The Cardinal's True Face
The Cardinal was an elderly man in his early seventies, hailing from a French noble family.
His name was Lucien de Montorand. True to his role in handling diplomacy and formal relations, he possessed a refined and trustworthy appearance. His silver-tinged ash-gray hair and eyes paired elegantly with Catholic-style necklace ornaments, lending him a faintly religious aura.
Of course, the ornaments he wore were not Catholic at all. They were crafted in the shape of the Montorand family crest.
— Nice to meet you, new Chair.
Despite the difficulty of reading his true intentions, he greeted Han Yujin with a noticeably friendlier attitude than the other members of the Council of Sovereigns.
Han Yujin gave a slight nod and turned his gaze toward Ethan Cross.
“I thought you might not be able to attend.”
Since the entire villa had been blown away, he would have needed to move to another location to join the video conference.
— I couldn’t stay in that wasteland forever.
Even as he answered calmly, Ethan stared at Han Yujin through the screen as if confronting something still hard to believe.
— Chair, may I ask you a few questions?
At that moment, Lucien de Montorand cut in.
Han Yujin had considered briefly addressing the codenames but decided to let it slide for now and simply nodded.
“What is it?”
— I heard from the Architect that your goal is the continued existence and advancement of Earth…
“That’s right. It’s complicated to explain in detail, but it’s also the proper way to utilize my awakening ability.”
— It must be a very unique awakening ability. I suppose it would be difficult for you to explain it?
“If it were easy, I would have told you already. Any other questions?”
Explaining everything in detail right now wouldn’t make them understand immediately anyway. In that case, it was better to let them gradually accept it over time.
— I would like to ask how you plan to handle the forces that followed the previous Chair. Once they learn of the current situation, there is a high chance they will rebel from within the organization.
A reasonable point. It was also somewhat surprising that Lucien de Montorand had brought up this topic. It almost seemed as if he were trying to prove his loyalty.
‘He’s trying to figure out what kind of person I am through how I handle this.’
Having roughly guessed the other party’s intentions from experience, Han Yujin recalled the memories he had read from Leonid Alderbach using the Dream Illusion Mind Snatching Art and issued several instructions.
Kill the key figures. Kill those who cooperated in human experimentation. Attempt to win over a few others and place them under light surveillance. Leave the rest alone.
— As expected, your instructions are clear.
“I’ll also set the future policy. No later than ten years from now, I will create a new organization that will be revealed to the world. At that time, part of Neo Dominion will rise into the light together, while the rest will remain in the shadows and continue their role there.”
He then explained the purpose, general form, and operational guidelines of the ‘new organization.’
“…In short, focus on strengthening the foundation rather than expanding the organization’s power for now. Also, clean up all the dirty work even if it means taking some losses.”
— Understood.
Ethan Cross was the type who simply followed orders without deep deliberation.
However, Alistair Holt and Lucien de Montorand were in very different positions, so Han Yujin had to engage in a rather lengthy conversation with them.
During that discussion, Lucien de Montorand offered another opinion.
— …In that case, how about using the Alaska Great Rift to further emphasize the necessity of the Chair? Make it so that even those who feel threatened have no choice but to acknowledge it.
“You’re suggesting we deliberately create a crisis?”
— We already have a weapon capable of triggering a Wave phenomenon. It won’t create a truly catastrophic threat, but if you step in at the right moment…
After listening a little longer, Han Yujin let out a small chuckle.
“Cardinal. Would it be all right to simply call you de Montorand? Or should I call you Lucien by name?”
— As you prefer.
“All right, then. Lucien.”
He addressed the man as casually as if speaking to a neighbor and continued.
“Do you truly believe that is a good idea? I already explained my future plans and policies, didn’t I?”
A brief silence followed.
— I apologize. My thinking was shortsighted.
Testing the character of the organization’s new leader could be important enough to justify a small loss depending on one’s perspective.
However, from the perspective of the one being tested, it was inevitably a rather pointless endeavor.
“After the meeting ends, wait for me at the place where you previously met the Chair. I’ll arrive within a few minutes at most, so there’s no need to prepare anything.”
— …Understood, Chair.
Alistair Holt seemed faintly restless, perhaps because he had promised to persuade the others. Han Yujin decided to settle the titles while he was at it and spoke to him.
“Alistair, expand Vertex into Korea. There will be many matters centered around Korea moving forward.”
— Yes.
“It would be best to establish a joint venture with Axion, which already has influence there. That way it will integrate more smoothly.”
— Understood.
He seemed to answer without complaint, but eventually couldn’t hold back and asked.
— But why Korea?
“It’s my homeland, and there’s nothing particularly lacking for conducting business there. Do you need any other reason?”
— No. That is sufficient.
Arms naturally bend inward, after all. Alistair Holt accepted it easily.
Korea was indeed a nation with no particular shortcomings in economy, politics, culture, or diplomacy. Of course, it had a few weaknesses, but no country possessed only strengths to begin with.
“Ethan.”
Han Yujin then spoke to the person who had remained mostly silent due to having little to contribute, yet who paradoxically seemed the most expectant.
“While training, reflect on your leadership as well. In your current state, you don’t look much different from the leader of a common violent gang. If you don’t want to keep playing the role of vanguard captain forever, you need to broaden the scope of your thinking. Especially regarding relationships with people.”
— …I will keep it in mind.
Since this was essentially a statement that he would be given important responsibilities in the future, Ethan responded with a rather pleased expression.
“Then we’ll end today’s meeting here… See you soon, Lucien.”
With those words, Han Yujin ended the conference program.
It really only took a few minutes to meet Lucien de Montorand in person.
He seemed well aware that running or hiding was meaningless and had been waiting obediently in the reception room. Upon meeting him directly, Han Yujin learned a rather interesting fact.
The male appearance was a disguise augmented with a bit of illusion magic based on an awakening ability similar to the fantasy realm.
“You’re a woman?”
“…You saw through it immediately. Even the previous Chair never noticed.”
At that moment, the Dream Illusion Mind Snatching Art unfolded.
Curiously, Lucien de Montorand showed no signs of even the slightest dizziness. It was because she had offered no resistance at all.
Instead of resisting, she had prepared a deception that swapped out various pieces of information with fakes. Naturally, it was instantly seen through, and every piece of real information was extracted.
Only then did Lucien de Montorand—no, Lucienne de Montorand—turn deathly pale.
Her bold frontal breakthrough had been utterly crushed, and she realized that every information advantage she had possessed to protect herself had vanished.
At this point, Han Yujin would lose nothing even if he killed her.
And among the information he had extracted was the fact that she would not submit easily—a personality trait she herself could not change.
After a moment of silent contemplation, Han Yujin spoke.
“You know Park Seryong, right?”
“…I do.”
“Hand everything over to him and retire. I acknowledge that your convictions are quite noble, so I will guarantee you a comfortable old age.”
She looked slightly surprised, yet at the same time deeply reluctant.
However, after seemingly turning the undeniable fact that the being before her was truly unstoppable over and over in her mind, she eventually nodded with an expression of complete resignation.
It was the attitude of someone who knew that even if she resisted with her life on the line, she would not be able to cause any meaningful ripple.
“How could someone like you appear in this world…?”
She could not hold back the sigh-like murmur.
“It was simply a matter of timing. It would have happened eventually.”
Han Yujin answered without much concern.
“And though the entire world, including you, does not know this and would find it hard to believe even if told, I have already saved this Earth once. I intend to save it again, and again, as long as my ability allows.”
“…I will believe you. I have no other choice.”
“Good. So please refrain from causing unnecessary interference with your limited perspective. To me, Neo Dominion is nothing more than a hand I obtained easily and can discard just as easily. Watch quietly. If you truly feel you must act, then do so at that time.”
With those final words, Han Yujin vanished like a dream in a manner Lucienne de Montorand could not comprehend.
She let out a deep sigh, her body feeling especially frail today, and rubbed her face with both hands.
It was a fall from the ruling class of a secret organization that wielded global influence to an ordinary wealthy elderly woman.
Park Seryong had to go on an abrupt overseas business trip for a while. That said, he did not appear troubled or dissatisfied in the slightest. Quite the opposite, in fact.
When he learned that the global secret organization known as Neo Dominion had been taken over by Han Yujin in the blink of an eye and that he would be given a central role within it, he was extremely pleased.
Due to the nature of a secret organization, there were no official procedures required, so taking over the core responsibilities was not difficult. It was a form of power that could be grasped firmly yet could also be transferred away far too easily.
It was only natural that a change in leadership would bring about a purge below. Both Ethan Cross and Alistair Holt naturally accepted the situation.
With all the troublesome tasks being smoothly delegated, time passed quickly.
Approximately two months later.
The dissemination of knowledge regarding the Hoe-won Gong, basic spell arts, and the foundational and introductory sections of Wonryeok Mudo finally began to bear fruit.
As a result, a considerable amount of Karma began to accumulate steadily. Han Yujin suspected that once the knowledge spread to a certain level and irreversible changes appeared in the world, it would surge forward in large quantities and not stop.
In the meantime, he had steadily taught Lee Won-hee until she could finally begin practicing Hoe-won Gong, and he had also laid the foundation for his friend Park Heewon.
The international operation to subjugate the Aheti race within the Great Rift in the former North Korean region was also right around the corner, so he had to pay some attention to related matters.
Of course, he only gave it the minimum amount of attention while devoting his main efforts to his own growth and training.
He explored the newly acquired Yin-Yang Dao Body Binding, seeking better ways to combine the Yin-Yang Five Elements Force with the Origin Power Great Hand. He also pondered how to modify the Blood Spirit Red Flower Wine Bottle whenever he had spare time and reviewed his future plans.
There was a lot to do.
The most important matter—advancing to the Nascent Soul stage—had been temporarily postponed due to a sudden idea that occurred to him.
This time it was not because of mental state issues, but because he wondered if upgrading his divine powers first and then advancing might yield even better results.
‘Since it is a realm that involves a kind of rebirth, it is quite possible.’
From that perspective, it was also worth considering advancing only after obtaining the Yin-Yang Eyes. Since the True Dragon Eye divine power had not fully bloomed yet, unexpected synergistic effects could be expected.
And so.
Using his awakening ability, he first visited the post-apocalyptic Earth world rather than the Primordial Forest.
As planned, he easily captured the Suit Ghost with the Ghost Soul Banner. After confirming several times that the Freedom Decision artifact functioned properly, he immediately left.
Although selecting the Suit Ghost contained within the Ghost Soul Banner as a harvest consumed Karma, it had been a necessary experiment.
Fortunately, as expected, even though the Suit Ghost now existed in reality, the living ‘Ryu Taeseob’—a space-type ability user and the real Suit Ghost in reality—was completely unaffected. It proved that although they were deeply related, they were clearly distinct beings.
After releasing him from the Unbreakable Cold Ice spell, Han Yujin left him in Park Seryong’s care.
Ryu Taeseob seemed quite confused by the completely changed situation during his sealing, but since the Dream Illusion Mind Snatching Art had shown he was not the type to do anything reckless, it should be fine.
After finishing the experiment, even though the Aheti subjugation operation was right before him, he could no longer endure delaying the matter concerning Ghost Wonhee.
Perhaps it was because he had gone too long without adventure and his body was itching for action.
‘Well… it doesn’t look like I’ll be staying long anyway.’
He had stayed in reality for quite a while, and according to his plans, he would remain there even longer in the future. So satisfying his desire for adventure at this point wouldn’t be a bad idea.
With that thought, he activated his awakening ability inside the safe house.
A waiting area filled with cozy darkness.
After completing all necessary preparations, he recalled the wind he had prepared in advance and placed his hand on the ever-changing door.
The successfully fixed door had a distinctly Eastern feel while also giving off an eerie impression. Instead of the dragons or tigers one might expect in such a spot, a pattern shaped like a ghost was engraved there, and the overall color scheme was dull and gloomy rather than ornate.
Black Soil Continent of the Ghost Gate Map.
‘Is this a world connected to the Repair Realm?’
Even if it was, it would likely be related to the Ghost Path, so obtaining any profound enlightenment might be difficult.
It would be enough if he could learn how to suppress Wonhee’s aggression and attempt communication, or how to avoid the Reverse Book.
With that thought, he opened the door and stepped inside.
The first thing he felt was the chilly, damp night air. He stood on what appeared to be a rural path. On one side stretched rice paddies, and on the other, a forest.
Jjik…!
The moment the door he had passed through vanished, Mu-yong regained her senses. She twitched her nose, sniffing the air, then shook her body once as if she found the scent unpleasant.
“Shall we follow the path for now?”
Jjik!
It was unlikely they had appeared here for no reason. Having made a rational choice, he proceeded down the dark, damp night road that felt unusually silent.
He moved normally without using any escape arts for a few minutes, just in case.
A faint light appeared ahead. It was the kind of light one would see in a small, shabby rural village of the old Eastern style.
Swish…!
Instead of the Five Elements Heavenly Escape Art, Han Yujin used the Dream Illusion Escape Art and arrived at the village entrance in an instant.
However, just as he was about to enter, he paused. He had spotted something resembling a Korean village guardian totem from the Joseon era, broken and lying in pieces.
‘From the feel of it, it hasn’t been broken for long.’
At most, it seemed to have happened only a day or two ago.
After confirming there were no other abnormalities nearby, he spread his divine sense while feeling a faintly eerie atmosphere. That was how he learned that most of the buildings in this village were empty.
Interestingly, when his divine sense tried to enter the buildings emitting faint light, it encountered slight resistance.
Crackle…!
Perhaps because of his divine sense, faint sparks flickered and burned on the talismans attached above the flimsy wooden doors and windows.
‘Hmm.’
Worried that it might cause them harm, he withdrew his divine sense for now. He then headed toward the nearest house leaking light.
Walking through the utterly silent village felt strangely unsettling. He simply hopped over a stone wall that barely reached his waist and entered the courtyard. Sensing a very faint presence inside, he called out.
“Is the owner home? I’m a traveler passing through…”
The moment he announced his presence in the gentlest tone possible.
A fishy smell of blood reached his nose.
From inside the house he had been watching, dark red blood was gushing out from beneath the wooden door.