World Destruction (9)
"Hmm..."
I let out a groan upon entering the space filled only with darkness. Had I just gotten stabbed in the back? Well, I couldn't say I didn't see it coming. The Monster Management Association was on humanity's side, after all. If my absence helped protect the world, of course they'd try to make me disappear. It just left a shitty taste in my mouth.
Guess I should just grab the cash and bail.
I had no intention of smashing the Association. They did contribute massively to world peace, after all. No matter how strong I was, I was still just one person. I couldn't handle every monster popping up across the globe by myself. But our alliance? Yeah, that was over.
With 110 billion to my name, I could live it up for centuries without lifting a finger. Now, time to break this seal and get out...
"Frame."
-Wh-where the hell is this place?!
Frame was panicking on my phone screen, whipping her head around.
"Can you jump to another device right now?"
-Uh... hold on.
Frame poked her head out of the phone, then yanked it right back in.
-No dice. The connection between worlds is completely severed.
"Figures. You're trapped too, huh."
I glanced around before addressing her.
"Sit tight. I'll figure something out, so just chill for now."
-Okay... got it.
Frame replied in a slightly downcast voice and summoned a bed to flop onto.
Whoosh.
I pocketed the phone and rested my hand on my hip.
Snap.
Teleport's a no-go, as expected.
Predictably, teleportation was blocked. The Association's seal wasn't some pushover.
I could force my way out.
Getting out wouldn't be hard. Don the armor, twist the space with brute force. It'd be tiring, but the quickest way.
But...
Something's off.
There was a familiar vibe nagging at me from the space itself. I knew this place.
Why?
Why did this pitch-black void feel so damn familiar? Because I'd holed up in a corner of the Demon Realm? Nah, I would've felt the same heading to meet the Underground Kingdom Great Enemy.
This feeling was...
Fear?
A chill crept up my spine. Like facing a trauma from the distant past. What the hell was this? Life in the Demon Realm had been boring, sure, but no trauma. Hell, it'd helped me grow stronger—satisfying times, really.
Fuck, this is creepy.
The unbearable goosebumps had me done already. I surged my power.
In an instant, armor enveloped my body. Power incomparable to my bare form welled up.
I'd held back during the Association escape to avoid revealing the armor, but not now.
Groooan.
I thrust my fingers into the space. Pressure squeezed back, denting my armor like it meant business.
This shit's tough as nails?
In the backrooms, I'd only twisted space enough to fix coordinates. Had no idea it'd resist this hard when ripping it open. Bare-handed? Forget it.
Fwoosh!
Demonic energy erupted from my arm like flames.
Craaaack!
I yanked hard, and through the rift, I glimpsed countless worlds overlapping.
Fix coordinates there.
Jump in blind, and I'd shatter. Magic locked onto my world.
Let's go.
I released the space, shed the armor, and dove in before it sealed.
A brief floaty sensation later, I landed on a Seoul street.
"Huh?"
It was fucking wrecked.
"What the hell?"
I blurted out loud in shock. What? How'd the street turn into this mess in, what, an hour or two max?
"Frame. Hey... how much time's passed?"
-Huh? Oh, you're out?
I pulled out my phone. Frame twirled her fingers from her bed.
-Lemme check... linking phone date to current... Huh?
She bolted upright in surprise.
-Three months and a week...?
"..."
I gaped blankly.
What the fuck kind of seal warps time like that?
Wait.
"Yoo Hwa!!!!!!!!!!"
I yelled in horror, ripping open the Demon Realm gate. What about Yoo Hwa?!
"All stacked up!"
Yoo Hwa was sweating, building something. A massive castle piled from Demon Realm soil.
"Uh, what?"
She turned, beaming to herself, then spotted me.
"Lady Seol-ah?"
"Yoo Hwa!!!! Get out here, now!!!"
Flustered, she scampered out of the Demon Realm.
"H-how long were you in there?!"
"Uh... stopped counting after three weeks."
"Aigoo, fuck!"
Her casual tone set off my cursing.
"I thought the Demon Realm link broke or something. What happened?"
"Got sealed briefly, came out, and three months passed. But forget that—"
I eyed her condition.
"You okay? Locked away for three months."
"Uh... yeah?"
For three months solo, she looked fine. I'd endured centuries thanks to training, but Yoo Hwa? How?
"Demon Realm's comfy... and I figured you'd come get me eventually. So I just played around."
Her trust in me was off the charts.
"Whoa... anyway, you did great. I'll treat you to something delicious."
I patted her shoulder.
"But why's the street like this?"
Yoo Hwa stared at the rubble-strewn ruins.
"Beats me. Came out and it was wrecked."
-Signal's dead too. No comms.
Frame made an X with her fingers on screen.
"Did the Association get wiped?"
They'd said sealing me bumped win odds to 65%. Or maybe the world's holding form, so they're still fighting?
BOOM!
"What?"
A massive explosion rocked the air. Ground shook; nearby buildings cracked like they might collapse.
People inside?
One guy inside, dazed, gnawing chicken bones.
Crunch.
I dashed in, planted myself in front of him as the building crumbled.
Rustle.
Demonic energy erased the debris; I shielded the man beneath.
"Huh?"
He blinked open, staring blankly at me.
"Hey, mister, I just got out, so... know anything?"
He smirked crookedly.
"Don't call me mister."
Is that the priority?
* * *
"So the Association dumbfucks finally went public with monster info?"
"Yeah. Then one day, boom—world went to shit."
Chatting en route to his hideout, turns out three months had turned everything upside down. Monsters exposed worldwide; mystery blasts leveled cities. Not just Korea—global.
This is quasi-world-ending.
Even if they're battling the Great Legacy, recovery seems impossible. What're they thinking?
Maybe track 'em down now.
Otherwise, back to Demon Realm hibernation till rebuild.
"Here."
His hideout: low-rise apartment.
"Whole place is mine."
"For real?"
"Killed anything that tried. None in a month."
I nodded at his deadpan delivery.
He's a monster now.
Demonic energy roiled in him. Always one, or turned surviving? Weird he didn't know.
Not the point.
Association's status mattered. World intact-ish meant they weren't crushed.
What to do with 'em? Not smash yet. Great Legacy first. After? Give 'em a head pat. Nah, not killing. For real. Fuckin' whatever.
"No more questions?"
"Nah. Head in."
"Scram."
Thud, thud.
I watched him enter, then turned.
"Frame."
Pulled phone, called her.
"Hack a signal somehow."
-Tough for me to generate, but I can pinpoint sources.
Frame pondered, hands on hips.
"Good. Guide me."
-Run 4km that way. Then I'll update.
"Let's go, Yoo Hwa."
Tatata!
We bolted per Frame's directions. Yoo Hwa's pace was solid; decent speed.
2km there, 6km this way, 3km that... fuck.
Signal this far out?
-Got it!
As frustration peaked, Frame cheered.
Signal locked. Barely.
"This it?"
-Plenty for me. What next?
Her confidence prompted my request.
"Infiltrate Association phones, computers, monitors—whatever."
-Association staff...? No clue.
"Probably clustered somewhere unlikely for humans."
City exploded sporadically. No source felt—just random blasts wrecking it. Association battles bleeding over, likely.
Hope not another world.
Cross-world comms impossible. Like my seal.
-Alright, diving in!
Frame leaped off-screen.
***
Three hours. No return.
When's she back?
Stuck for signal, but dusk falling. Better before full dark.
Tatata!
-Hah! Hah! Haaah!
Frame barreled back into the phone, gasping.
-F-found it...!
Like disaster struck, she wheezed to speak.
"Calm down. We got time."
-N-no! No time...!
She hacked coughs, forcing words.
-It's space! They're in space! Fighting something... and losing bad!