A frown immediately appeared on Davey’s face immediately after he had turned off the stream.

He had never shown anyone the fleeting moments that the photos were able to capture.

Davey then summoned a fire and burned all of them as he simply watched in silence. Then he walked away once every photo had crumbled to ashes.

[Contractor.]

“Megalodria, you did a good job keeping your cool. Now, you can fly as you please, but if you see any monsters, just kill them.”

[Hmph! I was going to do that anyway.]

Davey was satisfied with how he had contained Megalodria. He had also succeeded in letting the people on Earth know who he was through streaming. He knew his efforts were going to be helpful to him in the future.

Contrary to the rumors circulating about his notorious reputation, people were quite surprised by how down-to-earth he was.

But actually, it was quite easy to turn public opinion in one’s favor with just one or two good incidents. Obviously, the opposite was also true. It was only natural for the human mind to change its opinions on things so easily.

“The human mind is surprisingly shallow at times. Anyway, now that I’ve stopped streaming, let’s get back to business,” Davey said with a determined expression and finally entered the ruined city of Cambridge.

It was once known as a college town, so it was highly likely that it had once been a beautiful place with wide fields and picturesque buildings. Comparing it to the architectural style of Tionis, the city did not feel that much different from what Davey was used to, but it clearly had a distinct atmosphere in contrast to the other places on Earth.

As Davey looked around, he figured that the research building inside the university campus would be the epicenter.

Monsters in all sorts of horrible shapes began to appear, as if they were trying to prevent him from going closer.

“Huh, look at these guys. Do they not want me to go in?” Davey noted.

He held the Longginus in its scimitar form and mercilessly took down the various monsters charging at him. He then noticed that the monsters were gradually becoming stronger as he got closer and closer to the research building. The monsters seemed manageable at first, even for those Awakened from Earth.

Eventually, the monsters that appeared were so dangerous that even high-level users who retained their abilities from Alf Online would struggle against them. On top of that, these monsters attacked Davey with a frenzied madness, unlike those from the initial waves. It was as if they were determined to stop him from getting closer no matter what. Their relentless assaults were almost suicidal, as if their one and only objective was to destroy him.

This naturally made Davey more suspicious of their actions.

"Something's not right. They’re trying even harder," Davey muttered.

He could intuitively tell that he hadn’t just run into these monsters.

“Otherwise, they wouldn’t have mobilized monsters like you,” he said, grimacing at the giant, one-eyed monster that emerged from the shadows.

This creature, which was called Gigas, was a massive bipedal beast that had a single, glaring eye, and its body, which was covered in scales, ranged from twenty to even up to thirty meters. It was renowned for its terrifying strength, endurance, and voracious appetite. And as far as Davey knew, this monster resided in one place only.

t.

“You’re not going to let me in, are you?” Davey asked with a grin, stepping toward the Gigas, which was blinking its single eye.

Davey charged at the Gigas before it could react.

While his sudden move would usually surprise any foe, this one countered, believing in its own endurance.

A massive and bulky hand reached out to grab Davey, intending to crush him. But then Davey shook the tip of Longginus and twisted it without hesitation.

[Palladian-style Galactic Spear]

[Tearing the Mantle]

Davey passed over the creature by soaring above its head. Then he landed on its back and slid down with a sickening sound.

The Gigas’s rough skin was difficult to pierce through, even for a Sword Master’s Aura Blade. This creature, which was hard to find even on the Tionis continent, was known as a Judge-level monster. It was created during the creation of Last Wisp, from the time of Sword Lord Ares Von Pallan to the time of Daphne. Now, this rare monster happened to be on Earth.

Of course, it was still just a disposable pawn, despite its fearsome reputation. Although it seemed like Davey’s attack didn’t have much effect, that certainly wasn’t the case, given how its body remained frozen and motionless.

“What a slow chump.”

A solid red line appeared on its neck. Davey had effectively decapitated it in an instant, although its heavy head didn't immediately fall.

Shortly after, the massive Giga began to collapse slowly. The monster had desperately tried its best to stop Davey, but it stood no chance.

Meanwhile, Davey casually shook off the blood from the Longginus and stored it in the Pocket Plane. Then he walked away, heading to the research building.

Eventually, he reached the source of the stench inside the enormous university research building and saw with his own two eyes what it actually was.

“...”

There was a massive pantry that was filled with hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people hanging from a huge tree. Their bodies were in the process of transforming into monsters. This meant that a great number of the monsters were once humans from Earth. What was more frustrating was that the power emanating from the grotesque scene was identical to the Death Lord's artifact.

“Illuminati, what on earth are you planning to do?” Davey asked as he turned his head.

A scientist who had a relaxed smile in contrast to his crazed expression then stepped forward and asked, “Isn’t it amazing?”

“...”

Davey knew the Illuminati was behind this, but the leader who came to the Tionis was already dead. Most of their forces had also been destroyed.

“Whoa, whoa, calm down. You see, I’m not a big fan of violence,” the scientist said with a grin as he raised his hands, seemingly trying to prevent Davey from getting worked up.

Davey eased his stance so that he could get answers to his questions. He then asked, “What do you gain by turning humans into monsters?”

“Hmm… I have no intention of sharing professional opinions with a human who’s as foolish as an ape,” he replied dismissively.

Davey, who still kept his distance from the scientist, ignored his condescension and said, “Destroying human personalities, extracting their souls, and fusing them with monsters. Huh. I was wondering where the monsters were constantly coming from. Now I see that there is actually a fully functioning monster factory here.”

“You’re not entirely wrong. Even though they were failed experiments, they were a nice, solid addition of force.”

Once Davey knew that the monsters from earlier were made from humans, he couldn’t help but think about how many humans had been sacrificed to make monsters like the Gigas he had killed earlier.

From what Davey had heard about the Earth's population, he knew that it once was seven billion but had dropped by at least two billion.

While two billion may not seem like much from other people's perspectives, it was actually a massive number, considering that Korea only had fifty million. So the death toll was equal to the disappearance of over forty countries that were the same size as Korea.

“You must be pretty bold to come and see me when you have no intention of answering my questions,” Davey asked.

“Hmm, I’ve done some research on my end about what kind of person you are, and to be frank, you’ve piqued my interest. Oh, my name is Tarung, by the way. You’re Davey O’Rowane, right?”

This mad scientist, Tarung, continued to act as if his life was not in danger. He even dared to further say, “The correlation between the human soul, the monster soul, and the body is my life’s research."

“Don’t beat around the bush. What do you and the Illuminati hope to achieve by coming to another dimension?”

“Hmm. If you’re that curious, I can tell you. I am a researcher studying human evolution, and the Relics of God here are the best materials to perfect the process,” Tarung answered, grinning. He then took out an interesting-looking device that looked like a terminal and started operating it. Shortly after he began to use it, his eyes widened in delight.

“Oh… This is some good data. This will help overall.”

He seemed to be enjoying himself, showing no fear of the current situation.

“Aren’t you enjoying yourself a bit too much?” Davey asked.

“Hmm? You’re still here?” Tarung replied and snickered.

Davey was immensely irritated by Tarung’s relaxed expression. He heaved a sigh and then took a step toward the scientist.

“Hmm?”

Davey swung his spear at Tarung before he could react. But the blade stopped midair as Tarung placed his hand in his coat pocket.

“Oh no. You shouldn’t be so barbaric,” he quipped with a chuckle as he showed Davey his wrist. “You see, this is the culmination of technology. This is what I created through my research.”

“...”

“I’m different from a kid like you who got lucky and gained strength,” Tarung claimed.

For a moment, an enormous resistance coursed through Longginus. But this weapon was forged from divine metal, making it unlike any ordinary spear. It had a durability that was greater than that of divine swords, and it even had a reputation for being indestructible. In other words, it was the perfect weapon for someone who was willing to attack with all their might.

The scientist was grinning, not yet realizing that his arm had been severed. He gave Davey a look of disbelief before erupting into a fit of nervous laughter. “Wow, calm down. I understand you want to kill me, but there’s nothing you can do in this world… Huh?”

“It’s good for you to be talking fast, but wouldn’t it be better to be aware of your own situation?” Davey pointed out.

It was only then that he realized that his arm was missing and that there was a sharp pain from where his limb was cut off. And it didn’t take long for the pain to escalate into excruciating agony.

“Kaaa!! M-my, my arm?!”

As Tarung writhed on the floor, Davey glanced around at the human bodies that were transforming into monsters.

They were still alive, but Davey knew that it was too late to reverse the process. He was aware that these people would only end up getting incinerated if he tried to use the Power of Miracles on them.

With a complicated expression on his face, Davey stepped on Tarung and asked, "Hey, shall we play a game?”

“Gaaaa! Gaaaa! H-how?! The repulsive force should’ve...”

“You know how there are always scientists who believe in just one thing and act fearlessly in games and movies, right?” Davey asked, looking down at Tarung.

Meanwhile, Tarung was frozen in fear, and all he could do was stare right back at Davey.

“Why don’t you know that reality is different?”

“Eek! Gwaaa!!! This can't be happening. How… How?”

Of course, whatever he was trying to say or do didn’t matter. If he didn’t want to talk, Davey could simply force him to.

“You only have one choice,” Davey said, trampling on his body again.

This time, the intangible resistance was weaker, making it easier for Davey to reach Tarung without much trouble.

“A-amazing! Ugh… Gwaaa!”

“It’s nothing special. I’m just overloading your barrier because you seem to be betting your life on it,” Davey explained as he stepped on Tarung harder. “What are the Illuminati trying to do here?”

“Hehe… hehehe…”

Tarung’s laughter grew more manic, and it almost sounded eerie to an extent..

“Research. Nothing but research. The reason I worked here was to conduct research without limitations,” Tarung said as he coughed up blood and looked up at Davey with a crazed expression. Then he added, “Do you want to know more? Well, do some research... about our organization.”

After his statement, his body began to swell.

It seemed like this madman also did his experiment on himself.

“Oh… Oooh! I’ve succeeded! This density! This structure! Finally, our research is successful! With this, humanity has risen to an even higher position…”

Davey sighed as he watched Tarung grow into a massive, muscular bipedal monster.

“There used to be a guy called Vampire Face,” Davey said as Tarung’s transformation progressed.

“Hmm?”

“Why should I wait for you to fully transform?”

Tarung's skin, which had not yet hardened completely, fell apart in an instant. Then his body collapsed.

On the other hand, Davey turned away from him and began preparing to take down the tree.

"Ah… No! No! You can't destroy that!!!” Tarung screamed.

“I feel sorry for the humans here, but it's better to let them go like this rather than letting them suffer further.”

“No!!! You can’t destroy it!”

Instead of paying any attention to Tarung's desperate cry, Davey gathered magic in both of his hands. Even without divine power, the level of his spirit that was on par with that of a demigod began to seep in, and the Power of Taboo encroached on the giant tree, which was presumed to be a sacred tree.

“The hope of humanity? The key to evolution? Bullshit.”

Davey didn't care about their twisted ideals. But there were some troubling implications.

Monsters never dragged people away, since they usually killed humans on sight. Yet, there were humans in the research building that were being transformed into monsters or used as hosts for spawning more monsters.

This meant that there was a traitor among humanity—someone working with the Malicious Spirits and the Abyss. And this traitor was so high up that they could wipe out a massive number of humans without raising suspicion.

***

While Davey was confronting Tarung in England, those who were seeking an opportunity began to move in Korea.

About a dozen individuals in black suits silently infiltrated a busy amusement park where people were enjoying their leisure time. With their weapons drawn, they moved swiftly and spoke quietly. “Team Bravo, begin operation.”

[Hawkeye ready.]

“Remember, quickly seize the target, then leave immediately. Without the Saint of Tionis here, this is our only chance.”

They obviously believed that the Saint of Tionis was the only real threat to their plan.