Chapter 144: Geumwa Clan (11)
Chapter 144: Geumwa Clan (11)
The barrier collapsed the moment Han Shin destroyed the core of the Dark Haze.
"Huh? The mist is disappearing!"
The Association Awakeners rejoiced as they watched the fog that had been tormenting them fade away.
Fighting in a situation where their vision was frustratingly blocked had been an immense struggle, and its resolution brought a wave of relief. Now that their line of sight was clear, the Tree Evil Spirit Lesh were plainly visible.
With the conditions for battle finally in their favor, the Association Awakeners began to dispatch the Lesh with increased speed. It was a common occurrence in almost any group: once the leader is lost, the pack weakens and falls into a state of total disarray.
Baek Yong-gi, the leader of the Goryeo Clan, had been decapitated by Han Shin, and Jacquin, the true leader, had been captured and rendered unable to exert any further influence. Although many of the Goryeo Clan Awakeners who had turned into Demonic Humans were veterans with significant combat experience, their plummeting morale was unavoidable.
As the hope of victory vanished, it was only natural for their combat effectiveness to drop accordingly.
Kang Yujin, Laysia, and Grace systematically eliminated these Demonic Humans. Rejoining Han Shin, they worked in perfect harmony to carry out a one-sided slaughter. Since there was no longer a need for haste, they finished the battle while carefully managing the small amount of Tiamat’s Holy Power they had left.
It took some time, but they eventually cleared out every monster and Demonic Human inside the Goryeo Clan’s house.
Park Min-woo breathed a sigh of relief once the Goryeo Clan was dealt with. He felt truly fortunate.
If Wolyeong hadn't told us... no, if they weren't here, we wouldn't have been able to handle this at all.
In truth, the Moon Shadow Party had spearheaded the battle. They had gone beyond merely compensating for the Association Awakeners' weaknesses; they had led the entire operation.
Park Min-woo was someone who knew the Association’s dire circumstances better than anyone. The reality was that the Association couldn't offer the same level of treatment as the large clans, so their personnel were inevitably of a lower caliber. Aside from a few exceptionally talented Awakeners who joined out of a sense of duty, the idea of fighting a large clan like this would have been unthinkable.
He had moved forward purely out of trust in the Moon Shadow Party, and in the end, that judgment had proven correct.
"You all worked very hard."
Naturally, Park Min-woo hurried to find the Moon Shadow Party first to express his gratitude.
"We weren't the only ones working hard. You did a great job as well," Yujin replied.
Her voice sounded slightly more exhausted than usual, making Park Min-woo realize just how difficult the fight must have been. Furthermore, while none of the Moon Shadow Party members appeared to be injured, the marks of the fierce battle remained.
Their armor was mostly stained with blood, and in the Knight’s case, his silver armor looked slightly scorched.
"We're going to go rest for now."
"Ah, of course. We'll handle the cleanup."
"Yes. If we find out anything more about these artifacts, we'll share the information immediately."
"Understood."
Seeing Han Shin’s condition, Kang Yujin wanted to leave the area and return home as quickly as possible. This was the first time Han Shin’s silver armor had ever been scorched. She was worried that he might have been injured, as it meant he had been hit by an attack powerful enough to leave such a mark.
Grace and Laysia felt the same. They couldn't immediately cling to him and check his condition because of the eyes watching them, so they were desperate to get away.
After finishing the brief exchange, the four of them left the Goryeo Clan house. They ducked into an empty alleyway and immediately moved to Grace’s Sanctuary.
As soon as they arrived in their private space, the three women rushed to Han Shin to check his condition.
"Shin-a! Are you okay?!"
"Han Shin-nim, are you alright?"
"I'll heal you right away."
It was only natural for them to be worried after seeing the state of his scorched silver armor. The durability of the silver armor Tiamat had created was exceptional. While it had been stained with monster blood and fluids before, this was the first time they had seen it scorched as if by fire.
Even though they hadn't seen the moment it happened, they all knew this meant Han Shin had been hit by a spell cast by the enemy.
"I'm fine."
Han Shin felt a bit awkward at their reaction and tried to reassure them, but their fussing didn't stop.
"No, let me check! Take off your armor, quickly!"
"She's right, Han Shin-nim. You were hit by magic, weren't you?"
"Uh... well, yes, but..."
Han Shin needed to wash up anyway, and there was no longer a reason to wear the silver armor, so he deactivated it. Afterward, the three women inspected every inch of his body to confirm that he truly wasn't injured.
"Phew... thank goodness."
Kang Yujin let out a sigh of relief after confirming that Han Shin was indeed unhurt. Grace and Laysia felt the same.
The three of them were curious about what had happened to leave such marks on the armor, and Han Shin slowly explained. He told them how a spell had been triggered from the necklace while he was fighting Baek Yong-gi. Because it was cast at such close range, he couldn't dodge it properly and had to block it by manifesting the Power of the Dragon more intensely as an improvisation.
"I'm just so glad you aren't hurt."
Yujin’s words echoed everyone’s sentiments. They were all relieved that Han Shin had handled the situation brilliantly without sustaining any injuries.
[Aaaaaagh—!!]
Suddenly, a scream filled with agony shattered the atmosphere.
It came from the necklace artifacts—the gold metal pieces set with blue gems—that Han Shin and Laysia had set aside.
As demons, Raulo and Jacquin could not withstand the powerful Holy Power once they entered the space created by Tiamat. The burning pain, which felt as if their very souls were on fire, intensified significantly. They tried to endure it with their pathetic demonic pride, but it was impossible.
The party realized their mistake. They had already seen the artifacts react with screams when Laysia and Han Shin’s Holy Power affected them earlier; with a bit more thought, they could have predicted this.
Whatever these artifacts truly were, they were undoubtedly wicked objects created by demons who followed the Evil Gods.
In truth, the party still didn't know their exact nature, so they had simply assumed they were cursed artifacts. Their worry for Han Shin had taken priority, leading them to move straight to the Sanctuary.
"We should probably leave the Sanctuary for now..."
"Let's go to the villa in Nepal. If we go straight home and someone hears the screaming, it might cause suspicion."
"Yeah. That sounds like a good idea."
As Yujin pointed out, going straight home carried too much risk. They decided to head to the villa they owned in Kathmandu, Nepal, which they had acquired under an alias.
However, in that short time, both Raulo and Jacquin’s souls were almost entirely consumed by Tiamat’s Holy Power. By the time Han Shin’s party arrived at the Kathmandu villa to begin a proper investigation of the artifacts, it was already too late.
Raulo and Jacquin were Count-level demons under Mammon, holding quite high positions. They had crossed over to Earth as Ego Artifacts with great ambitions, only to die in a truly meaningless fashion.
"Hmm..."
Han Shin felt a bit awkward as the objects turned into ordinary necklaces that no longer felt like artifacts at all. In the end, they had failed to discover exactly what these things were.
In reality, even if they had interrogated them, Jacquin and Raulo wouldn't have confessed anything to Han Shin’s group, so the result would likely have been the same.
"We didn't get much, other than confirming that these artifacts can be dangerous."
"Yes, that seems to be the case."
Grace nodded in agreement with Han Shin. They had hoped to gain more information, and there was a lingering sense of regret that their choices had prevented that.
However, Grace, Laysia, and Kang Yujin didn't truly regret it. To them, Han Shin’s safety was far more important. Since it was clear these were demonic artifacts and that they needed to be cautious, they decided that simply informing the Association of this fact would be enough.
The next day, Kang Yujin went alone as Wolyeong to the Association and delivered the necklaces that had once housed Raulo and Jacquin.
"They seem to have lost their power and become ordinary necklaces. I think we need to thoroughly investigate and be careful when using artifacts from now on."
"Yes, we've also interrogated the Awakeners from the Geumwa and Goryeo Clans, and we've identified these artifacts as the cause."
The Association had immediately interrogated those they had captured alive. The Geumwa Clan Awakeners were relatively cooperative, and the Association succeeded in obtaining testimony that everything had started when they unearthed these necklace artifacts.
Since Wolyeong had offered the same opinion while handing over the necklaces, and they now had supporting testimony, Park Min-woo officially announced the events that had transpired at the Geumwa and Goryeo Clans to the public.
The other large clans had already realized that something major had happened, and in order to gain their cooperation, the Association had to reveal the truth.