Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 007
Chapter Title: Thousands of People Take to the Skies
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Lee Jung-woo lounged obliquely on the living room sofa, scooping vanilla ice cream while watching the magic screen Belial had conjured.
Like a critic savoring the climax of a masterfully crafted action flick, he watched Choi Kang-hyuk crumbling helplessly against Kairon with keen interest.
That desperate struggle and the 1st Legion Commander's overwhelming dominance, crushing it like an insect underfoot.
It made for quite the spectacle.
"Ho, that guy's got some grit."
Having watched Hwarang Guild beat a ragged retreat with their wounded, Jung-woo set the ice cream tub down on the table.
"Kairon handled it clean. Perfect power control."
At his praise, Belial—who'd been standing silently beside him—tilted his chin with a cynical smirk.
A red glow seeped up from his empty sockets.
"If it were me, I wouldn't have dragged it out like that, my lord. A few corpse explosions, and it'd be spotless."
"Where's the fun in that? I spared him 'cause I liked his fire. Guys like that come in handy later."
Jung-woo rose from his seat.
The entertaining bit was over, and he'd had his fill of ice cream. Time to shake off the boredom creeping in.
He glanced out the window at the apartment complex.
Gray concrete slabs, boxy windows, buildings utterly devoid of character.
Compared to Necrosia's architecture—steeped in soul and three centuries of history—it was enough to draw a deep sigh.
His mind conjured the capital he'd ruled.
Towering obelisks and spires stabbing the heavens, everything moving in perfect order by his will alone.
Juxtaposed against this eyesore of a chicken coop, an unbearable irritation surged up.
'Can't call a dump like this an imperial palace... Gotta bulldoze the lot.'
But then a more vexing issue reared its head.
Thousands of residents.
Kick off major construction with them still around, and it'd be a barrage of complaints—noise, dust, safety hazards, you name it.
Park Cheol-min's gripe had already driven home how inefficient that'd be.
This wasn't a one- or two-person problem anyway.
He'd reigned as emperor for ages.
Why fuss over them when building his palace?
His thinking zeroed in on pure efficiency, landing on an emperor's verdict.
'Residents are the biggest roadblock to remodeling.'
'Remove the roadblock first. Simple.'
His face eased at last. He'd found the key to solving it.
"But seriously, doesn't this 'palace' feel way too bland for an emperor?"
A mischievous smile curled Jung-woo's lips.
"I said this spot's the empire's origin point, right? Time to make it look the part."
"Precisely, my lord. It's not just bland—it's downright shameful."
Jung-woo headed straight for the balcony without a second thought. Se-ah, sensing the ominous vibe, hurried after him.
"You... what are you plotting now?"
"Relax, sis. Just a quick remodel. Oh, but first things first—gotta clean up."
With a casual finger snap, mana infused with three centuries of archmage essence rippled through the space.
Mass Levitation + Complex Spell Array
Target: Entire Apartment Complex | Protective Barrier Deployed
In that instant, every one of the thousands of residents in the complex felt their bodies lift into the air.
The middle-aged woman in 101 Building, Room 304, floated up mid-stirring her boiling kimchi stew.
The young mom watching her kid at the playground screamed, clutching the child as they shot skyward.
"Gah! What the hell?!"
"Kyaaah!!! Help!!!"
"I can't move my body!"
Whether indoors or strolling the grounds, every resident was yanked aloft by an invisible force.
They flailed and shrieked as their bodies phased harmlessly through walls and windows,
but soon realized transparent barriers were shielding them, ferrying them safely beyond the barrier.
A high-tier spell levitating thousands at once while shielding them—one even elite elven mages from Arkhea couldn't pull off lightly.
"Full evacuation complete. Pretty clean, huh?"
"..."
Se-ah gaped at her brother in utter disbelief.
Beyond the barrier, the area around Suwon Hansung Apartments was pure pandemonium.
Hwarang Guild—hailed as Korea's strongest—had been routed, limping away with their injured.
Shattered shields and weapon fragments littered the asphalt.
Government and Association agents, faces ashen, scrambled to contain the scene, but bewilderment clouded their every move.
Right then, amid the chaos, thousands of people rained down softly from low altitude.
"Gah! What is that?!"
"P-people falling from the sky!"
The shock from Hwarang's defeat twisted into fresh panic.
Screams and shouts tangled into an uncontrollable frenzy.
Screeech!
A battered old van barreled through the police line with a screech of brakes, skidding right up to the front.
The door flew open, and a man bolted out camera in hand.
Livestream YouTuber and fact-checker Go Se-gu.
"Film it quick! Steady angles. Get every Hwarang gear scrap, every terrified resident face!"
Sensing his big break, he fired up the live stream the second he arrived.
His excited face twisted in a bizarre mix of terror and ecstasy.
"Folks, Fact Checker Go Se-gu here—live from the truth's front line! Can you even believe this?"
"Korea’s top guild Hwarang, crushed and fleeing this very scene."
"And that KBC squatter, Lee Jung-woo—he forcibly evicted the apartment residents. This is straight-up terrorism."
His camera panned across wounded guild members, shell-shocked residents, helpless cops, and the mockingly silent complex.
Go Se-gu swallowed a grin of pure glee as the chat exploded.
Right here, right now—history was unfolding, and he stood at its heart.
Standing on the 15th-floor balcony, Lee Jung-woo paid the outside clamor no mind.
His sister Se-ah, pale as a ghost beside him, clutched his arm.
"What the hell have you done? What about those people now? They're our neighbors—we were greeting them just yesterday."
"Just cleaned house, sis. Gotta empty the place for remodeling."
Jung-woo gazed down at the vacant complex with satisfaction.
To him, this was no longer some drab apartment block. It was the empire's first heart, reclaimed after three centuries.
"An emperor's palace can't be this bland. Time to spruce it up."
No sooner had he spoken than Belial stepped forward.
"The moment has come to recreate your great glory upon this mortal soil. Truly moving."
Jung-woo chuckled and extended a hand to the air.
With the fluid grace of an orchestra conductor, the gesture triggered a sub-ability of his territory dominion: material reconstruction.
His vast mana seeped into the entire grounds, kickstarting the breakdown and reforge of the apartment buildings.
Ruuuumble!
The complex shuddered like a full-blown quake. Go Se-gu's camera shook wildly, unable to hold steady.
Cops and reporters around him, plus Black Forest and Genesis scouts watching from afar—all staggered with screams.
"Wh-what?! Earthquake?!"
Changes began in all buildings except the one housing Jung-woo and Se-ah's unit in 103.
Dull apartment facades crumbled on their own, concrete and rebar ensnared in black mana, melting to liquid.
The material flowed to the perimeter, morphing into sky-piercing gothic spires and walls.
Still rough like clay mockups, but radiating raw menace all the same.
Se-ah murmured in horror at the sight.
"Oh god... it's melting away."
"Not melting—rebirthing. Way cooler."
At Jung-woo's gesture, dozens of robed liches seeped from the shadows at his feet like mist, rising into the air.
"Eek!"
Se-ah recoiled in terror as they materialized right before her.
To her eyes, they were apostles of death: gaunt skulls, empty sockets spewing eerie red light.
Jung-woo giggled at her reaction. "Sorry if I spooked ya. Just called in some skilled craftsmen."
The liches dispersed among the crude walls and spires Jung-woo had shaped.
Like master artisans, they set to intricate finishing work in their zones.
One group laid hands on the outer walls, chanting—causing elaborate, grotesque patterns to carve themselves into the bland surfaces like sculptor’s knives at work.
Se-ah swallowed dryly, goosebumps rising from the ominous aura pulsing from each glyph.
Another cluster gestured at empty window frames, conjuring stained glass that glowed with its own baleful light even in shadow.
The largest throng converged at the central plaza—soccer-field-sized.
Pooling their mana, the fountain and playground split open at the center.
From the depths below, glossy black obsidian welled up, surging skyward.
Se-ah gasped in shock. "What is that???"
Jung-woo answered casually, like showing off new landscaping rocks.
"Oh, that? The empire's heart—Soul Obelisk. Amplifies mana, acts like an antenna linking my power straight to the land. Can't use my full strength efficiently without it."
The tower's ascent didn't halt during Jung-woo's explanation.
Liches inscribed geometric runes on its surface as it rose—etchings of ancient curses and abyssal laws.
Twisted, serpentine patterns like living snakes coiling upward,
continuing until the spire dwarfed the old apartments threefold.
Finally halting, the tower unveiled its majesty.
Its runes ignited in unison with sinister green light.
These weren't mere decorations.
A living magic circle interlacing laws of death, soul pacts, spatial folds, and mana nexuses.
Belial raised his hand as Jung-woo's words trailed off.
"Before recreating your great glory on this mortal soil, I shall fortify the existing barrier to suit the empire's dignity."
Belial was the perfect executor for Jung-woo's orders.
Jung-woo had designed the Shroud of Death and its laws, but manifesting such vast magic fell to the empire's archmage overseer.
He always delegated to the most efficient underling.
It was the empire's way—efficient above all, and far less hassle than doing it himself.
"O space of mortals, cast off your ignorant order." "Be reborn anew beneath the great emperor's dominion."
⟨ Shroud of Death ⟩
Jung-woo inwardly tsked at Belial's bombastic declaration.
'Here we go again. Why's he gotta monologue every damn time? Such a showboat.'
With the words, the Shroud of Death enveloped the complex, absorbing the old transparent barrier.
From afar, a massive black dome. Up close, the interior viewable.
Like before, it nullified external physical/magical interference and disrupted unpermitted awareness.
Sight and sound passed freely, too.
But one key difference:
The Shroud siphoned slivers of life force, vitality, or soul from unauthorized intruders, converting it to imperial mana.
Just approaching brought inexplicable fatigue and dread.
Occasional shrieks of vengeful spirits rode the wind, too.
"What in the world..."
Go Se-gu broadcast the scene live, scarcely believing his eyes.
The chat scrolled too fast to track anymore.