That I tried to start the Holy Demon Great War? I didn’t expect such an absurd rumor to spread in such a short time.

[Your infamy is spreading across <Star Stream>.]
[Your new fable is affected by your infamy.]

I started to make excuses, then just let it go.

Either way, infamy is still fame, so it’s not a bad thing. As fame piles up, it will help my fable.

“Anyway, I really am impressed with you. Well, I knew you weren’t ordinary ever since you went around impersonating Kirios’s disciple.”

“Please keep the impersonation story a secret.”

“Heh heh, of course. By the way, why the ‘Horror Realm’ in particular? Planning to cause another huge incident?”

“I’ve caused plenty already. I volunteered for this just to survive. Honestly, going into the Horror Realm seems better than fighting the Twelve Seats of <Olympus>.”

I thought that was a fairly honest answer, but for some reason Cheon Gae sighed.

“To ‘volunteer’ for a Horror Realm expedition in order to survive…… you always surprise me.”

“You volunteered too, Ark.”

“I agonized over it a lot.”

“That’s a bit too modest.”

“It isn’t modesty. Most likely the only ones who ‘volunteered’ for this expedition are you and me.”

“Huh? Then what about everyone else?”

“They’re being dragged.”

“Uh……”

“Don’t tell me you didn’t know?”

Cheon Gae sighed once more.

“Do you actually know what the ‘Horror Realm Expedition’ is exactly?”

“It’s sending an expedition to explore the Horror Realm’s ‘dark dimension,’ isn’t it?”

“And you also know why they’re doing that here in the martial world?”

“Because of the Outer Divinity Incident, right?”

The “Outer Divinity Incident.”

The Outer Divinity “Imoogi King” crossed over from the Horror Realm and invaded the “First Murim,” massacring half of the Blue Dragon Castle’s martial artists.

In the end, thanks to the Heaven-Breaking Sword Star’s exploits, they succeeded in repelling the outer divinity, but on that day the martial world was forced to feel keenly how terrifying an outer divinity is.

“I heard the ‘Horror Realm Expedition’ is to inspect the entry zone of the Horror Realm so that doesn’t happen again.”

Of course, what the Sovereign Sword asked of me and Yoo Joonghyuk was to verify the “end of the Horror Realm,” but to be honest, I had no intention of agreeing to that kind of request.

“‘The end of the Horror Realm’ isn’t even properly described in the Annihilation Law.”

With our lifelines already hanging by a thread, why would we do something like that?

“Scary as the Horror Realm is, I heard that for the entry and mid regions there are fairly well-known strategies.”

No matter how nightmarish the “Horror Realm Expedition” was said to be, we were already past the 100th round of these expeditions.

While countless deaths occurred, the martial artists gradually began to figure out strategies for the ‘Horror Realm,’ and in particular, people appeared who were quite versed in the entry and mid regions.

Among the masters of the Five Great Families, there were even those who reached the transcendent realm quickly by clearing the ‘Horror Realm.’

I, too, had acquired information related to that through the Annihilation Law.

So, no matter how outrageous the “Horror Realm” was, I was confident I could survive to some extent.

Cheon Gae, who had been listening in silence, nodded.

“Certainly, as you say. For the entry and mid regions of the ‘Horror Realm,’ strategies are widely known. The reason the survival rate has steadily increased until now is precisely that.”

“Then why do you think it’s dangerous? You’re not thinking of checking the ‘end of the Horror Realm,’ are you?”

“That would be insanity. I have no intention of that.”

“Then……?”

“To be frank, I didn’t ‘volunteer’ purely, either.”

He seemed to hesitate a bit over whether to say this or not.

“I received a request.”

“A request?”

“The heads of the Five Great Families came to me personally and asked me to inspect the interior of the ‘Horror Realm.’”

It didn’t make sense to me.

They specifically chose this timing to hire Cheon Gae, a constellation from the martial world?

“As you know, the ‘Horror Realm Expedition’ is an important event even within the martial world. Not only to defend against outer divinities beyond the Horror Realm, but above all because it can mass-produce powerful masters through the Horror Realm.”

Lowering his voice a little, Cheon Gae continued after glancing around.

“For that reason, they’ve recently even sent additional expeditions at short intervals. For example, the 188th, 189th, and 190th expeditions were deployed consecutively with only a month between.”

Why the Five Great Families were pulling that kind of stunt was obvious.

All the more so considering the Sovereign Sword Namgung Jinchun’s peculiar hostility toward the Heaven-Breaking Sword Star.

“They’re dreaming of a martial world with not a single ‘god.’”

Right now, the “First Murim” had entered the process of “mass-producing transcendent seats.”

“But recently, all news of incarnations who entered the Horror Realm has been cut off.”

“Doesn’t that normally happen in the Horror Realm? It’s a place cut off spatiotemporally from the outside.”

“About ten rounds ago, the Five Great Families obtained an item—through a contract with the ‘Demon of the Horizon’—that allows communication with the outside even inside the Horror Realm.”

The Demon of the Horizon.

I never thought the martial world would make pacts with the horned ones (dokkaebi).

“And yet, the fact that contact was still lost means……”

Cheon Gae nodded with a grave expression.

“In the past three rounds, no one has returned alive from the Horror Realm.”

Maybe because of what he said, the expressions of the martial artists lined up in the hall felt different from before. What I had thought were resolute faces were already blotched with the fear of death; some were crying or their hands were shaking.

“It won’t be that big a deal.”

I know I shouldn’t say that kind of thing in <Star Stream>.

But this time I had my reasons, too.

“Even if something is happening inside the Horror Realm, this time we ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) have you with us, Elder. And more than anything…… this is a 20s scenario region, isn’t it?”

Obviously, scenario difficulty rises bit by bit as the scenario number goes up.

For example, in the 40s scenarios, some parts of the solar system can be annihilated, and by the 60s, there are cases where stars are slaughtered wholesale.

It even reaches the point that after the 80s, disasters begin to appear that threaten the safety of <Star Stream> itself.

But this place was still a 20s scenario.

So long as this “First Murim” was a 20s scenario region, the difficulty of the “Horror Realm Expedition” couldn’t stray from that level.

But Cheon Gae’s expression as he listened to me was odd.

“Have you perhaps not read the scenario yet?”

“Pardon?”

“Read it right now.”

I began to read the scenario. Fortunately, if you looked only at the contents, it was nothing particularly special.

+

<Main Scenario #■■ — Horror Realm Expedition>

Category: Main

Difficulty: ??

Clear Condition: Explore the Horror Realm and return after meeting the required exploration progress.

Time Limit: None

Reward: ???

Upon Failure: Death

+

Participate in the Horror Realm Expedition and return after meeting the exploration progress. Up to there, it was exactly as I knew.

The only problem was—

“What even is this, Elder.”

“So you finally checked.”

This scenario had no scenario “number.”

That shouldn’t be possible.

We’ve had scenarios of all sorts, but has there ever been a scenario without a number?

If such a scenario exists, one thing is certain.

“This scenario may not be a ‘20s scenario.’”

A foreboding chill swept over me.

Maybe, even now, I should turn around and leave the hall.

I needed to find Yoo Joonghyuk.

Just then, I spotted Yoo Joonghyuk up on the distant stage of the hall.

“Next, we will introduce the expedition leader of this ‘Horror Realm Expedition.’”

The hall was swallowed by a roar of cheers.

Yoo Joonghyuk was sweeping his eyes busily over the crowd, as if completely uninterested in the cheers. It was obvious who he was looking for.

“Elder, I should get going. I need to meet my party.”

“Go on.”

“I’ll see you again.”

I gave Cheon Gae a light bow, then pushed through the crowd toward the stage.

Meanwhile, the speech on the stage continued.

“This young hero’s name is Yoo Joonghyuk. He is the disciple of that illustrious ‘Heaven-Breaking Sword Star.’”

So the introduction had finally begun.

The instant the host finished, the hall plunged into turmoil. Understandable. The “Heaven-Breaking Sword Star” had been mentioned, of all people.

“The Heaven-Breaking Sword Star! The Heaven-Breaking Sword Star’s disciple has appeared!”

“Do they mean that kid? He’s not a master who’s returned to youth, right?”

“He’s really the Heaven-Breaking Sword Star’s disciple?”

“Wasn’t the Heaven-Breaking Sword Star not taking disciples?”

“Why introduce that young hero all of a sudden?”

As if to dismiss the audience’s questions, the Sovereign Sword concluded his words.

“Young Hero Yoo Joonghyuk will be the expedition leader for this expedition.”

Not only had the Heaven-Breaking Sword Star’s disciple appeared, he had become the leader of this “expedition.” The hall’s murmurs verged on explosive in more ways than one.

“Good lord! Are you sane?”

“Hey, Sovereign Sword! Have you lost your mind?”

“Don’t lie! There’s no way the Heaven-Breaking Sword Star would take a brat like that as a disciple!”

“Sovereign Sword! Answer us! How are you going to prove that brat is the Heaven-Breaking Sword Star’s disciple?”

“Where is Young Family Head Namgung Myeong! Wasn’t he supposed to be this expedition’s leader?”

Listening to the crowd’s complaints, I now more or less understood how things were going.

Originally, this “Horror Realm Expedition” was to be led by the Namgung Family’s Young Family Head.

But Yoo Joonghyuk had suddenly shown up and taken that seat.

“Hey, Sovereign Sword! This round, the Namgung Family was supposed to dispatch the leader! And now you’re saying you’ll make an outsider the leader?”

“He’s no outsider!”

The Sovereign Sword’s resounding lion’s roar filled the venue, drawn up from a deep well of internal energy.

“He is the Heaven-Breaking Sword Star’s disciple! Though he is not of Namgung blood, if he has inherited Heaven-Breaking’s martial arts, then he is no different from Namgung’s own!”

“But—”

“Comrades of the rivers and lakes! Do you now dare to doubt the Heaven-Breaking Sword Star’s renown?”

Cheon Gae had said it. In the most recent “three rounds” of the expeditions, there were no survivors.

If so, the reason the Sovereign Sword had put forward Yoo Joonghyuk as expedition leader was obvious.

It was the very picture of doting fatherly love.

“If anyone objects, speak now. If the ‘Heaven-Breaking Sword Star’s’ disciple is not qualified to be expedition leader, then who, pray tell, can represent our martial world?”

Naturally, there was no martial artist who could object to that. Namgung Minyeong, the Heaven-Breaking Sword Star, was an absolute powerhouse acknowledged by everyone in the martial world.

However.

“That stands only if that young hero is ‘truly the Heaven-Breaking Sword Star’s disciple.’”

“R-right. How will you prove that that kid is the Heaven-Breaking Sword Star’s disciple?”

“No matter how I look at it he seems like a boy; how could he have inherited Heaven-Breaking’s martial arts!”

This was the problem.

How would they prove that Yoo Joonghyuk was the Heaven-Breaking Sword Star’s disciple?

If the little-kid penalty on Yoo Joonghyuk were lifted, that would be one thing. As it was, he had even forgotten [Heaven-Breaking Sword Way].

“Sovereign Sword! Prove it!”

The agitated crowd looked ready to leap onto the stage at any moment.

But the Sovereign Sword was composed.

“If I prove it, will you accept it?”

It was a moment that made me tense up as well.

Yoo Joonghyuk was certainly the ‘Heaven-Breaking Sword Star’s’ disciple. But who would acknowledge a Heaven-Breaking Sword Star’s disciple who couldn’t use Heaven-Breaking’s martial arts?

However, the instant I heard the sound of a skill activating that followed, I was amazed at that old Namgung’s stratagem.

[Someone has activated ‘Discern Falsehood’!]

“I ask you on the honor of Namgung’s name. Is your master truly the ‘Heaven-Breaking Sword Star’?”

The presence of mind to activate [Discern Falsehood] in the middle of this was impressive, but that wasn’t what truly shocked me.

“The Sovereign Sword already knew that Yoo Joonghyuk was really the ‘Heaven-Breaking Sword Star’s’ disciple.”

Had he secretly used a [Discern Falsehood]-type skill to verify it beforehand? Or perhaps he had traced Yoo Joonghyuk’s past and discovered the history of his martial arts.

In any case, he had indeed discovered the fact that “Yoo Joonghyuk” was the Heaven-Breaking Sword Star’s disciple, and he used that fact to stage the current situation.

“Yes.”

The instant Yoo Joonghyuk’s answer fell, everyone sank into heavy silence.

All in the hall waited for the system message that would follow. And then—

Thump.

At first I thought it was the sound of my own heart.

Thump. Thump.

But when it sounded two, three, four times—and when the hair on my forearms started to rise without my realizing it—I understood that something was wrong.

The sky was rumbling.

“L-look—!”

At someone’s shout, I raised my head. There, an incarnation was flailing, floating in the air.

I knew by instinct. He was the one who had activated [Discern Falsehood].

And there was a massive shadow gripping him by the scruff of the neck.

I have met countless strong beings until now. I’ve witnessed archangels of <Eden>, seen the Twelve Seats of <Olympus>, and even faced great evils like Asmodeus.

But why was it—

At least at this moment, I didn’t think any of them could defeat that existence here in this martial world.

“Heaven-Breaking Sword Star.”

The God of the martial world was there.