|The way a mortal is born and lives under the weight of fate may be uncontrollable, but shouldn’t they at least decide how to die? You will choose the manner of your own death.|
As I began to awaken, the words of the God of the Underworld echoed in my mind.
And as I patted Mi Jeong’s head and rose, what greeted me was none other than a massive Inferno.
It was a fierce flame that seemed ready to engulf all of Elvenguard.
The fire created a column of flames that swallowed the forest, slowly advancing toward Elvenguard.
“Ifrit…”
Finding the culprit wasn’t that difficult.
In the Inferno.
Inside it, a gigantic spiritual body was rising, glaring with its eyes.
The great spirit of fire, Ifrit.
The main culprit behind the Great Fire of Elvenguard was causing chaos once again.
“Why is that jerk acting up again?!”
In the midst of the already chaotic situation, why was Ifrit causing another ruckus?
As I ran towards him, wondering if there had been some misunderstanding, I discovered Mia and the Elf Elders waving their hands in front of Ifrit, trying to calm him down.
At that moment, Ifrit’s breath shot toward Mia.
“Aaaah?!”
I rushed over, scooped Mia up, and took off.
The spot where Mia had just been was instantly engulfed by flames.
Ifrit had just sincerely tried to kill Mia.
“Ifrit isn’t in his right mind. We can’t talk sense into him, so let’s flee and get the residents to safety.”
“Uh, um… okay!”
“Get a grip. If you, the priestess, survive, the residents will too. We’ll meet again later for drinks.”
“Yes!”
As I brushed Mia’s face to bring her back to reality, it seemed she was in shock.
Mia had to survive.
After all, the lives of a hundred thousand were in her hands.
Even if the World Tree burned and Elvenguard fell, that fact wouldn’t change.
Mia and the Elders fled to guide the residents to safety.
I confirmed that Seo Gong’s avatar and Gui Ho, who had lost consciousness from meeting the God of the Underworld for too long, were safe.
The nameless one merely fainted, breathing lightly in a colorful dream.
After laying them down for a moment, I moved back in front of Ifrit with Mi Jeong.
[GRROOOAAARRRR!!!]
“It seems communication isn’t possible…”
During the previous Great Fire, Ifrit had ignored the pleas of Mia and the Elders and tried to burn the World Tree, but at least he hadn’t intended to kill Mia, who was blocking him.
But now it was completely different.
Communication was out the window.
Regardless of whether there were people standing before him, he was solely focused on burning everything.
It was clear that Ifrit had become unhinged for some reason.
And the identity of the one who caused Ifrit to become this way was…
[KEEEEEEEEEE!!!]
“Huh?!”
At that moment, a massive roar echoed, and another monstrosity rose from the distant forest.
The lake water rippled upwards and formed a huge droplet.
Soon, that droplet transformed into a gigantic spiritual body.
“The great spirit of water!”
But that wasn’t all.
From another side, a terrifying crackle echoed as storm clouds gathered, swirling down like a tornado and forming another spiritual body.
From yet another side, a strong wind rushed in, creating a ring of wind.
That ring soon molded into the shape of another spirit.
Fire, water, electricity, and wind.
All four elemental great spirits were gathered in one bizarre occurrence.
But even weirder was…
[GRROOOAAARRR!!!]
[KEEEEEEEE!!!]
“This is insane…”
They all seemed bent on destroying Elvenguard.
With lifeless gazes, they indiscriminately scattered their power in every direction.
Someone was clearly manipulating the great spirits!
|What do you think of my creations?|
“?!”
Then a voice boomed from the sky.
Startled by the chilling voice, I looked up to see a humanoid figure in my line of sight.
Skin as white as jade.
A handsome face that felt faintly artificial.
And the identity of the one floating in the air with huge black wings spread wide was unmistakable.
The transcendent being, Luna.
This was Luna’s transcended version that appeared only near the story’s end.
“I’ve been looking for you, Luna.”
|You recognized me right away! How does my new body look?! This is the perfect evolved form of humanity! A transcendent being!|
The transcended being.
A physique that surpassed all limits of humanity.
Luna had succeeded in creating a transcendent being.
The first question to come to mind was ‘how,’ but right now, there was no time to ponder that.
I had to prepare for the imminent attack.
If this was indeed a completed transcendent being…
It would be incomparably stronger than Yerina or Transylvania.
|Are you afraid? Well, you should be! I have now become the ruler of all souls! I am the king who governs death!|
“What…?”
|Looks like you’re too stunned to understand! I have finally surpassed the boundaries of death! I have reached a state indistinguishable from that of a god! Hehehe!|
Luna looked down on me as if I were a bug, laughing ominously.
Just as she said, I was left speechless.
I struggled to comprehend Luna’s words, but ultimately failed.
Hadn’t the God of the Underworld just been here, and yet she claimed to be the king of death?
Had she lost her mind?
“Do you really not know who just came and went?”
|Who came and went? What are you talking about? I did feel my vision clouding for a moment, but…|
Was she truly clueless, tilting her head in confusion?
This jerk seemed oblivious since she had been holed up in a dungeon while the God of the Underworld had come.
Well, in truth, most people would have realized something had happened when the ‘eyes’ were covered.
That’s why she spouted nonsense about being the king of death and transcending its limits.
‘Isn’t this an opportunity?’
Feeling bewildered but quickly calming down, I realized this was a chance.
Clearly, there was a part of the God of the Underworld inside me that had said it would pull Luna into the Underworld upon contacting her.
I just had to make contact somehow!
If Luna was overconfident now, it wouldn’t be that difficult.
“Indeed, this is impressive. I am in awe now. After all, you, Luna, are the closest human to a god.”
|Huel! You’re the first to recognize this! You must be extraordinary among humans!|
“Right. I know exactly how remarkable of a creation this is. So, could I request a handshake?”
|…|
Slick.
I extended my hand upwards.
She paused, sizing me up with a stiff expression.
|I see your attempts to inch closer… How dare you extend that filthy hand to this transcendent being!!!|
“?!”
At that moment, a massive darkness descended around Luna’s transcendent being.
No, it wasn’t just darkness.
It was surely malevolence.
An aura emanating from wicked spirits beyond the control of any human coalesced, producing an ominous sphere.
|I would hate to kill an extraordinary being, but farewell! Hehehe!|
Before I could even react, the gigantic sphere came hurtling towards me.
Too massive, I had no way to evade it.
Then could I just slice through it?
|…|
However, even as I gripped my sword, the Magic Sword remained unresponsive.
It seemed the method to cut through malice was beyond even the Magic Sword’s knowledge.
With no way to evade, I had no choice but to brace for impact!
As I raised my arms to shield my head, the malevolent sphere struck me.
|What?!|
As soon as it touched my body, it shattered into fragments, scattering everywhere.
I felt no impact or damage whatsoever.
Even the hand that had made contact bore no wounds.
I could only be momentarily stunned by this bizarre phenomenon.
‘Right, part of the God of the Underworld was still inside me.’
Soon I realized that the true king of death was within me.
No matter how much Luna claimed to have mastered the spirits, the God of the Underworld was a being who had embodied the spirits themselves.
The level of this domain was wholly different.
No matter what Luna tried, the force of the spirits would not be able to harm me.
|Ifrit! Kill that guy!|
[GRROOOAAARRR…!]
|Damn it! Why are they malfunctioning?!|
Even if I ordered the great spirits to attack, they turned away from me instead.
As spirits in spiritual form, it seemed they couldn’t touch the God of the Underworld.
Luna was flailing in utter confusion before suddenly shooting skyward.
|I never intended to kill you directly! All I desired was to witness the despair on your face as you lost everything!|
“What are you talking about? You were just desperately trying to kill me until a moment ago.”
|Shut up! Watch Elvenguard burn and the people die in droves!|
Realizing our elemental attributes didn’t match, she quickly flew off, hiding from sight.
I too was quite perplexed.
‘How do I make contact now?’
The first prerequisite for sending Luna to the Underworld was contact.
However, she had reckoned her disadvantage and fled, making that impossible.
If I managed to locate and chase her, Luna would likely refuse contact and simply flee into the skies.
And most importantly, I had no means to pursue her into the sky at all.
In short, I was screwed.
Luna’s fear had only made matters worse.
“Ifrit! Stop!”
Even now, the four great spirits steadily advanced toward Elvenguard.
Despite my shouting and trying to block their path, they merely skirted around me and continued forward.
They absolutely would not heed my orders.
It was clear they feared harming the part of the God of the Underworld within me.
Yet it appeared that part of his essence was too small to obey commands.
Moreover, the four great spirits were now attempting to encircle Elvenguard.
With the residents still not evacuated, if things continued this way, tens of thousands of elves would fall victim to water, fire, lightning, and storm disasters.
‘I have no choice but to contain Ifrit again.’
At the very least, I needed to eliminate one of them to create an escape route.
So I would have to trap Ifrit like I did last time.
“Ifrit! Stay put just one more time!”
As I handed Mi Jeong the Mana Stone necklace, she swung the string and sent it flying toward Ifrit.
In an instant, the necklace gleamed and attempted to consume the core of the spirit, but.
“What?!”
The core resisted and wouldn’t get sucked in, holding firm.
Was it because of the transcendent being’s power?
It seemed the trick to trapping Ifrit within the Mana Stone no longer worked.
Despair washed over me in an instant, but I steeled myself and stood up again.
If I stopped here, only a future of slaughter awaited ten thousand elves.
‘I must somehow capture Luna’s transcendent being!’
There was only one way to prevent that future.
I had to send Luna to the Underworld to return the great spirits to their right minds.
But with Luna having fled into the sky, I still had no idea how to catch her.
“Yoo Jin! This is bad! That creepy winged thing burst out of the dungeon earlier, and now everything’s in chaos… Ah! Why are you covered in blood?!”
Just then, Jill rushed over, panting, clinging to me with tears welling up in her eyes.
Behind her, Yerina, Yulia, and Transylvania approached with grim expressions.
“Were the dungeon strategies a failure?”
“Yeah… We couldn’t get past the undead…”
The dungeon strategy had failed.
And in it, the completed transcendent being Luna had come forth to smash Elvenguard.
No matter how superhuman my fellow heroines were, as individuals, they couldn’t stop a cataclysmic disaster.
All we could do was stand by and watch as Elvenguard met its doom along with countless elves.
We, as superhumans, could somehow navigate the flames and escape, but not everyone could do the same.
The heroines’ faces were already filled with despair and frustration.
I was no different.
…Or so I thought.
‘Wait a minute. How was the transcendent being formed at this point?’
The introduction of Luna’s transcendent being occurred near the very end of the game.
If she could create it earlier, there would be no reason to make it.
In other words, the necessary conditions were so stringent that everything had to align in the final moments.
Yet now, Luna had managed to complete the transcendent being much sooner.
How was that even possible?
“Dungeon…”
The answer came quickly.
Luna’s unique dungeon.
If she consumed the undead army born from within it, it wouldn’t be impossible.
By sacrificing the endlessly resurrecting and fighting undead for energy, it would be achievable.
“Is the dungeon… already gone?”
“No. It’s still there…”
The fact that the unique dungeon hadn’t vanished yet meant that the transcendent being was still drawing energy from the undead army in real time.
In other words, the transcendent being wasn’t fully complete yet.
Even in an incomplete state, it had crawled out to hastily destroy Elvenguard.
Then the task at hand was clear.
I felt as if my previously clouded vision had suddenly cleared up.
“I’m entering the dungeon.”
“?!”
If I couldn’t go to her, I’d just need to make her come to me.
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