#164
Hahoe Mask Rises (4)
It had been nearly a week since Princess Riley was captured by the Undead King’s castle.
But can humans really be called animals of adaptation? Having grown accustomed to this place, she was living a fairly peaceful life, in contrast to her initial state of panic.
After all, worrying endlessly wouldn’t change a thing.
So she decided to put aside her unnecessary concerns and find peace of mind.
And it was largely due to one individual who significantly influenced the princess’s change in attitude…
“Hmm—? So, you’re saying Hesperon isn’t his real name?”
“Uh, yeah. That’s right! Still, since we’re going to another world, I thought a cool name befitting a new beginning would be nice… Ahaha!”
This was the self-proclaimed Hesperon, who had just moved to this place not long ago.
“Then, what’s your real name?”
“My name is Ha Seung-hoon, but just call me Hesperon. It sounds cooler!”
“Haas… Hmm, fine. That’s not the most important issue.”
Riley shot an annoyed glance at the man in front of her, who looked dull-witted.
With black hair and black eyes, he was of the same race as Isea, but his personality was completely different.
While Isea, with her somewhat cool exterior, was a clever and diligent top student, this man, despite his smart look, had many clumsy and foolish traits.
In a serious situation where they were trapped by the Undead King, seeing him smile so carefree made Riley feel like the only foolish one for being worried.
However, he also had one astonishing trait resembling Isea…
Crackle—
An overwhelming talent for magic.
“Oh! Got it, I got it! Riley, here, here!”
“Again, again! Use honorifics properly!”
“Oops, my bad! Got carried away. But look at this. This is even easier than what we did before!”
White sparks danced on Hesperon’s palm.
It was just a passing thought to teach Isea a little something since he was so skilled, but…
His growth rate was steeper than hers back then.
‘…Could it be that people from Earth are born with innate magical talent?’
Otherwise, this didn’t make sense.
Some remained at the beginner level for ten years, while these humans were pushing past her one after another without any guilt!
‘Ugh, no matter how much I didn’t try my best, this isn’t right. It’s still been ten years.’
But this was a misunderstanding born from her ignorance of his uniqueness.
Surely, ‘Hesperon’ was new to magic, but…
‘This much? No matter how much the direction differs from black magic, if he struggles with basic magic, Hans’ reputation would be at stake.’
This was the Undead King Hans, sharing thoughts with him.
Of course, he couldn’t follow high-level magic due to physical limitations, but wasn’t he at the stage of solidifying basic magic now?
Moreover, he was in a situation where skills like “Evil Wisdom,” “Forbidden Knowledge,” “Path of Magic,” and “Magic Control” indirectly provided assistance.
It’s like a Nobel Prize winner with a supercomputer beside him giving answers to middle school problems—there’s no way he should struggle.
“…Well done. Then, let’s move on to the next stage. Hoo— I didn’t think anyone could be better than Seia.”
For reference, Isea, who had surpassed the princess right at the start without such help, was indeed a genius.
And while Princess Riley and Hesperon were spending time together…
What was Prince Simon doing, who was trapped in the same place?
“Your Highness the Prince? I believe I instructed you to finish cleaning, laundry, and gardening… Did my words not make sense to you?”
“Grr— I, I am the Prince of the Azerion Empire! I couldn’t possibly do such things…”
“Are you arguing again? Perhaps punishment was insufficient… I guess it can’t be helped.”
“No, no. It’s not that I…”
“Wuhuhuh! Now, come here! Let’s give you a proper education to ensure you become a new person. Growth always comes with pain, you know?”
“No! Why am I the only one being tormented while Riley is left alone!”
Before he could even bask in the joy of being freed from the torment of Andrew, he was now enduring difficult days as a plaything of Siana, who was using the alias Lilis.
Slap—
Siana swung a small riding whip, wearing a cheerful smile.
For her, posing as a noble of the empire and having the opportunity to toy with a prince was incredibly significant.
Of course, Princess Riley just thought the prince must have done something else to provoke dislike, but it was naturally due to the Undead King’s influence.
In the heart of the Demon King’s castle battle, the throne was placed.
Hans sat atop, observing everything happening around him at a glance.
‘Hmm, I don’t need to worry about the captives. With Hesperon around, I’ll know immediately if something goes wrong.’
He left the management of the followers within the Demon King’s castle to Siana and would hand over the management of Salma, currently being smoothly matured in the Abyss, to the Archlich Dwell.
Indeed, there was nothing much requiring his immediate attention.
[Then I will delegate the remaining tasks to you while I step away. Olivia.]
[Don’t worry… I will follow your commands as instructed…].
Olivia bowed her head respectfully at Hans’s low command.
Suddenly stepping away raised many questions—why was he leaving them behind?
She dared not question the Undead King’s decisions and just nodded in agreement.
Finally, Hans glanced around the castle.
Then, he vanished from that spot.
*
In the dead of night.
Hoo—
A black shadow quietly glided across the dark night sea, only faintly illuminated by the moonlight.
Moving at high speed, it blended into the darkness of the night, undetectable.
Of course, this entity was the Undead King Hans, who had crossed over to Earth.
‘I can’t just teleport recklessly to a place I’ve never been. It’s tedious, but I have no choice but to do this.’
After moving across space to Busan, he immediately set his direction southeast across the sea.
To avoid detection by radar or satellites, he was traveling low and slow, but of course, that ‘slow’ was from Hans’s perspective.
Just ten minutes after departing Busan, he passed Tsushima, and after over twenty minutes, the Japanese archipelago gradually came into view.
‘If I continue for thirty minutes from Busan, I’ll reach Fukuoka easily. After all, it’s closer than going from Seoul to Busan.’
Fukuoka on Kyushu, the third-largest island in Japan, was the closest major city to Busan.
However, since it was the first overseas venture of the Hahoe Mask, he wanted to start in a location with some significance.
‘It’s also my first overseas trip.’
Though a subtle security barrier was felt along the way, likely to monitor for illegal entry, he effortlessly ignored it and moved inward.
And just as he was about to arrive at the brightly lit harbor even at this late hour…
‘Huh? What’s this?’
A familiar presence sensed from a location slightly detached from here.
‘…Should I check it out?’
Typically, familiarity with Hans was never a good sign.
He had a hunch he would be starting something before even stepping foot on Japanese land, so he quickly moved toward where he felt the energy.
Wooooo— Splash—
The place he arrived at was a fairly large ship floating in the middle of the sea.
Even in the dark night sea, it slowly swayed with the periodically crashing waves, ghost-like, floating without a hint of light.
From within, a weak flow of black magic and death energy emanated, barely noticeable unless one was keen.
‘Well, well, it seems they’ve thoroughly installed the barrier, paying close attention.’
However, Hans entered the ship as casually as if he were stepping into his living room and headed toward the cabin.
Just as he expected, what he encountered inside was exactly what he anticipated.
Blood ritual circles unambiguously drawn all around indicated clearly the evil ceremony, and bizarre catalyst objects scattered here and there amplified the eerie atmosphere.
Moreover, at the center altar lay the corpses of those offered as sacrifices, torn asunder.
‘Isn’t it interesting how black magic users all engage in exactly the same practices?’
Whether those he had captured in Auterica or those hunted in Korea.
Given the nature of energy, this was expected, but he couldn’t help sighing.
“…!”
At that moment, a dozen men and women surrounding the altar chattering among themselves suddenly noticed him and erupted into chaos.
Caution, warnings, tension, hostility, and so on…
Though all were far too weak to pose a threat to Hans, he fell into a momentary contemplation rather than immediately dealing with them.
[Hmmm, this is quite troublesome.]
“What the?!”
“Who is it?!”
In a place layered with multiple layers of security and protection, outsiders should not be able to approach.
Sensing a crisis instinctively, they heightened their alertness and turned their heads toward the direction of the voice.
Hiss—
Chilled air mixed with an eerie atmosphere rushed in as something slowly revealed itself from the shadows.
A body that melded with the darkness, highlighted by the grotesquely smiling wooden mask.
And within, a pair of blue eyes flickered like will-o’-the-wisps.
[Hehe— But I feel like it’s a bit lacking. I would appreciate a little help from you all.]
At that moment, the “Hahoe Mask” finally set foot in Japan.
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