There Is No World For ■■

Resurrection spreads.

Not the sacred miracle from the scriptures, but the disgusting kind you’d expect in a cheap horror movie.

The first to rise were the bodies that had been recently buried.

Over the past few days, corpses hastily dumped in shallow graves or simply abandoned began to twitch their rotting muscles and crawl out onto the streets.

The citizens who witnessed the undead had two reactions—either ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ they screamed and ran, or they grabbed a weapon and ran.

Unfortunately, in this city, there was nowhere to run from the dead.

The city's history, the sheer number of corpses buried beneath it, was far too great.

–Grooo...

A missing neighbor rose from the backyard.

Those secretly buried under street trees clawed their way up between the roots, and from beneath the well’s stone walls, buried bones clattered together as they stirred.

Near the crematorium, countless undead crawled out—a direct consequence of funeral fees being too expensive, leading people to secretly bury bodies instead.

Zombies emerged from alchemy workshops, hospitals, even the very foundations of old buildings. In some places, corpses even broke through the walls.

And at the very center of it all was the sewer.

The place where countless fools, hoping to strike it rich, had instead become nothing more than corpses.

“...Judging by the numbers alone, that’s gotta be in the tens of thousands.”

From the roof of the armed inn, Neti shuddered as she spoke.

Her gaze was locked on the nearest sewer grate, from which an endless tide of undead was spilling forth.

What the hell is this, the entrance to hell?

After a moment, Yeomyeong, who had been firing a machine gun beside her, spoke up.

“That’s not even the worst part. If more people die here... they’ll just turn into undead too.”

“...If they clash with the Rat Beastmen, it’s going to be a disaster.”

No sooner had she said it than an explosion thundered in the distance, sending a massive pillar of fire roaring into the sky.

The Rat Beastmen army and the undead had begun their full-scale battle.

Why is it that bad predictions never fail to come true?

As Neti shook her head in disbelief, Yeomyeong found himself lost in thought.

‘How am I supposed to get down to the underground armory?’

The entrance beneath Vikoff Alexeyevich Marmeladov’s building was surely blocked by now, and finding a new one through the sewer—where zombies and Rat Beastmen were fighting—was nearly impossible.

That left only the mysterious entrance used by Count Nam and Kahal Magdu... but did he even know where that was?

As his thoughts deepened, an orc and a large man carrying a crate of machine gun ammunition climbed onto the rooftop.

Yeomyeong stopped firing and turned to the orc.

“Balagu, how’s the defense preparation going? How far along are we?”

“We just need to secure the front entrance. Also... we’ve evacuated all the tent city people into the inn.”

Yeomyeong nodded at Balagu’s report.

The moment the corpses started rising, he had ordered all the women and children from the tent city to be brought inside the inn.

It was an obvious decision—they would’ve been turned into undead if left outside.

As Balagu watched Yeomyeong hand over the machine gun to the large man, he spoke again.

“There are about forty of them in total, including the children and women. Four of them know how to shoot, so we’ve assigned them to the defense team. The rest... they’re setting up barricades with furniture and sandbags.”

That was definitely Josef’s doing. He was probably planning to use the tent city people as human shields.

A tragic reality, but neither Yeomyeong nor Balagu bothered to say it aloud. This wasn’t the time for charity work.

After handing over the machine gun, Yeomyeong turned and headed down the stairs of the inn.

By the time he passed the third floor and reached the second, Balagu spoke again, his tone slightly hesitant.

“Uh... so... the tent city people think you’re Count Nam. They’re all praising the name of the Court Lord.”

“...”

“If it bothers you, please don’t be too angry.”

Was that something to be offended by?

Yeomyeong had been about to dismiss it when a thought struck him—Balagu.

An orc who had been castrated and lived as a mage’s slave before escaping.

Unusually knowledgeable, well-acquainted with Count Nam’s knights, and familiar enough with the city to act as a guide.

And when Yeomyeong transformed into Count Nam, Balagu had played along flawlessly...

Yeomyeong stopped midway down the stairs and turned to face Balagu.

“Balagu, were you... Count Nam’s slave?”

A blunt question.

Balagu was silent for a moment, then slowly nodded.

“...Yes. My former master was Count Nam, Audrian.”

He looked at Yeomyeong with cautious eyes, like a dog caught doing something wrong. But Yeomyeong’s thoughts were elsewhere.

“I... I didn’t mean to hide it on purpose....”

Balagu began to stammer an excuse, but Yeomyeong cut him off.

“Oh, that’s fine. You don’t have to say everything. More importantly—Balagu, do you remember the layout of Count Nam’s court?”

“...Huh? Ah, yes. Of course, I remember.”

“Would the structure have changed much while you were living as a nomad?”

“Hmm...? It’s an old building, so I doubt it’s changed much since I escaped.”

Hearing that, Yeomyeong clenched his fist. He hadn’t expected to find a breakthrough so close at hand.

“Then draw me a map. Right now.”

He held out his fist to Balagu as he spoke, grateful that he had brought him along from the desert.

****

The first floor of the inn was chaotic.

But it was nothing like the usual hustle and bustle of an inn.

Gunfire rang out at the approaching undead, terrified women ran back and forth carrying bullets—more a battlefield than a tavern.

How long had that noise continued?

Seated at a table, Yeomyeong pointed to a section of the map Balagu had drawn.

The spot where Count Nam’s underground warehouse connected to the sewer.

“If there’s an entrance to the underground armory, it’s here.”

The group’s reactions varied as they examined the map.

“...If this map is accurate.”

Said the one-armed elf, Pinel.

“Ugh, we have to go through a sewer full of fighting zombies and Rat Beastmen.”

Grumbled Neti, clutching her weapon bag.

“If they realize where we’re headed, that skull bastard will come after us. We have to be as discreet as possible.”

Finally, Seti sighed as she rubbed her temples, trying to chase away her exhaustion.

After listening to everyone, Yeomyeong considered for a moment before rolling up the map.

“Pinel stays here. Seti, Neti, and I will go.”

“...What? You’re leaving me behind?”

Pinel scowled, looking back and forth between Neti and Yeomyeong. His expression said it all—‘I’m stronger than her, so why am I the one staying behind?’

“We need at least one superhuman left behind in case of an emergency.”

“...Then wouldn’t it make more sense for me to stay?”

Yeomyeong shut that down with a single question.

“Are your wounds fully healed?”

The wounds he suffered from Vikoff Alexeyevich Marmeladov and the Rat Beastmen army.

Unless he had Yeomyeong’s absurd regeneration, there was no way they had healed in just two days.

Pinel fell silent, unable to find an argument. After a pause, he sighed.

“...Can’t believe I’m teaming up with a castrated orc to protect humans.”

“....”

“But fine. I’ll stay. Just don’t expect me to die for you. At least leave a fallback plan.”

Yeomyeong had expected as much. He nodded and signaled to Balagu.

As soon as Balagu approached, Yeomyeong cast Bloody Tears’ illusion magic over him.

Mana shimmered across the orc’s face, and a familiar figure emerged—a human nobleman, elderly yet dignified.

“...Count Nam?”

“If things go south, use that face. Call the guards, flee to the court—whatever works. The rest is up to you and Josef.”

Pinel gave a slow nod. He understood.

With their roles and destination set, there was no time to waste.

Yeomyeong slung his weapon bag over his shoulder and extended a hand to Seti.

“Will you come with me?”

“...Of course.”

Seti took his hand, and Neti followed right behind them.

Balagu bowed his head slightly as Yeomyeong and his group scaled the inn’s outer wall.

Their mission had begun.

“Well, whatever. You’re that Cheonyeomyeong or whatever, right? The Earthling Kahal Magdu has his eye on.”

She spoke as she stepped closer to the group, but Yeomyeong didn’t respond.

Now that it was confirmed she was Kahal Magdu’s ally, there was no need for conversation.

There was only one thing left to exchange here—violence.

Bang!

The gunshot from the quick-thinking Neti and Yeomyeong’s charge happened almost simultaneously.

“Tsk, I was trying to have a conversation.”

Yekaterina tilted her spear slightly, deflecting the bullet, then used the centrifugal force to swing the spear straight at Yeomyeong.

!

A massive, long spear clashed against a sword.

In terms of sheer weight, Yekaterina was overwhelming.

But in terms of power, Yeomyeong was superior.

It meant that their martial arts and mana capabilities were nearly equal—or that Yeomyeong had the edge.

Yekaterina let out a dry chuckle.

“You little—”

But before she could finish her sentence, Yeomyeong stepped forward and thrust his sword.

He didn’t need another Kahal Magdu babbling mid-fight.

Yekaterina flicked her spear’s grip upward, deflecting Yeomyeong’s sword. Sparks burst into the air as metal clashed against metal.

Even as Yeomyeong was pushed back, he tensed his core and unleashed Bikak Technique.

His mana-infused foot struck both the shaft of Yekaterina’s spear and her chest at the same time.

Boom!

It sounded like two cars colliding.

Yeomyeong landed lightly while Yekaterina was sent sliding backward.

“What the fuck, no one told me you were this strong.”

Her spear buzzed as it absorbed the impact. She tightened her grip, suppressing the vibration, then laughed incredulously.

“Damn it, I haven’t met a bastard like this since... Ah, right, Pasun. Oh wait, you’re the one who killed him, aren’t you?”

Instead of answering, Yeomyeong’s sword plunged toward Yekaterina.

Her spear reacted instantly.

As it aimed to stab Yeomyeong, it twisted mid-swing, shifting its trajectory.

The weapon was so absurdly large that the sewer walls and ceiling shattered in its wake.

Boom!

Fragments of the broken walls scattered.

Yeomyeong dodged the spearhead flying toward him and struck the spear shaft with his sword.

The massive weapon didn’t snap, but it bent sharply.

Yekaterina tried to use the recoil to swing her spear again, but—

Yeomyeong’s sword suddenly accelerated.

A simple diagonal slash.

Yet, with his body strengthened by the mana of the World Tree, simplicity became a deadly virtue.

Speed equaled power.

In a fraction of a second, Yekaterina’s seasoned instincts screamed at her—

You can’t block it. Dodge.

She ignored her instincts.

Instead, she bared her teeth and pulled her spear back.

An instant later, Yeomyeong’s sword slipped through the gap.

The blade sliced across Yekaterina’s chest.

The spear was a fraction of a beat too slow.

And the blood spilled a fraction of a beat after that.

“Ha!”

Yekaterina bled, but she laughed.

Yeomyeong didn’t stop.

His sword, having already cut through her chest, arced upward, severing her left shoulder, then traced a curve and slashed her throat.

For a human, this was a guaranteed kill combo.

But Yekaterina, with just her remaining right arm, swung her spear and forced Yeomyeong backward.

Yeomyeong hesitated for the first time—not because he failed to finish the fight, but because of an inexplicable sense of unease.

No way Kahal Magdu’s ally would go down this easily.

With that conviction bordering on certainty, he widened the distance and flicked the blood off his sword.

“Fuck, how the hell is someone your age that strong? Did you sell your soul to the devil?”

“....”

Despite her chest being split open and blood pouring from her slashed throat, Yekaterina still grinned.

“That picky-ass skeleton sure has good taste... Damn, now I kinda want you for myself.”

The next moment, Yekaterina’s eyes began glowing a deep, ominous red.

Was she accelerating her blood flow?

Was she trying to use a doping ability similar to Blood Flow Acceleration?

Yeomyeong narrowed his eyes, focusing his mana to analyze—

Bang!

Seti, standing behind Yeomyeong, fired her gun.

A sudden, unexpected attack—precisely why it was effective.

Thwack!

Yekaterina, unable to react, took a bullet straight to the forehead.

Her body collapsed onto the sewer floor like a puppet with its strings cut.

Yeomyeong, momentarily stunned, turned to look at Seti.

She just shrugged.

“Why are you even listening to that crap? We outnumber her.”

“....”

“Let’s move. We need to get underground before Kahal Magdu—”

Seti never finished her sentence.

Because Yekaterina, whose skull had just been pierced, suddenly sat up.

“You bitch. What kind of sacred one-on-one duel involves gunfire?”

Did she regenerate?

No—her wounds were still there.

Her left arm was still missing, and her chest and throat continued to bleed profusely.

Yet she wasn’t dead.

If anything, she seemed utterly unfazed by the pain, smirking as if she found it amusing.

“You like team battles that much? Fine, then let’s do this as a team battle.”

The next moment, Yekaterina swung her spear and smashed it against the underground storage door behind her.

Rumble...!

The entire sewer trembled.

The ceiling cracked, and the walls splintered.

The cracks spread rapidly across the underground warehouse, causing a section of the building to collapse.

Yeomyeong wasn’t directly in the impact zone, but debris and dust still hit his face.

As the dust settled, the underground storage was revealed.

A room filled with massive containers, all centered around a staircase leading underground.

As if the sun were about to rise, light from the hole in the ceiling illuminated the writing on the containers.

"Walmart."

“....”

A staircase leading to the underground armory, Earth-made shipping containers, and Count Nam buying dinosaur bones.

The moment Yeomyeong realized what those containers were—

All of the container doors swung open at once.

And from inside, massive bones emerged.

Bones so large they could be mistaken for dinosaur fossils.

“...Dinosaur bones? What a sick hobby.”

Yeomyeong fired dozens of ice spikes instantly.

At the same time, the enormous bones began floating out of the containers.

“Hey! Attacking while I’m combining is cheating!”

“Go fuck yourself.”

Yekaterina blocked the ice spikes with her spear, and Yeomyeong lunged forward.

The bones, however, began assembling in midair.

A reptilian body, sleek and extending all the way to a long tail.

Wide wings unfurled behind its shoulders.

An elongated skull with crown-like horns sprouting from the back.

Boom!

A massive form shattered the ceiling, crushing shipping containers beneath its feet.

At last, the undying dragon—Kahal Magdu’s true form—had descended upon the world.