Above all, what kind of monsters were the ones behind me now?
They were the top-tier beings in the world, whose presence alone made one's chest swell with awe!
Especially the White King and the Giant of Evil Annihilation were real monsters.
'The Giant of Evil Annihilation is here. It's definitely possible.'
The Giant of Evil Annihilation was the guardian who had been responsible for Wilhelm's last star.
That's why I know well.
He was also the star guardian who had the worst relationship with the others.
He was far from being as gentle as Dramut, so if I even pretended to know him, he would burst my head open.
But his power was the strongest among the star guardians.
If I could use him, there would be no better card.
'I have two of the strongest cards in my hand.'
A shift in perspective.
No matter how I thought about it, I couldn't not use them.
It would be foolish not to.
Only I knew what was inside.
"What are you doing?"
"You came forward with a confident step, but now you're stepping back?"
"Seems like breaking the mystery of the Unique Rank is impossible after all."
The star guardians chimed in one by one.
As they said, I was stepping back one step at a time.
I didn't want to dilly-dally in front of the mystery and get killed by those nightmares.
Only after putting some distance between us did I slowly raise my right hand.
'I don't need to raise my hand, but this level of feint should be fine.'
To destroy the mystery, it was enough to just look at it.
But by adding the hand gesture, I wanted to leave a strong impression on these monsters.
Furthermore, if they turned into enemies later, this gesture might buy me 0.1 seconds of time.
I slowly looked at the veil of the mystery.
'Disappear.'
*
'What are you doing?'
Dramut was on edge.
Randolph had been standing in front of the mystery for a long time.
"It's a waste of time."
"It would be better to turn back now."
"Just a corpse crow, trying to destroy a Unique Rank mystery was impossible from the start."
The star guardians shook their heads.
They were urging him to stop this waste of time.
At the same time, their eyes turned to Dramut.
Dramut had recommended and brought the corpse crow.
The youngest and weakest of the gathered star guardians, a mythic snake of Jormungandr's lineage.
"You need to sharpen your eyes, descendant of Jormungandr."
"Your courage was good, but..."
The star guardians looked at Dramut with a 'I knew it' expression and clicked their tongues.
The idea of bringing a curse-type corpse crow near the sacred star was unthinkable.
Dramut's confidence was nothing more than misplaced courage.
"Even stepping back?"
"Tsk tsk. It seems you're giving up."
Now it was clear.
This corpse crow couldn't destroy the Unique Rank mystery.
Of course, destroying a mystery was a shocking ability, but if it couldn't destroy all mysteries, there was no need to hope or fear.
'So it's too much for him, huh?'
The White King shrugged at the retreating Randolph.
After all, the Unique Rank is absolute. It is the origin and standard of everything, which is the meaning of the 'Unique' rank.
Destroying it would mean twisting the rules of the world.
Even if the Tower had broken all the myths, it wouldn't have the power to twist the rules.
'Was it a vain hope?'
For a moment, the White King clearly felt it.
His own mystery, which was also of the Unique Rank, fearing the corpse crow.
The White King's mystery was a combination of countless mysteries, making him almost unparalleled.
The standard of existence and power.
Was it just an illusion?
Were the words the corpse crow spouted just lies?
Then.
"Hmm?"
Amid everyone's anxiety, expectation, and disappointment, the corpse crow raised one hand.
At the same time.
Crack!
A crack began to form in the Unique Rank mystery.
"!!!"
"A crack in the mystery...!"
As the mystery cracked and split, the veil shattered instantly.
Everyone watching was stunned.
He really broke the mystery.
And it was a Unique Rank mystery!
The surprise was even greater because no one had expected it.
But after the mystery disappeared, they were even more shocked by what was inside.
"That's...?"
"Souls of the Abyss?"
"No, they are the minions of 'Annihilation.'"
"They were polluting the star!"
The star guardians immediately recognized the beings inside the mystery.
Annihilation, who turned Pangea into a hell.
The minions who followed Annihilation were inside the mystery.
Moreover.
"That warp is the 'Dimensional Rift' Annihilation used to invade the continent."
"Just as described in the 'Apocalypse.'"
"...We need to wipe them all out."
The enormous warp that appeared before them.
They recognized it as a dimensional rift at a glance.
It was exactly as described in the 'Apocalypse.'
The surrounding field began to rapidly expand.
The underground of Kramdel was instantly connected to the 'Swamp of the Dead.'
Those around it were inevitably caught up in it.
―You, the uninvited.
The king of the dimensional rift pointed at me.
Black armor and helmet.
A giant on a massive horse, also clad in black iron armor!
But for some reason, his appearance was familiar to me.
'The first king of hell, the gatekeeper of the netherworld, Ahram.'
Crazy.
The eight hells that penetrate the netherworld.
Among them, Ahram, the gatekeeper and king of the dead, who managed the first hell, the 'Swamp of the Dead,' was clearly there.
There were a total of eight hells in the netherworld, each one so horrific that they truly deserved the name.
Half of the soldiers who participated in the grand expedition died in the Swamp of the Dead alone.
'I definitely killed him, right?'
But Ahram was indeed alive.
The one I killed was alive.
Moreover, his subordinates were also very much alive.
―Ki... Ki... King!
Ahram's eyes were fixed solely on me.
Not even the star guardians or the White King were in his sight.
He recognized me.
Me, the Knight King Wilhelm.
The one who had killed him.
'He has become stronger, thanks to the star.'
He seemed even stronger than before.
Ahram held up a star that had turned black.
Haaaaaaa!
At that moment, the dead stirred, forming a massive sphere of souls.
A terrifying hybrid of countless corpses and souls.
And among them, I saw a familiar face.
'...Why is Andasar's face there again?'
I thought he had gone.
Now, Andasar's face had become the core of the flesh hybrid.
His hair had turned white, and his expression was demonic, but it was definitely Andasar.
There was no grander spectacle.
*
At that moment.
Simultaneously, all the people in the world looked up at the sky.
"What... is that...?"
"Another world?"
"H, why in the sky...?"
The continent of Pangea was projected in the sky.
As if it were about to collide.
"Could that be the other dimension?"
"A...! I saw this situation in the 'Other Dimension Community'!"
"So the full-scale invasion is starting?"
Everyone was shocked and trembling with fear.
The monstrous creatures from the other dimension had invaded twice already.
The buildings they destroyed and the people they killed numbered in the hundreds of thousands.
If it weren't for the Dimension Warriors, the damage would have been exponentially greater.
Afterward, the 'Other Dimension Community' roughly predicted what would happen next.
The previous invasions were just scouts from the other dimension.
'When the dimensional rift opens, the full-scale invasion will begin.'
...Master.
He smiled and observed the current situation from the rooftop of a building.
Along with thirty warriors.
《The Pangea Collapse Rate has reached 10%.》
《The 'Main Quest??? : Eliminate the King of the Dimensional Rift' has started.》
《If the King of the Dimensional Rift is not eliminated within 30 days, all dimensional rifts will open, and 'Annihilation' will appear.》
《After that, the complete erosion of Pangea and Earth will begin.》
《Reward: Differential payment based on contribution ranking.》
《Failure: Appearance of 'Annihilation' on Earth.》
The first dimensional rift opened, and the large-scale invasion began.
But it was expected.
'I've been waiting for this day.'
Many top players, including Master, had been eagerly anticipating this day.
After today, the world would change completely.
It would become a world ruled by players.
Master had prepared for this day for three years.
Step by step, from the ground up.
'Eliminate the King of the Dimensional Rift and surpass Gracia.'
Gracia.
The undisputed strongest human.
But Master was determined to use this opportunity to surpass him.
No matter how strong Gracia was, he couldn't have built as much power as Master.
And the conquest of the dimensional rift was a power struggle.
Even if Gracia was the strongest human, he couldn't be involved in everything happening simultaneously around the world.
Master had spent three years building his power and laying the foundation.
He couldn't lose this fight.
But.
"...Why isn't anything appearing?"
Master's expression gradually became grim.
The dimensional rift had clearly opened.
Simultaneously in various parts of the world.
But no matter how long he waited, nothing appeared.
What was even stranger was that.
《The conquest of the 'King of the Dimensional Rift' is in progress.》
《Progress: 1.3%》
《Progress: 2.5%》
《Progress: 7.8%》
"...What is this?"
The treasure of the throne.
The dimensional rift opened, the quest started, and preparations for the 'conquest' were made.
But all that was visible in the sky were the residual images of the Pangea continent and the black 'dimensional rifts' scattered everywhere.
The rifts had opened, but after a long wait, not even a speck of dust appeared.
Yet the progress kept rising arbitrarily.
"...Is it the same situation elsewhere?"
"Yes, Master. They say that only the rifts are open, and no invading monsters are visible."
All the gathered warriors were contacting various parts of the world.
The conclusion was that there was no invasion.
"Then, who is making this progress?"
Master frowned.
If there was no invasion, the progress should not be advancing.
It meant that no one was conquering.
《Progress: 11.3%》
...But the progress was rising sharply.
When you become a player, the first things you encounter are the status window and the collapse rate.
The fact that the first rift would appear on Earth when the collapse rate reached 10% was drilled into the players' minds.
It was that important and that dangerous.
Naturally, it wouldn't be easy.
That's why he had prepared for years.
'Five visible dimensional rifts.'
Five just by sight.
The total number of dimensional rifts opened around the world would exceed tens of thousands.
If monsters invaded through all those rifts, there would be at least hundreds of thousands.
Destruction would be ongoing, screams would be heard, and the world would be exploding.
After the players descended using the fragments of the broken golden rule, they would announce their might to the world and ultimately capture the King of the Dimensional Rift.
"Gracia?"
"He's still in Korea."
Gracia was still in Korea.
Why?
What could be so important in that small land that he would linger so long?
If there were signs of a rift, he should have returned to the U.S. by now.
'He could be in the U.S. in half a day.'
Sword Saint Gracia. He wields thousands of swords simultaneously.
Each and every one of them is a treasure, capable of flying through the sky and folding space.
Yet he was in Korea when the rift opened.
There couldn't be many rifts opening in that small land.
'Does he have another plan?'
When the progress started rising sharply, the first person Master suspected was Gracia.
He thought Gracia might be monopolizing the conquest of the dimensional rifts.
But if he was in Korea, the conquest of the dimensional rifts couldn't be his primary goal.
It meant that something more important to him was in Korea.