#036.
No matter how powerful the Guide of Death trait is, if it does not evolve, there are bound to be limits.
It is possible to call forth the spirits of the dead.
But controlling those spirits filled to the brim with vengeful resentment is practically impossible.
Ordinary spirits are one thing, but what if they are connected to me, the one who killed them directly?
In truth, appeasing the spirits and achieving the desired goal was impossible.
Because I knew that, I had prepared enhancements in advance.
Items like Mansuhyang incense that soothe souls, mourning robes, foundation stones, and so on—I strengthened them and handed them over to him.
Though it was not a direct enhancement to the Guide of Death trait, since they had the effect of improving abilities related to death and souls, it was effectively an indirect strengthening of the trait.
「Huu….」
As proof of that, the voices of the resentful spirits gradually began to subside.
And.
Ssssh!
The hazy forms of the spirits took on shapes similar to their living appearances.
That they took on the forms of their living selves—that was proof of submission.
「Speak the truth!」
At Jeong Dohwan's thunderous command.
「Th-the Black Moon is….」
They began to divulge without omission the secrets they had been unable to speak due to the contract.
*
「…That is the reason we had no choice but to obey the Divine Being….」
The last remaining spirit.
Along with the final confession of the middle-aged man who used Seomjeon.
Ssssh—
His form dissipated like smoke.
“Huu!”
Only after that entire process did the Master finally exhale.
“You have worked hard.”
Knowing how difficult it is to handle spirits, I expressed my gratitude.
“…Was it helpful?”
“It was certainly helpful.”
“Then that is a relief.”
Through them, I was able to obtain clues about the leader who organized the Black Moon—the thing I had most wanted to know.
‘The Divine Being.’
A being called the Divine Being within the organization.
‘He had identified ahead of time the accelerated period of the Awakening.’
Just as he had visited Jeong Dohwan, he had sought out those who would awaken as if he already knew who they were, and had them join the Black Moon.
That alone was enough to be surprising.
But that wasn't all.
‘Even which trait they would awaken.’
Not only had he known the timing of their Awakening, but he also seemed to have predicted beforehand which trait the other party would awaken.
‘Just what is his true identity?’
I know he's a madman who plays the prophet and plans to rule humanity with a new race of his design.
The problem is what kind of ability this madman possesses.
If only I could unravel that clue, my future plans would become much easier.
‘Even those guys who were supposedly full-fledged members didn't know about that.’
What I learned amounted to two things.
That he is called the Divine Being within the organization.
And that he is a great being who has transcended humanity, possessing a powerful trait that cannot be compared to other Awakened.
‘I suppose I should be satisfied with just that.’
Since I have discovered even a silhouette of the veiled being, I have no choice but to be satisfied here, even if it is regrettable.
“Ahem.”
Shaking off my thoughts, I coughed for no particular reason.
The purpose of that was to call Jeong Dohwan, who was sitting and resting for a moment.
“…Shall we begin?”
“Yes.”
He, discerning my intention, moved his hand.
The black fog from before—the energy of death—was not created.
However.
Sshhhhh—
From the corpses of the Awakened who had lost their lives, flame-like forms emitting blue light were extracted.
The blue flames flew slowly, very slowly, and were absorbed the instant they touched Jeong Dohwan's flesh.
‘Souls.’
That is precisely the soul—the source of power that the Guide of Death wields.
He absorbs the soul—the energy remaining in those who have not long died—and strengthens his trait.
“…It is just as you said.”
He opened his eyes as if savoring it, and spoke.
“It is certainly different, isn't it?”
“Yes. I can feel a very powerful force, clearly different from ordinary people.”
“I told you so.”
The souls of ordinary people and the souls of Awakened are different.
The souls extracted from those with powerful traits—that is, the Awakened—contain energy far more powerful than the souls of ordinary people.
“They are of far better quality than the Awakened I absorbed before.”
Seeing a slightly excited word come from the mouth of this gentleman, who reveals no emotion like a machine, I could tell how pleased he was.
Well, if he can absorb souls to grow stronger, he can achieve the revival of his granddaughter that he so desperately wishes for—so of course he would feel that way.
“What is your current status?”
“If they are Awakened souls of this caliber, about twenty more.”
“That is not very far.”
“…It originally felt far away, but it is all thanks to you.”
“I certainly played a large part.”
I did not refuse his subtly flattering remark.
“Just as you said, if the soul vessel inside me grows larger, I will be able to evolve my trait, will I not?”
I had once explained to Jeong Dohwan how to raise the Guide of Death trait and the method of its evolution.
The method is simple.
Kill all living beings and absorb their souls.
And thereby fill the internal soul vessel that only the Guide of Death can create.
This vessel differs in size at each stage, but to completely fill the current vessel required hundreds of ordinary people, or thirty to fifty Awakened souls.
Normally that is the case, but the five Awakened we killed earlier were stronger than expected, so it seems the vessel can be filled with about twenty souls.
But that alone cannot achieve the evolution of the Guide of Death, this powerful trait.
Filling the vessel is merely one of the conditions for evolution.
Thud!
I gathered the corpses scattered here and there into one place.
And.
Flash!
I began the strengthening.
Fortunately, I didn't fail to the point of losing my mind, and safely strengthened the five corpses.
“Preparations are complete. Shall we begin?”
Jeong Dohwan nodded.
Sshhh.
He raised the energy of death.
Reacting to it, the corpses lying straight began to twitch.
The five corpses that at first showed only faint movements akin to post-mortem rigidity.
Bolted upright!
They raised their bodies.
‘Soldiers of Death.’
Unlike zombies, they were far more powerful soldiers infused with a certain amount of souls.
Especially since they were strengthened corpses, there was much to look forward to.
「Show your abilities.」
At Jeong Dohwan's command.
Flash!
A flash of light occurred.
“Whoa!”
I let out an exclamation before I even realized it.
‘They’re using a trait?’
No matter how much they are Soldiers of Death created using souls, it is rare for them to use the traits from their living days.
No, rather than rare—it is impossible without achieving a certain level of evolution.
And yet, the Guide of Death had barely achieved its first stage and accomplished such a feat.
‘Is it because of the corpse strengthening?’
If not for that, there would be no way to explain it.
Well, since I had even strengthened their Reason, perhaps it was possible for them to manifest their traits.
“Truly powerful.”
Jeong Dohwan, who had been reluctant to use the souls gathered in the vessel.
‘Do not begrudge creating soldiers. Through them, you can slay more Awakened and obtain even more souls.’
It may seem a waste to use souls right now.
Because his purpose is solely to revive his granddaughter.
But to continue gathering souls, the Soldiers of Death are not an option—they are a necessity.
Because he must use them to face more Awakened.
Furthermore, to evolve the trait, in addition to filling the vessel.
‘He must create one hundred Soldiers of Death.’
Creating one hundred Soldiers of Death.
That was the final condition for the trait's evolution.
Now that he has created ten Soldiers of Death, ninety remain.
‘Well, there's no need to worry about creating them.’
The information learned through them—specifically, through the middle-aged man who used Seomjeon.
It concerned the dominion structure of the Black Moon organization, known only to those who held executive positions within it.
‘As I deal with them, the number of Soldiers of Death will grow on its own.’
I set aside the original plans for the moment.
The most urgent matter is weakening the forces of the Black Moon, this mad group preparing for the apocalypse.
If left to grow like this, it would obviously become a headache later.
*
In the deep mountains devoid of human presence.
Creak!
Using Heelys, I quickly approached and entered the mountain cabin.
Opening the door and entering, the cool interior of the cabin, devoid of any warmth, unfolded before me.
“Tch!”
I clicked my tongue.
“Another wasted trip.”
How many times is this now?
The fifth time? No, the sixth?
Using the information obtained through the middle-aged man who used Seomjeon, I had been ransacking the Black Moon's various branches.
But coming up empty yet again for the sixth time, I couldn't even find a trace of an Awakened.
‘This is information obtained through dominating their spirits. There's no way he lied.’
Had it been information obtained through ordinary means—torture or threats—I might have suspected falsehood.
But this was obtained by summoning their spirits and dominating them.
The information he spilled cannot be false.
Moreover, there remained traces of a fireplace, signs that firewood had been used until recently.
So I waited patiently for quite a while.
But for over half a day, I couldn't detect anyone, not even a hint of human presence.
Repeating this exact scene for the sixth time, even I couldn't help but feel a bit bewildered.
“They seem to have caught on, after all.”
In the end, I had no choice but to reach this conclusion.
But how?
Worried about this situation, I immediately raided another branch.
But all that was there were faint traces that people had once been there.
They had vanished completely, as if they knew my movements.
“This settles it.”
The moment I confirmed all of that with my own two eyes, I could derive one result.
The Divine Being, the leader of the Black Moon.
He has undoubtedly awakened a trait related to foresight.
『Precognition』
『Prophecy』
『Future Sight』
『Oracle』
A trait that allows one to gaze upon the future—time that has not yet come to pass.
Unless he is a regressor, there is no other way to explain the current phenomenon.
The reason I couldn't easily arrive at such an obvious conclusion, despite having suspected it from the start, was—.
‘Because he already possessed a trait called Contract.’
I had obtained information through the members that the Divine Being had awakened the Contract trait.
Since they all said the same thing, I naturally accepted it as fact.
But what do you know?
Digging deeper, it seems the Divine Being's trait is not just one.
‘Perhaps the Divine Being is not one person, but several.’
I don't know which is the correct answer.
But one thing is certain.
‘He is strong.’
The Divine Being who leads the Black Moon is strong.
Both Contract and traits related to foresight are powerful enough to rank within the top hundred traits.
Whether it is one person or several, what was clear was that he—at any rate—is one who has awakened a very powerful trait.
“I suppose I'll have to change my approach a bit.”
The original plan has been twisted in many ways.
But there is no time to be flustered.
Since the future has changed, I too must move to meet the altered future.
Ring, ring, ring, ring—
I called the only number saved on my smartphone.
「Nalse.」
A familiar voice.
“There is something I need to prepare urgently.”
「Speak.」
“I need a passport. How soon can it be issued?”
Normally, it takes a week.
But if we use the power of a chaebol?
「I'll have it issued within an hour.」
“…Uh, yes. That's fast.”
「It's not just anyone—it's your request, after all.」
As expected of the Republic of Korea.
There is no better environment for those who have to live well.
「But a passport, all of a sudden. Are you thinking of going abroad?」
For Chairman Gang, who rarely asked questions, to pose one meant he was quite curious.
“I'm thinking of going to the U.K.”
The United Kingdom.
It was time to prepare for a journey to meet a long-time comrade who possesses the Star of the Sword trait.