CH 198

#74. Reunion

The unexpected guests, whose hoods covered their heads completely, didn’t seem bothered by the noise around them. They sat down in the empty seats, as if their positions were all predetermined.

The host spoke again once they were all seated. “First of all, I bow my head and apologize for not informing you in advance.”

He bowed down for a moment, speaking in a dry, serious voice that certainly didn’t match his clown outfit. “The passageways of the Underworld were suddenly opened, and with it came the endless influx of malice carried by ghosts; the Nobles have all had a hard time over the past year. Even for us, the Black Merchants, it was as if we had gone back to the horrific past, and we had to survive a year where nothing but savagery dominated the Underworld.”

The commotion in the auction house slowly subsided. The unexpected guests constantly had the attention of the rest of the floor, as the other participants stared at them with a mix of vigilance and hostility. However, the hooded guests continued to listen diligently to the host, perhaps to get a better understanding of the situation.

“But we, the Black Merchants, didn’t just sit around hiding in fear for the past year. We’ve tried to the best of our ability to determine the cause of this catastrophe that is currently taking place in our Underworld. But, of course, there was no way that lowly merchants like us could solve a problem that even our mighty Nobles couldn’t solve.”

Due to the lengthy explanation, some of the more short-tempered participants started to get impatient and got up from their seats.

But before they could start kicking up a fuss again, the host got to the main point of his explanation. “Thus, we, the Black Merchants, have invited valuable guests from the Other Underworld who are directly related to the situation!”

It was at that moment that the identities of the unexpected guests were finally revealed.

“You craz-”

“Where do you think this is!?”

As soon as the host finished speaking, the participants on the floor threw their chairs in anger and growled wildly.

“Now, now. Let’s all calm down. They’re not here to fight you.” The short host tried to calm the participants at the top of his voice, but to no avail.

With the two opposing parties of the year-long war finally meeting after a long period of hostility, there was no way they could be easily calmed down. The participants on the floor bared their fangs and claws, growling as if they were going to charge toward the twenty-odd guests at any moment.

And at that moment, a skinny man appeared from the crowd of angry participants and spoke. “Black Merchant. Are you colluding with the Other Underworld to provoke us?” His strange, deep voice caught the ears of everyone in the auction house.

“This humble merchant greets the 11th Floor Noble, messenger of the wise Bryntess—Viscount Tyrenon.” The commotion in the auction house instantly subsided at the host’s greeting, which sounded mightier than usual.

“I’m not here to say hello. You have yet to answer my question,” Tyrenon replied.

It was no wonder that the angry participants immediately shut their mouths, as the man’s status was rather unusual. After all, only someone who was at least at the rank of Viscount would be able to speak out amid such chaos.

When the commotion finally died down, the host responded to Tyrenon’s words with a smile. “This is a misunderstanding. A misunderstanding, that’s all. The Black Merchants have never even thought of that. As I just mentioned, our only concern is the safety and well-being of our customers and the stability of the Underworld.”

“I knew that wasn’t any normal guy. So that bastard’s a Viscount, huh.” Kim Jin-Woo’s eyes lit up as he watched the scene from his VIP room. The messenger of the corrupted Lord, whom he had met while dealing with the Association’s affairs, was unlike any others he had encountered before.

Kim Jin-Woo, who was now powerful enough to look down on most Nobles like insects, felt a sense of regret for letting him go back then. After all, if he was a Viscount, the power contained in Tyrenon’s Seal must have been rather delectable. Such thoughts only whetted Kim Jin-Woo’s appetite.

“Oh, is he someone you know, Milord?” asked the Black Merchant.

“Just on the surface. That aside, for you guys to think of introducing the beings from the Other Underworld in front of those participants… Was this all part of your plan?” Kim Jin-Woo asked.

“What do you mean?”

“There’s no need to pretend. I’m sure you’ve had this planned out with Tyrenon from the start.”

It was very unnatural for a Viscount to be mixed in with the ordinary participants on the auction house floor. Even if there weren’t enough VIP rooms to go around, the Black Merchants wouldn’t be so foolish as to treat a 11th Floor Noble so poorly.

Considering the atmosphere, Tyrenon seemed to be rather infamous in the Underworld in his own way, as his nickname was ‘King of Conspiracies’. It was highly plausible that he had been completely aware of this situation beforehand and hid amongst the rest of the ordinary participants, as if he and the Black Merchants had colluded on a plan.

“How could that be? Maybe we were lacking in our capabilities, which harmed his dignity as a Noble. Perhaps it was the Viscount himself that was uncomfortable with the arrangements we’ve made, and is now speaking out on his own accord?” Despite his statement that they were on the receiving end of hatred by the Viscount however, the Black Merchant’s demeanor said otherwise.

Seeing his brazen attitude, Kim Jin-Woo clicked his tongue as he looked out of the window, watching Tyrenon exchange words with the host calmly.

As Tyrenon stepped forward, the rest of the participants on the floor continued to watch, daring not to step forward themselves. He asked, “Then are you saying that you, the Black Merchants, hold the key to solving the chaos in the Underworld?”

“It’s exactly as you said, wise Viscount,” the host replied.

Kim Jin-Woo glanced at the Viscount and the host before turning his attention to the group of hooded guests. Despite the resentment and furor building around them, they didn’t budge.

“Mm?” As he scanned the group with his gaze, he suddenly stopped. Perhaps having felt his gaze, one of the hooded guests raised their head.

There was nothing particularly distinctive about that guest. They were the smallest in the group, and all that could be seen was their exceptionally white jawline.

However, despite that, Kim Jin-Woo couldn’t take his eyes off them. Just like a wild beast crouching low right before going in for the kill, he could feel his muscles tightening subconsciously. Before he knew it, his presence rose and shot out of his VIP room.

And as if they had been expecting it, the guest’s presence grew in resonance, and Kim Jin-Woo found himself face-to-face with the presence of another Highlord.

“So we…”

“If the Black Merchants’ thoughts and ours don’t coincide…”

The surrounding sounds faded away. The host’s response, which sounded as if he were reading off a script, as well as the noise of the floor totally disappeared.

And finally, when everything was silenced, only Kim Jin-Woo and the hooded Highlord existed in his world.

-So, it’s you.

In his strange new world, a single thought entered his head.

-Nice to meet you, new Highlord of the Underworld.

Kim Jin-Woo’s first encounter with the other Highlord began with an arrogant, absolute greeting.

However, despite the intensity, the bond between them didn’t last long. The situation at the auction house turned up a notch, breaking the silence of the world between them.

“If what the Black Merchants are saying is true, then why are they still not revealing themselves?” Tyrenon stared straight at the group of hooded beings from the Other Underworld. “If they truly have no other intentions, they should swear upon the Mysteries of the Underworld and reveal themselves!”

With that clear and concise demand, Tyrenon withdrew himself, and the main character finally made his appearance. The real show was just getting started.

“Such insolence coming from a mere Viscount,” came a booming voice filled with displeasure.

Not even Tyrenon and the Black Merchants seemed to have expected such blatant killing intent coming from the voice’s owner, based on their bewildered looks.

“However, this is your land, and I am here as a guest. So this time, I will follow your will.” As soon as they finished speaking, the guest took off the hood they had been wearing and declared “I am the king who presides over the 14th Floor, the head of the Twelve Dukes, and the Wailing Lord. That is my name.”

The Wailing Lord, who had blonde hair and delicate features, was shockingly a female human.

“I believe only in myself, not in the insignificant Mysteries of the Underworld. I speak now upon my own name and powers.”

Contrary to her crazy demeanor, she was so slender that she didn’t even seem capable of defeating the weakest of Underworld creatures. But no one in her presence underestimated her because of her fragile appearance. The mere presence emanating from her was already drowning them.

“I am not here to fight you,” she said.

But her gaze wasn’t directed towards the participants on the floor. Her words were, in fact, directed toward the VIP rooms, accompanied by her provocative, arrogant gaze.

“But.” A blatant look of ridicule appeared on her face and her eyes narrowed. “I can’t stand it when lowly beings look down on me.”

A startled Black Merchant imp jumped out and screamed, “W-Wailing Lord! The promise you made with us…”

But by the time the imp jumped out, it was already too late, as the Wailing Lord smashed all the windows in the VIP room. She said, “If we reveal ourselves, it is only right that you reveal yourselves as well.”

The entire auction house was thrown into chaos by the atrocities carried out by the Wailing Lord. The VIP room collapsed and covered the stage, causing a great commotion in the process.

However, the Black Merchants quickly came out and skillfully calmed the angry Nobles, trying to avoid the situation from spinning out of control. Still, even the resourceful Black Merchants weren’t talented enough to conduct an auction in such ruins, and the event was postponed.

The day of the special auction came to an abrupt end.

Upon hearing that the meeting that the Black Merchant had been supposed to arrange after the end of the auction was also postponed, Kim Jin-Woo retreated to his assigned residence quarters.

“We ask for your gracious understanding after today’s unfortunate incident. This may not be enough for an apology, but we will be giving away some of the items that we were supposed to be putting up for auction today for free.” The imp girl who had taken over the role of Kim Jin-Woo’s guide apologized profusely to him several times.

But Kim Jin-Woo wasn’t listening at all. His expression was as hard as stone as he tried to process what had just happened. That was because among the Nobles who had been exposed when the VIP rooms collapsed, there was a being whom he had longed to be reunited with.

However, his expression was frozen stiff not because of the joy of reunion, but because that being could never coexist with him.

It was the terrible monster who had once enslaved him: The King of Hell Spiders.

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