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“I’m sorry for all I’ve done. I feel like I’ve been too negligent about my family. I’ll be a better son from now on.”

Although it had been a while since Chang-Sun’s entire family gathered for breakfast, Chang-Sun still chose to drop a bombshell on it. With widened eyes, So Yu-Ha, his mother, froze up halfway through scooping up some soup. His father Lee Jo-Myung, who was waiting for his soup, also looked surprised.

On the other hand, his sister Lee Ha-Seon looked terrified. Trembling, she asked, “Hey… Did you get a terminal illness while you were abroad? Ouch! Mom! Stop hitting me! It hurts! Seriously!”

“You’re unbelievable! Why tell your brother nonsense when you could’ve just said some nice things instead?” Yu-Ha interrupted her daughter’s silliness, then poured more soup into Chang-Sun’s empty bowl. Smiling, she said, “You missed homemade meals, didn’t you? Would you like some more?”

“No, it’s okay. Anyway, I’ve been meaning to say that. It has always been on my mind and I know I should have said it sooner, but I kept on delaying it. I’m really sorry.” Chang-Sun’s eyes were on the table.

Lee Woo-Seon, the eldest son, handed Yu-Ha some tissues.

“He must have gone through a lot…” Yu-Ha turned her head away and quietly wiped off her tears as she mumbled to herself.

Chang-Sun not getting along with the rest of the family clearly stressed her out. He couldn’t help but regret not ridding the burden on his mother’s heart sooner.

‘I should have done this long ago. We’re still family no matter how many disagreements we have…’ Chang-Sun thought bitterly.

Before opening his heart to them, he pondered and wondered several times if it was really okay to suddenly tell them that. He even asked himself if he should do something that would lead to it first to comfort his parents and avoid angering them further. Similar other questions filled and danced in his mind.

However, noticing that he wasn’t involved in any conversation at the table, he realized he would really be a stranger to his family if this kept up. Hence, he decided to tell them how he truly felt.

Fortunately, Chang-Sun seemed to have made the right decision because he could feel the tension disappearing. Even Jo-Myung, who always gave him disapproving looks, appeared to be a lot more relaxed.

At that moment, Chang-Sun became certain that he had misunderstood his father all along. Jo-Myung didn’t disapprove of his professional gaming life. He simply disapproved of the fact that his son used their previous dispute as an excuse to act coldly around their family and put himself in a corner. Having resolved that misunderstanding, Chang-Sun felt all his nervousness going away.

[The Faith of the Celestial ‘Divine Twilight’ has been softened for an unknown reason.]

[The stabilization process of the Server ‘Earth’ progresses a little more smoothly.]

[Stabilization progress: 32%]

“Are you trying to be mature now?” Wu-Seon asked.

“… Yeah.” Chang-Sun nodded.

Wu-Seon chuckled quietly, which Chang-Sun hadn’t seen in a long time. “Good to know.”

“Thanks.” Chang-Sun smiled back.

“… Urgh! Cringe! We have to do something about this weird mood—Argggh! Mom! It hurts!” Ha-Seon shouted.

“This is for trying to ruin this moment!” Yu-Ha scolded her silly second child.

Meanwhile, Jo-Myung just kept eating his soup in silence.

“How about you, honey? Don’t you have something to say to Chang-Sun?” Yu-Ha stared at her husband, but Jo-Myung pretended not to notice it.

“Phew!” Yu-Ha quietly heaved a sigh and shook her head. “Chang-Sun, please just understand your father for now. He’s a very old-fashioned person. In fact, he’s not saying anything right now because he’s feeling very shy. Speaking of which, there was an article about you in today’s newspaper. He tried to clip it before he even read—!”

“Cough! Ahem, ahem, ahem! Stop with the silly talk and give me more soup please.” Jo-Myung interrupted.

“Don’t you have hands and feet? Get more yourself. I’m going to badmouth you with our baby boy.”

Jo-Myung looked noticeably bewildered.

Watching them, Chang-Sun burst into laughter. Warmth was all he felt right now.

* * *

After breakfast, Jo-Myung and Wu-Seon had to go to work, so Chang-Sun saw them off and then prepared to go out.

“Hey.”

“...?” Chang-Sun looked at Ha-Seon, wondering why she called him.

“You’re going out to do your Player thing again, aren’t you?” Ha-Seon mumbled.

“Yeah.”

“… ul.”

“What?” Chang-Sun tilted his head.

“… ful.”

“I can’t hear you.”

On the contrary, however, Chang-Sun could hear her. After all, his senses were so developed that he could even detect what was going on outside Earth.

“Ah, for crying out loud! Be careful! Do you seriously have to make me say it out loud?!” Ha-Seon yelled in annoyance, knowing that Chang-Sun was just messing with her.

Perhaps out of embarrassment, the bridge of her nose looked slightly red.

“Thanks.” Chang-Sun chuckled.

“Phew… I wonder what happened to you overseas that made you this shameless.” Ha-Seon gritted her teeth as she looked at Chang-Sun. After a moment, she held down her anger and got to her business. “Anyhow…”

“So you started this whole conversation for a reason, huh.”

“Do you think I got shot in the head?! I’m not here to gain your fa—! Gosh, forget it! Anyway! When is Mr. Gyeo-Ul coming over again? Did you not make any plans with him?”

The word ‘Mr. Gyeo-Ul’ sent a shiver down Chang-Sun’s spine. Come to think of it, Ha-Seon did show interest in Baek Gyeo-Ul.

‘Gyeo-Ul?’ For a very short moment, Chang-Sun pictured his sister and Gyeo-Ul standing next to each other. ‘... No. Hell no.’

Gyeo-Ul was like a younger brother and nephew to Chang-Sun. He wouldn’t set him up with his wild sister. Not even over his dead body. No, even if that wasn’t the case, they shared the same DNA and saw each other as enemies. Chang-Sun didn’t want to even imagine his sister dating.

“Does Mr. Gyeo-Ul have a girlfriend?” Ha-Seon asked, faintly giggling.

Chang-Sun pretended he didn’t hear anything. slinging his bag onto his shoulders, he left his room.

“Hey! Does Mr. Gyeo-Ul have a girlfriend?!” Ha-Seon followed Chang-Sun to the front door, who just remained quiet. “Answer me! When can I see Mr. Gyeo-Ul again?! Hey! Hey!!!!”

* * *

Gobi Desert, Mongolia. 11:31 A.M (GMT+8).

[The Celestial ‘Divine Twilight’ has descended!]

After he left home, Chang-Sun headed to a remote region. The synchronization process with Earth had already been completed, so he could move anywhere he wanted to go or detect anything he wished to find. He looked around the desolate desert to ensure no one was in the area, then opened up the Changgwi Cave.

“Come out.”

[The ‘Changgwi Cave’ has opened!]

<Darkness> spread out from Chang-Sun. Sinmara and the Giant Corps jumped out first, letting out battle cries.

Roooaar―!

[‘Giant Roar’ spreads, increasing your allies’ morale!]

Thud! Thud!

The Giant Corps also stomped on the ground as a display of pride, wishing to flaunt their greatness before their new king. Jin Prezia and his cavalry showed up afterward. However, they were no longer on Ghost Devil Horses. They were riding Dragon-type monsters.

‘He handles them quite well.’ Chang-Sun observed.

When Cadmus used [Dragon Fear] to take control of the draconic army, Chang-Sun had to think about how to put them to good use. They were an exceptional force strong enough to bring doom to Earth, but that also made it difficult to use them.

Unlike Dragons, these monsters weren’t very intelligent and were too true to their instincts, so they had limited use for him. There were also too many of them, and leaving them in the Changgwi Cave was not an option either since they would just do nothing but eat in there.

The problem gave Chang-Sun a headache… until Jin offered a suggestion.

“I want to take charge of them.”

“Why?” Chang-Sun asked.

“I think they’ll come in handy if I can tame them properly.”

As a result, the Draconic Knight Order was created. Jin and his subordinates focused on taming the Dragon-type monsters in the Changgwi Cave and accumulated actual combat experience by closing Dungeons. It didn’t take long for them to become a proper knight order.

‘The Giant Corps that unleash fire, and the Draconic Knight Order that disperses ice energy… They make for quite a fine picture.’

Some of the Draconic Knights rode Wyverns in the sky, while the others raced through the lands on Drakes. Observing Jin and the Draconic Knight Order, Chang-Sun had a feeling that he could finally invade <Jotunheim>.

‘I have to take care of this first, though.’

Chang-Sun recalled the reward he received by closing the ‘Den of the Evil Dragon.’ With a light wave of his hand, the Draconic Knights lined up before him.

[‘Muspelheim’ Fire Giant Warriors: 70/70]

[‘Changgwi Cave’ Draconic Knights: 101/101]

The Giants formed ranks on the left, and the Draconic Knights on the right. The army of a little less than two hundred soldiers in the vast desert made for quite an impressive sight.

「Whoa! They look really powerful, Twilight. You always show me new and amazing stuff whenever I meet you.」

Kali burst into laughter as she looked at Chang-Sun’s army. These soldiers had Chang-Sun’s back and were getting better every day, which delighted her so much that it seemed as if the soldiers were hers. Gyeo-Ul, who was by Kali’s side, also nodded quietly and tightly clenched his fists. Judging from his slightly reddened nose bridge, it seemed their fervor also worked him up.

「Once you finish organizing your army, it won’t be a bad idea to turn the Giants into Draconic Knights too,」 Kali said.

Chang-Sun nodded in agreement. In fact, he had already considered it.

‘After I’m done conquering <Jotunheim>, Jin and his knights will probably be handling Frost Giants.’

However, Chang-Sun wasn’t going to begin his invasion any time soon, so he put the plan aside for now. “We have a chance against <Horoscope> now, don’t we?”

「We can start the fight right now! Every one of those Giants are exceptional Celestials, and the Draconic Knights are also very skilled… There might only be a few of them, but it would be difficult to find a force of this caliber even if you scour all of <Heaven.」

Kali sounded very delighted, which made Chang-Sun feel good.

“Thanks for the compliment.”

As Durga’s daughter, Kali had met many powerful individuals and forces. She could assess Chang-Sun’s army more objectively than anyone else.

“Then… they should be able to deal with any contingencies,” Chang-Sun said.

Kali’s face darkened. 「Do you really have to do this?」

“You just told me earlier that we now have a chance of winning against <Horoscope>.”

「That’s why you don’t necessarily have to—!」

“No, that is exactly why I have to do this. We have a chance, but our victory isn’t guaranteed. Kali, I don’t want to just win against them. I want to crush them enough to prevent them from ever standing back up.”

Kali pursed her lips, knowing how deep Chang-Sun’s grudge was. Seeing what happened to Crom Cruach and Xerxes seemed to have further deepened it.

“If something happens to me, you’re the only one who can save me,” Chang-Sun said. “If I ever become irreparably ruined, take all the necessary measures.”

「You…!」

“I won’t let that happen, of course.” Chang-Sun smiled faintly. “Won’t you do this for me?”

「… You’re going to make me do it even if I say I can’t, aren’t you?」

“Of course.”

「Seriously, you’re always…!」 Kali shouted in annoyance, but she quickly suppressed her anger and then heaved a very long sigh. 「Do what you want, but promise me one thing. Don’t do anything dangerous.」

“I will.” Chang-Sun nodded.

「You and your mouth!」Kali clicked her tongue, making Chang-Sun laugh.

One of the reasons he summoned all his subordinates was for organization, but it was also to prepare them as a contingency countermeasure. In a short while, he would begin his attempt to become a <Supreme Light’s Face>. Since he made this plan with Thanatos, a contingency actually taking place was highly unlikely, but the <Supreme Light> was far beyond anyone’s expectations. Anything could happen, so he had to be prepared.

‘Judging from what Thanatos said, <Supreme Light> doesn’t seem to have a good personality,’ Chang-Sun thought.

“Him? Hmmmm… It’s hard to say, so it’ll be better for you to meet him yourself.”

Chang-Sun could still vividly picture how reluctant Thanatos was to talk about <Supreme Light>. Considering how difficult it was to deal with <Deus Ex Machina>, maybe there was something special about Emperors, the beings that were at the peaks of Worldlines. Hence, Chang-Sun made every possible preparation and waited for the Earth stabilization process to reach a certain point.

[Stabilization progress: 49%]

‘Then let’s begin.’ Chang-Sun looked up at the sky, finding Cadmus flying in circles.

Noticing his gaze was on it, Cadmus glided down to him.

Tap!

Cadmus, who was now taller than most people, landed on Chang-Sun’s head and opened its mouth wide, revealing a bead with a golden glow. Chang-Sun received this item, known as [Dragon Heart], for closing the ‘Den of the Evil Dragon.’

[Dragon Heart]

The Core of the Dungeon ‘Den of the Evil Dragon’ and the heart of Shinek, the last king of the now-extinct Ancient Dragons. Only a very small fraction of mana is left of the enormous amount that it used to hold, but it is still enough to destroy the world.

· Type: Ingredients.

· Effect: Heavenly Dragon Neidan. Light Concentration. Attribute Change.

Kiyooo―!

Out of lingering feelings, Cadmus threw a tantrum, asking Chang-Sun to give [Dragon Heart] to it.

“No.” Chang-Sun pushed Cadmus away and then put [Dragon Heart] in his mouth.

‘Once I swallow this, I’ll finally be able to meet the <Supreme Light>,’ Chang-Sun thought. He bit down on the [Dragon heart] without hesitation.

Gulp!

Unlike how firm it was, the [Dragon Heart] quickly shattered and went down his throat.

Paaaah.

Soon after, a pool of white light spread out from Chang-Sun.