Chapter 206

Upper Casket.

Knowing full well what that meant, I stared at Seo Taehoo with astonished eyes.

‘…Well, it wouldn’t be strange even if he did know.’

Seo Taehoo was also a specter who had passed through that place and crossed over eras, and with his level of ability, it was more than possible for him to grasp the situation.

Upon hearing that meaningful remark, Seo Doyoon immediately asked a question.

“Upper Casket? What’s an Upper Casket?”

“What do you think the Night Parade of One Hundred Specters originated from?”

Of course, they couldn’t possibly know. Seeing that reaction, Seo Taehoo continued speaking.

“There exists an object called the Oracle Bone Casket. And even now, specters are flowing out from there.”

At words they had never heard before, Seo Jian and Seo Doyoon’s expressions turned grave.

And then Seo Taehoo, with an indifferent attitude, revealed a crucial secret.

“Until now, the box’s opening has been unsealed twice. Those were the Lower Casket and the Middle Casket. And now, only the Upper Casket remains.”

The meaning of those words was simple. It referred to the First and Second Night Parades of One Hundred Specters.

Realizing this, Seo Jian asked in bewilderment.

“…So you’re saying that right now, the Night Parade of One Hundred Specters is happening because of just that one box?”

“It’s not ‘just a box.’ It is a divine artifact. How dare mere insects presume to evaluate it.”

And what Seo Taehoo wanted to say now wasn’t about that.

“The Upper Casket is different. It is filled with despair. If you struggle against someone of my level, you’ll have no means to deal with it.”

“Is the Night Parade of One Hundred Specters going to happen again? And on an even larger scale?”

“It won’t be just that level. If it’s not stopped, all of humanity will die.”

Truly, his words were correct.

The Upper Casket of the Oracle Bone Casket was filled only with specters of a level capable of destroying a nation single-handedly.

The First and Second Night Parades of One Hundred Specters were essentially just the aftermath.

If the Third Night Parade of One Hundred Specters isn’t stopped, everything will inevitably fall apart anyway.

“…How do you know such a thing?”

“I, too, was imprisoned in the Oracle Bone Casket for a long time. And after leaving there, I met your mother.”

Having said that much, even Seo Jian couldn’t deny Seo Taehoo’s words as false.

Seeing her utterly bewildered expression, Seo Taehoo spoke again.

“Being in such a position, I have seen many humans. Among them, there were certainly those stronger than me. However, to put it bluntly, that is not enough.”

That was the conclusion Seo Taehoo had reached.

“Hurry and bring this to an end. And take the power. Then you might at least be able to struggle.”

“…What are you talking about?”

“My clan, upon reaching a certain age, kills their aged kin, takes their power, and returns them to the earth. If you carry my blood, you should be able to exhibit the same trait.”

In other words, Seo Taehoo was telling them to kill him and use that power to prepare for the crisis to come.

Hearing that, Seo Jian’s expression twisted.

“…Don’t be ridiculous. Playing the magnanimous one now? You don’t have the right to do that.”

“You still don’t understand me until the end. I have no such interest in you.”

After a brief silence, Seo Taehoo turned his body again, looked at the sky through the large window, and concluded his words.

“It’s just that…… I am simply utterly exhausted now.”

Although he had shown an emotionless attitude until now, strangely, only his current appearance felt more human than anyone else’s.

Seeing that, Seo Jian created several Water Spears and quietly stepped toward his back.

“…If your wish is to die, I suppose I can grant that.”

Words filled with chill, yet there was not a single change in Seo Taehoo’s attitude.

“Good. If you can’t even do that much, you’ll just be swept away by the times anyway.”

The sight was somewhat pitiful, but it wasn’t a matter for an outsider like me to intervene in.

Finally raising her hand, Seo Jian tightly closed her eyes and shot the Water Spears she had created at Seo Taehoo.

Splash.

Squelch!

Thud!

Thump!

The spears embedded themselves in the flesh, and Seo Taehoo coughed heavily, vomiting blood.

And finally, he turned his body again and stared at Seo Jian.

“…I feel neither lingering attachment nor relief, more than I expected,”

An attitude too composed for someone facing death. But soon, even Seo Taehoo’s eyes held a hint of emotion.

“Protect humanity. That was her wish.”

Soon after, Seo Taehoo’s body turned to dust, and a vast power began to be released into the air.

A portion of it headed toward Seo Doyoon, but the majority of the rest immediately seeped into the body of Seo Jian, who was beside him.

Watching this from one side of the conference room, I quietly scanned Seo Jian’s information.

【Seo Jian】

▶Level 57

▶Stats

【Stamina : B】

【Spiritual Power : S-】

【Art Formula : A】

【Mental Strength : B】

▶Traits (7/10)

【Water God (S)】

【Feng Shui Arts (S-)】

【Mutation (B+)】

【Growth Acceleration (B)】

【Daughter of the Wind (B-)】

【Financier (B-)】

【Hawk’s Eye (C+)】

In Seo Jian’s eyes, which seemed half-mixed with sorrow and relief, a strand of wind was stirring.

Thus ended the succession competition of Daejin Industries.

As initially promised, everything passed to Seo Jian, and her brother, Seo Doyoon, after receiving a fair price, further expanded the company he had built himself.

However, the aftermath of the single statement Seo Taehoo uttered still remained.

“…First, I’ve relayed the message to the Exorcists at Headquarters whom I have connections with. However, it seems they don’t fully believe it.”

“That’s understandable.”

If the recent Second Night Parade of One Hundred Specters hadn’t occurred, even that would likely have been dismissed as nonsense and ignored.

‘Originally, information about it should have been released through Jinmyeong Daesa’s mouth…’

At that time, since Jinmyeong, who had been caught by me, was forced to exit without a chance to do anything, such a situation didn’t arise.

Since it was already a point of concern for me, Seo Taehoo taking on that role was like scratching an itch for me.

“Honestly, I’m not sure either. Could everything that man said be true?”

He didn’t seem to be lying, but there might have been parts he was mistaken about. Given the gravity of the matter, Seo Jian seemed worried about that aspect.

To that, I nodded and answered Seo Jian.

“It’s probably true. I heard a similar story not long ago.”

“…From where?”

“From an Exorcist who was active during the First Night Parade of One Hundred Specters. At the time, the information wasn’t complete, but putting it together like this, it makes sense.”

At my words, Seo Jian also seemed to shake off some of her hesitation.

“Then we can’t just stay idle like this. We must make all possible preparations.”

After pondering something for a long while, Seo Jian hesitantly conveyed a single statement to me.

“…It seems, I must leave this place now.”

It was a somewhat sudden declaration, but it was also perfectly understandable.

As a student, there were restrictions on her actions, and time was also short.

To that, I nodded with a slightly bitter smile.

And so, this time, it was Seo Jian who left the Academy.

“Hmm. I see, Jian has left too……”

A completely dejected Sophia fiddled with her hair in front of me, grumbling.

Since she was originally very affectionate, the current reality of people leaving the Academy one by one seemed bitterly disappointing to her.

“It’s not like you can’t meet again just because you part ways.”

“Ugh. Well, that’s true, but……”

To Sophia’s whining, Jeong Hansol, who had appeared at some point, also joined in.

“What am I, really? When everyone’s graduating early and leaving, why do I still have nothing I want to do? Is everyone going to end up unemployed like this?”

It was a somewhat age-appropriate, amusing worry, but Jeong Hansol’s attitude was extremely serious.

It seemed she genuinely felt a sense of crisis that she might become unemployed.

“Hmm. Hansol, you don’t have any place that interests you?”

“How can I be interested when nothing comes? Not everyone has proposals piling up like mountains wherever they go like you, right?”

“Huh? That can’t be……?”

Sophia tilted her head in confusion, expressing doubt.

That was certainly true.

No matter how much she wasn’t on the level of Sophia or Hwang Jihak, Jeong Hansol was always an outstanding talent within the top five of her year. It didn’t make sense that there were no proposals for her.

“…Even if you say that, it’s not that there aren’t any? Here, look at this.”

Taking out her student terminal, Jeong Hansol opened its mailbox and showed us the contents.

Scrolling through it, Sophia sighed as if fed up.

“Hansol, you…… didn’t lift the external mail restriction?”

“What’s that?”

“Come on. The professor mentioned it from the very first class. He probably emphasized it just last week too?”

“Ah, that thing about checking? I thought I did it long ago.”

Finally, as Sophia quickly adjusted the settings and lifted the restriction, Jeong Hansol made a dumbfounded expression.

“So, I didn’t have no proposals, I just blocked them all?”

“Yeah. You could have known by asking the professor or just checking your mail personally. It’s your own fault.”

That was certainly true, but with a convenient device available, it’s not easy to check in that way.

Of course, that doesn’t change the fact that Jeong Hansol was careless.

“So, am I ruined? They probably all think I didn’t reply and ignored them, right…?”

“…Probably so?”

“Ughhh.”

To Jeong Hansol, who slumped to the floor, I quietly offered a remark.

“It might actually be for the best. If there are places still sending repeated emails, it means they genuinely need you.”

“Ooh, is that so too?”

True to her simple, mood-driven nature, Jeong Hansol quickly regained her energy and started chattering away.

That scene somehow felt peaceful, and I spent a truly comfortable time for the first time in a while.

However, from the moment I finished all my tasks and returned to my dorm room, all such feelings vanished.

My mind was filled only with worries aimed at future events.

‘What should I do from here on?’

Truthfully, there was no clear method. In the game, this was also a section where you grew your character through countless repetitive grinding, quietly raised your specs, and then confronted the enemy.

But as I’ve said many times, reality is not a game. Simply repeating actions doesn’t unconditionally make you stronger, and enemies don’t wait for you to have that much time.

Ultimately, I had to wander in search of fast and effective growth methods.

‘Even content that didn’t exist in Part 1’s timeline is fine.’

Now I could be certain. It wasn’t the time to be picky about such things.

If there was a method, I had to execute it, even if it meant taking risks.

Tens of thousands of possibilities swirled in my mind, and I began sorting out those that seemed useful.

By the time I had finished pondering and worrying repeatedly, a new sun had already risen.