What was the shadow power?
It was the ability to pull dead souls drifting in the Sea of The Afterlife back from the depths. Although the 'shadow of the corpse' that the soul used in life was needed as a medium, that intermediate step could be omitted now that he had directly entered the Sea of The Afterlife. All he had to do was grab the ghosts by the scruff of their necks and pull them up!
"Arise!"
With the shadow power that Suho unleashed, The Sea of The Afterlife surged.
Rumble—!
Large and small ripples began to appear on the surface of the pitch-black water that flowed like a single organism. The cause was the countless ghosts that were sinking like corpses in the deep abyss below.
…Flash!
Light returned to their unfocused eyes.
Their dormant consciousness revived.
Distant memories surfaced.
And finally.
Graaah—!
Kraaaaaaaaa—
They rose vigorously.
Splash—!
But the Sea of The Afterlife had no intention of letting them go. The sticky, mucous-like black seawater clung tenaciously to the ghosts' bodies. The will to drag the dead souls back down. This force was what ruled this place. It was the gravity and natural order here… But the shadow power defied that natural order.
Splash—!
The ripples that started on the calmly flowing surface soon became waves surging into a tsunami. The black sea swirled…
Kraaaaaaaaa—
And above that. The ghosts, who finally succeeded in rising, appeared majestically before Suho. Drenched in the seawater that was still pulling them towards death.
Rumble!
The sticky, pitch-black seawater of the Sea of The Afterlife was shimmering like black steam due to the fighting spirit emanating from their bodies.
[Shadow extraction successful.]
[Shadow extraction successful.]
[Shadow extraction successful.]
[…]
Along with countless system messages. Suho saw new soldiers composed of numerous races. Residents of the mixed world who lived in various dimensions. On Earth, they were called magical beasts or monsters, but their true nature was the souls of warriors who died nameless in wars and history over countless years.
[Kieeeeek—! This is amazing! Truly a big catch!] Beru shouted with excitement.
[These are souls that couldn't be incorporated into the Shadow Army! How could we extract those we've never even encountered before as soldiers!]
That's right. From the previous Shadow Monarch, Ashborn, to the current Monarch, Sung Jinwoo. Even they couldn't turn all the souls that died in every dimension of the universe into part of their army. The ones that died without any connection to the war, without even knowing the Shadow Monarch, were all gathered here in the Sea of The Afterlife.
Smirk.
Suho's lips curled up in satisfaction as he checked each one of them. There were races he knew because he had encountered them as dungeon magical beasts, and there were also those he had never seen before. There were even races that were ridiculously weak, unable to fight on the front lines of the war, but some of them showed talents unrelated to combat. And in the midst of that…
"…Hmm?" Suho frowned with a dissatisfied expression.
Looking again, not all souls were successfully extracted.
[Attempting shadow extraction.]
[Extraction in progress…]
[Shadow extraction failed.]
[Extraction in progress…]
[Shadow extraction failed.]
[Shadow extraction failed.]
[…]
"Oh dear."
Suho tried to extract the failed ghosts again and again. But it was a complete failure.
[Shadow extraction failed.]
There were two reasons.
[The probability of extraction failure increases in proportion to the target's stats and the time elapsed since the target's death.]
First, the time elapsed since death.
The ghosts who came to the Sea of The Afterlife a very long time ago were tattered from having their nutrients sucked out by the weeds. And even if it wasn't because of them, they had melted into the Sea of The Afterlife to the point where they couldn't be resurrected even with the shadow power. If he forcibly extracted them, they probably wouldn't be able to function properly as soldiers. But that wasn't why Suho was frowning.
"The target's stats… You mean you won't acknowledge me as your master?"
[…]
There were ghosts who remained silent, not responding to his words. Each one of them seemed extraordinary. Just then, Beru, who realized the reason, patted Suho's shoulder from the side smiling warmly with an expression like that of a parent looking at their growing child.
[What can you do? It's because you're not the true Shadow Monarch, my liege. Of course, they would have jumped up at the slightest wave of the King's hand, but it seems that the Little monarch's shadow power is not enough to persuade them.]
Pat. Pat.
[Think positively. Doesn't this motivate you? Look. Those arrogant ghosts! Next time you come back after leveling up, those arrogant guys will welcome you with open arms, wanting to be part of your army.]
…Was this encouragement or teasing?
Suho, who would normally have been annoyed by Beru's words, glared at them with serious eyes.
'Yes.'
The Sea of The Afterlife was vast and deep. Among the countless souls sleeping here, there were plenty of extraordinary ones that he couldn't subdue with his current power. If he didn't have the qualifications to become their master yet, he just had to go and acquire those.
"Yes. Just you wait."
Suho decided to wait for the next time. And he reaffirmed his resolve to level up as soon as possible and extract those arrogant guys before these precious souls were devoured by the weeds here. The problem was that Suho's health was rapidly plummeting in the meantime.
[HP -514]
[HP -763]
[HP -989]
[HP -1,314]
[…]
[My liege, it's too dangerous!]
"…Yes. Let's go up."
Whoosh—!
As he surfaced again, the rapidly decreasing HP began to slow down. But when he came out, the speed didn't immediately drop to -100.
[HP -931]
[HP -819]
[…]
[HP -434]
[…]
[HP -100]
[HP -100]
[…]
Only after the black water clinging to Suho's body was completely gone did his HP start decreasing by 100 per second normally. He immediately took out a potion and drank it.
"It would have been a big problem if I came out too late."
[My liege, for now, why don't you go outside for a while, recover, and come back? In this state, it might be dangerous even if you find the World Tree.]
"Yes, let's do that. But first..." Suho looked at the newly acquired soldiers and asked,
"Do any of you know the location of the World Tree?"
[…]
Of course, there was no answer. They would have been unconscious from the moment they came here. Suho was disappointed and gave orders to the winged soldiers he sorted out separately.
"I'll be out for a while, so you guys with wings stay here and look for the World Tree. And if you see any weeds…"
[We will eradicate them thoroughly.] Sita's eyes flashed from among the shadow lizardmen.
[We can't let those weeds devour these precious souls.]
"Yes. Scatter if you understand."
As soon as Suho finished speaking, the winged soldiers immediately spread their wings and soared. He watched them for a moment.
[Using 'Skill: Shadow Exchange'.]
Snap!
* * *
At that time.
Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa—!
A tremendous cheer erupted from Esil's territory.
"It's over!"
"We endured the trial!"
"We finally overcame the trial!"
The sight of the demons barely holding off the invasion of the residents of the gap was truly miserable.
Some had lost limbs, while others were on the verge of death with black blood flowing all over their bodies. They were completely battered. But despite that, they could rejoice at this moment. Because they had proven their qualifications as demons.
"Demons!"
…!
At the sudden resounding voice, all the demons turned their heads. Esil, the eldest daughter of the Radiru family.
No. Our King, Esil Radiru!
Receiving the passionate gazes of the demons, Esil stood firm despite her body looking like it could collapse at any moment. And she proudly faced the gazes of all the demons looking up to her. Smirking, she raised her lips, revealing her sharp fangs.
"…Yes. We won."
Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa—!
At those words, the demon world erupted with cheers.
The moment the invasion began.
The moment they witnessed the residents of the gap suddenly invading the demon world.
The demons, who had been living without knowing anything, instinctively realized.
If they couldn't overcome this trial, their situation would be reversed with those residents of the gap. The absolute fear that they would no longer be able to exist as demons overcame them. But now they could proudly say,
"We are the true demons."
The demons were once again excited by Esil's declaration. They truly acknowledged it. The fact that the pure-blooded demon noble, 'Esil Radiru,' was their king.
But it was then…
Crackle—!
The sky collapsed.
"…?!"
Rumble— Crash!
Thunderbolt.
The fear of white flames suddenly struck down from the calmed sky of the demon world.
"Wh-what!"
"Is this a second wave?!"
"We don't have the strength to endure anymore…"
The demons despaired. And they instinctively looked at their king, Esil Radiru, with pleading eyes. She looked up at the sky with a stiff expression.
"…Don't worry. The trial is over."
…!
The demons were greatly relieved at those words. But despite that, Esil's hardened expression as she looked beyond the cloudy sky didn't relax. The demons whispered in fear at that sight.
"If it's not a trial…"
"What's happening up there?"
But a while later Esil's eyes, which had been staring at the sky silently for a long time, widened.
"…He's here!"
Crackle!
At that moment black lightning bolts struck down from the sky to the ground. All the demons were astonished by that truly terrifying sight, but only Esil ran forward with an overjoyed expression, kicking off the ground.
"Sung Suho!"
It wasn't black lightning! Black shadows that transcended dimensions, centered on Sung Suho, who had returned to the demon world using the shadow soldiers he left there!
"Esil."
Suho found Esil at the center of the black energy-emitting shadow soldiers. And he opened his inventory, taking out a potion with one hand and putting it in his mouth. With the other hand, he took out another item he had obtained this time.
[Item: Baran's Horn]
After defeating Baran's soul, this was the only item left. But Suho knew how to use it. He handed Baran's Horn to Esil and said,
"From now on, you are the Demon King."
"…!"
Esil's body was engulfed in black energy as she received the horn.