Prologue

A world forsaken by its gods is nothing but delectable prey.

Since ancient times, supreme entities known as the Outer Gods, or Itarim, have created numerous universes.

Itarim!

Many Itarim, scattered across different dimensions, noticed that an owner of a distant dimension had vanished, and their eyes brightened from afar. They were indifferent to the death of their kin, and the only thing that mattered to them was the enormous amount of mana that remained in that world.

The first to claim an ownerless power becomes its master!

And so, began the "War of the Outer Gods."

***

A powerful screech pierced the dimensional rift, a place where multiple universes were weaved together.

Using sheer force, the Itarim's followers forcefully ripped through the solid dimensional wall and came pouring out all at once.

But a man stood before the outpour. With his entire body covered in a black aura, the Greatest Fragment of Brilliant Light, the Monarch of Shadows Sung Jinwoo, opened his mouth.

"Rise."

At his command, an army of millions, composed of angels of light and the shadow army, simultaneously raised their weapons, and before long, the war began.

No matter how many invaders from the outer universe were killed, a seemingly endless number continued to surge forth. A tense and relentless battle raged for a long time, offering not a single moment to let one's guard down.

"There seems to be no end in sight..."

"In fact, enduring this much is a miracle in itself. This war has been an uphill battle for us, right from the start."

"I agree. Our defenses would have been breached long ago without the Monarch of Shadow's help."

The rulers, the six-winged angels, paid homage to Sung Jinwoo. They were Fragments of Brilliant Light, originally born as the Messengers of God. One day, they realized the cruelty of their creator and became god-slayers of their own accord.

Eons ago, the "god" who created this world had divided the primordial light and darkness into eight pieces each, thus creating "Fragments of Brilliant Light" and "Monarchs." Since their inception, they had relentlessly pursued an endless war of killing and being killed, bound by predetermined destinies.

Amid the unending cycles of war, countless lives were lost. Not even the lives of war commanders—Fragments of Brilliant Light or Monarchs—were spared. However, any empty leadership position would eventually be filled by another.

Whenever the astral body of a Monarch perished or a Fragment of Brilliant Light died, the "primordial darkness" or the "primordial light" that dwelled respectively within them sought out new candidates, creating more Monarchs and Fragments of Brilliant Light—all to maintain the balance of war.

However, the purpose of the war was for the sole amusement of the brutal Absolute Being who wished for a never-ending conflict. Unfortunately, the truth was discovered after many eons had already passed.

But eventually, the Absolute Being died along with all the Monarchs, and peace seemed to have finally come after an exceedingly long war. However, the world was blindsided by an invasion from the opportunistic Outer Gods who felt the absence of the Absolute Being.

"Even now, followers of Itarim continue to be born."

"Meanwhile, our forces remain at a standstill."

Since long ago, silver soldiers led by the Rulers were born from the fruit of the World Tree. However, the World Tree eventually stopped bearing fruit after the death of the Absolute Being. Thus, replenishing the troops proved impossible.

However, there was an exception—the king who manipulates death, the Monarch of Shadows. He and his legion alone were immortal.

The power of creation may have disappeared, but death remained eternal. Had it not been for Sung Jinwoo's shadow army continuously resurrecting after death, the war would have ended instantly, a sentiment echoed by the Rulers. The result would have been the total annihilation of the world, a complete extinction.

"My lord, I bear bad news."

Sung Jinwoo's commander, Igris, urgently appeared before him.

"Our rear defense line has been breached!"

"Where?"

"Well... They seem to have targeted the area with the weakest magical power..."

"Is it Earth?"

"My apologies. Due to our forces focusing on the front, our rear defenses were overlooked."

Sung Jinwoo quietly sighed. Earth had barely regained peace, but it found itself exposed to yet another threat.

"It seems like another gate on Earth will open." The Rulers muttered, cautious of Jinwoo. There was a time when Earth faced an invasion by beings from another dimension. The Rulers, the main culprits of the incident, rushed to offer excuses.

"But the situation now is different to our case."

"That's right. Our goal was to nurture Earth to protect it from the Monarchs."

"But now, the sole objective of the Itarim is pure aggression!"

"They're trying to disrupt us by breaking down the weakest point of the rear!"

"My lord! We must quickly send reinforcements to Earth!" Igris cried. The Rulers strongly opposed the commander's suggestion.

"Absolutely not! Splitting forces would shatter the delicate balance of power that's barely being held together!"

"That's exactly what the Itarim wants us to do!"

"If the front is breached because we tried to recover the rear, we'll surely face defeat!"

After hearing both sides of the heated argument, the Monarch of Shadows eventually made his choice.

"Beru."

"Grraaah! Your Majesty!"

The Ant King, who was happily tearing apart the limbs of enemies, responded to the call.

"Commander Beru! Awaiting your orders!"

"I need you to take a trip to Earth."

"Woah! Does that mean that...?"

Sung Jinwoo nodded firmly. "Correct. Looks like it's time to break Suho's seal."

Beru's eyes widened eagerly with anticipation.

"Be swift and return promptly."

"Your wish is my command!"

Upon receiving his orders, Beru transformed into a beam of light and flew straight to Earth.

Sung Jinwoo's silent gaze was fixed on Beru as he flew away, but his eyes soon returned to his approaching enemies. His gaze burned fiercely as he clenched his jaw.

"Come and get me, followers of the Outer Gods!"

The war continued to rage on.

Chapter 3

Prologue

A world without its God is nothing but a tasty prey!

Outer Gods

Absolute beings who created countless universes since their existence.

ITHARIM!

Itharims scattered across multiple dimensions—faraway dimensions.

Eyes lit up upon realizing that the master had disappeared.

The death of their own kind is the least of their concerns.

To them, the only thing that matters is the enormous mana remaining in that world!

Power that loses its master belongs to the one who finds it first!

…Hence, the start of 'The War of Outer Gods'.

* * *

Keuhhaaa!

Multiple universes are connected by dimension gaps.

The strong walls of the dimension were torn apart with force, and envoys of Itharim came out at once.

A man stood in front of him.

The greatest fragment of brilliant light, shadow monarch Sung Jinwoo, opened his mouth with a black air current wrapped around his body.

"Arise."

Gooooo!

With that word, millions of Light Angels and Shadow Armies raised their weapons in unison.

Soon, the war began.

The extraterrestrial invaders continue to attack endlessly no matter how many of them were killed.

With no space to take a breath, the tense battle continued for a long time.

[…The end is not in sight.]

[Honestly, it's a miracle we're enduring this much. From the start, this war is against us.]

[I agree. Without the shadow monarch, our defense line would have been wiped out right away.]

The rulers, six-winged angels, paid their respects to Sung Jinwoo.

They are fragments of brilliant light born as apostles of God.

At some point, they realized the cruelty of the Gods and became God-slayers by their own will.

Perhaps from then on, this war may have been a predestined step.

[The apostles of Itharim are still being born.]

[On the other hand, our forces are steadfast.]

Since ancient times, the heavenly soldiers led by rulers were born from the fruit of the World Tree.

However, after the death of the God, the World Tree gradually ceased to bear fruit.

Accordingly, replenishment of troops was impossible.

As the Rulers said, if it wasn't for Sung Jinwoo's shadow army that continues to resurrect even after dying, this war would have ended in an instant.

In other words, the absolute end of this world's demise.

[Master, we're in trouble.]

Commander Igris appeared urgently in front of Sung Jinwoo.

[Our backline defense has been wiped out!]

"Which area?"

[The thing is… They were aiming for the area with the weakest magic…]

"You mean, Earth?"

[I apologize. Too much focus was given to frontline defense that the backline became insufficient.]

Sung Jinwoo let out a deep sigh.

The Earth, which had barely regained peace, was once again exposed to danger.

[…The Gate to Earth will open again.]

The Rulers looked at Sung Jinwoo and muttered simultaneously.

At one point, Earth has been invaded by extraterrestrial inhabitants.

The rulers, who were the main culprits of the incident, urgently made excuses.

[That situation was different from ours now.]

[Surely, our purpose was to nurture the Earth and protect it from Monarchs.]

[But, the purpose of Itharim this time is pure aggression!]

[To confuse us, they are targeting our weakest point, the backline!]

[Master! We must send troops to Earth as soon as possible!]

The Rulers strongly opposed Igris.

[We can't! If we divide our forces, the balance we barely maintained so far will be at risk!]

[That could be Itharim's main goal!]

[If we protect the backline at the expense of our frontline defense, we will eventually be defeated!]

Sung Jinwoo, who was listening to their fierce argument, finally made a decision.

"Beru."

[Khiiikk! Your Majesty!]

The Ant King, who was tearing his enemy's limbs excitedly, responded to his call.

[High Commander Beru! Listen to my command!]

"Go to Earth.."

[Khiik! Could it be…?!]

Sung Jinwoo nodded sternly.

"That's right. I think it's time to unleash Suho."

[…!]

Beru's eyes widened with full anticipation.

"Come back as soon as you can."

[Your wish is my command!]

After which, Beru immediately becomes like a ray of light and flies to Earth.

Sung Jinwoo who had been watching him silently, returned to the approaching enemies.

Mouth tightly closed.

His eyes burned fiercely.

"Come here, apostles of Outer Gods."

The war continued.

“Ahh!”

It was the worst possible scenario. Screams echoed from all corners of the room, and the emergency evacuation order blared out without respite.

In an instant, the mist burn multiplied, continuing to create new victims.

“At this rate, it will be us next!” Dogyoon screamed.

A mist burn was not a monster he could handle at his level. Moreover, of all things, mist burns happened to be a trigger point for his most painful trauma.

“Huh? Dogyoon! Where are you going?” Suho was shocked by what he saw. The only hunter in the hall was running away.

Dogyoon narrowly evaded the mist burn’s attacks and escaped the exhibition hall alone.

Should I follow him? Suho pondered for a moment, then decided to head out in the opposite direction to Dogyoon. He rushed to a corner of the exhibition hall and grabbed a fire extinguisher.

I’m not sure if this will work, but… He couldn’t bring himself to leave the others behind. Holding the fire extinguisher, Suho ran toward the cluster of mist burns.

Hiss! White powder sprayed over the mist burns and covered them.

“Grrraaaaaah!”

The extinguisher had no magical properties, so the attack dealt an insignificant amount of damage. However, it managed to temporarily suppress their firepower.

That’s some breathing room, for now.

Having proved the effectiveness of the fire extinguisher, he continued to spray it on other mist burns.

“Grrraaaaaah!”

“Aaargh!”

The time he bought for himself allowed Suho to examine his surroundings. He spotted a fallen friend, Kim Daehyun, and offered his support.

“Are you okay?”

“Ugh...” Tears and mucus covered his face.

“Hey, snap out of it!”

Suho shook his body, but Daehyun’s eyes remained vacant.

Slap! He slapped his friend’s face to bring him back to his senses.

“Su... Suho?” Daehyun’s eyes gradually regained focus.

Suho’s eyes looked downward. Did he twist his ankle?

“Let’s get out of here for now.” Suho quickly picked up his friend.

Thanks to the fire extinguisher, the movement of the mist burns was temporarily weakened. If there ever was a time to escape, it was now.

“What happened to the teaching assistant?” Daehyun asked with a trembling voice.

Almost every painting major knew that Im Dogyoon was a hunter. But surprisingly, he was nowhere to be seen despite the enormous danger his students were in.

“I saw him requesting help from the Hunters Association earlier.” Suho didn’t think it was necessary to mention what happened afterward. He’s already scared enough as it is.

Upon hearing Suho’s words, his friend let out a relieved sigh as he was carried out on his back.

***

They exited the exhibition hall, but the mayhem was far from over. On the contrary, the real chaos awaited them outside.

“Krrraaaah!”

There are more of them. Suho bit his lip. It seemed like the entire art gallery building was swarmed by mist burns. A magic beast that multiplies rapidly... What a piece of work. Thinking that he would be safe once outside, he felt like he had been lied to.

“Ahhhh!”

“S-save me...!”

“When are the hunters coming?”

People huddled together, trembling in fear. The art gallery building had a straightforward design with a simple layout of stairs and elevators. However, mist burns were lurking in every corner of the building.

If we continue like this, people’s lives will be at stake. Suho quickly assessed the situation—all exits were blocked, and the magic beasts were multiplying rapidly. As the situation continued to nosedive, he worried about the irrational choices the terrified survivors would make. Jumping out of the window would surely result in death, and blindly rushing out of the building could complicate the situation if they turned into a magic beast.

Maybe, it would help if they could just find a way to protect themselves for the time being. Suho raised the fire extinguisher he had brought with him and shouted, “Everyone! Listen up!”

Some of the frightened people looked at Suho.

“I have a way to deal with the monsters!”

They all waited for his next words. The hopeful message made more people turn toward his direction. Those who turned around noticed the fire extinguisher in Suho’s hand.

“I see!”

“That’s right! A fire extinguisher might work!”

“We can kill the monsters!”

Life and hope returned to their lost eyes, but Suho felt slightly sheepish.

Ah, we’re not actually capable of killing the monsters... But it should be fine, right?

The important thing was that the people had regained hope.

People scattered in all directions, determined to find fire extinguishers.

“I found one!”

“I found one too!”

.The people who found fire extinguishers cheered loudly, while those who couldn’t turned as pale as ghosts. It was unlikely that multiple fire extinguishers were placed on a single floor in the first place, but the amount they had was enough.

Suho shouted, “Not every one of you needs one! Those with fire extinguishers, follow me!”

Those holding fire extinguishers looked nervous and scared, as it became clear to them that they would be the ones to fight. Suho stepped forward and aimed the fire extinguisher at a mist burn. He knew that it was time for action, not words.

“Grrraaaaaah!”

The firepower of the mist burn noticeably weakened, and those who witnessed the scene brightened up.

“It’s working!”

“Good! Let me try!”

Hiss! With their newfound confidence, they began shooting the fire extinguishers at the monsters.

“Great! Let’s keep pushing forward like this!”

Suho continued to lead the way, charging forward and pushing back the mist burns. Meanwhile, people cautiously followed his lead and descended the stairs—but more trouble loomed.

“Aaargh!”

More mist burns were still closing in from behind.

“No!”

“They’re also coming from the back!”

The people, who had barely regained their composure, fell back into panic. Overwhelmed by fear, the survivors rushed down the stairs. Suho gritted his teeth. We’re almost there.

It felt like the entire staircase would collapse and everyone would fall if they continued.

He placed Daehyun down from his back and asked, “All right, can you go on your own from here?”

“Why? What are you going to do?” His friend looked at him with a confused expression.

Suho, looking more determined than before, shouted at the people holding fire extinguishers, “I’ll take care of the rear, so those at the front, continue to clear the way!”

“Okay, understood!”

Suho turned around and went back up the stairs. I don’t know what I’m doing. He was a non-awakened person clumsily imitating a hunter, but he knew that there was no other choice. His body moved first.

Hiss!

“Grrraaaaaah!”

With his fire extinguisher, Suho attacked the mist burn that jumped at him from behind.

“Huh?”

“Grr?”

The stream of white powder, once forcefully spurting outward, had complexly stopped. Suho made awkward eye contact with the retreating mist burn

“I see...” Suho chuckled in disappointment. “I’m screwed.”

“Aaargh!” The mist burn surged toward Suho, and the blue smoke began to engulf him. Just as another mist burn was on the verge of forming... something strange happened.

Shwaaaack!

The mist burn suddenly came to a halt. It was face-to-face with the profound abyss that had been dormant within Suho.

***

Mist burns were feeble beings, born from the remnants of magic, that moved solely on instinct. However, their strength increased depending on the amount of fuel they had, and they also possessed the power to multiply endlessly. All in all, they were tricky beasts to overcome.

To make matters worse, a mist burn’s favorite source of fuel was living beings. Humans with their abundant vitality were like dry firewood, excellent fuel for burning. In that sense, Suho was the perfect prey for the mist burn.

Shwaaaack!

But the moment Suho’s body was engulfed, the dark abyss that was hidden inside him, swallowed the mist burn whole.

“Krah?” The bewildered mist burn looked around in confusion. No matter where it looked, the endless abyss stretched out in every direction. However, it could feel that something was watching it from the deepest depths of the abyss—the mist burn growled ferociously as it released its blue mist.

“Krah! Krah! Krah?” But no matter how much it barked, the only thing that returned was an empty echo.

It was only then the mist burn realized that it wasn’t a thing, but rather, the entire vast abyss itself that surrounded it was gazing down upon it. It was as if the entire abyss was salivating at the sight of a delicious meal.

“Kyaaack?!”

In a shocking turn of events, the abyss opened its mouth wide, seemingly ready to swallow the mist burn as it desperately attempted to flee.

Gulp.

***

Poof.

“Huh?” Suho had a puzzled look on his face. The mist burn that had engulfed him suddenly dispersed into thin air. The human body it had used as a vessel turned into ashes, and collapsed on the spot. Before he could make sense of what had happened, another surprise was sprung on him.

[The mist burn has been defeated.]

[Secret Quest: You have met the completion requirements of “The Courage of the Helpless.”]

“What is this?” Suho’s eyes widened as a message suddenly appeared before him.

[Level up!]

Flash! The dazzling light surrounded Suho’s entire body.

***

Daehyun managed to escape from the art gallery building just in time. Thud. He lost any strength he had left in his limping legs as soon as he got outside. He fell to the ground in front of the art gallery building—completely drained of energy—but his eyes somehow instinctively moved to find Suho.

“Su, Suho, where is he? Have you seen Suho?”

“Who’s that? Oh, you mean that guy from earlier?”

People remembered the student who had fought bravely, leading the way with a fire extinguisher.

However, Suho was nowhere to be seen.

After some hesitation, someone spoke out. “He said something about taking care of the rear, and went back up earlier.”

“W-wait, you don’t think...”

“He hasn’t come out yet?”

The crowd murmured.

Someone muttered with a mix of hope in their voice, “But he’s a hunter, so he should be fine, right?”

“But Suho isn’t a hunter!” Daehyun shouted urgently.

The crowd looked even more shocked by the revelation.

“What? He’s not a hunter?”

“If he’s not a hunter, how could he...”

Their gaze simultaneously turned toward the art gallery—Suho had still not escaped.

That was when the hunters made their timely arrival in response to the call.

“It’s here!” Dogyoon, one of the first to flee, had brought the hunters with him. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw that people had safely escaped the art museum. Phew, thank goodness. It looks like everyone managed to escape somehow.

As an E-rank hunter, he was convinced that he’d chosen the best course of action, but when he saw the people outside the gallery, he felt guilty for his cowardice.

“How did everyone manage to get out?”

Dogyoon and the hunters looked at the people with puzzled expressions. They couldn’t believe that so many had survived a mist burn breakout in such a confined space. It was a relief of course, but they were still curious about how it was possible.

“More important than that, there’s someone still inside!” Daehyun shouted urgently, “Suho is still…!”

“Suho? You’re saying he’s still in there?” Dogyoon immediately turned his focus onto the art gallery building.

“If it wasn’t for him, we all would have died!” The raw emotion behind Daehyun’s words deepened the sorrow in people’s faces.

The hunters were curious about their reactions, which prompted one of them to ask, “Is this Suho a hunter? What’s his rank?”

“He’s a civilian.”

“Come again? How could a civilian...”

The hunters were about to ask for more details when—

Crash! An ominous roar came from the art gallery, and everyone’s heads turned toward the source. A sinister force of magic was surging toward the top of the building.

“Damn it, has the erosion already begun?”