CHAPTER 95: The Means to Stop It
Waking early at dawn, Jinwoo packed up his camp and began to move. His direction was north. He ran, bathing in the sunlight as the sun began to peek over the sand dunes.

When I say run, I don’t mean on his own two feet. He took out the off-road vehicle he’d bought on Chartia’s recommendation.

It wasn’t an ideal environment for a car, lacking any paved roads, but he had bought it for precisely this kind of situation. With the windows closed and the air conditioner set just right, he sped across the gradually heating sand.

[Wow, what is this? Is it a vehicle from your world?]

“...”

A mass of light was floating in the passenger seat.

It was a light that appeared both white and bright yellow, and at a glance, it was hard to distinguish from the light of a spirit. Jinwoo did indeed have the spirit of his Ego Sword and Rona’s spirit with him, but this light was different.

[I’ve already scouted this direction with monsters. Why don’t you turn completely and head west?]

Without a word, Jinwoo turned the steering wheel, veering the car. He had been heading north, so a turn to the west meant he was now traveling northwest.

[I’ve already checked the area around the castle, so you’ll have to go quite a bit farther. At this speed, it’ll probably take a few more days to reach an unconfirmed area.]

He couldn’t grant that request.

He was already driving reasonably fast, and he couldn’t increase the speed much more. It wasn’t impossible, but there was the issue of fuel and the risk of the vehicle breaking down. In rugged terrain like this, it was more important to travel as stably as possible than to rush.

[If we go this way, we’ll come to a dried-up riverbed. Should we follow it down? Or would going up be better?]

“...You’re not trying to lead me somewhere strange, are you?”

[Strange? What do you mean?]

“Like a trap.”

[Why would I lure someone who has already entered my castle outside?]

That was a good point. If it wanted to set a trap, it would have done so back at the castle. If it wasn’t a trap, then the reason it kept talking was...

‘Is it just talkative?’

The entity called the Lord of Light was far more talkative than he’d expected. He hadn’t encountered one like this before. The God of the Ice Valley hadn't seemed particularly chatty, and while the God of the Moonlight Forest whined a bit, she didn't feel like a chatterbox either.

“You said you would deal with the Lord of War. What’s your plan after that?”

[Are you worried about what I might do with the divine object I recover?]

It was as perceptive as it was talkative.

From Jinwoo's perspective, he couldn't help but be concerned. Helping the Lord of Light deal with the Lord of War was fine. But what if, after that, the Lord of Light took the Lord of War's divine object and attempted to descend to this world?

Then he might have to fight this entity next. The opponent would change, but the situation would remain the same.

[Would you believe me if I said I have no such intention?]

“I wouldn’t. Not with words alone.”

[But words are all I have to offer as a promise. Hmm... I know. I shall grant you a blessing as well. Like the one you have inside you.]

Did it mean it would give him a portion of its power, like the blessing he received from the God of the Moonlight Forest?

For such a light question, a heavy answer returned. As Jinwoo frowned, the light in the passenger seat dimmed slightly, and a smaller speck of light detached itself and flew toward him.

Floating lazily through the air, it was impossible to think of it as a light containing any great power.

But even as he drove, he could feel it. It truly held an aura similar to the World Tree's glass bead.

That thing was...

Smack!

A root shot out from somewhere and swatted it away, as mercilessly as if shooing a bug.

He glanced to see where the root had come from and saw it extending from inside his clothes. After knocking the light away, the root growled threateningly at the light in the passenger seat.

[It seems the first tenant is vehemently opposed. What a shame.]

A strange nuance lingered at the end of its words. In that tone, which sounded genuinely disappointed, there was no trace of goodwill. Thanks to its chattiness, it seemed friendly, but it was just talkative—nothing more.

“Stop the useless tricks and just guide me. I have no intention of our relationship becoming anything more than collaborators.”

[For now, you mean?]

“If I have to say it, yes. The future is unknown...”

As he said that, the root growing from his clothes gently patted his shoulder. Tap, tap. It seemed to disapprove of his answer.

Jinwoo gave a bitter smile and corrected himself.

“Just let’s say I have no intention, period.”

It was clear the World Tree did not like the Lord of Light. Still, compared to its reaction to the God of the Ice Valley, this was a blessing.

After driving for some time, they arrived at the dried-up riverbed the Lord of Light had mentioned. It looked like it had once been a fairly large river, but now it was completely dry.

Getting out of the car, he swept his hand across the ground, picking up crumbling, dry leaves. They were so desiccated that they turned to dust with just a slight rub of his fingers.

“You’ve never been down this way?”

[No. I only told the monsters to circle around the castle. Only within the range where the light of my castle is visible.]

Jinwoo turned his head and looked back the way he had come. In the distance, where the Castle of Light stood, he could see a pillar of light descending from the sky. That pillar served as a definite beacon in this desolate desert.

“If it’s that conspicuous, won’t the enemy find you first?”

[That’s fine. If they decide to invade, that works for me too.]

Its words were brimming with confidence. Was it thinking it could win unconditionally as long as a war broke out?

‘The number of Orcs must be limited.’

Considering the sheer number of monsters that packed the area around the Castle of Light, its confidence was understandable. The Orcs, or other races serving the Lord of War, were likely few in number. In terms of numbers, this side had an overwhelming advantage.

The problem was the exceptionally strong individuals among the Orcs. Minions like Vertus or that Grak'tarr he had fought recently.

‘It probably accepted the Hunters and Elves into the castle to have them deal with those types.’

In terms of military strength, this side was certainly not lacking. He could understand why the Lord of Light was so self-assured.

However, there was one thing that worried him.

“You know that the Lord of War split the Moonlight Forest, right?”

[I saw it through Galleo’s eyes. A barbaric act, fitting for a barbaric being.]

“But it was just as powerful. Do you have the means to stop it?”

It might belittle the act as barbaric, but its power was undeniable. It was a strike delivered by a Lord of the 6th Floor, who had personally descended, even if only partially. There was no way it could be weak.

That single blow could probably threaten the necks of the 5th Floor dragons. He wasn't certain, but the strike was powerful enough to make him think so.

[Well, about that...]

Even the Lord of Light was at a loss for words. It couldn't think of a way to block that attack in this Lower World.

No matter how many blessings it bestowed or how much light and power it sent down, there were limits. The opponent was a Lord manifesting in person; how could this side, which was only receiving a bit of aura, possibly stop it?

[To block it with equal force, I would have to manifest partially as well.]

“How? Are you suggesting we gather divine objects and do the same thing?”

[That is one way, yes. Though I’m not particularly fond of it.]

Whether it was sincere or not, its answer was a refusal. Considering what it had said earlier, the Lord of Light, unlike the Lord of War, seemed reluctant to descend personally.

Come to think of it, the Lord of War was the strange one. Weren't those in the Spirit Realm beings who had reached it through indescribably long periods of training and enlightenment?

Why would they willingly descend again from the Spirit Realm they had struggled so hard to reach?

Fundamentally, he didn't understand why the Lords were so interested in what they called the Lower Worlds. From placing altars and temples in Gates to intervene, to the Sky God causing Erosion on Earth.

‘The common factor is that they aren’t just Lords, but Monarchs with Seeds of Erosion planted in them...’

Could there be a connection between their interest in the Lower Worlds and the Erosion?

He wanted to ask, but he couldn't trust the Lord of Light yet. Their relationship hadn't built enough trust for him to ask such questions. He didn't know if it ever would.

‘I might be able to trust the God of the Moonlight Forest a bit more.’

The God of the Moonlight Forest, the World Tree, was more trustworthy than the Lord of Light. It was clear that it held goodwill towards him.

The only problem was that he didn't know the reason for that goodwill. It was certainly related to his past life, but his memories hadn't returned that far yet.

An untrustworthy partner and someone showing him inexplicable goodwill.

‘...It might be better to find out while fighting the Lord of War.’

That being was trying to descend, even going as far as to steal divine objects. He didn't know what the divine objects left on the 3rd Floor meant to the Monarchs, but its actions were surely a provocation to all of them.

There had to be a reason it wanted to descend so badly. Perhaps by fighting it, he would naturally learn that reason.

Just then, Jinwoo’s body tensed.

“Enemy.”

[What? Where?]

The light in the passenger seat flickered in confusion. It couldn't see anything, nor could it sense any presence. Where was this enemy?

But Jinwoo’s senses had picked it up. A Black Flame was situated right ahead. In a place he couldn't see with his naked eye.

Underground.

KWOOOSH!

The sand in front of them erupted, sharpening into a blade. A blade made of vibrating, fine sand particles rushed toward them like a shark's fin.

Jinwoo’s sword could block it, but the car couldn't. The vehicle, a mere lump of iron, would be split in half instantly.

“Tch!”

Still, having detected it in advance, his reaction was swift. He yanked the steering wheel, and the car spun. The vehicle tilted as if it would fall from the sudden turn, but it didn't tip over. However, the first blade wasn't the last.

He dodged the first one, but he couldn’t avoid the second and third strikes that followed. In the end...

CRUNCH!

As the car was split into three pieces, Jinwoo hastily leaped out. The light that had been in the passenger seat flew out leisurely and followed him.

“Dammit, it was a brand-new car!”

Even for Jinwoo, who wasn't obsessed with cars, he couldn't forgive his new vehicle, which he had just bought, being turned into a heap of scrap metal.

Up ahead, he could see a large figure draped in black cloth. A sandstorm swirled on its exposed green palm.

An Orc. Probably a sand-mage who controlled sand. It seemed they had prepared a specialist strong in desert environments to set up this desert barrier.

“You shall not pass this place, human. If you wish to proceed, leave your head behind.”

The sand around the threatening figure shimmered and waved. The ground had been quite firm, but the area around the Orc looked like a yellow sea.

An enemy that controlled sand, a deadly weapon in a desert environment.

But Jinwoo’s eyes, as he looked at the Orc, were burning for an entirely different reason.

“I’ll have you pay for the car with your body.”

Jinwoo drew his Ego Sword. A wind rose around him, and the sand began to fly past.