Chapter 504

With the battle at the coast concluded, the Heroes Association immediately held a press conference to announce the results of the Three Dogs subjugation operation.

「After an intense fight, we‌ succeeded in severely injuring the perpetrators and rescuing the hostage. It is presumed that the culprits, the Three Dogs, have fled to the contaminated lands past the Pilgrim’s Path. A cleanup force will be assembled as soon as possible...」

People all over the world were watching the solemn-looking Gregory stand before the reporters to deliver the announcement. And once they heard what he had to say, a frenzy was stirred up everywhere.

“Does this mean we don’t have to worry about them anymore?!”

“They said they only managed to injure them, not defeat them.”

“Well, if they’ve landed a blow once, surely they’ll do better next time.”

Disappointment the Three Dogs had escaped but also a sense of relief—the populace held mixed, complicated feelings.

“The Association defeated those monsters themselves? What kind of nonsense is that...?”

“They probably had a Perfect One lend a hand or let Lee Se-Hoon deal with them.”

“If that’s the case, why weren’t they mentioned at all?”

“Well... The Association’s reputation took a hit this time, so maybe they asked them to stay quiet to help save face?”

“True. Lee Se-Hoon and the Perfect Ones don’t really care about public opinion anyway...”

Naturally, many had doubts—especially given the strength of the Three Dogs—and many also suspected a hidden story behind the scenes.

“I guess it’s good that it was resolved either way, but... now there’s the Inoue family.”

“Right... if they truly revived the Seeker...”

“Honestly, it might be better if they’re controlling it like a

shikigami

.

That

person is... dangerous in many ways.”

As for those who knew the full story, they began worrying about what lay ahead. Everyone was responding to the news in their own way, but the ones taking it the most seriously were too occupied elsewhere to respond.

“...”

“...”

Thanks to the incident, the Inoue family had not only strengthened the Heroes Association’s authority but also solidified their influence in the hero industry as a whole. After all, with their Myers family practically ruined, they were now unmatched.

Yet, despite benefiting the most, not a single one of the family’s executives looked pleased—because a nuclear bomb capable of wiping out everything they had built with ease had just walked into their inner sanctum.

Drip-

Inside the conference room deep within the Inoue family’s main residence, all executives were sitting in two orderly rows before a long table. At the head and the foot, the family head and a visitor, respectively, sat facing one another. Typically, in such a situation, the executives would have discreetly released their mana to pressure the visitor... but not a single one dared now.

“Hmmmm.”

The visitor seated on a cushion lifted a teacup from the table. The distorted noise covering his face made it seem like he was looking down into the cup, but his eyes weren’t visible, so no one could tell whether he actually was.

Perhaps their visitor was just pretending to examine the cup while observing them. Unable to find out, every executive sharpened their senses to the limit with their nerves tensed thin.

“...This is no good.” The man—Se-Hoon—set down the teacup. “How am I supposed to taste anything with a mood like this?”

Once his calm words finished resounding, Se-Hoon slightly turned his head to glance around the room.

“...!”

Without fail, every executive flinched at the sensation of his gaze before immediately straightening up. In that room, they feared not just Se-Hoon... but also the family head.

One mistake and I’m not just fired, but executed.

Focus...! If I can successfully navigate this meeting...

Scanning the executives fighting to maintain their composure, Se-Hoon turned his gaze to the two sitting at the head of the table: Ryuuma, puffing a long pipe with his face hidden behind paper, and his son, Ren, seated on Ryuuma’s right.

Se-Hoon then glanced at Erika, who sat to his right.

I expected the atmosphere to be like this, but... this is kind of ridiculous.

The serious mood was oddly reminiscent of a marriage proposal, like he was about to declare, “Please give me your daughter!” at any moment.

Amused by the thought, Se-Hoon chuckled and finally opened his mouth. “More importantly, though, why do I still not have your answer regarding the proposal?”

“...”

“I’ve been playing along with your formalities, but don’t fool yourself into thinking you

actually

have a choice.”

The executives’ faces simultaneously turned pale.

There was no mana or killing intent, and yet, just by revealing a glimpse of his feelings, Se-Hoon had made the very air—and even the world itself—respond with a crushing pressure.

Only a Perfect One should be capable of this...

Mon-monster...

Experiencing his strength in person made what they had already known completely irrefutable. They all implicitly felt that if they mis-stepped, their entire family could be erased from the planet.

The sheer terror made the executives swallow dryly.

“...I see.” In contrast, Ryuuma lazily exhaled a puff of smoke. “So it wasn’t a fluke that you took down the Phantomind.”

Some had originally thought the

shikigami

that acted as an artificial replica of the true Seeker was only defeated because Se-Hoon had used some trick to not take a single scratch, but now they knew: there was no trick.

Knowing that for certain for himself, Ryuuma silently assessed just how dangerous the monster in front of him was... and how much help he could offer.

“You said you’d help us, didn’t you?” Ryuuma began.

“I did.”

“And you’re aware of what we’re up to?”

“I wouldn’t have said that if I weren’t.”

Considering Se-Hoon’s matter-of-fact reply, Ryuuma stroked his chin thoughtfully. Then, a moment later, he nodded.

“Very well. We accept your proposal.”

“!?”

The executives who turned their heads in shock aside, even Se-Hoon was mildly surprised.

“That’s unexpected. I figured you’d start with some pointless negotiation over terms.”

“I said nothing

because

I knew that. What kind of conditions could we possibly demand from a being on par with—or maybe even

beyond

—a Perfect One?”

Now that the Phantomind had been defeated, the Inoue family had no way of opposing the monster in front of them. To continue their plans, they could only appease Se-Hoon as much as possible while looking to seize the next opportunity when it came.

But until then, bowing their heads—even to a humiliating degree—was an absolute must.

“Well then, is there anything you need? As long as it doesn’t interfere with our plans, we’ll provide anything.”

Seeing Ryuuma’s attitude, Se-Hoon narrowed his eyes. The way he was acting, it was as if he’d even surrender his position as family head if asked. Regardless, though, Se-Hoon laid out what he had already prepared.

“First, hand over all your research records. From publicly available data to confidential material stored only in your researchers’ minds—I want every last bit.”

It was a demand that left the executives’ expressions contorted in disbelief. Se-Hoon wanted the records the Inoue family had spent decades compiling? The records with countless secret arts and arcane formulas? If even a fraction of that leaked, the family could collapse.

He’s practically asking to hand over our entire family’s art...!

What kind of outrageous demand is this...

Even if they were at a disadvantage, handing over the foundation of the family would leave them with no way to resist in the future. The executives silently prayed that Ryuuma wouldn’t agree.

“Sure. I’ll have everything delivered within three days.”

Yet Ryuuma accepted the condition in a detached tone.

“L-Lord Ryuuma—!”

“Anything but that—!”

BOOM!

Their heads slammed into the floor.

Crunch- CRACK-

They weren’t bowing. Slammed into the floor, their faces bones shattered, leaving them unable to breathe. It was such a brutal sight that the remaining executives flinched and reflexively prostrated themselves.

“There won’t be a second warning,” Ren said coldly, staring at them as he released the

shikigami

arts he used to control them.

The executives had forgotten, causing them to make a mistake: the family head’s decision was absolute,

no matter

the situation.

Remembering it once again, the punished abandoned any thought of resistance and pressed their faces to the ground on their own. Likewise, those who hadn’t been also hurriedly prostrated themselves, desperate not to draw attention.

With just one action, the atmosphere had grown so tense that it wouldn’t be surprising if someone died at any moment.

Hmmm... something’s off.

Se-Hoon quietly observed Ren. Was Ren simply fulfilling his duties as heir, or had Ryuuma refrained from acting himself to give the others the final warning? Wondering which of the two it could be, Se-Hoon found Ren’s action layered with intention, and a flicker of curiosity crossed his face.

“My apologies. They simply care more about the family than I do,” Ryuuma remarked, glancing at those prostrating.

His words, laden with rebuke for their overreach, made the executives pale.

“I mean, if they’re that stupid, they better at least be loyal,” Se-Hoon dryly dismissed, seemingly unmoved by their mistake.

Considering he didn’t know what kind of valuable knowledge could be hidden in their brains, he couldn’t risk having them be disposed of recklessly.

“...Understood. I’ll keep that in mind.”

Ryuuma nodded, fully grasping the hidden warning. He looked down at the groveling executives.

“Return and prepare the research records he asked for.”

The executives bowed their heads once more, then half-crawled out of the room to leave only four.

Looking around the now-spacious conference room, Ryuuma exhaled a puff of smoke.

“This should be small enough.”

With a faint shimmer, the room shrank to nearly half its size in an instant.

This is...

It didn’t feel like spatial magic—it was far too seamless.

Seeing Se-Hoon glancing around, Ryuuma put the pipe back in his mouth and asked casually, “Does it interest you? If you’d like, I could teach—”

“You turned the entire building into a

shikigami

and bound it, didn’t you? Is it an adaptation of the spell used to create that thing next to me?”

“...”

“It’s a bit rough, but if you’re only using it as the framework, like with the Phantomind, it’ll suffice. Wrap it with a dome and fill it with the Seeker’s power, and it’ll finish itself.”

Tap. Tap.

The building vibrated faintly. It was obvious Se-Hoon had identified the gaps in the spell and subtly injected force through them with sheer brute pressure.

This is absurd...

Although Ryuuma had expected Se-Hoon to have studied things while he had Erika in his custody, it wasn’t to such an extent. Only now did Ryuuma truly realize how dangerous their visitor was—and how close he had come to pulling a tiger’s tail.

“Anything else you need?”

“I’ll keep Erika by my side while I stay here.”

At that, Ren’s expression stiffened slightly while Ryuuma just continued looking past the paper covering his face.

“To hold her as a hostage?”

“More like mutual trust.”

Tapping the floor with his index finger, Se-Hoon looked straight at the two men.

“You guys are guarding the ‘door’. If that’s the case, I should be the one holding the ‘key’ to do anything.”

A door and a key—the metaphor struck directly at the heart of their plan.

Ryuuma paused briefly at the pinpoint accuracy, then sighed.

“If you put it that way, I suppose there’s no helping it.”

“Father.”

Ryuuma heard Ren’s quiet call, but he raised his hand to stop him.

“Do as you wish. But I need to confirm something first.”

“What is it?”

Taking that as acceptance, Ryuuma exhaled again, and the smoke coalesced into a single sheet of paper that fluttered down before Se-Hoon.

The paper had a strange spell composed of overlapping layers of rituals inscribed on it that was quite familiar: the very same spell Erika had once shown him.

“If you truly inherited the Seeker’s legacy... then you should know what the meaning and usage of this is.”

Realizing that Ryuuma’s reaction depended entirely on how he proved he was the genuine successor to the Seeker’s legacy, Se-Hoon stared down at the spell.

I finished deciphering this a while ago.

The reincarnation spell that awakened the target’s ego and transformed them into an artificial lifeform. It was the spell the Inoue family had adapted to create Erika, using her to suppress the Heaven’s Well.

Se-Hoon had also used it last year himself to reconstruct Erika’s body to better contain the Heaven’s Well power.

In that case, what I need to show now is...

It was time to show the

fusion

of the Heaven’s Well and the Seeker: a new possibility that could only be unlocked when the two met.

Swish-

Like pages turning, the spells inscribed on the paper unraveled into strands and arranged themselves in midair. Seeing the mystical sight, Ryuuma and Ren flinched.

Meanwhile, as the two men’s attention was fixed on the display, Se-Hoon turned to Erika, who was seated beside him.

“Will you be alright?”

Her eyes fixed on the spell like the two men, Erika calmly gave her reply.

“I’ll be fine. As long as it’s you.”

Feeling her answer through the thread of Spirit Weaver connecting them, Se-Hoon gave her a small nod and reached out to seize the spell in one swift motion and invoked the embryonic power wrapped in the Metamorphosing Dreams.

Dream Manifestation: Open Gate

Woong!

The spell hanging in the air collapsed like ink and spread into a massive circle. From Erika’s body, the feathered robe of the Bound Celestial Garment burst forth, tracing the lines to create a ring.

Rumble-

Then, like a flood of black mud, something began surging inward. The building trembled violently, as if the entire artificial mountain would collapse.

“Seal Gate.”

Smoke suddenly appeared from all directions, covering the surroundings.

BOOM!

From within, giant figures of clouds—the Nio Guardians—appeared on each side, lifting a massive ink-drawn lid together before jamming it onto the ring’s center.

Boom!

With the exit blocked, the ring trembled wildly. Even the Nio Guardians struggled to hold the lid in place.

Craaaaaak-

Running along the ring’s surface, the cracks—

CLANG!

The ring reached its limit, and everything shattered; everything was gone without a trace.

“...”

The conference room was silent. Outside, the voices of panicking executives echoed as they scrambled in the chaos of fire and partial collapse.

Within though, Se-Hoon and Ryuuma just stared silently at each other, one through noise and the other through paper.

“Come to think of it, I never got your name.” Ryuuma set down his pipe. “What should I call you?”

“I am...”

Should he call himself the Warhound, a name earned during his time with the Three Dogs before regressing? Or should he make up a new name more fitting for the current situation?

A brief pause ensued, then Se-Hoon met Ryuuma’s gaze.

“Akasha. That’s what you can call me.”

He had come not as the head of the Three Dogs, but as the Seeker’s successor. For that purpose, the new name would carry more meaning.

“Akasha, huh... quite fitting.”

Ryuuma nodded in approval.

“As requested, Erika will remain by your side. Let me know if you need anything else.”

“Appreciated.”

With that, everything he could do for now was complete. Se-Hoon let out a breath of relief internally.

“Then I look forward to working with you,

Director

Akasha.”

“...?”

The Inoue family had now gained a new research director.