A tremendous power surged.
Ding!
[‘Magic Power’ has temporarily increased. (D+ → EX)]
[Warning! Excessive mana has accumulated within the body. The physical limit has been exceeded.]
[For the user’s safety, mana will be retracted.]
The sensation that followed was familiar.
An overwhelming force, powerful enough to obliterate the Korean Peninsula if left unchecked, coursed through him.
Yet, it was entirely his own.
Ding!
[Stable mana control has been confirmed.]
[The mana retraction has been canceled.]
An exhilarating feeling.
His heart pounded wildly.
The incomplete mana heart devoured mana greedily, like a dragon starving for a thousand years.
Ding!
[The trait <Dragon Heart> is evolving.]
[A new trait <Kyle’s Heart> has been created.]
In his past life, he had continuously refined the Dragon’s Art of Cultivation.
He had adapted it perfectly for Kyle’s human body.
It seemed the system had recognized it as an entirely new framework.
Seeing the word “evolution” used, it was clear—his cultivation technique had surpassed even that of dragons.
I told you, Aetherna.
I was the one who won.
“Hoo…”
This familiar sensation.
The omnipotence of being able to overturn the world with a single word.
It had been so long.
Especially because of his throat.
‘To think I can use this power with a clean voice.’
In his past life, it was only natural—he had grown stronger as he aged.
He had died at his absolute peak.
However, as time passed, as his power increased, his throat had continued to deteriorate.
It had always been his greatest limitation.
Even until the very last moment.
Though his body wasn’t as strong as before.
Though many of his Words of Power were still sealed.
Now, with a perfect throat and mana that rivaled his prime…
Having ascended even further after his battle with the Black World Tree and the assistance of his skills…
If he were to fight Kyle at his peak, who would win?
A childish yet thrilling thought that made his heart race.
‘But that can wait.’
[Awakened Status Check]
Name: Kang Hyun
Rank: EX
Traits:
<Reincarnator>
<Kyle’s Heart>
<Complete Potential Release (1-time use)>
Skills:
<Kyle’s Swordsmanship Lv. Max+2>
<Assassination Lv. 6>
Stats:
Strength: D-
Agility: D
Endurance: D-
Stamina: D-
Magic Power: D+ → EX
‘An EX stat?’
He couldn’t even grasp the extent of that rank.
Most likely, it was above S-rank.
But since EX had never existed before…
It was possible that there was an unknown rank between S and EX.
‘Still, one day, this temporary power will completely become mine.’
“Broadcast preparations are complete!”
He stepped toward the microphone.
As his voice resonated across all of Seoul, he spoke.
“Spirit.”
The covenant had begun.
###
Seoul had become hell.
“Kyaaaaaah!”
A scream, sharp enough to tear through the air, rang out—
Only to be drowned in the chorus of countless others and the deafening sound of destruction.
As many monsters as there were people.
Corpses littered the streets.
The stench of blood permeated the air.
The only saving grace was that the system had issued a quest warning beforehand.
Because of that, only a few had been caught outside.
Most had taken shelter inside buildings.
But that was all.
Who could have predicted that monsters would pour out right at their doorstep, on school fields, in hospital parking lots?
Household doors could barely hold off F-rank monsters.
The makeshift barricades in subway stations fared no better.
D-rank Awakened Lee Seung-jun swung his sword desperately, slashing through monsters.
“Haa… haa…! Senior! We’re going to be overrun!”
“If we get overrun, everyone behind us dies! Block them, even if it kills you!”
“I don’t want to die!”
“If they break through, you’ll die anyway, you idiot!”
“I know! That’s why I’m still holding on!”
Even the luxury of emotions had been spent.
They swung their weapons once more.
The tattered barricade had already lost half of its function.
Civilians poured into the subway for refuge, their last-ditch effort at defense consisting of nothing more than scrap metal and steel plates wedged into the entrance.
Ironically, the piles of monster corpses did more to block the passage than any barricade.
“Are there any Awakened outside?! If so, follow my voice! We desperately need reinforcements! Let’s defend together!”
“This won’t work. Civilians! Any able-bodied men! Grab whatever you can and fight with us—now!”
But no one moved.
Who could?
Even now, monsters lunged forward, jaws snapping viciously, while two Awakened desperately hacked away, drenching the ground in blood and entrails.
“Move! Hurry! If you don’t, we’re all dead—!”
Just then, as everyone trembled in paralyzing fear, the subway station’s speakers crackled to life.
[Chzzzt… Krk… Krrrzzt—]
Old, decades-old speakers.
They had been installed alongside the subway itself, their primary function reserved for emergency alerts.
Like an old car struggling to start, the speaker sputtered and crackled, the audio distorted and broken.
And then, a voice came through.
[Spirit.]
An utterly inexplicable announcement.
No one paid attention to it.
The sudden transmission, the eerie distortion, the bizarre word choice—
It sounded like something straight out of a ghost story.
But they had no time for ghost stories.
The real horror was unfolding right before them.
“Ah—! L-Look! Over by the tracks! There are… eyes!”
“Awakened! Monsters are coming from behind, too—!”
“Please, someone, anyone! I can’t hold on anymore—!”
[Chzzzt—]
[Soul.]
The broadcast continued.
###
Corporal Lee Byung-chul’s voice cracked with terror.
“Th-The gun…! It’s not firing!”
He fumbled to check for malfunctions, but his hands trembled too violently to operate properly.
Meanwhile, the monsters charged ahead, the deafening roar of gunfire from his squadmates further clouding his panicked mind.
“Magazine! I’m out of ammo!”
“Reload, you idiot!”
His hands shook too hard—he dropped the magazine.
Even as a soldier, he was still just a young recruit.
A mere 21-year-old, barely independent from his parents.
This kind of terror was too much to endure.
“Cease fire! Awakened, 3rd Platoon, move up!”
Three figures, dressed in military fatigues, dashed past the barricade, leaping into the sea of monsters.
‘Sh*t, sh*t! Why did two of them have to go on leave today?! And why the hell did this have to happen before I discharged?!’
Just 30 meters away, he saw a family of civilians—a man, a woman, and a child.
They must have been running toward the military base for safety.
But they were too exhausted to make it.
They collapsed just before reaching safety.
A grotesque cockroach-like monster pounced on them from behind.
Crunch. Chomp—
Sergeant Yoo Young-jun, of the Awakened 3rd Platoon, squeezed his eyes shut.
The family was right in front of him.
But he couldn’t save them.
His job was to buy time for his allies to reload.
And even that was almost too much to handle.
“3rd Platoon, fall back! Cover fire—now!”
Tatata-tatatatat!
The gunfire roared through the battlefield.
Yet, beneath the overwhelming noise, another sound emerged.
[Chzzzt—]
[Ritual.]
Chzzzt—
“Base! This is Post 3! The third Gate is about to break! We need reinforcements immediately!”
[Post 3! This is Command! No available forces! Hold the line as long as you can!]
“We can’t hold it! We need help—now!”
Chzzzzt—
[Command.]
Chzzzt—
“Command!”
“Aaaaaaah—Help me!”
“Sergeant! Byung-chul’s been grabbed by some kind of tendril—!”
“Command—!”
Krk. Krrrzzt—
[End.]
The emergency speakers continued spewing incomprehensible words.
###
Chief Choi stood in the middle of the street, utterly paralyzed.
He couldn’t even think about escaping.
His eyes remained locked on the scene unfolding before him.
“N-No! NOOOOO!”
A man was snatched up into the sky—
Clutched in the grip of a massive, grotesque wasp-like creature.
‘The civilians… they’re being slaughtered.’
The woman, having lost her child, wailed desperately.
“Seongjin! Where are you?! Seongjin!”
Monsters of all shapes and sizes roamed freely, tearing apart corpses and feasting on human remains.
‘The people of Korea… are dying.’
The nation he had devoted his life to serving.
The people of this country were being slaughtered in the most horrific way.
Right before his very eyes.
But the nightmare was not confined to the street before him.
All of Seoul was engulfed in catastrophe.
There was no way the government could stop this.
Seoul was falling. Korea was crumbling beyond recovery.
‘The country… is collapsing.’
It was something he had never once imagined.
The world had been too peaceful.
Even with the Gates and the occasional Collapse Events, modern civilization had long since stabilized.
Death and destruction had become distant fears, the stuff of history books.
“This… This shouldn’t be happening….”
But now, this was reality.
A reality where citizens were being massacred.
“This… This can’t be right…?”
While everyone else fled indoors, seeking refuge in buildings, Chief Choi’s feet remained frozen in place.
“This can’t be… Ah….”
His country—Korea—was falling.
A nightmare.
“P-Please! Someone! Help me!”
A young woman, struggling beneath the massive leg of an insectoid monster, tried desperately to push it away.
But it was futile.
The grotesque creature’s mandibles widened, revealing writhing parasites inside.
The monstrous jaws slowly approached her head.
“No! Noooo—!”
At that moment, Chief Choi threw himself forward.
The insect’s head lurched under the sudden impact of an adult man’s weight.
The woman didn’t even have time to thank him before she bolted away, utterly terrified.
Now, the insect turned its focus onto him.
Inside its eyes, parasites squirmed.
And in Chief Choi’s eyes, there was madness.
“This can’t be happening….”
He was an ordinary man, not an Awakened.
Yet, as if desperately clinging to the hope of waking up from this nightmare, or perhaps having already lost his sanity, he charged forward.
“THIS CAN’T BE HAPPENING—!!”
But reality was cruel.
The insect’s spindly leg swung effortlessly—
And he was sent flying like a ragdoll.
That was the truth.
“Guh…!”
His body slammed into a street tree, and for a moment, consciousness faded.
A distorted static noise stirred him awake.
[Chzzzt—]
[Termination.]
“Ugh….”
Dazed, he looked down at his stomach.
His white dress shirt was soaked in red.
Had he… coughed up blood?
“This can’t… be… happening… Hic….”
Tears trickled down from beneath his thick-rimmed glasses.
He was dying.
His people were dying.
His country was dying.
[Declaration.]
The insect stepped forward, its mandibles clicking.
It didn’t care if Chief Choi’s world was falling apart.
It didn’t care if a mere human had dared to resist.
It simply acted on instinct—
To consume.
[Fade.]
At the moment when Chief Choi chose to surrender—
The moment he shut his eyes, accepting the nightmare—
The speakers screamed with a sound more piercing than ever before.
Screeeeeeeeeeeech—
Then, a voice, calm yet terrifying in its absolute decree, echoed across the city.
【Die】
The distorted speaker noise that had filled all of Seoul suddenly cut off.
And in that instant—
The world fell into utter silence.
Chief Choi, who had given up on facing reality, felt no pain.
Curious as to why death hadn’t arrived, he cautiously opened his eyes.
And what he saw—
“…Huh?”
Before him, the insect monster was turning to black ash.
Like dust scattered in the wind, it was erased from existence.
Not just the one before him.
All the monsters—
The ones that had filled the streets.
The ones that had slaughtered civilians mercilessly.
Every single one of them—
Had turned to dust and vanished.
