Chapter 114
Chapter 114
Mad Black Mage's Tower Strategy
Chapter 114
The Sea Dragon Tribe's city, Abyss Hall.
In this place outside Atlantis's barrier, no one can survive unless they are marine life.
Due to the strong water pressure of the deep sea, breathing is impossible, let alone moving around.
This is when Aquamarine Stone is used.
Thanks to its property of making breathing and movement comfortable underwater depending on its purity, there were no particular mishaps.
CLANK-.
Nam-gung Cheon, who arrived at the castle, was led by the Sea Dragon Tribe's guards toward the audience chamber while wearing magic handcuffs.
A magnificent space that seemed carved from a giant skull.
Below the space decorated with sea monster bones, there was a being leaning obliquely against a throne.
Eyes deeper and colder than the abyss itself, deeper than the deep sea.
It was Lunaria, the chieftain of the Sea Dragon Tribe.
Though her appearance was beautiful, her massive build, gills that protruded like helmet ornaments, and dragon-like tail clearly revealed that she was of the Sea Dragon Tribe.
On both sides of her stood men in human form, lined up like shadows without making a single sound, and the aura each of them emanated was extraordinary.
Lunaria swayed her dragon-like tail and spoke.
"Nice to meet you. Nam-gung Cheon, was it? Foreign names are difficult to pronounce."
"Are you that queen?"
"I'm called that sometimes. You foreigners also call me Guild Leader."
Whether queen or guild leader, Nam-gung Cheon had no interest in what she was called.
He asked in an angry voice.
"What's your reason for distributing drugs to the Sea Folk? Do you know what's happening up there because of that?"
"You seem to have many questions for me. I'll answer them if you want. However, only if you agree to cooperate with our side."
"Cooperation?"
"Yes, I hear you're quite skilled even among foreigners? If you cooperate with me, it would be good in many ways. For me, and for you too."
Lunaria said this while meaningfully glancing at the black shadows lined up beside her.
'Are they from the corporations?'
Lunaria subtly appealed to her intimate relationship with corporations while proposing cooperation.
However, Nam-gung Cheon widened his eyes and firmly rejected her proposal.
"Forget it. Don't even speak such filthy proposals."
He had seen with his own eyes the tragic circumstances unfolding behind the scenes of the underwater city.
Just hearing the proposal from the source of that tragedy made him feel like his ears were being defiled.
At Nam-gung Cheon's cold rejection, the smile that had been drawn on Lunaria's beautiful face instantly disappeared.
And at the same time, cold killing intent appeared in her pitch-black eyes that were slit like a snake's.
"...You made a foolish choice. Then there's no helping it. Nereus."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Put that man in the deepest prison. I'll give you a chance to reverse your decision, but if you're worried about the 'hostages,' it would be better to decide as quickly as possible."
At Lunaria's command, Nam-gung Cheon was again seized by Sea Dragon Tribe soldiers and taken out of the audience chamber.
However, there was a faint smile on Nam-gung Cheon's lips as he was being dragged away.
***
"Get in!"
SPLASH-.
The Sea Dragon Tribe soldiers carelessly threw Nam-gung Cheon onto the dark stone floor.
CLANG-.
And soon, with the sound of iron bars firmly closing, the Sea Dragon Tribe soldiers left.
'The bastards are rough.'
He rolled his stiff shoulders and looked around.
'I arrived properly.'
Though there were various ups and downs, he had succeeded in infiltrating the Sea Dragon Tribe's main base without much effort.
Provoking Lunaria to quickly end the conversation was half sincere, half intentional calculation.
Right now, without any solid evidence, what could be learned through conversation was limited. The truth couldn't even be verified, and he might instead be swayed by the opponent's eloquence.
In such a situation, a better method than conversation was directly stealing information.
Since he had come this far anyway, he planned to ransack everything before returning.
'I've already identified all the escape routes while coming in.'
Not only the location of the submarine he came on, but also the place where the hostages were confined had been identified through Thousand-Li Incense.
By now the carrier pigeon should have arrived too, so if he could just get the hostages onto the submarine and reach the previous factory district, things would work out somehow.
'First, let me remove these handcuffs.'
Nam-gung Cheon took out wire from inside the string that tied his topknot and shaped it into a lock pick.
With just this, removing these magic handcuffs would be no trouble at all.
It was while Nam-gung Cheon was struggling to remove the handcuffs.
"Oh my, who is this? You really got caught?"
A familiar yet unpleasant, coquettish voice was heard from the darkness.
Nam-gung Cheon was startled and raised his head.
"You, you are?"
A silver-haired woman looking down at him with her hand covering her mouth as if finding it interesting.
Wearing a black suit that clung to her body to easily blend into darkness, she was Francesca the Phantom Thief, a thief-type Climber who was on par with Nam-gung Cheon.
If Nam-gung Cheon was famous as a vagabond or righteous thief, Francesca was known as a freelancer who perfectly carried out any commission.
Nam-gung Cheon's brow furrowed.
"Why are you here..."
And soon Nam-gung Cheon's thoughts reached somewhere.
'The Tears of the Sea God theft incident!'
There weren't many people capable of stealing the Tears of the Sea God from the temple with the strictest security in Atlantis.
She too was one of the prime suspects.
To have overlooked such a simple fact.
Nam-gung Cheon's face turned cold.
"Whose orders are you following?"
Francesca smiled seductively and leaned her back against the iron bars.
"That's naturally a secret. That aside, why are you locked up here? Unless you're an idiot, you couldn't have really been caught, so it seems like you came here pretending to be captured to gather information?"
"...!"
Francesca saw through Nam-gung Cheon's intention at once.
CLICK-.
Then Francesca snatched the lock pick from Nam-gung Cheon and put on handcuffs and shackles that were several times more complex than what he had been wearing originally.
TAP TAP-.
Only after tying up Nam-gung Cheon tightly with iron chains and magic restraints did she dust off her hands in satisfaction.
"Right, to tie up the great Shadowless Flying Hero, this much is necessary."
"Hey, doing this between people in the same industry?"
Nam-gung Cheon twisted his body and tried to resist, but the answer that came back was cold.
"Precisely because we're in the same industry, I can't go easy on you. Don't you know this is a field with fierce competition for rice bowls?"
Currently, Francesca was employed by the corporate side allied with Chieftain Lunaria.
If Nam-gung Cheon had come to interfere with this matter in any way, leaving him alone would go against her professional ethics.
"Anyway, do your best. I have to go back to work."
After tying up Nam-gung Cheon tightly, she left a farewell and instantly disappeared into the shadows.
Nam-gung Cheon stared in the direction she had disappeared for a moment, then tried moving his hands and feet.
TIGHT-.
A situation where he was tied so tightly he couldn't even move.
Befitting the industry's top phantom thief, she knew very well how to make it impossible for an opponent to escape.
"Damn it."
Nam-gung Cheon, who had been struggling for a while trying to move, spat out a curse.
'This is bad.'
In this state where he couldn't even free himself, let alone gathering information and escaping, even preserving his life was precarious.
To run into Francesca in a place like this of all times.
It was while Nam-gung Cheon was lying on the floor wriggling like a larva.
"GRRR."
From the opposite cell, along with a bizarre groaning sound, something could be seen writhing and twisting the iron bars.
'That guy is...?'
A being tied tightly in iron chains like Nam-gung Cheon.
Parts of its body were covered with hideous scales, its pupils were changing to vertical slits like a reptile's - it was a Sea Dragon Tribe member undergoing a terrible forced mutation.
***
"Is this the place?"
Meanwhile, Seo-jin arrived at the underground waterway on the outskirts of Atlantis based on information obtained from a Sea Dragon Tribe soldier.
A waterway that serves to use seawater coming in from the top layer of the barrier on each floor in turn, and finally discharge it outside the barrier.
As such, it was filled with a nauseating smell that stung the nose.
SNIFF-.
However, if there was something different from ordinary sewers.
'A thick smell of blood.'
This thick yet vivid smell of blood was clearly distinguishable from the smell coming from any ordinary sewer.
Seo-jin moved forward while shining a flashlight here and there in the waterway.
Following the sound of trickling water, Seo-jin soon reached a huge cavity.
And a horrific scene unfolded before Seo-jin's eyes.
Various species of Sea Folk lying down as if drawing strange patterns around a huge pyramid-shaped altar.
They were all lying as if dead, having lost their reason after being addicted to Dream of the Deep Sea, but intermittently a few would convulse and leap up like fish.
The reason for that would be.
"..."
Seo-jin turned his gaze from the Sea Folk who numbered in the thousands to look toward the altar.
It must be because of those ominous incantations by the Sea Dragon Tribe priests wearing black robes.
[DKWN ANTJQRH DNLGJAGKS WNANS]
Priests chanting spells in low, strange voices.
As voices like blasphemous round songs filled the cavity, dark red and murky magic power flowed out from the altar.
It writhed like a living creature and began to devour the Sea Folk lying around.
SWIRL-.
The Sea Folk engulfed by evil magic screamed in extreme pain and gradually lost their human form.
CRACK- CRUNCH-.
Eventually, they transformed into 'Dragon-Human Soldiers' with hard dragon scales, sharp claws, and hideous horns.
Seo-jin frowned as he watched the scene.
'So this is the true identity of the Dragon-Human Soldiers.'
A disgusting scene even for Seo-jin, who was well-versed in black magic and had no aversion to all kinds of grotesque scenes.
This wasn't simple physical enhancement or magic bestowal.
It was an offering ritual that soaked them thoroughly in the drug called Dream of the Deep Sea, forcibly opened the pathways of their upper energy centers, and offered their souls to evil beings.
In exchange for that offering, powerful strength settled in the empty bodies, and they changed into the optimal form to accept that strength.
Combat machines without reason or soul. That was the true identity of the Dragon-Human Soldiers.
Of course, that didn't mean all Sea Folk could become Dragon-Human Soldiers.
POP-.
Weak bodies that couldn't properly accept the power exploded like bombs and became a handful of blood.
Priests walking near the Sea Folk pushed the blood and corpses with pushers and let them flow into the sewers.
Seo-jin's eyes sank as cold as ice upon seeing that horrific scene.
At first, he thought the drug distribution was simply to increase control over the lower-class Sea Folk and build public opinion for corporate distribution networks and trade resumption.
But the reality was much worse than that.
The main purpose was to cultivate combat soldiers to wage war against the royal family.
Moreover, it wasn't just cultivation through biological experiments.
Though biological experiments were certainly extremely cruel, soul offering through rituals was even more brutal and inhumane.
The victims of the offering would live in eternal suffering even after the death of their bodies.
SIGH-.
There was no way to save their bodies now, but their souls could still be saved. For now, at least.
Seo-jin, who let out a sigh, opened his mouth.
"Cheonroe (Heaven's Thunder)."
As Seo-jin's low, cold voice echoed throughout the entire cavity, the atmosphere in the cavity rippled according to the arrangement of magic power.
"Who, who are you! Who dares to interrupt the sacred ritual..."
The Sea Dragon Tribe priests conducting the ritual looked back in unison, shocked by this powerful flow of magic power.
But their words couldn't continue.
FLASH-.
A lightning flash that instantly illuminated the cavity brightly.
CRASH-!
At the same time, thunder and lightning occurred, instantly eliminating the altar and the Sea Dragon Tribe priests.
SIZZLE-.
The altar, blackened and melted by Heaven's Thunder, and the priests who scattered as smoke.
Those gathered at the altar were wiped out in one stroke, but the remaining priests who had been controlling the Sea Folk lying on the floor saw Seo-jin and shouted.
"It's an enemy!"
"To interfere with the sacred ritual, kill him!"
"Rise, Dragon-Human Soldiers!"
[ROOOAR...!]
Dragon-Human Soldiers slowly rising from their positions at their call.
Sea Dragon Tribe members twice as large as adult human males, with builds and hard scales even larger than those Sea Dragon Tribe members.
And internal structures formed differently from ordinary life forms.
They were like water balloons made of magic instead of blood and flesh.
Normal attacks were meaningless. No matter how many times they were killed, they would continue to revive.
'The important thing is to cut the path connected to them.'
That was the only way to subdue these Dragon-Human Soldiers and save at least their souls offered to the evil god.
'The condition for soul offering is complete physical death through battle. If the contract itself is severed before meeting that death, that condition can be avoided.'
Seo-jin looked at the Dragon-Human Soldiers charging at him and opened his mouth.
[God Binding Knot.]
Seo-jin's magic circuits shone brightly, manifesting the magic recorded in Transcending Heaven True Scripture on this land.
SWIRL-.
Chains that bind even gods restrained the Dragon-Human Soldiers, preventing them from moving.
[ROOOAR...]
Thousands of Dragon-Human Soldiers bound by God Binding Knot reach toward Seo-jin like zombies.
STRAIN-.
The God Binding Knot stretched taut as if it would break at any moment.
Though it was holding due to the high grade of the magic, it seemed like it would break at any moment due to the tremendous mass and strength of thousands of Dragon-Human Soldiers.
TIGHT-.
'I can't hold out for long. I'll strike immediately.'
Seo-jin stretched out both hands to manipulate God Binding Knot, gathered and bound them together, then used Transcending Heaven True Scripture again.
FLASH-.
His magic circuits shone brightly as if burning, and blood dripped steadily from Seo-jin's nose.
The price for using Transcending Heaven True Scripture consecutively.
In exchange for that price, magic manifested again.
Magic that cuts through all false bonds.
[Severance.]
RIP-.
Along with his cold incantation, space split.
At the same time, the evil magic flow connected to the Dragon-Human Soldiers' upper energy centers and the invisible threads of contract were also severed, beginning to emit intense light all at once and return in reverse.
"What, what is this...!"
"The contracts, the contracts are being severed!"
The side effects of severed contracts naturally return to the caster.
Naturally, that backlash returned to the Sea Dragon Tribe priests who were the intermediaries of the contracts.
"GURGLE, GAG."
Sea Dragon Tribe priests who couldn't even let out proper death throes and melted into black shadows.
This was not simple death but eternal life.
However, there would be no rest there.
Those whose souls were devoured by demons would spend eons of time in a chain of suffering.
"..."
RUMBLE-.
When the contracts were severed, the Dragon-Human Soldiers all collapsed to the floor like puppets with cut strings.
The cavity became as quiet as death once the dust that had risen settled.
Eventually, when the contracts that had been maintaining their appearance were destroyed, they became pools of red blood and flowed down into the waterway.
Seo-jin looked at the tragic scene unfolding before his eyes and put a medicinal cigarette in his mouth.
'I'll have to burn it all down.'
Though he couldn't hold a funeral for them, let him honor the spirits of the victims by burning down this filthy place entirely.
He decided to summon the Lich King to transport the few Sea Folk who survived without being swept up in the ritual as skeletons.
He didn't know if those soaked in drugs would recover again, but he had to save them first and see.
FLICKER-.
It was when Seo-jin snapped his fingers to kindle black magic flames.
[Unidentified individual approaching.]
A report came from Glize, whom he had sent to patrol the vicinity.
Seo-jin clenched his hand to extinguish the flames and turned around.
A black silhouette gradually approached from beyond the waterway.
"You came, cat burglar."
Soon that silhouette revealed itself in front of Seo-jin's flashlight.
Phantom Thief Francesca.
She tossed her hair behind her with her hand and her eyes gleamed.
"How rude. Such language toward a lady."