Episode 10: Calculations of Revenge / Chapter 164: Gathering and Scattering (4)
TL: emptycube / ED: Obelisk
Flitch, who was putting on airs, brought a tool called the "World of Nothingness."
"You should know that, in order to develop this device quickly, I spent my entire wealth. While it could be the key to the success of this mission… Haa, I feel like swearing. To be honest, even though I invested everything into this mission, I still don"t think it"ll be possible. I"ve never made such a risky investment before… Either way, now that I"ve done everything I could, the rest is up to you."
While clearly showing a distressed appearance, Flitch handed a black, brick-shaped whetstone to Choi Hyuk.
Its appearance was ordinary, almost primitive, but the moment Choi Hyuk received it, he felt a powerful karma inside it.
Its vigor didn"t lose out to Weapons of Sentiment, which highest-ranked warriors wielded.
Seeing Choi Hyuk"s surprised face, Flitch smiled faintly as he explained,
"It is a tool named "World of Nothingness". By referencing to alliance reports, I created it with Leader Choi Hyuk"s special skill, "First Sword" in mind… Well, rather than explaining it to you, it"ll probably be better if you try using it. Please grind your sword on the "World of Nothingness"."
Choi Hyuk took out his sword and ground it on the whetstone-like "World of Nothingness".
Sereung, sereung.
The third time he ground it-
Ssereung!!
The sound became deeper and pulled the s.p.a.ce around it. All matter stretched towards Choi Hyuk, looking ridiculous. When Choi Hyuk pushed his sword on the whetstone, matter was pulled towards him, and when he drew his sword back, it returned back to normal.
Unsure of whether he noticed it or not, Choi Hyuk kept grinding. Every time the s.p.a.ce distorted, the surface of the whetstone would cover his sword, and every time it did, the whetstone would become slightly smaller.
"I think that"s enough since we"re only testing it."
"Ah…"
When Flitch stopped him, Choi Hyuk, who had been grinding his sword as if in a trance, raised his head with slightly blank eyes.
"Even though it"s ridiculously expensive, it"s a consumable. You have to use it sparingly. Using this much is sufficient for testing purposes."
Choi Hyuk nodded at Flitch"s reasoning.
"Now, the method of using it… You already know, right? Since we purposely came out to this remote location, try slashing once to your heart"s content."
Flitch said while looking around at the desolate planet that no one lived on. Since there was no atmosphere, the sky was black. When looking around, there were only stones and sand. The only thing that caught their eye was the tall mountain range in the distance. A dim light shined from the peak of the tallest mountain.
Choi Hyuk aimed his sword towards that peak. The karma that was tightly wrapped around his sword cried out, pleading him to do something. There was no way he wouldn"t know how to use the "World of Nothingness", even if he didn"t want to.
"First Sword."
Ping-
Choi Hyuk"s sword made an arc, and following its path, everything was erased, even time and s.p.a.ce, as though they were never present. Due to the disappearance of s.p.a.ce, the peak of the distant mountain came towards him.
Normally, this would be the end of the First Sword"s effect. However, it was different this time. The "World of Nothingness", which covered his sword, was released, vibrating as it filled the erased s.p.a.ce-time.
Flitch, who was somewhat excited, said,
"I observed that the principle of your skill is similar to that of the big bang. The "First Sword" has the power to create universes, and it uses this ability to push and erase the pre-existing universe. However, it ends there, without actually being able to create a universe. The "World of Nothingness" was developed this time to a.s.sist the "First Sword" in taking it a step further. It increases the possibility of creating a pseudo universe. Like this."
Flaash!
A brilliant light emitted from within the s.p.a.ce-time, which had disappeared.
When they came to their senses, Choi Hyuk and Flitch were standing above a completely white hall.
"Huu…"
Flitch let out a sigh of relief. He looked around at his surroundings as he spread his arms.
"Welcome to the World of Nothingness. To be honest, because I was in a hurry to make this, I didn"t have the time to test it, but it works better than I thought. How lucky."
"… Definitely."
Choi Hyuk faintly exclaimed. All sides of the hall were smooth and white. It was a dimension created in this moment. Unlike a real universe, which could give birth to life, it was no different from a dead universe… But it was still a universe and Choi Hyuk was the creator of this world.
He was moved by an indescribable emotion.
Choi Hyuk walked to the end of the hall. When he reached the end, there was a large window instead of a wall. Beyond the window, he saw the dimly shining mountain peak.
"… Is it a hidden dimension?"
"Yes. While it"s a completely new dimension, it is simultaneously a place right next to the pre-existing dimension. While you can call it a hidden dimension… More intuitively, it"s an underground tunnel. It is the best way to explore without the monsters noticing. Though I can"t say we won"t be caught, the likelihood of getting caught is reduced drastically… Do you like it?"
Seeing Flitch cautiously read his mood, Choi Hyuk smiled slightly and replied,
"Very."
"Whew… I feel like I"ve come back from death"s door. Then can I go now?"
Before he said that "he had done everything he could", and now he asked if "he could go now". Meaning, he didn"t want to involve himself in the mission any longer.
"No way. There"s still a lot left."
Choi Hyuk hid his feeling of contempt and placed his hand on Flitch"s shoulder.
"Yeah. You did well. Now let"s start the mission. Let"s work well together. We"ll probably survive if we do well."
Flitch"s face distorted when he heard Choi Hyuk"s words, which gave him no room to leave.
"No! No! We"re as good as dead the moment we enter the monsters" universe!"
"This is crazy! Do you know how many people Choi Hyuk dispatched for this mission? He didn"t dispatch any! Excluding the Berserkers, he only dispatched the three people who partic.i.p.ated in Earth"s recruit training! Isn"t it obvious then? He"s just going to kill us!"
"So what are you going to do about it? Stop whining. It"s checkmate!"
"Let"s escape. Let"s escape somehow and sue him in the alliance."
"Sue…? Can"t you tell from the fact Choi Hyuk figured out all three of our ident.i.ties, instead of just one? Someone from the Exalted Wings sold us out! Though we won"t be able to escape anyways. Haa… To think that he would wipe his mouth clean after receiving the "World of Nothingness"…"
The speckled lights that made up Flitch were in a complete mess. Like congressmen in a fight, they were pushing and being pushed. However, there was only one conclusion - "There"s nothing that we can do."
Flitch of the Speckled Light Tribe, Demaetsu of the Keunib species, and Sino of the Seo Tribe. These three, who were in charge of Earth"s recruit training, felt like they were going to the slaughterhouse as they were pushed into the monsters" universe by Choi Hyuk.
As soon as they crossed over to the monsters" universe, Demaetsu of the Keunib species opened his mouth wide open, revealing his teeth, and said,
"This is good enough, right? Since we"ve crossed over to a completely different dimension, there won"t be any evidence remaining. Since everyone"s a Berserker, there won"t be any witnesses either, right? If you"re going to kill us, then kill us quick, you narrow-minded earthling."
Demaetsu gave Choi Hyuk a ridiculing look. On the other hand, Flitch and Sino couldn"t hide their nervous expressions.
Choi Hyuk smirked at Demaetsu.
"Did I ever say anything?"
Demaetsu snorted.
"Are you trying to act otherwise now? You never planned on completing this mission from the start, right? If you wanted to complete it, then you wouldn"t have only brought over the Berserkers, a C+ rank independent troop."
"A smaller group is better when hiding from the monsters. Also, the Berserkers work well with me and they are stronger than you think. They grow stronger quickly too."
"Ha! Is that so? To hide from the monsters? You, a mere highest-ranked warrior? When you can"t even access the Net of Fate?"
The Net of Fate. It had the power to tune the entire universe. If Choi Hyuk didn"t access and wreak havoc on it, then his location would be fully revealed to the monsters. Because of this, no one believed in him.
{Kiiyyeek!}
{Kuoooh!}
To make matters worse, maybe it was because they had suffered on multiple occasions, but the monsters reacted quickly. Unlike before, when they were slow to notice their invasion and send support, this time, the monsters reacted almost as soon as they crossed over.
The monsters, who had been resting while devouring a planet they had plundered from another dimension, rushed out all at once. They even felt a spine-chilling killing intent coming from far off into the distance.
While he couldn"t be certain because they were so far away, Choi Hyuk thought that they might perhaps be transcendent monsters or even demise-ranked monsters rather than highest-ranked ones. Their vigor was simply that terrifying.
It seemed even Demaetsu, who had been aggressively talking back to Choi Hyuk, was shaking in fear as he retreated while drenched in cold sweat. With his lips trembling, he said,
"Do-don"t tell me you"re planning on leaving it to the monsters? If-if you are a warrior, no, if you are trying to get revenge, then you should do it with your own hands, right?"
It seemed that he never considered that Choi Hyuk could overcome this crisis.
However, there was a reason the Exalted Wings had a.s.signed Choi Hyuk, who was only a highest-ranked warrior, to this mission. With his sword that could reset everything, they judged that he would be able to keep his location hidden from the monster universe"s Net of Fate. On top of that, he had received an unexpected present from Flitch. Choi Hyuk believed that the mission was doable.
"How pathetic… Do you think you"ll be able to survive acting like that?"
While mocking Demaetsu, Choi Hyuk slowly unsheathed his sword. Demaetsu flinched backwards.
From what Dark-Sound had told him, it was this d.a.m.n keunib who had selected the monsters and scattered them throughout Earth. The Shadow Teeth that Lee Jinhee had difficulty with, the Wyvern of Death that had killed Baek Seoin"s parents, and the Flaming Devil that had killed his mother were all personally selected by Demaetsu.
"Demaetsu… Demaetsu… Huu."
Even though he wanted to kill him right now, he did his best to ignore it and turned around.
Choi Hyuk "swallowed" his rage.
Even his hatred for Flitch, who personally planned out the Ring of Rebirth and the Throne Game, among others, as well as his loathing for Sino, who created various supplies and provided them to the humans, encouraging them to struggle against each other… He swallowed and returned them all to his heart.
The "First Sword" would activate the moment his emotions, which had been acc.u.mulated, exploded.
Choi Hyuk saw beyond the monsters gathering around him and towards the "mission region" as he slashed out.
At the same time, the "World of Nothingness" activated. It was a world created by grinding almost half the whetstone.
With the "First Sword", the monsters that filled their vision disappeared. In fact, a corner of the monsters" universe was being ripped up as it disappeared. A bright light poured down from above Demaetsu"s face, who had been looking at this scene while lost in thought.
Then an enormous white hall appeared. The hall was so large one could call it a plaza. The pre-existing universe disappeared and a new one was made.
"Wow… What is this? Our leader is insane…"
Like how Lee Jinhee mumbled this, the Berserkers were shocked at this scene as well.
However, the ones who knew the details were even more shocked.
"This…! Crazy! A device that creates dimensions? But that hasn"t been developed yet! It was concluded that, because there was no way to obtain the power to create a universe, it was impossible for the time being… Ah! Though I did hear that Choi Hyuk"s new sword skill "First Sword" did have that sort of power…"
Sino, whose tribe was well-known for their technology, was crazily mumbling to herself.
"… It was to this degree?"
When Demaetsu, whose tribe had the trait of being weak to the strong and strong to the weak, personally saw Choi Hyuk"s move, he felt himself becoming endless smaller compared to Choi Hyuk.
Finally, Flitch, whose body was trembling, possibly due to the speckled lights clamoring, was barely able to ask Choi Hyuk,
"U-umm, Leader Choi Hyuk? How far does this path go?"
"Huu… Huu… To the first location suspected to be the queen"s nest."
Choi Hyuk seemed exhausted as he replied. When Flitch heard this, his body trembled as though it had been hit by lightning.
"No way! The location suspected to be the queen"s nest? The distance is quite significant, yet he opened a path all the way there? A mere highest-ranked warrior can output this much power?"
"As expected… He was always like this. Even from the recruit training, Choi Hyuk was an exception to the norm."
"There"s a limit to being an exception. This is…"
"Yeah… This… He might really complete this mission perfectly. I thought it was impossible… I was thinking about what he could do by only bringing the Berserkers… But now that I see this, he probably won"t even need the Berserkers. He"s just that strong."
That moment, Sino, Demaetsu, and Flitch cleanly forgot about the danger they were in. They were completely entranced by the feat displayed in front of them.
To be sublime…
Was making others forget about themselves. It made others realize how small they were in comparison and made them completely surrender.
The feat Choi Hyuk showed them was precisely this.
"This… is truly amazing."
"Whether or not he"s our enemy… Amazing. Beautiful…"
The number of speckled lights that possessed goodwill towards Choi Hyuk increased, irrelevant to the danger he brought. Sino and Demaetsu also couldn"t help but sense their feelings change.
Their hearts began to submit to Choi Hyuk.
Just as Choi Hyuk wanted them to.
/ /