Dancing on the golden ashes

Not only was I concerned about the situation in the capital city, but I also had to reclaim my beasts. I felt a deep connection with them, yet it seemed they had moved to the city for the time being. Ahh... how dare they leave me behind. I'll have to make an example out of one of them. But which one should I choose? I couldn't decide easily; I felt a sting of betrayal. At least someone should have stayed and waited in the area where I first disappeared... Ahh... how infuriating.

I wanted to cry, but no tears came out. "Well, let's just rush there," I thought. I wondered how Malrang was doing—and what about the trio? They should be keeping the peace while I'm gone, right?

In a moment, I found myself appearing above a towering city... yet something felt off. Why was it so much bigger than I remembered?

I landed right in the heart of the city, and the people around me jumped in terror as if they had seen a ghost.

"T-the empress is back... her ghost has come to take revenge on us!" People began scrambling in panic, and I felt a shock ripple through me.

"Who the hell are you all calling a ghost? I will soon turn all of you into ghosts!" My voice boomed throughout the city, and everything came to a sudden stop. People froze in their tracks, staring at me in utter disbelief.

"But..." a nearby voice stuttered, trembling with fear.

"But what? Speak up!" I bellowed, my tone growing harsher.

"But... aren't you supposed to be dead? The emperor—he even raised a monument in your honor." The man pointed shakily toward a statue of me, adorned with flowers and candles.

"You must be fucking kidding me..." I muttered, feeling a surge of anger. I wanted nothing more than to smash that effigy, but at the same time, I didn't want the people to think I didn't appreciate their tribute.

"Han Seungho! Get your ass over here this instant!" I shouted. In moments, the man burst from the top of the citadel—completely naked, no doubt caught in the midst of something urgent. And I knew I would soon have a word with him that he wouldn't forget...

"M-m-m-master... you're... a-a-alive..." His voice trembled as he spoke, barely able to form a word—and he didn't even bother to cover himself up.

"You fucking idiot, did a cat bite your tongue? Why are you stuttering? And for God's sake, dress yourself up, you pervert! Look at yourself!" I barked.

Then, a thunder of footsteps echoed from the depths of the city as if a small army were rushing toward me all at once.

"Master! You're back!" roared Omenpaw, his bulky frame resembling that of a bodybuilder—a far cry from his usually soft character.

"You all..." I glared at the assembled crowd, extending my arm and summoning everyone back into my beast world. "We will have a chat later..."

This whole situation was completely ridiculous... My temples throbbed with a sharp pain, and I couldn't help but want to take it all out on someone.

"Gaon!" Suddenly, all of that was interrupted by the voice of the purple fox—rushing toward me with the speed of sound. It crashed into my body, making the very air vibrate. I instinctively wrapped my arms around the fox, holding her tightly, terrified of ever forgetting her again.

"Where have you been? It's been a full month since your disappearance. You had us all worried—I couldn't even sense you anymore... I really thought you might have... died..." Her voice wavered with genuine sorrow, and I could see the sadness in her eyes. In that moment, I finally understood the gravity of the situation. Apparently, there was a reason why people had left flowers for me and built monuments—they truly believed I was dead. And, in a way, they weren't entirely wrong. I had ceased to exist in this world for a while. I was, you could say, dead for a time.

"I... I can't explain it all here, but know that I am okay," I replied softly. I couldn't let anyone know that there was a way to return home; the knowledge was too dangerous. I also feared that their presence might somehow disrupt the delicate recovery of that other world—a world battered by human damage that deserved some time to heal. For now, it was better to let it rest, to allow it the space it needed to mend.

"Empress! You're finally back! Thank God you're alive—but we have no time. You must rush back to the capital immediately; we have a major problem, and only someone at your power level can hope to solve it!" Suddenly, Lee Seo-Yeon burst out of the citadel. Her hair was slightly disheveled, which made me wonder about the connection between her and the naked man kneeling on the ground before me—but I simply ignored it. It wasn't my business to interfere.
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"What happened that requires me to be there so urgently?" I asked, genuinely curious. With Kim Seong-Hoon and the others present, the empire should be safe—unless one of the top-ranked individuals had attacked.

"We've received reports that a calamity-level monster is approaching the capital, and it's coming fast. If you hadn't returned, people would have already started evacuating and fleeing."

My heart dropped. My greatest fear—could it really be possible that this beast was already making its way here?

"That monster... what does it look like...?" I asked in a trembling voice.

"We've found that the monster stands at least 300 meters tall, with a humanoid face and two-legged stance... and we've even determined its level," Lee Seo-Yeon replied hesitantly. "It's just... I don't know how to say it..."

"Just spill it already," I urged, my heart pounding like crazy. Every fiber of my being was fixated on that looming threat.

"It's level 200..."

'200?! Are you kidding me? Even I can't handle something like that! How in the world am I supposed to fight it?' I wanted to shout those words, but instead, I only managed to open the rift to Luminara City with a space shatter. "Go fast—we have no time to waste!"