Chapter 178

Chapter 178: Growing Stronger (1)

‘There is also a barrier . ’

It was a barrier with multiple layers .

If he was just a chaos being, it would be impossible to pass through it .

In the end, really surprising things existed in the dimensional system .

‘That is?’

Surprisingly, there was a mysterious barrier that only a Hwanmong Ruler could pass through .

What was behind this barrier?

Shuuuuok!

Kang-jun finally pierced through the barrier and a tunnel with an unknown end appeared .

‘What is that tunnel?’

What was at the end of it?

There was no need to worry because he would see it eventually .

As a Hwangmong Ruler, what did he have to be afraid of?

Shuuuuu-

Kang-jun flew through the tunnel . He seemed to be moving slowly, but he was actually doing a series of space warps .

'Even a chaos being would deteriorate in a tunnel like this . ’

There were dimensional traps scattered all over the tunnel that only a Hwanmong Ruler or top demonic god could withstand .

The moment they were caught in the trap, they would be warped to an unknown space similar to the Abyss .

Of course, it was a one way trip, but a Hwanmong Ruler wouldn’t get caught up in the trap .

However, it was impossible for those who only understood the nature of chaos or destruction .

They would be caught in a dimensional trap and moved to an unknown place .

It would be impossible for them to return to the tunnel .

It might be possible to come back by travelling through many distant dimensions, but at that point, they would be trapped again and moved somewhere else .

So, Kang-jun had become more curious about where the tunnel would lead to .

It meant that no one would be able to reach the end of this tunnel unless they were a Hwanmong Ruler .

Shuuuuu-

He didn’t know how long he had been moving for .

Kang-jun was nervous because he could feel a strong presence approaching from up ahead .

'There is someone else in a place like this . ’

Who was it? Moreover, the unknown presence seemed to give off an enormous hostility .

"Kukukuku!”

After a while, the unknown presence was revealed— his whole body was obscured by a black hood and robe .

He looked similar to the shadows and the amount power pouring from him was similar to that of the great demonic gods .

"Who are you?"

Kang-jun asked the shadow, but the shadow simply attacked Kang-jun instead of answering .

Hwaaack!

The ultimate light of destruction! It was like the energy that filled the Abyss .

However, this energy was scattered due to the light from Kang-jun’s hands and the shadow in front of him vanished without a trace .

'He was roughly Thanatos’ level . ’

Presences that even the chief gods and great demonic god would find hard to deal with . . .

If they came to this tunnel, they would have been killed by the shadow Kang-jun had just met .

Of course, for Kang-jun, he could take care of the opponent with a quick gesture of his hand .

“Kikikiki!”

"Kukukuku!”

After the first shadow, two were killed, then four more appeared .

The shadows grew exponentially .

However, they scattered with one gesture from Kang-jun as soon as they appeared .

After hundreds of shadows were killed by Kang-jun, they stopped appearing .

He no longer saw any shadows .

‘This place?’

After fighting the shadows, everything turned into a vast space . The end of the tunnel was behind Kang-jun .

‘What’s this vast space?’

Kang-jun soon realized he had reached an unknown place through the tunnel .

The shadows had desperately tried to block Kang-jun from coming here .

However, it was also a test of Kang-jun’s qualifications to enter this place .

If he had just reached the threshold of a Hwanmong Ruler, he would have been hit by the shadows .

‘This is a mysterious place in Hwanmong that sustains itself . ’

It was an infinite space that couldn’t be detected by the power of a Hwanmong Ruler .

At that time, Kang-jun felt another presence rushing toward him .

It was different from the shadows he had confronted before .

Surprisingly, it was a person that had the power of a Hwanmong Ruler!

'Who is that?’

Kang-jun was filled with tension . There was no doubt it was another Hwanmong Ruler .

However, why was he hostile?

Regardless of the reason . . .

If the opponent was hostile, then Kang-jun would have no choice but to fight .

Chuoot!

A transparent and shining sword appeared in Kang-jun’s hand .

It was the Hwanmong Sword created through his will .

Kang-jun stared at what was before him with an intense light in his eyes .

It was the first time since becoming a Hwanmong Ruler that had he met an opponent he couldn’t be sure about defeating .

In the case of Cardia, she had fought with all of her might, but she hadn’t been a match for him .

Kang-jun had the advantage in that battle .

However, his current opponent’s power was relatively even .

Flash! Kwaang! Kwarurung!

It was another shadow . Surprisingly, there was also a Hwanmong Sword in the shadow’s hands as he attacked Kang-jun .

Kwang! Kwakwang! Kwaaaaang!

This was a clash between two Hwanmong Swords!

The dimensional space started to split and crumble .

Fortunately, there were no small worlds here .

If there were, the collision between Kang-jun and the shadow would have blown away various small worlds .

'Shit! Where did this guy come from? Why is he so strong?’

No matter what attack Kang-jun used, the shadow blocked all of them .

Of course, Kang-jun also defended against the shadow’s attacks, but it was unlikely to last forever .

However, he still couldn't give up .

If Kang-jun tried to escape, a person with this much hostility would chase him to the ends of the dimensional system .

Therefore, it would be better to end it here .

Otherwise, the dimensional sea and small worlds would become devastated .

Kwaang! Kwarururung! Kwa kwa kwa kwang!

He didn’t know how much time had passed .

Kang-jun, who had been fighting with the shadow for a long time, suddenly discovered that his opponent was no longer a shadow and that it had a human face .

Shockingly, the face looking back at him was Kang-jun’s face .

"Who are you?"

The shadow grinned and replied to Kang-jun’s question,

"I am you . ”

“Me?”

“Yes, I am you — another you, a Hwanmong Ruler who was born from your feelings of loneliness and emptiness . I am your true self and at the same time, I will kill you . That is also your will . ”

His eyes were full of darkness and loneliness .

It felt like Kang-jun was looking into a mirror .

"You want to kill me? That is why you were born?”

"Huhu, that’s right . You tried to hide it from yourself but deep inside your subconscious, there is a desire to kill yourself due to loneliness and emptiness . Admit it honestly . Do you want to do this any longer?”

“ . . . . . . ”

Did he want to? Kang-jun suddenly felt his mind go blank .

As a Hwangmong Ruler, there was nothing he couldn’t have .

An infinite life stretched out before him, but there was nothing he wanted to do . The fact that he could do it made him not want to do it .

No, he didn’t want to do anything because he could do it all . He didn’t feel any strong desires for anything .

As Kang-jun’s expression hardened, the shadow’s eyes lit up .

“Are you just realizing it now? You can’t die on your own, so I am an existence created for the purpose of killing you . The space at the end of the tunnel is the grave of the gods . It is a space where gods can’t resurrect . ”

"Resurrection is impossible?”

“That’s right . You’re not an exception . Everything will disappear in this place . It is something that you haven’t experienced . It’s a true death and it also means complete destruction . ”

“A true death . ”

“It is a complete relief once you don’t exist anymore . So, don’t reject this and accept your death . ”

The shadow came forward and aimed for Kang-jun’s neck .

If Kang-jun was pierced by the sword, his life as a Hwanmong Ruler would end here and he wouldn’t be resurrected .

“ . . . . . . ”

Of course, he should avoid it . However, strangely, his body didn’t move to reject it .

Rather, it was like he was hoping to die .

At the same time, a deep loneliness and emptiness pierced his mind .

In simple terms, he had become a player in a game who couldn’t acquire experience anymore . It was like he had seen the ending and was no longer interested in the game .

Nothing was fun anymore; it was just boring .

It was now time to delete the game . . .

The game about Hwanmong .

He just had to wait for the sword to stab him and it would be game over . At the same time, the hard life of a Hwanmong Ruler and the loneliness would all disappear .

Kakakaang!

However, Kang-jun blocked the shadow’s sword . The shadow frowned and asked,

"Are you still willing to live? What makes you want to live?”

Kang-jun’s eyes shone intensely .

"There are still many games I haven’t played . ”

"Games?”

“If I go to a PC room, there are many newly released games . There are also many games I want to try again . ”

"PC room?"

The shadow’s face distorted at Kang-jun’s words .

He meant a real game and not a representation of life?

"You want to live so that you can go to a PC room and play games? Because of that?”

“Why isn’t that good enough? Should there be a more compelling reason? Additionally, I haven’t gone to the Maldives with Hayun . There are also many foods that I haven’t eaten . ”

Kang-jun’s gaze became even more intense .

"I also need to explore all the small worlds that belong to Hwanmong . Moreover, I have my household members, so there is no sense of loneliness or emptiness . Rather, it awakens my sense of curiosity, adventure and joy . ”

"S-shut up! It is foolish for a Hwanmong Ruler to still have trivial human needs!”

The shadow rushed forward like it was ridiculous .

Kang-jun gave him a cold smile .

"Human desires aren’t trivial . I feel alive because of them!”

A true god might feel empty and want to destroy themselves .

However, Kang-jun’s human desires were infinite .

Therefore, his desire to survive was also infinite .

So, why die now?

The shadow realized Kang-jun’s heart and gritted his teeth .

"Stop that ridiculous nonsense and die!”

The attack power of the shadow suddenly decreased .

'Why is it so weak?’

Of course, there was no need to answer the question now .

Kang-jun immediately slashed at the body of the shadow .

Flash!

A burst of light emerged from Kang-jun’s Hwanmong Sword and the body of the shadow disappeared without a trace .

Then at that moment, Kang-jun realized something .

The shadow wasn’t weaker, but Kang-jun had become stronger .