Chapter 4 (1/2)

It was a slaughter fest.

The unforeseen emergence of monsters. And the appearance of the Demon Lord. Although humanity was able to adapt to some degree and grow stronger over time, it was nowhere enough to stop the onslaught of the rising h.o.a.rds.

Especially… Demon Lord, the King of Monsters, was in an entirely different league. A joint attack by the top 500 experts of humanity was barely enough to slay him. Only one hero survived.

Oh Hansung, the Magic Swordsman, pierced the heart of it's giant, throbbing heart with a blade. It was over. Drenched in it's blood, I thought to myself this d.a.m.ned war would finally come to an end.

”I am only the beginning.'

The King of Monsters uttered its last breath. He didn't have his army of monsters by his side, yet his demeanor exuded absolute confidence.

”You will despair. You will understand the true meaning of suffering in the great chaos to come. I am but one of the many kings who have fallen…”

At the same time, I saw a vision into the abyss. The Demon Lord used his last remaining power to open a small rift to his home dimension. I was overwhelmed. My whole body s.h.i.+vered, and my soul felt as if it would crumble away. Countless hordes of monsters. t.i.tanic existences.

Defeating the Demon Lord wasn't the end?

I couldn't believe it. How many lives had been sacrificed to defeat one Demon Lord? Humanity had nothing left. We poured every last resource into the battle against the Demon Lord thinking it would be over. An existence like a Demon Lord was enough to threaten our world.

”Live in vain hope until your eventual doom, oh foolish human.”

Demon Lord. The b.a.s.t.a.r.d grinned and drew his last breath. I looked around my surroundings only to see flowing rivers of blood drenching the entire battle field. Death did not discriminate.

I clenched my fists tightly as I held back my tears. But I had to return. This victory had to be known. I had to give even the faintest hope to humanity.

And from that day onwards… I wore a mask.

I laughed. I raised the blood-soaked blade that slew countless monsters into the air.

”The strongest and the last remaining hero, Oh Hansung! As long as he's with us, humanity will be safe! We will be victorious!”

”Oh Hansung! Oh Hansung!”

”Ah, thank you! Thank you!”

And when a battle was over, I would wave my hands on the podium with a smile. There couldn't be any mistakes. If I showed any signs of unease, all sorts of speculation would arise, and people would start to fall into despair. I was their only hope: a candle light in darkness, a strong wave.

But their only hero was wearing a fake mask and putting on a show. I was sick of it all. I knew it would only be a matter of time until catastrophe struck again. It was enough to keep the burden of truth to myself and suffer alone. It was at that moment. An unknown voice whispered in my ears.

”Come. Come to me.…”

”Huff, huff!”

I woke up. My head was muddied, and cold sweat was running down my face. At the same time, I crumpled my face into a frown.

”What a s.h.i.+tty dream.”

I was unfortunate enough to dream about the past; there couldn't have been a worse dream experience for me.

I got out of my bed and headed to the kitchen. After gulping down a gla.s.s of water, I replayed the voice I heard at the end.

I scrunched my eyebrows. It was a familiar voice. But my head started throbbing every time I tried to remember who it was. I was sure I heard that voice somewhere before, but when I tried to think of it now, I couldn't remember who it was. This was definitely not a common development.

'Could this be a side effect of time traveling back to the past?'

Come, come to me….

What did the voice mean? Was I supposed to return to a specific place? I clicked my tongue and tried to leave the matter aside for the time being. I shook my head and opened the door to my veranda. The sun was high up in the sky already. It was already noon.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

At that moment, someone banged on my door.

”You have a delivery! Is this the residence of Mr. Oh Hansung?”

I stretched my arms and let out a yawn with a faint smile.

'It finally came.'

Ah, the luxuries of modern civilization… Especially the internet, what a convenient invention it was

They were equipment I needed to head to the gate: one hiking backpack, a flashlight and some high-calorie edibles like chocolate, sneakers and comfortable sports wear. After packing the items, I hopped onto a taxi.

”Mount Buckan please.”

Mount Muckan. A gate was open there.