Chapter 483
Chapter 483
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 483
Chapter Title: Hunting the Black Curtain (4)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The Red Mountain Kingdom bordered the Red Mountains, brimming with abundant rare resources.
And the Blue Sea Kingdom boasted vast ports hugging the edge of the blue ocean.
Decades after the armistice, grudges still lingered between the two nations, making them virtual enemies. Yet no one disputed that they were the preeminent powers representing Savacheon.
And naturally... there was no need to elaborate on the ironclad security guarding the imperial palace where those powers' rulers resided.
Weeeeng—! Weeeyng—!
Which made the current situation anything but ordinary.
Ear-piercing alarms blared relentlessly through the Blue Sea Kingdom's imperial palace—a seat of world-spanning hegemony.
Those weren't confined to the outer palace, where officials came and went freely for work. They echoed even into the Azure Dragon Palace, home to the emperor and imperial family, signaling a breach of its defenses.
...Definitely not a good sign.
In an office near the Azure Dragon Palace, Blue Sea Kingdom's prime minister, Kurshi—now in his eighties—gazed out the window, his wrinkled face etched with concern.
"Hurry up, you slugs!"
"We need to seal off every route as fast as possible!"
Outside, Imperial Guards and numerous martial artists dashed about frantically. But as a profound realm cultivator himself, he simply stared silently at the sky beyond the window.
"What the hell happened?"
The palace grounds were already shrouded in a sky tinged with violet haze.
A sight even he, with his long life, had never witnessed before.
But the problem was that it wasn't just some peculiar visual phenomenon.
This chilling aura... what is it?
The prime minister grimaced, brushing down the goosebumps on his arm.
Having reached the lofty profound realm, he could sense it all too keenly.
How purely demonic the energy permeating "that thing" truly was.
If a demon from legend—one that brought torment and madness—manifested, would it feel like this?
Just facing it sent shivers of power that could drag even the resolute into heart demons.
Any cultivator lacking a solid foundation would be effortlessly neutralized by mere proximity.
Is this the Black King's doing? ...No, impossible. He gains nothing from this madness, and even he couldn't pull off something on this scale.
An unforeseen event.
His mind reeled from the utterly unpredictable variable.
He couldn't even guess why it had happened.
Sure, things hadn't gone according to plan lately, but for him—bearer of the Chakra of Insight—to sense nothing...
"Prime Minister!"
As he racked his brain, his secretary burst through the office door like it might shatter, face ashen from scouting the situation.
"To counter the intruder who breached the Azure Dragon Palace defenses, General Yongseol has personally led the Imperial Guard into action! But right after, that horrific demonic energy began corrupting the area, so the outcome is unknown..."
Perfectly understandable.
Even he, at the pinnacle of the profound realm, couldn't pierce the epicenter of that anomaly.
If he struggled with the Chakra of Insight, the others didn't stand a chance.
"His Majesty has already relocated to safety as a precaution. You must evacuate immediately, sir!"
Kurshi gravely nodded at the secretary's urging and turned from the window.
With the emperor—his sole superior—already secured, there was no need to mind prying eyes.
General Yongseol, our finest warrior, probably won't fall easily... but this unease won't quit. Better play it safe for now.
Something incomprehensible was unfolding in the palace.
His instincts—the very ones that had elevated him this far—screamed warnings.
In times like these, best not to meddle; get away from the anomaly and ensure safety first.
"In such a crisis, it's a vassal's duty to stand by his lord. I'll head to His Majesty's side."
With that excuse, he led his attendants from the office, hastening his steps.
For all his near-absolute power, the safest spot in the palace was undoubtedly the emperor's location.
By now, most of the palace's forces would have converged there to protect him.
First things first: gather intel. This didn't happen by accident. Once I have the facts, I can decide how to respond...
But most regrettably,
he hadn't gone far before halting in his tracks.
"Oh my~?"
A sudden voice—sticky yet languid, unmistakably feminine.
"Where are you rushing off to in such a hurry?"
His attendants froze as one.
Then, men and women alike, they wore dazed expressions as if entranced, mouths agape blankly.
Urk—this?
Only Kurshi, thanks to his iron will, retained his senses. Goosebumps raced down his spine.
His crisis radar screamed; the creeping dread surged, tightening like a noose.
"Hmm, you look awfully busy. But I went to all the trouble of coming here... can't you spare a moment?"
Face rigid, he slowly raised his head.
Atop the nearby rooftop he'd just passed, the voice's owner lounged—legs crossed, chin propped, grinning down at him.
...A succubus.
A pair of soaring horns, sleek black wings folded behind, and gem-like playful reverse eyes.
The instant their gazes met, instinct screamed.
That thing shouldn't exist in this world.
"Staring like that, even I'd get embarrassed."
Despite her words, Hella winked playfully with a goofy grin.
A gesture as natural as breathing.
"...What happened to General Yongseol?"
Ignoring it as best he could, Kurshi forced his mouth open.
Since recognizing her, an otherworldly pressure assailed him without respite.
Let his guard slip for a second, and that intangible storm would sweep him away.
Now was the time to cling desperately to reason.
"Hm? Oh, that spirited old codger?"
Hella's eyes widened at the question, as if caught off guard.
"Don't worry. I'm not that bad. Why would I harm someone just doing his duty diligently?"
Proclaimed the demon lord who had invaded a nation's palace from another world.
How very trustworthy.
"Well... he held out longer than needed, so he got a bit roughed up. But he's tough as nails— a solid month of rest, and he'll be right as rain."
She answered amiably enough.
Such trivia wasn't worth hiding.
"...Hah, haha... I see."
Kurshi's expression turned complex—relief mingled with faint regret.
Hella's meaningful smile deepened as she continued.
"Anyway, you're the Blue Sea Kingdom's prime minister, right?"
"You seem to know everything already. What more is there to say?"
"Fair enough. I was gonna rough you up if you resisted pointlessly and played dumb. So, about my business..."
But as she broached the main topic,
the seemingly cooperative prime minister formed seals, unleashing his trump card in secret.
"Wrathless Void, Open!"
His 'Insight' chakra pierced truth itself.
Not inherently aggressive on its own—but pair it with a secret technique, and that changed.
Kurrrunch—!
Stone walls erupted from the ground, cleaving between them.
Not just that; walls surged across the area in patterned formations, resonating with one another.
Woooong—
Trembling vibrations unleashed crushing pressure bearing down on Hella's body.
Overlapping and amplifying in seconds, restraints poured onto her.
"This is..."
Hella faltered, who'd meant to seize her foe instantly.
The world's laws warped, spawning errors that made even standing difficult.
No mere brute-force suppression she could shrug off.
She instantly grasped Kurshi's ploy.
He's hijacked the palace itself as a spell medium.
The Blue Sea Kingdom's palace—centuries of renovations and reinforcements—embodied Savacheon's mystical pinnacle.
In simple terms, he'd hacked the security system and twisted local laws using its resources.
Solely to briefly pin her in place.
Opponent's a monster who beat General Yongseol. No chance head-on.
Whatever the reason, she was after him specifically—that much was clear.
Best to evade and vanish without fighting.
Pity to waste preparations, but survival first. Revenge later's no big deal.
The plan was flawless.
All that remained: slip through the chaos via the opened path.
"...Y'know, I did warn you."
But as always,
everyone starts with a solid plan.
Until it crumbles without warning.
"That pointless resistance would hurt."
How had she closed in so fast?
Kurshi stiffened, staring into heterochromatic odd eyes inches from his face.
...How?
Incomprehensible.
But inevitable.
Even Insight chakra had limits to what it could pierce.
And against a demon lord's Seven-Colored Demonic Eyes? No surprise it failed.
Annihilation White Eye and Stasis Blue Eye.
Using them, Hella shredded the intangible net and reached out.
"Gotcha."
A faint smile curved the hunter's lips as she claimed her prey.
***
Amid the palace grounds—buildings crumbled, earth upheaved, a chaotic mess from fierce battle.
"Ugh."
General Yongseol lay sprawled, clutching his head with one hand, groaning.
His overheated brain throbbed with pain, steam hissing from his pores.
Were he not Blue Sea Kingdom's top warrior, he'd have died long ago.
Pointless what-if now.
Frowning, he scanned the surroundings slowly, sighing softly at the Imperial Guards strewn like trash amid the debris.
They'd come together, but most proved useless against the intruder.
Not their fault, really.
To face that and perform, one needed profound realm prowess at minimum.
Less than that? They'd crumple fast, hindering allies.
Like just now.
"General! Are you alright?"
As Yongseol regulated his breathing and reviewed the fight, reinforcements arrived to support him.
He grimaced but accepted the aid, rising.
"His Majesty?"
"Safe, sir. Thanks to the time you bought, defenses are fully prepared. Even a Celestial Pattern cultivator couldn't break through now."
Nodding, Yongseol recalled the fiend.
Why invade the Azure Dragon Palace?
One certainty: the emperor, this land's sovereign, wasn't her target.
Though he had a hunch.
"The fiend?"
"...That's just it."
The demon who'd stormed the palace, rampaging unchecked before revealing her true nature.
Her goal: Blue Sea Kingdom's prime minister, Kurshi.
"Kidnapped the prime minister and vanished?"
"Yes, sir."
A gravely serious issue.
From his near-apex position, Kurshi knew every state secret.
One leak from him could doom the kingdom to astronomical losses.
But something else nags more. She targeted him from the start. And he...
Unlike Yongseol, leader of the martial faction, Kurshi wielded immense influence as bureaucratic apex, even acting as regent.
Frankly, Yongseol had long suspected him.
No hard proof, but he'd watched for treason or equivalent, per the emperor's will—subtly checking him even while complying.
And now this. Kidnapped...
Tragic, yet... oddly satisfying.
Of course, the kidnapping spelled trouble for him and the martial faction.
Palace security was their duty, after all.
Plus, if Red Mountain Kingdom hears...
Their heart—the palace—breached, second only to the emperor in power openly abducted.
No excuse could salvage such humiliation.
He could already imagine the mockery. Darkness loomed.
The uproar made cover-up impossible.
Red Mountain surely had spies here, as they did there.
News would reach them soon.
Sigh, headache. Need a rescue op ASAP.
General Yongseol sighed deeply.
Not long after, word arrived from their Red Mountain spy.
"Wait, what? That viperous woman—what happened to her?"
Intel: Red Mountain's Celestial Pattern cultivator, General Juling, thrashed and abducted by a mystery figure.
What the hell's going on?
Chaos spiraled, future unpredictable.
But one thing was clear amid it all.
He'd been damn lucky before.