Chapter 165
Chapter 165
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 165
Chapter Title: Prelude to the Counterattack
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Even the angels unleashed their full power, radiating an overwhelming presence that sent chills down their spines.
Fwoosh!
“We’re already His servants.”
At the sound of that voice.
Leap!
It was the moment everyone instinctively leaped into the air.
Splurt! Splurt! Splurt! Splurt! Splurt!
Black thorns burst through the ground, piercing flesh.
A being that should never have appeared here had shown itself.
“Sloth!”
Unlike her youthful and seductive appearance, her power was more than enough to destroy an entire nation.
Go Yohan’s closest confidant, and the de facto ruler of South Korea—she had appeared, and in an instant, Phoreia’s forces were swept away.
“You… damn mutt!”
The furious Phoreia unconsciously lunged toward Yun Seung-ah.
Grip.
A hand grabbed her from behind.
Shing!
A short dagger danced past Phoreia’s nose.
“Gasp!”
Phoreia flinched in shock, swallowing a sharp breath.
She was certain that if not for the hand gripping her nape just moments ago, half her face would have been sliced off.
A lethal strike she couldn’t have blocked even with her own magic power.
Ripple.
It was the moment the eyes of the one who swung it flickered with black energy.
Splatter!
Blood erupted from all directions.
“Gaaahhh!”
“Kek! Kek!”
Liberty was no longer the issue.
Tremble. Tremble.
Phoreia clutched her shaking legs, barely able to stand, and spotted another figure.
“En…vy.”
A member of Sins captured by U.S. intelligence networks.
Among them, the one who rivaled Yun Seung-ah in sheer power was this pint-sized Envy.
His physical age appeared to be that of a young child, yet his skills were known to be powerful enough to take on a Rank 7 demon alone.
Drip. Drip.
And his brutality was said to be incomparable even to other Apostles.
Everything happened in an instant.
They had launched a surefire operation to exterminate their target, the Black Panther, without even considering failure.
“…….”
Now, screams had ceased, and in less than a few minutes, they had suffered near-total annihilation.
Never before had they taken such losses in any operation.
Phoreia herself was present, with the angels’ blessings to boot.
“This can’t be all you’ve got.”
To be this overwhelmingly dominant.
“Come on out already?”
Beckon.
Treating Liberty and Samuel like mere decorations, Kim Si-on flicked the hand holding his blood-dripping dagger.
Yun Seung-ah stood behind him as well.
“…….”
Phoreia couldn’t even think of stepping forward.
Fwoosh!
That familiar energy surged outward.
Boom!
By the time she blinked, the angels had already charged and clashed with it.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Flashes of light too fast for the eyes to follow.
“…Ah….”
Only then did Phoreia realize.
This was no fight for mere humans like herself to interfere in.
The truth that Goldian and Liberty knew, but she hadn’t.
Boom!
Rankings were nothing more than arbitrary divisions among insects.
And at that moment.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The villa’s walls and ceiling crumbled, letting in yet another light.
“…….”
She couldn’t speak.
She was the operation’s commander, after all.
“You already… knew?”
Support angels that seemed to have just arrived were rushing in.
*
*
*
Phoreia, Samuel, Liberty’s executives.
Even the world’s top-tier powerhouses couldn’t dream of intervening in this battle.
Slash!
It was like white and black brushes painting furiously in midair.
Slash!
When the white brush roughly covered the black.
Slash!
The black brush crushed and overwhelmed it in turn.
“…….”
It was a battle beyond comprehension, its precision and finesse so incredible it made their hearts pound.
Phoreia assessed the fight.
Slash!
Could she jump in there and do anything?
Clang!
Could she survive even a single instant amid the clashing blades, flesh, and wings?
If she did survive, could she land an attack on them while protecting her own body?
She had no confidence in any of it.
Slash!
More winged angels intruding from the ceiling.
‘Ah.’
Phoreia truly felt it now—she was nothing more than an extra.
Their numbers already differed by nearly fourfold.
Grip.
Samuel and Liberty gripped their weapons, their impatience plain as they prepared to move.
Indeed.
Slash!
The white paint seemed to slowly devour the black.
But just as she couldn’t find an opening to intervene, neither could they.
Above all.
“…My situation is better than yours.”
The enemy couldn’t properly use their abilities due to the system’s collapse.
At least she could still use the system normally and had blessings—a small comfort.
Slash!
Then, it finally happened.
The white paint looked ferocious, as if severing part of the black.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Through the sparks, Kim Si-on glared with daggers in both hands.
Samuel and Kyle couldn’t hold back and tried to leap in.
The moment he pursed his lips to speak.
Thud.
It was as if a heart brake had engaged.
Fwoooosh!
Black paint spread instantly, threatening to engulf everything.
That was when.
Rip.
Something appeared, as if tearing through it all.
It was black, yet also a shining gold.
“No need to go that far.”
The voice was utterly different from before.
Amid the riot of colors, something resolute stood out.
“They might be aiming for the opening.”
It was a being on another level entirely, overseeing this fierce battle from a higher plane and even offering commentary.
“Good work.”
“Captain!” “Caaaptain!”
Silver-white hair, sky-blue eyes.
“…….”
It was Go Yohan’s arrival.
And then something astonishing happened.
“Will you retreat?”
Crunch.
The moment Go Yohan, now present, gripped the air, the black and white separated like water and oil, falling apart.
“What….”
And soon after.
“I won’t let you retreat, though.”
The white surged forward in an even more desperate hue.
Compared to that, the silver-gold figure felt impossibly small as it moved.
Fwoooooom!
Cascading light devoured everything.
All that remained were traces of the ruined building.
And.
“…….”
Phoreia stood alone.
“Tell those who claim to be your masters.”
Even the angels, transcendent beings worthy of being called God’s servants, had vanished without a trace.
“I’m still undecided.”
Go Yohan, the inhuman monster, said.
“Whether to consider all of you my enemies, or just some of you.”
And then.
Hiss.
Black shadows began swallowing everything.
As if those final words to her were his last mercy.
“The facilities’ transfers are complete.”
“The warp gates are sealed.”
“Anyone on Goldian or Liberty’s lists has already escaped, so don’t worry.”
Along with their conversation.
Blink.
They vanished in an instant.
“…….”
Dazed, Phoreia had to stand there for a long while.
*
*
*
Warp gates—devices akin to magic that enabled instantaneous continental travel.
They had requested a U.S. connection, but after the government’s refusal, Goldian had installed a temporary one.
The U.S. government thought they’d dismantled it during the seizure, but it was futile.
Whirr!
Once set, a warp gate couldn’t be destroyed, only paused.
And if linked items existed, it could tear space itself away and relocate.
‘Angels’ technology.’
She had confirmed it before.
The time an entire road was ripped up and moved into a gate.
Gluttony had successfully repurposed what they’d seen during Sin Mingyu’s appearance.
Less than an hour after the Black Panther hunt operation began.
-Goldian vanishes without a trace!
All of Goldian’s assets had completely disappeared.
And where they reappeared.
-Goldian discovered in South Korea!
None other than South Korea.
It was nothing short of an incomprehensible miracle by common sense.
Goldian’s magic stone extraction facilities appeared in a rural area of Gangwon Province, item production facilities near Gyeonggi.
And as if prepared for this exact moment, they manifested in empty lots, perfectly settling in.
-Goldian head, Richard, escapes prison.
Simultaneously, news broke that Richard, imprisoned in the U.S.’s highest-security facility, had vanished.
That facility, designed like the Association’s Black Room, had never allowed any escapes.
-Goldian completes full relocation to South Korea.
As if confirming the rumors, hours later, Richard appeared at a press conference in South Korea, delivering a live speech.
Somewhat disheveled, yet with sharp, clear eyes.
-All major facilities and personnel have been relocated. We invite those worldwide who wish to entrust themselves to Goldian to come to South Korea at any time.
Individuals had vanished without trace before, but never an entire massive facility like this.
Even more critically, Goldian’s technology had been fully accessible only to a tiny elite.
“They’re too busy grabbing empty shells.”
Shocked by Goldian’s relocation, people were kidnapping and interrogating supposed key personnel everywhere to extract tech, but they’d learn nothing.
And then.
Crunch.
Yi Ha-yeon bit into a candy, appearing with a smile full of mirth.
“The stock price is starting to rise.”
It was the prelude to the counterattack.