Eternal Randolph

Even now, Baal was far stronger than he had been at the start.

"I-Is the crow winning?"

"Looks that way."

"If that goat is Baal, then we can survive, right?"

A deep, guttural roar tore through the air.

The more the Black Sun's blood soaked the ground, the louder Baal's groans became. His entire body writhed as the skin peeled away from his flesh.

Anyone could see it — the Ill Omen was overwhelming Baal. Defeat seemed impossible.

And then it happened.

"Ah—!" "Wh-What the hell?!"

The crowd recoiled in horror.

A wet, splitting crack rang out.

Without warning, Baal's face split cleanly in two.

In less than a blink — a single instant — something burst out from within and swallowed the Ill Omen's head whole.

Then—

A heavy thud.

A deeper, grinding crash.

…The headless Ill Omen staggered and collapsed to the ground.

It had taken no more than a heartbeat. A situation no one had expected — no one could have expected.

"…Wh-What just happened?"

"They both went down?"

No one understood what they had just witnessed. They hadn't even seen it. All that registered was the Ill Omen suddenly losing its head and crumpling to the earth.

This is…

Gracia was no different. It wasn't only the Ill Omen — Ojuryeok. Baal himself lay collapsed as if dead.

But unlike the Ill Omen, Baal's body kept twitching.

The moment the message appeared, Gracia's brow furrowed hard.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me…"

Evolving further? From here?

How was humanity supposed to stop a monster that even that abomination Ojuryeok had failed to contain?

It's over.

Nothing else came to mind. Only that single word: the end.

I looked around.

Two lines of text floated before my eyes. Death. And Game Over.

I'd seen this scene plenty of times before — back when I used to play games. The screen that told you who killed you, and that it was finished.

But I had clearly been overwhelming Baal. I had been driving him onto the back foot.

So why?

Don't tell me… again…

Had it forced some kind of bug, the way it had when I killed the Demon King? But unlike back then, this was reality. Not a game — the real world I was living through.

"…What a piece of garbage this game is."

I never thought I'd be saying those words again. And this time, it wasn't even a game. Die here, and there was no coming back.

A Fragment of Ruin. It had to serve a similar function to whatever had triggered when the Demon King died.

That was the problem with this world. Let your guard down for even a second, and some random variable would take your head clean off.

I never once imagined this could happen even after using the Throne of the Most Brilliant Light.

So was this the afterlife, then?

The moment I scanned my surroundings—

The window in front of me. One letter suddenly vanished.

At first I thought I'd misread it.

…That was only the beginning.

Every letter erased itself. Game Over. The notice of my death. All of it.

And in the empty space they left behind, different text began to fill in.

Whoooosh—!

At the same instant, flames erupted from my chest. In a heartbeat they spread across my entire body.

This fire…

But something felt wrong. The nature ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of these flames — the truth of whatever was consuming me, burning me away.

Because this was unmistakably the essence of souls that the Death Gods had killed and stolen. What they had called the Sinner's Fire.

Yet the new text named that same Sinner's Fire the Fire of Life.

Sinner's Fire could not become Fire of Life. Its very nature had changed.

And if that was possible, then probably—

Did Hell eat it and spit it back out?

…Hell was the only explanation that made sense. When Hell had swallowed the fire and spat it out, the other Orthodoxes had recoiled from it in disgust and kept their distance.

It hadn't been some petty "ate-and-spit" scandal. They hadn't refused it because it was dirty. Its nature itself had transformed into something they could not consume.

And by burning that transformed fire, the Hidden Trait Eternal Randolph had activated…

Mystery Destruction. It evolved the Iron-Blooded Lord's Heart into the Eternal Lord's Heart.

Those were the functions Eternal Randolph possessed. I'd thought that was everything. Honestly, those two alone had already been an absurd advantage — destroying any monster's mystery regardless of rank, and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Eternal Lord's Heart deleting dungeon conditions outright.

Naturally, the idea that there might be more had barely crossed my mind.

…But those two weren't everything. There was a third function.

A third function that only activated upon death.

Only now did I finally understand why it had been called Eternal Randolph.

The Fire of Life consumed my entire body, and at last I became ash.

Immediately after—

A stir.

From within the black ash, change began.

A black barrier encircled Jeju Island. Warriors gathered around the perimeter of the domain that had swallowed everything whole.

Among them was Park Taewoo, head of the Hero Alliance.

Atop a massive vessel—

"Even the Projection ability users can't read the interior, Alliance Leader."

"The Piercing Mirror is the same. Nothing shows up."

Park Taewoo clenched his fist and bit down on his lip.

Day sixteen already. Ever since Baal had become the One Who Is the Abyss Itself and the warp had swallowed Jeju Island, there had been zero progress.

Communications were dead. Entering from the outside was impossible. There was simply no way to determine what was happening within.

Do we just stand here and watch?

Damn it all.

He had agreed to write off Jeju Island if it came to that — but not like this. He had intended to assemble a rescue team as fast as possible and save everyone he could. And now this, before a single extraction had even begun.

This is my failure.

His own failure. He should never have hidden it. The moment they discovered the red warp, he should have gone public and built a response plan.

If I just hadn't covered it up back then…

More people would have made it off Jeju Island.

But regret came too late. No amount of remorse now would change reality.

"What about the inquiry I asked for?"

Park Taewoo asked. The Deputy Alliance Leader answered.

"About that… we couldn't make contact on our end. Gracia's people have completely blocked Korea's Link access."

Link blockade. In other words, they had sealed off approach itself.

"So we can't even get an answer on whether he's alive or dead?"

"Yes… and there's been no related announcement either."

Park Taewoo had only wanted to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠know if Gracia was alive. If the main body of the man who had officially entered Cartel and sunk into the Abyss still lived, then the people of Jeju Island stood a real chance of being alive as well.

"What about the others? Gracia wasn't the only player who fought at Cartel."

"All twelve we've identified are dead."

"…"

It was devastating. It meant their Earth-side main bodies had died — killed as they sank into the Abyss.

The Deputy Alliance Leader continued.

"We're also checking overseas cases through other channels, but…"

"Not easy, I take it."

"No. However — we did hear something strange from Reporter Kim Hana."

Kim Hana. The reporter who charged headfirst into anything involving Dimension Warriors. She had made her name interviewing Gracia, and she had been the first person in the world to mention the name Randolph.

As a player, she was an awkward presence — someone they preferred to keep at arm's length. But still.

"Spit it out."

"She claims she's confirmed that the 'Hermit' is alive. That the people of Jeju Island are still alive. And she's been repeatedly trying to make contact with us."

"Who is this 'Hermit'?"

"She says she can't reveal that."

"Even in a situation like this?"

"Apparently she swore to the Hermit that she would never disclose their identity, even if it cost her life."

A vow. Had someone gotten leverage on her?

But words alone weren't enough. Without confirming the real thing, it was no different from a conspiracy theory.

"…Alliance Leader. The government is telling us to pull back soon."

"…Already?"

"Yes. They want a defensive line established at Wando, to prepare for any contingency."

"So they've decided Jeju Island is a lost cause."

A bitter taste filled his mouth. Abandon Jeju and retreat. For sixteen days he had barely slept, and not once had Park Taewoo's eyes left Jeju Island. He believed every bit of this was his fault.

"…Not yet. Even if I have to fall back eventually, I'm meeting Reporter Kim Hana first."

If he could just confirm the Hermit, it would mean the people of Jeju Island were still alive. He had to verify it.

The Deputy Alliance Leader bowed his head.

"Yes. I'll bring Reporter Kim Hana in quietly."

Kim Hana swallowed hard.

Aside from soldiers and Dimension Warriors, every civilian was forbidden from approaching Jeju Island — reporters included. But Park Taewoo had smuggled her in.

"You confirmed the Hermit is alive?"

Park Taewoo asked as he handed her a cup of coffee.

"…Yes. And a great many people on Jeju Island are alive with him."

Kim Hana answered with absolute certainty. They were alive. Hope could not be abandoned.

Park Taewoo spoke with a bitter edge.

"I'd like to believe that too. But the government is ordering us to withdraw."

Kim Hana's eyes went wide.

"Th-The government? How could they—"

"A living Korean peninsula matters more than a vanished Jeju Island."

"…"

Kim Hana had nothing to say. She hadn't expected the government to make that call on day sixteen. Even if people somehow ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠made it out of Jeju alive, a rapid-response rescue team would still be essential. And they were pulling all of that back?

"On top of that, most people already consider Jeju Island 'lost.' The government's decision is realistic, in a way."

Plenty of people were already certain Jeju was gone. The only one who refused to give up was Park Taewoo.

He tossed the next line carefully.

"…Unless I confirm this 'Hermit' with my own two eyes."

But Kim Hana shook her head.

"That… I can't do."

"Why not? If you just let me verify whether the Hermit is alive, we wouldn't have to pull the Jeju front line."

Death in Pangenia was death in reality. If the Hermit was still alive despite sinking into the Abyss alongside Baal, then their Earth-side main body would be alive as well. That could serve as evidence to hold the front.

"I'll give you different information instead."

"…Is there something more tempting than that?"

Kim Hana nodded, then pulled a book from her coat with a grim expression.

"What's happening inside that barrier. And why we absolutely cannot pull the front line right now."

…What could possibly be written in that book?

Park Taewoo took the offered volume and began reading swiftly through the diary-format entries within.