Chapter 136 – Promise

Aokigahara Flooded Forest Center.

Amidst the fallen Black Knight, who had burned all his life force.

Thud— Crack!

Before the Heavenly Slaughter Demon Lord, who had stepped over his corpse and approached the boundary layer leading to the Otherworld, blue sparks crackled.

[Tsk. So going directly to the Otherworld is prohibited after all.]

The causality created by the application of the Crossroads of Ascension had forbidden the Apostle’s Dimensional Shift.

[Maybe we lost him because you were hesitating over there.]

[Huh?]

As the Sun Star King voiced his dissatisfaction, the Heavenly Slaughter Demon Lord narrowed his eyes and glared at him.

[What’s with that look? Are you trying to pick a fight with me now?]

[If you wish, anytime.]

Zzzt! Zzzt!

[Forget it. I shouldn’t have said anything.]

[Who are you to talk?]

The two Apostles, who had been glaring at each other as if ready to fight at any moment, soon withdrew their hostility.

They knew that fighting amongst themselves now wouldn’t do any good.

[Even if he crossed over to the Otherworld, Lee Hanseong will eventually have to return. The promise he made in the past will force him to, so there’s no need to be so impatient. Or are you perhaps afraid he might return as an Apostle?]

[Impossible.]

The Sun Star King briefly denied it and hurriedly exited the Corrosion Zone of the Otherworld that was grating on him.

Since he had nothing to do immediately anyway, there was no reason to remain in a state disconnected from his Constellation.

The Heavenly Slaughter Demon Lord seemed to think the same, ignoring the Sun Star King as if he weren’t there and exiting the Reverse Side World in a different direction.

* * *

Whoooosh— Pop!

The first thing Lee Hanseong’s group saw after crossing over to the Otherworld via the Void Fairy Path was the center of the Aokigahara Flooded Forest, identical to the place they had departed from.

“What’s this?”

“Did we fail?”

“No… not a failure.”

In response to Jin Yuseong and Yu Sehee’s questions, Lee Hanseong shook his head.

They had clearly crossed over to the Otherworld via the Void Fairy Path.

[Feat, ‘Group Dimensional Shift’ has been achieved.]

The feat message floating before his eyes proved it.

“Actually, there’s no Sun Star King, Heavenly Slaughter Demon Lord, or even Unchain here.”

Even the trees and ground they had destroyed during their fight were intact here.

If this were the Aokigahara Flooded Forest they had passed through, traces should have remained.

“This seems to be like a mirror image of the Aokigahara Flooded Forest.”

Whoosh—!

First, he used Shrinking Earth to head outside the flooded forest.

Although spatial distortion due to the labyrinth characteristic was also applied here.

Linking Path Revelation with Shrinking Earth only caused a slight delay, making escape not difficult.

“Mount Fuji…”

Upon exiting the flooded forest, the first thing that caught their eye was, of course, Mount Fuji.

Whoosh!

Examining the surroundings with an Aerial View made it even clearer.

The Japanese archipelago was spread out in all directions.

The one difference was that while the Japanese archipelago submerged in the Reverse Side of Earth was full of vitality.

Here, no vitality could be felt at all.

“So there’s a mirror image of the Japanese archipelago too.”

It seemed that when Arthalia’s East Sea crossed over to Earth, the mirror image of the Japanese archipelago appeared here to fill the empty area.

The moment he realized that.

Sssss!

The Geass bound to his soul burned hotly, compelling him to fulfill the promise.

The Oath to conquer the Dungeon that had corroded the Japanese archipelago in exchange for gaining the power to win the fight against the Great Calamity.

“Kgh! …I thought there was still time left, already?”

“Hanseong! Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

“Just a moment.”

Calming his worried comrades, he grasped the situation using the information flowing from the Geass.

Dimensional Corrosion is a phenomenon where Dungeons located on the Reverse Side of Earth overflow and overlay onto reality.

So, even if he conquers the Dungeon that is the source of the corrosion as promised, the already corroded terrain would not revert to its original state.

‘So what does it want me to do?’

What Lee Hanseong swore was only to conquer the Dungeon corroding Japan.

But Geass is a Contract achieved through interaction with the world’s Laws, not just his own power.

The Law presiding over the Geass read the context of when Lee Hanseong made the Oath and interpreted the condition differently.

Not simply conquering the corroding Dungeon, but saving the corroded Japanese archipelago.

And now, the Geass Oath judged that Lee Hanseong’s power was sufficient to save the Japanese archipelago.

Hum.

Naturally, the All Phenomena Skill linked with the Geass and found a way to fulfill the Oath.

The Aerial View’s gaze rose even higher, and in the far west, instead of the Korean Peninsula, the mainland of the Arthalia Continent was visible.

And information flowed into his mind that somewhere on that mainland existed the source of the Dimensional Corrosion.

“The source of corrosion? If I destroy that, even the already corroded terrain will revert to its original state…?”

“There’s a way to revert the Corrosion Zone? That’s definitely useful information, but… why that suddenly?”

Jin Yuseong, listening nearby, expressed puzzlement at Lee Hanseong’s muttering.

“Are you planning to destroy that source of corrosion?”

“It seems I have to. I’ve already made an Oath.”

“That seems like a hasty choice, doesn’t it? We don’t even properly know what will happen besides the Corrosion Zone reverting after destroying the source of corrosion.”

“So you’re going to stop me?”

“No, I’m saying we should approach it more cautiously. What if the corrosion is lifted and the way for us to return to Earth is blocked? Conversely, how will we deal with the Apostles’ hostility if we unexpectedly return to Earth? Wasn’t the whole point of coming to the Otherworld to buy time to get stronger?”

Jin Yuseong’s words were certainly right.

He was feeling impatient because the Geass kept heating up and urging him to act.

“Right. We need to consider all those situations too. And before that, we need to get the guild members Lycan swallowed out first.”

Mentioning the guild members he had belatedly remembered, Lycan spat out the stadium he had swallowed with the Twilight Orb.

Ptooey!

The people inside the stadium that popped out in a spot slightly away from the outskirts of the Aokigahara Flooded Forest were all exhausted, likely because their Starlight had been drained inside the Twilight Orb.

That was actually better.

If the Heavenly Palace Tournament Main Tournament participants, whom they had essentially kidnapped, had been fine, it wouldn’t have been strange for them to be hostile to the Galaxy Guild.

“We need to decide how to treat them too.”

Step.

As Lee Hanseong approached, Baek Woohyeon opened his mouth, his eyes alone filled with Killing Intent.

“What are you going to do with us? Lee Hanseong. Do you think you can survive after daring to antagonize a Demon Lord…?”

“Shut up! What are you, who would have died at Unchain’s hands if not for us, complaining about?”

Cutting off the other’s words, Lee Hanseong shouted.

While showing them their deaths before the Regression through Mirinae’s eyes.

Zzzzing!

[The ■■ Constellation reviews the history of the rewound timeline.]

To be precise, it was by sharing the scene Mirinae saw with them via Primordial Chaos Gang Qi.

The sight of the promising candidates dying horribly as Unchain’s terror attack succeeded unfolded before Lee Hanseong’s and the parties’ eyes.

“I’ll say this once. Recognize that I saved you, who were originally fated to die, in whatever way, and listen.”

“……”

Even Baek Woohyeon, a devout Heavenly Demon Divine Cult follower, couldn’t deny Lee Hanseong’s words after seeing the scene he showed.

In a future without Lee Hanseong, they had been annihilated in less than 10 seconds by the Fallen Angel’s extermination lamp.

Instinctively realizing that the scene they just saw was the future if Lee Hanseong hadn’t intervened, they closed their mouths.

“I am a Constellation’s Proxy.”

“Ah, the Constellation who is Unchain’s master, you mean?”

“Yes, that’s right. Unchain’s Constellation and our Constellation are clearly inseparable beings.”

Lee Hanseong no longer denied the connection with Unchain.

Instead, he emphasized the difference.

“However, I changed the fate, no, the history that I came to you on behalf of Mirinae.”

This could be called a 《Historical Alteration》 that occurred in reality, not the Constellation’s records.

The moment they crossed over to the Otherworld, their survival was confirmed.

And just as those who escaped their fated deaths due to his intervention during the History Alteration became Mirinae’s Devotees.

The Heavenly Palace Tournament Main Tournament participants saved this time were also entangled in Mirinae’s causality.

Lee Hanseong declared as if pronouncing a verdict.

“You have already become Mirinae’s Devotees.”

“What does that…? We’ve already chosen a Constellation.”

Confusion appeared on their faces at the fact that the Constellation they served had somehow changed.

“How foolish. Mirinae is one who takes and embraces stars from other Constellations. There’s no reason why being a Devotee of another Constellation would prevent you from becoming Her Devotee.”

“What? Even a Demon Lord can’t do that!”

“Doesn’t that mean Mirinae is superior to the Twelve Constellations of the Heavenly Palace?”

“That’s…!”

Baek Woohyeon flared up, trying to deny Lee Hanseong’s words, but inwardly he had already accepted them.

Because upon becoming Mirinae’s Devotee, the Stigma of the Heavenly Slaughter Constellation and the Blessing of the Heaven-Slaying Star had been erased.

If the Blessing of the Heaven-Slaying Star had still remained, he would never have betrayed the Heavenly Slaughter Demon Lord.

But now that the brainwashing contained in the Stigma was gone, the only thing important to him was power.

“Certainly, your… no, our Constellation is Mirinae, you said? Her power was amazing.”

Baek Woohyeon, glancing at Jin Yuseong and Yu Sehee, did some calculations and muttered in a much softened tone.

He hadn’t forgotten how Mirinae used the Authority of Primordial Chaos to make them Contractors of an Eleven-Star Divine Spirit.

Now that he was already Mirinae’s Devotee, he judged it wouldn’t be bad to fully convert and gain power.

“If I’m already Her Devotee, can I also gain Her power like you?”

“That depends on what you do.”

In response to Baek Woohyeon’s softened tone, Lee Hanseong also changed his stiff tone to a softer one and answered.

After pondering Lee Hanseong’s answer for a moment, Baek Woohyeon asked.

“What do I need to do? Do I need to join your Galaxy Guild?”

“Since this isn’t even Earth, is such a formality really necessary? For now, it’s enough if you just don’t interfere with us.”

“This isn’t Earth? Is it a Dungeon?”

“No, it’s not a Dungeon. It’s not just a part of the Otherworld commonly accessed as a Dungeon, but the complete world beyond that.”

“The Otherworld…!”

The other promising candidates who had been quietly listening to Lee Hanseong and Baek Woohyeon’s conversation were astonished.

Because they realized that without the help of the Galaxy Guild, who presumably brought them here, they couldn’t return to Earth.

Reading their worries, Lee Hanseong added.

“Well, don’t worry too much. Since we serve the same Constellation, would we just leave you in the Otherworld? When we return to Earth, everyone will return together, so rest assured.”

“Ah.”

When he guaranteed their return to Earth, the promising candidates showed relieved expressions, but soon stiffened their faces upon noticing he hadn’t mentioned ‘when’ they would return.

Considering the situation of being hostile to the Apostles, they wouldn’t be able to return without gaining the power to confront them…

According to their common sense, they calculated they would have to spend at least several months in the Otherworld.

* * *

Regardless of whether the promising candidates looked serious or not, Lee Hanseong judged he had roughly finished the necessary explanations and turned his attention away from them.

Instead, he turned his eyes to Mirinae’s changes.

Whoosh!

[The existence of the ■■ Constellation becomes clearer.]

With several Mid-Rank Awakeners at the promising candidate level added this time, Mirinae’s Grade had become even closer to that of a true Constellation.

It wasn’t yet to the extent that the third name would be revealed.

But enough causality had been generated to bestow several Stigmas upon Devotees.

‘This much…’

It was the perfect situation to fulfill the promise he made to bring Seo Minah into Mirinae’s Devotees.

Step.

Lee Hanseong approached Seo Minah, who was still in a daze.

“I promised last time, right? That if you choose Mirinae, I would resurrect Mr. Seo Minho for you.”

“…Huh? Yes!”

As Lee Hanseong brought it up, Seo Minah’s eyes lit up.

Originally, most Resurrection Abilities could only resurrect someone if they had died recently or, if a long time had passed, if the corpse was intact.

So resurrecting Seo Minho, who had died wearing a Ghost’s mask in the Black Market and immediately fallen to the Underworld, was nearly impossible.

But.

Hum.

[<Primordial Chaos Gang Qi> links 《Spatiotemporal Theft》 and 《Ten Thousand Phenomena Theft》.]

Pop!

He reached out to the moment right after Seo Minho, who used the alias ‘Chobu’ in the early stages of the Heavenly Demon Medallion Trial, died and summoned his soul to the present.

The experience from the fifth Historical Alteration made the impossible possible.

“Light of Regeneration. Light of Resurrection.”

Whooosh!

Then, signaling Yu Sehee connected via the Swarm, he activated the Light of Regeneration and Light of Resurrection.

Regenerating the body, reviving the life.

But problems still remained.

Crackle.

The world’s Laws and causality do not permit beings from different time periods to exist in the present.

The current Seo Minho, who had become a Spirit dwelling within Seo Minah, and the resurrected past Seo Minho created a contradiction, invoking a Backlash of causality.

So what was needed was Mirinae’s Stigma.

Sssss—

The Stigma of 《Singularity Manifestation》 is engraved upon the resurrected Seo Minho.

A kind of anchor that allows him to continue existing in the present against the Laws trying to exclude him.

Amidst Seo Minho’s form, which was about to disappear engulfed in noise, becoming clear again.

“Minho Oppa?”

“…Minah?”

As the existence of the 5-Star Spirit Seo Minho disappeared from within Seo Minah, the truly resurrected Seo Minho opened his eyes.

Having achieved Awakening to 6-Star through the resurrection feat.