Chapter 201: Karma? (3)

The boundary was no different from the underworld, where the hero called the returnee had imprisoned them.

It’s a place where villains, who rampaged to destroy society for their own desires, and extremely dangerous beings corrupted by external entities’ demonic energy were forcibly confined.

Whenever transcendents emerged, they were bound by rules to guard the boundary. This restriction was imposed by the returnee on the transcendents.

Even the Emperor could not avoid this restriction.

‘…What is this?’

The Emperor gazed at the massive hole. A huge hole that seemed to absorb even darkness, much like a black hole.

That was the boundary. The place where the worst demons and villains were captured and confined.

The laws entwined with it were so perplexing that even transcendents struggled, and the constraints there were enough to bind even transcendents. Thus, it was thoroughly managed, with a few transcendents visiting this place.

‘There is no problem with the boundary.’

The Emperor stared at the boundary for a long time before coming to a conclusion.

There was no problem with the boundary. However, her transcendent senses suggested otherwise. She felt that soon, a great evil might descend from here with its restraints undone.

‘This is not good.’

Those called great evils possessed enough power to paralyze an entire city upon release.

Although she disliked relying on such instincts, the Emperor knew that her senses were close to precognition. Unlike the Overlord’s savagery or the Celestial’s all-seeing eyes, the Emperor excelled in foreseeing events.

‘I need to prepare.’

Without taking her eyes off the boundary, the Emperor quietly began to move.

I was sitting idle.

Because there really was nothing to do.

‘The side effects are worse than I thought.’

As the guild master, I had already finished all my tasks.

Normally, I would head to the training ground to hone my body, but I had already destroyed it. I could use the training grounds of the Cheongcheon Guild, but I needed to reflect on the consequences of using my form for a while.

My body, hardened by Black God Martial Arts, had taken a massive toll from using the conceptual stat, so I needed to rest for a bit.

As my level went up and my conceptual stat increased, the side effects would lessen, so it’s just a matter of time.

So, in the end, I had nothing to do right now.

‘Recently, I even finished checking my martial prowess.’

I had also put a stop to acquiring new talents or skills.

To buy an Ex-rank one, even trivial expenses felt wasteful.

‘Should I call Hong Yu-hwa?’

Going out for a while doesn’t seem like a bad idea. The weather was nice too. But she’s currently learning magic from the Red Tower Lord. So even if I called now, Hong Yu-hwa wouldn’t be able to answer.

‘Should I go out for the first time in a while?’

Come to think of it, it had been a long time since I last gave a lecture.

Was it time to act as Veritas again? I touched my mask.

How should I handle my identity as Veritas? The masked man had become too noticeable. Especially to the Reich Empire. To the Reich Empire’s ruler, the Führer, Adolf Hitler.

Adolf Hitler.

A being who borrowed the power of the black sun residing in another dimension to make the German Reich the sole victor of World War II instead of the USSR and the USA.

‘Not just the masked man.’

Adolf Hitler selected single individuals who could threaten the Reich Empire. Among those names were ‘Veritas’ and ‘Lee Seo-ha.’ Even though he recognized the child of prophecy as the most dangerous, he placed the masked man and Veritas above her.

Evidence that my other identities were threatening all the areas the Reich Empire operated in.

Veritas was the god of alchemists and faith.

As his name suggested, everything he said was the truth, and they believed he would elevate their alchemy to higher dimensions. He actually did so.

Thus, it’s not strange that they would attack the Reich Empire to help me.

So, what about the masked man?

The masked man’s concept was that of a dark hero. There were laws and people who caught villains, but they acted only after something happened.

Even if villains planned something, without concrete evidence, they could not be arrested. Even if arrested, they were just imprisoned. Murder of demons was allowed, but villains didn’t go that far.

The masked man didn’t care.

He just killed them. Whether they were villains or demons, if they committed crimes, he killed them. Thus, the dark hero concept suited him. The public was wildly enthusiastic about the masked man.

And factions that emulated the masked man appeared. Groups intent on killing villains.

Perhaps related to them, the Reich Empire’s activities were being hindered. As things got tangled, the actions of the Reich were exposed to the world…

‘But why did Lee Seo-ha end up like that?’

Lee Seo-ha’s status was indeed extraordinary.

Everyone knew I was the top ranker. The issue was the process. Breaking through the Tower of Trials immediately upon entering was a unique case. All the major guilds showed interest, and the smaller guilds, unable to match the contract fees, had to give up, but they would have provided the best treatment if they could have recruited me.

The reason why famous dinosaur guilds overseas were still trying to scout me.

But if you asked whether I could single-handedly threaten the Reich Empire, well—I was not sure.

As I was thinking about that, I felt a presence in front of the door. It was a familiar presence.

Knock knock.

“A guest has arrived.”

The usual friendly tone was replaced with a blunt one. If the Electronic Witch behaved like this, it meant the visitor was an outsider.

I used Nyeom to open the door. It felt like a kind of show of force, a way to say I was of high rank.

The door creaked open.

What I saw was an unexpected figure.

“…Why are you here?”

“I have a request.”

A straightforward tone.

I saw a face with black hair that reached down to the waist and looked somewhat stubborn. She was wearing the distinctive uniform of the Korean Hero School, with the insignia of the student council president on her arm.

It was Sung Han-byul.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

The Hwarang Guild.

A famous guild in South Korea. It’s a guild that anyone living in South Korea would know about, and even those abroad who were interested in heroes would be familiar with.

So, I was puzzled.

Maybe in the future, but right now, our guild was far behind the Hwarang Guild. Excluding the Amcheon Guild members, only Seo Ga-yeon and I were of high rank in our guild.

“A request for us? Senior Sung Han-byul, you’re part of the Hwarang Guild, so why…?”

“The Hwarang Guild is currently unable to act.”

With that, Sung Han-byul began to explain.

“It’s not that a demon is reviving in the Tower of Demons, right?”

“No, we were the first to face it.”

That’s why the Tower of Demons had become a treasure trove. The demons left behind treasures when they died, and they were incredibly valuable. Currently, the 72nd demon, Dantalion, was part of our guild.

“The Hwarang Guild is also climbing the Tower of Demons to kill demons. The Thousand Sorcerer is personally leading the operation, so it’s considered safe.”

That made sense.

Having a transcendent backing you gave a sense of security that only those with a transcendent behind them can understand. I also subtly leveraged the names of the Emperor and the Overlord, so I knew this well.

“Of course, we are aware of the danger. Even if the Thousand Sorcerer is leading, we didn’t expect there to be no casualties, so the Hwarang Guild has prepared a lot.”

“So, are the guild members trapped in the Tower of Demons now?”

“No, if that were the case, the Thousand Sorcerer would have personally rescued them. The problem is the disappearances.”

“…Disappearances?”

I was startled by the unexpected word.

“Didn’t the Thousand Sorcerer intervene?”

“Well, the Thousand Sorcerer has been busy…”

Sung Han-byul trailed off. I recalled the recent meeting. The Thousand Sorcerer had met with me briefly before disappearing somewhere.

‘Well, considering the number of heroes involved is close to a thousand.’

It wasn’t strange.

On the surface, that was.

‘What is this cunning old man up to?’

The Thousand Sorcerer was a figure of good.

However, if you asked whether his methods were good, the answer was no. He was part of the forces of good because he eradicated demonic entities. And wizards always had a screw loose somewhere. It wouldn’t be surprising if he was using the missing personnel to his advantage, not rescuing them until the last moment.

‘I don’t know this event well enough to make a judgment.’

I didn’t know much about this event.

Because in the original 《Epic World》, there was no event where demons were revived in the Tower of Demons. I only knew about the dangers of Baal, Kimigan, and Demon King Solomon.

However, I had a bad feeling.

It felt like something else was interfering rather than an event related to the Tower of Demons.

‘There is a character with such traits.’

The problem was that this character was extremely dangerous. Originally, they should have been an easy target, but the hierarchy they held was the issue.

Even though I had a terrible compatibility with that character, they were a transcendent. They could injure me by piercing through my Energy of Defying Heaven.

“Hmm…”

I looked at Sung Han-byul.

Recently, I hadn’t felt any special emotions. My affection for her was still there, but it had lessened significantly. However, she remained someone who needed to stay alive.

‘If I refuse, she’ll go alone.’

Sung Han-byul was that kind of person.

She was a good person who would risk her life to save others. Sometimes, it could be frustrating, but I still liked Sung Han-byul.

‘The guild won’t be in danger.’

Dantalion and Hyunmoo were here. With those two around, I didn’t need to worry about anything happening.

Plus, since the training ground was destroyed, I could work at Cheongcheon for a while as part of a cooperation deal.

After calculating everything, the right thing to do was to accept this request.

“Then we will take a look.”

I said with a businesslike smile.

In fact, there was no reason to refuse. Our guild had a natural enemy for demonic entities.

“However, the team will only consist of me and Seo Ga-yeon.”

“Thank you…!”

Sung Han-byul smiled brightly.