0.01 Second Sword Master

200 (Complete)

0.01 Second Swordmaster, Episode 200

The great upheaval that began 15 years ago.

The first five years were a very difficult struggle.

But through war, humanity has always achieved tremendous scientific advancements, hasn’t it?

It was the same this time.

—

Hunters with supernatural powers, and the science that advances madly through the resources they hunt.

The synergy created by the combination of the two has protected humanity and brought about many changes in the system.

Thus, the World Union was formed, and through constant advancement, humanity shifted from being hunted by monsters to becoming the hunters.

“Then, two years ago, the existence known as demons appeared.”

“Demons?”

“Yes. The monsters we faced until then had low intelligence, but these demons were different. They could communicate with us and displayed remarkable intelligence. Because of those demons, the front lines began to falter.”

This meant that after a time when only monsters appeared, the emergence of demons caused humanity to start losing ground again.

Well, if demons of the caliber of great demons continued to appear, it would be difficult for those encountering them for the first time.

“Recently, a monster resembling a dragon appeared and destroyed a military base. Unprecedented events are happening continuously.”

“I see.”

I listened intently as Ha Chae-rin detailed what had transpired in this world.

As she continued her explanation, Ha Chae-rin glanced at me and asked.

“But… who exactly are you? If you have the power to slay a great demon in one blow, your name should have spread across the world by now.”

“You know there’s another world, right? A world on the opposite side?”

“Yes. Perhaps I came from that opposite world as well. But no one remembers that world.”

“Then do you know how to cross over to that world?”

“No.”

So she really doesn’t know.

After transforming into Aslan, I tried to open a portal to the opposite world.

But no matter what I did, the portal leading to that world wouldn’t open.

‘Did I get tricked by that administrator?’

No, he didn’t know much about this world either.

Yet he certainly claimed there was a way.

After all, I was the one who opened the door from the game world to the outside world.

So, I should be able to open the same door here again.

I just don’t know how yet.

“It will be hard to find answers here.”

“Can I find them elsewhere?”

“If it’s the hunters gathering at the World Union, they might have some information about it. Especially Karman, who is called the strongest hunter currently existing…”

“Wait. What did you just say?”

“Excuse me? Ah, you mean Karman, who is called the strongest hunter in existence.”

Karman?

Could it be the Karman I know?

“He is the president of the World Hunter Association. There is no hunter stronger than him in the world.”

Something felt off.

It could be a coincidence that the names matched, but to think that the one called the strongest hunter in the world is named Karman.

“Is there any chance I could meet the president of the association?”

“The president? Well… it probably won’t be easy. However, if you hear the story of the man in the red cloak who killed the great demon in one blow, you might be able to meet not just the president but all the S-rank hunters affiliated with the association.”

“Then let them know. I must meet them.”

“Yes.”

Whether it was a coincidence or truly intentional.

That was something I would find out when we met in person.

* * *

“The hunter in the red cloak…”

“Did he really kill the great demon in one blow? Does that even make sense?”

“That’s a great demon that our S-rank hunters can barely catch when we work together!”

“You must have seen the footage too.”

“It could be manipulated.”

The World Hunter Association.

They had been summoned suddenly due to the controversial footage currently circulating.

A man who had captured a great demon in one blow.

They couldn’t help but feel tense at the emergence of a new hunter, who descended with a fluttering red cloak. The red cloak was a symbol of a prophesied being.

“What does President Karman think? Could he really be the prophesied one?”

Karman, who held the position of president of the World Hunter Association, spoke while resting his chin on his hand.

“We’ll know in time.”

At that moment, the door to the president’s office opened.

Karman watched intently, eager to see who would come out.

Tap-tap.

A seemingly ordinary man opened the door and stepped inside.

Everyone frowned at his appearance, which was so different from what they had seen in the footage.

“What is that?”

“Where did the red cloak go? Why is that scrawny guy here?”

As everyone ignored each other.

“Lord Karman?”

“······!?”

Karman was sweating profusely.

‘That author is definitely here!’

He could see it.

The immense power emanating from that scrawny-looking man.

It was so massive that it tore through space and twisted, shaking Karman’s mind.

But could they not see this terrifying aura?

“Where did the red cloak go? I’m asking why you’re here.”

“This is a place only S-rank hunters can enter. Get lost!”

The volume of voices began to rise,

“Is this b*stard seriously ignoring what an S-rank hunter is saying, or what!”

One of them finally unleashed his power.

‘No!’

Karman tried to shout for them to stop, but his voice wouldn’t come out, as if something was blocking his throat.

Boom-!!

The power unleashed by someone reached the man and exploded.

A moment of silence enveloped the hall.

“Hey. No matter what, to a civilian······.”

“What does it matter? You should have answered the question properly.”

The hunter who had unleashed his power on a civilian burst into laughter.

To him, civilians were nothing more than lives less than that of insects.

However,

“Huh?”

“What, what is that?”

As the smoke cleared, the silhouette that emerged left the hunters in shock.

The scrawny civilian who had been standing just a moment ago was nowhere to be found, and instead, the man in the red cloak was standing there, fluttering his cape.

And the chilling voice echoed.

“Is that all you have to offer?”

“······?”

Puff-puff-puff-!!

The body of the hunter who had launched an attack towards that man was shredded by something, blood gushing forth like a fountain.

Thus, without even managing to put up a proper resistance, he collapsed to the ground.

“Gah!”

“Oh, no!”

Seeing this, the other hunters sprang to their feet.

However, as if to say they wouldn’t even be allowed to counterattack, a solemn voice resonated through the hall once more.

“Everyone, kneel.”

With that short command,

Boom-! Crash-!!

The hunters’ knees buckled involuntarily.

But that wasn’t the end.

“How dare you try to look me in the eye. How insolent.”

Bang-! Bang-!

This time, everyone buried their heads to the ground.

Blood oozed from their foreheads, and their bodies trembled, yet not a single one dared to lift their gaze.

Only one person could look him directly in the eye.

“······Aslan.”

It was only Karman.

“Indeed, you know me, Karman.”

“I do. You came and destroyed the world I once knew.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“That day, I witnessed it. Our god, Rahal, being mercilessly torn apart by your blade. And we, under Rahal’s power, became demons and charged at you. But in the end, we were no match for you.”

Karman still vividly remembers that day.

Rahal and the gods he created all rushed to stop Aslan, but ultimately, the world was destroyed beneath his hand.

When he came to his senses afterward, he found himself back in this world.

“After returning to this world, no one, except for me, remembers the world within that game.”

Karman returned to the real world just as he was in the game.

Completely forgetting what kind of being he was in this world.

“Among the countless resurrected, everyone who remembers the red cloak are those who returned from the game world you destroyed. It’s just my guess, but it seems the day of return varies depending on the achievements made in the game. So far, my five years has been the longest record.”

“You must have had many achievements in that world.”

“Yeah. I had almost reached the ending stage.”

“Do you resent me?”

“Not particularly. It was just a game world, after all. Anyway, it seems that the abilities you have when returning here are determined by the achievements made in that world. All hunters were born that way.”

Karman tried to hide his trembling hands in fear and asked Aslan.

“So what do you plan to do now? Do you intend to destroy this place like the worlds you destroyed?”

“Do I seem that cold-blooded to you?”

“Given the current situation, it’s understandable to think so.”

“Be grateful that I haven’t taken your lives.”

He had no words to respond to that.

After all, it was the alliance that had attacked first.

It was already something to be thankful for that Aslan hadn’t killed them all.

But to think he could subdue them all with just a single word.

That was something he could never have imagined.

“I wish to cross over to the other world.”

“The other world… you mean… Ella Bihak?”

“Yes.”

“Why? No, there must be some grand reason. Someone like me can’t even begin to imagine.”

However, Karman also did not know how to return to the other world.

“But there is one place that raises suspicion.”

“A place that raises suspicion?”

“The place that is the beginning and source of all this. In this world, it is called ‘Zero.'”

“Zero?”

“It would be better to show you directly than to explain it in words. Follow me.”

Karman left the conference room with Aslan.

Thanks to that, the hunters who had been forced to kneel were granted their freedom.

They had to retch for quite some time inside the conference room.

* * *

We both traveled through the portal set up outside the headquarters and arrived at our desired location.

They said that through killing monsters, we achieved tremendous scientific advancements with the new resources that emerged.

And it was true.

I never imagined there would be a portal in this world.

“This is Zero.”

Not far from where we arrived stood a massive black dome.

“It used to be called Yeouido, and it’s where everything began.”

“Everything began here?”

“Yes. The game company that created Ella Bihack was based here.”

So that was it.

Everything had started at the game company that created Ella Bihack.

The towering black walls.

A multitude of soldiers surrounded it, yet no one could enter.

“Humanity has tried launching nuclear weapons and pouring countless firepower into this place, but we couldn’t breach it. Because…”

“Is it Terrishuna?”

“You know it well. The ultimate defensive technology of the demons, Terrishuna. It’s impossible to break through it with sheer force. Anyway, the power emanating from here spread across the world, opening the gates, leading us to this moment.”

Karman told me that he had poured all his strength into it, yet couldn’t even leave a scratch on that place.

I could have just listened quietly, but,

“How pathetic.”

I couldn’t hold back my disdain for this guy’s bravado.

“To think you’re struggling to break something like that.”

“······.”

I moved toward the black dome.

The towering walls.

This familiar feeling was undoubtedly Terrishuna.

And it looked much thicker than any Terrishuna I had seen before.

“Do you really think you can do it?”

Karman and the hunters following him looked at me with doubtful eyes.

Wasn’t this the Terrishuna that they couldn’t breach despite using every means at their disposal?

It seemed as if I was convinced that I could never break through such a place alone.

But—

“Nothing, no matter how audacious, can block the path I wish to take.”

Crack—!!

“Let alone such a trivial barrier.”

I swung my sword and effortlessly shattered the Terrishuna.

“!?”

“Y-You’re insane!”

They reacted as if they might collapse and foam at the mouth at any moment.

“W-Wait a second!”

I did not respond to their calls and strode boldly inside.

I instinctively knew where I needed to go.

Because there was a place that reeked of foul magic.

If I followed that scent—

“Is this it?”

A building appeared, its shape completely distorted, making it impossible to imagine its original form.

At its top, there was a black vortex.

I shot up into the air above it.

And there, as expected, sat a single computer.

It was the very computer that Ella Bihak was running.

[Aslan.]

As I approached the computer, a chilling voice echoed, and a sinister eye appeared above.

[So, you’ve finally arrived. The one who kills gods.]

Hearing that voice and seeing that eye, I quickly realized who I was dealing with.

“Remegaton.”

[Heh heh. Yes. It’s Remegaton, the one you crushed like a bug.]

Remegaton was here too.

And that creature was the Remegaton from the game world I had been in.

[Just like the players here, some of the monsters that died in the game are forcibly summoned to this world. Thanks to you killing all our demons, we’ve ended up in this different realm.]

Was it all because of me that demons had started appearing in droves two years ago?

I never imagined that not only players but also demons would be summoned into the real world.

“Then I just need to kill it again here.”

[Heh. I would appreciate it if you could do that, but I am already bound to that thing. The origin of all this, the first world. As long as that isn’t destroyed, killing me a million times won’t change the situation.]

That computer?

I unleashed my sword energy towards it.

Swoosh—!

But as soon as my sword energy touched it, it vanished.

I tried a few more times, but each time the same result followed.

[That cannot be destroyed by force. No matter how strong you are, destroying that… is impossible.]

I raised my sword once more.

Boom—! Boom—!!

[Wait. What are you doing?]

And I swung it relentlessly at the computer, which was emitting dark energy.

“How dare you—.”

Boom—!!

“A mere empty can—.”

[Didn’t I tell you it’s useless? That’s not how you destroy it… Huh?]

How many times did I strike down?

Cracks began to form on the once intact computer.

[Such ignorance… ]

I brought my sword down one last time.

With a crack, the computer shattered completely, and a chaotic portal opened beyond it.

[You’ve finally opened it. A door to the other side. A truly dreadful creature.]

Is this it?

A door that leads to the other world.

“If I go in there, will I meet the one who brought this world to its current state?”

[Are you referring to our creator? Well, who knows. But if you keep moving forward, you will eventually meet him at the end.]

“That’s all I needed to know.”

As I was about to step inside, Remegaton spoke to me.

[It seems you don’t understand my words. You don’t know what lies within. Yet you still wish to cross over?]

“Yes.”

[Something far more terrible than anything you have faced so far is waiting.]

“Still, I must go.”

[Why? Why do you always make such reckless decisions? Are you truly trying to kill a god?]

I knew it too.

The Lemegaton could be deceiving me, and I might enter that place only to never return.

Moreover, if there is an omnipotent being capable of creating a world like this, it must possess a strength greater than anyone else.

Perhaps with just a single finger, it could kill me.

Of course, I was scared and afraid.

If I could, I would want to stop right here.

But,

“Isn’t that only natural?”

Even in this moment,

“I am the strongest.”

I put on a pathetic show of bravado.

[······!]

The Lemegaton no longer said anything.

I reached out my hand toward the portal where darkness and light coexisted simultaneously.

Then, an intense light instantly engulfed me.

Just like when I was first sucked into the world of the game.

Before my entire body disappeared into that chaos, I left my last words.

“I’ll be back soon.”

0.01 Second Swordmaster (Complete)