Chapter 433: Linked Worlds (1)

Rumble—!!

The sky looked as if it were collapsing. The earth was upturned and shot up like a giant tsunami. The entire forest was being destroyed as if a giant had grabbed and flipped the ground.

"Kyaaaaah! Wh-what the fuck?!"

"H-hyung-nim!!"

Cha Yeon-Joo and Kim Si-Hun's screams rang out.

Oh Kang-Woo floated into the air and shouted, "Get away from the ground!"

There was fortunately someone among his party members who could easily keep them safe in the air.

"Echidna!"

"Yeah!" Echidna nodded and jumped into the air.

The girl the size of a middle schooler lit up and turned into a massive dragon twenty meters tall.

[Krarararararara!!][1]

"What the hell's up with that roar?"

'Did you turn invisible or something?'[2]

[Hm! All of you, get on my back!] Echidna shouted as she spread her giant wings.

The party members quickly climbed on her back.

Whoosh!

Echidna flew into the air, the ground crumbling under her. Kang-Woo bit his lip as he looked down at the collapsing forest.

'Shit. What the fuck is going on? The Gaia System is collapsing?'

Kang-Woo knew very well what the Gaia System's role was. It was the power that protected Earth from otherworldly invaders.

'If that disappears...'

Kang-Woo's face paled. The Earth that he had worked so hard to protect would be vulnerable to otherworldly invasions. To make a comparison, it was as if the walls of a fortress had vaporized instantly. Not even Kang-Woo had any idea of what sort of beings there were in the outer worlds and how they would interfere with Earth.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Kang-Woo cursed.

Anxiety took over him. This was the worst possible scenario.

'Dammit.'

He should have opened the Doors the moment he saw Bael. He should have realized what Bael was up to once he found out that Bael and Lucifer were in this forest. Belated regret swept over him.

"H-hyung-nim. Layla is..."

Kang-Woo managed to come back to his senses after hearing Si-Hun's shaking voice.

'Wait.'

He recalled what Layla looked like when he first met her. She had no eyesight and had been in a wheelchair because the Gaia System was severely damaged as a result of Kang-Woo returning to Earth. But if that very Gaia System had now completely collapsed, she would be...

"Shit!"

Kang-Woo quickly turned around to see Layla panting heavily in Si-Hun's arms. He ran to her, bit open his finger, and poured blood into her mouth.

"U-Urgh..."

"Darling! Use all the healing magic you have on Layla right now!"

"O-okay!" Han Seol-Ah quickly approached Layla and poured healing magic on Layla.

The heavily panting Layla's complexion began to return to normal.

"Haaa, haaa. I'm alright now, everyone," Layla said as she caught her breath.

"... You are?" Kang-Woo asked, unable to understand.

He had seen many times through Layla and Iris that the condition of a god affected their incarnation. The Gaia System had collapsed, so it would not be a surprise even if Gaia, Earth's guardian deity, were to be annihilated. How could she be fine?

Layla calmly explained, "Lady Gaia... managed to escape from the effects of the Gaia System's collapse after losing her rights as the guardian deity."

Kang-Woo sighed in relief at the unexpected news. There was no better news than this in terms of right at this moment.

"What in the world is going on?" Kang-Woo asked as he stared at the giant Rift several kilometers wide that had formed in the Nightmare Forest.

The ground around them was being sucked into the Rift like a black hole.

"I'm... not sure either. I-I've never seen anything like this before," Layla replied.

It was an obvious answer since the protection of a star had never collapsed before. In that case...

"Are you able to get in contact with Lady Gaia?" Kang-Woo asked.

"... Just a moment." Layla closed her eyes and brought her hands together. White light particles formed around her.

"Fuuu," Kang-Woo sighed deeply and grabbed his forehead.

He had not been this flustered since when he had first fallen into Hell.

'Calm down.'

The water had already been spilled. Bael had eaten the Demon God's heart and Earth's protection had been destroyed. Nothing could be worse than this.

'But I'm sure there's a way to fix this goddamn despairing situation.'

"..." Kang-Woo thought in silence.

However, the situation did not allow him the leisure to think.

Boom! Rumble—!!

"K-Kang-Woo..."

"Wh-what should we do about that?"

The Rift which was already several kilometers wide was getting even larger.

"..."

At this rate, it could even devour the entire continent of Aernor.

"Haaa... Fuck." Kang-Woo raised his head and sighed.

Although he had acquired Top-rank Deific Essence, it was nearly impossible to close a Rift getting larger to the point that it could engulf an entire world. It was as insane as stopping a natural disaster with one's bare hands.

Kang-Woo smirked.

'Well, since when have I only done things that were possible?'

He lightly jumped down from Echidna's back.

"K-Kang-Woo?!" Seol-Ah yelled from behind.

Kang-Woo ignored her and landed on the collapsing ground.

"Fucking brat."

Kang-Woo grimaced as he stared at the ground being sucked into the Rift.

He slowly walked to the Rift, spread his arms wide, and commanded with Soul Speech, "Close."

Crackle—!!!

A sound akin to steel being torn apart echoed. Kang-Woo slowly brought the arms he had spread out closer together as he burned with golden light.

"No... way..."

"H-how could he close that Rift with pure strength...?"

Kang-Woo could hear the shocked voices of his party members, but he ignored them.

"Kurgh." Kang-Woo raised his head as immense pressure weighed down on him. "Arghhh..."

His eyes widened and his mouth agape. His muscles swelled up as if they would burst and his blood vessels popped out hideously.

"Fuck..."

'This hurts like hell.'

Kang-Woo felt like he was being compressed by a giant hydraulic press. His body contorted, unable to handle the pressure.

Crack! Crunch!

His arms, legs, head, and hips twisted. Horrendous pain ate away at his sanity.

'It's okay.'

Kang-Woo bit his lip. He was used to this level of pain; he could endure pain like this all day if he had to.

"Kang-Woo!"

Just then, Seol-Ah's magic flowed into him, restoring his distorted body to its original condition. Kang-Woo's flickering consciousness became a little clearer thanks to Seol-Ah's help.

Crack—!!

The destruction continued; the ground around them had been destroyed to the point that it was irreparable.

"Fuuu." Kang-Woo took a deep breath.

Fwoosh!

Kang-Woo was enveloped by gold and black flames— no, he had become fire itself.

Riiing.

[Raising Player Oh Kang-Woo's proficiency in the 'Flames of Voracity.']

[You have obtained a clue for acquiring Transcendent-rank Deific Essence!]

Blue message windows popped up, but Kang-Woo did not have the leeway to check what it said. His consciousness turned hazy as the giant flames rampaged.

"A-arghhh."

Kang-Woo crouched. He could feel the Flames of Voracity around him getting larger and spreading to the expanding Rift.

Tsssss—!!

The Rift that was devouring a world was being devoured by the blazing flames.

"Raaaaaaaaaaahhh!!"

The gold and black flames were burning the entire world. Immense power flowed into Kang-Woo— no, power might be flowing out of him; he couldn't tell. He extended his arm. He felt like he would be able to do something.

Fwoosh!

Kang-Woo closed into a fist the hand of the arm that he was extending. The Flames of Voracity wrapped around the borders of the expanding Rift. The gold and black flames eating away at the giant black Rift looked as if a black sun had risen.

Tssssss.

The Rift's expansion stopped.

"Haaa, haaa," Kang-Woo panted heavily and collapsed on the spot. He could not muster an ounce of strength.

'Did I stop it?'

He turned his head as he was lying down on the ground. He had stopped the Rift from expanding but had not managed to close it. But the good news was that the Rift was no longer sucking everything around it like a black hole.

[Kang-Woo!]

Echidna flew toward Kang-Woo as she flapped her giant wings. The party members soon arrived where Kang-Woo was. Seol-Ah quickly used healing magic on him, and Si-Hun and Balrog stood around him like bodyguards.

"... Hyung-nim."

Schwing.

Si-Hun created a sword with blue condensed sword energy and stared at the black Rift.

"I sense a presence. Not one, but many," he continued.

They could feel people walking toward them from within the Rift. The party members prepared themselves anxiously.

Whoooom.

A wave formed on the surface of the black Rift and a foot emerged; it looked to be that of a human. An entire leg soon emerged as well as a sword strapped to the person's waist.

Boom!

Si-Hun lowered his stance and charged forward.

'Heavenly Dragon Fl—'

As Si-Hun raised the sword above his head and was about to swing it down...

"... Si-Hun?" said an old man who walked out of the Rift.

Si-Hun stopped himself in his tracks and stared at the old man in surprise.

"Master...?"

The old man who walked out of the Rift was Tian Wuchen, the Player with the title Sword Emperor.

"What in the..." Si-Hun stared dumbfoundedly at Wuchen, who was supposed to be on Earth at the moment.

"Yeon-Joo? Is that you?" A masculine woman walked out of the Rift behind Wuchen and stared at Yeon-Joo with her head tilted.

"Huh? Hwa-Yeon? Why are you here...?"

"Whoa! Why are you here, you guys? Didn't you say that you were going to, uhhh... What was it called again? Vernar or whatever it was?"

Even Kang Tae-Soo, whom Kang-Woo couldn't even remember the last time he was relevant, had appeared.

"... What the hell?" Kang-Woo on the ground looked around in shock.

Players who were supposed to be on Earth had crossed through the Rift; that could only mean one thing.

"Has Aernor and Earth... been linked?"

1. This is how dragons roar in the Korean novel series Dragon Raja (1997) written by Lee Yeongdo, not to be confused with the Chinese novel with the same name. The novel pioneered the Korean fantasy genre, with several of the fantasy tropes you see in modern Korean fantasy originating from this novel. ☜

2. This is a reference to White Dragon Cathselprime, who can use invisibility magic. ☜