Episode 199 Approaching Footsteps
A community forum in Korea.
-It seems like Hahoe Mask has given up and isn’t trying to hide from photos and videos anymore. Suddenly there’s a flood of evidence after a few days, lol. They’re all fild in Japan, though.
└It would be funny to try to hide now after such a flashy debut. But why isn’t he summoning that Bone Dragon again? I want to see it again!
└Ha, bro… When are you coming back to Korea…? I’m scared to walk at night without you, bro ㅜㅜ
└But the villains who were starting to reappear after Hahoe Mask went to Japan are disappearing quickly these days? It seems like the Guardians are finally doing their job, lol.
It hadn’t even been a week since Hahoe Mask revealed the Bone Dragon in Kyushu.
Naturally, the internet was still buzzing with the topic.
Of course, new incidents were happening every day, but the shock wasn’t sothing that would fade away in just a few days.
Not only was his presence deeply imprinted in people’s minds, but it was even a hot topic overseas!
It was only natural for Koreans, who were sensitive to reactions from other countries, to be deeply interested in Hahoe Mask, who was active overseas wearing a traditional Korean mask.
Of course, it wasn’t all positive…
-But is it okay for a Korean to act so freely in another country? Won’t it cause diplomatic problems?
└Fact) Hahoe Mask was already a criminal who acted freely in Korea.
└But co to think of it, isn’t this embarrassing for our country? A criminal who couldn’t be caught in our country is now active overseas and making a na for himself, what does that say about Korea?;;
└What does it matter? Even Japan can’t catch him.
Because there were many who were uncomfortable with his radical actions.
After all, he was a criminal who was arbitrarily passing judgnt, and on top of that, it had been revealed that he was a necromancer who used the infamous dark magic power.
And the reactions from overseas were similar.
A subtle aversion mixed with curiosity.
In that sense, public opinion in Japan, where the ‘purification operation’ was currently underway, was truly a lting pot of chaos, with all sorts of opinions mixed together.
-That masked dark hero visited my neighborhood yesterday. And today, the area was swarming with police.
-I’ve been living in fear because those guys didn’t care about the police or the Guardians… Can I finally relax?
So expressed subtle expectations for the changes that would follow Hahoe Mask’s visit.
-I live in Fukuoka, and I definitely felt it. Of course, small fry took over their places soon after.
-But it’s on a different level in terms of scale, so it’s much better than before. I don’t know how long it’ll last, though.
└It’s the sa where I live. The new guys are at least being cautious for now. I hope the Supernatural Bureau takes care of this while they’re weakened, but it’s probably faster to pray for that masked hero to return than to expect those incompetent guys to do their job properly.
So expressed subtle satisfaction with the results after he had already visited.
-Are you all idiots? A Korean criminal entered our country and is massacring Japanese people, why are you happy about it?
└I know, right? What’s the Supernatural Bureau doing? Catch him quickly! I can’t live in peace!
└But Hahoe Mask only hunts criminals like the Yakuza.
└Aren’t the Yakuza Japanese too? If we’re going to catch them, we should do it ourselves, why is a Korean doing it?! We should demand compensation from Korea.
└The problem is that they’re all in cahoots, so they’re not catching them.
From those who expressed their disapproval based on national sentint to those who argued against them.
Naturally, they were more sensitive than those in other countries because they were directly involved.
And that interest couldn't help but beco even stronger when it ca to certain organizations.
The criminal organizations in Japan, who were in a dire situation, and Heaven’s Turn Society, which had been pushed back after trying to capture Hahoe Mask, were pri examples.
____________________
A luxurious lodging in China.
Buzz— Ching—
A man in his thirties, sitting in a wheelchair, moved his eyes chanically with an expressionless face, like a robot, as a faint chanical sound vibrated in his head.
And as he did so, information collected from all over the world was stored in his head.
Not only the information they had investigated themselves, but also the information that others had analyzed and uploaded online for fun, was thoroughly reviewed and attached.
It was literally the result of the branch’s all-out information gathering efforts.
“Tsk.”
But Yulryeongja, the man who had finished reading the reports displayed on the monitor in his office, leaned back in his chair and clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction.
He frowned and massaged his forehead as if he didn’t like sothing.
“Yulryeongja~? It seems like things aren’t going well!”
At that mont,
His body flinched at the sudden frivolous voice.
He was sure he had been alone in this room.
But after a brief mont, he lowered his hand, which had been massaging his forehead, and calmly turned his head.
“…Doctor.”
As expected, a familiar middle-aged man with ssy brown hair and a scruffy beard was looking at him with a grin.
“It’s been a while! So, how’s the new eye?”
“Thanks to you, it’s…”
“Pfft! That’s right, it’s thanks to ! That’s why… I’m even more disappointed.”
Doctor’s voice lowered, his expression suddenly becoming serious.
Yulryeongja just bowed his head at his mood swing, which was as unpredictable as always.
“I heard about what happened in Japan. You ssed it up big ti, they say?”
“…I apologize.”
“Well~ It happens! A Bone Dragon, to think of it! Even I didn’t expect that! He’s more interesting than I thought. Hahaha!”
Doctor laughed again as if he was having a manic episode, then wiped the tears from his eyes and brought up the reason why he ca here.
“I received word that the Master is back.”
“…Is that so.”
The Master’s movents were top secret.
Of course, Yulryeongja was also the head of the East Asia branch, including China, the origin of Heaven’s Turn Society, and he was in charge of the restrictions on the key mbers, so he wasn’t in a low position.
He would probably receive the news soon too.
But he would inevitably be lower in priority for information than Doctor, who was practically the Master’s right-hand man.
And the reason why he ca all the way here to tell him this…
“The Master was also very interested in that Bone Dragon! He always liked unusual things, didn’t he?”
“You’re saying…”
“That’s right! He said he wants to see that Smile Mask in person! Of course, I’m planning to tag along too! Hehe!”
“The Master himself said that? Oracle is…”
Yulryeongja, flustered by the sudden news, called out soone else’s na, and Doctor’s expression crumpled as if he had heard sothing he shouldn’t have.
“…Hmph, that woman doesn’t seem too sure this ti. So what can I do? Just stay quiet!”
But he quickly regained his composure and spoke triumphantly.
“It feels so good that the woman who always nagged whenever I tried to do sothing is finally quiet! The future isn’t sothing that’s set in stone, it’s sothing we create ourselves! I wish the Master wouldn’t listen to her so much!”
They were at opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of their abilities and personalities, and they had a very bad relationship.
If Doctor was the Master’s right-hand man, she was his left-hand woman.
They wouldn’t even be in the sa organization if it hadn’t been for him.
“Then the Master is currently…”
“Pfft! You know his personality, why are you asking?”
As expected.
Yulryeongja slowly nodded, sensing sothing.
“He should be arriving…”
Clank—
At that mont, the door suddenly opened without warning, interrupting Doctor’s words.
“It’s been a while, everyone. Yulryeongja, how’s your body?”
A man entered the room, enveloped in a strange aura.
He seed ordinary at first glance, but then he emitted a suffocating pressure, and when you tried to look at him properly, he even felt blurry—.
He was an elusive being.
“Yes, I’m much better thanks to your concern.”
“Wow~ Speak of the Devil! He arrived just in ti, Master!”
The leader of Heaven’s Turn Society, a transnational criminal organization that exerted imnse influence over the world from the shadows.
He had been away for a long ti for so reason, and now he had finally returned to China.
To personally capture Hahoe Mask, who was active in Japan.
____________________
“Why are my ears itching?”
Thump—
I carefully placed the heavy barbell down and scratched my ears after my usual routine in the ho gym.
‘Tsk, is soone talking about ?’
The thought crossed my mind for a mont and then quickly disappeared.
There were too many possibilities.
I shrugged lightly and bent down to pick up the barbell again.
“Hooo—!”
Hans couldn’t help but be the target of criticism.
It went without saying in Auterica, and he had recently beco a hot topic even in Japan because he had started to act openly there.
Naturally, he was aware of the public opinion trend.
‘But I’m not planning to change my course of action based on public opinion.’
Everything had been going smoothly so far.
He had broken through Heaven’s Turn Society’s trap while turning Japan upside down and even inflicted considerable damage on them.
Based on his experience so far, they weren’t the type to just take it, so there would probably be so kind of retaliation soon.
He just had to continue what he had been doing, preparing for that mont.
‘Which is completely burning down their bases.’
He couldn’t help but chuckle.
What was more fun than destroying a tower that soone else had painstakingly built?!
‘It’s only been a few days since the first clash. They need ti to regroup. But they probably won’t abandon Japan completely, so it won’t be that long.’
Of course, they would co more prepared next ti, but it didn’t matter what Heaven’s Turn Society did.
He could now freely summon and use Bone Dragon Heratos, and the newly joined Abyss Revenant Salma, and…
‘And if things get tough, I can just run away.’
He could always use ‘Dismiss’, the ultimate escape thod.
‘So Earth is taken care of. The situation in Auterica is a bit complicated, but… it’s going relatively smoothly.’
Thump—
The barbell was placed back on the ground with another heavy thud.
I finished the set, stretched my shoulders, and subtly looked to the side.
“Huu! Huff—! Huff!”
Sweat was pouring down his body like rain, and he was gasping for breath.
A tall, handso young man in casual clothes was doing squats with a barbell on his shoulders.
‘Hmm, as expected, he’s handso.’
I nodded with satisfaction, watching him.
Naturally, it was my newly created avatar, ‘Hugo’.
He had entered extre hard training mode as soon as he was created, as usual.
But one unique thing was… this ti, I hadn’t modified his appearance, so he looked exactly like , just like the clones I created at the beginning.
‘Anyway, I can change his appearance with “Customization” whenever I want.’
Hugo’s current task was to handle various chores and act as my stand-in when I was away.
This would cleanly solve the problem of frequently being absent after using “Individual Projection” lately.
Of course, nothing major would happen in that short ti, but it was always better to be safe than sorry.
‘Hmm, but…’
As I was walking towards the shower room with a towel on my shoulder,
I leisurely checked the situation in another world and nodded.
‘I should focus on that side for a while.’
A aningful event was about to begin in Auterica.
____________________
When he erged from the swirling blue gate,
The first person Heinrich saw was a very familiar face.
“Welco, Saint. You’ve worked hard.”
A girl with bright silver hair that seed to scatter the surrounding light and sparkling golden eyes.
Saintess Liesta Saint Hatianuss, enveloped in a halo that brightened the surroundings just by her presence, greeted the hero party with a gentle smile.
“Welco to the Roselia Cathedral.”
It was the mont when Heinrich finally returned from his long journey and arrived at the cathedral in the holy land to participate in the second Continental Summit.
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