Chapter 450
“Hmm...”
Se-Hoon stared at the black file folder on the desk, which had been brought over by a member of the Inoue family—no less a high-ranking hero in an extravagant outfit—with a complicated expression.
The situation feels familiar.
Narrowing his eyes in thought, Se-Hoon recalled last year when Ren gave him similar information about Immortal.
Is this just a coincidence...? No, probably not.
Back then, Immortal had just been a typical A-rank demon that occasionally appeared and would get slapped with wanted posters. However, with Se-Hoon’s rise to fame, Immortal had become the nemesis of the Lee Se-Hoon. And as he was the person currently holding the greatest influence in the world, Immortal had become something of a trophy to offer.
Despite everything... no one besides Ren has ever managed to dig up anything about Immortal.
The natural assumption was that the Inoue family’s intel network was simply that impressive. Knowing that they were involved with Succession, though, it was hard for Se-Hoon not to think otherwise.
Did he switch sides?
In his memory, Immortal belonged to Bellows, a group tied to Offering. But with Caden dead and the collapse of Offering, it made sense that Immortal had been forced to move under the wing of another Watcher faction.
The remaining Watchers are formed of Succession, Exuviation, and Transcendence.... Out of them, Succession definitely seems like the safest choice.
Exuviation focused on monster modification, and its leader, Tuner, was currently incapacitated. Meanwhile, Transcendence was infamous for conducting high-risk experiments that left many casualties. Compared to those two, Succession leaned toward a more moderate approach and was currently the most powerful of the three, making it an attractive option for remnants of Offering.
Well, in either case, it’s blatantly obvious that they have their own agenda.
Was it a trap to lure him in using Immortal as bait? Were they trying to win him over, assuming they hadn’t been discovered yet? Both were plausible, making Se-Hoon ruminate over them for a long time.
“What do you think, Professor?” he asked at last.
“...”
“Professor? I know you’re awake.”
“...”
“Pretending to sleep won’t make me leave. Just stop with the act and get up. Let’s get this over with.”
Only then, at his persistent prodding, did Kwang-Soo—who had been trembling on the bed in the corner of the lecture hall—sit up with a start.
“It’s been a while. Have you been well?”
“You think I look like I’ve been well?”
Kwang-Soo’s hair and beard were a mess, his eyes sunken with exhaustion. He also looked skinnier, likely due to skipping meals, and his sharper features only added to the worn-out vibe.
With a single glance, anyone would know he hadn’t been doing well. And yet, Se-Hoon remained nonchalant.
“You don’t look too bad to me.”
Se-Hoon wasn’t lying. In his eyes, Kwang-Soo still had all his limbs and there weren’t signs of mana rampages due to internal demons. In fact, he was better than expected.
But of course, that reaction just made Kwang-Soo stare in disbelief. Soon after though, he gave up and let out a long sigh before rubbing his eyes.
“Tsk. What do you want? I’m tired. Get to the point.”
“I’m not sure what to do with this suspicious intel.”
“What kind of intel?”
“About the one who killed my parents.”
At that reveal, Kwang-Soo, who had been listening half-heartedly, froze.
“...Why are you asking me about this?” he questioned with a strange look.
“Well, when it comes to revenge, you’re an expert, aren’t you?”
“...”
Kwang-Soo glared at him. Depending on the interpretation of the one who heard, Se-Hoon’s words could’ve easily been taken as a jab. That was why Kwang-Soo took a minute to study Se-Hoon’s expression, trying to figure out if it was.
“You trying to pick a fight right now?”
“Not at all. It was just a genuine question.”
“...”
None, not even a bit of wavering in. Finding nothing, Kwang-Soo continued observing before giving up once more with a sigh.
“If it’s intel on someone like that, just decide for yourself.”
“Mind if I ask why?”
“Because it wouldn’t matter what I say if you’re the kind who lets emotions cloud your judgment.”
“Hmmm... I suppose that does make sense.”
Nodding, Se-Hoon picked up the black file folder on the desk.
“If you’re going to read it, why don’t you go outside—”
Flip.
Ignoring Kwang-Soo’s suggestion, Se-Hoon opened the folder and started by examining the attached photos.
One was a picture of a man with dull reddish-orange hair entering a shady-looking building. Judging from everything else, he seemed to have just walked through a market with haphazardly arranged street stalls. He glanced at the caption.
Immortal is currently staying at the Black Arms’ new base, located beyond the Pilgrim’s Path. It is suspected that Bellows, the group to which he belongs, has formed an alliance with the Black Arms’ leader, “Owner.”
Black Arms.... He’s in the same location as last year.
Unlike then, though, it was no longer a rumor. And if intel hadn’t leaked, then the chances he wouldn’t disappear all of a sudden were good.
The exact location is the Timor Sea, north of Australia.
More than three hundred kilometers from the nearest stretch of the Pilgrim’s Path, the Timor Sea wasn’t quite in the front yard of the Demon Force but was still deep enough into the Abyss of Demon’s polluted zone to be dangerous.
I did hear that the black markets were disappearing one by one. But who would have thought that they had just all moved here?
The most likely explanation was that they had joined the Demon Force for survival, thinking that surrender to the Heroes Association would only result in life imprisonment or death.
Fwoosh-
Mulling over the materials he had now finished reading, Se-Hoon burned it all with Sacred Flames.
“You... What’s with that flame?”
Kwang-Soo blinked in surprise. Hadn’t all the flames derived from Li Kenxie’s power of Anatta turned into the multicolored light known as the Equanimity Flame?
“Huh? Oh, this?”
Se-Hoon glanced at his fire mana, which hadn’t actually changed from before, and scratched his cheek awkwardly.
“I found the Equanimity Flame kind of hard to use.”
“...Hard?”
“Unlike the Sacred Flame, which is a single element attributed, the Equanimity Flame is formed by overlapping the five elements. And my body reacts a bit too sensitively to that.”
For the typical person, the Equanimity Flame ignited by pulling the missing elemental mana from nature to supplement the user’s own. And because it relied on ambient mana, the resulting power output—while lower—was acceptable.
That was why, for Se-Hoon, who didn’t need any supplemented mana due to possessing his own through Soul Honing, it was a different story. Silver River, Sacred Flame, and Divine Power would all clash violently whenever he tried to ignite an Equanimity Flame.
They’re technically elemental mana too, but... they’re all more like parts of the Perfect Ones’ powers...
Unlike normal mana, each of his would try to seize control—eventually ending in a massive explosion.
“So you can’t use that newly established power at all?”
“It’s not like I can’t use it. It’s just... my whole body might explode if I do. So unless it’s absolutely necessary, I try not to.”
“...”
Kwang-Soo made a sour face. There was the fact that simply using it could cause Se-Hoon’s body to explode, but more than that, it was the way Se-Hoon had brushed it off like a minor inconvenience that poked at him.
He’s really grown a lot, huh...
And at that thought, Kwang-Soo naturally began thinking that perhaps he was the only one who hadn’t changed in the past year... which made him clamp his mouth shut. Forcibly suppressing a sigh that threatened to escape, he changed the subject.
“Well, back to the point: what do you think of the intel?”
“Hm... I’d say it’s about fifty-fifty. It’s believable, but still a little suspicious.”
“Then what are you going to do now?”
As Se-Hoon was now, there was simply nobody who could restrain him unless all of the remaining Ten Evils suddenly came at him at once. Thus, unless the location was smack in the middle of the Abyss of Demons, there was no real reason not to go.
Still, just charging in feels a bit... off.
Thinking similarly to Kwang-Soo, Se-Hoon recalled the past. If it were then, he’d already be halfway there, blinded by rage. But having already enacted his revenge against Immortal once, he didn’t feel the same. Of course, he still wouldn’t forgive Immortal and hand him over to someone else; he just wanted to consider what else he could gain besides vengeance.
Taking down the Black Arms along with him is a given.... Maybe I should bring them along for some live experience? No, that’s a bit too dangerous.
In the end, was the best course of action figuring out what the Inoue family was really after? In the meantime, as Se-Hoon weighed all of his choices, Kwang-Soo started grumbling again.
“Whatever you decide to do, just make it quick and get out. Tsk. I just woke up. What the hell is this nonsense...”
“...”
His attention brought to Kwang-Soo, Se-Hoon stared at the combination of frustration and lethargy on his face—
“Professor.”
An idea sparked in Se-Hoon’s mind.
“What.”
“Would you like to come with me—?”
“No.”
An instant rejection, as if he had expected the offer already.
“A second-year student going to a black market alone doesn’t bother you?” Se-Hoon shot back, squinting at him.
“That same student can crush the Ten Evils solo. I’m going to sleep. Get out.”
Saying nothing more, Kwang-Soo threw the covers back over his head like a teenager rebelling against a parent.
“You really aren’t going?”
“...”
“You’re some kid anymore, you know.”
“...”
“You’re really going to keep this up?”
Se-Hoon coldly stared as Kwang-Soo squirmed under the blanket and covered his ears with a pillow. He’d followed him along to America last time, but Kwang-Soo swore he wouldn’t give in so easily.
“...Well, I’ve got no choice, then.”
A chill went through his entire body at those words, and his instincts made him spring up from the bed in panic.
Swish!
“...”
Looking down at his mattress, which had been split clean in half by Se-Hoon’s Stellar Radiance Blade, Kwang-Soo realized he’d almost been cut in half, belatedly flinched, then scowled in rage.
This arrogant little...!
No matter how strong Se-Hoon had gotten, trying to overpower him through brute force? That crossed a line. Infuriated, Kwang-Soo unsheathed his own Celestial Infinity Blade and executed a sword technique, landing on the floor—
Boom!
“Agh!”
The sudden surge of long-unused mana backfired violently inside him.
Crash!
He landed awkwardly and crashed to the lecture hall floor, groaning.
“...”
Se-Hoon looked on with a sour expression. While he had used the power of Perception and immediately acted on the chance to subdue Kwang-Soo, he hadn’t expected it to turn out the way it had...
“Um... Professor?”
“...”
Kwang-Soo didn’t move, like he’d been knocked unconscious. However, in truth, he wasn’t—just too humiliated.
To spare his pride, though, Se-Hoon decided not to point that out.
He looked fine on the surface, but... maybe he’s in worse shape than I thought.
Summoning a skeleton to lift the defeated, limp Kwang-Soo onto its back, Se-Hoon had a thought: if he was going to take Baek-Yeon’s advice seriously, he needed to deal with the old man first.
***
Swoosh-
A vast open sea shrouded in ghostly mist. Tainted by demonic aura, the ocean was pitch black, and the swirling sea fog twisted around them like a living beast. Ever since the Timor Sea was corrupted by the Abyss of Demons, it had been covered in fog 24/7, 365 days a year.
Yet currently, two people were walking across its surface.
“Hm... This really isn’t the kind of place anyone would want to stay long.”
Swoosh-
Se-Hoon traced a black line across the sea’s surface using the power of Boundaries, allowing him to walk forward. Behind him was a freshly washed and cleaned-up Kwang-Soo, following with a face still full of reluctance.
“Are you sure we’re going the right way?”
It had been thirty minutes since they arrived near the Timor Sea via teleportation and started walking. And although they had purposely started far from their destination to avoid detection, progress felt slow.
There should be something that we could at least see or feel by now...
Kwang-Soon was tempted to part the sea fog and pinpoint the location immediately, but he knew doing so would alert the Black Arms, giving them a chance to escape.
With no other choice, they continued their long, fruitless walk that wore Kwang-Soo’s patience thin.
“Hmm... Based on the intel, it should be around here...” Se-Hoon muttered, scanning their surroundings.
The Black Arms had definitely moved their base outside the Pilgrim’s Path. There was also information that instead of transporting clients by passenger ferry as before, they now used specially modified sea monsters.
The coordinates line up exactly.... Is the sea fog interfering?
Se-Hoon glanced around once more, even more carefully in case he missed something. Then, finding nothing, he looked down. The water beneath his feet was murky, so dark that he couldn’t see even a few meters beneath the surface.
Staring down in thought, Se-Hoon narrowed his eyes before slowly lowering his palm to the sea.
Swoosh-
Spirit Weaver seeped into the tainted waters, enabling Se-Hoon to sense the countless sea monsters drifting below. Continuing past them, the threads pushed through the twisted seawater warped by demonic aura—until they finally reached a certain point.
Ping-
A swarm of hidden presences surged up through the thread and into Se-Hoon’s hand.
As expected... with this level of secrecy, it makes sense they’d set up shop outside the Pilgrim’s Path.
They were so hidden that only a Perfect One or someone close to that level would be able to pose a threat. But that wouldn’t be all. Unsure what other traps lay in wait, Se-Hoon carefully analyzed the structure through the threads and pieced together a rough mental map.
“Professor. Put your hand on my shoulder.”
Tap!
With a grumble, Kwang-Soo placed his hand on Se-Hoon’s shoulder. Then, Se-Hoon focused his senses downward, manipulating Spirit Weaver.
Woosh!
The two traveled through space along a single thread that was as thin as a hair, invisible to the eye.
At long last, they had finally arrived at the hidden black market nestled in the depths of the corrupted sea: the Black Arms’ stronghold.