Chapter 183

“We have no desire to fight you. Nor do we intend to pay a fair price to have this conceded to us.”

“…….”

“If you have a will to negotiate, why don’t you put away that spear and mask for a moment?”

Taewoon was indeed quite interested in the Jar of Calamity, but separately, it seemed there was a lot he could gain from this man.

After some deliberation, Taewoon reverse-summoned the Wax Mask and began to speak, glancing at the man’s face.

“What can you give me?”

“You must have a valid reason for hunting the Aberrations of this place. If you tell us your purpose, we may be able to help you.”

The man displayed a readily favorable attitude, while simultaneously employing a subtle way of speaking to dig into Taewoon’s goals and intentions.

It was somewhat irritating, but it wasn’t something Taewoon couldn’t tolerate.

Giving a slight snort, Taewoon opened his mouth to answer.

“I want a way to become stronger. Can you satisfy that?”

“Of course. If that is your purpose, I don’t think there is any need for us to be at odds.”

Honestly, Taewoon had felt that communication with the Apocalypse Society Followers would be difficult, but their attitude was far more moderate than expected.

Then again, setting aside the internal affairs of the Assembly, Taewoon and the Apocalypse Society did not ultimately possess opposing goals.

This meant that depending on the time and situation, there was certainly room for cooperation.

‘What should I do? Should I try following them and pretend to cooperate for once?’

In any case, to Clear the Theater, he needed to uncover all the major factions existing within the Theater.

However, if he did that, he would have to temporarily set aside his original goal of contacting another First-Class Solver.

‘…It’s difficult.’

Just as Taewoon was continuing to ponder, unable to make an easy decision, a faint presence was felt from behind, and another uninvited guest began to reveal himself.

“I can’t let that happen. I almost arrived a step too late.”

“…Tsk. A Solver from the Assembly.”

The middle-aged man clicked his tongue with a look of dismay, and Taewoon also turned his gaze to carefully examine the newcomer’s appearance.

‘A Solver from the Assembly…… Could this man be the First-Class Solver dispatched in secret?’

On the surface, he didn’t radiate the kind of power one would expect from a First-Class Solver. Rather, that fact itself served as proof that he was an extraordinary existence.

A quiet pressure that he hadn’t felt when facing Frederick or Mary.

With his appearance, the atmosphere of the scene instantly became strange.

“Hey, decide. Will you take our hand?”

“I don’t know. Maybe earlier, but right now, I don’t think your side can provide the price I want.”

“…Tsk.”

In reality, even if Taewoon conceded the jar, there was no way the newly appeared Solver from the Assembly would leave it alone.

Ultimately, it meant that contacting him to discern the Assembly’s true intentions, as per his original goal, took priority.

“It seems a decision has been made. Then I assume you will no longer interfere in our conversation?”

“As you wish.”

The young man, who had approached with a breezy air, brushed past Taewoon and faced the Apocalypse Society Followers; soon, a sudden battle broke out without so much as a proper conversation.

‘Hah……’

Taewoon thought that the relationship between the Apocalypse Society and the Assembly might be more hostile than he had imagined.

Taewoon hurriedly left the scene and climbed onto the roof of a nearby building, beginning to watch their battle from a third-party perspective.

“Hyaap!”

As the middle-aged man from the Apocalypse Society repeatedly clashed his palms together, an intangible pressure pressed down on the young man, attempting to seal his movements.

“Dog of the Assembly, die!”

The two women who had called the man ‘Master’ charged at the young man, wielding a sword and a giant disc engraved with ominous curses; at a glance, it seemed there was no way to avoid the attack.

‘Their coordination is excellent. They are skilled.’

Especially since the power felt from the items they possessed was considerable, the prowess of these three was certainly worthy of being counted among the top of the Apocalypse Society Followers he had seen so far.

It was a situation where victory seemed predictable, yet even amidst such a crisis, there was not a hint of hesitation on the bound young man’s face.

‘…What is this?’

In Taewoon’s opinion, the young man did not seem to view the three people before him as threats.

The middle-aged man also seemed to have noticed this, as his expression had not been bright for a while.

And soon, those concerns became a reality.

“Hmm…… a force below expectations. Did the Apocalypse Society not value that thing very highly?”

“What?”

Suddenly, light flickered, and strange patterns glowing in vermilion began to appear on the young man’s body.

Simultaneously, a massive pressure covering the entire vicinity began to weigh down on the Apocalypse Society Followers and Taewoon.

‘This is……’

Surprisingly, with only slight differences, it exuded a feeling similar to the Calamities of Tehesa that Taewoon had witnessed.

Setting aside the potency of the power, the nature of it was the same.

The young man was currently wielding the same power as the wicked beings shaking this world.

‘The Dawn Assembly, what on earth are they thinking……’

That a Solver of the Assembly would handle such an ominous power was nothing short of baffling.

However, regardless of the source of the power, the middle-aged man’s party was no longer a match for the young man who had released his power.

Between the vanguards of the two groups present, there existed a truly stark difference in power.

“Kughhh!”

“Teacher!”

“Damn it, Sela! Hurry and take Master and evacuate!”

One of the two women charged toward the young man to buy time for the party to escape, but unable to withstand that overwhelming power, she crumbled from her fingertips and turned into a handful of dust.

The other woman charged in a fit of rage, but the result was the same.

“Kuh, kuhuhu, could it be that you are…… the rumored……”

“You need not know. I hope you find peace in the next life.”

Truly overwhelming Divine Authority.

The young man, who turned the man into a handful of ash with a single snap of his fingers, then approached the sealed jar and cast a glancing look toward Taewoon on the roof.

“So, what are your thoughts? The Assembly wouldn’t have sent you here for such useless interference.”

“…….”

Fortunately, Taewoon had enough time to gauge the man’s full strength, and thanks to that, it wasn’t difficult to come up with an answer.

‘This man is no ordinary First-Class Solver.’

Considering the conversations he had with Mary and Frederick, it should be normal for an average First-Class Solver to be no match for Taewoon.

It was a fact that even the past Jain had not known, but perhaps the Dawn Assembly possessed a peak force beyond that of a First-Class Solver.

“Why did you come here?”

“Why should you know? The fact that you haven’t heard it seems to signify a lack of qualification.”

“We’re not getting anywhere.”

However, while it was frustrating from Taewoon’s perspective, such a way of thinking might be natural from the Assembly’s standpoint.

The young man, lightly placing a hand on the jar, continued speaking while looking at Taewoon.

“I understand how you feel. Personally, I don’t dislike an attitude of digging deeper into things beyond the given mission. However, as a member of the Assembly, one must absolutely trust the judgment of the ‘Assembly Head.’ You should know that, right?”

“…….”

“If that is impossible, I have no choice but to perceive you as a potential instability factor.”

It seemed the young man had noticed that Taewoon’s mindset was far from blind loyalty to the Assembly.

Then, he had to choose.

Whether to quietly leave this place and rejoin his comrades according to the young man’s words, or to step forward and uncover the Assembly’s principles of action from his mouth.

“Hmm. Are you sane? You.”

“It’s not that I have a grudge, but I have a personality that can’t stand not knowing things I’m curious about.”

In the end, Taewoon chose to move forward. He believed that retreating here would be far from his own correct answer.

Looking at Taewoon, the young man let out a hollow laugh as if he found it absurd.

“I don’t dislike a confident junior. However…… you’d best not hope for mercy from me.”

“I have no intention of doing so.”

“My name is Di Marte. An Independent Solver belonging to the Assembly.”

A burning reddish-brown pattern completely covered Di Marte’s body, and that massive power began to be aimed at Taewoon.

“We don’t have much time, so let’s finish this quickly if possible.”

A massive pressure pressed down on Taewoon’s body, delivering a heat as if the sun were exploding.

However, Taewoon’s invisible Blazing Sword sliced through the air, scattering Di Marte’s power and creating a momentary opening.

“Whew, whew……”

This marked the 20th clash; although he was at a slight disadvantage, they were engaged in an equal fight.

Di Marte pressured Taewoon by showcasing a wider variety of abilities than when he dealt with the Apocalypse Society Followers, but Taewoon, who had brought out Mitra’s Wings and Keshatus, did not easily allow a fatal blow.

“…Not bad. I’ll admit it. Having this much skill and being deployed merely for cleanup and maintaining the status quo, it’s natural that you’d feel frustrated.”

“The power you possess, where does it originate from?”

“My, I didn’t exactly mean that we were going to exchange words.”

As Di Marte made the pattern on his right arm glow brighter and aimed it at Taewoon, an unknown will surged from within his body, causing the Magical Power Taewoon held to boil.

But Taewoon did not collapse from just that.

Because Taewoon’s control, tempered by countless experiences and Martial Arts, had already completely transcended the realm of an Ordinary Person.

‘It’s not absolute…… but it’s strong. There’s no way to win like this.’

Taewoon brought out all his Artifacts and Cinema Skills, but he had not yet used the power of the Red Man.

It was because he did not want to give away more information than necessary.

‘But……’

The conclusion had already been reached. The opponent seemed to have many more hidden tricks, and for the current Taewoon, surpassing that power was nearly impossible.

Ultimately, as Taewoon made his decision, the ominous form of the Wax Mask began to reveal itself upon his hand.