Tyrant's Path 1
S-rank hunters were fewer than I'd thought. And mana overloads weren't exactly common either. Everyone was too doped up on dopamine, grinding long-term S-rank gates without deliberately exposing themselves to mana like idiots. Sure, there were hunters from home and abroad who came crawling in after getting addicted to "Oni's Blood" and triggering overloads, but they were all just B-rank level. Treating overloads to accelerate growth was still too early. All I could do was wait for hunters to reach S-rank on their own. Oh, and Kwon Si-hyuk was steadily supplying me with mana by tackling S-rank gates nonstop. The guy was on the verge of breaking past S-rank soon.
Kwon Si-hyuk was pushing his body to the limit inside an S-rank gate again today. The weightless flame sword was draining even the strength to hold it. He clenched his fist tight, and the flame sword sank smoothly into his grip.
"Just a bit... more, just a little more!!"
It wasn't just because he'd broken off his engagement with Ieliya, the woman he'd promised to marry. He could feel his flame skill growing stronger firsthand. That moment when he edged toward mana overload—the starting point where the demon Ifrit began merging with his body—that was when his power peaked.
"Just a bit more!! I have to... break through the wall."
Right now, Kwon Si-hyuk was stuck at the threshold to SS-rank. He still had some leeway before overload. A massive mana beast rose before his eyes. Demons swarmed in.
“Raaargh!”
Kwon Si-hyuk roared, unleashing massive flames from both hands. Crimson fire swept across the lava-boiling wasteland like molten rock, reducing the charging demons to ash piles. True to its name, the S-rank gate Abyss of Red Mist was a hellscape shrouded in thick blood-red fog that blocked vision, reeking of sulfur. Lava rivers flowed across the ground, and burning meteors rained from the sky like fire.
“Low-tier demons like you... dare?!”
Shadow Stalkers surged toward Kwon Si-hyuk. Demons with red faces reminiscent of lovebugs, black wings draped like cloaks. They lunged from all sides with gleaming claws, but they screamed and burned up before even touching the flame armor encasing his body.
Boom! Boom!
The ground shook as enormous Magma Golems emerged. Mid-tier demons made of molten lava, they swung heavy fists to pressure him.
“Shut up, you noisy bastards!”
Kwon Si-hyuk showed no fear, focusing his mind. Swords were handy against Magma Golems. Flames gathered in his palm again, the sword forming with a grotesque hiss.
"Taste my flame sword."
Kwon Si-hyuk earned his fame as the Tyrant through his swordsmanship. Wielding a blade of pure fire, incinerating everything in his path—he was like a Fire Yaksha. Rings of flame scattered into the air, demons touching them crumbling to ash.
"Flame Storm!!"
His sword spiraled, birthing a massive flame whirlwind. A vortex boasting spiral might. Kwon Si-hyuk hurled it at the Magma Golems. The golems engulfed in it melted, merging back into the ground's lava. He was the Tyrant incarnate—overwhelming firepower turning the gate interior to wasteland as he advanced.
"Kwon Si-hyuk, that fucker's pretty damn good, huh?"
I was watching his battle from my living room via Soul Share through my summon Shan's eyes. Shan had wings for top mobility, plus eight eyes and huge compound ones for multi-angle environmental scans. Thanks to that, I could observe Kwon Si-hyuk's strengths, weaknesses, combat habits, and skills in detail.
"Shut up."
"Yeah. Maybe I should learn some swordplay? Stabbing with Phobetor is tricky if they dodge."
"You think she'd teach me?"
I knew Athena was surveilling me from Jejeop's warnings. I was deliberately showing her fights focused on Baal to play the demon hunter role. Because of that, I couldn't get Ieliya's healing sex massages. If she found out Aluca, Baal's demon, was my familiar, it'd be trouble. I didn't want the 'White-Masked Demon King' setup exposed to Athena either. Lately, I'd let her see me relieving Kwon Si-hyuk's overload with her sword Phobetor, and she seemed pretty satisfied.
I shook my head.
My Soul Share skill could now control three bodies at once. I was piloting Shan now, and in T-16, Kagamusha was naked-walking the retrievers.
In T-16, I was watching O Nangryun bulk up from the sidelines. I'd sent him a few low-tier demons Baal had captured, and he turned them into ero-demons to brag to me. To me, they looked like grotesque monsters, but he called them cute, creampieing them while laughing his ass off. Yeah... fuck, that's O Nangryun.
Back to Shan's view. Kwon Si-hyuk looked exhausted but had no intention of leaving the gate. His abilities had clearly surpassed S-rank. Objectively, he was just edging past high-tier demons. A-rank hunters could barely handle mid-tier, S-ranks matched high-tier or fell slightly short—so Kwon Si-hyuk was now Korea's strongest hunter in name and fact.
"SS-rank hunter incoming soon."
A twinge of bitterness. I didn't want to kill and resummon a guy who was good to me. Watching him obsessively farm S-rank gates, I wondered why he pushed so hard.
"Whoa... spinning his body like that for attacks—efficient as hell."
"Hey, no bug mega-migrations or news fodder. The king of bugs, Beelzebub, lives here! Not advertising."
"Truly, beyond-S-rank firepower is different. That flame sword... gotta try it myself."
But my admiration didn't last. At the gate's deepest point, something slowly rose from the central lava lake. A pitch-black mass without definite form, warping surrounding space with its ominous, overwhelming presence.
"Gate boss incoming."
Kwon Si-hyuk sensed it too, going on high alert. Flames surging from his body intensified.
His lips moved. “Finally, you show—the master of this gate!”
The black mass writhed, extending dozens of dark tentacles in all directions. At its center, a single massive red eye opened.
A tiny flea fly buzzed 'weeing' beside Shan's view. It landed on Shan's butt, combing her butt fur with its legs.
"What? Saved one flea fly?"
"Stick close yourself."
"Yeah?"
I began moving Shan cautiously.
The moment Kwon Si-hyuk spotted the gate's master, he unleashed Flame Storm at it. But it opened its slimy maw wide, sucking in all nearby light and heat like a black hole. Even his massive flame storm fizzled out powerlessly before its mouth.
“Wha... what? My flames...!”
Disbelief crossed Kwon Si-hyuk's face for the first time. His max firepower absorbed without effect.
The monster mocked his shock, whipping a huge tentacle like a lash. Kwon Si-hyuk hastily raised a flame barrier, but the strike tore it like paper.
“Urk!”
The shockwave hurled him dozens of meters into a rock wall. Blood trickled from his mouth.
“This... impossible power...”
Then—
“Ugh... Ifrit... now of all times...”
Kwon Si-hyuk despaired. He knew merging with Ifrit at overload's edge would break his wall, and he'd been timing it—but not against the gate boss. Overload's onset prickled.
“Fuck off!!”
He remembered the crystal Woojin hyung gave him. 'Si-hyuk, if overload hits sudden, smash this. I'll know your location and fix you right up. But smashing it costs 1 billion won.'
"Gonna fuck up saving a billion."
Then—the gate master's mana enveloped Kwon Si-hyuk.
"...Shit!"
…
..
.
Dream... a dream?
Baby Kwon Si-hyuk looked down at his tiny fists. Barely able to crawl, his neck wouldn't turn right.
Where am I?
But his words emerged as 'waaah waaah' cries. Kids laughed and ran in his view—giant to his shrunken size.
“Oh my, the Kwon deacon's baby woke up!”
“So cute! Look at those eyes.”
Tickled, he could only squirm.
I... turned into a baby?
Hymns echoed around. Twisting his head, it looked like summer Bible school at church.
What? Did I go to church? I was deep into Buddhism as a kid, right?
Something was off. Baby hands itched, lips tickled. Hymns grated, zealot prayers sickened.
Fuck... shut that noise up!!
Ifrit's voice. But not speaking to him now—to the baby.
Whoooosh!!
Powerful flames erupted from the baby, forming a whirlwind. Kwon Si-hyuk panicked—he couldn't control it.
No... no!!!
Flames swelled, sweeping surroundings. Nearby playing kids screamed in the blaze.
Screams, and screams. More screams.
The fire brought no heat to the baby's body. Just like now.
Is this... me as a baby? Wait... my memory?
Terror gripped Kwon Si-hyuk. Then—a boy around 8-9 appeared, unscathed by the inferno. He easily lifted the writhing baby from under burned swaddling.
“No way... you did all this?”
The boy's gentle voice. Hugged tight, the rage subsided. No more Ifrit voice.
“You don't burn either, huh? Looks like just you and me survived.”
The boy soothed the crying baby Kwon Si-hyuk. Kwon Si-hyuk sensed the boy's eyes resembled Park Woojin's.