Chapter 206
Chapter 206
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 206
Chapter Title: Prologue to Chaos (1)
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A chill silence now hung in the air, but just moments ago, this very space at the center had been filled with the clamor of battle.
"……."
A lone man slowly circled a specific spot, repeatedly scanning his surroundings.
His presence was hazy yet imposing, and at the same time, oddly ordinary.
He was the Chairman of the Pandemonium Society, Earth's largest secret organization.
'No clue.'
The spot he was examining was where the Hahoe Mask had last stood.
He checked it over and over, wondering if he'd missed something, but no matter how closely he looked, nothing unusual stood out.
The space was as flawless as ever—
without a single flaw or trace left behind.
And that was the strange part.
'Vanished like it was erased from existence. No warning whatsoever.'
He'd considered various unique skills and hypotheses, but none led to a satisfying conclusion.
Escaping this space required crossing dimensions, which wasn't something you could just do on a whim.
And even if some extraordinary ability had allowed an escape from right here, there should have at least been some remnant trace.
Not disappear without a single clue, like now.
'Feels like it was bewitched by a ghost.'
It was utterly baffling, but since it had already happened, he had to accept reality.
And prepare countermeasures to prevent it from recurring.
"Chairman! All targets have been eliminated!"
Lost in thought, he turned at the voice from behind.
"...Doctor. How's the Spirit Ruler?"
"Whew~ He's past the worst for now. Seems like prior experience helped minimize the damage! This guy's just too eager and overdoes it, but his skills are solid, right?"
The Doctor shamelessly glanced at the unconscious Spirit Ruler sprawled on the ground.
Any memory of egging him on first had long vanished from his mind.
"Tch, but..."
The Spirit Ruler was covered in mechanical devices and magic tools pulled out for emergency treatment, plus unidentified biological tissues and drugs.
The Doctor poked and prodded him a few times, then frowned in dissatisfaction.
"...No matter where I look, it's gone. Geez, losing a borrowed item like that! Sheesh~ This guy's so careless... Made from irreplaceable materials, and he loses it!"
He even scolded the injured man for carrying out his mission.
If the mission had succeeded, maybe, but with only losses to show, it grated on his self-centered mindset.
"Hm, well, it's not something easy to dispose of, so we can recover it when we catch the Hahoe Mask. Gotta devise multiple methods so we don't miss next time!"
He'd planned to dissect him from the start anyway, so nothing really changed.
"Pfft~ Talk about getting outplayed! Who'd have thought I'd see it with my own eyes and still not grasp the principle? My blood's boiling! Whew!"
The Chairman glanced at the Doctor, who burned with his usual mad zeal, then looked down at the Spirit Ruler on the floor.
It had been ages since constraints forced him to step in personally, yet this rare chance slipped away fruitlessly.
No, not just fruitless—pure loss.
'Hahoe Mask...'
The Chairman repeated the name once more, etching it vividly into his memory.
Vowing to repay this humiliation in full.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The Immortal Citadel stood in the Northern Mountains of Outerica.
This place, saturated with death energy on all sides, served as the central hub for the undead army, where most of Hans's gathered forces were concentrated—a demonic realm.
Of course, not every villain collected from various regions... nor all underground organization members like black mages were here.
Such rabble were left at their origins and used as expendables whenever attacks were needed nearby.
However, Hans's policy was to summon valuable assets—like those above a certain power level or undead from the Abyss's Scars—to the Immortal Citadel whenever possible.
Plus, monsters dying en masse in the Northern Mountains provided a steady supply of new undead.
Even with many dispatched inland, it was inevitable that the surrounding mountains were overrun by undead hordes.
And within the heart of this deathly sanctuary, inside the citadel.
In a grand audience chamber lined with dozens of Death Knights—
[My King... have you returned...? This girl, Olivia... greets the King...]
Hans sat leisurely on a massive throne of skulls and bones, looking down.
[Yes, Olivia. It seems there were no major issues while I was away.]
His appearance exuded the dignity befitting the Immortal King, as if he'd never clashed with the Pandemonium Society's Chairman.
Of course, holy power's aftereffects lingered in his body, and his mental world was overloaded—not ideal condition—but such issues resolved themselves with time.
'The time difference with Earth is a hassle sometimes, but it's a huge help in cases like this. Same with creating undead.'
His thoughts drifted to the Awakened undead under Dwell's additional care.
Considering the time lag, it was about time to finish those post-Salma specimens.
Right after keenly feeling his power shortage against the Chairman, his interest naturally turned to undead—the quickest way to bolster forces, separate from his avatar's growth.
'Against that guy, anything less than Salma-grade undead won't help much, but they'd still handle the Pandemonium Society's grunts.'
Had he deployed undead like the dragon Herathos or Salma in that battle, he could've faced the Chairman more evenly.
Often overlooked due to the Immortal King's specs, he was fundamentally a rear-line specialist: a black mage and necromancer.
But this time, he held them back and threw himself into the fray.
To deploy them decisively in a surefire scenario.
[...Continent deployments proceed steadily as pre-arranged... Recently, the pace slowed with the continental summit...]
As Hans pondered, Olivia's report continued.
As the Immortal Citadel's manager and chief intelligence officer, briefing him on events during his absence was routine.
'Nothing unusual stands out. Well, with Heinrich and Heinz 2nd's intel networks, I'd know most things outside the citadel anyway.'
He rested his chin, listening without interrupting, lost in side thoughts.
Multitasking was second nature now, and something new might pop up.
'Speaking of, gotta properly test that thing the Spirit Ruler... no, left behind as a "gift" when we first met.'
Hans now vastly outclassed their first encounter, so the spirit arm fragment brought no dramatic change.
At best, minor boosts to mental black magic.
Valuable for easing restrictions or memory reading, sure—but the true prize was the orb left in his mental world.
'It amplifies mental abilities from the psyche... to an insane degree. Can't gauge limits without testing.'
As expected of dimension-plunderers, they hoarded wonders.
Wonder which dimension birthed such a thing.
Existing in the mental world, not reality, was already extraordinary.
[And one of the white giants appearing on the continent was captured... entrusted to Dwell for investigation...]
As Hans mulled the orb's utility, Olivia dropped an intriguing update.
'Captured a white giant alive? ...Right, one fled into the mountains from Rohan Principality.'
The undead horde crammed into the citadel's vicinity could topple nations head-on.
Capturing one giant with just executives? Trivial.
[However, no useful info from it yet... It just keeps demanding an audience with the King...]
[...It speaks? And wants to meet me?]
That piqued his interest too.
One nostril unsealed from the start, mouth freed post-capture, and a recently pierced ear.
The giant's head was clearly expressing intent repeatedly.
To meet the Immortal King, Hans.
[Dwell's trying various methods alongside experiments... But as it's not a normal lifeform... neither torture nor mental magic works...]
[Hmm.]
Hans nodded slowly, rising from the throne.
A white giant's head, imprisoned in the Immortal Citadel's lab, demanding talk.
He'd been craving info on them—perfect timing.
[Kehahaha— Intriguing. Let's hear what it has to say.]
A chance for direct dialogue? No reason to refuse.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Guided by Dwell, Hans entered where the white giant's head was confined.
What struck him first?
Whoosh—
Purple haze blanketing the entire space.
Lethal to living beings, corrosive even to weak undead—vicious poison.
[Sorry! If I'd known the King was coming, I'd have aired it out. Forgot amid the neglect!]
It affected no one present even slightly.
Undead vision pierced smoke effortlessly anyway.
No wonder Dwell researched unbothered.
[No matter. So... this is it.]
Hans's gaze fixed on the giant head in the center, restrained by myriad means.
Black magic circles etched in blood across walls and altars, oozing malevolent energy; black stakes like saliva piercing its skull; ominous chains wrapping it all.
Red-and-black adornments clashing with its 4-meter pale head amplified the room's grotesqueness.
Then.
[Ohhh— O Death— Terminal of life and ultimate loss—]
The giant's sealed mouth opened, intoning like poetry.
'...What the hell is this guy saying?'
He got the self-reference, but...
How to put it—too...
[Kekeke— Yes, this body is the king of the dead, incarnation of death. Servant of the Abyss, slave to madness. You dared request my presence?]
...perfectly Hans's taste.
Startled by his own knee-jerk response, he kept a straight face, steadfastly eyeing the head.
'...Thought it'd been quiet lately, but this flipped my switch again. Gonna suffer retraining my speech for a while.'
Oblivious, the giant continued its spiel.
[Ahhh— O Death, you've forgotten— Our aspirations— The mission from Our Lord—!]
Utterly incomprehensible to Hans.
'No, seriously, what?'
He tilted his skull, glaring intently.
Same Abyss origin, sure—hence the audience request.
'Aspirations, mission, and lord?'
This felt beyond mere connection.
'Weren't death and madness just dregs sunk in the Abyss?'
No such details in prior Immortal Kings' info...
[O Death— Eldest impurity— Fate pooled at the Abyss's bottom—]
As he pondered.
Crack— snap, crackle!
The black wire sealing its right eye began snapping.
'Eye?'
Hans reflexively reinforced the binding circles and shielded himself.
No apparent hostility, but better safe.
[I— as the Lord's errand boy— convey His will to you—]
Finally, the wire snapped fully.
The eye flashed open—
And the massive 「Abyss's Eye」 dwelling within stared straight at Hans.
'Guh? Wait, this is...!'
Judgment in an instant.
Crush—!
Black beam from his hand bored a huge hole through the head, obliterating the core.
But.
The Abyss's intrusion had already injected something into his mental world—
And the overflow from Hans's depths surged back toward the 「Mind Hub」 at alarming speed.