Ch.56Chapter 56 – New York

New York was once home to the Death Worm, America’s worst nightmare. With a body diameter of tens of meters and a length measured in kilometers, this colossal worm was truly massive.

As the apex predator of the Hell Desert ecosystem, the Death Worm didn’t need special attack abilities. Its enormous size and mass of tens of thousands of tons were weapons in themselves, and merely writhing its body was enough to kill tiny humans.

Originally summoned in Philadelphia, this S-rank boss devastated its summoning site simply by tunneling underground, shocking the entire nation within days. When the ground tremors subsided, the Death Worm moved to its next instinctive destination—the area where ground vibrations were strongest: New York.

To prevent America’s most populous state from suffering Philadelphia’s fate, the military and hunters tried to block its path. But there was no way to stop a boss that caused disaster with its mere movement, especially when it moved underground. Despite collapsing the ground, hunters casting spells from helicopters, and flooding tunnels with river water, they couldn’t halt the boss that advanced slowly but steadily.

As earthquakes intensified, anxious citizens began leaving the city. Deteriorating public safety was inevitable, with robberies and murders occurring in broad daylight. New York was dying.

And finally, the hellish earth dragon arrived in the land abandoned by the U.S. government and citizens. No one thought to stop the Death Worm. There was no known way to kill it, nor the courage to try. Its size alone was enough to destroy any fighting spirit…

At the moment when everyone had given up on the land, one hunter who couldn’t abandon his hometown remained. Henry Clark, a body reinforcement specialist. He feared losing New York more than death itself. While no one else moved, he took action.

Determined to protect the city, Henry Clark waited for his opportunity atop the Empire State Building. He needed the moment when the Death Worm would surface to breathe—the only time it could be attacked.

After a long wait, his prey appeared. The massive body of the earth dragon exposed itself to the air, revealing its defenseless back. Henry Clark didn’t miss this perfect chance.

From the top of what was once the world’s tallest skyscraper, the hunter descended. He wielded a specially made great sword dozens of meters long, designed solely to kill the Death Worm.

The acceleration from four hundred and forty meters of free fall combined with superhuman strength was enough to split the kilometer-long body in half.

The next day, the same photo appeared on the front page of newspapers worldwide. A hero falling from a skyscraper, tearing through the sky. In the West, they called this hero “Skyscraper,” while in the East, he was known as “Cheonma” (天魔), meaning “death falling from the sky.” The yaksha mask he wore to protect his vision from the wind during his descent perfectly matched his nickname.

Henry Clark, once just a manual laborer, instantly became an American hero and global star. This was also the decisive factor in his S-rank classification, despite having abilities that seemed modest compared to other S-ranks.

Though he suddenly joined the ranks of humanity’s strongest, he remained interested only in killing monsters and rebuilding New York. Outside of entering gates, he devoted all his time to vigilante activities protecting the city.

His vigilante work consisted of waiting on building rooftops all day, then dropping to the ground to eliminate the source of any abnormal incidents his superhuman vision detected—whether criminals or monsters.

This was, of course, illegal. But New York citizens valued their lives more than such trivial matters, and it was impossible to prosecute America’s hero for mere property damage or vandalism. Thus, a law bordering on special privilege was passed with overwhelming support for this one man alone.

Now, far from discouraging his vigilante activities, New York City allows him free use of any rooftop. And so, New York’s sky has become Skyscraper’s airspace…

***

Henry Clark was observing the city from the Empire State Building rooftop today as well.

The superhuman body of an S-rank hunter had such an active metabolism that he felt no physical fatigue even staying awake 24 hours a day. So, except for essential calorie intake and unavoidable bodily functions, he spent most of his time monitoring the city’s peace. Like a gargoyle statue on a cathedral eave.

His vast field of vision, encompassing half the city, took in peaceful daily life. Parents walking with children in Central Park, students returning from school, financial workers rushing about on Wall Street. Citizens enjoying happy, ordinary lives. A scene no different from before the gates appeared. The normal day he had so wanted to enjoy with his now-deceased wife was unfolding before him.

“Lana…”

Henry Clark unconsciously uttered his late wife’s name. The sensation of his tongue lightly tapping the roof of his mouth twice stimulated his thoughts. He recalled the face of the woman who had departed on the first day the gates opened. Her mysterious deep blue eyes that seemed to pull you in, the touch of her skin as soft as lamb’s wool, and her voice promising unchanging love—a voice he would never forget.

His hand absently caressed the yaksha mask. A Buddhist monster mask Lana had given him for Halloween. It was a fearsome-looking mask befitting a monster. The mask served as a kind of war paint to break enemy morale and as a windbreaker to secure his vision during falls from skyscrapers.

Though sports glasses or sunglasses would have worked fine as windbreakers, he insisted on using this impractical mask to preserve memories. And to never forget the grief of losing her and the rage that turned his eyes inside out.

Henry Clark’s face, naturally unexpressive, was always stoic, but the yaksha’s distorted face represented his inner feelings well.

Staring at the angry visage, Henry Clark turned the mask inside out. On the inner surface of the yaksha mask was a name. “Henry Clark” written in crooked letters so he wouldn’t forget.

“This is from that time…”

That memory became a catalyst. Sadness poured out like a flood. The man called a hero struggled in an unstoppable wave of emotion. To avoid losing himself in this tsunami of regret, Henry Clark made a vow, again and again.

He could do anything to protect the city she loved. Truly, anything.

With this oath, his intense emotions subsided. They hadn’t disappeared—merely compressed. Ready to be unleashed all at once when facing an enemy that disrupted the city’s peace…

Suppressing his emotions and observing the city, Henry’s gaze fell upon something. In the direction of Brooklyn, a hideous black sphere clearly visible even between buildings.

It was an S-rank gate that had been reported cleared hours ago. Since he had no means to deal with flying enemies, he had left it to Kim Jaemin to handle. Despite being reported as cleared, the gate hadn’t disappeared for hours.

“They said they’re keeping it for research and underground resource extraction.”

He recalled the tip from a government agent—a secretary-like figure who handled his meals and various errands.

Is it safe to leave the gate like that?

Henry Clark didn’t much trust the U.S. government that had once abandoned New York, but he could trust Kim Jaemin’s work. He was among the strongest of S-ranks. If he was certain it was cleared, monsters wouldn’t suddenly emerge from there.

He soon shifted his attention away from the gate. Instead, he thought about the person who had cleared it—the Korean S-rank hunter he was scheduled to meet at tomorrow’s welcome ceremony.

Kim Jaemin was a man with many secrets. A hidden decade in his past, hearing impairment that remained uncured despite his awakening…

‘And then there’s that ability.’

When monitoring Kim Jaemin who had just arrived in New York, Henry Clark observed him walking alone through the city without even an escort, wearing a hat pulled low. Suspecting he might be up to something, Henry watched him closely.

Then he witnessed something astonishing. Kim Jaemin’s lips moved slightly, and in an instant, his figure disappeared. Amazingly, he emerged from a public restroom hundreds of meters away. How did he move without being seen?

‘Teleportation…! I thought his awakened ability was holy power.’

There was something suspicious about that too. Others hadn’t noticed, but the system’s stated reward for raising the civilization level was the “unlocking” of holy power. Yet Kim Jaemin had been able to use holy power before that. The system doesn’t lie.

“Does that mean he possessed holy power even before the system unlocked it?”

Kim Jaemin always insisted on entering gates alone, claiming weaker hunters would only get in the way. But now Henry Clark interpreted this as an intention to hide his secret abilities.

Henry Clark recalled Kim Jaemin’s demeanor at the S-rank meeting. He always appeared relaxed, even in emergencies. As if he had absolute confidence he could solve any problem. Now he could guess why. It stemmed from certainty in his power.

“He’s S-rank just with the abilities he’s shown so far. Then what about adding teleportation? And considering whatever other powers he might be hiding?”

How much more powerful might Kim Jaemin be? Henry Clark couldn’t gauge. Not that he feared or envied him. He was simply reassured that such a powerful person had handled New York’s gate.

Though many inexplicable questions and unsolvable mysteries remained, Henry Clark didn’t dwell on them further. Everything would be resolved when he met and talked with Kim Jaemin at tomorrow’s welcome ceremony…

Gazing at the black sphere, the ruler of the skyscraper murmured.

“I look forward to tomorrow’s meeting.”

***

In a taxi heading from the international airport to his accommodation, Shin Jaehyuk fingered the business card in his pocket.

The incident on the plane seemed to have been concluded as a wandering demon coincidentally attacking a passing aircraft. All credit went to Wilhelm Schön. Thanks to the similarity between his lightning arrow skill and Jaehyuk’s lightning spear, his own contribution remained undetected. He had been lucky.

Feeling relieved, Shin Jaehyuk looked out the window.

“So this is New York…!”

Scenery he had only seen in movies quickly passed by. Blonde hair everywhere. It was an unfamiliar sight for Shin Jaehyuk, who had spent half his life cooped up indoors.

But what was most unfamiliar was the expression on citizens’ faces. Despite gates throwing the whole world into panic, New York citizens’ faces showed not a trace of worry. Shin Jaehyuk could read the cause of this strange phenomenon. That expression, underlying the firm belief in their safety, was… yes, composure. The composure of people who knew humanity’s strongest forces were protecting them.

‘Come to think of it, doesn’t an S-rank hunter live in New York?’

As far as Shin Jaehyuk knew, Skyscraper, a physical enhancement awakened one, lived in New York. The hunter who killed America’s nightmare, the Death Worm.

‘Death Worm, it looked truly enormous on the news. Even Beelzebub would have to acknowledge its size…’

Even Shin Jaehyuk, who had faced countless demons, had never seen anything that size. The only demon of comparable size he knew from his past life was Beelzebub, one of the Four Heavenly Kings. But even that giant fly demon would look insignificant next to the Death Worm.

Throughout the city center, traces of destruction as violent as the creature’s size could be found. The reason this taxi wasn’t going straight to the hotel was because the main avenue had been destroyed by the Death Worm. The military had been deployed for months to remove the enormous carcass, and now they seemed to be repairing the damaged roads.

“Thank you, sir. Have a nice day!”

While Shin Jaehyuk was appreciating the foreign scenery, the taxi reached its destination. It was a hotel located between the Empire State Building and Central Park—the hotel Mr. B had arranged. After checking in and reaching his room, Shin Jaehyuk discovered a large box placed in the center. He could guess what it was.

“My luggage arrived safely.”

He immediately unpacked it. Removing the protective wrap revealed his personal belongings. Change of clothes, hacking tools, and his equipment.

“Armor, spear, mace, and even Pharma’s dagger. Good. All safe.”

Touching the spear shaft gave him a reassuring familiar sensation. Though he couldn’t carry all this around New York City, having weapons nearby gave him a sense of security. For now, he put only the dagger, which he could carry, inside his jacket while briefly strengthening his resolve.

‘This time, I will never allow something like Incheon to happen again. …Of course, it might be a completely separate incident unrelated to the Four Heavenly Kings. I hope that’s the case. I pray my ominous premonition is just my imagination…’

After hiding all his belongings inside the box to prevent housekeeping staff from discovering unauthorized weapons, he took out only the laptop. Shin Jaehyuk stretched and flexed his fingers.

“Alright. Now let’s handle the main objective.”

The Koscorp infiltration was scheduled for midnight today, after all employees had left. Until then, he planned to review his plan.

Shin Jaehyuk turned on the laptop. In his email were materials sent by Mr. B. Koscorp headquarters building plans, facility layouts, security shift schedules, patrol plans, and more. Reading through each item carefully, Shin Jaehyuk rehearsed the route in his mind.