The Demon Realm copied onto the 91st floor.
This was not a Great Journey mission.
It wasn't a mission that required moving elsewhere—it was carried out entirely within the 91st floor itself.
It was different from Earth #675 and Earth #1001.
With the tower floor renewal, everything had been completely changed.
Because of that, there were no messages at all related to the Great Journey mission.
No name disclosure, no requests for encouragement, no gifts of trait enhancement runes.
Also, they hadn't pasted the entire Demon Realm.
Only a very small portion had been copied.
According to Diamat, who had once been a lord,
the Demon Realm continent had over thirty demon race territories.
The ones who ruled those territories were Demon Kings (Ban King).
Which meant there were more than thirty Demon Kings.
Of course, not all thirty would appear.
Then what was the difference between a lord and a Demon King?
Simple.
If you ruled territory, you were a Demon King.
If you only had forces, you were a lord.
Dantalion was a Demon King.
No matter how much of a weak, cliché punching-bag he was,
a Demon King still possessed an army.
In other words, to kill Dantalion, they had to face the Demon Realm army.
But what was so difficult about that?
Tankers, healers, ranged attackers, workers, holy, flame, ice-type, martial arts, aura, aerial, buff, shamanism.
All kinds of bound summons—twenty-seven of them in total.
On top of that, Juhyeok had experience wiping out great demons and Demon Realm armies in the real Demon Realm, not a copy.
The 91st-floor conquest ended in an instant.
Then on to the 92nd floor.
Ttirring!
[92nd-floor mission: Defeat the Demon Realm Demon King (To King) Bune.]
Bune?
The wind blows—Bune.
Fly away, Bune.
Mission complete.
….
93rd floor.
Ttring!
[93rd-floor mission: Defeat the Demon Realm Demon King (Deut King) Paimon.]
Go! Py—no, Paimon.
Mission complete.
Today's last one.
94th floor.
[94th-floor mission: Defeat the Demon Realm Demon King (Deut King) Agares.]
Agares.
Aga—kid, goodbye.
Then came the world announcement.
[World Announcement: Black Tower of South Korea, 94th Floor Cleared! A South Korean player has conquered the Black Tower's 94th-floor mission with miraculous ability, earning an EX rank.]
The reward?
Since it was the equivalent of a 90th floor, a supreme-grade mana stone came out as the reward.
"They're bland since they're copies."
"Even if they were the originals, what would be difficult? You're the one who dealt with great demons, young master."
That's right.
There wasn't much to do.
Those Black Tower bastards—
Did they really think so little of people?
No matter how rushed the renewal was, all they did was paste the Demon Realm on?
"Looks like they've run out of content."
"If there's no change or growth, all that remains is stagnation."
"You think the Black Tower didn't think things through? Their only mistake was meeting a summoner."
"True. If not for the summoner, everyone would've fallen somewhere below the 80th floor."
Tomorrow, up to the 99th floor.
The day after tomorrow, the climb to the 100th floor.
Earth #843 would soon be finished.
Saving three parallel-universe worlds in total.
By the way, what was the main base and that artificially created God of Gluttony doing right now?
They were probably furious.
"Let's head out now."
"Yes, sir!"
We ran too hard today.
Calling it five times a day didn't really capture it.
Let's rest properly.
The repercussions of the 90th-floor conquest and the sink-out sealing event were bigger than expected.
Compared to other Earths, the scale was different.
It couldn't be helped.
Earth #675 was already ruined.
There was no one left to rejoice.
On Earth #1001, there were only two sinkholes left.
There hadn't even been a sink-out wave.
People were happy, sure, but not to the point of jumping around.
But Earth #43?
Almost every country had one or two sinkholes, at minimum.
The mana in the atmosphere had exceeded the critical point,
and they were facing sink-out waves where monsters climbed out of the holes.
The joy felt by the people of Earth #43 was enormous.
A world that was on the brink of destruction had come back to life.
The reaction was explosive.
And it looked like it would last a very long time.
Because of that, it was only natural that global attention focused on the parallel-universe player.
How could people not be curious?
Calls flooded into the Daejeon Joint Chiefs of Staff headquarters.
Who is he?
Can we interview him?
Please, can't we just take a single photo from far away?
But Juhyeok had no intention of exposing himself to the media.
He wasn't going to live here long-term anyway.
Once the Black Tower was completely conquered, he'd go home.
This place—he could drop by occasionally.
After taking a short rest at the White Tower,
Juhyeok came out to his temporary residence, the Daejeon Joint Chiefs headquarters.
To get some fresh air and talk with Commander Jeon Seong-il.
But then Kosak said—
"I'm gonna step out and grab an iced Americano."
Why was this guy making things feel uneasy again?
"Isn't there a café inside the headquarters?"
"My taste buds are Star—Beans."
"What's so good about coffee that tastes burnt?"
"That's the charm, isn't it?"
"Fine. But—"
"I absolutely won't cause any accidents."
At least he knew people were worried.
After allowing Kosak to go out,
Juhyeok met Commander Jeon Seong-il.
"In two days, it'll all be over. I'm going up to the 100th floor."
"Ah… I still can't quite grasp it…"
Jeon Seong-il's face was flushed red, as if he still hadn't calmed down.
A complete Black Tower conquest.
Was it really happening?
"It's nothing special. There's something called a crystal core—grab it with your hand, gain tower management authority, and it's over."
The administrators would be fired.
And the method of dismissal was death.
"Please inform the other countries in advance too. Unnecessary towers will be deleted. For example, countries with more than one tower will be left with only one."
The words were scattered, but Jeon Seong-il nodded unconsciously.
If this man said he'd do it, it would happen.
"… Um, what about China and Japan?"
"Well."
Originally, he had planned to delete their towers as well.
But half of Mount Baekdu and the Gando region lingered in his mind.
And Tsushima too—land he hadn't managed to reclaim in the other world.
To be honest, his mind had changed.
Because of an incident Kosak caused.
"Unification is coming soon. So if things go smoothly, I'd like to receive the land."
"Ah! Y-yes, unification? I see—unification… wait, what?"
Jeon Seong-il jumped in shock.
Had he heard that wrong?
"U-unification? What do you mean?"
"You'll be contacted by North Korea soon. About unification. Internal preparations are already underway there. Once that's done—"
"Uh…"
Jeon Seong-il looked completely lost.
He knew this.
That unification was already being carried out on Earth #1001 by Summoner Bong.
But here?
On Earth #843, Chairman Kim Il-jung was infamous for his extreme lust for power.
He used all national assets to maintain his dictatorship.
His control over players was so severe it made people sick.
He even committed atrocities like implanting explosive devices in people's necks without hesitation.
"This Earth's North Korea should be different. That dictator is exceptionally ruthless."
Jeon Seong-il spoke carefully.
"They're the same. This side and that side."
"No, even in parallel universes, just like you and Commissioner Jeon Gwang-il are different, the chairman here and the chairman there should be different people."
"No. They're the same. One person."
"… Excuse me?"
One person?
"This Earth's Chairman Kim Il-jung is already dead. The person appearing on TV now isn't Kim Il-jung—it's Kim In-jung."
What?
"Chairman Kim In-jung was brought over from Earth #1001. You can think of it as a quiet regime change. He'll take care of everything."
Good heavens.
This wasn't admiration—it was outright shock.
How did they even—
'… Actually, it might've been easier than expected.'
Just looking at Kosak, who'd casually gone out to buy coffee, made it obvious.
Who could stop that man?
The White House, the Blue House—no matter how secure, if he wanted in, he'd get in.
"Oh! Summoner Bong."
"Yes?"
"Thanks to you, the President has fully recovered. He said he'd like to meet you personally sometime—"
But right at that moment!
Spapapapap!
Kosak came rushing back, out of breath, after supposedly buying coffee.
"S-Summoner Bong!"
What?
Did something urgent happen?
"It's huge."
Huge?
Did he win the lottery or something?
"In front of the Joint Chiefs headquarters' Star—Beans, there are suspicious people everywhere."
How was that huge?
And what made them suspicious?
"I thought a world expo was being held. Foreigners of all races, players, some in disguise, some with in-ear devices muttering nonstop—total chaos."
Jeon Seong-il immediately understood.
"They're probably people gathering to dig up your identity, Summoner Bong. Reporters, intelligence agents, things like that."
Ah.
That made sense.
Even just looking at the news, everything was about uncovering his identity.
"Should I take care of it? I could send awakened-force players to disperse them—"
At those words, Kosak jumped in alarm.
"N-no! Don't do that. Why would you get rid of a gold mine?"
"… Excuse me?"
"Just ignore it. I'll handle everything."
Tsk, tsk, tsk.
Kosak's grin was splitting his face in half.
How happy must he be?
So many cliché-triggering elements gathered in one place—right within arm's reach.
"Summoner Bong."
Kosak spoke in a low, cautious voice.
"I have a favor to ask."
That sounds ominous.
"Uh… what kind of favor?"
"Could you lend me Honghoro just once?"
"What for…?"
"The biggest gold mine—ah, no, I mean, I'll catch a wanted criminal."
A wanted criminal?
What is this about now?
"Well, here's how it is—"
Kosak went on to explain.
Among the suspicious people gathered at the Star—Beans café near the Joint Chiefs headquarters, there was one especially strange individual.
A foreigner wearing sunglasses and a mask.
He looked extremely anxious, staring endlessly toward the headquarters.
"He was a player. I checked his mana level nearby—it was pretty high. The highest I've seen among players on Earth #843."
That is strange.
If even Kosak reacted like this, the guy must be a top-tier national-level player.
"And didn't we just clear the 90th floor today? Player abilities in reality haven't disappeared yet."
He might be dangerous.
So Kosak took a closer look—and realized he'd seen him before.
"I recognized him immediately. Lumitri Romenkoff. An internationally wanted criminal."
Lumitri?
The former richest man and top player—the one who triggered the Curse of Kabalon by reaching the 70th floor?
The man suspected of sharing the same soul as Dmitri, the black-market boss of Earth #1001.
Their faces were similar.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, sir!"
Commander Jeon Seong-il reacted as well.
"Ah! I remember now. I received a report that someone claiming to be Lumitri's secretary requested a call with the parallel-universe top player."
"Really?"
"Yes. I ignored it. Firmly told them not to say such ridiculous things."
Why would he come to Korea?
Kosak answered Juhyeok's unspoken question.
"You can tell just by looking."
"What can you tell?"
"He's the guy who failed to catch Kabalon, right?"
That was true.
And he'd been torn apart by public criticism because of it.
"But Summoner Bong lifted the Curse of the Average—and even completed the sink-out sealing event. World announcements ringing nonstop, miraculous feats of the parallel-universe player… Lumitri must've been crushed by self-loathing."
Hmm.
"There's no way he wouldn't feel jealous. 'Why him and not me? Why am I cursed with hate while that guy gets praise?' Rage and inferiority must've turned Lumitri's eyes blood-red."
It sounded plausible.
"And then, while he's writhing in agony, a demon suddenly appears and whispers: 'Do you want power?' 'Yes.' 'Then offer your soul.' 'I offer my soul—give me power!'"
…What kind of scenario is this?
"Blinded by jealousy, Lumitri gains demonic power and appears in Korea—to do something to you, Summoner Bong."
A full web-novel plot in seconds.
"So you want to catch him using Honghoro?"
"That's right. Preemptive action is best, isn't it?"
"We could've just brought him quietly."
"There are too many eyes watching."
Don't joke, Kosak.
You've got another motive.
"You just want to try using Honghoro, don't you?"
"… Uh, well, that is—"
Got him.
You wanted to try it.
Well, no reason not to.
Juhyeok untied the small gourd hanging at his waist and handed it over.
"Here. Take it. Be careful."
"Thank you! I'll bring him right back."
Juhyeok was curious too.
Why would a man wanted by the U.S. government come here?
A short while later—
Spot!
Kosak returned surprisingly quickly.
Did he fail?
"Success. He's inside."
That was fast.
—
A space like seven-sided confinement.
Perfect darkness.
A sealed zone where nothing could be done.
Lumitri was overwhelmed by creeping terror.
Where was this place?
He had come to Korea to meet the world's greatest parallel-universe player.
To thank him—for lifting the guilt weighing on his heart.
He was wanted by the U.S. government, but using a polymorph item and a passport under another name, he boarded a plane.
And then, the moment he arrived—
The 90th floor was cleared?
The sinkhole waves were ending?
Ahhhh!
The guilt faded once more.
How grateful he was.
He truly wanted to meet him.
So the moment he landed at Incheon Airport, he headed straight for Daejeon, where the man was said to be.
His secretary was already in contact with the Martial Law Command—requesting a meeting with the parallel-universe player, or at least a phone call.
If he waited at a nearby café, he should hear back soon.
He waited.
And waited.
Eventually, he needed to use the restroom and stepped into the café bathroom.
"Lumitri Romenkoff?"
Someone called his name from behind.
They know me?
Without thinking—
"… Yes?"
The moment he answered, pitch-black darkness swallowed him whole.
When he came to his senses, he was in something like a prison.
Nothing.
Was this hell?
Panic gripped him.
What should he do?
Then—
A voice rang in his ears.
—Lumitri, come out!
"Huh?"
Swoosh!
His body was pulled out—
And at the same time—
"You wretch, you have confessed your own sins!!!"
What?
That sounded like Korean.
In an instant—
Tsppit!
An unknown force wrapped around his body and vanished.
Spot!
"What… was that?"
—
Juhyeok was using the Judge's Hammer in an interrogation room of the Joint Chiefs Military Police, provided by Commander Jeon Seong-il.
First, he needed to see what sins Lumitri had committed.
Power spread outward.
But—
"… Huh?"
Something felt off.
The Judge's Hammer normally showed visions of sins and restrained the target.
But the restraint didn't work.
The hammer's power wrapped around Lumitri—then quickly faded.
The visions appeared normally, though.
Yet nothing that could truly be called a grave sin appeared.
Well, everyone commits sins.
That doesn't make them all villains.
Sins have weight—light and heavy.
Only heavy sins turn someone into a villain.
Otherwise, they're just ordinary people.
Lumitri was exactly that.
Fights with friends as a child.
Sneaking money from his parents' wallet.
Public urination.
Breaking traffic rules.
Later, smoking marijuana due to peer pressure.
Sins, perhaps—but trivial ones.
"Too minor…"
Scenes from after he became a player appeared as well.
Declaring he'd completely conquer the Black Tower—despite U.S. government opposition—and climbing it anyway.
His intention?
To gain respect and popularity by conquering the Tower.
"He was just an attention seeker."
That was all.
He was far from being a villain.
Scenes of him triggering the Curse of Kabalon and locking himself away, writhing in guilt.
"… That's sad."
"He's pitiful."
"Didn't you say he sold his soul to a demon?"
"… Maybe that comes later?"
It didn't.
Instead, scenes of him cheering when the Curse of the Average ended.
Scenes of him feeling relieved at the success of the Noli Weapon and golems.
"What? He's not a bad guy at all."
"… Tch."
Kosak looked deeply disappointed, as if his expectations had been betrayed.
The vision continued.
Likely from just before Lumitri came to Korea.
Sssht.
Lumitri took out three tiny stone fragments from his inventory and muttered to himself.
—They're pearls before swine to me. There's someone else who should use them. They'd help the parallel-universe player far more. Should I give them as a gift? Would he accept?
"Hyuk!"
Good heavens!
Trait Enhancement Runes.
That was why he came to Korea?
To give those as a gift?
Three more trait enhancement runes—
That would mean… thirty simultaneous summons?
"Oh no!"
"I—I really messed up. Treating him like a criminal without knowing…"
The U.S. government really are bastards.
Putting out a warrant on someone this decent?
Honestly, what did he do wrong?
All he did was reach the 70th floor first.
"What are you doing? Help him up already!"
"Y-yes, sir!"
Kosak rushed over.
He quickly helped Lumitri to his feet.
Juhyeok also hurried forward, grabbing his hand firmly.
"Oh my—Lumitri, are you alright? You must've been terrified."
"W-who are you…?"
"I'm Bong Juhyeok. I came from a parallel universe."
A distinguished guest.
Isn't a full-course welcome the least we can do?
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