On a deserted island somewhere in Northern Europe.
A man who had just come ashore slowly swept his gaze across the land.
There was nothing—nothing at all—except bare rock. A bleak, empty wasteland.
A place where no living thing should be able to exist.
And yet, without hesitation, the man walked deeper inland.
After a long trek, he finally reached the center of the island.
"Open."
He murmured the word softly.
A translucent curtain of light immediately revealed itself in front of him.
He traced a prearranged sigil in the air.
The barrier began to peel away, slowly dissolving.
Moments later, a space that had been sealed and hidden away for who knew how long appeared before him.
A massive fortress.
So enormous it filled his entire vision—and still seemed to stretch farther beyond it.
As the man approached, the tightly shut gates creaked open on their own.
"You're back."
At the sound of that voice, the man dropped to one knee.
"You came out personally, Your Majesty."
A woman with long crimson hair smiled.
"Enough with the stiff formalities. So? How was that country… Korea?"
"It was extremely small and insignificant. Honestly, I'm not even sure it deserves to be called a nation."
"Oh?"
The woman chuckled and walked closer.
Then she bent down slightly.
"And yet… from that tiny, insignificant country…"
In an instant, a terrifying pressure exploded outward, crushing down on the kneeling man.
"…two of my children died?"
Realizing his mistake, the man lowered his head even further.
"My apologies. It may be small, but it seems to possess forces we didn't anticipate."
The woman stayed silent for a moment before straightening.
"I'm kidding. I'm kidding. Don't get so serious. Kang… what was it? The name you used there."
"Kang Woojin."
"Right. Tell me about this unexpected variable you mentioned—about the one who killed Kang Woojin. Is there any connection to the traitor we're searching for?"
"We found no trace of the traitor. And we still haven't identified the one who killed Kang Woojin. All of our connections in that country have been severed, so it won't be easy."
"So I sent you to find the traitor, and you came back bringing me an entirely different headache?"
"I will take Rakshasa specialized in tracking and return. I will find them."
"Hm… Korea."
The woman tilted her head slightly.
It was a name she had never heard before—some tiny country no one cared about.
And yet, an oracle had been delivered.
It claimed that in that small nation, the natural enemy of the Rakshasa would appear.
'It has to be the traitor.'
There was no other possibility.
They were Rakshasa.
And the only being worthy of being called the Rakshasa's nemesis… was the traitor.
"Your Majesty."
"Speak."
"To be honest… I'm not convinced. We searched all of Korea and the surrounding regions, but we found nothing resembling the Sealed Mountain. The Sealed Mountain vanished centuries ago. The traitor vanished with it. Are we certain it's really in Korea?"
"That's exactly why I sent you. And why I sent Maredo and Kang Woojin as bait."
If the traitor had been freed from the seal, he would definitely have taken the bait.
He never left Rakshasa alive.
But something unexpected had appeared—something that crushed the carefully laid trap in an instant.
"It's safest to assume the traitor still hasn't been released."
"I agree. And the Sealed Mountain wasn't the only thing that disappeared. The fortress guarding it vanished as well. Even the Rakshasa's Three Evils who resided there. As long as he remains, no one will ever break that seal."
The queen nodded.
She agreed completely.
But even so, she couldn't simply dismiss the oracle.
The oracle had never once been wrong.
"Eighth Evil, Ranjets."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"I'll assign you hunters who excel at tracking. Go to Korea. Find the one who killed Maredo and Kang Woojin. Bring them to me. Dead or alive."
"Understood. I, Ranjets of the Rakshasa Eight Evils, will carry out Your Majesty's command."
The queen turned gracefully and began to walk away.
It didn't matter whether the killer was connected to the traitor or not.
Maredo had only just become Rakshasa—so his death, while annoying, could be excused.
But Kang Woojin had died.
For the first time in centuries.
A full-blooded Rakshasa had been completely erased.
That alone demanded answers.
No matter how much humanity had changed with the emergence of Awakening powers…
How could a mere human kill a Rakshasa?
[Entering Mythic Tower, 13th Floor.]
A cold, eerie wind greeted Jin-hyeok's party.
As usual, the system remained unhelpfully silent.
'Damn.'
Even standing still made chills crawl up his spine.
The place felt like something out of a haunted house.
Jin-hyeok shuffled closer to Camela.
Even Momo—cowardly enough to take first place in any competition—backpedaled until she was practically clinging to Camela's leg.
If this really was a haunted house, then the safest spot was obviously right next to the Divine Shaman.
"When it comes to fighting, you're fearless. But ghosts scare you?"
"Of course they do. I'm a believer in shamanism, okay?"
Camela exhaled a stream of smoke and narrowed her eyes.
"I don't think there are ghosts here. But something else is."
"Something else?"
"The demonic aura is overwhelming. There's something non-human here. The same kind of presence as the one Master slaughtered last time."
"Rakshasa?"
"That was the name, yes."
"That's weird. I don't sense anything. And there's nowhere for them to hide."
"I don't sense anything either! I think this ghost granny is making things up!"
The ground was bare—no weeds, no trees, nothing.
There wasn't even a place for an ambush.
Camela glanced at Jin-hyeok and smiled strangely.
"Oh, dear."
Her eyes began to glow faintly with a blue light.
"You've gained the eyes. If you don't use them, what was the point? There are no ghosts here, so open your spiritual sight."
Jin-hyeok gave an awkward smile.
He'd been holding back, worried he might actually see something terrifying.
And apparently she'd noticed.
[Spirit Sight]
Blue energy flooded his vision.
A moment later, Jin-hyeok's eyes widened.
A translucent barrier stretched across the entire field ahead.
Beyond it, a blurry silhouette loomed.
The barrier made it hard to see clearly, but it looked like an enormous building.
Behind it were other structures as well—though he wouldn't know what until they got inside.
Ding!
[Rakshasa Fortress discovered! A fortress that has guarded this place for an extremely long time! To advance, you must conquer the fortress!]
[To enter the fortress, you must tear through the barrier!]
[A ritual item stronger than the barrier is required! The blueprint and materials are listed below!]
A long list of ingredients appeared.
Jin-hyeok's soul nearly left his body.
Just when it felt like they were finally getting closer to the Horn's Master…
Another crafting quest?
And worse—some of the materials dropped across multiple floors.
Including floors they'd already cleared in the Tower of Despair.
The system was seriously telling them to go back down.
No chance.
Jin-hyeok shook his head.
Climbing was hard enough—there was no way he was going backwards.
Which meant…
"Divine Shaman God-mela."
"…What kind of ridiculous title is that?"
Jin-hyeok grabbed Camela by the collar, eyes sparkling with desperation.
"Can you rip the barrier open for us?"
Camela Sirin, the Reader of Heaven.
Not only was she a divine shaman, she was also an exceptional barrier caster.
Whether this barrier fell under her domain or not, Jin-hyeok could only pray.
Please say yes.
Camela snorted, as if the question itself was absurd.
"Of course I'll tear it open. Did you think we came all this way just to stare at it and go home?"
"So… the system wants us to make some ritual sword thing. We don't need that?"
"Why would we?"
Camela folded her arms, smiling.
"This body itself is the strongest ritual weapon there is."
Hope surged through Jin-hyeok's chest.
Camela stepped forward and reached out toward the barrier.
The moment her hand touched it—
Shhrrrrk!!
Thousands upon thousands of characters and sigils poured out from her palm, flooding across the barrier like a storm.
In seconds, the entire curtain of light was covered.
Camela looked back.
"Prepare yourselves. They're right in front of us."
Jin-hyeok and the others readied their weapons.
Kancho moved to the side, already aiming his slingshot.
He clearly planned to start things with a clean, brutal opening shot.
"Annihilate."
Camela spoke a single word.
Crack—CRASH!!
The barrier shattered into fragments and collapsed.
Jin-hyeok kicked off the ground and shot forward, placing himself in front of Camela.
His greatsword swung.
A sharp screech of metal erupted as sparks flew.
From the side, Dark and Seira also leapt forward to meet the enemy that had burst out.
Camela exhaled smoke again, watching Jin-hyeok.
He had been the first to sense danger, the first to move, the first to block.
Her lips curved upward.
"A dependable master. I'll leave the back line to you."
With that, Camela turned calmly.
She scooped up the chubby Momo and strolled into the barrier zone as if they were out for a casual walk.
Jin-hyeok stared at the figure in front of him, his greatsword still raised.
"Rakshasa?"
"How dare a human speak that name. Who are you?"
Jin-hyeok smiled.
"The guy who's about to smash your fortress."
[Black Shadow Slash]
A straight-line arc carved forward.
In an instant, a dozen Rakshasa along its path collapsed.
BOOOOM!!
Kancho's slingshot fired.
A massive explosion erupted deeper inside the fortress.
Just like the Yeti Wall, the fortress was instantly reduced to ruins.
But unlike the Yetis, the Rakshasa didn't vanish completely.
"What the heck! They're getting back up!"
Scattered bodies began to stitch themselves together through the flames.
Crack.
Even the ones Jin-hyeok had just cut down began to regenerate.
But Jin-hyeok didn't give them time.
[Mark of Iron]
Dududududududu!!
Just like he'd done to Kang Woojin, hundreds of weapons rained down and impaled them.
He scanned the battlefield with Spirit Sight and spoke quickly.
"They don't have as many souls as the last one. Most of them have around ten to fifteen. Kill them until they can't regenerate anymore."
"Roger! Got it!"
Kancho unleashed a storm of bullets from his minigun.
Explosions chained together, and Rakshasa bodies were ripped apart again and again.
'Nice.'
Jin-hyeok grinned.
These Rakshasa had bodies almost identical to humans.
Which meant explosions were far more effective than a single sword slash.
Their souls burned away faster under heavy damage.
"This is fun. Getting back up no matter how many times you kill them… the feedback is great."
Dark charged forward with a savage grin.
Ice carrying the bitter cold of Frostheim surged out.
Even trapping them was enough to shred their souls rapidly.
"Master. I'll carve a path."
"Okay. I'm right behind you."
Seira pushed forward, cutting down the front line while Jin-hyeok followed.
Since so many of their attacks were wide-area, spreading out into separate skirmishes was the smarter approach.
Once they had enough distance—
Jin-hyeok re-equipped axes he had stored in his weapon collection: Salamanca and Yerga.
From that moment on, molten lava and chunks of ice erupted from his weapons with every swing.
Salamanca in one hand.
Ganjiang and Moye in the other.
And his wrists wrapped in Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron.
They were outnumbered, sure.
But it didn't matter.
Individually, Jin-hyeok's group completely outclassed them.
He kept cutting through Rakshasa after Rakshasa for a long while—
When suddenly—
Screeeee!
Something shot toward him at insane speed.
He sensed it in advance and moved, but it was too fast to dodge completely.
A blade grazed his shoulder.
Clang!
[Physical attack detected! Karakl's Ring - Quick Shield activates!]
"Huh?"
The attacker laughed when their weapon bounced off the barrier.
"So you have something interesting, boy. What's your name?"
"Yoo Jin-hyeok."
"Third Evil, Kalik."
Kalik's lips stretched into a long smile.
"Then die."
KWAHHHHHH!!
A devastating wave of power exploded forward.
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T/N:
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