Devouring the Seed of Harab Serapel

Sssssss!

Nadia Cassel’s blood hissed as it vaporized against my aura.

Her ruined body collapsed. The fifty Pin Fang units she had controlled clattered uselessly to the ground.

“Lucky me,” I muttered.

A formidable enemy from my previous life. Running into Nadia Cassel here in Algeria had been fortunate in more ways than one.

The Pin Fang was a true all-purpose weapon, excelling in both offense and defense. Commanding them was like directing multiple miniature mages at once; the firepower they produced was overwhelming.

“But you only used a weapon like this in such a crude way?”

“I needed her special unique ability.”

Unique ability: Multi-Spatial Perception.

It let her view the battlefield from a third-person perspective. On its own, the ability looked nearly useless outside of pure command roles, but once paired with the Pin Fang, the entire equation changed.

“Well, since I had already faced her before, I knew exactly where to strike.”

A barrier’s durability isn’t infinite. I had slammed it with the Yellow Dragon Fang in a single burst. The moment the Pin Fangs linked together to restore it, I let the slightest thread of Polar Night energy slip through the gap.

“Timing it at exactly 0.04 seconds prevents the barrier from rebuilding.”

“You make it sound so simple,” Nyx remarked.

“Because I already succeeded once in my previous life.”

“Yet you had no intention of recruiting her like you did with Ping Lei?”

“Impossible. She’s utterly devoted to Rene Davis.”

Like Zhang Wufei, the guild master of the Nine Dragons Syndicate, she was beyond redemption. She had already received Klyphoth’s baptism, after all.

Because she had received the baptism, Nadia Cassel was no longer judged as human but as a resident of the Tower. That was why she had become a valid target for Devour. Her unique ability had been converted into a skill and slightly weakened in the process, but it was still quite useful.

The Caveman’s essence heightened sensory perception. When combined with Nadia’s third-person detection ability—now a degraded skill—the synergy was excellent.

“Oh ho. So Geudae can wield those weapons as well,” Nyx observed, her voice carrying its usual majestic tone.

“I can, but the efficiency drops a bit.”

Wait a moment.

Since I had devoured Nadia, if I used Void Projection to manifest her, wouldn’t ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I be able to control the Pin Fang myself?

It was the kind of idea a necromancer would entertain. Nyx’s words had sparked an unexpected possibility.

I spread my Polar Night across the ground and retrieved every fallen Pin Fang. I couldn’t use them immediately, but once Void Projection’s cooldown reset, reviving Nadia for practical use was worth considering.

“Will you simply leave those creatures as they are?” Nyx asked.

“Of course not. It would be troublesome if John Doe died.”

Kaaaaaaaah!

『I answer my lord’s call.』

The strongest of the primal species. The lich who had transcended death by embracing Niflheim’s chill. The summoned entities that had gained independent egos after being separated from my essence bowed with utmost reverence.

When Bael’s Eye had still been active, summoning them would have led to instant annihilation, so I had kept them in reserve. But now the situation had completely reversed.

“Kill every last Klyphoth worshipper.”

“Kaaaaaaaah!”

『As my lord commands.』

The Klyphoth forces, already pushed back by the Black Network’s counterattack and forced into a purely defensive posture, now found the shadow of death looming directly above them.

* * *

Defense or nullification—either trigger worked. A genuinely useful skill. The short duration was its only flaw, but on a frantic battlefield stacks accumulated so quickly there was no time to worry about it.

“Does the concept of defense even hold meaning for Geudae?” Nyx asked, sounding slightly haughty.

“I have the Metal Reflection Armor, and my protective aura’s defense increases too. It’s quite useful.”

There was nothing more dangerous on the battlefield than an attack you never saw coming. With Spirit of Protection active, even unexpected strikes could be handled smoothly.

The other branches of Gaagshebla and Harab Serapel yielded almost nothing when devoured. To be precise, after obtaining the Dark Matter Core on the Tower’s nineteenth floor, they were already treated as consumed essences.

Rene Davis’s subordinates were the same. Perhaps because they weren’t as strong as Nadia Cassel, devouring their essences granted neither unique abilities nor new skills.

“Urk…”

The last Klyphoth follower collapsed unconscious.

“Heh heh. Thanks to Director Yu, we achieved victory with almost no losses,” John Doe said.

“I believe that statement needs correction.”

“You have a different view?”

“We turned around a battle we were supposed to lose.”

John Doe stared at me for a moment, then let out a quiet chuckle.

“Without your help, this old man’s life would have been in serious danger.”

“How much is the life of the Black Network’s supreme leader worth?”

“Heh heh heh. Difficult to assign a value.”

“I trust you’ll remember those words.”

“Of course. I will never forget Director Yu’s contributions, so rest easy.”

John Doe was a giant of the underworld, yet he placed great importance on keeping his word. He was especially known for never breaking his own statements.

That should be enough credit.

“Boss, we’ve mostly cleaned up the battlefield.”

Madam approached John Doe’s side. All surviving Klyphoth followers had been captured. The identities of the villagers who had been taken were being verified, and they were being sent back in the prepared vehicles.

It hadn’t been long since the urgent battle ended, yet everything was already being handled with impressive efficiency.

John Doe looked at Madam with clear satisfaction.

“Were there any suspicious individuals among the kidnapped?”

“None that differed from our secured list. Not a single person.”

Wait.

“You even secured the list of missing persons?”

“Hehe, we simply made maximum use of Director Yu’s information.”

It had been less than a week since we arrived in Algeria. To have already compiled and cross-checked the kidnapping list was remarkable. Having such a capable partner was truly fortunate.

“Director Yu, there is something I wish to ask.”

“Ask away.”

“Do you have any guess as to who stands behind Nadia Cassel?”

“Well… I believe we share the same thought.”

I gave a small smirk.

“Rene Davis.”

“He is Europe’s top player. Are you certain you’ll be all right?”

“In this situation, whether it’s all right or not doesn’t matter.”

The experiences and memories from my previous life, along with the flow of history itself, were changing. Even so, one fact remained unchanged.

Rene Davis was still the same despicable bastard he had always been.

Nyx, who had returned to spiritual form, let out a short, amused laugh.

* * *

The bloody battle in the Sahara Desert.

Both the Black Network and Klyphoth operated in the shadows, so the outcome did not spread publicly. Nevertheless, the repercussions spread steadily.

Most of the Klyphoth followers who had infiltrated North Africa had perished in the desert bloodbath.

“Heheho. This is only the beginning.”

In John Doe’s stead, Madam took command of the members and launched attacks on the remaining Klyphoth forces scattered throughout Algeria. The Black Network moved with frightening speed.

Once they learned Rene Davis stood behind Klyphoth, the operation proceeded without a hitch. The Sahara battle and the subsequent sweeping operations continued. Items obtained while hunting down the Klyphoth followers were a welcome bonus.

“I will grant you priority rights on all loot, Director Yu.”

Ever since the Sahara battle, Madam had consistently addressed me as Director. Whether she now truly acknowledged my strength, or had accepted me as a genuine member of the Black Network rather than a mere figurehead, I couldn’t say.

“This is enough for me.”

A sword, spear, and shield that held a faint golden luster—all of them forged from orichalcum. The metal known as God’s Metal was difficult to obtain even inside the Tower. These were items the Klyphoth followers had brought with them when crossing from the other world into reality.

“That doesn’t sound like something someone choosing the most valuable items would say.”

Madam let a trace of lingering resentment show. It was the first time I had seen her reveal her emotions so openly. After the desert battle, glimpses of her true self had begun appearing more frequently. It was a rare sight I had never witnessed in my previous life, and it felt strangely fresh.

“I offer these metal weapons to the Goddess.”

Couldn’t she have said that while controlling her gaze a little? The way Nyx’s eyes sparkled while looking at the orichalcum weapons made it seem as if honey would drip from them.

The golden-glowing sword, shield, and spear all melted away. A majestic radiance flowed from Nyx’s crimson eyes.

Restoration of lost dignity.

“How do you feel?”

“A fragment has been restored.”

“Goddess. Isn’t that a little too strong for mere ‘fragments’?”

I teased her lightly. It wasn’t an empty compliment. After absorbing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the orichalcum weapons, Nyx’s power had increased by roughly twenty percent. If she went all out, none of my guild members would be able to face her. Only someone on the level of America’s top ranker, Ellen, would stand a chance.

As expected of the goddess who governed the very concept of night—her scale was on another level.

While the Black Network did the legwork, I was hardly idle. I traveled across all of Algeria and destroyed every single formation array the Harab Serapel sect had installed.

The silver lining was that they had failed to establish arrays ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in Niger or Libya. Because they needed to spread gradually, like building a network, they hadn’t reached other countries yet. Had we been even slightly later, the arrays would have spread across Africa like cancerous cells.

Just thinking about how long it would have taken to locate them all made my head hurt.

“Ugh.”

I didn’t even want to imagine it.

Although the Klyphoth forces rooted in Algeria had been severely shaken, no counterattack came. I had thought it was the perfect chance to lure out Rene Davis, but the man refused to move. Or more accurately, he couldn’t move.

After entering the gate that had opened in the southern French city of Nice to close it, he had spent a long time on the strategy. By the time he finally cleared it and emerged, most of the Klyphoth forces in Algeria had already been wiped out. Rather than acting late, he chose to monitor the Black Network’s movements instead.

Whether in my previous life or this one, his excessive ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠caution remained unchanged.

Then—

“Masteeeeeeer!”

The ally I had been waiting for finally flew into Algeria.