Hades' Blessing
As Blessing of the Underworld manifested, the heavy weight that had been crushing my body lifted away. My system now recognized the demonic energy harmful to humans as a familiar, almost friendly force. The quality of mana inside the Sultan's Magic Mirror was so pure that it actually felt more comfortable than outside the gate. It was like stepping into a crisp, mountain village deep in the countryside.
Breathing is so easy.
I'd suffered from chronic rhinitis my whole life, yet now it felt like my sinuses had completely cleared. Refreshing.
“You must conserve your mana as much as possible inside the mirror. Once you leave the starting zone, recovery becomes impossible, so please be careful.”
“Ah, yes.”
“Then we will head to the assembly point.”
I answered Rachel a bit awkwardly and followed her. The soft crunch of leaves and twigs sounded beneath our feet.
“…….”
Rachel moved through the misty forest with sharp vigilance, constantly scanning every direction. It feels similar to the boundary of the underworld. The red sky was one thing, but the complete absence of any living creatures in the forest gave it the exact same desolate atmosphere.
That aside… Is the assembly point really this far? It felt like we’d been circling around for a while now. Come to think of it, this was supposed to be a gate, yet I hadn’t seen a single monster. Only after a while did I realize Rachel was deliberately choosing paths where the demonic energy was thinner, trying to be considerate of me.
“Lady Rachel, you don’t have to do this.”
“Pardon?”
“I’m fine, so we can take the faster route.”
“…Ah, ahem. Understood.”
Embarrassed at being caught showing consideration, Rachel gave a short cough and abruptly changed direction. She turned a full ninety degrees and cut straight through the forest. So we really had been taking the long way around. Less than five minutes after the course correction, the assembly point appeared right in front of us. It had been practically next door the whole time.
“Normally, to build resistance to demonic energy, it is best to start in shallower areas and gradually adapt.”
“I understand.”
Rachel offered an explanation I hadn’t even asked for. Her ears had turned bright red, so I didn’t say anything else. She was only doing it out of concern for me, after all. In truth, the fact that I was completely fine inside the mirror was the strange part. When I had visited Hades’ underworld, I’d been either accompanied by Hermes or formally invited, which was why I’d been unaffected. This place, however, was a gate inherently hostile to humans. It was normal for beings of the living world without the Blessing of the Underworld to be unable to escape the influence of demonic energy.
“Still, please don’t do this next time.”
“Understood.”
With that, we headed straight for the ‘Mirror Subjugation Force’ assembly point.
Please wear a brooch.
A British mage wearing a white robe at the clearing’s entrance handed out brooches embedded with blue gems.
“It’s a magical tool that removes language barriers.”
The moment I put on the brooch, the mage’s English voice transformed into familiar Korean. It was a communication artifact used by multinational hunter teams during joint operations. The mage also handed me a map along with the brooch.
“What is this?”
“A hotspot map.”
“Hotspot?”
“It marks the dangerous areas where demonic energy is especially dense.”
The map had several sections painted pitch black. I assumed it meant those places were too dangerous to approach.
I guess it doesn’t matter for me. Thanks to the Blessing of the Underworld, breathing here felt perfectly comfortable.
Still, quite a crowd has gathered.
Dozens of tents filled the clearing, each one flying either a national flag or the emblem of a particular organization. Britain, France, the Korean Hunter Association, Monaco, the Vatican Paladin Order… It felt like watching the First Crusade assemble. Because so many countries were involved, the variety of attire was staggering. A group wearing blue martial uniforms walked past us.
“That’s the Namgung Clan. They specialize in both heavy swords and swift blades.”
At Rachel’s explanation, I watched the Namgung clansmen with curious eyes. The emblem of a crossed lightning bolt and sword was embroidered on their shoulders. They truly looked like the martial artists straight out of wuxia novels.
This is my first time seeing a real clan.
China had many bloodline-centered organizations like the Namgung Clan. The Nine Great Schools and Five Great Clans that appeared in martial arts novels actually existed there. Besides the Namgung Clan, I spotted the Sichuan Tang Family who used poison and hidden weapons, the British magic house of Crowley who wore robes, and many other groups. Since each nation had carefully selected their best, their average level was far from ordinary. Every person gathered here was at least a high-ranking B-class awakener or above.
So something like this is possible inside a gate.
They must have each entered through the mirror gate that opened in their own countries. Because there were no spatial restrictions inside, they could all gather in one place like this.
We moved to the tent assigned to the Bonaparte Family.
“My lady, you’ve arrived. We have been waiting.”
An elderly gentleman with short white hair placed a hand over his chest and bowed politely.
“I am Branton, the Bonaparte Family’s butler.”
“I’m Choi Seojun.”
“I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Branton offered a kind smile. So this was the butler who had been scolding Rachel over the phone. After the brief greeting, I took a look around the clearing.
“…Hmm, I really should conserve my mana.”
“It’s fine at the starting point, but once we go deeper it’ll be tough. The demonic energy is too thick.”
“This really is a tricky gate. It’s hard to even breathe.”
“No wonder they call it the Magic Mirror.”
Is it really that bad?
I tilted my head at the serious conversation between passing hunters. I didn’t feel any discomfort at all.
Everyone must be having a hard time.
The Blessing of the Underworld was creating quite a gap in perception.
The strategy meeting will begin shortly in the central tent. Please gather.
“Let’s go.”
I followed Rachel to the central tent. Hunters had gathered around a large table displaying the mirror’s hotspot map.
“Are you Mr. Seojun?”
Someone poked my back repeatedly and asked in a small voice. It was Kim Hayun.
“Yes, that’s me.”
Since I was wearing the cognitive impairment mask, she had to confirm like this. Kim Hayun was moving together with the Korean Hunter Association.
“So you’re attending the meeting too.”
“They called me, so I had to come.”
“As expected.”
“?”
I was about to ask what she meant by ‘as expected’ when Joan grabbed my sleeve, forcing me to stop.
“Sir Seojun, the meeting is starting.”
“My benefactor.”
“Ah, yes.”
I stopped chatting and looked forward. A blond Western man who appeared to be a paladin stepped forward and spoke.
“Thank you all for making your way to the central tent. I am Paladin Lucius, the commander of this subjugation force. We will now begin the meeting.”
The meeting began with Paladin Lucius taking the lead.
*
The boss room of the Sultan's Magic Mirror contained the Sultan, a lancer riding a massive ghost horse. Because it moved around the mirror with incredible speed, pinpointing its location was nearly impossible. Furthermore…
“There are four confirmed instances of the Room Sultan, including its clones.”
The Room Sultan was not a single entity. According to Paladin Lucius, it released three clones to create confusion. Five people stood around the table where the hotspot map was spread out.
S-class Hunter Paladin Lucius
S-class Hunter Sichuan Tang Family Elder Dang Oe
S-class Hunter Crowley Family Head Laura Crowley
S-class Hunter Bonaparte Family Head Rachel Bonaparte
S-class Hunter Korean Hunter Association Special Hunter Han Yujin
And even Namgung Chun, vice-lord of the Namgung Clan.
When the highest-ranking awakeners gathered in one place, the vast tent suddenly felt cramped beneath the overwhelming pressure they radiated.
“The goal of this subjugation force is to hunt all four Room Sultans simultaneously.”
At Lucius’s words, the gaunt old man Dang Oe asked,
“Wouldn’t it be easier to eliminate them one by one?”
“If we do that, the original Sultan will either hide or create more clones. We must hunt them all at once.”
“But their locations are too deep. Even the outer areas will be difficult for the younger ones, no?”
So going deeper really is that hard to endure.
Looking at the map, the color grew darker toward the center. It seemed the deeper you went, the thicker the demonic energy became.
“However, to catch the Room Sultans, we must enter the central area.”
“Are you telling us to risk the lives of our people?”
“The Church’s bishop division will support you.”
“Hmph, they’ll just be praying from the back anyway. We’ll be the only ones dying.”
“If you have another solution, Elder, please speak. I will listen carefully.”
“Tsk.”
Though displeased, Dang Oe closed his mouth at Lucius’s calm response.
“The Sichuan Tang Family will take the northern sector, the Crowley Family the east, and the Bonaparte Family will handle the south together with the Namgung Clan. Hunter Han Yujin will……”
Personnel were assigned to each of the four Room Sultans.
“So it’s become a battle of pride over who catches their Sultan first?”
The white-haired girl giggled as if she found it amusing. It was Laura Crowley, head of the Crowley Family. At her words, the others’ expressions grew serious. Just as she said, this subjugation had become a matter of each organization’s pride.
The meeting seemed to be wrapping up when…
“So the ‘squad leaders’ have been chosen.”
Namgung Chun looked around at those still remaining in the tent and spoke meaningfully.
Squad leaders?
I tilted my head and glanced around. The number of hunters inside the tent had decreased significantly compared to when the meeting began. Most had left midway because they found it boring. Yet the hunters who remained all wore proud expressions, as if they had accomplished something great.
“?”
What is this about?