Chapter 370

Chapter 370
Chapter 370

—

Their influence had collapsed following the exposure of several corruption scandals, and the situation worsened when King Valan revealed the truth regarding the Great Expedition in ‘Pangenia’.

They were widely considered to be clinging to the remnants of their former glory.

‘The whole group is gathered.’

Darkstar was not the only one present.

A significant number of high-ranking figures from the Heroes Association, including Lucifer, were lined up.

Even Gracia, who had previously severed ties with the Heroes Association, was in attendance.

Union, the Magician of the Golden Rule, stood alongside Gracia.

‘It appears they have congregated to neutralize a global threat.’

They had likely formed a tentative coalition, viewing the Black Dome crisis as a potential catastrophe for the human race.

Alternatively, the United States may have issued a formal plea for their intervention.

Regardless of the motivation, it was evident they sought to use this mission as a platform for their institutional recovery.

“Lady Arin! I have heard many impressive things. You are the celebrated new talent of the Heroes Association, correct?”

Darkstar grasped Arin’s hand, offering a firm shake.

He did not stop with her.

He moved down the line, shaking hands with every individual in the Korean dispatch team.

“Ah, Choi Kang-nam. The premier rookie! It is truly a pleasure.”

“The honor is mine, Lord Darkstar,” Choi Kang-nam answered, visibly moved by the recognition.

It was as if he had never dared to hope such a legendary figure would know his name.

However, the entire display was a ‘performance’.

Darkstar was putting on an elaborate act to preserve his dwindling reputation.

Eventually, Darkstar reached me, as I was positioned at the very rear of the group.

“You are… not included in the briefing notes. Might I ask your name…?”

Darkstar cocked his head in confusion.

He was looking at someone whose identity had not been provided in the dossiers he received.

“Haha, he is merely someone Lord Darkstar has no reason to concern himself with,” Choi Kang-nam remarked with a mocking grin.

Observing this interaction, ‘Alkar, the Black-Stained’ whispered.

—Shall I end his life?

We were entering with 13 Hidden Traits.

‘Who was he referring to?’

‘Choi Kang-nam?’

‘Or perhaps Darkstar?’

Alkar’s voice was devoid of doubt, vibrating with a cold, focused fury.

It was the absolute certainty of a predator who knew he could execute anyone present if he desired.

I did not doubt his capability for a moment.

The reality was that not a single soul in this area had even detected Alkar’s presence.

Excluding Isera and Lucaria, he was arguably the most powerful entity within the Demonic Blood Clan.

—How dare these pathetic vermin… My Lord, if you give the word, I will slaughter them all.

…I hoped he wasn’t suggesting the extermination of everyone in the vicinity.

I silently signaled my disagreement to Alkar, who viewed humanity as nothing more than bugs.

A person like Choi Kang-nam lacked the capacity to harm me anyway.

If I truly wanted Choi Kang-nam gone, I could dispose of him at my leisure without needing Alkar to lift a finger.

“Hmm…”

When I offered no response, Darkstar’s confusion deepened.

‘An assistant?’

He likely assumed they needed someone for menial labor.

The other international teams had also brought along staff for logistical support and errands.

If the man wasn’t on the official roster, then—as Choi Kang-nam suggested—he was probably irrelevant.

Furthermore, even Arin remained quiet on the matter.

Darkstar smoothly retracted his hand and turned back toward the gathered media.

“I wish to extend another warm welcome to the brave allies who will assist me in conquering the ‘Black Dome’.”

He made sure to frame the upcoming operation as one being conducted under his personal command.

It was framed as a monumental event.

Many had previously attempted to breach the ‘Black Dome’ only to vanish without a trace.

The list of the missing included several who were considered the world’s most powerful.

Yet, Darkstar projected the image that he alone was the savior humanity required.

Though the prestige of the Heroes Association had withered, Darkstar felt certain this mission would propel him to new heights.

To him, failure seemed impossible given the caliber of the people assembled.

This was to be the flare that signaled the rebirth of the Heroes Association.

‘I will achieve victory, whatever the cost.’

Darkstar’s gaze burned with intense ambition.

San Francisco, USA.

Approximately five hundred Awakened individuals had congregated at Ocean Beach, where the land meets the Pacific.

Under normal circumstances, the shore would be teeming with tourists, but the area was now deserted except for the combatants and support staff.

The city had been evacuated following an emergency broadcast triggered by the emergence of the Black Dome.

In this setting, the elite from across the globe met to begin their strategic planning, however…

“Darkstar. You intend to lead this group?”

…The proceedings began with immediate friction.

Wang Jingsong, representing China, scowled as he voiced his opposition to Darkstar’s authority.

He was a rising powerhouse who had recently gained international fame.

He was not alone in his sentiment.

A large portion of the assembly was visibly irritated by the idea of Darkstar taking charge.

“This arrangement was settled with the American authorities. I trust you were all properly briefed on this beforehand?”

Darkstar’s brow furrowed in annoyance.

This command structure had been publicized well before the formal requests for aid were sent to the various nations.

It was established that the Heroes Association and Darkstar would spearhead the ‘Black Dome’ investigation.

The motivation for protesting now was transparently political.

“Is it not the Heroes Association that is famous for its deception? How can we be expected to follow your lead?”

“The Association no longer holds any trust.”

“Disgraceful. They act as though they are still the masters of the world, even while Wilhelm and the Order of the Round Table remain active.”

The criticisms began to fly from all sides as if the floodgates had opened.

This was not the dominant Heroes Association of years past.

The aura of authority they once used to suppress others and manipulate the narrative had evaporated.

They had once reigned supreme because their power was undeniable, allowing them to silence dissent and twist the truth.

But through a series of blunders, internal schisms, and the rise of whistleblowers, they had been stripped of their honor.

And that wasn’t the half of it.

“Shouldn’t you be in Adrium, prostrating yourselves for mercy, rather than standing here?”

“Precisely. I’ve heard your debts to the Goddess’s Church are astronomical. Once the Order of the Round Table is officially recognized as the Church’s primary order, the Heroes Association will be erased from Pangenia.”

“I wonder how they even show their faces.”

The Association’s standing in Pangenia was catastrophic.

Following the Great Expedition, they had borrowed massive sums from various entities to fuel their expansion.

It was common knowledge that they were drowning in debt, particularly to the three major merchant guilds and the Goddess’s Church.

When King Valan issued his ‘disclosure of the truth regarding the Great Expedition,’ exposing their lies, creditors moved in immediately. The Association had been forced to liquidate entire cities just to stay afloat.

The issue was that even those sales weren’t sufficient.

They were currently struggling just to cover the interest payments.

To make matters worse, the ‘Order of the Round Table’ had returned.

Having cleared the Tower of Destruction and secured a pact with the Goddess’s Church, the Order possessed the leverage to wipe the Heroes Association off the map if they so chose.

The critics wondered why Darkstar was posturing as a leader here instead of begging for his life elsewhere.

Darkstar’s face turned a shade grimmer.

“…If you refuse my lead, then who among you is fit to take it?”

“At the very least, it should be someone we can trust not to betray us.”

“Which excludes the Heroes Association.”

Their status had hit rock bottom.

Darkstar felt his palms grow damp with sweat.

He hadn’t anticipated such fierce resistance during a global emergency.

If this were a simple contest of strength, he would have settled it with a challenge, but the issue wasn’t his power.

Trust was the currency they lacked, making his physical strength irrelevant in their eyes.

Yet, if not the Association, who could possibly organize this diverse group?

No one present possessed more experience or raw power than their faction.

“I will take charge.”

In that moment, a figure stepped out to confront Darkstar.

“….!”

“V-Vice-President?”

The members of the Korean Association, Choi Kang-nam included, stared in shock.

They had never expected Arin to intervene.

As she moved forward, Darkstar let out a sharp, mocking laugh.

“…This is preposterous.”

Darkstar had some knowledge of Arin’s background.

He knew she was a rising star and the Vice-President of the organization representing South Korea.

But the idea was still laughable to him.

Korea was a nation that lacked even a single representative in the Top 10.

They had been invited primarily for their previous experience with the ‘Jeju Island Disappearance’ Black Dome event, but beyond that, he viewed the Korean team as negligible.

In Darkstar’s eyes, they were insignificant players.

They weren’t even worthy of being background characters.

Furthermore.

“You seem to be confused about the hierarchy here. I am aware you recently finished Main Quest 6, but the majority of those here are elites who have cleared 10 or more. This is no place for a novice to speak up.”

Arin had only completed Main Quest 6.

To him, that suggested a clear ceiling on her capabilities.

In a country where such a person could be Vice-President, what quality could their heroes possibly have?

By comparison, most of the experts gathered on the beach had completed Main Quest 10, the ‘Trial of the Dragon God Einhasad’.

He believed Arin had no right to be heard.

However, Arin’s expression remained entirely stoic.

“I have little patience for men who talk excessively. Prove your words with your strength.”

“…You seem remarkably sure of yourself.”

…Actually, this worked in his favor.

Darkstar adjusted his strategy.

He realized he could use this to crush Arin decisively and use her as an example to the others.

He would demonstrate exactly what happened to those who challenged his reign.

He had used this tactic effectively many times before.

“Very well. Since you’ve insisted so boldly, I shall accommodate you.”

‘How could she hope to defeat a 3-star transcendent like me?’

Even if Park Taewoo, Korea’s top representative, were here, Darkstar believed he would win.

And so, a spontaneous duel commenced.

*Gulp!*

Choi Kang-nam swallowed hard.

He was well-acquainted with Arin’s power, but her opponent was Darkstar.

The man was considered to be on par with Gracia.

A literal titan among men who occupied a spot in the world’s Top 10!

Unless a miracle occurred, Arin stood no chance against such a foe.

That was the consensus of everyone watching.

“….”

“….”

How much time had actually lapsed since the fight began?

The beach was shrouded in an eerie silence.

The observers were frozen.

“T-this can’t be…”

“Darkstar… has fallen?”

The collective assumptions of the crowd had been shattered.

Everyone stared at Arin and the limp, unconscious body of Darkstar in absolute bewilderment.

It wasn’t just the fact that she had won.

It was the fact that from the moment the duel started to its conclusion, barely ten seconds had passed.

He hadn’t just been beaten; he had been utterly trivialized.

Was such a feat even humanly possible?

…The hierarchy of the Top 10 had just been rewritten.

A world-class powerhouse had emerged from Korea, a country no one had taken seriously.

*Tuk! Tuk!*

Arin casually brushed off her hands as if she had just finished a distasteful chore.

‘He was even more pathetic than I anticipated.’

She hadn’t even found it necessary to tap into her full demonic reserves.

Regardless of his status as a 3-star transcendent, he wasn’t a genuine one.

‘He achieved transcendence through a counterfeit star forged by Pride.’

She was well aware of the Demon of Pride’s machinations.

Those stars were crafted from the husks of fallen gods who had been stripped of their divinity and corrupted.

Pride had been distributing them recklessly.

Darkstar was simply one of the Awakened who had taken the shortcut of that ‘false star’.

It was a hollow transcendence—not even a complete state.

The man was so drunk on his own perceived power that he lacked the fundamental understanding of how to wield it.

That was his ceiling.

Those who used the false star were forever barred from breaking through the ultimate barrier on their own.

They could never reach the true summit or achieve perfection.

He had traded his future potential for a momentary spark of power.

In Arin’s estimation, Gracia was significantly more formidable than Darkstar.

Finally, Arin surveyed the crowd and spoke.

“If there are any further objections to my command, come forward now.”

“….”

“….”

…No one moved.

The turn of events was too surreal to process.

The entire assembly was left speechless.

The atmosphere within the Korean dispatch team was one of quiet triumph.

They hadn’t truly expected Arin to topple Darkstar so effortlessly.

Now, she was the leader of the world’s combined Awakened forces.

Because of her, Korea’s standing on the global stage was set to skyrocket.

In fact, the change was already visible.

The way the other teams looked at the Koreans had shifted instantly.

‘During the second wave of invasions, Korea wasn’t even on the map…’

‘She certainly settled the score.’

During the crisis involving Isera, Darkstar had completely dismissed Korea.

He hadn’t even included them in the list of nations slated for protection.

Park Taewoo had been forced to protest that snub to no avail.

Arin had just returned that insult with interest.

The satisfaction among the team was palpable.

‘Korea must have made incredible strides in secret.’

‘What is their training method?’

‘We need to monitor every member of their team closely.’

Suddenly, every member of the dispatch team was under a microscope.

Well, everyone except for one.

—Be on your guard, my Lord. I sense something foul ahead.

…I turned my attention to the ‘Black Dome’ as it loomed over us.

We were approaching by ship and were now nearly upon it.

The scale was even more daunting from this distance.

The massive black void was consuming the very ocean.

I shifted my eyes toward Arin, who stood resolutely at the prow of the vessel.

‘…It couldn’t be.’

The way Arin had moved and the aura she projected during her fight with Darkstar…

It was far too reminiscent of a figure etched into Wilhelm’s memories.

But that seemed impossible.

‘She couldn’t possibly be the Seventh Lord, Basara…’

There was no logical reason for her to be here, masquerading as a human.

I tried to dismiss the thought.

And at that precise moment:

【Entering the ‘Bottom of the Abyss’.】
【Criteria for entry have been met.】
【Criteria for entry have been surpassed.】
【Participants carry a combined total of 13 Hidden Traits.】
【All participants are granted ‘Immunity to the Curse of the Abyss’.】

“…13 Hidden Traits?”

The notification windows flared to life as we crossed the threshold of the Black Dome.

As Arin read the message, her composed face suddenly turned grim.