Chapter 500

A revelation from the heavens.

Looking at the mysterious arrow—Baek-Yeon’s true final legacy—Se-Hoon began verification without a second thought.

“I’ll assume the role of Heroes Association President and suppress all heroes.”

Phishing!

“I’ll become a dictator and rule over the entire world.”

Fwoosh!

“I’ll announce that there’s a legacy left behind by the Visionary somewhere in the universe and open the space exploration era...”

Thwack!

For the first time, the arrows piercing the ground near Se-Hoon’s foot had grazed his right cheek. Flinching, Lea stopped documenting the verification process and glanced up at the sky.

“...Is it just pissed off at you?”

Anyone would think that it had gotten annoyed with Se-Hoon’s “verification.” Se-Hoon, however, was not among them as he shook his head after calculating the trajectory and force of the arrow.

“No, the level of warning just changes based on the result.”

“By result... you mean the future?”

“Probably.”

An immutable archer who observed how his decision would impact the future to send warnings accordingly—simply but highly effective.

“For such a mechanism to work well, accuracy should be the most important factor...” Trailing off, Se-Hoon stared at the arrow that was fading like a mist.

His most recent test led to the conclusion that opening the era of space exploration was more dangerous than suppressing heroes or becoming a dictator of the world. That was fine; however, did that result factor in Se-Hoon’s plan in full? Before that, what standard was it even using to make such judgements?

With such questions, Se-Hoon naturally thought to test just how deeply it could understand his intentions.

“I hereby surrender to the Demon Force.”

Her eyes widening in shock, Lea quickly looked up at the sky—only to see that nothing had happened. But why? A puzzled expression crossed her face. If Se-Hoon meant it, shouldn’t the warning have been far more severe than the opening of the era of space exploration?

Mulling it over, Lea didn’t take long to find the answer.

“Oh. You weren’t being serious?”

Se-Hoon nodded.

“I planned to attack them from the inside after handing myself over.”

Now it was confirmed that Baek-Yeon’s legacy

did

see through surface-level plans to the hidden intentions behind them. In that case...

Se-Hoon took a deep breath and filled his words with sincerity. “I surrender to the Demon Force—”

Boom!

Before he had even finished speaking, an arrow pierced through his forehead. It happened so fast, making Lea gasp at the terrifying sight and reflexively prepare to cast an enchantment.

Swish-

𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Se-Hoon raised his right hand and stopped her, and his head, which had been thrown back by the impact, returned to its original position.

“...”

Feeling the tingling pain from his forehead, Se-Hoon brought his left hand up and gently touched the spot where the arrow had struck.

“...I’m fine.”

The same arrows that could pierce through solid ground and the outer wall of the workshop hadn’t harmed his body at all. Even the chilly pain he had felt at first was turning into a refreshing feeling, as though someone had scrubbed his brain clean with ice water.

So she decided not to bother with half-hearted deterrents anymore.

From Baek-Yeon’s perspective, the greatest risk wasn’t minor issues related to the Demon Force: it was

Se-Hoon

himself, the heir she had entrusted everything to. Even if the Perfect Ones died and the Demon Force was wiped off the face of the planet, everything could still unravel the moment Se-Hoon changed sides.

That was all true, which was why it wouldn’t have been strange for Baek-Yeon to leave behind a contingency plan for that worst-case scenario. Yet the arrow that struck just now—the Revelation—didn’t contain any such deterrent. It simply asked him, one more time, to think calmly and awakened his mind for that.

I did tell her to leave it all to me... but she really did just cleanly walk away.

If he had been in Baek-Yeon’s shoes, could he have done the same? His smile turning bitter, Se-Hoon lifted his head to look up at the possibilities gathered in the sky.

There’s a lot less than before.

They had gradually decreased with each arrow, and the last one had taken a significant chunk of nearly half. Judging from the way suppressive force was still gathering above him, though, there didn’t seem to be a limit to the number of times it could trigger.

Still, it was clear a recharge was needed, meaning it was best to conserve them for when the warnings were truly needed.

“The accuracy seems not bad.... I guess what’s left is the criteria.”

So far, the Revelation hadn’t reacted to anything on its own accord except for the Inoue family incident. In other words, there were clearly specific trigger conditions.

As both Se-Hoon and Lea fell silent, mulling over what those could be, Lea’s voice soon sounded. “Could the criteria be... the people around you?”

“The people around me?”

“You may act indifferent, but you always take care of your people. So if the calculations prioritize them, the system would be more efficient, and the results would make sense to you. Seems like a good fit.”

Thinking about her words, Se-Hoon narrowed his eyes.

“That... does sound plausible.”

Then, if the system warned him based on how much his choices would negatively impact those close to him, how did it choose who counted? For that, Se-Hoon had a vague guess.

It’ll probably be those I’ve established bonds with...

Considering that he had a bond level of four with Erika and a level of two with Ren, the Revelation only reacting to the Inoue family made sense. His unique skill, Blacksmith of Bonds,

was

the criterion itself.

Though if I’m being honest, my relationship with Ren is closer to hostile.

By that logic, even the “Desire” relationship with Erika couldn’t be interpreted as purely friendly. After all, the Inoue family stood between humanity and the Demon Force—just like how the siblings Erika and Ren stood between favor and enmity.

Realizing he was caught in the vague middle ground, Se-Hoon thought for a bit before just brushing it all away.

Well, whatever it turns out to be, I’ll just have to investigate directly.

He didn’t know exactly what was happening, but one thing was clear: if he didn’t intervene now, things would spiral into a mess.

Now done with his verification process, Se-Hoon changed gears and reviewed his plan for using it in the current incident.

The detailed warnings will come on their own... so, for now, I need to grasp the bigger picture.

Of the many plans forming in his mind, Se-Hoon chose the simplest and most extreme option first.

“I’m going to kill Inoue...”

Thwack!

An arrow sharply grazed his left cheek—Ryuuma’s death alone wouldn’t resolve everything. Noting that down, Se-Hoon moved to the next plan.

“I’ll kill both Inoue Ryuuma and Inoue Ren.”

Fwiing!

An arrow stabbed neatly into the ground between his feet—the threat level of the warning had dropped significantly with Ren’s inclusion.

Narrowing his eyes, Se-Hoon fell into thought.

The drop meant Ren, not Ryuuma, was likely the central figure in the upcoming incident revolving around the Inoue family. Eliminating some plans after factoring that in, Se-Hoon moved on to the last one remaining.

“Inoue Erika...”

He couldn’t bring himself to finish. All he needed was that one question to confirm everything, but.... He hadn’t seen her face in months, yet he couldn’t feel comfortable imagining her death.

“Try your best to cherish your connections... just like you are doing now...”

Recalling the words Baek-Yeon had left behind for him, Se-Hoon realized they weren’t entirely unrelated to how he felt now. Because of that, Se-Hoon erased his previous plan without hesitation and went with his heart.

“I’ll save her.”

A plan where he had no idea how or even from what. Still, if the Revelation truly signaled Erika’s misfortune, then that was the only thing he should do.

“...Huh?”

Lea looked up at the sky in confusion. Even after waiting, no arrows had fallen...? Understanding what that meant, Lea turned to Se-Hoon.

“Could it be that this is...”

“Yeah.”

Loosening up his shoulders, Se-Hoon raised the corner of his lips.

“They’re telling me to stir things up properly.”

***

In Aokigahara, the Sea of Trees, the Inoue main house was typically a bustling place with visitors from all over the world. Recently, however, the atmosphere had changed completely.

Thump. Thump.

On the roads and buildings built atop the artificial mountain and deep within the forest, mages of the Inoue family patrolled slowly along predesignated paths alongside their

shikigami

.

Periodically, the mages would form hand seals and recite incantations to embed spells into the ground, allowing them to seep into the land’s ley lines.

Woong-

A grand barrier ran throughout the Sea of Trees, centered on the main house. Being a top-tier barrier spell—capable not only of blocking intrusions but of warping the very laws within—it radiated immense power that pressed heavily upon all those on patrol. All of them, without fail, broke into cold sweats.

One misstep and we’re dead.

Damn it... When’s my next shift coming?

While patrolling while maintaining the spell was exhausting, even just standing next to the surging force of the barrier made every moment feel like standing on the edge of a battlefield. And yet, some of them still felt fortunate to be here—because the mages working in the research facility had it far worse.

Rumble-

In one of the laboratories deep underground, within the artificial mountain housing the clan’s secret research facility, a monster—the Chimera, which had a left side covered in black slime—was rampaging in a sealed area.

AOOO!

The creature howled as it struggled to tear off the restraints binding its body, thrashing intensely as the corrosive black slime steadily wore down the surrounding spells.

Of course, that made all of the mages watching from behind the glass look anxious. And under normal circumstances, they would have sedated it or knocked it out by now.

“...”

Today, however, a man in a black kimono with his face obscured by a talisman bearing the character for “seal”—Inoue Ryuuma—stood with them silently as he smoked a long-stemmed pipe.

Like that, he just watched and watched until the moment a portion of the spell eroded by the Chimera was absorbed into the black slime. At that moment, a hazy cloud of smoke spread, and his languid voice followed: “Inject the Heaven’s Well.”

The mages moved at once. Inside the sealed space where the Chimera was bound, black sludge—part of the Heaven’s Well—began dripping in.

Drip- Drip-

The black sludge landed drop by drop onto the Chimera’s body. At first glance, it looked similar to the black slime already enveloping the Chimera, which made it seem like it would just merge with it.

Grrrrk!

Instead, however, the black slime began spiraling violently around the Heaven’s Well—it was being sucked in. Soon enough, even the Chimera’s flesh was drawn in.

GRRRRRRRRR!

The roar of fury was replaced by a shriek of terror. It was an absolutely bone-chilling scream that made the mages reflexively flinch or avert their gazes.

They, who had dissected and experimented on monsters dozens of times, for some reason could not bear to listen to the Chimera’s cries.

“...”

Yet Ryuuma remained unmoved, calmly watching.

Crack- Crunch!

And not long later, the Chimera’s massive body—easily over four meters tall—was compressed down into a black sphere the size of a human head.

woooooooooooooo-

An unending, chilling noise echoed from within. Then, all of a sudden, the demonic aura began surging violently from its trembling surface—

“Divine Seal.”

At Ryuuma’s whisper, the spells that once bound the Chimera transformed into a silver cage.

Boom!

The darkness that was about to burst forth was blocked, unable to escape the cage. Locked within, the mass churned and writhed violently—making for an eerie and mystical sight that made the mages all stare in a daze.

They all watched as the darkness gradually calmed, revealing what lay inside: the Chimera—except it had been transformed into a completely different form with a crow’s head and a heavily muscular body.

Collectively, all the mages gasped at the sight.

“Kneel.”

Thud!

Once Ryuuma raised his pipe and gave his decree, the giant monster dropped to one knee and bowed its head deeply. Seeing that, Ryuuma’s lips curved slightly as he observed the previously uncontrollable Chimera that was now a new

shikigami

.

“Good boy.”

Hearing the clan head’s pleased voice, the tense mages all quietly exhale in relief. After sacrificing half of the captured Chimera and dozens of mages, they had finally, at long last, gotten meaningful experimental results.

“Summon Ren. Have him take control of the

shikigami

and continue the remaining experiments. Once the Chimeras are used up, use the gathered data to subjugate all eight Wraiths.”

Done issuing orders, Ryuuma didn’t even glance at the bowing mages as he turned and walked away. He exited the lab and stepped into the elevator, heading toward the deepest part of the facility—where the Heaven Well was sealed.

It’s almost time...

Ren’s training was nearly complete, and Erika’s tuning was reaching its end. All that remained was to fulfill the clan—and his own—long-held wish through the birth of a new Perfect One.

Reveling in how close he was, Ryuuma recalled his past as he slowly closed his eyes behind the white paper covering his face before opening them once more.

I must remain cautious.

The Demon Force was no longer a threat since Tuner had been neutralized. However, there were still more that had to be watched closely. As Ryuuma ran through the list of potential threats in his head—like the Heroes Association and Perfect Ones—the arrogant face of a certain young man came to mind.

Lee Se-Hoon... he is definitely the most dangerous.

The Heroes Association lacked any real influence, and he could avoid conflict with the Perfect Ones because they were bound by rules. Se-Hoon, on the other hand, wasn’t shackled by any power or law. No one knew when or how he would strike at their weakest point.

Avoiding him would be best... but judging from how he reacted to Erika before, that might not be possible.

Although his interactions with Erika had decreased recently, it was too early to assume his interest had faded. Debating over plans on how to deal with him, Ryuuma recalled the Heaven Well fragment he had given Se-Hoon.

Come to think of it, there hasn’t been any reaction since then.

Maybe he should send Ren to retrieve the fragment and gauge Se-Hoon’s response to their plans one more time?

Going over some more plans, Ryuuma eventually reached the facility’s deepest level and watched the elevator doors slowly open.

“...”

Upon stepping into the corridor, he suddenly felt something was off. Instinctively, he looked forward.

An empty, silent hallway stretched out in front. But that was normal, since the deepest level was only accessible to direct relatives. For there to be no sound at all, though...

that

was strange.

“...!”

Feeling something was wrong, Ryuuma picked up his pace. He flicked his hand and puffed out ‌a cloud of smoke, summoning two

shikigami

that raced toward the large door at the end of the corridor.

Bang!

The

shikigami

flung the door open, and Ryuuma stepped into the central control room of the seal where the Heaven Well—and Erika—were held.

“Thanks for the hospitality—Three Dogs.”

All that was there was a sign from the world’s most dangerous terrorist group, the Three Dogs—they had abducted Erika.