In-gong

In-gong is the soul of Joo In-gong living as Shutra Ignus, the Ninth Prince of the Demon World. Beginning as the weakest royal child and fearing the fatal future he remembers from Knight Saga, he turns survival into a campaign to protect the royal family, opposes the Four Riders of the Apocalypse, becomes the complete Conquest Knight and Dhrtarastra, and succeeds Mitra as Demon King.

Biography

Entry into the Demon World

Joo In-gong enters what he initially mistakes for a virtual-reality game and discovers that he is Shutra Ignus, a frail gandharva prince whose statistics are all below those of an ordinary villager. The prologue's initial status display lists Shutra's age as seventeen, but the recurring status displays in Chapters 2–3 list fourteen and In-gong explicitly thinks of the change as a regression to fourteen; the corpus does not reconcile the discrepancy. The absence of any way to log out forces him to treat the world as real. Remembering that Zephyr kills the other royal children during the future Day of Massacre, In-gong makes survival his first pressure and resolves to gather information, grow stronger, and avoid the passive fate attached to the original Shutra. (Chapters 1–3)

His game knowledge and visible system give him advantages, but his early progress depends on choices made under battlefield pressure. He learns skills at abnormal speed, uses the mini-map to expose hidden passages, and fights beside Carack rather than remaining behind royal protection. Those actions earn the attention of Chris and Caitlin, help turn the campaign against the Red Lightning tribe, and support the rescue of Felicia. What begins as a calculated alliance becomes personal when he decides that Chris, Caitlin, and Felicia are people whose deaths he no longer accepts as a predetermined story. (Chapters 7–25)

In-gong accepts Caitlin's instruction in Beast Authority and aura, while Felicia's magic and archaeological knowledge make her a recurring partner in the ruins. Their cooperation leads to the Thunder Light Anvil, where his power of Conquest gains control of the installation and Earth Quaker acknowledges him. He then creates the King's Knights and appoints Carack as its first leader. The decision formalizes a bond already proven in danger: Carack is no longer merely the attendant assigned to a disregarded prince, but the first knight of a growing household whose strength is shared through In-gong's authority. (Chapters 27–36)

On the Enger Plains, In-gong accepts Ainkel's dragon power even though it repeatedly destroys his fragile body between restorative level gains, emerging able to contain an elder dragon's magic. He defeats the threats to the plains with Carack and the local forces, and his Conquest also binds Green Wind. When he learns that taking her away could endanger the land she sustains, he refuses to treat mastery as permission to cause that loss and helps seek a replacement for her ecological role. By the time he returns to the palace, his merits, companions, and victories have transformed Shutra from an ignored prince into a royal child trusted with independent missions. (Chapters 43–62)

Prince and Conquest Knight

In-gong's new standing brings both sponsorship and danger. Ishgard's gifts and personal instruction give him sura techniques, but the Sword Duke also teaches him that strength is the practical answer to enemies who have begun targeting royal children. In-gong combines the Sura Heart Law with the lycanthropes' Divine Beast Authority instead of abandoning either lineage. After surviving Gerard's attack alongside Caitlin, the Moonlight Extract creates In-gong's Moonlight Core and Caitlin's linked Starlight Core. Their shared circulation deepens both power and trust, while Chris openly argues that In-gong can become Demon King and protect the lycanthropes from the future In-gong fears. (Chapters 63–84)

He consequently stops treating the throne as a distant game objective and starts treating rulership as a means of preventing catastrophe. In-gong seeks Amita and elder-dragon equipment, learns to combine White Eagle's defense with his movement, and survives opponents far beyond the weak prince he once was. His instinctive use of Absolute Area saves Caitlin from the last flame's attack even though he does not yet understand the technique's full mechanism. The last flame's recognition, his expanding equipment, and the loyalty of Felicia, Caitlin, Carack, Green Wind, and their companions give him a base of power that is relational as much as martial. (Chapters 86–108)

At Takar and Evian, In-gong responds to the barbarian offensive as a commander rather than a treasure hunter. He secures the Dragon King's Golden Helmet, brings Nayatra out of Paratus's control, and commits to reinforcing Vandal despite the barbarian king's superior force. Using the mini-map to navigate and pace a rapid march, restorative magic to preserve his troops, and the King's Flag to strengthen them, he turns an exhausted relief force into a viable counterattack. He defeats Karatus only by sustaining severe injuries and shutting down the penta-core afterward, a victory that proves his growing power while reinforcing his need for training, preparation, and allies. (Chapters 109–130)

That lesson becomes decisive when Gerard, now the Famine Knight, nearly kills Silvan and Felicia. In-gong races to their signal, drives back Famine with Below the King's Flag, and defeats Gerard, but Silvan's uncontrolled fairy continues draining his life. Rather than conceal his power at the cost of Silvan's death, In-gong explains the binding choice; Felicia voluntarily enters the King's Knights so that Silvan's oath to her can remain intact, and In-gong uses Conquest to quiet the fairy. The rescue permanently joins the dark-elf siblings to his cause and reveals that Conquest herself rejects the apocalypse, after which Mitra entrusts In-gong with the Seed of Extreme Nothingness and recognizes him as a legitimate contender for the throne. (Chapters 138–149)

War against the Apocalypse

Sent to the western front, In-gong arrives while Anastasia's position is collapsing under Actius and the giant rebellion. He does not attempt to defeat an army alone: he protects Anastasia through Carack, breaks the enemy's momentum with coordinated equipment and aerial attacks, and then plans an organized withdrawal toward Felicia and Victor instead of clinging to an isolated fortress. His willingness to worry about Anastasia as family, rather than treat her as the leader of a rival faction, changes their relationship. The ensuing campaign reunites the royal forces, turns former factional distance into cooperation, and leaves In-gong as the acknowledged focal point of Chris, Caitlin, Felicia, and Silvan. (Chapters 150–175)

The wider conflict then exposes how closely his personal growth is tied to the Demon World's survival. At the sura Sanctuary, he attacks Abseltur because the creature threatens the ward and its people, using his accumulated poison resistance, divinity, Green Wind's aerial sight, and the elder-dragon equipment to win a battle for which no single power is sufficient. Ishgard subsequently admits that In-gong is a pure-blooded gandharva whom Mitra accepted as his son. In-gong shares the recorded truth with the companions most affected by it: Shutra's body was created from Dhrtarastra's essence and born without a soul, while Mitra knowingly preserved his status as Ninth Prince. The revelation creates political risk, but his circle chooses him rather than withdrawing its support. (Chapters 176–202)

Beyond the Northern Limit Line, In-gong works with Locke and finally fights beside Zephyr, contradicting the adversarial future he once considered unavoidable. He combines divine power, aura, magic, Dragon Words, and his equipment against the northern forces, while the confrontation with the Apocalypse Knights makes Zephyr recognize him as the Conquest Knight. When the Death Knight's attack destroys the Demon King's Palace, Mitra sacrifices himself to cripple the returning red dragon. In-gong is left gravely wounded, but his companions carry him to the gandharva, where the remaining Dhrtarastra Essence restores him and fuses his dragon inheritance, Moonlight Core, Conquest, and the elder dragons' equipment into the true Dhrtarastra and Drakon Kechatulla. (Chapters 203–224)

In-gong reaches the Sanctuary because everyone he has gathered buys him the path: the royal family, King's Knights, queens, Sword Duke, Locke, and Zephyr each answer part of the red dragon's assault. The Sanctuary accepts In-gong as Mitra's successor, and he uses its authority, Conquest, Caitlin's linked core, and the elder dragons' powers to reach the dragon's essence. Extreme Nothingness destroys that essence; he then defeats the Death Knight and clears the remaining beasts. He later learns that the indigenous species summoned his soul so he could free Conquest from destruction, but his answer is grounded in the relationships he chose for himself. With the Day of Massacre no longer a predetermined future, Zephyr's acceptance and the support of the royal factions culminate in In-gong's coronation as the new Demon King. (Chapters 225–231)

Appearance and personality

The main narrative portrays Shutra as a slight fourteen-year-old gandharva with thin, pale limbs and red eyes, but repeated level gains and physical training visibly develop his muscles and height. By the western campaign, Anastasia sees a tall young man with firm arms and abundant aura and magic power rather than the frail prince she remembers. His temporary Spiritualism transformation lengthens his hair to his ankles, turns it black, changes his red eyes to gold, and produces a pronounced sweet or heavenly scent; after the Dhrtarastra ceremony, that divine appearance becomes his sustained form rather than a transformation limited to a few minutes. (Chapters 2, 26, 159, 178, and 223–224)

In-gong is observant, pragmatic, and unusually adaptable. He exploits maps, prior knowledge, equipment, and enemy psychology, but repeatedly revises plans when the living world differs from the game he remembers. His first goal is self-preservation, yet familiarity turns calculation into attachment: he risks exposing Conquest to save Silvan, refuses to abandon Green Wind or damage the Enger Plains for convenience, and eventually defines victory as keeping his companions and even rival siblings alive. He also retains a playful appetite, enjoys praise and teasing, becomes awkward around romance, and relies on Carack's blunt corrections to keep grand moments practical. (Chapters 2, 38, 51, 82, 141, 180, and 228–231)

Powers and abilities

In-gong's power is a deliberately integrated system rather than a single discipline. The system-like interface accelerates growth; Conquest suppresses conflict among different energies; his aura arts provide close combat and movement; elder-dragon inheritances supply magic and equipment; and Dhrtarastra's divinity completes his later god-state. He is strongest when he coordinates those powers with his knights and allies, while early overuse repeatedly leaves him injured, unconscious, or dependent on a level-up and recovery magic.

Protagonist system and rapid growth

In-gong can see levels, statistics, skills, a mini-map, and an inventory. Actions generate experience or skill acquisition, earned points can raise selected abilities, and a level increase restores his damaged body and spent stamina; that restoration saves him during Ainkel's repeated destruction of his body and after later battles. His inventory stores and releases compatible objects instantly, enabling equipment changes and ambushes, while the mini-map marks nearby allies and enemies and assists navigation. Its range is affected by what he can actually see, so sharing Green Wind's elevated vision expands it rather than making it omniscient. (Chapters 3, 9–15, 23–26, 48, and 210)

The late explanation is that this is not literally a game system. The indigenous species identify In-gong as the world's chosen protagonist, describe Protagonist Correction as the world occasionally pushing him forward, and say his subconscious rendered growth in a form he understood. They also attribute his exceptional ability to learn skills to Conquest. The interface can accelerate training and quantify results, but it does not supply facts he has not discovered, guarantee correct judgment, or eliminate the physical and mental costs paid before a level restoration occurs. (Chapter 229)

Conquest and the King's Knights

Conquest is the authority to punish, compel obedience, govern, and bring powers under In-gong's rule. It first awakens as a secondary occupation and enables Below the King's Flag, which raises allied strength and morale within its field but consumes enough mental power to leave him near collapse. The same authority lets compatible relics acknowledge him and holds mutually resistant aura, magic, psychic power, and divine power in one body. It can meet the powers of the other Riders directly, but sentient or soul-bound targets may resist: Green Wind initially accepts it, while Silvan's fairy cannot be conquered separately from Silvan and must be reached through consensual knight bonds. (Chapters 10–11, 23, 35, 51, 139–141, and 178)

The King's Knights converts rule into an organized bond. In-gong must appoint a willing knight through a ceremony; the order begins with limited capacity, supplies shared enhancements, tracks merit, permits upgrades, and allows Call to move a knight instantly to him. He first appoints Carack, later expands the order, and ultimately raises key members into apostles whose physical or magical powers are dramatically amplified. At Dhrtarastra's awakening he conquers the white woman herself, becoming the complete Conquest Knight; the authority then answers his will at great scale, but its most effective use still depends on relationships voluntarily built before the crisis rather than replacing them. (Chapters 36, 49, 74, 118, 141, 189, 223–228)

Aura, Beast Authority, and Divine Sura Authority

Caitlin teaches In-gong Beast Authority, which circulates both internal and external aura to enhance the body and produce explosive physical techniques. Ishgard later transmits the Sura Heart Law and its Wind Style, Great Mountain, and Lightning methods. The two aura systems would ordinarily conflict, but Protagonist Body's Harmony permits separate circulations, and In-gong joins them as Divine Sura Authority. He uses its acceleration for rapid charges, its concentrated force through punches and kicks, and techniques such as Arang to disrupt an opponent's aura internally. His control progresses from imitating taught movements to attaching intent and attributes through Dragon Style, although the stronger dragon nature initially makes his aura violent and painful to handle. (Chapters 27–28, 38, 71–72, 80, 111, 127, and 172)

The Moonlight Extract creates a second aura heart, the Moonlight Core, after In-gong and Caitlin nearly die fighting Gerard. It connects to Caitlin's Starlight Core: proximity and contact strengthen their life force and allow the two streams to circulate as four hearts, later contributing to a penta-core when combined with his dragon heart. This provides exceptional output and teaches Caitlin aspects of Divine Sura Authority, but it is not free power. Both partners must supply aura, heavy output injures In-gong's body, and he has to shut the multi-core circulation down after decisive attacks. Following his rebirth, the Moonlight Core and dragon heart become one heart that still responds to Caitlin. (Chapters 82–84, 129–130, 139, 223, and 227)

Elder-dragon inheritance and equipment

In-gong receives Ainkel's magic by accepting and conquering a fragment of her dragon heart. The influx repeatedly destroys his inadequate flesh until level restoration allows the transformation into a dragon humanoid capable of containing it. The dragon heart subsequently grows by absorbing compatible power and becomes a major magic generator. Dragon Style places will and attributes into aura, while Dragon Words places will and emotion into magic; demonstrated applications include elemental breaths and shaping the combined divine, magical, and aura power used for Black Sun. The system explains their effects, but the deeper reason In-gong alone can harmonize several elder-dragon powers is only partly attributed to Protagonist Body and Conquest until his final rebirth. (Chapters 48–51, 111, 143, 171–172, 207, and 223)

His principal elder-dragon equipment supplies specialized super moves: White Eagle produces Absolute Area, Night Watch produces the high-speed Black Specter, and Earth Quaker releases True Destruction. Amita's modifications improve their output and let White Eagle operate with Black Eagle as mobile shields, projectiles, and firing platforms. These effects are equipment-derived rather than innate; they consume aura or magic and can be overwhelmed. In-gong activates the techniques, while Green Wind specifically positions and controls White Eagle and Black Eagle. Absolute Area's first activation is instinctive, and its exact cancellation mechanism is not explained beyond its demonstrated ability to erase or redirect incoming power. (Chapters 91–92, 124, 160, 179, 184, 191, and 227)

Dhrtarastra and divine power

Shutra's body was created when the gandharva used half of Dhrtarastra's remaining essence in an attempt to produce their god's incarnation. The attempt yielded a living body without a soul, which later received Joo In-gong. As In-gong awakens gandharva divinity, Spiritualism temporarily changes his body, heightens his scent and physical beauty, and gives divine power effective against unnatural beings; early on, the form lasts only minutes and strains him. The ceremony using the remaining essence restores his wounded body and makes that god-state continuous, while merging the dragon heart, Moonlight Core, Conquest, and elder-dragon equipment into the true Dhrtarastra and Drakon Kechatulla. (Chapters 178–180, 199–201, and 222–224)

Extreme Nothingness and royal authority

Mitra plants the sealed Seed of Extreme Nothingness in In-gong after he reaches the Demon King's private sanctuary. The system initially registers it at level zero, leaving In-gong unable to activate it, though accepting the seed reorganizes the unstable balance among his powers. Only after Mitra's final stand and the Sanctuary's recognition of In-gong as the new protector does the technique germinate. Extreme Nothingness annihilates even the red dragon's destructive essence rather than merely damaging its projected body, after which the system registers the technique as learned. The corpus demonstrates a single completed use at that scale; its repeatability, later cost, and precise operating mechanism remain unknown. (Chapters 149, 223, 226–228)

Other skills

• Magic and psychic techniques: In-gong rapidly learns basic elemental and recovery magic, Telekinesis, and Blink. He uses them tactically for healing, temporary restraint, battlefield disruption, movement, and remote weapon control rather than relying on spell power alone. (Chapters 9, 26, 127, 160, 179, and 227)
• Resistances: Protagonist Body develops poison resistance from Hundred Poisons through later stages, allowing him to endure Abseltur's shifting toxins, though the fight still damages him. He also gains mental defenses from equipment and personal will; those protections are not absolute against every superior power. (Chapters 64, 115, 178–179, and 184)
• Command and reconnaissance: He combines the mini-map, Green Wind's sight, prior scenario knowledge, rapid logistics, and restorative magic to route troops and time attacks. His strongest campaigns succeed because he delegates, preserves marching strength, and targets commanders or strategic objects instead of treating personal power as a substitute for an army. (Chapters 118–120, 160–168, and 225–228)

Power progression

Relationships

• Carack: The first person In-gong meets in the Demon World becomes his attendant, closest practical adviser, first knight, and the leader of the King's Knights. Carack repeatedly shields him, questions reckless ideas, and answers Call at decisive moments; In-gong considers a victory without Carack incompatible with a happy ending. (Chapters 2, 36, 118, 173, and 227–230)
• Felicia: In-gong initially remembers Felicia as a possible enemy but rescues her and grows into her trusted expedition partner. His choice to expose Conquest to save Silvan binds her to the King's Knights, while their mutual reliance becomes romantic. She stands beside him at the final battle and is one of the brides named before his coronation. (Chapters 21–25, 139–141, 227, and 230)
• Caitlin: Caitlin is In-gong's first aura teacher and a source of uncomplicated encouragement. The Moonlight and Starlight Cores connect their life force and combat output, making her his closest aura partner. Their affection develops alongside that bond, and she fights with him against the red dragon before joining the planned royal marriages. (Chapters 27–28, 82–84, 129–130, 227, and 230)
• Green Wind: Green Wind begins as an Ainkel fragment who accepts In-gong as a temporary master, then chooses to remain with him. He refuses to sacrifice the Enger Plains for ownership of her, while she becomes his guardian, scout, equipment partner, and frequent emotional companion. Their teasing relationship does not diminish the trust behind her control of White Eagle. (Chapters 51–59, 124, 179, and 227)
• Chris: Chris first treats alliance with Shutra as a political opportunity, but respect grows from In-gong's care for Caitlin and repeated military success. He is the first royal sibling to argue directly that In-gong should become Demon King, and his support brings the lycanthropes into the coalition that prevents the future both men fear. (Chapters 3–7, 21–26, 79–84, and 225–228)
• Zephyr: Zephyr is initially the future killer In-gong fears and the strongest rival for the throne. In-gong's interventions prevent the chain of corruption he remembers, allowing them to fight as allies against the Apocalypse. Zephyr accepts Mitra's recognition of In-gong and attends the coronation, while warning that a Demon King must continue to prove himself the strongest protector. (Chapters 1–3, 210–228, and 231)

Items

• White Eagle: In-gong's primary flying shield and Green Wind's vessel; it produces Absolute Area and is repeatedly upgraded by Amita. (Chapters 52, 92, 184, and 227)
• Earth Quaker: An elder-dragon gauntlet that accepts In-gong after he conquers the Thunder Light Anvil and channels destructive techniques culminating in True Destruction. (Chapters 35, 115, 179, and 227)
• Thunder Light Anvil: The immovable dwarven installation In-gong conquers and secures; its recognition leads him to Earth Quaker, but the anvil remains tied to its ruins. (Chapters 34–36)
• Black Eagle: White Eagle's paired auxiliary shield, later upgraded so its components can separate and join coordinated defense, impact, and ranged attacks. (Chapters 108, 160, and 184)
• Night Watch: Violent Kaltein's cloak-like elder-dragon equipment, used for aerial movement, Blink-like mobility, and the super move Black Specter. (Chapters 98–99, 124, and 160)
• Warrior's Sword: Guardian Queian's weapon and Locke's signature sword; it leaves Locke and flies to In-gong for the final battle, where he wields it and draws on Queian's power. In-gong later tries to return it, but Locke declines, and the sword remains in In-gong's inventory with Locke's consent. (Chapters 209, 225–227, and 230)
• Tears of a Dark Elf: A protective necklace given to In-gong by Felicia; he wears it as defense against mental interference and uses it as part of their paired signal and rescue connection. (Chapters 42–43, 49, 68, and 139)
• Giant King's Sword: A relic of the giants that recognizes In-gong as Drakon Kechatulla and can exert authority over giants as well as serve as a telekinetically controlled weapon. (Chapters 157–178)
• Dragon Scale Greaves: In-gong's original red-dragon leather-and-scale greaves provide fire resistance, fire absorption, and physical enhancements. Amita later replaces them with a stronger black-dragon-scale pair under the same name, designed to suit In-gong's dragon powers and channel the last flame's sacred fire more effectively. (Chapters 63–64, 145, and 160)
• Dragon King's Golden Helmet: The barbarian kingship symbol In-gong secures at Takar and uses as political leverage and a battlefield feint against Paratus. (Chapters 114–118 and 127)
• El Ragra: Recorder Torres' support ring, the fourth elder-dragon equipment acquired by In-gong and later integrated into his completed inheritance. (Chapters 171, 184, 223, and 227)
• Lucid Dream Pillow: Caitlin's limited-use gift, which gives controlled dreams for rest and simulations; it cannot grant experience and normally keeps the user asleep for eight hours. (Chapters 130–134 and 186)
• Ascalon: A shape-changing dragon-slayer weapon recovered at Thunderdoom Fortress and used for Dragon Bane and rapid intervention against large enemies. (Chapters 66–69, 139, and 160)
• Cruel Talia's Armour: Zephyr owns and wears this elder-dragon armour before the final battle. At the Sanctuary it removes itself from Zephyr and flies to In-gong, who accepts it for the confrontation with the red dragon; the corpus does not state who holds it after the battle. (Chapters 210, 220, and 225–231)