Chapter 67

“I found them—the Division 3 members. The number matches the roster exactly.”

Kim Seong-gon, commander of the Special Unit Division 5 (Recon and Disruption Unit) and leader of the rescue team, had located the agents on the surface.

After alerting the search team, he knelt to check their condition.

The full extent of the damage would need further investigation later, but for now, it was clear—everyone here was still alive.

Turning to the man beside him, Kim spoke. That man was the strongest asset the Commander-in-Chief had sent with this rescue mission.

“The demons have retreated, but monsters are still nearby. Keep watch until Division 6 arrives.”

“……”

“Hey, Kang Cho-won.”

“Didn’t hear you! What did you just say?”

Spear of Lightning, Kang Cho-won.

Deputy Commander of the Archduke Extermination Unit—and the leading candidate to succeed as the next Confinement Immortal.

His ability wielded lightning and instantaneous movement so fast that even Kang Nabi, Spear of Thunder, couldn’t compare.

Staring blankly at the sky for a moment, Cho-won suddenly strode toward one of the fallen men, spear in hand, and shouted:

“My dear little brother collapsed like this!? What happened to you!?”

“Someone must’ve moved them here. Given she’s missing, I’d say it was Deputy Commander Yoo Se-byeol.”

“I see! She’s an honorable Awakened indeed! Where is she now?”

“Unclear. There’s no one else left down there.”

She could still be underground fighting—or perhaps she’d already escaped. Either way, the fact that she managed to bring this many people up alone meant her situation probably wasn’t critical.

They had no choice but to trust her and evacuate the survivors first.

Just as Kim Seong-gon was about to summon the healers from the Supply Support Unit, Kang Cho-won stopped him.

“No need for support! I’ll handle the evacuation myself with my ability. You contact the other rescue teams and tell them to retreat immediately!”

“What’s wrong?”

“Hmm. Looks like the thing the Commander-in-Chief feared most… is about to happen!”

The tip of his spear pointed skyward.

The rising sun in the east—its upper edge was slowly being eaten away by darkness.

Before they could even process it, both men’s smartwatches began to vibrate with relentless alerts.

Red, yellow, blue, and white.

Messages of warning from every Magic Tower—each relaying the same thing.

Humanity had only witnessed this phenomenon eight times before.
And every time, more than eighty percent of the world’s population vanished.

A darkness that devoured the light of mankind—the omen of an Archduke’s true body descending.

I’d known from the very beginning that an Archduke’s Incarnation was sealed within Yoo Se-byeol’s body.

What mattered was how dangerous that seal truly was.

For so long, even when I absorbed the Star Scar beside her, there had never been any sign of instability. I’d been complacent.

But it seemed I was wrong.

“Ghhk—dieeee!!”

“Extreme Magic—Endless Outer Path, Heavenly Limit of the Stars.”

The moment I realized she had no sanity left, I activated the Extreme Magic I’d been holding back.

The Tentacle of Armor had already been destroyed, but thanks to the Endless Outer Path, her blade could not reach me.

Crimson aura flared from her entire body, scratching against the ground as it tried to advance—but I summoned my clones, weaving the same hand seals through my tentacles.

Each clone surrounding her cast the same spell. Encircled from every direction, Yoo Se-byeol was trapped within a field she could not escape.

“So that’s why the sheath soaked in a Star’s blood was needed to suppress her…”

Reversed pupils, razor-sharp horn, hair turned ghostly white— She now looked nothing short of a true Archduke.

Even if the original owner of the Incarnation was strong, Yoo Se-byeol’s body—still only Middle Level—couldn’t possibly handle that power. Yet to break through Endless Outer Path with sheer might meant her body had reached a strength worthy of the top ten Archdukes.

“The problem now is how to restrain this thing…”

“Die! Dieeee!!”

With a scream that tore through the air like blood, she shattered the confinement.

The spell remained, but my tentacle-made clones couldn’t endure the magical resonance in her voice—they burst one after another.

Free once more, Yoo Se-byeol swung her sword wildly, cutting through every fallen tentacle in sight.

While her attention was elsewhere, I aimed a knife-hand strike at her exposed nape, driving the Tentacle of Parasitism into it—but the wound healed instantly.

Regeneration, on top of defense. Not a single weakness to exploit. She was a threat in every sense.

Still, if I blew her head off with an Extreme Magic — Singularity like I did with Baek-seon, there’d be no undoing it.

I needed a way to subdue her safely.

As I was racking my brain for one, something unexpected happened.

Yoo Se-byeol, who’d been hacking at my invisible tentacles, accidentally struck a rock and dropped her sword. Given how she’d been slashing practically blind, it wasn’t that surprising.

What shocked me was what came after.

“I’m sorry.”

“…What?”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”

Yoo Se-byeol suddenly began muttering strange words.

She had sunk to her knees, staring at the ground, whispering an endless apology—
not to me, but to someone else entirely.

So unlike the steadfast warrior who had never let go of her sword, she now looked fragile—terrified, even.

Was it childhood trauma resurfacing? Or a side effect of the Incarnation’s awakening, merging her mind with another’s?

Whatever it was, if I attacked now, I could end this. A strong tentacle. A spell. Anything would do.

But after a moment’s thought, I put my hands together—not to cast, but to lift my mask away.

Then I approached her trembling form from behind and spoke softly.

“Deputy Commander.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sor— Hayan?”

“Are you all right?”

Her eyes flickered with confusion.

“Hayan…? But this is a classified mission…”

“That’s because, um… this is all just a dream.”

“A… dream?”

“Yes, a dream.”

“A dreaaam… sniff… a dream where Hayan is beside me.”

When our eyes met, her dark, unfocused pupils trembled nonstop—then, at the word dream, she seemed to relax a little, bowing her head.

Better this way, right? No need to crush her with reality.

“Okay, look here, Deputy Commander.”

“Tentacle… tentacle…?”

“What do you think? The blinking’s kind of cute, right?”

The moment she believed it was a dream, she started trying to snuggle into my chest. I barely managed to peel her off.

Then I raised the Tentacle of Suggestion in front of her, intending to erase this entire memory—just in case she ever remembered it later.

“Disgusting… die…”

…But before it could take effect, her hand—charged with black mana—swatted it apart, shredding the tentacle to pieces.

Sigh.

Emotional damage aside, I had to restore her now, or she’d never make it out alive.

I wasn’t like Moon Ah-rin—I didn’t have purification powers. But this time, I had the Sword Immortal’s sheath.

I knelt and fastened the broken strap of the sheath around Yoo Se-byeol’s waist.

“Okay, there. Hold still for a second.”

“Hayan touched my hips…”

“Please don’t say things that cause misunderstandings!”

“You can touch more if you want…”

“No thank you. My foot’s enough.”

“Ugh… pervert…”

Normally, Yoo Se-byeol couldn’t stand me—yet now she was acting almost… flirtatious? Was this another side effect of the Incarnation’s influence?

There was no way she actually expected me to, uh, suck her toes or something. Sure, a few months ago I’d seen her add foot shampoo to the requisition list for both her office and the training room—but still.

I kept her talking, gently, trying to calm her down. Anything to stop her from snapping again and attacking me.

“This is a dream, so you’ll forget everything when you wake up. Where am I right now, and what am I doing?”

“Classified mission… with Cheon So-baek…”

“Correct. Which means I’m not here.”

“Cheon So-baek… just the two of you… eek! Dieee!”

“Ah! Don’t pull my hair, seriously!”

…Not exactly as effective as I’d hoped, but close enough.

After reminding her—firmly—to forget everything, I tightened the strap and secured the sheath back around her waist.

The moment the Incarnation’s energy left her, Yoo Se-byeol slumped unconscious again.

“Yaaawn… sleepy…”

I handed the Tentacle of Body Pillow to her sleeping form, then tossed her near the exit. Thankfully, not long after, she was spotted by Kim Seong-gon and Kang Cho-won and safely evacuated to the rear.

“I feel like I’ve aged ten years.”

『Fear not?』

“It’s not physical exhaustion… more like mental fatigue. Deputy Commander Yoo is honestly terrifying.”

Poking my head through the hole to watch the Special Unit retreat, I sighed in relief before climbing out myself.

If I used space transfer like before, I could return to Seoul in an instant—but not yet. There was still one more being I needed to deal with here.

“…Now it really begins.”

『Fear not.』

I shed the drab robe I’d worn ever since coming to Earth and stretched my shoulders.

My destination lay in the heart of the burning city—where Flauros awaited me.

“You look tired,” she said, opening her eyes as I approached. She sat cross-legged upon the scorched earth, flames rippling around her.

“Try living on Earth as long as I have.”

“I’ve done enough. Unlike you, who let yourself be chained by a lover, I had competent subordinates. That’s why I’m here before you.”

She looked smug—pleased that she’d chosen the hottest place on Earth as our battlefield.

But… subordinate? I wasn’t one yet, was I? She was already treating Patel—me—as her Familiar.

“Since the day I lost to you, not once have I gone a day without dreaming of revenge.”

“And I never forgot how pathetic you looked that day. But let me remind you—losing to someone stronger isn’t shameful.”

“It’s not the defeat that shames me. It’s that you… violated me with those tentacles.”

“Wha—?! Hey, wait a second! I think our memories differ on that part!”

I swear to the heavens, I only flicked her forehead—once.

Okay, sure, I might’ve restrained her revived body with tentacles after injecting a mild sensitivity stimulant, but that was purely for safe containment. Nothing indecent about it. Probably.

Words were unnecessary between us.

The superheated air made the exposed rebar glow red against the crumbled concrete, and I drew upon every ounce of mana I had. Though the sun had yet to rise, the world was already as bright as if a meteor were about to fall.

“If I lose a third time, I won’t make excuses. Watch closely—and understand.”

Third? Wasn’t it just twice? Ah well, whatever.

The murderous heat that made my body feel like it might evaporate brought a grin to my face. Even my Outer God seemed delighted, swaying gently in the wind.

Right now, I needed no title, no pretense. I was simply myself.

“By the way… what was your name again?”

“Grgh—! You insolent…!”

It was time to become what I once was again—the Apostle of the Outer God, who tore through the Demon Realm.