Chapter 134

Chapter 134

Yohan’s eyes gleamed coldly behind his glasses.

Behind him, Kim Jae-kyung stood with her hands respectfully clasped, her head lowered.

Kim Jae-kyung did not have the face to look Yohan in the eye.

Because she had failed to brainwash a member of the White Bear Caravan, the problem had grown larger.

That incident had earned them the White Bear Caravan’s hostility and made them a laughingstock in front of everyone.

If that had been all, it would not have been worth mentioning.

Today, major incidents had erupted one after another in Dongdaemun.

One was the rampage caused by Mandy, a Supervisor directly under the city hall.

Numerous Awakened from Dongdaemun had been deployed to subdue her, but the operation had ended in failure.

Every one of the Awakened had suffered injuries, large and small, and Mandy had leisurely escaped Dongdaemun.

That alone had already caused them a great loss of face, but afterward, another major incident had occurred in the square.

A battle had broken out between Awakened. Then there had been a massive explosion. Because of it, the entire square had nearly been blown away.

Fortunately, there had been no casualties, but the successive incidents had greatly soured Yohan’s mood.

Dongdaemun was his territory.

It was his own kingdom, which he had ruled for decades.

Today, his kingdom had been trampled and defiled.

To Yohan, it was an unbearable humiliation.

After remaining silent for a long time, he finally opened his mouth.

“Have you identified the ones who fought in the square?”

“One has been confirmed to be Zeon, and the other appears to be someone from the East District.”

“Zeon and an Awakened from the East District?”

“Yes!”

“How lightly must they think of me to dare......”

Yohan’s jaw muscles twitched.

Anyone could freely enter and leave Dongdaemun.

That was because, just like Neo Seoul, the slums had no walls dividing the districts.

But each district had its own strict rules.

Breaking the rules of a district or fighting as one pleased was no different from ignoring its ruler.

Yohan looked at Kim Jae-kyung.

“What do you think?”

“I believe we must not endure this.”

“Then should we wage war against Sinchon?”

“That is......”

“Then should we wage war against the East District?”

“......”

Kim Jae-kyung pressed her lips shut.

At least a war against Sinchon was worth attempting. But a war against the East District was out of the question.

Fundamentally, there was an enormous gap between the slums and Neo Seoul that could never be narrowed.

The same applied to the Awakened.

In both the number and quality of Awakened, the slums could never catch up to Neo Seoul.

No matter how strong Dongdaemun was, it could not compare to the East District.

If they fought a war against the East District, defeat was certain.

The only possibility was a war against Sinchon, where Zeon was.

But even in that case, they would suffer heavy losses.

Most of all, the timing was poor.

Because of the White Bear Caravan, both Neo Seoul and the entire slum district were on edge.

“If we needlessly wage war against Sinchon and our forces weaken, we will become prey for the other factions.”

“Mm!”

“How foul. It has been a very long time since I felt this way.”

“I am sorry. It is because I was lacking......”

Kim Jae-kyung lowered her head.

Yohan stared intently at her.

Under his persistent gaze, Kim Jae-kyung had no idea what to do with herself.

After what felt like a hellish amount of time passed, Yohan opened his mouth.

“Tell them we accept the West District’s proposal.”

“Pardon?”

“Since things have come this far, we must show that we are not easy opponents, even if we have to join hands with the West District. If I endure this after incidents occurred in my kingdom, how lightly do you think the others will see me?”

Yohan’s voice was as cold as ice and as sharp as a blade.

It felt as if the temperature in the room had instantly dropped by ten degrees.

Kim Jae-kyung trembled at the chilling atmosphere.

Yohan was not finished speaking.

“You will handle this matter.”

“Understood.”

“I hope you do not fail this time. If you do, I will no longer be able to overlook it.”

“I will succeed without fail.”

Kim Jae-kyung’s voice trembled faintly.

This was the final chance she had been given.

If she failed, it would not end with simple death.

A pain worse than hell would torment her for a long time.

Kim Jae-kyung bit her lip until it bled.

＊＊＊

Damian sat atop the fortress built from stacked cargo wagons and looked at Neo Seoul.

Neo Seoul was like an island floating above the desert.

Everything in the world was pitch-black, and only Neo Seoul shone with light.

Skyscrapers rose high above the massive walls. Lights glittered brilliantly.

A civilization humanity had long ago forgotten had been splendidly rebuilt.

The last city and fortress of humankind, where only those who were chosen could enter.

That place was Neo Seoul.

Naturally, it was not easy for an outsider to enter Neo Seoul and settle there.

One had to be an Awakened or possess abilities equivalent to one.

A place where only the chosen could live.

In a way, that place was like the utopia of the current age.

At least, it felt that way to those who had lived in harsh environments, like Damian and the White Bear Caravan.

But Damian knew.

The reality of a utopia was not so beautiful.

That tall and vast city had been built on the corpses of countless people.

No one remembered their sacrifices.

Not even those who lived inside that city.

“To think that other races like elves and dwarves are enjoying the civilization humanity struggled to rebuild. How ironic. It was because of them that the world was ruined like this, and Father died.”

A smile as dry as the desert climate appeared on his lips.

Damian had never once forgotten the moment Belov died.

His father, Belov, had been betrayed and killed by the other races of El Harun and by humans.

The blood he spilled and the sound of his final breath still remained vivid in Damian’s mind.

The memory of that day would likely never vanish until Damian died.

When he saw Neo Seoul, he thought of Belov.

When he thought of Belov, the other races naturally came to mind.

When he thought of the other races, the blood in his entire body chilled, and hostility rose within him.

Damian spent quite a long time soothing those emotions.

By the time he had somewhat settled his turbulent feelings—

“Damian!”

Alexandro’s voice came from behind him.

“Yes?”

As if he had never worn such a cold expression, Damian answered with a smile.

Alexandro approached him.

“You had not come down for so long that I came up.”

“I was just watching the lights. They are beautiful.”

“Neo Seoul? It is spectacular. I have never seen anything like it in my life.”

“It is strange, is it not?”

“What is?”

“That it shines so brightly, yet monsters do not attack it.”

“That is certainly strange. Why do monsters leave Neo Seoul alone when it glows like that even at night?”

Countless monsters swarmed the desert.

Just as the sea in the ancient past had been filled with fish, the desert now was filled with monsters.

Monsters ruled the surface, the underground, and even the sky.

Compared to that, the territory occupied by humans was only a tiny fraction.

Monsters did not allow humans to establish territory.

If humans built any structure that stood out, they would rush in and attack.

That was the nature of monsters.

Because of that, even the Akutsk Colony had seen its walls collapse several times in its early days.

Each time, humans had joined forces and somehow endured, then rebuilt the fallen walls.

Only after such years of suffering had they barely managed to complete the colony. But the scale of the Akutsk Colony was small and shabby beyond comparison to Neo Seoul.

That was not strange.

Most of the colonies the White Bear Caravan had visited were in similar situations to the Akutsk Colony.

If a colony was needlessly large and flashy, it would attract the attention of monsters.

It had to be built as inconspicuously as possible.

That was why other colonies could not escape a medieval level of scale.

But Neo Seoul was different.

The civilization from humanity’s ancient golden age had been reproduced in full.

Tall buildings that seemed to pierce the sky, and dazzling lights that lit up the night.

It had more than enough elements to attract monsters’ attention.

And yet monsters did not approach Neo Seoul.

As if they feared it.

Damian’s gaze suddenly turned toward the mammoth on one side of the fortress.

Among monsters, it could still be considered relatively intact. But a monster was still a monster.

And a large species of monster with powerful strength at that.

Most monsters could not even approach due to the mammoth’s majesty.

Damian’s ability had been absolutely essential in allowing them to come safely to Neo Seoul, but the mammoth’s contribution also could not be ignored.

That was how powerful the mammoth was. Yet even that mammoth feared approaching Neo Seoul any farther.

There had to be something in Neo Seoul that made monsters afraid.

People called it the anti-monster force that existed in Neo Seoul, but Damian believed there was something more than that.

After listening to the whole story, Alexandro asked,

“So what is it?”

“I do not know.”

“You do not know?”

“If just anyone knew, would it be a secret?”

“You are not just anyone.”

“That is true.”

Damian gave a faint smile.

Alexandro smiled in a similar way.

Because they had shared hardships for many years, their smiles looked quite alike.

At that moment—

Woong!

A powerful wave suddenly pulsed inside the fortress.

Damian’s face instantly hardened coldly.

“It is acting up again.”

“Mm!”

“Has the seal weakened?”

“Will you check it?”

“Yes!”

The two came down the stairs together.

The place they headed for was the fifth floor directly below.

The items they had released into Neo Seoul so far had been taken from the warehouses on the third floor and below.

The truly important items were on the fourth and fifth floors.

The fourth floor, where items excavated from dungeons were stored. And the fifth floor, where that thing was kept.

The fifth floor was a special zone.

The only ones permitted to enter were Damian and Alexandro.

A blue membrane was spread across the entrance to the fifth floor.

When Damian placed his hand against it, the blue membrane was dispelled.

It was a magic circle that only Damian could release.

The two passed through the entrance and entered the fifth-floor warehouse.

Inside the fifth-floor warehouse, just like at the entrance, a mysterious blue light drifted through the air.

At the center of the billowing blue light, something floated.

The object floating in midair without a pedestal was a crown.

The crown, set with a blue jewel at its center, floated in the air and gave off a mysterious energy.

Damian’s eyes were cold as he looked at the crown.

“The Spirit King’s Crown.”

That was the name of the crown floating in the air.

Though it appeared mystical and beautiful, it was a demonic object that had drunk the blood of countless people.

There was no telling how many sacrifices had been made to obtain the Spirit King’s Crown.

It was the most precious and dangerous object among the items the White Bear Caravan had brought.

That was why they had specially deployed a sealing magic circle in the fifth-floor warehouse.

If it had been any ordinary item, its power would have weakened. But the Spirit King’s Crown had not weakened at all despite the sealing magic circle. Rather, it was emitting power like mad.

Alexandro opened his mouth.

“The sealing magic circle will not hold for very long. At this rate, those inside Neo Seoul will find out too.”

“Then let us start scattering the bait.”

“So it begins now?”

“Yes!”

“A stage of great chaos will open.”

“I am sorry. Because of me, the caravan family is being swept into this as well.”

“Do not say such things. If you had not been with us in the first place, we would never have come this far. You gave us our lives. So do not speak of regret or foolishness. We are bound by the same fate.”

“Let us burn as fiercely as possible.”

A strange heat appeared in Damian’s eyes, which had been nothing but cold.