< Authority of Gluttony (3) >A three-story house with a garden located in the Seoul suburbs.
From its area to its scale, it was clearly a luxury residence that looked expensive at a glance, but strictly speaking, this type of residential area was not very preferred.
For one, it was far from downtown, so the infrastructure was lacking compared to central Seoul, but most decisively, it was disadvantaged when it came to receiving help from Guardians and the like in an emergency.
No matter how much Korea's public safety had improved recently, that didn't mean the crime rate was zero, did it?
Of course, it was true that the risk of exposure to large-scale terror targeting crowded places was lower.
However, minor misdemeanors were far closer to everyday life than incidents on the scale of those reported on the news.
Especially for thieves, who were rarely exposed to the outside, such residential areas were quite literally the finest prey.“So that's the place.”That was why those who used residences in such locations were usually one of two types.
Either the homeowner was an Awakener confident in protecting their own safety and property, or they had the capital and power to hire such people.
Well, there were also cases where people with nothing to their names entered cheaply and held on, merely hoping for good luck.
If one excluded the risk of not knowing when something might happen, in terms of cost-performance, it could be called the best.“I wonder which one it is?”A wide garden surrounded by high walls, and a three-story house standing serenely in its center.
The self-proclaimed “Grand Thief,” who had recently begun quietly making a name for himself in the underworld, observed the place he had targeted through binoculars and licked his lips.
Truthfully, from the moment a thief whose greatest virtue was secrecy gained fame, he could be called unqualified, but as a new-generation thief, he believed that was a stuffy prejudice.
Weren't there innumerable stories of phantom thieves loved all around the world?“In the end, as long as my real identity isn't exposed, it's fine, right?”And he had absolute confidence in that regard.
Early in his entry to the other world.
After being taken in by a master who had taken notice of his unique skill and receiving the full transmission of all abilities, until his return to Earth, he had never once been caught, displaying a path that was truly the student surpassing the master itself.“I want to feel that thrill again. No, something even greater than that…!”To him, this Earth, where the mysteries of all worlds intersected, was a place more than sufficient to stimulate a blood-boiling competitive spirit.
Of course, if he truly wanted the highest difficulty, he could simply target the Returnees Association or the Blue House, but honestly, challenging such places right away was a bit terrifying.“Step by step. First, I need to get fully used to the ways of other worlds….”In that manner, the number of luxury residences he had hit so far was nearly in the double digits.
Considering that it hadn't even been half a year since his return, he had truly been moving diligently.“Why should I care about Hahoe masks or Phantoms? They don't even know where I am or what I'm doing, so how could they catch me? Even the Awakened Management Bureau, the Association, and the Blood Alliance of the underworld have only recently begun to catch on to my existence.”He was different from the small fries who had been caught due to lack of skill.
Even if those monstrously famous figures openly tracked him down, he was confident he could escape.“So, how will this hunting ground be? Shall I show my skills?”With that confidence, he used his trump card skill, “Ghost Steps,” and quietly approached the residence.
Already activating his other skills simultaneously, his outward appearance and even his presence were erased perfectly.
In his current state, an ordinary Awakener probably wouldn't detect his presence even if he tap-danced right in front of them.
Thus, the Grand Thief smoothly approached the wall of the residence.
But the next moment, he unknowingly halted his steps due to an inexplicable sense of wrongness.“…What?”A sense of crisis stimulated his instincts, sending chills down his spine.
It was the first time he had felt this since the days when he was still inexperienced, before his techniques were mastered, when he had ignored his master's advice and relied solely on his unique skill, landing himself in danger.
If his master hadn't followed him then, he wouldn't be standing here now.“Tch.”At the same time, his pride was wounded.
His current self was different from the foolish child he had been back then.
Although the master had retired before he truly came into his own, making direct comparison impossible, judging by his subsequent actions alone, hadn't his technique and experience long since surpassed the master's?“Yes, I can't keep showing off by hitting easy places forever. It's time to move on to the next level. Through this matter, I will leap beyond the past.”Of course, he had not the slightest intention of ignoring this sense of crisis.
He mobilized all his detection abilities and even his magic tools, carefully analyzing the situation beyond the wall and calmly judging the circumstances.“As expected, an enormous security barrier. And it's thoroughly concealed at that. Is this the cause of the sense of wrongness?”Security of this level was top-tier even compared to everything he had encountered so far.
It might even be comparable to a government building.“For the defenses of a single house in the suburbs to be this level….”Curiosity welled up vigorously within him.
If someone could construct defensive equipment of this caliber, there was definitely some very big shot involved.
And they must have something to hide to prepare this thoroughly.“Hidden slush funds? Or hiding a lover? No, perhaps they're trying to cover up an even more heinous crime scene. Drugs? Human trafficking? Organ trafficking?”All sorts of dangerous imaginings flashed through his mind.
At the same time, an intuition passed by that getting involved here would be quite troublesome.“Rationally speaking, it would be best to retreat even now, but….”A strange resolution dwelled in his eyes as he opened them after briefly closing them.
This was a crossroads.
Whether to remain a petty thief like any other, or to become the phantom thief of the century that only appeared in stories.
And he had already made up his mind.
Of course, the equipment inside was dangerous, but revealed mysteries had their limits.
It might be a bit difficult, but the current level of security couldn't stop his steps.“Let's go!”He activated his unique skill, “Wormhole.”
An ability to ignore all defenses and pierce a passage through space.
Although its effective range wasn't very long, it was his lifeline optimized for both infiltration and escape.“I'll expose every secret of what they're hiding inside!”Thus, the Grand Thief confidently stepped forward and entered the interior of the residence.
“……?”
And immediately got trapped in the formation installed in the garden.“Huh?”Could any great forest compare to this?
Dense thickets and trees that seemed to easily surpass over ten meters filled the place densely, dizzying the eyes.
“…What is this? How?”
A shout he had been holding back burst out unconsciously.
He had definitely deceived the security and avoided the garden to attempt entry into the house.
The distance calculation was perfect, and he hadn't felt anything particularly wrong in the process.
But if this had happened, there was only one cause.“Crazy! Spatial distortion at a level that ignores even my 'Wormhole'? No, I couldn't even detect that from outside…!”While alarm bells rang in his head, he could intuitively understand.
That what he had grasped beforehand was merely the tip of the iceberg.
And that, not knowing even that, he had fallen into arrogance and voluntarily walked into a trap.
Crackle!
He tried using “Wormhole” again, but only white sparks burst in the air; no matter how many times he tried, the passage wouldn't form.“Kuh, this is… holy power? Was this enveloping the outside of the trap?!”With his final means blocked, he had no choice but to find an escape route from within.
But even after riding the wind to leap to the top of the trees, all he could see was a vast sea of trees (樹海) stretching endlessly.
An enormous grand barrier.
To construct such a barrier, at least a Grand Archmage, and one who had ascended to the Transcendent Realm at that, would be necessary.
No, since holy power was included as well, perhaps two or more Transcendents had joined hands….
“A barrier of this level just for a house garden? What the hell is this place! Is it the headquarters of some secret organization dreaming of overthrowing the country?”If you thought about it, it was similar.
Since it was the residence of a force opposing a group that aimed for world domination.
Though of course, there was only one official member.
As if trying to prove that his fame wasn't empty, the Grand Thief moved quickly, searching for an opening in the barrier.
No matter how elaborate the trap, nothing in this world was perfect.
However, he could only bitterly feel that while nothing in this world was perfect, there were things infinitely close to it.
“Hah— hah—.”
As time passed, his stamina and energy rapidly decreased as if being drained by something.
A body that could stay up for a full week became limp like waterlogged cotton in less than a day.
“…Ha, hahaha! Crazy… This is absurd. What kind of crazy bastards created such a demonic realm in Korea…!”
Plants that had been keeping their places peacefully suddenly moved and attacked.
He couldn't relax for a moment due to magic traps activating unpredictably.
Monsters created from blood pursued him relentlessly, choking his breath with thick stench of blood.
Even when he tried to catch his breath, the curses and nightmares filling the space made it impossible to get proper rest, let alone sleep.
Rather than finding an escape route, just enduring was difficult.
No, honestly, he was at his limit now.
Enduring for nearly a day was almost a miracle in itself.
“Fuck, goddamn… For me to end up in a place like this….”
Thud—
Within his gradually fading consciousness.
He could clearly realize in deep regret.
That the place he had entered was not a moderately difficult level-up dungeon.
But the worst demonic cave ever designed by ultra-high-level veterans with clear intent.
***
“Hm, is it over? Took longer than expected. The one who entered this time seems quite skilled?”
I leisurely drank my coffee at the gradually fading response of the intruder, then slowly closed my eyes.
Then, the sight of a man exhausted and near death inside the barrier, captured by blood-formed blood demons, Blood Spawns, came into view.
“Hmm… What should I do with him? He looks quite usable.”
At that level, he was far beyond a simple petty thief.
I didn't know about his combat ability, but limited to infiltration, with thorough preparation and the target's carelessness plus a bit of luck, he might be able to deceive even a Transcendent for a moment?“It would be a waste to just kill him like usual.”This had happened a few times before, but each time my choice had been the same.
After interrogation to prepare for any eventuality, cleanly eliminating the backing organization and related persons who knew of his deeds.
Since none who would share even the planned crime locations were innocent, there had been no hesitation in that process.“If they were truly innocent, I would have simply tampered with their memories and let them go.”In the midst of that, several magic tools the man possessed suddenly came into view.
Among the items being pulled out one by one from a subspace pocket for safety inspection, they certainly caught my gaze.
And for good reason….
“They're things I sold.”
To be exact, they were among the magic tools purchased through the Hubert Company and sold through the Blood Alliance.
Of course, it wasn't that strange.
A stable supply of magic tools was proceeding smoothly thanks to explosive demand, and thanks to that, both the Hubert Company and the Blood Alliance, having benefited from it, could rise to their current positions smoothly.
That the Blood Alliance could grow to the point where people said they ruled Korea's night despite being an underworld force was also thanks to the crumbs from magic tool trade added to their moderate approach.
If they hadn't greased the wheels like that, no matter how cooperatively they acted, it would have been hard to avoid sanctions and the shrinking of their power.“…Yes, I should send him to the Blood Alliance. Turn him into a vampire, make him subordinate, and put various prohibitions on him.”Vampire transformation on Earth entailed enormous power consumption to the point of being inefficient, but for talent of that level, it was worth bearing the cost.
In fact, for Heinz II, who could procure blood freely without mental contamination, such constraints were nothing much.
“Alright, then that matter is settled.”
Right after deciding the disposition of the intruder who dared invade his land.
I looked around the views of other places once more, slowly nodded, and smiled in satisfaction.“Good, everything is proceeding smoothly.”
The situation in Ganghwangye was flowing exactly as I had predicted.
Since everyone knew the seriousness of the current situation, there was no need to use complicated schemes.“From the start, this is a problem for everyone living in Ganghwangye.”There were those who doubted and couldn't believe the truth until the end, but due to an event that occurred not long ago, such reactions had been completely overturned.
Dark clouds mixed with thick demonic energy that had covered the sky of Beijing.
It was distinct enough to be observed throughout all of Hebei Province surrounding it, and so dominating that unusual currents could be felt even in regions further away.
As this fact spread through informants, personal connections, and even the video records left by the sorcerers of Jinwu Dao who had been closely watching Beijing, everyone's sense of crisis soared to extremes.
After that, coordinating the instantly unified opinions and moving to the next phase was not difficult.“Gather the strongest possible elite few as quickly as possible and strike the Demonic Cultists in Beijing.”
Even at the Shaolin Temple, which had already suffered considerable damage, the one-armed Divine Monk was personally entering the fray.
Now that the entire martial world knew of this situation, if one held out without stepping forward to the end, regardless of whether they were righteous (正), demonic (邪), or military (軍), they would inevitably suffer great damage to their reputation and prestige.“Of course, there will be those who try to gain profit rather than honor and come out passively until the very end.”
They wouldn't last long and would collapse after everything was settled.
Whether by the martial world's united hands, or by my own hands.
“What remains is time, then.”
The plan was progressing step by step.
What I had to do in the meantime was already decided.
Thud— thud, thud—
At my busy hand gestures, things began to pile up on the table one by one.
Objects that all emanated extraordinary auras.“Let's do this properly.”
Prepared to use the “Authority of Gluttony” most efficiently.
Spirit medicines from various other worlds obtained from Auterica and Ganghwangye, as well as Earth.