World Destruction (10)

'Space?' I looked up at the sky upon hearing those words. So, we're fighting in space because battling on Earth would be a total fuckup?

How massive must the aftermath be?

Even the fallout alone could shatter Earth's civilization, so I couldn't even begin to imagine the scale.

"Hoo..."

I let out a sigh and cracked open the ground, tearing a portal to the Demon Realm.

"Yoo Hwa, sorry, but head back in. This doesn't seem like something you should get involved in."

"Got it."

Yoo Hwa went in with a reluctant but resigned look on her face.

"You can survive if your phone gets smashed, right?"

-No signal means I can't jump to another phone, and I'd die?

"Will there be reception in space...?"

-Of course there will. I jumped into a phone in space before... how could there not be?

I decided to trust Frame for now and formed my armor.

"Where do I need to go?"

Frame pondered for a moment before replying.

-Analyzing the surroundings... the moon?

"Okay."

Bang!

I exploded demonic energy from my feet for a massive leap, then activated levitation ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠magic to gain propulsion and soar upward.

The moon was visible to the naked eye from Earth—a distance that was easy to cover flying straight toward it.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

I kept detonating blasts from my feet to maintain thrust. My current speed would get me there in seconds.

The sky grew darker, and soon the oxygen thinned out. Outer space.

I hurtled toward the moon, closing in fast.

Crash!

I smashed headfirst into it. The jarring impact made my skull ring as I flopped over. I lifted my head and looked around.

"No one's here?"

-How big do you think the moon is?

"Ah."

It was like whining that you couldn't see America from Seoul.

Swoosh.

I placed my hand on the ground and unleashed my demonic energy at full power. It devoured the surface at an insane rate, soon enveloping the entire moon.

Feels good to go all out.

On Earth, I'd held back out of fear of causing a disaster unless it was my first phase—I couldn't unleash my full strength properly.

Over there.

I sensed the Association's location with my demonic energy and leaped toward it.

The power was on a whole different level from my first phase.

Kaboom!

The ground shook violently from my landing. After waiting for the tremors to subside, I looked up at the Association headquarters.

"What the hell."

It was shockingly calm.

They were just endlessly firing what looked like missiles at somewhere. I couldn't tell where they were coming from—they just materialized out of thin air.

Not many people here, either.

A few thousand at most. For an Association that numbered in the tens of millions waging war, it was a small force.

Even more astonishing, no one paid me any attention. Whether the ground quaked ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠or not, they ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠muttered incomprehensible words while launching missiles somewhere.

I grimaced at the eerie sight.

"Frame."

I called out to summon her and tell her to hide in someone else's phone.

-Frame... is that the name of this vessel?

"Fuck."

If Frame's face hadn't stayed expressionless, it might've been bad.

-Greetings, Heuk Seol-ah. Our second meeting. I am the founder of the Monster Management Association.

"Why the hell are you in there?"

-I lowered my presence of my own will. It allowed me to enter 'Frame.'

I had no idea what that meant.

"What happened to Frame?"

-She's in deep sleep. No harm done.

"Good job. I won't kill you specially for it."

-You're angry, as expected.

The woman glanced at me cautiously and bowed her head.

-My apologies. We tried to end the war while you were sealed, but it dragged on longer than anticipated.

"Bullshit. My whole body was shaking from whatever seal you used."

-It's true. We predicted you'd break out, so we set the time dilation extremely high.

So that's why three months had passed when I escaped.

-We expected the war to last about two months at most. From your perspective, it was meant to feel like you'd gone in and come right back out.

"Still not forgiving you."

-I understand. The rage from being sealed won't fade easily. Especially if used on the Demon King.

I frowned at that. I knew I'd been calling myself the Demon King casually—it was just a title, so no big deal.

But the way she said 'Demon King' made it sound like...

She's talking about the old Demon King from back then.

And what was this seal? Did she know something?

-So, a proposal... no, a request is more accurate.

Before I could voice my doubts, she continued.

-Your sealing was my unilateral decision. The branch leaders only knew that I had summoned you, and they were quite flustered when it actually happened.

"So?"

-Once this incident ends, I will resign. We'll find a suitable replacement.

Stepping down entirely, huh?

"Whether you resign or not is none of my business..."

-Of course, we'll provide appropriate compensation as well.

She spoke again before I finished.

"Still..."

-And I'll share the records of the past that I know.

"...What the hell does that mean?"

-Hero and Demon King, demonic energy and mana... things like that.

"!"

My eyes widened. How did she know about that?

-Will you accept my request?

"Okay."

I nodded. It was too tempting to refuse. She was taking responsibility by stepping down, offering compensation, and even the info I was most curious about.

Saying 'Nah, I wanna beat your ass instead?' would just screw me over and make things awkward.

"So, what's the request?"

I'd accepted, but she'd only mentioned rewards so far—I still didn't know the actual ask.

-In the Association's stead, please defeat the 'Great Legacy.'"

"Can't catch it? You said 65%."

-Your emergence reduced it to 30%.

"Why the hell?"

That was another mystery. Why would some unknown outer god weaken without me around?

-That's in the past records too. How could it be possible?

Possible?

"What do you take me for? Of course I can end it."

I didn't know what this Great Legacy was, but in my second phase, it was worth a shot.

-Thank you for accepting my request.

The woman bowed deeply in gratitude.

-I've inputted the Great Legacy's data into this monster named Frame. Best of luck.

Crackle!

-Ughhh...

Sparks flew, and Frame groaned as she regained consciousness.

-What happened...? My connection just cut out.

"Eh, nothing much. Some weirdo hopped in your body for a bit and left."

-What?!

Frame started patting herself down in shock.

-I didn't notice at all. What was it?

"Said she was the founder of the Monster Management Association."

-Why would someone that high-up come to me...?

"Guess she wanted to chat with me."

I calmed the freaked-out Frame and said,

"She said she dumped data on the Great Legacy into you... got it?"

-Huh? Hold on...

Frame made a dumb face and spaced out for a bit.

-Ah! Yeah, I do!

She snapped to attention and yelled, her expression totally composed in an instant.

What was that just now?

-The Great Legacy is one of the outer gods worshipped by the S-rank organization 'Outer God Worshippers'!

"I know that. Just tell me the location and appearance."

-Hmm... I'll explain the location data when I input it as we go. Easier that way, right?

"Sure."

-Let's see, appearance... flinch.

Frame shuddered while digging through the data.

"What's wrong?"

-Uh... it's like a larva, apparently. But translucent, so the space background shows through.

Sounded normal enough—not that shocking.

-But the size is 1... 1 light-year...?

Now that was shocking.

"What the fuck is that big?!"

One light-year. The distance light travels in a year. Considering nothing in the universe moves faster than light, that was an insane size for a body.

Can I even handle it in second phase?

I glanced over to see employees launching missiles the size of small planets.

With that scale, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠no wonder three months of bombardment hadn't killed it.

It was a race between killing it before it arrived or getting wiped out if it did.

I understood why they were still fighting. At one light-year, even pissing on Earth would obliterate it. So they were trying to take it out from afar.

"Let's go, Frame."

-Straight 4,000 km, then...

Boom!

I kicked off the ground and leaped toward the spot Frame indicated.