Chapter 353.

Under the dark sky, the waves of blood covered the earth . Piles of corpses formed mountains, and intestines rolled about like stones on the ground . Even at the scene of one of the most horrendous massacres in human history, the murderer, Baal, remained calm . He seemed apathetic even, just like a human killing ants .

KWAAAAA… .

Somewhere, magic power was raging . Baal turned his gaze to the source of the sound . Kim Suho’s sword strike was coming for him .

Baal scattered the sword strike with a single motion of his hand . But Kim Suho was persistent . He continued to wield his sword, though by now he must have realized that he, a mere human, was no match for the transcendent evil that was Baal .

“——!”

With a shout, Kim Suho poured his all into his sword . But Baal easily parried his blow . Clang—! Baal’s demonic energy and Kim Suho’s sword collided with each other with a sharp clang . Then, suddenly, another sword cut through their point of contact .

“You— bastard—!”

With a loud shout, Chae Nayun swung her magic sword, which was as big as Morax .

Chae Nayun extended her sword, hoping it would reach Baal . In response, the devil stretched his demonic energy, and the thin string of demonic energy destroyed the core of her sword, shattering it to bits .

“…”

Suddenly, a smile flickered across Baal’s face . Chae Nayun’s sword, which covered half of his view, disappeared, and now he could clearly see those who had been hiding behind it .

Countless Heroes, each with unique weapons and powers, were racing towards Baal .

Baal recognized all of them . Rachel, Yoo Sihyuk, Yoo Jinwoong, Aileen, Nicholas… . As he perceived their names and faces, Baal suddenly grew tired .

He regretted synchronizing with Bell . If it weren’t for Bell’s memories, he wouldn’t have allowed those ants to bother him in the first place .

Instead of facing the Heroes, Baal slowed the time around them . In a world of stillness, Baal carefully observed each and every single one of them .

They were filled with determination . Clearly, nothing could break their resolve to protect their world .

Looking at their faces, Baal began to ponder upon the concept of a ‘novel’ .

Was this where he was supposed to fall? If so, for what did he destroy all those different worlds? Were all his years of life just a fictional device for this moment?

“…”

Baal looked up at the sky in silence . White specks of dust were slowly appearing in the dark sky . The specks became rays of light that poured down towards the earth in slow motion . Each of these rays represented a portal that carried reinforcements from another dimension .

Looking at the scenery before his eyes, Baal smiled bitterly .

—What is this?

—Has ‘god’ responded to the humans’ prayers?

—Then, where was this god when I was destroying other worlds?

This wasn’t the kind of contemplation that suited a devil .

Baal closed his eyes, and the speed of the world returned to normal .

“…Baal . ”

Kim Suho called Baal’s name and glanced at Morax behind Baal .

Baal’s face was expressionless as he looked straight at Kim Suho . He had plenty of questions for the hero .

—Do you know where you came from?

—What if you were just a toy- a doll designed for the sake of entertaining ‘higher beings’? Will you still sacrifice your life just to kill me?

“…”

Baal didn’t ask, so Kim Suho didn’t answer . The devil already knew Kim Suho’s answer, though, based on Bell’s memories .

—Whoever I am, whatever this world is, it doesn’t matter . I’m just protecting people who are precious to me .

That was what Kim Suho would say .

“Sir Suho . So this is where you were . ”

Crevon’s troops lined up behind Kim Suho, who stood firm with his sword in his hand . Most of the soldiers were knights, but there were priests and magicians among them as well . Kim Suho glanced at them and nodded .

“…Very funny . ”

Baal scoffed and examined the world before him .

Morax was in perfect shape, and he still had a lot of soldiers left .

Still, humans were obstinate . A huge metallic object was floating in the sky, bombarding demons, and those who couldn’t possibly exist in this world descended from the sky through the paths of light .

—…Old Man .

At that moment, letters appeared in front of Baal . He realized immediately who had sent this message – Leraje .

“Where are you?”

—I can’t help you .

Baal clenched his teeth .

“…Where are you?”

—It wouldn’t be a bad idea to withdraw here .

“Don’t make me say it again,” Baal growled, not even trying to hide his anger .

However, Leraje was insistent .

—You already lost your castle . Don’t push yourself too hard . Why don’t you just give up this time… .

Castle . Baal’s castle served as an important medium that linked the Phenomenon Realm and the Transcendent Realm . Without his castle, Baal’s demonic energy was no longer infinite, and the number of soldiers Baal could summon decreased as well .

And said castle had already been destroyed by a certain foe… .

“…Leave . ”

Baal shook Leraje off . Bual was already dead, and Vassago and Leraje had no intention of cooperating with Baal . He realized that victory was no longer a guarantee .

That did not mean he intended to step down . Even if he was fated to die here, even if he was ‘created’ to eventually lose… .

“I’ll destroy this world by myself . ”

With a look of firm determination, Baal took a step forward . Kim Suho’s eyes and thousands of pairs of eyes lined up behind Kim Suho, turned to Baal .

Baal faced them straight as he altered his body . He broke out of his human form and took on the form of a devil .

It was then .

Chweeek—!

Suddenly arrows, spears, and swords pierced the devil’s body . More than pain, he felt perplexed . There was nothing special about these weapons, yet they had managed to cut through his demonic energy and wound his demonic flesh .

Baal opened his eyes wide and turned to where the attack had come from . He felt confused, almost astonished by what he saw next .

“…!”

A magician was there . Baal knew her name even without relying on Bell’s memory .

Shimurin, the Grand Magician .

“How… . ”

But Shimurin wasn’t the only one who had appeared out of the blue . The soldiers of the other world who escaped destruction had arrived on Earth through Shimurin’s magic .

These soldiers were aiming at Baal, each armed with exorcism weapons .

“Hm . This world sure is humid . ”

Muttering, Shimruin stepped forward . Baal said nothing . He tried hard to grasp the present situation . He knew Shimurin died a long time ago… . He had never experienced anything like this in thousands of years .

Suddenly a voice flowed into Baal’s ears .

—You brought this on yourself, Baal .

Baal recognized this voice .

Vassago, the rank 2 devil .

She went on as if none of this surprised her at all .

—You’ve regenerated the first world you descended into and brought to ruin . The only way you could overcome the law of causality and descend entirely was to destroy the world once again, which had already been destroyed . But this time, the world you regenerated was not destroyed . ‘Someone’ protected that world, and now its people came to hunt you down .

Baal was silent . He turned his gaze to Shimurin and the other humans .

The Republic of Leores .

The Kingdom of Arunheim .

His feelings towards the people of the other world were contradictory . He considered them insignificant, but at the same time, he also missed them .

The devil hunter named Harin, the knight named Airun, the magician named Shimurin .

And… the prince by the name of ‘Krisbell’ .

A smile spread across Baal’s face as he locked gazes with his old friend .

**

[Essence of the Strait Underground Bunker — Yoo Yeonha’s Office]

Yoo Yeonha was sitting in an office full of hologram screens . Each of these screens was broadcasting real-time situations around the world . Everyone was fighting the same war under different skies .

East Asia, Oceania, America and Europe . All the continents were engulfed in war, and death and destruction spread like infectious diseases throughout the world .

“Focus on saving lives . There’s enough food and medicine in the bunker . ”

—Roger .

With the brutality of the war still in mind, Yoo Yeonha gave orders to her people . She was well aware of her duties as the Chief Officer of Essence of the Strait .

“I think [Dimensional Entropy] is safe now~”

Suddenly, a leisurely voice rang in Yoo Yeonha’s ears . Yoo Yeonha slowly raised her head . Jain was leaning against the wall of the office .

“We’ve worked pretty hard . Do we get anything for it~?”

Yoo Yeonha frowned . It wasn’t that she didn’t want to give rewards . What bothered her was Jain’s appearance .

Jain was disguised as Kim Hajin .

“There will be plenty of rewards . You don’t have to worry about that . ”

“What’s with the sour face~?”

“…It’s your disguise . ”

Yoo Yeonha muttered, and Jain smirked . Slowly, Jain approached Yoo Yeonha, with her disguise still on .

“I- I said stop . Enough with the jokes . ”

Yoo Yeonha blushed as Kim Hajin’s face neared hers .

“What do you think? It’s amazing, right? My disguise, I mean . I can even change my voice . ”

Jain grinned and caressed Yoo Yeonha’s cheek . When the warm hand that had the same temperature as Kim Hajin reached her, Yoo Yeonha gulped .

It was then .

—Chief Officer!

Surprised by the voice calling her, Yoo Yeonha pushed Jain away .

Jain clicked her tongue, and Yoo Yeonha answered in a loud voice .

“W-w-what?!”

—Please take a look at this .

The informant showed Yoo Yeonha a video . It was taken at a forest near Vladivostok . Two humans- no, two humanoid monsters were in it . At first, she thought it was nothing special .

But then the moment she recognized the two monsters, she felt her hair stand on end .

“…Is this…?”

—Yes .

The informant announced gravely .

—It’s Orden .

“…”

Feeling a painful throb in her head, Yoo Yeonha stared at Orden . Orden was pushing his way through the grass . He clearly had a destination in mind .

Based on the analysis of his route, it was predicted that Orden was headed to the Korean border, where the battle with Baal was currently taking place .

“Ah… . ”

Orden was coming here . Orden, who used to be humanity’s worst enemy before Baal . He was coming to finally destroy Earth for good .

Yoo Yeonha sank to the floor in despair . Her slender body slipped down the chair, and Jain smirked at the sight .

—But there’s something strange about them… .

Yoo Yeonha couldn’t focus on the words that followed . She thought everything was over now . She was barely holding out, and the news of Orden pushed her into a meltdown .

‘If I’m gonna die like this, if everything is gonna end like this… wouldn’t it be better to say what I haven’t been able to say before I’m gone for good?’

With that in mind, Yoo Yeonha picked up her smartwatch instead of planting an apple tree .

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