“Go on ahead.”

“Will you be okay?”

Yeon-jun asked with a troubled expression, looking at Choi Sungkyun, who was completely wasted.

Seo-jun nodded.

“Of course.”

“What about you, hyung?”

“I’ll contact the team leader’s wife and either take him home or let him sleep in Park Yeon’s room. Don’t worry, just go.”

With that repeated assurance, Yeon-jun nodded, hoisted the sleeping Seo-woo onto his back, and left the bar.

“Didn’t he try to sacrifice himself last time?”

Park Yeon, who had approached unnoticed, looked down at the team leader and spoke.

“He did.”

“He’s a good person. Seems inherently kind as well...”

“Which is probably why he blamed himself.”

Though Seo-jun had pretended not to notice Yeon-jun, he had overheard everything from the kitchen.

Choi Sungkyun was blaming himself—berating his own weakness.

“Cheon-su… Please, Cheon-su….”

At his sleep talk, Park Yeon remarked,

“There was a time when I blamed my own weakness too.”

When Seo-jun looked at him, Park Yeon merely shrugged.

“It was when I suffered a humiliating defeat at your hands. Back then, I was sure you’d lead the monsters to invade at any moment, but surprisingly, you stayed quiet.”

“I wasn’t interested in that.”

“Who could have known?”

Just as Seo-jun was about to shake his head at Park Yeon’s still-skeptical tone—

“But this guy is different.”

“Different how?”

“I blamed my weakness because I lost to you. But he… he’s blaming his weakness because he couldn’t protect his subordinates.”

“Hmm.”

“People like him don’t tend to live long. Or they meet a bad end.”

“Is that so?”

“That’s why in dramas, people like him are always shown rising to success, right? Maybe it’s because, even if reality doesn’t allow it, people at least want to see them thrive in fiction.”

“That could be.”

“And you...”

Seo-jun looked up. Park Yeon was gazing at him with a seriousness unlike any other time.

“You have the power to create a drama for people like him, don’t you?”

Seo-jun fell silent.

In the end, the answer was yes.

As he had said before, he was not just a Demon King but a Demon God. There was a reason the title of "god" was attached to his name.

Raising Choi Sungkyun’s level by one more step wasn’t difficult.

But…

“If I do that, there might come a time when you’ll be disappointed.”

Park Yeon looked puzzled.

“Disappointed? What does that have to do with me?”

“Disappointed in your faith.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Seo-jun, lost in thought for a moment, suddenly let out a soft chuckle.

“It was just something I said.”

“What a letdown.”

Seo-jun ensured that the sleeping Choi Sungkyun would not wake up, putting him into a deep slumber.

Unless Seo-jun intentionally woke him, he would never awaken.

After that, Seo-jun placed his hand on Choi Sungkyun’s chest.

He felt the man’s heartbeat. Alongside it, he sensed the flow of ether coursing through his entire body.

Seo-jun compressed that ether. In an instant, the ether flowing through Choi Sungkyun’s body became still.

Then, into the now-still ether, he infused demonic energy.

Jolt!

Choi Sungkyun’s body shuddered.

Ether and demonic energy were opposites. His body’s reaction was like a knee-jerk reflex.

However, surprisingly, his body soon calmed down. His expression became more peaceful than ever before.

Seo-jun then placed his hand on Choi Sungkyun’s abdomen and observed his ether once more.

The ether, which had been compressed earlier, suddenly burst forth, devouring the infused demonic energy.

The consumed demonic energy was converted into ether.

Confirming this, Seo-jun withdrew his hand. He could have gone further, but Choi Sungkyun’s body wouldn’t be able to withstand it.

“Take him home.”

“Where are you going?”

Park Yeon responded a beat too late to Seo-jun’s words. He had been too engrossed in watching to react immediately.

“To create a drama.”

With that, Seo-jun left the bar.

Shudder!

Kadalan trembled violently.

“Are you all right?”

Eisuke asked with a concerned expression. But Kadalan didn’t respond.

Then, his eyes widened.

“...My god.”

“Kadalan?”

“Eisuke, I didn’t imagine that, did I?”

Until now, Kadalan had always spoken to Eisuke with formal speech. The sudden switch to informal speech startled Eisuke, but he quickly composed himself.

“What do you mean, imagine what…?”

“That man. I just felt his presence.”

“Please calm down first. Whoever he is, he’s no match for you.”

Suddenly, Kadalan roared,

“No! I’m no match for him!”

For the first time, Eisuke saw Kadalan, a being with god-like power, afraid.

His face was clearly stricken with fear.

‘Even Kadalan has something he fears?’

Suddenly, he recalled a conversation between Lord Merutus and Kadalan from the past.

‘Back then, Kadalan said he had sensed something. Could it be related?’

Eisuke fell silent.

Just who is that man?

As he pondered deeply—

“Eisuke!”

“Yes, sir?”

“We must return immediately.”

“But you just arrived.”

“If he came here knowingly, I am doomed!”

“...”

“We must return and recover our celestial energy. We must also warn our kin. Stop the experiments for now and wait.”

“U-Understood.”

With a flustered nod from Eisuke, Kadalan swiftly unfurled his wings and flew out of the stone chamber.

Choi Sungkyun awoke with a splitting headache. As he lay there, the word “work” suddenly popped into his mind.

With the force of a self-righting doll, he sprang up, only to stumble and roll across the floor in a clatter. Hearing the commotion, his wife approached.

“You fool.”

“Ugh, honey. What time is it?”

“What time? The sun is high in the sky—it’s eleven.”

“Why didn’t you wake me?!”

“I tried, but you wouldn’t respond.”

Choi Sungkyun ruffled his hair in frustration and bolted toward the bathroom. He was already late, but he couldn’t afford to be any later.

Just then—

“Why are you washing up?”

“Why are you washing up? You have to go to work!”

“Even on Saturdays?”

“Of course, even on Saturdays... Huh? Saturday?”

“Today is Saturday.”

“Huh?”

“Huh, what. Just drink some honey water. I made some for you.”

Choi Sungkyun grinned widely.

“Really?”

“Look at you smiling already.”

Choi Sungkyun drank the honey water his wife handed him. He felt the hangover easing a little.

Then—

“Huh?”

As the hangover faded, he sensed something unusual.

“What? Are you feeling sick?”

“Huh? Huhh??”

“What’s wrong with you?”

Normally, Choi Sungkyun would have snapped to attention at his wife’s words, but this time, he didn’t respond. Instead, he focused on the strange sensation within his body.

Then, he was utterly shocked.

‘Ether…’

A vast amount of ether coursed through him. It was an energy he had never felt before. Moreover, it was pure, without a hint of impurity.

“Hey, Choi Sungkyun?”

“Honey! Just a moment.”

With that, Choi Sungkyun rushed to the kitchen and suddenly grabbed a spoon.

“Have you lost your mind?”

Ignoring his wife’s scolding, he closed his eyes and focused ether into the spoon.

Then, something astonishing happened.

The spoon fused with the ether and began vibrating before floating weightlessly in midair without any physical support.

“……”

His wife collapsed onto the floor in shock.

Even though he didn’t collapse, Choi Sungkyun couldn’t regain his composure.

What he had just done was a method commonly referred to on the internet as an S-rank test.

Though widely known online, it was actually a technique used alongside ether detectors by the Bureau.

Once someone reached S-rank, their ether density became so high that they could manipulate objects freely without physical contact.

This was entirely different from telekinesis.

‘I... I underwent a transformation?’

As he absentmindedly stared at the floating spoon—

Bzzzzzz!

His phone vibrated from the bedroom.

“Dad, you have a call.”

His daughter, Hyesun, rubbed her eyes as she brought him the phone.

“Huh?”

“Your phone.”

“Oh, uh, yeah. Thanks, Hyesun.”

Forcing himself to calm down, Sungkyun answered the call.

– “Team Leader!”

“Huh?”

– “It’s Cheonsu!”

“What about Cheonsu?”

His heart sank.

Cheonsu had just gone into surgery yesterday. By evening, he had received word that the operation was over.

What happened now?

Was something wrong?

As dread crept in, his team member spoke.

– “It’s a miracle! Cheonsu’s arm is perfectly fine!”

“What? What are you talking about? Explain properly!”

– “His arm! His arm is fully functional! This guy, he’s not an ogre, so how does he have regeneration like this... Haha!”

After quickly saying he would head to the hospital, Choi Sungkyun ended the call.

The government valued prestige over wealth when recruiting Awakeners.

Even an A-rank Awakener received the same treatment as a third-grade deputy director. That was just one example.

But in today’s world, prestige didn’t hold much merit. As a result, the Bureau had no S-rank employees.

However, unexpected news caused an uproar.

Choi Sungkyun, a long-time A-rank Awakener—

He had ascended, not to AA or AAA rank, but straight to S-rank.

In the Bureau, S-rank meant being treated as an assistant vice minister. Though they weren’t officially listed as high-ranking government officials, they were granted official vehicles.

Additionally, due to the nature of their abilities, the government provided them with housing.

Most Awakeners in this situation would have opted for a desk job.

And if there was no available position, one would be created for them.

But Choi Sungkyun was different.

He insisted on staying in the field. Even Lee Myungseop couldn’t persuade him otherwise.

As a result, he remained with the Security Recon Team. And today, he was on-site for a dungeon cleanup mission.

There were two reasons why Awakeners avoided public dungeons:

Either only weak monsters like slimes spawned there, or it was filled with troublesome creatures.

The site assigned to Choi Sungkyun was the latter.

This dungeon housed Boom Spiders, creatures so bothersome that periodic cleanups were necessary.

As he stepped inside, he clenched his fist. The team members following behind him stopped in their tracks.

A moment later—

He turned around.

“There are about a hundred of them.”

“You can sense that?”

“Yeah.”

“I heard S-rankers have enhanced senses, but seeing it in action is incredible.”

“If it’s amazing to you, imagine how I feel.”

Choi Sungkyun, once a mere A-rank Awakener—

The abilities granted to S-rankers still felt unfamiliar to him.

‘Not bad, though.’

Unlike before, he felt composed.

This dungeon, infested with Boom Spiders, was regularly assigned to the Security Recon Team.

And every time it was their turn, Choi Sungkyun had experienced extreme stress.

But now, things were different. He felt confident that he could handle it alone.

“Let’s go in.”

“Yes, sir.”

His team felt the same. Knowing their leader was an S-rank gave them an incredible sense of security.

Tap, tap, tap, tap!

Within the dark dungeon—

The sound of skittering echoed. In the distance, eerie blue eyes gleamed.

“Cheonsu.”

When he called out, Im Cheonsu quietly cast a spell, illuminating the dungeon.

“I can’t hold it for long.”

“How long?”

“Four to five minutes, at most.”

Somehow, Sungkyun felt that was enough.

And his feeling was spot on.

Screeeeech!

The Boom Spiders that lunged at him didn’t last even two minutes.

Looking down at the scattered remains and torn flesh of the Boom Spiders, Choi Sungkyun smiled with satisfaction.

With this strength, he would never again have to watch his team members suffer helplessly.

No—he wouldn't allow it.