Surely You Didn't Think I Did It?

"Why that look... surely you didn't think I was the one who killed them?" Tae-hyun said jokingly.

Unless they were complete fools, they wouldn't have such delusions, right?

"O-Of course not."

"I didn't think that for a second."

"Right. If anyone thought that, they wouldn't deserve to be called a ranker."

"..."

"..."

Tae-hyun's words made the other players look dejected.

Looks like they fought quite fiercely.

It was quite baffling to see knights collapsed in heaps starting right from the entrance of the tower. What on earth had happened?

Did the 1st Prince go crazy and run amok?

It ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was a wild guess, but not entirely impossible. The 1st Prince was currently covenanted with Hungry Chaos. When someone made a covenant like that, there was no telling when they might lose their mind.

Before Carbanog could even finish speaking, a horde of elite NPCs from the Idergo Cult was discovered.

"..."

I see.

Fortunately, the NPCs from the Idergo Cult were all dead as well. Because the 1st Prince's guard knights were formidable, they had fought each other to mutual destruction.

If they had been alive, they would have screamed, "That's the Pope of Archisus! Get him!" and lunged at him savagely.

Then did the Idergo Cult come to raid the 1st Prince?

Currently, the Idergo Cult was under attack by Philip III (who had returned as an undead). From the cult's perspective, joining hands with the 1st Prince would have been a highly attractive option.

The 1st Prince, too, would have allied with anyone if he was desperate...

Why didn't they join hands?

Can't you make a covenant and still ally with others?

Archisus is great, and Sadiq is also a wonderful god, so why not believe in both? Such a concept was generally not permitted in other cults. If the 1st Prince had tried to join hands with the Idergo Cult while covenanted with Hungry Chaos, Hungry Chaos would have torn his soul to shreds immediately.

Ah, I see. That's why this mess happened...

The Idergo Cult had come, the 1st Prince had refused, and though it was unclear who attacked first, a battle had broken out...

For the entrance to be in such a state of ruin, it must have been a massive clash.

"!"

Tae-hyun, lost in thought, suddenly snapped out of it.

Come to think of it, this was no time to be leisurely.

What if someone else takes the 1st Prince's head?

Tae-hyun's class quest required him to secure the 1st Prince's head. If the Idergo Cult had won and taken it, Tae-hyun's quest would become impossible to complete!

What was even more ominous was the report that the 1st Prince had disappeared. If the 1st Prince had won against the Idergo Cult, there would be no reason for him to disappear.

This is bad!

"Everyone, follow me!"

At Tae-hyun's shout, the members of the Black Rock Sect looked puzzled. They were wondering what was going on, but did Kim Tae-hyun see something they didn't?

Shouldn't we wait to assess the situation first?

The levels of those dead knights and cultists look pretty high... who knows what's up there.

But since it's Kim Tae-hyun, he must have already figured it out.

True, he is Kim Tae-hyun...

When the Black Rock Sect members followed without any complaints, Silved was dumbfounded.

"Wait. Shouldn't we know what kind of enemy is up there before we go? Looking at the scale of this battle, it's definitely not something easy..."

However, the guild members simply ignored him and ran. One of them scolded Silved.

"Do you think Kim Tae-hyun doesn't know what you know? He obviously has a plan, so just keep up."

"..."

Left with nothing to say, Silved shut his mouth. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠It was a valid point. A ranker of Kim Tae-hyun's caliber wouldn't act without knowing the basics.

It was annoying to be scolded by the Black Rock Sect members, but he could endure it. Thanks to Kim Tae-hyun, he was able to clear his quest quickly...

Fine. I'll endure it.

Silved also ran quickly to catch up.

There were no living NPCs in front of the ornate door. Only the corpses of knights and Idergo Cult NPCs!

Seeing this, Tae-hyun's heart grew even more anxious. He immediately threw open the door and stepped inside.

Flash!

There was nothing inside the vast chamber. Instead, only a single, blazing Chaos Sphere floated in the center!

Tae-hyun recalled the Chaos Sphere at the top of the Sky Castle. The Chaos Sphere here was undoubtedly something similar.

Where did the 1st Prince go? Don't tell me...

Before his thought could finish, a change occurred. The Chaos Sphere suddenly began to boil as if about to explode.

Sharp thorns of chaos shot out, centering around the sphere!

Seeing the system message pop up, it was clear this was no ordinary skill. The players in the room scrambled to dodge.

"What kind of monster is that?!"

"Why did that crazy 1st Prince keep something like this in the tower?!"

The players were flabbergasted. Honestly, when they were running behind Tae-hyun, they expected to find the 1st Prince at the top of the tower, or at least the treasures he had left behind. But to find nothing but a bizarre ball...

"Don't block it with your shield!"

A tank who was about to charge with his shield raised stopped in surprise at Tae-hyun's shout.

Tae-hyun had shouted out of pure instinct, but it turned out to be the right choice.

"Hey!!!"

To think it would just strip away his boots just for touching the thorn! The guild member was utterly dumbfounded by the absurd skill. What kind of ridiculous entity was this...!

"Don't touch it! Just use ranged skills!"

"Is it even taking damage?!"

"Kim Tae-hyun! Give us orders! Tell us what to do!"

The players in the room instinctively called out Tae-hyun's name. When crisis struck, humans naturally acted on instinct. In this situation, the most dependable person was Tae-hyun.

...We need to get out of here.

Despite the chaos around him, Tae-hyun kept a cool head. He had come for the 1st Prince, but now that things had turned out like this, there was nothing more he could do.

Moreover, they were facing an opponent whose abilities were completely unknown. It seemed best to retreat for now and return later.

"Fall back for now! Archisus's Blessing!"

A powerful buff of luck was bestowed upon all the players present. He didn't know how long they could hold out against the enemy's attacks, but it was the highest-tier buff Tae-hyun could offer!

However, an unexpected situation occurred.

"...No, wait—"

Flash!

In an instant, a brilliant light flared, and the Chaos Sphere exploded, sweeping up all the players in the vicinity.

No one could have predicted this. To think the Chaos Sphere would sense the power of Archisus and immediately self-destruct!

Flash!

Tae-hyun's companions waiting in the distance, along with the players who had escaped the camp, witnessed the central tower flash brilliantly before beginning to crumble.

"????"

"What is that?"

The tower vanished as if melting from the top down!

Not only that, but the buildings of the fortress also began to melt away in an instant.

The 1st Prince's faction was already in a precarious state due to his disappearance. With their fortress melting away, the shock sent their reputation and power plummeting straight through the floor.

There were so many system messages popping up that it was impossible to check them all.

What on earth is he doing in there?!

Lee Se-yeon was dumbfounded. He had gone in to check on the 1st Prince's whereabouts, and suddenly he had blown up the entire fortress. The quest was complete, but...

Just then, a whisper arrived from Tae-hyun.

- I'm in a weird place right now.

- ...?! A weird place? Where? The Demon Realm? An undiscovered region? Can you escape using a scroll or magic?

- I just tried, but it doesn't work. I'll look around first and contact you again.

For Tae-hyun, gaining five levels at once was an extremely rare occurrence. Collapsing the 1st Prince's fortress and dismantling his faction was one thing, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but it meant that destroying the Chaos Sphere was just that monumental!

...Of course, Tae-hyun hadn't actually intended to destroy it. The opponent had simply self-destructed out of nowhere.

Even so, self-destructing when I didn't even do anything is a bit much, don't you think?

Tae-hyun had actually been trying to run away. What kind of absurd suffering was this, all because of Archisus's name?

At any rate, he had avoided the worst-case scenario. He had cleared a major quest, and he hadn't died. Although he had ended up in some strange, unknown place...

It doesn't feel like another dimension like the Demon Realm. Carbanog, do you happen to know this place?

"W-Where are we?"

"Kim Tae-hyun, where is this?"

The Black Rock Sect members and Silved, who had been dragged along with him due to sheer bad luck, asked in panicked voices.

Looking at them, a sudden memory flashed in his mind. Come to think of it, hadn't the Black Rock Sect members been dragged into the Demon Realm with him before because of a similar mishap?

Did we end up here because of them?

No matter how he thought about it, this was definitely because of Archisus, not them!

First, we need to find out where we are.

"!"

To his surprise, equipment belonging to the Idergo Cult NPCs was lying scattered on the ground.

Did they come here first?!