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Beyond Ganghwa Island: The Black Sphere

Not long ago, a bizarre phenomenon appeared in the desolate sea near the western coast.

However, its scale was so immense and undeniable that it irresistibly drew attention.

A massive black sphere, 50 kilometers in diameter, floated in the air, accompanied by a girl suspended in mid-air—a sight that modern science couldn’t easily comprehend.

The sudden appearance prompted nearby areas to issue evacuation orders and blockades in an effort to avoid potential danger.

An investigative team attempted to approach it, but they were met with an unknown transparent barrier, leaving them circling aimlessly without any clear plans or explanations.

Meanwhile, the airwaves and internet buzzed with discussions about the massive black sphere.

[Whoa, crazy! That girl hanging in front? We found her identity!]

[STK Yeonkkot, right? What’s she doing there?]

[The game team acknowledged that Yeonkkot went missing. She suddenly disappeared after today’s match.]

[How can she get from Seoul to the waters off Incheon in such a short time?]

[Just got official info! Apparently, Yeonkkot hasn’t left the STK dorm at all. Looks like she wasn’t captured on CCTV.]

[No way. If she wasn’t picked up by any cameras in the building or the surrounding area, how’d she make it to Incheon? If she took public transport, there would have to be footage.]

[More importantly, isn’t it amazing how a person can levitate in the air like that?]

Encounters with unknown entities always stir chaos.

Unlike the media, which attempts to take a conservative stance to deliver organized and verified information, the internet thrived with people freely exchanging all sorts of theories.

“Yeonkkot is actually an alien! This means the world has opened up! There’s a real god, and Yeonkkot is somehow related!” And so on.

Most discussions leaned more towards fantasy and speculation rather than scientific analysis.

It was clear that people’s attention focused on the phenomenon and Yeonkkot not as a scientific issue, but as a mysterious occurrence surpassing human understanding.

While both domestic and international media reported this as an exclusive story, a new shift was happening inside the black sphere.

—Crack!

The sound of an eggshell breaking resonated throughout the world.

Evacuating residents, investigative teams near the sphere, and soldiers on standby all noticed the cracking, as if the dark sphere was hatching to enter this world.

Soon, cracks lined the surface of the sphere, revealing a giant figure within.

It was a grotesque being formed from the bodies of countless humans, its face a manifestation of darkness with only its chilling eyes shining.

The Demon King’s descent was eerily tranquil yet alien, while the sudden appearance of this monstrous entity plunged the world into shock and horror.

At the very least, it didn’t appear to be a benevolent force for humanity.

Like an eggshell that had just hatched, the broken black sphere draped itself like a cloak, slowly surveying the world as if in contemplation.

“This is the Hero’s world. It’s such a barren land.”

Well, with a sight like this, it’s no wonder it went unnoticed. But that’s fine.

In a world where all efforts were to hide, if exposed, everything would be in vain and collapse.

At that moment, a transparent wall blocking its path came into view. As it floated helplessly in front of it, the Demon King scoffed.

Still posing as a Hero, it seemed someone had attempted to place an obstacle in order to trap him.

Despite being an empty husk stripped of all souls, a flimsy ruse like that was amusing enough to take seriously.

—Swallow!

The Demon King opened its unseen mouth wide and swallowed the empty husk whole.

As the grotesque, malformed entity devoured a man on live broadcast, everyone watching fell into panic.

Regardless of circumstances, it was obvious that this creature had consumed a human. That was a clear message of intent to do harm to humanity.

Feeling the rising wave of humanity’s foul emotions from afar, the Demon King raised a foot in anticipation of the feast.

—Thud!

With a single step, the entire sea trembled as if screaming.

No, not just the sea and the world’s scream.

—■■■■■■!

The transparent barrier created by the desperate will of the husk crumbled ineffectively, and with the last barrier separating the Demon King and the world gone, countless demons flooded out of the darkness.

The forms of demons revealed to the world varied immensely.

Typical demons, over 10 meters tall, adorned with wings, horns, blood, weapons, and tattoos of demonic symbols covering their bodies.

Demons who swelled with gas, spewing maggots, flies, plague, and filth.

Demons embodying the tortures of hell, with nails deeply embedded in their bodies, only flesh and eyeballs visible as their monstrous tongues flailed like massive blades.

As if the sea was no obstacle, wherever they stepped, the seawater rotted, allowing the demons to make their way.

Soldiers wielding weapons,

the exploratory teams that had been circling earlier,

the rescue workers watching the scene from afar for emergencies,

and the citizens who had been observing from a distance—all froze solid, filled with certainty and despair that they would die.

Just as the demons surged forth to harm innocent lives,

—Flare!

A miracle happened.

A dazzling golden nebula shone around, completely encasing the Demon King and the demons.

Instinctively, the Demon King, the demons, and everyone around looked up.

There emerged the Heroes as if they were the incarnations of a god that would no longer tolerate such mischief.

* * *

While the issue of the black sphere floating off the coast of Incheon buzzed everywhere, a familiar notification rang in the ears of the streamers.

The start of Friede’s broadcast was perhaps the most appropriate timing imaginable.

Countless streamers were already producing content related to the black sphere, and a few reckless individuals were desperately attempting to sneak into Incheon, now under evacuation and lockdown.

One streamer was shouting to attract viewers from a high place with a telescope, titled “Shock! Black Hole Revealed in Incheon!”

Should a gaming streamer instead focus on the Incheon incident, which had turned topsy-turvy like the others?

Unfortunately, the title was simply “Friede’s Broadcast,” making it hard to decipher what kind of content it would present.

With a mix of excitement and anticipation, they all switched over to Friede’s stream.

[Hah!!]

[Nuna, why did you take so long to come? ㅠㅠ Why now? ㅠㅠ]

[Teng, still watching my stream before freezing to death, huh?]

[In this crisis, streaming—looks like even the community admins can’t bear to go without it!]

[Nuna, did you hear the news from Incheon?]

[Seems like a sign of the world ending but how about an ending broadcast instead?]

Naturally, in such a situation, the chat was anything but normal.

If it had been usual, the channel managers of Friede’s stream would have swiftly silenced all disturbances.

However, for some unknown reason, the moderators were unusually quiet this time.

Even while chaos reigned, it was odd to see no activity from them.

Then, amid the commotion, Friede’s voice came through.

“Oh, hello! Can you hear me well?”

[We can hear you!]

[But where are you? Sounds like you’re outside!]

[Quick, turn on your camera! Quickly!]

[Oh, what a nuisance! Don’t you know it’s customary to greet before turning on the camera? Stop shouting, you’re not a newbie!]

Friede’s voice clearly differed from her usual streams in virtual reality.

Listening to the strange sounds of wind and human voices in the backdrop, it suggested she was outside broadcasting.

[Are you really streaming from Incheon?]

[Hey, in times like this, shouldn’t you spin some stories around?]

[Did you hear about Yeonkkot? They say she’s in Incheon!]

Knowing Friede had been close to Yeonkkot, there was hope she would respond somehow.

But without any mention of it, Friede maintained a black screen without activating her camera.

「Zikgatabelt has donated 50,000 won!

—Quick! Turn on your camera! Turn it on!」

With every donation that came through, Friede paused for a moment to clear her throat and continued speaking.

“Everyone, you were all curious about my band performance last time, right? News has emerged about strange phenoms in Antarctica, so now’s a great moment to talk about it.”

[Is that even important right now?]

[No way, Yeonkkot’s just floating over in Incheon, what gives?]

[Is this lady overly self-conscious instead of attention-seeking?]

[Isn’t that the same thing?]

“First, let me clarify: yes, the place where we performed was indeed Antarctica. It was me, Poming, and some friends all playing out there.”

[No, Nuna, this isn’t the time for such drifts!]

[Suddenly joking, huh? Are you out of content?]

[Friede never runs out of content, dude. Worst comes to worst, she just shows herself cooking some food!]

[For real, lmao!]

“I didn’t expect my words would suffice for clarification. Let’s show you some proof, shall we?”

As Friede boldly made her stand, the chat exploded, and just then, the camera turned on.

The camera pointed to the clear night sky.

Thinking back, Friede’s outdoor broadcasts seemed to always be filled with just such brilliant skies.

The camera lens slowly traced down to reveal that black sphere everyone knew about.

In an instant, countless emojis flooded the chat.

Before any dialogue or questions could be entered, the screen was overwhelmed with just one symbol.

This time, the camera focused on Friede.

At first, it captured her beautiful face and smiling visage, gradually widening its view.

“Curious about today’s content? I’m going to show you right now.”

Ah, now, Poming and others’ appearances came into view beside Friede.

The astonishing part was that they seemed to be comfortably floating in the clouds as if standing on solid ground.

“This content is…”

—Flash!

Friede, Poming, and others shone with brilliant light.

As the radiant glow calmed after a few seconds, what appeared in everyone’s eyes was the Hero cosplay they were already familiar with from their previous band performance and broadcasts.

However, striking like a punch to viewers who believed it was just virtual reality customization, they were confidently showing themselves in real life.

Just as that grotesque creature emerged from within the black sphere below, and monsters flooded out, when Friede swung her Holy Sword, the entire world was enveloped in golden light.

The demons, who had been charging ahead, found themselves aghast, bewildered by the sudden barrier of light.

In that instant, all viewers watching the stream became paralyzed, unable to even type a simple message.

Now, just at this moment, staring vacantly at the broadcast screen, holding her Holy Sword, Friede smiled brightly at the camera and shouted.

“Hero Assemble!”

The Heroes had arrived!

 

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