Chapter 277: Hahoe Mask Returns (2)
On the top floor of a building in Shanghai.
Jjeojeok—
A chill began to spread rapidly, enveloping the once warm atmosphere.
Frost settled on the surfaces, the air froze to the point of making it hard to breathe, and the loud hum of activated barriers became distorted and creaked.
[Looks like you’ve been well. Your divine beast is looking quite splendid.]
All of this was happening because one singular entity had appeared.
‘How?’
Amidst these strange occurrences, the owner of the office, Yul Ryeong-ja, glared at the intruder as he desperately tried to calm his chaotic thoughts.
‘How did he get here… No, questioning it now is pointless.’
It was already a well-known fact that Hahoe Mask was a master of Black Magic.
Naturally, the Buncheon Society had been thoroughly preparing countermeasures against him for a long time, and the East Asia branch, overlapping with his activities, had specialized concealment on top of regular security measures, yet…
‘All of that has become completely useless. Did I underestimate my opponent’s abilities?’
Grinding his teeth, Yul Ryeong-ja cautiously started to step back, casting glances at all the once-activated barriers and devices.
Unexpected surveillance breaches had caused issues in concealment and entry prevention, but this was the command center responsible for all of East Asia.
Surely, the security measures wouldn’t just stop there?
Wooong—!
Zing—
Formation of alternate worlds, spatial isolation, coordinate fixation, ability control, suppression of black magic, construction of divine altars, etc…
From the moment Hahoe Mask entered, the devices began activating one by one until they all manifested.
A synergy that pursues efficiency regardless of the category of abilities.
This was the unique combination of multi-spellcraft only possible by the Buncheon Society.
Hoo—? Quite impressive, indeed.
Hans, who softly admired this, slowly surveyed his surroundings.
Seeing this, he understood why he hadn’t been able to pinpoint Yul Ryeong-ja’s location earlier.
He had already encountered that spectral form twice but was puzzled by his inability to track him. If he was in such tight security, it made sense.
What a shame. If only he had captured him upon entry, it would have made things easier.
However, while he appeared relaxed and nonchalant, internally, Hans’s mind was busier than ever.
His initial plan to directly storm in and capture him had failed due to the spatial distortion observed from the outside.
Just before, he had managed to change directions and somehow reached the interior of the office, but because the barriers began activating at that moment, he couldn’t act immediately.
But… this situation isn’t so bad.
Yul Ryeong-ja was retreating cautiously, surrounded by multiple activated security spells that seemed to be protecting him.
Hans quietly observed the unique complex spell of the Buncheon Society through the “Eye of the Abyss.”
This is pretty…
The information he absorbed was immediately dissected through the “Path of Magic” and “Forbidden Knowledge” and the “Profane Wise Ones”.
A feast for the senses.
The analyzed contents became nourishment for the “Path of Magic.”
After all, it was all thanks to the Buncheon Society that I could acquire this skill.
In the past—after sacrificing the eyes and legs of Yul Ryeong-ja in dedicated private tutoring, the ability bloomed.
Yet, it didn’t stop there, and now he had provided such abundant teaching materials again.
You’re commendable. Also foolish. Did you think you could stop me with just this?
From behind the mask, dark mist began to seep out from Hahoe Mask’s eyes.
With that, the energy bursting from his body shook the barriers and started to wail loudly.
I am death that grows by feeding on your fear—.
Bang!
Rumble—
Just then, the office door was kicked open, and several Awakened Ones rushed in.
Each was at least at the extreme limit, and among them were those who had reached a clear Transcendence.
He likely understood that alone he wouldn’t be able to defeat Hahoe Mask.
Perhaps he thought he could hold on until support arrived from another location with the help of the barriers.
However…
No one can escape that.
That was merely their glimmering hope.
*
Kaahng—!
Another explosion rocked the space.
‘Even with so many layers of barriers, such impact…’
But despite grimacing at the shock transmitted from behind, Yul Ryeong-ja hurriedly moved down the stairs.
He entrusted the fight to others and hurried to escape his position.
After all, his role was that of a manager, not a fighter, so this was a natural judgment.
Though his unique skill, “Mental Reflection,” had the potential to destroy the mental realm regardless of physical strength, he had already painfully realized that method wouldn’t work on Hahoe Mask.
At a hefty price, no less.
He glanced down at the legs equipped with action-support magical equipment, the same as his right arm.
The East Asia branch will be closed for a while. No matter how much security I set up beforehand, I’ve already attracted too much attention. It wouldn’t be good to draw unnecessary interest.
China, being large in landmass and population, had numerous branches distributed widely.
If he moved to any of those, handling tasks wouldn’t be a significant issue.
After all, everything necessary for working as the branch head was already in his head.
The problem is… Hahoe Mask’s rampage won’t end with just this time.
As he recalled that bizarre masked attacker, Yul Ryeong-ja’s face twisted in distress.
Most sky-high transcendents were scattered across the continent.
Gathering such powerful beings in one place would only reduce efficiency, so naturally, it was the case.
The issue was how much time it would take to bring them together.
Of all times, the head is away!
Just a day prior.
The head had been on Earth, considering Hahoe Mask’s reemergence.
Yet now, he had just left, unable to waste more time.
What a perfectly timed occasion!
Grinding his teeth several times, Yul Ryeong-ja eventually forced himself to take deep breaths to calm his mind.
Getting excited now wouldn’t help him at all.
He glanced at a notification window floating in his left mechanical eye.
[Scan Information]
-Codename: Hahoe Mask
-Energy Type: Black Magic + Death (?)
-Main Abilities: Black Magic, Undead, Spatial Movement, Various Barriers, etc.
-Dimension of Origin: Unknown
-Unique Skill: Unknown
-······
The information displayed right after encountering Hahoe Mask.
It was called a scan, but most of its contents structured from the information left in his mind rather than direct analysis from the mechanical eye.
No matter how advanced the magic engineering, there were limits to recognizing someone of Hahoe Mask’s caliber.
However, some lines at the bottom of the window were immediately relevant.
-Recorded Energy: 93,853,126
-Danger Level: S+
-Detected energy reaction equivalent to starship reactor-class. Immediate evacuation recommended.
These figures were dynamically measured in real-time.
This mechanical eye was a product of Callicass dimension, where magic engineering had advanced to the point of reaching outer space.
Naturally, the term “starship” referred to the massive vessels navigating celestial bodies.
But S+? Most of those I’ve checked in this tier were A-level…
Of course, energy levels and combat capabilities weren’t always proportional.
In a cosmic war, it could be a different story when colossal amounts of energy were expended, but in battles between masters controlling that energy with extreme efficiency, there wouldn’t be much difference beyond a certain threshold.
It would be tough to completely nullify a front-facing main cannon, but casually redirecting and dodging would be a simple task for transcendents.
Nevertheless, for someone like Yul Ryeong-ja, who trusted objective data and calculations to predict the world, such an utterly different value provided immense psychological pressure.
For now, I need to escape here first. With Qian Weiming being an A+ transcendent, along with the barriers and the Earth-worlders’ help, I should be able to last quite a while.
The fastest way to move elsewhere would have been available at the top floor, but now, due to Hahoe Mask, he had no choice but to head down.
Normally, if any intruder breached, they would be sent to the lowest floor through spatial distortion, allowing plenty of time to respond before finally escaping through the top floor’s teleportation device when all else failed.
Damn, because of that, all the other means to quickly move were completely blocked off…
Who could have guessed that such thorough preparations would ironically hinder his escape like this?
He vowed that if he got to another location, he would definitely improve and redesign that point.
Almost there…!
Of course.
If he could escape.
Kaahng—!
Suddenly, an impact even greater than before surged from the top floor, sweeping through the whole area.
“Cough! What’s this!”
Caught in the shockwave, Yul Ryeong-ja stumbled but managed to stay upright as the leg support devices auto-corrected his posture.
However…
[High energy proximity alert!]
That was the extent of his luck.
-Recorded Energy: 156,759,142
-Danger Level: SS-
-Detected energy reaction comparable to Tera-class starship reactor. Immediate emergency escape sequence engaged.
The alerts shifted on his screen right before his eyes.
[Ugh— we meet again. It seems you’ve been quite diligent in walking about.]
The voice he just faced echoed in his ear once more.
Yul Ryeong-ja tight-closed his eyes as he checked the danger level.
Then, he slowly opened his eyes again, turning toward the one who spoke to him.
“…Qian Weiming.”
It felt like much longer, yet in reality, only a few minutes had passed.
Yet, for him to break down this quick… this was truly an unexpected situation.
[Hmm? …Ah! That guy?]
However, as Yul Ryeong-ja glanced behind Hahoe Mask, he soon figured out what had unfolded.
Tak, tak—
Swish— swish—
Mixed in with the sounds of many approaching footsteps, there were noises of something dragging along the floor…
Emerging from the darkness of the corridor were several figures.
That’s…!
Seeing that, Yul Ryeong-ja clenched his teeth.
Undead soldiers dripping dark energy like they had been soaked in ink.
He recognized their level at a glance.
Sky-level Undead…! And the rest are all outfitted? How in the world did they get to Earth!
They were the “Abyss Revenants,” crafted from the corpses of Awakened Ones collected over time.
Among them were elite squads meticulously selected.
Leading the front was a particular Undead, Salma, who slowly raised something he was dragging in one hand.
“…Qian Weiming.”
The familiar face visible beneath the blackened hair held no signs of life.
He was the very high-tier master who had confidently stayed behind just moments ago to buy time.
The change from then to now was… that his face had been stripped of all vitality.
[Kuhuhuh— thanks to this, I’ve obtained a useful material. He will also make a splendid rebirth. I find this quite satisfying.]
“…”
The death king, flanked by bodies of soldiers, wore a sinister grin.
The powerless human standing before him, oppressed by an aura of intimidation, could not utter a single word.
[But…]
Naturally, Hans had no intention of letting him go free.
[You seem to be holding onto quite a few desirable things, too, huh?]
A pair of abyss-filled eyes glided over Yul Ryeong-ja’s body.
He was a non-combat-oriented psychic Awakened One and hadn’t even reached transcendence, yet he still held a degree of rarity; he wasn’t entirely useless.
And above all…
I’ve thought it before, but those eyes are incredibly tempting.
The mechanical eye glimmered with a faint blue ring on its edges, and geometric patterns filled the inner iris, glowing mysteriously.
A magical engineering item of that level was something he’d never seen before, and he couldn’t help but be drawn to it.
Moreover, wasn’t Howard, his dwarf avatar, also deeply into magical engineering right now?
And that wasn’t all.
I swear I remember him being in a wheelchair last time. And what’s up with that right arm?
Look at how that limb moves so naturally without any sign of issues!
And it even blended seamlessly under his clothing!
It’s literally the ultimate enhanced exoskeleton.
That could make an excellent gift for Howard, who was busily working on his suit upgrades.
Though there were still problems regarding the limitations of using magical items from other worlds, that was something to think about later.
With that, Hans, having gathered quite a bit, cracked a satisfied smile again.
Slowly, he stepped forward, reaching out a hand towards Yul Ryeong-ja.
[Let’s see you make another escape, shall we?]
“…You bastard…”
As expected, until Hans’s hand touched his forehead, he couldn’t run away.
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