Sovereign of the Infinite Clones [Novel] Chapter 437

My Alter Ego’S Path To Greatness Chapter 437

***

Summoning (1)

At first glance, the residential district looked no different from a junkyard, with makeshift dwellings built by intertwining all sorts of collapsed debris.

“Then I’ll be off, Ramyu.”

“Cough, cough! Be careful, brother…”

A shabby young man stepped out of one of the shacks after being seen off by a small girl who was clearly sick.

It was still early, and dawn had only just begun to break, but for someone who lived from one day’s earnings to the next, it was only natural to move while there was still some light.

After all, the period during which it was bright enough to distinguish his surroundings with the naked eye was not very long.

‘We can’t afford to waste fuel when we barely have enough to eat.’

Liang, the young man carrying a large backpack, looked up at the sky as he hurried along.

The gray sky was riddled with cracks, with pieces of it having fallen away here and there.

Beyond those missing sections, a pitch-black abyss writhed ominously, and he hurriedly lowered his gaze.

“Whew, I need to be careful. If something happens to me too, there’ll be no one left to look after Ramyu.”

The fate of those who were enthralled by the abyss and driven mad was nothing but death.

According to the older adults, the sky had once been a clear, beautiful blue, but to someone who had seen nothing but this sky since birth, such a thing could only sound like a fairy tale.

‘I remember seeing a picture like that in a real storybook.’

He nodded as he recalled a picture book he had luckily obtained long ago.

His little sister had loved it dearly, to the point where she carried it around with her every single day.

Eventually, however, he had traded it for food, so he no longer had it.

‘We had run out of food back then, so I had no choice. I couldn’t give up the necklace that was our parents’ keepsake, either. …Still, I hope I can find another storybook this time.’

Recently, his little sister Ramyu had been growing increasingly weak.

He could not afford to take her to a healer, so if her condition worsened any further, she would be in serious danger.

If only he could bring home something she would enjoy as a gift, perhaps it would help lift her spirits…

Perhaps it was because he had ventured farther than usual with that thought in mind that—

“I found it!”

While rummaging through the ruins of the collapsed city in search of anything useful, he soon found a storybook.

And not just one or two, but an entire colorful set of children’s books. They were even in remarkably good condition, despite having supposedly been buried beneath the ruins for a long time.

That wasn’t all.

Perhaps luck was truly on his side today, because a pile of other items he would normally never find also turned up nearby.

‘This place is a gold mine! I can just search around here for the next few days.’

After thoroughly searching the surrounding area, he managed to fill his bag in only a few hours.

If he could find this much a few more times, he would be able to live comfortably for several months without worrying about every meal.

He might even be able to take his little sister to a healer…

‘Today really is my lucky day. Yeah, since it’s such a rare occasion, we’re having a rat-meat feast tonight. If Ramyu eats some meat, she’ll regain her strength.’

Liang covered the signs of his search by dragging nearby debris over the area he had rummaged through, and even left a mark that only he could recognize.

Then he stood up energetically.

Sunset was still a long way off, but with his bag already full, he decided to head home early today.

‘It has to be light for me to read her the storybook. I hope she’ll be happy.’

With that, Liang happily took a large step forward, delighted by the small stroke of luck that had come his way.

Crack—

At that very moment, he froze stiff at the ominous sound that suddenly rang out.

Though it wasn’t particularly loud, the sound was strangely clear.

It wasn’t coming from nearby.

Instinctively sensing where the sound had originated, he looked up at the sky without realizing it.

“Huh?”

The strength drained from his arms.

Thud—

The backpack hanging from his back fell heavily to the ground. The bag was filled with the small fortune that had come his way that day.

But he no longer cared about it. He sprinted forward with all his might.

“Ramyu—!!”

Toward the home where his little sister was waiting only for him.

Crackle— Crack!
Rumble—!!

Though night had not yet fallen, the world was gradually being swallowed by darkness.

Following the prelude to destruction that echoed across the entire world, not merely this region.

And so… The sky came crashing down.

***

A world that had been classified as a ‘Closed Dimension’ several years ago, even by Earth’s standards, Kosiyas.

Decades ago, heroes from all across the region had gathered to protect the world from a catastrophe, only for every last one of them to perish.

And now, the dimension that had been hurtling toward destruction with every passing moment had finally reached its end.

“It’s finally over.”

The ‘Last Messiah,’ who had desperately struggled to somehow keep the world intact, had fallen.

There was no one left capable of stopping him.

Thanks to that, the Lord of the Beoncheon Society, who had been able to enter this place once again by ignoring the dimension’s resistance, looked down at his palm and nodded in satisfaction.

An overwhelming sense of omnipotence surged endlessly through him. And having finally reaped the seeds he had painstakingly sown, how could he not be pleased?

[…Devourer of Dimensions. You actually…]

He slightly raised his gaze at the voice calling out to him and looked at the figure standing before him.

A being with golden hair and golden eyes that seemed to emit light of its own.

Though nothing but darkness surrounded them, the one standing before him continued to exist with a vivid presence, ignoring all the laws of the world.

“Hah, what a shame. You put up quite a fight, but this is as far as you go. Well, you’ve done everything you could, so I suppose you have no regrets?”

[You bastard…!]

At the Lord’s mocking words, fierce anger erupted from the other’s body.

It was not some kind of energy.

Everything that made up this world, from physical matter to even abstract concepts, revealed its hostility and sharpened itself in an attempt to expel the invader.

“It’s useless.”

[Urgh!]

But that violent reaction did not last long.

With a casual wave of the Lord’s hand, the world twisted and warped before gathering into a single point and becoming firmly fixed in place.

He had already secured causality by claiming more than half of the dimension’s influence. There was simply no way to oppose him.

Unlike when he had been constrained, he could now wield his full power, making him nothing short of a god.

Even if his opponent was an incarnation of the god worshiped throughout this world, it made no difference.

No, if his opponent possessed divinity as well…

“Let’s finish this. I’m a rather busy man, you see. I have to keep moving diligently if I’m going to make up for the losses I suffered recently.”

[Unacceptable! It cannot end like this…!]

It would simply make for a hearty meal.

[Gaahk!]

“You’ve become much more human after declining like this. You look much better than before.”

The Lord of the Beoncheon Society casually drove the edge of his hand into the incarnation’s chest and slowly pulled something out.

A radiant golden crystal of divinity.

It contained everything belonging to the being that had been worshiped for countless years as the one true god of Kosiyas.

“Well, this should be enough…”

Amid the collapsing world, he used the divinity in his hand as a medium and instantly absorbed the karma scattered throughout the dimension.

He then took a deep breath.

Turning toward the gaze of the Administrator watching him, he curled his lips into a mocking smile.

The Administrator, sometimes called the Supreme God in certain worlds, was essentially a system that maintained the dimension.

Since he had acquired causality through legitimate means, there was no way for the Administrator to punish him, even if he killed a god or destroyed the world.

In truth, the game had already ended the moment the ‘Last Messiah,’ its final means of resistance, fell.

‘Everything I needed to do here is finished.’

The Kosiyas dimension was finished.

Soon, this place would disappear completely, and before long, everything within it would return to nothingness.

Using his perception as a god to survey the entire world, he gathered up the few remaining followers of his.

Then he turned around. The moment he took a light step and crossed the boundary of the dimension—

“Hmm.”

His vision shook, and the omnipotence that had filled his body vanished completely in an instant.

The causality that had been freely unleashed now constricted his entire body, while countless restrictions latched onto him, disrupting his near-omniscient perception.

It felt as though he were looking at the world through clouded eyes while wearing a straitjacket.

Perhaps because this was no longer anything new to him, the Lord of the Beoncheon Society accepted the sensation with ease and immediately began dealing with the matters that had piled up in his absence.

Since he had finally returned to Earth after some time away, he intended to check what had happened while he was gone and issue new orders.

But then—

“Huh?”

The satisfaction in his eyes, still brimming with the gains he had just obtained, suddenly vanished.

Thinking he might have seen it wrong, he even summoned the Oracle to confirm the matter. The result was even more absurd.

“Not only was the Southeast Asian branch annihilated… but the Executioner too?”

-I apologize, Lord.

The Oracle immediately began by apologizing as though deeply ashamed.

The Lord narrowed his eyes at the response and slowly looked around.

‘…The growth of our occupancy rate has been halted.’

No matter what, Earth was his most important stronghold.

Stealing divinity and drawing energy from other dimensions was merely a means to an end.

Although the existence of an obstacle had caused some setbacks recently, he had trusted his subordinates to handle things after all the progress they had made.

Yet things had ended up like this.

‘The Masquerade…’

An adversary challenging the stronghold of the Beoncheon Society, which he had painstakingly built over such a long period.

Now that they had begun operating as an organized force in earnest, it seemed he would need to tighten discipline once again in order to respond effectively.

And so, immediately after the monster that had devoured yet another world returned—

All of the Beoncheon Society’s executives scattered across Earth were summoned.

***

After Harley launched a surprise attack on the headquarters of the Poison Sword Sect.

The Guardian investigation team, which had been steadily tightening the noose as they continued their pursuit, soon arrived there as well.

Though they were known to operate somewhat inefficiently due to various restrictions, the Guardians were nevertheless an exceptionally capable organization that was difficult to replace.

No matter how insignificant an ability might be, once the synergy of people who had survived in various worlds was added to the mix, it could never be underestimated.

Moreover, as an organization belonging to the ‘Returnee Association,’ which essentially represented the rights of all returnees, its pool of direct talent—as well as the capabilities of external personnel they could call upon for assistance—was beyond imagination.

‘They said our new employees were able to track down those bastards’ trail much more easily thanks to how actively they stepped in.’

Without them, it would have been difficult to identify the mastermind so quickly.

Capturing the person behind everything would have been even more difficult.

In many ways, their performance was more than enough to justify the taxes being paid.

‘I should probably donate some additional funding to them.’

And so, while the Guardians and the agents from the Criminal Investigation Division who had assisted with the investigation in various ways stormed into the Poison Sword Sect’s headquarters and took the Black Yacha, Kwon Cheolyong, into custody—

Harley, who had arrived a step ahead of them, was already casually leaving the scene.

With the genuine shadow monster safely secured in his possession.

[Urgh, how did you manage to track me down so quickly? And who the hell are you? Don’t tell me the Blood Alliance really had another Transcendent besides Phantom…!]

“Khaahahaha! What’s this? Is it introduction time? Well, I don’t mind, but there’s a more convenient way. Just hang in there a little longer.”

The shadow, Black Shadow, being carried around like a piece of luggage, squeezed out his questions.

But Harley simply laughed heartily and continued running toward a secluded area.

After a while, when the man still refused to give up and continued trying to escape, Harley bonked him on the head and made him behave.

Eventually, he arrived at his destination and casually tossed the man he was carrying onto the ground.

[Urgh!]

Naturally, the man immediately transformed into shadow and attempted to flee again. But…

“Enough.”

In the presence of the person already waiting there, all of his efforts were futile.

[Ugh… Damn it… Phantom, Heinz…!]

“So you still haven’t given up. Impressive. I suppose that’s to be expected of someone who has reached the very edge of the Extreme.”

There was no way he could escape with the two of them standing right beside him.

Watching him continue to scan his surroundings with a sharp gaze, Heinz II murmured in admiration.

Thinking once again that choosing this method had been the right decision.

[What are you doing…?!]

“Stay still. It’ll be over soon.”

He then grabbed the man’s neck with one hand and concentrated his [Refined Blood Crystal] at the tip of his fingernails.

[You… you bastard, don’t tell me!]

Feeling something foreign digging into his neck, The Black Shadow’s eyes widened in alarm.

Realizing what his opponent was attempting, he gritted his teeth and glared at Heinz.

[It’s useless! I’m immune to all toxins. Unless you kill me outright, even a Level 9 Vampire who has reached Transcendence won’t be able to corrupt me!]

Indeed, turning him into a vampire was not particularly easy.

As one advanced in rank, resistance to such things naturally increased, and he also possessed immunity abilities he had developed as an assassin.

‘Of course, that would only be true if I were an ordinary vampire with Holy Blood.’

Resistance? Immunity?

Who cared?

Unless one had reached Transcendence and broken free from the limitations of existence itself, the resistance of someone who had not yet crossed that wall was meaningless before his Divine Blood.

[Urgh! How…? This can’t be—!]

Only then did he realize that something was terribly wrong, and his pupils began trembling in panic.

But by then, it was far too late.

[……!]

The vampiric factor that had infiltrated his entire body began to rewrite the foundation of his cells from the very roots.

The energy dormant throughout his body was transformed into Blood Mana, while restrictions originating from his bloodline firmly took root within his once-unyielding mind.

‘The amount of energy required to create a vampire on Earth is roughly ten times greater than in another world. And when you take into account the energy required to neutralize resistance according to the target’s level…’

That was why he had refrained from recklessly increasing the number of his blood kin until now.

Changing the allegiance of an existing vampire was one thing, but changing someone’s entire species consumed far too much blood essence.

‘Well, doing it once in a while shouldn’t matter.’

Especially since the abilities possessed by this particular man seemed extremely useful.

And there was something he absolutely needed to hear from him.

And so, after a short while… A new vampire was added to the Heterosis, the bloodline on Earth.

Along with some intriguing new information that made his ears perk up.

“The Black Dragon Society? If we play this right…”