Chapter 481
Chapter 481
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 481
Chapter Title: Black Curtain Hunt (2)
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Su Miyat Mun, an Earthling hailing from Myanmar.
She had been transported early on and joined the Seongcheon Yun Clan as a guest warrior, now entering her fifth year as an Awakener.
'Getting sent straight to the Yun Clan's territory, which has been friendly to Earthlings from the start... talk about good luck.'
Of course, other factions had also promised good treatment to otherworlders.
The royal families of the two superpowers, lords, massive merchant guilds, and all sorts of organizations big and small were sponsoring Earthlings in their own ways.
However, the Seongcheon Yun Clan stood out among them, thanks to its unique origin—the founder himself being an otherworlder.
Under their protection, she had steadily grown stronger.
She couldn't just hole up in safety forever if she wanted to rack up Karma, but knowing she could rely on the Yun Clan's aid in true emergencies meant crises never escalated too far.
'And I'm plenty grateful for that.'
Without their help, surviving this long and advancing so far would have been impossible.
In just five years since starting chakra training, she had reached the upper tiers and stood on the cusp of the inner depths. Plus, through Karma, she had massively bolstered her Unique Skill and stats.
'If I go all out, I might even surpass inner depth practitioners.'
Miyat was one of the otherworlders who had benefited the most from her sponsorship.
So why had she betrayed the Yun Clan, falling for sweet talk about toppling them and throwing herself into the plot?
'But that's that, and this is this. I'm not planning to live here forever, so I might as well squeeze out every last drop before I go, right?'
…In the end, it boiled down to greed.
The Seongcheon Yun Clan was one of Sabacheon's massive entrenched powers.
Succeeding in bringing down such a force would yield an enormous Karma payout.
Factoring in how it could spark a war, she was guaranteed at least enough to return to Earth.
With nothing left to regret here, how could she pass up such a golden opportunity?
'Not to mention how nauseating it is, preaching world peace while openly endorsing child abuse.'
The memory was still vivid.
The sight of kids collapsing on the floor, convulsing from electric shocks under the guise of training.
She didn't particularly pity those children.
This world's values weren't something an otherworlder like her could just call out, and she wasn't the type to get emotionally invested anyway.
It was merely one small trigger that lowered her mental barriers.
'I never thought it'd get exposed this soon, though.'
Miyat sighed, furrowing her brow.
She hadn't planned on bailing this early.
Her intention was to stick with the Yun Clan until the plan concluded—enjoying their support while subtly stirring trouble from within.
'How the hell did he figure it out? Even the Yun Clan's inner depth practitioners couldn't detect his power.'
Hoon, the newbie Awakener who had recently joined.
This Korean Earthling, from the same homeland as the Yun Clan's founder Yun Jiyun, had ruined everything.
No matter how amazing a Unique Skill's potential, top performance required corresponding enhancements.
'…What's done is done. Time to focus on damage control. Better to cut and run than dig in my heels and spin excuses.'
She was confident she had erased all evidence thoroughly, but if the Yun Clan got serious about investigating, who knew where they might pick up her trail.
Having already been exposed once to this Hoon guy, it was wiser to extract herself before things got inescapable.
…Your proposal has been approved, Su Miyat Mun.
'Phew, that's a relief. Now, if you could just open the way?'
In a rundown shack so remote even its nation was hard to pinpoint, Miyat conversed with a stern-faced old man.
'First things first.'
A strange glint flashed in the old man's right eye as he stared at her coldly.
Complex patterns emerged in his eye as he scanned her thoroughly, then nodded.
'…No issues.'
'I'm not that sloppy, you know? I double-checked multiple times before coming here. With all the detours over the past few days, any tails would have fallen off long ago.'
'Hard to say. The moment you failed your mission and came crawling here, I can't fully trust you anymore.'
'Hah! Fine, whatever. You've checked—now open the damn way?'
'Hold on. I've sent word upstairs.'
Miyat let out a small sigh at the old man's reply.
This was exactly why she had wanted to stick with the Yun Clan longer.
For security reasons, apparently, but their procedures were excessively rigid every step of the way.
Granted, it made sense for people who couldn't operate openly, but a little flexibility wouldn't hurt.
'There's a limit to caution. We could crush the Yun Clan head-on without breaking a sweat.'
But considering their ultimate goal, excessive prudence was unavoidable.
Toppling the Yun Clan was just the beginning, after all.
Rumble—!
At that moment, a deafening roar echoed from behind the old man's position.
The same noise she had heard recently at the Yun Clan.
The sound of a passageway connecting through collapsed space.
'Permission granted. Go on in.'
'Finally.'
Miyat trudged forward with a deep sigh.
It had taken days to reach here after Hoon exposed her at the Yun Clan.
She had spun in circles using every trick to shake potential pursuers.
From most positions, getting word to the top after exposure and escape would have been impossible.
But she was a talent rivaling inner depth practitioners even now, with expectations of officially reaching that level soon—special treatment wasn't unusual.
Vmmm—
As she entered the passageway, a strange vibration hummed, and the entrance slowly collapsed.
The spatial rift vanished completely.
All that remained was the old man, still seated in the same spot.
…
He silently cleaned up and exited the shack without a word.
It could no longer be used; time to relocate.
His nomadic life had spanned over a decade, but he never complained.
'Not much longer now. Soon…'
He suppressed the intense anticipation writhing in his chest and strode onward, oblivious.
To the unknown presence—beyond even his chakra's detection—that had already swept over him and the surroundings once.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ …Tracking failed.
Lusette, who had come to find Hoon, reported glumly.
'Sigh. Just when we had a lead…'
The Yun Clan had naturally detected Miyat's flight.
Hoon had frankly revealed her betrayal to those who arrived late after sensing something amiss. The clan quickly assembled pursuit teams to track her trail, but…
It had ended in failure.
'Those countermeasures aren't prepped overnight. Crossing back and forth over the Hongshan and Qinghai borders, sowing decoys and disruptions along the way... No ordinary force could handle it.'
Lusette sighed deeply, worry etched on her face.
A conspiracy was brewing centered on the Seongcheon Yun Clan, yet they still lacked solid intel on the culprits.
The secret dealings with Hongshan's deputy general hadn't even concluded before the magical path practitioners attacked.
They needed to identify friend from foe first, but with no clue where the enemies began or ended, frustration was inevitable.
'…The two nations' movements lately are suspicious. Border skirmishes are escalating, and public opinion is polarizing oddly. Someone's pulling strings behind the scenes.'
That explained why even Qinghai, which seemed to have stepped back, couldn't be fully trusted.
The two nations were mirroring each other too perfectly, like a script.
'I see. What about the interrogations? You caught most of the magical path attackers and the barrier tamperers.'
'…No breakthroughs there either. Magical path practitioners don't crack under interrogation, and for the sympathizers, all we know is someone tampered with their minds…'
Lusette glanced cautiously at Hoon as she spoke delicately.
She was sharing these sensitive details precisely to enlist his help.
After all, he was the only one who had uncovered what even the clan elders missed.
'At minimum, an inner depth mental practitioner was involved. We wouldn't have noticed without precise scans on the suspects.'
Even then, the intel gained was extremely limited.
In that context, someone who had extracted info from Anton's mind was invaluable to the Yun Clan.
'Hmm, what about the suspected high-ranking spy?'
'Ah, well…'
Lusette gave an awkward smile at his question.
That alone painted the picture.
'Figures. High-rankers have chakra levels that make mental probes risky.'
Not as extreme as magical path practitioners, but contacting a high practitioner's mind risked mental corruption all the same.
The mental world was practically their entire being, after all.
Proud high practitioners wouldn't fully disarm and open up just to hunt a possible spy.
Especially when even decision-makers like the elders were under suspicion.
'…If the spy cooperates willingly, it's pointless anyway. And a malicious prober could make things worse…'
Lusette averted her gaze, adding a few words sheepishly.
Hoon hadn't said much, but she seemed guilty.
'Understood. I'll help however I can.'
Her face lit up at his words.
Given time, the Yun Clan could uncover the culprits alone.
Despite recent setbacks, they had the power.
But time was the issue.
'This way, then. Oh, just to confirm… the magical path practitioners…?'
'Hmm, we'll see once I try. Shouldn't be a big problem, though.'
Hoon followed Lusette to where the suspects were held.
To probe their minds like he had Anton's and extract info.
But he already knew.
This was all performative; any new info gained here was unlikely to be actionable.
'Finally.'
…The big fish had just bitten his first bait.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The great war had raged for over a century, finally ending decades ago.
The prolonged conflict left deep scars on countless people.
Massive loss of life and disabilities were just the start.
Human civilization plunged into a dark age, declining across society, economy, and culture.
Thus, people idolized the Neuro Sovereign, who ended the war and ushered in a new era.
Resentments toward enemy states lingered, but everyone felt the futility of continued war.
Yet as with all things,
Not everyone suffered losses.
No need to mention magical path practitioners.
War profiteers reveling in boom times, power holders solidifying positions, opportunistic lords and mercenaries—plenty had profited.
The war wouldn't have lasted a century on intrigue alone.
It required consensus among certain vested interests.
To them, the Neuro Sovereign and Yun Clan who forcibly ended it were no different from enemies who stole their power.
'Surprising. Did Lady Miyat slip up somehow?'
'You know that's not possible.'
'Ugh, to think someone could pierce that lord's power.'
Miyat sighed inwardly at the middle-aged man's words and surveyed the room.
The office she had finally reached after days of relentless travel.
Filled with ink paintings, intricate sculptures, and elegant ceramics—not flashy, but clearly extraordinary at a glance.
'Understood. We'll prepare a place for you to rest comfortably for now.'
'…Since I'm here, shouldn't I at least pay respects to the elder?'
Miyat paused rising, broaching carefully.
Hoping to make an impression on the local leader.
'If I may be so bold.'
But the middle-aged man facing her didn't blink, responding firmly.
'He is extremely busy handling state affairs. Attending to every little matter like this would lead to overwork.'
In the end, Miyat acquiesced and backed down.
A mere impression wasn't that crucial anyway.
'Direct ties to power holders would help Karma farming more, but… this is fine for now.'
She still had plenty of time.
In the coming era of chaos, she would prove her worth or break through to inner depths.
She would rise, no matter what.
As she finished business, exchanged farewells with the middle-aged man, and turned to leave—
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Hmm, so this is the end of the line for now, eh?] The entire space vibrated.
An unidentified voice boomed through.
'What?!'
'Who—!'
Those present had no chance to react.
Before they could move, an eerie pressure crushed their bodies, freezing them in place.
Only their eyes could dart about.
Two pairs of frantic eyes locked onto one spot.
Riiip— Rzzz—
Space tore open vertically with a chilling sound.
From the fully rent fissure beyond, a figure stepped through, planting feet on the office floor and stretching vigorously.
'Ahh— Thanks to you, getting here was a breeze.'
The being took a deep breath, then turned to the rigid Miyat with a smile.
A pair of tall black horns sprouting from its head.
Black-red reverse pupils and sleek black wings folded behind.
'Since you're helping out, mind lending a bit more?'
Hela, the otherworld Demon King who had descended upon Sabacheon, wore a fresh, sweet smile.