Epilogue Chapter 58 - Sky and Sea (2)

A colossal Rift had opened about 12,000 kilometers above Seoul, higher than the thick bed of clouds. It looked as if someone had shattered the sky with a massive hammer. The Rift, hundreds of kilometers in length, made it look like the Apocalypse had approached them.

“Is this the Rift you mentioned?”

[Yes!]

“It’s... certainly larger than anything I’ve seen.”

Kang-Woo clicked his tongue as he stared at the Rift hundreds of kilometers long. Considering Rifts over two hundred meters large were known as large Rifts, its size far transcended any Rift Kang-Woo had ever closed.

‘Thankfully, the weather is shit.’

There would have been a massive panic in Seoul if the skies were clear. The entire country would have lost their minds if they saw something like this after the invasions of demons years ago.

“H-Honey... is this alright?”

Han Seol-Ah approached from behind as she flapped her black wings and looked up worryingly at the Rift covering the sky. He usually was not accompanied by his wives when closing Rifts because only he could do it but had asked them to come as potential reinforcements because the Rift was nothing like he had ever seen. They did not stand out when compared to Kang-Woo but each of his wives was among the strongest in the world.

“No, I don’t think so,” Kang-Woo answered as he looked up troublingly at the sky.

He wanted to relieve Seol-Ah but the situation was so bad that he couldn’t lie and give her false hopes.

“Why’s your face so frozen? It's not like you, hubby. Who cares if the Rift is massive? We can just beat the shit out of whatever comes through and force them back where they came from,” Yeon-Joo shouted, trying to encourage the anxious Kang-Woo.

“...” Kang-Woo stared at Yeon-Joo. “I don’t think you’d encourage anyone in that state.”

“Sh-Shut up! I can’t fly like all of you! What else do you expect from me?!”

They were 12,000 kilometers up in the sky. Unlike Kang-Woo with the Authority of the Sky, and Lilith and Seol-Ah with wings, Yeon-Joo was only human— she couldn’t freely soar through the skies.

“Ngh... It’s not like I wanna be in this position!”

Hence, the only way she could accompany them was by sticking to Lilith’s back like a cicada. Even though she had no choice, Kang-Woo couldn’t help but laugh seeing her.

“Fufu. I couldn’t be happier to give my cute little sister a piggyback ride.”

“Ah! U-Unnie! Where the hell are you touching?!”

“My~ Yeon-Joo, you’ve got a pretty big butt.”

“Argh! Stop touching, dammit!”

Kang-Woo smiled as the two of them made jokes even when faced with a super Rift they had never seen before. However, they couldn’t keep up that attitude for long. Kang-Woo approached Yeon-Joo and placed his hand on her shoulder.

“Huh? I-I’m flying! I’m flying!”

“You’re being lifted by the Authority of the Sky. Since you have a portion of my Divinity, you can temporarily use my Authorities.”

“You...! Use something like this sooner if you have it!” Yeon-Joo complained as she got off Lilith’s back.

She wouldn’t be accustomed to it since it was her first time using the Authority of the Sky but it would at least be better than her fighting on Lilith’s back.

“Eve, how is the Rift’s condition?”

[Urgh... I-It’s severely unstable. Any beings beyond the Rift may cross over at any second!]

Kang-Woo could tell how anxious Eve was despite her not using any emotes.

“Do you have any idea what’s beyond the Rift?”

[No, other than that it’s colossal... and it possesses power on the level of a Titan.]

“Hmm, is that so?”

Kang-Woo had already devoured two Titans but he couldn’t underestimate their unfathomable power.

𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

‘Earth was almost destroyed when I fought against Akart.’

It was not a matter of whether Kang-Woo could win— Earth could be leveled from such a transcendental battle.

‘Best-case scenario, it gets resolved without a fight.’

However, it was unlikely things would go as he hoped.

“Tsk,” Kang-Woo clicked his tongue and looked up at the colossal Rift.

If they saw this, anyone would believe the end of Earth had come. He wondered if the sky would shatter and fall to the ground.

“Hm...?”

Just then, he felt a very familiar energy flowing out of the Rift.

‘What’s this?’

He didn’t know how to describe the feeling—it was as if he had been reunited with a long-lost family member.

“The... Demonic Sea?”

No, it was not the Demonic Sea. It was similar but different— like two sides of the same coin.

RUMBLE—!

A black Nimbus cloud flowed out of the Rift along with the sound of thunder, covering the sky. A man walked out of the cloud— to be more exact, a man and a fairy the size of a hand.

“Hm?” The man’s eyes widened as he locked eyes with Kang-Woo. “Huh? Wh-What the hell?”

[What’s wrong, my child?] the fairy sitting on the man’s shoulder asked as she tilted her head.

“Wha... how could this...”

The man stared at Kang-Woo, unable to close his mouth.

“...”

“...”

The two men stared at one another, frozen still. Awkwardness filled the air. Three women came out of the Rift after the man to break the silence.

“What are you doing, just standing there, Oh-Jin?”

“Is something the matter, Oh-Jin?”

“My... looks like we have guests to welcome us.”

There was a red-haired woman with a black eyepatch over one eye, a woman with beautiful golden hair, and a woman so slender she might be mistaken as a child. It was not something a married man should say but the women’s beauty was on par with Kang-Woo’s wives.

“Who the hell are they, hubby...?”

“Be careful, honey.”

“Hmm. They don’t seem to be mindless beasts, at the very least.”

The six women confronted one another beside the two men. The woman with the eyepatch poked the flank of the man named Oh-Jin and broke the awkward silence.

“Oh-Jin, are you sure this is the world the

fly

ran off to?”

“Uhh... yeah.”

“Then who are they? The fly’s lackeys?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Then what?”

“I’m... not sure either. I expected there to be other lifeforms, but...”

The people from beyond the Rift seemed to be just as confused. The man named Oh-Jin groaned and turned to Kang-Woo and his companions.

“Hmm... well, if you don’t know, let’s just ask them. Hey! Who the hell are y—”

“W-Wait, noona! Just stay put!”

“Mmrp! Mmrp!”

The man grabbed the eyepatch woman as she was about to recklessly approach Kang-Woo and covered her mouth. The woman struggled in the man’s arms.

“Hmm.”

Kang-Woo tilted his head in wonder, staring at the woman who reminded him of Yeon-Joo.

‘What’s with this sense of sympathy I’m feeling?’

The energy from the man felt so familiar to the Demonic Sea. Kang-Woo could tell from how the women were staring at the man that they weren’t merely acquaintances but the man was troubled by the woman’s decisive behavior. It was like looking into a mirror. Kang-Woo was sure he had never met this man, but he felt oddly familiar.

‘At least... it looks like I could get through to him, unlike Akart.’

Kang-Woo felt that he could never get through to Akart no matter what he did— they were like parallel lines that would never intersect. However, he felt like he and the man were like two lines originating from the same line, like a long-lost brother. He wasn’t filled with hostility, at the very least.

‘They said something about coming to this world in search of a fly.’

If the fly they were referring to was the Celestial that attacked Kang-Hyun and Si-Ah...

‘There’s... no need to be hostile against them at the moment.’

Kang-Woo faintly smiled in relief after seeing the possibility that things could be resolved with words as he had hoped.

‘No, it’s too early to be relieved.’

He needed to give them a favorable first impression to resolve the matter with words.

‘A favorable impression, huh?’

There was a method that was the most effective in planting a favorable impression on someone about oneself.

“Hmm... May I call you Oh-Jin?”

“Oh, yes. My name is Kwon Oh-Jin.”

“I’m Oh Kang-Woo.”

Kang-Woo smiled and extended his hand toward the otherworldly guest. They shook hands as Kang-Woo used the most effective way to give a favorable first impression— finding something in common.

“Are these ladies your wives?”

“Oh... we haven’t held a wedding yet, but... yes, you could say that.”

“Haha. What a coincidence.”

‘I have three wives too!’