Chapter 100: A World Reversed

“To think that kid would rise to that position…”

Lilian watched Verdi with a relaxed expression throughout the entire departure ceremony. Thinking back on how she’d once told Verdi to come work under her, she felt deeply embarrassed now.

“Well, Master—no, Mr. Wilhelm did have his eye on her that much.”

“Marcel?”

At the familiar voice that reached her ear, Lilian turned her head to see Marcel wearing an awkward smile. Marcel’s gaze was also fixed on Verdi, who was giving the departure speech.

“I didn’t know our Master would rise that far either, though.”

“Hmph. So what are you trying to say? That our insight wasn’t enough to take that kid in? Is that what you want to say?”

“That’s not my intention at all.”

“Then why are you suddenly coming over here saying this?”

“It seems there’s one thing you’re misunderstanding.”

In the past, Marcel wouldn’t have been able to speak so easily in front of Lilian, but things were different lately. He’d been putting up fairly decent results even among A-Rank Hunters.

So much so that some in the public had even rated Marcel higher than Lilian, who had only ascended to the ranks of S-Rank Hunter a month ago. This was largely due to the influence of the guild he belonged to. Because Verdi, the master of Bisang Guild, had ordered him to build up his skills whenever he had spare time in preparation for the upcoming End Cave battle, he’d been entering Gates more frequently.

…Of course, Verdi’s ulterior motive of paying off Luca’s debt was also a factor.

Regardless, thanks to those circumstances, Marcel had recently been participating in any High-Rank Gate without discrimination and had racked up quite a few decent results.

On top of that, with Jihyeok acting as his teacher and giving him instruction by his side, there was no way his skills wouldn’t improve.

“I still respect the Royal Knights, and if Master calls, I intend to return to the guild.”

“Ha, now of all times?”

Lilian didn’t take Marcel’s words well. The guy who hadn’t stepped up despite having ability when he was in the guild had changed the moment he left. Even if she wanted to take it positively, she couldn’t.

“I… changed while I was here. That’s probably why I can be in this place right now.”

“Then.”

Lilian, who had been silently listening to Marcel, spoke up.

“Prove it. Right here.”

“That was my plan.”

As if he’d been waiting for her words, Marcel smiled and replied.

* * *

And so, finishing the departure ceremony without any trouble, we stood at the entrance of End Cave.

“Deneb, you brought it, right?”

“Yes.”

At my question, Deneb answered and set down the backpack she’d been carrying. What she pulled out from inside the backpack was a large egg.

The egg the Earth Dragon had left us. Commonly called the Demon God’s Egg. Karelin had said this egg would become the key to reaching the Demon God.

I couldn’t know exactly how to use that egg or where it came from, but those bastards had needed it. That meant that egg would become the key to guide our path. I brought it with that thought.

And surprisingly, my guess was right.

“The Gate!”

Starting with someone’s shout, everyone stared at the Gate with trembling eyes.

The Gate, which had been emitting a green light, began to show signs of a change that hadn’t been there before.

BOOM—!

The ground shook. As everyone watched with bated breath, a powerful wave erupted from the green Gate.

“Ugh!”

Everyone responded to the storm caused by the wave in their own way. About ten seconds later, the storm vanished as if it had never existed in the first place.

The scene fell silent. Then, the moment I slowly opened my eyes.

“This is…”

A new sight appeared before me.

The massive green Gate was nowhere to be seen. Instead, a giant door had appeared.

“It couldn’t be more ominous if we called it the Gate to hell.”

Jihyeok muttered quietly. I agreed with that opinion. A massive black open door. A faint white light was streaming out from the gap in the door.

As I stared at that light for a moment, a chilling cold ran through my entire body, as if it were insisting I shouldn’t go in.

But that was only for a moment. How could we turn back after coming this far?

“Let’s go!”

Breaking the silence, I shouted first and stepped toward the door.

The moment I reached the door, my body was sucked in as if someone inside was pulling me.

* * *

Darkness. And more darkness.

For about thirty seconds, I felt as if I was being crushed by that darkness.

“Ugh….”

I barely managed to open my eyes. And the sight that appeared before me… was so different from the End Cave I remembered.

“Where is this?”

Just as I muttered those words.

“This is a sight I’ve never seen before….”

Whether he’d come in after me, Jihyeok spoke. Turning at the sound of his voice, I could see the other Hunters, including our guild members. They all looked pretty pale, as if they’d been crushed by the darkness too.

I was just about to breathe a sigh of relief that everyone seemed safe.

[ Welcome to the Reverse World, humans. ]

“……!”

An unidentified voice rang in my ears. Startled, I looked around, but I couldn’t see anyone who seemed to be the owner of that voice.

“Ah, Ms. Verdi! The egg!”

That was when Deneb shouted in an urgent voice. I quickly turned my head toward where her gaze was fixed, and saw the egg, radiating light.

Just as I felt something ominous about that sight.

*Crack—*

The egg’s shell began to split.

“No way, is it hatching?”

The moment I said that.

The shell shattered completely, and the surroundings began to be engulfed in light.

I quickly wrapped a Mana Shield around my body. While everyone else covered their eyes from the light’s aftermath, I kept my eyes wide open, watching clearly what was happening.

The broken egg. What emerged from it was a human shape.

*Shhhhh—*

The light slowly began to fade. Everyone started to open their eyes, staring at the being that had awakened from the egg before them.

The human shape slowly turned around.

“You are….”

The moment I saw the shape’s face as it turned.

I was left speechless.

And for good reason—that shape’s appearance…

“Verdiol hyung-nim…?”

“Se…nior?”

It was exactly my appearance—no, not my current appearance, but it looked exactly like Verdiol.

“Me…?”

Just as I barely managed to force the words out.

[ No, I am not you. ]

Verdiol—more precisely, the bastard wearing Verdiol’s appearance—opened its mouth. But its voice didn’t come from in front of me; it rang out as if it was speaking directly into my ear.

“It feels like the voice is being transmitted directly to my ears.”

It wasn’t just me. Everyone felt the same. At that sight, everyone present stared at the bastard wearing Verdiol’s appearance with confused faces.

[ To be precise, I should say I am your original. ]

“Original?”

Just as I asked back, not understanding what the bastard was saying.

[ Right. Did you like the power I gave you? ]

The bastard said with a sinister smile.

“The power… you gave me…?”

The moment I muttered those words, I immediately understood what the bastard meant.

—Separate from magic, the Special Ability I gained when I fell into this world was Incantationless Casting.

“No way….”

[ Looks like you understand. As expected of the ‘Possessor’ I chose. ]

The Possessor I chose.

That meant this bastard was… the one who brought me to this world.

The moment I realized that, I instantly understood what this bastard’s identity was.

“Demon God…”

“……!”

The moment I muttered the word Demon God, the atmosphere on the scene shifted.

The being before me, wearing Verdiol’s appearance.

I realized that he was the Demon God, the true boss of End Cave.

Everyone immediately assumed a combat stance.

[ Not yet. Before you face me, I need to check if you’re worthy. ]

“Worthy?”

Just as I asked that. The Demon God’s body blurred like smoke and then vanished.

Immediately after.

—*GROOOOOOAR!*

A roar came from somewhere, drawing everyone’s gaze toward the sound.

*RUMBLE—!!*

Something was coming this way. Kicking up tremors and dust.

“That’s…!”

One of the Hunters shouted in a fear-laced voice.

“It’s Nergal!! An S-Rank Demon Beast!! Everyone, prepare for battle!!”

Nergal.

A Demon Beast with the form of a massive black lion, its body wreathed in black lightning.

And… it was also the Demon Beast that made us fail to conquer End Cave, because even when Jihyeok and I attacked it together, we couldn’t handle it.

“I never thought we’d meet again here…!”

Whether because the memories of that time came flooding back, Jihyeok, who rarely ever showed signs of wavering, shouted in a trembling voice.

We gave it our all against Nergal, but in the end we couldn’t conquer it, and we had no choice but to watch Iris sacrifice herself.

“…Looks like it really is a Demon God.”

The moment the Demon God, wearing Verdiol’s form, suddenly said it would test our qualifications, Nergal appeared.

Seeing it handle an S-Rank Demon Beast like its own underling, I became even more certain that bastard was a Demon God.

“Don’t be scared, Jihyeok.”

“Senior?”

“You think we’ve just been slacking off all this time? We’ve been building our strength for today.”

*CRACKLE—!*

As Nergal reached the front of the Hunters, black lightning struck at them.

“Aaaagh!!”

The moment someone got caught in the black lightning without dodging, they turned to ash in an instant. Unfortunately, a few Hunters couldn’t avoid it and died on the spot.

“Watch out!”

“If you get caught, you’re dead!”

The Hunters scattered. Fortunately, every single one of them was a veteran of High-Rank Hunter level or above. Not all, but most of the Hunters survived Nergal’s assault.

“Let’s get our revenge from back then.”

That Demon Beast was practically the root cause of me falling into the pit.

So… this time, I’ll definitely win. I’ll pay back that humiliation from back then.

I reached out my hand.