The Abyss King

Early morning.

Every member of the Korean Hero Alliance who had logged into Pangenia wore an expression of pure excitement.

"Wow…!"

"Is this place really Korea's stronghold city?"

"Rundela becoming Korea's base…!!"

"Sob!"

There were even people shedding tears, some outright wailing.

And Alliance Leader Park Taewoo was no exception.

Finally. We have a stronghold city of our own.

The Ruins City of Rundela!

When the war with Isera ended, the Fifth Lord had transferred the Ruins City of Rundela exactly as promised. After finishing every preparation needed to secure the stronghold, the Alliance had at last entered the city.

He had almost doubted it—but the messages floating before his eyes were proof enough.

Contents only the city's master could see.

"Alliance Leader, are you crying?"

"Hey, hey, read the room. Shut up."

"Damn it. Korea can finally hold its head high."

Park Taewoo roughly wiped his tears. He tried to hold them back, but they kept coming.

From now on, Korea will never be looked down on again.

A stronghold city mattered far more than the number of players or the presence of powerhouses. A nation's current strength was divided by one simple question: did it possess a stronghold city in Pangenia, or did it not? The growth gap between those who had one and those who did not could never be ignored. That was precisely why, when Isera invaded, Darkstar had tried to help the nations that already held stronghold cities first.

Overwhelming growth potential.

You could collect taxes and buy better equipment with gold. A city's dungeons guaranteed far more experience and rewards than ordinary ones. That made it possible to raise low-level beginners with real stability—and now that the level cap had risen, city dungeons had become more critical than ever.

And that was not all.

The real golden information only city masters can know. City-scale trade and negotiation. Training soldiers. Attempting large-scale dungeon raids we never even dreamed of before. The possibilities are endless.

Until now, Korea had only ever taken subcontracted work. When other city masters hunted special raid bosses, Koreans were hired hands who took a few coins and went home. That had been their entire existence.

But now they could act on their own terms. They had gold, and they had soldiers to back them up.

"But Alliance Leader—no, Lord. Will the Six Hero Council just sit still?"

"What are they going to do if they don't? They couldn't touch a thing when the Fifth Lord was the master."

The Alliance members muttered among themselves. Given that Rundela's previous master had been Master, the worry that the Hero Council he belonged to would not stay quiet was natural. But that same Hero Council had been powerless when the Fifth Lord held Rundela. Could they really lay a hand on a city the Fifth Lord had formally transferred?

"Is it true we formed an alliance with the Fifth Lord?"

"Yes."

Park Taewoo nodded. It was not a publicly announced alliance, but the Fifth Lord had not merely handed over a city.

"And the proof? Without solid proof, the Six Hero Council will still move."

That, too, was a fair question. Joy at gaining a stronghold was real—but so was the fear of losing it at any moment.

Park Taewoo smiled.

"Check the warp connections. You'll understand."

"Warp connections? Where…"

The Alliance members rushed to the warp gates and could only gasp.

Every warp linked to the Six Hero Council had been severed—but one connection stood out.

"Ghk!"

"No way. Is this real?"

"There's a link to the… Labyrinth City?"

What clearer proof could there be? When two cities were connected by warp, it meant both sides had agreed. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠It was no different from declaring an alliance. Once the Hero Council saw the warp, they would not dare act as they pleased.

The Fifth Lord was the main force under the White King—and the one who had slain Sword Saint Ryleigh, whom no one in the Abyss Labyrinth had ever managed to deal with. A giant among giants. No player alive could casually touch a figure of that caliber.

"I've held back out of curiosity until now, my Lord. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠What exactly is your relationship with the Fifth Lord?"

"That's right. Handing over a city so readily… it can't be an ordinary connection…"

At this point, they had to ask. Every Alliance member's gaze turned to Park Taewoo.

After a brief moment of thought, Park Taewoo opened his mouth.

"He's my hyungnim."

"Excuse me?"

"Your what?"

Park Taewoo's words left everyone stunned. In truth, Park Taewoo had never even met the Fifth Lord in person. Everything he knew had come through Hudson. Yet if he had to define the relationship, he somehow wanted to call him hyungnim.

"…He is someone we must follow completely. The one who saved Korea from Isera's demonic fortress, and the one who gave us Rundela—both were the Fifth Lord."

That grace could not be repaid even if he offered up several lives. But as he was now, he was far too insignificant to claim the title of the Fifth Lord's younger brother. He had to grow stronger, faster. Only by desperately seizing power could he repay even a fraction of that debt.

I have no intention of stopping with this one city. Pangenia's political situation is pure chaos. This age of turmoil will be our perfect chance to seize power.

Ascension.

He would soar into the sky and stand in a place no one could ignore. Never again would they suffer the humiliations of the past. Korea, the Alliance, and he himself—they would stand at the peak.

And there, he would repay the debt.

Park Taewoo clenched his fist until his knuckles whitened.

And watching that Park Taewoo—

Humans really are entertaining.

—the Seventh Lord of Hell, the strongest of them all, Basara, smiled.

At present she had stolen ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠an Awakener's body and was disguised as a human. She had infiltrated Korea's Alliance and even succeeded in "logging in" to Pangenia using an Earth body. Perhaps because of that, she felt she was beginning to understand a little about the dimensional interference the Goddesses had carved into law. She was likely the only one who could do this. Digging deeper would probably reveal more, but she felt no particular interest.

Shall I help them a little?

Right now, this situation was far more amusing.

Fifth Lord Randolph was the master of the Dragon God who had killed Isera, and the predecessor of Wilhelm. How far could Park Taewoo—who called him hyungnim and followed him—actually go? Did he truly possess the potential to claim the title of younger brother?

The raw material itself isn't bad.

She decided to test him once. Of course, this too was nothing more than a diversion until she formally met Wilhelm—something to kill time until Wilhelm reached the place she desired.

At the thought of Wilhelm, a faint flush rose to Basara's cheeks.

We are fated to meet again either way, Wilhelm.

The King of Balan.

He stared across the table with a rigidly set face at the man seated opposite him. Because of that single man, every knight and retainer in the room could barely breathe.

The master of the Iron Kingdom—King Friedrich.

A monster who waged endless war and had already destroyed two nations! His next target was this very place: the Balan Kingdom.

I heard he was a madman, but to enter with only six people…

Had his guts spilled out of his belly? Or was he simply looking down on the Balan Kingdom?

King Friedrich had set foot in the Balan Kingdom with only six people, including himself—five knights who followed him. If they killed him here, the war would end.

And yet…

I'm afraid.

Just facing him felt as if his mind might shatter. The King of Balan was a veteran of a hundred battles. He had mixed with countless powerhouses and fought in war after war. But he had never encountered anyone like this—someone who made it hard to even breathe just by meeting his eyes.

"…Have you come to urge our surrender?"

"Haha! Do I look like I came all this way myself for something so boring?"

Thud.

King Friedrich propped both feet up on the table.

"Th-that…!"

"Have you ever seen such a rude man!"

The King of Balan's retainers raised their voices as best they could, but the King of Balan lifted a hand and stopped them. The gap between the Iron Kingdom and the Balan Kingdom was vast. Territory, soldiers, national power itself—none of it compared. And yet the man had not attacked first; he had come to the kingdom in person.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Then what do you want from me, King Friedrich?"

"I want nothing. I merely intend to give you a chance."

"A chance?"

Pride—King Friedrich—shrugged his shoulders.

"I have heard that the Balan Kingdom has been called the Kingdom of Knights since ancient times. So your five strongest knights will fight my five knights. With their lives on the line."

"And what do we gain from that?"

"If you win by majority, yes—I will guarantee you the freedom to breathe."

"…The freedom to breathe?"

What was this man even saying? It was not a promise not to invade. It was an offer to accept their surrender. A statement no one who was truly sane could make.

"The Balan Kingdom has nothing worth staking for a proper wager with me. So—I am at least trying to guarantee you the freedom to breathe."

"…And if we lose, what must we hand over?"

"Hand over? Did I not just say you have nothing to stake?"

King Friedrich grinned and continued.

"If you lose, that moment is your destruction. I will turn this place into a wasteland without leaving a single human or a single blade of grass."

"An absurd demand."

"Ah, yes—this degree of mercy is truly absurd. However, if this contest manages to stir my interest, I may treat the 'invasion' as if it never existed. And as it happens, I see two with decent potential."

King Friedrich's gaze shifted past the King of Balan. No other human had caught his interest—but those two were different.

"—The Pure White Knight Serengeti, who joined the Great Expedition, and Saintess Seia, who was said to be dead. You prepared rather well."

"If you attack us, you will make an enemy of the Goddess Sect, King Friedrich."

"The Goddess Sect? Haha! Do you think that toothless Goddess Sect will turn me into an enemy?"

The Goddess Sect was the great religion with the most followers. Its reach extended across all of Pangenia, and its power was said to rival that of an empire. King Friedrich was dismissing even that Goddess Sect as a "toothless place," scorning it without the slightest fear—as if he had no reason to fear it at all.

"The contest begins at noon tomorrow. Do try not to disappoint me."

The Abyss.

The deepest, darkest place.

There, a colossal being twitched its body with its eyes still closed. It had sensed that someone had invaded its domain.

Ordinarily, even if someone trespassed, this beast would not move. It was the monster that had devoured countless masters of the Abyss, claimed numerous abysses for itself, and earned the name Abyss King.

But among the invaders, a familiar scent drifted. The smell was so sharp it stabbed at the nose; there was no way to miss it.

Kuuuung.

So the Abyss King raised its massive body.

Haaaaaah!

Swaaaaaaah!

As the Abyss King moved, the Abyss itself began to heave. At the same time, the Abyss King opened its closed eyes.