Chapter 110

I brought the sword down from above.

In that moment, a line appeared in the empty air where nothing had been just a moment before.

Crrrack-

Like the eye of a Lizard I’d grown so sick of hunting in this place, the space that had been a line split wide open.

[Spatial Slash (SS)]

This was Yeo Ju-kyung’s unique Skill.

Until a moment ago.

Yeo Ju-kyung’s mouth hung open, as if she no longer had the energy to be surprised.

“When did you copy that one?”

“Not long ago.”

“Right, right.”

Beyond the split-open space, the outside world was visible.

Not this place covered in gloomy Demonic Energy, but the real outside world.

We escaped through it.

As soon as we were outside, I saw a person.

It was Executive Director Bae Hyeon-jo.

He must have been guarding this place for a month, as fatigue was caked all over his face.

The moment he saw us, he swallowed hard.

His eyes were trembling.

“What happened?”

“He tried to become a Lich and failed.”

“A Lich?”

“It’s something similar to a Demon. A part of his Soul remains here, but it’s meaningless. This is the same as being dead.”

“……”

“To put it simply, it seems he made something like a contract with a Demon. Though it looks like he failed in the end.”

Yeo Ju-kyung shot a look at me.

It meant, could you be any more tactless?

Still, I believe I have to be honest.

To be frank, without adding or subtracting anything.

I tried to place the Life Vessel in Executive Director Bae’s hand, but he shook his head, refusing it.

“In all my life, I’ve never seen a man who hated Demons as much as him.”

It was a denial, but the reality was what it was.

“There must have been some kind of scheme. Right? A Demon must have bewitched him.”

“I could find no trace of that.”

“His son was killed by a Demon. And a man like that tried to become a Demon? You’re telling me to believe that?”

If Entesto had cast Mental Magic on Son In-hyeok, I would have noticed.

Executive Director Bae Hyeon-jo’s best friend, Son In-hyeok, was a man who had decided to become a Lich of his own free will.

“Did you see Son In-hyeok? How can you be so sure?”

“The remaining records say so.”

“Nonsense.”

We argued back and forth for a while.

Yeo Ju-kyung just watched the situation, a hand on her forehead.

But that, too, was brief, and our conversation ceased.

Executive Director Bae Hyeon-jo, who had been fuming, let out a deep sigh.

I once again placed the Life Vessel in his hand.

Hoping he would smash it.

Hoping he wouldn’t fall into some strange delusion.

This time, he didn’t refuse.

And slowly, Executive Director Bae began to speak.

“Was it five years ago? He came back from some Dungeon and kept saying it. That he saw something inside the Dungeon.”

“‘It’s scary,’ ‘I don’t want to die.’ I thought the guy was already going senile. A guy who used to charge into Dungeons through fire and water, what was he suddenly spouting nonsense for?”

“Then he suddenly said he had to Raid this place, told me not to follow, and went in as if possessed. The crazy bastard.”

Bae Hyeon-jo’s gaze changed.

He licked his lips and said.

“Is it true? Did he really make that decision on his own?”

“Yes.”

I have a guess.

What Seong Yo-han saw, and what I saw too.

Perhaps he saw the endless Demon King Army surging forward.

It’s what Seong Yo-han said before he died, too.

That if I had seen what he had seen, I would have made the same choice.

This is an era where more and more people are becoming like that.

There’s no guarantee that this incident won’t make Executive Director Bae Hyeon-jo one of them.

“What on earth did he see to make him want to become a Demon, something he hated so much? Could I perhaps see it too? What he saw. I feel like you would know.”

The question I had been dreading flew at me.

Could Executive Director Bae really see that and remain unchanged?

“I understand.”

Nevertheless, I intended to show him.

Even if I had to use Mental Magic.

It was at that moment.

Crack-

Bae Hyeon-jo shattered the Life Vessel.

Shards of glass scattered and fell to the floor.

It was also then that the shimmering Gate right in front of us disappeared.

“I’ll consider it seen.”

I was relieved.

I had been worried he might harbor strange thoughts or resent me.

What a relief.

Executive Director Bae Hyeon-jo was the same man I knew.

“Thank you for being honest. If you had made up some strange story, it would have been more unsettling.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“You’re worried, aren’t you? That I might betray you.”

“I was a little.”

“I suppose I should say what you want to hear.”

He let out a deep sigh.

“I won’t betray you, so don’t worry.”

There were no words more reassuring than these.

Edgar, dressed in a suit, entered the swimming pool area.

The person he was looking for was there.

Rachel Carson was lying on a poolside sunbed, sleeping languidly.

“What are you doing here?”

“You’re not even treating me like the Association President anymore?”

“No. I’m not. Why should I treat an Association President who’s about to be fired with any respect? Dammit. Why on earth did you do that?”

‘That’ which Edgar referred to was the act of handing over their entire database and command authority to Korea, or more precisely, to Choi Gi-woong.

Edgar looked at Rachel’s buzzing phone.

It looked like the Grim Reaper itself.

“Who’s calling? The Republicans? The Democrats?”

“Both.”

“This is a goddamn mess. How can you sleep when you’re this anxious?”

“Why would I be anxious?”

“Do you think you’re the same Association President you used to be? Everyone who needs to know, knows. That you’re getting old and losing your strength. Even I’m confident I could beat you if I fought with all my might.”

“You’re getting more and more insolent.”

“I’d better say my piece before I get fired. To throw away what you’ve built your entire life in one fell swoop. You’re amazing, Chairman.”

“I get it. Just answer the phone.”

“What do I say when I answer?”

“That’s for you, the vice president, to figure out. I’m the one who makes the mess.”

“Dammit. Dammit!”

Edgar glared at her. But that, too, was brief. He let out a deep sigh and answered the phone.

As soon as he did, a razor-sharp voice poured out.

-Are you insane? You handed over our database to them? And what’s this? Command authority?

It was Kevin Johnson, the Speaker of the House, a Republican.

Edgar frowned and answered.

“Yes. That’s what happened.”

-…Edgar? Edgar? Where’s Rachel? Put her on right now…

“Weren’t you the ones who told us to make up with him, no matter what it took?”

-What?

“I’m talking about Choi Gi-woong. You said any means would be fine, so I used them. Why are you yelling at me for it?”

-You might as well have cut open our bellies and served them up. Command authority? You want us to move at the word of that Asian man?

“We had to hold on to him somehow, what else could we do? In return, we’ve arranged to share Hunting Grounds, and we’ll be regularly supplied with Buff Stones…”

Kevin Johnson let out a hollow laugh at the sarcastic tone.

-You’ve all gone completely mad. We don’t need Choi Gi-woong or anyone else. The deal is off. We should have kicked you out long ago. We treated you like the Three Sovereigns, and you’ve lost your minds.

“We were planning to leave even if you didn’t say so.”

-You’re not leaving, you’re being chased out.

The call ended abruptly.

Edgar slumped into the seat next to the sunbed, throwing off his tie.

Oblivious to his turmoil, Rachel chuckled.

“I’m the one who gave them the database, so why are you going with me?”

“Let’s just say I was in on it too.”

“Loyalty, passed.”

“Anyway, I’ll have to watch my back at night starting today.”

“Are they really mad over there?”

“It’s no joke. They’ll probably try to kill us, you know? That would give them a pretext to overturn the deal.”

Since they valued pretext above all else, they would overturn the deal one way or another.

They might even pin the crime on Choi Gi-woong.

Edgar let out a deep sigh.

“A month ago, maybe. But that Choi Gi-woong, he’s old news.”

“How can someone become old news so quickly?”

“Chairman… no. What should I call you? Anyway, do you live without looking at the internet?”

“At my age, what’s the internet for?”

“Then at least go outside. Right now, Buff Stones, Hunting Grounds. They’ve all been buried. The trend has completely changed. Civilians are going crazy about becoming Awakeners, I tell you. Go outside. Johnson next door, Mary out back. They’re all Elementalists and Mages.”

“Is that so?”

“There are tons of people who became Awakeners after seeing the Skill Books that spread on the internet. You really didn’t know.”

“Who spread them?”

“A guy named Lee Seok-jae. Come to think of it, that also started in Korea. What is with that country?”

“Wasn’t it Choi Gi-woong?”

“What was?”

“The person who spread the Skill Books.”

Edgar strongly denied it.

“I thought so at first too, but it wasn’t. It’s a guy named Lee Seok-jae. He has no particular connection to Choi Gi-woong.”

Rachel said, “Hmm,” and sat up.

She took out a neatly placed laptop.

“It didn’t look like much.”

“What didn’t?”

“The Skill Book.”

“You saw it? When did you see it?”

“At best, it wasn’t even an E-Rank Skill. Is that such a big deal?”

Edgar pounded his chest in frustration.

“It’s a huge deal! Right now, our A-Rank Awakeners… no. Even the S-Ranks are going cross-eyed trying to translate and read it!”

“Is that so?”

“Their Skill Comprehension Level has gone up dramatically… Ugh. Forget it. What am I even saying.”

“If you’ve said your piece, you can go. Don’t be so noisy.”

“I have to protect you, Association President.”

Edgar clicked his tongue and grumbled.

“Anyway, in this situation, where on earth is Choi Gi-woong and what is he doing? We’re about to die here. Is he living it up all by himself?”

“He’s probably busy too.”

“Busy with what? Look at the humiliation we’re suffering because of him. Shouldn’t he at least make a gesture of helping?”

“I’m working, so stop your noisy chatter and be quiet for a bit.”

“Hm? Working? By the way, what have you been doing this whole time?”

The file Rachel had opened was a PDF.

The first thing he saw was a picture.

Something that looked like a Spirit was drawn, and a man was swinging a sword.

A woman shooting flames was also visible.

The text packed tightly below it looked like an explanation.

Edgar tilted his head.

“Uh, what’s this?”

“A Skill Book.”

“What?”

“E-Rank was too shabby. It has to be at least D-Rank.”

As he stood frozen with a dumbfounded expression, Rachel’s phone rang.

An international call. The caller was Mr. Lee.

Edgar’s mind raced.

There was only one name that came to mind.

“Uh, Association President.”

“Are you asking if it’s Lee Seok-jae?”

Edgar nodded as if mesmerized.

“Probably.”

Then she answered the phone nonchalantly.

“We’re ready on this end. I’ll upload it now. The Association? They fired me first. Let’s do that. We’re already being wiretapped. Well, what can you do. That person will have to handle it himself.”

Click. Rachel hung up and looked at Edgar.

While she was on the phone, Edgar had been poring over the open PDF.

Scroll, scroll.*

The more he scrolled, the more his face hardened.

“What… is this, Association President.”

“A D-Rank Skill Book. Lower Swordsmanship, Lower Elementalism, Lower Grimoire, Lower…”

“So, why is this… why. Why are you, Association President…”

Edgar swallowed hard.

Rachel got up from the sunbed.

“Upload this.”

“Where to…”

“To a place where the maximum number of people can see it.”

“This? Are you serious?”

Edgar, who was about to ask if she was crazy, stopped himself.

“No, right? Surely not. Right?”

“What’s not right?”

“Don’t tell me you have C-Rank too…”

Rachel took off her sunglasses. Then she grinned.

“Feel like calling me Association President again?”

Edgar nodded as if mesmerized.