"Rise." The moment Sung Jin-Woo's command fell. Krrreeeeeeek-! The bugs that had just been torn to shreds all rose together as shadow soldiers. He had revived monsters killed in battle to join them as soldiers before, but these ones were on an entirely different level. In the past, when the System had been suppressing the Shadow Monarch's power, the shadow soldiers created had been weaker than they were in life. But now that Jin-Woo had become the Shadow Monarch itself, freed from the System's control, he could create truly complete shadow soldiers. Kreek-! Black steam surged from the shadow soldiers' bodies like flames, far more powerful than they had been in life. It stood to reason that the stronger the Monster Force soldiers were, the stronger the shadow soldiers extracted from their shadows would be. That immense power which had been destroying the world would now turn on its own creators. To the new soldiers brimming with morale, Jin-Woo gave his first command. 'Go wild.' Krrreeeeeeeeeeeeek-! The insectoid shadow soldiers charged ferociously at the Monster Force soldiers. Jin-Woo rushed out alongside them. Overtaking the insectoid shadow soldiers he had sent ahead in an instant, Jin-Woo plunged into the midst of the orcs at the front line. Grrah! The panicked orcs and the ogres sparsely interspersed among them flailed their weapons wildly, but there was zero chance of such attacks landing. Jin-Woo dodged the attacks raining from all sides effortlessly, and when he swung his dagger, the orcs were swept away as if caught in the eye of a storm. Every time he brought the dagger down, the black aura extending from the blade crushed everything—the orcs and even the ground beneath their feet. A literal storm. The number of orcs began dwindling far faster than screams could erupt from their mouths. Just then. A long shadow fell over Jin-Woo's head. Jin-Woo looked up. A titanic giant—so enormous you'd crane your neck in pain to see its face—was looking down at him, hoisting up a massive stone pillar as long as its own arm. The corners of its mouth were blackened with dried blood from all the humans it had devoured. Jin-Woo's brow furrowed. Before the giant could bring the stone pillar down, Jin-Woo moved first. In the blink of an eye, he closed the distance to beneath the giant's legs and swung "Kamish's Wrath," held in a reverse grip, with all his might. Skchk! The black aura flickering at the tip of the dagger cleanly severed the giant's thick ankle. Urrrrgh! Having suddenly lost one foot, the giant twisted its body and screamed before losing its balance entirely. The enormous body tilted backward and then came crashing down. Kuuuuum-! The countless monsters positioned behind the giant couldn't escape its massive body and were crushed to death. Now it was the shadow soldiers' turn. The insectoid shadow soldiers began climbing on top of the giant, which had fallen and was gasping for breath. Sasasasasak-! The giant thrashed to shake the bugs off, but the insects reached its face in an instant. Soon, the bugs' ravenous feast began. Urrrrgh! The giant's convulsions amid its screams ended quickly. But that was not the giant's end. Once more, the Shadow Monarch commanded. "Rise." And so. Urrrrgh- Next to the giant's corpse, its face nearly obliterated from the bugs' feeding, a shadow the same size as the giant slowly rose to its feet. From beneath the corpse, shadow soldiers crawled out one by two. The shadow soldiers made from the orc corpses already had weapons gripped in hand, staring down their former comrades. Before long, well over a hundred Monster Force soldiers had joined the Shadow Army. Vooooh. As the giant soldier moved, the enemies flinched. Ignoring them, the giant soldier crouched low and unfurled the fingers of its original body's hand below to grab and pull out the stone pillar. Now the stone pillar belonged to the giant soldier. Thup, thud. Clumps of dirt fell from the stone pillar to the ground. The giant soldier pulled the stone pillar far behind its shoulder, preparing a strike, as if bitter about not having swung it once before dying. Only then. The Monster Force soldiers realized what kind of power the enemy they were facing possessed. Step by step. Those who had been enjoying the war began to shrink back in fear. The fear they felt traveled through the battlefield's air and reached Jin-Woo vividly. Jin-Woo spoke to them in the language of the Monarchs. [What are you afraid of?] The counterattack had only just begun. It was far too early to feel this much fear. A chilling light gleamed in Jin-Woo's eyes. In that instant. Boom! The stone pillar swung by the giant soldier with all its strength grazed the ground as it swept the enemies aside like small toys. Kwagagagagagak!
* * *
Right after Jin-Woo appeared on the battlefield. The Dragon Sovereign, who had not let his guard down, detected the Shadow Monarch's presence. 'The far eastern end.' At the very eastern end of his forces, which fanned out from where he stood. The Shadow Monarch had appeared. Slightly behind the Dragon Sovereign, the ancient dragons and one other Monarch also sensed the Shadow Monarch's movement. The King of Demon Lords, the Monarch of the Netherworld, addressed the Dragon Sovereign. [Right now, lead the entire army and...] But the Dragon Sovereign raised a hand to cut him off. His subordinates looked puzzled. The one who had been awaiting the Shadow Monarch's arrival more than anyone else was the Monarch of Destruction himself, standing right before their eyes. Yet. Why was he not moving, even though the Shadow Monarch had openly announced the war's commencement? Right now, the Monster Force soldiers were rapidly being converted into the Shadow Army. Growing anxious, the Monarch of the Netherworld—who had taken on the body of a human in the form of a short, middle-aged man—was about to speak again when. The Dragon Sovereign spoke first. [The Shadow Army... where is the army of the dead?] Even from this vast distance, the Dragon Sovereign had not missed that the Shadow Monarch's shadow held none of his soldiers. 'That can't be...?' The Monarch of the Netherworld quickly closed his eyes. Soon, over the far eastern end—the place where the Shadow Monarch had started fighting—a massive false eye conjured by magic appeared in the sky. The magical eye scanned everything on the battlefield. '...!' It was exactly as the Dragon Sovereign had said. The Shadow Monarch striding through the center of the battlefield where blizzards howled, and yet not a trace of the legion that should have been at his side could be sensed. The Monarch of the Netherworld opened his eyes and looked at the Dragon Sovereign. In the Dragon Sovereign's gaze, anger and suspicion were mixed roughly half and half. 'What on earth...' What was the Shadow Monarch thinking, stepping onto the battlefield without an army to protect him? At a glance, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to eliminate him. But they couldn't blindly mobilize their entire army when they couldn't even fathom the enemy's intentions. Perhaps that was the enemy's true objective. A foggy anxiety gripped the Dragon Sovereign's ankles. One of the ancient dragons called out to the Dragon Sovereign with concern. [My Sovereign...] When the Dragon Sovereign glared, the ancient dragons lowered their heads. Having silenced them with his overwhelming presence, the Dragon Sovereign looked toward the east where Jin-Woo was rampaging. The Monster Force soldiers were rapidly dwindling. And in equal measure, the enemy's soldiers were growing. He had to make a decision. As quickly as possible. But with the war unfolding in an entirely unexpected direction, with movements that defied prediction, the Dragon Sovereign could not bring himself to decide. The Dragon Sovereign's brow furrowed. 'Shadow Monarch... what are you aiming for?'
* * *
At some point. Jin-Woo stopped thinking and began cutting down enemies on instinct alone. There were simply too many enemies for deliberate thought. His own forces were growing rapidly as well, but there were so many enemies it looked meaningless. Haaah. After a rough, deep breath. Jin-Woo surrendered his body not to reason but to sensation. Then, as if he were a machine perfected solely for slaughter, reflexive movements that transcended the limits of the body were repeated countless times. In a single strike, hundreds of monsters were torn apart. "Rise!" Hundreds of shadow soldiers joined the fray anew. Like a massive tide rushing in to swallow everything whole, the shadows slowly began dyeing the battlefield black. Wherever Jin-Woo moved, black waves rose. "Uraaah-!" With Jin-Woo's roar infused with mana, the monsters in front of him were all blown backward. As the monsters writhed in agony—eardrums ruptured, blood streaming from their ears, unable to regain their senses—the shadow soldiers descended upon them. The screams of monsters echoing from all sides filled the battlefield. How long had this been going on? Jin-Woo sensed the approach of beings entirely different from the Monster Force troops he had been fighting until now. When he looked up, he could see hundreds of dark wyverns blanketing the sky, and atop them, humanoid dragonkin riders. 'The Army of Destruction has started to move?' But nowhere could he sense the Dragon Sovereign. Not yet. But there was no need for disappointment. There was still plenty of time left. If that one was reluctant to move, he just had to give him a reason to. Kiak! As the leading dragonkin cried out, the wyverns turned and all swooped toward Jin-Woo. Instantly, a powerful force filled Jin-Woo's eyes. A reason for the Dragon Sovereign to move. With overwhelming power that his lowly subordinates couldn't possibly handle. Jin-Woo extended both hands toward the wyverns pouring down on him. 'The Authority of the Ruler.' Then, as if wringing the sky itself, he tensed both hands and pulled something invisible downward. The ambient mana answered the Shadow Monarch's will. The hundreds of wyverns swarming like a hornet's nest—all without a single exception—were seized by invisible hands and slammed into the ground. Kwagwagwagwagwagwagwagwang-! A truly magnificent sight. The ceaseless fall of wyverns shook the earth to its core. Tremendous power. Even Jin-Woo himself could not hide his surprise at the Shadow Monarch's abilities, which had no restrictions whatsoever. But there was no time to be amazed. A dragon that had been hidden behind the wyverns revealed itself. Jin-Woo witnessed the energy building in the dragon's maw. '...!' Sure enough. A horrific breath made of nothing but flames came pouring down from the sky. Kwaaaaaaah- The dragon, having hit its target dead-on with its breath, climbed back to a higher altitude. No enemy presence detected. Did my breath melt the enemy? Thinking it had risen to a safe position, the dragon looked down at the ground to confirm the Shadow Monarch's fate. The flames subsided, the smoke cleared, but. The Shadow Monarch's trace was nowhere to be found. 'Where is he...?' Just then. A presence felt from directly above. A chill ran down the back of its neck, but it was already far too late. -You! Before the dragon could even look up, Jin-Woo—standing on its head—drove "Kamish's Wrath" downward. Kwak! The sharp aura launched from the tip of the dagger pierced through the head and blew out beneath the jaw. Naturally. The dragon, its life extinguished, lost its ability to fly and plummeted endlessly downward. The rapidly approaching ground soon collided with the dragon. Kuuum! Having leapt from the dragon's limp head, Jin-Woo walked toward the enemies without even looking back. "Rise." And so, behind him, the dragon and hundreds of dragonkin slowly rose to their feet.
* * *
The Dragon Sovereign felt it too. His army—utterly incomparable to the ragtag soldiers of the other Monarchs. A portion of the Army of Destruction had fallen into the Shadow Monarch's hands. Now, whatever schemes that one harbored, it had gone beyond what could be watched from the sidelines. They had to stop the Army of Destruction from being devoured by the Shadow Monarch. [Strike him.] The Dragon Sovereign ordered an ancient dragon that had been awaiting deployment. [You all, follow me.] And as a precaution, he gave a different order to the Monarch of the Netherworld. [You stay here and guard against a surprise attack from the Shadow Army.] [So it shall be.] Hundreds of Gates connecting to the eastern battlefield materialized before the Dragon Sovereign and the ancient dragons. Not letting him escape. The Dragon Sovereign's eyes, gleaming with fury, vanished into the Gates. The ancient dragons leapt into the Gates as well. The Army of Destruction, which had been cowering under the Shadow Monarch's continuous provocations, began to move.
* * *
While a violent maelstrom of force clashed in the east, the quiet battle at the western end was drawing to a close. The U.S. military, which had formed a last line of defense, was being torn apart by the teeth and claws of the monsters that had overrun them. The last hope they clung to had been the Hunters' weapons. But there was no way civilians could properly wield weapons designed for raids. The U.S. military collapsed quickly. "Aaaargh, aargh!" The vanguard of the western army had been entrusted to the agile, sharp-sensed bugs. Sasasasak-! The bugs approached the soldiers. Dadadadadadadada! Ignoring the gunfire, the bugs pushed forward and finally began tearing into the soldiers. "Aaaargh!" The survivors fell back, firing their guns wildly, but it was no use. And it was inconceivable for them to fight those monstrous bugs with swords. Caught between a rock and a hard place. Kik. Having devoured all their comrades, the bugs turned their heads toward their next prey. It was the survivors' turn. The platoon leader looked at the soldiers beside him with a hardened expression. The soldiers nodded. They had accepted their fate the moment they learned they were being deployed on a mission to buy time for civilian evacuation. The platoon leader pulled out a grenade. While this small modern firearm couldn't eliminate the enemy, it could at least prevent them from becoming prey. The platoon leader pulled the safety pin. Sensing the unusual atmosphere, the bugs screamed and charged madly toward the platoon leader. Kiaaaaaaaahk-! The platoon leader's eyes widened as he watched the approaching bugs. In an instant. In the blink of an eye, the bugs closed to arm's length and spread their sharp jaws toward him, and just then— Someone who was a step faster than those bugs appeared in front of the platoon leader, snatched his grenade, held it in hand, and blocked the bugs' attack with his back. The platoon leader looked up blankly at the man blocking his vision—a man two heads taller than himself—and said, "T-Thomas Andre?" Thomas winked one eye, turned toward the bugs, and stuffed the grenade into one of their mouths. There wouldn't be an impact, but having something strange enter its gut would surely startle it. With an amused grin, Thomas swung a massive fist and smashed the bug's head. Too-kwang! The bug's headless body flew a considerable distance and crashed to the ground. "Oops... Now it won't even get surprised, will it?" Behind Thomas, scratching the back of his head, a large number of top-tier Hunters who had rushed out quickly began fighting the bugs. Krrreeeeeek! Kiaak! The pained screams of the bugs echoed loudly. The surviving soldiers quickly recognized who had come to their aid and broke into joyous smiles. "S-Scavenger!" "It's the Scavenger Guild Hunters!" "Oh! Thank God!" Being a guild composed of such exceptional Hunters, the situation was cleaned up neatly. But with no time to even breathe a sigh of relief, more monsters came swarming toward them in a dark mass. Thomas's sharp gaze swept over them. Orcs, ogres, trolls, minotaurs, cyclopes, and more. All creatures commonly seen in dungeons. Even if they were numerous, they were nothing to him. 'However...' Among these unremarkable creatures, there was one terrifyingly powerful being. Just as the monsters were frozen in place by Thomas's presence, Thomas too could not move because of that one being. The one who had seemed to be watching the situation for a moment slowly stepped forward. [You're that human from before. The weak vessel of the Ruler who was nearly killed by the Monarch of Fangs.] The King of Beasts smiled a foul grin. Unlike the Monarch of Fangs, who possessed the power of beasts but was fundamentally specialized in hunting, he—ruling over beast-type creatures like orcs and ogres—was specialized in close combat using his physical body. So it was only natural that a human trusting such meager strength seemed laughable. The King of Beasts, Monarch of the Body, released his mana in its entirety. A show of dominance. An expression of confidence that he could take off the other's head before he could even blink. But. [...?] In stark contrast to the Hunter behind him, who was turning pale, the vessel of the Ruler remained composed. The thought that perhaps he had something planned briefly flashed through the Monarch's mind when. "...This should do it, right?" Thomas murmured to himself. Then, darkness began spreading from beneath his feet, and in an instant, it blanketed the ground across the entire area. The Monarch's eyebrow twitched. 'Shadows...?' This was the Shadow Monarch's skill. But if he were here, there was no way he—the Monarch—would not have noticed the source of that immense power. In that moment, a familiar voice came from behind Thomas. [It has been a while, King of Beasts.] From behind Legion Commander Bellion, who greeted him in a polite yet threatening voice, 130,000 shadow soldiers—who had been hiding in Thomas's shadow, quietly biding their time—erupted into the sky all at once.