#82 Interest Piqued?
Theo’s expression was peculiar. To be precise, it was because of Agalares’ skeleton.
Agalares’ bones were undoubtedly different in quality from the others. Kang-ho tilted his head as he sensed the energy emanating from them.
“Huh?”
Pfsh!
The Father emerged from Theo’s arms and rose to its feet. Currently, only parts of its skull remained. Yet that skeleton exuded an aura strikingly similar to Agalares’. Like bones tempered to utmost hardness, perhaps?
“Yeah.”
[Why?]
Theo pondered deeply. Kang-ho pointed at Marbas, who had risen beside him.
“That one’s a Demon Realm Lord too, but it’s totally different from Agalares.”
The difference between them. Agalares had fully assimilated the Eternal Crystal and wielded it as pure power, while Marbas had not.
[......]
Theo thought back to his father’s power in the past.
[......In his prime, my father was the number one in the Demon Realm hierarchy, the one who led our family to glory. No one could oppose him then.]
And after his father’s death, the familiars he had created were immensely powerful. The reason Baal had come to their family. And the reason he’d searched the ruined castle for something.
Theo finally nodded, as if everything clicked.
[Father was the master of an Eternal Crystal too.]
Theo, who had been staring intently at Agalares’ platinum-like skeleton, spoke again.
[I need to repair Father.]
“......”
Kang-ho couldn’t get used to this demon’s way of speaking.
[I can do it now. I’ll definitely fix him!]
“......Do what you gotta do.”
A week had already passed since the war ended.
King stepped out into the city center for the first time in a while. Everywhere in the downtown area, videos replaying the glorious history of the recent battle played on screens. Massive high-rise billboards showed combat footage, and everyone was talking about it.
“Man, our bro’s the best. Right?”
King grinned at Seol-a, who gripped his hand tightly. She’d gone out with Kang-ho plenty of times, but this was her first outing without him.
“!”
Today, they’d come out shopping after a long time. Lately, King had taken over cooking duties at the log cabin, and it was truly rewarding for him. Kang-ho was an Absolute Being, but he had zero talent for food. Theo found cooking a total hassle, so King had no choice but to step up if they wanted something resembling human food.
“Let’s see. What should we try today?”
King led Seol-a by the hand into the department store. Everywhere was packed these days. As soon as he entered, all eyes turned to him.
—It’s King.
—Seol-a’s with him too.
Being famous could be tiring sometimes, but King enjoyed it. He signed autographs, posed for photos, and shopped casually. When in Seoul, he’d drop by folks he could hang with informally.
To Seol-a, who eyed the brimming basket of meat greedily, King secretly slipped her a candy he’d bought.
“!”
An exclamation mark popped up over Seol-a’s head.
“This is a secret from bro, okay?”
Seol-a nodded vigorously.
“Yeah.”
“Promise.”
King held out his pinky, and Seol-a grabbed it tight. She tilted her head, wondering what this was about.
“......”
King held back a laugh.
“It’s a secret.”
“Secwet.”
Seol-a popped the lollipop in her mouth and suckled it noisily, lost in the sweetness. King headed lightly toward the Baekya Guild’s hideout.
* * *
“This ain’t your living room.”
Lee Hyuk grumbled at King, then approached Seol-a and stroked her cheek.
King plopped onto the sofa in the guild master’s office like he owned the place.
“You look busy.”
King tilted his head. Baekya Guild did seem insanely swamped. He’d thought post-war it’d calm down, but nope.
“Yeah.”
Lee Hyuk nodded vaguely and sipped his tea.
“Why?”
“Why? World Ranking Tournament season’s coming up.”
“Oh?”
King blinked, then nodded with an “Ah.”
The World Ranking. No Awakener ignored it. Heck, even non-Awakeners got into it—a global festival everyone watched.
“Yeah, with everything going on, it’s easy to forget.”
Lee Hyuk rubbed his tired eyes.
“Hosted here?”
“Nah.”
“Right, not here.”
“Japan.”
“Yeah, sounds right.”
“You don’t care about international news, huh? Just SNS.”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
King admitted it readily, and Lee Hyuk sighed deeply.
“It’s chaos over there right now.”
“Why?”
Lee Hyuk showed him his smartphone screen instead of answering.
[Japan’s Warring States Trio ‘Murasame’ Collapses... Rekindling the Warring States Era.]
[‘Japan’s Warring States was like a time bomb... Ready to explode at any moment...’]
[World Ranking Tournament Cancellation... Japan Now a ‘Lawless Zone’]
[Unprecedented: ‘World Ranking Tournament’ Venue Change Highly Likely]
The reason World Rank 30’s Kato Masa, aka Ghost Sword, and Murasame—which held five Japanese rankers—collapsed was simple. All their ranking members had been obliterated by Dr. Jackal. With the guild master and executives wiped out without a trace, internal strife was inevitable. And war between the remaining two guilds to absorb the power was only natural.
“So what happened?”
At Lee Hyuk’s weary question, King blinked innocently. Lee Hyuk snorted.
“World Ranking Tournament’s perfect for earning foreign currency. Plus, top global powerhouses gather in one spot—no country without serious self-defense dares host. Rare artifacts from everywhere get traded too.”
Packaged nicely, the Awakener world was a “new cultural phenomenon,” but at its core was brutal survival of the fittest. To host, a nation needed matching firepower.
“We proved it this time.”
“......”
King finally got it.
“That’s why we’re swamped... And you’re just chilling, so...”
Lee Hyuk sank into the sofa with a sigh.
“I’m beating around the bush saying I’m jealous.”
King read between the lines perfectly. Choi Kang-ho’s overwhelming might! And Korea’s Hero 5’s proven strength against the Demon Lords. The world’s curiosity was fixed on this small nation.
“And one more thing.”
Lee Hyuk wagged a finger.
“Your fave SNS is blowing up.”
“Huh?”
King checked his followers and spotted Epsilon’s post from two days ago.
Epsilon’s single post had over 100 million likes already.
“Media can’t touch it yet—classified. But articles are coming soon. Just from association meetings. Host country’s Korea this time.”
“......!”
“Carron’s already entered the country, I hear.”
* * *
When King got home looking dazed, guests were gathered.
“......”
First was Kang-ho, looking displeased, and Carron grinning smugly before him. Second was...
“My God.”
Ian Rampage himself.
Two World Rankers. These three were arguably the world’s strongest, yet here they sat at the log cabin’s table.
“This ain’t your house...”
Kang-ho grumbled, but Ian grinned and waved at King.
“Good to see you again.”
“Ah, yep!”
King rushed over, shaking hands with Ian and Carron, eyes misty with awe.
“Today’s the best.”
“Best my ass.”
Kang-ho sighed, visibly annoyed.
“Where’s Theo?”
“He’s been busy with something.”
King hadn’t seen Theo in a while. He sidled to a corner of the table.
“My daughter’s been talking about you a lot lately.”
King choked on his water. Ian chuckled, then cleared his throat.
“Might visit soon. Should be quite the spectacle. Look forward to it.”
“Uh...... Y-Yes......”
King deflated.
“Sigh... No peace.”
Kang-ho rubbed his forehead and waved dismissively.
“Oh, thanks for lending the constellation's gauntlet to Min-ah.”
“Haha. Glad it helped.”
“But you—what brings you here?”
Kang-ho eyed Ian.
“Reasons are multifaceted.”
Carron spoke slowly.
“Wanted to gauge the Demon Lords’ power levels. And... maybe spot Epsilon this time.”
Ian listened, then added,
“Also, found something curious.”
“Hm?”
Ian gestured, and an attendant outside brought in an ornate box.
“Found on Gunnbjørn Fjeld in Greenland.”
Gunnbjørn Fjeld. Greenland’s only mountain, about 4,000 meters high. Near the Arctic, blanketed in ice.
An item from that frozen hellscape.
“Heard rumors of an Ice Dragon there, so I visited. Locals treat it like ancient legend.”
Opening the box revealed a safely preserved egg. Its shape was unique—about the size of two fists stacked, similar to Seol-a’s hatching egg, but fossil-hard. Pure white hue.
“When I arrived, no trace of the Ice Dragon. Found what seemed a nest, but only this egg remained.”
Ian’s eyes sparkled.
“Interest piqued?”
Kang-ho stared at the egg. Unlike any beast egg he’d seen. Finally, he grinned.
“Very.”