Chapter 339: Tablet

Ainel's Tablet.

The key heading to an unknown dimension.

It had already been well over 4 months since they promised to combine it into one and clear the hidden gate.

Honestly speaking, Isabella had completely forgotten about that promise for a while.

It was an excuse if you could call it that, but the world had been going crazy to the extent that she had no choice but to do so.

‘Earth 2.0 Update.’

Due to the system's bizarre whim, the world's difficulty level had been elevated by one stage.

SS-rank gates bursting out simultaneously all over France.

As her country's guardian and a world ranker, she had to scour the battlefields crossing the line of death without even a moment to catch her breath.

However, amidst that terrible desperate struggle, Isabella also achieved dazzling growth.

Passing the promotion test selected by the system, she finally rose to the ranks of an SS-rank Awakener, and above all, the biggest harvest was the progress of the Heart Fist she had been passed down from the old men in Korea in the past.

A martial art of the mind that transcends the material realm.

She carved and refined that profound principle in actual combat going back and forth between life and death hundreds of times. Finally, when the true meaning of the Heart Fist fully dwelt at the tip of her fist, Isabella felt to her bones that she herself had reached a completely new realm.

‘If it's this much…….’

She also gained confidence.

That she might be able to wash away the humiliation of having to step back feeling an overwhelming gap in skill when she clashed with Kim Minwoo with all her might in the past.

She won using items, but in fact, that was no different from a foul. Now she firmly believed that she would be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with him on equal footing with just pure physical skill.

However…….

‘……Let alone standing shoulder to shoulder, our classes have become completely different.’

The tragedy that occurred in Shanghai, China not long ago.

She clearly witnessed it through the live broadcast inside her private jet.

Thunder Emperor Chen and Sword Emperor Wang Xiao, who were world top-tier rankers, and 20,000 S-rank hunters being trampled like bugs in front of Spider Queen Magenta.

Of course, if you ask whether Chen and Wang Xiao were of the same class as herself, that's not it. A distant gap existed between the top 10 and outside of it, and if she utilized her items properly, she was confident in handling those two within 10 minutes.

However, to state categorically…….

She did not have the overwhelming military power to play with a disaster like Magenta like a toy. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

When she was rejoicing that she had grasped the edge of the Heart Fist and surpassed human limits.

That man had completely ascended to a realm far up in the sky.

Finally, the private jet landed glidingly at the VIP terminal of a Korean airport.

As the boarding stairs opened and Isabella revealed her figure, outside was already an uncontrollable mess.

“Ms. Isabella! What is the purpose of your visit to Korea!”

“Kyaaaa! Isabella unni!”

The visit of France's guardian and a world top-tier ranker.

A barrage of flashes from numerous reporters erupted, and the cheers of the flocking fans rang out as if to tear eardrums.

The airport security guards were sweating while setting up barricades, but it was insufficient to block the surging crowd.

However, Isabella's gaze did not head toward even a single person among that noisy crowd. Her head was filled with only one thought.

‘I must meet that man as fast as possible, even by 1 minute and 1 second.’

Move by taking a protocol vehicle?

Endure Seoul's completely blocked traffic jam and go to the Ilsung main estate?

If it were her usual self, it was a procedure she would have willingly endured while maintaining her aristocratic dignity.

However, it was different now.

The terrible thirst for strength that filled her head, and the curiosity toward Kim Minwoo's military power were paralyzing her reason.

Isabella suddenly stopped in her tracks.

“……?”

The moment the security guards and reporters shut their mouths in wonder.

Seueueuk―.

A massive amount of ki began to condense into her two legs.

As the aura of an SS-rank Awakener who had awakened the Heart Fist crushed the atmosphere, the specially reinforced concrete floor of the VIP terminal screamed and cracked like a spiderweb.

“H-Hiik?!”

“T-The floor is……!”

Amidst the surrounding people stepping back frightened out of their wits, Isabella opened her mouth with an indifferent face.

“Send the bill for the repair cost to the French government.”

Simultaneously with those words, she kicked off her feet strongly.

Kwaaaaaang―!!!

Along with a roar like a bomb exploding, thick dirt dust rose like a storm. The red carpet was torn to shreds and flew away, and the reporters were swept away by the strong wind and rolled on the floor.

In the pupils of the people who blankly raised their heads, only the sight of a single streak of blue flash shot breaking through the speed of sound drawing a parabola toward the Seoul sky was formed plainly.

“……She flew off without even going through immigration?”

Only someone's dumbfounded muttering circled vainly in the dusty airport.

At the same time.

Seoul Gangnam, the spacious office of the Ilsung Group's main estate.

Kim Minwoo, sitting leaning deeply into a top-quality sofa, was watching a large screen filling the wall with interest. Inside the screen, the sight of Isabella smashing the airport floor and flying up like a missile just a moment ago was flowing out as a live breaking news report.

[Breaking News] French World Ranker Isabella, Takes Flight Immediately After Entry…… Destination?

“She sure is in a hurry.”

Kim Minwoo smirked and put down his coffee cup.

“Well, true. It's understandable her eyes would roll back.”

The two stone tablets vibrated violently as if they were screaming.

The ancient characters engraved on their surfaces began to glow with an ominous, blood-red light. It wasn't just a simple light; it was a phenomenon that felt as if the surrounding space was being physically distorted.

Wooo-ooo-ooong—!

The air grew heavy. The atmospheric pressure dropped so sharply that the grass in the clearing began to wither, losing its life force in an instant.

"It's starting."

Kim Minwoo's eyes narrowed. At the same time, the Death Emperor’s Heart in his chest began to thud in resonance with the tablets.

Kung. Kung. Kung.

"Stand back a bit."

"……No. I will witness this from the front."

Isabella took a firm stance, her feet digging into the dirt. Her blue eyes didn't blink for even a second. This was the entrance to the 'Unknown' she had risked her life for. To step back now would be a disgrace to her path as a martial artist.

Clang—!

With a metallic sound that shouldn't come from stone, the two fragments snapped together, becoming one perfect rectangle.

[Item 'Ainel’s Complete Tablet' has been restored!]

[The coordinate for the 'Forgotten Dimensional Rift' has been fixed.]

[Warning: The difficulty of this area is 'Unknown'.]

[The gate is manifesting!]

The moment the system message finished, the space in front of them was torn asunder.

It wasn't a swirling blue or red portal like a standard gate. It was a pitch-black vertical crack, as if someone had sliced through the world with a giant blade. From within that darkness, a chilling, ancient aura—something far more primitive and predatory than the energy of the Heavenly City—began to leak out.

Screeeech—!

A sound like grinding metal echoed from the rift.

Kim Minwoo felt a thrill run down his spine. It was a different sensation from the organized power of the Seven Lords. This was raw, unfiltered chaos.

"Unknown difficulty, huh."

Kim Minwoo’s lips curled into a predatory grin. He turned his head slightly to look at Isabella.

"I'll ask one last time. If you go in there, I can't guarantee your life. Your 'Heart Fist' might be shattered before you even get to use it. Still going?"

Isabella didn't answer with words.

Instead, a fierce blue aura erupted from her body, so intense it visible to the naked eye. The air around her shimmered as she exhaled a long, controlled breath. It was the peak of the Heart Fist—the manifestation of a will that refused to break.

"I didn't come all this way to be a spectator."

"Good."

Kim Minwoo stepped toward the black crack.

"Let's go see what 57 trillion won and a world ranker's life are worth."

The moment the two stepped into the rift, the Complete Tablet in Kim Minwoo's hand shattered into dust, and the crack vanished from the Ilsung estate as if it had never existed.

＊ ＊ ＊

[You have entered the 'Graveyard of Primordial Gods'.]

[The laws of the existing world are suppressed.]

[New Law Applied: 'Survival of the Fittest'.]

The first thing that greeted them wasn't a dungeon floor, but a desolate, gray wasteland stretching to the horizon. The sky was a bruised purple, and giant skeletons—some the size of mountains—lay scattered across the terrain like macabre monuments.

"……This place."

Isabella's voice trembled slightly, not from fear, but from the sheer weight of the atmosphere. Every breath felt like swallowing lead.

Kim Minwoo, however, looked around with glowing eyes.

"Legion Commanders, out."

With a flick of his finger, the shadows at his feet expanded.

Cedric, Merhen, Vulcan, and Olivia emerged simultaneously. But unlike before, even they seemed to stiffen, sensing the abnormal environment.

Step. Step.

From behind a giant ribcage in the distance, something began to move. It wasn't an undead, nor a demon. It was a mass of shifting shadows with hundreds of weeping eyes.

[A 'Fragment of the Void' has noticed the intruders.]

"Proof of utility, Isabella."

Kim Minwoo rested Hell Rhapsody on his shoulder, making no move to attack.

"That's yours. Show me if your Heart Fist can bruise the void."