The control room staff erupted into cheers.

Every employee in the control room of the dimensional energy storage facility—

extraction, refinement, conversion, transmission.

[Wooooahhh!]

[Perfect timing.]

[This means the Earth No. 843 dimensional energy storage facility is safe.]

[No—does that not also mean the Black Tower of Earth No. 1001 has been normalized?]

[Right. The Summoner dies here.]

The Archangel had arrived.

At the entrance of the Earth No. 843 dimensional energy storage facility.

Now it was over.

For the Summoner.

And for the White Tower.

The suspended project to plant new Black Towers on parallel-universe Earths would resume.

[Enlarge the hologram feed. Raise the sound too.]

[Yes, Controller.]

It was an Archangel.

The ultimate weapon of headquarters.

Its exact designation?

Divine Android.

That was right.

...

That thing was not a living being.

It was a machine created by god.

A deus ex machina.

And that Archangel was not a unique existence.

Did anyone really think god had created only one android guardian angel?

There were three Archangels stationed at headquarters.

This was one of them.

A weapon meant to guard headquarters, yet god had sent it here.

It was packed with divine power, so sending it to another dimension took an enormous amount of time and consumed tremendous resources.

But now there was no need to worry.

They could simply sit back and watch.

Still—

[Prepare support on our end as well. Redirect the dimensional energy transmitter toward the Archangel.]

[...Is that really necessary?]

[How do you know what might happen? If necessary, pour dimensional energy directly into the Archangel.]

[Understood.]

If it meant killing that Summoner, it did not matter if they used up all the dimensional energy accumulated so far.

Why would they hesitate?

The information on the Archangel’s transfer obtained through the Judge’s Hammer was not enough.

All it revealed was that this was the ultimate weapon sent from a world called “headquarters.”

They would soon find out.

What kind of monster an Archangel truly was.

The summoned entities had already formed up.

Meatshield stood at the very front, followed by Cossack and the Mad Demon.

Baek Dana, Mannyeon, Jepetto, and the others held the center.

Veronica Caliber aimed sub-light-speed rounds.

Bardin, Diamat, and Crackers took to the air.

The rest surrounded Juhyeok without a single gap.

“It looks ordinary.”

“Doesn’t seem particularly threatening...”

“Judging by the wings, it can probably fly.”

“The moment it takes off, we’ll deal with it using sub-light-speed rounds.”

At that, Gyeon Dallae tilted her head.

“Something feels strange.”

“What do you mean?”

“It does not feel alive.”

Meaning—it was not a living being.

Like a golem?

“It is different from Dr. El. That person is essentially human.”

Right.

Because Dr. El had a soul.

Then—

“Dr. El, is that thing like an automated Gigant?”

“No. It is unrelated to magitech.”

“Hm.”

A robot?

No way.

Was the genre suddenly shifting into sci-fi?

In any case, no one made a rash move.

Neither did the Archangel.

A tense standoff.

“This old man should test the waters first. See whether it is spicy or bland.”

“...I have a bad feeling. It looks extremely spicy.”

“Hahaha. Aren’t Koreans all about spicy food?”

“Our Cossack here can’t handle spicy.”

“Summoner Bong, do not underestimate me. I can handle tempura udon now.”

That was impressive.

Though tempura udon was not spicy to begin with.

Step.

The Mad Demon moved forward.

WHIIIING!

His once-white hair turned crimson.

Blood-Jade Aura.

A manifestation beyond his realm.

In that instant—

Slide.

“Huh?”

The Archangel vanished without a trace.

“What? Where did it go?”

“Stealth?”

“Similar, but no.”

“Invisibility?”

“Again, similar, but...”

That was when—

ZAP!

“Hm?”

A prickling sensation struck the crown of Juhyeok’s head.

A chilling killing intent.

Don’t tell me—

SPOT!

Juhyeok reflexively retreated backward.

CRUNCH!

The Archangel slammed down where he had been, missing him by a hair’s breadth.

“Eeek?!”

What the hell?

He had almost died.

But it was not over.

Juhyeok instinctively chained Shadow Step and Blink.

SPAPAP! PAPAPAPAT!

The Archangel reacted instantly.

TSFIT! TSFIT! TSFIT! TSFIT!

It stuck close, stabbing at Juhyeok’s head with sharpened fingertips.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye.

If he hesitated even slightly, it was over.

The summoned entities realized it too late.

They panicked.

“Summoner Bong!!!”

“Summoner, evade!”

“P-please!!!”

“My lord! This way!”

Even if he fled, Juhyeok could not stray too far from the summoned entities.

SPOT! SPAPAPAPAT!

Cossack charged in, his face twisted with fury.

“You bastard!!!”

SLASH—CRACK!

CLANG! CLANG-CLANG!

The Archangel’s arm transformed into a blade and clashed with Cossack.

Good.

Aggro transferred.

Then Meatshield, the Mad Demon, and Bardin joined in.

All of that unfolded within mere seconds.

“Phew, alive—!”

Chill.

It was not over yet.

That prickling sensation again.

Goosebumps crawled over his skin.

SPOT! SPOT! SPOT!

Shadow Step flowed naturally.

TSFIT! TSFIT! TSFITITITIT!

An attack from an Archangel that had appeared out of nowhere grazed Juhyeok’s cheek.

“...What?!”

Blood.

Blood!

That bastard drew blood from my cheek.

The Archangel had clearly been handed off to the summoned entities.

They were fighting it right now.

So what was the one that had just attacked him?

“...What?”

Juhyeok saw it.

An Archangel fighting Cossack.

An Archangel fighting Meatshield.

An Archangel fighting the Mad Demon.

An Archangel fighting Bardin.

And even as it attacked—

SWOONG, SWOONG, SWOONG!

The Archangel split apart like an amoeba.

“...This thing uses clones too?”

The splitting did not stop.

One became two.

Two became four.

Four became eight.

Each split Archangel latched onto a summoned entity.

Thanks to that, the main body faced Juhyeok without interference.

“Commander!!!”

“My lord!!”

“Young master!”

“Hooooaaah!”

They were too close for ranged attacks.

Their eyes bloodshot, the summoned entities desperately ran to save Juhyeok. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

SWOONG, SWOONG, SWOONG, SWOONG.

Even then, the Archangel continued splitting.

Its target was only one.

Juhyeok.

The summoned entities did not matter.

The clones existed only to restrain them.

SPAPAPAPAT!

KABOOM!

It attacked only Juhyeok.

That was right.

This battle’s outcome depended entirely on him.

Eradicate Bong Juhyeok.

As if that program had been input into it.

The Archangel latched on mechanically.

No emotions.

It did not care if summoned entities charged it, attacked it, or blocked it.

It saw only Juhyeok.

Tracked only his movements.

That made it even more terrifying.

If he was caught, he would die.

PAPAPAPAPAT!

Juhyeok fled.

The Archangel chased.

The summoned entities desperately blocked.

It was clever.

Despite having wings, it did not fly.

Because that would make it an easy ranged target.

But Juhyeok was always just out of reach.

Did it really think I’d be easy to catch?

I’m the guy who drank a Dragon Heart Enhancement Elixir.

You know what an Immortal Energy Shower is?

Yeah.

I got that too.

CHRRRRAAAK!

Mari’s homunculus wrapped around the Archangel.

Gyeon Dallae’s talismans filled the sky.

Mackenzie’s magic-control attacks.

Veronica Caliber charged in with her body since she could not use her magic rifle.

Baek Dana and Mannyeon unleashed freezing attacks.

Jepetto and Diamat.

Dr. El and Crackers.

But—

SWOONG, SWOONG, SWOONG, SWOONG.

The clones were thrown at the summoned entities, while the main body blindly pursued—

Juhyeok.

Juhyeok.

Juhyeok.

The numbers kept increasing.

They already far outnumbered the summoned entities.

Thirty.

Sixty.

Soon—over a hundred.

How was he supposed to escape this crisis?

He needed time.

Time to pull items out of his inventory and equip them.

TSFITITITITIT!

The distance between Juhyeok and the Archangel’s main body was about one step.

Lose focus for even a moment, and he was finished.

Please.

Could you not back off even three steps?

Let me do something too.

At that moment—

A talisman drifting down from the sky fluttered gently and stuck to the Archangel’s chest.

SNAP!

A Binding Talisman.

One that immobilized the target.

A fleeting chance.

The Judge’s Hammer flew without hesitation.

WHIRRR!

THUD!

The Archangel was knocked backward.

Finally.

Time.

A moment to act.

Juhyeok quickly pulled the Veil of Transcendent Concealment from his inventory and threw it over himself.

SLUUURR.

He vanished without a trace.

At the same time, the Archangel lost its target.

Veil of Transcendent Concealment.

Hides the user for ten minutes.

Cooldown: ten minutes.

The user is revealed if they attack.

See that?

The dazzling escape skills of a certified coward.

I’m Bong Juhyeok.

You can’t see me, right?

Go on.

Try to find me, bastard.

That was when—

Halt. Halt. Halt. Halt. Halt...

The Archangel and its clones stopped moving.

Then—

Slip, slip, slip, slip, slip—

They vanished in an instant.

The battlefield suddenly fell silent.

Dead quiet.

Only a bleak wind blew.

“...Is it because I disappeared that there’s no reason to fight?”

You stalking bastard.

A freak who only looks at me.

With Juhyeok concealed, the summoned entities also froze in place.

All eyes remained focused, searching for the Archangel that might reappear at any moment.

It felt like a game of hide-and-seek.

If Juhyeok removed the Veil of Transcendent Concealment, or if its ten-minute duration expired and he was revealed, the Archangel would surely show itself again.

That scared the hell out of me.

He took a brief moment to catch his breath.

“Can I save here?”

Leave, regroup, formulate a counter-strategy for the Archangel, and then come back.

Just as he pulled out a Save Ticket from his inventory and tried to tear it—

[The save function is not active at the current point in time.]

It would not work?

Why?

Then—

...White Tower? God Baek?

Items would not activate.

If that was the case, at least do something.

But it was silent.

Even the White Tower’s intervention seemed to be blocked.

Normally, it would have immediately protested like before.

You bastard... you came prepared.

Well, it was not as if an Archangel would show up without contingencies.

A suffocating silence.

Juhyeok and the summoned entities all remained wordless.

The Archangel’s ambush—

It had almost succeeded.

The pressure had been relentless, without a moment to breathe.

He had escaped by a margin as thin as a sheet of paper.

If it had been before the Immortal Energy Shower?

He would have been caught, one hundred percent.

From now on, I need to keep the concealment veil on at all times.

All right.

My turn to reveal a card.

So—use C?

It was too early for a full Catalog All-Summon.

Just looking at the rookie Lesseal summoned entities made that clear.

They were still too weak.

Forcing it would be reckless.

The answer was already there.

An eye for an eye.

A clone for a clone.

Against a splitting Archangel, counter with avatars.

He rummaged through his pouch, pulled out a bundle of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven’s golden hairs, and blew on them.

Hoo.

SLUUURR—

The concealment veil was released.

“Summoner Bong!!!”

And the instant Juhyeok revealed himself—

SWOONG, SWOONG, SWOONG, SWOONG...

Countless split Archangels appeared.

WHOOSH!

Juhyeok scattered the golden hairs forward.

PUH-PUNG! PUH-PUH-PUH-PUH-PUH-PUH-PUH-PUH-PUNG! PUNG-PUNG-PUNG-PUNG-PUNG!

The Great Sage’s avatars multiplied explosively and flooded the battlefield.

The 93rd-floor mission area was drenched in gold.

Archangel splitting?

We are infinite-multiplication golden monkeys.

So these are Archangels?

Splitting your bodies so arrogantly—

Let us show you what real clones look like.

Teach them a lesson.

Preferably far away from me.

It’s scary when they come at me.

The moment Juhyeok’s will was conveyed—

WAAAAARRR!

The Great Sage’s avatars surged forward like a storm.

The Archangel clones were swept away by the torrent.

Some golden monkeys remained near Juhyeok.

Because he had asked them to.

If I stay alive, the summoned entities live too.

If anything happened to him, it was all over.

But now, he could finally breathe.

Only then did the summoned entities let out sighs of relief.

“Well done. I trusted you, Cossack did.”

“My heart nearly shattered.”

“This girl is still trembling.”

Me too.

My legs are still shaking.

I really almost died, you know?

KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA!

A golden wave surged.

The Archangels were blasted far away.

Some were torn apart.

Some were crushed to pieces.

Honestly, how could they possibly handle that many golden monkeys?

So... should I sit down and rest now?

Plop.

Juhyeok dropped onto the ground.

The summoned entities, however, still had not relaxed.

Then—

FLASH!

“Huh?”

The sky filled with white light—

KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA!!!

Another pillar of light slammed down.

It struck the surviving Archangels precisely.

...What is that now?

It was radiant.

Something holy.

Or pure.

And overwhelmingly powerful and destructive.

Energy.

Could it be—

...Dimensional energy?

It seemed so.

The Archangels’ bodies began to glow.

And then—

SWOONG, SWOONG, SWOONG, SWOONG, SWOONG.

They began splitting again.

Endlessly.

Rapidly.

UUUUUUUUU—

Countless silvery forms mixed into the golden horde.

The silver tide surged against the gold.

It began pushing the golden wave back, advancing toward Juhyeok.

A violent clash of silver and gold.

The Archangel clones advanced at terrifying speed.

The golden monkeys held the line like an iron wall.

Whenever an Archangel tried to take flight—

Grab!

Golden monkeys clung desperately to its legs and wings.

Haah... this is bad.

The Archangels were being supplied with energy in real time.

Fueled by that, their silver clones multiplied endlessly.

At this rate, the gold might be swallowed by silver.

He had thought the golden hairs would be overwhelming.

But this scene went against Juhyeok’s entire tower-clearing philosophy.

He hated uncertainty.

Despised anxiety.

Juhyeok read novels and watched movies the same way.

He checked the ending first.

If it had a sad ending, he did not watch it at all.

Even if it was a happy ending—

if a side character died halfway through, that was out too.

Catharsis through sorrow?

That word did not exist in his dictionary.

From beginning to end—

a thoroughly happy ending.

So—

Juhyeok murmured quietly.

“Transcendence. Beyond. Random Summon.”

Let’s do this cleanly.

Safely.

He had two uses of Transcendent Summon.

Even if he used one now, he would still have one left.

Platinum Badges?

Plenty.

But—

......

Nothing happened.

Silence.

He had clearly activated the skill.

The Status Window even showed it as used.

So why?

Why was nothing happening?

The Sword Saint had appeared instantly before.

He looked up at the sky just in case.

No dimensional gate opened.

What the hell...?

Don’t tell me this is blocked too?

Hey, God Baek.

No, Professor Baek.

Uh, Whitey.

Are you getting stepped on too?

Then—

“Um... I would appreciate a candy, if you have one. My blood sugar is low.”

A voice beside him.

What?

Juhyeok turned his head.

Among the countless golden monkeys surrounding him—

One of them was talking.

A talking monkey?

That was rare.

And looking closer, it was strange.

It did not look like the others at all.

For starters, it was wearing clothes.

A fluorescent vest labeled Express Delivery.

But it looked shabby.

Patchy fur, as if chunks had been forcibly ripped out.

Bare skin showing through.

Ah...

Pitiful.

A balding monkey crouched there.

Like a worldly, worn-down father.

The archetype of the modern man who had aged early while supporting his family.

Anyway, it had asked for candy.

“...Dimensional farmhand.”

“Ho-e?”

“Give him a candy or chocolate.”

“Ho-e.”

Sshk—

Rajix handed over a candy.

The golden monkey unwrapped it with grimy fingers and popped it into its mouth.

“Mmm. Sweet. Hehe.”

“...Y-yes. Haha.”

Happiness bloomed across the monkey’s face.

Happiness from a single candy.

Simple.

“You know, someone called me over, so I thought it was a delivery request.”

Delivery?

What kind of monkey did deliveries?

“...I see.”

“I usually zip around dimensions delivering stuff. It’s my livelihood.”

Poor thing.

The Golden Delivery Monkey.

“This isn’t your first time using golden hairs, is it?”

“...T-that’s right.”

How did he know?

This was the second time.

“That is why the connection formed. In Buddhism, karmic ties are very important. Whether in the same dimension or different ones, once formed, a connection cannot be severed.”

True.

Connections mattered.

Across all cultures.

But—

This was not the time to be chatting.

Even now, silver Archangels were pushing through the gold and closing in.

“Those little clones won’t be enough. They have limits too.”

“And those machines aren’t simple, either.”

“Ugh, what a mess. So many. Distracting.”

“I’ll get rid of them.”

The delivery monkey waved a hand.

PUH-PUH-PUH-PUH-PUH-PUNG! PUH-PUH-PUH-PUH-PUH-PUH-PUH-PUH-PUNG!

The golden monkey avatars vanished like bubbles.

“...Huh?”

Only one monkey remained.

The delivery monkey.

Juhyeok had known who this was all along.

“So... I just need to take care of them, right?”

“Yes!”

The monkey pulled an ear pick out of his ear.

A tiny toothpick.

He aimed it at the massive swarm of Archangels.

SUUUUUUUK!

The toothpick elongated.

Thickened.

It shot forward like a beam of light, skewering Archangel clones straight through the torso.

PU-PU-PU-PUK!

CRASH-CRASH-CRASH!

The Archangels shattered like glass.

“Oh!”

A flick of the wrist.

Right.

CRASH-CRASH-CRASH!

Left.

CRASH-CRASH-CRASH!

A forward jab.

CRASH-CRASH-CRASH!

TSFI-FI-FI-FI-FIT!

A group of Archangels rushed close—

Like a cleanup hitter—

SUUUUUUUUUK!

The now-gigantic metal rod smashed through them.

PA-BA-BA-BA-BAK!

The Archangels were crushed like tofu.

“...Wow.”

Not a fake.

The real Golden Monkey.

Nightmare of the Dragon Palace.

Heaven-stealing marauder.

The Jade Emperor’s greatest headache.

The one only the Buddha and Avalokiteshvara could control.

Half Buddha.

Half demon.

The Great Sage Equal to Heaven himself.