Chapter 108: Nine City Reconstruction (3)
―What nonsense are you suddenly spouting…
Before Chae So-young’s telepathy could fully reach him.
Shuu—
Chae Jin-young used psychokinesis to pull his sister’s body and threw her straight into the gate of hell.
At the same time, he stepped into hell himself.
Sss…
The moment he set foot in hell, Chae Jin-young closed the gate.
To prevent monsters from other dimensions from leaking through the portal into Earth.
Whooo—
“It’s similar to a dungeon.”
That single sentence summed up Chae Jin-young’s impression upon entering hell.
In truth, the natural environment itself hadn’t changed much.
As the name “hell” suggested, it was hot—but not to the point of burning to death.
With psionic energy wrapped around his body, it felt no different from Earth.
Yet suddenly, a chill ran down the back of Chae Jin-young’s neck.
―Are you insane, oppa?
The cold, sharp energy in Chae So-young’s telepathy came through clearly.
Whether she truly had no strength left to move or simply no will, she lay sprawled on the hard, scorching stone floor.
Of course, with psionic energy protecting her body as well, there was no worry of burns.
“Little sister, calm down and listen carefully.”
Chae Jin-young spoke calmly to soothe her.
―Do I look like I’m in a mood to calm down right now?
“If you listen to what I have to say, your anger will subside.”
“…….”
At those words, Chae So-young looked at him with an expression that said, “Let’s see what kind of bullshit you’re about to spout.”
“The only thing that can sustain a frail body is a strong mind—you know that well by now. This hell is the ultimate training ground to push your mental strength to its absolute limit.”
Chae Jin-young had made the decision after seeing his sister wheezing from exhaustion.
What he had just said was merely an excuse; the real purpose was to elevate Chae So-young’s combat power even further.
In any case, the goal was along similar lines.
―That’s it? You’re calling that an excuse right now?
Contrary to Chae Jin-young’s expectations, Chae So-young’s response was icy.
“Excuse? This is all for your sake.”
He had been too busy lately with matters involving GODS and the Horsemen of Calamity to properly look after his sister.
To accelerate the growth of not only her psionic energy but also her Hunter grade, she needed his direct guidance.
And the most suitable place for that was right here—hell.
The number of dungeons and contaminated zones left in Korea had dwindled, and he needed to leave some for other Hunters.
―Oppa. Starting tomorrow, I’ll train really hard, so can’t I just rest today?
Chae So-young’s serious voice reached Chae Jin-young.
At that, he nodded with a firm expression.
“Exactly—your current state is perfect for pushing mental strength to the extreme. Today’s training will have twice—no, three times the usual effect.”
“Haa…….”
A deep sigh escaped Chae So-young’s lips.
She realized she couldn’t break her brother’s stubbornness and resigned herself with a defeated look.
With great effort, she pushed herself up and belatedly surveyed the scenery of hell.
The two of them stood atop a sharply rising peak.
Below them stretched a vast wasteland.
Boom— Thud!
“Grrrrr…….”
Countless monsters roamed the wasteland, clashing with one another and creating a desolate scene.
Fortunately, they seemed too preoccupied to pay attention to the two people up here.
“What exactly is this place?”
Chae So-young stopped using telepathy and began speaking out loud.
“I told you. It’s hell.”
“…You weren’t speaking figuratively?”
Chae So-young had understood “hell” as a metaphorical expression for the grueling time she would endure here.
But this place’s official name really was hell.
Chae Jin-young scanned the surroundings, searching for any trace of a city like Nine City, but he couldn’t find even a single ruined building, let alone a city.
『After spreading my consciousness domain, it appears there are no demons in this vicinity. Still, there is a place where traces of the city remain.』
Ever since absorbing the ‘Gate of Hell’ ability, the tentacle had been steadily imprinting its consciousness into hell like an engraving.
Though the process was meticulous and therefore slow, simply scouting the surroundings could be done quickly.
‘Did you find where Nine City was?’
『Yes. It’s not far from here. Of course, the city has already been destroyed and vanished.』
‘That’s enough. And what about Gehenna?’
The largest city in hell, formed around the massive volcano Flameheart Mountain at the very center—Gehenna.
Chae Jin-young had only heard stories about it from the red demons he met in dungeons; he had never seen it himself.
Even now, it was unclear whether Gehenna still existed in hell.
『My consciousness cannot reach it. It feels as though it’s blocked by a massive mountain range.』
‘Looks like there’s some kind of barrier protecting Gehenna.’
『Perhaps.』
That would mean Gehenna was still intact.
Chae Jin-young planned to first restore Nine City, then carve a path toward Gehenna.
To search for any possible psychokinesis successor who might still be there.
Beyond that, he intended to hunt down fanatics like the Void Church’s leader to gather information about the Demon King.
Nine City would serve as his forward base for that purpose.
“So-young-ah, let’s do a quick psionic test after so long.”
“Wait a second.”
Chae So-young straightened her exhausted body and took a deep breath.
Sss…
The unstable psionic energy surrounding her instantly calmed into gentle ripples.
“I’m ready.”
Her face was still drained, but her eyes had come alive.
She had shifted into the mindset of enjoying what couldn’t be avoided.
“Here I come.”
Chae Jin-young released a tiny amount of psionic energy, wrapping it around Chae So-young’s body.
And then.
Crack crack crack—
With just a light touch of psychokinesis, cracks instantly spread across Chae So-young’s energy barrier.
“What the…?”
Chae So-young’s eyes widened in shock.
The amount of energy flowing from Chae Jin-young had clearly been negligible.
Yet she had never imagined her barrier would shatter from so little.
Of course, Chae Jin-young didn’t look particularly surprised.
“Curious how I did it?”
“…It pisses me off, but yeah. I’m curious.”
Chae So-young was steadily falling into the trap her brother had set, but she had no choice but to admit it.
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
Chae Jin-young wanted to show his sister the true taste of cyclic energy.
Of course, whether she could properly accept cyclic energy remained uncertain.
According to the Void Church leader, handling both energies simultaneously required tremendous effort and talent.
He could only hope his sister had that talent.
“Shall we get going first?”
Chae Jin-young leaped straight down the cliff swarming with monsters below.
Chae So-young bit her lip and followed right after her brother.
Whoong—
Thanks to psychokinesis, her body floated gently before touching the ground.
She landed stably.
Thud— thud— thud—
“Grrrrr!”
The monsters had already caught their scent and were charging toward the two.
“They look about 3rd grade at best. Let’s see how much you’ve improved after so long.”
Before Chae Jin-young could even finish speaking, Chae So-young was already drawing up mana.
And as a hippopotamus-like monster opened its jaws to lunge.
Pewww—
A pure white beam shot from Chae So-young’s outstretched hand.
Boom boom boom!
The monster’s head was pierced straight through by the ray, black blood gushing out.
“Your mana has grown quite a bit. The problem is your stamina.”
Chae Jin-young nodded as he spoke.
Pew— pewww—
Chae So-young unleashed beams indiscriminately at the incoming monsters.
Boom—
One by one, monsters fell.
However, the number of monsters was dozens of times greater than her remaining mana.
Before her mana ran dry, Chae So-young stopped and released psionic energy.
Tss-ts-ts…
Blue and red auras swirled into a vortex, surging toward the monsters.
It pierced straight through their mental barriers, inflicting psychic shock.
“Grrrk……?”
The charging monsters suddenly rolled their eyes back and trembled violently.
But it was only temporary.
They soon regained their senses and began moving again.
Watching the scene, Chae Jin-young spoke.
“Looks like it’s still not enough to turn their brains into mush.”
“It’s just mental damage—how am I supposed to make their brains explode?”
Chae So-young retorted in disbelief.
Her psionic ability was not the type that inflicted physical damage like Chae Jin-young’s.
“There’s a way. Try again.”
At Chae Jin-young’s words, Chae So-young looked doubtful but once again pierced into the monster’s mental barrier.
The next instant.
Sss…
As white energy mixed in, her psionic energy began to surge violently.
“W-What…?”
Flustered, she tried to control the psionic energy inside the monster’s head.
But.
Swoosh swoosh swoosh—
The two energies suddenly began rotating in reverse.
Boom boom boom!
In an instant, an energy explosion occurred, and the monster’s head completely evaporated.
Chae So-young stared in stunned silence.
“It seems handling both energies at the same time is quite difficult. If we can just figure out a way to store cyclic energy separately, it could be used strategically.”
As Chae Jin-young muttered something incomprehensible, Chae So-young desperately wanted to go home.
Moreover, dealing with the endless waves of monsters alone was starting to wear her down mentally as well.
Boom— crack crack crack—
At that moment, monsters burst apart like balloons under Chae Jin-young’s psychokinesis.
Some were crumpled like paper in an instant and scattered away.
Even so, Chae Jin-young steadily collected hearts and brains.
“Let’s move for now.”
He quickly cleared the monsters and advanced forward.
With no choice, Chae So-young followed her brother, assisting by releasing psionic energy.
As they proceeded.
『There’s something at the site where old Nine City once stood.』
‘Monsters, probably.’
『No, it’s intelligent life. Since it didn’t get caught in my consciousness net, it’s not a demon.』
At the tentacle’s words, Chae Jin-young furrowed his brow.
Intelligent life remaining in the ruins of a city that had been destroyed for some reason.
It was bound to be suspicious.
‘Let’s go say hello. If they refuse, we’ll do it our way.’
『Good.』
***
“Another bust today.”
A woman with filthy, dirt-stained white wings neatly folded muttered to herself.
A golden halo floated above her head, and her wrists and ankles were adorned with numerous golden bracelets.
She was an angel of the so-called “Golden Heaven Tribe.”
“Lady Rael, it seems certain there’s nothing in these ruins.”
A man with similarly dirty wings and a golden halo approached and spoke.
However, he had fewer golden bracelets and anklets than Rael.
It was clear that Rael held a higher rank than the man.
“But if we return empty-handed, the Archangel will be furious.”
Rael spoke in a worried voice.
“It would be dangerous, but searching farther ruins might be an option.”
“It seems that’s the only way.”
The artifact long lost in hell by the Golden Heaven Tribe: “Archiel’s Chalice.”
Rael and her subordinates had been dispatched to hell to find the chalice.
Of course, they weren’t the only ones sent.
Anticipating a long mission, the Golden Heaven Tribe had dispatched a grand excavation team.
They had even set up a headquarters for the excavation team in the most sheltered area of the hell wasteland.
Coincidentally, it was the same location they had used as a base during their previous conquest of hell.
Rael’s team, departing from there, had been combing through ruins like lice for several days already, yet they hadn’t found even a fragment of the chalice.
“Everyone is exhausted, so it would be best to return to headquarters, recharge, and then set out again.”
The man bowed his head as he spoke.
“I don’t want to face the Archangel’s wrath… but it’s better than total annihilation like this.”
Rael agreed and was about to leave when.
“Who’s there?”
One of the angels standing guard at the edge of the ruins shouted sharply.
At that, Rael and the other angels quickly flew toward the source.
Shuuu—
Upon arrival, they found two humans standing there.
Just as they marveled that other-dimensional races were still falling into hell these days.
“Looks like you’re searching for something here. What are you looking for?”
The man among the humans asked.
The guard angel’s mood soured at the insolent tone.
“How dare a mere human…”
“Wait.”
At that moment, Rael extended her hand, cutting off the guard’s words.
“Lady Rael…?”
“Huu…”
Though the guard asked in confusion, she merely let out a sigh of relief.
The moment the rude words were interrupted, the ominous aura emanating from the man vanished.
If she hadn’t sensed it in that fleeting instant, the guard’s fate might have ended today.
“You’ve got good instincts.”
The man said with a grin, causing a chill to run down Rael’s spine.
“We are searching for an artifact that disappeared in hell.”
When she answered truthfully, the expressions of the surrounding angels froze or filled with shock.
But since she was the leader of the investigation team, none dared to object.
“I see. Do you know why this place became ruins?”
At the man’s question, Rael searched her memory and replied.
“During the Fifth Holy War, most of hell’s cities were destroyed. Of course, our side suffered catastrophic losses as well, so we ultimately failed to capture Gehenna.”
The incident where the angelic tribes, including the Golden Heaven Tribe, united to invade hell.
Countless demons and angels perished in hell as a result.
The demons, whose very homeland was devastated, suffered greater damage, but the angels were far from unscathed.
At that, the man’s lips curled up.
“Oh, so that means items imbued with holy power are buried in these ruins like treasures.”
“…Just in case, let me say this clearly: those rightfully belong to us. If you touch them, you will face the Archangel’s wrath.”
Though intimidated by the man’s presence, Rael mustered her courage to speak.
But the man paid no attention.
“First things first—we need to set up a forward base.”
Tss-ts-ts—
A black portal formed at the man’s feet, resembling a pit leading straight into hell’s hell.
The sinister mana emanating from it caused Rael and the angels to furrow their brows.
It bore a similar nature to the black mana of demons.
“Lady Rael, why are you hesitating?”
“……”
Rael barely registered her subordinate’s words.
She was calculating whether a surprise attack right now might give them a chance.
“If you just stand there and get caught up and die, I’m not taking responsibility.”
At the man’s words, the angels could no longer hold back their anger and rose up.
“Attack now!”
Shaaa…
The moment everyone released pure white holy power.
Boom boom boom boom—
The black portal spread across the ground instantly expanded, spewing out something pitch-black.
The angels panicked.
“D-Dodge!”
At Rael’s shout, the angels swiftly spread their wings.
Boom boom boom!
Massive hellstone buildings and endlessly stretching pipes.
Steam-emitting facilities as well.
Rumble rumble—
“Argh!”
Some angels failed to evade in time and were crushed beneath the buildings.
Thus, the tumultuous construction of the city came to an end amid the shaking earth.
Click. Click. Click. Pssshhh—
The revived Nine City began reactivating its hellfire power generation.