Flash!
Thousands, tens of thousands of gray angels appeared around Itarim, blocking Suho's path. The final shield, upholding the god's will, was created on the spot. But Suho did not stop.
"Open a path!"
No one could block Suho's charge now. Neither the angels' sacred armor, nor their bodies, nor their souls. Not even World Predation itself.
Kwa-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-gak—!
'Ragnarok' burned and swallowed it all. With one swing, thousands of angels turned into the dust of light. With a second swing, the very space they occupied was torn apart. And all that nourishment flowed through the sword into Suho's shadow, into the 'Shadow of the Dead World Tree.'
[Kuhahahaha! This is the flame of destruction you have kindled! Magnificent!]
Antares's cheerful, wild laughter echoed in his mind. As if answering his madness, Suho swung the sword even more fiercely, charging and charging again towards Itarim.
[Heh.]
Witnessing the entire spectacle, Itarim let out a gasp as if in a trance. The sight of his own creations being torn apart before his eyes looked to him like a single, grand work of art.
[Well then, let us play.]
Itarim spread both hands.
Then, the remnants of the collapsing dimension, the cores of shattered planets, were pulled into his grasp.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The god's authority forcibly compressed and formed them, crafting a radiant star-forged armor and a colossal spear.
[Star-Slayer, a spear made from the heart of a collapsed star.]
[Veil of the Void, an armor crafted from the corpse of a condensed nebula.]
Finally, the great and absolute god himself deigned to descend from the spectator's seat and step onto the stage.
Kuwraaaaaaaang—!
The spear wielded by Itarim and Suho's Ragnarok clashed.
――――――――!
Space-time screamed. The collision of the two absolute powers left an indelible scar on the canvas of the dimension. The shockwave spread at the speed of light, disintegrating everything that remained down to the atomic level. The slimy earth evaporated, and the vein-like membrane of the sky was torn to shreds. The perfect world of Itarim began to return to a perfect 'Nothingness' at the hands of its own creator.
[Not yet! More! More! Push harder! Your power hasn't reached him in the slightest!]
As Antares said, all of Suho's attacks were being completely blocked by Itarim's spear and armor.
Boom! Boom! Boom—!
Attack, and attack again. Both ignored defense entirely, madly pouring the power of destruction upon each other. All those attacks collided and canceled each other out, devastating the surroundings. And little by little, the aftermath of that destruction left this dimension.
Crrrrraaaackle—!
Spiderweb-like cracks formed at the boundaries of space wherever the shockwaves reached. A nothingness, where even the void was broken. The cracks grew uncontrollably, finally becoming giant holes, forming thousands, millions of 'windows.'
Beyond those windows, the scenery of the infinite universe unfolded chaotically like a kaleidoscope. Nebulae where newborn stars burned. Empty darkness where the silence of death had settled. Among those numerous fragments… the blue and beautiful planet, 'Earth,' was also included.
Crrrrack—!
[More! More! Push forward!]
Antares's continuing madness spurred on Suho's flames.
* * *
At that moment, on Earth.
[Logout]
[Connection has been forcibly terminated!]
[Connection has been forcibly terminated!]
"Ugh!"
"Wh-what!"
All of humanity, forcibly ejected from their game capsules, was in a state of extreme confusion. The exhilarating sensation of fighting alien monsters just moments before was gone, and only the familiar yet awkward air of reality enveloped them. Fear, emptiness, and a sense of defeat.
Is this the end?
Did we truly accomplish nothing?
The moment people emerged from their capsules with dazed expressions…
"L-look at that!"
Without anyone needing to say it first, everyone's gaze turned to the sky.
Ruuuuuuumble!
The sky… was being torn apart! The black curtain of the night sky was splitting. Numerous dimensional walls were tearing and bursting into each other. And finally, unfolding before the eyes of all humanity was a spectacle occurring in a universe so distant it could not possibly be fathomed by human imagination!
Crack! Crunch! Kukwakwakwakwang!
Light and darkness entangled. A chaotic battlefield where countless stars, large and small, scattered like autumn leaves! At its center, two beings were engaged in a desperate struggle. A colossal 'god' shedding tears of blood. And opposing him, a single warrior wielding a pure white flame. People recognized his face in an instant.
"Hunter Sung Suho?"
"Sung Suho…!"
"It's Sung Suho!"
Sung Suho! The Hunter who had led them on the alien battlefield! He was still there, even now! Fighting a god alone! Burning even his own body in the flames to kill a god!
Ruuuumble!
"Good heavens…"
All of humanity held its breath. A shiver ran down their spines. That was no simple battle. It was the primordial myth itself, a world being created and destroyed.
Boom! Boom! Ruuuumble!
The sword wielded by Sung Suho spewed flames of destruction, breaking the god's spear. The blow struck by the god tore through space-time, ripping Suho's armor. Each time the two beings collided, the cracks in the sky grew ever larger, and their battle unfolded even more clearly before the eyes of all humanity. At that astonishing sight, the initial shock and fear had, at some point, vanished. Instead, something hot began to well up from within. A single soldier clenched his fist and shouted.
"Win…!"
That was the beginning.
"Please… win!"
The desperate prayers of the citizens.
"Go! Sung Suho!"
That cheer spread from one person to ten, from a hundred to a thousand.
"Kill the god!"
"Have strength…!"
It spread across the entire globe like wildfire. Then finally, the voices of billions of people on Earth became one.
Goooooooooo—!
Their souls resonated with each other. All their aspirations became one great entity and soared to the heavens. It was not mere cheering. It was the will of all humanity, sent to the one hero fighting for their destiny.
Waaaaaaaaaaaaa—!
"…!"
Suho heard it. The roar that echoed in his ears, crossing the distant dimensional wall. It wasn't just cheering. It wasn't 'mere voices' that had pierced the distant dimensional wall.
Earth. Humanity. The billions of prayers and aspirations Suho had sought so desperately to protect. The weight of shouldering a single world reached his shadow, becoming a scorching heat.
Fwoooosh!
Then, a 'new power' began to flow into Suho, who was gripping Ragnarok.
[This is…!]
[The will of humans!]
The Monarchs exclaimed in admiration. But in reality, it was not so romantic.
[No, it's 'experience points'.]
The Architect, Kandiaru, was the first to notice its true nature. The identity of this 'power' was precisely all the experience points the humans of Earth had accumulated by killing monsters after crossing into this world! All that nourishment, gathered into one, was being transmitted to Suho. Through the very game capsules they had used.
And what that ultimately meant was that all of this was not a simple coincidence, nor a fluke miracle, but the will of man. The result created by none other than CEO Yoo Jinho, who had developed the game 'Solo Leveling: Ragnarok'.
"Transmit all users' experience points to our Suho!"
'…!'
At the center of the Earth. On the rooftop of Ajin Soft. Suho's uncle-in-law, Yoo Jinho, stood majestically with his arms crossed, shouting towards the heavens alongside Harmakan.
"I'll take all responsibility! Because I'm the CEO!"
The reason Yoo Jinho was standing so firmly with his arms crossed was none other than this: he simply couldn't stop his hands from trembling with thrill and fear. But his past life had by no means been easy enough for him to succumb to such fear.
'I am Yoo Jinho! I am Jinwoo's right-hand man, Yoo Jinho! This is the best I can do for Suho right now.'
The past days flashed through Yoo Jinho's mind like a revolving lantern. And he thought, perhaps his life, which had run without rest, was all for this very moment!
'The world's first virtual reality game.'
'The virtual reality capsule, developed with a mix of magic, thanks to Jinwoo's help.'
And then.
'The mega-project completed with Harmakan.'
[Solo Leveling: Ragnarok]
"Don't lose, Sung Suho!"
Yoo Jinho clenched his fists and shouted. That powerful will of Yoo Jinho gathered all the experience points accumulated by humanity into one and transmitted them to Suho without fail.
Gooooooooooooo—!
'Tutorial: Tower of Trials.'
Thus, from the tips of all the black pyramids spread across various countries, brilliant pillars of light shot forth in unison. But in truth, all those pyramids were illusions. The one, true Tower of Trials, was actually built in Suho's shadow dungeon. From the very beginning, all of humanity's avatars were connected to Suho's shadow.
Kwaaaaaaaaaaaaaa—!
Ultimately, all that power merged into one, becoming a giant pillar of light that stretched towards Suho, fighting alone in the high heavens.
Fwoooosh!
Instantly, the shadow armor enveloping Suho's entire body, having consumed all of humanity's experience points, burned even more fiercely.
[Heh. You mean the cries of such insignificant creatures have become your strength?]
Itarim also felt that change. Insignificant creatures. To the great god Itarim, such created beings were merely a background set up for amusement, or consumables. Things that could be created and destroyed at any time. Nothing more than consumables. Yet for such worthless things to interfere in this great and sacred battle. How dare they.
[Annoying.]
Goooooooooo—!
A dark nebula swirled at the tip of Itarim's spear. However, the tip of that spear was not aimed at Suho. It was aimed at Earth. Towards the planet that was, even at this moment, sending 'nourishment' to Suho. The final judgment enacted by the creator, the true apocalypse 'World Predation,' opened its mouth....
Just then.
[It reached.]
'…?!'
A single stream of voice cut through like a wedge. A very brief moment. A fleeting instant, shorter than 0.1 seconds. In the very moment that Itarim, fiercely exchanging blows with Suho, had turned its attention to Earth for a fraction of a second…
A ferocious smile appeared on Suho's lips.
"Now!"
Suho shouted. And before his cry could even end…
Shwaaaaaaak—!
As if waiting for this very moment, the bright, even more crazed expression of 'Antares' shot out from within Suho. Ragnar. That giant berserk dragon, baring its heinous teeth. Jumped towards the wide-open neck of Itarim!
Chomp!
[…?!]
Thus, the Dragon King's fangs bit into Itarim's neck, which had come right before his eyes. The throat of that great and radiant, absolute being.
Chwaaaaaaak—
Blood splattered.
Kwaaduk!
Antares's savage teeth directly bit and chewed Itarim's throat, tearing out its sacred flesh. Following that trajectory, great and sacred blood gushed out, drawing a beautiful arc like the brilliant, sprawling Milky Way of starlight.
[Kehehehe, Kuhahahahaha!]
Amidst that ecstatic scenery, Antares burst into mad laughter. Endlessly mocking the god.
[To look away during a battle! Your experience is lacking!]
Behold that sight! The great Itarim was spewing blood, its neck half-torn. It was staggering pathetically right before his very eyes!
[No holding back! This is the real war that you gods so enjoyed watching!]
That's right. From the start, Antares had no intention of leaving the entire battle to Suho. If his own destruction couldn't reach him, then he just had to get closer.
'Suho opens the path, the Dragon King bites and tears!'
Suho had known that plan from the beginning. There was no need for words. From the moment he had allowed the possession, their wills had already become one. Above all, there was no way that terrible battle fiend would remain still in this climactic moment, with Itarim right before his eyes.
Thus, just as Sung Suho had once ridden Antares and flown, Antares too, 'riding Sung Suho,' had finally arrived at this point. And he had finally succeeded in biting Itarim's throat with his own teeth, chewing and eating its flesh. Without missing the fleeting opening that Itarim itself had revealed.
[Behold! Finally, my destruction has reached a god!]
Kuhahahahaha!
His mad laughter echoed thunderously, and all the shattered fragments of the dimension trembled. As if all those dimensions were trembling in fear of the Dragon King's madness.
The Dragon King Antares. He was once the king of all dragons. The Monarch of Destruction. And the commander who led the horrific war that made all living beings tremble in fear. Thanks to his exploits, the delicately maintained balance of power finally collapsed.
"Itarim!"
Suho roared. His voice was no longer that of a single individual. The roar of billions erupted through his mouth. Behind him were the billions of humanity. And within him, the heart inherited from his father was burning hot.
Fwoooooosh—!
Suho raised Ragnarok high. Following its trajectory, a pure white destruction, a pure white shadow, declared the end for the god. That great end contained everything Suho had built up until now.
Beast. Demon. Monstrous Humanoid. Insect. Snow Folk. Demonic Spirit. Giant. And, Dragon.
All that darkness and all of humanity's aspirations, combined into one brilliant power, exploded.
"I said…"
That grand thunderbolt descended upon Itarim.
"That I would become your abyss!"
Immediately after, the pure white destruction and the absolute's divinity collided. The form of Itarim, desperately resisting that overwhelming power, was pushed back by the light and erased.