Chapter 332
Thump!
On a sunny afternoon in a bustling city, amidst the towering buildings, a man suddenly stopped walking in the center of a wide intersection's crosswalk and looked around. Everyone else hurried past, engrossed in their own busy lives and routines as always, not a single person paid the stopped man any mind. As always, they were going about their busy routines, living for themselves. Each had their own life. But…
Grin—
Their peaceful daily lives would end today.
[…Is this the place?]
The man, a faint smirk playing on his lips, directed his gaze somewhere. Contrary to his smiling mouth, his eyes held no trace of humanity. Transparent like glass, void-like, inorganic eyes… His gaze fixed on the black pyramid visible far away between the skyscrapers. Then, an emotion began to slowly bloom in his empty eyes…
Madness.
Fanaticism.
It was a terribly pure insanity that could only be felt from a faithful servant who truly worshipped an Outer God.
[That's an unpleasant and familiar mana.]
The man noticed the unmistakable scent emanating from the black colossus. Beneath the pyramid lay a deep, dark shadow. Beyond it, a familiar aura he had sensed in outer space was blazing.
[I never imagined there would be a passage connected like this. Was the dimension he rules truly on the other side of this planet all this time?]
He was certain. Countless diverse dimensions existed in the universe. Among them, there were also hidden inner worlds like this, situated just beyond a dimensional wall. A so-called realm beyond the mirror. Or perhaps an underground world located within this planet. But regardless, he knew instantly upon seeing it that the black pyramid was the entrance that allowed passage beyond that 'wall'.
[What a windfall. I didn't expect much.]
He suddenly thought it was a good decision to have joined hands with that insignificant human, Yuri Orlov. He had merely come looking for a hunting ground to sate his butterflies' hunger, but to think he would discover 'His' main base. With the aura of death overflowing so blatantly from beneath the pyramid, there was no room for doubt. In fact, it was so blatant that he wondered if it might be a 'trap.' But, so what if it was a trap? Thanks to quietly gathering strength while hiding, his forces had multiplied enormously, incomparably stronger than when he first landed alone on this planet. And in the meantime…
[I've already grasped the level of this world.]
Thanks to the other apostles who had acted rashly and died first, he gathered sufficient information.
Paradise.
Evolution.
They were only ever meant to go that far anyway. To arrive on an unknown planet setting up a base, cultivating, farming. Undergoing evolution to adapt to this place. But ultimately, all those processes existed for the purpose of 'settlement' and 'survival.' That was the objective of the Outer Gods who had sent them in the first place. But what came next…?
[The mission I received is fundamentally different from theirs.] With utter arrogance, he sneered at the other apostles who had died first.
[My mission is 'Conquest'.]
'Apostle of Conquest.'
That was the name he had received. The Itarim who sent him to this land had planned for the long game from the start. While the apostles of other Itarim acted in their own ways, contaminating the Earth, his own apostle was commanded to hide quietly and build strength. And when sufficient power was gathered, to swiftly overtake all competitors and 'conquer' this land. To achieve that, ample time was needed to raise an army. And finally, the moment had come.
[Oh God. I have found a world where the King has vacated his seat; according to the mission you gave me, I shall conquer that land.] At that moment, The Apostle of Conquest's eyes shone with an utterly sacred and madness-filled light.
Flash!
Two pairs of radiant wings, resembling those of a butterfly's and shimmering with beautiful yet menacing patterns, unfurled from his back, startling the nearby people. However, the surprise was far from over.
[Come forth. My butterflies.]
Flutter flutter flutter—
At his command, the sunny sky was suddenly obscured by countless swarms of butterflies, each surprisingly an exact replica, like a clone, of the Apostle of Conquest. The people in the city, witnessing this abrupt and terrifying situation, looked up at the sky in horror.
"Wh-what is that?!"
"The sky…!"
"Is it a dungeon break?!"
"R-run away!"
The crowd reacted variously. Some screamed upon seeing the butterflies. Some immediately fled, frantically making calls somewhere.
Whoosh—!
Surrounded by all those humans, the Apostle of Conquest soared vertically mingling among the soldiers who looked identical to him, he looked down at the people on the ground with an utterly arrogant gaze and commanded.
[Now, let us begin.]
Flutter—
[The Conquest.]
With that, a sacred, golden shimmering powder began to scatter from the wings of the countless butterflies. Like mist.
"Wh-what?!"
"Hngh…!"
People on the streets instinctively held their breath and began to take refuge inside buildings. Watching their retreating backs, the countless butterflies, all wearing the same face, licked their lips in unison.
[The prey scatters.]
[The prey scatters.]
[...]
[Let the hunt begin.]
[Let the hunt begin.]
[...]
Fwoooosh!
At that moment, the innumerable 'Apostles of Conquest' began to attack the fleeing citizens.
Uwaaa—!
True hell had begun. The city descended into chaos overnight. Fortunately, Hunters appeared without delay and began to fight back against the monstrous butterflies…
"Support! Call for support!"
"There are too many magical beasts!"
Their numbers were overwhelmingly insufficient. And in the midst of it all…
Whoosh—
[Huh?]
The Apostle of Conquest, who had been charging towards the black pyramid from the start, let out a hollow laugh. Absurdly, he had passed straight through the building with the momentum of his charge.
[Was the building itself an illusion?]
But it didn't matter. Even if the structure itself was an illusion, the shadow energy beneath it was real.
[I'll pierce through below!]
Whoosh—!
Immediately, his flight path angled downwards, vertically penetrating the pyramid's illusion.
Boom—!
But even that failed.
It was merely a shadow. Upon descending, he found himself simply landing on ordinary ground.
[This wasn't the passage? I definitely feel it beyond here?]
It was strange. Did he need some specific method to pass through the Gate? However after landing on the ground, as he looked around with narrowed eyes, something finally came into view.
[…So they hid a magic circle.]
The Apostle of Conquest finally understood the purpose of this pyramid illusion. Beneath it, a massive magic circle, as large as the pyramid itself, was spread out. It seemed the pyramid illusion was placed like a lid to hide the magic circle from the outside.
[This is troublesome. If I destroy this magic circle, the way to cross beyond might disappear.]
He pondered for a moment. And that thought was instantly shared with all 'them.' The countless butterflies scattered throughout the city. Since all of them were the Apostle of Conquest. Thoughts began to be shared from various places among those who had spread throughout the city to hunt citizens.
[That magic circle doesn't seem to be the entrance.]
[Another entrance has been found.]
[I found one too.]
[There's one here as well!]
'…?!'
The butterflies had invaded human residences to conquer the city. Among them, a significant number began to share reports of finding entrances from various locations. And compiling all those opinions, a conclusion was reached.
[It seems the purpose of that magic circle is… to create numerous entrances scattered everywhere.]
Of course, the identities of those numerous entrances were also easy to recognize, as they all looked the same.
'Game Capsules.'
[So this is what he meant when he said humans were just lying around these days, making them easy to hunt?]
Recalling Yuri Orlov's words anew, the Apostle of Conquest frowned. He couldn't comprehend the situation at all. 'His' world, where the shadow energy felt so thick. Entrances that could lead to his main base were scattered everywhere like this? Strategically thinking, shouldn't they be thoroughly hidden?
[Humans are asleep in each capsule.]
[Decide what to do.]
Even at this moment, voices urging him for a decision were coming from everywhere.
Outside, Hunters had already appeared and were engaged in fierce battles. But his purpose in invading this city was hunting, not battling Awakened individuals. Fighting was fine, but pointlessly reducing the number of soldiers was an absolute loss. For reference, large-scale wars like this generally followed two patterns. Fight a small number of strong opponents. Or thoroughly target the weak first to reduce their numbers. The Apostle of Conquest preferred the latter.
[Recall the objective.]
He issued the command to all of his selves. Instantly, everyone understood the words and replied.
[Understood. Ignore the Hunters and kill the civilians first.]
[We will kill the humans lying here and seize the capsules…]
[Seize the capsu… Gurgle.]
Snap!
'…Hm?'
At that moment. The Apostle of Conquest, standing in the center of the pyramid's magic circle, felt a sense of incongruity. Suddenly, the replies coming from various places were cut off simultaneously.
[Share senses!]
Feeling an instinctive premonition, he grasped the situation through their eyes. Then… an astonishing sight appeared before him. The countless capsules spread throughout the city. All the civilians peacefully asleep inside them… Were grabbing the necks of the butterflies that had invaded their homes. With expressions of utter annoyance.
"What's this bug doing here?"
"Ah, damn it! I was in the middle of a dungeon run, what's the interruption?"
[Wh-what? These humans….]
[How is this…?]
[Keoheok….]
The butterflies, counterattacked while trying to kill the humans, couldn't help but be bewildered. The peacefully sleeping people had detected the faint killing intent they emitted, instinctively opened their eyes, and counterattacked! Such keen senses were impossible to gain without considerable combat experience. In the midst of it all one human, expressing more annoyance than anyone else, glared into a butterfly's eyes and gritted his teeth.
"Ah, damn it. Do you know how important this moment was for me, what's this butterfly bastard interrupting for? Do you know how many times I've died just to get a name? This was the hundredth retry!"
[R-Retry…?]
"What, bugs can talk now?"
The civilian, who had instantly sprung out of the capsule, frowned. He used a skill to deflect the butterfly, tore its wings, and slammed it down by the neck in an instant. It was certainly strange for a magical beast to speak in reality. But he had encountered quite a few such creatures among the magical beasts he met in the game, so he didn't feel particularly impressed. What mattered was that his game had been interrupted at such a climactic moment.
"What's going on all of a sudden? I finally got my class advancement and even got a name."
[C-Class advancement? Name?]
"Yeah, you punk. People finally started calling me by name."
Grin—
Perhaps he hadn't yet emerged from the lingering thrill he felt in the game just moments ago.
"So remember it even in death. Who you died by."
The player, who had just cleared the class advancement quest and finally received a name, grinned, skillfully ending the butterfly's life as he spoke.
"My name is 'Sung Jinwoo 445'. A 'Martial Artist'."
Crack!
[…]
The Apostle of Conquest was speechless at the deaths of his subordinates in various places. The countless humans in this city… were all introducing themselves with similar names.