Chapter 59

Chapter 59. Hidden Piece Achieved

The maximum range of the die I'd rolled in Episode 3 was 200.

And yet, the number floating before me now was a staggering 9,999.

A truly awe-inspiring figure.

'Incomprehensible Die.'

A privilege granted only to those who've broken through a difficulty tier that surpasses the system's very specifications, one that defies understanding.

Most likely, it was a hidden die that would never appear through ordinary means.

The raw numbers alone represented roughly a fiftyfold difference from before.

And on top of that.

'Jackpot.'

It wasn't just the number that was high.

I'd already triggered this Jackpot once before, in the Chamber of Selection on Floor 1.

The result then had been obtaining the Dragon of Catastrophe Angragon, one of the primordial calamities.

What would come out this time?

Excitement and tension intertwined.

RUMMMBLE—!

The Demon Realm's earth screamed and shuddered.

The nightmare fragments that had been receding after the contract with Mayon.

Were blown apart by the energy surging from the Incomprehensible Die.

"B-Boss! Something's wrong with the sky!"

Park Jihun pointed upward.

The crimson storm clouds that had been crushing the entire Demon Realm were swirling and tearing apart.

"Jeong-seok...... what on earth is that......"

Park Hayan, too, stared up at the sky with a startled expression.

Even Mayon was cowed, trembling pitifully.

FLASH—!

The die erupted into a burst of light.

And then.

BOOOOOOOOOOOM—!

An incomprehensibly vast pillar of light erupted from the center of the Demon Realm.

***

"Hff, hff!"

Yamamoto heaved out ragged breaths.

Drops of sweat trailing down his cheeks mingled with blood and fell red.

Perfect Hell.

It was on a completely different plane from the standard Hell difficulty.

From entry to finish, a battlefield that permitted not a single second of rest.

CLANG—! CRASH—!

The fighting never ceased.

But he was Yamamoto.

The God of War.

Among all gods, the one most specialized for combat -- the living incarnation of slaughter and strife!

SLASH—!

Yamamoto's katana traced a crimson arc.

The strike carved deep into the shoulder of the high-ranking demon guarding the final gate.

"KRAAAGH...... a mere human!"

A high-ranking demon.

An abyssal noble whose name was unknown.

The creature had primarily unleashed powerful, wide-area Magic.

Blades that tore through space came hurtling in frenzy.

WHOOSH—! WHOOSH, WHOOSH—!

Yamamoto widened his eyes.

For an ordinary Awakened, even a graze from those concentrated masses of Mana would dismember them on the spot.

But he didn't dodge.

No -- he didn't need to.

"Blessing of War."

Authority flowed from between his lips.

He had drawn upon the power of his true body.

The red Fighting Spirit swirling around Yamamoto's flesh deflected every incoming Mana blade.

THWACK—!

In that opening, Yamamoto's sword slit the high-ranking demon's throat with precision.

"Gurkh......"

Black blood erupted like a geyser.

The high-ranking demon's massive frame crashed to the ground with a thunderous impact.

Victory.

"......It's over."

Yamamoto flicked the blood from his katana and surveyed his surroundings.

It was a bloodbath.

Only four party members had survived.

He'd entered with eleven of his strongest elites.

Eight lives had been offered upon this altar of Perfect Hell.

But Yamamoto didn't care.

They'd cleared it in the end.

The weak die; only the strong claim the spoils.

That was the law of war and the Game of the gods.

DING!

[Episode 4, 'Invitation of the Abyss,' has concluded.]

[You have cleared the Perfect Hell difficulty!]

[Calculating results.]

The corners of Yamamoto's mouth twisted upward.

Anticipation swelled in his chest.

How many points had he scored?

This overwhelming difficulty.

He alone had been the only one to unlock this field of death and survive it.

He was certain this time he'd crush that insolent nameless bastard and claim 1st place in the Hall of Fame.

DING!

A golden message window materialized in the air.

[Episode 4 Hall of Fame updated!]

[1st: NONAME]

[Score: 1,999]

"......?"

Yamamoto's eyes wavered.

His breath caught.

[2nd: Yamamoto]

[Score: 1,005]

"What?"

He thought he'd misread it.

1,005 points.

A miraculous figure that clearly exceeded the 1,000-point ceiling.

He'd achieved a Limit Breach as the reward for conquering Perfect Hell difficulty.

And yet.

1st place was still NONAME.

At 1,999 points, no less.

An overwhelming double score, nearly a thousand points ahead.

"How...... is this possible?"

Yamamoto's hands shook.

And on top of that.

[3rd: Park Hayan (910)]

[4th: Park Jihun (890)]

'......Park Hayan? Park Jihun?'

Names he'd never heard before.

Korean Awakened -- bones from god-knows-where -- had taken 3rd and 4th place side by side.

Every rank except his own was filled with people he'd never seen or heard of.

It was absurd.

Perfect Hell.

The highest difficulty, which he should have been the only one to unlock.

So what was this score gap?

'Are you telling me NONAME unlocked a higher difficulty than mine?'

His head spun.

That couldn't be.

Above Perfect Hell, no difficulty tier exists.

It's impossible within the system.

'And they actually cleared it?'

Even his own party, composed of the strongest elites, had lost eight members.

How? By what means?

Confusion reigned.

But.

One emotion, at least, was unmistakable.

CRACK.

Yamamoto ground his teeth.

Hard enough to draw blood.

This feeling -- he'd never experienced it before.

As the God of War, he had never once tasted defeat or inferiority.

He had always looked down from the summit.

And now, for the first time, he felt as though he'd been stopped by a colossal, invisible wall.

That was when it happened.

DING!

[Episode clear rewards granted.]

[Rolling the die (1~350).]

'350.'

Better than expected.

The prestige of Perfect Hell difficulty.

An overwhelming range that far surpassed the maximum from Episode 3.

Clatter, clatter.

Numbers spun rapidly in the air.

He held his breath and focused.

'Blessing of the God of War.'

Light scattered across the void.

He'd wrung out his true body's Divinity and forcibly infused 'luck' into his avatar's flesh.

A miracle delivered by his own divine hand.

Click.

The die stopped.

[327!]

[Incredible luck!]

[Supreme-tier reward granted!]

[Reward (1): Gauntlets of Radiant Glory]

[Grade: Radiant Mythic]

"......Phew."

Yamamoto let out a long breath.

The corners of his mouth twisted upward again.

'Good.'

Radiant Mythic Grade.

An armament from legend, existing a full tier above even the standard Mythic Grade.

A fortunate result; the number had been high.

He'd brute-forced it with divine blessing and luck modifiers, but all that mattered was the outcome.

He seized the gauntlets as they fell from the air, radiating light.

The moment they touched his hands, their majesty was palpable.

'With these.'

Yamamoto's eyes gleamed anew.

No matter how much NONAME had doubled the score.

Before the variable called luck, all are equal.

What if the bastard's die roll was worse than mine?

What if that one pulled a miserable number?

That overwhelming score gap could absolutely be overturned.

'This is winnable.'

Yamamoto snarled inwardly.

'No -- I will win.'

He swept his gaze over the surviving party members.

Satoshi and the other three were still slumped on the ground, struggling to catch their breath.

Useless.

'I'll need to increase my Nectar output.'

Yamamoto resolved silently.

In the next Episode, even if it meant his avatar shattering to pieces.

He would pour his true body's Divine Power to its absolute limit and crush that insolent NONAME completely.

'I've raised my level high enough.'

Clearing the Perfect Hell difficulty had raised his level considerably.

Currently, he stood at Level 57.

At this rate, he could increase his Nectar output by at least double.

That very moment.

RUMMMBLE—!

"......?"

Yamamoto whipped his head around.

The Demon Realm's earth had begun to shake violently.

The battlefield -- which should have ended the moment he'd cut down the high-ranking demon -- was heaving with a foreign energy.

"Guild Master! Th-that pillar of light, what is--?!"

One of his party members pointed frantically at the sky.

Yamamoto's eyes widened until they looked as if they'd tear.

BOOOOOOOOOOM—!

Far away.

Very far away, at the heart of the Demon Realm.

A colossal pillar of light, bright enough to steal one's sight, was soaring skyward.

"......"

Yamamoto stared blankly at the pillar.

Strength drained from the hand gripping his katana.

Because.

"That's......"

Something had appeared that should never have appeared in this Demon Realm.

***

In the deepest reaches of the Demon Realm.

Upon a throne in the abyss where not a single ray of light reached.

A vast darkness crouched.

The Demon Sovereign.

The absolute ruler of the demons imprisoned in this barren land.

He slowly opened his eyes.

Hsssssh.

His gaze bored through the void.

The brilliant pillar of light shimmering in the distance -- the one that had pierced through the Demon Realm's ceiling and erupted skyward -- was grating on his nerves.

"......"

A low, heavy sigh escaped from between the Demon Sovereign's lips.

He knew.

What that light meant.

A power that not even gods could handle carelessly -- a power that defied the natural order.

"An Astral Sovereign."

The Demon Sovereign growled.

One of the primordial stars, known as an Astral Sovereign.

He didn't know what exactly had appeared, but if it involved an Astral Sovereign, even the Demon Sovereign couldn't contend with it easily.

And something related to an Astral Sovereign had just been unleashed within the Demon Realm.

"......Who?"

The Demon Sovereign's voice reverberated through the abyss.

A prank by the gods?

'Impossible.'

Even gods cannot treat the Astral Sovereigns carelessly.

In the first place, most gods couldn't even meet an Astral Sovereign.

They existed not in the damned Tower of God but in the spaces between universes.

Unless an Astral Sovereign permitted it, no one could reach them.

Not even the Twelve Sovereign Gods.

In short.

'......Something has appeared in the Demon Realm that an Astral Sovereign would react to.'

It meant something that the masters of the stars would covet had manifested in this Demon Realm.

Before long, the pillar of light began to forge a single shape.

And upon seeing that form, the Demon Sovereign.

"Hah, the Astral Sovereign of the Void......?"

Let out a disbelieving scoff.

An overwhelming being, even among the Astral Sovereigns, had appeared.