#277
Hahoe Mask Returns (2)
The top floor of a certain building in Shanghai.
Craaaack—
In a place that had always been filled only with warmth, a chilling cold spread out and began rapidly encroaching in every direction.
Frost settled over the surfaces of objects, the air froze to the point where it was difficult to breathe, and the flow of the barriers activating noisily stalled and creaked.
[It seems you’ve been doing well. Your complexion has brightened considerably.]
All of this was a phenomenon that occurred with the appearance of a single being.
‘How?’
Amid such abnormalities.
The owner of the office, the Lawgiver, struggled to collect his confused thoughts and glared at the uninvited guest before him.
‘How did he get here… No, questioning that now is meaningless.’
It was already widely known that Hahoe Mask was a master of black magic.
Naturally, the Beoncheon Society had long since prepared thorough countermeasures against him, and the East Asia branch, whose area of activity overlapped with his, had been given not only its usual security but also concealment specialized against black magic…
‘All of it has been rendered useless. Did we underestimate his abilities?’
Gritting his teeth, the Lawgiver glanced sideways at the various barriers and facilities that were already activating, and slowly stepped backward.
There had been a problem at the stages of concealment and intrusion prevention due to an unexpected surprise attack, but this place was the control tower responsible for all of East Asia.
There was no way the security applied here would amount to only that.
Wooong—!
Ziiing—
Formation of an other-side world, spatial isolation, coordinate fixation, control of supernatural abilities, suppression of dark mana, construction of a sacred altar, and so on…
It did not take long for all the facilities that had begun operating one by one from the moment Hahoe Mask entered to manifest.
A synergy that pursued only efficiency, regardless of the category of supernatural ability.
It was a linkage of multiple techniques possible only for the Beoncheon Society.
[Oho—? Impressive indeed.]
Hans, who had quietly expressed his admiration, slowly looked around.
Seeing this, he could understand why he had not been able to locate the Lawgiver sooner.
He had found it strange that even after encountering him twice in spiritual form, he had been unable to track him, but if he had been inside defenses of this caliber, then it was only natural.
‘What a shame. If I’d captured him alive immediately upon entry, things would have been easier.’
However, unlike his outward appearance of taking his time and striking a pose, Hans’s mind was moving more busily than ever.
His first plan—to burst directly into the place where the Lawgiver was and capture him—had failed because of a spatial distortion different from what he had observed from the outside.
At least he had managed to change direction at the last moment and somehow reach the inside of the office, but because the barriers began activating at the same time, he had been unable to act immediately.
‘But… the current situation isn’t bad either.’
The Lawgiver retreating backward while guarding against him, and the densely activated security spells that seemed intent on protecting him.
Hans quietly observed the Beoncheon Society’s characteristic composite technique, which he had already seen several times, with the “Eye of the Abyss.”
‘Well, now…’
And the information sucked in through it was immediately dismantled piece by piece through the “Path of Magic,” “Forbidden Knowledge,” and “Unholy Sage.”
‘It’s a feast.’
The analyzed contents became nourishment for the “Path of Magic” in their entirety.
‘In the first place, I only obtained this skill thanks to the Beoncheon Society.’
In the past—it was an ability that had blossomed after devoted private tutoring that sacrificed the Lawgiver’s eye and legs, along with excellent research materials.
And yet, not stopping there, they had prepared such an enormous amount of teaching material for him this time as well.
[How commendable. And how foolish. Did you think you could stop me with merely this?]
Black light leaked from the eyes hidden behind the Hahoe mask.
At the same time, the energy exploding from his body shook the barriers, making them scream noisily.
[I am death, which feeds upon your fear and grows—.]
Bang!
Rumble—
At that moment, the office door was kicked open and numerous Awakened rushed in.
Every one of them was at least at the pinnacle level, and among them was one powerful individual who had fully reached transcendence.
He must have known well that he had no chance of defeating Hahoe Mask alone.
He probably judged that, with the help of the barriers, he could hold out until support arrived from another point.
However.
[…No one shall be able to escape it.]
That was merely their wishful thinking.
***
Kwaaang—!
Another explosion rang out, and the space lurched.
‘Even with several layers of barriers overlapped, the aftershock is this strong.’
But even as the Lawgiver frowned at the shock transmitted from behind him, he diligently moved his feet and descended the stairs.
He had left the fighting to the others and was hurrying to escape.
From the beginning, his role had been that of an administrator, not a combatant, so it was a natural decision.
Of course, his unique skill, “Mental Projection,” was an excellent ability capable of destroying the mental world regardless of the physical strength of the body, but had he not already painfully experienced that such a method did not work on Hahoe Mask?
‘At a steep price.’
He lowered his gaze slightly and looked at his two legs, which were moving busily and, like his right arm, were equipped with action-assistance magic tools.
‘The Shanghai branch will be closed for the time being. No matter how much groundwork we laid with Public Security beforehand, we’ve already drawn too much attention. Nothing good will come of attracting unnecessary interest.’
China had vast land and a large population, so numerous branches were distributed throughout it.
If he moved to any one of them, handling work itself would not be much of a problem.
After all, everything needed for him to work as branch chief was all inside his head.
‘The problem is… Hahoe Mask’s rampage won’t end with just this one time.’
The Lawgiver’s face twisted as he once again recalled the grotesquely masked assailant.
Most of China’s Heaven-grade transcendents were scattered and stationed throughout the continent.
It was only natural, since gathering such powerful individuals in one place would only reduce efficiency for no reason.
The problem was that it would take a considerable amount of time to gather them together.
‘Of all times, now, when the Society Leader is away…!’
Only a day ago.
The Society Leader had still been on Earth, taking Hahoe Mask’s reappearance into consideration.
Then, unable to waste any more time as things stood, he had only just departed.
How could the timing be so exquisitely terrible?
After grinding his teeth several times, the Lawgiver soon forced himself to take a deep breath and struggled to calm his mind.
Getting worked up now would be of no help.
He glanced at the notification window floating in one corner of the vision of his left artificial eye.
-Code Name: Hahoe Mask
-Energy Type: Dark Mana + Death (?)
-Main Abilities: Black Magic, Undead, Spatial Movement, Barriers in General, and many others
-Origin Dimension: Unknown
-Unique Skill: Unknown
-…
These were the contents that had been output immediately after he faced Hahoe Mask.
Though it was called a scan, most of its contents were a summary of the information remaining in his mind rather than something the artificial eye had directly analyzed.
No matter how much it was a product of cutting-edge magical engineering, there was a limit to grasping someone of such high rank as Hahoe Mask.
However, at the bottom, there were a few lines that could be referenced immediately.
-Measured Energy: 93,853,126
-Danger Level: S+
-Energy response exceeding that of a giga-class ship reactor detected. Immediate withdrawal recommended.
It was a figure still being measured and fluctuating in real time.
This artificial eye was an item from the dimension of Callicas, where magical engineering had developed to an extreme and advanced all the way into space.
Naturally, the ship mentioned here referred to an enormous spacecraft that sailed among celestial bodies.
‘But S+? Most of the Heaven-grade individuals I checked after obtaining this artificial eye were around A…’
Of course, the amount of energy and combat power were not proportional.
Perhaps in a space war where both sides fought by pouring out enormous amounts of energy, but in a battle between masters who controlled it with extreme efficiency, once a certain line was crossed, there was not that much of a difference.
Even if it was difficult to completely neutralize a main cannon blast flying head-on, beings who could easily deflect it by slightly altering its direction were precisely what transcendents were.
But even taking that into account, a number on an entirely different scale gave tremendous pressure to the one looking at it.
Especially to someone like the Lawgiver, who judged the world through objective data and calculations.
‘I must get out of here first. Chen Yuming is also an A+ Heaven-grade, so with the help of the barriers and the Earth-grade ones, he should be able to hold out for quite a while.’
In truth, the fastest way to move to another point was prepared on the top floor, but now, because of Hahoe Mask, he had no choice but to descend.
Normally, no matter where an intruder infiltrated, they would be sent to the lowest floor by spatial distortion, and after leisurely dealing with them, if it truly seemed impossible, he would escape through the teleportation circle on the top floor.
‘Damn it, because of that, all the other means of rapid movement have been blocked as well…’
Who could have known that such thorough preparations would instead interfere with his escape like this?
He vowed that, if he went to another point, he would be sure to improve this aspect and redesign it.
‘I’m almost there now…!’
Of course.
If he could escape.
Kwaaang—!
A sudden shockwave from the top floor, greater than anything thus far, swept in every direction.
“Guh! What is this!”
Caught in it, the Lawgiver’s upper body swayed helplessly, but thanks to the assistance device on his legs automatically controlling his posture, he was at least spared from rolling across the floor.
However…
The luck given to him ended exactly there.
-Measured Energy: 156,759,142
-Danger Level: SS-
-Energy response equivalent to a tera-class ship reactor detected. Initiate emergency escape sequence immediately.
Along with the notification window, its numbers changed, appearing once more before his eyes.
[Kuh— We meet again. It seems you walked quite diligently.]
The voice he had faced only a short while ago brushed past his ear again.
The Lawgiver, who had glanced at the danger level, squeezed his eyes shut.
Then he laboriously opened them again and turned his head to look at the one who had spoken to him.
“…Chen Yuming.”
His thoughts had stretched on, making it feel as if quite a lot of time had passed, but in reality, not even a few minutes had gone by.
For him to be broken through so quickly was truly an unforeseen situation.
[Hm? …Aaah! You mean that fellow?]
But after seeing behind Hahoe Mask, the Lawgiver soon understood what had happened.
Thud, thud—
Sssk— Sssk—
Along with the sound of something being dragged across the floor, mixed in with the noise of many figures walking…
A dozen or so silhouettes pushed through the darkness of the corridor and revealed themselves.
‘Those are…!’
Seeing them, the Lawgiver gritted his teeth.
An undead unit dripping black energy from their entire bodies, as if they had been plunged into ink.
He could tell their level at a glance.
‘Heaven-grade undead…! And the rest are all Earth-grade? How are things like that on Earth!’
They were the “Abyss Revenants,” made from the corpses of Awakened that had been gathered until now.
Among them, an elite squad selected only from carefully chosen individuals.
Soon, the undead standing at the very front, Salma, slowly raised something he had been holding in one hand and dragging along.
“…Chen Yuming.”
What appeared beneath the hair gripped in that black hand was a face familiar even to the Lawgiver.
He was the very Heaven-grade master who had confidently remained behind only moments ago, saying he would buy time.
If there was one difference from before…
It was that not even the slightest trace of life remained on that face anymore.
[Kuhuhu— Thanks to you, I obtained some usable material. This fellow should be able to be reborn splendidly as well. I am very satisfied.]
“…”
The Demon King of Death, who had corpse soldiers at his back, let out a sinister laugh.
The helpless human standing before him, crushed by his oppressive presence, could not say a word.
[However…]
But naturally, Hans had no intention of leaving him alone.
[You, too, seem to have quite a few good things on you.]
A pair of eyes filled with the abyss swept over the Lawgiver’s body.
He was a non-combat-type mental Awakened, and his realm had not reached transcendence, but he still had a certain rarity, so his body was not entirely unusable.
And more than anything…
‘I thought this before, too. That eye is extremely tempting.’
A mechanical artificial eye with a faint blue ring around the rim, and a mysterious glow from the iris inside, filled with geometric patterns.
It was his first time seeing a magical engineering item of such a level, so his gaze was naturally drawn to it.
Besides, wasn’t the dwarf avatar Howard also in the middle of challenging magical engineering right now?
And that was not all.
‘I’m sure last time he was in a wheelchair. And that right arm, too.’
Look at those limbs, moving naturally as if nothing were wrong!
And yet, beneath his clothes, they were natural enough not to show at all.
‘It’s literally the ultimate reinforced exoskeleton.’
That, too, would be a good gift for Howard, who was currently devoting himself to improving the suit.
There was still the issue that using magic tools from other worlds had restrictions, but that was something to think about later.
Hans, having reaped quite a harvest, let out another satisfied laugh.
Then he slowly moved his feet, approached the Lawgiver, and stretched out one hand.
[Go on, try running away again.]
“…Ha, you damn son of a…”
It was only natural.
Until Hans’s hand touched his forehead, he could not escape.