Dimensional Energy Storage Control Room.
When the Archangel first arrived at this dimensional energy processing complex, it was a festive atmosphere.
But now it was quiet.
Only silence flowed.
What kind of existence is an Archangel?
The ultimate weapon that endlessly splits in proportion to the amount of dimensional energy injected—
a legion force in and of itself.
They thought the outcome was obvious.
Just how strong is an Archangel?
Isn't it a divine android that grows stronger through deep-learning combat data even in the middle of battle?
Still, there were slight signs of unease.
The summoner was escaping deftly.
How is it possible to run away from an Archangel?
It was utterly absurd.
The summoner is human.
Even if one reaches level 100, there are limits to physical ability.
So why is he that fast?
At that level, he's at least Legend Special Super Rare (LSSR) rank.
Completely unexpected.
They thought he was just the type who summons and hides in the back.
Well, even so, the result would not change.
Isn't it an omnipotent god?
They must have sent the Archangel after accounting for every contingency.
The controller was firmly convinced—
that is, until the damn monkeys appeared.
[Monkeys? Am I seeing this right?]
[Y-yes. They're monkeys.]
Those things are summons?
Like Archangels, they self-replicate and increase their numbers.
They even surpassed the Archangel's splitting.
In an instant, at an incredible speed, a golden monkey grand legion multiplied.
At this rate, they'd lose.
So they activated the transmission device and blasted massive amounts of dimensional energy.
The Archangel absorbed that overwhelming dimensional energy in full.
Now they would win.
The worry was over.
But after the existing monkeys vanished in an instant,
a single shabby golden monkey appeared.
That one was the real deal.
The Archangels were being crushed.
[Th-that thing… what is it? When did it appear, and how?]
[Well… I don't really know either…..]
Did the White Tower intervene?
They had completely blocked things this time.
If so, then—
[Transcendent Summon?]
[There's no other explanation.]
Fine.
Let's assume that's it.
That monkey is a transcendent being.
But a transcendent that can defeat an Archangel?
A demigod Archangel that's practically a god?
The controller himself had experienced many dimensions.
Worlds of other realms where magic power and internal energy existed.
Swordsmen beyond the Grand Master realm,
Archmages nearing the 10th Circle,
Ancient dragons that lived tens of thousands of years,
Great demons of the Demon Realm,
Seven Seraphs of the Celestial Realm.
All of them were beneath the Archangel.
They were so weak they couldn't even be considered opponents.
But that monkey was on a different level.
It wasn't a simple transcendent.
It was playing with the Archangel.
A sight that could not be explained unless it was a god.
[Is that thing the Monkey God?]
Look even now.
To the monkey, the Archangel split-legion was nothing more than a swarm of flies.
They were being annihilated so miserably it was painful to watch.
If this keeps up—
[…We're done for. Completely.]
If that were all, it would be one thing.
Now even their own lives were in danger.
Juhyeok was genuinely amazed.
To see a figure from myth right before his eyes.
Sun Wukong had arrived.
It felt like he'd become Tripitaka himself.
If he set Kosak as Sha Wujing, Gobang as Zhu Bajie, and Crackers as the Dragon Horse,
this would be Journey to the West.
At present, there were no golden monkey clones left.
That meant no shield.
For that reason, the Archangel legion came flooding in like a tide.
Their target was Juhyeok, without exception.
Mechanically, blindly.
All at once, in massive numbers.
They had wings.
Dropping from the sky, charging from the ground,
Pouring down like a waterfall, flowing like a torrent,
the Archangel split-bodies stared only at Juhyeok.
After the dimensional energy injection, they had multiplied beyond count.
It was a tremendous silver wave.
But they couldn't break through the Ruyi Jingu Bang's barrier.
Tsupupupupup! Tsupupupupupu..
The Ruyi Jingu Bang stabbed them like a piston machine.
From every direction, at terrifying speed, with absolute precision.
In midair, in empty space, Archangels burst apart instantly.
Perfect cosmic defense.
The Archangels couldn't even approach.
It didn't even take much effort.
The gigantic Ruyi Jingu Bang floated in midair, moved with just a flick of a finger.
Tsupupupupupup!
Jjaejaejaejaejaejaeng! Pububububububuk!
Like glass, like tofu, the Archangels were shattered and crushed.
Ahhh!
Monkey King, Victorious Fighting Buddha, Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong.
Beating Archangels to death with the Ruyi Jingu Bang.
The bound summons had nothing to do.
They just squatted together in one place and watched.
"I'm really curious."
"About what?"
"About Master Bong's transcendent summon."
"Hmm."
"I don't think the Great Sage Equal to Heaven is a transcendent bound summon."
At Kosak's words, everyone nodded.
In truth, rumors of transcendent-grade souls had existed for a long time.
If one were to guess, another sector?
Somewhere other than Sector S-17, perhaps.
But the descent of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven was not a summon.
The very form was different.
"No matter how transcendent, souls are supposed to come out, right? With created bodies."
"I think so as well. This is definitely not a transcendent summon."
The Sword Immortal was the same.
He couldn't be called a soul.
It didn't seem like he had a contract with the White Tower either.
They opened gates themselves and appeared.
And they all said the same thing.
Fate.
That they were connected by fate, that they heard the call.
Are these truly bound summons?
Anyone can tell they are not.
"The Three Principles probably won't apply either."
"I too find that very unsettling, but…."
"There's no need to worry. Look at them. They look like old friends."
That was true.
The two looked extremely close.
Even while dealing with Archangel split-bodies,
Juhyeok and the Great Sage chatted casually.
"Why did you end up doing delivery work?"
"I caused a bit of an incident. A big one."
Answering while maintaining Ruyi Jingu Bang cosmic defense.
Tsupupupupupup!
Jjaejaejaejaejaejaeng!
"What kind of incident…?"
"I got caught trying to steal peaches."
"Ah!"
So, theft.
If it's peaches, those must be immortal peaches.
But was stealing those really that big of a deal?
"We've started cultivating immortal peaches too. Want a few?"
"They're not immortal peaches. Do you think I'd commit such an act over something like that?"
"Then…."
Tsupupupupupup!
Pububububububuk!
"There's a precious fruit called the Heavenly Peach that even immortals can't eat."
Heavenly Peach?
Better than immortal peaches?
"Sounds delicious."
"It is. Eat one and you become an immortal instantly."
"Oh!"
It really made one's mouth water.
But to steal something so precious…
"It had an owner. I'm atoning for it by doing delivery work."
The Great Sage Equal to Heaven, now a repeat offender.
"Do you get paid for deliveries?"
"Of course. There are so many places money goes."
Tsupupupupupup!
Jjaejaejaejaejaejaeng!
"I have quite a lot of kids under me—the stone monkeys of Flower Fruit Mountain. If I'm going to buy them banana-flavored milk, I have to work hard."
"…Banana milk is tasty."
Juhyeok nodded.
The Great Sage was just like him.
A family man carrying the responsibility of feeding his household.
How heavy that burden must be.
Juhyeok signaled to Rajiks with his eyes.
Then—taeng! Panggeureureu
He rolled over quickly.
Sssst—opening the inventory, Rajiks discreetly offered a banana milk to the Great Sage.
"Oh! Thanks. What a fine spirit beast you are. I'll enjoy it."
"Hoeng!"
Tsupupupupupup!
Pububububububuk!
He casually dealt with the Archangels, popped the cap, and gulped it down.
"I'll pack you a lot more later. Enough for your family to eat and drink to their hearts' content."
"Mm, it's the thought that counts."
"Why? I'm not poor."
"Smuggling outside goods into the Immortal Realm is illegal."
"Ah…."
Unexpectedly law-abiding.
"But if you don't get caught—"
"It's not easy. I have a record already, so if I get caught again, the punishment is heavier."
Oh dear.
"If your record piles up, you can't even use the Immortal Realm shopping mall."
What a pity.
He'd given quite a lot to the Sword Immortal and Lord Yama as well.
'Are they okay?'
The Great Sage's expression grew gloomy.
Even so, his Ruyi Jingu Bang thrusts never stopped.
Automatic piston motion.
Tsupupupupupup!
Archangel split-bodies shattered one after another.
"I'll start wrapping this up."
"What? You're already doing that."
"There are too many. It's annoying, so I'll call the monkeys."
Clone bodies, perhaps?
"You wiped them all out earlier."
"Golden Stone Monkeys only show their real effectiveness when I summon them myself."
That made sense.
There was clearly a difference between the owner doing it personally and someone else doing it for him.
But still—
"Um, it already looks like you've lost a lot of fur… do you really have to…?"
The fur the Sword Immortal had given him.
Where had it come from?
It must have been plucked directly from the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.
Patches of exposed under-skin, traces of crude repairs here and there.
From there, how could he possibly pluck any more?
"Don't worry. I don't pluck it out. That Sword Immortal brat tore it off by force."
"..."
Guilt stabbed deep.
That fur had ended up with him.
Twice, at that.
"Normally, just shaking my body like this—"
The Great Sage's body trembled.
Parrrr— fur began falling.
"Any loose fur just falls out."
Pufff! Bang bang bang! Puff puff bang!
Golden Stone Monkeys multiplied without number.
The monkeys that came out from shaking his body were even bigger.
Their fur gleamed, and their eyes sparkled with life.
So that was how it worked.
There had been no need to pluck it out.
Guilt seeped in.
Juhyeok bore no small share of responsibility for the Great Sage's current state.
He must never ask for fur again.
A person had to have a conscience—how could he ask after seeing this?
"Alright, kids. Let's finish this quickly."
Waaaarrrr!
The golden monkeys rushed out at explosive speed.
And then, the Archangel slaughter began.
Torn apart, ripped, snapped, pierced, cut, shattered—
"…Wow!"
It was truly different.
The fur Juhyeok had thrown and the fur the Great Sage had shaken off were worlds apart.
'This is just…'
It was brutal.
Each monkey clone was at least Rursusaal-class.
And with their overwhelming numbers on top of that—
Right then!
A chill!
That icy sensation ran down from the crown of his head again.
"…!"
'Above?'
Spapapat!
Instinctive Shadow Stepping.
But—
Crunch!
It was already smashed down by the Great Sage's Ruyi Jingu Bang.
Crunch, crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!
An Archangel was being beaten senseless.
It must have flown up to ambush Juhyeok.
In truth, there had been no need to dodge.
Who was he standing next to right now?
"This one looks like the leader."
"Ah!"
It was different, alright.
The fact it had made it this far proved that.
Crunch, crunch, crunch!
With an indifferent expression, the Great Sage continuously pounded the Archangel's main body.
Of course, the thing couldn't even resist.
"It looks mechanical, but it's not simple. There seems to be a mix of energies… demonic energy, divine power, even dimensional force. In any case, it's composite."
Dimensional energy, fine.
But demonic energy and divine power?
Aren't those opposites?
How could they coexist?
"I'll do some laundry. Gotta squeeze all the energy out."
The Archangel's main body writhed on the ground.
Crack crack crack crack crack crack!
'Poor thing.'
It must have been transmitted from a pretty distant place just to kill him.
Crunch! Crack! Crack!
Now it was being treated like dirty laundry.
After beating it a few more times—
Chzzzt, chijijit, chichik!
Thunk!
The movements stopped.
Sssssssss—
The split bodies vanished instantly as well.
"Finished."
And thus, the Archangel threat was completely erased.
All thanks to the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.
"…Um, thank you very much. Truly."
Juhyeok bowed deeply, conveying his sincere gratitude.
"Hey, no need to thank me for something this small."
Something this small?
He'd almost died.
"I'll take a lap around here and head home."
"What? Why are you leaving? Stay a little longer. I'll give you proper hospitality—"
"Sorry. It's the thought that counts."
What a shame.
Was he really leaving just like that?
No matter what, still—
When would they meet again if he left now?
"My delivery calls are backed up. For most things I can send a clone, but for other dimensions I have to go myself."
Then—
Swoong!
The Great Sage summoned a cloud.
The bound summons all rushed over at once.
"Great Sage, it'd be disappointing if you leave like this."
"This one is a disciple of the Thousand-Year Fox Spirit Haeryeong. Since meeting like this is fate, please stay and share some words—"
"Victory! Second Lieutenant Veronica Caliber! I will serve you with utmost devotion!"
"Ho-e!"
"Great Sage, this old man is called the Mad Demon (狂魔). Please stay a bit longer and impart your teachings to this humble one—"
At that moment!
The Great Sage reacted to the Mad Demon's words.
"Mad Demon? Are you a martial artist?"
"Y-yes, I am."
"There's a 'Demon (魔)' in your name."
"It's just an empty title. There's also someone here called the Sword Demon (劍魔)."
"Hm. There's someone I know called the Poison Demon (毒魔) too."
Poison Demon?
All kinds of Demons.
Mad Demon, Sword Demon, Poison Demon.
"Mad Demon, did your world also have a Poison Demon?"
"…Of course it did."
"Really? What was the Poison Demon in your world like? From the Sichuan Tang Clan?"
The Mad Demon waved his hands frantically in denial.
"Not at all! He was filthy trash from the Five Poison Sect. Anyone who uses poison arts is like that, aren't they? Killing people with underhanded methods, poisoning wells, lacing alcohol with poison, sprinkling aphrodisiacs on innocent women, being hunted as a public enemy of the martial world—"
The Mad Demon was badmouthing the Poison Demon.
But the Great Sage looked pleased.
Grinning widely.
"Right? People with the name Poison Demon are almost always bad guys, right?"
"Of course. You can tell just by the epithet."
"Got it. I'll pass that along when I get back."
"…Pardon? Uh, to whom?"
"To the Poison Demon. That 'Poison Demon' is a name mostly given to despicable, cowardly trash—that the Mad Demon said so."
"..."
The Mad Demon suddenly felt uneasy.
Like he'd done something terribly wrong.
"Well then, if fate allows, we'll meet again. Take care."
There was no time to stop him.
Shwaaaaak!
The Somersault Cloud shot off like an arrow.
From the ground, the golden stone monkeys followed in a rush.
'He's gone.'
But they defeated the Archangel—why was there no achievement?
"..."
It was quiet.
It seemed there was none.
Then suddenly!
Taeng! Panggeureureu.
Rajiks came running over.
He pulled out a pickaxe and poked at the fallen Archangel.
"Hoeng!"
Sssst!
He stuffed it into subspace.
"Why are you putting that away?"
"Ho-ee."
What was he planning to use it for?
Well, since no achievement popped, taking a piece of loot didn't seem bad.
In a way, the Archangel itself might be a reward.
Now onto C?
Well, time to continue the mission.
At that moment!
Kosak glanced at Mackenzie.
"Elder Mack, did you happen to record that?"
No way.
Did he even have the presence of mind to film?
"Of course I did. How could I miss that?"
Oh!
"What? You filmed it in the middle of all that? We were going crazy just protecting the Summoner!"
"I-it's kind of instinctual…"
"You're a cameraman to the bone. From now on, hand in your mage resignation."
That was when it happened.
Ding!
A system message rang out.
[Dimensional Energy Storage Destroyed 1/145]
"Huh?"
What?
One got destroyed?
"Who destroyed a storage unit?"
Silence.
"No one?"
The bound summons just exchanged glances.
Then—
[Dimensional Energy Storage Destroyed 14/145]
"What the—"
[Dimensional Energy Storage Destroyed 32/145]
[Dimensional Energy Storage Destroyed 55/145]
[Dimensional Energy Storage Destroyed 83/145]
Storage units were being destroyed one after another.
Now that he thought about it—
From far away.
Kwa kwa kwa-bang! Kwa kwa kwa-bang!
Faint explosion sounds could be heard.
[Dimensional Energy Storage Destroyed 105/145]
Who could it be?
There was only one possibility.
[Dimensional Energy Storage Destroyed 127/145]
[Dimensional Energy Storage Destroyed 139/145]
Finally—
[Dimensional Energy Storage Destroyed 145/145]
Mission complete.
Ding!
[All Dimensional Energy Storage units have been destroyed.]
[You have completed the third stage of the Great Mission.]
[Rewards will be distributed.]
[A Bound Summon Upgrade Rune Bundle has been delivered to the Tower-exclusive inventory.]
Floor 93 cleared out of nowhere.
Ah, Great Sage—he could've just left.
Did he really have to be this helpful?
But the mission success messages didn't stop.
Ding, ding, ding.
They kept ringing.
Even though Floor 93 was already complete.
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