Chapter 187

“Impressive… I truly didn’t expect you to be able to digest the Blood of Adora.”

“Has anyone succeeded in taking the blood before?”

“It remains in the records, but the truth is unknown. At least for the past 50 years, no one has even attempted it.”

It seemed that those who failed to ingest it were consumed by the Blood of Adora, having all their life force stripped away, and those who died of various causes after taking the blood suffered the same fate.

‘In that case, what happens in my situation?’

Even if Taewoon died in the Theater and moved on to the next Cycle, the experience he gained or the cultivation of his body never disappeared.

However, since non-permanent blessings or protections sometimes vanished, the distinction felt somewhat ambiguous.

‘No need to overthink it. I’ll find out eventually as time passes.’

Even if it were merely a one-time effect, if he could achieve meaningful growth through it, it would be helpful for Clearing the Theater regardless.

Staring at the two Cardinals with a sharp gaze, Taewoon began to demand the fulfillment of the first condition he had set.

“So, what do you plan to do about the first target?”

“There are several candidates. You simply need to choose the beings you wish to hunt. The Society will welcome this, so sufficient support will be provided.”

“That sounds good.”

Soon, the list of targets Aphrasia handed over contained the names of numerous Aberrations and wicked beings.

Among them were the master of the Headless Prisoner, whose traces Taewoon had discovered previously, and the cloud with a thousand eyes. There were also several beings Taewoon had never heard of.

‘Honestly, I’m not sure…’

To begin with, the entities listed here were powerful beings that could not be easily secured even with the power of the Apocalypse Society Main Base.

Because of this, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he had no idea what criteria to use to categorize and select them.

“…?”

As he sank into thought, Taewoon felt a surging energy from within.

The power of The Red Man, which had grown significantly stronger recently, was presenting Taewoon with a choice.

‘The master of the Headless Prisoner? Is it telling me to hunt that thing…’

As he had sensed before, the power that entity possessed was at a level so immense that it couldn’t be measured by a few words.

Compared to Saint Kyurihi?

Honestly, he didn’t know.

Since Taewoon had not yet reached that realm, he could only describe it as infinitely vast.

‘To hunt that thing… I must risk my life.’

What did the master of The Red Man, the being beyond the Wax Mask, want from Taewoon?

However, one thing was certain: whatever hidden intentions he had, for now, he also desired for Taewoon to be reborn as a more powerful being.

‘I do not avoid risks I can handle. If so, this must be the path to the fastest growth.’

Having finally made up his mind, Taewoon caught the eyes of the two Cardinals and pointed his finger at the name of the first target he would hunt with the Apocalypse Society.

“For the first one… let’s go with ‘The Nameless Head.’”

Gaspen and Aphrasia reacted as if Taewoon had lost his mind, but they did not try to stop him.

After all, from their perspective, it was a situation where success meant a jackpot, and failure was merely a slight disappointment.

There was no reason for them to interfere with Taewoon’s choice.

“Hmm~ This is tricky. Mediocre Followers won’t be of help, but I can’t provide a large number of Bishop-level support to an opponent who hasn’t proven himself…”

“More importantly, I heard the main body of The Nameless Head has not yet been discovered. How do you plan to find it?”

Gaspen voiced his concerns, but in truth, Taewoon already clearly knew the location of The Nameless Head’s main body.

The last time he had repeatedly used the power of Apostle Transformation and became strongly linked to the being beyond the mask, he had clearly sensed the presence of the source connected beyond the traces of the prisoner.

“I know its location. However… honestly, I wouldn’t say the odds of victory are high.”

“What? Are you serious?”

In fact, saying he was risking his life was, in a way, a convenient phrase.

In reality, even if Taewoon brought out every bit of his current strength, there was such an overwhelming gap that he wondered if his chances of winning were even ten percent.

‘But I have to do it.’

If he couldn’t hunt a being of that strength, he would simply be running in place.

Taewoon stubbornly pushed his will forward, and the Apocalypse Society expressed their intention to support him with four Bishop-level Followers and six Followers capable of handling Strange Objects.

“I clearly heard it was four Bishop-level Followers… why are you included in that group?”

“I decided that if The Nameless Head is subjugated, I will take charge of researching its remains. Honestly, I hesitated, but I couldn’t miss an opportunity like this.”

One of the four Bishop-level Followers who were originally supposed to come had been replaced by Aphrasia, the Cardinal.

Of course, this wasn’t a bad thing for Taewoon, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that the control over the Followers had shifted.

‘…No, this might actually be better.’

Honestly, how much of an achievement could he make by trying to control the Followers of the Apocalypse Society, whom he didn’t even know well?

Rather than that, giving control to Aphrasia from the start and focusing on his own role might lead to a much better result.

“I like the clarity. For reference, how much information do you have on The Nameless Head?”

“Not much. All I know is that it is a being with extremely wicked and immense power.”

No, to be precise, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Taewoon had sensed the very existence of The Nameless Head in that fleeting moment.

In that sense, he likely knew more about the entity than Aphrasia did, but he still needed to hear the surface-level information.

“The Society presumes that The Nameless Head takes a form similar to a spiritual entity. Therefore, it will be impossible to annihilate it through ordinary means.”

“….”

“You probably already know that it uses powerful obsession as its principle of action. However… strictly speaking, it is more accurate to view it not as an obsession, but as the yearning of the existence itself. Can you understand that difference?”

“Roughly.”

As Aphrasia said, it would likely be impossible to deal a fatal blow and erase the entity’s existence through ordinary methods.

However, Taewoon possessed a vast array of ‘unordinary’ means of attack, as did the Apocalypse Society Followers.

Finding a method effective against the entity and obtaining clues would be the first task toward victory.

“Well, it’s a relief that you seem to recognize the situation. Today might be our last, so you’ll have to use every means you possess.”

“…I suppose I will.”

This was the first time since entering the Theater that he was facing an enemy suited to that level of difficulty.

Naturally, there was no room for complacency; Taewoon had to pour out everything he had.

“This is unexpected… does the main body of The Nameless Head really exist in such a remote place?”

“If what I sensed is correct, definitely.”

At the edge of the Tehesa region, in the middle of a nameless graveyard.

Somewhere there, the entity’s lair existed.

However… it was true that, until now, not a single trace of the energy characteristic of wicked beings could be felt.

“I can’t feel anything…”

“Be careful. This being might transcend our imagination far more than we think.”

Indeed, he felt an ominous intuition.

It should definitely be here, yet even with Taewoon’s precise detection abilities, he couldn’t find a single trace of it?

It was an unprecedented situation that he had never experienced before.

‘Damn… did I make the wrong choice?’

Was the entity really something Taewoon could handle?

Perhaps even if he approached it with the resolve that ‘death is the only way to live,’ it would end up being a meaningless action.

His heart wavered and numerous hesitations welled up, but Taewoon consciously shook them off and continued his steps.

‘I must do this.’

Nothing would change even if he stayed still, and the end would eventually come.

Sitting quietly and waiting for the end was not the way of life Taewoon pursued.

That was why Taewoon did not give up, and why he continued to pursue the path of a Hunter without withdrawing from a choice that some had called a mistake.

‘…Now, why don’t you show yourself.’

Having finally made his decision, Taewoon drew Barata and Keshatus in both hands and began to raise his Magical Power to activate the abilities of the two spears.

Aphrasia also drew a black-stained branch, and the Followers, having finished their preparations, began to steel themselves for the final battle.

‘Not yet? Where is it?’

Strangely, even after the situation had reached this point, The Nameless Head showed no reaction.

Even with Taewoon’s Heavenly Ear pushed to the limit, nothing was detected.

Unconsciously, his brow furrowed, and for a moment, his focus wavered.

But at that moment, a single voice spoke, signaling a sudden change in the situation.

“…Hey, Hunter. Look around you without making it obvious.”

“Around me?”

There was nothing there; what on earth was she talking about?

However, it was too much to be a simple hallucination; the face of Aphrasia beside him had turned pale, making her seem like a different person.

‘…Wait, what is happening?’

The surroundings were still the middle of the nameless graveyard.

But something was different.

On each grave where nothing had been placed, tombstones inscribed with unknown characters had appeared, announcing the owners of those graves.

‘Dangerous! I can’t feel its movements at all!’

The surroundings were too peaceful and quiet. But conversely, that brought about a suffocating sense of incongruity.

“H-hey, cough…!”

Hearing a painful groan, he turned around to see that the majority of the Apocalypse Society Followers who had followed Taewoon were collapsing to the ground, bleeding from their eyes and ears.

And in front of them, translucent tombstones appeared and slowly began to take shape.

‘Damn, could it be that the entity…’

It had awakened long ago and had been quietly observing Taewoon’s party.

Finally, from the darkness, one of the wicked beings that would lead the world to ruin began to reveal itself.