As Jin Ho struggled to recover from his failed fusion overload, Eum Mugeuk decided to demonstrate just how complete his advantage truly was. The amplified Shadow Demon Lord gestured casually, and the entire realm responded to his will.
"You wanted to see territorial amplification?" Eum Mugeuk's smile was cruel as the shadows around them began to move with purpose. "Let me show you what it looks like when an entire dimension becomes your weapon."
What followed was unlike anything Jin Ho had experienced in the other three realms. In the Blood Demon Realm, the amplification had been personal - his own power magnified five-fold. In the Thunder Lightning Realm, it had enhanced his abilities and given him access to spatial manipulation. But this... this was something else entirely.
The shadows themselves came alive.
Every dark shape, every area where light failed to reach, every silhouette cast by the twisted spires of the Shadow Realm - they all became extensions of Eum Mugeuk's will. And there were millions of them.
Jin Ho found himself attacked from directions that shouldn't have existed. Shadows erupted from beneath his feet, behind his back, from inside his own shadow, even from the darkness cast by his own body. Each attack carried that terrifying void energy that threatened not just injury, but complete erasure.
[Blood Heaven Great Emperor]: "This is impossible! How can shadows attack from inside our own shadow?"
[Thunder Lightning King]: "It's like the whole realm is trying to eat us! How do you fight an entire dimension?"
[Ice Soul Demon Emperor]: "Analysis: The Shadow Realm has been completely corrupted by sixty years of Void Overlord influence. The dimensional fabric itself has become hostile to our existence."
Jin Ho dodged desperately, his Trinity Network flaring as he tried to defend against attacks that came from everywhere at once. But for every shadow he dispersed with blood-fire, ten more took its place. For every void attack he deflected with lightning, twenty more materialized from impossible angles.
Worse, the realm itself was actively working against him. The ground beneath his feet shifted when he tried to find stable footing. The air grew thick and resistant when he attempted to move quickly. Even the light from his own techniques seemed dimmer here, as if the darkness was actively devouring illumination.
"Do you see now?" Eum Mugeuk called out, not even bothering to move as his realm did all the fighting for him. "This is what sixty years of preparation looks like. I haven't just gained power - I've transformed an entire dimension into my weapon."
A massive shadow erupted from the ground beneath Jin Ho, forcing him to leap backward. But as he landed, more shadows burst from where his feet touched down, driving him back again. He was being herded, controlled, manipulated by an opponent who didn't even need to engage him directly.
"In the Blood Demon Realm, you felt like a god," Eum Mugeuk continued conversationally as his shadow army continued its relentless assault. "Five times your normal power, reality bending to your will. But here? Here, you're just a lost child in the dark."
Jin Ho tried to create a Trinity Network defense, combining his three aspects to create a protective barrier. But the void corruption wasn't just attacking his technique - it was attacking the very concept of his technique. The void energy carried an active transformation effect that sought to convert his abilities into more void essence.
[System Alert: Technique Efficiency Degraded]Current Performance: 67% of normal effectivenessCause: Hostile dimensional influence + void corruptionRecommendation: Immediate tactical withdrawal
"Sixty-seven percent efficiency," Jin Ho muttered, feeling his attacks weakening and becoming tainted even as he performed them. "The realm itself is trying to corrupt me."
[Blood Heaven Great Emperor]: "This is what we were afraid of. In enemy territory, we're not just fighting Eum Mugeuk - we're fighting the entire dimension."
The assault intensified. Void-tainted shadow tendrils wrapped around Jin Ho's arms and legs, each one carrying corruption energy that made his very existence feel uncertain. When he cut through them with blood-enhanced lightning, they simply reformed from the ambient darkness, but now they carried traces of his own corrupted energy back toward him.
Eum Mugeuk laughed as he watched Jin Ho's increasingly desperate struggles. "You know what the beautiful thing is? I don't even need to try very hard. The realm does most of the work for me, and every attack you make just feeds more power into the void network. All those months you spent growing stronger, all those victories you achieved - none of it matters here."
Jin Ho found himself driven to his knees as the weight of an entire hostile dimension pressed down on him. The void-touched shadows weren't just attacking his body - they were trying to corrupt his will, transform his hope into despair, convert his very sense of self into void essence. This was what true territorial advantage looked like when combined with cosmic-level corruption, and it was overwhelming.
"But don't worry," Eum Mugeuk said, approaching casually as his void-corrupted shadow army held Jin Ho in place. "It'll be over soon. The void is merciful that way. No more struggle, no more pain, no more existence to worry about. Just peaceful transformation into perfect nothingness."
For the first time since his awakening, Jin Ho felt the cold touch of genuine despair. He had grown so accustomed to being powerful, to finding ways around every obstacle, that facing an insurmountable advantage felt alien and terrifying.
But even in his darkest moment, he heard that familiar voice from deep within Eum Mugeuk's corrupted form:
"Don't give up, brother. Even if I can't break free, don't let them win. The universe needs you to stay strong."
The Shadow Demon Lord was still fighting, still believing in him, even from within his prison of corruption. And if his fourth brother hadn't given up after sixty years of torment, then Jin Ho sure as hell wasn't going to give up after one difficult battle.
"Not yet," Jin Ho whispered, his Trinity Network flaring with renewed determination. "I'm not done yet."