Hellhound

A space filled with nothing but darkness.

Two red moons drifted through the air.

They swelled into full moons, then shrank in an instant to crescents, over and over again.

Blink—.

A thin black line ran through the center of each moon.

Pupils.

They were the eyes of something vast.

Something is coming.

It felt a colossal power drawing steadily nearer.

The hero who had seized it and thrown it into this place.

His face rose in its mind.

Has he come to kill me?

Its mouth stretched so wide the corners nearly reached its eyes.

I will not die. I am not what I was then.

At those low, heavy words, the air itself trembled.

When it drew breath, a film of ice bloomed across the chamber in an instant.

When it exhaled, flames coiled through the room.

Here he comes.

KRA-KA-KA-KA—.

The door opened.

Artificial light spilled into a space that had never known a single ray.

What entered was a single human being.

Thud. Thud.

Sunghyun walked forward until he stood before the enormous presence.

Regeneration and resurrection, huh…

He had a rough idea of how to fight it.

"Alright. Let's play, doggy."

Sunghyun reshaped the Vajra.

Few people knew it, but the Vajra could freely change form for the convenience of its wielder.

Indra had simply preferred the Vajra in its original shape, and so that was how he had used it.

Sunghyun preferred a sword.

A blade etched with elegant golden patterns.

The sword drank Sunghyun's lightning and swelled in size.

Crack—. Crackle-crackle—.

At the sight of it, the Hellhound spat fire from its maw.

Hoooooo—.

The tip of the flame flicked this way and that like a speaking tongue, hissing as it came.

Crackle-crackle-crackle—.

Fwoooooosh—.

Lightning and flame collided.

Lee Hanshin watched their clash on the monitor.

"He's insane. Actually insane."

Everything he knew about the Hero had come from documents alone.

They said the man had commanded water as if it were his own backyard.

That was how he had subdued the Hellhound.

When it used ice, he drowned it in water and locked it down.

When it used fire, he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠either drowned it outright or snuffed the flames.

A perfect elemental matchup.

But this—

What the hell was this?

This man named Kim Sunghyun was pouring out nothing but lightning from start to finish.

In everything Hanshin knew, lightning like that did not exist.

It constantly shifted color, split apart, fused back together.

It changed its path mid-flight.

It became a shield that guarded its master and a spear that pierced the enemy.

If the Hero had subdued the Hellhound through elemental advantage—

Sunghyun was crushing it with raw power.

Pure force.

He was overwhelming the Hellhound with nothing else.

The feed carried no audio, so Hanshin could not hear a thing — but he did not need to.

That place would be overflowing with nothing but the Hellhound's screams.

A creature named for hell was living through a hell of its own.

Damn it!!! What the hell are you?!

"I feel like I've heard that question somewhere before."

Crack—. Crackle-crackle—.

Sunghyun wrapped black lightning around his blade and closed in on the Hellhound.

A combination he had never used before — the burden had always been too great.

Wielding the Vajra, he had felt it.

This might actually work.

Death, and Exorcising Evil.

"Back then, I think I answered something like this."

Lightning of death slammed into the Hellhound.

By nature, the Hellhound was meant to overwhelm its foes with flame and ice, backed by overwhelming regeneration.

When it led with fire, its opponent used lightning defensively. When it led with ice, the lightning turned tyrannical.

Whatever he had done, wherever that lightning touched, regeneration simply failed.

Even for the Hellhound, this was a first.

"I'm an investor."

Sunghyun swung his sword.

Flesh that met the lightning ignited and turned to ash in an instant.

Pain like this meant nothing to the Hellhound.

Pain was familiar.

But death was a word it did not know.

It had never even considered the concept.

Its body had been cut clean in half before. It had regenerated.

It had memories of being submerged in acid.

It had survived.

But the moment that black lightning struck—

All of it became meaningless.

Regeneration?

In a situation like this, that was no help at all.

That thing — that thing…!

What the hell are you!!!

"I don't repeat myself."

Black lightning struck the Hellhound once more.

In that instant, the Hellhound could not even scream its death cry before it crumbled to dust.

Now only Sunghyun remained in the dark.

"Whew… so this is Rank 5. Still manageable."

Three of them? He figured he could handle about that many.

The most important thing was still left.

Status window.

Buying the Vajra had pushed Coin Market to Level 10.

He could now ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠purchase SSS-rank goods.

"Not that it means much. Still — physique and mana experience are crawling now."

This fight had raised physique by 24% and mana by 10%.

"Maybe they just rose too fast before this. Ha."

He was going to have to think of some kind of training method.

"Anyway. Two million coins, huh…"

Gathering shares of Hermes's dimension would take about 1.25 million coins.

Subtract that, and 750,000 remained.

"Yeah. Better leave that alone for now."

Sunghyun immediately set up automatic purchases for Hermes's dimension.

"This one's going to take a while too. Hey! Mr. Lee Hanshin!"

He pounded on the door he had come through with his fist and shouted.

"You gonna open the door or what?!"

With a heavy clank, the door began to open.

Inside, Sunghyun had seen no light at all — only the glow of the Hellhound's fire and his own lightning.

It had not taken long, but seeing artificial light again felt surprisingly welcome.

"Good to see you again, Mr. Lee Hanshin. So — did you get the footage to headquarters alright?"

Sunghyun leaned lightly against the wall as he spoke.

Hanshin's breathing sounded rough.

"Mr. Kim Sunghyun. I have not sent the footage to headquarters yet. Are you still in good condition?"

Hm? That wasn't what I expected.

He had assumed Hanshin would suggest they rest.

Lee Hanshin wanted something from him.

The feeling of the unexpected cut both ways.

At best, Hanshin had expected him to fight a Rank 5 on even footing.

What was this? Power enough to call a Rank 5 trash.

Enough to drag back a dream Hanshin had long since set aside.

And so he had not sent the footage of Sunghyun that he was supposed to deliver to headquarters.

Lee Hanshin was a considerable patriot.

Which was why he made a dangerous choice.

Clear every Rank 5 and Rank 6 in Korea first — then send the footage.

If headquarters received Sunghyun's video now, they would order his immediate repatriation.

So they could start with the United States, where headquarters was based.

That could not be allowed.

Then there would be no telling when Korea's BMS threats could be dealt with.

Some people said America and China had more people, so why not start there?

So what?

His homeland was Korea.

People ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of a nation whose faces he did not even know meant nothing to him.

And he had to catch that thing.

If it's this man, he can take down that monster.

The Rank 5s still left in Korea: four at the Seoul branch, one at the Busan branch.

And one Rank 6 sealed in Gyeongju.

Clear those, and Korea could take a step back from the BMS threat.

That calculation showed plainly on Lee Hanshin's face.

Our Mr. Hanshin's cooking up something interesting, isn't he?

"Why didn't you send my footage?"

"To deal with the BMS in Korea first. I am asking this of you."

Lee Hanshin bowed to Sunghyun at a full ninety degrees.

"And the terms?"

"The Korean branch of the Control Bureau. I will give you the Research Director's seat — a management position. With that, you will not be dragged around by headquarters' orders later on. And you will be able to view any materials you want, whenever you want."

It was quite the offer.

No — more than quite. It was excellent.

Which was exactly why it was suspicious.

"Why go that far?"

"The reason I joined the Control Bureau was to wipe out every BMS in Korea."

Hanshin's eyes were full of rage as he spoke.

"But the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wall of reality was high, and I had no choice but to set that dream aside."

And then—

"You appeared. With you, it can be done. Hunting that thing, too."

Lee Hanshin began to speak of one particular BMS.

Rank 6: Jangsanbeom.

A parasite of the Korean peninsula that had existed since the Goryeo era.

How many of his countrymen had died because of this single BMS?

Lee Hanshin's parents had been among them.

The creature had a talent for mimicking voices, and it had copied Hanshin's.

As a result, his parents had believed their child was in danger and followed it.

After devouring them, it had immediately tried to lure Hanshin with his parents' voices.

But Hanshin had seen its white fur and fled at once.

He ran until he collapsed from lack of breath.

Jangsanbeom had not failed to catch him.

It had simply found the sight of a child abandoning his parents and running so hilarious that it let him go.

Proof enough: it had come and whispered beside the fallen Hanshin.

Your parents died because of you. You pathetic loser.

He could never forget it.

"I will never forget that day. Not until that thing is dead. Never."

Sunghyun looked into Lee Hanshin's eyes — eyes burning with resolve — and laughed hard.

"Hahahaha! You're an interesting one. People like you — I don't dislike them."

To achieve revenge, a man lays down everything he has.

Sunghyun did not dislike people like that.

No — if anything, he rather liked them.

Wasn't it good? Romantic, even.

And as for the vicious kind of creature that deceived people — Sunghyun hated those enough that he wanted them wiped from this world himself.

That alone was reason enough to help Lee Hanshin.

"Alright. Let's do it that way."

WIN-WIN.

And so began the event that would later be called the Great Upheaval.