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It is a great flame that will surely burn anything.

Its energy is absolute, like the compressed explosive power of a nuclear weapon. Not even a Demon Archduke could survive that pillar of fire.

-Observation. Logic circuit error. Impossible.

At Leon’s denial, Yappy tried again to observe, and saw a creature moving within the steaming pillar of fire that was evaporating the pouring seawater in real time.

Demon Dink Rakshar was still alive.

Is there anything in this universe that can survive a direct hit of that kind of energy?

“Lord Spinner. What’s the status of the evacuation?”

Leon landed on Yappy, who was overseeing the evacuation. Leon and Stallion don’t say much, but their exhaustion is palpable.

-80% progress. Major supplies, records secured.

“A little short.”

-No. They’ll hold on.

Yappy’s gaze turns to Rakshar, trapped in the pillar of fire. Or, more accurately, the three giant guardians surrounding him, pincers raised, keeping a watchful eye on Rakshar.

“Have they made up their minds?”

-Have been sleeping for this moment for 500 years. Analyzing the language system. Prosperity to Kikiruks.

“Is that their name?”

Leon held out his hand to Yappy, grateful for their sacrifice.

“The gates are closing now. Let us retreat.”

Yappy climbs onto Leon’s forearm and boards Stallion, then Stallion flaps its wings and takes to the sky.

As they head for the gate, Rakshar calls out.

[Lionheart…! Fleeing is not a virtue of knights!]

As he burns in real time in a pillar of fire, his eyes remain fixed on Leon as he engages in hand-to-hand combat with the three giant Kikiruks.

Leon sneers.

“I would not honor the code of knighthood against such a lowly creature as you. Green beasts and abominations are not worthy of respect.”

With those words, Leon sprinted toward the disappearing gate.

[Lionheart────!!]

[Gate closed]

* * * *

After the East Sea Gate was cleared, the world was abuzz for a while.

The first Demon Archduke was discovered. It was huge news for humanity, who had suffered terrible losses even against Archdemons until now.

Even S-class Hunters couldn’t stand up to its mind pollution.

Naturally, the world began to place large orders for Mind Defense items, but it was a meaningless waste of money.

The news was not all bad, however.

There were some beings whose minds remained untainted by the Demon Archduke’s terrifying aura.

The first was Han Ha-ri, a priestess of Poma, the god of the sea and waves.

The second was Yakt Spinner, the first Holy Knight of the Temple of Ten Thousand Gods.

And finally, there was Leon, who not only resisted, but went toe-to-toe with the Demon Archduke.

-Wow, what the fuck is that?

-Was there ever a demon that big? Can we beat that thing?

-Look at that. Flying around on a pegasus. They were almost evenly matched in hand-to-hand combat.

-What’s with that crazy pillar of fire? Han Ha-ri’s flames in the waves didn’t even make sense, but that thing just pierced the sky.

-The Otherworldly Lion King. Have you seen his Trait, The Greatest Demon Slayer? I mean, there’s no one in all the dimensions who’s slain more demons than that guy.

-Is that a human?

-Demigod.

Yappy’s footage of the Battle of the East Sea Gate was broadcast to the world via the guild YouTube channel.

People don’t despair easily. They somehow find hope in the midst of despair.

Leon was a symbol of that hope, and naturally, people began to learn more about TTG Guild and join.

The Maverick Guild’s S-ranked Hunter Allen and Minuteman, as well as other core A-ranked raiders, took it upon themselves to proselytize for the TTG Guild.

And.

“Uh, well, then… I hereby declare the district of Mokpo Special Autonomous Region of the Kikiruks as of today.”

-Giggle!

President Ahn Dong-gil smiled awkwardly and shook hands with the giant clawed creature.

The second issue was the mass migration of the Kikiruks. The relocation of the world’s largest group of 10,000 survivors required a huge administrative process and political decision that required the president himself.

“Thank you, President Ahn.”

“Ah…, no problem, Your Majesty.”

Ahn Dong-gil put on his best business smile and shook Leon’s hand.

In just a few short months, Leon had grown into a tycoon that even the president could not easily ignore, and he had brought with him an unprecedentedly large group of migrants: ten thousand survivors.

President Ahn and the political establishment could not refuse Leon’s request to give them land to live on.

There was some opposition from the citizens of Mokpo, but their territory didn’t overlap with the human population, and as the head of the South Korean government, they couldn’t ignore the only power they had against the Demon Archduke.

“That, Your Majesty… what is that?”

President Ahn stared in disbelief at the giant statue of a turtle in the middle of the sea, along with the giant statue of a Kikiruk.

Were they territorial markers for the survivors?

“It honors a great hero who sacrificed himself against the Demon Archduke. In the center is a statue of Poma, the god of the sea and waves.”

Ooh, idolatry… No, it’s not even an idol. They were real gods, and they really did bestow grace and favor.

President Ahn Dong-gil, a Protestant, had a bitter look on his face.

“I don’t think that’s the only statue.”

“Ah~ There’s one of this king and one of Lord Spinner. Lord Spinner is the actual representative of the Kikiruks.”

Leon is a demigod, but now even machines are idolized… President Ahn suddenly realized that there was one more empty spot on the statue.

“Haha, you have good eyes. That’s your seat, President Ahn.”

“What?”

“How can we not be grateful to the benefactor who gave us the land, and even the non-believers, the Kikiruks, will come and bow to your statue on their way.”

“Oh, no, that would be idolatry… Oh, well, I don’t have a statue of myself anyway…….”

Leon chuckled, patted President Ahn on the shoulder, and disappeared.

As a born-again Protestant and an honorary elder of Gangnam XX Church, he’s just worried about the keywords ‘idolatrous president’ that will be posted this weekend.

“Mr. President.”

Just then, the chief of staff approached Ahn. He had come in person to gesture to the media that he was friendly with Leon, but he was probably in a security meeting in Seoul right now.

“What’s going on?”

“It’s off the security agenda, but… I have an urgent intelligence report from the National Intelligence Service. It has to do with North Korea.”

“North Korea? They’ve been so quiet lately, why?”

Since the cataclysm, North Korea has gone from being the South’s headache to a troublesome neighbor.

They’ve given up their nukes in favor of gatekeeping, and a central government that has lost its authority has been unable to keep warlords from running amok.

At least they’re on good terms with the most orthodox government in Pyongyang, which hasn’t caused any trouble in quite some time.

“We lost contact at midnight yesterday.”

If that were all there was to it, I’d have said, “What the hell,” and wondered if it was a protest to send rice.

But the information from the press secretary clearly foreshadowed something more.

“Satellite observation over North Korea has been suspended. Reconnaissance satellites are not taking pictures of anything in North Korea.”

* * * *

Old Pyongyang, North Korea.

Just as the continent was torn into 50 pieces by the effects of the cataclysm, North Korea could not escape the storm of the cataclysm.

Warlords who had Awakened and gained power to deal with the Gate began to defy the chain of command in Pyongyang, and the North Korean government, which had lost what little conventional power it had in the early days of the Cataclysm, was powerless to control them.

By 2030, the North could only borrow strength from the South whenever a gate appeared.

Here, in a barely functioning regime that had given up its nuclear arsenal, they hoped to rebuild.

Sectarianism began to spread after the Cataclysm. They were ready to summon the mighty Archdemon by attracting devil worshippers.

“Heh, heh, heh, the Kang Seong Dynasty will be established by invoking the devil.”

The Pyongyang rulers who ordered all of this reviewed the monumental demon summoning.

It had been formed by sacrificing 100,000 of Pyongyang’s citizens. With the help of devil worshippers from around the world, a long-held desire would be fulfilled.

[This is Reynald Shelman, we’re ready, you may activate the summoning circle].

A signal came from the Yankee wizard. A signal that said something needed to be prepared, but after nearly a week of waiting, it finally came.

“Summon!”

With a wave of his hand, the summoning circle began to glow. Ominously red and dark, it consumed the flesh and souls of the corpses laid before it.

What was summoned was a giant beast.

“Eh, eh?”

Did they really not expect such a huge beast to be summoned? Or were they surprised to see that the beast was covered in wounds?

Not only was the beast burned all over, but its hands and feet had been torn off.

The giant claw marks suggested a massive battle.

“What’s wrong with the Great Demon? Did you summon it correctly?”

Despite their leader’s pleas, the demon worshippers didn’t understand the situation.

[Hmph~]

Rakshar looked down at the thousands of soldiers gathered in the summoning hall.

[Hmph~]

His wounds were too deep to act immediately.

Rakshar realizes that he needs to recover first, as it will be some time before the other ‘Great Demons’ gather.

Until then, he’ll have to recover from the abundance of food.

[Obedience──]

At that moment, the three million citizens of Pyongyang heard the voice.

* * * * *

When the TTG Guild building was constructed, it was not designed with underground space in mind.

It was basically built as a rice warehouse on a rural site and expanded as needed.

However, when the otherworldly magician queen took up residence here, the building was transformed.

For example, she can take a space the size of a single room and expand it to the size of a soccer field with her space-expanding magic, warping space to create a subspace that no one but the magician could enter.

Modern wizards would have screamed at the top of their lungs about the ridiculousness of it all, but to a magician queen at the height of her powers, it was no big deal. And──

In the subspace beneath the TTG Guild that was decorated to look like an underground, a beautiful woman stood bound from head to toe.

No, more precisely, she is ‘not’ moving as if she is chained herself because she’s been told to.

Despite the damp environment that makes prisoners uneasy, the direction of the space that makes even the smallest sound echo, and the created dreariness, the woman was shivering a little.

And in such a dreary space, she creepily hears a new sound.

Again, again, again… A clear, crisp voice was approaching the inmate, Hilde.

“How are you today? It’s been a bit noisy outside lately, it seems we’ve got some new neighbors.”

“Uh…uh…uh!”

Hildir is not wearing any restraints and naturally, her lips were also unrestrained.

But all she can manage is a choked voice. There is only one reason for this is that a demonic charm has taken a firm hold on her, a magical presence that could corrupt even the oldest shaman in the service of a beast god.

Beatrice, Queen of the Lost, with nothing but rage and vengeance in her heart, smiled bewitchingly at Hildir.

“Hic…!”

Just seeing that smile in her eyes was enough to make Hildir lose her mind.

How could such a deadly aura emanate from a human being?

An overwhelming need to give him everything she had, just to hear her voice, to see her face beneath the cotton cloth.

Beatrice had a natural talent for mesmerizing even those of her own sex. The magician queen of Spero utilized her talents to corrupt the shaman of the beast gods.

“I remember when I used to fight demons, it was pretty simple back then. It wasn’t really about interrogation, it was just about making them ‘suffer’.”

Beatrice smiles brightly. Despite smiling, there’s not the slightest hint of cheerfulness in her smile. There’s just a creepy dryness to it, like it’s dried up and twisted.

“But this time,” she says, “it’s purposeful. I want to know so many things about you… things that have mesmerized me and that you haven’t told me yet.”

“Ugh!”

Hildir knew that death was not the end. She could do no more to betray the gods, not even for the sake of her soul, which would be captured by the beast gods after death.

This was etched into her soul and decided the moment she gave her soul to the Beast Gods, imprinting their imprints on her skin.

“Yes, I thought so.”

A slender finger caresses Hildir’s cheek in a knowing gesture, sliding down her arm. It’s enough to send her into a frenzy of happiness and pleasure, but the dry voice that follows brings her back to reality.

“That’s how the demons who invaded the kingdom built their pride.”

There was a snap, and a sound like something breaking.

Beatrice’s fingers, so soft and gentle, had snapped Hildir’s fingers.

“Turn it off?!”

Everyone screams in pain when their fingers are snapped in the opposite direction but Hildir was not allowed to make her voice heard.

Her full-throated screams remain only in her mouth. Beatrice stroked Hilde’s cheeks and asked in a soothing voice,

“They used a hundred years to corrupt me. How long will you last?”

Seeing Beatrice’s smile, Hildir realized that she could not save her soul.

She realized too late that the matter had been decided from the moment she had given her soul to the demon.

For what seemed like an eternity, Hildir poured out everything she knew to Beatrice.

And among them was──

“……Is that true?”

Beatrice sighed deeply as Hildir, covered in tears and snot, nodded.

“Funny, demons can ‘go through any gate’.”

The gate is a phenomenon.

Demons can use them to travel to any system and historical moment they wish.

Then.

“I guess that means we can go to any gate we want, too.”

Hoohoohoo….

The Magician Queen’s smile flashed across her face.