#163
Hahoe Mask Rises (3)
Inside a laboratory filled with all sorts of advanced equipment.
“Ta-da! It’s done. Now, open your eyes! A new world awaits you!”
The voice of a chatty man burst forth loudly.
And a man in his thirties, lying on an operating table, slowly opened ‘both’ eyes and gazed at the ceiling.
“Hoho! As expected, it’s a revolutionary eye! Hehe~ I’m envious, very envious. You’ve been incredibly lucky! To be honest, that was what I wanted to use first…”
Ignoring the jabbering voice, Yul Ryeong-ja sat up and looked around.
Indeed, the restriction on his left field of vision caused by the incident two months ago had disappeared.
“I was going to gouge out one of my eyes and replace it, but I happened to get caught by the Head just before that! The Head was so annoyed! Even thinking about that time still gives me a headache.”
Although he was somewhat disturbed by the overly talkative ‘Doctor’, it was a fact that he had received a new eye, so he didn’t say anything.
‘It wasn’t just simple blindness but a permanent loss caused by spiritual damage, so no eye transplant would work…’
It was a medical impossibility, a genuine permanent loss.
But this problem could also be solved by taking another approach.
“…Of course, it’s a pity that unique skills manifest through the eyes! But at least one eye is left, and there’s also the chance to fulfill a dream! Reform and evolution are indeed the ultimate values that humanity should pursue!”
Zing— Jing—
As he let the exaggerated commotion flow in one ear, every time he shifted focus with his eyes, he felt slight vibrations from the newly implanted eye.
However, the sound generated by the camera’s aperture moving only felt faint to him, almost imperceptible from the outside.
He quietly stared at his eye in the mirror placed to the side.
The dazzling left eye, in stark contrast to his ordinary black eye, glimmered with a soft blue ring around the edge of the pupil, while geometric patterns filled the inner iris and glowed mysteriously.
This ultimate ocular prosthesis, born from the fusion of mechanical engineering and magic engineering, fit the eye socket, but its mechanisms were entirely different from a real eye.
As he admired his new eye…
Thud! Swish—!
Someone yanked at his shoulder and, with a quick turn of his gaze, he was met with a wild, gleaming eye filled with madness.
The doctor, who had crept up right next to him, leaned in with his bushy face and tightly grabbed Yul Ryeong-ja’s head.
Then, extending one hand, he pried open the left eye where the prosthesis was implanted, and began examining it closely again.
“Wow~ Indeed, the technology from the Calicas dimension is revolutionary, isn’t it? I should have gone to that dimension! To only have access indirectly like this is such a tragedy!”
Yul Ryeong-ja let out a sigh, seeing the doctor spitting saliva all over his face as he babbled on.
A middle-aged Western man in a disheveled lab coat with messy gray-brown hair.
Though his appearance was shabby, this man was definitely someone not to be underestimated.
He was a genius of the century, leading the technology of the current Buncheon Society, and was one of the first-generation returnees caught up in the initial otherworldly transfer event.
Gathering and improving the mysteries of every dimension, including magic, sorcery, alchemy, and magic engineering, would have never begun without his diabolical brain and the ‘Eye of Truth’ he possessed.
“Yaha! It’s fortunate that we have a friend who returned with this ocular prosthesis, right? I’ve heard it’s quite expensive in that dimension!”
“I see. Such a precious item… I thank you once again, Doctor.”
The presence of such an item on Earth naturally meant that someone had brought it back.
The returnee, who had poured all his savings just before being sent back to acquire a new eye.
Of course, he was no longer a person of this world.
“So, I’m curious about one thing regarding you, Yul Ryeong-ja!”
“…Yes.”
Yul Ryeong-ja reluctantly answered, thinking the man’s energy was exhausting to keep up with.
“The being that made you like this, ha… Hahoe?”
“Hahoe Mask.”
“Anyway! That smiley mask, huh? It’s very intriguing. I’ve done a little research out of curiosity and heard many interesting stories!”
The doctor, who never listened to others, continued on enthusiastically.
“You must know, but it’s the first time Korea has been this devastated, right? Of course, plans failing happens in other countries too, but having the entire foundation wiped out is quite something! Ah! That’s not to say I’m criticizing it! If the Head agrees, I have no position to say anything!”
Always wearing a cheerful smile.
Yet those clear eyes sparkled dangerously with a glint.
“So, when do you plan to resume activities in Korea? It’s not urgent, so there’s no problem if you don’t move right away. But still, shouldn’t we be doing something?”
At the subtle question filled with desire, Yul Ryeong-ja’s eyes twitched.
Although the eye issue had been resolved this time, he’d just become a walking corpse two months ago in the battle against Hahoe.
He had sustained serious injuries that would take at least several years to heal, and honestly, breathing was already a struggle, let alone moving his legs, which required a wheelchair.
The issue was that the Doctor, as the Head of Technology, had a higher position than Yul Ryeong-ja, the Director of the East Asian Branch.
“…I’ve been planning some preparatory measures. We can’t leave that place untouched forever, so it would be best to have some groundwork in advance.”
“Alright! That’s good, Yul Ryeong-ja! If there’s anything I can help with, just let me know. I’m looking forward to a good test subject coming in! Where should we start~!”
And originally, evil organizations were all supposed to be black companies, you see.
*
“Phew— that was refreshing.”
After a leisurely shower, I sat in the massage chair, closing my eyes and listening to the sound of the TV as a kind of radio.
With a large house and plenty of money, I had prepared everything needed, so I had no unnecessary need to go out.
Thinking back, I realized it seemed like I had only stayed at home recently, except for outings using ‘Entity Projection’…
‘Well, still, going out is going out. I’m being very sociable by consistently meeting people once a day!’
Using ‘Entity Projection’ felt more like controlling an avatar than myself, but I decided to put aside the fact that most of the people I met were criminals.
If I thought too deeply about it, I’d feel sorry for myself.
“Hm, by the way, that black magician… what was his name again? Ahn Seong-jin?”
Turning up the strength of the massage chair to its maximum, I recalled the talent I visited last night.
Considering he came from a different world, I couldn’t accurately judge, but he seemed to possess the skills slightly below that of a Grand Magus by Auterica’s standards.
However, considering the nature of his pedantic dark magic, he likely wasn’t lacking in combat power at all.
‘Of course, what I want isn’t combat power.’
Fortunately, he didn’t refuse my peaceful invitation to scout and accepted it willingly.
We established a contract based on mutual consent, allowing me to exert a bit of coercion, meaning he wouldn’t dare betray me.
‘Promises are precious. I don’t think he’s an evil person, so I won’t treat him harshly, but I can’t tolerate any nonsense.’
I had no intention of pushing him into unreasonable tasks.
He only needed to do his utmost to bring back the information we wanted, and that would be enough.
Also, if he performed well, I was willing to take care of various things as part of employee welfare.
‘The work to turn the Thousand Death Demon into an Undead is going smoothly…’
Naturally, since he was of a higher caliber than the corpses I had used until now, I couldn’t handle him carelessly.
To use the best materials properly, one needed to invest adequate time, effort, and resources.
The body of the Thousand Death Demon, sent to the original Hans in Auterica through ‘Avatar Cloud’, was in the midst of preliminary work to be turned into an Undead.
‘When the Undead is needed, I can easily pull it out using the heart’s subordinate spatial dimension on this side as well. Although I can’t accommodate too many, it shouldn’t matter since I don’t need a massive army on Earth anyway.’
I was pouring top-quality materials into it, so the Thousand Death Demon… or now simply ‘Salma’ would have to be reborn into something quite satisfying.
Although the excessive use of the abyss had damaged its soul a bit, that was a minor downside considering Undead typically lacked a few screws.
“Karma points are… oh?”
While leisurely organizing things in the massage chair, my eyes widened slightly.
Just before Hans attacked the capital Jeron of the Empire, I had used a 640,000-point ‘Mental Power Enhancement,’ but I guess the scale of what followed was so vast that some juicy points had rolled in.
‘Sure enough, the home theater’s effect is great. Has it only been a short time since I used it and already gained 800,000?’
The points were increasing at a pretty fast pace, at a rate that would make other Awakened ones gasp in disbelief.
Now, the points needed for unique skill enhancement were 1,200,000.
With this, reaching the next stage shouldn’t take long.
-So let’s move on to the next topic? You’ve probably heard about it a lot lately; the Awakener known as ‘Hahoe Mask’!
-Ah~ Right! He’s quite the talk of the town these days.
At that moment, the TV playing in the background, used as a radio, began to discuss him.
And as always, the topic quickly transitioned into questions about his identity, followed by a heated debate over the legitimacy of his actions so far.
-…Unrestrained use of power is dangerous! How is it acceptable to judge by one’s own perspective in a law-abiding country…
-…Of course, I can’t say that his actions are absolutely correct, but it’s clear that he has significantly contributed to our country’s security. You can understand that just by catching a glimpse of overseas news, can’t you?
-Oh, right. There was quite a disturbance in Japan too, right? A disaster with hundreds of casualties…
Modern Earth was truly the peak of chaos.
Superhumans who had gained strength after overcoming all sorts of adversities and dangers numbered in the tens of thousands in Korea alone.
It was impossible to estimate how many there were globally.
Fortunately, the forces trying to maintain society, including families and various reasons, were stronger, so the current regime remained intact. However, the situation was akin to a time bomb lying around everywhere.
‘Not only dark magic users and demons, but Awakened ones driven by power and desire are also significant threats. Even with Hans’s force suppressing them almost mercilessly, those guys keep popping up. If there’s no control over them…’
That was precisely the situation overseas right now.
Of course, other countries also had their sharpshooters, and there were plenty who hunted criminals ruthlessly like Hans.
Some had established their own crime detection systems, much like his summoning magic, but…
‘They could never compare to Hans, who possesses all those abilities. Plus, there’s his stealth and mobility.’
Additionally, having a land area relatively small compared to the population contributed significantly.
All these factors combined created the peaceful situation Korea enjoyed today.
“Phew.”
I stood up and slowly made my way towards the terrace.
The spacious garden, made possible by the low land prices in the suburbs of Seoul, was neatly and carefully maintained, with decorative stones and garden ornaments elegantly creating a serene atmosphere.
‘Of course, if you stepped in foolishly, you’d experience hell.’
This was a magical trap elaborately laid out using the capabilities of Hans, Heinz II, Heinrich, and Harris.
All the garden decorations were mediums of spells, and their arrangements were determined through careful consideration of ‘The Path of Magic.’
And the central being of this impregnable fortress was none other than myself.
As long as I was here, I could consider myself absolutely safe.
‘Right, now that things in Korea are more or less in order, let’s broaden my horizons.’
Having just learned that the Buncheon Society had been meticulously lurking for quite a while regarding the ‘Salma’ case, I figured this occurrence wasn’t an isolated one.
It was likely that similar cases had happened not just in Korea but around the world.
‘They had pulled back their strings in Korea for quite some time without maintenance. I guess it’s time to widen my reach, starting with a nearby country.’
While I couldn’t manage it like Korea with regular upkeep, a simple clean-up would yield some results.
The mere fact that I could make them suffer a bit was worth enduring slight inconvenience.
However, I did hesitate to visit still-chaotic overseas territories directly.
It was a different issue altogether compared to patrolling lightly using ‘Entity Projection’ once stability was achieved, wasn’t it?
‘Hmm… What’s Hans’s current schedule like?’
The work to turn Salma into an Undead was expected to be quite a lengthy maturation process, so there was no issue there.
The essential skills of a Demon King, such as sending minions to level up the hero party, could be delegated to Olivia in advance.
‘Hmm, no major problems. Well, if anything arises, I can always call them back.’
That was the greatest advantage of avatar recalling.
Thus, the overseas advancement of Hahoe Mask was decided.
For now— to the closest and adequately sized Japan.
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