Chapter 0 Prologue
Chapter 0: [Prologue]
My name is Yu Ji-hu.
I awakened my abilities at the young age of ten in South Korea, which brought me both happiness and sorrow.
Because at that very age, I lost my parents.
The only reason I could endure was thanks to my older sister, Yu Ha-rin, who was three years my senior.
In the tragedy of losing our parents to monsters, both my sister and I awakened our abilities and grew stronger.
After our parents' death, my sister gritted her teeth and pushed herself to become stronger—all to protect me.
She quickly surpassed not only her peers but even adults, becoming so renowned across South Korea that soon, no one was unaware of her name. Countless sponsors came knocking, but she refused them all, focusing solely on taking care of me.
Then, when I turned seventeen, something happened.
My sister was transported to another dimension.
For ability users, this phenomenon—being forcibly sent to another world—was said to happen only once. The mission was to save that world.
Those who returned were called "Returnees," coming back far stronger than if they had remained on Earth.
But no one knew how many years it would take—or if they would even survive the brutal battles.
A mission to save a world meant a place of unimaginable danger, where survival was the only option.
And so, my sister was forcibly taken from me, sent to another dimension against her will. The fear that I might never see her again gnawed at me—until something else happened.
Not long after my sister disappeared, I, too, was forcibly transported to another world.
"Where... is this?"
"Welcome, Hero. This is the continent of Terra."
Summoned as the Hero, my first days were grueling.
Though I had awakened my abilities on Earth, making me a formidable fighter, wielding the Holy Sword—the Hero's exclusive weapon—wasn't enough to save the world.
But through relentless battles, I found comrades.
They were all beautiful.
A stunning red-haired mage.
A breathtaking green-haired Elf.
A radiant silver-haired Saintess.
And a dazzling golden-haired princess, skilled with a blade.
Years of fighting side by side in that hellish war made me fall in love with them.
Or so I thought.
Thud—
"Ghk—!"
Blood gushed from my mouth.
I had barely dodged a fatal blow, but the sword that had pierced my side burned with unbearable pain.
"Why...?"
I looked up at the golden-haired princess—Iris—who had just stabbed me.
I never imagined she would be the one to run me through.
Curious, sometimes naive, she had been one of the four most important people to me during my six years here.
Yet here she was, betraying me—something I had never even considered possible.
"Shut up, you traitor. No—hypocrite."
Iris glared at me with pure disgust.
Why?
Why was she looking at me like that?
I had just defeated the Demon King. I had saved this world.
We had fought together, achieved our goal, and even promised to go to Earth together once the Demon King was dead.
"Scarlet. Mine. Yenia."
The beautiful mage, Scarlet, stared at me with betrayal in her eyes, magic already swirling at her fingertips.
"Shut up."
The Saintess, Mine, glared at me with resentment.
"I trusted you... I really did..."
The Elf, Yenia, nocked an arrow, her spirits poised to attack, her gaze filled with contempt.
"I thought I'd spend my whole life with you!"
None of this made sense.
But after exhausting myself against the Demon King and now wounded by Iris's blade, I barely managed to pull the sword free, suppressing the pain with magic as I staggered back.
"What the hell are you—"
Before I could finish, their attacks rained down on me.
Already injured, I couldn't withstand them all.
Battered and broken, I collapsed to the ground.
"Hah... Hah..."
The four women I had trusted as much as my sister now looked down at me with hatred.
I had wanted to take them back to Earth, to introduce them to Ha-rin.
If even I had survived, surely my sister—stronger than me—would have returned first.
I was wrong.
I was dying.
I could still activate the power to return to Earth, but before I could, their attacks would finish me off.
"Ugh..."
Tears streamed down Iris's face as she pointed her sword at me.
"It's over, Ji-hu. I really did love you. That's why I can never forgive you."
As she raised her blade for the final strike—
An invisible barrier blocked her attack.
"What?!"
[Ding~! That's enough.]
A translucent figure appeared—the Demon King, Reisir, in the form of a stunning platinum-haired beauty. The women froze in shock.
Honestly, I was stunned too. I had definitely killed her.
[What a pathetic sight. How does it feel, Hero? To be betrayed by the women you trusted, left to die like this?]
"...What did you do?" I rasped.
Before I could say more, Mine whispered in disbelief.
"What... What does that mean? She's talking as if we betrayed him...?"
Hearing her, Reisir burst into laughter.
[Ahahaha! How stupid can you be? You—no, even the Empire—actually believed that fabricated vision? You thought that after defeating me, the Hero would sacrifice this world using my heart just to return to his own? And you called it an 'oracle'?]
The women's faces went pale.
"What... are you saying? Then...?"
Scarlet's voice trembled.
[Exactly! That 'oracle' was my doing! Ahahaha! I orchestrated everything for this moment!]
Yenia's hands shook as she spoke.
"Th-then...?"
[Bingo! You—and the entire Empire—were fooled into betraying your own Hero! And now he's dying because of it!]
Mine let out a scream.
"N-nooo!!"
Desperately, she summoned her Holy Power to heal me—but it couldn't reach.
Reisir's barrier blocked it.
[Tsk tsk. Trying to kill him and now heal him? What a joke. Well, Hero? Doesn't this piss you off? How about I give you my power? Wipe out the Empire. Slaughter every last one of them. If you agree, I'll restore you right now and send you back to Earth with all my strength. What do you say?]
Her voice was sickeningly sweet.
[Aren't you furious? Sure, I faked the oracle, but they chose to believe it over you. After everything you sacrificed for them. Don't you want revenge? I'll help you. Oh, and don't worry—I'm already dead. Once I give you my power, I'll vanish. So? Do we have a deal?]
Her words buzzed in my ears. But I closed my eyes.
"I'm returning to Earth. Location—"
[What?]
My vision shifted.
And then—I saw her.
The face I had missed so much.
Yu Ha-rin, known as the strongest ability user not just in South Korea but on all of Earth, was a Returnee.
After being transported to another world, she had gained overwhelming power and returned after three years, becoming the most famous ability user worldwide.
Now twenty-six, she had reached the pinnacle of strength, earning the title of "Empress" among ability users.
Since she had been called the same in the other world, the title felt familiar—so she let it stick.
'Ji-hu still isn't back.'
What weighed on her mind was always the absence of her one and only sibling—Yu Ji-hu.
Several times a day, she longed to see her beloved younger brother.
To others, she seemed cold and untouchable, which only reinforced her title. But the truth was, she simply saw no one but Ji-hu as worth her affection.
Whoosh—
A ripple in space jolted her from her seat.
'Could it be...?'
This was unmistakably the sign of a Returnee's arrival.
Ha-rin sprang up, her black dress fluttering as she rushed toward the disturbance.
Seconds later, she saw him.
Her little brother—older now, after six years, but undeniably him.
Yet at the same time, shock and fury coursed through her.
"Who... DARES?!"
"Big... sis..."
Her beloved brother, Yu Ji-hu, was on the verge of death—his body torn to shreds.
'Grrk—! HOW DARE THEY!'
Rage burned, but survival came first. Ha-rin summoned her power, ready to heal him at any cost.