«My Lord, you coughed. Are you feeling all right?»

Dorma, whom he’d run into on the street, asked with concern. Go Byeonggap lit the cigarette in his mouth before answering.

«Yeah. Got some sleep—feels like I’ll live.»

«We were all worried. Did you enter another rift after leaving us?»

«Not exactly… It’s complicated to explain.»

«I see.»

Go Byeonggap tried to steer the conversation.

«Where’re you headed?»

«Ah, I was on my way to the wall.»

«Your shift today?»

«No. I just go. On days without subjugations, there’s nothing else to do.»

«Why don’t you rest? You pushed hard yesterday.»

«It’s fine. I rested plenty through the night.»

Go Byeonggap clicked his tongue.

«Alright then. Go do your work.»

«What will My Lord do now?»

«Head home. Ah… I left the car on the shoulder—hope it didn’t get towed. That’d be a headache.»

«Pardon?»

«Nothing. Just talking to myself.»

«Heh heh. Please take care of yourself.»

«Yeah, you work hard.»

Dorma bowed his head in greeting and left. Go Byeonggap slumped onto a nearby bench and stretched out.

He’d barely slept until dawn, tossing with muscle and nerve pain. Then he’d drifted off without realizing it, and when he woke, his body felt miraculously light.

«My Lord, did you sleep well?»

«Morning, Lord.»

«Are you feeling better?»

The moment he sat still on the bench, passing goblins greeted him. Go Byeonggap nodded back or waved a hand in lazy acknowledgment.

It wasn’t that he wanted to dismiss their sincerity—but his head was too full of other things.

The 700,000 crystals he’d blown in a fit of rage stung. The 4.5 billion he’d let slip through his fingers burned even more. And above all…

‘Who the hell were those bastards?’

The thugs he’d tangled with yesterday gnawed at him. The fact that he recognized their faces. And the absurd story they’d spun.

And what of the bizarre ability Kim Hana had shown? He never imagined there might be another owner of a power so similar to his own.

‘Is she a Lord too? Not just the Goblin Lord, but something else entirely?’

In the distant past, many races had lived on this continent, so a few more Lords wouldn’t be surprising. His head said that, but his chest didn’t easily agree.

So he went to ask Ea. She answered without a hint of hesitation.

«No. At least before I met you all, I’d never seen any beings besides Grugle and spirits on this continent. Didn’t I already tell you that?»

«Are you sure?»

«Why would I lie? Well… that said, I haven’t roamed every corner of the continent, so I can’t guarantee it 100%. But why are you asking?»

«Never mind. It’s nothing.»

Ea crossed her arms and pouted.

«Hah… You get me all curious and then say it’s nothing. You’re being a real tease this time.»

«Yeah, well. Good luck.»

«Pfft! Fine. You too.»

‘Should I go there after all?’

Go Byeonggap frowned, chewing over the coordinates lodged in his head. Kim Hana had shoved them in there without his consent—how, he put aside for now—but whether to go or not was a real dilemma.

-I will explain the truth of this world.

“The truth of the world? What truth of the world? As if that’s a thing.”

No matter how he looked at it, he was a man far removed from superstition or conspiracy theories. Even though he himself was the Goblin Lord.

“Doesn’t feel like a trap.”

It didn’t seem like a scheme to harm him. If that were the intent, she wouldn’t have gone through this much trouble. More than anything, she had said she needed him.

“Should I just report it to the Association or the police?”

That might actually be the wisest call. Handing over the coordinates Kim Hana had given him to the authorities would help the investigation one way or another.

But then again, her words stuck with him: ‘It’s useless to bring others.’ She wouldn’t have given away her personal info without some kind of safeguard.

And if he did report it, he might end up under suspicion himself: ‘How do you know about that? What’s your connection to those thugs?’

Go Byeonggap groaned for a long while, but in the end, he couldn’t come up with a clear answer.

“Ah, forget it. Let’s just head home and eat first.”

He carefully stepped through the door. Where he emerged was a mountain, still scarred with the traces of battle.

Quickly, he ducked behind a piece of cover and scanned for signs of life. Luckily, no one seemed to be around.

Heaving a sigh of relief, he crept down the mountain.

‘I’ve come deep.’

After scurrying along for just under an hour, he spotted a chain-link fence and a road installed along the main thoroughfare. A power plant complex was visible in the distance.

‘What a mess.’

Even at a glance, it was obvious the complex wasn’t in normal shape. The dome-shaped concrete buildings had all collapsed, and the wall surrounding the complex was about half-shattered.

The thugs had achieved their objective once again.

Go Byeonggap clicked his tongue sharply as he walked to where he’d parked the car yesterday. Thankfully, his vehicle sat there intact.

He got in quickly and got the hell out.

After arriving home, he washed up and headed to a nearby restaurant. Sure enough, the TV news was running a breaking story on the attack on the Yeongwol power complex.

He kept a close watch, checking if anything about him would be mentioned. Luckily—or unluckily—nothing related to him came up.

Averting his gaze, he pulled out his phone. He opened the map app and entered the coordinates Kim Hana had given him.

What came up was absurdly enough—Jirisan. And not even a spot connected by a hiking trail, but some rugged part of the mountain.

‘This is ridiculous.’

Did she have a secret hideout halfway up Jirisan? Well, she was a terrorist, after all. She wouldn’t have set up an office right in the city center.

“Here’s your extra-large pork blood soup with rice.”

“Ah, thank you. Please put it here.”

It seemed like sorting out his thoughts would take some time. Go Byeonggap resolved to focus on finishing the meal in front of him for now.

* * *

Norway—a country of majestic natural scenery. Every year, tourists from all over the world flock to see its mountains and seas.

But few knew of a remote island about two hundred kilometers from the mainland—not tourists, not even the country’s own residents.

The island, named with only a combination of letters and numbers since it had no proper name, looked like just another ordinary uninhabited isle from the surface.

But beneath the towering mountain peak lay facilities so enormous ordinary people couldn’t even imagine them.

The most secret place among the underground spaces. In a dark, hexagonal conference room, humans wearing veils gathered. Seventeen of them in total.

Their races and nationalities were all different. But they shared one thing in common: each of them was an awakener of immense power.

“Archbishop, some rather interesting things are happening in your country.”

Ariena, a seductive South American beauty sitting with her legs crossed, said teasingly.

Go Geonryong, the man occupying one corner of the hexagonal table, let out a small scoff.

“That sly fox bitch is still alive, it seems.”

“Are you going to leave her be?”

“Well.”

Go Geonryong drummed his fingers on the table, drawing out the silence before speaking.

“Watching her flail around might be amusing in its own way. A kind of entertainment, you could say.”

“That doesn’t seem like the right attitude with something big ahead.”

The man sitting directly opposite Go Geonryong interjected in a grave tone.

“I believe it would be wise to deal with it swiftly. What do you think, Archbishop?”

“Nothing to worry about, Bilian. One loach can’t muddy an entire ocean.”

“If the Archbishop doesn’t want to act, I’ll take matters into my own hands.”

“Hahaha, no need for that. Just let it be.”

Go Geonryong put on a lighthearted front, but Bilian’s face soured. Still, he held his tongue.

Ariena twirled a strand of her long, tousled brown hair around her finger before speaking.

“Speaking of which, that old hag’s something else. How’s she still alive after being killed twice? She’d gone quiet for a while, so I figured she was finally worm food—does she really have some kind of magic trick up her sleeve?”

“She’s a member of the Last Eighteen, same as us. Must have something special.”

Arush, the Indian man who’d been silent until now, answered with his distinct English accent.

Ariena glanced at him with mild apathy, then turned her head toward Go Geonryong.

“Archbishop, you’re from the same country as that old hag, aren’t you? Are all Koreans that weird?”

“Let’s cut the small talk and get down to business.”

“Tch. What business is there even to talk about?”

Ariena pouted at Go Geonryong’s dismissive attitude.

Then Arush cut in abruptly.

“Archbishop, it seems Africa is nearly wrapped up. Shouldn’t we be deciding the next location?”

“Funny you should mention it—that’s exactly what I wanted to discuss. The next place to raise a Pillar will be Argentina.”

“Huh!? Argentina? Why?”

Ariena flinched and shot back. She was born in Argentina.

Go Geonryong raised an eyebrow slightly and asked,

“Is there a problem?”

“No… It’s not exactly a problem, but there are other options, right? There’s Brazil, Chile—why does it have to be Argentina…”

As Ariena fidgeted, Go Geonryong gave a thin, cold smile.

“Having second thoughts about your homeland now?”

“No, no. It’s not that…”

Ariena trailed off, then suddenly changed her tune and snapped,

“Fine! So what if I do! I don’t care about humans dropping dead, but seeing my hometown get trampled would probably screw up my dreams.”

“We’re all headed for the same fate anyway. Stop your nonsense and follow the Archbishop’s decision.”

“Bullshit! If you love it so much, use your own damn country.”

“Why do you even attend these meetings? India and China must be saved as offerings, so we can’t raise Pillars there. Can’t you even remember that?”

“Shut up, you darkie bastard. Do me a favor and never talk to me again. It makes my ears rot.”

Ariena’s outburst made Arush growl.

“What? Darkie? Are you done talking now?”

“Hmph, you think I’m scared of some trash like you stepping up?”

“Don’t provoke me. I could tear you apart right here.”

“Ha! Now I’ve seen everything. Scum like you crawling all over the place. I never liked you from the start. Why should I have to board the Ark with a piece of trash like you?”

“Got a complaint? Fine. Then I’ll cut your legs off so you can’t board the Ark. Or maybe I’ll just cut your throat. Name it. I’ll give you exactly what you want.”

Arush and Ariena. The two of them radiated killing intent, ready to tear each other apart on the spot.

The others seated in the meeting room just clicked their tongues or let out sighs.

Then a massive pressure—far heavier than their killing intent—slammed down over the room. Arush and Ariena gasped, choking mid-breath.

“Both of you, enough.”

Go Geonryong’s short utterance made Arush and Ariena pull back their auras instantly.

“Tch! Just remember, I’m only backing down because of the Archbishop!”

“You’d better stay out of my sight, bitch. My patience isn’t that good.”

Off to the side, Bilian muttered, ‘Vulgar brats, the lot of them. Can’t meet without fighting.’ Then, as if something just struck him, he asked:

“Speaking of the Ark, where are you planning to site it? I’d think Ireland would be—”

“I intend to site the Ark in Korea.”

“Korea? You mean your homeland, Archbishop?”

“Yes.”

The mention of Korea set Ariena off, her voice sharp with disbelief.

“What the hell! You gave me crap about lingering attachments to my home country, and now you want to put the Ark in your own backyard? That’s some serious do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do bullshit! Oh, I get it now—letting that hag of yours run wild isn’t about mercy, it’s a cheap trick to keep her from planting a pillar in your precious homeland, isn’t it?”

“Ariena, calm down. It’s not like that.”

“Could’ve fooled me.”

“Archbishop, I usually go along with your decisions, but this time I have to disagree. Korea has way too many people for an Ark site. And it’s unnecessarily vast, too. Weren’t you the one who insisted we need to thoroughly clear the surface before making somewhere an Ark?”

“That’s exactly why I said it.”

Everyone except Go Geonryong tilted their heads in confusion.

A thin smile crept across Go Geonryong’s face. It was a deeply sinister smile.

“When the third pillar rises, the first Revelation will descend. At the very least, I will have the Korean Peninsula thoroughly cleaned before the second Revelation. By my own hand.”