The Fall of Conquest
Every beginning has its end.
Humanity had long pondered and feared the apocalypse to come.
Myths and religions, legends and folklore...
Stories of the end are absent from nowhere. Humans, as a species, always live harboring terror of the final moment deep in their hearts.
The fear of the apocalypse.
That fear birthed the horsemen of the Apocalypse.
No dimension was free from the apocalypse's end. They trembled at the descent of revelation and thrashed desperately to survive.
- Kill them. It's unavoidable if we want to live!
- Damn it, me too... I don't want this either. But...!
- If we're the only ones who can survive in the end...
Countless races lost their lives.
Innumerable dimensions vanished amid conflict.
The Apocalypse Knight: Conquest.
Wherever he set foot, blood and war spread.
Swords that should have been aimed at the enemy turned on one another, and in endless war, those who called themselves humanity cursed and killed each other.
Phase 4.
The advent of the Apocalypse.
Few dimensions overcame this trial with ease. Even those that did left only a handful of humans alive.
The souls bound to the red desert stood as proof.
When he descended upon the present world,
the Apocalypse Knight harbored no doubt of victory.
'Far too early. Humanity here hasn't grown enough. No one can stop me.'
The present world was just one of countless dimensions he had destroyed. The only difference? One thing.
'Mumyeong.'
An anomalous being named Mumyeong. But anomalies like this always cropped up.
Beings hailed as heroes.
Those who thrust forward like awls, bearing the destiny to save the world.
What were their ends?
No need to say.
Miserable.
Before the system's vast current, they paid dearly in sacrifice. Even the lucky survivors faced only a ravaged world.
The Apocalypse Knights had never failed their mission, and the system showed them no mercy.
Yet Mumyeong stepped into the knight's domain of his own accord.
He thought he'd exploited a system loophole, but in truth, he'd merely dug his own grave.
This was the unique domain crafted by the Apocalypse Knight Conquest. Within it, Conquest's limits vanished.
He could summon near-infinite soldiers, and the soul shield's defense soared without bound.
Mumyeong could never pierce the shield, no matter the time. Meanwhile, the world would meet its end moment by moment.
So he was certain.
The evidence was ample.
Countless dimensions he'd crushed.
Those experiences clearly provided the answer.
But.
Why.
Why on earth.
Pierced!
A mere human...
So easily penetrating his barrier.
Trampling the achievements of destruction he'd wrought so simply?
An incomprehensible miracle.
Countless souls scattered as ash. Souls that had already met death once now faced it again and vanished.
At last, Mumyeong's lips moved.
No time for thought.
He charged with full power.
The Apocalypse Knight desperately thrust his sword.
Splurt-!
The greatsword pierced Mumyeong.
The gap had always been that vast.
Mumyeong's power couldn't dodge or block it.
The moment ecstasy surged and the knight raised his head, his face stiffened.
Mumyeong did not die.
Earrings of the End detect a fatal blow.
Body etherealizes, granting 3 seconds of damage immunity.
Mumyeong hadn't failed to dodge.
It hadn't mattered from the start.
No need to dodge or block at all.
The Apocalypse Knight dropped his sword.
From here, any struggle would be meaningless.
Had he ever met such a powerless end?
As the knight swallowed a bitter smile,
Mumyeong issued his final verdict.
Whoosh!
That verdict was crueler and colder than ever.
"Hah... hah..."
Ma-in Ganon, peering into the oasis lake, went pale as a ghost.
"W-what the hell just happened?"
Unbelievable. The soul shield the Apocalypse Knight boasted of—pierced in one blow.
Even fighting in the demon realm, he lacked confidence to breach it. That shield bore immense karma.
Drip, drip...
Then, the black mud binding Ganon flaked away. Freed, he sprang up.
'...'
Even liberated, Ganon stared blankly at the lake for a while.
The Apocalypse Knight had fallen. The lake surface, once projecting the battle, now reflected his own face.
Ganon's lips quivered.
"R-run... away..."
Run where?
Ridiculous even as he said it.
After using even the true key to the end, defeat wasn't tolerated. The demon realm's domination plan itself would crumble—a catastrophe.
Besides, stepping outside the knight's domain meant proxies swarming him.
The proxies would hound him relentlessly. This time, it wouldn't end with lost limbs.
"Mumyeong. Mumyeong..."
Muttering like a madman, Ganon staggered out of the oasis.
No vengeance stirred now. Only faint terror.
Even an Apocalypse Knight couldn't stop him.
What could now erase Mumyeong?
He'd only grow stronger. Slaying the knight would reward further growth.
Mumyeong, once bound to this world's level, might scale to dimensional heights.
No—likely already there.
He surely grasped this incident's truth. If his arrows turned to the demon realm?
Could the elders stop him? Even Ganon couldn't guess.
They'd nurtured a monster.
Where had it all gone wrong?
As Ganon clutched his head, wandering the desert, a black-robed figure crested a dune.
"Hah... hah..."
Ganon collapsed in place. Dignity as a high demon? Forgotten.
No will to resist.
The battle with the knight had shocked him that deeply.
Mumyeong's forces were overwhelmingly dominant. He never retreated once, crushing the knight relentlessly.
"Mumyeong..."
Head bowed, Ganon muttered in despair. Then, a soft voice came from above.
"No, I'm not Mumyeong."
"...?"
The unidentified man shed his robe, revealing blond hair, round glasses, and a handsome face.
"W-who are you...?"
"Just an ordinary human. It's the one I serve who's extraordinary."
"The one you serve?"
The man smiled brightly at Ganon.
"The Ruler of Chaos wishes to meet you."
"The, the Ruler of Chaos...?"
Ganon's voice trembled in response.
A Ruler—another mid-tier existence.
Like the Apocalypse Knights. But their prestige dwarfed the knights'.
Knights were system-bound slaves; Rulers were true pan-dimensional overlords.
This world comprised countless dimensions.
Demon realm, civilization realm, magic realm, present world...
These formed the pan-dimension, divided into four realms:
Chaos, Abyss, Order, Heavens.
Rulers reigned at each realm's pinnacle.
Undisputed pan-dimensional masters.
'Knew they existed, but... demon records only mention one from millennia ago.'
Ganon asked blankly,
"W-why me?"
"No idea. How could a mere subordinate like me fathom the great Ruler's thoughts?"
The man extended a finger. Ripple. A purple gate rippled into existence.
Ganon flinched.
Undeniably a gate.
The man manipulated the system freely. Ma-in tech maxed at interference.
"Not going? Stay and die if you want."
"N-no. I'll go."
Nothing to lose.
A Ruler's domain might evade proxies, better than death by Mumyeong.
But stepping forward proved hard.
As Ganon hesitated, the man adjusted his glasses with a finger and smiled.
"Well, not sure, but... the Ruler wants Mumyeong gone. Seems convinced after this. So, no worries—go on."
Only then did Ganon swallow dryly and step into the gate.
A Ruler might differ.
No—must differ.
As overseer of present world domination, with everything in ruins, this was his sole lifeline.
Rulers were absolute.
Mumyeong stronger than a Ruler? Absurd.
'...Impossible. Utter nonsense.'
Yet Ganon couldn't shake the unease.
The Apocalypse Knight Conquest slowly opened his eyes.
Blurred vision sharpened.
Lush green woods and emerald lake.
His hideout oasis.
He'd surely died.
Yet Conquest lived.
"Awake? Oh, big catch."
Lucifer, fishing from the sand, turned. A diamond fish flopped in the air from his rod.
"Whole oasis is a treasure trove. Just the fish in the lake—jackpot."
【That bastard...】
Conquest tried rising but felt intense dissonance. Body wouldn't move. No—no body.
Looking closely, he was in a transparent glass case. Lucifer tapped it.
"Tch, gross—stay still."
【What have you done to me?】
"Master's brief mercy. Or punishment?"
A chilling sight, depending on the viewer.
Conquest—head only—in a glass case, eyes gleaming. Pure horror.
【What did you do?】
"Dunno. Master's powers get weirder the more you know."
【...】
Conquest tried repeatedly, but no regeneration.
No mana summon, no system access.
Not just body gone—his knightly foundation shattered.
Merely alive.
"Everyone, come see. Conquest's up."
Lucifer waved grandly; apostles and Mumyeong approached.
"Treasures everywhere."
Gabriel, draped in lake-found bling—gold necklace, rings, bracelets, earrings. Ecstatic.
"Gonna whale in games with this."
"Hold on—dimensionally archaeologically valuable stuff here. Chance to study lost worlds; selling's a waste."
Vermilion Bird's backpack bulged with treasures.
【...After treasures? Take them. You deserve it.】
Conquest sighed.
Cunning ploy.
Knight dead, space closes. Keep alive? Different story.
Space persists.
Loot freely.
Blue Dragon, scanning oasis, asked,
"Searched hard—no items. Hidden? Or none?"
【No need, so didn't collect.】
"Then gold's pointless too."
【None means none. Even if, effects vanish on world close.】
"Gabriel sunbae, for real?"
"Yeah, seems legit."
Persistent bunch.
【Treasures taken? Kill me quick, claim reward.】
"Tricky."
Mumyeong spoke. Conquest furrowed brows.
【No intent to aid you. Unlike Seven Deadly Sins, no regrets. Can't summon other knights anyway.】
But apostles' reactions? Subtle.
"Wasn't planning to use you."
"Seven Sins, maybe—but summoning Apocalypse horsemen? Nah for us."
【Then why keep me...】
Mumyeong opened system window, continued.
"Killing you now's inconvenient. That's it."
Slaying mud golems Conquest summoned had ballooned points endlessly.
Exceeded max; display overflowed.
Mumyeong said coldly,
"You die, battlefield ends. I don't care, but..."
Points could alter battlefield: exp multipliers, monster counts, hunter buffs.
Entering red desert, Joo Kanghyeok had pondered.
'...Endless like this.'
Topple strong foe—stronger emerges. Topple that—insanely strong next.
He grew ceaselessly,
but humanity couldn't keep pace.
Even Seven Stars—humanity's strongest—barely held knight's harbingers.
'Can't block everything alone...'
What if he stepped away briefly, buildings crumbled or world ended?
At minimum, avoid that.
Humanity must endure foes.
14 days left in battlefield.
"Giving other hunters time to grow too."
Manipulated system.
Spent points on buffs.
Overall experience multiplier in partial battlefield increased.
Number of spawning demons increased.
Demons' health weakened.
Terrain alteration applied.
Entry conditions set.
Vast points consumed; battlefield transformed. Settings rewritten by one man.
Terrain shifted, spawns changed instantly. Exp yields leaped dimensions.
"Exp event. Gamers' dream time."
Gabriel's eyes sparkled.
"Not for anyone, though..."
Joo Kanghyeok eyed Elise of Star of Prophets behind, plus Sa Choiheon, apostles.
Their power could filter threats pre-emptively. No villains or scum growing strong.
If done right, no more fretting over world-ending doom.
【...】
Conquest was speechless, dumbfounded.
Kept alive to sustain battlefield? They'd suck him to the marrow.
That ruthlessness left him wordless.
"Wise choice. Turn battlefield into hunting ground—hunters'll line up. Per head fee?"
Lucifer grinned, tossing rod.
"...".
"Lucifer's a total merchant."
Apostles' cold stares narrowed his brows.
"What? Gotta charge. We dig for business?"
Demonic idea, yet spot-on.
"Play right, build a tower with profits."
Lucifer smirked, pocketing fallen gold coin.