#60
Calm Before the Storm (1)
A basement without a single window.
In the middle of a dark space without any light, there was a single stone brazier.
“···It’s time.”
A soft voice echoed through the darkness where there was no sign of life.
Soon, the culprit quietly approached the brazier without making a single sound and stood at a distance.
That moment.
Hwaruk—
A purple flame shot up from the brazier, almost reaching the ceiling, before slowly shrinking to the size of a bonfire.
Because of this, in the purple-tinted space, there were already five or six shadows swaying around the brazier.
[Everyone… gathered.]
[Yeah, except for the idiot who got left behind this time.]
Shadows talking to each other in low, ringing voices.
[What’s so urgent? Let’s check up on each other first and take our time? Hehe.]
[You please shut up. Before I rip your mouth off.]
“I guess everyone has heard the news.”
Because so many people with strong personalities gathered together, the meeting did not proceed quickly.
Since this wasn’t a place set up to get to know each other better, it was better to ignore useless talk and get straight to the main point in order to quickly move the conversation forward.
[Ah, I heard that. It was so absurd that I couldn’t help but laugh.]
[Hehehe~ Me too. I never thought I’d lose it so absurdly after taking the branch of the World Tree. Hehehe.]
Finally, a regular meeting that is properly underway.
They exchanged information about what they knew about past events.
“Then, no one knows how the sect and the high elves found and attacked Nurabe.”
[Ha! Maybe the World Tree intervened? That idiot didn’t properly leash the sacrifice.]
[Ahem~ I don’t think so. Did that old man even get the seal properly from me?]
There were many different opinions exchanged again, but no conclusion was reached right away because nothing was certain.
[Anyway… I need to be more careful…]
[Following Marcos, who was bragging about monopolizing the fragments of the Immortal King, and now Nurabe, who was hiding well. Isn’t this too relaxed?]
“Regarding the Immortal King… The religious order’s movements have been unusual lately.”
The exchange of information continues again.
[The descendant of the Immortal King. Can’t we use him?]
[Keuhihi! Marcos, what can I do since I’ve already lost? If it’s the right thing to do, then joining hands isn’t a bad idea!]
The conversation between the black shadows swaying in the purple space continued.
After a long period of opinions, rebuttals, alternatives, and agreements…
“Let’s do that, then there are no other special agenda items, right?”
[Yes, the empire is always at peace.]
[Eastern Island··· No abnormalities···.]
As the conclusion was reached, the regular meeting of the Oath of Reverse Heaven ended.
***
“Jinsoran, deal with these as before.”
Heinz visited Jin So-ran’s office, where she was handling various tasks, and laid out a bunch of items.
A set of expensive magical tools, including those that allow you to use subspace.
She was momentarily taken aback, then jumped up from her seat and her eyes lit up.
“Wow… Lord, where do you keep getting these things?”
Although she had seen it several times before, she looked at the items he had presented again with exclamations of admiration.
Since magic tools could only be obtained by returnees, their supply was inevitably limited, and so they were not something that could be obtained even if one had money.
“There are ways to do everything. What happened to the preparations I told you to make last time?”
“Oh, pepper? I had people repackage it all and store it.”
It was comfortable because there was someone to use.
If you just give instructions, they will take care of the little things.
‘It’s a hassle to go through the process once more because you can’t just sell things in plastic or vinyl. But it’s not worth the effort compared to the benefits you can get.’
Pepper wasn’t that expensive on Earth, but it was different in Outerica.
It is a high-end spice and is located far from the main production area, so the margin is satisfactory.
It was a perfect starting point for trade.
‘At first, I thought about selling something like artificial gems made on Earth.’
Artificial gems made with modern technology were difficult to distinguish by simple means.
Rather, it has the characteristic of being clean with fewer impurities, so that could be used as a selling point, but…
‘Since it was made on Earth, the fatal flaw is that it cannot be used for magic.’
The reason gems were expensive in Australasia was not simply for aesthetic reasons.
It contains value as a material used in various ways to assist in the mysteries, such as in magical experiments, barriers, and making magical tools.
In such a situation, selling defective items that could not be used for mystical purposes or simply pretty jewels could have led to unnecessary trouble.
‘There’s no need to take risks by drawing attention when you’re just starting out. You can sell it at a premium later when you’re settled in.’
Of course, it would be a shame to let that good business idea go to waste.
Wouldn’t it be a good business to sell such unique characteristics by disguising them as unique differentiating factors?
The wealthy will rather value such rarity and become enthusiastic about it.
“Where did the others go?”
Heinz, who had gathered his thoughts, looked around and asked Jin So-ran.
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The number of people is noticeably reduced compared to when I saw them before.
It seemed like more than half of the seats were empty.
“Oh, there was a brief problem in Incheon. Jinseok went there himself, so it’ll be sorted out soon.”
As Heterosis grows in size, many newcomers join its shadow.
Not only the existing hardliners, but also those belonging to the moderates and neutral factions.
Among them was a gamma named Jin Seok, who was a member of the hardliners.
‘But you’re more obedient than I thought. If you didn’t listen to me, I was going to turn you into a bloodsucker.’
He had not been to the villa because he was in charge of the local area, but when Heinz later visited him in person, he immediately turned his back on him and pledged his loyalty.
Thanks to his faithfulness to his survival instinct, the hardliners have been absorbed more quickly, so I have been watching with some satisfaction.
‘It’s still a shame that I haven’t gotten much information about Alpha. Since he’s not visible to this extent, I guess that means he’s already left Korea?’
Alpha, the leader of the existing hardliners, is believed to be a level 8 vampire.
I tried to deal with it when I had the chance, but his whereabouts have been a mystery ever since that day.
Although they continued to search using their influence while devouring the blood alliance, there was no significant progress.
“Thanks to Lord, I think the situation of the Blood Alliance has improved a lot. Naturally, our Heterosis, who leads him, has a greater say.”
Heterosis, which quickly expanded its influence based on the military and financial power derived from Heinz, led the blood alliance and rapidly grew in power.
Of course, if the scale was directly inflated, the Guardians and the Ability Management Bureau would have to be on guard, so it was a covert operation to expand influence over organizations in the underworld.
‘The guys who sold gold at that time also came under his command.’
It seems that it is quite useful in finding a distribution channel for magic tools.
Certainly, when I think back to when we were trading, they were quite capable guys.
‘Now that I think about it, it’s time to move…’
During that time, after I found out about the Bancheonhoe, I was so busy making plans for it that I couldn’t even think about luxury.
But now you can relax a little, so you can start preparing slowly from now on.
‘Of course not right now.’
“You said there was a problem in Incheon? Since there’s nothing to do right now, I’ll go and check it out myself.”
It was necessary to stabilize the blood alliance as quickly as possible.
We are now on the verge of a big event that will shake up Auterica.
After this event ends, the full-fledged ‘Home Theater: Demon King and Hero’ operation will begin, and Heinz will be very busy as well.
***
It has been two weeks since the High Elf Lafori began her quest for the Immortal King.
We’ve explored quite a bit of the forest so far, depending on our priorities, but we haven’t seen much success.
Heinrich was able to attend the intermediate meeting held after all candidates had been reviewed and hear about the progress.
Now that he is deeply involved in this operation, he prioritizes it over the work of the Knights Templar.
‘Even so, all I can do is observe from behind and help out.’
Lapori smiled sheepishly as he sorted through the paperwork from the area where the investigation had ended.
“···Hmm, I checked all the areas that I thought had the highest probability, but the results didn’t match up, so I can’t show off my confidence.”
The saint and the archbishop firmly shook their heads in disagreement with Laforie’s seemingly embarrassed words.
“I am grateful that Mr. Lapori is putting in so much effort. It was our church that initially decided the search order.”
“In fact, it might be in a completely different area without a forest. Even if that happens, it’s not a bad thing because it narrows down the area significantly.”
“Thanks to that, the sect’s search party is still focusing on areas without forests. It goes without saying that efficiency has greatly increased.”
As they said, the search crews that were continuously operating were mainly dispatched to areas including deserts and wastelands.
Of course, the exploration of the forest was not yet complete, but the religious order needed to prepare for any eventuality.
Archbishop Latius looked at the documents on the wall listing continental missions and priorities.
“Then let’s take a look at the next candidates. Let’s see… This time, it’s the regions with a share of around 30%.”
“Ha, now that I think about it, even those odds don’t seem to mean much.”
“Ahem, I guess that can’t be helped, Your Majesty.”
“Oh! That’s right. That must have been the result of a lot of people’s efforts. I was too careless.”
The saint sighed with a reproachful expression.
Although he said it was okay, he seemed to be mentally anxious because the situation was not producing results.
“Well then, it’s already late today, so starting tomorrow, we’ll look over these areas one by one.”
“Ah! Please take care of me, Lapory. You must be tired, so please go in and rest.”
With the place broken, Heinrich, who had been observing the progress of the search operation for Hans in real time, returned to his quarters.
‘Finally… There really isn’t much left now.’
On the fifteenth day since the exploration began, the Forest of Demons located on the western side of the continent was included as the next candidate.
‘I’m glad I made it on time though.’
Because we have just been able to obtain the results of our research.
At the same time that Heinrich headed to his quarters.
[Hoohoo… Hoohoohahaha—! I finally succeeded!]
A sinister laughter, as if from hell, echoed through a cave.
[As expected, nothing is impossible for Hans. If given enough time, something like this wouldn’t be a big deal.]
Arkrich Hans, descendant of the Immortal King, had the front of his black robes wide open, exposing his ribs.
An object that shows off its presence between the empty gaps of the stark white ribs.
It was a fragment of the ‘Heart of the Immortal King’, a black jewel that pulsed periodically like a heart.
But there were some parts that were significantly different from before.
The image was unclear and opaque.
[Kekekeke… The phase subspace utilizing this body. It exists but does not exist. With this, this body has become even more perfect! Kekekeke!]
He created a space that overlapped with his existence and placed the heart extracted as “immortal” there.
To put it simply, it was like turning Hans’ body itself into a subspace magic tool.
An eccentricity that would have been absolutely impossible if he were human… no, if he were a living being.
Of course, it wasn’t the right way, but it gave up on complete isolation, and the space was only about the size of the inside of the rib cage…
That kind of problem meant nothing to him.
‘The initial goal has already been achieved!’
By making the body itself into a pseudo-subspace, the limitations of the fragments were ignored, and a smooth passageway for obtaining black magic was also created.
It goes without saying that its existence can now be easily hidden.
The difficulty of hiding it could not have been the same when it was completely exposed and when it was connected by only one passage.
‘I was able to use the word “immortal” properly there.’
Now, even if your entire body is turned to dust, you can instantly recover with the black magic supplied through the passage.
In order to defeat him, a blow that splits the entire space apart or magic that can handle it is essential.
‘And there’s no way Hans would take such an attack lightly.’
A satisfying result in many ways.
It was a few days before Lapory’s exploration of the Forest of Demons began.
