Chapter 98

Chapter 98
## Chapter 98

The Beginning of Change (2)

“Take care then, Grandmother.”

“My goodness~ I am doing perfectly fine, so do not fret and head along. Please be careful on your journey back.”

“Haha, absolutely, Grandmother. We shall pay another visit down the road.”

“I already mentioned there is no reason to keep returning.”

The medical visit concluded within an affectionate and amiable ambiance.

A gentle expression surfaced on my face as I departed from the medical chamber alongside Tae-san.

“It brings me relief to see her health improving so visibly.”

“Incredible, isn’t it? Even the medical staff expressed utter astonishment! They mentioned she might be fit for discharge in the near future!”

Tae-san bellowed with sheer exhilaration.

Given how immensely encouraging the physician’s prognosis had been, his mood had remained sky-high for quite some time.

“They even suggested it felt as though an esteemed clerical figure had infused her with sacred energy for several consecutive days. But how could a minor public servant like myself possess those kinds of elite associations? Even prominent dignitaries would struggle to obtain that level of extravagance.”

“…Is that so? She must have triumphed over the ailment through her own inner strength. Exceptional recoveries do manifest on occasion, right?”

“Precisely, precisely! As the saying goes, righteousness yields blessings. Our grandmother has never brought harm to anyone and spent her years working diligently, so even providence itself was moved!”

I cast a brief look back toward the medical chamber, paying little heed to his spirited prattling.

‘I am glad the intervention proved successful. I assumed it would be challenging to implement additional remedies given how hectic affairs have become across the rift. This outcome proves quite satisfactory.’

While there was no inherent obstacle in utilizing “Individual Projection” to assume the guise of Heinrich and execute restorative miracles, failing to establish an energetic perimeter using Hans or Heinz the Second risked triggering numerous complications.

‘It lacks the signature of malevolent sorcery, being pure sacred energy dedicated to restoration, so it shouldn’t provoke an extreme crisis… yet drawing superfluous scrutiny remains an annoyance.’

An incident of this nature would not trigger a prolonged investigation since no crime had occurred, but it still presented a psychological strain for someone actively maintaining a low profile.

After all, he was the renowned ‘Hahoe Mask’ and the enigmatic ‘Master of the Blood Alliance’ currently upending the status quo within South Korea.

Avoiding unnecessary vulnerabilities was the wisest course of action.

“Oh! Regarding the relocation? Have you settled on a destination?”

“Ah, that matter? I secured a residence situated in the outlying districts, as I desired a more tranquil environment. I intend to transition there shortly.”

“Wow— Han Seong-hyeon has truly achieved success! A standalone estate! Though, won’t it prove rather inconvenient if you position yourself so far from Seoul? Particularly regarding postal shipments and such.”

“Well, certain trade-offs are inevitable.”

In reality, geographical separation no longer posed a significant barrier.

He was currently employing “Individual Projection” to oversee the responsibilities of Hahoe Mask firsthand, filling the void while Hans remained occupied with other duties.

‘My capacity to sustain the projected state has extended to 30 minutes. Furthermore, I intend to retain my current urban apartment.’

That specific location would serve as a strategic node for seamless transit.

Consequently, grueling schedules persisted unabated across both Earth and Auterica.

—

Deep within the woodland of a noble estate belonging to a viscount within the Sharotti Kingdom, situated along the western frontiers of the mainland.

An abrupt catastrophe overwhelmed the regional militia that had been deployed to investigate a reported anomaly.

A massive two-handed claymore held in a single grip.

Dense, midnight-colored plate armor enveloping his entire form.

Crimson spectral blazes flickering within his gaze, accompanied by a thick layer of malevolent sorcery saturating the immediate atmosphere.

This singular entity possessed an aura capable of paralyzing any mortal creature through sheer intimidation.

Swoosh— Slash!

“Argh!”

“Sl… ay… Ugh!”

Unmistakable prints of demise were carved into the earth with every stride he took, and no fewer than one soul perished with every sweep of his greatsword.

“…Mercy, how can we hope to…”

“Ah— It is futile! Retreat!”

“You absolute fool! Retreat where?!”

Furthermore, he did not fight unassisted.

The perimeter was already thoroughly encircled by a legion of the damned that had emerged directly from the abyss.

“Ah, ah…”

The conscripts wept in absolute hopelessness.

There was… utterly nothing within their capability to alter this outcome.

Before long, not a single living breath remained within the clearing.

It stood to reason that ordinary conscripts stood no chance when the commanding cavalier and battle mages guiding the cohort had already been summarily decapitated.

$$…Puny.$$

The Death Knight, having completely decimated the battalion of hundreds, cast his gaze across the battlefield and grumbled in a sepulchral tone.

$$Yet this marks only the prelude. The genuine conflict approaches.$$

Though the mortals appeared disorganized due to the sudden nature of the manifestation, a formidable confrontation would inevitably materialize once the organized imperial legions mobilized in earnest.

Recalling past eras when they were forced to conceal themselves within the outer boundaries after being relentlessly hunted, regardless of how many triumphs they secured.

Even the deathless host could ill afford to grow careless simply by crushing these frontline troops who functioned as nothing more than sacrificial obstacles.

They were successfully instigating massive destabilization across various realms by materializing throughout the mainland, yet this simultaneously heightened the hazard of being isolated and eliminated piecemeal.

‘Which is precisely why I intended to advance covertly until the broader layout became transparent.’

The Death Knight shifted his gaze slightly, observing the undead legion concealed amidst the shadows of the timberland.

They were poorly configured for stealth operations due to their fundamental traits.

The necrotic resonance they inherently projected naturally triggered the survival instincts of mortal beings, and even the local flora where they rested briefly withered away rapidly, leaving an abundance of traceable evidence.

That reality had directly precipitated the skirmish with the regional militia just moments prior.

Now that open combat had transpired, any prospect of covert advancement had vanished entirely.

Conclusively, they had to brace themselves for unmitigated war moving forward.

$$Seeing that even these vessels possess worth under current circumstances, it cannot be avoided.$$

The Death Knight channeled malevolent sorcery into his greatsword and advanced toward the epicenter of the fallen militia.

Hummmm—

Abyssal energy swelled fiercely from his elongated blade with every pace he completed.

Upon reaching the core of the mass grave, he…

Plunged his greatsword, radiating like a monolithic pyre, deep into the soil.

Swoosh—!

Obsidian flames, which seemed to swallow the ambient light, radiated outward in a flash.

The malevolent fire surged through the environment like a breaking dam, consuming the mortal remains strewn across the terrain, incinerating all save for their armaments and skeletal structures.

Subsequently, the remains that were reduced to mere bone…

Clack!

Rattle, clatter—!

Hundreds of skeletal frames stood upright, joints creaking into position.

Beginning with hundreds of standard Skeletons, Skeleton Knights and Skeleton Mages integrated into the deathless host as fresh reinforcements.

The Death Knight offered a slow gesture of satisfaction, scanning the augmented ranks.

It represented a modest harvest due to the mediocre capability of the harvested mortals, yet these times left no room for extravagance.

$$…Acceptable. Provided we continuously expand our ranks in this fashion…$$

In that precise instant,

$$I have arrived a moment delayed.$$

A desolate voice abruptly severed his thoughts, reverberating through the surrounding space.

Simultaneously, a terrifying presence began to descend from the heavens, so profoundly crushing that even the Death Knight, a paragon of demise, felt a tremor of apprehension.

‘This sensation is… ’

He recognized this specific resonance intimately.

Was it not the exact authority of the sovereign to whom he had sworn his eternal allegiance before retreating into the outer boundary centuries ago?

The Death Knight raised his gaze toward the source of the pressure.

Hovering there, positioned within the center of the darkened firmament and cloaked in an abyss deeper than midnight, was the exact entity of his recollections.

The absolute manifestation of cessation, the final destination of every living soul, the Immortal King.

$$Karam—$$

Suddenly, an ethereal ripple radiated from the Immortal King suspended in midair.

The harmonic frequency surged directly through the structure of the Death Knight, Karam, standing upon the soil…

And the ancient covenant forged three centuries past was reawakened and reinforced.

[Ah…]

He let out a breath of profound awe as the Immortal King’s malevolent sorcery infused his physical frame.

His consciousness, which had remained vacant since his reawakening, was entirely overwhelmed by the returning tide of absolute demise.

The link that had deteriorated following the demise of the previous Immortal King was completely revitalized, causing Karam, who had finally reclaimed the zenith of his power, to shudder.

‘Unquestionably, Your Majesty’s supremacy remains unblemished, spanning across successive eras.’

It was a fundamental truth.

The Immortal King represented cessation itself, the ultimate conclusion of this reality!

Thud!

As their hierarchical bond was firmly reestablished, Karam drove his blade into the earth, dropped to his knees, and lowered his head before his sovereign.

$$I offer my reverence, my master. I am Karam.$$

Hans, suspended within the firmament, peered down at the Death Knight offering his allegiance and the necrotic thralls that lay prostrate alongside him.

Hans drifted downward from the heights and stepped before the warrior, his gaze gleaming with intensity.

‘Karam, he represents an exceptional asset.’

He required no complex measures for the lesser undead, as he could dominate them effortlessly utilizing “Abyssal Eye”.

Only the premier entities among the undead, such as Entracio and Karam, demanded a formal renewal of their allegiances.

Among that echelon, Karam stood out as an extraordinary creature, far removed from a standard Death Knight.

He was a consummate tactician who excelled beyond master-level combat proficiency, possessed the tactical acumen necessary to direct vast armaments, and had even perfected the arts of necromancy to manifest his own thralls.

He held the rank of a ‘Death Knight Lord’.

‘If one were to categorize their standing… he would occupy a position within the primary circle. One of the paramount lieutenants who directed a division of the deathless host.’

The forces had lacked the opportunity to establish formalized hierarchies while systematically subjugating the mainland, meaning no bureaucratic ranking system existed.

Nevertheless, an unwritten tier of authority persisted within the ranks, predicated upon individual martial prowess and the personal confidence invested in them by the Immortal King.

Viewed through that lens, Karam, who had commanded a detachment of the deathless host and launched incursions across the mainland separate from the primary vanguard, was not merely a premier commander but an iconic figure detailed within the historical archives of the continent.

To have crossed paths with such a figure entirely by chance and secured his allegiance once more.

It equated to discovering an invaluable treasure lying directly on a pathway.

$$I did not anticipate locating you under these conditions, Karam. Though it appears you have instigated an immense disturbance.$$

$$I request your forbearance. The region where I initially breached the boundary happened to border a mortal community. I endeavored to advance without detection, yet it appears they identified our movements.$$

$$It cannot be helped. However, our immediate objective involves consolidating our numbers and amassing our potential. Withdraw into seclusion for the present.$$

$$Your commands shall be executed.$$

Consequently, Hans successfully gathered Karam along with the hundreds of newly raised undead into his personal spatial pocket.

During this process, he noted skeletal figures clad in armor bearing the crest of the local viscount intermingled among the ranks.

…These were casualties who had only recently been converted into necrotic thralls.

‘The collateral ruin is far more severe than I anticipated.’

While he was actively rounding up the scattered undead legions and widening his sphere of control radiating outward from the Talia Kingdom, preventing all localized casualties before intercepting the thralls proved impossible.

Despite the Sharotti Kingdom being a western realm bordering Talia, this particular territory did not share a direct boundary.

‘I failed to foresee this development.’

The residual shockwaves from the Oath of Heaven’s Defiance fracturing the abyssal barrier were far more disruptive than projected.

Undead entities were breaking through concurrently across diverse sectors of the mainland, plunging civilization into utter lawlessness.

‘This trajectory is highly unfavorable. Not only is it causing needless devastation… ’

The very ‘deathless host’ that fundamentally belonged under his sovereignty was being pointlessly wasted in localized skirmishes.

‘This is entirely the fault of those heretics from the Oath of Heaven’s Defiance.’

He recognized the necessity of locating and neutralizing them, yet he had been unable to secure their trail thus far due to being consumed with managing the fallout of this widespread awakening.

Though that crisis had permitted him to reclaim a few premier lieutenants like the Bone Dragon Entracio and the Death Knight Lord Karam…

‘This approach is unsustainable. I must bring this situation to a rapid resolution. I hesitated to implement this specific methodology, but… ’

No, upon deeper reflection, this particular course of action promised far greater effectiveness.

Not only would it allow him to map the positions of the deathless host with superior velocity, but it would also trigger additional auxiliary effects.

‘It may invite unforeseen complications… yet I must tolerate that degree of risk.’

An extraordinarily dense concentration of malevolent sorcery began to radiate outward from Hans as he centered his consciousness.

Swoosh—

The dark, oppressive, and viscous energy coalesced into a precise matrix, weaving the complex grand spell that Hans sought to manifest.

The sheer gravity generated by this process vibrated through the surroundings, warping the local space.

Moments later, the high-tier spell achieved full activation.

Hummmm—!

A monumental shockwave of malevolent sorcery erupted in all directions, penetrating past the woodland, bridging the noble estate, and crossing the national borders.

At this tier of magnitude, escaping the vigilance of the Holy Church was no longer within the realm of possibility.

Indeed, any individual possessing a modicum of sensory perception would inevitably perceive the resonance.

$$Heed my words, my progeny—!$$

Directly at this locus.

$$Your sovereign has returned.$$

Announcing that the Immortal King had manifested.

In immediate alignment with the Immortal King’s proclamation, which reverberated through every necrotic entity across the western expanses of the mainland,

Echoes of allegiance began to ripple back from every corner of the land.