Chapter 76: Energy Fusion (1)
RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE…
The entire underground tomb began to vibrate along with the brazier.
“Interesting.”
Jin-young extended his psionic energy downward as well, probing every corner of the tomb.
Yet he couldn’t find any visible link connecting the brazier to the tomb itself.
It was as if they had been fused into one from the very beginning.
To move the brazier, he would have to rip the entire tomb apart.
If that was the only way—Jin-young was fully prepared to do exactly that.
Shhhhh—
Psionic energy surged from his body.
KWA-KWA-KWA—
As his psychokinesis grew stronger, the underground tomb grew increasingly unstable.
『Stop… Stop it…!』
Huuuuurgle—
The prophet Lyle burned his very soul, resisting with everything he had.
A desperate will to never leave this place.
Of course, sheer willpower alone could never overcome Jin-young’s psychokinesis.
KUOOOOO—
Eventually, the psionic energy exploding from Jin-young’s body formed a powerful vortex.
Rather than trying to move the brazier itself, he shifted his focus to the very space containing it.
Applying an advanced version of the technique he usually used to compress corpses down to dust—
KRRTS—KRRRTS!
Cracks appeared in midair, and the space began to warp as though a black hole were forming.
CRACK CRACK CRACK…
Spatial distortion.
By twisting the force used to compress space, he induced warping instead.
『……』
The black brazier twisted and contorted within the distorted space.
Isolated in a severed pocket of reality, Lyle could no longer communicate with Jin-young at all.
If this continued, the brazier would be completely destroyed.
Hellfire wouldn’t extinguish immediately, but it would scatter in all directions.
Since Jin-young intended to take the hellfire intact and use it in various ways, he halted the spatial distortion.
“Wow…”
Shin Soo-jeong, who had been watching from the side, couldn’t close her mouth.
It was the first time in her life she had witnessed space itself being warped and severed.
Even after raiding countless dungeons worldwide alongside various hunters, this was an experience beyond anything she had ever seen.
But her awe lasted only a moment.
BOOM!
The moment the brazier was forcibly separated, the entire underground tomb began to collapse.
Jin-young quickly stored the brazier—containing the Furnace of Life and hellfire—into his subspace.
Tssss—
He opened a simplified portal and escaped together with Shin Soo-jeong.
***
In a deep, dark abyss-like space.
“Grrrr…”
A humanoid creature with a jackal’s head clutched its skull and let out a low groan.
“So this is Lyle Umkaba’s pet.”
The variant said, looking down at the jackal sprawled on the floor.
Ever since entering subspace, the jackal had been in a slightly dazed state.
The mental imprinting that affected anyone entering subspace for the first time.
Of course, the jackal wasn’t human—but it possessed far higher intelligence than most monsters and had a well-developed mental world, making the imprint take hold easily.
“Did Lyle tame a monster? I didn’t know it was possible to bring one out of a dungeon. Since it hasn’t been eroded by Creep, it can’t be from a contaminated zone.”
At Jacob’s comment, the variant stroked his chin and replied.
“Hmm… Perhaps he took an egg from a dungeon, or summoned it through an artifact.”
While the two discussed the jackal, another figure approached.
Dmitri Petrov. Also known as Stalker.
“What’s that thing? Newbie?”
“Seems like it. Originally the pet of the prophet Lyle, I’d wager.”
The variant reached toward the jackal.
Creep wrapped around his hand like growing branches and touched the creature’s body.
“Grrrr…”
Even while under mental imprinting, the jackal instinctively bared its teeth.
CRUNCH!
It bit down hard and shattered the Creep-formed arm.
Crackle… sssss…
Black Creep fragments scattered into dust.
The variant spoke calmly, unfazed.
“No rejection response to Creep. It might actually be from a contaminated zone after all. We could train it and use it as a hunting hound.”
“Training, huh? That’s my specialty.”
Stalker grinned, curling the corner of his mouth.
But the variant looked at him skeptically.
“Stalker. You lost your mana and one of your abilities. You’re no longer the old you—just a half-broken hunter. Be careful.”
Even at a glance, the jackal was a monster surpassing 1st-grade.
Though Stalker was technically 1st-grade too, he was only half of what he used to be—far weaker.
Yet Stalker wore a confident expression.
“Hound training isn’t about hunter grades. It’s about connecting through the heart and understanding with the mind. What would a half-man like you know about it?”
“That so? Then give it your best shot.”
The variant replied calmly, seemingly unbothered by Stalker’s words.
“Always so boring. I’ll—”
Just as Stalker was about to continue,
Shssss…
A black brazier suddenly appeared inside subspace.
Huuuuurgle—
Dark crimson flames burned fiercely atop the black brazier.
In the pitch-black expanse of subspace, only the red glow stood out vividly.
“Hellfire. So Lyle’s finally been caught.”
The variant said, gazing at the flames clinging to the brazier.
Jacob examined the Furnace of Life from various angles.
“Never seen an artifact like this before. So this is how he sustains his soul?”
They treated what had once been a prophet like some zoo animal on display.
At that moment—
Huuuuurgle—
The hellfire flared up sharply for an instant.
『Ughhh… Stop…』
A pained scream melted into the black mana erupting from the flames.
The mandatory subspace course: mental imprinting.
Even a soul-only Lyle was no exception.
In fact, without the shell of a physical body, he was hit even more directly by the mental assault.
The variant muttered while staring at the blazing hellfire.
“I wonder what the Great One’s partner plans to do with this…”
***
“Thank you so much for today.”
Inside the private jet heading back to Korea, Shin Soo-jeong said sincerely.
The World Dungeon Control Organization maintained its own dedicated aircraft to efficiently travel the globe.
Its speed was roughly twice that of regular passenger planes.
Jin-young could have returned to Korea instantly via portal, but he decided to accompany her for a little while.
“You mentioned you had information about hellfire?”
“Yes, that’s right. You’re quite impatient, aren’t you?”
“I just hate wasting time.”
At Jin-young’s blunt reply, Shin Soo-jeong gave a small laugh and began.
“As I said earlier, everything I know comes from dungeons. It was a place called ‘Hell’s Cape’ or something like that.”
“What was the environment like?”
“A barren wasteland. Swarms of monsters. And true to the name ‘cape,’ it stretched out long toward the sea—but instead of water, it was lava.”
“Did you see hellfire?”
“On top of a very distant mountain, dark crimson flames burned all day long. That was the origin of hellfire—the ‘Blaze Origin.’”
It matched the ‘hell’ Jin-young had glimpsed beyond the portal.
Shin Soo-jeong continued, recalling the memory.
“I couldn’t get close to the Blaze Origin, but while progressing the dungeon quest, I came across records.”
According to what she described, the ‘Blaze Origin’ at the mountain peak flowed across the entire continent like rivers of lava alongside molten streams.
Hellfire spread throughout the land and was used as a major power source.
To reach the Blaze Origin, one had to pass the trial of a guardian deity.
“I’m pretty sure it was impossible in the dungeon I entered. I cleared it without ever encountering anything like a guardian deity.”
“Is that all?”
At Jin-young’s question, Shin Soo-jeong’s expression suddenly turned serious. She spoke in a grave tone.
“The day the Blaze Origin is extinguished, the gates of hell shall open.”
“……”
“That was written in the records.”
Jin-young stroked his chin, sinking into thought.
Hellfire was nearly impossible to extinguish—often called eternal and undying.
So what could possibly cause the Blaze Origin, the source of hellfire, to go out?
He could already open the Gates of Hell himself, but it seemed the phrase carried a different meaning in the records.
“What do you think it means?”
“Hmm… It could be a countdown to the Blaze Origin’s extinction. Or perhaps something will extinguish hellfire entirely. And when the flames go out, the monsters of hell will pour out—like a gate outburst.”
“Hm.”
Shin Soo-jeong’s speculation sounded plausible.
She watched Jin-young, lost in thought, for a moment before speaking again.
“I want to repay you more properly. Is there anything you want?”
She genuinely felt grateful for his help today.
She had overestimated her own strength and nearly lost her life.
She had been lucky to survive.
Perhaps she had grown a little arrogant thinking Zero-grade was just around the corner.
“There are plenty of things I want.”
Shhh…
Jin-young abruptly summoned the demonic sword from subspace.
Seeing the blade radiating malevolent energy, Shin Soo-jeong’s eyes filled not with fear, but with curiosity.
“What in the world is this? I feel Creep poison in it too.”
“It was the boss monster from the Pyongyang Contaminated Zone. Looks like a demonic sword. I wanted to try enhancing it once.”
“Oh, that sounds fun.”
Shin Soo-jeong immediately sensed a mysterious power mixed within the demonic energy the sword emitted.
She didn’t know exactly what it was.
She slowly extended her hand toward the blade.
KRRRTS—
The demonic sword began trembling violently, releasing even more malevolent energy.
Jin-young held it firmly in place with psychokinesis; otherwise, it might have already tried to slice through her throat.
It clearly didn’t welcome the touch of a stranger.
Feeling the chilling aura, Shin Soo-jeong tensed slightly and carefully released her mana.
Sssss…
The blue mana flowing from Shin Soo-jeong’s hand slowly wrapped around the demonic sword and began to swirl.
RUMBLE RUMBLE…
The more it did, the more violently the sword shuddered—as if recoiling in horror.
But Jin-young’s psychokinesis held it firmly in place, leaving it no room to resist.
Eventually, Shin Soo-jeong’s All Things Enhancement took root in the blade.
Fwaaaat!
For an instant, pure blue light burst from the entire sword.
The sheen running along the edge grew noticeably brighter than before.
The demonic energy hadn’t vanished entirely, but it had clearly diminished.
And more than that—
—You… awakened… me…
An unfamiliar voice rang in Jin-young’s ear.
Shin Soo-jeong must have heard it too—she turned to him with wide, startled eyes.
“Enhance it one more time.”
“Yes.”
She began channeling mana into the sword again, just as before.
In that moment—
SHWAAAAAK—
“…!”
The amount of mana pouring from her hand suddenly amplified explosively.
It wasn’t something she had done herself.
It looked exactly as though the demonic sword was greedily sucking in her mana.
KUOOOOO!
Of course, the higher the grade of the enhancement target, the more mana was required.
A small amount couldn’t sustain the enhancement for long.
But for the target to actively drain mana like this—there was no precedent.
The sword seemed to be absorbing mana of its own volition, as though striving to grow stronger.
Brrrr…
After greedily devouring a massive quantity of mana, the sword trembled once.
Not in rage this time—but in clear satisfaction.
“Haa… haa…”
Meanwhile, Shin Soo-jeong—having lost a significant portion of her mana—panted heavily, visibly exhausted.
This was completely new to her. Only after the fact did she hurriedly cut off the mana flow, finally stopping the drain.
Fwaat!
The demonic energy had almost completely faded. The sword shone with a vivid blue light once more.
And again, a voice echoed.
—Awakener of my blade… who are you…?
Jin-young was certain.
This wasn’t just any demonic sword.
It was an Ego Sword.
***
Reporters armed with cameras crowded the terminal at Incheon International Airport.
The coalition assembly held in Kaesong had been closed to the press—no entry allowed.
With the area around the Kaesong Victory Memorial Hall under strict lockdown, journalists had chosen the next best option: the airport.
The association didn’t prohibit interviews at the airport.
Having finished covering the hunters departing after the assembly, the reporters were preparing to head home.
A few hunters still hadn’t left, but expectations were low.
“Hey, look over there!”
One reporter suddenly pointed and shouted.
But the direction was toward the arrivals gate—not departures.
The assembly had ended hours ago—there was no way any hunter would be arriving now.
“V-Vladimir Zhukov?”
“It’s been hours since the assembly ended… and he’s only arriving now…?”
Vladimir Zhukov.
Russia’s Zero-grade hunter and Chief of the General Staff of the Federal Armed Forces—a man of immense power.
Despite being nearly six hours late, Vladimir strode forward with imposing confidence and appeared before the reporters.
His bear-like build and fierce expression made even seasoned journalists hesitate to approach.
He scanned the stunned crowd staring at him.
“Is the assembly still ongoing?”
“It ended quite a while ago…”
One brave reporter finally answered.
Vladimir’s expression immediately soured.
“They ended the assembly without me even arriving? Looks like Korea no longer needs Russia’s help in the future.”
“……”
The reporters fell silent.
At that moment—
“You’re finally here.”
Vladimir spotted Yoon Soo-ho walking toward him from the opposite direction.
“You’re quite late, Vladimir. Unfortunately, it would be best if you turned around and left immediately.”
“Hah. So you’ve become Zero-grade and already think you can talk down to me? Today I’ll teach you that even among Zero-grades, there’s a hierarchy.”
Crack—crack—
Vladimir rolled his neck from side to side, loosening up.
He glared at Yoon Soo-ho with clear intent to fight right then and there.
When listing the most belligerent Zero-grade hunters, three names always came up: China’s Liu Qinglong, India’s Prasad Bachchan, and Russia’s Vladimir Zhukov.
Among them, Vladimir’s aggression surpassed the other two.
“Does it have to be today?”
At Yoon Soo-ho’s calm question, Vladimir gave a crooked grin.
“Scared already?”
“I’m worried about you. Haven’t you heard what happened to Prasad Bachchan and Tachibana Yutaro?”
Instead of looking at Vladimir, Yoon Soo-ho glanced briefly at the man approaching from behind him.
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