Chapter 449
Korea was Sun’s homeland and the country where his parents resided. It was also the location of the World Awakened a.s.sociation"s headquarters and the place where materials that were collected from Awakened worldwide to enhance Sun’s power were stored. A mana stone storage. Those were the reasons.
The peace of the Korean Peninsula had now become a matter directly related to world peace.
Jonathan was rus.h.i.+ng to a North American summit. Two days ago, he had confirmed that the dictator of North Korea was willing to discuss denuclearization on the Korean peninsula through the White House. The dictator, who had been advocating the Chinese Dream, likely had not been able to rest properly as he had watched how China had gone down the path of ruin.
In fact, there were rumors that he had lost weight over the few months since the Day of Advent. Although there was intense debate about whether the place for the conference would be in Pyongyang[1] or another city, it had to be decided quickly as North Korea was approaching more actively than ever.
What if the meeting got canceled before it was even held? Then, one of the main agendas to discuss at the next Club meeting would be North Korea! A command would drop from his mouth, not anyone else’s.
Impose stronger economic sanctions on North Korea than we are now.
For a moment, Jonathan furrowed his brow while glaring at the monitor. In the underground hideout, Xi w.a.n.gmu"s Ten Thousand-Year-Old Spider and its offspring began to show different movements than usual.
Jonathan’s Sense became even more sensitive to the sounds and vibrations occurring underground. He spread his sensory network throughout the hideout. He didn’t detect anything that could be a.s.sumed to be an alien attack, but he couldn’t tell what it was. The spiders had never shown such a sharp reaction even when they were attacked last time.
Then, something suddenly invaded Jonathan"s sensory network. Even without the Chaser trait, he could feel how horrifying the ent.i.ty was. It was not the kind of elf species that had been targeting and attacking him recently because they didn’t carry such an ominous atmosphere.
When Jonathan was pulling out items from the storage box and equipping his armaments, he was contacted telepathically.
- Don’t be surprised. It’s me, Mary. There is something you should know.
***
This was not the first time. Similar events had happened on the Day of Advent. At that time, Sun was not missing, but instead had died and was resurrected. If one dared to a.s.sume the pain at the moment of death, it would be nonsense. The fact that Sun was immortal was a blessing to mankind, but it was not necessarily the same for Sun himself.
How painful it must have been, Sun…
Jonathan felt sick to his stomach as his thoughts reached that far.
That night, he received a video file. Lee Tae-Han had sent in, and it was the combat clip of Sun that Mary said she would send.
The video was shot with a super telephoto lens, and the person who took the video was an Awakened in the diamond section. Since he was moving hastily to avoid the dirt mounds that were torn and flipped over from all directions, the focus of the video was shaky throughout. When the brilliant light burst, it felt like the rays of light flashed out of the phone.
The battle took place in the air. The transcendent being that Sun was facing was undoubtedly a dragon, an old ancient dragon. As it was so huge, Sun looked as if he was not there in comparison.
Nevertheless, it was easy to confirm Sun’s movements. Although he was moving at a speed that could not be captured by the camera, there were inevitably flames and sparks in the trajectory caused by Sun. A mysterious energy of darkness also followed him.
“It’s not the time for this. Run, sir. Ruuuuuun-!”
“Aaaaargh!”
“It’s coming here. Run!!”
Jonathan watched the video over and over again. The surroundings were being destroyed due to the clash of the two transcendent beings.
Jonathan paused at the end of the video, where Sun’s face was captured for the first and last time. He started to stare intently into it as he realized Sun’s eyes were strange. Amid the burning black energy, the look within it gave Jonathan a chill as it was that of a demon’s.
However, Sun’s entire face contorted in pain despite his scary eyes. The veins in his face were about to burst through the skin, and his facial muscles were unnaturally writhing. Jonathan was certain that it was not a human face. It looked as demonic as his pupils.
Sun… Did you borrow the power of Doom Kaos?
Jonathan could viscerally feel the pain that Sun must have endured.
He didn’t know what it was like to borrow the power of Doom Kaos. But judging from the abnormal movements of the many swollen veins and muscles on his face, Sun seemed to be unleas.h.i.+ng something beyond his limit, apart from the power borrowed from Doom Kaos. Jonathan had a feeling that Sun was using his life force as firepower to confront the ancient dragon.
Of course, the video was not able to film to the end. Most of the Awakened swept away by the clash of the transcendent beings immediately died there, and the person filming had barely managed to survive and return.
If Sun died, then the dragon couldn’t have survived…
Jonathan remembered what Sun had entrusted to him along with the spider. The thing Sun handed over, asking him to keep it safe until he returned, was said to be the Half of the Great Red’s Heart.
Jonathan instantly picked up the phone and inquired about Olivia’s whereabouts. Then, he got an answer that she was on her way to New York as soon as she returned.
***
“I heard you were looking for me.”
Jonathan answered as he saw her face, “You seem to already know why I looked for you.”
Olivia silently touched her phone and handed it to Jonathan.
<* The above messages were deleted by the administrator.>
< A―31: A significant number of Awakened from the Safety Bureau have been convened. The a.s.sociation sent a letter of cooperation to private companies. >
< Q―94: I understand it is to retrieve his equipment. Please confirm.>
< W―833: Confirmed to be true. >
It was an unofficial network of the Awakened. No one knew who and when it was created. Inside the encrypted channel, anonymity was guaranteed with simple usernames.
“It is the thing that I told you about last time, sir.”
<* The above messages were deleted by the administrator.>
Three messages were deleted as soon as Olivia finished speaking.
<* Partic.i.p.ants should remind themselves of what happened at the end of the Stage of Advent.>
<* Please note that this channel is open to all invited partic.i.p.ants.>
<* Please note that the responsibility for mentioning ‘Him’ and ‘matters concerning him’ lies entirely with the partic.i.p.ants. Also, please remember that this channel is used as a basic information communication channel for the Awakened.>
<* This is a warning not to cause danger.>
< W―298: What is the reward if we succeed in retrieving his equipment? Please confirm. >
< U―4: Only companies that have signed an agreement with the Safety Bureau can undertake the task. Other Awakened and private agents are prohibited from accessing the area.>
< U―4: Get it? Keep your mouths shut, Bsilgol. You guys are just muddying the golden water. Who invited them? Ugh.>
< A―10: A message to all partic.i.p.ants from Kim Ji-Hoon, a citizen of the City of the Savior. If you harbor ill intentions towards his equipment or show problematic behavior, we, the citizens of the City of the Savior will cut your throat regardless of the a.s.sociation’s guidelines.>
< A―10: I warn you once again. The administrator has also told you guys to remember what you did at the end of the Stage of Advent by taking advantage of his absence, and how terrible the consequences were.>
< A―10: If the same thing happens again, then he will no longer bestow any mercy.>
< A―10: I hope that a fool who doesn’t even know why the a.s.sociation leaves this channel alone doesn’t exist here.>
< A―10: That’s it, you morons.>
<* The above messages were deleted by the administrator.>
< M―191: Hey, administrator b.a.s.t.a.r.d. You must know who I am. I am Kim Ji-Hoon, a citizen of the City of the Savior. If you delete my message again, I will start looking for you. Why? Do you think I can’t find you?>
<* The above messages were deleted by the administrator.>
< E―2: This a.s.shole is driving me crazy… It won’t take long. I will delete your very existence, so be prepared.>
<* The above messages were deleted by the administrator.>
At that point, Jonathan handed the phone back to the owner and said.
“Gather as many as possible. You are also returning to outer s.p.a.ce immediately.”
“Yes, Master. I will surely retrieve his equipment.”
“No, the a.s.sociation is dealing with that. You have to focus on a different matter.”
Dddddd.
There was a distinctive vibration from the ground, and soon, a large skull with a huge exoskeleton pierced the ground and revealed itself. Olivia was aware of the giant spider that emerged before her eyes.
Xi w.a.n.gmu"s Ten Thousand Year Old Spider.
Whenever elves tried to ambush her master, this summoning was a great help to her master. The master was giving this creature to her.
He commanded, “Leave one item slot open.”
“If you give me that, then Master will…” she protested.
Jonathan tersely said, “It was never mine in the first place. Your other Master lent it to me.”
“...Okay, sir. Then what should I look for?”
“The heart of an ancient dragon.”
Jonathan continued, “The Awakened will follow the control of the a.s.sociation. You should focus on the outer s.p.a.ce corps. The object you need to find is imbued with a strong power, so they won’t let you take it easily if they are right-minded. If you feel like it would be dangerous even with the group and the spider, ask Osiris for help. Tell him my name and that you are looking for something to vie to Odin. And.”
“Yes, sir.”
“If you find anything suspicious besides the object I told you to find, collect it all, no matter what it is.”
Jonathan couldn’t be sure of anything yet. However, when he combined the stories that Sun had been telling and his intuition that he got from the video, it seemed that the battle Sun fought was not limited to Sun and the dragon.
Just as Sun ended up using the power of the demon, the dragon might also have used the power of the Old One. Then, this was a fight between the Demon and the Old One, not Sun and the dragon.
Jonathan couldn’t speculate about two ent.i.ties with divine status in an unknown territory. However, he still had hope that something beneficial would have fallen off from either the Demon Doom Kaos or the Old One.
Even then, Jonathan’s mind was wavering. Perhaps what Sun went through in outer s.p.a.ce could have been a major issue that could have been a turning point for him. Therefore, he was conflicted about whether he should give instructions to Oliva or move himself. His pupils shook.
... But Sun would not want that at all. Also, the throne that Sun succeeded cannot be held by anyone except me.
Jonathan said as he clenched his fists, “Not just Osiris, but ask for help from Caliber and Lee Tae-Han if you need them. I will leave everything up to you.”
Olivia realized the importance of the mission after hearing every single word of Jonathan.
She lowered her head and left. Jonathan picked up his phone and joined the Awakened network, remembering how Olivia had taught him before.
No one was directly referring to Sun, but the common topic in the channel didn’t stray from him.
Jonathan sent a message.
< N―237: I am the King of h.e.l.l.>
Although anonymity was guaranteed, no one would dare to impersonate that name. All the messages suddenly stopped and the channel was filled with silence.
1. The capital city of North Korea. ☜