The Otherworld Hero's Fury

Rewinding time a little.

"Status Window."

"Fuck. No wonder my body feels so heavy."

Kang Myeong-cheol spat the blood pooling in his mouth as he checked his status window. All around him lay the corpses of countless monsters that had gone berserk under the killing intent he had unleashed, scattered among the trees he had cleaved apart.

"But why won't these bastards' status windows open? And what's with the skills ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that look like their text got corrupted?"

Summoned from twenty-first-century Earth to another world for reasons he still didn't fully understand, Kang Myeong-cheol had received a cheat ability that let him view other people's status windows. He could even open the windows of corpses—yet these monsters refused to yield anything. On top of that, several of his own skills displayed as broken characters.

Tracing his memory, he realized every garbled skill was one that strengthened his subordinates or his territory. In other words, only the skills that made him stronger still displayed properly.

Wait. The mana here feels different.

He sensed it next—mana of a completely different nature from the world he had come from.

"There's only one moon? And what the hell is that planet!?"

His original world had two moons. This place had one. Behind that single moon loomed a massive planet.

Mana of an alien quality. A solitary moon. A giant world hanging behind it.

"Did I just dimension-hop to another world?"

Having already crossed dimensions once, he immediately grasped that he had done it again.

"Fuck! Then I can't even get revenge on those sons of bitches!"

The realization that this was a different dimension—and that revenge was now impossible—sent him into a rage. He swung his sword with raw, neurotic fury.

KRAKAKAKAK!

The forest in the path of his blade was sheared clean through; entire mountainsides were carved away. He didn't care about the destruction of nature. He only needed to vent.

"Why?! Why the hell?! Why!?"

Discarded after use?

No. If they had planned to discard him, there would have been no reason to grant him a territory, and no reason to attack him five full years after he had slain the Demon King. Among the traitors had been the very woman he had married.

—Living with you is pure torture! I can't take it anymore! I won't!

"Crazy bitch. After everything I did for her, she couldn't even keep the 'basics' and still had the nerve to bitch about it!"

Everyone in that previous world had been full of complaints. Everything was too hard, too much, they needed rest, they schemed and cut corners—and he had been the one who suffered for it. Yet in the end his path had always been right. Always the correct answer.

"Huuu— huuk— Fine. I'll just be grateful I survived."

Only after he had neurotically reduced the surrounding terrain to scrap and felt a faint wave of exhaustion did Kang Myeong-cheol manage to rein in his rage.

"Healing."

He cast a healing spell on himself, but forcing his way through the anti-magic barrier while escaping the trap had burned through most of his mana. The recovery was meager.

I should leave at least a minimum of mana in reserve, just in case.

On the long journey to kill the Demon King he had learned always to keep a margin of resources against the worst possible outcome. With his body feeling slightly lighter, he was about to search for a safe place to rest when—

KRAAAAAAA——!!

"Kh!?"

Somewhere, a violent surge of magical power roared to life.

What the hell?! This mana is stronger than the Demon King I killed!

Even if he still possessed his full ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠original strength, he could not be certain of victory against something this intense. Kang Myeong-cheol carefully suppressed his own power and began moving toward the source of the disturbance. He needed to identify who—or what—was generating that mana, then decide how to respond.

"So there are filthy dark mages here as well."

What Kang Myeong-cheol found was the corpse of an ogre-like monster whose upper body had been blown apart, a chimera-like creature feeding on that corpse, and a man and woman of vastly different ages who looked like master and servant.

"Who are you……? And why are you showing us hostility……?"

Dang Seol-yeong regarded Kang Myeong-cheol with open wariness, ready to draw at any moment as he radiated naked enmity toward them.

"Why am I hostile? Because you're filthy dark mages, obviously."

"We are not dark mages……."

"Hmph. Then what do you call that chimera?"

"Chimera……?"

He pointed at Mingmingi, still tearing into the ogre's remains.

"Th-this isn't a chimera! This child is a living creature called a Cryptor!"

"So in this world you just call those disgusting things Cryptors instead of chimeras. The essence is the same."

Having already accepted that he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had arrived in another world, Kang Myeong-cheol simply assumed that chimeras were known here by a different name.

"You're misunderstanding……. I am Dang Seol-yeong of the Sichuan Dang Clan……. Neither I nor this child are dark mages……."

"What? A Chink shacked up with a dark mage? Figures. Dirty Chinks are rotten down to their very nature."

Having already labeled the two of them as "evil," Kang Myeong-cheol spat the slur and poured out even thicker killing intent.

"I followed the source of that intense mana and found a Chink and a dark mage raising a chimera. The reasons I have to kill you right here just keep piling up."

"Run!"

Seeing Kang Myeong-cheol drop into a low stance, Dang Seol-yeong shouted for Kaisent to flee and settled into a defensive posture. Exactly as she expected, he shot forward like a loosed arrow, swinging a treasured sword already scarred with damage toward her.

KAKAKAKANG!

Dang Seol-yeong met the blade with her nails, batting the sword face aside.

Strong and fast! But his movements feel awkward somehow. Blood at the corner of his mouth. He's injured?

Fuck! Normally I'd crush a Chink bitch like this in a single breath!

With every stat reduced by 89 percent from his comrades' filthy betrayal and lingering wounds still plaguing him, Kang Myeong-cheol could not break through Dang Seol-yeong's defense. Worse, venting his rage earlier had drastically cut the mana he could still use.

Confirming the blood still staining his lips, Dang Seol-yeong slowly began gathering her poison qi.

Because of me, Noona can't fight freely.

Realizing she was locked in a frontal clash against an armed opponent solely to protect him, Kaisent began to run for her sake.

"Heh heh heh. Typical of your filthy kind. If the mage had stayed back and supported you, I might actually have had some trouble."

Watching Kaisent flee without even looking back, Kang Myeong-cheol let out a contemptuous laugh and hunted for an opening. Of course Dang Seol-yeong, who knew Kaisent's nature, felt only relief that he had put real distance between them.

I go in deep.

She had concealed the fact that she was a poison master until the very last moment. Now she prepared to close in so thoroughly that even if he noticed, escape would be impossible.

KAKAKANG! KAKAKAKAKANG!

After several minutes ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of meaningless exchange—

"Hup!"

Spotting an opening, Dang Seol-yeong lunged with a sharp shout from her core, footwork carrying her past the edge of his blade.

KAANG!

She smashed the sword face with everything she had, then raked her nails toward Kang Myeong-cheol's face.

"Hmph. As if an attack like that would—khurk!?"

He simply widened the distance and avoided the strike—yet every vein in his body began turning black. He had inhaled the poison qi she had released in a single burst.

"Uweeeek!"

Dropping to one knee, using his sword like a cane just to keep his upper body upright, he vomited black blood and writhed.

This ends it!

Poisoned by her toxin, he shouldn't even have the strength to raise his arms. Deciding to finish him at once and catch up to Kaisent, Dang Seol-yeong swung her hand toward his head—when a sudden crisis instinct exploded through her mind.

SHWAAAK!

"Aagh!"

She dodged the blade that came flying in a surprise attack a half-step too late. Her abdomen was slashed open and blood poured out.

How……!?

Kang Myeong-cheol, who should have been dying from her poison, still looked strained—but the poison had completely vanished from his face.

If I hadn't left enough mana for a detoxification spell, that would have been dangerous…….

Had Dang Seol-yeong known anything about magic, the situation might have been different. Unfortunately she had never been given the chance to study that discipline.

"Fucking Chink bitch, how dare you!"

Having crossed dimensions at the height of anti-Chinese hatred in twenty-first-century Earth, Kang Myeong-cheol roared with fury at the dirty tricks of a Chink.

"Die! Die! Fuck! Just die already!"

"Ugh! Uuugh!"

Cut by a famous magic sword from the world Kang Myeong-cheol had come from, Dang Seol-yeong sealed the abdominal wound with internal energy and twisted desperately to avoid the follow-up strikes, pain wracking her body.

The bleeding won't stop! At this rate……!

—Noona! Lure him toward the giant's corpse!

!!

Kaisent's voice slammed into her brain as if driven by a spike. Having survived countless counterattacks from would-be assassins, she kept her expression carefully blank so her opponent would notice nothing and naturally guided her evasion toward the ogre's remains.

—When I give the signal, put as much distance as you can! Just a little more. A little more! Now!

At Kaisent's signal she wrung out every last scrap of strength and flung her body far away.

"Corpse Explosion!"

TU-KRAAAAAANG!

Kaisent finished the chant and detonated what remained of the ogre. But Kang Myeong-cheol, tempered by long experience, felt the mana boiling inside the corpse, halted his pursuit, and dodged at once.

"As if I'd fall for a cheap trick like—"

The instant a thick mist of blood erupted and blinded him, a single dagger punched through the crimson haze and streaked straight for his head. It was the self-defense dagger Kaisent had recovered from the old dark mage's corpse and kept ever since.

An ordinary warrior would have been caught by the double trap. Kang Myeong-cheol, however, was a Hero who had slain even a Demon King in his own world. He swung his blade to bat the flying dagger aside—only for the dagger to change trajectory mid-flight like a butterfly and bury itself deep in his shoulder.

"KRAAAAAAAGH!"

It was the first time Kaisent had used the Soul-Chasing Flying Dagger technique he had learned from Dang Seol-yeong in actual combat, yet the completion was so beautiful that even the clan head of the Dang family would have been forced to admire it.

"This way!"

Dang Seol-yeong sprinted toward Kaisent and they fled together.

"Khh… uuuAAAAAAH! I'll kill you! Fuck! Fuuuuck!"

Struck by the surprise attack, Kang Myeong-cheol roared in pure rage and cast a healing spell, leaving only enough mana for a single Cure.

Meanwhile Kaisent, having succeeded in the ambush, guided Dang Seol-yeong and ran hard in a particular direction. A short while later the two of them reached a small hill, a descending stairway, and a shattered door.

"Young Mas… khurk!"

"Don't speak, Noona! There's a way to escape inside—come in!"

While Kang Myeong-cheol and Dang Seol-yeong had been fighting, Kaisent had discovered a cave whose entrance was already destroyed.

If we just keep running like this, he'll catch us for sure!

Sensing a pulse of mana deeper inside, Kaisent decided to check the cave. Rather than flee blindly, finding something—anything—that might help would introduce a variable into their otherwise hopeless odds of survival. Inside the cave, books and furniture lay scattered as though some disaster had struck. In the innermost chamber he found a single-person emergency teleportation circle, confirmed it, and returned.

It was a magic circle he had memorized from the old man's grimoire; there was no chance of error.

I have no idea where it leads……!

But they no longer had the luxury of worrying about that.

"Come out! You fucking bastards!"

Just as the two of them reached the magic circle, Kang Myeong-cheol—having finished a rough treatment of his wounds—came crashing after them.

"Young Master……! I'll… hold him off… so escape first……!"

Having been told on the way that they could flee through a teleportation magic circle, Dang Seol-yeong tried to make Kaisent go first.

"No! It only activates with my power! So Noona has to go first!"

"Khurk! Then… I'll stake my life……!"

"Dang Seol-yeong!"

"!!"

"Go first. Please."

The situation was desperate, yet she kept insisting on sacrificing herself to save him. Kaisent's sharp shout finally broke her stubbornness. The sight of her beloved—normally so timid and afraid of fighting—staking his life for her sake shattered her resolve.

"…All right."

Dang Seol-yeong stepped onto the emergency teleportation circle. The moment Kaisent poured mana into it, a strange light began to ripple.

"Young Master! Follow me—!"

SHWOONG!

The circle activated and Dang Seol-yeong vanished. Now only he himself needed to escape.

KWAJIJIK!

"Hah! Hahk! Huuk!"

The instant he stepped onto the circle, Kang Myeong-cheol smashed through the furniture like a beast and fixed his gaze on Kaisent, breathing in ragged, animal gasps.

"Ugh……!"

Earlier he had attacked with magic from a distance while focused solely on saving Dang Seol-yeong. Now, facing the man's killing intent head-on, Kaisent's mind went blank.

"You. Where did you hide that Chink bitch."

"N-Noona isn't some Chink!"

He didn't know what the word meant, but something deep inside told him Dang Seol-yeong must never be called that. At the same time he deliberately dragged the conversation out to buy time.

Ma… mana… I have to… concentrate… concentrate……!

He tried to pour mana back into the teleportation circle, yet Kang Myeong-cheol's murderous eyes kept shattering his focus. Deciding he had to stall somehow, Kaisent blurted out whatever came to mind.

"W-why do you keep trying to kill us!? We didn't do anything!"

"Didn't do anything? Look at me right now and still say that shit!?"

"That's because you attacked us first! All we did was defend ourselves!"

The deep wound left by the Soul-Chasing Flying Dagger still gushed blood despite the healing spell. But that wound was the result of defending against Kang Myeong-cheol's assault; it would never have happened if they had simply talked.

"Shut your mouth, you little brat! What the hell does a filthy dark mage have to be proud of that you're talking back!? Being subjugated by me is only natural for the likes of you!"

"What……?"

"The moment you defied me, you became evil! Because I'm the protagonist! The protagonist's enemies are evil! That's the law of the world!"

"What kind of nonsense is……."

Kaisent felt pure bewilderment at the rambling claims of a man half-mad with pain. He was still young and did not yet understand many things, but he could see clearly that the person in front of him was twisted by self-righteousness.

Until a moment ago the man had at least cloaked himself in the justification of "evil dark mages." Now, with half his reason gone to agony, he was baring his true nature without filter. Immature and self-righteous—and on top of that, powerful. Kaisent abandoned any hope of persuasion.

"If I kill you, the Chink bitch will come out too! Die!"

Blinded by rage, Kang Myeong-cheol failed to sense the residual teleportation energy and swung his sword without hesitation at Kaisent, who was clearly a minor. Kaisent, still carefully feeding mana into the circle, felt his pupils shake with terror as the blade came exploding toward him.

PAKAK!

To save him, Mingmingi extruded a blade of flesh and swung it at Kang Myeong-cheol's side. But the man instinctively sensed the attack from outside his field of vision, casually sliced through Mingmingi's biological blade, and immediately swung again for Kaisent's neck.

"Uwaah!"

Mingmingi's counter failed. Kaisent squeezed his eyes shut against the killing blade streaking toward him—

CHUKAKAKAK!

—and opened them again at the sound of thick flesh being carved.

"M-Mingmingi!"

There, having abandoned offense to form a shield, Mingmingi was desperately holding Kang Myeong-cheol's sword above Kaisent's head.

"Filthy chimera!"

Enraged that the flesh of a chimera had dirtied his treasured sword, Kang Myeong-cheol poured power into the blade, intending to cleave both of them in half at once.

"Uwaaaaah!"

Watching Mingmingi's body split and the edge descend, Kaisent poured mana into the circle with desperate force. The teleportation array, flooded with far more mana than required, began to overload.

KRAAAAAANG!!

"Teleport!? Ugh!"

Seeing Kaisent vanish along with the teleport, Kang Myeong-cheol strained too hard; his injuries worsened and he vomited blood.

"Goddamn Chink bitch……! And that dark-mage brat……!"

Burning the faces of the villains who had dared defy the justice that was himself into his memory, Kang Myeong-cheol glared with eyes full of vengeance at the magic circle that had exploded from the excessive mana injection.