“Haa…haa…haa…” Creutz felt like he was going to die from exhaustion. He was suffering from following Yeon-woo in his heavy armor. Initially, he’d been planning to ride his wyvern but he couldn’t summon it, and he could barely catch up to Yeon-woo as he ran.

He wanted to give up and wait for Yeon-woo outside the hidden stage, but he ended up following him because he was curious what the Hoarder was trying to accomplish. Fortunately, he seemed to be resting at the moment, working on something with the Lich that always accompanied him.

‘Anyway, I still can’t get used to this place.’ Creutz frowned as he looked around at the land that was made up of pieces of flesh. The rotting corpses released toxic smells and poisons, and there were maggots everywhere. How many people had died here? He couldn’t pause while walking because his feet would start sinking into the swamp of corpses.

It was a place where anyone would be nauseated and stressed, and for Creutz, this gate was the most horrible of them all. He had been reciting prayers continuously to push away the deadly energy and avoid being poisoned. However, it seemed like these efforts weren’t enough, and Yeon-woo didn’t look like he was going to be done any time soon.

‘I should make a barrier.’

Urrrng, urrrng! Zulfikar kept crying out, expressing its displeasure.

“I’m sorry.” With that apology, Creutz planted Zulfikar into the ground and knelt. Urrrng! The holy sword trembled as it emanated holy power, sweeping away poisons and toxins as it erected a barrier.

* * *

Kyaa! Kraahh! Aaagh!

All kinds of ghoulish screams rang out in the air. ‘It’s so tumultuous.’ Yeon-woo frowned at the headache he was getting. Too much information was flooding into his head at the same time. Since the vestiges were of players who’d died suffering, it hurt when they flooded into his head.

Fortunately, thanks to his Demonic Dragon Body and Time Difference, he was only dizzy for a second. Yeon-woo wasn’t someone ghosts could harm. ‘Still, it’s just so loud.’ He clucked his tongue as he looked at the crying vestiges.

Although he had only chosen the souls of those who had died in the past 200 years, there were still so many of them, at least thousands. It would be difficult to comb through the information to look for any that pertained to the Apostles of the three Cyclops brothers. However, he had no other choice.

[Time Difference]

He slowed down the time and began to check each of the vestiges. It was a dreary, monotonous act to pick out the strong souls. ‘Anyone who is related to the three Cyclops brothers will have a high level.’

Still, it was complicated by the fact that anyone who made it to the sixth gate was likely someone who’d already reached a high level when they were still alive. Also, the souls had a lot to say since it had been a long time since they’d met anyone who wanted to listen.

After a long time, Yeon-woo discovered a vestige that glowed more brightly than the others. ‘I found it.’ He could feel the intensity of Hermes’ and Athena’s gazes grow stronger. That meant it was a soul related to Olympus.

He poured Consciousness into the vestige, and a few scenes flashed by his eyes.

“Run! We shouldn’t let them see this!”

‘Hm? Are they being chased by something?’ In the memories of the vestige, he saw three people running frantically. The heat and a monstrous aura around them made Yeon-woo realize that they were the Apostles of the three Cyclops brothers who were heading into Tartarus at Hades’ orders.

They kept looking behind them as they held something in their arms carefully. A shadow-like being was chasing after them. The feeling of pursuit they had had at the second gate had grown by the fourth gate, and now, at the sixth gate, the being was openly following them and seemed about to swallow them all.

“This won’t do. At this rate, the item will be taken from us. Hades, Tartarus, and the stages above will be in danger. Middle brother, youngest brother, I’ll try to delay it for as long as I can so that you guys can take this to Lord Hades.” The oldest took off the hooded cloak he was wearing and handed it to the middle brother. The faces of the other Apostles grew desperate.

“But…Brother…!”

“Brother!”

“Don’t argue! Are you trying to mess everything up?”

“Heuk!”

“Remember: no matter what happens, this item must not be taken from you. Do whatever you can to get it to Lord Hades. Relay every detail of what has happened. Only then can we live…!”

The middle and the youngest Apostles quickly ran to the next gate with tears in their eyes. The oldest looked after them with sad eyes for a moment and turned to the shadow with a vicious smile. “Titans and Giants? We won’t be played by those damned beings again!”

‘Titans? Giants?’ Yeon-woo’s eyes widened. The Titans and Giants were all beings who had been trapped in Tartarus after struggling with the current gods of Olympus for power. Why was the Apostle talking about them? ‘And what object are they protecting?’

The oldest brother put his hands together and began to recite a spell. Elaborate Effects burst out under his feet, and a column of brilliant white light descended. A Giant appeared behind him. The Cyclops he served, Brontes, the patron of blacksmiths who had gifted Astrape to Zeus, had descended. He let out a roar.

Thunder and lighting crashed down on the shadow. Yeon-woo borrowed the oldest brother’s sight to look at the monster chasing after them. At that moment, the vestige cracked. Boom!

Yeon-woo was about to turn around to ask Boo what happened when a message appeared.

[You have seen part of the truth.]

[The hidden conditions have been satisfied. A surprise event is activating.]

‘Event?’ The sixth gate shook, but it wasn’t anything like the earthquake that occurred when Boo had awakened the ghosts. ‘Something’s coming up.’ Yeon-woo looked down at the ground beneath his feet. The pieces of flesh seemed to be boiling, and an even more horrendous stench began to rise.

Poison and acid poured on him like rain, sweeping away the pieces of flesh. Even with the detox bead in his mouth, Yeon-woo couldn’t withstand them. The difficulty level of the gate had increased exponentially.

[You are facing extreme conditions!]

[You have been afflicted with the status ‘Poison’.]

[You have been afflicted with the status ‘Poison’.]

……

[You have been afflicted with the status ‘Heavy Poison’.]

[Your trait, Cold-blooded, has helped you maintain composure.]

[The status ‘Heavy Poison’ has been removed. You have developed greater resistance to poison.]

Something was trying to emerge from underground after thousands of years of being buried. His Extrasensory Perception could see that it was about sevent meters long. The level it exuded was as great as its size. ‘It’s coming!’ Yeon-woo spread his Fire Wings open and flew up to the sky.

At that moment, something exploded out, pieces of flesh blasting out as though a volcano had erupted. A large hand emerged, and the monster revealed itself. It was even larger than Yeon-woo had thought. It was so gruesome that it would make anyone who looked at it feel horror and disgust. It looked like a creature made up of clumps of thousands of ghosts, and faces pushed through its skin, screaming as they tried to escape.

“Kill…me…!”

“Save me…!”

“Why? Why…am I…”

“Come with me…! With me…!”

The ghosts couldn’t escape from the body of the monster and screamed curses as poisonous energy scattered around them.

‘It’s the monster that I saw in the vestige’s memories.’ The aura it exuded was immense. ‘It’s at least as powerful as mine.’ Was it because it was a monster related to Tartarus? Its aura wasn’t normal, and it was possibly more dangerous than Yeon-woo. The poison and grudges it contained might even make those who merely approached it grow weak.

However, there was an even bigger problem. ‘It’s not the only one.’ More ghost monsters squirmed to the surface. Yeon-woo realized the fight wouldn’t be easy. Were the strange occurrences in Tartarus that Hades had spoken of related to this?

The ghost monster extended a rough hand towards Yeon-woo. Yeon-woo quickly pulled out Vigrid from the subspace and swung. Boom!

“Ugh!” Unable to withstand the impact, Yeon-woo landed on the ground. The ghost monster was stronger than he thought. He felt a horrible pain, as though his body were going to crack. The toxic stench and the poison he landed on made it worse. Pieces of flesh splattered as he put his hands in the ground. “Domain Declaration.”

He managed to raise himself up and release his power. Dragon scales grew on his body, and he projected his Consciousness onto his surroundings, releasing the Goddess’ Stigmata, Wicked Devil, and the Sea King Stone at the same time. Boom!

The fist of the ghost giant came flying at him again, and Yeon-woo lifted Vigrid once more. Their strengths were equal now, and he wasn’t flicked away. Black Aura exploded, and the fist of the ghost monster cracked and shattered.

The ghost monster roared angrily and tried to bring its other fist down on Yeon-woo’s head.

「You…dare!」 Before it could smash Yeon-woo, the space around him split, and Boo appeared, his Inferno Sight blazing in fury. He had been busy controlling the vestiges of the ghosts, but he manifested because it was unacceptable that a mere ghost would attempt to attack his master. 「Die!」

Boom! Boom! Boo stretched his arms out. When he spread his skeletal hands, something exploded next to the ghost monster’s head, blowing off half of its head. The ghost monster stepped back, shaking, and Boo kicked off from the ground, casting magic spells one after the other. Magic circles appeared in the air with elaborate Effects, as powerful as Doctor Doom’s signature Random Magic Circles. Boom! Boom!

The ghost monster was pushed back by the continuous explosions. Although its level was high, Boo was superior. Yeon-woo’s shadow stretched out, and Shanon and Hanryeong dashed forward to deal with the other ghost monsters that had broken through the ground.

「Ahahaha! It’s a fight! Woohoo!」

「Let’s finish this quickly.」

The two Death Nobles seemed excited by the fact that they could fight without holding back. Rebecca had also returned to her human form and was already fighting.

In the sky above, Nemesis appeared and locked everyone into darkness. 『Dreams…dusk.』 As the black emptiness descended, Yeon-woo’s domain was strengthened. The ghost monsters paused as they emerged from the ground.

『Me too! I wanna join, too!』 Nike spread his wings open gracefully. Swoosh! Nike transformed into blue fire and began to run around. The ghost monsters screamed as the fire spread over them.

The two Legendary Beasts turned the gate into their stage as if to show off the strength they’d gained after sleeping in the Philosopher’s Stone for such a long time.

* * *

『What is…?』 The soul began to blink. The Apostle of the Cyclops Brontes couldn’t understand what was happening. He was sure he’d died, so how was his consciousness still present?

“Are you awake?” A black mask appeared in front of Aldin, who stepped back instinctively. He saw his reflection in the dark eyes behind the mask, eyes whose gaze seemed like chains binding him.