Chapter 25: The Apocalypse

A tingling sensation shot through Titan.

It grimaced, feeling pain from the wound in its neck.

『What did you do?』

“Just drilled a hole where it looked inviting.”

Titan stared at Jo Sung-Il in disbelief, then roared.

GWAAAAAAAAAAAA!

A blue window appeared before Jo Sung-Il.

[Status condition ‘Fear’ applied.]

Fear.

A debuff with negligible physical effects.

『KWWOOOOOOOOOO!』

But for a sentient being, physical debuffs weren’t the only threat.

『Kuuuuuuuuu!』

Titan suddenly staggered, unable to look directly at Jo Sung-Il.

“What’s wrong? Dizzy?”

『Shut up!』

Titan gritted its teeth.

『You dare mock me, you inferior being, ignorant of what you represent!』

“I just asked if you were dizzy. You’re overreacting.”

Jo Sung-Il slowly approached Titan.

“Tell me. What do you sense from me?”

Titan swayed, as if trying to avoid Jo Sung-Il’s gaze, then suddenly swung its arm.

『I’ll break through this petty trick!』

KABOOM!

Titan’s attack struck Jo Sung-Il’s shoulder.

As Jo Sung-Il stumbled, Titan pressed its attack, throwing a punch.

Or rather, it tried to.

“You’re a strong monster.”

Titan saw Jo Sung-Il’s eyes glowing like embers in the night.

“But if that’s supposed to be a world-ending attack, it’s laughable.”

Jo Sung-Il’s voice, resonating like it was coming from a deep chasm, echoed in Titan’s ears.

A chilling dread, seemingly emanating from the abyss, washed over Titan.

『Impossible.』

Titan stared at Jo Sung-Il and muttered,

『You’ve been hiding that much power? Without even realizing what you are?』

Jo Sung-Il smirked, his eyes burning like soulfire.

His skin, as hard as armor, seemed even more resilient than the scales of the dragons Titan had fought while destroying worlds.

As he took a step forward and tilted his head, Titan flinched at the sudden surge of pressure.

“My power?”

Molten lava seemed to drip from his words.

“Sometimes it’s hard to control.”

Chuckle.

Titan, hearing his laughter, roared in anger.

『Don’t get cocky. Compared to me, who has destroyed a world, you’re just a nascent champion.』

Titan planted its feet firmly on the ground and roared.

『My mission is to ‘cast all living things into the abyss.’ Only I can do it, and I have been granted the power to do so.』

Titan’s body began to darken.

『The prison that held me is now my weapon. Fear is nothing to me.』

Titan, now a figure of pure darkness, spoke,

『Rise, Apocalypse.』

The hell Titan had experienced manifested as its power.

The world that had deceived it was now its own.

Abyssal fear emanated from Titan. All living creatures around it were gripped by terror, as if imprisoned in an underworld dungeon.

『Tartarus.』

Titan, its eyes glowing in its darkened form, asked Jo Sung-Il,

『What do you see now?』

Jo Sung-Il stared, mesmerized by its transformation.

‘What is that?’

The essence of a world had become ingrained in its being. Like a shroud, or rather, like a living embodiment of that world, its presence became exponentially more terrifying.

It was, as it had declared, the ‘rise of the apocalypse.’

『Begone, along with this world.』

Titan kicked the ground. The earth, crushed by the abyssal fear, crumbled and turned black.

Titan, like a giant wave, reached Jo Sung-Il in an instant, raised both hands, and brought them down.

KABOOM!

Jo Sung-Il instinctively dodged. A black substance appeared and vanished where his head had been, accompanied by a loud explosion.

The compressed air screamed as if being torn apart. Not figuratively, but literally.

BANG! KABOOM!

Every time the abyss of Tartarus exploded, eroding the space, the world screamed in agony.

“Ugh! What is this?!”
“S-Scary!”
“My ears are going to burst…!”

Hunters all around, experiencing the spreading abyssal fear, writhed in pain.

Jo Sung-Il, trying to escape the power, was eventually caught by Titan and struck by the ‘abyss.’

『Sink.』

Splash!

A sensation like being submerged in water.

Jo Sung-Il’s vision turned black. All he could hear were roars and screams echoing in the darkness.

He tried to move, but it was like struggling in thick oil.

『Are you afraid?』

Titan’s voice echoed.

『That is fear.』

It was laughing.

『And the apocalypse.』

Jo Sung-Il saw silhouettes in the darkness. Indescribable shapes, or rather, entities, filled the surrounding space.

KRAAAAAAAAA!
Crackle!
KIAAAAAAAAA!

Jo Sung-Il realized.
That countless monsters were there.

And other Harbingers of Doom had taken notice.

A deafening roar pierced his ears. Jo Sung-Il endured it. He endured and endured, then,

“…GRWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

He decided not to endure anymore.

“Shut uuuuuuuuuup!”

The black backdrop vanished. The apocalyptic entities observing from countless worlds disappeared from his sight, and only Titan remained.

“Harbinger of Doom.”

Jo Sung-Il sneered.

“I understand now.”

It wasn’t just a monster from another world. Titan had become the embodiment of its world, unleashed upon this one.

To spread its apocalypse.

“Alright.”

But Jo Sung-Il, facing the overwhelming fear, felt an uncontainable excitement surge within him.

“I admit, you’re not easy.”

He looked at Titan and said,

“But you should know this.”

His form flickered, turning as dark as a shadow of fire.

“I was also born of the apocalypse.”

KWWAAAAAAAAAAAA!

Jo Sung-Il’s body pulsed with darkness.

Titan flinched, seeing Jo Sung-Il grow larger than itself.

‘This is an illusion.’

Jo Sung-Il’s appearance was related to the status condition he was experiencing.

It was all stemming from ‘fear.’

‘Don’t be ridiculous.’
True fear was what he brought. He had unleashed the full power of his apocalypse.

It was absurd to be overwhelmed by the fear of this fool who didn’t even understand that he was the ‘champion of this world.’

‘I will destroy this place and become the embodiment of the apocalypse.’

That was the ultimate goal of the Harbingers of Doom.
To ascend and reign as the apocalypse across all worlds and dimensions.

『You cannot become the apocalypse.』

Titan, trying to ignore Jo Sung-Il’s transformation, roared.

『The apocalypse does not represent the fate of a world.』

Titan’s fist struck Jo Sung-Il’s face.

『The apocalypse does not seek to save a world.』

The apocalypse only erased.

『The apocalypse creates space for something new.』

Only by becoming the leader of that grand design could one truly be called the apocalypse.

『You, who know nothing, can do nothing!』

Titan’s fist, imbued with abyssal fear, shot towards Jo Sung-Il.

Crack!

But this time, the fist didn’t connect.

“Is that your fear?”

Clang.

“You actually know nothing, do you?”

Thump, thump.

“You just want to witness the end as the apocalypse because you can’t do anything else?”

『W-What…?』

“I’ve seen it all, your fear.”

KIIIIIIIIIIII!

The pounding in his chest stopped, replaced by a ringing in his ears. Titan faltered, gripped by a visceral dread.

『W-What are you doing? Stop it! Stop it, I said!』

Jo Sung-Il’s lips twisted into a grotesque smile. Titan’s apocalypse, its “fear of ignorance” exposed, crumbled.

Titan screamed, overwhelmed by Jo Sung-Il’s fear, which continued to shift and change in terrifying ways.

“I will learn about what you don’t know.”

Because I’m curious too, Jo Sung-Il muttered, and this time, his smile was real, not an illusion.

“Unfortunately, your apocalypse wasn’t even a match for my fear.”

『Impossible. To someone who hasn’t even unleashed their own apocalypse….』

The abyssal fear composing Titan’s form, unable to withstand Jo Sung-Il’s fear, dissipated.

Revealing a red core, the essence of Tartarus and Titan.

“Fear exposes weakness.”

Energy gathered in Jo Sung-Il’s mouth.

“Now, disappear back into the shadows you created.”

KWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

The Hunters, cowering in despair, witnessed it then.

The apocalypse, unaware of its own nature, obliterating the apocalypse that had crawled from another world.