NoveLight ™
Somalia.
Once infamous for its lawlessness, this place had now descended further into chaos, becoming a veritable hell on earth.
Even neighboring countries like Ethiopia and Kenya had sealed their borders with Somalia, focusing on containment. The reason? The majority of Somalia’s territory had been overtaken by what was now referred to as Monster Fields.
These areas were the result of long-abandoned gates that had not only unleashed monsters but had also begun to corrupt and absorb the surrounding environment.
This phenomenon had spread nationwide, turning Somalia into a region ruled by monsters.
Interestingly, aquatic and aerial monsters confined themselves to Somalia’s borders, never venturing out. As a result, most nations showed little interest in exterminating the monsters there.
While many countries had mana awakeners capable of fighting monsters, the global landscape made deploying them internationally unfeasible.
The constant threat of villain attacks, unexpected gate events, and other crises left nations unwilling to send their precious mana awakeners overseas.
Even South Korea, with its large and powerful population of mana awakeners, was no exception.
In Korea, villains frequently caused chaos, necessitating the constant presence of powerful mana awakeners.
Moreover, the Gangin Guild, which stood at the apex of all mana awakeners in Korea, essentially monopolized the field. Without their cooperation, the government had little say over the deployment of mana awakeners.
South Korea’s villains didn’t always remain within the country either.
Due to Korea’s mana-rich environment, villains often stayed within the country to grow stronger. However, when faced with relentless pursuit by hunters, they would inevitably flee abroad, even if it meant incurring losses.
In many cases, villains preferred escaping overseas to getting caught.
The same applied to those under the command of So Kang-seok, an SSS-Class villain.
The kidnapping of the Baekho Guild’s eldest son and using him as a test subject before discarding him in a dimensional rift was just one of the many atrocities committed by So Kang-seok’s group.
Their crimes ranged from countless kidnappings, rapes, and murders to large-scale terrorism. So Kang-seok’s name was infamous throughout South Korea.
"What’s the boss thinking?"
Even So Kang-seok’s subordinates couldn’t make sense of his actions in Somalia.
"Why did the boss come all the way to Somalia instead of staying in closer places like Southeast Asia?"
"I have no idea. He didn’t explain it to us, so how would I know?"
"Surely, you must have some guess."
"Nope. Do you?"
"Not a clue."
So Kang-seok’s underlings were baffled by his decision to come to Somalia.
Even the researchers who had strayed far from their ethical paths, specializing in human experimentation, were similarly perplexed.
"Experimenting on monsters is entertaining, but I’m starting to grow bored of it."
"A talented child would make a perfect test subject."
"Baek Seo-jun, wasn’t it? The Baekho Guild’s eldest son we threw into the rift? Sometimes I regret wasting such a promising specimen."
"Haha, a true researcher mourns failed experiments but never regrets them."
Despite the grumblings of his subordinates and researchers, So Kang-seok showed no signs of leaving Somalia.
***
"Miss, I’ll be heading out for a bit."
"Where are you going? You don’t even have anything with you, right?"
"Ah, it’s fine. When I killed those villains, I took their belongings. So, I’ve got some money, though I don’t plan on spending it right now."
"Where are you planning to go?"
Seomun Ye-jin looked at me with concern. Her expression seemed to say, Where are you planning to go without any official status?
"Somalia."
"What?"
When I answered honestly, she tilted her head, clearly questioning if she had heard me correctly.
"Where did you say?"
"Somalia. I’ll be heading there."
When I repeated myself, Seomun Ye-jin realized she hadn’t misheard and gave me a strange look.
"Should I find you a ship to sneak aboard?"
"No need. I’ll just use spatial teleportation."
At my words, Seomun Ye-jin looked slightly startled and asked, "You can teleport too?! That’s amazing!"
Although surprised, she didn’t doubt me. After seeing my abilities firsthand, she likely thought spatial teleportation wasn’t outside the realm of possibility for someone like me.
In truth, this world already had artificially created portals used by advanced nations for emergencies. Treaties allowed hunters to be dispatched as needed.
While teleportation abilities or devices weren’t common, they weren’t unheard of either. My claim might be impressive, but it wasn’t extraordinary in this context.
"Alright, I’m off."
"Take care!"
With Seomun Ye-jin’s cheerful sendoff, I placed my hand on Ramisa draped across my shoulders and activated my spatial teleportation ability.
The coordinates had already been set. I teleported to a secluded spot near So Kang-seok’s location.
Wooaaahhh!
As soon as I arrived, I was greeted by the sight of a massive Minotaur wielding a colossal axe.
Drooling and with bloodshot eyes, the Minotaur swung its axe at me. I simply turned my head.
Kuuoooh…
When I turned back, the Minotaur’s body was riddled with gaping holes, and its life was rapidly fading.
Yet, my attention wasn’t on the defeated Minotaur but on the unsettling aura of this place.
"This is ridiculous."
Somalia, now a Monster Field, was where So Kang-seok had chosen to hide.
"So Kang-seok… what could have driven you to flee all the way to Somalia?"
From the moment I detected his presence here, something felt off.
Why would an SSS-Class villain like So Kang-seok go to such lengths to come to this distant and desolate place? And more importantly, what was he doing here?
“He’s been holed up.”
The So Kang-seok I knew, whether from the original story or my own experience, wasn’t the type to sit idle in seclusion.
He was a hedonist, someone who thrived on chaos, taking pleasure in tormenting others and orchestrating scenes of suffering for his amusement.
What was even stranger was that despite locating him, I couldn’t sense exactly what he was up to.
Even though my dispersed aura allowed me to detect the minutest details from afar—even something as trivial as the speck of dust on a woman’s underwear halfway across the globe—I couldn’t pinpoint his activities.
As I drew closer, the truth became clearer.
Ramisa’s voice echoed in my mind, tinged with worry.
Understanding her concern, I nodded. "Yeah, it’s worse than I expected."
Somalia’s Monster Field.
Did the world have any idea what was happening here? Likely not.
If they did, they wouldn’t be leaving things unchecked.
"That madman… he’s performing a ritual here."
So Kang-seok wasn’t just hiding. He was conducting a ritual.
The gates left unsealed had turned most of Somalia into a Monster Field, resembling a dungeon-like wasteland.
Gates and dungeons were remnants of destroyed worlds, and entities like Ramisa had created a system to automatically generate gates.
This system encouraged hunters to fight monsters, steadily growing stronger in the process.
Additionally, hunting monsters rewarded humanity with mana stones, a vital energy source, ensuring they had every incentive to continue the hunt.
Even though Ramisa was with me now, this system operated automatically. However…
"For the entity targeting this world to already be meddling like this…"
"Exactly, chaos."
So Kang-seok’s ritual aimed to unleash the mana of the gates, detonating them.
If that happened, the explosion wouldn’t just obliterate Somalia.
Neighboring countries like Ethiopia would be wiped off the map, and the residual mana from the widespread gates would trigger chain reactions in gates worldwide, causing them to go berserk.
"It seems like the Fox That Devours Worlds is controlling So Kang-seok."
"I know. But the Fox hasn’t descended here directly, has it? It’s merely manipulating So Kang-seok’s consciousness. The world isn’t ripe yet, and descending won’t be easy."
Just as the original Ramisa couldn’t fully manifest, the Fox was likely constrained by the world’s resistance to its invasion. Its influence would be limited for now.
"I know. That’s why you’ll stay on standby. I’ll handle this alone."
I had come here intending only to secure the evidence of Baek Hyung-won and Kim Yoo-jung’s betrayal—a recording of the truth from that fateful day.
Instead, I found myself facing a catastrophe of far greater magnitude.