The Return of the Legendary All-Master

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

"Alright! Finally, it's done!"

Jang Dae-Hwi checked the video in front of him and raised his arms in triumph.

The three days he had promised Jeong-Hoon.

He successfully completed the video within those three days.

└ Holding my breath waiting for the video to drop

└ Can't he just edit a bit faster?

└ Seriously, he's so damn slow ㅠㅠ

└ Ugh, I'm losing my mind waiting

└ Is the editor slacking off or what?!

These little punks?

They're calling me slow after I've been working day and night without rest?

Fine.

I'll upload the finished video and make them change their tone.

Grinding his teeth, Jang Dae-Hwi uploaded the video.

As soon as it was up, people flocked to click on it, and the view count started climbing in real time.

"Tch, I told you—this one's a masterpiece."

Maybe it was the impact of the recent live broadcast, but HoneyTube's subscribers had already surpassed 300 million.

If civilization hadn't partially collapsed and caused power outages, it probably wouldn't have stopped at 300 million—hitting 400 or even 500 million wouldn't have been that hard.

└ The editing is insane, LOL

└ Definitely easier to understand than watching it live.

└ Seeing it from all these different angles really helps make sense of it.

└ So this is why Ggul1 told us to check the video instead of showing it again live.

└ I'm going to try this right away.

└ Nah, you'd better hold off on rushing to try it after getting hyped from just watching the video, LOL

└ You know what they say—if someone makes it look easy, that just means they're really good at it.

└ True… Honestly, people who could apply this right away probably wouldn't have been so desperate for the video in the first place, LOL

└ Damn, that hit hard.

Reading through the comments, Jang Dae-Hwi couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from twitching in delight.

He had received plenty of compliments on his editing before, but no matter how often he heard them, it always felt warm and fuzzy.

After checking the reactions for a while, Jang Dae-Hwi called Jeong-Hoon.

[Yes, hyung.]

"I've uploaded the video!"

[Ah, then please come back.]

"Huh?"

He had said it expecting praise, but why was the conversation heading this way?

[Hyung, you must be really exhausted. I'll help you recover.]

…Meaning, this was his way of saying they'd start training again under the guise of 'recovery,' wasn't it?

"Haha, no, I think it would be better to catch up on some sleep since I haven't been able to rest…?"

[That would be a waste of time, wouldn't it?]

"Uh, no, I don't think it's that much of a waste…"

[Then come back in four hours.]

"Haha……"

I don't want to.

I don't want to go.

[You must not be late.]

But Jeong-Hoon was merciless.

In the end, the sleep time Jang Dae-Hwi managed to get was barely three hours.

* * *

While Jang Dae-Hwi crawled into bed after finishing his editing, Jeong-Hoon was having a serious conversation with Thanatos.

"Someone interfered?"

"Yeah. Master, what are you going to do about that guy?"

"I'm not sure yet."

The person Jeong-Hoon and Thanatos were closely watching was James Marcus.

James Marcus, who had been defending Earth alone against the invasions, for some reason chose not to close the rift and instead remained there.

Even when ten Avatars under contract with Thanatos formed a party and entered that dungeon, James Marcus mercilessly drove them out.

The only relief was that he hadn't harmed any of Earth's humans.

'How did he interfere?'

Jeong-Hoon furrowed his brows.

The strange energy radiating from James Marcus.

That was proof that he had become an Avatar.

The problem, however, was that he had contracted not with Thanatos, but with someone else.

Either way, if things continued like this, the timer would eventually reach zero.

"Master, should we just gather the Avatars and overwhelm him with force?"

"No, we can't. James Marcus… we don't even know who he's contracted with yet."

"But still, he hasn't killed any humans on Earth. Isn't that fine? Or are you planning to just sit back and let that timer hit zero?"

"No. I'll go myself."

"You'll go personally?"

"Yes."

As Jeong-Hoon stood up, Tenebris urgently tried to stop him.

<What kind of nonsense is this! Can't you tell that's obviously a trap?>

"I know."

Logos and Psyche.

Even though Jeong-Hoon was concealing his presence with Tenebris's help, he was still easily detected by the named entities.

There was a reason he had been feeling cornered.

<Ha… what are you even thinking right now.>

What Tenebris feared was clear—it was obvious they were using that human as bait to lure Jeong-Hoon in.

"That guy is almost level 2,000 now. On top of that, his natural talent is overwhelmingly exceptional, and now he's even an Avatar. This isn't something we can solve by simply throwing numbers at him."

There was a reason he had been able to fight off invasions all by himself.

He had the skill and guts to make it possible.

<Then what about taking those who've completed the sixth advancement?>

"That's not an option."

Jeong-Hoon was fully prepared to risk being detected by the named entities.

There was always the chance others could get caught up because of him—he couldn't let that happen.

<Ha, this is seriously frustrating.>

"Don't worry too much. Unlike last time, I can now control the Creation Engine."

<That's true, but still...>

"Anyway, there's no more time to explain."

The place where James Marcus was located—Los Angeles, USA.

Jeong-Hoon quickly departed for LA.

* * *

[What do you think you're doing?]

An unpleasant voice echoed.

James Marcus tilted his head slightly.

"Is there a problem?"

[Why are you letting humans go unharmed?]

James Marcus had annihilated the invading forces that crossed through the rift.

A force of fifty thousand troops.

Even though their commander, Banas, had been eliminated, James had never thought he could control them.

So, he made the decision to wipe them out completely.

But because the sheer number of them made it an extremely tricky task, he settled on destroying the vanguard, the frontline, and the main force.

He could have pushed further to the rear and closed the rift completely, but he had to hold his ground until the timer hit zero, so he deliberately held back.

The problem came afterward—players started arriving.

They had become Avatars, formed parties, and were coming here to block the invasion.

'James?'

'Why is James here?'

The players who recognized him couldn't hide their shock.

'I'll handle this place. You guys head elsewhere.'

The strongest Paladin on the American continent.

If you're American, it's impossible not to revere him.

So the Avatars left without protest.

But the transcendent being wasn't pleased with that.

[You fool! You've become the master of this place. That means you have the obligation to kill any intruders who come through!]

"Don't be ridiculous. My role is to guard this place and ensure the rift isn't sealed until the timer reaches zero."

[You don't desire more power? Fine. I'll sweeten the deal. From now on, kill every human that comes through. Do that, and I'll double your reward.]

At this outrageous offer, a smile crept across James's face.

"You better keep that promise."

James raised his sword and shield and left the main camp, heading straight to the portal on the front line.

There was no need to wait for enemies to push toward the main camp—he would kill humans as soon as they came through.

Just as he arrived in front of the portal, one human stepped through.

And that human was someone James knew very well.

"Ggul1……."

* * *

'Was he waiting for me here?'

As soon as Jeong-Hoon passed through the portal, James Marcus came into view.

<Now I see it clearly. That guy… he made a contract with Beelzebub.>

'Beelzebub?'

<That's right. He's one of the Five Named.>

'Then what about Baal?'

Jeong-Hoon glanced sideways at Baal, who was standing next to him, staring at James Marcus with fear in his eyes.

<This one isn't the true Baal.>

'He's not?'

<Yeah. To be precise, he's a being formed from a fragment that separated from Beelzebub. There are other Baals in different demon realms besides this one, and you can think of them as the same as him.>

'Really?'

As Tenebris finished his explanation, Baal slowly nodded.

<That's correct. I am Baal, but also a fragment of Him.>

'So that's why you were trying to become a God?'

To cast off the label of being just a mere fragment.

<Yes.>

That was the ultimate reason why Baal had risked everything to side with Jeong-Hoon.

"James, why did you make a contract with Beelzebub?"

Jeong-Hoon turned his head and locked eyes with James Marcus.

"Why? Is there a problem?"

James grinned as he tilted his head playfully.

"There are plenty of problems. At the very least, I thought you were someone who truly wanted to protect Earth."

Originally, the role of the regressor belonged to James Marcus.

He had repeatedly returned to the past in order to prevent Earth's destruction, but ultimately failed and passed the responsibility to Jeong-Hoon.

So why had he fallen to Beelzebub's temptation?

"Click… that's such an old story. Anyway, I'm asking you nicely. Leave this place quietly."

"Leave?"

James Marcus was no match for Jeong-Hoon.

That's why he was politely asking.

"I refuse."

Of course, Jeong-Hoon had no intention of accepting his request.

"I see. Then I'll do whatever I can to stop you from closing the rift."

James Marcus pointed his sword at Jeong-Hoon.

"If you think you can."

Jeong-Hoon dashed forward, stepping into the Heavenly Demon Lord's Dominion.

In an instant, he was right in front of James Marcus and swung his fist at his face.

"Guhh!"

James Marcus was sent flying, his head snapping to the side without even managing to raise his shield.

There was no way he could have defended when he couldn't even follow the movement.

"Why bother making that choice if you're just going to get knocked down with a single punch?"

Muttering in disdain, Jeong-Hoon turned to move forward.

There were two hours left before the timer reached zero.

He had to close the rift before then.

"Wait……"

James Marcus staggered to his feet.

The impact had been considerable—his focus was visibly wavering.

"You're still going to continue?"

"I… I can't let you pass."

James Marcus once again raised his sword and shield.

The contract he had formed was temporary.

In other words, once the quest tied to it ended, the contract was set to be forcibly terminated.

Jeong-Hoon seemed to have realized this and stepped into the Heavenly Demon Lord's Dominion once more, standing right in front of James Marcus.

"Snap out of it."

His fist once again smashed into James's face.

"Guhh!"

James Marcus was sent flying again.

[What do you think you're doing?! Get up right now!]

As James teetered on the edge of losing consciousness, Beelzebub's voice rang out.

'I can't…'

[Tsk, fine. Then I'll grant you a special ability. Use that to block him.]

At the mention of an "ability," James's eyes sparkled.

'Is that true?'

[Yes. Just hold out a little longer. Once that timer hits zero, I can seize control. If you make that happen, I promise you the greatest reward.]

'…….'

James staggered back to his feet.

[Good. I'll send one of my puppets right now. Work together to keep him from escaping this place.]

A puppet…

James let out a faint chuckle as he stared at Jeong-Hoon.

'Yeah. This should be enough.'

As he rose, Jeong-Hoon once again appeared right in front of him.

"Will you… keep your promise?"

At James's words, Jeong-Hoon paused for a moment.

Before he realized it, his fist was already pressed against James's face.

'Seriously… At this speed, it's impossible to dodge.'

It was a speed so overwhelming he had no time to react.

"Did you really get an ability?"

"Yeah. But seriously, why are you hitting me so hard? Were you actually trying to kill me?"

"I had to hit you that hard to fool them."

A slight smirk crept onto Jeong-Hoon's face.

"You really are something else… Just like before."

James immediately used Transfer.

The ability he had just received from Beelzebub—he was now transferring it to Jeong-Hoon.

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]