Chapter 253
Chapter 253
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 254
Chapter Title: The Demon Assault at the Presentation
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Hanseong Pharmaceuticals' presentation was taking place in the auditorium.
Lee Seo-jun and his group, seated in the fourth-floor balcony seats, were chatting as they waited for the event to begin.
"Man, this is great. Perfect view of the stage. Feels just like an opera house."
"Yeah. Being VIP seats makes a real difference."
Lee Seo-jun looked around at the surroundings.
The circular auditorium was packed with all sorts of people.
Reporters, businesspeople, civilians, wizards, bodyguards...
Familiar famous faces popped into view here and there.
Right across from them, the PL Group chairman was visible in the second-floor balcony.
Then a sudden curiosity struck him.
"But where'd Sun-woo go? He said he was heading to the bathroom earlier. Still not back."
It had been fifteen minutes since they entered the auditorium.
Kim Sun-woo had vanished somewhere, nowhere to be seen. And the presentation was about to start.
Choi Seo-yoon spoke up with a worried look on her face.
"Should I go out and look for him? He might be lost."
"Nah, didn't you raid dungeons with Kim Sun-woo? The guy's got a killer sense of direction."
"...Hmm. Maybe? But he's not picking up his phone."
"What if he's got the runs or something? Heh heh."
Shin Young-jun chuckled teasingly. As they sat there bored, waiting for the presentation to start—
Two people approached the seats where Lee Seo-jun was sitting and greeted them warmly.
"Lee Seo-jun? Fancy running into you here again."
Hearing his name, Lee Seo-jun turned his head.
Standing there was Han Se-jin, whom he'd bumped into by chance at the booth viewing.
Next to her was a red-haired woman who looked like a bodyguard.
"Oh, hello."
Han Se-jin gave a slight smile and took a seat near Lee Seo-jun. The red-haired woman sat next to Lee Seo-jun with an expressionless face.
Lee Seo-jun stared blankly at her face.
...She definitely looked familiar, like they'd met somewhere. Where was it?
Just then, the red-haired woman whipped her head around.
"What're you looking at?"
"...Nothing."
Lee Seo-jun turned his gaze back to the stage.
At that moment, all the lights in the auditorium went out. As pitch darkness fell, a heavy silence settled over the entire venue.
Flash!
A single light flicked on at the staircase leading up to the stage. All eyes turned toward it.
Under the bright light, a beautiful woman was ascending the stairs.
Once on stage, the woman opened her mouth.
—Hello. I'm Han Se-yeon of Hanseong Pharmaceuticals.
Ten minutes into the presentation.
I arrived at the auditorium late.
I had to change into inconspicuous clothes, thinking about the incident that was about to unfold.
Right now, I was wearing a hat pulled low and a mask.
No one would mistake me for Kim Sun-woo based on my appearance.
I leaned against the railing on the empty fifth-floor staff balcony and looked down at the auditorium.
Under the lights focused on her, Han Se-yeon was delivering her speech in a calm voice.
The audience filling the seats listened to her words as if entranced.
—Technology is advancing at an ever-faster pace, and humanity is heading into a new era. Yet the world is still filled with dangers. Terrorism, demons, monsters...
Seeing her perform her speech so steadily brought a flood of emotions rushing through my mind.
Pride, warmth, anxiety, worry...
"Hoo..."
But with a deep sigh, I shook off all those personal feelings.
This was an urgent situation where anything could happen.
I needed to focus on the present.
I looked down at the audience again.
Scanning quickly, I located the demons' positions.
With [Character Insight], it wasn't too hard to spot the demons hiding in the crowd.
The first one to catch my eye was the Demon King, sitting in the second-floor balcony.
The king leaned back in his chair, listening to the speech with a blank expression.
—...That is why the most important thing is safety. And with our new development at Hanseong Pharmaceuticals...
What was the king's purpose in attending this presentation?
Just a hunch, but I doubted he was here to intervene in this incident.
It didn't make sense that he'd abandon his position as PL Group chairman just to kill Han Se-yeon.
His presence here was probably simple curiosity about her as a person.
The king believed that to dominate the human world, he needed alliances with humans who held power and talent.
Either way, his being here made the situation far more unfavorable than in the original story.
Next, I turned my gaze to a middle-aged man in the first-floor VIP seats.
Name: Jin Geon
Age: 52
Race: Demon
Status: Tense
Mana Rank: S
Interest Level: 0
Demon, Jin Geon.
An S-Rank demon—the key villain I needed to watch most closely in this incident.
In the original story, he was the mastermind behind the expo demon attack.
Just then, a demon sitting next to Jin Geon whispered in his ear.
It looked like they were about to start.
"...Guess it's time for me to get ready."
I pulled out the 'Mana Concealment Potion' from my pocket.
A future in flux.
In this unpredictable moment, it was time to make my best move.
"Mr. Jin Geon, ten minutes until plan execution."
In the first-floor audience seats of the auditorium.
Jin Geon nodded at his subordinate's words from the seat next to him.
"Got it. Tell everyone to stay calm and wait."
"Yes, sir. Then I'll go seal the entrances."
The demon beside him left. Jin Geon leaned back and turned his gaze back to Han Se-yeon.
She continued her speech in a voice as smooth as flowing water.
Moments later, a massive hologram appeared in the air, playing footage about the new drug they'd developed.
As its effects were explained, some audience members clapped in awe.
Jin Geon smirked inwardly at their reactions.
This peace wouldn't last.
Soon, this venue would be plunged into chaos by us.
Of course, with the 'Sword Ghost' protecting her, killing her would be tough—but even if we couldn't, it didn't matter much.
Ruining the event alone would damage Han Se-yeon's standing and reputation, which was a win for the demons.
As he thought about what he was about to do, his heart raced—
Wooong.
Jin Geon sensed the mana in the air trembling unstably. And he wasn't the only one who noticed.
The Sword Ghost watching from behind the stairs also looked around in momentary confusion.
This phenomenon usually occurred when powerful magic disrupted the flow of the atmosphere.
But strangely, no mana signature could be felt anywhere nearby.
...What the hell? Why is this happening all of a sudden?
Right then.
Jin Geon instinctively sensed danger and shot up from his seat.
As one audience member acted strangely, nearby spectators shot him puzzled looks.
One demon muttered while looking at him, 'Huh? Still got time left?'
Feeling uneasy, Jin Geon scanned the surroundings and reached out his hand.
Black demonic energy rose around him, starting to form a barrier.
That's when a straight flash of light streaked through the darkness.
Paaang—
Compressed light-attribute magic pierced Jin Geon's chest.
At the same time, the spell passed through his chest and blew apart the head of the demon sitting in front of him.
"Kyaaack!"
Screams erupted from the audience at the sudden magic attack.
People jumped up in shock, and the auditorium turned into pandemonium in an instant.
Jin Geon dropped to his knees, wracked with excruciating pain.
Precise magic that targeted only them, as if careful not to harm bystanders.
Terror washed over him in that instant.
If the attacker hadn't cared about collateral damage and compressed the spell fully, he might have died right there without even realizing it.
"...What arrogant bastard!"
On stage, Han Se-yeon panicked at the sudden turn of events.
The Sword Ghost had already appeared in front of her, guarding her.
—Everyone, evacuate now!
Even amid the chaos, Han Se-yeon urged the audience to flee.
Then she calmly called for security on her communicator.
"Run!"
"It's terrorism!"
"Call the guards!"
Clutching his chest burning with light attribute, Jin Geon staggered to his feet and spoke.
"...We're scrapping the original plan, effective immediately."
At his words, the demons hidden among the audience revealed themselves. It was earlier than planned, but with some bastard interfering, they had to act now.
That's when another flash blazed.
Paang!
"Kuaaaack!"
A nearby demon screamed and lost his life.
Then another flash. And another. Again.
Paang—
Paang—
"Kraack!"
"Kuaaaack!"
The hidden demons were pierced one by one by the flashes, falling dead.
But no mana could be sensed anywhere. It was flawless assassination, undetectable by any mana trace.
As his subordinates dropped one after another, Jin Geon finally pinpointed the direction of the spells.
Fifth-floor balcony.
A mysterious man in a hat and mask was extending his hand, unleashing the magic.
"That guy's...!"
The guy's preemptive strike had already ruined the plan.
Security forces were rushing into the auditorium, and word of demon involvement had spread.
Then another light-attribute spell shot toward Jin Geon. But this time, not a surprise attack—he easily blocked it with his black barrier.
At the same time, Jin Geon enhanced his body to charge at the fifth-floor balcony.
Plan failed? Fine, he'd kill the bastard who wrecked it and escape.
Just as he lunged toward the guy—
Wooong!
A magic circle appeared beneath where Jin Geon stood, and countless beams of light shot up from the floor.
Stunned by the unfamiliar spell form, Jin Geon panicked.
He tried to dodge quickly, but his ankle was already caught.
"Wh-what the hell is this...!"
The light beams swiftly bound his entire body.
Before long, he was completely immobilized by the light.
"Kugh!"
Jin Geon thrashed desperately to break free from the mysterious light beams.
But no matter what, the spell wouldn't unravel.
In his 52 years of life, this was the first time he'd felt such humiliation.
"Let me go right...!"
Jin Geon's voice echoed through the auditorium.
Amid the sudden chaotic mess, Lee Seo-jun's group was fighting demons that had appeared nearby.
It was hard to grasp the full situation, but one thing was clear: terrorism had broken out inside the auditorium.
And surprisingly, the targets were the demons.
Judging by the mana he sensed, there was definitely an S-Rank demon involved...
'...I swear we've been through something like this before.'
Mysterious magic with no detectable mana.
It was the same spell that saved him from a demon last year.
The one that played a huge role in capturing Ja-un's group during the Night of the Pioneers.
...Who the hell is it?
Did they know demons would show up here in advance?
As Lee Seo-jun mulled over these complicated thoughts, he turned his gaze back to the first-floor seats to check the situation.
While distracted fighting other demons, the demon in the center of the audience seats had his entire body bound by light beams.
Seeing the spell made Lee Seo-jun's eyes tremble. The unidentified binding magic of light beams.
The magic that had saved his life twice—the wizard was here right now.
"...Huh? What's this?"
Just then, a surprised voice came from beside Lee Seo-jun.
The red-haired woman, Han Se-jin's bodyguard, was staring at the demon on the first floor with a look of shock.
"Ch-Chief?"