A Summons (2)
The Black Dragon Society.
The name had become a shadow, a group so diminished by the Heaven-Turn Society that its imminent disappearance would surprise no one. The only reason it still existed was its long history, having been a well-established organization in the Chinese underworld for at least several decades before the Cataclysm.
But even that history was long gone.
'The Black Dragon Society... The name is new to me, but the database has a lot of information on them.'
That must mean they were once a powerful force. In the early days, when Returnees first began to appear, they were lucky enough to have a key executive return as a Hwa-kyung master, which allowed them to successfully transform their organization and gain significant power. A great deal of blood was shed in the process, both internally and externally, but that was a common occurrence whenever power shifted, so it wasn't particularly special. The very Hwa-kyung master who took over the organization was killed just a few years later by someone even stronger.
'What's important is that the Black Dragon Society gained a few unique characteristics in the process.'
The most notable was their preference for Martial ArtsReturnees over other types of Mystic Power. Of course, there was a practical reason for this. For some reason, a very high percentage of Chinese Returnees came from dimensions classified as Murim. Considering that most people sent to Murim dimensions were East Asian, it's possible that an Awakened individual's subconscious mind influenced the selection of the target dimension.
'This might also explain why vampires are so dominant in Europe.'
Since Returnees often found their growth stagnant after returning to Earth, they had no choice but to interact with their peers to hone their skills and grow stronger. So, it wasn't strange that the Black Dragon Society was centered around Martial Artists. Ultimately, this extreme focus probably led to their downfall.
"...That's why we concluded that moving to Korea is the only chance for the Black Dragon Society's revival. The Korean Peninsula has always been an area the Heaven-Turn Society has shown an unusual lack of interest in."
The Heaven-Turn Society's forces in Korea were nothing more than scraps compared to their presence on the Chinese mainland. That's why they didn't take it seriously when they heard that their forces had finally given up the territory and withdrawn completely. Heukyeong quietly bowed his head as he explained this.
'To put it simply, they completely ignored the Blood Alliance, which had come to represent the Korean underworld.'
The Chinese looking down on Korea as a small nation was nothing new. They must have thought that no matter how great the TranscendentPhantom was, he alone couldn't properly deal with the insidious plot that was unfolding.
"I see. I understand your motivation."
Heinz II slowly nodded. Heukyeong was the vanguard sent for this preliminary work. The goal was to completely bring down the Blood Alliance if the plan succeeded, and if not, to keep them too busy to focus on anything else.
"So, you're saying..."
The mere fact that a Master on the edge of the Realm of the Extreme, like Heukyeong, was sent for this operation showed how important they considered this mission.
"...the head of the Black Dragon Society, who gave the order, is in that place?"
"...Yes, My Lord."
Despite all that, they made a fatal mistake by severely underestimating their opponents' capabilities. Heinz II stretched out a hand and pointed at a city far in the distance, looking in the direction his finger was aimed. It was Harbin, one of the largest cities in Heilongjiang province, located at the easternmost tip of China.
'Alright, let's go see the face of the one in charge.'
The night view of the city bloomed beautifully in the eyes of the man who had personally come to ensure a proper end to this situation.
The Heaven-Turn Society
The number of Transcendents on Earth was currently estimated to be around a hundred. The exact number was impossible to know for sure. Not everyone revealed their existence and operated publicly, and there were many regions where it was difficult to contact the outside world for various reasons.
Places like Africa, where countless warlords were in a state of anarchy; South America, where the influence of the superhuman cartel had surpassed the government; and the Middle East, infested with extremist terrorists—all were places where it was nearly impossible to get information without special means. The estimation was merely a guess based on the ratio of Transcendents to the population.
However, there was one fact that the public didn't know: all these isolated regions had the same hidden mastermind behind them. It was a matter of course, as they were the ones who had ignited the chaotic situations in the first place. Whether it was in Africa, South America, the Middle East... or any other region, it was all the same.
In that sense, today was a very special day. It was the day of a meeting for the masterminds who had been moving the world from behind the scenes.
The meeting was held in an alternate world, a solemn place that looked like a temple, with polished white marble floors and elegant patterns carved into the walls.
Creak—
With a small sound, the door leading outside opened wide, and a middle-aged Hispanic man with a stylish Kaiser mustache and a scar across his eye strode inside. He took a quick look around and headed straight for the round table in the center.
Clank! Clang— Thud!
With every step he took, a heavy metallic sound echoed throughout the room. Fully armed for a fight, he wore thick metal armor that covered his entire body, and he carried a war hammer the size of a man. A large-caliber shotgun was slung across his back, swinging as he walked.
As he approached the table, a Black man who had already been sitting there twisted his lips into a sneer.
"Quite the grand entrance, wouldn't you say, Mr. Dictator? Not very befitting of the last one to arrive."
Unlike the other man, he had no weapons or equipment to speak of. The only things he wore were ornaments made from bone and feathers woven together. But to him, a sorcerer who had reached Transcendence, these ceremonial objects were his true weapons.
"Hahaha! My apologies! There was a small commotion in my territory. I guess a business requires a lot of attention, huh? Unlike war addicts who just gobble up the money I earn."
The Hispanic man pulled out a thick cigar from his pocket. He bit off the tip, spat it on the floor, lit it, and took a long drag before slowly exhaling the smoke toward the Black man. The air around them began to grow tense.
"Hmph! What's so great about a drug dealer earning money through smuggling?"
"It's better than just devouring like a pig while fighting meaningless wars, don't you think? Mr. Self-Proclaimed Liberator."
"Meaningless? Countless tribes have been freed from exploitation and villages have regained their freedom through our struggles! You filthy dictator... Did you just call our holy war meaningless?"
"..."
"..."
A cold silence fell between the two men. It didn't last long.
Whoosh—!
A fierce storm of energy swirled with a powerful current. The muzzle of a massive shotgun, imbued with immense power, was aimed at the Liberator, and something that appeared in midair bared its teeth at the Dictator. It was a tense situation on the brink of an explosion.
"If you don't want to get beaten to within an inch of your lives, you'll stop right there."
However, they were not the only ones present. At the sound of a woman's somewhat languid voice, both men flinched. The disheveled blonde woman, the Arbiter, remained motionless, her head still on the table just as it was when they arrived. But no one in the room could ignore her warning.
Even though they were both Transcendents and Branch Manager in charge of South America and Africa, they had no choice but to back down in the face of an absolute power that surpassed them all.
"Tch, consider yourself lucky."
"Ha! That's what I was going to say."
In the end, they both withdrew their energy and sat down at the far ends of the round table. Of course, they continued to glare at each other. Since their ideologies and personalities were polar opposites, conflict was inevitable whenever they were together. But since their territories were far apart, they didn't have many clashes
...until now.
'Ah, I'm already getting tired.'
The blonde woman with her head on the table, the Arbiter, let out a deep sigh. This wasn't the first fight she had broken up. They had already clashed several times since they first arrived.
'Everyone here has a strong personality and ego. And with no sense of camaraderie, what else can you expect?'
It was a natural outcome since everyone joined the Heaven-Turn Society for their own reasons. Some owed an unpayable debt, like their lives being saved or their growth being aided. Others believed that siding with the Heaven-Turn Society would be advantageous for their own ambitions. Still, others were simply in awe or afraid of the absolute power of the Heaven-Turn Society's leader.
Part of her wanted to just let them fight, but with the leader's command, she couldn't just stand by and let the executives try to kill each other. This was especially true now, since her peer, who was on equal footing with her, was away on an assignment from the leader.
And also...
Her gaze drifted toward a few empty seats, their owners no longer present.
'I heard the stories... but seeing it in person makes it feel more real.'
This meeting was convened directly by the Heaven-Turn Society's leader and was mandatory for all high-ranking executives and regional directors. Yet, many seats remained empty.
'From the Preceptor to the Duke, the Scribe, and even the Naga Raja...'
And that wasn't all. Hadn't the Executioner, who was second in power to the leader, and the Doctor, who was one of the leader's two right-hand men alongside the Oracle, also been defeated by those bastards?
And since she was partly responsible for the Executioner not making a clean getaway, as she was in charge of the support bombardment, she couldn't simply overlook the current situation.
'I was sure I had confirmed his escape before stopping the bombardment. How could someone with such a fraudulent ability not escape properly?'
Was the Executioner incompetent, or was the Masquerade simply too capable?
She sighed and collected her thoughts. Even if she personally disliked the Executioner, she had to separate her personal feelings from her duties. If the enemy, the Masquerade, was truly that powerful, they needed to come up with a plan quickly.
Creak—
Just as she was lost in thought, the door to the outside world opened once more. The dozen or so high-ranking executives, all radiating an unusual aura regardless of their age, gender, or race, turned to look. Since everyone who could come had already arrived, it was easy to guess who was about to enter.
"I apologize for the wait."
And just as they expected.
The voice of the being they had all been waiting for quietly flowed from the direction of the door.
"Ah!"
"The leader has arrived."
"Our leader!"
It was an ambiguous voice that the Arbiter, even with her divinity, couldn't properly grasp. It sounded like a young man one moment and a distinguished old man the next. She gulped and wiped the sweat from her palms on her clothes.
"Hmm, looks like everyone behaved. Impressive."
Following his voice, the Oracle's voice, with a hint of a laugh, was heard. A quick glance at the Arbiter told her he had already grasped what had happened.
'He knew everything but still left it to me. What a terrible hobby.'
That's when an unexpected variable appeared.
"Woohoo! It's been a long time, everyone! I hope you've all been well! Ah... now that you mention it, I've heard the news. The Executioner... that Executioner...! Sniff!"
The gray-haired man who seemed to be a middle-aged cyborg started with a high-pitched, flippant tone, then choked up with genuine sorrow, before finally breaking down into uncontrollable sobs. It was the Doctor, who had been in seclusion to undergo modifications on his resurrected body.
"Wahahahah! Sob!Guh!"
Everyone stared at him blankly, as his fluctuating emotions were even more erratic than before. But the emotional rollercoaster didn't stop there.
"Aaaah! This is unbelievable! To have the Grand Demon, the body of a Grand Demon, stolen by those bastards! I had so many experiments I still wanted to do, and to lose such a valuable, high-grade test subject like this! I'm so jealous, jealous, jealous! I can't accept this!"
Rage was followed by jealousy. It was no surprise that his grief for his comrade took a different form. After all, he had lived his entire life like this.
"...Phew, but it's a good thing. Just in case, I made a Homunculus from the Executioner without his knowledge. If I didn't have that, I would have gone insane. Hahahahaha!"
The end of his outburst was enough to leave everyone dumbfounded.
The Executioner had repeatedly challenged the leader of the Heaven-Turn Society, and the result was always a severe injury that barely allowed him to recover. The Doctor had always helped him with his regeneration, and from his words, it seemed he had been running all sorts of experiments on him even then. He had even gone so far as to collect materials and create a Homunculus without permission. If the Executioner had found out, it wouldn't have ended well. The existence of an artificial life form so similar to a being with divinity was a weakness that could threaten his accumulated divinity.
Now, it was a meaningless story.
"Huh? Why are you all looking at me like that?"
But the Doctor simply tilted his head, feigning ignorance.
"We have a reason for being gathered here, don't we? Let's get started!"
He smiled brightly and clapped his hands, shouting cheerfully.
"The strategy meeting to capture all members of the Masquerade as test subjects!"
Hwa-kyung (화경): A high-level stage in martial arts like that Abbot."