There Is No World For ■■

The protective shield that had blocked sword energy, magic, and even rocket warheads, passed through the Corpse Explosion spell unscathed.

"No, how—"

As the chicken-head's eyes filled with panic, the corpse of one of the horse-heads exploded beneath his feet.

!!!

First, the lower half of the chicken-head's body was blasted away by the explosion.

Second, the air inside the shield screamed.

Third, blood burst from the cracks in the shield, as the force from the explosion caused a significant fracture.

Just as Yeomyeong was about to trigger the final Corpse Explosion on the last horse-head’s body...

A determined will filled the chicken-head’s eyes. It turned its head and locked eyes with Yeomyeong beyond the shield.

Over the red eyes of the Shepherds, Yeomyeong’s golden eyes overlapped.

In less than a second, the two monsters exchanged a powerful emotion stronger than hundreds of words.

Loathing.

“-His Excellency will punish all of you.”

With those final words, the chicken-head severed its own neck.

Suicide? No, it wasn’t.

In the next instant, its headless body grabbed the chicken-head and hurled it toward the teleportation hole.

Watching the severed head fly toward the hole, Yeomyeong clenched his teeth. The words from earlier echoed in his mind: that the dead’s brains could be used to extract information.

The head must not pass through that hole.

His judgment was swift, and his action was even quicker.

Yeomyeong squeezed his mana and cast his final spell toward the chicken-head.

Corpse Explosion.

Just as the severed chicken-head was about to be sucked into the hole, the spell flowed into its head.

It was a success. The head, engulfed in the Corpse Explosion spell, disappeared beyond the hole.

Immediately after, the hole itself wobbled and vanished from the air. Yeomyeong, who had fired the spell in quick succession, then—

Ugh.

He collapsed to his knees and vomited blood. The backflow of mana had caused internal injuries.

It was only natural. Corpse Explosion was a spell that used distorted mana.

Using such a spell with Yeomyeong’s pure mana was like trying to run a car engine with oil sludge instead of gasoline.

And to make matters worse, he had used it four times in a row. It was lucky it hadn’t ended worse.

"...Yeomyeong?! What’s going on? Are you okay!?"

As soon as she saw him kneel, Seti threw her hammer aside and rushed to him.

Yeomyeong swallowed the blood-tinged saliva, wiped the blood from his lips, and waved a hand at her, reassuring her.

"I'm fine. It’s nothing."

"Are you really okay? No, don’t get up. Lie down for a second."

"I’m really fine..."

Just as Yeomyeong was about to stand up, Seti pressed down firmly on his shoulder, and he couldn’t say anything more, just giving a bitter smile as he lay back down.

Seti then checked his body, thinking she might need to share her mana with him if necessary.

Yeomyeong’s condition wasn’t as bad as she expected. His veins and organs had been damaged, but the wounds were already healing in real-time.

His regeneration ability was as incredible as always.

Seti sighed in relief as she pulled her hands away from his chest.

"See? I told you I’m fine."

As Yeomyeong spoke lightly, Seti laughed and wiped the blood from his cheek.

Naturally, their faces drew closer, and their eyes locked at that very moment.

"...Shall I move aside?"

Neti, who had been gathering her weapons, suddenly spoke up.

Seti sighed deeply, but Neti, with telekinesis, kept fiddling with the handle of Uragan’s weapon, adding,

"I’m fine with having a nephew, but this unicorn stick thing seems a bit off. They told me to run quickly... what should we do?"

"..."

"Oh, pure maiden! Flee now! My master is nothing more than a greedy beast...!"

As Neti mimicked the unicorn’s voice, Yeomyeong snatched Uragan’s handle with telekinesis.

[Master! It’s unfair! I didn’t say such things to that maiden—]

The unicorn hastily tried to explain, but Yeomyeong shook his head and stuffed Uragan’s handle into his chest.

Neti giggled at the sight, and Seti, laughing as well, got up and walked over to her sister, giving her a light punch on the forehead.

"Ouch! Brother-in-law! My sister is trying to kill me!"

Neti ran off, with Seti chasing after her.

Yeomyeong silently watched the two sisters argue, keeping an eye on them as his body recovered.

By the time his wounds had fully healed, and Neti had a sizable bump on her forehead, Seti approached Yeomyeong and extended her hand.

"What should we do now? Head back? Or..."

She asked, looking at the door behind them as Yeomyeong took her hand and stood up. They both turned toward the door.

There, before them, stood a thick iron door the Shepherds couldn’t open.

The door was so large that even a tank could pass through it, and it was adorned with the hammer and sickle, the Soviet Union’s symbol.

It was a blatant design that would remind anyone of the Soviet Union.

Yeomyeong raised the golden seal and spoke.

"We’ve come this far, so let’s at least see what’s inside. And..."

"And?"

"...I need to check something."

Something to check. Seti didn’t ask what it was.

She only suspected it was related to something Yeomyeong had seen within the Key of Tears, the Vision Artifact.

She couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t share that information, but Seti didn’t mind.

Whatever it was, she was going to help Yeomyeong.

As Seti thought this, Yeomyeong used the golden seal on the iron door.

Moments later, a massive golden magic circle covered the iron door, emitting a bright light. Yeomyeong’s familiar magic from the golden seal.

With the creaking sound of old machinery, the iron door began to open.

****

As they stepped past the thick iron door, an unfamiliar mana swept over the group.

A trap? No, it wasn’t a trap. It felt more like entering a vast, complex magic circle.

Could it be that, just like at the stairs, some kind of magical barrier was activated to prevent intruders?

As Yeomyeong lightly placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, Neti looked around and spoke.

“...This is preservation magic.”

“Preservation magic?”

“It’s magic that prevents rust on metal or keeps gunpowder from getting damp... to put it simply, it’s like a preservative magic.”

“....”

“Considering the mana is dense enough to be felt on the skin... it seems to be spread over the entire armory?”

As she said, the armory they saw inside appeared as if everything was brand new.

The round hallway, reminiscent of a subway tunnel, had no signs of old concrete stains or rust.

“This magic... there’s no problem, right?”

Yeomyeong asked, and Neti shrugged.

“Yeah, it’s probably going to weaken because of us. This magic only affects objects. Well, unless we destroy the magic circle, I guess.”

After hearing this, Yeomyeong nodded and infused mana into the golden seal. Using its light as a guide, they proceeded into the armory.

The hallway continued straight without any forks or side paths, and before long, another iron door blocked their way. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Once again, using the golden seal, the door opened, and Neti asked as she saw it.

“What exactly is that magical tool?”

“It’s a magic tool that can unlock all seals and locks.”

Yeomyeong answered without stopping his stride.

“Oh... It’s like the symbol of the Dwarven royal family, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“...Huh?”

As Neti wore a confused expression, Yeomyeong reached the door, effortlessly opening it once the lock was undone.

What greeted them inside was a vast space filled with tanks lining both sides.

The tanks all appeared brand new, most likely brought straight from the factory to the armory.

Of course, to Yeomyeong and Seti, who didn’t know how to operate a tank, these weapons didn’t matter much, but Neti, who had just arrived, had a different reaction.

“Huh? A T-80!”

“...A T-80?”

“The official name is T-82, but the nickname is ‘Tung Pal.’ It was the main tank Soviet Russia churned out just before its collapse... Wow, how many of these are there?”

“....”

While Neti was lost in admiration for the tanks, Yeomyeong continued on to the next room.

As he walked away, Neti shouted if she could try driving one, but was silenced by a swift smack from Seti.

Anyway.

The next room they entered was the kind one would expect from a regular armory.

The room was filled with crates of weapons and ammunition stacked all the way to the ceiling.

“Wow!”

This time, Neti excitedly began calling it a Soviet weapon museum, talking about how these kinds of weapons couldn’t even be found in the black market, but she quieted down as soon as Seti picked up her hammer.

Of course, she couldn’t stop Neti from stuffing a few weapons into her bag.

After a short while, Neti, happily sorting through the new weapons, moved on with Yeomyeong and Seti to the next room.

This room was completely different from any of the previous ones they had seen.

The walls were filled with glass tubes and cooling devices, and inside were neatly arranged mysterious potions.

It looked more like a biological laboratory than an armory, and Seti immediately realized its true nature.

“This... this seems to be an alchemy lab.”

Alchemy? Before Yeomyeong could tilt his head, Seti stepped forward, opening the door to one of the cooling devices and pulling out the potions.

Green, red, purple... the potions shimmered, and the mana emanating from them was intense, so much so that it almost felt like they were awakening potions, each infused with potent mana.

The Player had likely drunk such potions like water, Yeomyeong thought, watching Seti sort the potions.

Meanwhile, Neti, pouting, grumbled.

“...You didn’t wait for me when I was looking at weapons.”

Yeomyeong folded his arms and replied.

“This is different.”

“Oh, right? I’m the younger sister, and you’re the main wife, right? I didn’t know, so I dared....”

Before Neti could finish, Seti raised her fist, and Neti quickly shut up.

After a moment, Seti began sorting the potions she had taken out. The potions she picked were mostly glowing green, and the mana felt pure and untainted.

After watching her for a moment, Yeomyeong asked.

“What kind of potions are you picking?”

“Refined elixirs and non-poisonous ones.”

“...Elixirs?”

“Probably the elixirs they were going to distribute to superhuman soldiers. Each one of these potions could sell for billions in the market.”

As if to prove her point, Seti uncorked one of the potions and handed it to Yeomyeong.

The scent rising from the potion was familiar—mint, like toothpaste.

“Drink it.”

“...Here?”

“It’s a refined elixir, so it’ll be absorbed into your body in no time. Are you worried it’s spoiled? Should I drink it first?”

Yeomyeong chuckled and drank the potion. The unfamiliar mana slid down his throat and absorbed into his body. It wasn’t quite like eating a crystal, but it felt rather intriguing.

So, this is what other superhumans mean by elixirs?

After finishing the potion, Yeomyeong set the empty bottle down. Watching him, Neti immediately raised her hand.

“Sis! I want some too!”

Seti looked at her younger sister with a stern expression, then sighed and handed her a bottle when Neti started to cling to Yeomyeong.

With a delighted expression, Neti opened the bottle of elixir and downed it in one go, savoring the taste.

“Ah, this is way better than the one we drank on the farm.”

“Neti, please... keep some dignity.”

“Ah, you’re supposed to drink things like this in one go, right? Right, brother-in-law?”

Yeomyeong didn’t answer, only giving a wry smile. Neti giggled for a moment before dashing over to Seti, helping her pack the potions into her bag.

“Fifteen high-grade elixirs with mint flavor, twelve regeneration potions, and twenty-two unidentified potions...”

“...If we sell these, we could buy a building in New York.”

As Neti gleefully calculated the prices of the potions, Seti quietly looked down at the bag. After a moment of thought, she pulled out the mint-flavored elixir Yeomyeong had just drunk and handed it to him.

“Yeomyeong, I think you should take these.”

“...All of them?”

“I think it’s better for you to get stronger than to sell them. Drink them as they’re absorbed. The more mana, the better.”

Yeomyeong didn’t reply. Instead, he looked down at the bottles, then suddenly split the bottle in half.

As Seti’s graceful smile gently curved, Yeomyeong held out the bottle to her and spoke.

“I’ll give two to your sisters, one to the Saintess, one to Soemiri, and... the rest are for you to drink.”

“...Me? I’m fine.”

“I’m not fine.”

His voice was firm. Seti hesitated, her lips twitching, but when Yeomyeong handed her the elixir with the cap off, she reluctantly chuckled.

“...Thanks.”

“No need to thank me.”

As Seti drank the potion, and Neti grimaced at the cheesy atmosphere, the sound of footsteps echoed from beyond the alchemy lab.

Had someone entered through the armory entrance they had left open?

No, the footsteps came from the exact opposite direction of where they entered.

As Seti, Yeomyeong, and Neti’s expressions hardened, a voice clearer than the footsteps rang out.

The voice, that of an unfamiliar old man, filled the space.

Hearing it, Seti and Neti grabbed their weapons without hesitation, pressing against the door, waiting for the voice to approach.

At that moment, as Yeomyeong unsheathed his sword, preparing to greet their guest.

[If it’s a guest, then they’re already here.]

Another voice rang out, reverberating through the corridor beyond the door.

It was a voice so heavy and revolting, like flames rising from the bottom of hell.

It was a voice Yeomyeong knew all too well—it was the voice of the Skeleton Dragon.