World Engulfed in Flames

When the flames first engulfed the entire world, people were bewildered.

The obscured vision was one problem, but the biggest issue was the sheer intensity of the fire.

The Fire Resistance that had painstakingly endured until now had finally been breached. Even a brief moment felt like it would cook their skin entirely, forcing all the Troops who had been fighting so hard to retreat.

However, the Safe Zone was just as chaotic. The flames burning on the Ground didn't spare any corner.

“Please, just wait a moment!”

The Mages were desperately squeezing out mana, but pain was still pain. Moreover, in This Place, there were many Wounded, which only exacerbated the confusion.

“This won't do! We have to get out now!”

“Wait, it's better to get more Magic and finish breaking the Altar!”

“Are you kidding? Go in there? Are you trying to die?”

“If we just stay here, we'll burn to death!”

In that brief moment, various opinions emerged. Some insisted on breaking through the walls to escape immediately, others on somehow penetrating and destroying the last remaining Altar, and still others on simply enduring until the situation calmed down. Fear, anxiety, hesitation, and many other emotions instantly spread through the air. Even Jurgen and Vivian, who had been fighting on the Frontline, had returned, so confusion was inevitable.

Fortunately, however, the chaos didn't last long.

“Huh?”

“What?”

Suddenly, the flames that had been surging all around rapidly subsided. As the flames receded, the scene beyond them became visible again. Amon had vanished somewhere, and only three men and women stood in his place, panting.

At first, they wondered what had happened. Not much time had passed since Amon declared, “I'll wipe you all out.” But soon enough, they understood. Amon was gone. In other words, they had won.

“W-we won!”

“Damn it, we survived!!”

“Woooooah!!!”

*Inside the dome, cheers briefly erupted.*

Woooooah! Cheers echoed from behind.

“Hoo...”

Only then did I let out a sigh of relief and relax my body. It was a bit annoying that he left me with only questions at the end, but we won nonetheless. And I didn't even get hurt much.

More than that, this cloak is really good.

My clothes didn't even burn much this time! Though I was only wearing blood-made underwear beneath the cloak, making me feel like some bizarre creature... But it was still better than just wearing a single pair of underwear.

“Wow, you guys are amazing! Did you really manage to destroy all the remaining Altars in that chaos? You've all got some guts.”

As I pondered for a moment, the Extermination Squad members slowly began to approach this place. Everyone's faces brightened at the fact that Amon had been exterminated.

But my gaze was drawn not to their faces, but to the corpses lying on the ground. Though we had somehow won, inevitably there were dead. And frankly, it wouldn't be wrong to say everyone was wounded.

This is because fire burns everything equally, regardless of who the opponent is. No matter how much preparation was made, one wrong move, and you'd quickly turn to ash. And if you were unlucky enough to take a direct hit from Amon, you'd be dead instantly.

Phew... it's a good thing he hadn't fully descended yet.

If we had tried to catch him when he was whole... honestly, I had no idea how we would have done it.

“Yor, are you okay? No, how did you even go in there? I was so worried because I couldn't see you.”

Too bad the flames blocked the view of the final blow Seriously, how could he even think of going in there? No fear. When did he even get that cloak...? Seriously, I haven't even fired a shot yet T_T L Was Kicked Out by the Manager.

As I caught my breath, Chae-rin approached me with a worried expression. It seemed she had been quite anxious in that short time. Though I appreciated her concern, I asked first what I was curious about.

“Hmm... Haneul and Hanbyeol Shin?”

I'd been looking around, but I couldn't see them anywhere.

“They died and Logged Out.”

The answer I heard was a bit shocking. No wonder Haneul, the Manager, suddenly appeared in the chat window. It seemed both of them had run out of HP in that brief moment when Amon unleashed his power. Feeling momentarily perplexed, I asked her.

“Then what do we do? If they revive here, won't it be a hassle to come back?”

“No. They'll revive in a nearby village anyway. It's just a bit unfortunate, I guess.”

“...”

At times like this, Otherworlders truly seem unreal. When I see them casually thinking about things like resurrection or Teleportation, I can't help to ponder deeply. Perhaps these feelings and Senses I experience are all illusions, just as the Otherworlders claim.

“...”

Of course, I didn't dwell on it too deeply. My body was too heavy then to do so.

*I'm tired...*

Perhaps because the Altar was so vast, it took an excessive amount of time to destroy. I used a lot of my abilities as well. I was already worried about the side effects. In fact, the pattern on my collarbone had spread, reaching up to my neck.

An adventurer who saw it was surprised and asked me about it.

“Hah! A tattoo? Heavens, Sir, were you truly a Manifestor?”

“Don't call me Sir. It's creepy.”

It seemed they hadn't seen the one on my collarbone during the fight. I opened my mouth, looking at the person who stared at me in surprise.

“Got a problem with that?” “Oh, no. It's just amazing that the rumors were true... How could I have a problem? If you hadn't caught Amon, I would have burned to death. Thank you.”

Many burn marks were visible on the Adventurer's body, as if his words were a lie. He'd probably heal if he went to a Priest, but he is quite sore right now. Indeed, if he'd been exposed to the Fireball a little longer, it might have been quite dangerous.

I looked at the Adventurer for a moment... then pointed my chin towards Nikki and spoke.

“Give your gratitude to her too. She came here before me to try to break the Altar.”

“...Ugh.”

The Adventurer hesitated for a moment at my words, then went to Nikki and offered his gratitude. Seeing her actions, several people also went to Nikki to express their greetings.

“Thank you. We're alive thanks to you.”

“The fire happened to touch my face... I was worried about scarring. Thanks to you, I don't have to worry about that anymore. Thank you.”

At first, when Nikki introduced herself at the meeting, she was booed by the Adventurers. They cursed her, asking why a Manifestor had to butt in and if she was going to betray them.

But now that the battle was over, she was receiving gratitude from those very adventurers. At least the people here knew how hard she had fought.

Nikki wore a bewildered expression for a moment, then broke into a bright smile. It was the most satisfied smile I had seen from her since I'd known her.

“W-we're returning now...!”

With that, the Extermination Squad left the Altar, taking care of the Casualties.

Although there were a few deaths, the atmosphere on the way back wasn't bad. After all, they had won. Considering the Extermination Squad had failed three times, it wasn't actually that many deaths.

From the start, these were people who lived by the sword. Death was always close to them, so they couldn't dwell too much on such deaths.

Of course, there were also those who looked askance at the Otherworlders, whose lives were guaranteed, especially at times like this, but now, I just accept it.

Fortunately, we didn't encounter many monsters on the way back either. Perhaps because Amon had died, the monsters themselves had become fewer.

If Amon truly had influenced the surroundings, then all the flames on these Plains would also go out someday.

“That Neria girl... she's a Manifestor too, isn't she?”

Thanks to that, there was some time for conversation. As I walked, cooling myself down, Nikki came up beside me and quietly asked. I didn't deny it and nodded. There was no point in hiding it now that her abilities had already been fully displayed.

“Where did you find her?”

“When the Ruryeon Kingdom fell, she was in a Refugee Dwelling. I found her and brought her along.”

“Her age?”

“Sixteen.”

“She's young...”

She briefly turned her gaze towards Neria. As someone who had remained until the very end, she was also receiving a sticky kind of goodwill from the Adventurers. This young lady is small, but her Skill is incredible. Where did you learn Magic? Let's have a drink when we get back, and so on... Of course, Neria mostly remained silent. Even that seemed to please the Adventurers.

Still, Neria seemed to be enjoying herself, so that was a relief. She probably doesn't get to interact with people much, so this kind of conversation is good for her.

Nikki's expression, as she looked at Neria, briefly turned sympathetic. As a fellow Manifestor, she probably guessed that Neria's past hadn't been easy either. After all, we usually start with *Life Hardcore Difficulty*.

After watching for a long time, Nikki spoke to me as if giving advice.

“Her abilities seem incredible for someone so young. Take good care of her so she doesn't go astray. Don't teach her anything strange.” “What do you take me for?”

I said that and nodded. If a kid like that became a Demon-person, it would be a huge problem, so I was determined to prevent that from happening.

And on the other hand, Amon's words still lingered in my mind: that the Origin of Blood of the Demon she possessed was a King.

*Who could he be talking about...?*

Amon, of all people, used the word “that side,” making it even more ambiguous. Considering the versatility and power of her abilities, Neria's side honestly seemed more likely.

And personally, I hoped my blood wasn't the King's Blood. Honestly, the power I have now is enough to live comfortably, and if the Origin were a King, it would probably be incredibly tough to catch him.

*A King, you say.*

Doesn't that mean I'd have to catch another Monster like Amon, and one that had fully descended, at that? Such beings descending is a problem, and catching them is an even bigger problem.

*I wish my Blood Master were just some weak Demon...*

This was my honest wish. And so, I returned to the Village, chatting casually with her.

After arriving at the Village, Yor and his party stayed there for a week. They had to wait for the deceased Otherworlders anyway, and his berserk state was only a few days away.

Rather than groaning in a carriage, one was better off finding an inn and safely passing through a berserk state. Because if a B-type berserk state were to erupt inside the carriage, it would be a catastrophe.

Fortunately, what erupted this time was an A-type. At this, he let out a sigh of relief. He had seen so much this time, and used his abilities so much, that if a B-type berserk state had come, it felt like it would have hit him incredibly hard. Fortunately, he managed to contain it with 4-5 bottles of holy water.

If it had been a B-type, I might have even acted inappropriately towards Hanbyeol... He hadn't been able to 'play' with his lower body for several weeks. Honestly, his body was quite restless.

Anyway, after safely passing through the berserk state, Yor and his party similarly found a caravan and headed for the Empire. And this time too, they were able to return to the Empire without any trouble. Instead of a desolate village like a desert, quaint wooden buildings were visible. The neatly laid stones on the ground and the exotic attire of the people subtly stirred emotions.

Chae-rin thought. Whenever she saw such vivid graphics, she felt that This Place was truly like Reality. Yor, whose skin was slightly chapped from sleeping only in the carriage for half a month, also felt very real.

“Ughhh,” Yor said, stretching widely.

“I'm dead tired. I swear I'll never take a long journey again.”

Then he waved his hand towards Chae-rin and the other Users.

“Well, I'm off then. Good work, everyone.”

Now that the journey was over, he was going back to his House, since there was nothing else to do until another incident occurred.

Chae-rin waved back at him. And soon after, she also logged out. Pshhh-She returned from the game with the opening of the VR Capsule's lid. She felt dazed, as if waking from a long sleep, and she had a floating sensation in her body.

The small, cozy ceiling of her own room appeared before Chae-rin's eyes, as if all the sights she had just witnessed were a lie. In her hazy state of mind, Chae-rin let out a short breath.

“Hoo.”

And so, she returned to Reality.