October 8th, daybreak.
One could call it the day before the showdown, or the day before the day before*. (*: i.e. two days before)
Lukas opened his closed eyes. The scene he saw was that of the lounge on the first floor of the hotel. Right. He’d closed his eyes for a moment to organise his thoughts. But it seemed that he’d fallen asleep for a while, as his head was still foggy as if it was covered in dust.
Not much had happened. There were no problems.
However, since that day, he hadn’t encountered Yang In-hyun again. He couldn’t even sense him.
‘Of course, if Yang In-hyun was determined to conceal his presence then it would be difficult to find him, but…’
He didn’t think he would avoid him so blatantly.
Should he try to look for him against his will? For example, by using the void that he had been conserving until now.
‘…let’s stop.’
Even for Yang In-hyun, hiding himself to the extent that even Lukas couldn’t sense him would be exhausting.
In other words, the man clearly wanted to distance himself from Lukas even at the risk of such loss.
He clearly didn’t want to meet him right now.
That was basically what he was saying, so if he were to try to meet him against his will, it might worsen the situation.
At this point, Lukas had no choice but to admit that he had made some mistakes.
Of course, it wasn’t anything like considering Yang In-hyun to be his subordinate. He never had any intention of doing something like that.
But if he were to look at the situation from a different perspective, it was understandable that Yang In-hyun would display resistance to his attitude.
He’d realised it while they were talking.
Yang In-hyun had no intention of correcting his thoughts. He didn’t regret his past nor repent for his sins. In the first place, if he had regrets then it would have been impossible for him to become so strong.
And yet, when he suggested to him to get a disciple.
Why did he feel so attracted to the thought?
It was simple.
Because he knew he was wrong.
In that case, then what was it that Yang In-hyun really wanted?
What was that guy thinking to do after raising the ideal disciple-
“…”
Lukas paused at the sudden thought.
No way, did Yang In-hyun…
“Are you awake?”
His thoughts came to a halt.
With a soft voice, Dok Go-yun appeared. It seemed that he had been the busiest man in the city over the past few days. His eyes were puffy, skin dry and hair greasy. The last one was particularly pitiful considering how much he’d seen Dok Go-yun cherish his hair.
“Did you sleep at all yesterday?”
“Haha. I closed my eyes a bit.”
“How long?”
“For a bit before I came…”
About 15 minutes.
He really had just closed his eyes.
“Haven’t you already obtained all the means to enter the Next Stage? What are you doing that you can’t even find time to sleep?”
“I noticed a suspicious trend.”
“A suspicious trend?”
When Lukas asked this question, Dok Go-yun’s expression became a bit awkward.
“It is still too early to say for sure, so I’m afraid…”
“Tell me.”
“Mm. In this city, there are many ‘so-called’ powerful people. I’ve shown you the list several times.
“You mean the executives of the Great Galactic Alliance?”
“Not just them, but also powerful people from other regions as well.”
Lukas nodded.
“What about them?”
“Most of them went missing recently.”
“Missing?”
“Yes. As for who is behind it… I’m sorry. I haven’t been able to figure it out yet.”
A being whose traces even Dok Go-yun failed to grasp.
Lukas could understand why Dok Go-yun had not reported this yet. The most important thing when making a report was certainty.
But given what he’d revealed so far, the entire disappearance incident was uncertain.
Whether it had something to do with the [General Review Meeting], the [Next Stage], or [VIP], Dok Go-yun couldn’t be sure.
‘…nevertheless, it is strange.’
Even if the incident itself might not seem to be deeply related, the place and timing were superb.
In that case, it was better to make a connection.
Even if it was between words that seemed to not have any connection at first glance, a necessity would certainly exist somehow.
“Do you have a list of the missing persons?”
“Yes.”
“Give it to me. I’ll take a look on my way.”
“Understood. But, on your way? Where?”
“The Lake Hotel. It’s time for me to take a closer look.”
“I will accompany you.”
“You should wait in the hotel. If possible, at the side of Pale and Butterfly.”
“…um. That will be a tough order to carry out.”
“Why?”
Dok Go-yun spoke with a puzzled expression.
“Didn’t you know?”
* * *
Gentleman looked down at the street.
He could see the back of his target, with her fluttering blue hair. She was walking while carrying a huge bundle that was as big as she was.
A defenceless and unstable appearance.
Clicking his tongue, Gentleman leapt from the roof.
Then, he finished a graceful landing with nary a sound. He had no intention of creating a fuss that someone might notice.
Now, he would just knock her out and drag-
“Could you please step aside?”
“…!”
Gentleman flinched.
She had noticed his presence? How?
Wasn’t her sight completely blocked by the bundle she was carrying?
Gentleman became nervous for a second before realising that it was unnecessary.
His target’s body was full of openings. Enough that he could break her neck just by stretching out his hand.
‘She probably has sharp eyes.’
Considering the fact that she was accompanied by monsters, it wouldn’t be surprising for her to have such a characteristic.
Convincing himself inwardly, Gentleman spoke.
“I have a debt to repay to your party.”
“Huh?”
“If you follow me obediently, I will not harm you.”
* * *
The Lake Hotel, the tallest building in Manjuri City.
The 7th floor was 303.7 metres above the ground.
Even the cheapest rooms cost over $10,000 USD per day and the price skyrocketed as the floor number increased.
The Royal Suite on the top floor was so burdensome that even the top players of the financial circle would feel a burden if they stayed there for a long time.
But money was not a problem for those who were staying there at that moment. In the first place, the accommodation fees were just a justification, and the owner of the hotel had no desire for money whatsoever.
Another secret.
The space provided to the most valuable guests of the Lake Hotel wasn’t the top floor.
Instead, it was a space that extended 50 metres beneath the hotel building. The interior structure was dark and spacious. Also, there was no interior decor.
All that was placed in this space was a long rectangular table surrounded by a dozen or so chairs.
It was a place that wouldn’t be strange if it was called a meeting hall for ghosts, a place where the most ghostly beings would appear. The figure whose entire body was wrapped in black cloth looked more like an envoy of death than a ghost. For a brief moment, the flesh beneath the black cloth was revealed.
Except, the only thing that could be seen was clean bones.
Without any hesitation, Diablo sat at the very end of the long table. The lights in his eye sockets, which flickered like will o’ wisps, soon turned to the being on the other end.
[I believe this is our first time meeting face to face, Demon King.]
Shuk, black liquid gushed up from the floor. The liquid shot up like a black fountain before gradually taking the shape of a demon.
He wasn’t alone.
Diablo shifted his gaze to those standing behind the Demon King.
[Are they them? The infamous Five Dukes.]
[Your information is outdated.]
The Demon King’s voice weighed heavily on the underground space.
[That title has already been discontinued. It no longer has use. Instead, they are now my new limbs.]
Diablo focused on them one after the other.
There were five of them in total, and every one of them were incredibly powerful. In all honesty, on his own, Diablo wouldn’t be able to defeat even a single one of them.
But that fact didn’t bother him. After all, what a king needed was not personal power.
Leaning back comfortably in the chair, Diablo linked his finger bones together.
[By limbs, I assume you’re referring to your arms and legs, of which you only have two each. So if four of them are limbs, what is the other one?]
[Tongue.]
[—]
[I’m sure you didn’t call me here just to chat, Diablo.]
The Demon King spoke in a bored voice.
[VIP. It’s a pretty interesting group name. The members are all amusing, and the founder even more so.]
[Amusing? I don’t think it’s that bad. Some of the members are people that even you wouldn’t be able to disregard.]
[Well… even if that is the case, it wouldn’t change the fact that what they’re doing is banal.]
Diablo looked around as he spoke.
[That’s pretty ballsy. I bet they’re listening.]
[Let them listen. It’s the same for this general review meeting. The members were tasked with collecting and analysing the data of all the powerful characters they knew, then they would gather and select the 100 strongest candidates then rank them accordingly… They say it’s an indispensable process for the final goal, but I don’t know why they picked such a cumbersome method.]
“You have been waiting for a while. Here is the food you ordered.”
Just at that moment, a man in a tuxedo brought food. The Demon King reached out to the man. The man felt his vision blur.
[Isn’t there a faster and more accurate method?]
Crunch, the Demon King’s hand crushed the man’s head like a walnut. Blood mixed with skull fragments and brain matter flowed like tomato juice.
[Just fight. It doesn’t matter if it’s one on one, many on one or many on many. After a fierce battle, naturally, the one who can still remain standing until the last moment is the strongest and has the right to take everything. Isn’t that simple?]
[I saw Lukas Trowman.]
[—]
The Demon King fell silent.
But a faint dark red air current began to blossom from his Limbs.
[You wanted to have a rematch with that man. So I think I should make something clear now.]
[What is it?]
[Do not approach Lukas.]
At those words, the Demon King burst out laughing.
[No. That might not be clear enough. Of course you, but also your limbs, don’t get close to Lukas. I want you to refrain from even sneaking a peak at him or digging up his information. That was unnecessarily long, but to put it briefly, it means you shouldn’t interfere with Lukas at all from this point on.]
Laughter was still mixed in the Demon King’s voice as he said.
[Do you want to die?]
[You cannot become my death.]
[Cut the crap. I doubt that you don’t know how ridiculous the words you just said were… Unless you called me here to pick a fight?]
The Demon King murmured almost to himself before nodding as if he understood something.
[That would certainly make more sense. If you were intending to provoke me, your plan was a resounding success.]
[I have no intention of wasting strength on you, but if a confrontation is inevitable then it can’t be helped. Then would you like to give it a try? To see which one is harder between your limbs and my sword.]
[—]
At those words, the Demon King’s gaze shifted to behind Diablo.
There stood a Knight wrapped completely in black armour.
Calm and restrained black energy enveloped his body.
The Demon King knew.
Just what this Black Knight was, and who the face behind the visor was.
[It’s really an interesting sight, Lucid.]
[—]
[Meeting you again made me deeply emotional. I remember you didn’t like wearing helmets, what changed?]
[Don’t talk to me with that voice.]
Lucid spoke in an emotionless voice.
The Demon King laughed again.
[Do you not consider me to be Kasajin? That’s fine too. However, what about you? What kind of being are you now? Didn’t you do a lot of things that the Sword King Lucid I know would never have done?]
The Demon King’s smile widened.
[Every being changes. Schweiser, who was trapped in a golem’s body, Iris, who extended her life by changing her body repeatedly, and even Lukas Trowman. The longer the life, the more it changes. Why can’t you admit that the time we spent together was only a brief moment.]
If he had a tongue, Diablo would have clicked it at that moment. The words the Demon King had just said had accurately stabbed at Lucid’s inverse scale.
‘I really didn’t plan to clash with the Demon King in this place.’
It wasn’t that he thought he’d lose.
But the imminent fight between them was interrupted by the appearance of a completely unexpected individual.
Juk-
A blonde haired man appeared.
The Demon King, Diablo and Lucid all knew who this man was. This was because they had all been monitoring him from the moment he started promoting himself with a ‘certain name’.
However, this was their first time meeting him in person.
And Diablo couldn’t help but be bewildered.
Why was this guy pretending to be ‘Lukas Trowman’?
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