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Green, Blue, Red, White.

These were the classifications for the demon beasts that commonly appeared from the Demonic Gate.

Green represented beings slightly stronger than ordinary beasts.

Blue was a combined force, akin to a handful of those green ones put together in strength.

Of course, since the green level wasn’t particularly high to begin with, even a group wouldn’t find it hard to deal with a Blue Demon Beast.

Peak.

At that level, handling a Blue grade was easy.

But.

‘Things change starting with the Red.’

From the Red Demon Beast onward, the metrics differed. A handful of those at the Peak level could never capture one. From the Red onward, they possessed unique traits, making them unbeatable with mere firepower.

‘You have to break the Energy Barrier first.’

The Energy Barrier that emerged from the Red beasts. Its characteristic of nullifying a martial artist’s bets rendered hunting them nearly impossible.

From continuous hunting came the first strategy.

‘Insane Firepower.’

This was the method found directly by the Heavenly Lord. If a martial artist of Transformation Realm or higher poured out their power, it could dismantle the Energy Barrier.

This meant to hunt a Red alone, one had to reach that level.

Thus, when the Reds began to appear, it brought considerable damage.

It had been years since a Red Demon Beast had last made an appearance, especially since the Blood Demon War. Especially after the Heavenly Demon appeared where I was.

And though they began showing up earlier right after my regression…

‘Why now?’

It wasn’t supposed to be yet. It was a world long before my birth. By the calculations, they shouldn’t have appeared for at least dozens of years from now.

Growrrrr—!!!

What stood before my eyes was unmistakably a Red Demon Beast. A colossal beast adorned with rough red fur, radiating fierce energy.

Looking at its presence and form, it clearly was a Red Demon Beast.

‘This doesn’t make sense.’

How could it possibly have distorted the timeline to appear now?

Confused, I focused solely on the cavern’s interior.

Growl-! Grrrowww!!

“……!”

Noises surrounded me. I hadn’t noticed with my concentration, but demon beasts were increasingly gathering around me.

It was a mix of green and blue beasts.

A few from the mountain were converging in this direction.

Grrrrr.

Surprisingly, these beasts approached the Red Demon Beast and bowed their heads.

‘Hah.’

Seeing that, I frowned. It was a characteristic of Red Demon Beasts. It was normal for beasts to be filled with enmity towards each other, but from the Red level onward, they sometimes dominated lower beasts.

It seemed this was indeed a genuine Red Demon Beast.

“…….”

I drew out the killing intent I had briefly nestled within. In that moment.

Growl—–!!

The nearby beasts suddenly glared at me.

Additionally.

Grrr…….

The one in the cave too, gazed at me with burning hostility. It had sensed my presence.

But.

Flame Burst–!!

Kwaaaaarrrr—!!!

The blue flame erupted from my hands, engulfing the cavern interior.

The beast faced the flames, screaming in pain, and came charging at me.

“Get lost, seriously.”

Thud!!

Grrrrrr—!!!

With a single punch, the flaming beast was obliterated.

Its bones shattered and it plopped down, and those that had been circling around now met a similar fate, burning away.

“Hah.”

I waved my hands as the extinguished flames gathered back toward me.

The remnants of the demon beast’s body vanished without a trace. My expression scrunched at the sight.

Facing a Red Demon Beast? That wasn’t the issue. What mattered was.

‘Why did this thing appear?’

Why was this era’s Red Demon Beast appearing?

That was the source of my discomfort.

Had Red Demon Beasts always appeared? That can’t be true. This kind of beast appearing in a mountain in Hanam couldn’t have gone unnoticed in records. Meaning.

‘It never should have appeared.’

The timing of the Red Demon Beast’s emergence had been accelerated. To find the cause of this…

‘There had to be some anomaly that shouldn’t have occurred.’

Something that distorted the flow of time existed.

And that was.

‘Me.’

It was me. My existence had hastened the arrival of the Red Demon Beast. These beasts that originally shouldn’t have appeared were showing up now as evidence of that.

“…….”

With conviction, I contorted my face.

This meant.

‘Not only in this era.’

But in the Central Plains where I originally belonged.

Thus, the cause of the hastened emergence of the Red Demon Beasts was me.

‘Could it really be me?’

It could be me. That faint fact unsettled me greatly.

“……Damn it.”

Spitting out the rough words, I reached out.

Thud-!

Something rose from within the cave and into my grasp. It was a Red Demon Stone.

The Demonic Absorption Technique activated, absorbing all the energy inside.

“…….”

Thud.

Upon dropping what I held, the transparent, dulled Demon Stone shattered and faded away.

The traces of the demon beasts within the cave met the same fate.

The Red Demon Beast was erased as if it had never existed at all.

“Phew.”

Sighing, I turned my head.

Red Demon Beast or whatever, I had to return, for now.

*

After erasing the situation and returning to where I was originally, I found utter chaos.

Clang-! Clangclang-!

The ceaseless sound of swords clashing filled the air. The earlier scuffle hadn’t ended; the Blue Dragon and Iron Dragon clans were engaged in an ongoing battle.

“Grrr!”

“Whoo!”

It was a team battle. It was quite the mess.

“……This is a total wreck.”

“Total wreck” was an apt description. The seniors were throwing punches with the Iron Dragon’s martial artists.

Amidst it all, the Sword Peak and Poison Dragon were seen battling each other.

“Hmm.”

What should I do about this? Scratching my cheek, I nodded.

“I should watch.”

Let’s not get involved; it looked like a hassle.

Just as I was about to ignore it and watch,

“Baek Chingu—!!”

“…….”

From afar, Do-yun stupidly spotted me and shouted.

“Help meee! Guuuh!”

Desperately, Do-yun dodged a blade, repeatedly shouting.

Ah, hell.

I shook my head and immediately turned my back. Still okay for now-.

“The top recruit of the entrance exam and the best late-stage talent, Baek Yangcheon, my friend! Where are you headed? Didn’t you say you could easily beat the Iron Dragon clan?!”

“……That crazy guy?”

I sighed at Do-yun’s continuous chatter. Had he lost it? Turning back in disbelief, I saw a pale-faced Do-yun.

The Iron Dragon clan members had their eyes drawn to his words.

‘Ah, damn.’

At first glance, it seemed like I wouldn’t be able to just brush past this.

“Baek Yangcheon?”

“That’s the one? The guy who might beat the Dragon and the Peak?”

“The new recruit that the Master of the Martial World noticed…”

The Iron Dragon members grimaced at me. Normally, this wouldn’t be a problem.

“Easily beat us?!”

It seemed the issue was Do-yun’s proclamation, and they all gripped their swords tighter.

“Ahaha.”

Scratching the back of my head, I raised my hands at the approaching Iron Dragon clan members.

“Just to clarify, I never said anything like that. So, let’s.”

I stopped scratching my head and continued.

“Lower your swords if you want to avoid regretting it.”

“……!”

My words, filled with energy, made the Iron Dragon’s members pause.

It should have been a trivial matter, but right now, I wasn’t in a good mood.

I had no intention of accommodating those approaching with drawn swords.

However.

“This punk-.”

“Getting cocky just because the Master looked favorably upon you.”

Rather, it seemed to backfire and elevate their morale.

‘Ah, seriously.’

I sighed at this. At that moment.

Swoosh-!

“Come at me, recruit. I’ll show you how different the world is-.”

One of the Iron Dragon martial artists spoke to me, but before he finished his sentence, my fist smashed into his jaw.

Smack-!

“One down.”

Before the one I struck even fell, another martial artist next to him swung his sword down. His reaction was not bad. They were undoubtedly strong, just as martial artists of the clan should be.

Seemingly passing the peak with ease, however.

Thud-!

“Grrr…”

My knuckles swiftly struck his solar plexus. As his body jerked, I could see vomit rising from his mouth.

‘Two.’

I didn’t even check if he was down before I extended my leg.

Boom-!!

Finally, three.

The last one, unable to block my powered kick, was sent flying without a scream.

Thud.

In an instant, two fell, and one was flung far away.

Thank goodness.

‘If I’d gotten angrier, I might have killed them.’

The slight oversight in power control was unfortunate.

As those three collapsed,

“……What the?”

“What just happened……?”

The sight of the three collapsing caught the attention of those watching.

Just a mere recruit.

Seeing a guy who looked like a kid take down three simultaneously elicited astonished reactions.

I addressed those eyes.

“……Let’s put a stop to this, shall we? This doesn’t seem like the time to fight.”

Though I warned them to do it moderately,

“……This punk.”

It seemed my words didn’t have much effect this time.

Ah, geez.

“Hmmm.”

Originally, news of my temperament had spread back home, allowing me to disengage with just this much.

It seemed, in this place, it was still impossible.

In that case.

‘I’ll have to show them.’

While annoyed, I’d also vent a bit and stamp my temper.

With that thought, I readied myself to step forward.

Woooom—!!!!

“……!”

I turned my head at the tremor I felt.

“What the hell.”

Something that shouldn’t be felt was felt.

Right behind me no less.

Woooom–!!

“Eh?”

“What’s going on? Why is the Magic Enforcement Department reacting suddenly…….”

The members who had been present reacted violently now.

A tremor like I had never experienced before.

Unlike with the green and blue, this kind of vibration didn’t show.

Rumble-!

As the tremor burst forth, a Demonic Gate reacted right behind me.

“E-everyone, battle stance!”

Seeing that, the others prepared, startled.

“……Wait, that color……”

“Why is it so……?”

The form of the Demonic Gate was odd.

It was an intensely deep red color.

Everyone was flustered by the color of the Demonic Gate they were seeing for the first time.

‘This is maddening.’

I had to grit my teeth at this ridiculous situation.

 

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