#161
Hahoe mask rise (1)
“Recent news and accidents definitely make you feel the impact.”
“Really. Until recently, I was worried that something really big might happen if things continued like this.”
There is something that not only Seoul but everyone living in Korea has definitely felt these days.
The fact is that public security in the country has risen to an absurd level.
This phenomenon, which felt alien compared to the news from overseas that was still worsening, was now deeply ingrained in everyone’s daily lives.
Of course, there could be many reasons for this.
The government agency, the Bureau of Abilities Management, also worked hard, and the Guardians under the Returnees Association also achieved great results in arresting criminals, so their contribution could not be ignored.
But now everyone who needed to know knew.
That there is one more being who deserves to be ranked above their names.
-Honestly, if it weren’t for the Hahoe mask, our country would have been a mess like other countries. Okay?
-It’s true that the Guardians worked hard, but the difference before and after the appearance of Hahoe Mask is so great that there’s no way to cover it up.
-But what exactly is the Hahoe mask? It must be several people pretending to be one person, right?
Hahoe-tal, a monster that appeared at some point and began to rule the nights of Seoul, eventually appearing all over Korea.
Rumors about him began to spread rapidly and became uncontrollable, eventually leading to him being mentioned frequently on celebrities’ social media and TV programs.
And thanks to that, there was an Internet community that grew explosively…
It was the fan site of ‘Hahoe Mask’, ‘Seonangdang of Dawn’.
With a name derived from the traditional image of Hahoe mask and his activities, which were mainly done at night, he was gaining popularity and his influence was rapidly growing.
Naturally, it wasn’t just the general public who took an interest in this modern-day dark hero who attracted a lot of attention.
The Hahoetal Investigation Team of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Ability Management Bureau.
“Eww! How long are we going to keep doing this nonsense?! Isn’t it time to give up? Let’s just let them do what they’re good at!”
“That kid is sick again. Hey! It’s past time for the youngest to take his medicine!”
“Yes, Team Leader. What the—! You little brat. Do you know what we want to do? What can we do when we’re told to do so by someone from above?”
Thud thud—!
The senior agents were happy to whip Kang Tae-san, who was watching the CCTV footage and was struck on the back of his head.
This youngest has a condition that causes seizures if he is not treated regularly, so it was a heartbreaking but unavoidable decision.
“This guy, the back of his head is sticking to my hand today.”
“Ah, oh no! Senior! I’ve come to my senses! Senior!”
“Yes, Emma. Anyway, it’s our job to figure out the crimes of the Awakened. Let’s get to work without putting the warden in charge.”
“···Ugh, I understand.”
In this way, government agencies continued to track down Hahoe masks.
Korean Repatriates Association, Seoul Southern Branch.
“Tseup, it seems like it has something to do with the Blood Alliance and Hahoe Mask. Especially the Heterosis faction.”
“If it’s Heterosis, isn’t it the elite combat group within the Blood Alliance that has been rising rapidly recently? The leader was a level 8 vampire with the pseudonym Heinz?”
“Yes. After driving out the hardliners, they came out quite peacefully and even turned a blind eye to their expansion of power···.”
In any case, no matter how much you uproot an underground organization, it will grow back like a weed.
In that case, it would be more efficient in many ways to give power to cooperative groups like the current Blood Alliance and have them crack down on themselves.
In fact, the effect has been quite satisfactory so far, and with the control of the blood alliance and the fear of the Hahoe, their jurisdiction has maintained a fairly good level of public security.
“No matter how I look at it, it seems like Hahoe-tal is taking independent action and receiving information separately from the blood alliance.”
“If it’s information… are you talking about the death list?”
“Well, you could say that.”
Branch manager Yoon Ji-yoon, who was talking to her secretary, frowned and sank into her chair.
Even for her, the existence of Hahoe mask was too burdensome to delve into.
Just from the facts that have already been revealed, he was a strong man who could be called a demon lord of any world.
If you mess with him for no reason and he loses the line he is maintaining and runs wild, a disaster will literally strike the middle of Seoul.
“···Let’s just watch for a little longer.”
Eventually, she decided to close her eyes and watch the situation unfold a little longer.
The Ability Management Bureau and the Returnee Association.
In addition to these representative organizations, numerous intelligence organizations, criminal groups, and even the Bancheonhoe were secretly investigating Hahoetal.
It has gotten to the point where it is impossible to discuss the current state of affairs in Korea without mentioning Hahoe masks.
And in that situation···.
Woohoo—
[Keuhehe— There are still guys who do this. What a swollen liver. I should cut open his stomach and check for myself.]
“Is this the truth? Who are you!”
Hans was experiencing a fresh reaction for the first time in a long time.
I thought I had instilled enough fear in the underworld these days, but when I came to catch a murderer who was committing murder without even trying to hide it, this was the attitude he gave me.
“···Are you that guy called Hahoe-tal? I hear you’ve got a good reputation these days? You really are a vicious demon.”
Even when facing him, he becomes filled with a sense of triumph.
It was not simply an oversight born of ignorance that arose shortly after returning.
No matter how much Hans tried to hide the energy in his heart, there weren’t many people who could face him head-on and still be so confident.
‘That must mean you’re confident in your own abilities.’
Gooooooo—!
As he had expected, in an instant, a heavy aura flowed out from the opponent’s body and his presence began to swell.
A messy and turbid, yet heavy and oppressive aura, as if mixed with various energies, spread throughout the interior of the barrier Hans had created.
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‘Is this the energy you’ve accumulated by taking the life force from others? That’s unusual. With such unstable energy, you were able to reach that level without becoming a wreck.’
Maybe there is a unique skill related to it.
The density of the aura he possessed clearly surpassed that of the Knight Commander Cornwell of the Azerion Empire.
“Yes, it seems that his fame wasn’t in vain. I didn’t know that Hahoe-tal was a zombie. It seems he’s perfected some kind of special method.”
Hans was now wearing a complete Hahoe mask and hiding his skull, but it was impossible to completely hide his energy from someone that strong.
Of course, since there were various unique skills on Earth, it was a problem that could be excused somehow.
[Kekekeke, it’s been a while since I’ve seen someone stand up to me so confidently. It’s really refreshing. It’s really fun.]
“Huh— Let’s see how long this fun lasts.”
Kwajijijik—!
Before the words could even be finished.
A loud cracking sound erupted nearby.
An attack with incredible speed that can instantly pierce through the black magic barrier.
However, the surprise attack could not be followed up by a follow-up attack due to the dozens of ‘abysses’ that stretched out from Hans at the moment of the attack.
Likewise, this side’s counterattack also didn’t have much effect.
The moment the abyssal serpent was about to pierce the nearby enemy, the enemy was already far away, staring at me with wary eyes.
‘Hurry up. As expected, you’re from the martial arts world that specializes in one-on-one combat. But this is the first time I’ve seen you use this kind of renewing technique.’
A quick strike and escape.
The Gyeongsin method is a technique that is mainly used in the so-called martial arts world, where martial arts and internal energy are the main focus, and it is a technique that cannot help but be extremely difficult for magicians.
“···What is that? This isn’t ordinary magic. It’s such a gloomy yet pure aura.···Even the Heavenly Demon wasn’t at that level.”
A man with a crimson aura covering both hands that resembled the devil’s hands frowned and opened his mouth.
Where had his previous confident attitude gone? He looked extremely alert as he faced the abyss directly.
‘It’s too late to realize that now.’
Fighting—
With one light step of Hans’s feet, damp waves spread out across the floor in all directions.
And where the wave passed, a dark abyss that sucked in even light rose up and covered the barrier surrounding them.
Zzzzzz! Zzzzzz!
The existing barrier felt unstable in terms of keeping the guy in, so we were working on reinforcing it to handle things more reliably.
It would have been quite troublesome if the bastard had broken the barrier and escaped with that mobility.
“···Ha! You were just leisurely fiddling with your formations while dealing with this body? With this Thousand-Year-Old Demon Lord in front of you?”
The sight of Hans like that must have irritated his opponent, who had been sharpening his temper, as he gnashed his teeth and spat out his words.
Proudly revealing your own dazzling nickname!
‘Hey, how can you say such childish things like ‘Cheonsalmajee’ with your own mouth… Aren’t you ashamed?’
Isn’t it embarrassing to watch it all?
However, unlike his inner self, which was disappointed in the other person’s words and actions, he was a gentleman who was used to being considerate and matched the pace so that the other person would not feel embarrassed.
[Kuhehehe— There’s nothing more frustrating than losing the game you finally caught. Alright, let’s get started for real!]
Naturally, my already worn-out conscience didn’t hurt at all.
***
Kwaaang!
“Ugh! This persistent bastard!”
About an hour like that.
The fight went on longer than expected.
In fact, the opponent’s strength was great, but it was his mobility that made it so difficult.
The damage to the barrier was so severe that the bastard attempted to escape midway through, and if I hadn’t reinforced it in advance, I would have really missed it.
‘Still, it’s almost over. Fortunately, I’ll be able to finish it within the “Object Projection” time limit.’
Swish!
Centered around his outstretched hand, the abyssal energy spread like a net, covering all directions as if to block the bastard’s escape route.
“Damn it! What kind of shit is this!”
Even as death eroded his body through wounds here and there, he forced himself to move and fought back fiercely.
‘You certainly seem confident. You haven’t been back for very long, so you probably don’t have much experience fighting wizards.’
Unfortunately, the common black magic was of little use to the Thousand-Year-Old Demon King.
The protective gear covering his body granted him powerful magical powers, and his sharp, refined devil’s hands cut off the flow of aggressive magical power.
Using that, you can use the flow of magical power to strike back, drain, or even completely split any black magic, so it is bound to take more effort than usual.
[But that is also meaningless in front of the abyss.]
Unfortunately, his energy was extremely incompatible with the abyss.
My internal energy, which was already turbid and unstable, quickly became polluted and began to waver whenever it encountered it.
Whether you counterattack with a direct attack or block with a self-defense weapon, damage will accumulate steadily.
It was to the point where he couldn’t help but go crazy.
But in fact, even this was a significant weakening of Hans’ power compared to his grandeur in Outerica.
‘Unlike black magic, the effectiveness of abyssal energy is halved on Earth. Just like divine power… There seems to be some kind of standard depending on the energy, but I’m still not sure.’
It was something I hadn’t really paid attention to until now, but when I put all my effort into fighting a strong opponent, its shortcomings were clearly revealed.
I thought that there was a need to experiment with this by comparing it with various energies.
It was something simple that others could not do, but he could experience it himself.
However, even though it was less efficient than Outerica, it still showed overwhelmingly superior power compared to just using black magic.
However, the opponent who had been able to hold out against it for this long was by no means an easy opponent.
Pook! Pook! Pookhwaak!
That rebellion was now over.
“Cough!”
Finally, the abyssal stems that he could not avoid began to penetrate his body one by one.
Like a hungry beast, the ravages of death greedily gnawed at my tormented body.
[That’s really great. You could be reborn as a great undead. What a windfall.]
“Kyaaak! Stop talking nonsense! I am the Thousand-Slayer Demon Emperor who reigns in fear over the Gangwhan Realm! Do you think I, who have ascended to the Mysterious Realm, will die here in vain like this?”
Gooooo—!
The devil’s hand that tears apart the abyss with rough gestures and powerful internal energy.
But, since my body was in this condition, no matter how much internal energy I had, it was of no use.
‘Kang Hwan-gye… I definitely remember seeing it briefly while learning about dimensions.’
But, since he was even called a fear of a different dimension, isn’t he quite similar to Hans?
When he found out that the other person was a business partner, he couldn’t just sit still.
Chorus!
“Ugh!”
The Thousand-Year-Old Demon King began to struggle again, bound by the abyss that was pressing down on him from all sides.
And Hans slowly approached him and placed his hand on his head.
[The fear of the Kang Hwan-gye… It’s similar to me. This is also fate, but I’ll tell it to you in particular.]
It was impolite not to respond when the other person introduced themselves first.
In that space covered by a pitch-black abyssal barrier.
An absurd being that seemed to have gathered all the negativity in this world and created it slowly opened its mouth while looking down at a human being.
[This body is the immortal king, the fear that descended upon Auterica, the despair of the continent, and the ruler of death.]
The name was not specifically revealed.
···It wouldn’t be meaningful to tell this guy anyway.
Soon, the abyss that stretched out from Hans’ hand—completely covered the body of the Thousand-Year-Old Demon Emperor.
