Ruined World (1)
Tyrannical Dragon Tyronax.
Due to its filthy nature, this brutal being stirred up turmoil at every opportunity, being a symbol of terror and a disaster in this world.
With an enormous size reminiscent of mountain peaks and two massive pairs of wings to match, sharp horns, and spikes protruding all over its body including its head.
The overwhelming physical force produced by its mass could crush anyone with ease, and despite its heavy appearance, its physical abilities, such as perception and reaction speed, reached a transcendent level.
The scales covering its entire body were made of the hardest material in the world, and its vast vitality and resistance were beyond measure.
In fact, the wounds inflicted by battling against it could not be healed by any means…
It wasn’t unusual that numerous heroes had attempted to slay the Tyrannical Dragon for the world’s peace, only to perish in vain.
If it weren’t for its slightly intelligent beast-like nature, challenging it would have been impossible from the start.
A predator sitting at the very top of the food chain.
And that Tyrannical Dragon Tyronax was currently…
Kuuwung— Kwaalang!
Crashing into the mountain ridge, covered in wounds, it was causing a massive landslide.
[Kraaah—!]
The Tyrannical Dragon, peeking out from the collapsed earth, roared harshly.
A cry filled with emotions of rage, pain, frustration, and despair.
[Hooh? You can withstand this? As expected of a notorious one, you’re different from the others. This will make for excellent material. I thought this world was a bust, but this is quite satisfying.]
However, Hans, facing the beast, could sense another feeling contained within.
A clear fear that couldn’t be hidden by its primal ferocity.
[Kheuheh, stay still. I will free you even more. Your kin are already waiting, so you won’t be lonely.]
From his uplifted hand, a blazing black sun appeared.
An artificial sun that spreads darkness in contrast to the real sun, which scatters light in the world.
As that energy spread in all directions, every living being within the affected area withered away in an instant.
And right after that.
Kwaaaang—!
A massive earthquake shook the ground with a towering pillar of black fire.
The destructive force was so immense that an entire mountain seemed to evaporate.
Cities far away from the quake trembled, but Hans, already captivated by the robust life form before him, had no mental space left to care.
[Is it still alive after taking that hit? Indeed…]
He nodded slowly, his eyes gleaming.
The anticipation of what masterpiece might be born if he turned this monstrous body, which was practically a specialty of this dimension, into an undead began to swell.
[Koooh—!]
[Kyaaah—!]
At that moment, two massive dragon skulls, emerging from the shadow of the struggling Tyrannical Dragon below, bit down on its neck collar in unison.
Three gigantic bodies twisted together, rolling on the ground.
But that wasn’t the end.
[We must hunt without causing too much damage.]
[It’s almost on the brink of death. I’ll finish this soon.]
Members of the undead army followed suit, one by one latching onto the Tyrannical Dragon’s body.
There was no need for guilt as it was more like an unintelligent beast compared to other dimensional draconic breeds.
According to the information collected through Olivia, they were creatures that only caused problems everywhere they went.
‘Since there hasn’t been any substantial gain so far, I better gather at least something like this. Harley could use some pampering after a long time too.’
It had been quite a while since Hans left Devor, and now he had passed through two more dimensions to arrive at this fourth location, Mileria. However, he hadn’t yet discovered any signs that could be linked to the Head of the Buncheon Society.
Compared to the apocalyptic situations in previous worlds, he could only deal with ordinary nuisances such as this Tyrannical Dragon.
‘Well, thinking about it, this isn’t even a closed dimension yet. I visited first due to some suspicious points during the process of analyzing memories.’
Given the circumstances, it seemed he had made a wrong turn again this time.
For someone at the level of a Transcendent Being, the chances of memory omission occurring when breaking through mental barriers were very high, so it wasn’t surprising.
Of course, this situation wasn’t all that bad.
It was rather fortunate that if the Head of the Buncheon Society had set up arrangements everywhere he went, it would have been more troublesome.
Realizing that its influence wasn’t as enormous as he had originally thought constituted a harvest of sorts in its own right.
‘Yet, it feels a bit off to be constantly coming to scout for information only to strike out time and again.’
He had reasoned that there would be more traces left in places where operations were actively underway than in worlds that were already over.
It seemed he needed to choose his next destination more wisely, towards a dimension with a higher probability of fulfillment.
‘Speaking of which, there was a suitably closed dimension remaining. Based on the memories collected, the chance of external intervention here was very high…’
Just as Hans was lost in thought.
Wooow—
A faint vibration emerged from his bosom.
He glanced at the subordinates collecting prizes from dismantling the Tyrannical Dragon and pulled something out from his inner pocket.
Wooow—
What emerged was responding even more violently.
It was a pendant with a jewelry piece hanging from a slender chain made of rare metal.
Of course, since Hans possessed it, the ornament was no ordinary item.
[Oh dear, it seems you are still not fully conscious.]
Hans lifted the pendant to his eye socket and sighed softly, shaking his head.
With a gaze ablaze, he looked directly at the bizarre eye-shaped ornament dangling from the chain.
Crackle—
A black lightning flickered at his fingertips.
Without a moment’s hesitation, he brought his finger close to the thrumming eyeball and zapped it.
The eye convulsed repeatedly, wriggling to escape his grasp, but that was, of course, a futile resistance.
‘Impressive. Even after its original self is completely crushed, it continues to resist until the end. Is it due to lingering thoughts in its true body?’
It was indeed fitting of a being referred to as a Great Demon.
The strong obsession with life it emitted at the last moment must have shaped it this way.
‘I’ve benefited greatly from it. Without it, I wouldn’t have even been able to create such an object.’
Hans nodded in satisfaction as he once more held the now tranquil pendant in his hand.
It was this special item that allowed him to utilize the powers of the ‘Infinite Great Demon’ for McCarthy.
As a necromancer who stood at the pinnacle of black magic, if he had the right materials and conditions, it wouldn’t be difficult to create a ‘Demon-infused Weapon’ using sorcery, demon contracts, and magical tools.
‘Of course, if luck hadn’t aligned with the various coincidences, it would have been impossible to make a living object packed with that level of power.’
Nevertheless, the Infinite Great Demon was also a being akin to a demigod.
Given that the Holy God had a demonic nature, unlike ordinary dimensions, there had been no entity capable of being called a god in Devor’s circumstances; thus, it was reasonable to regard the demons, each presiding over a single “concept,” as occupying a god-like status.
Creating an item containing the powers of such an extraordinary being without loss would definitely not be easy.
‘If I hadn’t obtained the essence of a demon that hadn’t completely perished, one perpetually in a sort of brain-dead state after receiving a terminal sentence… I wouldn’t have ever thought to utilize it.’
Even after completing the item through various processes, he wouldn’t have had the means to produce multiple items due to the substantial burden each one carried.
Hans could maintain just this one, so what more could require explanation?
‘Anyway, it’s impossible to create more since I lack the materials.’
However, with the know-how obtained from this operation, he might progress more easily should a similar situation arise next time.
The first attempt had come purely by accident, but once successful, the second is typically easier.
With further research during that process, they might even resolve the issue of being able to utilize only one.
‘If that happens…’
Just as Hans was gazing at the pendant.
[Your Majesty… Everything is complete…]
[Hmm.]
Responding to the voice that echoed nearby, Hans calmly looked around.
The landscape he was in had transformed so completely that he could hardly recognize its initial appearance.
Putting aside the fact that it was in complete disarray, there were only deep craters left where the large mountains had once stood; there was little more to say about it.
‘…With time and rain, that place will probably become a lake. It feels a bit stifling having so many hills; a single open lake would be nice, right?’
Of course, Hans wasn’t particularly concerned.
He shamelessly rationalized while turning a blind eye to the despicable scene of nature being destroyed.
‘Well then, let’s move on. I’ve gathered enough usable materials from the Tyrannical Dragon already.’
Even if they were nuisance creatures, it wasn’t his place as an outsider to extinguish them at will.
Given he had collected enough to feel satisfied, lingering around would only be a waste of time.
Thus, the visitor from another realm quietly vanished as he had arrived.
Toward the next destination he had set in advance—a world that had also received a closed dimension designation like Devor—.
To Koshiyas.
*
After the foreigner left, the incident that occurred in the forbidden zone would only be made known to the world after a long time passed.
Due to the Tyrannical Dragon Tyronax’s notorious reputation, no one dared to approach the obvious signs of calamity, such as the pillar of fire and earthquakes.
What people could eventually grasp was that an unprecedented lake had appeared where the mountain used to be, a place that had never been recorded in history, alongside the fact that several notorious dragon breeds, including the Tyrannical Dragon, had vanished simultaneously.
And that tale would be passed down through generations as the legend and mystery of Mileria.
Under the name of the “Lake of Dragons.”
*
[…Huh?]
The moment Hans stepped through the dimensional door.
The first emotion he felt was confusion.
‘What is this place?’
It was such that he momentarily doubted whether he had arrived at the wrong destination.
This was only natural.
After all, everything about this location was too different from the memories of the dimension he had originally intended to visit.
The Koshiyas dimension belonged to what was commonly referred to as a “civilized world.”
The level of science and technology was similar to that of Earth, but with the development of magic engineering, there were over-technological marvels that had deeply infiltrated daily life.
Yet, the scene before him now was…
[…This world is already dead.]
It was insufficient to merely describe it as a ruin.
The ground was strewn with broken concrete debris and all sorts of scrap metal, while a huge chasm split the surface like a drought-stricken field.
Though it was undoubtedly land, it had practically become an island.
‘The magma is cooling down.’
Through the “Eye of the Abyss,” he checked the bottom of the chasm and shook his head in dismay.
Soon after, he soared high into the sky to take in the entire world.
‘The sea level is far too low. What remains has all rotted away.’
There couldn’t be any living creatures when the ocean, the cradle of life, looked like that.
Instead of a dense atmosphere, toxic substances filled the air and direct radiation poured down, leaving a planet gradually cooling and losing warmth.
Using his abilities to sense living beings, Hans extended his senses, laboriously searching, but only confirmed again that all life forms, including flora, fauna, bacteria, and microorganisms, had completely perished.
[I can’t sense any energy in this space.]
It was a barren land so mysterious it reminded him of Earth’s dead zone… No, it was far more severe than that.
The world reflected in his eyes was pitifully desiccated, having squeezed out everything that once existed.
To think that even “death energy” was absent in a world that was dying was simply unbelievable.
As he flew rapidly and surveyed the ground, Hans suddenly halted in mid-air.
Slowly raising his head, he gazed at the sky.
‘This world has already met its end.’
The sky was shattered and broken.
Beyond it was not space but…
Nothingness.
An empty void was devouring this ruined world whole.
‘There’s no chance of saving this world. Well, not that it matters, since no one remains to save.’
This was nothing more than a “ruined world.”
That would undoubtedly be the only word to describe Koshiyas moving forward.
Then, he suddenly realized one fact.
The system message that had always appeared whenever he entered a new world had not been displayed this time.
‘Even the Holy God, the administrator of this world, and the Akasha system, which encompasses all dimensions, have abandoned this realm.’
He swiftly resumed his fast flight, scanning the world in totality.
The Head of the Buncheon Society must have been behind this devastation.
To gain at least a small clue, he had to act.
Who knows when he might enter such a world again?
Just at that moment…
While expanding his feelings as broadly as possible, Hans paused abruptly.
[This is…]
He checked again, but it was unmistakable.
A faint trace of life energy.
Moreover, this response was definitely…
‘A human? A human survived in such a state? How?’
For him, it didn’t matter as he was already in a dead body, but even an Awakened One under the system’s protection wouldn’t hold out long in this place.
Yet someone was alive, defying these worst possible circumstances…
Hans’s body shot forth like lightning.
Heading directly to the lone survivor in this ruined world.
