Chapter 1153

Everyone dies.

No matter how much wealth and fame a person amasses—more than anyone else in the world—or how strong their body and mind become, until they’re called superhuman, they can never escape the shadow of death.

That was why we had no choice but to accept, however painfully, the news that our close companions had died.

No. We had to.

The reality before us was too horrific to let ourselves be swept away by emotion.

“…That concludes the meeting.”

The lights came on with the presenter’s exhausted voice, but the heavy silence pressing down on the room didn’t disperse so easily.

Not until someone who had kept silent throughout the meeting finally spoke.

“Rest is important, isn’t it? Especially at a time like this.”

It was a simple remark, but everyone understood what he meant.

Anyone who couldn’t read the room that well wouldn’t have been here in the first place.

“I can finally breathe a little.”

Once the conference room had mostly emptied, a middle-aged man walked over to the coffee machine in one corner and glanced at me.

“Would you like a cup, Mr. Jin?”

His hair was greasy and disheveled, and dark circles ringed his eyes. He looked like an office worker worn down by exhaustion. I shook my head.

“No, thank you, Mr. Presi—”

“You can just call me Donny.”

“Sure. Donny.”

At my matter-of-fact reply, Donald Doramp Jr., the fifty-seventh President of the United States, smiled faintly.

Even that was a forced smile. It appeared for a moment, then vanished without a trace.

Of course it did.

My eyes drifted to the hologram still hanging in the air. Its catastrophic figures were enough to wipe the smile from even a thoroughly jaded politician’s face.

“When I first received the report at the White House, I thought, Is this a dream?”

He downed a cup of coffee heavily laced with potion and continued.

“To be honest, I still think that sometimes. I keep hoping all of this is one goddamn nightmare.”

But it was real. The figures in the reports hadn’t leveled off; they’d climbed higher every day.

Property damage in the tens of quadrillions. Tens of millions dead or injured, and even more refugees. The whole world was in a panic.

“That’s why I had to announce as soon as possible that you’d returned.”

As he said, the international community had moved quickly.

The UN Security Council, led by its permanent members, had immediately issued an emergency statement. News that I’d returned after going missing in the Middle East spread around the world before I’d even arrived here at the Pentagon.

“Some people thought it was too soon to make the announcement while we were still discussing it. But given the circumstances, we had no choice. If we made the wrong call—”

“No. You didn’t.”

I waved off the President’s apology.

Because it was too late to take the announcement back?

That was part of it, of course.

But if the news of my return hadn’t gotten out, people would have been swept into an even more uncontrollable maelstrom.

Disaster, after all, takes root in fear and confusion.

And the seed of that disaster had already blossomed, thanks to an unprecedented monster: Black Dragon Duke Morgoth.

“Jin, I’ve dealt with countless matters of national importance in my twelve years as President of the United States. But one issue has always come before all the others.”

I knew the answer before he could continue.

Ever since Demon King Asmodeus descended upon this world, every country had been facing the same problem.

“The war against monsters.”

Donald nodded at my words, spoken almost under my breath.

“That’s right. Dealing with the Gates that remained after the Great Cataclysm—and preparing for the possibility of a second one—have been our highest priorities.”

He stared silently at his empty coffee cup, then added weakly, “And those preparations failed. Or, more precisely…”

“Something appeared that was too strong for us to handle, even though we’d prepared for it. I understand.”

Morgoth was that powerful.

Even if what I’d seen on the video wasn’t the full extent of his strength, no Named Monster that had appeared since the Great Cataclysm could compare to him.

Except one.

Demon King Asmodeus, the absolute evil called not merely a calamity, but the end of the world.

And besides…

“But those preparations could only be complete with him, couldn’t they?”

Donald nodded gravely.

“That’s right. Our plan lost its strength when Sky fell into a coma.”

Sky. Cheon Taemin.

If two atomic bombs had brought World War II to an end, Cheon Taemin had saved all of humanity by fighting his way through the Great Cataclysm.

Right. Just as the Martial God did.

I swallowed the words on the tip of my tongue. Donald continued.

“But Sky’s absence isn’t our only problem. Morgoth’s power is a calamity in itself…but there’s something about him that sets him apart from every other monster.”

Once again, I knew the answer.

“Diplomacy.”

“So you’ve noticed it too.”

“I’ve dealt with enough monsters to be sick of them.”

Just as I couldn’t count every meal I’d eaten in my life, I couldn’t count the monsters I’d brought down since my days as an F-rank Hunter.

So I knew.

Regardless of how intelligent or powerful they were, monsters were born with an instinct to kill.

If anything, the stronger they were, the more they wanted to crush everything beneath them. They tried to settle everything with overwhelming force.

Of course, there were exceptions.

The Skeleton King, who wasn’t here, was one. The Doppelganger whose actions had led to Morgoth’s summoning had even infiltrated human society long ago and worked in secret.

But Morgoth was different.

He wasn’t merely bluffing or trying to deceive anyone. He offered surrender in earnest, and if people accepted, he guaranteed their survival.

A monster that keeps its promises.

And that had caused greater division than ever.

“Twenty-three countries have already surrendered to Morgoth. Along with the Arab League, which suffered the heaviest losses, several major South American countries have given up resisting.”

“The Middle East has more or less fallen, but South America too?”

“What happened in Moscow had a huge impact. We tried to control the situation, but we couldn’t stop the news from spreading.”

Disaster breeds fear, and fear leads to fractures.

Faced with the most powerful desire of all—survival—people were crumbling one after another.

“Something similar happened early in the Great Cataclysm, but this is different. Everyone’s shaken.”

The reason humanity had managed to win the Great Cataclysm was simpler than you might think.

They united.

Ironically, it was their enemy, Asmodeus, who made that possible.

He truly lived up to the title of Demon King.

He killed those who resisted and those who surrendered.

He burned down cities and overturned mountains and seas.

Compromise? Promises?

To him, that would have been like a cockroach he’d found in his house one day pledging obedience in exchange for living there alongside him.

And so humanity had fought back with all its strength, united in purpose.

Fortunately, they’d had a savior in Cheon Taemin. They’d had no other choice.

But Morgoth kept his promises. Unlike Asmodeus.

He took human form and followed human ways.

For those who resisted, he offered devastating destruction and death. For those who surrendered, he guaranteed survival.

Like a cruel conqueror from the Middle Ages.

“If you hadn’t appeared when you did, I might be signing a goddamn surrender document right now.”

President Doramp smiled bitterly, but I couldn’t smile. My thoughts were racing.

I appeared in time? Me?

I didn’t know.

What if I hadn’t lost consciousness after defeating the Blood Lord?

If I’d woken up even a day earlier—or tried to log out just a few hours sooner…

Drip.

Blood drops fell, one after another. It was running from between my fingers where I’d clenched my fist without realizing it. After a brief silence, President Doramp spoke.

“Jin, it’s already happened. And nobody blames you. While you were gone, the rest of us were at our posts, and we still couldn’t stop Morgoth.”

I knew.

Ever since I’d gained powers unlike anyone else’s, I’d struggled at every turn. And as a result, I’d saved countless lives.

But the sudden surges of anger and self-blame still refused to fade.

They probably won’t go away even after this is over.

People called me the savior of a new age, but I was human, just like them.

I fixated on what I’d lost instead of what I had, and feared the danger that was coming.

And that danger was closer than I thought.

“Mr. President!”

An aide rushed into the conference room. Behind him, I saw familiar faces.

Every one of them wore a tight expression, their eyes downcast.

The air froze in an instant. At the aide’s touch, a holographic video sprang into the air.

Pop.

Through the constant crackle of static, a scene from tens of thousands of kilometers away¹ filled the vast conference room.

A Dragon Lair rose over the blackened earth once known as Moscow, blocking everyone’s view.