#60
The Calm Before the Storm (1)
A basement without a single window.
In the pitch-dark center of the space, there was a stone-made furnace, standing alone.
“… It’s time.”
A soft voice echoed in the darkness where no presence was felt.
The owner of the voice quietly approached the furnace without making a sound and stood a distance away.
At that moment.
Fwooosh—
Violet flames shot up from the furnace, almost reaching the ceiling, before gradually shrinking to about the size of a campfire.
The violet light revealed the shadows of about five or six figures flickering around the furnace.
[Are we all gathered…?]
[Yeah, except for that idiot who got himself killed.]
The shadows conversed in low, rumbling voices.
[What’s the rush? Shouldn’t we ask how everyone is doing and take our time? Kiki-kek.]
[Just shut up before I tear your mouth open.]
“Seems like everyone has heard the news.”
Since such distinct personalities gathered, the meeting didn’t progress quickly.
It was better to skip unnecessary talk and get right to the point, as this wasn’t a place meant for socializing.
[Ah, I heard. It’s so ridiculous it only makes me laugh.]
[Hehe~ Me too. To think they would die like that after taking the World Tree’s branch. Kiki-kik.]
Finally, the regular meeting was properly underway.
They exchanged information about recent events.
“So, no one knows how the church and the high elves found and attacked Nurabe.”
[Ha! Isn’t it because the World Tree got involved? That stupid fool didn’t properly collar his sacrifice.]
[Hmm~ I don’t think so? That old man even managed to take the sealing tools properly with me?]
Various opinions bounced around, but nothing conclusive came out since there was no certainty.
[Regardless… We need to be more careful…]
[First that idiot Marcos who was throwing a fit to monopolize the Fragment of the Undead King, and now Nurabe, who was supposedly hiding well. Isn’t this too relaxed?]
“Speaking of the Undead King… The church’s movements lately are unsettling.”
The exchange of information continued.
[What about the Undead King’s heir? Can we use them?]
[Hehe! What can we do about Marcos, who is already dead? If our goals align, it wouldn’t be bad to team up!]
The conversation of the black shadows dancing in the violet space continued.
After much back-and-forth on suggestions, rebuttals, alternatives, and agreements…
“Let’s go with that, so I take it there are no further issues to discuss?”
[Of course~ The empire is always peaceful.]
[The east side… no abnormalities…].
As a conclusion was drawn, the regular meeting of the Oath of Reversal came to an end.
*
“Jin So-Ran, let’s process these like before.”
Heinz visited Jin So-Ran’s office, who was busy with various tasks, and spread out a heap of items.
All of them were valuable magical equipment, including items that allowed the use of spatial dimensions.
She was momentarily startled but quickly jumped up with excitement.
“Wow… Lord, where do you keep bringing in these items?”
This wasn’t her first time seeing such things, yet she couldn’t help but exclaim as she examined the items he presented.
Since magical equipment could only be obtained by returnees, supplies were limited, and thus it couldn’t simply be bought with money.
“There’s always a way. By the way, how about that thing I asked you to prepare last time?”
“Oh, the pepper? I had the staff repackage and store everything.”
It was nice having people to delegate tasks to.
As long as she gave instructions, trivial problems were taken care of without fuss.
‘We can’t sell items packed in plastic or vinyl as is, so it’s a hassle, but it’s nothing compared to the profits I can make.’
Pepper wasn’t particularly expensive on Earth, but it was different in Auterica.
It was a high-end spice, and due to the distance of the main production site, margins were quite satisfactory.
It was perfect as a starting product for trade.
‘At first, I thought about selling artificial gems made on Earth…’
Artificial gems made with modern technology were nearly impossible to distinguish by ordinary means.
In fact, they had fewer impurities and were cleaner, so that could also be a selling point, but…
‘Since they were made on Earth, it’s fatal that they can’t be used for magic.’
The reason gems were expensive in Auterica wasn’t just aesthetic.
They held value as materials used for magical experiments, barriers, and the construction of magical equipment.
Selling defective products that couldn’t be used for the mysterious, merely pretty gems could create unnecessary turmoil.
‘Now that I’m starting a business, I shouldn’t attract attention and take risks. I’ll hold off on that until I’ve established myself.’
Naturally, it was a waste to shelve such a good business idea.
Such unique characteristics could also turn into a selling point if marketed well.
Wealthy buyers would probably be thrilled to pay for that kind of rarity.
“Where did everyone else go?”
Having organized her thoughts, Heinz glanced around and asked Jin So-Ran.
The number of people was clearly reduced compared to before.
It seemed like half or more had vacated the area.
“Oh, there was a bit of a problem in Incheon. Jin-seok went over himself, so it should be sorted out quickly.”
As Heterosis grew, many had joined under its shadow.
This included not only the existing hardliners but also those from moderate and neutral factions.
Among them was Gamma, Jin-seok, who had been an official in the hardliner faction.
‘But surprisingly, he seems quite compliant. I was thinking of making him into a bloodline if he didn’t listen.’
He had not visited the villa, as he was handling the regional responsibilities, but when Heinz visited later, he immediately swore loyalty and curled up like a dog.
His instincts for survival were quite helpful, leading to a rapid absorption of the hardliner faction.
‘It’s still a pity that I haven’t gathered much information on Alpha. The fact that he remains unseen suggests he has already left Korea.’
The existing hardliner leader, Alpha, presumed to be a level 8 vampire.
He aimed to handle him whenever he got the chance, but the situation had been murky ever since that day.
While he continued searching with the influence gained from consuming the blood alliance, there had been no progress.
“You know, thanks to the Lord, the situation in the blood alliance looks much better. Obviously, our Heterosis’ voice is growing more and more.”
Heterosis, expanding its influence rapidly based on the power and capital from Heinz, was taking the lead in the blood alliance.
Of course, building up their scale directly would draw the guardians or the abnormality management agency’s attention, so it was a secret effort to expand their influence among organizations in the underworld.
‘The ones I sold gold bars to back then have also come under us.’
They’ve been showing promise in exploring the sales channels for magical equipment.
Looking back on that previous transaction, they were indeed capable individuals.
‘Speaking of which, it’s about time to move and make changes…’
For a while, he had been too bogged down with plans regarding Buncheon Society.
But now that he could afford to be a little leisurely, there was no harm in preparing slowly.
‘Of course, not right away.’
“You mentioned there’s a problem in Incheon? Since I have nothing to do for now, I’ll go check it out myself.”
It was crucial to stabilize the blood alliance as soon as possible.
Currently, a big event that would shake Auterica was just around the corner.
Once that event was over, the ‘Home Theater: Demon King and Hero’ operation would start in earnest, and Heinz would be busier than ever.
*
Fifteen days since the search for the Undead King led by the high elf Laforey had commenced.
Following their priority list, many forests had been searched, yet no significant results appeared.
Heinrich tagged along for the scheduled mid-meeting after going through a complete list of candidate locations, ready to share the progress.
Now, he was deeply involved in the operation, prioritizing it over the Paladin Order’s work.
‘Nevertheless, I’m just here to observe and assist from behind.’
Laforey, wearing an awkward smile, organized the documents from the areas they had finished searching.
“… Hmmm, even though I’ve searched all the areas I thought had the highest probability, there are no results, so I can’t raise my head confidently.”
The saint and the archbishop shook their heads firmly at Laforey’s words, insisting that was not the case.
“We’re just grateful for your hard work, Laforey. The search order was determined by our church side from the start.”
“In fact, it might be located in a completely different region without any forests. Even so, narrowing down the regions considerably isn’t a bad outcome.”
“Thanks to that, the church’s search team is currently focusing on regions without forests. There’s no need to mention the efficiency drastically improving.”
As they mentioned, the search personnel were continuously dispatched to areas like deserts and wastelands.
Of course, the searches of the forests hadn’t been completely finished, but the church needed to prepare for any eventualities.
Archbishop Latinus looked at the map of the continent hanging on the wall and some prioritized documents.
“Now, let’s review the next tier of candidates. Let’s see… This time, they are roughly regions around 30% probability.”
“Haah, after all this time, that probability seems meaningless.”
“Humm, it can’t be helped, can it? Saint.”
“Ah! Right. It must be the result of many people’s efforts. I wasn’t paying enough attention.”
The saint expressed self-reproach as she sighed deeply.
Though she said it was fine, she seemed to have grown anxious over the lack of results.
“Then, it’s already late today, so we’ll begin our search in those regions starting tomorrow.”
“Ah! Thank you in advance, Laforey. You must be tired, so please go and rest.”
With that, the meeting concluded, and Heinrich, who had been observing the ongoing operation in real-time, returned to his quarters.
‘Finally, right… There’s not much time left now.’
On the fifteenth day since the search began, the Forest of Monsters located in the west of the continent was included as the next candidate.
‘Glad I was able to meet the timeline.’
Just as a research outcome was about to be obtained.
At that moment, inside a cave.
Hoo… Ha ha ha—! Finally succeeded!
A sinister laugh echoed, as if it had come from hell.
[Indeed, impossible things do not exist for Hans. Given sufficient time, this is no big deal.]
The Undead King’s heir, Archlich Hans, had opened the front of his black robe, exposing his ribs.
From between his stark white exposed ribs, a certain object made its presence known.
A pulsating black gem, the Fragment of the Undead King, pulsed rhythmically, resembling a heart.
However, there was something drastically different from before.
The appearance was now unclear and translucent compared to how it once was.
[Kekek—! By utilizing my body as a spatial dimension. Existing yet not existing. With this, I draw closer to perfection! Kha ha ha—!]
He created a space overlapping with his existence and placed the heart extracted with “undead” into it.
Simply put, he had essentially turned his own body into a quasi-spatial magical equipment.
If he were human… no, if he were a living being, such a feat would have been impossible.
Of course, it wasn’t done properly, and he had given up on complete separation, with the space only being within his ribs…
That issue was nothing for him.
‘The initial goal has already been achieved!’
By making his body into a pseudo-dimensional space, he ignored the limits of the fragment and could smoothly create a path to absorb black magic.
There was also no need to mention how easy it had become to conceal his existence.
The difficulty of hiding something when fully exposed compared to simply connecting it with a path was not the same.
‘Moreover, I can properly utilize “undead” now.’
Even if his entire body turned into dust, he could recover instantly using the black magic supplied through the path.
To defeat him, one would need a single blow that could split the entire space or magic capable of handling that.
‘And there’s no way Hans would just take such attacks willingly.’
The results were indeed satisfactory.
Just a few days before Laforey commenced the search in the Forest of Monsters.
