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Chapter 224
Tower of Babel.
Veldana, the administrator of the 4th floor, stiffened her expression.
“…Lady Veldana.”
“I know. This place, the committee—no, the Sama Association’s research lab. To think they dared… commit these acts right under our noses.”
When the boss room was first discovered, others were delighted—but Veldana was not.
Though called a temple, she immediately realized that all the important items had already been looted.
Even the mobs that should naturally have occupied the boss room were nowhere to be seen.
“I suspected ever since we first came to the city that the locals who should have been here had suddenly disappeared… but I never imagined there was a secret like this.”
Veldana’s eyes glinted coldly as she looked at the stack of documents in her hand.
― Top Secret Document
― Divine Soldier Production Plan
Though hastily burned traces remained, understanding their meaning wasn’t difficult.
A ribbon symbolizing the highest security level in official Chinese documents. Beneath it, a title clearly describing the experiments conducted in this lab.
According to a subordinate who roughly understood Chinese, the titles meant “Confidential Document” and “Divine Soldier Production Plan.”
Veldana handed the documents to her subordinate with instructions.
“Sort out only the important ones and store them secretly. Begin analysis as soon as we return to the tower.”
“Yes, understood.”
“They’ll pay dearly for mocking us.”
Most of the text was in Chinese, so she couldn’t grasp all the details, but the dates and photos in the journal revealed enough to understand what had happened.
“They captured Logos that fell to the ground and conducted all kinds of experiments. They even administered extracts to criminals or mindless entities.”
And the Logos used as test subjects were forms familiar to Veldana.
“U.C.O….”
She could see them immediately if she went to the Palmyra Desert now.
“So this is why the Sama Association suddenly jumped into the frontlines, suffering to capture U.C.O.?”
By now, Colonel Gaius and the 13th Legion would likely have realized this too.
They must be furious… and envious.
“Showing this kind of thing is to entice us into joining the united front continuously… is that it?”
And even the purpose of Ihyun, who had drawn them to this temple.
“How on earth did Jet find out about this?”
Now, Ihyun was truly terrifying.
“…Indeed, he must be the Sama Association’s nemesis.”
Veldana was angry at having been mocked by the Sama Association, but also frustrated at being forced to follow Ihyun’s demands.
Yet…
“…For now… I have no choice but to follow. At least for now…”
Suppressing her rising anger, she instead set her fury toward the Sama Association ablaze, determined to secure information about U.C.O.
Meanwhile…
“Senior, where exactly are we going…?”
“I’ll explain later. Just follow me. There’s no time to waste.”
“…”
[Hidden room discovered!]
[Strategy achievement acquired.]
…
[This is the location where the relic of Yahrhibol was stored.]
Kim Min-jung followed Ihyun through the secret spaces. A hidden room behind the altar, and then another hidden room inside that. She lost track of whether this was a temple or a maze.
But she couldn’t speak carelessly to Ihyun.
“Since a little while ago… his eyes have been glowing gold continuously.”
Kim Min-jung vaguely understood: those eyes, transplanted from the deceased Moon Soo-chan, carried a hidden secret.
But the intensity of the glow was new to her.
Occasionally, a deep blue radiance flickered in his left eye.
“Every time that happens, my magic circuits overheat. Senior’s left eye and the Umasal resonate with each other.”
Kim Min-jung pressed her lips tight.
“Both his gaze and my Umasal are directed toward that place.”
At the end of the deep corridor, darkness like an endless abyss called to the Umasal. More accurately, the Umasal wanted to return there. Like a salmon swimming upstream to its birthplace.
“What exactly is the Umasal inheritance…?”
A heritage likely tied to the Great Demon King. Fear mingled with a desire to formally meet and gain greater power.
“Are you nervous?”
Suddenly, Ihyun asked as if tossing a casual question. He had stopped walking.
“Here it is.”
Kim Min-jung swallowed dryly.
“…A little?”
“Say if you want to turn back now.”
“After coming this far?”
“I realize I may have pushed you too hard before. Before, I gave you things to help, but beyond this point, I cannot do so.”
“…”
“So, what will you do?”
Ihyun glanced at Kim Min-jung. She scoffed lightly.
“You still don’t understand me, even after everything. I find that a little disappointing.”
“…?”
“No matter how much you push me, if I hated it, would I have followed?”
Kim Min-jung’s slight sulk made Ihyun chuckle awkwardly.
“True. That was foolish of me.”
“It happens often. It’s fine. Your generous junior will forgive you.”
Pff.
“Alright, thank you. Let’s go.”
Ihyun smiled faintly and stepped inward.
At that moment…
Flash!
The darkness of the abyss suddenly expanded, and
[Umasal dominates the entire space!]
[The hidden boss room beneath the temple reveals itself.]
The entire space where Ihyun and Kim Min-jung were standing was swallowed.
‘You’ve come properly.’
A booming divine voice echoed.
“…!!”
Even confident Kim Min-jung shrieked silently, unable to speak. Her heart pounded violently; her magic circuits boiled.
[Warning! Core overheating beyond limit. Exit the area.]
[Warning! Inheritance is beginning to exceed your control.]
[Warning! You are facing a holy being. Magic contamination begins. Act quickly…]
[Warning! This area is…]
Her vision filled with red warning messages.
But…
‘The path was complicated, but my ‘eyes’ allowed me to reach here without getting lost.’
Ihyun continued conversing as if unaffected.
Thud.
Kim Min-jung collapsed under the pressure, feeling the world spin.
‘I must endure…!’
Yet instinct told her passing out here would bring regret. The Umasal’s master was far more formidable than she had imagined.
It was her first meeting with him. She did not want to appear weak.
[Myth, ‘White-Horned Great Demon King,’ regards you with interest!]
[Inheritance, ‘Scarlet Lotus Execution’’s energy transforms into Umasal, altering magic circuits.]
Ihyun’s casual conversation with the Umasal’s master seemed astonishing to her.
And…
‘How audacious! You forcibly took from me and call it a gift?’
“Yet I also brought a new gift for the Umasal king, did I not?”
‘This is a gift?’
The Umasal’s master seemed furious yet entertained by the conversation.
Heart pounding.
His gaze now fixed squarely on Kim Min-jung, not Ihyun. Umasal’s power surged.
She could only withstand his gaze, as if nailed to the spot.
‘Like those ‘eyes’ as well. You take my magic and inheritance without permission, claiming it’s for me?’
From the abyssal sky, two enormous eyes opened, exuding deep blue flames.
‘Then return them; they are of no use. A god who cannot even digest a speck of mine—what could you do with it?’
Kim Min-jung wanted to cry out, to ask for a chance. She realized firmly:
‘I want his recognition.’
Not for any other reason—like Ihyun, she wanted to become a reliable team member, or from long interaction with Umasal. Simply, she wanted to be recognized as a proper Ranker.
But she couldn’t speak.
Crack!
Changes from her magic circuits spread through her body. Her skin and muscles split as the magic enveloped her.
[Myth recognized you.]
The Umasal king accepted her as a follower. To become a complete disciple, she would need to prove her usefulness further.
‘That’s enough about the gift. Now, let’s discuss what we must.’
Ihyun glimpsed myriad emotions in the Umasal king’s gaze toward Kim Min-jung.
After losing his family to heaven and isolating himself even from his brother, he chose to form a new bond. The king did not reject it but accepted it.
‘My prediction was correct.’
Though he mentioned usefulness, the gaze revealed emotion.
‘Affection.’
Blazing! Ihyun’s vision opened fully.
‘The Umasal king still harbors affection.’
He still remembered the past.
‘Have you considered that perhaps the elder implanted the demon to help my brother?’
Thoughts from Son Goku appeasing the Demon King came to mind.
‘Perhaps the actions we thought exploited the Demon King were to protect him.’
‘If so, releasing the Satan King might have also been for its own sake, or for some other reason.’
Ihyun’s vision met the Umasal king’s eyes.
“I wish to make a proposal before discussing your brother.”
‘A proposal?’
The Umasal king narrowed his eyes, wary of any trick, and then widened them in surprise at Ihyun’s words.
“Even a temporary alliance—will you join hands with me?”
‘…!?’
