The White House of the United States.
Secretary of Homeland Security MacMillan sat alone with President Lloyd.
Both men wore grave expressions.
"The House has notified us that they're triggering an investigative hearing."
"Because of the unauthorized removal of nuclear warheads?"
"Yes. They're furious that we handed them over without congressional approval."
MacMillan nodded.
He understood the position of Congress.
It was clearly a procedural violation.
In truth, they hadn't handed everything over.
What was taken to Korea wasn't even 10% of the total.
The United States had an enormous stockpile of nukes.
Even Russia, which rivaled the U.S. for first or second place, had readily provided nuclear weapons—
including the Tsar Bomba, the strongest hydrogen bomb ever created.
The real problem was China.
Not only had they refused to provide nuclear weapons, they hadn't even issued a statement of support.
With China—already in conflict with the U.S.—clutching its nukes tightly,
America had removed and dismantled its own.
"So public opinion isn't good. People are asking how we'd respond if China launched a nuclear provocation."
"Hm."
From the White House's perspective, what was the biggest concern?
An investigative hearing?
That could be handled politically.
Public opinion turning sour—that was the real fear.
It was directly tied to elections.
As a politician, it was impossible not to prioritize that.
"What about this?"
"What?"
"Let's release it. The footage I took recently."
"What— ah! Parallel-universe America?"
"Yes."
The footage had already been reviewed internally.
It had been recorded, but a decision on whether to release it hadn't yet been made.
There was concern about the shock it would cause the public.
And about accusations that they were deliberately stoking fear.
But now, releasing it seemed like the right call.
For the justification behind providing nuclear weapons.
"…Alright. Let's make it public."
"I'll prepare it."
"Do you think people will accept it?"
"Don't worry. Just seeing the ruins of New York will be enough."
President Lloyd nodded.
He himself had been stunned when he saw the footage MacMillan and Antonio had brought back.
"Oh, by the way, Mac."
"Yes?"
"Did you eat all of it?"
"Eat what?"
"The cherry tomatoes you brought back."
Flinch.
MacMillan's face stiffened.
"…Haha, yes. I ate them all a while ago. It's been almost a month."
"Antonio said you took more than he did, so you should still have plenty left."
That traitor.
Stabbing a man in the back like this?
The box of cherry tomatoes gifted by Player Bong Juhyeok had been divided fairly between Antonio and himself.
Well—he admitted he'd taken one or two more.
"…No. I ate them all."
"Hm. Really?"
"Why don't you search Antonio's fridge instead? I bet you'll find tomatoes there."
"You're both saying the same thing."
The truth was, some were still left—but he absolutely couldn't give them up.
They had to be rationed.
He himself ate one per day.
'Should I not have brought them?'
Giving a few to President Lloyd to taste—because they were a gift from Player Bong Juhyeok—had been a mistake.
These weren't ordinary cherry tomatoes.
They were precious.
Eat one in the morning, and the entire day felt different.
Overflowing vitality, and even the weak urinary stream that came with age flowed powerfully again—
Something even a president couldn't be given freely.
Who knew when he'd get another gift?
"Do you have Player Bong Juhyeok's personal phone number?"
"…I do."
"Leave it with me before you go."
"Yes, sir."
He was probably planning to ask for a box.
As if that'd be easy.
Even Commissioner Jeon Gwang-il, his closest aide, had only gotten one box.
In any case, the footage was released through major American news channels.
Earth No. 675—a parallel universe America reduced to ruins.
The American public was deeply shocked.
It could have been their future.
Naturally, public opinion began to shift.
White Tower, Floor 1.
The forward base for clearing the Black Tower of Earth 675.
All supplies had been transferred here.
Although this was the complete conquest of a Black Tower in another world,
it would expand the influence of our White Tower's master, Whitey.
Using that power as a stepping stone,
they would move on to fully clear the Black Tower of Earth No. 1,001—our own world.
This was the Black Tower climbing strategy.
As for invading the Outer Gods' main base—
that still required much more consideration.
Honestly, who even knew where the main base was?
The ending was still far away.
"Unit, attention!"
Major Bae's booming voice rang out.
Snap!
The summoned beings stood tall in perfect discipline.
"Present arms to Commander Bong Juhyeok! Victory!"
"…Victory! At ease!"
"At ease!"
The departure ceremony began.
Juhyeok hadn't wanted it, but they insisted.
All because of that self-proclaimed Zhuge Liang—Kosak.
Did he really think he was Zhuge Kongming?
"I will now present the Declaration of Campaign."
Ahem.
Kosak cleared his throat.
"Your humble servant, Strategist to Summoner Bong, exemplar of strategy and tactics, Intelligence 100, Martial Might 100—when Heaven already birthed Kosak, why did it also birth Rajiks? The tragic eternal second-in-command, Nobel Tower-Clearing Award nominee, Zhuge Kosak humbly reports."
Yes, yes.
"The world has split in two—Earth 675 and Earth 1,001. With the realm divided, the world lies in ruin, and the survival of nations hangs by a thread."
This was already boring.
"I still remember when I first met Summoner Bong. He always lowered himself for one as insignificant as me—"
Sleepy.
"Seeing Summoner Bong set aside personal glory to calm this age of chaos, I resolved to stand closest to his great march toward the complete conquest of the Black Tower—"
Mad Demon sighed.
Rajiks yawned.
Gyeon Dallae shook her head.
"We shall prevail! The glory of fully conquering the Black Tower shall belong entirely to Summoner Bong! With the collective will of all summoned beings, I hereby proclaim our departure!!!"
Clap clap clap clap.
Half-hearted applause.
Finally, it was over—
before he could ramble any longer.
"Let's go!"
Only now did Juhyeok's chest swell.
It felt like he was a hero going to save the world.
They boarded the elevator,
pressed the temporarily generated button for Floor 96—
Click.
Admins, bastards—
I'm coming.
The weakest man of a parallel world cast his declaration and entered,
to put an end to the Black Tower of Earth 675.
Hwaaaaat!
Spot!
With the aid of White Tower Whitey,
the elevator went straight through.
They arrived directly in the world connected to Floor 96.
[You have arrived at the starting point of the Sixth Stage of the Great Journey.]
Where was this?
The Demon Realm? No.
Once the mission appeared, they'd know.
Juhyeok walked forward.
Then—
Ding!
[Mission: Enter the Corrupted Heavenly Realm, a world that has lost its god.]
[Time Limit: None.]
The Corrupted Heavenly Realm?
"I knew it would be this. After the Demon Realm, the Heavenly Realm, right? Well within prediction."
"Hm."
"It may have been a fixed sequence."
"But it is not a complete Heavenly Realm. It bears the modifier 'corrupted,' and moreover—"
"It has lost its god."
"Indeed. To lose its god means it cannot properly wield divine power."
Wait.
A Heavenly Realm—
then angels?
"Could this world be related to the archangel?"
"It is possible. Especially since it is connected to the Black Tower."
Clearing this place might yield clues about the archangel.
"…Alright."
"Let's begin."
First step: enter the Corrupted Heavenly Realm.
Follow-up missions would come afterward.
'Is there a path?'
There was no path.
But it was extremely easy to tell where the Corrupted Heavenly Realm was.
In the distance—
a grayish-white fog stood like a barrier, blocking the way.
Entering that fog was likely the Heavenly Realm.
Juhyeok walked forward.
Spot! Pat! Pat! Pat!
The summoned beings rushed ahead of him.
"Hey, walk together."
They always ran ahead.
"Come slowly. This old man will scout first—"
At that moment—
Swoong!
The fog suddenly began to ripple.
As if it were alive.
"Hm?"
"Hmmm."
"This…"
"Hoe?"
It wasn't just fog.
The particles were quite large.
They only looked like fog because everything was white.
A clustered mass of flying things.
Ts-ts-ts-ts-ts-ts.
They gathered, dispersed, then gathered again, making an ominous sound.
At least they didn't fly all the way over.
They seemed to have a territory.
Likely guardians of the Corrupted Heavenly Realm.
"I'll send a drone."
"You brought one?"
"Better safe than sorry."
Sseut.
Rajiks pulled out a drone.
Whiiing!
It lifted into the air.
Shooot!
It flew straight toward the cluster.
At that exact moment—
Ding!
[You have entered the Corrupted Heavenly Realm, the world that has lost its god.]
"Oh!"
The drone completed the mission for them.
Good job.
But—
Ts-ts-ts-ts-ts-ts-ts!
The grayish cluster surged toward the drone.
Scrrk, skreeee!
The sound of metal being scraped—
And the drone vanished instantly.
What?
"Did it get eaten?"
"It got eaten."
"Eaten."
"Eaten indeed."
"Eaten."
"Hoe."
No, drones aren't edible.
What the hell are those things?
Mad Demon narrowed his eyes, enhancing his vision.
"Monsters. Each and every one is a monster. They have wings, and they're smaller than fruit flies."
Monsters?
All of them?
And smaller than fruit flies?
"Heh. Faces? They're human."
"What?"
Human?
"The monsters' facial features are human. Two eyes, two ears, one mouth and nose… yes. Without a doubt, humanoid demons."
Humanoid monsters.
And that small?
"Tinkerbell?"
"Fairies, absolutely not. I sense an extremely ferocious aura. Just look at how the drone was gnawed away."
Small—
but extremely aggressive.
"Fine dust monsters."
In other words, the opposite of giant monsters.
Ding!
A follow-up mission appeared.
[Mission: Locate the Corrupted Divine Land within the Corrupted Heavenly Realm.]
[Time Limit: None.]
Another location-finding mission.
The Corrupted Divine Land.
But where is it supposed to be?
Wherever it is, the problem is how to deal with these micro monsters.
It isn't easy.
They're too small.
And they can fly.
Honestly, it would be easier if they were big.
At least there was one small mercy:
They didn't cross out of the Corrupted Heavenly Realm.
They stayed inside it.
Within the boundary.
Anything that crossed into their territory got eaten.
"Should we send in a Gigant?"
Would that survive?
"Dr. El."
"Understood."
Sssssssshk!
A massive Gigant emerged from Rajiks's subspace.
Not Unit No. 3, but a self-destruct model.
—Command input received. Execution mode: rapid forward advance.
Thud thud thud thud thud thud thud thud!
The Gigant charged forward, bravely plowing into the micro monsters.
Ratatatatat! Ratatatat!
Countless micro monsters swarmed over the Gigant's body.
You little bastards.
Your teeth are going to break, right?
Our Gigant is metal! Idiots!
No matter how much you—
…Huh?
'What the hell is that?'
The Gigant's height was shrinking.
Scrrrk, skree! Scrrrk.
"Mm."
"Hmm."
"Khm."
"R."
"…Hoo."
It was being eaten.
The massive Gigant body was rapidly diminishing.
What?!
They ate it?
That huge thing?
And it's made of metal?!
Like a swarm of locusts.
No food to eat, so they eat metal now?
If he crossed over there himself—
Gulp.
Juhyeok swallowed dryly.
'Should we give up?'
They didn't have to cross.
It wasn't like they had to completely clear another world's Black Tower.
But after boldly issuing a declaration and coming this far, giving up would just be ridiculous.
Right.
Let's clear it.
Once you draw a blade, you see it through.
For the sake of revenge for Earth 675.
"Everyone, gather up."
The summoned beings crowded around.
"We don't have to kill those things, right?"
"Correct. The mission is to find the Corrupted Divine Land. There is no need to overextend."
"If we can avoid them, we should."
"We need rapid movement. But not on the ground—through the air."
That's right.
Air is better than land.
Surely it's not a no-fly zone?
"Ancient Dragon Air, Captain Crackrus, try flying. Let's see if it works."
"Understood."
Boom!
Crackrus transformed into his true form.
Flap, flap.
He slowly rose into the air.
Flight was possible.
"How is it? Can you shake them off?"
"Hahaha! I am an ancient dragon. Can a propeller plane catch a supersonic fighter jet?"
Oh!
Our reliable green aircraft.
However—
"If we go too deep, we must consider the risk of being surrounded."
Juhyeok nodded.
Getting cocky just because they were fast would end badly.
Those countless clusters that looked like fog.
There was no way to even estimate their numbers.
"What about invisibility? Make it an invisible dragon so they can't see us."
"Oh! Invisible Dragon, super strong, best dragon! Roaaar! One roar and they all run!"
But Crackrus looked troubled.
"Invisibility is impossible in true form. And even if I were invisible, the summoner and the others would still—"
Right.
What good is it if only the plane is invisible?
The passengers would still be visible.
Suddenly, Kosak spoke as if something had occurred to him.
"How about this?"
"What?"
"We plaster ourselves with the Fairy Princess's perception-disruption talismans."
Huh?
Perception-disruption talismans?
"All of us get one each. Greenie's big, so slap about a hundred on him."
…Oh?
"Then he becomes Stealth Greenie."
That's… true.
Disrupting perception is basically stealth.
Kosak really—
'He's a genius?'
That hadn't even crossed his mind.
The other summoned beings seemed to think the same, staring blankly at Kosak.
Even Gyeon Dallae.
She looked like she couldn't believe she hadn't thought of it herself, despite being the one who drew the talismans.
"Princess, can you do it?"
"More than sufficient."
Were Gyeon Dallae's talismans ordinary?
They had even received a shower of immortal energy, radiating a subtle, profound aura.
"As expected of Zhuge Kosak. His ideas always hit blind spots. Hahahaha!"
"You flatter me. Hehehehe."
Ssshk!
From Rajiks's subspace came monster-yellow paper, cinnabar ink, brushes, and a small table.
With swift, flowing strokes, Gyeon Dallae drew the talismans.
One pasted on each person.
Many more on Crackrus.
Just in case, attachment magic secured them tightly.
Juhyeok and the summoned beings boarded the stealth green aircraft.
Higher than the ultrafine dust monsters.
Faster than them.
Flap, flap.
Crackrus slowly ascended.
"This captain announces: this stealth aircraft will pass through the boundary region of the Corrupted Heavenly Realm."
Higher and higher.
After ascending enough—
"Wow…"
The sight below.
The fog spread across the Corrupted Heavenly Realm—
all of it was ultrafine dust monsters.
If they'd charged in blindly, it would've been disastrous.
The green aircraft advanced.
Shwaaaak!
Would they notice?
They flew for quite a while.
"Oh! They really can't detect us!"
"It's a success."
"Seems we don't need to worry."
Now all that remained was finding the Corrupted Divine Land.
Even so, Mackenzie had his smartphone out, filming.
Flight attendant Diamat began in-flight service.
"Anyone want a meal?"
"Me!"
"Hoe!"
"Princess, some fresh cherry tomatoes as well."
"I'll have ramen. Firm noodles, please."
This was… comfortable.
Too comfortable.
This was basically free clearing.
Still, one concern lingered.
They'd brought a huge number of nuclear warheads.
If they left without using them, they'd be a headache later.
"Let's drop at least one nuke."
"Good idea."
At minimum, they should use what they brought.
"Mr. Rajiks!"
"Hoe?"
"Drop one nuclear warhead."
"Hoeng!"
Ssshk!
A nuclear warhead emerged from Rajiks's subspace.
Like bird droppings—
it plopped out from the rear.
Shuuuuuut!
Free-falling downward.
The warhead's fuse was a proximity fuse.
It would detonate automatically at a set distance from the ground.
So what did they do?
"This captain announces: Infinite Turbo Blink Flight will commence. Please brace for turbulence."
Then—
Flash! Flash! Papapat! Papapapat!
Greenie flew via infinite turbo blink.
Bzzzzzing!
A protective barrier enveloped Crackrus's entire body.
Mackenzie's Absolute Barrier, magitech Protectors, sharararak! and alchemist Marie's defensive homunculi.
Flash!
Spapapapat!
Greenie surged forward, shields blazing.
KWAANG!
The nuke detonated.
Kukukukukukukukuku!
A terrifying shockwave, followed by a rising mushroom cloud.
Pashashashashash!
The micro monsters were engulfed by superheated flames.
Those at the epicenter melted outright.
The following shockwave shattered the rest.
Thududududut!
They rained down like ash.
They probably had no idea what hit them.
Why such an explosion occurred.
Flash, flash!
Spapapapapa.
The stealth green aircraft had already escaped the blast radius.
"Refreshing! From now on, this is the Stealth Green Bomber!"
Crackrus and Rajiks's collaboration.
Like dropping bird droppings, nukes were released directly from subspace.
Ssshk!
Shuuuuuu!
Another warhead fell straight down.
Bzzzzzing!
Barriers surged.
Kwakwakwakwakwakwakwang!
Another mushroom cloud bloomed.
The assault on Floor 96's Corrupted Heavenly Realm began—
with nuclear fire.
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