Expanding Army [50]

For Jin-Woo, standing on Aether's back as he flew through the sky was incomparable to anything else he'd ever experienced. The wind brushing past him — accompanied by a dome of plasma to stop any bugs or debris from hitting him — made for an unparalleled glee.

Of course, he couldn't just sink in and enjoy it, since he'd gone to Aether's corpse for a reason. He didn't want to scare Cha or Goto by arriving from a Gate, so he decided on a dragon was a better — and an innately more stylish — option.

He arrived at Cha's location less than two minutes after Aether was revived. The Dragon God of Lightning landed, and Jin-Woo could see Cha's senses shoot up to eleven, the Hunter making no physical movements but still her mana suddenly raring to go.

However, that quickly stopped when Jin-Woo revealed himself and hopped from Aether's back, the dragon bowing its head to him.

Jin-Woo gave the flabbergasted woman a small wave, smiling coyly. He knew she'd ask questions, but she knew he'd be tightlipped about it. Cha couldn't help but let out a sigh, a relieved smile rising to her face as she rose from her spot, dropping onto the ground. However, that smile quickly faded as her worried expression took place once more.

She opened her mouth, but Jin-Woo spoke first. "There have been zero casualties. Every Hunter, Japanese, Korean, or otherwise, will be able to leave this Gate."

Cha's mouth shut, studying the Shadow Sovereign before relaxing. "I see. And what's with this —" she gestured towards Aether, "— dragon that certainly wasn't here before?"

Jin-Woo pondered what telling Cha would change. She'd eventually find out either way, especially when he'd revived Longshen and Yogumunt. That added to hopefully reviving Uriel and Beelzebub would all but confirm that he was a Necromancer.

Additionally, if Choi still wished to go on a few more raids with himself, Fanzer, and Ichigo, Jin-Woo couldn't imagine it being convenient to hide a skill that could dramatically increase the speed of a raid. Several of his Summons — excluding possibly Aether, because of his large size — would be revealed several times.

Trying to avoid an explanation would probably be more difficult than explaining a watered-down version of one. So, an explanation would be the easiest decision.

But more importantly than the logical side of it, Jin-Woo trusted Cha. Maybe a few hours ago he'd worry about her betraying him or something like that, but now, he doubted she'd use the information to hurt him.

"Well, it would be more efficient to just show you rather than telling you," Jin-Woo shrugged, strolling past the moderately confused S-Rank and stopping just inches away from Uriel's mass of pluming mana. Unlike with Aether, he could imagine just keeping Uriel's name the same, so he did. "Arise, Uriel."

Pitch black flames rose from the body before coalescing and forming a woman's body with black hair floating like fire and two glimmering white wings outspread behind her. She looked around, then at her hands, clenching them once then twice before meeting Jin-Woo's eyes and kneeling to him, her head bowed.

[Shadow Angel of Hellfire, Captain Rank has evolved into Shadow Archangel of Hellfire, General Rank Lv. 20.]

[The skill, Fire Manipulation has evolved into the skill, Celestial Fire Manipulation.]

[Uriel | Lv. 20]

[Rank: General]

Jin-Woo turned to see Cha staring at him, her mouth hanging open. A minute of pure silence, only interrupted by the soft waves crashing against the island passed before she managed to shut her mouth.

It took another five minutes of Cha opening and closing her mouth to try and formulate the right words. Finally, after another minute of just looking at Uriel Cha sighed, sinking in her spot a bit.

"So, the dragon was…."

"Longshen, the dragon that attacked us all, yeah."

"And is they're all just as strong as they were when they were alive?"

"Yeah, I think so, anyway. Some are probably a bit stronger."

"…That's such a cheat of an ability."

"I know, right?!"

Cha left it there, seeming abruptly tired. She sighed, sweeping a hand through her hair. It was in far from the best condition, but she still held an undeniable beauty to her. "So, what's next?"

Jin-Woo pointed to Aether, smiling. "Now we go get Goto, want a ride?"

-----

Cha's excited and nervous screaming had Jin-Woo laughing the entire way to Goto's location. It wasn't just because the S-Rank Hunter was surprised by Aether's speed, but also because the woman was apparently terrified of heights.

Regardless, the two arrived at Goto's location quickly enough, the leader of the Draw Sword Guild rising from his meditation upon their entrance. He seemed to observe Jin-Woo quite a bit, but when he tried to use a skill, it was just nullified by Jin-Woo's Soul Attribute.

The Shadow Sovereign could tell that miffed the S-Rank Hunter, but he didn't care much, because he was also blind to Goto's information. Or… he was. Jin-Woo tried to look at Goto's information out of bizarre curiosity, and due to his skill's being strengthened because of his unlocked Soul Attribute, it was successful this time.

Several things he was already sure about, like Goto's high stats, but his Soul Attribute was one that caught Jin-Woo's eye. With a smile, Jin-Woo noted Goto's information before mentally dismissing the screen.

"Come on, Goto. The raid's over," Cha hopped off Aether's back, sighing as her feet touched the familiar ground.

Goto nodded. He nodded towards Jin-Woo, who was still on Aether's back. "By him, right?"

Cha looked back towards Jin-Woo, but he simply shrugged, offering no more explanation. He didn't know why, but he enjoyed being unnecessarily difficult with Goto. Just like he wanted, the S-Rank squinted in annoyance.

However, Goto pulled himself together rather quickly.

"How do we get back? Should I climb onto the dragon?" He asked.

With a nod, Jin-Woo leapt from Aether's back, landing on the group softly. He jabbed a finger back towards the dragon, who kneeled in response. "He'll take you both to the Gate outside."

Cha sighed dramatically, but hesitantly got onto Aether's back. Goto did the same but stared hard at Jin-Woo.

"And what'll you do?"

The E-Rank — he found it funny that he was still officially an E-Rank — Hunter shrugged with a smile, his teeth showing. "There's still monsters here, and I've got more than enough energy." He gestured towards his body, which looked completely unharmed. "As you can see."

Goto stared for a moment before nodding, bracing himself for Aether's takeoff.

Cha looked at Jin-Woo before glancing at Beelzebub's body. They met eyes and he nodded, receiving a silent nod from her. She wouldn't spill his secret, which he was glad for.

A moment later, Aether took off and a girlish scream faded as the two Hunters flew off with the Shadow. Jin-Woo looked at them disappear from his sight before turning to face Beelzebub's corpse.

Just like Uriel, he couldn't imagine changing Beelzebub's name much, so he didn't bother to. He said what was easily his favorite word and the demon arose from the two halves of the corpse.

The Shadow looked similar to what he looked like at a Perfected Construct, but the once-obscured eyes were now possible to see, a third, unusual eye emerging on his forehead. The bat wings were still the same, as with the curved horns. However, instead of shotguns, the Shadow's no longer held a weapon at all.

[Shadow Demon Sin of Gluttony, Captain Rank has evolved into Shadow Archdemon Sin of Gluttony, General Rank Lv. 20.]

[The skill, Air Manipulation has evolved into Demonic Air Manipulation.]

[Beelzebub | Lv. 20]

[Rank: General]

The Shadow nodded towards Jin-Woo before turning towards the ocean. It held its right hand out, and the nearby air suddenly pulled itself together, forming within his hand before being shot out, an impossibly large scar being seared into the water before gravity did its job and pulled everything back together in a cacophony of large, powerful waves.

Beelzebub nodded at his work, seeming proud with a clench of his fist.

Jin-Woo stared before softly shaking his head. He'd almost forgotten about the Leviathans and the other sea monsters that the Gate held but was glad that Beelzebub reminded him. With a nod, Beelzebub fell into the shadows.

With Goto and Cha handled, along with Uriel and Beelzebub's Shadows obtained, Jin-Woo's immediate priorities were handled, however, there were still several more things to handle.

The other Perfected Constructs came to mind first.

"Yama," Jin-Woo said. He didn't need to raise his voice, and there wasn't any specific reason why he needed to vocally call out to the Summon, but he felt the Sovereign's attention fall to him.

For a moment he thought to ask if the Hunters were okay, but he threw that line of questioning away. If an abnormal event arose, he was positive Yama would've mentioned something. He instead said, "What's the status over there?"

Yama responded succinctly, "The Hunters are beginning to wake up. The Gambler and Gourmet are still resting, and nothing else has happen—oh, well, the Sea Admiral and the Traitorous Samurai have just will be arriving within the next thirty seconds."

Jin-Woo knew the Gambler was Fanzer, while the Gourmet was Ichigo, so he was relieved to know they were still just relaxing. He had to assume the Sea Admiral was Cha, based on her title, while that only left Goto to be known as the Traitorous Samurai, which was true, based on the title above Goto's head and the information on his status screen.

Still, that… wasn't the most attractive title for an ally to have. Jin-Woo wondered why Goto's Soul Attribute was attached to such a title but pushed the thoughts away.

"You should come to me. I'd rather those two not see you. It'll be too many questions to deal with," Jin-Woo recommended, and not even a second later, a swirling Gate appeared before him, and Yama walked through it. The portal closed just as quickly as it appeared.

Yama bowed his head, another portal opening a few seconds later. "To Kali and Nyx, sir?"

Jin-Woo smiled, nodding. Yama's ability to understand his motivations without a specific order was extremely pleasing for Jin-Woo. He strolled through the portal, his Summon following him. Absentmindedly, he told Aether to stay with Fanzer and Ichigo, to protect them while they slept.

The Shadow Sovereign appeared in a fairly barren wasteland, with scars of Ichigo's previous fight giving the area an odd sense of familiarity. Jin-Woo chuckled to himself, 'At this point, I guess battlefields just feel familiar, huh?'

Focusing on what was important, Jin-Woo turned his attention to Kali and Nyx. Well, more specifically, he turned his attention to where they should've been. However, there was nothing there. That didn't mean they suddenly just disappeared through.

Jin-Woo glanced at Yama, who nodded. Through his Landmass Clairvoyance, he could still sense the two, standing right there, underneath one of Nyx's veils.

However, Jin-Woo's mind wandered to something else. His Advanced Observation failed to go off, again. It wasn't a skill he could level up either, so he doubted that it'd help him to try and specifically pressure the skill. It irritated him, but he had a vague idea of a solution to the problem, but he pushed that thought aside for now, as he was wont to do.

Jin-Woo thought about what to say for a moment. Kali and Nyx were defeated, that was undeniable. Even if they both attacked him, he doubted they could do much to put him down, especially if he wanted to kill them. However, he didn't have much of a desire to just slaughter the two and bring them back as Shadows.

In that case, the one that needed to talk wasn't himself but….

Yama walked forward, passing Jin-Woo. "Kali and Nyx, I know you are here. You must know the scope of my abilities by now, I am still connected to each of my Constructs."

There was a moment of silence before Kali and Nyx flickered into vision, Nyx's illusion fading.

The two looked guarded, but more than that, they simply looked… defeated. Kali's violent demeaner was dulled drastically, and Nyx was trying her hardest to not give up in her spot. It wasn't hard to see they idolized Yogumunt and seeing that he'd been defeated must've been a reality they didn't wish to face.

A moment passed before Yama glanced at Jin-Woo. He nodded, approving the Shadow's silent question.

Yama spoke again, "Now, you both are faced with a decision. You can choose to follow me underneath my new master, or you can go on to live your own lives."

Kali and Nyx's eyes snapped towards Jin-Woo, widening. Then they looked back at Yama, confused.

"You won't… just kill us? But… but we've lost, Master Yogumunt! We've failed you! The human girl defeated us, and Enkidu and Lilith have chosen to not follow your orders! Why give us a choice, master?" Nyx asked, doubt darkening each of her words.

Kali didn't speak, her shoulders sagging.

Yama shook his head. "I believe Xuan Zang told you, didn't he? You must live for yourselves. That was what I wanted. I…."

He took a moment before speaking, "I wanted friends. I was hoping that if I could create you all, you could become those friends. However, that… is not how friendship works. I must say, I'm still confused on how it possibly could work, even after a decade post-mortem spent trying to figure it out. Even though I'd seen in in action between my master and his allies."

'A decade…?' Jin-Woo felt an undeniable oddness at Yama's comment. 'Wait, how long was in between when he died and when I summoned him…?!'

Yama turned back towards Jin-Woo, nodding. Jin-Woo relaxed a bit, understanding that Yama would explain it to him shortly. Turning back to Nyx and Kali, Yama continued.

"So, girls, you have a choice. If you wish to leave, I will create a portal that will bring you to the human world. You can both speak several languages, and you can both try to pass as humans, possibly as Awakened ones. However, if you kill humans, you will be killed. If not by my master, then by another Hunter.

"If you'd like to follow me, my master's kindness will be extended to you. We can live amongst one another. He does not force us to act if we do not wish to, and as such, we can live peaceful lives together. Of course, that doesn't seem very likely for us, does it?"

He shook his head, "No, if you both come to my master's aid, we will fight together, against those who wish to kill or harm humanity. It will not be an easy path to take, but we will take it together, with an ever-growing number of allies.

"An intrepid knight, a foolish maniac of my own creation, and a joyful wolf are all here, amongst my master's ranks. So, what do you two desire?"

The two were quiet for a few minutes before Kali softly spoke.

"If we follah' ya', will we… be with ya' until the end?" She asked, looking at her four hands before clenching them. She looked up to see Yama smiling, nodding.

Kali turned towards Nyx, who had a feverish look in her eyes. Her eyes were darting around, and she held her hands on her head, clearly thinking.

"I… well… but… what if… I just… I don't…." Instead of looking to Yama, she looked towards Jin-Woo. Her feverish gaze made him feel a bit bad, but he didn't look away. "You… you killed us before, you killed me with one throw of your dagger, and it was… it was…."

She was clearly trying to find the right words but failed to do so. She shook her head. "It wasn't scary because Master Yogumunt patched me up. But… but… I don't want to die! I don't want to remember that darkness, no, I can't, I can't…!"

Jin-Woo suppressed a sigh. Fearing death was beyond reasonable, but now he was faced with a dilemma. He spoke up for the first time, saying, "Nyx, would you like to follow me?"

Nyx was quiet for a moment, but then she looked at Yama, who softly smiled at her, before turning to Kali, who looked like she'd made a decision of her own. Nyx slowly and nervously nodded.

Jin-Woo repressed a sigh. He heard Yama's voice within his head, even though the Shadow didn't make even the slightest movement.

"Sir, I once heard something from Ashborn. He said that a death to a straightened blade was sudden and abrupt. But a death to a curved blade allowed a soul to travel along the tides more smoothly. Maybe that may soothe her worries?"

"…Ah. I understand."

Jin-Woo pulled Legacy from his Inventory, causing Nyx to flinch, drawing back. Kali, however, stood her ground, kneeling and presenting her neck.

"I—I don't want to go through that again!" Nyx yelled. "Can't I just—"

"Before, I killed you with no regard for your life. And I don't regret that. I did what I had to in order to survive. However, this is something a bit more delicate. And so," Legacy transformed into a scythe, "I will treat this with utter respect. This will not hurt."

Nyx's eyes flickered between Legacy, Jin-Woo, Kali, and Yama. She exhaled slowly, lowering her head and trying not to shake.

"Please, just get it over with," Nyx asked.

"I understand."

And with a swipe, both Constructs fell to the ground, dead.

And with an utterance of a single word, they rose again.

Kali's Shadow no longer had four arms, instead the four arms being combined into two arms. Additionally, the Shadow grew several feet, easily taking the prize as the tallest Shadow—save for Aether. A single horn grew from above her right temple. Her hair, something Jin-Woo had basically entirely ignored beforehand, flowed down her back. And lastly, her golden eyes reflected Jin-Woo's perfectly.

[Shadow Oni, Bringer of Doomsday, Captain Rank has evolved into Shadow Kijin, Embodiment of Doomsday, General Rank Lv. 15.]

[The passive skill, Iron Body has evolved into the passive skill, Adamantium Body.]

Jin-Woo suddenly had a new name come to mind. He smiled as the system picked up on this, shifting the Shadow's name accordingly.

[Shion | Lv. 15]

[Rank: General]

Nyx's Shadow remained mostly the same, remaining small and generally feeble. It was clear that she wasn't meant to be an offensive Shadow, focused more on supporting the other Shadows than doing damage herself. She was shorter than Jin-Woo—and any of her fellow Shadows—by a fair bit. She was wearing a dark cloak, like Yogumunt once had.

[Shadow Pixie, The Night's Goddess, Captain Rank has evolved into Shadow Fae, Night's Shifter, General Rank Lv. 15.]

[The active skill, Illusion Manipulation has evolved into the skill, Lie Manipulation.]

Jin-Woo couldn't help but swallow to himself. His Shadows were strong, that was undeniable, but the skills they all formed when evolving to the General Rank just brought them to a new level of power.

However, he couldn't help but wonder what Igris, Tempest, and Jill would develop when they'd hit the General Rank. It made him giddy to think about.

He was suddenly pulled back to reality when he realized the Shadow didn't have a name. He thought for a moment, humming to himself. However, several minutes passed and he couldn't find one. It was actually so long that Shion ended up absentmindedly exercising while the unnamed Shadow just sat there, slowly becoming more dejected due to her lack of a name.

"What about… Luna?" Jin-Woo hummed, causing the Shadow to suddenly jump for joy, pumping her tiny fists into the air.

[Luna | Lv. 15]

[Rank: General]

Uriel and Beelzebub arose from the shadows to meet their new allies. They quickly became acquainted with one another, although Uriel was more serious than the other three. She kneeled to Jin-Woo—instantly forcing him to think that she and Igris would work well together—while Beelzebub tried to use his winds to push Shion around, who stood firmly under the pressure.

Luna tried to get Uriel's attention, but a side-eye from the Shadow was enough to make Luna wince and take a few steps back.

Yama looked at the scene with genuinely joy in his eyes. He spoke sincerely, sounding overjoyed, "Sir, I thank you, genuinely, for giving me the opportunity to see this. This is all I've ever wanted."

Jin-Woo gave Yama a slight smile, shrugging.

He had no qualms with his Shadows doing as they pleased, so he let them stay out as he turned his attention towards the newest objective. Now, with all the major Shadows extracted, he had a few more things to do.

But firstly, Jin-Woo opened his mouth to tell Yama something, but a Gate appeared before he could. He smiled as he peered through it, seeing Fanzer and Ichigo still resting with one another. He nodded and the portal disappeared.

Then, another portal appeared, within the castle. There wasn't anyone on the other side, but it wasn't hard for Jin-Woo to figure out why Yama had opened it, after all, he wanted him to.

Jin-Woo walked through, Yama and Uriel closely following him. Jin-Woo glanced back to see if any of his other Shadows wanted to follow, but they were all preoccupied, so he didn't bother.

The three stood in one of the many rooms of the castle that weren't destroyed. It was near the far-left corner of the castle, but Jin-Woo wasn't interested in that. What he was interested in was what would be here in roughly ten seconds, according to Yama.

Just like Yama noted, ten seconds after his Gate closed behind them, a ball of metal arose from the floor, cracking the tiles. The ball stopped rising when it hit ground-level and curled outwards, revealing the two inside.

However, it was exceedingly clear that they weren't expecting any company.

Enkidu arm outstretched in an instant, a metal fist rising from the ground and racing towards Jin-Woo. However, the metal quickly liquified when a wave of blue flames came rushing towards it. The melted metal didn't quite stop, but it lost much of its power when put up against Uriel's Celestial Flames.

Then, at the same time, Lilith created a bow out of her mana, firing a volley of arrows towards Jin-Woo. However, they were stopped in their tracks by Yama's soul, curling and morphing into a translucent wall.

Uriel readied herself to take a leaping step forward, her wings outstretched, but Jin-Woo placed a hand on her shoulder, and she immediately withdrew, kneeling to him apologetically.

After the two Construct's immediate reactions to attack died down a bit, Yama spoke.

"Enkidu, Lilith, I see you both have chosen to attack my master. That's no way to act," Yama scolded.

"M-Master Yogumunt?! You're…." Lilith gasped.

"So, you lost against them, Master Yogumunt," Enkidu noted. His tone was not insulting, nor was it pitying, he simply stated the facts that laid before him. "Master, what will we do?"

Yama shook his head, smiling. "You two may do whatever you feel. If you wish to fight, then fight. If you wish to run, then run. As I told Kali and Nyx, you must choose for yourselves."

Lilith gazed at her hands, "So… it was just like Xuan Zang said. We must begin choosing for ourselves…."

The two Constructs were silent for a few minutes. They seemed to be thinking about their decisions.

Enkidu spoke first, his tone determined, "I'd like to live among humanity."

Lilith stared at him for a moment before slowly nodding, "I… I think I'd like to do that as well. I don't think we're meant to mindlessly kill humans. I just… would like to live, if only for a little bit…."

Yama glanced at Jin-Woo, who nodded. Admittedly, it was a bit reluctant — the advantages of Enkidu and Lilith joining his army would've been incredible — but he was willing to throw in the towel for his humanity.

Jin-Woo could immediately feel Uriel's dissatisfaction and anger at the two Constructs. His mood perked up at it. Uriel truly believed a life with him was more valuable than anything else.

Yama flicked his hand, and several Gates appeared before him.

"You both can speak several human languages, so these Gates will allow you to choose where you'll both go," he nodded.

The two looked at one another, and Lilith grabbed Enkidu's hand.

"Wherever we go, we go together," she said, her tone full of resolve. The metal Construct nodded, and the two walked through the right-most Gate. After a moment, all the Gates disappeared, swept away as their power faded.

A minute or so passed before Jin-Woo spoke, glancing back to lay a hand on Uriel's shoulder as he looked at Yama.

"So, that's everything major covered, isn't it? The Named Shadows have been summoned, the Hunters — and Kanae — have returned to Earth, and… and…."

Jin-Woo suddenly facepalmed.

"And I didn't pick up any of the mana crystals or possible items, ugh. Okay, Yama, to your corpse!" Jin-Woo cheered, receiving a chuckling nod from the scientist.

"Yes sir, to my corpse!"