Seeing the mysterious being that had tried to kill Yeon-su and its similar silhouette, I became convinced.
‘That person is the leader of the “Dao”······ judging by the reaction, they had no idea I would show up.’
I recalled the message I had gotten from the ‘Evolutionary Gem’ I’d obtained in the underground factory where I was making evolved creatures.
It stated that the leader of the “Dao” had grown up looking at the future that would unfold in this world since the day they were born.
Having lived a life of complacency, it’s no wonder they were so flustered by a small variable.
‘By the way··· what now?’
The woman was thrashing around in place, and standing still was my best bet; if those 40 S-rank Hunters surrounding her even twitched a finger, I would be dead.
I had already used [Blink] once, so I couldn’t use it for a while, and even if I did, there was no way I could escape.
‘What a luxuriously powerful force. That must just be a part of the “Dao”‘s strength.’
I had known vaguely that their organization was formidable, but facing them head-on, it felt like our country’s top three guilds would look like mere ants beneath them.
Of course, the power of Jo Gi-man from the White Knight Guild and the “Witch” of Vision was another story, but the rest of their strength was so overwhelming I might not last ten minutes.
“Hah- I don’t even know. Now there are three ‘invisible things’. Lee Yeon-hee, a skeleton, and now that··· anyway, just a guy. What are you going to do! You idiots! Die! Just die! Why are you tormenting me!”
The woman suddenly started beating up the blonde handsome man next to her.
Of course, the man felt not even the pain of an ant bite and just patiently took the hits.
The performance of feigning pain was quite impressive.
“Hah─ Come over here. And spill everything you know.”
She pointed her finger at me, stating as if it were only natural that I should reveal everything.
Her tone held no hesitation or consideration, yet somehow, I could sense she was trembling a little.
‘Why is she trembling at me··· it must have something to do with me being one of the “invisible things.”‘
Once, to protect Kang Yeon-su, I had tried to sacrifice ten lives to self-destruct, and she had tried to forcibly reverse it, only to suffer backlash.
Could that memory be the reason?
She was definitely afraid of ‘invisible people.’
‘Should I just self-destruct?’
They were not people I could beat in a fight.
I would definitely die, and honestly, if I thought about how ‘Dao’ had set a trap using my life as bait, it felt like a cheap con.
I pondered for a moment about what to do, but in the end, I couldn’t let this golden opportunity to gather information slip away.
I walked straight up to her and asked,
“What’s your name?”
“Wha, wha, wha, what! What does it matter! Why are you asking for my name!”
‘Is she crazy… just asked her name and she’s flipping out.’
I almost chuckled out loud at the absurdity, but with the people around her maintaining a tense silence, I couldn’t act as I pleased.
As I approached, something resembling a girl was unwittingly backing away.
The reason I thought it looked like a girl was that I felt something terrible lurking inside her.
‘What is that? Has she already given up on being human? Or has something that isn’t human taken on a human guise?’
Whatever it was, it was clear that the wriggling thing concealed within her was the real body, and I shouldn’t look at it.
The ‘Goblin’ around her reassured her, saying it was fine, that she was so weak that she posed no threat at all.
I knew I was weak, but facing Hunters who treated me like a child made my head spin.
Her subordinates kept urging her to take deep breaths, and as she tried to calm down, her flushed cheeks and ears remained.
‘··· Ridiculous. This evil woman, who produces Glimmerkin to extract evolved creatures, is pretending to be innocent?’
A surge of anger bubbled up, but showing my emotions before a conversation is a rookie’s move.
I approached the tea table set up in the middle of the garden, took a seat, and asked her again.
“What’s your name? Can I just call you whatever?”
As I got closer, I realized that the energy emanating from the woman was anything but childish, but I had no intention of changing my tone.
“Ughhh··· you don’t have to know!”
“I’ll just call you Green then.”
“Green? You crazy bastard, do you want to die? My name is Inessa!!”
“Alright. Inessa. What’s the purpose of calling me here?”
Inessa hesitated for a moment, then suddenly her eyes transformed as she strided over and sat down, saying,
“I am Inessa Sokolov. I will save this world and become a god. Also, I didn’t call you here!”
“Well, I came anyway.”
“Ughh··· who the hell are you?! Why doesn’t any ability work on you?!”
‘Could she have cast some charm on me? Was that scent just now it? Did she draw in all those Hunters with just that?’
That couldn’t be.
There had to be other conditions.
Even just considering [Demonic Ear] would take considerable time before I could summon them as minions.
“Ugh…!”
I contemplated her words again while looking at her raging.
God… so she wants to become a god, huh?
“··· Do you want to become the god of this world?”
“Yes!”
“I see…’
Even a demonic god is still a god.
“More importantly, speak quickly! Where did that Yeon-hee go!”
“Why not have some tea first?”
Clink-
I pushed the teacup on the table toward her.
Immediately, a beastman with a teapot full of tea sprinted up and poured an unknown light green tea into the empty cup before disappearing.
Slurp-
“Hah- I said to brew it a little more subtly and bring it over. You can never do anything right!!”
‘She’s quite the queen, huh? But given that 40 S-rank Hunters are staring at me, self-destructing isn’t going to be easy.’
It would be fortunate if I died cleanly, but if there’s a sealing mage or something, things could get complicated.
Luckily, I didn’t sense any power of that class, but in this vast space, I had to be wary of who else might be lurking around.
“You are not responding. I asked why you called for Yeon-hee. If you won’t tell me that, I can’t say anything either.”
“I just wanted to ruin that pretty face of yours. What are you going to do about it?”
“······.”
I knew she was testing me, but I couldn’t help but feel angry.
‘Ah, that was close. I almost flipped the table out of anger.’
I hesitated for a moment before asking something else.
“Are you trying to grow your influence? No, you’ve already grown it a lot, huh? Planning to wage a war?”
“······.”
This time, Inessa fell silent.
Actually, considering her actions, the answer was obvious.
She was someone who knew about the world’s demise.
The Orc Legion Commander and Jo Gi-man.
Surely those two contributed to the destruction of this world.
To fight against such powerful enemies, she must have been expanding her forces even going to other countries, making Yeon-hee, who commands a legion of summoners, an appealing target.
And she also has summoning creatures that could threaten her…
“······ You don’t seem to understand your situation. I’m the one asking the questions.”
Sitting across the table, I could tell she was more cautious than I had thought.
Her harsh statements and exaggerated actions felt like a bluff.
‘If she has lived since birth gazing into the future… it’s only natural she’s not sane, but which direction has her madness gone? The fact that she tries to become a god by producing Glimmerkin… she’s a hard person to read.’
I wished she was simpler, but she was a woman who was difficult to perceive clearly.
After exchanging meaningless banter with her for a few minutes, I once again thought.
‘I won’t obtain anything significant. I’ve gathered all the information I can glean by sensing the atmosphere… and I doubt this woman will voluntarily share anything beyond that.’
I began to prepare to say my goodbyes.
She still seemed to be contemplating how to deal with me, though.
“If you keep growing your faction, you’ll run into resistance from the Hunters. You must have seen that coming, and you expect to overcome it, don’t you?”
“Then what are you planning to do? Do you think you have the power to stop me?”
“I don’t. That’s why I sent Yeon-hee.”
“Ah! Yeon-hee! Bring her here!! That’s a picture I’ve drawn with a charged whistle; how can you ruin that!”
Inessa, once again having a fit of rage, stood still for a moment, then looked at me and said.
“But… how did you escape? It clearly activated… is it possible to leak out while moving through the Void Tunnel? Do you also have something artifact-level?”
“I don’t know···.”
“Ah, really! You’re so boring!”
“Is that so? Someone said looking at my face is amusing.”
“What, what, what?! You crazy bastard, do you think you’re handsome or something?”
“I believe so.”
“Unbelievable!”
I imagined the different paths that could diverge from seeing her blush all flustered.
Among them, the most catastrophic storyline was as follows.
*
“Inessa… you said you’d save this world. So, do you have a way to kill Jo Gi-man?”
As soon as the keyword Jo Gi-man was mentioned, Inessa’s previously playful expression froze cold.
“······ Who are you really?”
The person who spoke about Jo Gi-man’s identity seemed to know something.
It seems Inessa finally recognized my danger.
“Do you know about the seven-headed dragon? Can you surpass that existence?”
“······ You know about the Seven-headed Dragon too? You’re quite the dangerous one, huh? Guys, grab this bastard. And extract everything in his head.”
‘Oh no…!’
*
In the imagined scenario I momentarily conjured, I met my end without even being able to self-detonate.
‘This is definitely not it…’
In that case, how about entering invincible status with [Manhwa Portal] and then self-destructing with [Blast of Madness]?
‘I feel like I’d die the moment I gather my magic. It would have been great if the skill had activated while in the Void Tunnel, but that seems unlikely.’
But it was pointless to continue engaging in meaningless dialogue.
A time of contemplation had me unconsciously rubbing my eyes.
At that moment.
– Achievement [Two Stars Illuminating the Path] has activated.
‘?!’
This was an achievement gained from my vow with Azraelon. Why now?
(What’s this? This filthy thing.)
Suddenly, Azraelon’s face appeared roundly floating in the air, and his voice echoed in my head.
‘Oh?! Azraelon?’
(Yes, it’s me. What is the reason you woke me up from my slumber- oh, something seems to have activated.)
Azraelon brushed his whiskers with a paw and asked me to explain the current situation.
I shared my inner struggles, and Azraelon spoke nonchalantly, saying there was no need for concern.
(Recently, one of my powers was opened up. I didn’t think I would use it, but it seems I’m giving it a go now.)
Azraelon began to probe the energy of Inessa, who was staring at me from across the table.
It was truly a bizarre sight.
The Azraelon only I could see could utilize his power on Inessa across the table.
Inessa clearly did not recognize the mackerel-patterned cat.
‘What are you doing?’
(Analyzing desire.)
What does that mean? Does Azraelon have that ability too?
(If one is a demon, they naturally live by following their desires. After living for such a long time, it doesn’t take long to discern something as simple as this fledgling’s intentions.)
‘Ooh······.’
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