Chapter 179

‘Is this… the forest monster they said devours people?’

Based on the descriptions alone, it didn’t seem like such a formidable creature, but the aura emanating from the beast as it opened its eyes was by no means inferior to that of the Headless Prisoner or the Demon of Wishes.

Perhaps the Apocalypse Society, having secured the creature, had used some kind of magic technique to amplify its power.

“Ha, so you believe you can control monsters captured in such a manner? No wonder you approached me with such an arrogant expression.”

“…I know about you as well. A user of magic bullets who wagged her tail for whoever offered the most wealth, without a shred of integrity. It seems in this cycle, you’ve decided to become the Assembly’s dog of your own accord.”

At the old man’s words, Katia smiled as if the claim were absurd and raised her gun, firing a single bullet at him.

“It is useless. I am aware that your magic bullets are quite powerful… but against ordinary humans, they cannot exert even half of their original power, can they?”

“You’re not wrong, but that’s not something you need to worry about, old man.”

“Heh heh.”

Following the old man’s short laugh, the followers of the Apocalypse Society stepped aside in unison, clearing the path for Taewoon’s party.

With a thunderous roar, the forest monster—a quadruped with a body far larger than any ordinary beast—finally revealed itself.

‘This is…’

An intense aura, yet accompanied by a corresponding instability.

In Taewoon’s estimation, this forest monster was far from being in a normal state.

It was simply attempting to indiscriminately slaughter the enemies before it, driven by someone else’s will.

‘It’s not an opponent to be taken lightly… but it lacks depth.’

The Demon of Wishes and the Headless Prisoner had also attempted to oppose Taewoon using the power of contracts and their unique immortality as weapons, but they had never dared to challenge him head-on so brazenly.

As Taewoon subtly drew Keshatus and began to release his Fighting Spirit, the forest monster, sensing an instinctive crisis, faltered and began to hesitate in its steps.

It had realized that the Taewoon standing before it was an existence of a completely different caliber than the enemies it had faced until now.

“What on earth… what are you doing! Why aren’t you tearing those dogs of the Assembly apart!”

The forest monster resisted the command, but as if some form of coercion existed, it soon lost all reason and began to charge toward Taewoon’s party.

“It’s coming!”

“Everyone, be careful!”

Just as the party drew their respective weapons to prepare for the attack, Taewoon, holding Keshatus, stepped forward and stomped his foot.

The techniques of the Soul-Chasing Eight Ghost Spear, flowing from the Wind-Advancing Kick into the Reverse Soul Flash.

Through countless battles, Taewoon’s mastery of the Soul-Chasing Eight Ghost Spear had already reached the level of a grandmaster, and the immense magical power contained within it sliced through the monster’s skin—which was covered in a black substance—in a single stroke, leaving a deep wound.

The black substance slowly oozed out, attempting to fill the monster’s wound, but an invisible Blazing Sword sliced through its neck, granting it eternal rest.

Seeing the monster defeated without even becoming a proper opponent, the old man became greatly flustered and fixed his gaze on Taewoon.

“What… could he be a First-Class Solver! He wasn’t on the list!”

“Well, perhaps your intelligence was lacking. So, do you want to try for more?”

Taewoon didn’t possess detailed information regarding the Apocalypse Society, but there were things he could deduce.

Even if all the followers before him combined their strength, they were no match for him.

Likely, these individuals did not hold high ranks even within the Apocalypse Society.

“Urgh…”

The followers, led by the old man, tried to resist somehow, but with their retreat already cut off, there was no way to escape Taewoon’s party.

Biryeong suppressed the enemies with rapid step techniques, and before Katia’s bullets and Mary’s whip, there were no followers left standing.

“What should we do with them?”

“They deserve to die for making the world more chaotic… but for now, we should send them to headquarters to extract the necessary information.”

After deciding to hand over the followers to the Assembly’s collectors later, Taewoon’s party began to thoroughly search the interior of the cave, examining their research records in detail.

“It seems they captured and experimented on several other anomalies existing in the vicinity, besides the forest monster.”

“It’s not something to be praised, but on the other hand, it saves us some work.”

“However… the records regarding the strange bird that brings misfortune are cut off. Did they fail to capture it?”

Hearing the name of the strange bird, the old man beside them chuckled and began to interject in the conversation with a mocking tone.

“The Tehesa region is already full of Seeds of Apocalypse… the strange bird is one of them. It would be best if you avoid making eye contact with it.”

“Hmph. We’ll decide that. By the way, you aren’t the only ones who came here, are you? Is there a Bishop-level existence here as well?”

“I have no obligation to tell you that. But you already know the answer, don’t you?”

“I thought so.”

Ultimately, it meant that if they wanted to resolve the problems of the Tehesa region, they would inevitably have to face them.

‘If it’s a Bishop-level follower, is that a position equivalent to the Assembly’s First-Class Solver?’

Taewoon had never met another First-Class Solver, but recalling Jain’s previous mentions, they would not be someone to be taken lightly.

After dragging the followers of the Apocalypse Society out of the cave, Taewoon’s party decided to take some time to reorganize.

They needed time to hand them over to the Assembly headquarters, and personally, Taewoon wanted to act independently for a few days.

“Was there something on your mind?”

“Rather than that… I have a gut feeling that simply dealing with the Aberrations nearby won’t bring us closer to the core of the Theater.”

Of course, from the perspective of a First-Class Solver of the Assembly tasked with resolving the problems of the Tehesa region, it was the correct course of action.

However, he must not forget the essence.

What Taewoon desired was not the stabilization of the Tehesa region, but the Clear of the Theater; in that sense, his priorities differed from the rest of the party.

“Surely, you aren’t thinking of separating from the group to look around the rest of the region?”

“Yes. That’s correct. If I’m going on reconnaissance, moving alone is much faster, and I thought there might be things that only become visible once I’ve seen the entire Tehesa region with my own eyes.”

“That’s not without merit. Shall I accompany you?”

“That wouldn’t be bad… but for now, I think it would be better if you stayed with the others and assisted them with their work.”

At those words, Biryeong nodded and departed.

Taewoon left the village and began his solo journey around the Tehesa region.

‘The area we checked… was only about ten percent of the entire region?’

Thinking about it that way, the stabilization of the Tehesa region was not something that could be achieved through a day or two of effort.

Feeling that his judgment was correct, Taewoon continued to move according to the route he had mapped out in his head.

‘As expected… there are many.’

Butterflies that trap people in nightmares, dolls that steal appearances, jars containing Calamities, and more.

Even now, strange and wicked phenomena were swallowing the lives of residents throughout the region, and not a few people could be seen heading to other lands penniless, unable to endure it any longer.

‘Furthermore, I occasionally spot entities with an ominous presence.’

When he confirmed the rumors of a well leading to hell or a cloud with a thousand eyes, he could not hide his astonishment.

To put it bluntly, he felt as though he would need several lives just to erase those things from this world.

‘I see. I get the gist of it…’

To be clear, aiming for the stabilization of the Tehesa region was by no means a wrong choice.

By fighting desperate battles against powerful enemies, Taewoon could certainly leap to a higher stage, and perhaps he might even obtain an unexpected Fortuitous Encounter in the process.

‘However, it still feels distant from the core of the Theater.’

As the future Jain had said, the End of Dawn is already arriving in this world.

Bluntly speaking, even if he stabilized the Tehesa region through immense time and effort, what would change?

The world would still be full of chaos, and it was certain that similar anomalies would eventually settle here again.

‘At this point, I wonder. Is this really an “important” matter for the Assembly?’

Taewoon did not know the future Jain. However, he had spent a long time with the past Jain.

A subtle sense of incongruity he had felt for a while. Could it be that to the current Jain, Taewoon was merely playing the role of a pawn?

“….”

The reason why he was specifically sent here to direct the stabilization of the region—that was what Taewoon was most curious and concerned about.

There was nothing to fault in the outward justification, but for some reason, he suspected that this was being used as a basis to achieve another objective.

‘Perhaps… we aren’t the only Solvers here?’

The Dawn Sun God, wicked entities, and the Apocalypse Society.

Various thoughts swirled incessantly in Taewoon’s mind, and eventually, the conclusion converged into one.

‘…I need to clearly define my objective for this cycle.’

Taewoon’s true enemies are not the great beings of this Theater.

To reach Saint Kyurihi, Taewoon absolutely had to grow his strength, and Clearing the Theater within the given cycles could be called his subsequent goal.

‘Fortunately, this Theater is overflowing with powerful beings and groups with mysterious powers.’

Bluntly put, wasn’t the Authority of The Red Man, which occupied a large portion of Taewoon’s power, also derived from a being of this place?

From this moment on, Taewoon decided to completely let go of his sense of belonging as a Solver of the Dawn Assembly.

His goal was only one: to find clues for growth and constantly use the beings before him as experience and nourishment.

Having finally made his decision, Taewoon’s eyes began to fluctuate with a determination and resolve unlike ever before.