The Demon Realm army was almost completely annihilated.

An emerald-colored space aircraft carrier, armed with overwhelming firepower, circled the Demon Realm a few times, and that was the end of it.

In the end, the Demon Realm army collapsed in total disarray.

The great demons were no different.

They had been dragged around and roughly gathered in one place.

Judging by the way their chests were split wide open, it looked like their hearts had been ripped out.

“Ugh.

Disgusting.

But I don’t feel sorry for them.

They deserve it.

Dying just once wouldn’t be nearly enough.”

Even with their hearts torn out, the great demons were still twitching.

Stubborn. Damn stubborn.

Was this what immortality was?

Those who did not die even when killed.

So what if they were immortal?

They were weak as hell.

Blown apart by Veronica Caliber’s sub-light shells, cut up by Mad Demon and Cossack, trampled by Meatshield and Bardin, frozen solid by Mannyeon and Baekdana.

And yet they were still alive and moving.

Maybe immortality itself was a kind of curse.

Anyway, a great demon had no fewer than five hearts.

If all of those were made into medicine, you would have to take it five times.

“Absolutely not eating that.”

I was already dry-heaving just thinking about it.

“But those guys over there...?”

Rajix was stretching his hand straight toward a writhing great demon, eyes filled with resolve.

“WAAH!”

Cossack was cheering him on from the side.

“Hang in there! Dimensional farmhand, you already took a sacred-energy shower, didn’t ya? You can do it!”

“WAAH!”

“If ya can’t, you’re gettin’ demoted from yard boss to stone boy!”

“Huh?”

What were they even doing?

“What are you doing?”

“We’re trying to take just one great demon back to the White Tower.”

“If its heart regenerates, we can pull it out again.”

Amazing.

I honestly could not tell who the real demon was anymore.

But there was no way a living great demon could go in.

Rajix’s subspace had a fundamental rule.

It could store anything, but it could not contain living beings.

Great demons were basically immortal.

Even with their hearts torn out, they lived.

Unless you ripped out their souls like Yama, that was.

And what was so great about a great demon’s heart anyway?

It wasn’t like we were an illegal organ-trafficking ring.

“Rajix’s workers’ve gotten stronger too. Might be able to store livin’ things now.”

Not a chance.

If living beings could be stored, Rajix alone would clear the Tower.

Monsters, great demons—everything he saw would just go SHHK, SHHK into subspace, mission complete.

“There’s zero chance. Let’s just go.”

“Aw, no. Just a little more tryin’...”

That was when it happened.

Ding.

[Returning to the 92nd Floor of the Black Tower on Earth No. 675.]

“WAAH, just a little more time.”

“WAAH.”

Perfect timing.

SPOT!

Back we went.

Juhyeok and the summoned entities returned to the Tower.

What about the clear grade evaluation?

[World Announcement: You have achieved clear grade EX on Black Tower (Germany), Floor 92.]

[EX Clear Reward: 2 + 30 Platinum Badges, for a total of 32, have been granted.]

Yes!

32 badges—six privileges from this alone!

But at that very moment—

Ding!

[Additional clear records have been discovered.]

[Entering Black Tower (Germany), Floor 93.]

“Huh?”

SPOT!

[World Announcement: You have achieved clear grade EX on Black Tower (Germany), Floor 93.]

[EX Clear Reward: 2 + 30 Platinum Badges, for a total of 32, have been granted.]

What the hell is this?

Automatic clear success on the 93rd floor.

And it was not over yet.

[Additional clear records have been discovered.]

[Entering Black Tower (Germany), Floor 94.]

[World Announcement: You have achieved clear grade EX on Black Tower (Germany), Floor 94...]

[EX Clear Reward: 2 + 30 Platinum Badges...]

The 94th floor too.

Ding!

“No way, again?”

[Additional clear records have been discovered.]

[Entering Black Tower (Germany), Floor 95.]

[World Announcement: You have achieved clear grade EX on Black Tower (Germany), Floor 95...]

[EX Clear Reward: 2 + 30 Platinum Badges...]

“This is a total free ride.”

Both the clears—

and the chapter length.

From the 91st floor onward, the Great Journey missions did not take place inside the Tower, but in other worlds.

Because of that, Tower administrators had no way of knowing whether a player had succeeded or failed.

They only found out once the player returned to the Black Tower.

Success, failure, or save.

*****

The only Black Tower on Earth No. 675.

A player from Earth No. 1,001 had appeared.

[That bastard, he’s back again.] 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

[It’s the 92nd floor. Guess he’s doing the second Great Journey mission?]

[He’s really gotten a taste for it.]

[Well, he did clear the first mission.]

[But the second one won’t work, right?]

[You think the Demon Realm and great demons are pushovers? No way he pulls it off.]

No matter how absurdly powerful a summoner he was, this time would be impossible.

The administrators of the Black Tower on Earth No. 675 were convinced.

And they had something to rely on.

[Let him do whatever. In three months, he’s as good as dead anyway.]

[Right, they said a Grand Archangel is coming.]

[Looks like HQ is really serious. They’re pumping in maximum dimensional energy for the transfer.]

Three months would pass in no time.

If they just endured a little longer, the Grand Archangel would deliver divine punishment to the summoner.

Once that bastard disappeared, Earth No. 675 would return to normal.

Their demoted status would be restored as well.

SPOT!

The summoner vanished from the 92nd floor.

[He’s gone.]

[He left.]

[He’ll be back soon, right?]

And then—

SPOT!

He appeared again.

Since time and space were separated, no matter how much time passed in the Demon Realm, it was only a moment here.

[He’s back.]

[He returned.]

[The mission?]

Cruelly enough, the 92nd-floor Great Journey mission was a success.

It was enough to drive them insane.

[T-the second one too?]

[Damn it, damn it!]

[I’m losing my mind. That bastard really...]

But that was not all.

SPOT!

93rd floor clear success.

SPOT!

94th floor clear success.

SPOT!

95th floor clear success.

[...]

[...]

[...]

What in the world was going on?

Clearing four floors simultaneously?

The administrators of the Black Tower on Earth No. 675 were left speechless.

What could even be said in this situation?

[Could it be... all the way to the 100th floor?]

It was possible.

The section from the 91st to the 100th floor.

The first half had already been cleared.

Of course, the latter half would be harder, but the difference in difficulty was not that great.

If that summoner reached the 100th floor, the Black Tower on Earth No. 675 would be annihilated.

They would share the same fate.

Total annihilation, bound to the Tower’s destiny.

Fear crept in.

They were pushed to the brink.

There were still about 90 days until the Grand Archangel arrived.

And it was not even coming for the sake of the Black Tower on Earth No. 675.

The Grand Archangel would be sent to the Black Tower on Earth No. 1,001.

A dimension where 146 towers still remained.

[Will HQ save us?]

No chance.

Would HQ really care about a world with only one Black Tower left?

[What do we do?]

The administrators of the Black Tower on Earth No. 675 were going insane with anxiety.

For beings who lived with eternal life, nothing was more terrifying than annihilation.

[We have to do something.]

Should they kneel and beg?

Beg him to climb to the 100th floor slowly, please?

They had never imagined this.

That he would charge straight through to the 95th floor with a free pass.

It made sense.

From the 91st to the 95th floor, it was probably a journey of hunting great demons.

One by one.

If he had cleared them normally, it would not have been this easy.

The first or second might have been manageable.

But the third, fourth, and fifth stages would have been extremely difficult.

While fellow great demons were being picked off one after another,

would the remaining ones just sit there, stretching out their necks, waiting to be captured?

They would have tried everything.

Mobilizing the entire Demon Realm army like this time, or fleeing to places no one knew.

But fortunately—or unfortunately—it was all finished in one go.

Without even needing a reattempt.

The rewards were already received.

Save tickets piled up in the inventory.

Not that I knew whether they would ever be used.

And EX-grade clears.

Just the additional Platinum Badges alone amounted to 128.

A whopping 25 privileges.

“At least one Trait Enhancement Rune has to come out here, right?”

It had to.

If not, that would be seriously disappointing.

Anyway, anything else?

At that point, the notification sound—

Ding!

rang out.

[Achievement: First player to completely conquer the Demon Realm!]

Yes, this was it!

[Achievement reward granted.]

[The Whistle of Summoned Entity Potential Explosion has been granted to the Tower-only inventory.]

An item?

And what was with this whistle now?

Usually, achievement rewards were related to the player’s traits or the White Tower.

But an item?

An achievement reward item.

There was no way it would be something ordinary.

<Whistle of Summoned Entity Potential Explosion>

Effect: Consumes 10 Platinum Badges to cause one summoned entity’s abilities to explode for 10 minutes. Permanent item. Usable once per day.

Limitations: The summoned entity whose abilities explode will be forcibly unsummoned after 10 minutes and cannot be designated for summoning for 10 days. Only summoned entities with a Satisfaction Rating of 4.5 or higher are eligible.

...Was this good?

“Kind of ambiguous.”

Ability explosion.

Meaning their power increased.

And since it was an explosion, it should be insanely strong.

But ten minutes.

That was what made it awkward.

The limitations were not really a concern.

Forced unsummoning and a ten-day summoning ban as a penalty?

You just waited ten days on the 17th floor of the White Tower, and it was over anyway.

The real limitation was having to consume 10 Platinum Badges.

Still, it seemed like a hidden card that could be used to break through a crisis.

In any case, we had gotten everything there was to get.

[Exiting the Black Tower (Germany).]

SPOT!

Juhyeok and the summoned entities came outside.

The world of Earth No. 675 was rapidly recovering.

Grass and trees were beginning to grow again.

But if there was one thing missing here—

it was people.

Such a shame.

If we had arrived here earlier,

we could have prevented the Tower collapse and saved the world.

“Those bastards...”

Just thinking about it made me angry.

“Uh, everyone?”

“Yes, my lord.”

“The Demon Realm was nothing special, right?”

“It was so boring I wanted to die.”

That was a bit much.

“Let’s go do a taste test of the 96th floor. I want to check the mission and try using a save ticket.”

Juhyeok could climb the Tower five times per day.

From the 92nd to the 95th floor was four climbs,

so one attempt remained.

If we quickly climbed to the 100th floor,

I was curious what would happen.

[Entering the 96th Floor of the Black Tower (Germany).]

Alright, then—what kind of world was connected to the 96th floor?

Not the Demon Realm again, right?

The background changed.

From the 91st to the 95th floor, it had been a white waiting room.

But the 96th floor was a purple room.

It would definitely be difficult, but I was confident.

We had dealt with an ancient dragon.

We had dealt with great demons.

Thanks to the sacred-energy shower, the summoned entities were practically at the brink of transcendence.

With them, it did not matter where we went.

Ding!

The mission appeared.

[96th Floor Mission: Great Journey Toward Completion – Sixth.]

And—

[Do you accept the sixth stage of the Great Journey Toward Completion mission?]

Shall we go?

Just a taste, after all.

We would see if it was easy or not.

And if needed, we would clear all the way to the 100th floor within a week.

“You ready?”

“Yes, sir!”

Just as I was about to accept—

TZZZT!

A hologram appeared.

“Huh?”

“Ah!”

“Mm?”

“Oh?”

“You are...?”

“How dare you show up here?”

It was an administrator.

The bastard had appeared in the 96th-floor waiting room.

[Player Bong Juhyeok, we meet again.]

Why did you keep showing up?

You were annoying.

[This is truly astonishing. Even I cannot measure your talent. Across the entire universe, there likely exists no other player like you.]

You were only figuring that out now?

[Handsome appearance, exceptional intellect, overwhelming combat power—you possess everything.]

Did this bastard oil his tongue before coming?

But he was still far from it.

Compared to Cossack’s mastery of flattery, this was amateur stuff.

“Enough. Why are you here?”

[Haha, I have a proposal for you.]

“...Another deal?”

[It is closer to a request than a deal.]

A request, huh.

[Would you like to hear it?]

An administrator’s proposal.

It was not the first or second time.

“Go on.”

[First, let me tell you the compensation. I will give you 100,000 kg of top-grade Magic Stones.]

Juhyeok smirked inwardly.

Only 100,000 kg?

Pathetically small and shabby.

Just listing a laptop at the auction house netted 1,000,000 kg.

It was so laughable that a scoff escaped me.

He probably thought it was an enormous price.

Still, I would hear him out.

“And the condition?”

[Could you delay clearing the 96th floor of the Black Tower for about 100 days?]

Delay it?

[I am not asking you not to clear it. Just exactly 100 days. After that, you may clear it.]

Look at this guy.

What was he scheming?

“Why?”

[There is an issue with the environment on the 96th floor. If you clear it now, an error might occur in the mission success judgment.]

There had been errors like that before.

Back when this bastard abused his authority and swapped the 89th and 90th floor missions.

It felt like a lie.

There had to be another reason.

“...When do I get the top-grade Magic Stones? After the 100 days?”

[I can give them to you now. All you need to do is sign a contract for delayed clearing after 100 days.]

“Where’s the contract?”

In an instant—

SHRRRK!

Another hologram floated in the air.

[It is an electronic contract. Touch it with your hand, and the contract will be established.]

“And if I break the contract?”

[Then penalties will naturally be applied.]

“I see.”

Interesting.

[Do not miss this opportunity. It is a full 100,000 kg of top-grade Magic Stones.]

Juhyeok pretended to think deeply.

Then—

“There’s something I don’t like.”

[What would that be...?]

“You’re not a physical being. That’s unfair. Huh? You always show up as a hologram. Contracts should be made on equal footing, don’t you think?”

[Ah! So that is your concern.]

“Very much so.”

[Hahahaha! Do not worry. This is not a simple hologram.]

“Then?”

[It is a hologram linked to the mental wavelength of my soul. Aside from lacking a physical body, it is effectively my true soul.]

“Really?”

[I swear it is not a lie! This is no different from my real self.]

Juhyeok shrugged.

“If that’s true, then fine.”

[Will you sign the contract to delay clearing the 96th floor of the Black Tower for 100 days?]

“I just touch that electronic contract with my hand, right?”

[Correct. It is simple.]

“Alright.”

Juhyeok walked over to the holographic electronic contract floating beside the administrator.

Then he pulled a hammer from his waist.

“You bastard!!!”

[...Yes?]

Swinging the Judge’s Hammer with full force toward the administrator’s hologram—

“You have confessed your own sins!!!”

[W-what?]

That was when it happened.

WOOOONG!

Juhyeok’s energy surged out through the Judge’s Hammer.

It wrapped around the administrator’s hologram—

[Gaaah! W-what is this? What’s happening?!]

It worked!

Got you, bastard!

At some point, Cossack had moved right up beside Juhyeok.

“Confess your sins at once! Otherwise, you’ll taste the heat from this swagger-riding Cossack!”

There was no room for debate that this bastard was a sinner.

The Black Tower that destroyed an entire world—and its administrator.

How sinful must that soul be?

All life on Earth No. 675 had died because of this bastard.

The question was whether it would work on a hologram.

That was why I had tested him.

He said it himself—

a hologram connected to the soul, a kind of mental wave.

Then it should work.

Was this just any hammer?

It was a divine artifact once used by Lord Yama himself.

The effect was undeniable.

Despite being a hologram, he could not move at all.

Restraint successful.

Images surfaced behind the administrator.

His past and present.

“Ooooo!”

“Kyaa! Incredible!”

“As expected of the Summoner!”

“A divine move!”

“I am impressed!”

“So wise! Certain victory!”

“WAAH!”

I am Bong Juhyeok!

Master of White Tower Floor 17, disciple of Mad Demon, friend of Cossack, lord of the dimensional farmhand Rajix, target of Diamat, and the strongest output of the Bong family.

...But the video quality kind of sucks.

Maybe because it was not a true physical form?

It was not continuous—there were frequent «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» breaks.

Still, a few things were clear.

Headquarters. A company. Gods. Dimensional energy mining.

And—

“A Grand Archangel?”

What the hell was a Grand Archangel now?

The opposite of a great demon?

Now even Grand Archangels were showing up.