168. Return
Jong Ho and Karin had returned to Earth.
The only ones left were Belkoseu and I.
I wanted to make a portal immediately and return, but there still was something I needed to say before I left.
“Belkoseu.”
“Yes, Mighty Human.”
“I’ll see you at the Gate that is connected to Earth. I’ll be waiting for you.”
“Understood.”
“And straighten out your shoulders. You’ll be acting as the Demon King now.”
“Kuhuhu. Yes.”
“Good. See you in a bit.”
Finishing my words, I casted Warp.
My destination was where Jong Ho and I first set foot in the demonic realm, which was in front of the Gate.
This Gate would serve as an important pathway for the future bloodstone exportation to Earth.
That’s why even though I could get rid of it right now, I wouldn’t do so.
In front of the Gate stood King Suwoo and the Devil Avatars, holding the line.
Heal Full had been casted under their feet, so despite not having given them any care for many days, they were guarding the Gate without a single wound.
Other than the guide goblin Barun, no other monster should be allowed through the Gate.
If I returned to Earth, these summoned creatures would remain, but I would not be able to cast Heal Full for them.
Just like how the Proof of Pledge skill I had cast on my mother had been severed, I wouldn’t be able to cast skills to affect other dimensions without being there in the dimension myself.
“Kuwuhhh!”
“Haaa…… Haaa…..”
“Have you been well?”
“Kuhuhhuhhh!”
No matter when, the Fear howls they roared were loud enough to make my ears sting.
Approaching them, I canceled the Heal Full spells on the ground.
“Kuruung?”
“We won’t be needing this anymore.”
Albeit little, they had some intelligence, so they understood my commands pretty well.
It seemed that they were also aware that Heal Full was beneficial to them.
Since I removed that very skill, they seemed confused, tilting their heads to the side.
Walking closer to them, I put my hand on one of the Devil Avatars.
During the 3rd test given by that G.o.d, I had learned from my copy during the fight.
I was trying to strengthen the summoned creatures using mana.
“Kuwuhuhl!”
“It would be a problem if their roars get louder.”
I poured in magical energies until the summoned creature’s body was about to burst.
The summoned creature’s size did not increase, but this Devil Avatar now at least had 10 times the offensive and defensive capabilities than before.
Since I had over 90% of the magical energy in the demonic realm, the monsters who would continue to sp.a.w.n after wouldn’t have much strength.
These creatures would have to share the leftover magical energy in the realm after all.
I continued to pour mana into the rest of the summoned creatures.
With this much, they should be able to hold on for dozens of years without any issue.
“Whew…. With this, the Gate defense is done.”
The next thing I had to do was to get rid of the portals appearing on Earth.
Since one of the demonic tribe leaders, Zekill, had made these portals, they should be easily undone with the Authority of Demon King.
Once again, I focused with all my might.
Since I couldn’t use the Demon King’s Authorities with ease, it was quite the strenuous task.
With the t.i.tle of the Demon King, I commanded all doors leading to any other dimensions be closed, with the exception of this Gate that was connected to Earth.
“I command as the Demon King. At this time, I collapse dimensional doors that lead to other dimensions within the demonic realm.”
As I finished, a loud noise similar to a lightning strike on a clear day rang enough to shake the earth and sky.
With it, I could feel some loss in magical energy.
It didn’t matter that much, since all the magical energy that I used would float around the demonic realm and eventually be absorbed by my subordinate, Belkoseu.
I didn’t know when, but if I continued to use my Authority like this, there probably would come a day that Belkoseu would become the Demon King.
However, that didn’t matter.
As long as I was alive, we wouldn’t be harmed by the monsters.
That is why I invested some of that time to close all doors leading to different dimensions save this Gate.
I could sense Belkoseu running towards me from afar.
I felt odd at this sensation.
To think that I would obtain the ability to sense magical energy like Karin did, which was only accessible by monsters.
It was enough to make me wonder just what I’ve become.
“Demonic race? Human? I’m not a G.o.d though. Hm. It’s become quite complicated.”
“Human!”
“Oh, you’ve arrived?”
“Yes! For what reason have you requested me here?”
“Do you see these giants?”
I pointed towards the summoned creatures guarding the Gate.
Belkoseu briefly looked towards the creatures before moving his gaze to the floor once more.
And then he spoke.
“Yes. Those who guard the Gate….. Gatekeepers.”
“Yes. I told them already to not let anyone who isn’t the guide goblin Barun through.”
“……”
“In a bit, Barun will return. He’s a diligent fellow who works through day and night bringing back bloodstones.”
“Yes……”
“You just need to hand over the stones that you’ve obtained to him.”
“Hm…. Just how much will you be needing, my lord?”
“Since the stones that drop here will be S to S+ ranking anyways, so……”
“……”
“Not sure?”
“Yes… Yes?”
“I’m not sure how much we’ll need. Just bring enough to make a mountain of it in front of the Gate. I’ll go to Earth and decide after seeing the amount that is delivered.”
“Then… Do you mean that you’ll be returning back….”
“No, that’s against the contract we made. I told you that I’m not a cruel master. All you have to do is to fill enough of the sacks or boxes I send you. Then your duty is done.”
“If that’s all. Kuhuhu.”
“Yep. I’ll be trusting you and going ahead.”
“Yes, Mighty Human.”
“Work hard, Demon King.”
“Demon King…. Kuhuhuhuhu! Yes!”
****
“Mom….”
“Son.”
“I’m back”
“Young Min-Cheol! You’ve gone through a lot for us. I believed in you.”
“Mr. Min-Cheol. It must’ve been hard. Thank you.”
“I hope everyone has been doing well?”
“Look at how shrunken your cheeks are. We should start eating as we talk. Commander and Mr. Ho Jin haven’t eaten yet either, right?”
“Hohoho. Yes, mother.”
“I’m in your debt from always burdening you, missus.”
“Please, come in.”
“Tsk! Jong Ho-hyung and the goblin…. No. Is there a man who came with him, right? Is he in the house?”
“That’s right. However…. Why was there a human in the demonic realm? Even the way he speaks is strange, and even the way he walked seemed off. Well, since you brought him here, I a.s.sumed that he has a good heart.”
“That’s…. It seems that he was stuck there in the demonic realm when the Unknown Dungeon opened…. Probably…..”
“Is that so. Let’s talk about the details inside. Let us go.”
“Yes.”
Earth, our house, and my mother. Everything was the same as it was before.
As promised, I returned home safely.
Mother was smiling brightly right now, but noticing how her eyes were puffed up from crying until recently, I felt terrible.
She was pretending to forget all the heartache she had until now, hiding her emotions as best she could and welcomed me with a bright expression.
I remembered the test I took after swallowing the Piece of s.p.a.ce and Time.
Was that why? Looking at mother, I suddenly remembered our bleak past.
Back then, I couldn’t do anything. I let it continue while pretending that it wasn’t happening.
Once more, I promised myself that I wouldn’t let that happen again, no matter the cost.
Pa.s.sing the gardens, we all headed towards the house.
It was a strange feeling to walk on soft gra.s.s again after the barren wastes of the demonic realm.
This little change helped me feel that I’ve returned back to my daily life.
Inside the house, I could smell lots of tasty foods.
The butler and many of the workers inside gave an enthusiastic welcome.
Greeting them with matching enthusiasm one by one, I walked towards the living room, where Jong Ho and Karin were.
“Hey, you’re here?”
“Keruru. Min-Cheol, you’ve arrived?”
“Wow…. This is very awkward, you know?”
“Karin? Hey, I was really surprised. A human came out of the portal that a goblin was supposed to. But the moment that he started speaking, I could tell. This had to be Karin.”
“Kel kel kel. I like this new look.”
“Karin, yes, but also hyung-nim sprawled out on the couch feels awkward too.”
“Just enjoy it, you little rascal.”
“Young master, you’ve been through a lot.”
“Y…. Young…. Young master? Ah. Yes…..”
“Of course, you’re the young master. Try calling her sister-in-law.”
“Everything is so awkward. I’ll get used to slowly. But looking at Ms. So-Hyeon, now I remembered. I should’ve ripped off Berdan’s castle.”
“Why? Was it because you don’t want us to destroy the building when we have a lover’s quarrel? Pfft.”
“Yes. The building material was rather st.u.r.dy, right? Ah, and have the portals disappeared?”
“So-Hyeon, the remote control please.”
“Sure.”
-click.
-Due to Yangpyeong having vast mountains, this is one of the places where portals reaching near level 40s are present. This spot I’m standing is where a level 35 portal was. As you can see, the portal has disappeared without a trace, almost as if never being there in the first place. Not only here, but all of South Korea, and beyond that, the entire world…..
-click.
-The mega corporation in charge of exporting and trading OBEC. After all the portals on Earth have disappeared, a different icy aura is permeating here. Forty-one years ago, portals came into existence, and humankind has used the bloodstones as a resource that we cannot live without anymore. That very same supply of stones had been cut without warning…..
Instead of answering, Jong Ho had turned on the television.
No matter what channel he switched to, it was the same news.
The main points of all the coverage was that the portals where the monsters came out from have all disappeared.
Not only that, but despite after only a short time, the price of bloodstones had risen dramatically, and each country’s governments were scrambling to acquire as many bloodstones as possible.
The reporters seemed to be aware that this had been caused artificially by an Awakened, but the ones behind it being Jong Ho and I wasn’t even in the theoretical discussions.
This was because the a.s.sociation president, Commander Yoon Jong-sun, had put in a great amount of effort to keep it hidden.
“Isn’t it quite funny?”
“……”
“Due to portals exploding and monsters…. Do we have to call them as demonic creatures now? Anyways, they poured out each year, causing many lives to be lost in the process, but some are arguing that we shouldn’t get rid of the portals. All because of the energy resource, the bloodstones.”
“Hm…. It’s quite disappointing, but I think I can understand where they’re coming from.”
“Look at you becoming a grown adult after a visit to the demonic realm.”
“Pfft. To be honest, I’ve said it because I can’t be bothered with it. As you know, the stones will be supplied continuously through Belkoseu and Barun. And since the ranking of these stones are far greater than what we previously obtained on Earth, even though we might have less available, it shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Honey, look at how clever my sibling is. To think that he prepared ahead in advance, knowing that this would happen. The more I look at him, the more I realize that he’s a genius.”
“It’s whatever. It’s not like I’ve been a genius for a day or two, right?”
“You two are the dream duo, really. I can’t stop you two.”
“Keruru. Include me in and call us a trio, human female!”
“Informally addressing me?”
“Hey hey….. Karin. He’s not someone with a good personality….. Let’s start with him having him learn how to address people respectfully…..”
Jong Ho whispered while keeping an eye on So-Hyeon mood.
With that, we all ate our meals while talking about what happened in the demonic realm.
I was thinking that this is what peace was like.
However, as we finished our meal and was eating desserts in the living room, a call for Commander Yoon Jong-Sun came.
None could predict just how much of an impact this one phone call would have.
“Yes, this is the commander.”
“…….”
“What?”