The Hero Returns

He had experienced many battles where he almost died.

Plenty of his fights had very low odds of victory, too. He even lost once, leading to his death.

However, everything was all the same for him.

Who his opponents were didn't matter to him. If the enemy were strong, then he would get just as strong, too.

Nothing had changed in that regard.

This battle would simply be one of many he had fought.

"Okay, so, that One Overlord is this creature called Vishnu? Was that what you were going to say?"

"Yes, and it seems like every one of the Five Godly Sages was aware of this tale as well."

The title of One Overlord was publicly known, but the actual identity had never been declared until now.

Still, the fact remained that quite a few worlds had perished under this creature's attack and that it was still ongoing as they spoke. However, Su-hyeun didn't pay much attention to that part.

More correctly, he couldn't pay attention to it in the first place.

"All Predators are like that, after all," he inwardly told himself.

Most Predators stayed true to their desires, leading their worlds to eventual destruction. That was what Fafnir did, and the same applied to the rest of the Three Destroyers, Uranus and Osiris.

Therefore, the One Overlord standing at their apex should be the same in that regard. If one thing separated Vishnu from the rest, it was that he wished for the complete destruction of the universe, and he possessed enough power to make it happen.

Sun Wukong muttered softly, "It's a big fight, then"

"If we don't win, there won't be a next time, Third Brother."

"No way. I can't die, remember?"

"Nope, you will die," Shiva interjected at Sun Wukong's confident remark. "Our enemy is Vishnu. He has the power to kill Brahma and me. He can even ignore the power or the rules governing immortality and invincibility."

"What? Is that even possible?"

"It is possible. Nothing's impossible for him."

This was an unexpected development for Sun Wukong.

He always fought his battles recklessly. Being "unkillable" no matter what was an advantage that could enhance one's combat prowess by several folds.

Not only that, but Sun Wukong was already used to fighting in this way, so this situation was no longer as simple as him losing this advantage.

His reckless nature could cost him his life for real this time.

However...

"Oh, so you're saying I might die, eh?" Sun Wukong was still grinning. "Wow, this is so thrilling, you know that?"

He sounded even more excited than before as well.

In combat, everyone had a clear rule: Unless the fight was a sparring session, fight as if your life was on the line.

The victor held the loser's life in their hands, with the right to choose whether to spare or execute the defeated, or one could die during the battle itself.

Rather obviously, that rule didn't apply to Sun Wukong. After possessing an immortal body, battles had become nothing but playtime for Sun Wukong.

"It's nothing to sweat over, though. In a battle, you either kill or be killed. That's all."

"Don't get too nervous, then."

"Don't worry. Also..." Sun Wukong's eyes sparkled brightly as if his competitive streak had awakened after a long slumber, "I really, really wanna fight you later, too."

Those eyes of Sun Wukong staring at Shiva were uncannily similar to back when he first met Su-hyeun.

Shiva not only looked the same as Su-hyeun but was also a being that held the fate of the universe in his hands. The notion of battling such a being was more than enough to ignite Sun Wukong's competitive streak.

"Well, if we have the opportunity later, sure," Shiva shrugged his shoulders before shifting his gaze over to Su-hyeun.

In that brief lull, Su-hyeun seemed to have fallen into a deep pool of thoughts.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Oh. How much time do we have left?"

"Probably less than half a day?"

"Half a day, hmm..."

Since Buddha had already been defeated, they probably didn't have much time left now. In the remaining time, Su-hyeun had to decide on one important thing.

The day was gradually growing darker. It wasn't night just yet, but the moon still faintly appeared over the horizon.

"How about over there?" Su-hyeun asked.

"Over there?"

"Yes. It's wide open with no obstructions. Although it's a bit harder to breathe... That won't be a problem for us."

"Doesn't matter where we fight, though."

"It matters to me."

No matter where they fought, there was bound to be a massive loss of life. Moreover, the risk was not just on the level of one or two cities getting destroyed but countries getting wiped out at the very least.

Su-hyeun inwardly contemplated, "Even so, if we change the location to the moon..."

He probably wouldn't have to worry as much about collateral damage during the battle.

"It sounds like a good idea. I agree with my friend."

Unsurprisingly, Hercules agreed with Su-hyeun's opinion and spoke his mind. As a half-god, half-human, he worried about the losses of lives as much as Su-hyeun did.

Shiva also didn't want a situation where his comrades couldn't unleash all of their strengths due to external factors. In the end, the location was selected according to Su-hyeun's wish.

Once the location was decided, Hercules spoke again, "I should go and inform father now."

"Inform him? About what?"

"Did you think we can fight with only this number of combatants?"

Split'”

At that moment, the sky split open. However, this doorway was different from the one King Yama used to travel from hell.

"Hear ye, for I have come!"

The heavens rumbled from the loud voice.

It belonged to Thor, who was accompanied by the surviving warriors of Asgard.

* * *

The news regarding two "dungeon" portals appearing in the skies spread rapidly online.

One was black, while the other one was white. Of course, these were not related to dungeons and were simply doorways, but people didn't know that.

"Something is going on here."

Lee Ju-ho enlarged the satellite images sent by the Gordon Company.

The black doorway opened, and a crimson-skinned giant popped out from there. Without a doubt, the person talking to this giant was Su-hyeun.

There were other people present, and something caught Lee Ju-ho's attention.

"There are two Su-hyeuns?"

There was someone else with the same face as Su-hyeun. Besides him, Lee Ju-ho also recognized Sun Wukong and the Bull Demon King.

Click'”

He used the mouse to move on to the next image.

A group of people emerged from the white "dungeon" this time. Although it was not rare to see "people" come out of dungeons, most of them had already turned into undead creatures or became a type of monster with broken minds.

"It looks like Su-hyeun is acquainted with them...?"

However, the person who looked like the group leader was greeting Su-hyeun enthusiastically in the image.

"Just what is going on here?" Lee Ju-ho thought.

"Big bro?"

Lee Ju-ho's head turned at the voice coming from the window.

Su-hyeun was entering the office through the window. Even though they were dozens of floors up, he sure was fond of using windows instead of the perfectly fine door, it seemed.

"Hey, this is you, right?" Lee Ju-ho asked while turning the computer monitor around.

Since Su-hyeun had no idea about the satellites taking photos of him, he got slightly surprised by what he saw. He then nodded in affirmation.

"What is going on this time?"

"This could be the last one."

"What do you mean, the last one?"

Lee Ju-ho spotted a certain grim determination within Su-hyeun's expression as the latter stepped over the window sill. Even his voice carried a greater force than before, too.

"Bro, please alert all the awakeners and tell them to prepare themselves. Not just in Korea, but everyone in the world."

"What, right now?"

"Yes."

"But how can I do that at such short notice?"

"Please do your utmost best. Also, try to minimize civilian casualties as much as possible."

"Sounds like something big is about to go down, then. Anything else? Do you need any help?"

"Well, no. Not much you guys can help me with, unfortunately. This is all in preparation for that just-in-case, you see."

"Makes sense, I guess. It's not like we can do much in a battle involving all those people..."

Su-hyeun, Sun Wukong, and the Bull Demon King were present. Besides this trio, the other people in the satellite images looked extraordinarily strong. On top of that, Su-hyeun's words about this being the "last one" didn't seem like an empty remark at all.

"Last one, huh?"

There was no time to ponder it leisurely.

Lee Ju-ho quickly nodded, "Got it. I'll send the word out. It will be impossible to meet face to face with everyone, so I'll do conference calls with other countries' Associations and deliver your message."

"Thank you."

"Still, can't you tell me a simplified version of what's going on here? If you ask the others to prepare for something without a sound reason, they won't respond at all, you know."

"This is what's going on..."

Su-hyeun explained the simplified version of the events so far.

He omitted the bit about Vishnu, however. That part of the story would be too difficult to accept, anyway. Even if Su-hyeun explained it, it would be akin to grabbing at floating clouds.

So, he explained that their target was the cause of all the dungeons and the main enemy of gods from various worlds. That should be enough for Lee Ju-ho to figure out the severity of the situation.

"And now, big bro will decide on how to spread the word," Su-hyeun thought.

How would the Awakener Associations of various nations respond after listening to this story?

The battle against Vishnu most likely didn't require their help, to begin with. Indeed, their presence wouldn't be needed during the battle at all.

"It's not as if all dungeons have disappeared."

Not only within the Path to Reincarnation, but all the dungeons throughout the universe also ceased appearing altogether. That was because Shiva had temporarily stopped them after joining forces with Su-hyeun to deal with Vishnu's matter.

As such, the dungeon materialization hadn't ended at all. Shiva's preparation to bring forth the universe's destruction was still underway, meaning dungeons could reappear at any time.

It would be too late to react after the battle against Vishnu was over.

"Since that's the case..."

Su-hyeun turned his head and looked outside the window.

It was around six o'clock'”early in the evening, in other words.

He took in the sight of Seoul's skyline bathed in the fading sun, noticing the bright full moon rising in the distance.

* * *

"What a spectacle this is."

The scene waiting for Su-hyeun on the moon was something even he couldn't have anticipated: Thor and Asgard's warriors.

Their number was slightly less than one hundred. That already seemed like quite a lot, but somehow, that number had swelled up so much that it became too difficult to count now.

Several familiar faces were among them, too.

"You're finally here."

"You're the last one to arrive, fella."

Apollo, Ares, and Hades were here.

Other Olympian gods were present, too. They discovered Su-hyeun and waved their hands to greet him.

Su-hyeun greeted them back. He then walked up to Shiva next, "Where have all these folks come from?"

"Zeus brought them here."

"He did?"

"He sure has brought a lot, hasn't he? And here I was, wondering just where he'd been traveling to all this time."

It wasn't just Olympus or Asgard, either. Gods from various worlds were still streaming in. Most of them seemed to be in a close relationship with the Five Godly Sages, too.

This couldn't have been prepared in a day or two.

Zeus must have worked hard for a very long time for this moment.

"Where are my brothers, though?" Su-hyeun thought.

Searching for Sun Wukong and the Bull Demon King among these many gods wasn't easy. For some reason, their presences were almost impossible to detect.

Su-hyeun searched for a while and eventually found Sun Wukong and the Bull Demon King in some corner, sitting in lotus positions.

"Wait, even Third Brother is doing that?"

Sun Wukong hated sitting down doing nothing more than death itself. Just sitting still for a few seconds would make his whole body writhe from impatience. Yet here he was, not even budging an inch.

Su-hyeun didn't go out of his way to disturb them. He figured that they were adjusting their mental state before the colossal battle commenced.

"In that case, I should, too..."

He settled down and crossed his legs'”like back when he started cultivating the Sage Arts, with a calm mind. He let go of his tension.

Just like that, quite some time seemed to have passed by. How long had it been exactly?

"He's almost here," Shiva was the first one to notice something and spoke.

"Ah..."

Gu-woooo...

Su-hyeun slowly opened his eyes next; then, his head shifted in that direction, "So it seems."

He couldn't see "him" with his naked eyes. His senses didn't even pick up any presence, either. Even so, he was sure of it.

This feeling he was getting right now was a first for him.

It was as if a certain intuitive sense of repulsion was engraved deep in his DNA, as well as a sense of fear. He had a feeling that a massive carnivorous predator was approaching him.

"He's here," he inwardly said.

In the far-off distance, somewhere in the vast expanse of outer space was...

"Vishnu."

Su-hyeun saw distant eyes gleaming sharply as they gradually loomed closer.

This was that moment'”the one he saw through Foresight.