The Origin of the Iron Blood

The moment I accepted the System's reward, I was whisked away to the interior of a castle I had never seen before.

'...No.'

I had seen this place before.

I'd been here already.

This was the final chamber of the Graveyard of Knights — the place where the boss monster, the Nameless King, waited for hunters.

"So you've come."

"You say that like you knew I'd show up."

As I stepped inside, he was there, waiting for me.

The Second Prince, master of the Black Moon Knights.

The Iron Blood Monarch, Leo.

"Dropping the honorifics now, are we? How disappointing."

"I don't feel the need for them anymore."

The corner of his mouth lifted, as if I'd amused him.

"Honestly, I was surprised."

The space around Leo warped violently, twisting into disarray — and then, slowly, his form began to change. From the figure of a prince into something else entirely: a sovereign clad in jet-black armor.

"To think a shard of my world's origin still remained."

"You mean the fragment of a world?"

"So that's how it looks to you."

The Iron Blood Monarch spoke in a low murmur.

"My world perished long ago. In the distant past, it shattered and broke into pieces. One of those pieces — the ones that had yet to fade into nothing — fell into your hands."

"......"

"What you call a world fragment... in other words, this 'world within a fragment' was a real, existing world. Every bond you forged here, every ounce of strength you built — none of it was false."

A world within a fragment.

In other words, this place was what remained after a dead world was destroyed — a slice cut from one timeline among countless others, a trace left behind from before the end.

"But at the same time, it no longer exists. Just now, this fragment fulfilled its purpose and entered a state of dissolution."

Just as the Iron Blood Monarch said, the visible world was gradually collapsing. The ground caved in, holes tore open in the sky, and everything that composed the world was steadily evaporating — like data being wiped from a hard drive.

"That you managed to claim this fragment means you are clearly no ordinary being."

"Glad you noticed."

"You may well be bound by a vicious fate. The higher dimensions are fond of games like that."

The Iron Blood Monarch and I faced each other.

Back then, I had been nothing more than his prey.

"And so, someday, I will take your life with my own hands."

Now I stood in a position where I could meet his gaze.

Not crumpled and broken at his feet, but properly — eye to eye.

"Then let me say something too."

I could declare it openly, without a shred of pretense.

"The one who kills you will be me, you son of a bitch."

That I would destroy him, without fail.

Pop!

When I opened my eyes, I was back in my own room.

I had returned exactly as I'd been when I entered the fragment — so completely that everything that happened there felt like a dream.

"Not that there's any chance of that."

I activated my status window.

Every stat and skill I'd gained inside the fragment world had carried over intact.

I had truly gained a great deal in there.

"Information on Rir, on Dantalion... and on the Monarch."

And... even the Iron Blood Monarch's past.

'To think the Graveyard of Knights was that bastard's world.'

From the very beginning, the Iron Blood Monarch's goal had never been to protect ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a world. His objective was nothing but domination and dominion. Once there was nothing left to take from his own world, he'd discarded it without mercy and invaded another dimension.

'And the next world happened to be Earth.'

Needless to say, I would never let that happen. Last time, I'd been powerless as he took everything — this time, I'd strike back.

"I'll make you regret choosing this place."

This wasn't the vague thirst for vengeance of the days when I died helplessly, one of millions. I was steadily building the strength to kill him.

First things first, I checked the date.

It felt like I'd spent several months inside the fragment world.

"Only a week has passed?"

I couldn't decide whether to be impressed that so little time had flowed by, or shocked that any time had passed at all.

'Still — a whole week.'

Surely nothing had gone wrong.

I powered on the phone I'd left behind.

"Huh."

What is this?

'Nearly a thousand unread messages?'

Did something actually happen?

Suddenly the Cheonseong Group's stock price had crashed, or my father or Si-hyun had been attacked — anxious imaginings rippled out through my mind like spreading waves.

Gulp.

I pressed the message app, slightly tense.

.......

"Holy shit."

The messages didn't just pile up into a mountain — they formed the entire ridgeline of Everest. Except for the occasional contact from Shin Min-woo or my father, every single one was from Baek Seo-ha.

'I'm pretty sure I left a message before I went in, though?'

With Baek Seo-ha, I figured she'd take it in stride — something like 'Lee Tae-hyun? No idea. Something must've come up, he's out of contact for a while.' I never imagined she'd worry herself sick like this.

"No, no. That must be it — it's a private message, that's all."

The Baek Seo-ha I knew wasn't this kind of person. The very incarnation of cool, a stone-cold woman indifferent to all things under heaven. Even if I died, she'd mourn for a few days and then return to her hunter work — wouldn't she?

Brrring—

Just then, a call came through.

"Shin Min-woo?"

It was a bit out of the blue, but there was no reason not to pick up.

"Yeah, Min-woo."

— Oh? You're back, hyung!

His voice rose in pitch, apparently surprised that I'd actually answered.

"I had some urgent business. Couldn't take calls for a bit."

— Ah, I see. Did it go okay?

"Wrapped it up just fine."

— Thank goodness!

It had been a while since I'd heard his voice.

'Hmm. Shin Min-woo seems this calm, so nothing major must have happened.'

I'd worried for nothing. Shaking off the lingering tension in my body, I settled into the call.

"By the way, why the sudden call? You're the type who always shows up in person when you've got something to say."

— Ah, right, so, you see. Lady Seo-ha is going completely berserk right now.

"Is she."

Huh. Is that so.

.......

Wait, what?

"What?"

— She'd been acting a little off for about three days, and then today she just started rampaging, so we're holding ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her back for now— whoa?!

A burst of commotion crackled through the receiver, and then the voice changed.

— Hey! Lee Tae-hyun! Where the hell did you go?!

A voice that conjured a gnome hat in my mind all on its own.

Ah Seo-ah shrieked in a full-blown tantrum.

"Look, I had some stuff to take care of—"

— Save it! Get over here and stop the White Dragon! She's seriously lost it right now!

No, what on earth is going on?

Berserk? Baek Seo-ha?

"Explain properly. Why is she suddenly doing this?"

— How should I know?! Just get over here, fast!

The call cut off immediately, and an address popped up as a text. The location: the Cheongnyong Sword Sect.

"I come back and this is what greets me...."

Either way, I needed to leave right now.

"Ahh~ so this one couldn't become a Knight either."

In a space ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠shrouded beneath a dark veil, a woman smiled lasciviously as she held up a photograph of a man.

"Fujiwara Manabu. With desire this deep, I really thought he had what it took to become a Knight."

His desire was every bit as profound as those of the Knights who'd come before — but his innate physical stats were simply too abysmal. And so, they'd granted him 'Madness' in the form of an elixir, one of the comparatively safer methods.

"Failed to become a Knight, and got his tail stepped on."

There was no helping it. This man would have to be eliminated.

"Still, it wasn't for nothing."

Thanks to him, their grip on this country's dark underbelly was absolute.

"Lady Elpiros, Cardinal. We have a guest."

Someone called to her from a corner of the darkness.

"A guest? Why bother telling me that~ You know I'm busy."

"Well, this particular guest is... rather big game."

"Big game?"

The presence in the darkness spoke the guest's name.

"It is Ayase Karin."

"...Oh-ho?"

Now that was welcome news.

Japan's number one hunter, the strongest of them all — a name floated as a candidate for the next World Ranker. A woman enjoying the pinnacle of popularity in Japan, so beloved that she'd even earned the epithet Empress.

"Kheheh. This place truly is delightful. To think that woman would come seeking us out herself."

"Shall we receive her?"

"Of course. I'll handle this one personally."

"We'll make preparations."

After the presence slipped out into the darkness, Elpiros pulled out a tablet and did a quick search.

Searching just her name brought up a cascade of recent related articles. Advertisements for products she'd modeled, variety shows, TV programs — endless images of her standing before countless crowds.

"The strong of this world are obsessed with such hollow fame."

They didn't grow strong simply to surpass someone, or to win. They clawed their way upward to raise their own value — to hang their faces on ever higher billboards. Struggling desperately for strength for an entirely different reason.

"Hmm~."

She closed her eyelids and chewed over an old memory — a memory from ages past, one that had all but faded away. In the world where she had lived, growing strong meant becoming an object of reverence, untouchable. Whether it was brilliant talent, or effort carved out with broken bones and spilled blood, the method didn't matter. The strong were the ones honored. That was the homeland Elpiros remembered.

"Though nowadaaays, none of that matters."

Memories of an era she had already discarded. In truth, most of it had eroded away anyway.

"I suppose it's time to get ready."

Making a guest wait too long would be poor manners, after all.

Shhhk!

Slipping free of the darkness, she changed her outer appearance — from an air of eerie mystique to the image of an intelligent career woman in a tailored suit. Right now, she was not ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠'Elpiros.' She was simply 'Miwa Yutsuki,' a shrewd businesswoman.

"Shall we, then?"

Time to reel in the biggest catch of her career.