Chapter 64: A Hand
’They were sent to destroy this world?’
That meant there were other worlds.
And it seemed the mysteries behind dungeons weren’t as simple as he had thought.
Amon frowned briefly and turned toward the distance where he could sense the president.
He decided to hold his suspicions for now.
Only by meeting the king would he confirm everything.
Swoosh!
With a single light step, he was already at the entrance to the dungeon where the president was.
The thousands of monsters around him remained as silent as ever.
"Show me the image of Aleron again. I want to confirm something."
"Okay," the president nodded before taking out his phone.
The image had been viewed before because he had sent it. However, it still ultimately came from his phone.
He showed Amon the image of the familiar Aleron and nodded.
Amon studied it closely, committing every detail to memory.
With that, he turned toward the remaining thousands of monsters.
’Primordial Nether Extinction Sword Art’
Amon’s attack swept out like a storm.
The president’s expression stiffened in disbelief the moment the ninth form was released.
’What sort of attack is this?’
The president stared speechlessly as the sword light exploded outward, wiping out thousands of A-rank monsters in a single strike.
Amon felt his EXP climb drastically. However, even this wasn’t enough to push him beyond S-rank.
He wrinkled his brows for only a moment before turning around and gently tapping the president on the shoulder.
Close Yet So Far was activated.
The two vanished instantly, appearing before another unique dungeon.
Space rippled apart, and the pair found themselves standing within a vast grassland.
Amon felt weakened once more. A large amount of his energy reserves had been consumed by the teleportation.
Beside him, the president’s face turned pale the instant he realized this wasn’t Aleron.
He turned to the portal and slowly shook his head.
"This isn’t Aleron either."
The president hesitated briefly before speaking again.
"How many dungeons do you plan to search?"
"As many as necessary."
"And if none of them lead to him?"
Amon’s gaze remained fixed on the portal.
"Then I’ll keep searching."
The president fell silent.
For some reason, he felt that even if every dungeon in existence failed to provide an answer, Amon would continue until he found one.
Hearing those words, Amon wasn’t too disappointed. Instead, a trace of curiosity surfaced in his eyes as he looked toward the spinning portal before him.
’Well then... I’m really curious as to what’s truly going on.’
With that, Amon stepped lightly into the dungeon.
The air rippled faintly, and he appeared in a different world.
Here, giants towering dozens of meters high moved with mechanical precision, carrying enormous rocks upon their backs as they worked to build an altar.
Amon’s brows furrowed slightly.
Danger Sense flickered weakly.
It had sensed a presence deep within the dungeon.
’There.’
Amon muttered and took a light step.
Hundreds of meters vanished beneath him.
Moments later, he stood before a gigantic mountain.
Atop it lay a towering giant, asleep with a relaxed expression, as though it carried not a single worry in the world.
’Unholy Death Sword Art’
Swoosh!
A cold light burst forth.
The attack pierced through space and sliced off the sleeping giant’s arm.
ROARRRRRR!
A thunderous roar of pain and fury erupted outward as the giant jerked awake, its gaze sweeping across the world in search of whoever had dared attack it.
"Who sent you to this world?" a calm voice echoed softly from below.
The giant lowered its head slightly and looked down at the tiny human standing before it.
Its massive eyes, each as large as boulders, narrowed as it examined its prey.
"If you don’t want to die, tell me who sent you to destroy this world."
The giant’s expression darkened.
The mountain beneath its body shattered as it rose to its feet.
BOOM!
The earth trembled violently.
Massive cracks spread across the landscape for dozens of kilometers.
"How dare a mere human tell me what to do?"
The giant’s voice rolled across the world like thunder.
Countless boulders rose from the ground and gathered around its body.
Moments later, they fused together into a colossal suit of stone armor.
The giant took a step forward.
The force alone flattened forests in the distance.
Then it slammed a palm downward.
A deafening explosion rang out.
The palm seemed to blot out the sky itself as it descended with overwhelming might.
Yet Amon remained unfazed.
’Primordial Nether Extinction Sword Art’
His Winter Frost Sword moved at lightning speed.
An ethereal sword light flashed upward.
The descending palm split apart and the giant’s stone armor shattered.
Its severed hand spun through the sky before crashing into the earth below.
Blood sprayed from the heavens like crimson rain, drenching the world beneath.
"How is this possible? You are a human!" the giant shouted, its voice filled with disbelief.
"What does being human have to do with whether one is weak or strong?" Amon asked.
His voice drifted faintly through the air, sounding almost as though he were speaking to himself as much as the giant.
"Tell me..."
Amon took a light step forward and appeared before the giant.
"Who sent you to destroy my world?"
At that moment, thunderous laughter rang out.
"Your world? Your world? This is just one of the many world dungeons filling the endless void. It’s impossible for this to be your world!"
Hearing those words, Amon’s brows furrowed slightly.
He was getting more information from the giant.
It seemed that by continuing the conversation, he could coax more secrets from it.
"World dungeons?"
The giant froze and its laughter abruptly stopped.
Panic flashed across its face.
As though it had suddenly realized it had revealed something it never should have.
The giant unconsciously took a step backward.
For the first time since awakening, genuine unease appeared on its face.
"Pl..."
Before it could finish speaking and pleading for mercy, a thunderous explosion erupted.
BOOM!
The giant exploded into a cloud of blood mist.
The shockwave tore through the sky and scattered the clouds for hundreds of kilometers.
Amon had already instinctively activated Close Yet So Far the moment he sensed danger.
He reappeared several kilometers away and watched the fading remains of the giant.
’What’s going on?’
Amon felt as though he had stumbled upon a secret concerning this world.
One that was never meant to be discovered.
He frowned slightly and began considering what to do next.
It seemed he would have to find the answer from the next dungeon.
However, how could he stop them from dying?
That was the question now.
Several moments later, Amon began moving through the dungeon.
Every giant he encountered died beneath his sword.
Some tried to resist.
Others attempted to flee.
None succeeded.
The altar being constructed across the world was reduced to rubble.
Only after ensuring no giants remained alive did Amon return to the dungeon entrance.
His EXP increased slightly. It still wasn’t enough to level him up but it was enough for now still. His strength was climbing steadily.
The president was still waiting outside.
The moment Amon emerged, the man immediately noticed the thoughtful look on his face.
"Did you learn anything?"
"A little."
"A little?"
Amon glanced back at the portal but didn’t continue his words.
The president frowned but chose not to press further.
Once they emerged, Amon recalled the image in his mind and appeared at a different location.
He studied the president closely.
When the man slowly shook his head, Amon’s expression turned cold.
Just how many dungeons like this were there?
The president looked at him, his eyes betraying his shock.
Amon remained silent for several moments.
His gaze slowly lifted toward the sky.
It seemed to pierce through the clouds, the heavens, and even the stars themselves.
As though he could faintly see something hidden beyond them all.
A hand.
Larger than the world itself.
Controlling everything from the shadows...
