CH 356

Yeon-Hee greeted me with a look of surprise. It appeared that she was ready to leave immediately for the accommodation, considering the car had been started already. When I closed the door after sitting in the passenger seat, she lowered the radio volume.

“I thought you went in there.”

I shook my head. “I sent Kwon Seong-Il.”

“Why?” she asked.

“I was blocked. My corps must secure my way in.”

Yes, I got this message when I tried to enter Star Dragorin.

[Your entry is being blocked by the power of the Old one. * Including the Gate]

[A command has arrived from your master, Doom Kaos.]

[Secure the Access Road (Command)

The Old One has complete control over Star Dragorin, having created this battlefield by channeling its power. It’s where the Old One will make its final stand with fierce resistance.

Nonetheless, your master, the all-powerful Doom Kaos, has already achieved multiple victories. To prove your worth to your master, you must demonstrate satisfactory results, starting by infiltrating Star Dragorin. 

* Occupy the Greenwood Continent’s ‘Whirlpool Land’ with your corps.

* Also, have your corps remove ‘Holy Knight Caldoran’ or other Holy Knights on earth. The Old One’s power in the Holy Knight will become yours and show you the way to get in.

If you succeed: The number of Old One’s corps attacking your mainland will decrease.

If you fail: The number of Old One’s corps attacking your mainland will increase.

Remaining time: Fifty days.]

Yeon-Hee remained silent for a while after hearing the explanation, then said calmly, “The deadline is on June 10th.”

***

When I sent Seong-Il to Dragorin, I gave him specific instructions to return promptly without any delay. However, shortly after his entry, the gate closed, and several minutes passed without any sign of Seong-Il.

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Four hours later, he returned. At that time, I was waiting in the car under the hill with Yeon-Hee. Since there was no sign of danger, she also accompanied me.

Seong-Il was standing in a spot, slightly away from the lights that the agents had lit. Some wet towels were stained and dumped around him in a disorganized manner. He poured bottled water on his face and smiled at us as if things were ridiculous.

He had brought back many things, and one of them was an orc’s corpse. There were also two humans, who were barely alive. Seong-Il rose to his feet as the agents seized the humans.

He then gazed at the spot where the dungeon entrance had vanished and said, “I think we can go in and out as we want.”

Then, he handed me a microchronometer[1]. The passage of time in the Land of the Dead was completely different from reality, and the time here was the same. The amount of time that had elapsed on Seong-Il’s microchronometer, was equivalent to the time that had passed here.

“How did you reopen the entrance of the dungeon?”

Yeon-Hee turned away from the two humans to look at Seong-Il.

Seong-Il responded with a shrug, “I honestly freaked out because I thought I wouldn’t be able to come back. So I beat as many monsters as possible, then the gate reopened.”

I asked, “Who are they?”

He rolled his eyes. “Ugh, they were so clingy. They rushed into me, risking their lives. If I didn’t get your order to return quickly, then I would have destroyed their nuts.”

We walked toward the humans, and when I gave the agents a look, they took multiple steps back.

Seong-Il commented, “These fuckers use Night Eyes.”

He wasn’t just talking about the two different humans. Seong-Il added that he saw the same thing with the orcs.

He continued with his analysis, “These two were similar in strength to those at the end of the bronze section, while the dead monster was at the silver level. But that one was still considered the top three among the orcs.”

“You should have brought the orc back alive.”

Seong-Il scratched his nose after being scolded by Yeon-Hee. “I told you, noona. They are weak and pathetic. I honestly didn’t think it would get crushed that easily. Send me anywhere. I will get you thousands of humans and monsters.”

I rummaged through the items that Seong-Il had brought. Several pouches were entangled with each other and drenched in green and red blood. I could discern that they were filled with mana stones without even opening them as some had spilled out of the pouches.

When I kicked the orc’s body and turned it over so that its abdomen faced the sky, Seong-Il said, “I sliced open some of their stomachs, but none of them had any mana stones. It looks like they had gotten them by hunting and gathering from the Declans. Although they hadn't established the Mana Stone Bank, they had clearly invested effort in accumulating the stones.”

“Declan?” I asked.

Seong-Il grinned. “I’m a master in smelling and figuring things out. I could smell them from afar. I tried to kill them all, but I returned as the dungeon entrance opened at that time. I suddenly remembered what you told me.”

“Anything special or abnormal things you noticed?”

He responded, “The air was definitely different as soon as I entered the space. I mean, not just air, but the vibe. I felt something really strong.”

***

We were unable to enter the dungeon freely, and it didn’t lead to a labyrinth like the former dungeons. Instead, it was more like a small gate, a direct passage to Star Dragorin.

When Seong-Il had cleared all the monsters in the vicinity, the gate had opened, hinting at the possibility of a hidden quest, although there was no clear indication of what needed to be done. It was likely that the door would only open once a certain amount of destruction had been wrought.

Of course, we needed to experiment more and come to a conclusion in the future. When I looked at Yeon-Hee, she grasped my intention and moved.

The two people Seong-Il had brought over were Caucasians. One was in his early forties and the other was in his mid-thirties. Among them, Yeon-Hee’s first choice was a guy in his early forties. She sat down in front of him, then Seong-Il said as if he was giving advice, “There is not much of a difference, but the other seemed a bit stronger. The one with the scar under his eyes.”

Yeon-Hee smiled but remained focused on her target. Her recovery skill emitted a bright white light that enveloped the man, and she finished her work by gently caressing his cheek.

The man struggled to open his eyes and repeatedly blinked as an LED light was shining directly on his face. When he finally looked at Yeon-Hee, her eyes turned black.

At that time, Seong-Il came out after changing his clothes. When I handed him a cigarette, he picked it up with both hands. As he lit his cigarette, he instinctively turned his head to the side, much like one would when drinking with an elder or in a formal setting.

When we were almost done smoking, Yeon-Hee tilted her head.

“It has been a little over a month since we came back, right? It’s so weird. I will have to look into the details, but it appears that for them, it has been an exceedingly long time since their return. It’s not just a matter of hundreds of years.”

I said, “Star Dragorin is the world that the Old One created as the last battlefield.”

She nodded. “Yes, so it has been a long time since the War of the New Devil.”

“The War of the New Devil? I think I know why you named it that way.”

“It’d be faster to show you instead of me explaining about this. What do you think?”

There was only one answer to Yeon-Hee’s two eyes asking for permission. I shook my head to express disapproval. Since joining Doom Kaos’s side… so since I acquired the position of Doom Man, Yeon-Hee had never entered my mental world.

She could sense the power lurking inside me when I responded to the priest's ritual ‘Transition’ by using three hundred points of Power and when I actually transitioned a dungeon. There was a cluster of dreadful energy sealed somewhere inside of me. All I could do with Power was respond to the rituals of the priests or open the gates. However, the energy generated by utilizing three hundred Power figures appeared to open up new possibilities.

It wasn’t just a mere feeling, but a strong sense of certainty. It was likely that Doom Kaos had sealed the energy, which made the situation all the more ironic.

[* Also, have your corps remove ‘Holy Knight Caldoran’ or other Holy Knights on earth. The Old One’s power in the Holy Knight will become yours and show you the entrance.]

The command sent by Doom Kaos was teasing and tricking me that I would be able to fully absorb the power of the Old One from Holy Knight. Yes, my Power would increase, and if Doom Kaos felt it was necessary, it would give me new Power skills other than generating gates.

However, that was it. Similar to how the Awakened felt upon their return to the mainland, realizing that there were many things they were capable of, but unable to do so, they too felt the tremendous power that was sealed within them. However, they were constrained to using only the skills that Doom Kaos permitted them to.

If I could only discover the proper way to utilize the Power figures, or in other words, find a means to unleash my sealed strength! Then, the path to challenge the top Dooms would reveal itself. This could ultimately lead to my liberation from Doom Kaos's restriction while simultaneously maintaining peace on earth.

Anyway, the reason why I didn’t let Yeon-Hee intervene in my mental world was that no one knew how the power sealed in my body would react to her intervention. I briefly explained this to Yeon-Hee, and she nodded that she understood.

Meanwhile, the man in his mid-thirties appeared to have a hardened physique, with a loss of will to live evident in his eyes.

Yeon-Hee continued, “The War of New Devil was a legendary battle for the leadership between Doom Kaos and the Old One in the Genesis of Star Dragorin, but it was not merely a myth. It was a true historical event. What makes it even more intriguing is the so-called Holy Knights emerged during the conflict. They were at the forefront of the war against the Seven Demon Kings, much like what we had done in the Stage of Advent.”

Yeon-Hee continued explaining through telepathy as she was conscious of Seong-Il.

- Yeon-Hee: Holy Knight Caldoran appeared in your command.

- Seon-Hu: Does that mean they have been alive from the Genesis of Dragorin until now?

- Yeon-Hee: I don’t think so. It seems that power had been transferred to the directives of the first Holy Knights, or they might have a system for that. Well… This guy doesn’t know much, but think about it. The funny thing is that he was caught by Seong-Il.

Yeon-Hee smiled.

- Yeon-Hee: The first Holy Knight is named Cassian, and he was the most powerful in the War of the New Devil. As I said, whatever I’m telling you now is based on this guy’s knowledge. Anyway, this guy found one page of the archives at a historic site. Then, Seong-Il caught him there.

Seong-Il suddenly whined, “Noona… I have a stomach ache. Ugh… I’m going to go shit first and come back. It’s my first poop of the day.”

Seong-Il ran funny. His stomach ache was simply an excuse, and it was clear that he did so intentionally as he sensed that we were communicating telepathically.

“Go ahead.”

- Yeon-Hee: Cassian not only dealt with the War of New Devil. A lot of Dragorin’s powerful magic and supernatural powers that resemble sorcery began from there. Cassian’s archives are a great treasure to them, but they are out of their luck. Mmm… But there is no need to be sad because they would have been killed by a flock of orcs if Seong-Il didn’t catch them. Those orcs over there are more intelligent than these people.

There were many things to hear from Yeon-Hee. The night was going to be long.

- Seon-Hu: Anyway, is that all you can see from them?

- Yeon-Hee: Not yet. I need to get into the other one’s mental world.

- Seon-Hu: Then, it would be better to check something before then.

- Yeon-Hee: Check what?

- Seon-Hu: Whether or not our human firearms work on them or not. I’m really curious about that because they are not technically humans. They are aliens.

I signaled the agents briefly, after which they located cover and disengaged the safety of their rifles.

“What is that guy’s main weapon?” I asked.

Yeon-Hee responded, “Sword.”

“What about skills?”

“He knows how to handle Mana. You will see.”

I nodded. “Okay.”

[You have used Odin’s Wrath.]

Zing. 

I manipulated a few thunderbolts to maneuver a sword from the pile of items that Seong-Il had seized while he was in Star Dragorin. Then, the sword droppedl right in front of his leg. Although it was difficult to communicate due to the language barrier, he could feel the atmosphere.

I made sure he picked up the sword with his trembling hand before I reached out to the nearest agent. The agent didn’t grasp what I was asking for at first, but he soon realized when I pointed at his automatic rifle.

The agent placed the rifle in my hand.

1. An instrument for measuring very small intervals of time. ☜