Chapter 223
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 223
Chapter Title: Odin Awakens
World Hunter Organization GHO.
In an era where Hunters represented a nation's power...
No country could refuse a request from the GHO.
On the contrary, every nation was desperate to join the list of Hunter superpowers designated by the GHO, no matter what it took.
But did the Hunters of the world know?
That it was Sergio who had created the GHO.
And that the GHO's Director, who rarely showed his face unless it was a critical matter, was nothing more than Sergio's puppet.
A helicopter touched down on the rooftop helipad of the GHO's main U.S. headquarters.
Just the opening of the door was enough to make the high-ranking GHO executives bow their heads in sequence.
"You've arrived, Director!"
From the fiercely whipping wind emerged an elderly man dressed in a white homburg hat, white suit, white shirt—everything white except for the black necktie—complete with white shoes.
The impeccably stylish old man accepted the executives' greetings as his due and slowly walked through their midst.
Then, midway, he halted and asked his secretary about the absence of someone who should have been there.
"There."
"Yes, Director."
"Where's Charlie?"
"He said only to escort you to the Director's office when you arrived, but we haven't seen him since earlier."
The GHO Director— the old man who had commanded everyone to call him 'Odin'—nodded at the secretary's words.
"Looks like he's properly on the scene, even if something came up."
"My apologies."
The secretary bowed her head, unable to give a proper answer to Odin's question.
Odin patted her shoulder.
"How is this your fault? The one at fault is the culprit behind the incident that summoned me here."
"I'll escort you."
"Yes, lead the way."
The secretary hurried ahead and opened the rooftop door.
"Heh heh, I must see which bold fool decided to mess with that Charlie fellow."
As Odin strode confidently toward it, he suddenly removed his white homburg hat.
His thick, pomaded hair—styled impeccably unlike that of most elderly men—revealed just how vigorous he still was.
And as he pointed the hat downward, it suddenly shifted form, transforming into a white cane perfectly fitted to his hand.
Tap tap.
Odin struck the ground twice with the cane, a intrigued smile playing on his lips, then stepped through the door his secretary had opened.
The GHO Director's office, vacant for so long.
Its door swung wide open for the first time in ages.
And standing alone before the fully open door, Odin let out a tsk of amusement at the scene awaiting him inside.
"Is something..."
The secretary tried to peek inside at Odin's odd behavior.
Thud.
Odin grabbed her shoulder to block her view and shook his head.
"Go back."
"But your safety..."
"Where could be safer than here? That's an order. Return."
"Understood."
"Heh heh heh."
What could be so amusing?
Odin kept chuckling as he dismissed the secretary and entered, the door closing behind him on its own.
The secretary stared at the door for a moment before turning and heading downstairs.
Bam!
Once inside with the door shut, Odin first gazed at the massive hole in the floor.
"Spello, your handiwork, I presume."
His cherished Director's office lay in ruins.
Yet Odin smiled with interest, surveying the surroundings.
"Isn't it? Spello, Ignito... and the Mercenary King."
Spello leaning against the wall, Ignito casually seated in Odin's chair, and the Mercenary King gripping the back of Charlie's neck—Odin took in the sight of them one by one.
"Di-Director..."
"Ah, you're here too."
Even the terrified Charlie.
Undaunted by the unexpected scene, Odin wore an expression of delight as he walked right up to the edge of the gaping hole in the floor.
"My apologies."
Charlie spoke in a voice thick with fear.
But Odin shook his head, his face saying there was no need to apologize.
"How is this your fault? As I've said many times, the fault for this lies not with you, but..."
Odin's eyes sharpened.
"With the Royal Class. It's their doing."
He swung his cane behind him, then lowered his hips as if sitting on an invisible sofa.
The cane shifted form once more, becoming a white chair that caught him perfectly.
Crossing his legs naturally, Odin smiled at Spello.
"What reason do you have for going this far to summon me?"
Spello was momentarily speechless at Odin's bizarre confidence.
But Odin's self-answered question twisted the faces of the Royal Class instead.
"Looking for Sergio?"
Their eyebrows twitched, furrows forming between them.
"So that's it. You've known all along that I work with Sergio. Heh heh."
They had arranged this to pressure Odin, but he was seizing control of the atmosphere.
Fearing the tables would turn before they got answers, Spello played his trump card.
"Where is Sergio?"
Spello's blunt question.
It worked.
Odin's relaxed smile froze for the first time.
But only briefly.
He soon broke into an even wider grin, laughing from the depths of his throat.
"Kuh hah hah ha! So the day has come after all. I wonder what power these hyenas—who've always cowered at the tiger's side, watching for a chance to flee—have gained to try and hunt the tiger now."
He cut his laughter short and glared sharply at the Royal Class.
"The Sword King. Is it because of that friend?"
Thud!
Then it happened.
Something streaked past Odin's side and embedded in the wall.
Odin slowly turned his heavy expression toward it.
And confirmed what it was.
"Heh heh, looks like you've come with resolve."
A platinum dagger stained with the blood of countless demons and monsters.
One of Spello's two divine artifacts had pierced the wall.
As Odin looked at Spello, the man spoke lowly, his face full of killing intent.
"I ask the questions. You just answer."
A silent threat: obey, or die.
Yet Odin merely smirked in response.
"Where is Sergio?"
"Why would I know? You already know I'm just a man who follows that friend's orders."
"How do you meet Sergio?"
"He comes personally when issuing commands to me. I've never asked to meet first."
"No way for you to make contact first?"
"There is. He helps me in return for my aid."
Odin suddenly rose from his chair.
As he gripped it, the chair reverted to a cane, fitting snugly into his hand.
"Do you think I'd follow him for no reason? There's one thing he's absolutely reliable about."
A grin spread across his face.
"He guarantees complete safety for subordinates like me."
The moment his smile and words aligned...
All the Royal Class felt an inexplicable chill.
"Do you think you're safe right now?"
"Not at the moment. But I will be soon."
"What do you..."
Crack!
Odin slammed his cane into the floor.
Suddenly, a tiny gate formed at its tip, and demons began emerging one by one around him.
The startled Ignito unleashed flames at Odin.
But before they reached him, the demons threw themselves into the fire, exhausting its power—leaving only black ash to drift onto Odin's clothes.
"Sergio knows how to save his subordinates' bodies, minds, and spirits. Unlike you."
Crack.
The cane struck the floor again, but this time, instead of forming a gate, it began absorbing into Odin's body.
Sizzle.
His white suit screamed as it tore.
The cane wrapped around his entire form, shredding the suit into rags that scattered.
Revealed was Odin's bare body, now covered in black tattoos.
"Demon Cry?"
Indeed. Odin was a Demon Cry as well.
Not content with summoning demons, Odin underwent demonization himself, his blackened eyes sweeping over the Royal Class as he spoke.
"The moment you summoned me here, you lost to Sergio. When he gave me this cane, he said a day like this would come—and to use it when it did."
The fully demonized Odin's form differed from typical Demon Cries.
He looked far younger, exuding an explosive surge of demonic energy unlike his former human self.
And in his hand, golden knuckles slowly materialized.
Seeing them, the Royal Class realized it.
No matter how it was done...
Sergio had elevated Odin to Royal Class.
"Old man? Things are going south here."
Spello bit his lip at Ignito's flustered words.
"More secrets than we knew... Sergio still had them up his sleeve."
"Old man."
The Mercenary King sought orders.
Spello seized his divine artifact and shouted at them all.
"No choice. We can't leave a bigger threat for Sergio."
"You mean..."
"We kill Odin here."
The three Royal Class unleashed their auras simultaneously.
And charged at Odin, now armed with near-Royal Class power.
"Come on! This is thrilling!"
Empowered to Royal Class level...
Odin faced the three with immense joy, spraying demonic energy wildly at them.
Returning to the House of Ghostly Demon Annihilation, Yong-un faced his gathered subordinates in the courtyard.
"What's with the assembly?"
"Supreme One!"
Led by Sword Tiger's booming voice, all the subordinates dropped to their knees.
At their unusual demeanor, Yong-un's eyebrow twitched briefly.
Sword Tiger spoke for them all.
"We want to aid the Supreme One! Let us walk the path you tread!"
"Let us walk it!"
Their resounding voices first elicited a baffled What? from him.
But spotting one subordinate gauging his reaction amid them...
It all clicked.
'Mu-hee...'
The only one who knew Yong-un's current plight, his enemies, and who he'd met.
It was far too dangerous, and even if they'd grown stronger, the foes were too great to command his current subordinates against.
If he yielded to their plea and gave the order, he couldn't guarantee how many would survive.
Thus, Yong-un shouted firmly at them all.
"I refuse."
"Supreme One!"
As if anticipating the rejection...
Sword Tiger immediately raised his voice against it.
"I may be presumptuous, but I know you're trying to handle this alone to spare us danger. However!"
Shing.
Sword Tiger drew his new sword, forged from a mana stone, and plunged it into the ground.
Then bellowed at the top of his lungs.
"Even if it means death, let us repay the Supreme One's grace!"
"Let us repay it!"
It was troubling.
He understood their hearts.
But some things could be done, others not.
"I know your feelings well. But it can't be done."
"Brother!!"
Then it happened.
One among the subordinates stood up.
Unthinkable between Supreme One and subordinates, but seeing the face, Yong-un bit his lip.
It was his one subordinate who could defy him: his brother.
Myung-un.
"I heard everything from Mu-hee."
"If you've heard and still think this, it's foolish. Nothing's more idiotic than charging to your death."
Myung-un was family.
His only brother, whom Yong-un always indulged.
But making an absurd request amid the subordinates, Yong-un said it harshly on purpose.
"Are you an idiot?"
He thought it might hurt, but he was wrong.
Myung-un smirked instead.
"An idiot? Sorry, brother, but you must be swamped and out of it."
"What are you talking about?"
"First off, sorry. If it's meddling, call me whatever. But! Open your senses and look closely. Do you still think they can't help?"
Furrowing his brow, Yong-un opened his senses amid the odd feeling.
He checked each kneeling subordinate's body.
And frowned at the energy they shouldn't have.
"No way..."
"Right. The Crimson Heavenly Demon Qi cultivation method you taught me. I shared it with everyone."
Whoosh!
No sooner had Myung-un finished than black-red energy erupted from the subordinates' bodies.
The red energy surpassing the Heavenly Demon Qi of the Heavenly Demon Cult's Lord—known as Crimson Heavenly Demon Qi, Yong-un's unique power.
That immense force began flowing from each one.
The only change was the nature of the demonic energy.
But a cultivation method that built one's own inner energy was the ultimate weapon among ancient martial artists.
Even without altering their innate swordsmanship or techniques, the Crimson Heavenly Demon Qi emanating from their bodies completely reversed their auras by 180 degrees.
'Maybe... they could help.'
Enough to briefly sway Yong-un, who had adamantly said no.
Noting his changed expression, Myung-un finally dropped his serious face, smiling as he said,
"Still a no?"