The Road to Paris

The road to Paris stretched endlessly ahead. Even traveling straight along the highway, we were attacked by monsters again and again.

“Kwaaaauuung!”

A monster from the otherworld, resembling an elephant, let out a thunderous roar. Its body was larger than a bus. Ten of them stood side by side, blocking the road completely—no gap even for a needle to pass through.

“Master, this is already the twenty-third attack.”

“Already that many?”

I scratched the back of my head.

A black mace fell from the sky. Dark mana-based skills were unaffected by World Severance, so their destructive power remained undiminished. A sickening sound of flesh being crushed echoed out, and the monsters blocking our path were reduced to minced meat.

Using Devour, I pulverized the corpses and cleared the path wide open.

“Master, please give us a chance to fight as well.”

“Forget it. There will be plenty of places to use your strength later. Save it.”

The real ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠battle had not even begun yet. Rene Davis in Paris. His subordinates, the Arme Rouge players, and the remaining Klyphoth forces. They would not be able to wield the same overwhelming power as in my previous life. Even so—

“I alone am enough to deal with them.”

My mana overflowed. My stamina was fresh, and my recovery rate far exceeded that of other players. I was stacked with countless passives and inactive essences, and thanks to Devour, my stats had long surpassed their original grades.

“Right now, we need to move efficiently.”

Ping Lei let out a short dissatisfied grunt. Don’t worry. The time when I’ll need your strength will come soon enough.

By the time we passed near Reims, a major city east of Paris, the road was completely destroyed and we could go no further.

“Mr. Yu, we can’t use vehicles from here on.”

Ellen glanced at the ruined road and shook her head. We had covered about two-thirds of the distance to the border between the two countries. Traveling by vehicle this far had saved us considerable stamina.

“We’ll have to carry the supporters and magic-type players on our backs.”

“The sun is already setting. Will this be alright?”

“Trust my eyes.”

Truth Eyes. A demonic eye forged from the essence of the Cyclops King. Though it ranked as a lower-grade demonic eye, it was perfectly suited for detecting enemy ambushes.

Carrying the physically weaker players on our backs, we advanced along the devastated road.

“Wow, riding on Master’s back. I should write this in my diary today.”

“What’s so special about that?”

“Is riding on the back of the world’s most successful player something ordinary?”

Jiyoung chattered excitedly.

“Don’t forget why I’m carrying you.”

“Of course not. If it looks dangerous, I’ll deploy a barrier right away.”

The closer we got to Paris, the more frequent the monster attacks became. It meant Rene Davis had noticed our group. So what if he had?

Maximizing the repulsive force between opposing attributes. Monsters caught in the explosion, which carried the power of a tactical weapon, evaporated without leaving even corpses behind.

—Partner, are you not regretting the lost essences?

“Timing and circumstances matter.”

Tsk. Watching the monsters vanish in the maximized mana storm left a bitter taste in my mouth.

By the time the sun that had disappeared beyond the horizon rose again, the city of Paris—untouched even by the blazing sunlight—came into view.

“Hey, Mr. Yu.”

“What?”

“Is this really the City of Light, Paris, that I know?”

“According to the map, it is.”

The capital of France. The City of Light. Paris, the jewel of Europe known by many other names, was…

“But instead of Paris, there’s just a pitch-black wall!”

Just like the clouds that had covered all of France, it was severed from the world. Ellen screamed.

“The Eiffel Tower, Disneyland—none of it is visible!”

“You talk too much. Do you fight with your mouth?”

When Sergey grumbled, sparks flickered in Ellen’s eyes.

“Yeah, want a taste of my mouth?”

“Kuhahaha, let’s see the skills of America’s number one.”

Those two had always snarled at each other even before the regression, and nothing had changed. Two people who could never mix, like oil and water. The memory of my past life made me chuckle.

“Both of you, stop wasting energy on pointless things.”

“If it weren’t for Mr. Yu…”

“Hmph, we’ll settle this later.”

After exchanging ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠heated glares, Ellen and Sergey both turned their heads sharply.

“Paris has been reinforced with additional alchemy arrays.”

“Hey, mister. If we summon Titan’s left arm and strike it, won’t it break through?”

Enrique raised his hand. The essence of mechanical engineering—Titan. After obtaining an intact Titan during his past confrontations with the dwarves, he had grown noticeably more confident.

“Give it a try.”

An iron arm appeared, tearing through space. Enrique synchronized the summoned Titan arm with his body and swung it with full force. Since it was not the complete form, it could not deploy an Aura Blade, but the mass of the Titan and the mana surging from its engine carried enough power to shatter a mountain peak.

“Go!”

The Titan arm Enrique summoned with confidence collided with the black barrier. The moment of impact, the entire collision area warped and spikes erupted outward.

Crackkk!

The steel giant forged from the essence of mechanical engineering. Its forearm, layered dozens of times and reinforced with defensive magic, was torn away.

“Ah, no! My Titan!”

Enrique cried out and hurriedly retrieved the Titan arm.

“As you all saw, that wall cannot be destroyed by attacks.”

Seeing is believing. Showing it once was better than warning with words.

“Whoa, that’s incredible. That defensive wall!”

Even Sergey let out a rough exclamation mixed with shock.

See? That’s why audiovisual education is important.

“Junior, do you know how to bring down that wall?”

“The inner layer of World Severance is protected by five anchors.”

Great power comes with a price. Was I misstating responsibility? Would I joke in this situation?

“It seems the anchors are outside the wall.”

“Yes, do you see those pillars over there?”

Black currents protruded between the long barriers.

“If we destroy all the alchemy arrays installed on those anchors—”

Clap!

“—the eyesore will disappear.”

I finished speaking with a light clap. The inner layer of World Severance, a wall drawn directly from the power of the otherworld, reflected 100% of any impact inflicted upon it. Attempting a frontal breakthrough would only result in injury. It might be possible to break through with output overwhelming enough that the black barrier could not reflect the damage, but even with Demonic Power converting all stats, it was uncertain whether such power could be achieved. Since there was a way to dismantle the black barrier, there was no need to gamble on a dangerous bet.

There were five anchors in total. I divided the group into five teams: Golden Circle, Yellow Storm, Muguk, Yeokcheon, and myself.

“Wait, what am I supposed to do?”

“Sergey, wait here with the spirit summoner.”

“Huh? Me too?”

“We need someone to observe the battle situation.”

Paris was vast. With the black barrier blocking even the sky, reaching the anchors required taking long detours. If even one team failed, it would cost us a great deal of time—and any anchor we had already secured could be restored.

“Kuhahaha, so I’m the most important after all!”

Sergey laughed heartily, pounding his chest with his fist. No. The truth was that he was the most awkward to place when forming teams, so I had separated him out. My mouth itched to say it, but I held back. Without his pride, that guy was nothing.

—You have it rough too, Partner.

At least the Goddess understood.

The group split into five. I headed for the anchor farthest from the starting point.

I deployed Wind Path, entrusting my body to the flow of air as I advanced. The black barrier covering all of Paris. To reach the anchor, I had to go around the city.

—Will you be alright?

“What do you mean, all of a sudden?”

—You entrusted the anchors to others.

“I can’t do it with my strength alone.”

Unlike before the regression, Rene Davis had received a baptism and raised his level. The rank of humanity’s “Monarch” was not granted to those who had received power from the otherworld. Something that had not existed in my previous life. In other words, it meant Rene was far stronger than he had been at the same point in time before the regression.

“I have to trust them. My comrades, and my subordinates.”

—Hohoho, you’ve grown a little.

“Thanks to the Goddess’s advice.”

Ellen, Sergey, and Jiyoung. In my previous life, they had been powerful allies I could entrust my back to. Even formidable enemies like Ping Lei and Enrique, who had been difficult to handle, had now become my subordinates. So what if Rene had grown stronger through baptism? It would be stranger if we lost with this level of force.

Running at full speed, I quickly circled the black barrier and reached the anchor I had been assigned.

“A human?”

“Was it you who destroyed World Severance?”

“Eliminate ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the one who interferes with our ideals.”

Damn Klyphoth cultists. No matter how many times they were defeated, they kept crawling out like cockroaches.

“Goddess, some support.”

—Punishing those who have deviated from the natural order is also a goddess’s duty.

Two silhouettes burst from the shadows. Nyx manifested in her homunculus body and climbed onto Lexy’s back.

“Child, let us dance together.”

“Kyaooo!”

『My lord, your command.』

“Make them all serve me.”

Ark’s blue flames burned fiercely.

『As you command.』

A short while later, one of the black pillars that had been continuously rising into the sky collapsed powerlessly.