The Black Dome
Appearance.
The phenomenon known as the Black Dome was first observed in the open waters of the North Pacific. It had begun beyond the seas that bordered Seattle and San Francisco, and the United States had dispatched team after team to investigate — yet not a single person returned alive. Even when the nation's most renowned powerhouses joined the expeditions, the result was the same.
No amount of cutting-edge equipment could pierce the interior. The best they could manage, after studying nearby currents and marine life, was a tentative theory: the Black Dome seemed to serve a function similar to Pangenia's Abyss.
And only one nation on Earth had ever experienced anything like it.
Korea.
The country that had endured what the world once called the Jeju Island Disappearance — an incident that had made global headlines. For when the Black Dome manifested, every living thing within its reach had been forcibly summoned by the Four Calamity known as Baal.
So the American government requested joint cooperation from the Korean government and the Hero Alliance.
"…Alliance Leader. What will you do?"
"…"
Park Taewoo, head of the Hero Alliance, still could not bring himself to decide. The memories of that time remained seared into him with unbearable clarity.
The Jeju Island Disappearance. Baal's assault. It was a nightmare every Korean had lived through. The entire island and all its people had vanished, and hope had seemed utterly out of reach. Park Taewoo had clung on with stubborn tenacity and somehow managed to save them — but even that would never have been possible without a miracle on the scale of the Black Egg God's appearance.
Damn it.
Alliance Leader Park Taewoo's face twisted. They had only just begun to overcome it, to move forward — and now the same thing was happening all over again. Worse still, the Black Dome that had appeared this time spanned three times the area of Jeju Island. No one knew what was unfolding inside. The only circulating theory was that it had something to do with the Spirit Tower.
This time is different. Unlike then, I — we — are not powerless.
They had grown incomparably stronger. With the base city of Pangenia — Ruins City Rundela, once ruled by Master — as their foundation, the Alliance had developed at a dazzling pace. Compared to the time of the Jeju Island Disappearance, they were at least ten times more powerful. The Alliance's scale, the quality of its members' equipment, everything else — none of it could be measured against the past. Especially after Arin took office as Deputy Alliance Leader, individual combat strength had undergone a qualitative leap so absurd it defied belief.
Korea had endured countless crises and become more obsessed with growing stronger than any other nation. Transcending politics and generations, the country was more united now than it had ever been.
But still…
"…The Korean government seems to want our Alliance to accept the request."
Listening to the secretary who had returned from negotiations with the government, Park Taewoo squeezed his eyes shut. If the Alliance accepted, corresponding compensation would follow. But that was not what worried him.
"Even America's finest superhumans who entered the Black Dome never came back alive. The same goes for Nineteen — regarded as the strongest mercenary corps on Earth."
The ten strongest people in the world were currently known as the Top Ten. Among those who had entered the Black Dome and failed to return were two members of that Top Ten: America's Black Thunder, and the master of the mercenary corps Nineteen. Considering that Korea still had no one officially ranked among the Top Ten, the gravity of the situation was easy to grasp.
Unofficially, of course, there was someone. Not merely of the Top Ten, but the one called the Strongest — a peerless powerhouse. The rumor that Phantom was Korean had long circulated in the shadows as accepted truth.
But Phantom had never appeared in person to offer help. And that was precisely why Park Taewoo was truly afraid.
"Who… who am I supposed to send?"
Because if they went, there was no guarantee they would come back. The Black Dome was a killing ground. Had they not already learned that from the Jeju Island Disappearance? If a monster like Baal lurked within, the cost in lives would be catastrophic. Who, then, could he possibly send into a place like that?
"Alliance Leader. They're saying the expedition team entering the Black Dome this time will be assembled from only the absolute best. China, Japan, and others have already confirmed their deployments."
Every neighboring nation had agreed to send people — and only their finest. Korea alone had yet to give an answer.
"I'll go."
Thud.
A woman pushed open the door and walked in. Park Taewoo could not help but be thoroughly startled at the sight of her.
"Lee Arin…?"
Deputy Alliance Leader Lee Arin. She had temporarily left the Alliance claiming she would resolve the main quest — and now she was back. But Lee Arin was one of the Alliance's most precious assets.
"Do you understand the situation?"
"I am well aware that it is an utterly wretched situation."
A wretched situation? That was not wrong. But there was a barb in Lee Arin's tone — a sense of deep displeasure.
"Even so, we can't send people rashly—"
"If that thing is left alone, Earth will meet its end."
"…Do you know what's inside the Black Dome?"
Park Taewoo asked, and Lee Arin shook her head.
"No. But I have a fair idea."
"Then… tell me. Has another existence like Baal appeared?"
"Things far more vicious than that."
Vicious. Meaning of a far fouler quality. And things more vicious than Baal? Did that mean there was more than one?
Park Taewoo was past the point of even sighing.
"To properly enter that place, a party matching certain conditions must be assembled. I shall select the party members myself."
"Wait. Entry conditions?"
Nothing of the sort had been in the information relayed from America. If there were entry conditions like those of a specific dungeon, they would certainly have been disclosed.
Lee Arin shrugged.
"That is precisely why they are vicious. Those things have no desire to reveal themselves. Because they are not yet complete."
"…"
"I have conveyed my will. That is all."
Boom!
The sound of the door slamming shut. She said only what she needed to say and left. Just as when she had appeared, Lee Arin was always willful. Even the Alliance Leader's authority could not rein her in. One might wonder what kind of person she was — but Lee Arin was a powerhouse worth trusting. If she headed to the Black Dome herself, there would be no needless sacrifices. After all, she was the one known throughout Korea as the Great Master. And she seemed to know something about the Black Dome.
But still…
Ominous. Uneasy. Far too much so…
Park Taewoo closed his eyes and tightly gripped his trembling hands.
Lee Arin, Deputy Alliance Leader of the Korean Hero Alliance. But her true identity was Basara, the 7th Lord of the Demon Realm — and as she left the Alliance Leader's office, she narrowed her brow in open irritation.
Mamon. That bastard finally caused a disaster.
The Black Dome that had appeared in the North Pacific was Mamon's handiwork. After his audience with the Demon King, Mamon had personally destroyed the Spirit Tower. The problem was the aftermath. He had scattered the celestial pollution the tower contained, along with its debris and everything else, across Earth.
Of course, if that had been all, Basara would never have considered intervening herself.
I knew long ago that he was not right in the head.
What Mamon had dumped on Earth was not limited to the Spirit Tower. He had drawn in existences that should never have been summoned.
…To think he would drag in the Abyss Kings.
Her head throbbed. The Abyss zones that had risen across Pangenia alongside the appearance of the World Tree of Honor — the masters of those zones had become involved in this affair. All of it was Mamon's doing. He intended to wipe his hands clean and walk away.
But Mamon understood only half the picture.
The Demon King's intention in invading is not Earth's destruction, you stupid Mamon.
Mamon had misinterpreted the Demon King's will. The Demon King sought to conquer Earth, not annihilate it. But the Abyss Kings were different. They had no interest whatsoever in Earth's continued existence. They would focus solely on expanding their own power and influence.
Celestial pollution creates Abysses. Mamon intends to sink Earth into the Abyss, turn the planet into the Abyss itself, and leave the Abyss Kings to conquer it on their own.
For the Abyss Kings who had risen in Pangenia, the Black Dome phenomenon was nothing short of a festival — a chance to freely expand their domains. And so, inside the Black Dome right now, the Abyss Kings and the existences of the Spirit Tower were tangled together in a fierce free-for-all.
If a final victor emerged among the Abyss Kings, the entirety of Earth would be abyssalized and all life would be wiped out. The Abyss King who claimed Earth would then ascend as an Absolute — and afterward set its sights on all of Pangenia and the Demon Realm.
Such an outcome ran directly counter to the Demon King's intentions and would become a latent threat to the Demon Realm itself. In short, Mamon had done something monumentally stupid.
It must be cleaned up before the interior settles.
It had to be stopped. If a monster like the Unborn Existence claimed victory… things would spiral beyond all control.
Basara was a Suppressor. As the 7th Lord, her role was to eliminate any existence that threatened the Demon Realm. What Mamon had done was far too dangerous — proof that he had given no thought whatsoever to the consequences.
But she could not do it alone. This body was not Basara's true form, and on Earth — outside the Demon Realm — she could not fully wield the power of a 7th Lord.
The entry condition for the Black Dome is one who holds a key.
A key. Meaning a Hidden Trait. And not just one key.
Only a party holding eight keys can properly enter.
Eight Abyss Kings had appeared within the Black Dome. Matching them required possession of eight Hidden Traits. Any party that entered without meeting the conditions would be weakened by countless abyssal curses and reduced to mere prey.
This will not be easy.
It might seem possible if the many people assembling expedition teams were gathered together — but the reality was different. There were only about eight known types of Hidden Traits, and even among those, some were impossible to obtain. Traits like Mutant, Glutton, and Grand Sage — their holders were either dead, or existed only as names. That was why she needed to personally assemble a team by seeking out holders of rare Hidden Traits.
The first name that came to mind was Choi Kangnam. A few other Hidden Trait holders also flickered through her thoughts. But it was not enough.
"Um… Deputy Alliance Leader. Someone has come to see you. I think you should check for yourself."
It was then. Not long after leaving the Alliance Leader's office, a receptionist from the front desk approached her. Plenty of people sought her out. Owners of major conglomerates, overseas guilds — all of them wanted a single meeting, and she had never once granted a request. Knowing that, the receptionist would normally have ignored such visitors. For someone to come up in person meant the visitor was not easily dismissed.
"Who is it?"
Who could it be? She asked with a touch of curiosity, and the receptionist hesitated before answering.
"W-well…"
And the moment she heard the name, Basara's expression hardened.
"…Show them in. Immediately."
Aron, celebrating the Goddess Festival, still could not believe it.
That the newly elected Pope was none other than himself! That he — who until recently had been treated as nothing but a problem child — was now the Pope of the Goddess Sect!
I must never forget that all of this is thanks to the one who carries on the Goddess's will.
Steeling his resolve, Aron stepped out of the Papal Palace. In that instant, an uncountable throng of people turned their eyes upon him. Crowds gathered from every corner of the continent. Among them were no small number of figures whose names alone commanded recognition. The Three Great Merchant Guilds were present — even the kings of countless kingdoms had taken their places.
It all felt like a dream. But for Aron, something far more important than their presence weighed on his mind.
Where is He?
The Knights of the Round Table were present. They stood at the very front, witnessing the birth of the new Pope — yet the Master of the Round Table himself was nowhere to be seen. Aron knew full well that the vast majority of the crowd gathered here had come to meet the Round Table. And yet the central figure was absent. On this most important of days, the one person he had been certain would be there was not.
"His Holiness the Pope approaches—!"
"His Holiness the Pope approaches—!"
Bwooooooom—!
Accompanied by the majestic blare of trumpets, Aron walked the carpet, gripping the wooden staff that symbolized the papacy, and surveyed his surroundings.
To claim he was not trembling would have been a lie. Both hands were slick with sweat. The world before his eyes spun. At last, Aron forced his mouth open and delivered the most important first words of his reign as Pope.
"Where… is the Master of the Round Table?"