Chapter 367

Chapter 367
## Chapter 367

Terror (4)

An intense spitting noise, paired with a cascade of flying embers, reverberated through the atmosphere.

Crackle—!

Following that, colossal blocks of fortified concrete, seemingly far too immense for any lone human to hoist, began ascending into the sky, completely disregarding gravity.

It was a breathtaking spectacle, the sheer magnitude of the phenomenon causing onlookers watching from below to draw breath in sheer astonishment.

Thump! Thump!

The massive wreckage, drifting without any visible effort, started stacking in an orderly fashion in a corner of the ruined district.

Subsequently, as the final chunk of concrete settled into position, the grand display concluded.

“Huu, where should I head next?”

Yoon Ji-yoon, the branch manager of the Returnee Association and the individual behind this awe-inspiring demonstration of might, spoke nonchalantly, paying no mind to the starstruck stares of the surrounding crowd.

This was a domestic catastrophe, an unexampled crisis.

She possessed no spare time for trivialities.

-“That was the final location. We appreciate your dedicated efforts, Branch Manager.”

“…Is that so? Are there any other pressing dilemmas?”

-“No, none at this time. The cleanup operation is ongoing, but nothing demands your immediate presence.”

Her rigid expression relaxed slightly upon hearing her secretary’s update filter through her bone conduction headphones.

She had been moving incessantly for hours, darting across the metropolis like a streak of electricity, managing the aftermath of the coordinated terror strikes.

Now, a moment of respite was finally within reach.

“Huu…”

She elongated her stiffened limbs, letting a weary breath slip past her lips.

What on earth had taken place here?

‘A terrorist operation on this scale… This wasn’t a plot devised over the course of a single night.’

As her body relaxed, the thoughts she had actively suppressed began bubbling to the surface.

The true identities and underlying intentions of the attackers, the long-term repercussions of the event, and the essential preventative measures…

Every single topic was a recipe for a migraine.

“Just thinking about it is giving me a headache.”

She tossed her head back, attempting to clear her mind.

She would be forced to confront those dilemmas eventually.

Fretting over them at this very instant was utterly pointless.

‘The vampires of the Blood Alliance proved to be an immense asset. Had they not intervened, the criminals attempting to profit from the lawlessness would have inflicted far greater harm.’

Furthermore, Heinz’s personal role was even more substantial.

He had not only thrown himself into the search and rescue operations, but also maintained order among the remaining criminal elements of the underbelly.

Partnering with them had undeniably been the correct path forward.

‘There were also quite a few other capable individuals who showed promise.’

She called to mind the various Awakened figures who had made a name for themselves during the catastrophe.

A portion of them were figures she already recognized, but a surprising number of unfamiliar faces had emerged.

‘Is the Supernatural Management Bureau even performing their duties correctly? To have this many unregistered Awakened wandering around… ’

To think such an abundance of concealed capability existed!

She lacked the opportunity to approach them face-to-face, but her senses were not easily deceived. She was capable of monitoring everything across a radius of several kilometers utilizing her faint electrical frequencies.

‘Where exactly have they been lurking until now? It would be ideal if they could be recruited into the Association. Particularly… ’

Out of the entire crowd, two specific figures had truly gripped her curiosity.

A summoner of spirits, an exceptionally scarce classification of Awakened on this planet, alongside a enigmatic entity clad in a bizarre metallic exoskeleton, darting through the clouds.

‘And that spirit summoner… even I would struggle to overcome him easily. How many times does this make now?’

Yet another unrecorded powerhouse, manifesting out of thin air within South Korea.

She remained conflicted on whether to view this as a blessing or a curse.

“…I will handle the press briefing.”

“Moving forward, let us review the subsequent matter. The projected losses calculated up to this point…”

Regardless, the state authorities had already mapped out their strategy.

They required a method to swiftly divert the populace’s focus away from the catastrophe, aiming to elevate morale and cultivate optimism.

South Korean champions rising above the devastation to save the day—.

That was the specific angle they chose to project.

Manufacturing figures of heroism was the ultimate strategy for fostering national pride and solidifying public unity.

-Wow, is a human being even capable of that?

-Bless you! Thank you so much for rescuing my dad!

-I need to get my hands on that armor! Where is it sold? Is it some kind of magical artifact? Does Howard Industry manufacture it?

The strategy proved to be remarkably efficient.

—

The unexpected wave of terror attacks across Seoul inflicted deep wounds upon South Korean culture.

Billion-dollar property destruction, an immense loss of life, and the lingering psychological shockwaves…

Even with the rapid mobilization of the state, the Association, Pantheon, and various other coalitions, the casualty register continued to climb, leaving the responsible bureaus completely swamped.

It was a stroke of luck that they managed to contain the fallout within a few brief hours, avoiding the implementation of martial law.

Inevitably, the entire populace, alongside global observers, fixed their gaze intently upon Seoul,

…hungry for additional details surrounding the catastrophe.

Meanwhile, the press, operating under state guidance, initiated a careful transformation of the narrative.

A martial artist, his physical form enveloped in radiant Ki, diving into a blazing inferno to pull youngsters to safety.

A spellcaster, conjuring a massive deluge of water to snuff out the raging blazes.

An esper, utilizing telekinetic prowess to ferry imperiled civilians toward secure zones.

A cleric, shielding casualties with a protective barrier moments before a secondary detonation occurred.

The narrative pivoted from the horror of the event to the valiant deeds performed by those who stepped up during the crisis.

Naturally, the figures highlighted by the press transformed into overnight sensations, and those who executed particularly jaw-dropping exploits were inundated with adulation and respect.

-It’s mind-blowing how rapidly he managed to douse those flames.

-The terraforming display left a bigger impression on me. Hoisting folks out of the wreckage like that… and the sheer relief on their faces when they knew they were out of danger lol.

-I found myself deeply moved by the ordinary civilians who put their lives on the line for strangers. It brought me to tears.

-Hold on, does anyone have details on that mechanized armor? It discharges actual laser beams! It literally erased a barrier with one blast! What on earth is that thing?!

Countless legendary figures emerged from the jaws of pandemonium.

Photographs and video recordings saturated the internet, while journalists scrambled to secure commentary from those who lived through it.

-“What thoughts were racing through your mind during the event?”

-“I was absolutely paralyzed with fear. I could sense the framework gives way, and the smoke became so suffocating that I couldn’t glimpse the street. The exit to the roof was completely barred, and I accepted that my life was over…”

-“And that was the moment the figure in the mechanized suit arrived to liberate you.”

-“Precisely! He suddenly smashed right through the solid wall and offered his hand, and these dark cords snared around myself and the remaining captives…”

The enigmatic savior wrapped in a metallic shell, resembling a protagonist pulled straight from a blockbuster film, served as ideal content for the media outlets.

His valiant behavior coupled with his… visually stunning presentation effortlessly captivated the collective consciousness of the public.

-Someone put together a breakdown of the ‘Iron Man’s’ projected capabilities.

-Hypersonic velocity, zero to sixty miles per hour in a fraction of a second, a comprehensive kinetic energy field, instantaneous laser discharges, energy blades capable of slicing through girders like butter, and restraining wires extending limitlessly from his right palm lol.

-He literally supported a collapsing skyscraper with a single arm while airborne. His physical movements are incredibly precise, too. It’s as if he possesses perfect situational awareness of where to deploy.

-Hold up, looking at the design language and when he showed up… Is it possible Howard Industry engineered him?

Consequently, public curiosity drifted toward Howard Industry, a mysterious enterprise that had only recently emerged on the market.

An upstart firm asserting they could synthesize bespoke, elite-tier magical artifacts, followed by the appearance of a costumed vanguard shortly after their unveiling…

The dots connected altogether too neatly.

-Can ordinary citizens commission them to build an armor set?

-They take payment in rare elixirs. But the price tag is bound to be astronomical.

-Is that armor actually a fusion of multiple top-tier magical artifacts? The limbs, the chassis, the helmet… If that’s the reality, what kind of budget are we talking about?

A few observers managed to guess remarkably close to the actual reality.

Naturally, the Titan armor, energized by the core of an Ancient Dragon and necessitating a high-end AI-integrated 「Cybernetic Eye: Callicas」 for proper navigation, was completely unavailable for public acquisition.

It was essentially a condensed spacecraft tailored to a human physique, categorized as a Special-grade magical artifact.

‘Still, it serves as excellent marketing. I might as well position Titan as the official emblem of Howard Industry.’

This move would go a long way in dissolving the reservations of those who remained unconvinced after witnessing Mjolnir at the product exhibition.

‘Naturally, we will need to put our scaling objectives on hold for the time being. We will allocate a massive financial contribution to bolster our public standing… and distribute various recovery potions to the relief efforts.’

Capital was no longer a limiting factor for him.

The fortunes he had gathered across two separate realms defied ordinary calculations.

This was particularly true for Hans, the Undying Monarch, and Horus, who had claimed possession of the 「Golden Treasury」. Both sat upon mountains of precious metals and gems.

‘I ought to arrange a charitable contribution under the banner of the Blood Alliance as well. This is a prime opening to elevate their social standing.’

The Blood Alliance’s participation in the emergency operations was also gaining traction among the populace.

It represented an opportunity to alter the public’s anxieties regarding vampires.

Granted, the majority of citizens would continue to harbor suspicion toward them… but it marked a positive shift in direction.

‘Excellent, that resolves that issue… Now, what do we have here?’

Beep— Boop—

Beep—

A sequence of electronic chirps and signals resonated within the chamber.

Hesperon, completely enclosed inside the Titan armor, remained stationary in the center of the space, with physical cables sprouting from his pauldron segments to interface with a variety of hardware terminals.

‘These are far from standard computational units. The process is dragging on longer than I anticipated.’

He had embedded himself within the subterranean sanctuary of the Heaven’s Turn Society, situated directly beneath the DMZ.

A location thoroughly saturated with the traces of their operations.

He had activated 「In the Hero’s Footsteps」 to slip past their defensive grids and breach the compound, aiming to salvage any data left behind.

His primary physical form, utilizing Hans’s 「Individual Projection」, had already drained their mental recollections and returned to his personal quarters.

Heinz the Second alongside the Blood Alliance, who commanded the criminal underbelly of South Korea, were more than capable of hunting down the remaining stragglers.

Beep—

Following what felt like an unending duration,

…a notification, the precise one he had been awaiting, materialized across his heads-up display.

Under normal parameters, even backed by a state-of-the-art artificial intelligence like 「Cybernetic Eye: Callicas」, breaching these setups would have been an impossible task, particularly given the foreign-world engineering integrated into the hardware.

After all, the item was fundamentally structured to operate as an ocular prosthesis, not an offensive decryption utility.

However, Howard’s pair of traits, 「Technological Revolution」 and 「Artisan’s Soul」, had thoroughly shattered those design thresholds.

Furthermore, Hesperon’s 「Chains of the Oath」 had transmuted the device from a standalone piece of equipment into a literal component of his anatomy, a functional ability in its own right.

The 「Cybernetic Eye: Callicas」 was no longer an independent tool; it was a living piece of his essence, progressing in tandem with his journey, reaping the rewards of his avatar’s development modifiers and the properties of the “Growth Elixir”.

‘And utilizing Titan, an scaled-down interstellar vessel, as the baseline infrastructure, its processing capacity is amplified even further.’

These data terminals were likely supplied to facilitate their clandestine operations.

He harbored doubts about discovering anything world-changing from minor operatives of this level…

Yet, memory harvesting was rarely flawless, making any supplementary data a welcome asset.

“…Oh? What have we here…”

He might just stumble upon an unpredicted revelation.

Hesperon’s pupils dilated slightly as he scanned the incoming stream of files rolling across his interface.

He had uncovered a significant thread within their digital storehouse.

Detailed records regarding the Southeast Asia sector of the Heaven’s Turn Society, marking another of their pivotal strongholds.