivors dropped?

No—more likely it was because the Darkan Lord fed him too much.

‘All the soldiers he brought became Baal’s nutrients.’

Unbelievable.

Granted, he must’ve been confident.

I had heard that with such numbers, it *might* have been possible.

But the Darkan Lord had overlooked Pamel’s true nature.

Or perhaps he simply didn’t know.

‘…If he had known, he wouldn’t have come.’

One would have to be brainless to knowingly enter this cursed cocoon with a demon at one’s side.

Most likely, even the lord didn’t know Pamel was a demon.

And so Baal’s forces collapsed without ever properly fighting him.

‘He’ll invade Earth any moment now.’

There was no time.

Just as I forced my exhausted body to move, my gaze fell upon where Pamel had died.

His butchered body had already turned to dust.

Only a single item remained—

The Demon Heart.

【Demon Heart (???)】

– A top-grade demon heart.

– Can raise your level up to 13.

– Allows a contract with a demon to gain great power.

– Upon contracting, your body fully heals and regenerates, and your race becomes “Demon.”

– Demons gain stronger power based on their “followers.”

– “Transcendence” using “Stars” becomes impossible.

…A contract using the Demon Heart.

And this was on another level compared to the one Maksim had held.

If I made the contract, I could probably jump several levels instantly.

If I healed completely, defeating Baal might become far easier.

The demon engraved within the heart reached out to me.

—Will you make the contract?

It was pure evil.

An evil that tested human greed.

Facing Baal in my current condition was foolish.

I knew that even without thinking.

But my eyes instinctively drifted toward it.

—You must kill Baal, must you not? Do you think the you who struggled against Pamel can face the evolved Baal? And Pamel wasn’t even in full condition.

The demon whispered.

It wasn’t reading my mind—it *was* my mind speaking back at me.

—Take my hand. Gain power. I will grant you the authority to kill Baal. With my power, you can surpass Pamel.

The power of a demon.

A dominion beyond human means.

Use it to kill Baal—even if it’s otherwise impossible.

—Shameless fool. Was this not all caused by you? Had you not awakened Baal, none of this disaster would have happened. Pangaenia and Earth will fall because of you.

‘Evil’ pressed upon my guilt.

Claiming that none of this would have happened if not for me.

That Pangaenia and Earth heading toward destruction was entirely my fault.

—Contract…

CRACK!

I lifted my foot and crushed it without hesitation.

“Shut up.”

It was simply too noisy.

Everything it said was something I was already painfully aware of.

Besides—how could someone who inherited the Knight-King accept the heretical power that rejects the Goddess?

Seeking short-term strength while discarding the future—that was unacceptable.

At that moment—

《You have destroyed the Demon Heart.》

《You have achieved the title ‘One Who Withstood the Devil’s Temptation.’》

《Honor +1,000》

《Contribution +10,000》

《O honorable one! All constellations of the People’s Hall applaud your choice and turn their attention toward you.》

In the end, every constellation turned its attention toward me.

The devil’s temptation.

It seemed even they couldn’t suppress their curiosity about what choice I would make.

The fact that the increase in Honor and Contribution was far higher than when I killed Pamel appeared to be for the same reason.

The Demon Heart itself had been the true body.

Above all—

*“I cannot face Baal as I am now?”*

The words it had whispered to me.

Half true, half false.

As I was now—as this battered body—I certainly could not face Baal.

But there was something I had not used.
Something I hadn’t even brought out against Pamel.

Ziiiiiiiiip—!

The warp trembled violently.

As I advanced toward the abyss, Baal came into view.

Baal—who had become “the one who is the abyss itself”—was attempting to cross through the warp.

*You will not cross.*

I would never allow it.

There was something I had saved—something I had preserved and held back solely for him.

It was time to use it.

Time to pour out my everything.

《‘Throne of the Most Radiant Light’ manifests.》

《You have used the prefix skill ‘The Most Radiant Illumination,’ engraved upon the ‘Throne of the Most Radiant Light.’》

《The prefix has been consumed. The basic maintenance function of the ‘Throne of the Most Radiant Light’ will disappear in 60 seconds.》

《You consume the ‘Perfect Golden Scale.’》

*

*

 

Ziiiiiiiiiiiiip—!

Ever since Baal became “the one who is the abyss itself,” the situation in Jeju changed drastically.

“Wh-what is that…?”

“What exactly is happening right now?”

The reporters were bewildered.

Not only the reporters—everyone watching the scene was thrown into confusion.

The warp expanded outward in every direction, wrapping around the whole of Jeju Island like a massive wall.

And soon after, the place where Jeju had been turned into something like a *void of darkness.*

“Jeju Island…”

“I-It’s gone!”

The entire space was swallowed by darkness.

It truly looked as though it had vanished.

Had the whole island already been devoured? Even though Baal hadn’t emerged yet?

“U-Union Leader!”

“Mr. Park Taewoo!”

“Say something—anything!”

Panic erupted, naturally.

Everyone demanded an explanation, eyes fixed on Park Taewoo.

“…”

But he could not say a word.

Of course he couldn’t.

He genuinely had no idea what was happening.

He didn’t know what was taking place inside that darkness—didn’t know whether the people inside were alive or dead…

He knew absolutely nothing.

Except for one thing—one thing alone was certain.

 

 

 

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