Chapter 212
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 212
Chapter Title: The Demon Realm
The land imbued with the blessings of the Demon God.
A special world that reigns supreme as predators over countless dimensions across existence.
That place is called the Demon Realm.
A world of demons who devour numerous dimensions through gates—portals that connect realms—slaughtering and consuming their inhabitants, forcing the survivors into submission.
In that world, a child was born between the demon race, known as devils, and one of the many races that had lost their dimensions to them: the Shadow Tribe.
A child born of demons and the Shadow Tribe.
With the blood of devils—the ultimate dimensional predators—mingled with the unique powers and abilities of the Shadow Tribe, the child was showered with blessings from the Shadow Tribe from the moment of birth.
The strength and immense mana of the demons, combined with the Shadow Tribe's array of extraordinary abilities.
This fusion made the child conquer vast territories in the Demon Realm through sheer power alone, flaunting his might across the land.
And as a result...
The child, who inherited the demons' power, became the first of the Shadow Tribe to be chosen by the Demon King as a demon.
Becoming a demon was no grand feat.
Those in the top 1 percent of strength in the Demon Realm—all granted the title of demon in the name of the Demon King.
In other words, bearing the name "demon" meant ascending to the pinnacle of dimensional predators.
However, becoming a demon and being chosen by the Demon King to reside in the Demon King's Castle as a titled demon were entirely different matters.
The child, who had never known defeat and had devoured all challengers, faced defeat and the terror of death for the first time upon entering the Demon King's Castle.
No matter how invincible he felt in his own domain, the Demon King's Castle was on another level entirely.
'Nothing special.'
Sheiks, who had never lost to anyone, suffered a massive shock that day.
A duel with a viscount-level demon, framed like a welcoming ceremony.
It was the spark that forced open Sheiks' previously closed eyes.
"Gaaahhhh!"
With defeat came a mark branded on his shoulder, reducing him to livestock worth less than an insect in the Demon King's Castle.
'Hybrid demon.'
A demon tainted by the blood of lesser races, not born purely from demons.
A genetic flaw that pureblood demons could never overcome.
Just as one might classify pigs in the real world, the titled demons of the Demon King's Castle scattered, leaving the bloodied Sheiks alone with his branded mark.
He thought that was the end.
He believed he had finally crawled out of his well like a frog.
He tried to convince himself of that.
Thud.
But something familiar dropped before Sheiks' eyes.
None other than...
"Tr... Tribe Chief?"
It was the head of the Shadow Tribe's chief, who had raised and cared for Sheiks.
'Welcome to the Demon King's Castle.'
"Wh-what have you..."
'Everyone makes that face at first. It's disorienting. But you see... if you wanted to protect him, you shouldn't have come here. Or you should have been strong enough that we couldn't touch you.'
Heh.
At that moment, Sheiks awakened.
He wanted to rip that smirk off the bastard's face.
And a century passed...
Riiip!
Sheiks tore the bastard's mouth apart.
While burning down the pureblood demons' village to which he belonged.
Thus, Sheiks became a perfect demon.
He followed the path of the powerful demons who resided in the Demon King's Castle, gradually and steadily striving to catch the Demon King's eye with ever-greater strength.
To protect what was his.
And to become the Demon King.
Unlike Count Ratlin, Sheiks' memories contained vast information about demons and the Demon Realm.
The world inside the gates: the Demon Realm.
Regrettably, even in a reality where science advanced and gate research continued, information on the Demon Realm was nonexistent.
Perhaps somewhere in the world, someone might know about the Demon Realm.
But...
'Now, no one knows it as well as I do.'
Sheiks shook off his headache by opening his closed eyes and sorting through all his memories.
Information on the Demon Realm and the Demon King's Castle.
And even the abilities of the Shadow Tribe that vanished the moment Sheiks set foot in the Demon King's Castle—all imprinted firmly in Yong-un's mind.
"Devouring dimensions through gates..."
They said the biggest difference between the martial world and reality was awakeners called hunters and their skills.
Having confronted the full truth of the gates, Yong-un revised that thought first.
The martial world and reality had a massive difference.
Whether they were under invasion from the Demon Realm or not.
The Demon Realm in Sheiks' memories was supreme in its power.
Countless races from dimensions subjugated under the Demon King's name filled the Demon King's Castle.
If the Demon King's Castle was that vast, how many more dimensional races populated the Demon Realm?
"Even I, called the Killing Ghost, was nothing."
Demons were killing ghosts—no, devils incarnate.
Words like evil spirits or demon ghosts couldn't capture it.
The Heavenly Demon Cult? Supremacy of the Strong? Child's play.
Compared to the Demon Realm...
"Now I see it clearly. My enemies aren't the humans lording over this world. It's the devils behind them."
He couldn't settle for Royal Class.
If things continued like this, the world where Yong-un's family lived would end up no different from the other dimensions swallowed by the Demon Realm.
Swish.
Yong-un rose from his seat, having organized his future plans from Sheiks' memories.
As he turned to devise a strategy, a thought bubbling up from the depths of Sheiks' soul—echoing from his severed memories—resounded in Yong-un's mind.
'Why is this dimension taking so much longer to devour than usual? What are the Demon King and the two Grand Dukes thinking?'
A crucial thought he had nearly overlooked.
'Still, preparations are underway. It'll start soon.'
Imprinting that final thought in his mind, Yong-un stepped out the front door.
Unwoo Guild had now become a mega-guild in Korea that no one could touch.
Standing tall above the precarious Five Great Guilds, where even Death God Guild was struggling, Unwoo Guild had grown to the point where even the remaining three major guilds couldn't challenge it.
And the true master holding Unwoo Guild under his feet...
"Jin-cheol."
"Yes, Supreme One."
Yong-un visited Unwoo Guild after a long time.
Jin-cheol, guild master of Unwoo Guild with over two thousand hunters under him, knew with his sharp mind:
No matter how vast the power of Unwoo Guild now, if the Supreme One before him turned hostile, it would crumble.
Having received much grace, Jin-cheol would never betray him, but he thought of future guild masters, hiding an envelope in the guild master's office every day.
In a safe only the guild master could access...
'Obey the Supreme One without fail.'
Yong-un's gaze turned toward the hidden safe.
"Truly, a master tactician is a master tactician."
Had he seen the letter inside?
Catching Yong-un's meaningful words instantly, Jin-cheol bowed his head.
"No matter how far I've climbed, in this chaotic world living as a hunter, I don't believe anything lasts forever."
A true master tactician.
What Yong-un referred to wasn't exactly the message Jin-cheol left for the next guild master.
Not obedience to the Supreme One verbatim.
The impending counterattack of the gates, whose timing was unknown!
"How did you know?"
"To assist you, Supreme One, I haven't let go of information from neighboring countries and the world, not just Korea. That's how I noticed inexplicable events occurring worldwide."
Yong-un glanced at the phone on Jin-cheol's desk opposite him.
"If I hadn't come, you would have called me."
"Yes."
Jin-cheol, the Unwoo Guild master who bowed to no one, bowed 90 degrees to Yong-un.
A fittingly brilliant tactician.
Realizing his first choice had been utterly right, Yong-un straightened his posture and broached the reason for his visit.
"While reading the soul of a demon recently to investigate Demon King runes, I learned about the Demon Realm."
"The Demon Realm... you mean?"
The world inside the gates.
Hell teeming with tens of millions of demons.
True to form, Jin-cheol, ever attuned to global intel, grasped it immediately.
And Yong-un's following words.
"I'll tell you everything I know."
Jin-cheol swallowed dryly, then leaned in to hear Yong-un's explanation.
Tens of billions of monsters.
Tens of millions of demons.
Hundreds of thousands of titled demons.
And among thousands of high-ranking demons, the one towering as king.
'The Demon King.'
Fitting for the ruler of dimension's apex predators, his ability to devour worlds was extraordinary.
The method by which the Demon King devoured dimensions, as seen in Sheiks' memories, was consistent.
First, scout the dimension to devour.
Then, open a gate connecting that dimension to the Demon Realm.
Monsters, drawn by the new scent through the wide-open gate, infiltrate and wreak havoc, probing their forces.
Next, dispatch demons and titled demons in sequence, savoring their agony and screams.
Once the Demon Realm's air and demonic energy permeating through the open gate begins to synchronize with the dimension...
Crunch.
Using duke-level demons capable of opening gates, along with select marquises, simultaneously open numerous gates and one massive one.
Then, descend personally with his trusted minions through those gates to devour the dimension.
No matter how strong the dimension, variables didn't exist.
The Demon King and his minions, true to apex predators, swallowed even the mightiest worlds.
No exceptions.
"But the last echo in Sheiks' memories I extracted was this: 'It'll start soon'..."
Demon Realm and demons.
Hybrids and purebloods.
Titled demons of the Demon King's Castle.
Yong-un had scoured every bit of information and Sheiks' recent memories, relaying it all to Jin-cheol.
Hearing this, Jin-cheol's face hardened as he drummed his fingers restlessly on the table, deep in thought.
"It matches the intel I've gathered."
And Jin-cheol's follow-up.
"Moscow, Kenya, Israel. Unusual activity reported in these three locations recently."
"The density of air and amount of demonic energy inside the gates matching reality."
"Yes, GHO urgently established branches there since gates emitting something on their own is anomalous. But since they appear identical to other gates, they haven't grasped the intent and taken no action."
This is why information is the greatest weapon in all things.
The difference between knowing and not knowing was vast.
Like failing to prepare countermeasures amid such massive events.
"What should we do?"
"Prepare for the worst. I'll handle those places."
"The worst case... I'll fortify Korea as a stronghold."
"Good. Remember this well: the reason I help you and built you up is to protect my family."
"I know. And that the current Supreme One is also striving to protect us."
Yong-un chuckled at Jin-cheol's sharp words.
As Yong-un turned to leave briskly, Jin-cheol called out to his back.
"Then what about the Royal Classes?!"
"I have a plan. You focus on how to shield this land from the Demon Realm's threat."
"Yes, Supreme One."
With a light step, Yong-un's figure vanished before Jin-cheol's eyes.
The divine presence of Yong-un, witnessed daily.
Yet seeing it after so long, Jin-cheol smiled faintly and murmured to himself.
"How much stronger do you plan to become?"
GHO First U.S. Headquarters.
In the office of Deputy Director Charlie, who handled and approved all routine matters except earth-shaking crises in the director's stead, an uninvited intruder appeared.
"Charlie."
Swish. Rustle.
As befitting a colossal organization gripping and shaking the world.
Suddenly, shadows multiplied in the room that had held only Charlie, pressing blades and gun barrels against the intruder.
A voice that arrived without presence.
Yet Charlie calmly adjusted his reading glasses and fixed an emotionless gaze on the intruder.
"Hunter Yong-un?"
At the unexpected visitor, Charlie removed his glasses entirely.
Then, gesturing to the shadows pressing Yong-un to protect him.
The shadows hesitated at Charlie's command to withdraw, glancing at him instead of obeying.
"If he willed it, not just you all but my head would already be rolling. Everyone, withdraw."
Swish.
At Charlie's firm words, the shadows vanished completely.
Now alone, Charlie pressed a button on his phone.
"You're nowhere to be found when truly needed."
A special button only on Charlie's phone.
The one to summon Royal Classes in emergencies.
Normally, pressing it would bring Ignito or Spell here instantly.
But for some reason, no Royal Class appeared.
"I didn't expect it to work anyway. Tsk tsk."
He carefully set the phone down.
"If you came to kill me, you wouldn't show yourself so openly. What's the reason for your visit?"
Charlie spoke as if well aware of Yong-un's prowess.
Ignoring him, Yong-un pulled a chair from across the desk and sat.
Then stated calmly.
"Right now, recruit hunters to Moscow, Kenya, and Israel in GHO's name."
"Hah."
Charlie let out an incredulous scoff.
"You think I'll listen just because you say so?"
"You have reason to."
"State your reason first."
"The Demon King will descend on one of those three places."
"......?!"
Charlie's face, famed for its composure, slowly hardened.