I spent about forty minutes waiting, trying to decide how to explain things to Cheon Jiweon.
Then the phone rang.
“Yes, Mayor.”
[ I’m almost at Gwangcheon. Co outside. ]
“Understood.”
I left the dormitory and headed toward the front gate.
When I reached it, the guard stopped .
“Oh, Student Yein. Heading out sowhere?”
“Yes. I have soone to et.”
“All right. Don’t be too late.”
Stepping out to the roadside, I spotted a black car driving up.
As I approached, the driver’s window lowered.
“Get in,” Cheon Jiweon said, looking at .
The usual easy smile he wore whenever we t was nowhere to be found.
“Yes, sir.”
I climbed into the passenger seat.
Cheon Jiweon pulled out of the alley and spoke.
“I told Nadia sothing urgent ca up, that I’d be about an hour late.”
“Yes.”
aning I had just over an hour to convince him.
“Now explain. What did you an when you said Nadia was dangerous?”
This was it.
A developnt impossible in the ga.
If I failed to persuade him, I’d lose Cheon Jiweon—a powerful ally—for good. Even if I succeeded, I had no idea how things would unfold afterward.
But losing him outright was worse.
I cleared my throat and began.
“Mayor, do you know what lies within the Demon Realm?”
“Monsters, demonic materials, and places and creatures not found on Earth, of course.”
“Yes. Those are what we find inside dungeons. But strictly speaking, those exist only on the Demon Realm’s outskirts.”
“…Did you just say outskirts?”
“Yes. And the Fortress Dungeon that appeared recently, along with the others—those exist deeper within the Demon Realm.”
“Hold on.”
Cheon Jiweon steered the car into a nearby public parking lot.
He pulled into a quiet space, parked, and looked at .
“Continue.”
“Yes.”
I nodded and went on.
“More dungeons like these will continue appearing for a while. Dungeons from deeper within the Demon Realm, manifesting in our world. This ans the Demon Realm and Earth are gradually rging.”
“……”
“As you know, dungeons typically cap at seven floors. Once the boss on the seventh floor is defeated, only the return portal appears—never another dinsional gate.”
“That’s right.”
“But these new dungeons go up to the tenth floor.”
“What?”
“And when the tenth floor boss is slain, instead of the usual return portal, a dinsional gate appears. A red one.”
Cheon Jiweon’s eyes widened. His gaze locked on , unblinking.
“Passing through that red portal leads into the true Demon Realm. There, beings unlike monsters dwell.”
“Wait.”
He raised a hand in front of my face.
“I have many questions.”
“Of course. Ask anything. I’ll answer.”
“…First, you said a tenth floor exists.”
“Yes.”
“Have you actually been there?”
“Yes. Not with my current companions, but I went there once, long ago.”
“…Exactly what level are you?”
“I’m a little over sixty now.”
“Sixty!?”
He shouted in shock.
“No—that’s astounding, but… you said ‘now’? What do you an by that?”
“Mayor. I am not a person of this world.”
“……”
He blinked at , bewildered.
Naturally—anyone would be stunned hearing such a claim.
“I co from a world very similar to this one, yet slightly different.”
“…And how can you prove that?”
A normal person would have scoffed, accused of spouting nonsense.
But Cheon Jiweon asked seriously.
Of course—after everything I’d already given him, it couldn’t be dismissed so easily.
“Valhall. The Weight of Phase Fixation. The death of the Arms Collector. A HAUT champion from Gwangcheon. The trainee hunters who survived Black Hound. The new magic-stone energy technology poised to replace Forward. After witnessing all this, surely you’ve wondered how such things were possible.”
“……”
“The reason they were possible is simple: I’ve lived through all of it once before. And in that world, humanity perished.”
“!”
His eyes went wider than I’d ever seen.
“You an humanity lost to the monsters in your world…?”
That question told his doubts were lifting.
“Monsters are not humanity’s true enemy.”
“What?”
“The reason humanity lost the last war was because there were no proper weapons, no counterasures, no research. With today’s Awakeners, even the S-class monsters of that ti would be nothing more than fodder for experience and materials. Monsters were created that way—training tools to make Awakeners stronger and more battle-ready.”
“You just said monsters were created?”
“Yes. Deep in the Demon Realm, at its very core, hides humanity’s real enemy—the beings who created the monsters. They are called the Latessai. Unlike monsters, they possess intelligence.”
“Latessai…”
“They wield the power to dominate human minds. They can manipulate mories, brainwash people, make them act as puppets. In my world, Nadia fell victim to their power and beca their spy.”
“What…?”
“The reason she vanished for so long, only to suddenly seek you out—it’s because the Latessai intend to use Nadia as a vessel to seize your body with ease.”
“Wait.”
“Yes.”
“You’re saying Nadia fell to them?”
I nodded.
“Do you know why Nadia never settled anywhere and kept wandering the world?”
“No. She never confided in . I only assud she’d grown disillusioned with the world. She was always a bit of a pessimist.”
“Nadia was searching for her comrades who vanished into the Demon Realm.”
“What…?”
“She scoured dungeons across the globe, chasing after them. But it was futile. No matter which dungeon she entered, the return portal always appeared at the seventh floor. Until now. The new dungeons that have begun to appear—on their tenth floor lies a portal leading deeper, into the true Demon Realm.”
“Then that ans…”
“Yes. Nadia made it there. She passed through the gate, into the place where her comrades had gone.”
“……”
Cheon Jiweon’s lips pressed shut.
His face grew darker by the second.
He understood.
Nadia had entered the Demon Realm, fallen to the Latessai, and returned under their control.
And he realized what that implied about his comrades.
“Then… my comrades who went into the Demon Realm… did they fall to the Latessai as well?”
Now it began.
The cursed shackle binding Cheon Jiweon—now I had to break it and slip my own leash in its place.
“Your comrades are alive.”
“!!”
“Ugh…”
I hunched over.
The air grew heavy with crushing pressure, the car rattling violently.
“They’re alive? Truly!?”
“Mayor… please… withdraw your mana… at this rate… I won’t survive long enough to explain….”
“…My apologies.”
The blue aura pouring from him subsided.
My body felt lighter, my breathing eased.
“Yein. Continue. Are you saying they really live?”
“Yes. In the Demon Realm, preserved exactly as they were when they entered the gate. Held for the future.”
“Preserved? What do you an?”
“They’re being kept until Earth fully rges with the Demon Realm.”
“…Earlier, you said Earth and the Demon Realm were becoming one.”
“Yes. The gates were the first connections, letting monsters spill into our world. Dungeons appearing afterward ant stabilization—parts of Earth being transford into the Demon Realm itself.”
“Earth becoming the Demon Realm…?”
“Yes. At the sa ti, Awakeners grew stronger by fighting those monsters, their bodies ripening into perfect vessels for the Latessai. As Earth continues to transform, dungeons closer to the core of the Demon Realm appear, until…”
“And then…?”
“When Earth is fully consud, the Latessai will pour forth and infest Awakeners as hosts. Among them are higher castes—the Valro Latessai. Ordinary Awakeners don’t interest them. They crave the strongest. And then, Mayor… your comrades arrived in the Demon Realm.”
“……”
Cheon Jiweon’s fists trembled.
But unlike before, he did not unleash his mana.
“Then… the gates changing into dungeons… it was inevitable all along. My comrades’ sacrifice… it was aningless?”
His voice shook.
“I’m sorry, Mayor. But yes.”
“…Forgive , Yein. I need a mont.”
He opened the door and stepped out.
Walking a short distance away, he stopped at the railing, pulled a cigarette from his pocket with trembling hands, and lit it.
I had t Cheon Jiweon many tis, but never once slled smoke on him.
Even in the ga, there was no ntion of him smoking.
He stood there, one cigarette after another, until three were gone in minutes.
When he returned, the car filled with thick smoke.
“…Then Nadia… she was brainwashed by the Latessai into their spy?”
“Yes. In my world, that’s exactly what happened.”
“Is there no way to undo the brainwashing?”
Normally, yes.
The protagonist himself was one of those ways.
But in this world, that protagonist did not exist.
Which ant…
“If you capture the Latessai who brainwashed her, you can command them to release her.”
“Do you know which one it was?”
“One of the Varlo Latessai—Caymon. He’s the one who enslaved Nadia. But bending a Latessai to our will is nearly impossible.”
“And why is that?”
“Their ntal domination is nearly absolute. Most Awakeners cannot resist it. Even your comrades fell. Facing them head-on is simply impossible.”
“So that’s why humanity lost in your world.”
“Yes.”
“And how did you co here?”
“There was an Awakener with such a power. But the price for using it was his life.”
“…I see. Forgive for asking.”
“It’s all right.”
After all, it was a lie anyway.
“Nadia likely ant to lure you into the Demon Realm with promises of finding your comrades. The Latessai cannot yet co here—not until Earth is fully transford. They ant to bring you there, brainwash you, and claim another powerful vessel.”
“……”
Cheon Jiweon rubbed his face with a hand and sighed.
“There is one thing I don’t understand.”
“What is it?”
“Why? Why would the Latessai want to turn Earth into the Demon Realm and use Awakeners?”
“For amusent.”
“…What?”
“Mayor, have you ever played a strategy war ga? Where do you raise armies, recruit heroes, build power, and conquer continents?”
“I know the type, though I’ve never played.”
“For the Latessai—especially the Valro—it’s the sa. They want to use Awakeners as living pieces in their war gas. When they find soone powerful enough to serve as a hero unit, they salivate.”
Cheon Jiweon’s face twisted.
“That’s all? That’s the reason?”
His voice rose, shaking with fury.
“Countless lives lost to monsters, my comrades sacrificing themselves—and all of it just for their ga!?”
“Regrettably… to them, Awakeners are nothing more than fighting dogs in an arena.”
“Aah…”
A guttural sigh escaped him.
Tears rolled down Cheon Jiweon’s face.
(End of Chapter)
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