After the battle in the spiritual world ended, Hans searched through the brain of an executive of the 'Abyssal Conclave' to extract information. The spiritual world was devastated by the aftermath of the battle, but the physical brain was not so damaged, making this possible. Of course, there were significant deficits due to some impact, but that was a risk worth taking.
'Hmm, it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be.'
The fight with the leadership of the 'Abyssal Conclave' in the spiritual world. Initially, Hans thought he could easily win with just the 'Mind Hub', but it turned out that he also had his own unique skills, making it not so easy to confront him. That explained why he could implant prohibitions in the minds of others and move around freely.
His mental strength was tremendous, but Hans, focusing the resources of the avatars, was no less formidable. However, every time he allowed the enemy's attack, the 'Crystal Mirror of Clarity' would waver, and the amount of information assaulting the 'Mind Hub' would surge, which was problematic.
Even then, Hans had been running the 'Mind Hub' constantly to combat the continuous mental corruption transmitted from 'Fragments of the Immortal King.' In this situation, the enemy's attacks kept accumulating, and the blocked information was backflowing, leading to a dangerous situation.
'So I just let it go.'
Revolts breaking out internally during war and attacks from outside. Why suffer in the middle of all that? I simply opened the route for the enemy's invasion wide, leading him to the rebels, and concentrated forces on the opposite side to completely block the mainland direction. The unsuspecting enemy army rushed towards the rebels...
And the result was a resounding victory for the rebels. Even the Order called it 'mental corruption that no being could overcome.' The fragment, a culmination of evil, was unaffected by their attacks. In the process, the spiritual world that became the battlefield was devastated and left in tatters, but since he was doomed anyway, it was none of my concern.
Yes, the very land where the war took place was originally a colony of the enemy.
'This trick was possible because it was someone else's spiritual world and I was in a spirit form.'
But if the result is good, isn't that all that matters? I casually watched the battle unfold... After the green spirit, filled with madness, rushed in and was torn apart by a black dog, barely escaping, I leisurely put the leash back on the lost fragment."
'Still, it's a bit disappointing that I let him get away.'
Though the spirit body was so damaged that it certainly wouldn't be unscathed, I regretted not being able to finish it off completely. Besides, there was no particular benefit other than the information obtained through conversation, and instead, there was only damage to the memories that could be obtained from the executive's brain.
But it was a bit early to express such sentiments.
[The individual has stolen karma from another and gained enlightenment. The skill 'Black Magic' evolves into the special skill 'Path of Sorcery.']
'Huh? Suddenly?'
Of course, I had been feeling like I was reaching some limit, but I thought it would take a bit more time...
But soon I understood the cause.
'Oh, I see, I've absorbed the remnants of the spirit body scattered in the spiritual world. This is an unexpected gain.'
In the process of reading the executive's memories with black magic, fragments of the green spirit body scattered in that spiritual world had come along. Along with all sorts of knowledge and enlightenment that came with it. And the phrase about stealing karma meant that as much as I had grown, the level of the other party had been diminished.
'I was wondering if there might be a way to reuse it... But it's not a method that can be commonly used.'
The fact that the opponent had been damaged in spirit form, and that the spiritual world where the remnants were scattered had become desolate and lost its function like an inanimate object. And the fact that an undead, being a being of deficiency, was forcibly connected to the spiritual world through black magic, all of these factors played a complex role.
Of course, this too was a risky act that could lead to mental corruption, but as always, it was none of my concern.
'The other conditions aside, I need a victim who can invade others' minds in spirit form... Such capable beings aren't common.'
The one who suffered at my hands this time, if encountered again, would probably turn tail and run immediately. This was a special case.
But thanks to that, I was able to overcome the wall, so now I can celebrate. Thanks to 'Path of Sorcery', I can now extend my reach not only in black magic but also into other areas.
'Of course, there are things to deal with before that.'
Whoosh
In an instant, black magic surged, and Hans, shrouded in darkness, leaped through space. The destination was the place I learned about this time. It was the Seoul branch of the 'Abyssal Conclave.'
***
While Heinz stayed at the villa managing the remnants, Hans was diligently on the move. Unfortunately, the coordinates extracted from the executive were damaged, so he couldn't go there directly, but he managed to locate their headquarters by searching the nearby area. The growth in magic due to the 'Path of Sorcery' was undoubtedly a great help during this process.
However, their response was even quicker.
'I headed straight here as soon as I read the memories, and I didn't even delay that long while searching the area...'
By the time I arrived, they were already in the midst of clearing out their base and preparing to flee.
"Ugh... How did they find out so soon!"
"Ah, no!"
Fortunately, it wasn't too late. Hans was able to capture the distracted members trying to destroy documents and read their memories.
[Has the order already been issued...?]
He realized that the higher-ups had already ordered a withdrawal, and the executives had immediately gone into hiding. The branch members were left to destroy the documents and then vanished. Since they all hid their tracks individually, there was no information to be obtained from those who were left.
'At least it's fortunate that I caught one of the executives. I was able to salvage some information.'
"Guh, guuuh...'"
Hans looked down at the middle-aged man struggling in his grip. He was the technical director of the Abyssal Conclave's Seoul branch. Unlike the other executives, in his greed to save as much research data as possible, he missed his chance to escape and was captured by Hans.
Thanks to this, most of the research data could be recovered intact, which was something to be grateful for. Of course, that's separate from a peaceful death.
"Ugh...ghk, kihiihik..."
Hans glanced at the executive who had become undead and reviewed the remaining documents. The most important things like the latest operational commands had already been dealt with separately, leaving mostly simple contents like past operational summaries.
These were results he managed to obtain only because he disrupted their attempt to destroy all the documents at the last minute. The director, being solely interested in research, didnt know much beyond that, so he wasnt of much help in other areas.
'It seems the talk about them being active for a long time is true.'
Files organized by year and the small USBs attached to them. However, based on the information sifted from their minds, it seems detailed content is reported to the higher-ups immediately and then disposed of. The documents stored here are merely outlines, as it turns out.
Hans promptly gathered the remaining items at the headquarters and returned to the villa where Heinz was waiting. There were still many remnants there from whom information could be extracted.
[I expected as much, but none of them were better than the first executive I read.]
It seemed that the Abyssal Conclave was organized in a cellular structure, with no one having more information than the first executive I had read. Of course, in the meantime, the individual skills and knowledge each had learned were helpful.
'Hmm, it seems things have somewhat concluded. We've dealt with the leaders of the blood alliance's hardline faction, and the Abyssal Conclave that was aiding them has also been dealt a blow.'
[Khekhekhe... From the executive's memories, it seems Alpha was half a member of the Abyssal Conclave from before. After this incident, he completely disappeared.]
Heinz licked his lips in disappointment. He was clearly regretful that they couldnt completely take down Alpha, the leader of the hardliners. Considering the level of the trap, if Alpha had been there, it's highly likely they would have failed to overcome them and would have had to flee. In that sense, they were lucky.
Thanks to this, I could indulge to the point of feeling overfed. Of course, if it were the blood of someone more powerful, they would have forced themselves to swallow it, even if it meant regurgitating all the lower-quality blood.
"Now that the hardliners are shattered to this extent, he must know that coming back now would be futile. With nowhere to go, he'll likely fully turn to their side."
[It would have been better if we could have tracked him down immediately and cut off his escape. A pity, indeed.]
"The Abyssal Conclave seems to be a larger force than we thought. From the information we have so far, it doesn't seem to be just a Korean organization."
[Now that you mention it, there were documents we gathered from their base. There might be some tricks in there, so we should check them again here.]
Hans and Heinz exchanged dialogue back and forth. Of course, it was more like a monologue as they organized their thoughts, but it didn't matter right now. After all, there was no one alive here other than Heinz.
Hans laid out all the documents from the Abyssal Conclave's branch office that he had kept. Since he brought entire cabinets and bookshelves containing files through spatial storage, it wasn't difficult to review the organized files. Hans focused on examining the research journals, while Heinz worked through the operational summaries divided by year.
While checking the general content of the files without yet delving into the attached USBs.
"Huh?"
Heinz stopped in his tracks upon discovering a document. Hans, who was examining the materials, also froze like a robot that had been turned off. The document that caught Heinz's attention read:
<Operational Plan: Seoul Station, August 20XX>
It was a document with a date and place that Hansung Hyun could never forget.
***
"Ah! Mr. Heinz, have you arrived?"
At dawn, Heinz went to visit Jinsol to inform her of the outcome of the previous night's fight and...
"What? The hardliners did what? And you want to meet our leader again... Wait, just a moment. Could you please repeat that?"
"Last night, we dealt with most of the hardliner faction's executives, excluding Alpha. We missed a few Gammas dispatched to the provinces, but that won't significantly impact the overall situation. I would like to discuss this with the leader of the moderate faction."
Heinz repeated his mechanically spoken words more calmly.
Perhaps shocked by the sudden news, Jinsol seemed momentarily confused, then carefully observed Heinz's reaction.
"Heinz... I will report this, but we need time to verify the facts... and it's all so sudden"
"Jinsol."
Heinz's indifferent voice cut off her words. A sudden silence fell. Heinz quietly looked down at her.
"!"
An overwhelmingly dense aura of blood filled the air. The night before, after feasting on numerous vampires, the vampire factor surged, emitting a powerful blood magic. The oppressive atmosphere, almost like squeezing the heart, caused Jinsol to freeze and swallow hard.
'I knew Heinz was powerful, but to this extent...!'
It wasn't just the quantity of blood magic that overwhelmed. Something fundamentally different was at play. It was a fear that seemed to stimulate the deeper instincts, like a predator eyeing its prey.
She realized that she had been breathing heavily without noticing.
'At least level 7, maybe even higher... It's beyond my ability to judge.'
She quickly assessed the situation and shifted her stance accordingly.
"I will contact them right away and try to arrange a meeting as soon as possible!"
The leader of the moderate faction was at level 7. She hadn't felt this way even when facing their leader, so Heinz must be stronger than that. She had heard rumors that Alpha of the hardliner faction had reached level 8, but that information was unconfirmed and she had never seen him personally, so it was irrelevant.
"Yes, let's also discuss ways to augment the Blood Alliance's power at that time. And the treatment of the hardliner remnants."
"Yes, thats... wait, what?"
For Heinz, there was now a pressing need to grow his power as quickly as possible. The Blood Alliance was a suitable force for this purpose. Even though the hardliners had been decimated and their power reduced, the Alliance had a solid foundation due to its long existence. It was one of the most influential organizations in Korea's underworld in terms of secrecy, intelligence, and influence.
Now that I had gained the ability to leash them, I would use them as much as I could. It would probably be a good offer from the perspective of the moderate faction too. Depending on how they responded, they could steer the conversation in a direction beneficial for both parties.