Chapter 101 - Juliel's Wilderness

“W...what's happened?”

“Let's talk a little bit later.”

Woojin left Sunggoo and headed towards Juliel.

“Was it you? Were you the one going around and causing Dungeon Breaks?”

Woojin's heart ran cold. When he returned after attaching 6 Shadows to the terrorists of interest, Holy Maiden Melody informed him of the situation in Korea. Daegoo had an unexpected Dungeon Break.

He was quickly getting ready to head back to Korea when he had heard of the broadscale Dungeon Breaks in Seoul. When all the news channels were talking about the situation, Woojin decided to catch a ride on a missile.

With General David's aggressive support, he was allowed to use a ICBM with its warhead removed. He used Dolsae's ability to cobble together several fighter jets and attach it to the ICBM. He had made a rocket taxi.

He didn't need such things like a landing gear.

The Spirit Armor had protected Woojin.

This was the reason why Woojin was able to step onto the soil of Seoul within couple hours of the Sahdahng Station’s Dungeon Break.

The existing rules of the Dungeon Break had been turned on its head, and one of Trahnet's Commander Juliel was in front of Woojin's eyes.

In Woojin's memory, this guy wasn't that strong. They had frequently clashed with each other, but he hadn't been too much of a threat.

[I don't believe it….]

Juliel's body shook.

That damn Rashmode.

Rashmode’s chance for using his summon magic had come so he had materialized on earth through the summons. However, Rashmode had come back after only a brief time had passed. He hadn't even been able to see the open sky.

Juliel kept asking what had happened to him, but Rashmode refused to say anything. Juliel would have never guessed the reason was the Immortal...

[Why the hell are you here?]

“This is my home.”

[…….]

How could such a situation occur?

Juliel had observed this place for a long time. He watched how the humans of earth fought, and he observed how much destructive power the modern weapons held. He also had a good idea of the quality of Earth’s Roused.

He had decided to slowly turn this place into his base, but the Immortal had suddenly appeared in front of him.

“How did you cause the Break?”

[What bullshit are you spouting?]

“It feels weird to be given bullshit by a dog.”

Juliel's body shook. Juliel was the leader of the proud Gray Wolf tribe yet he was being treated like a dog. It was the most insulting words that could have been said to him.

Moreover, the Immortal have insulted him countless of times before. He was an asshole of the highest order.

“Did you cause the Break?”

[…….]

“I guess not.”

[Oh-ho. You also became Initialized.]

“…….”

He was saying the same thing as Rashmode.

[Koo-hahaha. You really are a human from earth.]

Juliel was in a good mood as he laughed and light started gathering around his horn. The Immortal had been Initialized, so he hadn't recovered his full power yet. Wasn't this the opportunity to take his revenge?

[The favor of Trahnet is with me! Koo-hahaha.]

“What nonsense.”

Woojin frowned as he saw Juliel prepare his Lightning magic.

“Initialization. That damned word.”

That word grated on his nerves. Woojin's class had become advanced, but he did experience a level down. He was recovering quickly, but it bothered him that Trahnet's Commanders noticed it.

“I think you are under a delusion.”

Woojin took out his Warrior's Weapon. His Steel Staff turned into its axe form. Woojin ran towards Juliel. In a blink of an eye, Woojin used 'Sprint' to arrived in front of Juliel.

“If a high schooler became a middle schooler, would that middle schooler lose to an elementary student?”

Woojin swung his axe and aimed for Juilel's head.

Kwahng!

Juliel came face to face with him. He thrust his horn out and clashed with Woojin.

Pah-ji-ji-ji-jeek.

[I knew your arrogance would bring trouble down on your own head.]

Juilel laughed. The Immortal had been the most insolent being on the continent. He was oblivious to his weakened self and he was acting out. This time Juliel would get rid of him once and for all.

Kwah-kwahng, pah-jee-jeek!

A dump-truck sized wolf ran forward. It looked foolhardy for a human to fight the wolf. However, the fight was unexpectedly even. As the fight dragged on, Juliel felt himself being steadily pushed back and felt a sense of desperation inside because of it.

‘Had the Immortal always been fighting this good?’

The bastard was taunting him since he wasn't using any magic. Now that he thought about it, he wasn’t using his Immortal army, which was considered to be his main source of power.

‘So that's how it is. That bastard has lost his Immortal Army!’

Why did this bastard suddenly disappear from Planet Alphen? What happened afterwards?

The Immortal's territory was Alandal.

It was a place where the Immortal Army lived. After he disappeared, the kingdom didn't have a king and there weren't any Knights to take the reigns. The Immortal Army wasn't an army at all at that point. The Undead monsters just roamed around Alandal now.

The Immortal had lost all of his underlings... It wasn't appropriate to call him the King of the Dead any more...

[Ooh ooh ohhhhhhhhh!]

The Gray Wolves charged forward at Juliel's roar.

"Koo-roo-roo-roo-roo."

The Gray Wolves showed their teeth as they growled. Woojin smirked when he saw them. The monsters that had been wandering around were all converging to this location. Woojin intentionally backed away.

[Ooh-ohhhhhh!]

Juilel thought Kahng-woojin was trying to retreat since he was at a disadvantage. He let out a much louder howl and gathered the monsters in the vicinity. There were more than Gray Wolves here.

He was Trahnet’s commander who possessed 2 Thrones. Various monsters, who had submitted to Juliel's authority, gathered at his call.

They gathered near where Woojin had fallen and created a crater. A tidal wave of monsters crowded around. Woojin turned to confirm the Hammer Guild Headquarter’s lower entrance was closing.

While Juliel was gathering his underlings, Sunggoo had received a telepathic message from Woojin. Park-sahngoh and the Hammer guild Roused had all retreated by then.

[Koo-koo. How does it feel to have the tables turned on you?]

Juliel would have never thought he would have the opportunity to attack the Immortal with numerical superiority, yet it was really happening. The bastard would get exhausted and eventually fall as a cold corpse.

He didn't have to do anything. No, he would use his teeth to rip his throat out at the final moment.

Had the Immortal always felt what he was feeling right now?

“Why's the dog barking?”

[Dog…. I am a member of the proud Gray Wolf race...]

“A wolf is also a dog. I'm right.”

[…Kill him.]

The monsters reacted to Juliel's ferocious will. The Human-faced Bats, Gray Wolves, and other various monsters which had come out of the Dungeon headed towards Woojin. Woojin laughed when he saw this.

“Thank you for gathering all of them for me.”

The city was too complex, so it was the worst place to track down and hunt preys. Even if a single monster managed to run away into the sewer systems, it would take an additional several days to capture it. Thus, he couldn't help but feel thankful when all the monsters gathered for him.

“Come out.”

Pah-paht.

At Woojin's call, the black smoke coalesced. All the Death Knights were summoned at once.

“Take them all down.”

[It's an order from the King!]

Kiba and the other Death Knights summoned their Phantom Steeds. Then they simultaneously casted their summoning circles. There was a rip in space as a black crack opened, and the Skeleton Soldiers under their command jumped out.

“Kee-kee-keek.”

The Skeleton Soldiers made bizarre sounds as they appeared, sweeping across the charging monsters. In a flash, the Undead army had swarmed the monsters, and Juliel was taken aback.

[Y...you were hiding them!]

“They say dogs are supposed to be smart, yet why are you so dumb?”

[…….]

Woojin leisurely walked towards Juliel using a bloody path opened by the Death Knights.

It was humiliating. It was too humiliating that he couldn't speak. He wanted to rip the tricky Immortal apart.

“Stop moaning like a little bitch and attack me.”

 Woojin approached him as he turned his Weapon into a hammer. Juliel quickly set off his thunderbolts.

Pah-jee-jeek!

The electrical attack spread into the surrounding, but the Spirit Armor blocked it all. Juliel disappeared from Woojin's sight for a brief moment. When his vision cleared, Woojin readied himself to receive another attack.

“What?”

Woojin expected him strike out with consecutive attacks, but Juliel was running away.

[Wait and see, Immortal!]

He let out the tired words of assurance predicting his next victory, then he ran away into the subway station. It was questionable as to how such a large body could fit into the entrance.

“Jeez.”

Woojin thought about Juliel's nature, since he had countless of run-ins with him. He really did bark a lot like a dog. They had fought a couple dozens of times, but Woojin could count with his fingers how many time he had managed to kill Juliel. Whenever the bastard was a bit at a disadvantage on Planet Alphen, he would turn tail and run.

“Tidy up this place.”

[We will uphold your order.]

The Death Knights renewed their efforts and the corpses of the monsters kept mounting one by one. He wanted to chase after Juliel immediately, but he had to kill all the monsters first while they were bunched up.

If they dispersed once again, it would be troublesome to find them.

“Hyung-nim! I'll help.”

When Juliel disappeared, Sunggoo and the other Roused ran out again.

Too-roo-roo-roo-roo.

Five helicopters with machine guns attached to them showed up, and tanks were soon seen on the roads.

The soldiers showed up and made a wide perimeter. The tanks shot with their cannons into regions where there were unusually large clusters of monsters.

Kwahnng!

The soldiers and the Roused in the surrounding joined forces and the eradication of the monsters took a short amount of time.

“We won!”

The happiness felt from the victory only lasted for a brief moment.

“Hoo-hook. Mother.”

“Ahjin! What will I do without my Ahjin.”

The civilians, who lost their family or friends let out a wail. At a glance, most of the monsters in the surrounding had been eradicated. Still, there were still some monsters who hadn't submitted to Juliel's authority left . These monsters were still causing trouble nearby. It would be awhile before complete eradication could be achieved.

There were a lot of monster corpses on the street, but there were also a lot of human corpses too.

This was the calamity caused by the unannounced Dungeon Breaks.

The people gathered at the Hammer guild's building, which doubled as an evacuation shelter, started to let out an outcry.

“Please let me out.”

“No. It's still dangerous. Please go back in.”

“My daughter is lying there! At the very least, shouldn't you let me recover my daughter's corpse?"

The monsters weren't entirely eradicated, so why were these people making such a ruckus? The Hammer guild employees were sweating in agony as they tried to assuage the angry civilians.

When the shadow of death tightened the noose around their necks, they had run away since their lives were precious to them. However, now that they were assured they would live, sadness became infectious amongst the people. It hit them like a violent storm.

However, when Woojin suddenly appeared, the people stopped their outcry as if it had been a lie. When Woojin stepped closer to them, the people started retreating backwards, and a path was automatically formed.

When Minchan discovered Woojin, he pushed by the people to come towards him.

“President!”

“I guess you are still alive.”

“…….”

“What about my family?”

“Your mother and sister are all safe.”

He had been worried when he heard Sahdahng Station had Broke yet it seemed they were lucky enough to have evacuated. Woojin patted Minchan's shoulder.

“All right. I'll leave everything here to you.”

“What? You don't want to go meet them?”

There were too many people crowded here, but Woojin's family was amongst the evacuees.

Kahng-woojin shrugged his shoulder.

“You said they are alive.”

“Yes. But….”

“It's all right then. I'll be back after I chase down that bastard.”

“Yes, sir.”

Woojin quickly left the evacuation shelter and Minchan stared blankly at Woojin's figure move away. How could his public and private face be so thoroughly guarded?

‘No.’

This felt different.

His family's life had been on the line and he was overly calm....

Minchan shook his head to dislodge that thought. He went back into the throng of people to find Woojin's family, as well as Alandal's guild members.

*

Woojin sent the Death Knights and Skeleton Soldiers to the Summon room and he went into the Dungeon by himself. Juliel had quickly run away into this Dungeon.

The Dungeon's secret was that it could be used as a Dimensional Door.

How could a Dungeon have an outbreak before the requisite 30 days?

The Break itself was linked to the balance of the Dimensions.

If one could freely move between the Dimensions, Dungeon Breaks would be happening all the time. Millions of people would die.

Woojin descended the subway station Juliel had run away into.

He decided to chase first, and ask questions later.

When he entered the Dungeon, he heard an announcement that was a bit different from the usual one.

<You've entered into Juliel's Wilderness.>

<It is in an Unassigned State. It is impossible to choose the 'Battle' and 'Intelligence' Mode.>

<You have to choose one of the these modes. ‘Visit’, ‘Infiltration’ and ‘Clear’.>

“Jeez….”

Woojin's brows became furrowed. This Dungeon itself was Juliel's Dimensional Domain. It was a bit different from the usual announcement he heard when going through a gate, but he had experienced this once with Rashmode.

However, at that time he hadn’t been given a choice except the Clear Mode….

“I guess I have no choice.”

In a situation like this, that choice was probably the wisest.