A Truly Magnificent Sight
The sight was truly overwhelming. Beyond simply being grotesque and skin-crawling, it was utterly exhausting.
“Screeech! Urgh!”
Pitch-black monsters lunged at Yunjae, spewing acidic mucus alongside bizarre, guttural shrieks, but—
Radiant Veil
At that moment, Yunjae unleashed his holy power, dealing splash damage to the entire surrounding area.
Flash!
Before they could even dream of touching him, they melted away into nothingness under the radiant holy energy. *Splat! Splatter!*
It was an ironic sight. The frenzied monsters lunged at him like moths to a flame, only to dissolve instantly.
“Screeech!”
The strongest among them, a Great Demon, desperately tried to strike Yunjae even as its flesh liquefied. *Pop!* In the end, it burst into dust before it could even get close!
“Rozamy!”
Yunjae scanned his surroundings. Rozamy had to be controlling them from somewhere nearby. If he could stop her, the simultaneous portal attacks occurring across the globe would surely cease.
“Rozamy!”
Yunjae called out her name once more. The Radiant Veil he was currently using was one of his smallest area-of-effect skills. Even if Rozamy appeared, it wouldn't automatically target her like Nova Field would. Besides, she knew how powerful he was, so she wouldn't rashly attack him.
“Screeech!”
“You're in the way!”
Deciding that the monsters were hindering his search for Rozamy, Yunjae began swinging Gae Bolg. As Gae Bolg's holy power combined with the Radiant Veil and rippled outward, the monsters melted at an astronomical rate. If these creatures possessed any semblance of reason or intellect, they would have fled in absolute terror. The speed at which they were being erased was twice as fast as the rate they were pouring out of the portal! And this was with Yunjae deliberately using only basic attacks and his smallest-radius skill to minimize collateral damage to the city and keep Rozamy safe.
Just as tens of thousands of monsters were dying in vain, a voice finally rang out.
“You bastard! Just stop already!”
“Rozamy!”
Yunjae turned his head. Standing there was the beautiful, blue-haired, blue-eyed girl, glaring at him with a face filled not with hatred, but with sheer terror.
“You're the obstacle! If only you weren't here!”
She looked frantic, like someone being hunted. Yunjae looked back at her with a sorrowful gaze.
“Rozamy, please stop now.”
“W-why are you looking at me with those eyes?!”
His gaze was not that of an enemy. It was a deeply sorrowful look that laid bare his gentle heart. Seeing Rozamy waver,
“Please, stop doing this,” Yunjae pleaded, his voice earnest and sincere.
“If I could stop, I wouldn't have started in the first place!” she shrieked.
“If this isn't your true choice, then stop! You're not this kind of person!” Yunjae countered, his voice firm and unwavering. Unlike their first encounter where he had blushed in embarrassment, his eyes now held not a shred of weakness. It was a gaze befitting a true Hero.
“Shut up! I only follow my master's orders! And those orders are...!”
Not this kind of person? What did that matter now? Things had already gone too far!
“Is it to save your world, Rozamy?” Yunjae asked calmly.
“H-how do you know about that?!”
Rozamy gasped, utterly taken aback. She knew Yunjae was the Hero chosen by Lupinus after Domian, but she never expected him to know her tragic past.
“I heard it from Lady Lupinus. I also know... that your world no longer exists.”
Rozamy's eyes widened in shock.
“Shut up! Don't lie to me! Lupinus is just a failure anyway! It's a lie!”
Though she denied it, she couldn't hide the turmoil in her heart. She was barely holding onto her sanity as it was, so her emotional outburst was only natural.
“Whether you believe me or not is up to you, Rozamy. But!”
Still, he had to stop her now.
“Is it right to trample on and steal what is precious to others just to protect what is precious to you?”
When Yunjae posed the question to sway her heart, she froze. Her face contorted in agony, as if struck by an overwhelming wave of guilt.
“You couldn't possibly understand! You...!”
Unable to bear it any longer, she unleashed an attack at Yunjae. A brilliant blue flash erupted from her hands.
“You're right. I don't understand. No matter how hard I try, I will never truly know exactly how you feel!”
Deactivating even his Radiant Veil, *Boom!* Yunjae instantly blew away the surrounding monsters and leaped toward her.
MISS! MISS!
Without even bothering to dodge, Rozamy's attacks simply slid off him. Yunjae closed the distance in the blink of an eye and spoke.
“But if you're being forced to do this, I can help you stop!”
Now right in front of her, within arm's reach, Yunjae didn't attack. Instead, he looked at her with earnest, unwavering eyes. They were incredibly clear and resolute.
“What on earth are you...?”
As if his gaze reminded her of someone, Rozamy's face twisted in pain. Yunjae shouted,
“I will help you! So you don't have to suffer anymore! Even if we can't bring back your lost world, at least you won't have to hurt others against your will ever again!”
His pure, unadulterated goodwill reached her. *How could two people be so different? How could he be so completely unlike the previous Hero, Domian? Perhaps... Lupinus had finally made the right choice this time.*
“...How could you possibly do that?” Rozamy asked, her tone softening as a faint glimmer of hope sparked within her.
“I'm going to defeat Mamon,” Yunjae replied with a bright smile.
Rozamy's eyes trembled at how casually he uttered those words.
“That's impossible! He is...!”
“But I've already defeated Mamon a thousand times.”
The moment she heard that, Rozamy's blue eyes widened in sheer disbelief.
“What?”
“It just takes a bit of time, but I can practically beat him with my eyes closed.”
*What on earth was he talking about?* Seeing her utter bewilderment, Yunjae's expression turned serious once more.
“If things can't get any worse anyway, please trust me just this once. I will never betray your trust.”
It wasn't arrogance or a hollow boast. In fact, an introverted, timid person like Yunjae would never be capable of such bluster. To speak with such absolute certainty could only mean one thing: absolute confidence.
“B-but...”
“You can open a portal to him, right, Rozamy?”
Rozamy nodded blankly. She didn't understand how, but she knew Yunjae wasn't lying. It was incredibly baffling, but right now, he was effortlessly slaughtering tens of thousands of monsters. And this didn't even seem to be his true power. There was no panic in his eyes—only genuine concern for her.
“I can.”
Meeting his gaze, Rozamy nodded without realizing it. She felt a sense of trust in him that she had never once felt with the Hero Domian.
“Then open the path for me. I'll show you through my actions, not just words.”
Rozamy looked at him and let out a bitter laugh.
“Fine. Honestly, I'd rather die than serve that bastard any longer...”
*Her world had already been destroyed.* It was a shocking truth, but deep down, she had always suspected it. She had merely deceived herself, desperately clinging to a futile hope. And if Domian, who was currently preparing to awaken as a Great Demon King, became her new master, and she had to lead all of humanity to ruin with her own hands... what would be the point of anything?
“Wait. Before that...”
Yunjae gently placed his hand on Rozamy's head.
“W-what are you doing?!”
Startled by the unfamiliar touch, Rozamy flinched, but Yunjae offered a soft smile.
“Just in case, I'm going to use Taming on you. I don't want you getting caught in the crossfire.”
Taming
At that moment, a warm light enveloped Rozamy's body. *Flash!* Unlike the desolate, cold energy she was used to, a pleasant warmth spread through her entire body, and she found herself sighing in relief.
“Let's go now,” Yunjae said, signaling that he was ready.
Rozamy nodded, accepting that whatever the outcome, this would be the end.
“I'll end it too. The realm we are about to enter is my mas—”
She shook her head, correcting herself. Mamon was no longer her master.
“...It's a sub-space created by Mamon. I don't even know if we can return safely. Are you really going to be okay?”
Yunjae beamed at her.
“I'll be fine.”
Seeing his bright, carefree face, completely devoid of any worry, she found herself feeling silly for worrying in the first place.
“Don't worry, Rozamy. Everything is about to end.”
“...Alright.”
*Whirrr!* With that, she opened the portal.
The black portal writhed and churned, pulsating as if something new was about to gestate and burst forth from within.
*Rip!*
At that moment, a hand tore through the dark energy and thrust upward! Soon, a face followed. Emerging from the darkness like a snake shedding its skin, the entity clenched its fists and let out an ecstatic roar.
“The power... the power is overflowing!”
Shivering with the sheer, intoxicating force coursing through his veins, Domian slammed his fist into the ground.
*Crack!*
The impact of his raw power alone was enough to shake Mamon's sub-space.
“This strength!”
His skin and hair had turned an ashen white, and his eyes burned a deep crimson—clear proof that he was no longer human.
“This is a Great Demon King! The power of a Great Demon King!”
Having finally awakened, Domian chuckled, completely drunk on his newfound might.
“It's on a completely different level! Compared to the measly scraps of power that useless Lupinus gave me!”
This power was incomparable to what he had received from the Goddess Lupinus. Although only twenty years had passed in real time, to him, it felt like nearly two thousand years. This was infinitely more overwhelming than the abilities he had spent all those long, agonizing years struggling to obtain on his own.
“Heh, I don't know why I didn't serve you sooner.”
He no longer felt any shame in bowing to his former enemy. Smiling with uncontrollable ecstasy and joy at a level of power he had never experienced in his life, he muttered,
“Now, that cancer of a bastard is finished—”
*Flash!* It happened in that exact instant.
“Huh?”
He caught a glimpse of a blinding light flashing above his head.
“What is that?”
Then, a colossal torrent of light cascaded down upon him.
*BOOOOOOM!*
Under the explosive, devastating light, Domian's newly awakened body—which had just been strong enough to shake the sub-space—could not withstand the force and began to disintegrate.
“Aaaaargh! What the hell is this?!”
Whatever it was, its destructive power defied imagination. It was a force so immense that the Meteor Rock Smash he had suffered before couldn't even begin to compare!
“Aaaagh!”
In that split second of utter disorientation, a flood of memories flashed before his eyes. Was this the legendary life panorama one saw right before death? Amidst the countless passing scenes, he remembered trying to force himself upon the Saintess Rozamy, only for her maid, Camu, to take her place to protect her, subsequently taking her own life.
“You will receive a terrible punishment one day.”
He had believed it was only natural for a Saintess to belong to the Hero, but that girl had sacrificed her body and ended her own life just to protect her mistress.
It wasn't my fault!
Of course the Saintess belonged to the Hero, and since that maid was just as beautiful as Rozamy, wasn't it only natural that he had mistaken her? Yet, even in his corrupted state, he could never forget the act of breaking a pure, unblossomed girl, nor could he forget the looks of absolute disgust Rozamy and Lupinus had directed at him back then.
At that moment, Domian realized something.
He looks like her. That bastard.
He finally understood why the sight of Slender Forearms had filled him with such intense rage. The boy looked remarkably like the girl who had died back then. So beautiful that it made no sense for a male to look like that.
In the end, you bitch, you did this to me!
He had been granted new power, making him twice as strong as before, so why?! Clinging to resentment over that day's memories rather than regret, the utterly irredeemable man screamed,
“You motherf—”
Before his voice could even echo, *Flash!* The light falling from the heavens expanded, tearing and shattering the very fabric of space. Swept away by the radiance, Domian was completely vaporized in a single strike, without even having the chance to celebrate his rebirth!
*BOOOOOOOOM!*
A thunderous roar shook the void. Not only the Great Demon King Domian, but even the black portal beneath him could not withstand the cataclysmic force and shattered with a deafening blast.
“My god...”
Watching the spectacle from the outside, Rozamy's jaw dropped.
“But it's really slow in reality. Normally, he should have spawned by now. He'll show up soon, right?”
Holding Gae Bolg with a relaxed expression, as if he hadn't even exerted himself, Yunjae asked. Following his usual, familiar pattern, he had launched a preemptive strike with Goddess's Wrath and was already preparing to follow up with Goddess's Slash. Rozamy stared at him blankly and replied,
“...What are you talking about?”
“Pardon?”
“You just destroyed the portal leading to Mamon.”
At those words, Yunjae froze, staring at her as if his brain had temporarily lagged.
“Pardon?”
Seeing him ask again, Rozamy shouted, her face still pale with shock at the sheer absurdity of it all.
“I said you blew up the portal to Mamon!”
Yunjae shrieked, his face turning pale with panic.
“Ah! That can't be! Normally, when I launch a preemptive strike, Mamon is supposed to spawn and say his unskippable line: ‘How dare a mere human challenge a Demon God!’”
He had only attacked first because that was the fixed routine he had repeated for over 100,000 hours—nearly eleven years! Why had this happened?! Yunjae was thrown into utter panic.
“Even this sub-space is collapsing right now from the aftershock!”