Leveling Up Alone

“Hoohoo.”

“Kek?”

Was this being finally going to come out?

The sound of unpleasant laughter filled the air.

“Hoohoohoo. As expected, Lee Han-Yeol, you are both troublesome and remarkable. I can’t believe it was not some foolish god but a mere mortal from Earth who derailed my plans so thoroughly. I don’t know whether to find this amusing or infuriating, but I’m certain about one thing—this is undeniably entertaining. Hoohoohoo.”

“Kek?”

Shhh.

A figure appeared on the throne where Char had been sitting a moment ago.

Han-Yeol was familiar with this being, but he couldn't understand why this being had suddenly appeared.

The figure slowly walked downstairs.

“Hoohoo. It’s been a while, Han-Yeol-nim.”

They raised their right arm in front of their chest in a graceful motion, and bent slightly at the waist, greeting Han-Yeol.

Han-Yeol was very familiar with this kind of gesture.

However, Han-Yeol was currently a demon, completely devoid of reason and only left with the instinct to destroy. Whether he found something familiar or not, he felt the need to destroy everything in sight in order to feel satisfied.

“Keheheh!”

In the blink of an eye, Demon Han-Yeol appeared in front of the figure.

“Oh my, you’ve become quite the beast since I last saw you. Although this kind of Han-Yeol-nim is charming as well, we should at least be able to understand each other, right?”

Shaaa!

“Kek?”

Despite Han-Yeol’s quick attack, the figure read his movements with just a flick of their hand. That wasn’t all. They then emitted a strange light from their fingertips and swept through Han-Yeol’s demonized body, removing the demonization.

As if taking his clothes off, Han-Yeol’s demon form disappeared, and Han-Yeol returned to his normal self.

“And no matter how much I like you, being this close to me is a bit too much, don’t you think?”

Whoosh!

“Agh!”

After turning back to his normal human form, Han-Yeol was immediately pushed back as the figure gestured with their hand as if they were shooing away a fly.

“Y-You’re—?”

Although he was devoid of reason, Han-Yeol retained the memories of everything he had done in his demonic form. He had been wearing a mask, but a part of his consciousness had been watching everything.

Fully human again, Han-Yeol was bewildered by the figure’s appearance.

“What are you doing here?”

The figure was a man wearing a clown mask.

“Hmm, what an interesting reaction. Is there a reason why I shouldn’t be here?”

“N-No, that’s not it, but…”

There was little direct interaction between Earth and the Bastro Dimension, so humans rarely crossed over to the Bastro Dimension, but it wasn’t entirely impossible. In other words, it was entirely possible for the man in the clown mask to be in the Bastro Dimension.

“Okay, sure, there’s no reason for you not to be here, but—! Can you explain why you’re here at the wrong time and getting in my way?”

“Ah, hoo hoo. I see that’s what you were wondering. The reason is simple. You have ruined most of my plans, and if you ended up killing these guys too, then I’d be in a lot of trouble.”

“What?”

‘What is he talking about?’

Han-Yeol couldn’t understand what the man in the clown mask was saying. Normally, Han-Yeol would’ve charged at the man and beat the crap out of him, but the clear memory of fighting this man in demon form held him back.

‘I easily subdued both the Contaminated Harkan and Char while I was in my demon form, but this guy controlled me with a single gesture. Just who is he?’

Gulp.

Han-Yeol was nervous.

‘Just when I thought things couldn't get worse.’

Han-Yeol felt really frustrated.

‘Tia.’

Han-Yeol looked at Tia’s corpse still lying on the ground, and clenched his fists.

The situation was still hopeless, but he had no intention of giving up. Even if his body was shattered and his soul was condemned to eternal torment in hell, as long as he had the strength to fight, he had no intention of retreating.

‘I won’t let Tia’s will and her sacrifice go to waste!’

In the quiet corner of his demonized consciousness, Han-Yeol realized that Tia’s action and expression before her death indicated that all of this had been part of her plan.

Since she knew that Han-Yeol could never win by simply fighting, she sacrificed herself to induce Han-Yeol’s awakening. This was something she could have never done without having complete faith in her master.

‘How can I give up when Tia has done all that for me?’

Han-Yeol grabbed his shaky knees and got up.

“Agh!”

The aftereffect of demonization took a toll on his body. This was inevitable after such a fierce battle—he had exerted more power than his body could handle.

Han-Yeol grabbed his sword and chain, taking a fighting stance.

“I could fight all day.”

“Hoohoo, I’m sure you can, but unfortunately, I’m not the one who’s going to be taking you on.”

The clown-masked man’s statement confused Han-Yeol.

“What?”

“Oh right, before I introduce myself.”

Zing!

“This is?”

Han-Yeol was familiar with the protective barrier skill. It was the same barrier that had saved Seoul from destruction during his battle with Chairman Woo.

‘But why this protective barrier all of a sudden?’

This place had been constructed using very special techniques. Thus, it withstood the aftermath of the battle between Demon Han-Yeol and the Contaminated Harkan. Therefore, it didn’t make sense to put up a barrier to protect the place.

That means he has an ulterior motive. Just what is he thinking?’

“Hoo hoo, it’s good now. I can now introduce myself in peace. Nice to meet you, my name is Kubera.”

“Y-You’re Kubera?”

“Oh, you know who I am?”

‘Damn it, of course I do!’

Han-Yeol felt like screaming on the inside.

There was only one being named Kubera as far as he knew, unless this person was someone with the same name.

“H-How is this possible? I thought the other gods were chasing you.”

“Hoohoo, so you’re aware of that too. That’s right, I am being chased by ignorant gods, or more accurately, the ignorant gods can't find me in hiding.”

‘A god! A goddd!’

First there was the Dragon of Destruction, then an angel, and now the most ridiculous of all, a god had appeared before him.

Even for Han-Yeol, a man who didn’t know how to give up, if his opponent was a god, this wasn't a matter of willpower or giving up. Even if he fought with his life on the line, people would be skeptical of a mere mortal leaving a single scratch on a god.

“What a bunch of incompetent gods, hahaha.”

Han-Yeol’s hollow laughter echoed in the air.

“That’s right, they’re indeed incompetent gods. I’ve thought so myself for a very long time now. However, even such foolish gods love their respective dimensions dearly.”

“W-Wait a minute!”

“Yes?”

Remembering something, Han-Yeol interrupted Kubera even though it was disrespectful.

“Not long ago, I met the god of this Bastro Dimension. They said that because of your attack, they couldn't stop the hyenas from stirring up trouble. But now you’re hiding on Earth? That doesn’t make any sense.”

“Oh, that’s true. The gods of this Bastro Dimension are still doing everything they can to stop my long ranged attacks.”

“Ah, l-long r-ranged attacks.”

It was a ridiculous conclusion.

“Instead of helping the gods of the Bastro Dimension struggling against my long-range attacks, the incompetent gods are using it to try and find my location. The more I think about it, the more foolish they seem. Those so-called gods. Hoohoohoo!”

“...”

Han-Yeol didn’t have much to say since the realm of the gods wasn’t something he could aruge with.

“Oh, and no need to worry about me appearing here. I’ve refined that barrier I showed last time to a level that can conceal my power. I was lucky, actually. The refinement was completed just five minutes ago. If you had killed either one of them just five minutes earlier, my entire plan would’ve fallen apart. It sure was a close call.”

“I-I see.”

“Hoohoohoo. You really do have one tough life force. I tried taking you down so many times before with numerous plans, but you’re still well and alive.”

“What plans?”

“Ah right, I didn’t tell you. I’m the boss of the Freemasons who opposed you on Earth.”

“W-What!? You’re Mr. Freemason?”

“Hoohoo, yes, that’s right. I was going to use my men to kill you any way I could since I couldn’t do it myself, but you managed to beat Chairman Woo, and even my trusted Dr. Santinora. Honestly, I had a hard time holding back the urge to kill you even if it meant getting caught.”

“...”

Han-Yeol didn’t know how to react. He didn’t know if he should just give up at this point.

‘Is there even anything I can do here?’

Kubera had even destroyed Han-Yeol’s most powerful demonized self with just a wave of his hand.

“Now, now, don’t just stand there and stare blankly, watch me resurrect the Dragon of Destruction.”

“Damn it, do you think I’ll just stand by and watch that happen!”

Han-Yeol was a little intimidated since his opponent was a god, but he couldn’t simply stand around and watch, so he charged first.

“Tsk, tsk, you still haven’t come to your senses!”

Zing!

“Argh!”

Once again, Han-Yeol brought to a screeching halt in midair by a wave of Kubera’s hand.

“Ugh, damn it!”

He couldn’t move as if he was trapped and tied up by something transparent in the air.

“That should do. You can enjoy watching the Dragon of Destruction get resurrected in that state.”

“Kheeee!”

“Human!”

White Dragon, Mavros, and Stewart, leading the Shurarmor army, tried to attack Kubera, but they all failed.

Thud! Thud!

“Argh.”

“Agh!”

“Krugh!”

They were all thrown back, slammed into a wall, and lost consciousness.

“Damn it! Damn it!”

Han-Yeol wanted to scream out loud to kill Kubera already, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it as he was afraid that Kubera might actually do it.

Grab! Zing!

Kubera lifted Harkan and Char into the air. They were burnt black but still breathing.

Kubera clicked his tongue. “Tsk, tsk. If you guys had handled things as I directed, I would have used Han-Yeol-nim and his companions as the sacrifices to resurrect the Dragon of Destruction, not yourselves. How disappointing.”

It wasn’t entirely Char's fault, but being blamed for failure was something that the subordinates of villains commonly experienced.