Until they drew close, the swarm of monsters paid them no heed, endlessly consumed by their own vicious cycle of killing and dying. But the instant Kim Sibaek set foot onto the field of Dongdaemun Stadium, their territory, the beasts abruptly shifted their focus. A murderous intent surged, converging entirely upon one man: Kim Sibaek.
Carefully, Kim Sibaek tucked Lord Biendeoé into the safety of his clothing.
“Be careful.”
[Death and Beauty says she’ll cling to you like a cicada, so don’t worry.]
This battle would likely mark the end of their hunt. Firmly adjusting his grip on the saber, Kim Sibaek launched forward, slicing through the swarm like a gust of wind.
Each flash of the setting sun reflected off his blade marked the fall of another monster. With every step, their fluids splattered across the field like erupting fountains. Regrettably, his Divine Power hadn’t replenished yet; apparently, this horde counted collectively as a single entity—the Portal Keeper.
With ample Divine Power, this fight might’ve been easier, but its absence wouldn’t change the outcome. Even when Lord Biendeoé had been a feeble deity, Kim Sibaek had served faithfully as her Apostle and Paladin.
Monsters missing limbs thrashed wildly, desperately attempting to hinder his path or bite his ankles. Others, dragging broken bodies, clawed toward him, aiming to crush his waist. Some, pierced from behind, twisted blades through their own bodies to attack him. His saber effortlessly sliced them in two.
The monsters mimicked Hunter abilities. Flames writhed like serpents; rocks erupted from the ground; beasts lunged ferociously. Kim Sibaek fluidly twisted away from the flames, vaulted atop rising stones, and plunged his blade through a beast’s neck.
They weren’t just monsters—they were horrifying reenactments of past atrocities. Even after their gruesome deaths, they were forcibly summoned from the memories of survivors, eternally replaying their final moments.
Yet, these creatures were already dead. Their flesh had decayed, their souls had passed into the afterlife cycle. What manifested here were mere echoes, born from fragments of decayed brains. Thus, despite knowing it was futile, Kim Sibaek, Apostle of Death and Beauty, prayed quietly each time he delivered them peace.
May you find tranquility in death.
[Death and Beauty gently watches you.]
Watched by the young deity from the Underworld who revered the very deaths he delivered, Kim Sibaek reached the center of the stadium. Nothing stood out.
“The core isn’t here, it seems.”
[Death and Beauty asks what you intend to do.]
“We’ll have to search everywhere.”
Before charging back into the surging wave of monsters, Kim Sibaek glanced anxiously toward the distant apartment building where Tae Woon stood. Suddenly, the sky grew dark.
“Screeeeeeeeech!”
An enormous flying beast blotted out the sky. Kim Sibaek clicked his tongue softly. Tae Woon had described it as large yet manageable, but this Eid Portal manifestation of the beast was massive enough to cover the entire Dongdaemun Stadium. Its immense size revealed just how overwhelming the host’s terror had been.
Against such a monstrosity, Tae Woon appeared like a frail sapling trembling before a hurricane, precariously balanced atop the apartment roof. Even someone as formidable as Tae Woon was currently confined to a fourteen-year-old’s body, barely adjusted to its new limitations. Facing this colossal beast alone would be dangerously taxing.
Clang! Clang!
As Kim Sibaek deflected more monster attacks, debating whether to assist Tae Woon, the young man suddenly raised an arm. For a moment, it seemed he might use some magic tool. Instead, Tae Woon rose into the air and swiftly flew toward the giant monster. Evidently, he possessed a magical artifact allowing him direct access.
Kim Sibaek only relaxed slightly after watching Tae Woon safely land atop the beast’s back. Showing less skill than a child was unacceptable; the remaining ground monsters were entirely his responsibility.
Smoothly deflecting the mutated dinosaur-like limb that swung toward him, Kim Sibaek slid his blade downward, neatly splitting the monster’s spine. Before its bisected body even hit the ground, he’d already pierced another monster through the forehead.
Although his physical body was again fourteen, there was no need to hold back as he once had. He wasn’t a newly awakened novice anymore—he was a veteran Hunter who had spent over twenty years perfecting his lethal skill.
The flying monster attacking Dongdaemun Stadium possessed feathers sharp as blades. Twenty-one years ago, Tae Woon had climbed this creature at great cost, enduring countless injuries. Now, however, he strolled leisurely along its massive back, almost as if taking a casual walk.
Yet Tae Woon had no immediate intention of killing it. Below him stood Kim Sibaek, the person who had vowed to protect him.
Summoning a spear from darkness, Tae Woon plunged it deep into the monster’s back. Only then did the creature realize an intruder rode upon it. With a piercing cry, it thrashed violently, attempting to shake him loose. Calmly, Tae Woon settled comfortably near the monster’s wing joint, unfazed.
He closed his eyes, sensing the chaotic swirl of Demonic energy that saturated the distorted Eid Portal, disrupting his senses. But soon, a gentle glow emerged, purifying the chaos—Divine Power. The singular, shining presence: Kim Sibaek.
Ah.
As Tae Woon sensed Kim Sibaek’s Divine Power, waves of nearly ecstatic pleasure washed through him. Although it wasn’t his first experience, it felt more intense, more vivid than ever.
The Divine Power he’d obsessively imagined—almost painfully so—now appeared shamefully underestimated in comparison. It was dazzlingly pure, extraordinarily beautiful, especially in this moment, fiercely clashing against monstrous Demonic energy.
Immersed in this self-destructive bliss, Tae Woon dimly sensed the Divine Power drawing closer. The flying beast, ignoring Tae Woon entirely, was now directly aiming for Kim Sibaek.
“Tsk.”
Irritated by the abrupt disruption of his euphoria, Tae Woon clicked his tongue softly and snapped the beast’s wing joint with ruthless precision.
The monster’s twisted wing abruptly altered its trajectory, sending it veering sharply upward. Tae Woon calmly steered its chaotic movements, casting a glance toward the battlefield below. Gradually, the monsters on the ground were thinning out, their numbers steadily declining beneath Kim Sibaek’s relentless blade.
Tae Woon stood from his crouched position, swiftly making his way across the beast’s thick, squat neck until he reached its head. The creature barreled toward the tilted apartment building, planning to ram its head into the structure in a desperate attempt to throw him off.
“That trick is getting old.”
This flying monster’s core was located within its brain.
Twenty-one years ago, Tae Woon had painstakingly bypassed the beast’s skull—hard as steel—by attacking through its eyes, penetrating the crystalline lens and vitreous fluid. Now, however, such cumbersome tactics weren’t necessary. Calmly, he plucked out a razor-sharp feather and deliberately made shallow cuts on his body. Then, dropping to one knee, he placed his palm firmly against the creature’s skull.
Darkness poured from his hand, and with a sickening, bone-shattering crack, the monster shrieked in agony, overwhelmed by primal terror. Within mere seconds, its skull shattered, its brain reduced to pulp as Tae Woon mercilessly crushed the core.
Despite its immense power—far surpassing the monster that had decimated Dongdaemun Stadium years earlier—this flying beast now died in midair, powerless to harm the ground below.
As the headless carcass fell from the sky with a deafening roar, Kim Sibaek, having finished slaughtering every monster within Dongdaemun Stadium, finally discovered the core controlling the horde.
It appeared as a one-armed man. Unlike the monsters in the swarm, this creature showed no aggression toward Kim Sibaek, instead wholly absorbed in a gruesome task.
“……”
[Death and Beauty is deeply disturbed.]
The core, disguised as the one-armed man, hungrily devoured the corpses of an elderly couple. He chewed relentlessly, swallowing bones and flesh whole, as if desperately trying to preserve the two bodies safely inside himself.
Their faint resemblance to the one-armed man sparked deeply unsettling suspicions, but Kim Sibaek dismissed such thoughts with a quiet sigh. Whatever reality—past, present, or imagined—had created this nightmare was beyond his influence.
Divine Power filled his blade, bathing it in gentle, radiant light. Sensing the power instinctively opposed to its very existence, the creature finally lifted its head sharply to face him.
