Choi Kangjoong looked down at C387, the capital of M2721, from the Divine Arrow.
As the city of the craftsman race, the Metra, it was grand and enormous.
The only flaw was that it was incredibly monotonous. Every building was strictly rectangular, and their colors were all nearly identical.
“Your thoughts on seeing C387?” Serad asked, his tone filled with expectation.
“It’s big.”
“Is that all?”
“It must have taken a long time to build.”
“That is the building that took the longest to construct.”
Serad pointed to a building sitting on the Dimension Boundary. it was a perfect cube with edges measuring 100 meters, and it didn’t have a single window. It looked more like a giant box than a building.
“That is the Royal Castle and my home. Currently, it is occupied by Clessence.”
“That’s a house?”
“Affirmative. Every Metra in M2721 hopes to live there.”
“In a house without windows?”
“Light is not an essential element for life. Many harmful elements exist within it. Air can be purified.”
“The Metra are certainly unique.”
Choi Kangjoong nodded absently. “How do you think Clessence will react?”
“He has no way to change this situation. The battle was already won when his Royal Guards were annihilated.”
Clessence’s Royal Guards were the fleet Choi Kangjoong had fought immediately after devouring the orcs.
They were the only military force loyal to Clessence; two-thirds of them had plummeted into the Soil Pit, and the remaining one-third had come under Serad’s control.
“Are you sure?”
“It is the same as if he were already defeated.”
Serad’s words gave Choi Kangjoong a strange sense of unease. He felt like the word ‘defeated’ should be banned entirely.
‘Everything should be fine.’
Even if Clessence was a Grandmaster Metra, there wasn’t much he could do. ‘Grandmaster’ simply meant he was an exceptional craftsman; his actual combat power was only slightly higher than Serad’s.
“Serad, preparations for the liberation of C387 are complete. We have confirmed internal support,” said Maideul, Serad’s uncle.
Serad was overcome with emotion. When he had first escaped M2721, he had felt utterly hopeless, but now his revenge was right before his eyes.
“Clessence…”
The memory of his mother and relatives dying at Clessence’s hands surfaced. He felt like tearing the man apart wouldn’t even be enough.
He wanted to strip away that metallic skin and sear the tender flesh beneath with fire.
Since he had agreed to turn him over to Choi Kangjoong, he wouldn’t be able to do it personally, but the target would likely suffer similar agony once he entered the acidic solution.
Serad decided to be satisfied with that.
“Begin the liberation of C387.”
“Wait a moment,” Choi Kangjoong stopped Serad.
“The reason for the delay?”
“It looks like Clessence and Eleanor are plotting something. We need to stay as far back as possible.”
“The will of the Outer Mind is always valid.”
Serad postponed the operation. Iselin ordered the Divine Arrow to move away from C387.
A short while later, a massive metal arm burst through the ceiling of the box-like building with terrifying force.
The arm swung around, widening the hole, until the owner of the limb was revealed. It was a massive Metra with six arms.
“Serad!”
The giant Metra spoke. It was Clessence’s voice, though heavily distorted by static.
“Clessence?”
“You coward, fleeing while abandoning your own mother! Your luck in making it this far is the highest in M2721. Sarcasm 100%.”
Clessence claimed that Serad had only made it this far through sheer luck.
“As for the foolish Metra who refuse to follow me… I shall swallow them all and use them as a power source.”
Clessence’s torso split open in the middle, revealing a mouth. He extended his arms, shoving everything within reach into the opening.
He grew in size as he swallowed and digested both inorganic and organic matter indiscriminately.
On the ground, the Mana Missile batteries opened fire. Hundreds of Mana Missiles streaked toward Clessence like arrows.
Clessence opened his mouth even wider.
The powerful suction generated from within pulled the Mana Missiles inside.
A few exploded on the outside, but they were blocked by a Shield and failed to cause any damage.
“It’s a Devil of Devouring. He swallowed the Royal Castle to bulk up his body,” Iselin said calmly.
Normally, anyone who knew of the Devil of Devouring should have been tense.
However, she had already seen the Devil of Devouring get treated like a pushover by Choi Kangjoong twice.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Clessence transformed his six arms into Mana Cannons and began firing wildly.
The ground was gouged out, and buildings collapsed into rubble.
It was obvious what kind of disaster would unfold if those shots hit a densely populated area.
“He’s a mecha Devil of Devouring. I’ll be right back.”
“Please be careful.”
Choi Kangjoong flew out of the Divine Arrow.
“Danger! Exploring other methods is optimal!”
“Don’t worry. Even a Devil of Devouring is just prey for the Outer Mind.”
“Question?”
“You’ll see.”
Serad looked down at Clessence.
At the moment, he had no way of knowing the relationship between Choi Kangjoong and the Devil of Devouring.
“Outer Mind! Your reason for helping Serad? If you were with me, much more would be possible!”
“Because you’re a Grandmaster Metra.”
“Meaning?”
“It means I have to swallow you.”
“Negative! I am the one who swallows! Your future is to be digested within me and function as my motive force!”
Clessence opened his mouth and sucked Choi Kangjoong in.
Without resisting, Choi Kangjoong entered Clessence’s maw.
“It’s similar.”
The interior of Clessence was very much like the interior of Charigna, the Dark Elf Pirate Queen who had become a Devil of Devouring.
It was a digestive tract overflowing with Demonic Energy. It attempted to grind Choi Kangjoong’s soul and dissolve his body.
Choi Kangjoong struggled to mimic the Demonic Energy of Devouring using his Source Energy.
The Source Energy moved, but it wasn’t easy. Still, he was making more progress than he had with Charigna.
[You have partially realized the Demonic Energy of Devouring.]
[Your Devouring ability has evolved.]
[Inorganic matter digestion rate has increased.]
[Soul digestion rate has significantly increased.]
[Nutrients generated through digestion have increased.]
[The decryption rate of the Devil of Devouring Evolution Code has increased.]
[Devil of Devouring Evolution Code Decryption Rate: 22%]
The decryption rate had risen by 11%. That was 1% more than what he had gained from Charigna.
‘When I first saw them in the Kraken Sea, I thought I’d have to eat one hundred of them.’
What pleased him more was the inorganic digestion rate. Now, he would gain definitive benefits even when digesting Dimensional Devouring, Metra, or dimension ships.
Since the nutrients generated had also increased, the Devil of Devouring truly was the gift that kept on giving to Choi Kangjoong.
“Let’s go.”
Choi Kangjoong accepted the Demonic Energy of Devouring. The soul of the Devil of Devouring and the soul of the Outer Mind were linked.
It was a battle between an individual and a Hive Mind. The result was, naturally, an overwhelming victory for the Hive Mind.
Crunch.
The massive Hive Mind known as the Outer Mind swallowed the Devil of Devouring in a single bite. Choi Kangjoong was spat out of the Devil’s digestive tract.
Clessence, whose Devil of Devouring portion had been consumed, didn’t move an inch. The six arms that had been firing Mana Cannons so diligently were now frozen solid.
Crack.
Cracks began to form starting from the mouth on his chest. They soon spread across his entire body, and the outer shell came crumbling down.
It was because he no longer had the power to maintain the giant Metra form. Clessence, who had been at the center of the heart, plummeted toward the ground.
Choi Kangjoong used Stealth Blink to fly down and snatch him.
“Now… you… rescue…? Do you think… I’ll… say… anything… just because…”
Instead of answering, Choi Kangjoong moved him into Kuongi’s stomach.
Splash.
Because it was dark, Clessence didn’t know what he had fallen into. His sense of pain was dulled because of the Demonic Energy of Devouring, so he simply thought it was a hot liquid.
Ssssss.
The digestive fluids melted his metallic skin and invaded his interior. That sensation and the stinging pain made Clessence realize what the purpose of this place was.
“This is… the digestive tract… of a giant creature… I suspect… the stomach… An ability… superior to… the Devil of Devouring…?”
Slowly, the boundary between Clessence and the Soil Pit blurred. Before long, Clessence was submerged up to his head, and the digestive fluid that had pierced through his skull reached his brain. At that moment, even Clessence’s soul dissolved into the Soil Pit, and he soon turned into nutrients and Evolution Points.
[You have obtained Evolution Points.]
[You have partially fulfilled the conditions for adding the Special Entity Production function.]
“It’s over.”
Whether they were an ordinary Metra or a Grandmaster Metra, everyone was equal once they entered the Soil Pit.
The only thing that differed was the amount of Evolution Points obtained.
Choi Kangjoong moved back to the Divine Arrow.
Serad looked like he was incredibly curious about what had happened to Clessence. Choi Kangjoong explained Clessence’s end in detail.
“An ending befitting him.”
Serad was quietly pleased. With his death, the final obstacle had vanished.
Serad’s army entered C387. Because Clessence’s reputation had fallen so low, there were no resistance forces.
They entered without shedding any blood, and C387 fell under Serad’s rule. It was the end of the civil war.
“Overwhelming gratitude. I plan to repay this debt until my spine bends and my performance reaches its limit.”
“Does that mean until you die?”
“Affirmative.”
“Just stick to the contract. That’s enough.”
“Negative. The debt I owe is much greater than that.”
Choi Kangjoong told him to do as he pleased. Serad nodded vigorously and departed for C387. As the future leader of M2721, he had a great deal of work to do.
“Bye, tin can!”
“I wish you a safe return, pathetic fleshling.”
Dielka and Serad exchanged greetings using their “affectionate” nicknames for one another.
“Iselin.”
“Yes.”
“Eleanor was behind Clessence becoming a Devil of Devouring.”
“I’ll have to look for evidence.”
“Also, I think Eleanor is a subordinate of the one Charigna mentioned—the Prince.”
Iselin furrowed her brow. Although the Prince’s identity remained a mystery, it was perfectly clear that he did not have good intentions.
The fact that Eleanor was associated with such a person could pose a great threat to Marsala.
“Thank you. I’ll have to look into this in detail.”
“I’ll keep an eye out too.”
Although the matters in M2721 had been resolved well, Iselin ordered the return with a grim expression.
As she opened the Gate, the dimension ships moved through in a line.
The Divine Arrow was the last to pass through the Gate, and they returned to Marsala without a single casualty.
“Let’s go home.”
Choi Kangjoong returned to his room. After washing up and spending some time relaxing, he turned on his computer and accessed the Dimensionnet.
“I wonder how the world has changed.”
On the main screen, there was a post summarizing everything that had happened in M2721 in an easy-to-understand manner.
Most of it was similar to what had actually occurred, except for the part where it was dramatized to say Choi Kangjoong had rescued Serad after discovering him by chance at Duke Akirif’s ranch.
‘They hid the connection to Eleanor too.’
Iselin had chosen stability over immediate chaos. It was also unavoidable since she hadn’t found any definitive evidence yet.
At the end of the post, it mentioned that Serad had expressed his hope for M2721 to join the Enterprise Union as soon as the dimension was stabilized.
– What’s good about the Metra joining the Union?
– Their factories are insane.
– Once Metra goods start coming in, prices will probably drop even more.
– I heard the Metra are gods of dimension ship construction.
– Is the price of dimension ships going down? Can I finally be a dimension ship owner?
– Nope. Even then, you’d have to save up for 100 years.
– But if elves are good for food and Metras are good for manufactured goods, what are humans?
– What do you think? They’re nothing, lol.
– Are we going to get swallowed by the elves and Metras at this rate?
– You idiot, we have the Outer Mind.
– We’d probably swallow them instead, lol.
– There are 10 billion humans; how could two billion Metras win?
Choi Kangjoong spent a long time looking through Ditube and broadcast news.
Most people were painting a positive future with the addition of M2721. However, that didn’t mean there weren’t any problems.
As the Enterprise Union’s power grew, so would the interest of the Demons. Some voices argued that they needed to prepare for a large-scale attack.
“I should produce a lot of Skyeye Giants and spread them out.”
Choi Kangjoong entered the Evolution Chamber to decide on the Species Evolution and the Apocalid he would produce.
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