Chapter 215 – Revelation (1)  

“This doesn’t look like the Pyongyang we visited before.”  

I shared Seung-ah’s thoughts.  

The Pyongyang we had seen when rescuing the hero a while ago was already vastly different from the city I remembered from my past life, but now, it wasn’t just different—it was unrecognizable.  

I hadn’t noticed it until we passed Mangyongdae Park at the western edge of Pyongyang.  

But after evading the monsters slaughtering the undead and entering the city proper along the Taedong River, it became clear that the city had completely transformed.  

The residential areas and factory zones on the western outskirts still looked similar to before, but further in, near the city center where the Ryugyong Hotel stood, it no longer resembled a city at all.  

“There were definitely shorter buildings here before…”  

“Now, that tall building is the only one left,” Seung-ah said.  

Yerim pointed at the solitary structure. Last time, the Ryugyong Hotel had been visible behind other moderately tall buildings. Now, while the hotel still towered over everything, the buildings that had once stood in front of it were gone.  

“But… is that even the same hotel we saw before? It looks different,” Seung-ah remarked.  

Yelena narrowed her eyes at the hotel and replied, “It’s because of the magic circle. The Demon King must have engraved the entire building with one. Flattening the surrounding area was likely to accommodate the massive scale of the circle.”  

I couldn’t help but nod. The Demon King had erased part of the city just to lay down a single magic circle—a horrifying act, but understandable when considering the circle’s purpose: merging three dimensions and three planets.  

“Something like the ‘Nationwide Alchemy Array,’ I guess.”  

“Huh?”  

“Never mind. Just a stray thought.”  

The sight was so shocking that I accidentally blurted out a meme from my past life. Thankfully, no one understood what I meant. Even Yerim didn’t recognize it, which made me realize there was a bigger generational gap between us than I’d thought.  

As we moved further into the city, there were no more buildings in sight. Aside from the eerily altered Ryugyong Hotel, the flattened plain was covered with a massive magic circle, just as Yelena had said.  

“Good grief. I wondered how such magic was possible, but this is just brute force.”  

While the rest of us stared in awe at the glowing circle, Yelena frowned as if she’d instantly grasped its structure.  

“Irene, come here. You should never construct a magic circle like this,” she said, calling the young mage over and using the opportunity to berate the Demon King.  

“This is a complete mess—inefficient and reckless, with no regard for magical backlash. It wouldn’t even function without the absurd amount of mana from a nuclear energy source.”  

Despite Yelena’s criticism, the Demon King had used this very circle to perform an impossible feat of magic. Just how much mana did the Demon King possess?  

While Yelena continued ranting, I couldn’t help but feel the sheer magnitude of the Demon King’s power.  

“…So this is the Demon King. To wield and control such mana… No human could ever do this.”  

Even Yelena, who had been cursing the Demon King, turned toward the hotel and shook her head with a grimace.  

And now, we had to face that Demon King.  

I scanned the plain between us and the hotel, where the magic circle was drawn. Though debris from other dimensions was scattered about, it didn’t seem to affect the circle.  

And then there were the liches and undead scattered across it.  

After assessing the situation, I nodded.  

“Some things are worse than expected, but there are advantages too.”  

Zahina spoke up. “The worst part is that there’s nowhere to hide, right?”  

That was the biggest problem.  

If the buildings had been intact or if there had been enough wreckage, we could have sneaked our way to the hotel. But the open plain before us made stealth impossible.  

“Going underground isn’t an option either. The ground itself isn’t normal—probably because of the magic circle,” Zahina added before I could even ask.  

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the answer I wanted.  

“Flying won’t be easy either, not with all this miasma and mana concentrated here… We’ll have to go on foot.”  

Having to charge across an exposed plain to reach the Demon King’s lair was nothing like the heroic tales I’d heard in my past life. It was absurd, but reality had a way of being unreasonable.  

“So the good part is that the liches and undead are all gathered in one place?” Yerim chimed in, noticing the grim expressions around her.  

I nodded.  

“Luckily, our plan seems to have worked.”  

We’d gotten fortunate. I never expected the Divine Tree to cross into this world. I’d only hoped it would distract the undead guarding the Demon King, but the half-destroyed tree had amplified the missiles’ effectiveness.  

“It looks like part of the Divine Tree was severed when it crossed over. On top of that, it took heavy damage from the bombing. Seeing the liches and undead swarming around it, the Demon King must be trying to corrupt it with miasma while keeping it alive,” Zahina observed.  

Most of the liches and a large number of undead were gathered around the dying Divine Tree, leaving the western plains eerily empty.  

Though the dying tree was helping us, I couldn’t show any relief—not when Zahina’s expression was so dark.  

She had become more expressive lately, but I’d never seen her look this devastated. Was it because it was a Divine Tree?  

But she hadn’t reacted this way when other Divine Trees were corrupted.  

My confusion was cleared up by Zahina’s next words.  

“I… never thought I’d meet it here. That Divine Tree… is the ‘Mother Tree of the Verdant Land.’ My mother.”  

This was completely unexpected.  

Her mother?  

The dying tree was the first daughter of the Divine Tree—the one connected to Zahina.  

Thank goodness I hadn’t said we were lucky. Praising our fortune while her mother was dying would have made me the worst kind of knight.  

As the rest of us stood in awkward silence, Zahina continued with a hardened expression.  

“The Demon King is making a foolish mistake. My connection with Mother was severed long ago, but seeing her now, I can tell—she’s lost all her power and is barely clinging to life. Even if the Demon King corrupts her with miasma before she dies, he won’t gain her power.”  

“Wait, does that mean…?”  

“There’s only one explanation for a Divine Tree forcibly severed from its kin. Yes… my hometown must have turned into a living hell by now.”  

Good grief.  

The death of one Divine Tree wasn’t the real issue. Now it made sense—the Demon King wasn’t trying to corrupt this tree just to add another powerful undead to his ranks.  

If the dimensions merged, other Divine Trees would suffer the same fate: dying or being mortally wounded.  

And if that happened, the entire race of Divine Tree kin—the Gwijaengi—would lose their connections.  

They wouldn’t even need to become undead. Their entire race would be driven half-mad.  

“If my people are to avoid extinction, we must stop the dimensional merger. Please… I’m begging you.”  

Zahina bowed her head to us, her voice filled with sorrow.  

Here she was, standing before her dying mother, pleading for us to save the kin who had abandoned her. None of us could find the words to respond.  

And the Gwijaengi weren’t the only ones facing annihilation.  

Instead of comforting Zahina, I took a moment to review our plan.  

“The situation has changed, but the plan remains the same. Everyone knows their roles, right?”  

“Yes.”  

“Don’t forget—our goal isn’t some grand battle to defeat the Demon King. There’s only one objective: destroy the magic circle and stop the dimensional merger.”  

Of course, that meant risking our lives to fight the Demon King, but no matter what, we couldn’t lose sight of our mission.  

“One last confirmation: Once we lure the Demon King out, Yelena and Irene will head to the hotel’s rooftop to dismantle the magic circle.”  

That was why we’d brought Irene, despite her youth. I’d heard she was capable, but under normal circumstances, I would never have brought her into such danger.  

“Hopman and Seung-ah, protect Yelena and Irene.”  

I assigned the two of them to guard the mages. Dismantling the circle would leave the mages vulnerable, so they needed escorts.  

Of course, sending only two people to protect them was risky, but we had no choice. The stronger fighters would be busy luring out—no, fighting the Demon King.  

I looked at each of my companions. Their faces were tense but determined. Thankfully, no one looked paralyzed by fear. Even Yerim, Seung-ah, and Irene were brimming with fighting spirit.  

Seeing them like this, I couldn’t bring myself to repeat my usual reminder about valuing their lives. This time, we had to succeed—even if it cost us everything.  

Unlike the others, I sighed inwardly.  

How had things come to this?  

All I’d wanted was to live peacefully in my territory—no, my modest estate.  

And yet, here I was, trying to save the world.  

What’s more, I wasn’t even the hero.  

Sure, I had similar abilities, but I’d never been chosen by a god.  

I was lost in thought when Yerim suddenly spoke up.  

“Uh… I think I’m receiving a revelation.”  

The words were so out of place that it took me a while to process them.  

When I finally understood, my jaw dropped.  

“Wait… a divine revelation?”  

“Yes.”  

Her confirmation left me stunned.  

“Now of all times?”  

Then again, maybe this was the only time. The world was on the brink of destruction. If the gods were going to act, it had to be now.  

Besides, the god Yerim served wasn’t from another world beyond the severed Gates—it was a god of this Earth.  

A god who had been silent for ages but had once appointed a saintess wouldn’t stay idle as the world ended.  

But what kind of revelation could it be? Had they hidden a holy sword somewhere?  

Something like the Holy Lance Longinus?  

But my speculations were shattered by Yerim’s next words.  

“The god says… they will now appoint a hero through the saintess.”  

…Huh?  

“The saintess is me, and the hero is…”  

Yerim raised her hand and pointed at me.  

Her fingers glowed with divine light.