Episode 206 The Prelude to Chaos (1)
A chilling silence now hung in the air, but just moments ago, this space had been filled with the sounds of battle.
"······."
A man slowly paced back and forth, repeatedly scanning the area.
His presence was elusive, a blur of power and ordinariness.
He was the Master of Heaven's Turn Society, the leader of the world's largest secret organization.
'I don't understand.'
He was examining the spot where Hahoe Mask had last stood.
He had checked it over and over, but no matter how hard he looked, he couldn't find anything unusual.
This space was perfect—.
Not a single flaw, not a single trace remained.
And that was what bothered him.
'He just vanished, as if he was erased from existence. Without a single warning.'
He had considered various possibilities, taking into account the existence of unique skills, but no matter what hypothesis he applied, it didn't make sense.
To escape this space, you would have to transcend dimensions, and that wasn't something that could be done so easily.
And even if he had somehow escaped, there should have been some trace left behind.
But there was nothing.
'It's like he was spirited away.'
It was incomprehensible, but it had happened, so he had to accept it.
And he had to come up with a countermeasure to prevent it from happening again.
"Master! We've finished cleaning up!"
As he was lost in thought,
He turned to face the voice that called out to him.
"…Doctor. How's Yulryeongja?"
"Hehehe~ He's over the hump! It seems like he learned from his previous experience and minimized the damage! He has a tendency to overexert himself, but his skills are undeniable."
Doctor glanced at Yulryeongja, who was lying unconscious on the ground, and spoke with a shameless grin.
He had already completely forgotten that he was the one who had urged Yulryeongja to take on the mission.
"Hmm, but…"
Doctor frowned as he examined Yulryeongja's body, covered in various mechanical devices and magic tools, along with unidentified biological tissues and drugs.
"…I can't find it. That careless fool! To lose something so important! And it was made with materials that are impossible to obtain now!"
He even berated the injured man for losing something.
They had failed the mission and suffered a loss, so it was only natural for him, with his self-centered mindset, to be displeased.
"Well, it's not something that can be easily replaced. We'll retrieve it when we capture Hahoe Mask. We'll have to come up with a better plan next time!"
They were planning to capture and dissect him anyway, so it didn't really matter.
"Hehehe~ We were outsmarted! To think we wouldn't even be able to understand the principle, even after seeing it with our own eyes! My blood is boiling! Hehehe!"
The Master glanced at Doctor, who was burning with manic excitement, and looked down at Yulryeongja.
He hadn't personally intervened in a long time because of his restrictions, and now he had wasted that precious opportunity without any gains.
No, they had actually suffered a loss.
'Hahoe Mask…'
The Master repeated the name, etching it into his memory.
He vowed to take revenge for this humiliation.
______________
The Immortal Fortress, located deep within the Northern Mountains of Auterica.
This place, steeped in the aura of death, was the central base of the Immortal Army, where most of the forces Hans had gathered were concentrated.
Of course, not all the evildoers they had collected from each region… the members of underground organizations, including the black mages, were here.
Those small fry were left in their respective locations to be used as expendable pawns whenever an attack was needed.
However, Hans's policy was to bring all those who were useful, those above a certain level or those who originated from the Immortal Army, to the Immortal Fortress.
And with the endless supply of new undead from the monsters constantly dying in the Northern Mountains…
Even though a significant portion of the army was deployed inland, the mountains surrounding the Immortal Fortress were completely covered in undead.
And inside the castle, at the heart of that death-filled sanctuary…
[My King… you have returned… Olivia… greets you…]
Hans looked down from his massive throne made of bones and skulls, at the dozens of Death Knights lined up before him.
[Good, it seems like there were no problems while I was away.]
He looked like the 'Immortal King' in name and appearance, as if he hadn't been injured at all.
Of course, traces of holy power still lingered within him, and his mental world was overloaded, so he wasn't in his best condition.
But those were minor problems that would be resolved with time.
'The time difference between Earth and Auterica is a nuisance sometimes, but it's helpful in situations like this. Especially when creating undead.'
He suddenly thought about the awakened undead that Dwell was working on.
Considering the time difference, it was about time for the individuals after Salma to be completed.
He had keenly felt the lack of power during his fight against the Master of Heaven's Turn Society, so he couldn't help but be more interested in undead, the easiest and fastest way to increase his forces, aside from his avatars' growth.
'They might not be much help against someone like him, but they'll be useful in dealing with Heaven's Turn Society's pawns.'
He could have probably put up a better fight against the Master if he had summoned the Bone Dragon Heratos or Salma…
After all, despite his high stats as the Immortal King, he was essentially a support-type black mage and necromancer.
But he had decided to conserve them for a more decisive moment, a more important battle.
[…The deployments to the continent are progressing smoothly, as you instructed… We've slowed down the pace a bit because of the recent Continental Summit…]
Olivia's report continued as he was lost in thought.
As the general manager of the Immortal Fortress and head of intelligence, it was her duty to report on everything that had happened while he was away.
'Nothing unusual. Well, Heinrich and Heinz the Second are also quite capable in terms of information gathering.'
He already knew most of what was happening outside the Immortal Fortress, but he didn't interrupt her and continued to listen, his chin resting on his hand.
He could easily multitask, and there might be some information he wasn't aware of.
'Come to think of it, I should also experiment with that orb… the gift that Yulryeongja left behind.'
Compared to when he first met him, Hans's level was now on a completely different scale, so a single arm of his spirit wouldn't have a dramatic effect.
It would just give him a slight advantage when using mental-type black magic.
Of course, it was still a significant improvement, as it would make it easier to cast restrictions and read memories.
But the real value of the gift was the orb that he had left behind in the mental world.
'The basic effect is to amplify mental abilities… but it's not ordinary. I can't even measure its limits without actually using it.'
Heaven's Turn Society truly had a collection of fascinating items.
He wondered from which dimension they had obtained such a thing.
The fact that it existed in the mental world, not in reality, was already extraordinary.
[And… we captured one of the White Giants that appeared on the continent… and entrusted it to Dwell for research…]
As Hans was pondering the orb's uses,
Olivia reported something interesting.
'They captured a White Giant? …Come to think of it, one of them escaped to the mountains after appearing in the Rohan Duchy.'
The Immortal Army, concentrated in a small area around the Immortal Fortress, was powerful enough to destroy several countries if they launched a full-scale attack.
It wouldn't even require the entire army, just a few executives would be enough to capture a single giant.
[However, we haven't been able to get any useful information from it yet… It keeps repeating the same request… to meet you…]
[…It can talk? And it wants to meet me?]
Her next words piqued his interest even more.
The giant's mouth had been unsealed after its capture, along with the nostril that had been open from the beginning and the ear that had recently been opened…
And it was repeatedly expressing a clear desire.
To meet the Immortal King, Hans.
[Dwell is trying various methods while experimenting on it… but it doesn't seem like an ordinary creature… Torture, mind control magic, nothing works…]
[Hmm.]
Hans slowly rose from his throne, nodding.
A White Giant, imprisoned in the Immortal Fortress's laboratory, demanding to speak to him.
It was a golden opportunity to obtain information about them, something he had been wanting to do.
[Hehehe— This is interesting. Let's hear what it has to say.]
He couldn't refuse a chance to have a conversation with the giant.
______________
Hans, led by Dwell, arrived at the location where the White Giant's head was imprisoned.
And the first thing he saw…
Whoosh—
…Was a purple mist that filled the entire space.
It was a deadly poison that could corrode even undead if their magic power was weak, not to mention living beings…
[My apologies! If I had known you were coming, I would have ventilated the room. I've been so focused on research that I forgot!]
…But it had no effect on those present.
And undead vision couldn't be obscured by smoke.
Dwell hadn't even been bothered by it while studying the giant.
[It doesn't matter. So… this is it, huh?]
Hans's gaze turned to the giant's head, which was restrained in the center of the room.
A black magic circle drawn on the floor with blood, an altar, black stakes embedded in the head like needles, emanating a sinister aura, and chains that bound the entire head…
The white head, at least four meters in size, combined with the red and black ornaments, made the already eerie space even more unsettling.
And then…
[Oh— Death—. The end of life, the ultimate loss—.]
The giant's mouth opened.
And it recited something that sounded like poetry.
'…What is this guy talking about?'
He understood that it was referring to him, but…
How should he put it…
[Hehehe— Yes, I am the King of the Dead, the embodiment of death. You are a servant of the abyss, a slave to madness. You dared to request an audience with me?]
…It was very much Hans's style.
He was inwardly embarrassed by his own words, but he maintained a straight face and stared at the giant's head.
'…My inner chuunibyou must have been triggered again. It'll take some time to fix my speech patterns.'
But the giant, oblivious to his thoughts, continued to ramble.
[Oh— Death, you have forgotten—. Our desire— the mission bestowed upon us by our Lord—!]
Hans couldn't understand what it was saying.
'What is this guy talking about?'
He tilted his skull, scrutinizing the giant's head.
It was definitely from the abyss, like him.
It had requested an audience because of some connection they shared.
'Desire, mission, and… Lord?'
But it seemed like there was more to it than that.
'Weren't death and madness just byproducts of the world, left to rot in the abyss?'
There was no mention of this in the information left behind by the previous Immortal Kings…
[Death—. The oldest impurity— the fate that stagnates at the bottom of the abyss—.]
As he was lost in thought,
Snap— Snap, snap!
The black wires that had sewn the giant's right eye shut began to break.
'Its eye?'
The sudden change made Hans strengthen the black magic circle that bound the giant and erect a barrier around himself.
It was a precautionary measure, just in case, even though the giant didn't seem hostile.
[I— as a servant of the Lord— convey his will to you—.]
And finally, the black wires snapped,
The giant's eye opened wide,
And its massive "Abyssal Eye" stared straight at Hans.
'What?! Wait, this is…!'
He instantly assessed the situation.
Whoosh—!
A black beam of light shot out from his hand, piercing the giant's skull and obliterating its core.
But…
It was too late.
Something had already seeped into his mind through the abyssal connection—.
And it began to flow back towards his main body, bypassing his "Mind Hub".