Wrapped up with the explanation to his companions, Se-Hoon immediately convened the leadership of the Human Alliance to reveal his plans to them next.

“You’re saying we should clear the remaining three Great Demon Realms in one go...?”

“To assemble strike teams suited to each realm’s environment and synchronize them properly, we’d need at least a month—”

“Is there really a need to rush this much?”

At first, just like his companions, the leadership questioned the compressed timetable. And just like his companions again, the atmosphere flipped as they reviewed the materials Se-Hoon had prepared on the remaining Demon Realms.

“Disintegration within five minutes unless you’re a hero with A-rank spatial skills...?!”

“Without space-time skills, it’s hard not just to escape, but even to enter?”

“How can such a harsh place exist on Earth...?”

Even compared to the Great Demon Realms they had cleared so far, the remaining ones were brutally unforgiving. The bare minimum was S-rank to function properly inside? And lacking certain abilities would severely restrict combat even then?

Under such conditions, the eligible strike force became only an elite few. That was why Se-Hoon added with confidence that all preparations could be completed within three days for a lineup of that size.

“Well... with that kind of composition, three days might indeed be enough, but...”

“Yes, again, is there really a reason to hurry so much?”

If the goal was to clear all remaining domains at once to end the war, wasn’t it logical to prepare even more thoroughly?

Of course, Se-Hoon didn’t want to mention his regression to explain, so he answered in a roundabout way instead. “It seems many of you believe we’re in a very advantageous position right now. That’s the first misconception we need to correct here.”

He calmly looked at the indecisive executives.

“The war against the Demon Force isn’t a fair fight in an arena. It’s a fight for survival against madmen holding detonators inside bomb-rigged cells.”

“...”

“Kill nine out of ten of them, and the last one presses the trigger; the bomb still goes off. Now imagine it’s not one person, but three that are all cornered.”

If left alone, all three would eventually press it. Kill one, and the remaining two would press it. Kill two, and the last one would press it.

Put simply, unless all remaining Great Demon Realms were cleared swiftly and every Harbinger Shard was destroyed, humanity would always face the possibility of annihilation.

“...”

At last, the executives had finally grasped why Se-Hoon was pushing the operation so urgently. With grim expressions, they reached a unanimous decision. Shortly after, Gregory, leader of the Human Alliance, announced the outcome.

“This council hereby approves the operation designated ‘Demon Realm Extermination,’ to be executed in three days. All operational authority is delegated to Lee Se-Hoon. This resolution takes effect immediately upon proclamation, and refusal to comply will prompt immediate measures under the Human Protection Act of the Human Alliance.”

Just like that, in less than a day, the operational authority to command essentially the entire world at will had been transferred to Se-Hoon. It was an extraordinary, almost unthinkable development—yet the man himself felt little emotion.

Things were much easier in Puppeteer’s world when it came to this stuff...

There, the world itself moved as Lea wished without the need to explain everything in painstaking detail, like he had just done. In a sense, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call that experience a moment of omnipotence.

Thinking about it now, Se-Hoon looked up at the Tower of Heroes that shot toward the sky from the center of the plaza. Could humanity’s technology, having reached a singularity, truly recreate such power—he frowned, realizing what he was thinking.

Tsk... has it affected me more than I thought?

Setting aside convenience, such thoughts could bring unpredictable changes to his synesthetic mindscape. Wasting no time, Se-Hoon acted on the feeling that he needed to steady himself and immediately placed a hand over his solar plexus to extract his Fatestone.

[Extracting bond from subject ‘Lee Se-Hoon’]

[The bond with the host is Lv. 3.]

The bond dwelling deep within his heart, a fragment of his soul, slowly moved toward his right hand at his call.

Crack-

But fragments of a shattered gray ring that were encircling his heart—the broken Power of Regression—blocked the fragment and made an unpleasant pressure swell in his chest.

“Ugh...”

Even Se-Hoon, accustomed to pain, found the sensation hard to endure. Thankfully, the gray ring finally gave way at the peak, pierced through by his soul, allowing a Fatestone to form in his right hand.

Woong-

The opaque mineral was dyed a murky gray. It looked completely different from before he regressed, when it had been colorless. The sight once again put a complex expression on his face as he studied the altered Fatestone before finally checking its status message.

[Fatestone - Tainted Ore ]

[Tier: Hero] [Quality: Perfect]

[An impure metal in the process of refinement.

Though still mixed with countless impurities, further refinement has granted it strength comparable to steel. If mana is supplied, the refinement process may speed up and head toward runaway instability.

*Refinement speeds up when mana is supplied]

It changed again.

Although the Fatestone’s name remained the same, its description was completely different[1]. Once filled with many impurities, the stone seemed to have been gradually refining itself according to some unseen standard.

Undoubtedly, awakening the power of Regression earlier had also altered his soul.

At this rate, my bond level might increase soon...

What changes would occur at level four? And when would he reach level five—the level he once achieved with the Three Dogs previously? Clearing his head, Se-Hoon refocused on his original purpose.

“Sever Bond.”

Thump-

The Tainted Ore pulsed softly against his chest. He could feel it: the impurities flowing from his heart—parts of his soul that were tainted by Puppeteer’s synesthetic mindscape—were being drawn toward it.

The stone’s murky gray lightened slowly, and when it soon began glowing faintly...

[Severing soul from the target ‘Lee Se-Hoon’.]

With a strange pulse, the corrupted portion of his soul was carved away from his heart and sucked out into the Fatestone.

“Whew...”

Some brief pain was accompanied by refreshing clarity. Feeling his mind sharpen thanks to it, Se-Hoon looked at the ore that was infused with the tainted soul.

Huh...? It’s more stable now?

Previously, using Sever Bond had darkened the ore nearly to black and made it unstable. Why had it settled into a soft gray glow instead? Startled, Se-Hoon immediately checked the information message again.

[Fatestone - Tainted Ore]

[Tier: Legendary] [Quality: Above Average]

[A fully refined ore imbued with mysterious power.

Achieving miraculous balance despite its countless impurities, it has surpassed steel in strength and gained a regenerative ability akin to time being reversed.

*Blocks all external interference, then turns into Relationship-Null Metal when all internal power has been exhausted

*Can activate ‘■■’ with a limited capacity, with each outcome incurring sanctions from the world]

The tier had risen from Hero to Legendary?! While that itself was shocking enough, what actually caught Se-Hoon’s eye was the newly added effect at the end.

This is...

Though censored and distorted, the description of regression and the power he felt within made its usage immediately clear.

Localized regression.

The Fatestone now had the ability to revert objects within a limited range; it was practically a fragment of the power of Regression itself.

That made it extremely powerful—but with an obvious drawback.

Depending on the result, the Golden Ring will impose sanctions.

The criteria weren’t stated, but based on experience, he knew the further one strayed from the Golden Ring’s laws, the harsher the penalty would be.

“Using this to achieve ascend artificially, like Doppelganger... is practically a death sentence.”

How should he use such a versatile yet dangerous tool? Se-Hoon pondered.

“Administrator. It looks like the ‘Dogs’ team is about to fail.” Terra’s voice suddenly echoed in his ear.

“Hmm, show me the internal situation.”

A system message instantly appeared before him, projecting a live feed of one of the trials inside the Tower of Heroes.

BOOM!

Three figures were sprinting and relentlessly fighting through a dense forest. Sung-Ha, Luize, and Amir moved in perfect sync so seamlessly that they could fight with their eyes closed.

Alas, their opponent was a big problem.

Rumble-

Black shadows crashed in from all sides, steadily wearing them down and creating more and more openings. Then, when their footing faltered, even more ominous shadows appeared.

SWOOSH!

These shadows bore golden, wheel-like halos on their backs. The three were quickly surrounded by those alien figures, which then charged—

[You have failed the trial ‘Nightmare of Samsara.’]

Three people were spat out, tumbling on the ground like loose coins.

“Agh...”

“Ugh...”

“Hgh—cough!”

Sung-Ha lay sprawled, trembling. Luize gagged, covering her mouth. Amir was on all fours, coughing violently.

Seeing the three physically uninjured, but mentally on the brink of exhaustion, Se-Hoon could only give them an awkward smile.

I guess making them fight the Destroyer of Moralities at its peak was a bit much.

With Terra as administrator, Se-Hoon could now create trials, which he naturally used to simulate mock battles against pre-regression Harbingers of Destruction. The Nightmare of Samsara trial was fighting the Destroyer of Moralities at its prime, with no challengers having lasted long.

“Well? How was it?”

“How was it?” Sung-Ha replied incredulously as he struggled to sit upright. “I can’t believe something like that ever existed.”

Every black shadow was S-rank. Those with golden halos were beyond standard—all comparable in strength to Eun-Ha or Aria. And all of these creatures were pouring down on them in endless waves?

“So that’s... the true strength... of a Harbinger of Destruction.”

A being that had perfected its power through countless battles to become a living incarnation of destruction. Realizing how weakened the Harbingers they’d fought before had been, Sung-Ha frowned.

Next to him, Amir ran a hand through his hair.

“Brother... just what is this Destroyer of Moralities?”

“You mean its nature?”

“That Harbinger awakened by the Dream Demon could create armies through reality manipulation, but... those shadows back there felt different.”

Unlike the hazy, dreamlike legions of the past, the Destroyer of Moralities’ shadows felt vividly real, especially since each had a distinct synesthetic mindscape.

“Hmm... if you’ve noticed that much, I suppose I can tell you. The Destroyer of Moralities can absorb the souls of others and control them. Every shadow you fought just now was essentially a soul it had taken.”

“Souls?”

“That would explain how the synesthetic mindscapes...”

Amir still looked uneasy. During the fight, his unique skill, Winter Sky Eyes, had picked up something... off.

Why did it seem like there were so many of them inside one shadow? Like dozens of souls packed into a single shadow....

As Amir chewed on that unsettling sensation, Se-Hoon went on.

“Up to a certain point in time, the Destroyer of Moralities was troublesome but not unbeatable—that is, until it got its hands on the Mythical-tier Wheel of Severed Bonds.”

The Wheel of Severed Bonds was the ultimate weapon that the Offering had sacrificed themselves to create before the regression. Naturally, its effect embodied their ideology.

“The Wheel of Severed Bonds fuses souls to amplify their strength. For example: combining the souls of a hundred B-rank heroes to create one soul with the power of an A-rank hero.”

Sung-Ha’s eyes widened. In contrast, Amir broke into a cold sweat since Se-Hoon’s words made him remember something.

“Don’t tell me...!”

“You remembered, right? That the Destroyer of Moralities slaughtered countless high-ranking heroes and tens of millions of civilians.”

There was no emotion on Se-Hoon’s face.

“Using those souls, it mass-produced souls that have the strength to rival the Perfect Ones. That’s the monster you all just faced.”

1. Previous description is in Chapter 313 ☜