abcnovels
Chapter 198
Chapter 198
Chapter 198
At a table in a secluded corner of Cafe Lilac, its frequent visitor, Se-Hoon, was gazing at the person across the table, sipping his coffee while waiting for them to respond.
“...”
That person, Luize, was in deep thought. Today, she wore a black T-shirt with a tooth pattern and jeans instead of her academy uniform, as there were no classes during the vacation.
A while later, she finally responded, asking, “So, you're saying you're going to meet Gerwin's father?”
“That's right.”
Gerwin Kruger, who had conspired with Vier, had preyed on Luize's innocence during the Ivory Tower’s student scholarship competition. He, both before and after the regression, was the root of Luize’s torment at Dawn’s hands. Before the regression, she had even been ultimately forced to leave Babel.
“Hmm...”
Frowning, Luize seemed dissatisfied with the situation. However, the frown eventually disappeared and she let out a sigh.
“What are your thoughts about it?” she asked Se-Hoon.
“Are you wondering if it has anything to do with that incident?”
At Luize’s nod, Se-Hoon reassured her, not even taking the time to think.
“This has nothing to do with it. I'm sure of it.”
“...You’re sure?”
She couldn’t understand the basis for his confidence.
Noticing, Se-Hoon started explaining, “Wurgen is completely laissez-faire. He judges his children solely on the results they bring, not caring about the methods they use to achieve them.”
Even if Gerwin used dirty tricks to be selected for the student scholarship, as long as he wasn't caught, Wurgen wouldn’t care. In fact, Wurgen might even have rewarded him for it. However, that also meant that Gerwin would be discarded without mercy if he was caught and deemed irredeemable.
“Besides, he encourages competition for management rights among his children, essentially promoting the use of such dirty tricks blatantly.”
If the competitors saw that they would be rewarded instead of punished for using underhanded tactics, it was natural for them to be tempted.
Luize’s expression turned into one of disbelief.
“So he’s a complete bastard.”
“Yeah. He’s been notorious as a corrupt businessman since even before the age of the Towers of Heroes. His war achievements and status as a Perfect One just whitewashed him a bit.”
Aside from that, Wurgen had also been quick to adapt to the new world. By purchasing corpses to form his own undead army and recruiting ostracized necromancers for their use of corpses, he established the foundation for necromancy. His contribution to the advancement of humanity couldn't be denied.
He's still a morally corrupt person, though.
Having heard Se-Hoon's full explanation, Luize fell silent to organize her thoughts. When she finished, she gave her verdict.
“If it's unrelated to that incident, then it's also unrelated to me. His lousy parenting is likely the reason behind everything... but I can complain about that after I become stronger.”
“Okay. Thank you for understanding.”
“Hey! Stop saying such embarrassing things...”
Exasperated, Luize sipped her coffee and suddenly thought of something she wanted to ask.
“Oh, do you have any plans for this summer break?”
“Hmm? Well, I do have some.”
Although uprooting the Pleasure District and killing the Dream Demon was quite grandiose for a first-year student’s summer vacation plan, as a regressor, it was very reasonable.
“Are you going to be busy?”
“I will, but it's not like I have no free time at all. Why do you ask?”
“If you have some spare time, I want you to go somewhere with me.”
Taken aback by Luize’s proposal, Se-Hoon's lips soon curled into a smirk.
“Despite hanging out with me so much, you still—”
“Don’t say another word. It’s this.”
Shutting Se-Hoon up, Luize pushed her phone forward to show a brief overview of a tour for promising students at educational institutions, hosted by the Marionette Factory—which Se-Hoon suspected to be related to Dawn.
“You were planning to investigate this place anyway, right? Let's go together, then.”
“Hmm...”
Reading through the details of the tour of the Marionette Factory, Se-Hoon found out that the content wasn't bad; it included a workshop tour and training from affiliated artisans. However, if Dawn truly was involved, there would be some kind of reaction the moment they applied.
It might be a bit risky, but then I just need to make backup plans for it.
Thinking it was a good idea, he returned the phone to Luize.
“Alright, I'll clear my schedule for that day.”
“Okay. I'll be training hard until then, so make sure you get something useful out of it.”
“Of course.”
Checking the time, Se-Hoon finished his coffee in one gulp and stood up.
“I'll be going now. I have another appointment soon.”
“Huh? Are you going to the UD group with someone else?”
“Well since I need to be off-campus for this meeting, I asked someone to be my bodyguard. You never know what might happen.”
With his fame, he had to travel with a reliable person whenever he wasn't in disguise because the entirety of the Demon Force was likely watching him.
“Ah, that makes sense. Who are you going with, then?”
At Luize’s question, Se-Hoon smiled slightly.
“The person who prioritizes me above all.”
***
Arriving at the Void Space Terminal in Frankfurt, Germany, Se-Hoon gazed out the large window at the dark night.
It was around 11:00 am when I crossed over, so it should be around 11:00 pm here.
With the time difference, the bright sky had immediately turned dark. But despite the late hour, the terminal was still bustling with people.
“Lee Se-Hoon.”
Pulling his attention, the red-haired woman in a black suit who had followed him from Babel, Eun-Ha, informed him of their next plans.
“The UD Group representatives are here to pick us up, so we can head straight outside.”
“Really? They're more courteous than I expected.”
He had assumed Wurgen would simply tell him to come on his own, given that he had come to learn from Wurgen, but it appeared Wurgen was putting on appearances due to their surface-level cooperative relationship.
Or maybe he was so moved by the fact that I said there was no need for a get-well-soon gift in the speech.
Amused by the thought, Se-Hoon chuckled to himself and then turned to look at Eun-Ha, who stood before him expressionless.
“Anyway, are you sure this is okay? It's your summer vacation too, after all, but because of me...”
“It's fine. I didn't have any special plans...”
Vrrr-
Interrupting her, Eun-Ha took out her phone. When she saw the screen, she declined the call, blocked the number, and then put the phone away and acted as if nothing had ever happened.
“...so you don’t have to worry about it. Just do what you need to do.”
From the call, it was obvious that she had other plans yet had dropped everything because of his request. But Se-Hoon decided not to think about it further, because if she was ignoring it, then she had already calculated that it wouldn't cause any problems.
She’s not like that Mad Dog.
In stark contrast to how Sung-Ha always acted without regard for consequences, making it difficult to clean up after him, Eun-Ha could be trusted with anything.
“Understood. I'll count on you then.”
“Don’t worry. Let's get going.”
Setting off, they headed to the terminal's exit. When they got closer, they began hearing murmurs from those nearby and headed outside upon noticing something unusual.
And what they saw astounded Se-Hoon.
“What the...”
Skeletons dressed in black suits with blue flames flickering in their skulls lined up in two rows to form a path, which led to a luxury limousine. It was an absolutely incredulous sight.
Meanwhile, as Se-Hoon stood speechless, a man with pale skin and a cold demeanor approached.
“Welcome, Mr. Lee, Dean Ryu.”
Bowing politely to both of them, the man straightened up and introduced himself.
“I'm Benjamin, the chief secretary of the UD Group, and I'll be escorting you two today.”
Recognizing the voice as the man he had spoken to on the phone yesterday, Se-Hoon was immediately intrigued.
So, he's Wurgen's right-hand man.
In his position, Benjamin only followed direct orders from Wurgen, handling both official and unofficial tasks for the UD Group. With his status, Se-Hoon just couldn’t help but be interested in the man who had met a tragic end during a coup attempt before the regression.
I thought he'd look more bitter, but this is surprising.
Rather than resigned, Benjamin appeared to be devoid of any thoughts except his orders. Curiously observing him, Se-Hoon then moved his gaze to the limousine behind him.
“Where are we headed?”
“The president wishes to meet you briefly, so we'll be heading to the headquarters first.”
In the end, despite their attempt at politeness, they still set the schedule. However, Se-Hoon just looked past it.
“Understood. Dean, shall we?”
“Sure.”
Walking down the aisle together, guarded on both sides by the skeletons, they entered the car when the skeleton at the end neatly opened the car door for them. Its interior was luxurious, befitting of the vehicle of a global company president, and appeared quite sturdy.
It feels strangely cold; is it reinforced with necromancy?
Guessing the car had been reinforced with specially crafted bones, he examined the undead limousine in fascination. When the door closed, the car started moving smoothly.
Hum
Its top-tier soundproofing muted even the engine noise as the limousine glided down the quiet evening roads. Through the windows, he could see other cars with undead following as an escort and bone birds flying around in the sky above them.
The thorough security prepared by the UD Group genuinely impressed him.
Hmm... It seems he was really touched.
While he looked forward to seeing Wurgen’s reaction when they met, he was also a bit anxious.
Continuing to gaze out the window, he only turned his gaze a while later.
“...”
“...”
Like Benjamin, who was sitting as still as a corpse, Eun-Ha sat like a statue next to him. While they were both naturally taciturn, there was an additional sense of tension in the air.
Are they on guard against each other?
Benjamin was wary that Eun-Ha would make a sudden move, and likewise, Eun-Ha was wary that Benjamin would launch an unexpected attack. There was no trust between them at all, a seemingly indirect reflection of the relationship between Babel and the UD Group.
Two forces allied out of necessity and necessity only.
And that relationship applied both to his own safety while he was here, as well as the cooperation between Babel and the UD Group, which was clearly only because of the results of Ludwig’s research on the Tower of Heroes.
Speaking of which, I should ask about that at some point.
Recalling how Ludwig had connected the Tower of Heroes to an external space during the special exam, something he had never even heard of before, he made a complicated expression. What was the purpose of Ludwig’s research? What was he ultimately planning to do? He couldn't even begin to imagine.
It might just be to help train heroes... but if so, why didn’t he disclose it before the regression?
Unable to figure it out, he became lost in thought. In the meantime, the limousine finally pulled up in front of a massive building.
“We've arrived.”
When the car fully stopped, a single undead guard, having been waiting for them, opened the door.
Exiting, Se-Hoon stretched his neck to look up at the building in front of him. Its size and height dwarfed the surrounding buildings, and unlike what he expected, there were no additional guards—it was a show of confidence.
It's like he’s saying, “From here on out, it’s my domain.”
Just like how Babel was safe as the Emperor of Ascension’s private garden, the UD Group’s headquarters was under Wurgen's protection. Taking one last look at the building, which exuded an imposing aura like a living creature, he followed Benjamin inside.
“If there are any places inside our headquarters that you'd like to visit, please let me know. I’ll arrange a tour for you.”
“Oh... got it.”
Walking through the building, Se-Hoon glanced around at the undead busily working instead of humans. A few moments later, they boarded an elevator.
Ding-
Quickly reaching the top floor, the doors of the elevator carrying the three of them opened and revealed a luxurious hallway. At first glance, it was obvious one person occupied the entire floor.
Walking down the hallway, Se-Hoon stopped in front of a door at the end.
“...”
He had finally arrived at the office of the president of the UD Group, the leader of one of the world's leading megacorporations and the most capable necromancer among the seven Perfect Ones.
Behind the door in front of him, the Eternal Nocturne Wurgen Kruger was waiting. He glanced at Benjamin standing beside him.
“You can go right in.”
Stepping aside, Benjamin gestured for Se-Hoon to open the door and enter. But upon seeing that, Eun-Ha, who had been walking alongside him, stepped forward.
“Then I will—”
“No, I'll go in first.”
Stopping Eun-Ha, Se-Hoon placed his hands on the firmly closed door.
Then, as soon as he pushed open the door that felt almost weightless—
“Is it you?”
The darkness within suddenly surged out, engulfing the entire hallway in an instant. Standing within the darkness, lines began to form everywhere they could see.
The lines slowly split open vertically, and hundreds of eyes soon stared down at them from the ceiling, walls, and floor. Under their heavy gaze, Se-Hoon looked at the skull inside the room.
“Die.”
The darkness swept his body across the boundary.