T-Thwak! Kang Chul-In’s smack was loud.

“Kuk... kwek... kuh... keuk...!”

Saturnus was helpless.

“You dare?”

Kang Chul-In gripped Saturnus’s head and lifted him. His eyes were blazing like rubies. They were rare eyes that were the symbol of the Aurangzeb imperial family, ones you could only see on an albino person. It meant that his DNA had awakened. The Emperor of Blood and Iron’s memories and the Ectoplasm Oversuit had replaced Kang Chul-In’s DNA with the Aurangzeb family’s.

“You touched...”

At the same time, Kang Chul-In slammed Saturnus’s face down onto the floor.

Crunch. “My daughter? You bastard!”

Kang Chul-In repeatedly slammed Saturnus’ face on the floor.

“O-Oppa...” Han Ye-Sun was shocked. “H-How can... you...”

She couldn’t react in any way. Saturnus was a strong enemy. In the fight at the Hartum River some time ago, he showed that he was more powerful than Kang Chul-In.

But...

“I can’t... believe it.”

Saturnus was being beat-up by Kang Chul-In one-sidedly. She didn’t understand how someone who had been so critically injured could become so strong in that short amount of time.

This strength...

Kang Chul-In was also surprised while he beat up Saturnus. There were two reasons behind his power-up.

The first was the synchronization of the Ectoplasm Oversuit. Not only did it raise Kang Chul-In’s stats, it amplified all his energy. It was like the Amplifier Talisman 2.0.

The second was the Emperor of Blood and Iron’s memories. The twisted flow of time went naturally, and Kang Chul-In was able to recall all of his memories as a result of that. The Emperor of Blood and Iron was a master of battles. Kang Chul-In was able to gain his experience and tactics for free. Most of all, he knew how the Emperor of Blood and Iron used mana. The “Perfect Circulation” of the Emperor of Blood and Iron was the perfect way to use mana. There was zero mana lost in the process, and its effects increased by 150%. Perfect Circulation was a way to use a small amount of mana destructively.

That was how Kang Chul-In was able to become two times stronger just by having the Emperor of Blood and Iron’s memories.

“Keack!” Just then, Saturnus managed to escape Kang Chul-In’s hand. “Ke...!” He growled at Kang Chul-In. “You...!”

“What, do you feel like shit cause you got beat up?” Kang Chul-In mocked. “So why would you do something to get beat up, you son of a...”

Just then,

“Oh right.” Kang Chul-In turned to Arshelly, stopping himself from cursing at Saturnus. “Daughter.”

“D-Dad..”

“Would you... leave for a moment? It won’t be good for your mind to see this.”

“Okay...”

“And... change your clothes.”

“O-Okay!”

Arshelly quickly covered her body. Her clothes were torn up because of Saturnus. Also, Arshelly was transformed into an Arknight, so she had the body of a fully-grown woman. From her dad’s point of view, it was awkward.

“Can I leave it to you?” Kang Chul-In asked Han Ye-Sun. “Of course.”

Han Ye-Sun nodded.

“Let’s go, Arshelly.”

“M-Ms. Han...!”

“Unnie, come too.”

Han Ye-Sun left the Lord’s Hall with Arshelly and Ninetails.

They must have a lot to talk about.

Kang Chul-In had a bitter smile as he watched the three leave.

M-Ms. Han, you were an adventurer too?

Are you... my new sister?

Arshelly and Ninetails would both have many questions.

Shit.

And Kang Chul-In would have to take care of the awkwardness that came after.

“Hehe... you bastard...” Meanwhile, Saturnus ground his teeth. “You dare to look down on me...?”

“I don’t know what kind of bullshit you’re talking about.” Kang Chul-In refuted. “Although my father was a fool, he was a real man who loved his child. He wasn’t a psycho like you.”

“What?”

“You shouldn’t have crossed the line even after going crazy. You’ve lost it way too much... I understand the Emperor of Blood and Iron for being a bad son. You don’t even amount to the grime on my foolish father’s toenail. Understood, Emperor of Lunacy and Night?”

“Ke... just because you’re stronger...”

“No.” Kang Chul-In cut Saturnus off. “I made a mistake, calling you the Emperor of Lunacy and Night. You don’t deserve to be called an emperor. Maybe son of a bitch describes you better.”

“Are you... denying me right now? My identity as an emperor?”

“Of course. You’re not an emperor. Just because you’re strong, it doesn’t mean you’re an emperor.”

“Kek... son, you’re speaking nonsense again. If I’m not an emperor, who is? I am a great being among these pigs and dogs in this world...”

“You’re the emperor of pigs and dogs.” Kang Chul-In cut off Saturnus again.

“Like you said...”

“...!”

“In your rotten eyes, everyone seems like pigs and dogs to you, hm? Then you’re only the emperor of pigs and dogs.”

An emperor...

Kang Chul-In thought of what he had learned from being an Overlord.

They exist to rule over those that trust and follow them.

It took him some time to realize that. Before his regression, Kang Chul-In had gone crazy as well, although he wasn’t as bad as Saturnus.

What had been the result? Failure, and destruction. Because he had only trusted his brute strength, Kang Chul-In was humiliated by Rothschild.

But not anymore. What Kang Chul-In learned through his regression was what a “true emperor” was. Not only had he grown physically, but he had grown mentally. He had the right to sit on the throne of the emperor!

I’ll become the emperor. Kang Chul-In hardened his resolve. Not the emperor of dogs and pigs, but people.

His ambition turned into the foundation of a benevolent emperor. Kang Chul-In was confident that he could defeat Saturnus with his conviction... a conviction as strong as blood and iron!

“Come.” Kang Chul-In wiggled his finger at Saturnus. “I don’t plan on talking about what an emperor is with trash like you.”

“You bastard...!”

“You’re not coming? Then...”

Just then, Kang Chul-In shot forward like a bullet and perfectly dug into Saturnus. His punch landed in Saturnus’s solar plexus.

“Kuk...!”Saturnus gasped.

“I’ll go, like this.”

That was only the beginning.

Thwak, puk, pak!

“Aaaack!” Saturnus screamed, exuding a violent aura around him, but...

He’s too slow.

Kang Chul-In landed a punch on Saturnus’ chin.

“Kuk!”

Saturnus’ neck was whipped backwards.

“I’ll show you what it means to be beaten up like a dog.”

Kang Chul-In smiled evilly.

***

In Metalia in the Valhalla Kingdom, in the VVIP hospital room of Laputa...

“... Has the time come?

Next to a bedridden Kwak Jung, a cookie-eating Desdemona judged that it was time to fulfill her duty.

“Yeah, I should...”

The time had definitely come. It was time to rebuild the broken continent of Pangaea.

Mom. She thought of her mom, Dragon Lord Emilia. I want to be a confident dragon now, not the shame of our species.

Desdemona had gone through all kinds of humiliation back when she was a hatchling after being captured by a human emperor. She suffered from depression from the trauma, and she became a timid and fearful dragon after the incident. Her species, the dragons, had mocked her saying she wasn’t dragon-like and weak. She was looked down on by all dragons.

But...

“Desdemona.” Not by her mother, Emilia. “I trust you. You’ll become a great dragon.”

“R-Really...?”

“Of course!”

“Hehe...!”

“Mom trusts that our daughter will become a confident dragon after overcoming the bad memories.”

“Mom...!”

“Our daughter is so nice. Anyone can tell from the fact that you don’t hate humans.”

“That’s... because not all humans are bad...”

“Sure. You’re so kind, Desdemona.”

“Hehe~!”

After some time had passed and Desdemona became an ancient dragon.

“Daughter.”

“Yes, mom.”

“Someday, you’ll become the greatest dragon in history.”

“What...? What do you mean?”

“You’ll protect this world and rebuild it.”

A thousand years later, now, what Emilia said is becoming true.

“The present is now.” Desdemona clenched his fists. “Soon.”

She looked at the Lord’s Hall while she murmured to herself.

***

10 minutes later.

Plop! Saturnus kneeled.

“Haa... haa... haaaa...”

He was panting for breath.

“Yeah, that fits you.” Kang Chul-In smiled cruelly at Saturnus, looking him up and down, like how the strong saw the weak.

“H-How...!”

Saturnus didn’t believe what happened. Kang Chul-In was strong. Too strong. The person in front of him was stronger than the Emperor of Blood and Iron. No, those words couldn’t do him justice. Was there ever someone as strong as the current Kang Chul-In? There wasn’t. He could guarantee that no one had ever been as strong as Kang Chul-In.

For Saturnus, the cause of fear in Pangea a thousand years ago, to think that...

“You take it well.” Kang Chul-In didn’t care about whether Saturnus was surprised or not. “Even beating you up is disgusting. Then you should die.”

He was about to punish Saturnus mercilessly.

Kang Chul-In grabbed his arms.

“...!”

Saturnus’ eyes filled with shock.

“A-Are you...!”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“W-Wait!”

“...?”

“S-Save me!”

“What?”

“Save... me! S-Son...!”

Kang Chul-In suspected his ears for a moment. Save him? He couldn’t believe that Saturnus had said those words. Saturnus wasn’t someone to say those words over his dead body. That was how crazy he was.

“P-Please... save me.” But the current Saturnus was different. “I don’t care about anything else you do... just don’t kill me!”

“...?”

“Please...!”

Thinking that something was strange,

“...!”

Kang Chul-In read horror in Saturnus’s eyes. He was scared of death. Not death itself, but where he would go after dying.

Hell. He was scared about a “true hell” that couldn’t be explained with words.

Kang Chul-In grinned.

“You... you were worse than I thought.”

“...”

“You’re scared of hell? Where you have to go when you’re dead?”

“T-That’s...!”

“Seems like you were acting tough after coming into the human world after crawling the bottoms of hell...”

It was true. Hell wasn’t something to look down on. It was where the demon Saturnus had been pained. This meant Saturnus wasn’t a lunatic person of charisma, but a scared villain!

The reason why this guy was so obsessed... might be because he was scared of death.

The Emperor of Blood and Iron’s convictions flashed in Kang Chul-In’s head. Yes, what Saturnus was most afraid of was death. Not everything ended the moment you died. A death that would send you to hell was a one-way ticket to pain.

“Sorry.” Kang Chul-In grinned. “Demons belong in hell.”

“S-Son...!”

“Die.”

𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

At the same time, Kang Chul-In’s fist landed on Saturnus’s head. His firm head cracked like a watermelon. The scream whirled inside of the Lord’s Hall.

“Tsk.” Kang Chul-In clicked his tongue. “How pathetic.”

The ending of the one to back Kang Chul-In into a corner for the first time was so lowly and simple.

As Kang Chul-in finished saying that, someone clapped for him.

“Good work, Kang Chul-In.”

“...!”

“Now there’s only one left, huh?”

Kang Chul-In turned around. The Black Dragon Desdemona was smiling at him mysteriously.