Chapter 455
Chapter 455
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 455
Chapter Title: The Ruined World (2)
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Once the location had been pinpointed, moving there wasn't particularly difficult for Hans.
This held true even in this hellish environment harsher than the underworld itself.
As he flew swiftly toward the detected life signal, he glanced down at the ground below.
The scenery whipping past was uniformly bleak—one ruined vista after another.
Collapsed buildings, shattered earth, barren wastelands of nature...
'This is a truly ruined world.'
The end of an entire dimension.
For someone like him, who had faced crises in numerous worlds, witnessing one utterly annihilated was a first.
Even the Kanghwan Realm, stripped of its Dragon Heart and spiraling toward doom, or the recent Devourer incident—both had at least some sliver of recovery potential.
'If every living being in a dimension was wiped out at once... just how many died?'
Even Hans, who prided himself as the Lord of Death, couldn't fathom it.
There were no lingering souls of the fallen, no final remnants of will, not even traces of death energy—everything had been utterly eradicated.
No intact corpses remained, as if they'd melted away in some acidic haze.
'But one thing's certain. At least billions of people lost their lives to this.'
And that was just humanity.
Factoring in all flora and fauna across the dimension...
'What are you after, Reverse Heaven Society Leader? Why go this far?'
Such ruined worlds surely weren't limited to Koshias.
Under the pretext of nurturing mystery on Earth, countless other worlds had likely vanished unnoticed.
What grand ambition justified stacking such monstrous karma?
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [We've arrived.] Lost in those thoughts, he reached his destination in an instant and slowly surveyed his surroundings.
To uncover the truth, he needed to focus even more on this search.
This spot was no different from the rest.
Save for the clustered debris of what might have been shanties—perhaps a slum before—and ragged clothes that looked like they'd once been worn by humans, strewn about everywhere.
'This is the place.'
Hans descended to the ground and approached the remnants of one such shanty.
He lightly waved a hand, emitting a precise burst of mana.
Rumble—
Debris floated into the air all at once, as if defying gravity.
The hovering wreckage scattered before him, drawing something from within right to his feet.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Found it.] Hans stared at the object now hovering right before his face.
The faint life signal that had drawn him here—a translucent blue crystal encasing a girl in her early teens, curled fetal-like with something clutched in her hands...
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ She was dreaming.
An endless dream with no beginning or end she could recall.
-“#%@—!!”
A voice seemed to call her name. She turned, but nothing was there.
Just the impenetrable darkness she knew so well.
She huddled again, burying her face in her knees.
Thinking only brought headaches, so she'd just wait out the time as always.
Forgetting how time passed, who she was, why she was here.
-“#%@—!!”
But this time felt different.
The voice she usually ignored persisted, louder than before, echoing in her mind.
Her hands clutched her temples.
It tickled, stirring memories—only for stabbing pain to shove them back, over and over.
'No.'
I hate the pain.
I just want to forget everything and sleep.
Deep in a world without pain or suffering.
Alone, like always...
'Alone?'
Her grip froze.
Sharper pain assaulted her, but she gritted her teeth, fixated on that thought.
The persistent voice stirred her mind awake.
'No. I hate being alone. I... I...!'
And then—
-“Ramyu—!!”
That familiar voice shook her.
“Oppa!”
Her eyes snapped open as she bolted upright.
“...Huh?”
In a pristine room she'd never imagined.
Wrapped in soft blankets beyond her wildest dreams.
Blinking in confusion, she tilted her head.
“What... where am I...?”
Reeling from the sudden shift, she dazedly scanned her surroundings.
For a girl born in trash heaps and raised in ruins, this opulent space was unimaginable.
Enraptured, her gaze locked onto one spot.
“Ah!”
Beyond the large window in the corner.
A world straight out of fairy tales, one she'd only envisioned from stories.
“No way that's...”
First time seeing it, but instinct told her.
That crystal-clear blue expanse she'd only heard tales of.
The 'blue sky' itself.
“Ah, you're awake.”
Lost staring out the window, a stranger's voice came from behind—near the door.
“...Who are you?”
She whipped around warily, clutching the blanket tight.
Her head still spun, thoughts jumbled—but this was no normal situation.
Her single question brimmed with suspicions: his identity, his motives, why she was here.
“Oh, me?”
Unfazed, the man entered with a tray of water and porridge, setting it on the bedside table. He scratched his chin.
Pondering briefly, he chuckled and shrugged.
“Hmm, the full story's complicated— we'll get to it later. For now, just call me...”
A sturdy build rare in a food-scarce world, flawless skin, fine clothes of luxurious fabric, even glasses—a high-society staple.
A type utterly foreign to her short life, he smiled warmly as he continued.
“...'Hoon.'”
His first self-introduction since birth.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Closing the door to let the girl rest, Hoon stepped out with a short sigh.
“Never thought it'd turn out like this.”
He paced the interior, meticulously checking everything again.
As the homeowner, this was his first actual visit—necessary diligence.
“Good thing I prepared ahead. Always best to plan in advance.”
This was his secret safehouse.
Not as fortified as his Seoul outskirts main base, but a cozy two-story with a garden—fully equipped.
'And from now on, it'll be the base for this avatar, 'Hoon.''
⚔ STATUS ⚔ 👤 Entity Name: Hoon 🔗 Common Traits: Mind Hub, Persona, Great Spirit, Super Recovery, Clear Mirror Still Water, Superhuman Strength, Neural Hypersensitivity, Insight, Xenoglossy, Toughness, Underwater Breathing, Subspace Storage, Limit Break, Mimicry 🧠 Entity Trait: Mind Link 📝 Special Notes: Han Seonghyeon's tenth avatar. Can link thoughts with others via Mind Link. Scratching the back of his head, he flopped onto the living room sofa.
Closing his eyes, he reviewed recent events and future plans.
'Ever since Hans found that crystal with the girl inside...'
Hans had experimented extensively with the crystal.
To gather intel, he'd need to awaken her for a chat, right?
But obstacles arose immediately.
'Can't risk tampering and harming the kid inside.'
The crystal was a life-support device.
It had sustained her amid the world's ruin.
Forcibly shattering it could expose her to the hostile environment...
'Can't take that chance.'
Even Hans lacked full confidence in shielding her perfectly.
The apocalypse stemmed from twisted dimensional laws themselves.
No issue for an Awakened undead like him, but safeguarding a native bound by those laws required countermeasures to defy them.
During his trials, one revelation emerged.
For some reason, the crystal—and girl—could be transported to another dimension.
From there, things progressed smoothly.
On safe Earth, no need for excessive caution.
Extracted, she received emergency divine healing via Entity Projection as Saint Heinrich.
The imperfect crystal had left her on death's door...
That's when he realized.
Her survival wasn't solely the crystal's doing.
'Her condition mirrored the Kanghwan Realm's 'Dragon Child'—intervention by a transcendent being from birth.'
Not identical, of course.
The Dragon Child suffered from accepting holy power sans immunity; hers was a vessel too vast for her body to endure.
But the implication was clear.
'She was it. The Main God's countermeasure against Koshias's doom. Prepared not passively like the Dragon Child, but as an active dagger to slay the foe.'
Directly forged by the Main God on the brink, her potential was unimaginable.
Unlike the dispersed Dragon Children, her power could concentrate fully.
But only that far.
The world crumbled before she could hatch and mature, leaving her alone as it perished.
A failed world.
A possibility that withered unbloomed.
Destined to fade in lonely isolation, abandoned even by its god.
Yet now...
'It's in my hands?'
Hoon's lips twitched upward.
A being born to oppose the Reverse Heaven Society Leader at her core.
A winning lottery ticket, plain and simple.
How could he leave such a prize discarded?
“Whew, suddenly playing nanny. She'll need time to adjust to this world.”
He'd considered his Blood Alliance subordinates, but entrusting such a gem to others was unwise.
Besides, proper nurturing demanded his personal oversight.
'Perfect timing with the new avatar. Otherwise, the main body might've handled it.'
The Unique Skill Enhancement advancing just then felt fated.
Even stronger, the main body preferred minimal-risk options.
Future reallocations could wait.
'Plus, with the massive Earth ops underway, I needed an avatar for management. Two birds, one stone. Flexible deployment if needed.'
Shrugging, he rose from the sofa.
She needed space amid the confusion, but he wouldn't leave her indefinitely.
'Plenty of questions. For efficiency, prep in advance.'
Revenge on the Reverse Heaven Society Leader.
For 'our' shared aspiration.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ A haze of colorful smoke filled the room.
“...The distortion's grown worse.”
The Oracle frowned at the void, hookah in hand.
By her experience, only one group could cause this.
“Masquerade again...? What have they done?”
Their presumed Korean base-shaking scheme progressed steadily.
Cautious to minimize karmic ripples, some ops were long in execution phase.
Yet now, ripples like a boulder in a lake...
“...Ominous. Hope it's nothing major.”
She gnawed her mouthpiece irritably, unwittingly voicing unprophetic unease.