ALL NOVEL C1
**Seoul’s Hero Museum**
This is a museum commemorating the hero who saved the Earth, the hero of humanity.
I glanced at the clock.
[PM 02:50]
There were 10 minutes left until the meeting time.
‘Group project. So annoying.’
I frowned.
Hunter Studies 101.
It’s a mandatory subject for my major, and the professor assigned a group project instead of a final exam.
The theme was “Heroes of Humanity and the Hunter History.”
‘Group projects are a great example of why communism failed.’
Group projects are so useless,
but professors just don’t get it.
I waited for the other members to show up while gazing up at the hero statue.
‘I used to visit here for school field trips when I was in elementary school.’
A ten-meter-tall statue looked down on me.
A hero of humanity.
A global figure from our country.
The world had gone through two great upheavals before I was born.
**The First Great Upheaval.**
The appearance of the Towers and Gates, and the Hunters
became the turning point in history.
Sky-reaching structures in another world—
the Towers.
30 years ago,
these massive structures appeared in Seoul without warning.
The Towers were so huge that they could be seen from anywhere in Seoul.
‘They said the Gates appeared with the Towers.’
Monsters that emerged from the Gates.
These strange monsters were unaffected by modern weaponry.
The only ones capable of defeating them were the awakened ones who could wield mana.
These individuals became known as “Hunters” because they hunted the monsters.
‘The hero of humanity appeared around that time.’
With overwhelming strength,
the hero led the charge against the monsters wherever the Gates appeared and saved people.
His heroism wasn’t limited to our country.
The hero traveled across the world, hunting high-risk monsters.
The establishment of the Hunter Association, the rise of various guilds, and the hero’s feats.
By the time the world was starting to recover from the shock of the First Great Upheaval,
Earth faced the Second Great Upheaval.
The Celestial Realm – Elysium,
and the Demon Realm – Pandemonium, collided.
The Demon King of Pandemonium, Deimos, led a vast army of darkness to invade Earth.
As if in opposition,
the Celestial beings of Elysium appeared to fight against the demonic forces.
But it was not the brave Celestials nor the cruel demons who ended the war.
It was the hero of humanity.
The hero, burning all life around him, drove a sword into the Demon King’s heart, ending the war.
‘Speaking of which, it’s almost time for the meeting.’
When I glanced at the clock again,
“Senpai! We’re here!”
“Hyung, you came early?”
My juniors greeted me.
“Did you all arrive on time?”
“If we were late or went missing, you’d have removed our names, right?”
One of the junior girls pouted.
“I know you removed Junseok’s name last semester.”
“You even removed Youngmi’s name! She cried so much, saying she didn’t think you’d actually do it!”
The others started gossiping in front of me.
Ah, I remember now.
Last year, I had removed the names of two people who went missing during a group project.
Free riders?
I couldn’t allow that.
“Anyway, Mincheol-senpai, you’re famous for being tough.”
“If we were even five minutes late, you’d have just gone ahead and left us behind.”
“And removed our names, right? Ugh.”
Excuse me, I can hear all of that.
When I turned around, they all froze in place.
I entered the Hero Museum with my juniors.
Despite being a weekday, the museum was crowded with people.
The great hero of Korea.
His popularity still hadn’t faded.
In fact, I had been here so many times since I was a kid that I could almost memorize the layout of the museum.
‘Today’s a bit special, though.’
I opened up the pamphlet I had prepared earlier.
[Special Exhibition of the Hero of Humanity – The Sword That Pierced the Demon King]
The artifact used by the hero to slay the Demon King, the divine sword Calith.
Today, for the first time in 23 years, it was being publicly revealed to the public.
‘This will definitely be enough material for my report.’
I smiled meaningfully and headed toward the special exhibition hall.
The line in front of the exhibition hall was already long, and after waiting for a while, I finally got to see the sword.
“Wow…”
I unconsciously let out an exclamation.
The sword was a pure white masterpiece.
Even someone like me, who knows nothing about swords, could tell it was a work of art.
The blade, as white as snow, was blinding to look at.
Its sharpness was so evident that it sent chills down my spine.
At that moment,
the hero’s sword, which had been fixed on a stand, suddenly shot up into the air.
“Huh?”
Before I could even react,
the sword shot straight toward me.
Whoosh!
Wait, did the sword just stab me?
It felt like my heart was being scorched.
It was burning hot.
My chest was in excruciating pain, and my eyes slowly began to close.
‘What… what is happening?’
I couldn’t speak a word, and I lost consciousness.
A monochrome world.
A short scream slipped out.
The spot where the pain was coming from burned like my chest was being seared.
Looking at the place where the pain was radiating,
I saw a long sword sticking into my heart.
It was the same divine sword, Calith, I had just seen.
‘What… what’s going on? I’ve really been stabbed?’
It hurt so much that tears started to well up.
In frustration, I lifted my head to look at the person who had driven the sword into my chest.
I was speechless.
The person who had thrust the sword into my chest was someone I knew very well.
How many people in the world wouldn’t recognize this face?
It was none other than…
The Hero of Humanity.
‘Why is he here?’
My mind went blank.
I couldn’t think of anything.
“Impressive. Hero of Humanity. I…”
“Demon King Deimos. I never expected to meet such a warrior in this remote dimension.”
Huh?
My lips moved of their own accord.
It felt strangely out of place, as if someone else were moving my body.
Wait.
“Did I just say Demon King Deimos?!”
The words that just slipped out of my mouth
were a name not to be taken lightly.
It was as famous as the Hero of Humanity.
To people, the name “Demon King” was more well-known than the original.
A terrifying figure, a nightmare that had once plagued humanity.
And now, that name had come out of my mouth.
‘Wait, why… why am I saying ‘Demon King’?’
Am I dreaming?
Earlier, I saw the sword flying toward me and passed out.
Now, in this dream, I’ve become the Demon King?
I’m not some middle schooler with delusions of grandeur.
If this is a dream, why am I playing the role of the Demon King, a villain, instead of something cool?
Despite my thoughts, my lips continued to move uncontrollably.
“Hero, though I am but a fragment of myself, the skill with which you defeated me deserves praise. I wish to hear your name.”
There was no response.
The Hero of Humanity simply, silently, applied more force, driving the sword deeper into my chest.
Aaaaah!
It hurt so much!
Even though I screamed, no sound came out.
Wow. I can feel all the pain but can’t even move my body?
I clenched my teeth in frustration.
“Hehehe, you refuse even to converse. Fear not. You and I shall meet again.”
My vision was fading.
My whole body felt limp, and I couldn’t even lift a finger.
The shadow of [death] loomed over me,
and I could distinctly feel it drawing closer.
When everything finally melted into darkness and nothing was visible,
a sudden light hit my mind like a thunderbolt.
“Aaaaah!”
My eyes stung so much it felt like they were burning.
All I could do was scream in pain.
It felt like my optic nerves were being scorched.
At the same time, unknown knowledge, experiences, and memories flooded into my brain.
Like watching a movie on fast-forward,
countless scenes whizzed past my eyes.
After what felt like an eternity of writhing in agony,
the pain suddenly stopped as if it had never been there.
I opened my eyes.
“…Hyung.”
My head was buzzing.
“…Mincheol-senpai!”
“Can you stop talking? My head is ringing,”
I grumbled as I opened my eyes.
A strange ceiling.
Next to me, my group project juniors were staring at me.
“Senpai, why did you suddenly faint?”
“And you were mumbling something about being the Demon King.”
“This senpai… did you faint and then dream you became the Demon King or something?”
Wait.
I fainted?
“Yongsu, didn’t that sword fly toward me?”
“Hyung, what are you talking about? You were just staring at the divine sword and then suddenly collapsed.”
Huh.
I couldn’t speak because it was so absurd.
The coldness I felt when the sword pierced my heart.
The sensation of an unfamiliar object cutting into my flesh.
‘So it was all just a hallucination?’
Then,
the knowledge that had been shoved into my mind earlier resurfaced.
Reincarnation.
Being reborn with the memories and experiences of a past life.
A common trope in countless novels and films.
Why mention this now?
Because I, the protagonist of such a well-worn trope,
am now the one experiencing it.
Jeon Mincheol.
23 years old this year.
A student at Korea University, majoring in Korean Literature, and quite popular in my department.
At the same time, another name came to mind.
Demon King Deimos.
One of the four dimensional lords ruling the demons’ society, [Pandemonium], and the King of the Demons.
The moment I saw the divine sword Calith,
everything came rushing back.
‘I’m the reincarnation of the Demon King?’
Ugh, damn it.
I sighed inwardly.
The King of Demons, Lord Deimos.
The Demon King who descended to Earth 20 years ago.
That was
the name that had called me before I became human.