Ch-253. **Encounter**
—
*Sss— haah.*
Pulling a brown hood low over my head, I slowly walked down the street, breathing in the night air.
*It’s been a while since I’ve been to Gangnam.*
After the world turned upside down, people flocked to Seoul—to Gangnam.
Perhaps because of that, Gangnam’s public safety had reached a level so high it made other cities seem pitiful by comparison. The neon-lit streets that ran twenty-four hours a day were still there, and crime rates had reportedly dropped even further.
Especially after the headquarters of the Hero Alliance relocated to Gangnam, the area had effectively become an impregnable fortress.
—My lord. Would it not be safer for me to stay by your side?
At that moment, the blackened Alkar spoke from within my shadow.
Escorting me directly would allow him to react instantly, rather than hiding in my shadow.
However, Alkar could not emerge without my permission.
His size and appearance were far too conspicuous, so this was unavoidable.
The street was filled with countless people.
Among them, there were surely many players.
And given how close we were to the Hero Alliance, I couldn’t guarantee that no one would recognize Alkar’s true nature.
Worse still, there was the possibility of trouble arising from the way Alkar treated me.
If something went wrong, it would be a massive headache.
*And it’s not just the Hero Alliance here.*
Powerhouses from all over the world had gathered in Seoul.
To maintain smooth relations with Korea, whose infrastructure remained intact; to form alliances with the Hero Alliance, now rulers of the ruins city Rundella; and for countless other reasons.
Of course, the biggest reason was the *dragon vein*.
Korea—having blocked Issera’s advance and claimed ownership of the dragon vein.
It was only natural that the world’s attention would be drawn here.
There must also be many who had come for research purposes.
*There’s a high chance a warp connected to the Island of the Gods has formed somewhere around here.*
There were plenty of people here who met the entry conditions.
Those who were incomplete.
“Drink!”
“Let’s drink and die!”
“Kuahahaha!”
It was nearing dawn.
The streets were still crowded, still brimming with energy.
*Just like always.*
Watching them, I nodded inwardly.
It was only now that the feeling of having returned truly sank in.
Emotions I could never feel in Pangaenia.
This sense of connection—something I could only feel when I was Park Hyunmyung, not Randolph.
This was the Korean night.
—My god. You seem to be in a good mood.
“…It’s not bad.”
—Korea’s public safety could be called the best in the world without exaggeration. Especially Seoul, protected by Park Taewoo—it is overflowing with awakened ones driven by a sense of duty.
“It certainly… looks that way.”
Among the crowds were those who guarded the streets.
Not police, but awakened individuals stationed everywhere to prepare for monster invasions at any moment.
Their level didn’t seem ordinary either.
—However, my god. No matter how solid it may be, there is always a gap.
“What are you trying to say?”
—…Forgive me for my insolence, but if something were to happen, it would take roughly three seconds for me to be resummoned from your shadow.
Three seconds.
It wasn’t a long time.
But it was more than enough time for a life-or-death situation.
The blackened Alkar worried about me day and night.
Blade Dragon God Hana, the other Bloodkspawn—all of them worried about me more than necessary.
I understood why.
*It takes roughly three seconds to transform with the Fragment of the Golden Scale.*
Which meant that if something happened, I would be defenseless for about three seconds.
The guardian barrier that reached level fifteen was meant to protect a logged-out body.
Strictly speaking, I was currently logged in as *Park Hyunmyung*, so the guardian barrier only protected *Randolph’s* body.
In other words, if I were attacked, I could die within three seconds.
That gap was precisely why Alkar kept urging me.
But this was Gangnam.
More importantly, I was a little different from other players.
Even without using a Fragment of the Golden Scale, I could exert strength greater than that of an ordinary person.
“Oh? Hey, isn’t that Park Hyunmyung?”
“Whoa, it really is! Hey, Park Hyunmyung! Long time no see!”
That was when it happened.
A group that had just stumbled out of a bar.
Men who looked oddly familiar.
“It’s been a while, Manager Kim.”
“Haha! You punk, I’m a department head now.”
Department Head Kim—his belly jutting out—strode toward me.
…People from my old company.
As he came closer, the smell of alcohol wafted over, and he clapped my shoulder.
“Man, it’s good to see you alive. I thought you’d be completely ruined after leaving like that. You living around here?”
“I don’t live here.”
As if he’d expected that answer, Department Head Kim smacked his lips.
“Figured… Gangnam’s not a place you can rent easily anymore. I mean, me and my employees live in company-provided apartments, but sheesh. You disloyal bastard. You should’ve stuck it out a bit longer.”
“……”
“This is the age of great loyalty now. You have to be loyal to the company to survive. Then they give you a house, bodyguards, the works. Honestly, my quality of life is way better than before. This era where class lines are clearly drawn—it’s not so bad, you know?”
It wasn’t a place filled with good memories, but not bad ones either.
Yet the Manager Kim I remembered and the Department Head Kim standing before me were clearly different people.
Department Head Kim pulled out his wallet.
“Tsk, tsk. Hang in there. And come visit the company sometime soon. The headquarters moved here too… I’ll buy you a meal or something.”
“……”
“Here. Take it. Don’t be proud. It’s hard to make a living these days, right?”
I was dumbfounded.
I’d never been treated like this in my life.
Being handed money like alms to a beggar.
And not even fifty thousand won—just ten thousand.
The disregard was blatant.
It was obvious he was using me as an example to demand greater loyalty to the company.
A show meant to highlight the gap between those who stayed and the one who left.
—Aaaah! My lord! If only you would permit it, I would tear that faithless wretch to pieces, sever his head, and throw it to the dogs!
Alkar’s voice burned with rage.
This was exactly why I kept him hidden in my shadow.
In case he caused an incident.
That was when—
*Kuurung!*
An earthquake began from beneath the ground.
*Wiiiiiiing—!*
<Alert, alert!>
Sirens echoed throughout the city.
But the invasion was faster than the sirens.
*Kuurung! Kururung!*
Monsters burst through the ground in an instant.
“W-what is that?”
“Hybrids!”
But these weren’t ordinary monsters.
They were hybrids—creatures that had lost their existence in the Abyss and become monsters.
…Why were Abyssal monsters invading Earth?
This was a first.
There had been invasions by monsters from Pangaenia, but never by monsters from the Abyss.
Before the question could even fully form—
“Aaaargh!”
The first to fall was the guard protecting Department Head Kim—his neck bitten clean through.
He was a player, but before transforming, he was no different from an ordinary human.
“S-someone help…!”
Department Head Kim and the other employees trembled violently.
*Behind.*
Sensing movement from the rear, I instinctively planted my foot and threw a punch.
*Kuurung!*
*Bang!*
At the same time, the ground trembled faintly as the hybrid’s face was completely smashed.
Like a deflated balloon, it flew back and slammed into the pavement.
*That just now…?*
Even I was slightly startled at the power of my own punch.
It was far stronger than I had expected.
And that vibration through the ground—it felt inexplicably familiar.
“Suppress them!”
“Alert level three, alert level three!”
“Civilians, please move to the rooftops of nearby buildings immediately!”
Fortunately, since they were ordinary hybrids, it didn’t take long to suppress them.
Fragments of the Golden Scale shone from all directions, and players poured in one after another.
The Hero Alliance.
And at their forefront stood—
*Park Taewoo.*
Once Park Taewoo stepped in, the situation was quickly brought under control.
They calmed the terrified civilians and pushed the defeated hybrids to the outskirts.
The entire process took no more than ten minutes.
An astonishing response speed.
Hundreds of hybrids had appeared, yet civilian casualties were minimal.
The only death was the bodyguard whose neck had been bitten at the start.
I was about to turn away after seeing things settle—
“You are…?”
A slender voice reached me, and a woman entered my field of view.
She wore sunglasses, but the moment I saw her, I knew—she was looking straight through me.
Who was she?
A woman I’d never seen before.
And yet, something about her felt deeply unsettling.
She was walking directly toward me.
—My god, please allow me to step forward.
—She is a dangerous woman.
The blackened Alkar warned me.
She was certainly strange.
Clearly human, yet carrying an oddly alien aura.
People who saw her began whispering.
“It’s Lady Arin!”
“Oh, Lady Arin!”
“That’s Lady Arin?”
“Yeah—the youngest vice-leader of the Hero Alliance!”
…Vice-leader?
The Hero Union had Park Taewoo as its leader and two vice-leaders.
One of them was this woman—Arin.
The woman called Arin closed the distance between us in an instant.
When she came close enough that I could feel her breath, she slowly swept her gaze over me from bottom to top and spoke.
“Was it you? The one who used the Heavenly Demon Dominion Step.”
“……”
I was inwardly shaken.
Not only had she recognized it instantly—she even spoke its name.
Yet that was what made it strange.
The Heavenly Demon was a primordial existence.
Unless one was another primordial being or a resident of the Abyss, it should have been impossible to recognize it.
And yet she had seen through it at a glance.
Which meant she belonged to the same context as them.
*…Who are you?*
The Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
Randolph could not learn it—but Park Hyunmyung could.
That had just been proven moments ago.
And at the very moment it was proven, this mysterious woman appeared.
“And yet, how curious. You don’t seem awakened. Was it instinctive? Or perhaps…”
…Arin—no, the Seventh Demon Lord, Basara—was just as surprised.
Interest gleamed in Basara’s eyes.
She was certain.
This man had not used a Fragment of the Golden Scale.
Which meant the stomping step he’d taken was not performed in a transformed state.
He hadn’t even awakened.
The sensation he gave off was fundamentally different from other awakened ones.
There was only one possible explanation.
*A user of pure internal force.*
A category that had never existed in this world.
At least, one she had never seen on Earth before.
And that wasn’t all.
The sensation of the step was unmistakably the Heavenly Demon Dominion Step.
Yet the Heavenly Demon Divine Art could only be learned and used by the Heavenly Demon himself.
As far as she knew, the Heavenly Demon was currently in the Abyss—and had taken no disciples.
Which meant—
*Occasionally, such humans are born. Those born under the Star of Heavenly Slaughter.*
Once every tens of thousands of years, a human with such a disposition would appear.
Wilhelm had been one.
But the disposition she sensed from this man was nothing like Wilhelm’s.
It was the complete opposite.
And even the visible level of bodily refinement was quite impressive.
*If refined, he could become a decent gem.*
Was this what it felt like to reel in a big catch in an unexpected place?
It lacked the brilliance she’d felt when she first met Wilhelm, but if honed, this man too could become a respectable gem.
At the very least, he would alleviate her boredom.
“Join the Hero Alliance. You… seem to have talent.”
Basara, one of the Seven Demon Lords of the Demon Realm.
For the first time since coming to Earth, she felt a powerful interest in a human.
