Chapter 158

Whoosh-!

Peter burst through space. A familiar sight appeared. A backward medieval era, with none of the trappings of the modern world.

Moreover, with walls erected around each sector, it even looked ominous.

Peter took a breath. It was the air of his homeland, which he hadn’t smelled in a long time.

Amidst it all, there was good news.

“There are no Demons.”

“There are, right here.”

Ruiche raised her hand right beside him.

“You said you weren’t coming. That you absolutely didn’t want to go.”

Just yesterday, Ruiche had been whining that she couldn’t give up the comforts of the modern world.

“They say where the needle goes, the thread must follow.”

“What?”

“It’s a joke they have there. We can travel between dimensions often, right?”

“If you want.”

The dimension to which Elsland belonged was Choi Gi-woong’s.

In other words, it meant that if Choi Gi-woong wished it, he could do anything.

And he had been entrusted with all that authority by Choi Gi-woong.

Peter closed his eyes and nodded.

“So this is the System.”

His heart pounded. Elsland was now his dimension.

There would be no more Monsters, and no more wars would break out. There would be no poor harvests, and every day would be a festival.

Peter had no ambition to climb higher. Using the power he had received from Choi Gi-woong liberally, nothing would be impossible.

He would make it so.

“Are you nervous?”

“A little.”

He had laid out a grand plan, but he couldn’t be sure if he could pull it off.

Above all, the karma of the sins he had committed.

Could he really atone for it with something like this?

That question endlessly floated in his mind.

“I’ve never seen that expression on you before. Not even when you said a word to Verno.”

“I should have brought one of those calming pills.”

“Stop with the funny jokes, and let’s go.”

“We should.”

The two walked out of the forest, sharing trivial jokes.

Soon, Sector 18 came into view.

Guards were monitoring all sides.

“Hey. You there. Halt.”

A familiar face. His name, he thought, was Bucks.

The captain of the Sector 18 guards.

Bucks approached, tilting his head.

“Are you human?”

“…I am.”

“You look familiar. What’s your name? Which sector are you from? How did you get here?”

“My name is Peter.”

“…Who?”

“Peter.”

“If you’re Peter…”

Bucks, who had been looking Peter up and down, suddenly tilted his head again.

“There’s one human that comes to mind. But that can’t be you.”

“Who would that be?”

“There is one. A demon. But that bastard wasn’t this slender and handsome.”

“I went on a bit of a diet.”

“You did what?”

“I’ve lost some weight. Have you been well?”

“……”

Once again, Bucks tilted his head.

“Are you messing with me right now?”

“Of course not. I don’t have the right. At least not in front of you all.”

“Then what, right now, you’re saying that you’re…”

Peter nodded.

“I am that demon.”

Bucks’s expression hardened. It was around then.

A loud noise came from behind the castle.

“What is it? Did someone else arrive?”

Without turning back, his eyes still fixed on Peter, Bucks continued.

“No. I don’t think it’s who you’re expecting. It seems some strange mutt has shown up.”

“…Pardon?”

A woman walked over, step by step. Azwell looked at Peter. The next moment, her body froze stiff.

“Uh, uh…”

It didn’t take long for Azwell’s face to fill with disgust.

Peter’s hands trembled.

In a voice only Peter could hear, Ruiche whispered.

“Endure it. You can endure it.”

“I have to.”

Taking a deep breath, Peter knelt.

“I have come to receive my punishment.”

“What do you think this place is… Get the hell out of here, now!”

“I will disappear if you wish. However, there is one thing I must tell you.”

Peter raised his head. Her expression was still not good. Her two eyes, staring at Peter, were filled with resentment.

Peter, who had fought off the thought of wanting to die on the spot, finally continued.

“From now on, Elsland will be safe. Safer than anywhere else.”

It was a vow to Choi Gi-woong, who had entrusted the dimension to him, and,

Truly peaceful days continued.

The recent wars in two major regions had brought tension to the entire world, but considering the past, which had been a chaotic mess of Dungeons and Gates…

Even this could be called peace.

Perhaps that was why.

President Im Yu-seong clicked his tongue.

“The country is on the road to ruin.”

“……”

“This position of president, you know. In the old days, they used to have power struggles with the Association President.”

It is said that a president entering their third year in office is at the peak of their power.

But Im Yu-seong was not.

He was a scarecrow. A scarecrow for Choi Gi-woong and the Association. Or a slave in shackles.

Im Yu-seong clicked his tongue as he watched the television in his office.

As always, Choi Gi-woong filled the screen.

“Do you know what it means to be walking on eggshells around someone in your third year as president?”

“…I’m sorry, sir.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for. So, what is the Association saying now?”

“…The Association has sent a request for support.”

The aide right next to him said with an uneasy face.

“What do they want this time? Are they asking me to step down?”

“No, sir. There was talk of needing a nationwide request for support…”

Im Yu-seong, who was fiddling with his tie, froze.

“Are you saying they’re going to declare martial law?”

“It seems to be something similar.”

He quickly handed over a piece of paper.

It was an official document stamped in red with “Top Secret.”

“They say there has been a global request for support, including the 38 OECD countries.”

“The Association did that?”

“Yes.”

Im Yu-seong, who had been grumbling just a moment ago, changed his expression.

“Don’t tell me…”

“It is a direct order from Association President Choi Gi-woong.”

“Hah.”

He looked out the window. The autumn sky was clear, and not a single Monster could be seen.

He turned his gaze back to the top-secret document.

“A great war is about to occur.”

He focused on those words in particular.

“A great war is about to occur. Those words came from Choi Gi-woong’s own mouth.”

“……”

“This is driving me crazy. Do you hear my approval ratings dropping?”

“Refuse…”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Do my approval ratings matter right now?”

Im Yu-seong stamped the blank space.

“Tell them to let me know if they need anything else.”

At the same time, a knock was heard.

“International Association Vice President, Rachel Carson, has requested a meeting.”

It was an unscheduled meeting. Normally, he would have refused out of pride, but the situation was what it was.

“Have her come in immediately.”

The expression on Rachel Carson’s face as she opened the door and entered was, as expected, dark.

“We’re planning to declare martial law.”

“When?”

“In a week, at the earliest.”

“Let’s hear the reason.”

“He said a great war is going to happen.”

“…He said that?”

Rachel nodded.

President Im Yu-seong slumped into his seat.

He could see it without looking. What kind of future would unfold.

“It was the calm before the storm.”

“You don’t have to worry too much.”

“How can I not worry? Choi Gi-woong, who went alone even when fighting the Demon King…”

Swallowing hard, he let out the words like a sigh.

“Has asked the entire world for help.”

He asked, just in case.

“What’s the reaction from the other side? Surely no country has refused?”

“Of course not. Considering whose order it was.”

Even if that weren’t the case, they were in a position where they should be willing to lay down their lives just thinking of the grace they had received from Choi Gi-woong.

Rachel Carson said nonchalantly.

“This is the last time.”

“What do you mean, the last time?”

“This will be the last battle.”

“I certainly hope so. So, where is Mr. Choi Gi-woong? Can I meet him in person… I suppose not.”

Im Yu-seong nodded, seeing Rachel Carson’s cold expression.

“He should be out by now, probably.”

“Out of where?”

“His seclusion.”

Creeak—

I opened the door and came out.

Unlike when I went in, there was no one outside.

No, there’s one person over there.

Im Han-na was waiting for me.

“How was it? Did you get the results you wanted?”

“More or less.”

After Peter left, I had focused solely on the simulation. The goal was the great completion of Chilyanggong.

I even went into seclusion to forget everything.

And, I got a decent result.

Because out of over 200 million futures, I had finished my seclusion leaving just one future behind.

The answer is here.

The future where I achieve the great completion of Chilyanggong.

The future where I can crush the System and the Demon God.

“You don’t look particularly different.”

“I’m almost there.”

Probably because a huge explosion is about to happen.

I want to proceed in the safest space possible.

“The message has been delivered to every country. Every single one has promised their support.”

Im Han-na reported.

“The embargo is set to be lifted in a week.”

“Security is a crucial matter.”

“Of course. I gave them a stern warning that if they ignore it, they’ll rot in the Association’s underground prison.”

Then she smirked and gestured at me with her chin.

“Did you know the war in the Middle East stopped with just one word from you, Mr. Choi Gi-woong?”

“Good.”

“Right, it’s just another day for you. Ahh. You’re so radiant I can’t see your noble face clearly.”

“I didn’t know you could make jokes like this.”

“I felt so relieved after submitting my resignation.”

Come to think of it, that’s right.

She said she was tired of being a Hunter, that she was quitting.

“When are you leaving?”

“I have to at least see this final war, or whatever it is, through before I go.”

“You don’t have to.”

“I have to.”

“You could die.”

This time, for real.

“Then I’ll just have to accept that my fate ended there. Whatever.”

Im Han-na, who had laughed lightly, asked back.

“So, have you decided what you’ll do after this is over?”

“Not yet.”

My head was too full to think that far.

Only the final future remains.

The time it takes to see this future will probably be quite long.

And in that process, there was no way the Demon God and the System wouldn’t notice my plan.

This was the reason I had issued a support order to all the Awakeners on Earth.

While I confirm the future, they must protect me.

It’s not a matter of can or can’t.

It must be done.

It was also a self-evident fact that there would be numerous casualties in the process.

“Will we win?”

“We will win.”

The result is already decided.

What we’re talking about now is just the process.

As I said once before, protecting this world is too much for me to do alone.

After parting with Im Han-na, I had many places to visit.

“We need to produce as many Elixirs as possible.”

“I heard. We’re already pumping them out as fast as we can.”

JW Chairman Lee Jeong-hwan patted my shoulder with a worried face.

“Just need to distribute as many as possible, right?”

“Yes. It’s fine even if there are side effects. The effect is the priority.”

Because having some side effects was better than losing one’s life.

“That guy Jeong-rak is also working overnight. Don’t worry about here and focus on other places.”

The next place I visited was New Awakening.

I met Hwang Mu-yeol in the busy factory.

“We’re producing as many Skill Books and Potions as possible. We’ve also created a supply chain in cooperation with the Black Market. They’ll be distributed without a hitch within three days.”

He gave me the answer I wanted before I could even speak.

After that, I went around to the Mana Stone factory and the Hunting Grounds.

All preparations were complete.

All that was left was me.

In an empty room, I had laid hundreds of layers of Magic Circles.

Even this wouldn’t be enough.

It can’t be helped. I’ve done everything I could.

[The System’s patience is running out. Please make a choice.]

“I told you to wait a little longer.”

[Contact between the System and the Demon God has been detected.]

I knew it would come to this.

“But isn’t it too late? You should have done this sooner.”

The moment I finished speaking.

I entered the Mental World to confirm the final future.

Whoosh-