Prologue  

A World That Has Lost Its God Is Nothing More Than Delicious Prey!

The Outer Gods

Outer Gods.

Absolute beings who had created countless universes since the beginning of time.

The Itarim!

The Itarim, scattered across countless dimensions, noticed that in one distant universe, its master had disappeared.

They couldn’t have cared less about the death of one of their own.

The only thing that mattered to them was the immense mana that remained in that world.

Power without a master belongs to whoever claims it first.

…And thus, the curtain rose on the War of the Outer Gods.

* * *

ROOOOOAR!!

Within the gap between dimensions that connected countless universes—

The envoys of the Itarim tore open the sturdy dimensional walls through sheer force and poured out all at once.

Standing before them was a single man.

The greatest Fragment of Brilliant Light, the Shadow Monarch Sung Jinwoo, cloaked in streams of black energy from head to toe, spoke calmly.

“Arise.”

Whoooooosh!

At his command, an army of tens of millions—composed of angels of light and the Shadow Legion—raised their weapons in unison.

And so, the war began.

The invaders from beyond the universe came endlessly.

No matter how many were killed, more continued to flood in.

An intense battle, where neither side could relax for even a moment, dragged on without end.

[…There truly seems to be no end to them.]

[The fact that we’ve held out this long is a miracle in itself. This war was against us from the very beginning.]

[Agreed. Without the Shadow Monarch, our front lines would have collapsed long ago.]

The Rulers—the six-winged angels—expressed their respect toward Sung Jinwoo.

Originally, they had been born as Fragments of Brilliant Light, servants created by God.

But after discovering the cruelty of their creator, they had become God Slayers of their own free will.

Long, long ago…

The God who had created this world divided the Primordial Light and the Primordial Darkness into eight parts each, creating the Fragments of Brilliant Light and the Monarchs.

From the very moment of their creation, they were bound by destiny to wage an endless war against one another.

As countless eons passed, innumerable lives were lost.

Even the commanders of that war—the Fragments of Brilliant Light and the Monarchs—were no exception.

Yet every empty seat was eventually filled by another.

Whenever a Monarch’s spiritual body was destroyed, the Primordial Darkness dwelling within would seek a new host, creating another Monarch.

Likewise, whenever a Fragment of Brilliant Light perished, the Primordial Light within it would find another worthy vessel, creating a new Fragment.

All to preserve the balance of the war.

But…

Only after an unimaginably long time did they learn the truth.

The purpose of that balance…

Was merely entertainment for the cruel Absolute Being who desired the war to continue forever.

At last, God had died.

The Monarchs had all perished.

The long, exhausting war had finally come to an end, and peace seemed to have arrived.

Yet now…

The Outer Gods, having realized that God was gone, had launched their invasion.

[…Even now, the apostles of the Itarim continue to be born.]

[Meanwhile, our forces can no longer increase.]

Since ancient times, the heavenly soldiers led by the Rulers had been born from the fruit of the World Tree.

But after God’s death, the World Tree gradually stopped bearing fruit.

Which meant…

No reinforcements.

Only one being was different.

The King Who Ruled Death—

The Shadow Monarch.

Only he and his Shadow Legion were truly immortal.

Though the power of creation had disappeared…

Death itself would endure forever.

As the Rulers had said, had it not been for Sung Jinwoo’s Shadow Army—which endlessly resurrected after death—

The war would have ended in an instant.

With the absolute destruction of their world.

[My liege! We have a problem!]

The commander Igris hurried before Sung Jinwoo.

[The defensive line in the rear has been breached!]

“Where?”

[The enemy… targeted the region with the weakest magical energy…]

“…Earth?”

[I am ashamed. Our forces were concentrated at the front, leaving the rear insufficiently guarded.]

Sung Jinwoo let out a quiet sigh.

Earth, which had only just regained peace, was once again in danger.

[…Gates will begin opening on Earth once more.]

The Rulers glanced cautiously at Sung Jinwoo as they spoke.

Once before, Earth had suffered invasion by the inhabitants of Chaos.

The Rulers, who had been responsible for that incident, hurried to explain themselves.

[But this situation is different.]

[Indeed. Our objective was to strengthen Earth so it could withstand the Monarchs.]

[The Itarim seek only conquest.]

[They intend to destabilize us by first destroying our weakest point—the rear.]

[My liege! We must immediately dispatch troops to Earth!]

Igris’ proposal was met with fierce opposition from the Rulers.

[Impossible! If we divide our forces now, the fragile balance we’ve barely maintained will collapse.]

[That is precisely what the Itarim are trying to achieve.]

[If we defend the rear and lose the front, the war will be over regardless.]

After listening to the heated debate…

Sung Jinwoo finally made his decision.

“Ber.”

[Kiiieeeeeek! My King!]

The Ant King, who had been gleefully tearing apart the enemy on the battlefield, immediately answered the call.

[Commander Ber stands before you!]

“Go to Earth.”

[Kihak! Does that mean…?!]

Sung Jinwoo slowly nodded.

“Yes.”

“I think it’s time…”

“…to lift the Seal of Protection.”

[…!]

Ber’s eyes widened with excitement.

“Return as quickly as you can.”

[Your command shall be obeyed!]

The instant the order was given, Ber transformed into a streak of light and shot toward Earth.

Sung Jinwoo silently watched his departing figure.

Then his gaze shifted back toward the endless tide of enemies.

His lips tightened.

His eyes blazed with fierce determination.

“Come.”

“Apostles of the Outer Gods.”

The war continued.