CH 399

#32 ― All-source Situation Room, the World Awakened Association (Mainland)

Lee Tae-Han was sitting in the situation room. 

「Entrants: 33,914」

……

「Entrants: 33,921」

The speed of entering Dragorin had noticeably slowed down, which was a natural phenomenon as all the open dungeons were exhausted. He called the Director of the Office and ordered them to advance to the second opening immediately. 

The first opening was limited only to the emperor’s direct territories, while the second opening was applied throughout the seven imperial territories. The association’s plan involved assembling teams of strong Awakened in the challenger and master sections and using them to create battlegrounds in the imperial capital. Once the enemy’s defenses were weakened, they would then launch attacks and deploy more Awakened to their territory. 

「Entrants: 34,217」

……

「Entrants: 41,593」

The rate at which the scoreboard numbers were changing started to increase rapidly. 

* * *

Not only outer space but also the real-time situation of the association’s headquarters was included. I thought that that piece of footage would be the last one, but…

Does Doom Kaos have thousands of eyeballs on its body?

Each video clip showcased a different offensive force invading various parts of the Barien Empire, like thousands of puzzle pieces. However, once combined, the full picture of the Barien Empire being consumed by the flames of war would become clear. One of the two most formidable nations was screaming and dying just like the central area of the Greenwood Continent had. 

The last scene was an Awakened fighting the Grand Master of the empire, and the video zoomed into the Awakened’s furious red eyes. 

[Wow~ Doom Man’s human forces are strong and burning with fighting spirit. The master is satisfied.]

The Man Who Overcomes Adversity had deactivated. Time had passed while I was watching all sorts of videos, so I was now fatigued. 

[By the way, the human force has gone into override to serve their master, but what are the other corps doing? Since the human corps is leading the way, shouldn’t they be assisting and moving in response to them? I, Lunea, am honestly disappointed. Oh, not me. Doom Kaos is disappointed in you guys. Ah. Ha. Ha. Ha.]

Lunea kept talking incessantly, and I couldn’t tell if it was relaying Doom Kaos’s messages or simply being carried away by the thrill of becoming a Doom and was unable to stop talking. 

However, I could understand why Doom Kaos had given such a high position to it. It was a hint that Doom Kaos would be more directly involved with us in the future. What it would have truly wanted to say was to prevent internal conflicts in advance and focus on the war that had just begun. 

[Okay, then. Let’s chant for the last time. Eternal Loyalty to our almighty master, Doom Kaos― ٩(๑˃ꇴ˂๑)و]

The meeting was finally over, and I heard voices following Lunea’s words from stairs below and above me. I joined them as I didn’t mind acting like this as long as this would end the conference. 

“Eternal Loyalty to our almighty master, Doom Kaos.”

[Are you not going to lower your head, Doom Man?]

This asshole…

* * *

I returned to the mainland as soon as I got back from the coast. The object that I sent to Yeon-Hee didn’t contain harmful energy, but the one I sent to Lee Tae-Han’s office did. 

As I pushed open the gate and stepped into the office, I was met with a surreal sight. Lee Tae-Han’s workspace was awash in deep red energy, and all the neighboring offices on the same floor appeared to be deserted. 

The Awakened from the association was restricting access at both ends of the corridor, then they hurriedly lowered their heads as soon as they glanced alternately between the gate that was still open and me. The bloody crimson energy had already withered up to Lee Tae-Han’s office door. 

“Odin has returned. He is right in front of us now.”

As I had seen from Doom Kaos’s video, Lee Tae-Han was in the situation room, overseeing the entrance into the empire. 

I collected the bone ring and waited for Lee Tae-Han to come over in order to briefly explain the situation to him. 

However, Yeon-Hee arrived first. She was fully armed, ready to jump into the frontlines of the battlefield at any moment. Her anxious eyes looked at me.

She babbled, “I thought you were in danger.”

Then, she pulled out half of the ancient dragon’s heart, but the shape of it, which was originally a hilt of the broken sword, had been altered into a mundane form resembling cooled lava. 

[* Storage box]

[Half of the Great Red’s Heart has been added.]

[Doom Entegasto’s Bone Ring that the Dead Revere has been removed.]

“This is…”

When I was about to tell her about it, she spoke first. 

“I was going to enter the gate if I still didn’t hear anything from you by the end of today. With Jonathan and Lee Tae-Han.”

I explained briefly, “There was a meeting, and all Dooms were gathered in one place.”

Yeon-Hee nodded her head while focusing on the surroundings. She appeared to be conscious of the energy of Doom Entegasto that had spread when the bone ring was left alone in the office. 

Her gaze slowly moved to my fingers, then she frowned after noticing how my golden energy and Doom Entegasto’s bloody red energy were intertwined. 

“It was the energy coming from that, right?” she asked.

I nodded. “They would have taken it away if I brought that to the meeting. Doom Entegasto would have ground his teeth, waiting for the right time to kill me.”

I couldn’t laugh at Yeon-Hee’s serious face.

“Is that his stuff again?”

“Yes.”

A knowing look appeared in her eyes. “I know what is going on. I guess you were experienced in hiding cigarettes when you were in middle school, right?” 

She let out a laugh as if she had now relaxed.

The conversation then turned to the bone ring. After explaining that I needed to raise my Common Power to use this, I told her about the ‘Expansion of Life Vessel Usage Ability.’ 

Theft is never good, try looking at [ pawread dot com ].

Yeon-Hee showed more interest than when she learned that the bone was made from the bones of Doom Entegasto. With her eyes wide open like a surprised bunny, she was deeply immersed in the bone ring, unable to take her eyes off it.

I knew what she wanted. The reason why she couldn’t enter outer space immediately even though I was potentially in a dangerous situation was that she possessed my immortal vessel. 

“Expansion of Life Vessel Usage Ability is…”

As expected, her voice was full of anticipation.

I cautioned, “Nothing has been confirmed.”

Her eyes were bright. “But there is a possibility that we can move the vessel. So, if we can, then…”

I replied instantly, “Right. If we can move the vessel, then I will consider other options.”

Outer space was an incredibly dangerous terrain, so I made the excuse of needing the Life Vessel to keep her tied to the mainland and prevent her from venturing into it. If she encountered the transcendents, then there was no way for someone as powerful as her to survive. 

However, upon Yeon-Hee’s most recent visit to the auction, I realized that her demeanor was not simply one of boredom. Her calm expression seemed to indicate that the motivation driving her life was waning. 

Besides being my lover, she was the top Awakened in the world. I knew that she was extremely proud of that, so she wouldn’t even hesitate in moving the vessel to another person. If the constraint called the Life Vessel were gone, then she would be free. Moreover, the world was noisy with the large-scale expansion of outer space entries through the Barien Empire. 

She would have heard many things. 

“Are you sure?”

“Just wait a bit. We will know once we catch two more Dragorins. It won’t take long.”

I was also hoping that the bone ring had the ability to move the vessel as much as she did. Finding a safe vault like Yeon-Hee was the next problem. 

When Yeon-Hee regained brightness in her face, a strong presence approached the room. At first, I thought it was Lee Tae-Han, but I felt a presence from the opposite direction of the situation room, outside the building. Furthermore, based on the disappearing traces of the distorted space, I was able to confirm his identity. 

There were only a few Awakened with returning stones. It seemed that the news of my return to the headquarters had reached Jonathan through several people’s mouths. As expected, I heard him call my name from afar. His voice echoed from outside the building and traveled through the walls. 

- Sun!

It was Jonathan. He entered, dressed in a suit. All traces of his past reign on the skull throne like Doom Entegasto had been erased, and he reminded me of his previous life as a financier. He had only joined us five days ago after wandering, but I could tell that he had completely adapted to the environment.

It appeared that he was on his way back from meeting the club members. It would have been an event to announce his return and solidify his position as the head of the shadow government. 

He briefly exchanged glances with Yeon-Hee, then stood in front of me.

“Everything is fine?”

Lee Tae-Han came in just in time. Judging by the way their eyes flickered at each other, it was obvious that they had resolved to enter outer space starting tomorrow, as Yeon-Hee had mentioned earlier. 

I finished explaining what I had already done to Yeon-Hee. Lee Tae-Han and Jonathan seemed relieved that what they had worried about hadn’t happened, but at the same time, they appeared to have gotten a better understanding of the transcendent beings. 

Right when I was about to return to outer space, Jonathan called me. Unlike Yeon-Hee and Lee Tae-Han, his face was filled with tension. When he checked the text message on his phone, there was a creepy gleam in his eyes.

He stated, “I think you should know about this.”

Jonathan showed me his screen. The headlines of the news that would be published tomorrow were written in large letters on the screen. 

[Who is John Doe of Jonathan Investment Finance Group?]

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