In a basement without a single window. In the middle of a pitch-black space, without a trace of light, there stood a hearth made of stone, all alone.
"The time has come."
A soft voice echoed in the darkness, where not a single stir had been heard.
Shortly after, the person to whom the voice belonged approached the hearth quietly, without making a sound, and stood at a distance.
At that moment.
Whoosh
Purple flames burst forth from the hearth, reaching towards the ceiling in an instant, then gradually shrank to the size of a campfire.
Consequently, the space, now tinged with violet, flickered with the shadows of five or six figures gathered around the hearth.
[Have everyone... gathered.]
[Yes, except for the idiot who got himself killed this time.]
Shadows conversed with each other in low voices.
[What's the rush? Why not ask about each other's well-being and take things slow? Hehehe.]
[Would you just shut it? Before someone rips your mouth open.]
"It seems everyone has heard the news."
Given the strong personalities gathered, the meeting was not progressing quickly.
Since it wasnt a gathering intended for fostering friendships, it was best to ignore the unnecessary chatter and move straight to the main topic.
[Ah, I heard. It was so absurd I couldnt help but laugh.]
[Kehehe~ Me too. To think hed die so ridiculously after taking a branch of the World Tree. Kukuku.]
Finally, a proper meeting was underway.
They exchanged information about what they knew of recent events.
"So, no one knows how the order and the High Elves managed to find and attack Nurabe."
[Ha! Wasnt it the World Trees involvement? That fool must have not kept a proper leash on his sacrifice.]
[Hmm~ I dont think that's it. That old man, he even properly received the seal from me, you know?]
As opinions flew back and forth, no conclusive decision was reached since nothing was certain.
[Anyway... we need to be more cautious...]
[Following Marcos, who was ranting about monopolizing the fragment of the Immortal King, and Nurabe who had been hiding quite well. Isnt this a sign that were getting too relaxed?]
"Speaking of the Immortal King... The orders movements have been quite unusual lately."
The exchange of information continued.
[The descendant of the Immortal King. Cant we make use of him?]
[Kehehe! Whats to be done about Marcos now that hes dead? If our intentions align, teaming up wouldnt be bad!]
The conversation among the black shadows flickering in the violet space went on. After a series of proposals, objections, alternatives, and agreements...
"Let's settle on that matter then. Does anyone have any other business?"
[Of course not~ The empire is always peaceful.]
[The east too No issues]
As conclusions were drawn, the regular meeting of the Oath of the Reversal came to an end.
***
"Jinsol, handle these just like before."
Heinz came to Jinsol's office, where she was busy with various tasks, and laid out a multitude of items.
Among them were expensive magical tools, including one that allowed access to a pocket dimension.
She momentarily panicked but then stood up excitedly, her eyes shining.
"Wow... Lord, where do you keep getting these items from?"
Although she had seen them several times before, she couldn't help but exclaim in admiration again as she inspected the items he had brought.
Since only Returnees could obtain magical tools, their supply was inevitably limited, making them not something one could simply purchase with money.
"There's always a way. How about the thing I asked you to prepare last time?"
"Oh, the pepper? I had people repackage and store all of it as instructed."
Having people to order around certainly made things easier. Just issuing commands was enough to have minor issues taken care of.
'Items packaged in plastic or vinyl can't be sold as is, so it's a bit of a hassle to handle them again, but that's nothing compared to the profit we can make.'
Pepper wasn't particularly expensive on Earth, but the situation was different in Outerica.
Being a relatively high-end spice and due to the distance from its main production areas, the margin was quite satisfactory. It was an excellent choice for a trading starter item.
'Initially, I even thought about selling artificially made gems from Earth.'
Modern technology could produce synthetic gems that were hard to distinguish from natural ones by ordinary means.
They even had the advantage of being cleaner due to fewer impurities, which could have been a selling point.
'However, the fact that they're made on Earth means they can't be used in magic, which is a deal-breaker.'
In Outerica, the high cost of gems wasn't just for their aesthetic value. They were used in magic experiments, barriers, and making magical tools, valued for their role in supporting mystical functions.
Selling defective products, merely pretty gems that couldn't be used in magic, could easily lead to unnecessary disputes.
'Starting a business now, there's no need to attract attention and risk danger unnecessarily. We'll save that for later, once we're established, and then sell it as a premium.'
It was too good a business idea to waste. Turning such unique features into a selling point was what business was all about. Wealthy individuals might even value the rarity and pay a premium for it.
"Where did everyone else go?"
Heinz, having sorted his thoughts, looked around and asked Jinsol. The number of people had noticeably decreased since he last saw them. It seemed more than half were absent.
"Ah, there was a bit of trouble in Incheon. Jin-seok went to handle it personally, so it should be resolved quickly."
Heterosis had grown, attracting many new members under its shade, including hard-liners, moderates, and neutrals.
Among them was Jin-seok, a gamma and former hard-liner executive.
'But he's more submissive than expected. I was ready to turn him into a blood crystal if he didn't listen.'
Tasked with overseeing a region and thus not present at the villa, Jin-seok had immediately sworn loyalty to Heinz upon his visit, quickly falling in line.
Thanks to his strong survival instincts, the absorption of the hard-liners accelerated, which I observed with satisfaction.
'It's still regrettable that we couldn't gather much information about Alpha. The fact that he's been out of sight means he's probably already left Korea, right?'
Alpha, presumed to be a Level 8 vampire and the former leader of the hard-liners, had been elusive since that day.
While swallowing up the blood alliance and using its influence to continue the search, there had been no significant progress.
"Really, thanks to the Lord, the situation with the blood alliance seems to have improved a lot. Naturally, our Heterosis's influence is growing."
With the military and financial power derived from Heinz, Heterosis rapidly expanded its influence, leading the blood alliance to significantly increase its power.
Of course, directly inflating its size would draw the attention and caution of the Guardians and the Ability Management Bureau, so it was a covert operation to expand influence among the underworld organizations behind the scenes.
'Those who sold the gold bars also came under us.'
They seemed quite useful in finding a market for the magical tools. Indeed, recalling the transaction, they were quite capable.
'Now that I think about it, its about time to move...'
Until now, after learning about the Abyssal Conclave and planning accordingly, my mind was too preoccupied to consider luxuries.
But now, it seemed okay to indulge a little and slowly start preparing.
'Of course, not right away.'
"You mentioned there was a problem in Incheon, right? Since I'm free at the moment, I'll go check it out myself."
It was necessary to stabilize the blood alliance as quickly as possible. Currently, a big event that would shake Outerica was imminent.
Once this event concludes, the operation "Home Theater: Demon King and Hero" would officially start, and Heinz would become incredibly busy.
***
Fifteen days since the start of High Elf Laphori's search for the Immortal King. Despite exploring quite a number of forests prioritized, no significant results had emerged.
Heinrich was able to attend an interim meeting, having scanned an entire candidate group, to hear about the progress.
Now deeply involved in this operation, his responsibilities had shifted to prioritize this over the duties of the Paladin Order.
'Though all I do is observe and serve from behind.'
Laphori, with an awkward smile, organized the documents of the areas that had been investigated.
"...Hmm, despite covering all the areas we thought were most likely, we haven't achieved any results, making it hard to show our faces after being so confident."
Laphori's embarrassed statement was met with firm head shakes from the Saint and the Archbishop, disagreeing.
"We are grateful for the effort Laphori has put in. After all, it was our church that set the search order."
"In truth, he might be in a completely different area without forests. Even if that's the case, being able to narrow down the regions isn't a bad thing at all."
"Thanks to that, our church's search parties are now focusing on areas without forests. There's no need to say how much this has increased efficiency."
As they said, the ongoing search personnel were dispatched primarily to deserts and wastelands, among other regions.
Of course, the search in the forests wasn't completely finished yet, but the church side needed to prepare for any eventualities.
Archbishop Latius examined the map of the continent hanging on the wall and the documents listing the priorities.
"Let's look at the next set of candidates then. Let's see... This time it's the regions with around a 30% likelihood."
"Sigh, at this point, even that probability doesn't seem to mean much."
"Hmm, well, there's nothing we can do about that, Saintess."
"Ah! Right. It's the result of many people's efforts. I was too insensitive."
The Saintess sighed with a look of self-reproach. Despite saying it was okay, she seemed to be feeling anxious about the lack of results.
"Then, since it's already late today, we'll start going through these regions in order from tomorrow."
"Ah! Thank you, Laphori. You must be tired, so please go and rest now."
With that, the meeting adjourned, and Heinrich, who had been observing the progress of the search operation in real-time, returned to his accommodations.
'Finally, huh... There's not much time left now.'
On the fifteenth day since the search began, the Forest of Beasts located in the west of the continent was included in the next set of candidates.
'It's fortunate that we can make it in time.'
At the same time Heinrich was heading to his lodging, Hans had just managed to achieve a breakthrough in his research.
[Huhuhu... Hahahah! Finally, I've succeeded!]
A sinister laugh that seemed to come from hell echoed through a cave.
[Indeed, there's nothing impossible for Hans. Given enough time, such things are trivial.]
The descendant of the Immortal King, Archlich Hans, had his black robe wide open, exposing his ribcage. Between the stark white ribs, a prominently displayed object throbbed rhythmically like a heart. It was a fragment of the 'Heart of the Immortal King.' However, there was a significant change from before. Its appearance was not clear but rather opaque.
[Kukuk... A phase pocket space utilizing my body. Existing yet not existing. With this, I have come closer to perfection! Hahahat!]
He created a space overlapped with his existence and placed the 'Immortal' extracted heart into it.
Simply put, Hans had essentially turned his own body into a pocket dimension magical tool. An act that would have been impossible for a human... no, any living being.
Of course, it wasn't a proper method since he had to give up complete severance, and the space was only about the size of his ribcage... But that was a minor issue for him.
'The initial goal has already been achieved!'
By turning his body into a quasi-pocket space, he ignored the limitations of the fragment and smoothly created a conduit for dark magic.
Not to mention, it became easier to conceal his existence.
The difficulty of hiding it when fully exposed compared to when connected only by a single conduit was incomparable.
'And now I can properly use "Immortality" too.'
Now, even if his entire body turned to dust, he could instantly recover through the dark magic supplied via the conduit.
To defeat him, a strike that could split the space entirely or magic capable of handling that was essential.
'And Hans wouldn't just openly take such an attack.'
A result that was satisfying in many ways. This happened a few days before Laphori's search began in the Forest of Beasts.