Actually, I had thought about deactivating the runes that Jung Tae-hyung possessed.
Because among the runes he held, four of them were of legendary grade.
However.
– You are dealing with a powerful demon servant. Deactivating the held runes will result in a decrease in loyalty. Do you wish to proceed?
That message popped up, and I immediately gave up.
There was no need to create a fissure in a situation where an S-rank hunter was 100% loyal to me.
“That guy Jung Tae-hyung must be someone I need to manage carefully, even if he becomes a demon servant. I need to keep an eye on Hwang Tae-wook and Haseirin too.”
Afterward, we contacted Kang Yeon-su and mobilized support troops to hit factories scattered across the country almost simultaneously.
Even the colleagues resting at home kindly joined us, especially Noh Ha-yoon, who showed enthusiasm by bringing in guild members.
“Have you seen these garbage scum?!!”
Kwah-kwah-kwang!!
Noh Ha-yoon’s aide, Yeom Tae-seok, expressed his anger to the point his face turned bright red, wiping out the evolved organization without sparing anything.
“Hey, save some for me!”
“Oh come on… I told you just to rest at home. But you insisted on coming along.”
“Still, it’s nice to see you after a long time.”
Thanks to them, I was able to stop by the main factory on the island with Yeon-hee and collect all the evolved beings gathered from across the nation.
“The boat to the island was delayed a bit, so we’re slightly short, but we’ve gathered over 95%. Master.”
‘Good job.’
“So much… how many people must have sacrificed for this? Did Il-wol really get enough punishment just by turning your subordinate into a demon servant?”
“Tap…”
I didn’t know either.
When I looked at the ones controlled by the demon servants, they seemed to look even happier than before they became demon servants.
‘What a complicated issue. If you think about it, being deprived of your will and turning into a monster slave must indeed be a punishment.’
In any case, we poured two whole days into organizing all the factories.
But when we attacked, many of the employees had already fled, so we didn’t have much fun like we did at the factory where Hwang Tae-wook was.
I had to give up my expectations of defeating the awakened ones turning into mutants and collecting fragments.
“Damn things. Looks like they formed a network among themselves. They escaped quickly. But we sent out pursuing teams, so they’ll all be caught soon. Don’t worry.”
Yeon-su, who joined late, bolstered the finishing touches on the suppression operation while leading the support team.
– ‘You have obtained a Fragment of Corrupted Life Potion.’ (69/100)
During the operation over the past few days, the fragments of Life Potion had reached about 870.
I had already handed over all the fragments collected by yesterday to Rainy, so the purification would be completed soon, and obtaining the marvelous item known as Life Potion was close enough to feel within reach.
‘Chasing the remaining remnants seems inefficient. We need to eliminate other evolved organizations to fill the remaining count.’
In the end, it meant I had to deal with Inessa’s subordinates from ‘Do.’
Of course, I had heard there was another evolved organization, but it hadn’t been confirmed yet, whether there were other players in the market that Hwang Tae-wook had subdued.
‘Actually, there might be a way to obtain fragments… but it’s such a garbage idea.’
I had a stash of evolved creatures.
In this world teeming with villains, I could catch those bums, forcibly feed them evolved beings, and kill them off to obtain fragments.
‘Hmm… It’s surprising that I came up with such an idea.’
I wondered what kind of reaction my master would have if I told him about this. I couldn’t quite judge.
‘For now… let me think a bit more.’
While I was lost in dark thoughts, banging my head a bit.
– … The discussion has already ended there. Managing it so it doesn’t leak is actually harder.
– Indeed… But getting equipment and crafting is not a problem.
– Right. But the real problem is—
Yeon-hee and Yeon-su were having a profound discussion about future dangers a bit far away.
I didn’t see the need to interrupt them.
Yeon-hee had her own tasks to handle anyway.
‘What a nice picture. Yeon-hee and Yeon-su…’
As I gazed at the harmony between past life connections and present love interests, an odd feeling arose.
Woo—oo—ooong──
An anomaly, reminiscent of a premonition, occurred in the space.
‘This is… the whistle that Inessa gave me.’
Inessa, the leader of ‘Do’ and the pinnacle of precognitive abilities.
It was a signal sent from her.
‘I thought she had been quiet lately.’
I took out the ‘whistle,’ which had transformed into a cube shape in the space, while maintaining the farthest distance possible from Yeon-hee.
Then, I infused my mana into it.
Soon, a familiar voice flowed out.
[… Ah! Y-Yes! We’re connected?! O-Oh, that…!]
“What’s going on?”
[Ah?! Uh, um, you see… I have something to discuss with you? You need to come over here soon!]
Being told to come over without any preamble left me puzzled.
“Get to the point. And how do you expect me to just drop whatever I’m doing and come? Use the whistle like last time!”
[Do you think forcibly relocating someone is as easy as going to a convenience store?!]
Well, I guess it wouldn’t be easy to just use such tremendous abilities at will.
“Fine. So where are you?”
“I’ll tell you later where I am! Just, the thing is… I need your strength for a bit.]
“Strength…? I don’t think I’ve grown enough to help you. Can you give me more time? We agreed on this, remember?”
Thinking of all those S-rank hunters under her command, I wondered what I could possibly help with.
The persuasive factor for Inessa was that I was asking her to invest in our future, but that didn’t mean I would be immediately at her disposal.
‘Sniper Patrick alone could easily crush most major guilds…’
A being nearly on par with Kang Yeon-su.
I still vividly recalled how many monsters of the same caliber were lined up behind her.
[You can definitely do it! There’s an artifact that must be obtained from China, and to break into the place it’s stored, we need to divert someone’s attention!]
‘Divert attention… does that mean you want something that’s not combat-focused?’
I had no idea what it could possibly be. Other than fighting, what abilities did I have? Did she expect me to sneak in while hiding and create a ruckus? I felt confident I could manage that.
“Sorry, but I can’t just go to China on my own. I have my own constraints as well.”
[What? You’re no transcendent, so what kind of constraints—]
Last time, I took Yeon-hee along, so I could use the earring to send Yeon-hee into the dark space, but the earrings are consumables, and every opportunity is too valuable, so I didn’t want to waste them on this.
Plus, I could only maintain that state for two hours; I didn’t want to reveal that secret. I also doubted whether that amount of time would be sufficient for doing what Inessa wanted.
[Just a moment will do… it’s not even something urgently wanted!]
“Just a moment…? How much attention do you need me to draw?”
[One hour? Ah, no, about an hour and a half? I’m not asking for any more! You’re the only one who can do this!]
“Hmm…”
Since I made a vow with Inessa, it was only natural that this wasn’t some sort of trap to harm me. Besides, I think she had said that her precognitive abilities don’t apply to me.
Still, I wondered why she was so certain.
“But what’s the basis for your certainty?”
Did she suddenly regain her foresight regarding me?
[I didn’t see you; I was seeing another target for diversion. You showed up! Even though it was just a brief glimpse of your face, there’s no way I wouldn’t recognize yours!]
“Couldn’t it be someone who looks like me?”
[There’s no way there’s another face like yours—!! Ugh, how frustrating!]
“…”
I didn’t get why she was getting so worked up, but I felt like I was starting to understand the situation.
It seems I had appeared in a vision while she was looking at another target in China…
‘But is that even possible?’
There’s no way I’d go to China first, so ultimately, she must have led me out to paint that vision. So, shouldn’t I not worry at all? After all, my trip seemed predetermined.
‘What kind of structure does Inessa’s foresight have… But overthinking it just gives me a headache.’
In any case, one thing was certain.
‘If she saw me in her foresight, it means I must have made my way to China alone.’
Thus, would that mean it was a time I’d be free from the bind of being separated from Yeon-hee?
‘That’s highly likely. This is intriguing.’
It was said that the path shown by the old woman I met with my master would soon be laid out before me.
Of course, it was just one of many crossroads, so I shouldn’t let my guard down just because I had faith in that.
“Okay then. When should I expect to see you?”
[Hah…!]
When I spoke, Inessa released a long sigh of relief.
It seemed she had been tense due to the unpredictability of my existence.
I felt slightly smug about it but reminded myself not to forget.
‘A wicked villain. The number of people who must have sacrificed to her must be several times that of the great evils I’ve defeated.’
Someday I’d have to bring Inessa to justice. And the sooner I pull that trigger, the better. Though it’s utterly impossible right now.
[We need to prepare too, you know? Actually, this wasn’t part of my plan. It’s not easy to get my subordinates through without alarming that ‘monster,’ you see. I’ll contact you three days before I execute my plan. It should be ready in about two weeks!]
‘A seer doing something unexpected… and a being of Inessa’s caliber referring to someone as a ‘monster’? Is such a presence really in China?’
I thought she was just afraid of Jo Gi-man, but it seems there was something else I didn’t know.
Could she be talking about the great beast, Necrosquall?
“Got it for now. I’ll wait for your contact.”
[Pl-Please wait for me… ugh…!]
“Okay?”
[Ah, no! I-I’ll contact you again!]
“Sure.”
As soon as I replied, the connection broke.
Somehow it felt entirely different from when we chatted face-to-face.
‘Back then, she momentarily gave off a chilling vibe, but now it feels like I’m just talking to a high school girl.’
The ‘whistle,’ which had transformed back from a cube to a bracelet, automatically stored itself away in the space.
‘China, huh… I didn’t expect to go to such a place. Speaking of which, that ‘enemy’ restrained by Jo Gi-man’s clone also went to China.’
Since I had to visit at least once to deal with the great beast Necrosquall.
It wouldn’t be a bad idea to get a feel for the atmosphere ahead of time.
Yeon-hee and Yeon-su, who were at the edge of the sense’s wavelength, seemed to have finished their conversation, looking around to find me.
‘It seems Yeon-su has something to say.’
I felt as if I could guess what she wanted to discuss.
Recently, Yeon-su had seemed too busy to join the operation with her subordinates, clearly related to the future threat we had informed her about.
What could we do to counter that threat? It stood to reason I would envision something akin to the plan I had devised.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
