World Destruction (12)
"Confirmed. The existence of the Great Legacy has been erased."
The founder of the Monster Management Association, drifting in the void like dust, spoke.
"Success."
The founder closed her eyes, reminiscing about the past for a moment.
She had loved humanity. Because she loved them, she wanted to protect them. That's why she abandoned her duty and descended to Earth to establish the Association.
She could have killed the Great Legacy herself, but to avoid prying eyes, she had no choice but to stay silent.
"Heuk Seol-ah, I am truly grateful to you."
And so, Heuk Seol-ah, who slew the Great Legacy, was no different from a benefactor to the founder.
Not human, yet fighting for humanity. From the founder's perspective, who knew her true nature, the gratitude was even deeper.
"I've stayed in this position far too long."
The founder, floating like dust, suddenly took on a human form and landed on the ground.
"I wanted to behold humanity for even longer... but now, there's no choice."
She closed her eyes. She wanted to see more of humanity, but leaving countless humans dead went against her nature.
"I stake my life and my very existence."
She lifted her head toward the heavens and declared.
"Therefore, return the universe to the state before the war with the Great Legacy."
Divine rank. A god's wish, wagering everything, began to come true.
That wish contained many conditions: preserving Heuk Seol-ah's memories, Frame's existence, and the gift left for her by the founder.
And so, time began to turn back.
"I pray that even without me, they remain out of sight."
A god's existence faded away.
"Urgh, aaagh..."
On some planet, I collapsed, clutching my body and letting out a pained groan.
The recoil from using phase 3? Yeah, if you wanna call it recoil, sure.
Impulse. The impulse screams. Don't hold back. Let loose, rampage. You've endured for so long, haven't you?
"Hngh, huuu..."
First, I melted the demonic energy solidified inside me, exhaling from deep within. It's space out here, but spewing out whatever was boiling up inside calmed me a bit.
The demonic energy filling my split flesh poured onto the ground. The bones that had turned to powder reformed and settled back into my body.
After some time regenerating, I returned to my phase 1 form.
"Urk!"
But the recoil wasn't over. Screaming from the surging impulse, I slammed the ground, crushing it and sinking my body into it.
No, this isn't my impulse. So I don't have to do it.
Huu, huu...
I lay flat on the ground, breathing steadily from within. Over and over. Continuously.
"...Good, calmed down."
After quite a long time, finally settled, I wiped the sweat from my forehead and stood.
This proved it: misuse phase 3, and you're fucked.
There was no physical recoil on the body. My regeneration shrugged off that level of transformation like it was nothing.
But the accompanying recoil was the problem...
Anyway, time to head back to Earth.
I roughly gauged my current coordinates and recalled Earth's.
Location: my home... though it's probably trashed.
Sigh.
My money's probably worthless now too. Cash might still have value, but it's all in the bank anyway—I couldn't withdraw it.
Humanity survived extinction, but everything else went to shit.
Might as well crawl back to the Demon Realm.
Swish.
Huh?
I pulled my phone from my pocket and froze. Why the hell was my phone intact?
It should've been pulverized when the Great Legacy's tail grazed me. Not even a crack on the screen.
"Frame?"
No response—probably hiding in some Association employee's phone.
Head home first. She'll come back once I catch a signal.
Snap!
I flicked my fingers and returned home.
"Huh?"
Home. My unchanged home. Not a single thing broken.
"What the... fuck is this?"
Click, click. Lights came on fine, internet connected too.
Whoosh!
"Fuck, what the hell!"
Glancing around, I yanked open the curtains, and an unbelievable sight hit me.
The cityscape. Towering buildings everywhere, cars on the roads—a normal urban hustle.
People milling about, going about their business. As if the city had never been destroyed.
"Frame! Get back here! Now!"
I yelled at the phone with its internet connection.
Tap tap tap!
Frame came back with a squeal.
"Weren't you in an Association employee's phone?"
"Whatever, glad you're safe."
"Yeah, sent it off with my own hands. And don't say 'catch'—give it a little respect, at least."
Still my descendant... sort of.
She nodded with a puzzled look. Probably thrown by my sudden attitude shift.
"Anyway, check this out."
I shoved the screen toward the balcony, showing her the cityscape.
Even for Frame, who'd seen the city in ruins, this was baffling. No way the Association could've restored it that fast, right? And people just going about their day like nothing happened? Absurd.
It felt like time rewound for everyone but us.
Wait—then Yoo Hwa?
"It's ove—woah?!"
I quickly rummaged the floor and pulled out Yoo Hwa. Getting the hang of it now.
"Yoo Hwa, you okay? Memories intact?"
"What do you... why is the city back?!"
"Yep, you're fine."
I sat the stunned Yoo Hwa on the sofa and pieced things together.
The world restored like time rewound... and judging by people's reactions, only me and these two knew. Association might have insiders, but that's beyond me.
Frame, about to flop onto the bed naturally, spotted something.
"For real?"
If someone who could physically touch things for Frame...
"The founder...? Read it quick."
At my request, Frame rummaged and pulled out the letter, starting to read.
Hello, Heuk Seol-ah-nim. This is the founder of the Monster Management Association.
As promised, I have resigned from my top position. And in exchange for my erasure, I've rewound the universe's time.
Ah, no need to worry. The Great Legacy was deleted from existence by you, so even rewinding time won't bring it back. Same for me—no one will find me anymore.
In a way, this is my will.
The reward I promised you is in the contents accompanying this letter—check them out. The records of the past I also promised are with the reward, so please review them.
On behalf of the Association, thank you once more for preventing humanity's annihilation. Thank you for your patience.
"..."
This one knew way too much too. Makes me curious about her true identity.
But now that she's erased from existence, no way to find out.
"A will with rewards? What's that?"
She held up some kind of card.
Fsssh...
As the card crumbled to powder, a notification popped up on the phone, bonking her on the head.
It was a deposit notice, amount...
500 billion?
The unreal figure left me blanking out for a sec.
She shoved another card-like thing at the screen.
A card proving 1st grade authority from the Association, as named.
No idea the extent, but definitely different treatment from our past collaboration.
Now she pulled out a USB.
"Uh... yeah, plug it in."
Bombarded by rewards, I nodded dazedly.
She plugged the USB into the floor at my okay, and something started downloading on the phone.
Upgrade Download in Progress... Complete.
Now I could go full throttle without issues.
"..."
Founder supreme.
Time passed, night fell.
Lying in bed, I blankly sorted through everything that happened.
I hadn't read the past records yet. Just sorting recent events was pushing my limits.
Demons.
The Great Legacy was a demon. One I didn't create, with a will of its own.
How? How the fuck is that possible?
Swish.
I turned to the bottle on the desk. The one with whatever I'd extracted from Leonard—something from Bardi.
That was weird too.
Why did a human have the power to make demons? How'd he extract and pass on Bardi's power?
One thing clear: neither I nor the previous Demon King made the Great Legacy.
It was made by a complete outsider.
I recalled the original story settings I'd memorized but not pulled out.
Right—demons aren't only made by the Demon King.
Demons can make demons too.
Of course, lower rank than Demon King-spawn, but stronger demons produced stronger offspring, I remembered.
This pointed to one fact.
"They didn't all get wiped out, huh."
The demons weren't fully exterminated by the Hero. Some are still out there, pursuing their desires.