In truth, he had been examining the Heavenly Demon’s corpse steadily even before this.
No matter how busy Hans was, there was no way he would simply leave alone a top-grade material worthy of the name Heavenly Demon.
‘A corpse of an expert who reached such a realm isn’t something one can easily see. Even if he was only another master of the Profound Realm.’
The Transcendent Realm (化境), said to be the end a human could reach, and the Profound Realm (玄境), where one surpassed even those limits and became half an immortal.
The Heavenly Demon was a supreme master who stood at the very top even among those of the Profound Realm—perhaps one who might have reached the Divine Transformation Realm (神化境), a rank akin to that of a demigod.
Though, after encountering Hans, who was no different from a natural disaster, he had vanished in vain midway through.
‘The Heaven-Turning Society Leader’s aim was probably that as well. If the Heavenly Demon had truly ascended to the Divine Transformation Realm, then the rank of the one who subordinated him would also have risen explosively.’
The Heavenly Demon had not accumulated power solely through his own strength.
Had he not offered up the “Child of the Dragon,” arranged by the chief god of this Ganghwan Realm, as a sacrifice and even conducted a burnt offering ritual to the Heaven-Turning Society Leader to be granted power?
Such a ritual did not end with a simple one-time exchange of power.
It was a brand that remained intact upon the soul of the one who served as its subject, upon the rank they had built up, upon the karma of the life they had lived, recorded there for eternity.
The Heaven-Turning Society Leader had likely achieved no small rise in rank merely by receiving the ritual offering.
“And this is... Hah! I have no choice but to admit that bastard is impressive. To think even something like this was possible.”
In his private laboratory, filled with all manner of equipment he had prepared himself, Hans let out a low exclamation of admiration.
His 「Abyssal Eye」, where pitch-black energy like a bottomless pit flickered, stared at the Heavenly Demon laid upon the experimental table as if to pierce through him.
‘It wasn’t simply divine power that he was granted. This is... a Unique Skill? He revived the Unique Skill of the Heavenly Demon, who had already lost his rights as an Awakened long ago and become a settler?’
After obtaining 「Forbidden Truth」 and even acquiring the Scribe as a control group, things that he had not been able to see before began to appear.
Though only faint traces remained now that the Heavenly Demon was dead, until not long ago, within his spiritual meridians, not only internal energy and divine power, but some force that existed above the principles of the world had been active.
‘No wonder... It did feel somewhat ambiguous, considering he had intercepted and sacrificed several Children of the Dragon personally arranged by the chief god. So the divine power was merely a byproduct granted in the process.’
The Heaven-Turning Society Leader had not bestowed a new Unique Skill or revived the authority of an Awakened.
He had merely awakened, for a limited time, the Unique Skill that had been inactive, in exchange for sacrifices.
But even that remained an extraordinary feat.
After all, it was an undeniable fact that he had interfered with the system, that unfathomable thing itself.
‘And that Unique Skill is... I see. There was a reason that bastard’s eyes turned bloodshot and he went after the Children of the Dragon.’
The foundation that had allowed the Heavenly Demon to grow strong so quickly in the Ganghwan Realm.
A skill that not only provided a genius-level comprehension of martial arts, but also an aptitude that allowed him to rapidly acquire killing techniques, a physique that adapted in an instant to any harsh training, and even an immense growth correction.
「Heavenly Killing Star」
Its side effects were no joke, including adverse effects on his nature, but such things would not have been a great problem for him.
To the Heavenly Demon, who had likely been facing the limits of his growth and sensing a wall before him, it must have been a temptation sweeter than anything.
“...A method to revive an inactive Unique Skill, is it...”
Hans’s eyes sank darkly.
In truth, this problem was no different from an assignment for him as well.
Did he not have countless undead soldiers under his command who had once been Awakened, only to lose their Unique Skills upon death?
If all of them could use the abilities they had possessed in life once more...
“If that bastard managed it, there is no reason this body cannot.”
Hans, whose arrogant pride had been set ablaze, raised the corners of his mouth.
Whether the other party had used sacrifices, or whether it had merely been temporary, such things were not very important right now.
In the end, the fact that the bastard had accomplished something he had not remained unchanged.
From that day on, Hans began clinging to the research sample with truly thorough dedication.
An obsessive investigation that overlooked not even a single fine capillary, let alone a single cell.
In order to recycle the corpse later, he had to limit himself only to methods that would damage it as little as possible, but for him, who could be called the greatest authority in this field, that much was not particularly difficult.
“So that is it. This is the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.”
And in the process, he was able to obtain an unexpected gain as well.
After meticulously dissecting every trace of mystery remaining in the Heavenly Demon’s body, he succeeded in reverse-calculating the traces engraved in his acupoints and spiritual meridians and restoring the martial art he had trained in during life.
‘This will be of considerable help to Hugo.’
The Heavenly Demon Divine Art, one of the greatest peerless divine arts in the Ganghwan Realm, acknowledged by all.
Even conservatively, it was certain to be at least S+ rank, and it would undoubtedly be of no small help to Hugo, who possessed 「Nameless Art」 and 「All Streams Return to the Origin」, in completing the martial path he pursued.
“Pfhuhut— I couldn’t find it even after looting the Heavenly Demon Secret Vault, so I wondered where he had hidden it. To think I would obtain it like this.”
The Heavenly Demon Secret Vault was the treasure storehouse of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, said to be accessible only to the cult leader.
Needless to say, Hans, having taken control of the cult, had thoroughly cleaned it out.
After that, the secret manuals were sent to Hubert, who possessed 「Analysis」 and 「Code Decryption」, and were appraised once, but the problem was that the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, which could be considered the most important of all, had not been included among them.
‘It was missing from the Heavenly Demon’s memories too, so I was wondering what to do. This saved me some trouble.’
Moreover, his research results did not end there.
Not long after he began analyzing the corpse of the Scribe, the control group following the Heavenly Demon, he was able to grasp a clue regarding the divinity connected to the Heaven-Turning Society Leader.
‘It would have been difficult if I hadn’t had the fragment of divinity I seized when that bastard came to Auterica. I was lucky.’
There was no need to explain the close connection between a god and an apostle.
If ordinary believers were fans cheering as they watched a star on a screen, then an apostle could be called something like a manager who moved as the star’s hands and feet from the closest position.
‘No, it would be more accurate to see it as a more one-sided and absolute hierarchy.’
Whatever the case, the important fact in the current situation was that the defection of someone on the level of an apostle was fairly fatal to the one who was the object of that faith.
Of course, one might ask what kind of betrayal could be committed by someone already dead, but—
“Khahahah! This body is a being capable of making that possible!”
The reversal of faith through forced corruption.
And by means of that, being reborn as a “Godslayer” possessing an extreme compatibility advantage against the existing divinity.
The will possessed by the deceased in life meant nothing before him, who governed death.
Dominion, coercion, ravaging, control.
That was exactly what Hans, the Immortal King and Demon King, did best.
Thus, he began the work of carefully adjusting the scars of divinity remaining on the two corpses and turning them into undead.
Of course, it went without saying that all manner of secret techniques he had learned through 「Forbidden Truth」 were included as well.
Several days after that.
《Through divinity, a faint seed of divinity begins to sprout. As the karma possessed by the individual surpasses the critical point, its existence is engraved upon the Akasha.》
Whether direct intervention in divinity had served as some kind of trigger, a meaningful line of text appeared before him.
‘...Wait, the Heavenly Demon is a being who devoured several Children of the Dragon and stole their karma, isn’t he? Then if I use that in reverse...’
As a bonus, he was even able to find a clue to resolving the situation this Ganghwan Realm was facing.
The optimal method to bypass the existing method, which had been premised on the sacrifice of the Children of the Dragon.
***
Though they had been called together for a moment to handle urgent matters on Earth, the avatars each had plenty to do in their own positions.
Heinrich, who could not be away for long as the saint of Auterica; the dragon Horus, who was currently absorbed in taking in the shamanic system of the Ganghwan Realm; Heinz II, who was rushing about managing organizations spread across two worlds...
Even Harris, who had been the first deployed to hunt the Scribe because he was relatively free, had many things to mind as a key figure of the Elven Kingdom, so there was no need to say how busy the other individuals were.
And among them was one.
As soon as he returned to his original place, there was one avatar who moved with particular haste...
Papapap—
A massive barbarian warrior cut through the forest in the dead of night, where not a single ray of moonlight entered, like a flying tiger.
Harley was the very person in question.
“Ssseup, well now. By this point, I should be getting close.”
After sprinting like a storm, he stopped with steps light enough not to suit his bulk and scratched the back of his head roughly.
Then his nose and ears twitched incessantly as they began to draw in information from the surroundings once more.
“Huuup!”
With a deep breath, a landscape different from what could be seen with the eyes was constructed inside his mind.
A virtual world formed around him by superperceptions such as sound, vibration, scent, and magnetic fields.
Its range boasted an astonishing breadth large enough to encompass the entire area.
“Right, it’s this way!”
And within it, after discovering the extremely faint trace he had been chasing, Harley’s huge body once again sliced through the air like the wind.
Quite a long time had passed, and those who had erased those traces were also far from ordinary, so following them was not easy. However, Harley’s tracking ability, which had wholly brought over the physical information of demonic beasts specialized in sensory systems, was far beyond the common sense of this world.
‘Even so, it took longer than I expected. If I hadn’t had prior information, it would’ve been really hard. Maybe I should have brought Harris along too and put more strength into the search after all?’
That thought briefly crossed his mind, but he soon shook it off.
It was already an established fact, from ample experience, that the environment of the Ganghwan Realm had a rather adverse effect on Harris, who was sensitive to nature.
Unless it was truly unavoidable, there was no need to push that far in the current situation.
‘At any rate, the Zhuge Clan is impressive too. Even with their headquarters attacked and everything in chaos, they still have enough room to operate an intelligence network like this. As expected of a prestigious clan.’
Even without Harris stepping forward, there were already many people helping him now.
The Zhuge Clan of Mount Longzhong, which had been turned into a mess by the attack of the demonic cult’s detached force.
They had even activated the final formation installed at their headquarters and, in the end, managed to repel the enemies’ assault.
They had suffered no small amount of damage in the process, but considering that the bastards had even put forward a jiangshi comparable to the Profound Realm, the fact that it had ended with only that much damage could be considered an impressive defense.
That had likely been possible because, after the rampage of the mysterious master Haerisu not long ago, they had extensively repaired and reorganized their formations.
‘Tsk, it would have been nice if it ended there.’
But their ordeal did not end there.
In the midst of the entire clan being thrown into confusion by the sudden war, it was revealed that Zhuge Hyemi had ultimately been kidnapped by a tiny number of elite troops who had infiltrated covertly.
It was an incident in which the headquarters of the Zhuge Clan, proud of being an iron fortress, had been attacked, and on top of that, the current clan head’s precious daughter had been abducted.
Considering the eyes of the world, it was a situation they could not possibly sit still over.
Even while settling the chaos, they mobilized every external covert line they had to determine the attackers’ location with all their might, and...
The moment a rough outline had been grasped, the group including Hugo, who had hastily departed from Shaolin Temple, arrived at Mount Longzhong.
It was then that they heard about what had happened at the main house, and naturally, the information Hugo heard also included the enemies’ estimated route of movement.
‘If I cross-check that information with the information obtained from the demonic cult side, a rough outline emerges. I just have to track them from there.’
No matter how much it had been composed of a small elite force, the number of the demonic cult’s detached troops who attacked the Zhuge Clan was by no means small.
Since it was an operation to attack a power on the level of the Zhuge Clan, that much was only natural.
And the more people there were, the more there were limits to erasing traces, no matter how much an expert handled it—
“...Found you.”
Thus, it was only natural that he caught them by the tail like this.
“Kruk, kahahahah! Ahh, if this had dragged on even a little longer, I might have died from frustration!”
A group of presences could be felt from a place so distant that even his senses could only barely detect them.
At that, Harley burst into hearty laughter, and the corners of his mouth split wide.
Like a beast before a feast, a cold light flashed in his eyes, and saliva dripping from his saw-like teeth fell drop by drop to the ground.
“Now then— let’s get going.”
The night of the hunt had begun.