Ch.13Chapter 13 – Hero

“Fuck, everyone get in quickly! Retreat, retreat!”

Officers loaded soldiers into trucks. They seemed to have realized that staying put would lead to total annihilation. Sergeant Kim hurriedly climbed into a military truck. The entire unit began retreating along the path they had come. Though they were gradually putting distance between themselves and the black sphere, they couldn’t feel at ease. The giant appeared excessively relaxed.

The demon, now fully manifested in the mortal world, flexed its fingers repeatedly as if satisfied. Its glowing eyes and mouth curved into a grin. It was a demonic smile. It took a deep breath and let out a battle cry.

[F̶̫̗̼̤̩͈̤̀ǫ̴̢̛͚̪̥̠͈͓̫̹͖̲̅̋̈͌̔̄̂̒̓̈̓̋ŕ̶̭̱̫̠̬͚͇͙̩͓̫ ̸̢̙̲̙͙͙̞̥͎̥̥̜͓͇͑͛͌̑̾̃̾͋͂̑̇̂̓̾͜͠y̷̢͍͕̞͔͕̗̪̦̘͓͍͊͆͌ͅơ̶͚̙͍͔̤̘͚̰̈́̽̀̆́͑͗̓u̸̢̗͉̙̫̫̫͓̣̙̺͍͛ṙ̸̡̛̪̝̮̻̱͌̆̾̓͗͑͌͒͒̓̊̏͝ ̸͈̼̘̣̥̪͙̖͕͇̗̖̻͑̃͠͝ḿ̶̖͇̗̬̘͔͙͕̻̝̖̦͛͂͋̑̂̅́͑̄̓a̸̛̼͈̞̥͙͖͕̯͋̃͐̈́̎̃̀͗j̵̧̨̝͓̱̤̮̟̟͖̤̙̙͙̈́̍͘ȩ̴̘̟̖̾͐̎̐̿̎̋͒͘͝ś̴̛̤̗͚̺̦͔̦̤͖̠̓̅͑̍̆̌̓͌t̴̡͕͓͉̫̉́̐͑͗͘y̵̢̡̛̹̯̤͍̥̳̪̼̎̿̽̊̉̾͝,̵̲͈̼̯̒͋̿̈́͂̏͠ ̸̖͍̈́k̸̨̨̝̻͉͍͔̰͍̳͍̜̰̥̣̈́͋͆̑͂̈̚ì̸̡̛̯̟̓̐̽̿̽̋̏͛n̵̡̢̙̝̪̰̠͚̞͕̣͆̅͒̈́͗̈́̊̔͜͝g̴̨̛̱̮͙̰͍͈̫͌͌̉̈̿̒̏̈́̚̕ ̸̗̼̟͕̑̔̅̓̏̚o̶̤̖̫̟͋͆̈̑̆̕f̴̡̨̨̧̝̮̲̳̳̗̺̪͙̼̣̾̓̋̃̉̊́̋̌͝͠͝ ̸̢̱̣̩͕̼̜̱͎̃̒̌̽̐͊͑̕t̷͙͈̻͓̪̦̱̂͆h̸͙̻̬̗̼́̒̔͝ȩ̷̪̘̐̉̈́̂̂̾̈́̔̿̏̿͘ ̵͎̮̺̀̄̈́̃̄̎͝ḧ̷̡̡̯̼̣̠̫͉̪̪̹̾͌̈́̚ͅę̵̘̪͎̱̣̎̆͑̉͒͋̄̍͠ľ̴̡͖͉͚̘͍̾̐̇̒͑͑̏̉͝l̵͔͔͔̱̠̯͒͒̋̆̽̉̀̎̕͠͠-̴̡̼̮̖͍͕̫̠̜̮͚̰̫̫͆̕ͅ!̷̟͓͠!̵̧̣͔̬̰̺̲̮͇͕͖̭̩̈́͑]

KWAAANG-!

Its inflated lungs contracted in an instant, releasing a blast of hot air from its mouth. As the terrible noise befitting the giant’s volume swept over the army, soldiers covered their ears in agony. Lava sprayed from the giant’s mouth like saliva, melting nearby vehicles and roads. As violent gusts suddenly arose, the broadcasting station’s helicopter that had been filming the battlefield wobbled and quickly fled the scene.

“ARRRGH!”

Sergeant Kim also covered his ears with both hands and squeezed his eyes shut. The hot air penetrating his mouth and nose was agonizing. It felt like his windpipe was being scorched. Realizing they had no chance of winning, Sergeant Kim seriously considered desertion. It seemed like staying here meant certain death. And he’d rather have a red mark on his record than have his lifeline cut short.

‘Fuck, should I desert? Should I run? Is this the time to bail?’

Unfortunately, the demon didn’t wait for him to make that choice. Having announced its presence to the mortal world, the demon began to move. It lifted its right foot embedded in the asphalt to take the first great step of hell. Like walking on a road covered in deep snow, its right foot sank into the asphalt, melting it.

The demon then moved its left foot, followed by the right, then the left again. Leaving footprints of lava, the burning demon slowly advanced toward the army. Though the giant’s movements were sluggish, its extremely long stride was sufficient to catch up with the retreating army.

As the demon moved, flames splashed like bodily fluids, destroying buildings and roads. Each splash was far more powerful than an Awakened’s fireball. To delay the giant’s advance even briefly, tanks fired their cannons while retreating. Some aimed for the knees, others for the giant’s face. Either way, it was a futile struggle. No, not entirely futile. Contrary to their intentions, the artillery fire only strengthened the enemy.

Eventually, the giant caught up with the tail end of the fleeing army. It stomped down on an area dense with retreating vehicles, intending to crush multiple targets at once. Drivers carrying soldiers desperately swerved. Trucks on the sides broke formation and somehow managed to escape into alleys. Trucks in the center became entangled after colliding with each other in confusion. The giant’s foot came down on them.

[Ḅ̷̓̅̐͂̽͐͆u̴̧̩̮̣̩̜̬͇̭͌̅͆͐̉͆̈́͒̈́͒ŗ̵͙̙͓̝͙̟̮̲͚̆̿͊̋͆̒̽͘͜͝͝ṇ̸̡̛̛͙̗̟̜̮̺̣̩̖̣̥͉̔͊͗̊̿͊̀̿̽͝ͅ!̴̬̹̜͓̺͙͕͍͈̬̩̾͌̌̈́̇̉̒̑͐͝]

KWA-AANG!

The metal trucks, instantly melting under the burning foot, exploded. The explosion and melted road trapped surrounding vehicles. Immobilized vehicles became easy targets for the giant. The giant rolled its foot repeatedly. With each playful, childlike movement, dozens of soldiers lost their lives.

While the rear vehicles bought time with their lives, the vehicles at the front were fleeing for dear life. There was no pride in saving comrades, no honor. There were only frightened prey trying to escape this irrational catastrophe.

The demon saw this. It decided it would be better to catch the fleeing prey rather than finish off those already in its grasp. But if it chased after the rats in front, those it had already caught might escape. So the giant devised a trick.

The giant lowered its head and plunged its index and middle fingers deep into the ground. Survivors nearby recoiled in terror, moving away from the thick, hot fingers. The demon moved its embedded fingers, drawing a line on the stone floor—a circle to trap the entangled trucks, tanks, and surviving soldiers. Thus, a moat of flowing lava was created.

The demon smiled with satisfaction at the fence it had made. Then it resumed walking toward the fleeing army.

Sergeant Kim trembled with fear as he watched the giant pursuing them again. Would it stop chasing if he escaped now? But how could he jump from a moving car? And could he outrun the giant faster than a car?

The giant stretched out its hand, spreading its fingers as if about to cover the truck. It was a pitiful gesture like trying to catch a departing lover, but no one felt romance or love in the giant’s movement. Viscous hatred, obsession, and madness flickered in the burning eye sockets.

The giant finally reached the end of the fleeing army. It bent its knees and lowered its upper body as if about to pounce on the insects with its entire body. Its already enormous face appeared even larger. Just as Sergeant Kim’s eyes filled with despair thinking they had been caught, he spotted a police car with blaring sirens racing between the giant’s legs.

And the madman standing on its roof.

***

“Finally caught up.”

The wind at 100 km/h struck Shin Jaehyuk’s face. He stood balanced on the roof of the speeding police car. Unlike before, he had switched his spear from his right hand to his left, and his shield from his left hand to his right. He inserted the spear in his left hand through the driver’s window to make subtle steering adjustments, while using the shield to maintain his balance on the roof.

Performing a feat impossible even for a skilled circus performer, Shin Jaehyuk stared at the back of the giant’s head. It was undoubtedly a high-ranking demon. Unfortunately, Jaehyuk’s prediction had come true. The imps had been buying time to summon a high-ranking demon.

‘No broadcasting helicopter, and the soldiers… Danger!’

The demon was bending its knees, about to pounce on the fleeing army. At this rate, the unit would not escape annihilation. He had to stop that leap. But how?

Shin Jaehyuk considered the holy spells he could use in his current state. He knew many spells, but few could be used with his limited holy power. And those spells were insufficient to defeat a high-ranking demon.

Shin Jaehyuk tried to think positively to shake off his desperate thoughts. At least he could buy time for the army to escape by annoying the demon. Afterward, he could flee into the hell gate, away from the pursuing demon…

‘It’s not turning around despite the loud siren? Well, with burning ears, it probably can’t hear anything.’

Fortunately, the demon, distracted by chasing the army, hadn’t looked back and hadn’t noticed him. As long as he didn’t make a mistake, his first surprise attack would definitely hit. On top of the speeding car, the paladin recited an aria.

“Light—”

One of the most basic spells paladins learn. A holy weapon enhancement spell. Holy power enveloped Shin Jaehyuk’s spear, making it glow softly. Shin Jaehyuk infused it with more holy power, up to his limit. The light explosively intensified, wrapping around the iron rod. The holy spear, now eight feet longer than its original length, revealed itself in brilliant splendor.

“Hup-!”

Shin Jaehyuk pulled his left shoulder back, aiming the holy spear at the demon. Like a medieval knight charging with a lance on horseback, the paladin readied his spear atop the racing iron steed. He targeted the area below the bent knee, where the fire covering the skin seemed particularly weak—the left popliteal fossa, judged to be the most vulnerable spot.

Shin Jaehyuk drew on his remaining holy power to strengthen his left arm. His left shoulder and chest muscles contracted simultaneously, extending his arm forward. And at the moment he judged would create the most appropriate trajectory, he released the spear.

The holy spear, launched from atop a police car traveling at 100 km/h, flew in a straight line toward the giant’s popliteal fossa with a sonic boom. The holy spear, leaving the paladin’s hand, drew a sparkling trajectory, scattering fragments of light.

The projectile, traveling too fast to track with the naked eye, cleanly reached its destination. THWACK! The holy spear, penetrating to the inside of the giant’s knee, exploded with holy power, tearing through the demon’s leg muscles.

[Ą̷̳̩̟͓̖͊̓͐͊͋͂́́̿̄͑̔̕̚͘a̵̺̍̊͐͐͂̐̕a̷̢̮͙̜̙̤̯̗̘̻͙̮̍̃̓̈̈́̎̈̐̀͑ą̵̙̹̦͗̅̓͠a̸̛͕̦̙̜̝̿͊̏̾̂̉̌̒r̶̫̤̲̞̤͈̔̃̿͂͐͛̚r̶̬̻̩̜̦̦͒̉̈́̐͜ͅg̶̢̨̛͚̪̖̰̻̬̀̄̆̀g̸̮̼̭̃̈́̓̈͘g̶͖͚̣̱̪͂̌̾̑̓g̷̨̡̩͕̮͈̼̈́͑̏͐̒͝͠g̸̣̰̩͇͔̩̹̘͖͕̞͙͘͜͜ͅġ̴̡̨͉̬̹̰̬̻̮̘̙̤͉̾͗̏̎̅̀͂̂̒́͗̂̑̓g̷̘̾͂̇͂̈̅͘͠ĝ̸͎̺̤͆̇̎̽́͂͘͝g̴̼̈̎̓͋̆̅̔̓͗͂̈́͘͜h̷͔͈͓̍͆͂̕h̶̛͙̞̤̘̭͔̣̳͎̤̠̫̯̲̰̐͋-̸̡̘̯͚̗͍̬̗̯̘͓̤̣̲͛͊̾̆̈́͆̽̐̿̀̚!̷̙̱͐̈̓͊̌̆̎͗̾̎!̸̨̡̨̹̼̖̙͌̌̀́̎̑̄̕]

The demon fell to its knees with an agonized scream. It was the first damage it had sustained since fully manifesting in the mortal world, and the first pain it had experienced. It quickly absorbed surrounding flames to temporarily repair its tattered knee.

The demon’s head turned, searching for the insect that posed a threat. It noticed the police car with blaring sirens making a sharp U-turn and moving away. The demon realized this was the culprit that had attacked it. Limping, it walked after that insect, abandoning the fleeing army. Even the giant’s limping gait was excessively fast from a human perspective.

When the insect reached the edge of its attack range, the demon launched itself into the air, eager to deal with the pest quickly. Its massive body briefly hovered before succumbing to gravity. Its arms were stretched out to catch the police car. It looked like a volleyball player spiking toward the floor.

“Oh shit!”

Shin Jaehyuk spotted this in the side mirror, panicked, and jumped out of the police car by opening the door. Three seconds later, the burning palm struck the police car, crushing it like a mosquito and causing it to explode. The flames were absorbed into the giant’s palm, slightly healing its knee wound.

Shin Jaehyuk barely managed to avoid the attack by throwing himself clear, but he couldn’t stand up and rolled on the ground. The giant’s ground dive had caused earthquake-like tremors, cracking the ground.

“Fuck, that brute with his fire punch…”

Just as he managed to regain his balance and get up, his gaze met the burning eye sockets of the demon lying on the ground, staring at him.

‘I’m fucked. How do I escape now?’

Of course, the demon had no intention of waiting for its opponent to make another move. It swept its burning arm across the ground as if dusting the floor. The arm approached, crushing asphalt, trees, mailboxes, and parked cars. The arm was too fast to run from, and the giant’s forearm was too thick and hot to jump over and avoid.

“Life is fucking light—!”

Realizing he was screwed, Shin Jaehyuk squeezed out his holy power to strengthen the police shield and his entire body. Whether he would live or die was now up to fate. He crouched behind the full-body shield and prayed to God.

Soon after, the police shield caved in from the center, crumpled, and then shattered, unable to withstand the impact. An enormous force struck him. It was literally like being hit by a speeding train. The destructive power enveloped his entire body.

‘Urgh—’

Without even being able to scream, Shin Jaehyuk’s body was thrown backward like a bullet. His body flew in a straight line through the air without touching the ground and crashed hard into a building’s exterior wall.

“Kuh!”

His body fell and sprawled on the ground. He had reinforced mainly his back, which the shield couldn’t cover, avoiding instant death, but his bones were broken and organs ruptured, leaving him in critical condition. Blood gushed from beneath the shattered police armor. Shin Jaehyuk desperately tried to use holy power to heal his body. Blood flowing from his head made his vision red, and his mind was hazy, feeling like he would lose consciousness at any moment. The demon, having dealt with the annoying insect, was getting up to return and chase its prey.

“Is this the end…”

His vision kept narrowing. He tried to raise himself by leaning against the building’s exterior wall, but he couldn’t move even a finger as his entire body had no strength.

“Yes. This is the end.”

A young man’s voice was heard. It was a familiar voice. Shin Jaehyuk desperately tried not to lose consciousness. Between his eyelids, which kept narrowing against his will, he glimpsed green Nike sneakers. With that image, Shin Jaehyuk lost consciousness.

***

The owner of the green Nike sneakers slowly emerged from the dark alley and spoke.

“Did he pass out? I thought he was a Watcher targeting me, since he had holy power in this world that shouldn’t have abilities, but it seems he’s not a bad guy after all. Is he simply a soul beloved by Eloah? There are still many suspicious points, but…”

It was someone Shin Jaehyuk knew. Kim Jaemin. He reached toward Shin Jaehyuk, and light gathered before his hand. It was holy power.

“Eloah, tend to your servant with your touch…”

It was an aria for a healing spell. He must be quite skilled, as despite the abbreviated aria, Shin Jaehyuk’s fatal wounds visibly healed rapidly.

“This is repayment for looking after my mother while I was gone. It should be sufficient compensation.”

He turned his gaze from that sight to look at the giant’s back. The fire giant limping desperately after the army. A system message flickered in the corner of his vision.

“Status window.”

A boss message appeared, similar to what other Awakened would see.

「 ===

Fear!

The lord of the lava rivers flowing in hell, the lord of the burning land, has descended upon the mortal world.

As the vanguard, he shall rightfully trample the land of humans and plant hell’s flag to bring glory to the king.

His name is Bham-Sardak, the margrave of the First King.

=== 」

“Ha. A boss message? They’ve even created such things now. Speaking of lava rivers… is it referring to that river from the other day? Quite a big shot.”

He sighed softly as he watched the giant absorbing the army’s bombardment to heal its leg wound.

“If that guy or the army had dealt with the demon, I wouldn’t have needed to move… But of all things, a demon with the worst compatibility with modern weapon systems appears. How troublesome.”

If I don’t step in, South Korea would be destroyed by this single demon. I don’t care what happens to others, but if I leave the demon be, eventually my mother will be in danger. Kim Jaemin muttered to himself as he walked steadily into the middle of the destroyed street.

“After returning to this world, I planned to live quietly serving my mother. But the plan has fallen apart from the beginning.”

Reaching the center of the road, Kim Jaemin stopped and stared at the demon’s back.

“I have no choice. For my mother’s sake.”

Kim Jaemin raised both hands to chest height. With his palms facing upward, shoulder-width apart, he fervently wished.

‘Come.’

Intense gusts of wind swirled around Kim Jaemin. The wind whirled around him, becoming a massive storm. The storm reached the sky, bringing clouds. The swirling clouds around the storm gathered to form dark clouds, and raindrops fell heavily.

As the sky suddenly darkened, the giant hunting its prey turned around to find the cause of this phenomenon. Massive holy power was gathering around a small, tiny human. So massive that it made the giant instinctively step back.

Between Kim Jaemin’s hands, in midair, light gathered and elongated. The rod of light soon formed the shape of a sword. Kim Jaemin’s hands grasped the holy sword’s hilt. The light shattered into pieces, revealing a slender blade. At first glance, it was a simple but noble two-handed sword.

The high-ranking demon was ashamed that it had momentarily felt fear toward an insect. That shame naturally turned into anger. Anger numbed reason and made it forget the gap between itself and its enemy. Forgetting even the pain rising from its left knee, the giant began to run. To burn the insect that had caused it humiliation. The massive body shook the ground as it ran. Unlike when playing with insects, it ran at top speed with all its might.

Kim Jaemin raised the sword with both hands above his head. The sword tip, held higher than a typical upper stance, pointed to the center of the dark clouds. Kim Jaemin channeled holy power. He infused the sword with power, more and more. A swirling torrent of light enveloped the sword and continued to grow. The pillar of light climbed up the holy sword’s blade, growing ever larger until it reached the center of the swirling dark clouds.

The giant’s figure rapidly approached. Its burning body grew larger and larger until it filled Kim Jaemin’s entire field of vision, blocking the sky. To hide its fear, the demon shouted and threw a punch at Kim Jaemin.

But Kim Jaemin’s world was silent. His ears could not capture any sound, so he heard neither the roar of the storm surrounding him nor the demon’s scream. In that silent, black-and-white world, the warrior holding the holy sword stood dignified before the demon.

A slowly falling raindrop touched his wrist and shattered into smaller droplets. Kim Jaemin felt that sensation. In his world of extreme concentration, time flowed slowly. Not even the mightiest demon could escape that flow. Looking at the slowly approaching fist two meters away, Kim Jaemin quietly recited. A mantra to himself, a self-affirmation to confirm his role.

“A warrior is one who cuts down the evil before him.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Kim Jaemin brought down his sword hand. A massive pillar of light fell like lightning onto the giant’s head, as if pronouncing a death sentence. When God’s pillar of judgment touched the giant’s crown, the giant’s entire body began to disintegrate from the head down. The demon’s body melted away helplessly, unbelievably powerless for a demon that had single-handedly overwhelmed an army.

As the sword tip descended, Kim Jaemin’s stance changed from upper to middle, and from middle to lower. The giant’s body disappeared cleanly, as if erased by an eraser, following the direction the sword tip pointed. In the final moment when the sword pointed to the ground, raindrops began to fall rapidly again.

There was nothing in the place where the demon had stood just seconds ago. Only lava footprints, hissing as raindrops fell on them, proved the demon’s existence.

Kim Jaemin turned to look at the distant hell gate. The moment he killed the high-ranking demon, the hell gate was contracting and disappearing.

Seeing this, Kim Jaemin released his grip on the sword hilt, and the holy sword dissolved into particles of light and vanished.

The artificial dark clouds created by the attack’s aftermath sprinkled rain, signaling the end of the battle.

The former warrior walked away, drenched in the pouring rain.