In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, 2,400 kilometers east of the Kuril Islands.
The crew of the Korean People's Army Navy's 8.24 Sincheon were not happy to see their target go down.
"Well, is that a good scare? I heard there was a very important person from the DPRK on that plane."
"I don't know. We just have to do what we're ordered to do."
Suddenly, the order to sail was given, and they were off the coast of the Republic and here in the middle of the Pacific.
How many other times had they almost been spotted by Russian or Japanese submarines along the way?
Given her specifications, it was a miracle she made it this far.
It was a suicide mission with virtually no return. Nevertheless, Captain Park ordered the missile launch with a determined look on his face, as if he had made a decision to save the country.
"What the hell was Comrade Captain thinking------?"
"Let's hope he hasn't lost his mind after drinking too much since the arrival of the man from the Escort General Bureau."
8.24 Park Sang-ki, captain of Sincheon, gave his orders wordlessly, even as he noticed his men clamoring around him.
"Search for the downed South Korean aircraft. Move to the wing."
"Ha, but comrade captain, if we get too close, we might be picked up by the Yankee radar------."
"It doesn't matter, we'll break through with the revolutionary spirit of the Republic!"
Park realized that the lives of the Republic and 25 million people were at stake in this operation. This ship and his own life were not important.
Neither are the lives of his comrades who have made the decision.
As Captain Park rallied his men, the Sincheon was moving slowly toward the downed charter plane.
-Thump!
The massive hull of the ship shook, causing it to toss and turn.
"What the hell, did we hit a whale or something?"
"Lord, there are no such behemoths around!"
"Then what the hell!"
It was then that the ship began to move at a terrifying speed. It was far beyond the speed he was capable of, and he was being dragged along by something.
"Aaaahhhh!"
Sincheon fell somewhere with a terrible thud. Captain Park Sang-ki thought it was as if he had fallen from a waterfall, but he thought that was ridiculous.
How could it be possible to fall in the middle of the ocean?
But such common sense was cold blooded compared to what was about to happen.
-Thud!
"Ha, comrade captain!"
Sincheon was torn apart like a sheet of paper. Everyone panicked, imagining the rushing waters that would soon follow. In such a doomed sea, a damaged submarine would drown with its crew.
But no matter how long they waited, it was not seawater that rushed in, but the foul smell of the sea.
"Eh, eh?"
The crew of the Sincheon submarine, including Captain Park Sang-ki, were dumbfounded. He was right, because all they could see was a vast expanse of 'land' outside the halved submarine.
-Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle!
(You are surrounded, I advise you to surrender.)
In an instant, the vicious muzzles of the crustacean beasts surrounded them.
What the North Korean crew saw as they were pulled out with their arms up in the air was the bottom of the ocean, where the sea split open, forming a massive wall of water.
Against the backdrop of the horrific deep-sea fish, the giant figure dragging the Sincheon came into view.
"What is that?"
"How can there be a submarine that big?"
"It's bigger than an American aircraft carrier!"
A Dominator-class submarine, the super large submarine that had brought the Sincheon to this point, was looking this way from inside the sea wall and then the blond man inside the sea wall, standing calmly at the bottom of the deep sea at the end of the sea rift.
"Let's hear it, then, you bastards who had the audacity to raid the Lionheart King."
Leon and the Knights of the Ten Thousand Gods glared at the crew of Sincheon.
* * * * *
-Block!
-Tang! -Tang!
~Yongsan General Headquarters~
All of Seoul is engulfed in the flames of war.
Yongsan is where the core of South Korea's leadership converges in the event of an emergency, and as a result, there is no shortage of armed men.
The gendarmerie, which receives priority military equipment through a partnership between the South Korean government and TTG Temple, has received a number of entry-level railguns and combat drones.
It was the superiority of their equipment that allowed the gendarmerie to hold out during the raid.
-Damn, there are too many of them!
But it was only a matter of time before they were overrun; after all, only the superhuman could overcome the difference in numbers, and the enemy wasn't just outside.
"------"
President Ahn Dong-gil watched the CCTV footage of the half-demons entering the underground bunker one by one.
Demon followers, he said, who claimed to be slaves of the demons.
It wasn't until the United Nations Human Rights Commission sent a team of investigators that they were unmasked by governments around the world.
There was a massive demon hunt after it was revealed that the UN investigators, who were burned to death in a pre-modern witch hunt, were actually followers of the demons.
The crusade that immediately turned Taiwan upside down was also intended to exterminate the demons that had burrowed deep into the Taiwanese administration.
However, it seems that they have infiltrated human society more than he thought ──
"That's it, sir."
Boom!
With the click of a pistol's slide, the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff pointed his gun at President Ahn. He wasn't the only one. Dozens of other officers and soldiers in the Joint Chiefs of Staff turned in unison.
"Lieutenant General Park, you bastard, what are you doing?"
The Minister of Defense and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff shouted in panic, only to be subdued by a soldier who slammed the buttstock of a K2 rifle into his back.
"------"
Watching the scene, President Ahn Dong-gil was rather relieved that the Minister of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the heart of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were not traitors to humanity.
"That's right, I've thinned them out, but there's still some rats left------"
"Hmph, a demonic body is a wonderful thing, Your Excellency. A body of immortal flesh that never grows old is an incomparable blessing."
The Deputy Chief of Staff and his subordinates laughed at the mortals.
In their eyes, mere mortals were the lowlifes.
Serving the demons would give you an immortal body, and if you became a demon, you wouldn't even die.
Everyone on Earth knows that demons can die and be resurrected again and again.
So why are they bound to the human species?
"You are not chosen, and we are. That's the difference."
Deputy Chief of Staff---Deputy Chief Park sneered at them and unlocked the solid iron door of the underground bunker with his own authority, and in walked their seniors, the half-demons, and their commander, a High Demon.
"Hmph, I was a little nervous to hear that you'd be under the protection of the TTG Temple, but I guess it's nothing."
At the High Demon's entrance, the half-demons kneeled in unison to greet their master. The High Demon gave President Ahn Dong-gil a searing glare.
"I want you to order Missile Command right now. Coordinates are Naju TTG Temple. I want a thorough strike."
"What?"
"If you follow my orders, I'll turn you into a demon."
"Ha------."
This was their purpose.
Of course, if you're going to start a war, you want to take down the leader of an enemy nation but he never thought they'd blackmail them into attacking their allies.
"Fuck you."
The High Demon looked surprised at Ahn's insult.
"You've got a lot of nerve not to obey. That's unexpected."
"Submission?"
Ahn asked, reaching for the cigar he'd been fiddling with earlier. He activated an 'emergency device' in the form of a lighter he'd been 'gifted' one day.
"Hehe. What should I do about this? It seems there was some misunderstanding."
-Whoops!
A dull, sleek structure suddenly appeared in the middle of the underground bunker of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
"What the-!"
Just as Lieutenant General Park was about to stop the President at the appearance of a structure he didn't recognize, President Ahn pressed a button on what looked like a lighter.
[Inject Holy Water. Activate Emergency Demon Destruction System]
"Ah──"
"Go!"
A large amount of holy water was injected into the structure. It generated a wave of light and swept through the General Headquarters.
-Kaahhhhh!!!
-Kiie-e-e-e!!!
Demons and half-demons screamed and fell. Some were torn to shreds, others screamed in agony, and not even the highest demons were able to contain themselves as the wave of holy light washed over them.
President Ahn chuckled as he watched them fall.
"Don't tell me, with devilish bastards like you running around, you think I didn't take out any insurance?"
Taking his time, President Ahn pressed the button again, and a wave of holy water crushed the High Demon.
"Ugh! Turn it off!"
Leon's gift to President Ahn as a gesture of goodwill had always protected him.
The Star Iron Sword, which could ward off evil by simply carrying it, was always carried by his aides, and holy water, which could annihilate low-level demons, was hidden in the presidential office and underground bunkers.
Yappy manufactured the device himself, figuring that if demons were to invade, they would target the president first.
Thanks to this, President Ahn is able to smile wickedly in the face of high-rank demon and half-demons who are far more powerful than him.
"If I can't have an autonomous region, I'd rather burn it to ashes--- no, not this. It's the National Day of the People, and I'm organizing a traditional game tournament."
"Yes, you--- human subject---!"
"That's enough--- die!"
Ahn Dong-gil was about to reactivate the holy power device.
-Click
"????"
-Click! Click!
"------Oh."
I'm out of holy water. I should have refilled it beforehand.
"Turn it off!"
"Uh-oh, he's waking up! Somebody do something!"
"Mr. President, stand down!"
Minister of Defense Kim fired his pistol at the High Demon. The trigger of the K5 pistol was pulled repeatedly, firing lead bullets at the demon, but no matter how immersed in holy water it was, a high rank demon could not be killed by a pistol.
The half-demons were wiped out in two waves of holy water, but if that one High Demon gets up, everyone here will die!
Just when he thought he had to do something----
"Your Excellency, take this!"
President Ahn instinctively grabbed something thrown by an aide. It was a gift he usually carried as a favor.
It was a 99.9% pure star iron sword that King Lionheart himself had blessed and presented to President Ahn.
The sensation of the sword drawn from its sheath was familiar. It was because Leon had customized it for him after hearing about President Ahn's history in the past.
"Oh, this is the first time I've held one since the Chuseok."
The first time he drew the star iron sword given to him by Leon on an official ship, he was criticized sharply.
He was criticized for being an old fogey, and the opposition called him a yakuza president because they felt threatened by him------
Internet haters, annoying reporters, and asshole opposition bastards------
"I'm Ahn Dong-gil, a 4th dan in Hae-dong Kendo, and I'll show you the skills that earned me 7th place in the national competition!"
The blade of the drawn Star Iron Sword shone brightly. Realizing that it was a demon-slicing divine sword, the high-rank demon retreated in horror, but it was too late.
"Kieeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"
"Haiyat!
President Ahn Dong-gil became the first president in history to have killed a High Demon.
* * * *
With the sabotage of the demons attacking the Joint Chiefs of Staff thwarted and the demon followers infiltrating the military defeated, President Ahn quickly seized the reins of power and took command.
"First, dispatch hunters from large guilds to the core unit! Where is the association president Oh Kang-hyuk now?"
[Incheon Port, Your Excellency, I'm on the ground right now.]
Oh Kang-hyuk, a legendary Korean S-class Hunter, did his best to calm the situation by personally crushing the heads of the landing monsters.
Not only him, but also the raiders from the Hunter Association.
[Your Excellency, the problem is the source of the contamination, which originated from the TTG Temple in Naju and the NIS building, and we need to quickly subdue them and clean them up.]
"We can't even fire a missile into the middle of downtown Seoul! Tell the big guilds to head there first. Isn't there a branch of the Blue Star Guild in Gwangju?"
[Guild leader Kang Jin-sung has been out of touch ever since we lost contact with him in North Korea.]
"Tell them that it's the president's order to go to Naju TTG Temple right now, they're conscripted and now it's not the time to argue. If they don't listen, I'll put them in a box!"
Oh Kang-hyuk, president of the association, was surprised by Ahn's bold order.
The president of South Korea is an unusual position, as he has been under the watchful eye of the 10 Guilds throughout his term.
Ahn was no different than any other senior member of the executive branch when it came to complaining about the Ten Guild, but now that he wields the power of commander-in-chief, he is unapologetic.
Does position make the man? No, I don't think so. It's the presence of the TTG Temple, a powerful backer that keeps him from looking over his shoulder.
[I'll make it clear, Your Excellency.]
Oh Kang-hyuk smiled warmly and crushed the head of the monster that was charging at him. Their military communication was about to be cut off.
-Bam! Connection established.
[Alas~ We're under the sea, so we're just now reaching each other.]
[Your Majesty Lionheart?!]
Ahn Dong-gil and Oh Kang-hyuk replied to the familiar voice that interrupted the communication.
"Are you safe?"
[The missile thing can't hurt this king, well, it didn't stop the plane from being shot down.]
"I'm glad to hear you're safe!"
Of course, President Ahn couldn't imagine Leon being killed by a mere missile. But at least he wouldn't be missing for long in this time of chaos------
"Your Majesty, with all due respect, the situation here is not favorable. The return of your Majesty and the TTG Temple is urgent, so I will immediately dispatch a fleet to begin a rescue operation, and I will contact the Japanese government."
Of course, this would also take a tremendous amount of time, but it was better than having to search for the missing in limbo.
[That won't be necessary, this king can return under his own power, but the situation is urgent, so we'll need to send someone who can return immediately.]
"Is that possible?"
[For now, there's only one, but it's not impossible.]
President Ahn couldn't hide his disappointment. Of course, the superhumans of the TTG Temple were powerful, but how could a single knight be of any use in the midst of such chaos?
"What can one person do------"
It was at this moment that he realized he had made a mistake.
-GRARARARARARARARA─────!!!!
The screeching voice is clearly audible beyond the receiver. The voice alone was overwhelming, and the Lionheart King declared confidently.
"All that this king can do."
Over the Pacific Ocean a flame in the form of a man soared into the stratosphere and fell toward the Korean Peninsula in a doomsday orbit.