Chapter 98 – Completion (６)

[If you slay the Monarch of Tartaros, the Deep Abyss will open.]

“The Deep Abyss, you say?”

[Yes. That place is also called the Cradle of Evil.]

“…!”

The Cradle of Evil.

[The Monarchs who haven’t yet awakened will be sleeping there. Soon, they will open their eyes. That means… all the remaining Monarchs of the Underworld will awaken.]

“Could they all awaken at once?”

[Of course.]

“Hah….”

He was a little taken aback.

He didn’t know how many Monarchs were left, but if they all woke up at once—

Would there even be a chance of victory then?

And then.

[No need to worry.]

This time, the Wind Monarch spoke.

[If you slay the fastest darkness, her, then we too will be able to open our eyes.]

“!!”

[Of course. If one pillar of the evil that restrains us disappears, we too will awaken. If that happens, the Monarchs won’t easily escape the Deep Abyss.]

“Then eliminating that Monarch should be my priority.”

[Indeed.]

[It won’t be easy….]

[I leave it to you.]

The Monarchs said to Gijun.

And Gijun replied.

[Before that, there’s one thing I need to give you.]

“…A thing?”

The Wood Monarch.

At his words, Gijun tilted his head.

In that moment, the three Monarchs rose to their feet.

They gathered in one place, joined hands, and began chanting an unknown incantation.

Huummm—

Their bodies briefly lifted into the air.

Their entire forms were enveloped in radiance.

For a short while….

BOOM! CRASH!

Something began to surge up from beneath the ground.

In that instant, Gijun and Libre’s eyes went wide.

[How….]

It wasn’t for nothing that the two of them were shocked.

“A Heart Shard…?”

Literally.

What they had just summoned was a Heart Shard.

He had only just obtained the fourth Heart Shard by completing the Sain-geom moments ago.

And now, the fifth Heart Shard appeared so quickly.

He had never even dared to imagine it.

[This is an object hidden away by the Ancient God.]

[Yes. Before the Ancient Lord closed their eyes, they split their own heart into ten pieces and scattered them across the world. And some of those pieces have surely fallen into the hands of ‘evil.’]

That was a story Gijun already knew.

Hadn’t he already acquired the third heart fragment beneath the Monarch’s Tower, of all places?

[For his sake, the Lord sealed this heart fragment here alongside us.]

“Ah….”

[So that’s how it is.]

Even Libre seemed to not have known this story.

[Libre. It’s only natural you didn’t know. We only learned of it ourselves in the final moments before the Lord closed their eyes.]

[Regardless, you must obtain this. Not anyone else—you, and you alone.]

In simpler terms, it meant that no one but Gijun could ever claim this heart fragment.

A heart fragment that even Gijun might not have secured if he’d made a single misstep.

A piece hidden utterly beyond reach.

But that heart fragment was far from ordinary.

An intense aura swirled around it.

As if daring any trespass, refusing to permit approach.

And that included Gijun.

The moment Gijun stepped toward the heart fragment….

Fwoosh-Crackle!

Vivid sparks erupted across Gijun’s body.

Even now, that heart was repelling him.

But that didn’t matter.

The fact remained—this was something he had to obtain, by any means necessary.

Despite the sparks lashing out, Gijun took another step forward.

Boom-Bash!

A powerful shockwave slammed into Gijun.

“Ngh…!”

He hadn’t even touched it yet.

A fierce pain began to wrack his entire body.

‘Pain?’

Ordinarily, a game didn’t let you feel pain.

But right now, Gijun was definitely in agony.

Even so, he gritted his teeth.

And took another step.

Crash-Boom-Bam!

An explosion of energy erupted around Gijun.

He nearly got blasted off his feet.

Quickly, he regained his balance and stepped forward again.

And finally.

Clink-

His hand touched the heart fragment.

In that instant….

Bam-Bam-Bam-Bam-Bam!

Something began to pull at Gijun violently, sucking him in.

“!!”

Gijun’s eyes widened.

The heart fragment was trying to devour him.

It was a contest of strength.

It wanted to absorb the four hearts inside Gijun for itself.

‘No.’

But Gijun couldn’t resist.

Struggling with all his might, he still couldn’t fight the pull….

Whoosh!

Gijun was forced into the crystalline orb.

*

“…Ugh.”

Gijun opened his eyes.

His vision was blurry.

It felt like he’d been lying there for a very long time.

‘What the hell is going on?’

No sooner had he been pulled into the Monarchs’ domain after completing the Sain-geom.

Gijun had been drawn back into the heart fragment once more.

But then.

“…It’s bright.”

The moment he opened his eyes, a cascade of blinding brilliance poured into his retinas, searing like they were about to burn through.

The light was so fierce he couldn’t keep his eyes open.

It felt like staring straight into the sun.

Gijun squinted as hard as he could, scanning his surroundings.

Nothing was visible.

Still only that radiant blaze.

And then—

‘…Huh?’

Through his narrowed eyes, something caught his attention.

It was a figure.

But he couldn’t call it human.

Its entire body radiated a blinding light.

Thud—

The figure took a step toward Gijun.

The light grew even stronger.

He had the feeling that the source of all the light filling this space might just be that figure.

[You. Can you really do it?]

A familiar voice reached his ears.

It was the voice of the Ancient Heart.

[The battle ahead won’t go as smoothly as this, you know.]

But the tone was different.

Unlike before—terse and clipped—the voice now carried a casual, everyday cadence.

[If you’re afraid, say so. Better now than later.]

“…”

[You might actually die. Think about it. There are plenty of others who can do this. Think of all the powerful Superhumans you know.]

“…!”

Gijun’s eyes flew wide open.

Forgetting even the light that stung his eyes, he stared at the figure with eyes wide.

“Superhumans?”

He was sure of it.

That figure had said ‘Superhumans.’

[Yeah. Superhumans. The ones you know—stronger than you, more talented. Are you really stronger than them? Better than them? Do you really think you can do what they can’t?]

The questions kept coming, one after another.

But he was certain.

That being knew about the world beyond the game.

The strong conviction he had been feeling all along.

The moment it became reality.

[Your pupils are trembling. Are you afraid?]

Afraid?

Gijun shook his head.

“No.”

It would be a lie to say he wasn’t afraid, though…

But fear wasn’t all he felt.

There was excitement, too. And curiosity.

How far could his abilities reach?

And he absolutely didn’t want to yield this to anyone else.

Because Gijun liked this change that had come over him.

[…You’ll have to take responsibility for those words.]

“Of course.”

[…Good. I was actually waiting for that.]

With those words—

Crack!

[For you to give me that answer.]

The intense light that had filled the space around them rushed into Gijun.

“Kugh!”

Gijun felt a powerful impact.

But the pain was brief.

In an instant, his entire body began to radiate light.

His body rose into the air.

It felt as though his flesh had vanished.

Gijun’s body became one with the light.

Then a message flashed before him.

[Your character is being regenerated!]

[The energy of light seeps into your physical form!]

[All fear of the evil beings vanishes completely!]

[You have acquired the Light of the Seeker!]

A handful of lines bloomed in his vision.

The moment he saw them, Gijun understood.

What they’d told him he’d gain upon completing the Sain-geom.

The true power of a Seeker.

And a standing that could oppose a Lord.

[Light of the Seeker]

-All skills are granted the ‘Light’ attribute.

With that message, every shred of light that had filled the space vanished.

And Gijun stood alone on the spot.

He looked down at his own hands.

‘…Amazing.’

He could feel it.

His character was different now.

The ‘standing’ wasn’t just text on a screen — he could clearly sense he’d become a being on an entirely different dimension.

Gijun slowly moved his hand, cutting through the air.

He could feel it, plain as day.

The vivid texture of Mana and Elements flooding this space, each one catching on his fingertips, one by one.

Then Gijun cast Fireball.

A sphere materialized above his hand.

But it looked different from the usual Fireball.

The flame that used to burn wild and rough had now settled into a perfect sphere.

The orb shone with a golden light.

The small, flickering flames dancing over its surface were the only proof it was still a Fireball.

Gijun understood.

This was no ordinary Fireball anymore.

‘Light.’

Light of the Seeker.

That power was flickering in his hand right now.

‘Good.’

Gijun dismissed the Fireball and clenched his fist tight.

‘I’m going to pull this off.’

Then he resolved himself once more.

He would end all of this with his own hands—no matter what.

*

[You’ve returned, my master!]

The first to greet Gijun when he came back to where the Monarchs stood was Libre.

At that moment, Libre’s eyes widened slightly.

[Master, have you by any chance…]

“Yeah. I think I’ve changed.”

“Remarkable. Your body… is no longer human.”

Libre saw the change in Gijun at a single glance.

The other Monarchs saw it too.

“You now possess a body like ours. That means you’ve truly attained the rank of a Monarch. From now on, no matter who you face, none will dare crush your soul.”

“Then we leave the rest to you. Defeat the Monarchs of the Underworld and help us awaken from our slumber once more.”

“Understood. Leave it to me.”

Gijun answered with force.

“Good. Then…”

“We must part ways for now.”

“Chaser of light, we wish you well on your path ahead. And you too, Libre…”

The three Monarchs’ words trailed off as Gijun’s vision slowly began to brighten.

Whoosh—!

*

“You’re back!”

Gijun stood once again in the crater of Daehwasan.

And there, Kutamo was waiting — looking like it might burst into tears at any moment.

[You startled me! Do you have any idea how scared I was, thinking you’d disappeared and left me behind?!]

“…For someone your size, that’s quite the reaction.”

Gijun managed a wry smile at Kutamo’s welcome — or whatever that was supposed to be.

Still, he was back.

And he’d come back with incredible power in his grasp.

Though it had been a short time inside that space where the Lords dwelled, so much had truly changed.

Not only had he obtained the fifth Heart, he’d also grasped the power of Light — the Seeker’s true strength — and his character had been granted a new body altogether.

“…Let’s head down.”

Gijun looked down at the foot of the great volcano.

Already, several times more players than before had gathered there.