Chapter 132

CRASH! RUMBLE!

The Storm of White Flames was rolling in.

'Lightning...'

Suho looked up, his eyes reflecting the dark clouds roaring with branching bolts.

"Watch closely, son."

Smiling, Cha Haein walked toward the center, one step at a time.

"Back in her day, your mom..."

Or should she say, in her previous life?

She didn't quite know what to call this feeling.

She was seeing her son for the first time in ages. Naturally, she wanted to impress him.

CRACK! CRACKLE!

Cha Haein chuckled as streaks of blue lightning converged along her blade.

Then she moved.

Skill: Sword Dance

-Storm of White Flames

Light erupted from the tip of her sword, splitting into hundreds of streams that covered the surroundings. Then they rained down, plunging toward the apostle of Itarim.

Suho watched, mesmerized.

Seeing his mother again after so long... she was truly awe-inspiring.

'She's strong.'

He could think of no other words to describe the sight before him.

Countless bolts of lightning plunged toward the apostle of Itarim.

CRACK!

RUMBLE!

Each bolt carried tremendous power. Whenever one struck its enormous body, a deafening roar shook the forest.

"Argh! How dare a lowly creation like you!"

Writhing in agony, the apostle of Itarim swept its blue wings.

BOOM!

This was no mere flap of its wings.

A tremendous gale tore through the air, and the spirits screamed.

Laden with biting cold, the wind transformed into enormous ice spikes like stakes and surged toward Cha Haein like a tidal wave.

A natural disaster.

It was a calamity no human could dare stand against.

And yet.

RUMBLE!

"...!"

The apostle's eyes widened.

Cha Haein held the Demon King's Longsword high.

Following the tip of her blade, the lightning that had split into hundreds of branches had now become a single shaft of light reaching into the sky.

Then...

'Cut.'

Skill: Sword of Light

-Storm of White Flames

The colossal bolt became a sword and descended in a straight line.

One stroke, two halves.

Brilliant light split the sky and engulfed heaven and earth, cleaving the enormous oncoming tidal wave of ice in two in an instant.

And its power did not stop there.

SLASH!

It cleaved the blue-winged giant in two as well.

* * *

"..."

"..."

A heavy silence settled over the frozen forest.

The blue-winged giant lay dead, split cleanly in two by Cha Haein's sword. Its enormous corpse was gradually scattering into the cold blizzard and disappearing.

Not death, but annihilation.

Since the apostle had been in spiritual form, it returned to nothingness the moment it died, leaving not even a corpse behind.

Suho noticed the system messages floating before his eyes.

[You have defeated an apostle of Itarim.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

'Even though I barely did anything this time...'

His own role in this battle hadn't been particularly large. Naturally, a small contribution meant less experience.

Yet he had still gained a full two levels.

That proved just how powerful the apostle they had slain had been.

And his mother had killed that creature with a single stroke.

Even after witnessing it himself, he could hardly believe it.

Unlike him, who had inherited some of his father's power and grown stronger through the other Monarchs' blessings, his mother had reached these heights through her own abilities alone.

'So this is the power of an S-rank hunter.'

Suho hadn't missed a single moment of his mother's battle. The thrill he had felt still coursed through his body.

'Someday, I'll...'

He tightly clenched his trembling fists, determination shining in his eyes.

But Suho wasn't the only one experiencing a strange sensation.

Thomas Andre stood frowning, an unusual expression on his face.

"Kieek?"

Noticing a change in Thomas's body, Beru narrowed his eyes.

Some of the energy dispersing through the air as the apostle vanished had entered Thomas Andre's body.

Suho noticed it too.

"Did he just level up like me?"

"It is not a level-up. Rather, one might say he has regained a little of his lost power."

"Lost power?"

"In the timeline that no longer exists, Thomas Andre was a National Level Hunter, a being who surpassed S-rank."

The Kamish raid—the first S-rank Gate, and the worst raid in history.

After successfully completing the raid that had nearly destroyed their nation, the United States granted its five survivors status equal to other nations as 'living nations.'

That was the origin of the title 'National Level.'

But there was a secret behind the strength of the first National Level Hunters.

They were vessels chosen and empowered by the Rulers.

Simply put, Thomas Andre, one of those hunters, had been exceptionally stronger than other S-rank hunters because of a Ruler's power.

"But that is no longer the case."

The current Thomas Andre was merely an ordinary S-rank hunter, not a National Level Hunter.

To reclaim everything lost in the fighting, Sung Jinwoo had turned back time with the Cup of Reincarnation. Bearing all the suffering alone, he had erased every trace of the Monarchs and Rulers from this world.

As a result, neither magic beasts nor hunters existed in the new timeline. Thomas Andre and the other original National Level Hunters had never received the Rulers' powers either.

But that merely meant a once-filled vessel had been emptied.

Thomas Andre's vessel itself had not disappeared.

That was the true nature of the 'emptiness' he had felt his entire life.

"It appears the apostle's energy has flowed into that empty space. Since his vessel could hold a Ruler's power, it must be capable of holding an apostle of Itarim's power as well."

Understanding, Suho nodded.

"So Thomas Andre can absorb power that passes through other people because they don't have a vessel capable of holding it. Does that mean Mom was a National Level Hunter too?"

"Kieek?"

Only then did Beru turn toward Cha Haein, his eyes widening.

Just as with Thomas, the apostle's energy drifting through the air was seeping into her body.

"... What is this energy?"

"Lady Haein! A-are you all right?"

"Yes. That's the problem. I feel perfectly fine."

Beru fussed over her, checking her condition, but she seemed entirely unharmed.

The first National Level Hunters had been chosen precisely because they possessed vessels capable of containing the Rulers' power.

If an ordinary human, unlike them, took the power of a higher being into their body, their flesh would inevitably fail to withstand it and disintegrate.

Yet astonishingly, Cha Haein had absorbed the apostle's energy without suffering any harm.

Beru couldn't begin to understand how this was possible.

Just then...

[The King of the Snow Folk, the Monarch of Frost, clicks his tongue, asking whether that isn't obvious.]

"Sillad, do you know something?"

The Monarch of Frost answered Suho's question.

[The King of the Snow Folk, the Monarch of Frost, says that just as the Rulers' powers dwelled within other humans, a similar being has already entered and left her body.]

Startled, Suho asked,

"What? Someone like the Rulers was inside my mother's body? Who?"

"Ah."

"Oh."

"...?"

Beru and Cha Haein turned to look at Suho at the same time. Then they looked back at each other and nodded in understanding.

"Huh?"

Their looks left Suho puzzled for a moment. Then something suddenly dawned on him, and he pointed at himself.

"Wait, you mean me?"

Beru nodded with certainty.

"Young Monarch, you are the son of the great Shadow Monarch. Having carried such an extraordinary being in her womb, it seems only natural that Lady Haein's vessel would have grown."

Cha Haein nodded too.

If anyone knew better than anyone else how exceptional her son was, it was her.

"True, Suho was certainly different. You kicked so much in there, I thought I was going to give birth to a dinosaur."

Despite her teasing smile, her gaze was warm as she looked at Suho.

"That's my son."

* * *

Some time later.

Once the apostle's enormous body had completely vanished, the Glacier Dungeon, which had seemed ready to collapse at any moment, grew almost unbelievably calm.

Though the entire dimension was already in tatters, its wounds were healing at a visibly rapid pace.

Still, one concern remained.

Sirka had been recognized as the next Monarch, but her vessel was not yet sufficient.

[The King of the Snow Folk, the Monarch of Frost, clicks his tongue, saying Sirka is still far from being able to accept the primordial darkness.]

The primordial darkness was the fundamental power with which the now-dead god had created the Monarchs.

To inherit it required a vessel equal to the task.

"A vessel again? You need a big vessel for everything."

"You need a big bowl? I'll buy you one at a dishware store, Suho!"

"..."

Rio Singh, who had approached unnoticed, proudly produced his corporate card.

... Seeing that, Suho thought he understood why the man had never been promoted in his guild.

Unlike the seemingly idle Rio Singh, the Scavenger hunters were hard at work under Thomas Andre's orders.

They hadn't come to raid a dungeon just to return empty-handed.

But hunting the ice elves in Sirka's village was clearly out of the question now, so their only option was to haul out the Spring Water of Echo Forest.

"Don't spill a single drop! This is an extremely effective antidote potion!"

"Yes, boss!"

Since the Spring Water of Echo Forest came from underground, its supply didn't diminish no matter how much they drew.

It would all become profit for the Scavenger Guild, leaving the hunters quite excited that their hardships had paid off.

Moreover, Sirka had found the Gate in Echo Forest through which the ice spirits had crossed to Earth, securing them an exit home.

And thanks to Suho giving potions to the injured hunters, not a single person remained wounded. It was a perfect ending.

'Just as the old lady prophesied.'

Thomas Andre nodded, recalling Norma Selner's prophecy that he must bring Sung Suho to the Glacier Dungeon, no matter what.

After putting his subordinates to work with a satisfied expression, Thomas approached Suho.

"I'm going to take this spring water and start by tracking down the guys who used to be National Level Hunters. I'll have them drink it."

"Oh, that sounds like a good approach."

Suho nodded in agreement.

People who had once received the Rulers' powers, like Thomas Andre, were likely to be targeted by the apostles of Itarim as well.

Naturally, they would be S-rank hunters in this timeline too, and would pose a considerable threat if they sided with Itarim.

If Thomas tracked them down and forcibly(?) made them drink the spring water, they could prevent that danger before it arose.

There was just one concern.

"But some of them might already be under their influence, so you'll need to be well prepa—huh?"

In the middle of their conversation, Suho suddenly realized something. His eyes widened as he stared at Thomas's face.

"Why are you staring like a startled rabbit?"

"Thomas, don't tell me you..."

At Suho's expression, Thomas flashed a toothy grin.

"Yeah. I remember. Everything."