Chapter 156

[Translator - Helga ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]

Chapter 156: The Demon (4)

Fortunately, Kwon Hanul was rescued quickly.

After returning to Hyukcheon's ship, the first thing he did was take a bath. He then emerged, dressed in a white robe.

"So, you've finally finished bathing."

As soon as he stepped out of the shower in his white robe, Kwon Seonwoo’s face came into view.

Seated in a chair, Kwon Seonwoo was elegantly sipping tea. Beside him stood Joo Hayun, holding a teapot and waiting silently.

"How dare you keep me waiting. You're getting bold."

"And who was it that threw me into the sea at the end?"

Grumbling, Kwon Hanul sat down across from him.

"Is that all you have to say?"

Kwon Hanul pressed his lips together tightly like a mute. He still hadn’t said thank you. But strangely, the words just wouldn’t come out.

"Don’t make me repeat myself."

"...Thank you for saving me."

Kwon Hanul finally forced the words out. Kwon Seonwoo gave a faint, satisfied smile.

"Did you fly all the way here in your incarnated body from South Korea?"

"The situation was urgent. There was no time to spare—especially not when facing the Demon King."

As with the Mei family incident, Kwon Seonwoo's incarnated body moved with astonishing speed. It made sense, considering it was the incarnation of a dragon.

"What happened inside?"

At last, the tough question came. Kwon Hanul recited the explanation he’d prepared.

"I met the Demon King. He said he was hiding in the Sky Arena to heal the wounds he suffered during the war."

"Hiding in a dungeon—how typical of demons. Was that all?"

"He claimed he intended to stay asleep until his kin came to retrieve him. But then he sensed my true blood and woke up."

"...He reacted to your true blood?"

"Yes. He said the aura of the Black Dragon Bloodline was so intense, he opened his eyes just to check."

At that point, Kwon Hanul studied Kwon Seonwoo's expression. He was trying to gauge whether his lie had been convincing.

"To think even demons would be stirred by the true blood..."

Fortunately, Kwon Seonwoo accepted it without much suspicion. Kwon Hanul quietly sighed in relief. It was moments like this that gave truth to the saying: the best lies are mixed with truth.

"Then why did the Demon King disappear without killing anyone?"

"He said that after all those years, with no one coming for him, he accepted defeat and chose to disappear. He asked me to spread the word that humanity had won."

"The Demon King gave up on life for such a petty reason?"

Suspicion crept into Kwon Seonwoo's voice.

In truth, it was the sight of Kwon Hanul’s Ark that had broken the Demon King’s will—but that couldn’t be said out loud.

"Well, no one died, did they? That proves it."

Kwon Hanul responded boldly, using the lack of casualties as evidence.

"...I suppose life still has surprises."

Kwon Seonwoo handed his empty teacup to Joo Hayun, who quietly poured him another cup.

"By the way, what was that with the Babel girl? Why were you two holding onto each other like that?"

At that moment, Joo Hayun flinched slightly as she held the teapot. Unaware, Kwon Hanul answered Kwon Seonwoo.

"We just cooperated to survive the fall from that height."

"And that means you cling to each other? I’ll never understand the minds of today’s youth."

"If you knew how high we fell from, you wouldn’t be saying that."

"You're saying there was absolutely no other reason?"

"None."

"Just so you know, the Babel family is off-limits. They've been our sworn enemies for generations."

"Ack, I told you—it’s not like that."

Kwon Hanul had no choice but to reply irritably. That’s when Joo Hayun gently set down the teapot and spoke up.

"Chairman, Lord Kwon Hanul is not the type to give his heart away so easily to a woman."

With her support, it felt like he had an army behind him. Kwon Hanul turned to thank her—but Joo Hayun suddenly whipped her head toward him.

"Isn’t that right?"

She asked with a smile, but there was a strange pressure behind it. Under that pressure, Kwon Hanul could only nod.

"...As she said."

Even Kwon Seonwoo, overwhelmed by Joo Hayun’s forceful presence, backed down.

Kwon Hanul had a hunch—it would be wise not to provoke Joo Hayun further. He quickly changed the subject.

"Looks like I won’t be able to fulfill your command, sir."

At those words, Kwon Seonwoo tilted his head.

"What do you mean?"

"You told me to win the Sky Arena tournament and bring glory to Hyukcheon. But thanks to the Demon King, everything got ruined. I failed to keep that promise."

"Oh, that."

Kwon Seonwoo gestured to Joo Hayun, who handed over a tablet.

"See for yourself."

Kwon Hanul looked down at the tablet.

His face was plastered across the front page of a major portal site.

— Disciple of the Dragon Slayer! Overwhelmed by the True Blood of Hyukcheon!

— A Dragon to Kill the Dragon Slayer?

— Analyzing the skill that tore through the Sky Arena’s maze in a single blow!

Every article on the internet was about Kwon Hanul.

"As you said, the Sky Arena has been destroyed. So there’s no way to win."

Kwon Seonwoo sipped his tea and continued.

"But what you showed the world has more value than a mere victory."

He pointed at one of the headlines.

"I especially liked this one. ‘A Dragon to Kill the Dragon Slayer.’ That brat Slayer must’ve lost his mind reading it."

Kwon Seonwoo chuckled, clearly pleased.

"You fulfilled my command. And so, I’ll keep my end of the bargain. I’ll fund the entire rebirth procedure for you. On top of that, I’ll grant you unrestricted access to the Vault."

Kwon Hanul couldn’t help but clench his fist in excitement.

"But don’t get cocky just because you reached your goal. This is just the beginning."

"I understand."

Now, Kwon Hanul was known to Hunters around the world. He had earned recognition as a powerful Hunter.

But realistically speaking, only three of his stats had reached S-rank.

Compared to global rankers, he was still far behind.

"Still, with access to the Vault, I should be able to level up quickly, right?"

"To a certain extent, yes."

"What do you mean ‘to a certain extent’?"

The ominous tone forced Kwon Hanul to ask.

"Right now, we have leftover S-rank elixirs in the Vault. But SS-rank elixirs? None. Not a single one left."

"What?"

Kwon Hanul blurted out, startled, and Kwon Seonwoo frowned.

"‘What’ nothing. Did you think SS-rank elixirs grow on trees? It’s rare for one to even hit the market once every few years."

It wasn’t unreasonable. Even reaching S-rank had been an ordeal. SS-rank would be far harder.

Still, the situation wasn’t hopeless.

At least they still had S-rank elixirs. That meant he could raise all his stats to S-rank relatively quickly.

And by enhancing his Superhuman Bloodline and Dragonheart Bloodline, he could push his powers into SS-rank territory.

"As long as you understand, that’s enough. I’ll be resting inside now."

Kwon Seonwoo rose from his seat. Joo Hayun followed behind.

"You said you’d tell me about my father once the Sky Arena ended."

At that moment, Kwon Hanul asked. Though it had already been promised, he wanted to hear it confirmed once more.

Kwon Seonwoo stopped in his tracks. Without turning around, he replied, "Yes. I’ll tell you everything—soon."

With that, Kwon Seonwoo left the room.

* * *

After Kwon Seonwoo left, Kwon Hanul also went up to the deck.

There were people there who needed an explanation of what had just happened.

“Hanul!”

As soon as he appeared, the team welcomed him warmly. Kwon Hudon was the first to rush over.

“H-Hey… What did the Chairman—I mean, Grandfather—say? H-He didn’t say anything harsh, did he?”

“No, he didn’t say much. Nothing to worry about. He just asked about the demon.”

“I-I see.”

Kwon Hudon let out a sigh of relief.

Even though he hadn't done anything wrong, he found Kwon Seonwoo intimidating. He wasn't the only one—most of the bloodline members felt the same.

“Please tell us too. What in the world happened in the Sky Arena?”

Mei Hong spoke up, prompting Hudon and Gael Garcia to show interest as well. Clearly, everyone was dying to know.

“It wasn’t much.”

Kwon Hanul repeated exactly what he had told Kwon Seonwoo, not missing a single word.

“You’re telling us the Demon King himself acted friendly toward you?”

“Who can understand a demon’s motives?”

Hanul shrugged, making it clear he had no idea either.

“How’s the Chairman’s condition? He used the Dragon Pearl, didn’t he? He must be really exhausted.”

“Dragon Pearl?”

“That orb that lifted you and the entire arena into the sky... Oh, you probably don’t know.”

Hudon glanced awkwardly at Mei Hong and Gael Garcia.

“What?”

“Why are you looking at us like that?”

“Well, uh… It’s kind of a secret outside the family…”

Mei Hong’s eyes sharpened with suspicion. The look in her eyes said, Do you not trust me?—and Hudon backed down.

“Mom said it’s confidential… but the Dragon Pearl is the final authority of the Black Dragon Bloodline. More precisely, it's the ability to create a Dragon Pearl.”

Hudon started explaining what he knew.

“They say once a Dragon Pearl is created, it can bring about changes in nature—like a real dragon. Its power increases depending on how much effort is poured into nurturing it.”

Hanul remembered the time he fought Kwon Chan-seong.

Back then, Chan-seong used the Dragon Pearl to escape from an illusion and block Condensed Aura.

“The Chairman used the Dragon Pearl widely to save you and the others. He must be completely worn out.”

Which explained why he had retreated to rest as soon as it was all over.

“Do you know anything more about the Dragon Pearl?”

“Not really. Hardly anyone’s even acquired one, and there are a lot of secrets surrounding them.”

Hudon scratched his head.

“Oh, right! Our ancestor killed a Black Dragon and obtained its True Blood. I remember hearing that the Dragon Pearl from that dragon is hidden somewhere in the family.”

“The Black Dragon’s Dragon Pearl?”

That wasn’t something one could just dismiss.

Even a Dragon Pearl created by a human—one who didn’t even have True Blood—was enough to unleash immense power.

Then the real thing, from an actual dragon, would surely possess even more terrifying strength.

“Ah, Captain. I have something for you.”

Just as Hanul was about to ask more about the Dragon Pearl, Gael Garcia pulled a letter from his coat.

“While you were speaking with the Chairman earlier, someone from the Babel family handed this over.”

Hanul opened the letter and checked the contents.

Inside was an invitation.

No date was specified. He could visit anytime he wanted. As long as he brought the invitation to the Babel estate, no one would stop or question him.

“Hm.”

The reason Sasha Babel handed this over was obvious—she wanted him to heal Alia Davi.

“It’s not something I can just ignore…”

He owed Sasha a favor from when they fell from the sky. Repaying kindness was only right.

But he couldn’t afford to heal Alia Davi. If she regained her strength, who knew what kind of threat she’d pose to Hyukcheon?

Hanul folded the letter and tucked it away. For now, he would put it on hold.

“Right. There’s something I wanted to tell everyone.”

The three turned toward him. Hanul spoke to them.

“I’ve been granted permission for unrestricted access to the Vault. Now we can all raise our power to a whole new level.”

Even though the SS-grade elixirs were gone, there were still S-grade ones in stock.

This was a chance for every team member to reach S-rank abilities. And with the Vault’s weapons and equipment, the team’s strength would rise even further.

“…”

But something felt off. Not one of them looked happy.

“What’s wrong?” Hanul asked.

Hudon hesitantly spoke up, “Thanks… but… I don’t think I deserve to use the Vault.”

“Me neither.”

“I feel the same.”

Hanul was taken aback.

“What are you all saying?”

“Up to now, all we’ve done is rely on you, Hanul.”

Mei Hong and Gael Garcia didn’t say anything, but their expressions showed agreement.

“Even this access to the Vault—it's thanks to you. So how could we possibly…”

“You’re all worrying about the wrong things. Instead of wasting time on guilt, wouldn’t it be a hundred times better to get stronger and actually be helpful to me?”

Even then, their expressions didn’t brighten. Hanul gave a wry smile.

“In the entire Hyukcheon clan, the only people I can truly trust are Hayun and you three.”

Since joining Hyukcheon, the only person who had ever been on his side was Joo Hayun. But she was close to the Chairman, which made it hard to fully open up.

The Dark Shade Unit was different. Though it was just three of them, every single one was fully on his side.

“You three need to grow stronger—for me to feel at ease. So please, don’t say things like that…”

Hanul stopped mid-sentence.

Hudon was sniffling with tears in his eyes.

“You… you trust me… H-Hanul!”

Hudon burst into tears and lunged at him. Hanul casually sidestepped.

That was when it happened.

“Your team seems really tight-knit. It’s a nice thing to see.”

A strange voice rang out. Hanul instinctively looked toward the railing.

A woman he didn’t recognize was sitting on the railing, staring at him.

“This is what I love about youth. So fiery, so sweet—it's the most radiant time in life.”

“…Who are you?”

“Does the name ‘Bloodflame Blade’ ring a bell?”

At those words, a storm of information rushed into Hanul’s mind.

Bloodflame Blade—leader of the Assassins’ Blade Unit, the one commanding the remnants of the Mei clan, and the one responsible for killing Mei Hong’s mother.

That name was…

“…Mei Xiao.”

The woman smiled at the sound of her name.

[Translator - Helga ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]