#81 Spoils of War
Seoul's rundown tavern. The signboard in a dingy corner of Yeongdeungpo had long since peeled away, but it had been their go-to spot since the old days. Choi Kang-ho sat in his usual seat, chuckling softly as he gazed at his old friends.
They hadn't started out as the Hero 5 or anything fancy like that. They'd met on the battlefield—racing through Seoul, Daegu, Busan. Wherever monsters popped up, they'd always run into the same faces.
Rumors had spread beforehand, of course. A witch holding back monster waves on Seoul's outskirts. A hero in Busan. A sword-and-bow duo wiping out monster hordes in the West Sea. And then they'd started teaming up. Time flew by like that.
A half-century of tears and laughter, despair and joy—all etched into this place.
Lost in reminiscence, Kang-ho lifted his soju bottle.
"Ah, Kang-ho. Made it a hell of a lot easier, thanks to you." Park Jun-woo grinned and clinked his bottle against Kang-ho's.
Clink— The glass chimed.
Before heading to Daegu, Kang-ho had handed the Sword God the Gui-do Muramasa. Park held out his sword now. Kang-ho nodded.
"Here, me too." Kim Ho-young pulled out his gloves and clinked bottles as he passed them to Kang-ho. What Kang-ho had given the Bow God were the Constellation Gloves.
"Carron lent me his gloves."
Lee Min-ah had borrowed the Constellation Gloves from Carron. Suddenly—
Im Cheol-bae's eyes widened. "What? Everyone but me?"
Kang-ho grinned at him. "Can't compete with that."
Cheol-bae shook his head with a wry smile. They all grabbed their bottles and chugged away.
"Been a while since it felt this good, huh, Bow-boy?"
"Yeah. How long since a real life-or-death scrap?"
"Sigh... My retirement's already cursed with more work. Zero thrill."
Chat flowed easily. Slouched comfortably in plush chairs, downing soju straight from the bottle—just like the rare downtime after brutal fights back in the day.
Kang-ho turned to Cheol-bae. "Congrats."
"......"
Cheol-bae stared quietly, then nodded. He had a lot he wanted to say—plenty of gratitude. Times he'd pushed through exhaustion just by looking at this guy.
But—
"Yeah."
That was enough. At their age, they didn't need verbose thanks. A few short words bridged everything with an old friend like this.
Cheol-bae glanced around. They grinned back at him.
'Been a while—'
He thought.
'Feels like I'm alive again.'
A hush fell.
Memories of the past flashed by, visions of the future loomed. They now knew of Baal, the Absolute from the Demon Realm. And that he had no choice but to come to Earth.
Absolute! The chilling word hung heavy. They'd felt the Demon Lords' power firsthand. What must an Absolute from that world be like?
Their turbulent past meant the future would be no different.
'How long can we stay in the game?'
They'd retired from the human world, but with otherworldly foes incoming, they'd step up anytime. Everyone thought the same.
The next generation would have to surpass them.
As they filed out of the shabby tavern, Awakeners stood in perfect formation outside. The alley was packed solid.
"I'm off first. Let's go, kids."
"Yes, sir!"
Park Jun-woo stepped forward, and his Sword God disciples followed in orderly ranks—all in simple garb, one sword at each hip.
"Me too. Cheol-bae, soju next time."
The Bow God's archers trailed Kim Ho-young.
"Sigh......"
Lee Min-ah rubbed her temple. Awakener Association execs bowed deeply before her. She groaned.
"Cursed with work even in my old age!"
The Demon Lords' invasion was no small matter. Intel from the captured Bassago would be gold, plus time to crack dimensional travel secrets. She grumbled as she was dragged off.
Cheol-bae eyed his Mercenary Guild ahead. Forte at the front saluted crisply.
Snap! The whole guild saluted in unison, filling the alley.
"Great work, sir."
Forte draped Cheol-bae's longcoat over his shoulders respectfully. Cheol-bae nodded.
"Move out."
"Yes, sir."
The Mercenary legion marched behind—a proper spectacle.
Now left were—
"......"
Kang-ho burst out laughing at King and Theo standing awkwardly.
"Whoa, what a sight, bro."
King looked thrilled just watching. Theo seemed conflicted. Kang-ho knew why—and patted his shoulder wordlessly.
.........
The media was in a frenzy. The Hero 5's battle dominated global chatter. Debates raged on the looming future and this otherworld called the Demon Realm. The world burned hot.
The Eternalz online community was exploding too—posts flooding like a server meltdown.
But far from that hype, in Cheorwon’s log cabin—
Whiiiiiing—
Spring had come to Cheorwon. Snow stopped, sun shone. Perpetual winter yielded to sharp winds under warm rays.
[......]
Theo stood arms crossed, deep in thought. Four corpses lay before him.
[Totally smashed.]
Demon Lords' remains.
"Didn't go all out, huh?"
Kang-ho's words drew a nod from Theo.
[Seems they can't use full power here. Felt like 70% tops.]
"Home ground advantage—"
[Exactly.]
Theo nodded.
[But invading another world with that handicap? Arrogance lost the day.]
Theo hesitated, then added,
[Remember what I said about this world's SS-ranks?]
"Yeah?"
[That they couldn't hang with the 72 Demon Lords.]
He had said that.
[Correction.]
Theo shook his head.
[You and your friends are different from other SS-ranks.]
Theo stared straight at Kang-ho.
'And...'
Theo thought.
'I misjudged this guy.'
Once, he'd pegged Kang-ho as Agares' equal or slightly below.
'Big mistake.'
This guy had never shown full power to him. Not even against Kasumus. But in the Agares fight, Theo finally saw it—hair-raising, overwhelming.
[Anyway. You okay?]
"Hm... Thought it might be bad, but held up."
Kang-ho extended a hand.
Shhhrrk—!
From his fingertips floated the Constellation Silk from Gunter—like a kite bobbing in air. It had cloaked him, staving off mana overload.
Kasumus' armor and the silk—dual skins barely contained the rampage.
[Close call.]
Theo eyed the four corpses.
Spoils of war. Victor's prizes were top-tier.
Kang-ho gripped the massive greatsword beside them.
Fwoosh—!
Magic surged through him. The blade's center split—an eyeball emerged. Ghastly red, hideous.
[That's Demon Sword Apophis. Demon Realm divine weapon. Agares' gear.]
"Looks risky."
Shaaa—
Magic seeped into Kang-ho, as if to possess him.
[Mess up, and it eats you.]
"Maybe."
Kang-ho stared it down, then infused his own magic.
Vrrrrooom—
The sword glowed blue-hot. Its magic vanished instantly. The eye rolled in panic.
Demon Sword Apophis tamed
Soon, the red pupil turned blue. Foul magic gone, pure mana swirled.
Kang-ho swung it experimentally, then thunk—stabbed it into the ground casually.
Next: Eternal Crystal.
Kang-ho extracted the one from Agares' heart.
Cling—!
Demon Realm crystals merged—one of six now. United, it pulsed ominously.
Kwaaaa—
Suddenly, darkness swallowed everything—like an ink-filled void.
Kang-ho knew this realm. Identical to his heart's Eternal Crystal world.
But here, only dense, pure demonic energy choked the air!
Far off, a figure approached. Kang-ho faced it squarely—his own self, drowned in shadow.
It stared piercingly, a massive pull tempting him.
But—
Hummm—!
Pure mana erupted from Kang-ho's heart, illuminating the gloom.
Shhh—
The shadowed self vanished. Reality returned.
"Hng..."
Kang-ho glared down at it, then pocketed the crystal.
Theo let out a dry chuckle.
Now, the corpses.
Ziiing—!
Theo reached out—pure mana poured over them. High-grade stuff.
'Recovered a lot.'
Kang-ho watched as flesh and blood evaporated. Skeletons rose, shattered bones glued by mana, shambling awkwardly.
[......Huh?]
Theo startled. His gaze fixed on Agares' skeleton soldier.