“Shall we go?”

Kim Songcheol led the way, followed by the Celestial Spirit Maiden and Setsu.

“Please be careful on your journey. We wish you good luck.”

Dishao and several Tiger Hand Seals saw them off.

The Magic Alliance had high expectations for the Mage discovered in the Rupture. They needed to eliminate the Altar quickly to restore this area.

Kim Songcheol ascended the stairs leading to the Altar. As it was a large Altar, there were quite a few stairs to the top.

Still, he showed off his stamina in his thirties and reached the summit, where a solitary Stone Gate was visible.

It was 4 meters high and quite wide. It seemed large enough for four or five people to enter at once.

Below the Altar, a Base spread out. Wooden buildings clustered together were visible at a glance. While Setsu was looking around the Base,

Kim Songcheol walked up to the Stone Gate and infused it with Magic Power.

Whoosh…!

With a deep vibration, the circular pattern carved into the Stone Gate glowed.

Creeeeak!

The Stone Gate then opened to the sides, revealing a straight passage. Although there was nothing behind the Stone Gate, a passage appeared when standing in front of it. It was truly an illogical structure.

‘Space is behaving erratically.’

Kim Songcheol stepped aside and checked behind the Stone Gate again, but there was still nothing there.

It was even more surprising that no trace of Magic could be felt.

“Ready?”

“Yes.”

Setsu nodded.

The Celestial Spirit Maiden gestured towards the passage with her chin, as if asking why he even needed to ask.

Kim Songcheol’s team entered the passage.

Smoothly carved walls were noticeable. The ceiling formed a perfect arch, and the walls were flat without even a small curve.

Creeeeak!

As all three entered the passage, the door behind them closed automatically.

There was no specific light source, but the passage was bright as if light were coming in.

The previous place they entered had a spooky atmosphere with torches hanging in a dark passage, but this place felt like being in ruins.

Kim Songcheol continued through the passage.

At the end of the passage, which stretched for almost 500 meters, there was a corner. Turning the corner revealed an outdoor scene.

‘It can’t be the end already… ‘

Kim Songcheol passed through the short passage and stepped outside.

It was a red Wilderness.

The sun in the sky was not visible. The cloudy sky was entirely red.

“Is it always like this?”

Setsu asked as she followed him out. But there wasn’t much he could say. This was only Kim Songcheol’s second time. It wasn’t enough to explain any tendencies of the Castle.

“Indeed. This is new to me too.”}]}

Kim Songcheol answered, turning around.

A towering cliff rose up, its peak out of sight.

‘Hmm.’

Aside from the solid cliff blocking the rear, the front was wide open. It felt like being thrown into the Wilderness, but the direction to proceed was easy to discern because a Red Light was blinking in the distance.

“Doesn’t that look suspicious to anyone?”

Kim Songcheol pointed at the Red Light, and the Celestial Spirit Maiden focused her sight to examine it.

The Red Light resembled a Portal, except it was red instead of blue.

“It looks like a Portal.”

Setsu, who had also confirmed the red light through the Magic Telescope created by Kim Songcheol, said the same.

“Let’s go check it out.”

Kim Songcheol’s team began to advance through the Wilderness. To match the speed of the Celestial Spirit Maiden and Setsu, Kim Songcheol also got on his Board. However, despite his effort, they were forced to stop a short distance later.

Thump-thump-thump-thump!

Because hordes of Monsters appeared from somewhere and charged towards them.

The hordes, split into three groups, stirred up dust, flaunting their strength and numbers.

They looked like bulls, but the teeth in their long snouts were those of carnivores, and their size was incomparably larger than any bull.

It was the first Gateway.

“I’ll try to reduce their numbers!”

Setsu shot into the sky. A dozen Green Spheres spread around her, quickly forming Cones that flew towards the Monsters.

The Cones were almost 5 meters tall.

Their speed and power were considerable.

‘Oh, she’s gotten much stronger?’

Kim Songcheol looked up at Setsu, his eyes wide with surprise.

Her Supernatural Ability had developed more than he expected since he last saw her.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The Cones rapidly closed the distance, pierced through the Monsters, and embedded themselves in the ground.

Judging by their trajectory, it was mostly Setsu’s own power, not gravity, that propelled them.

The Monsters were pinned to the ground, pierced through their backs and waists. Some were still struggling, but it was clear their lives were nearing their end.

Bang! Bang-bang-bang!

A rain of green Cones fell from the sky.

More than half of the Monsters were wiped out in an instant.

Setsu showed significant improvement not only in power but also in firing rate.

Whoosh!

Setsu created three thin discs, about 3 meters in diameter. As Setsu extended her hand, the three discs were rapidly shot towards the Monsters.

The discs, which were initially plunging downwards, smoothly changed direction and scattered into three paths, heading towards where the Monster hordes were charging.

Clang-clang-clang-clang!

The discs sliced through the Monsters. Although their thinness meant they didn’t last long, each one managed to split at least five or six creatures.

Thanks to this, the number of Monsters was reduced to a countable amount.

Kim Songcheol simply sniped the rest of them one by one with his Arc Linear.

The first Gateway ended just like that.

“You’ve grown a bit since I last saw you, haven’t you? Been training?”

Kim Songcheol gave a thumbs up to Setsu, who was descending from the sky.

“I did some training, but I think I just got stronger while flying. Using my Supernatural Ability all day long made me feel more powerful.”

Setsu flying through the sky was, of course, an application of a Supernatural Ability.

A certain amount of the green substance used for Supernatural Abilities existed within his body, and he would move it to fly.

Controlling it almost non-stop all day long had an unexpected effect.

It was thanks to his potential.

His potential was already great, but after eating the Candy, it became even stronger. The mere increase in his abilities just from using them for a long time was proof of his potential.

“He seems somewhat useful now.”

The Celestial Spirit Maiden also added a comment. It was a blunt tone, but it was clear praise.

All the Monsters were dead now. There was no need to delay. The three people crossed the Wilderness and entered the red Portal.

The view changed dramatically, and this time, a Vivid Blue Field appeared.

The blue of the sky and the green of the field formed a clear contrast.

“Hmm.”

Kim Songcheol spotted a Monster standing on a nearby hill.

There was only one Monster.

Its appearance was clearly unusual at first glance.

It wasn’t very tall. At about 3 meters, it was small for a Monster appearing in a Dungeon of this level.

However, the proportions of its long arms and long legs were grotesque, and its featureless face further amplified that grotesqueness.

On top of that, there was thick red slime flowing under its jet-black skin.

It looked like a Monster from a horror game had been placed on a peaceful field.

‘How brutal.’

Even though there was only one Monster, it would be harder than the first Gateway. The difficulty had been arranged to increase progressively last time as well.

“Don’t interfere. I’ll handle it.”

The Celestial Spirit Maiden took her hand out of her pocket and walked forward.

“Are you sure?”

Kim Songcheol asked.

“I told you. It’s just a warm-up.”

No sooner had the Celestial Spirit Maiden finished speaking than her figure blurred and appeared in front of the Monster.

‘What was that, Teleportation?’

The moment Kim Songcheol gasped in surprise.

KWAANG!

Her heel slammed into the Monster’s chest.

An ink-black aura erupted, demonstrating immense destructive power.

Due to the intense impact, the Monster was helplessly sent flying backward, but it jammed its long arms into the ground to stop itself.

Thanks to that, a deep gash was carved into the blue field. Its length seemed to be almost 30 meters.

But there was no time to rest. The Celestial Spirit Maiden’s follow-up attack came immediately after.

CRASH!

The Celestial Spirit Maiden’s fist shot out, and this time the Monster reacted. It crossed its arms to block the punch.

Thanks to this, the impact was absorbed by its feet sliding back slightly, and at the same time, the Monster’s counterattack began.

Its long arm moved at tremendous speed, lashing out at the Celestial Spirit Maiden like a whip.

Each time an attack was blocked, an explosion sound erupted. The speed was so fast that it sounded like a continuous series of explosions.

Amidst the pouring attacks, the Celestial Spirit Maiden’s eyes gleamed.

Then, an ink-black aura exploded, sending the Monster soaring upwards. Though not seen clearly, it seemed the Celestial Spirit Maiden had uppercutted the foe.

The moment the Celestial Spirit Maiden kicked off the ground, chasing after the Monster.

SWISH!

The red slime flowing beneath the Monster’s skin burst outwards, creating a hemispherical shield.

CLANG!

The Celestial Spirit Maiden’s fist struck the innocent shield, and the red slime that formed the shield gathered into the Monster’s arms, forming long blades.

CLANG-CLANG-CLANG!

The Monster spun like a top and descended towards the Celestial Spirit Maiden.

The Celestial Spirit Maiden was flung back with the same speed she had ascended, crashing into the ground.

The Monster immediately dropped to the ground, thrusting its red blades at her, but she was no longer there.

The Celestial Spirit Maiden appeared behind the Monster.

The Monster spun its upper body 180 degrees to counter the Celestial Spirit Maiden’s attack.

The fiery battle began anew.

“Shouldn’t we… help her?”

Setsu whispered quietly.

Neither Setsu nor Kim Songcheol knew anything about martial arts. Nevertheless, they could clearly tell that the Celestial Spirit Maiden was being pushed back.

“Let’s wait. If we help now, she might kill us.”

Kim Songcheol watched the fight, channeling his mana, ready to use magic if necessary.

The Monster the Celestial Spirit Maiden was currently fighting was designed to be defeated by three people working together.

Furthermore, it was the second gateway of normal difficulty, based on the strongest among them, Kim Songcheol.

Simply enduring alone already proved her immense power, but the Celestial Spirit Maiden seemed to have no intention of backing down.

Even though she was being pushed back more and more.

SWISH!

The Monster’s blade grazed the Celestial Spirit Maiden’s neck.

Another inch would have been a fatal wound. The wind pressure even caused her skin to tear slightly.

“I can’t watch…!”

Setsu, who was watching, unconsciously grabbed Kim Songcheol’s sleeve.

Despite the perilous situation, the Celestial Spirit Maiden’s eyes gleamed even brighter as she charged at the Monster.

It wasn’t mere stubbornness; a sense of conviction emanated from her.

For her, it wasn’t just about fighting and winning against the Monster; it was a process of moving towards a greater purpose.

Failure was not tolerated.

Not overcoming it meant losing, and defeat meant death.

Death is the end of a process, and her life will long be reflected upon as proof of the Thread.

The laughter of her brothers echoed in her ears.

It was a terribly unwelcome sound.

The Celestial Spirit Maiden plunged into the realm of Nothingness to escape the noise.

The world disappeared, leaving only the Monster and herself.

A world where only the two of them remained unfolded.

Her resolve vanished, her hatred vanished, and eventually even her purpose vanished, and the face of the Divine Demon, deeply etched in her mind, scattered.

For this moment, she could forget everything.

As everything that had bound her like a Hawk disappeared, the Celestial Spirit Maiden’s body felt lighter.

The Monster’s neck was torn off. In the world where only the Celestial Spirit Maiden and the Monster remained, one had disappeared.

The Celestial Spirit Maiden remained alone in that world, and only after forgetting even herself did she suddenly open her eyes.

She found herself sitting cross-legged on the floor.

She felt a stronger Dark Heavenly Energy.

It was intensely flowing through her blood vessels, showcasing its power as an Illusion.

She had achieved enlightenment.

With this, her Dark Heavenly Energy skill reached 10 Castle.

It also meant she was ready to begin training in the Heaven-Shattering Grand Divine Art.

That was good news, but seeing Kim Songcheol and Setsu half-lying on the grass, amicably sharing canned food, made her head a little complicated.

She remembered saying it was just a warm-up.

Recalling her memories, it must have taken her 30 or 40 minutes just to deal with the Monster, and the time it took to gain enlightenment and digest it was beyond estimation.

After half an hour of fighting as a warm-up, she even gained enlightenment?

No matter how she thought about it, it was a bit awkward.

She pondered for a moment, then stood up and walked towards the two. Then she finished explaining the situation in two words.

“Let’s go. It’s over.”

“Why were you sitting there for so long? Last time when that happened, I was told not to touch you, so I just stayed quiet.”

As expected, Kim Songcheol’s observation came flying.

“I had some things to think about.”

The Celestial Spirit Maiden, her hair flowing, walked towards the red Portal visible in the distance.

Her back was so dignified, like Nothingness.

“What kind of thinking takes six hours? Does anyone even think for six hours? Is she Rodin?”

“My limit is 5 minutes.”

Kim Songcheol and Setsu were grumbling behind her, but the Celestial Spirit Maiden seemed not to hear them.