Chapter 207

[Translator - Helga ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]

Chapter 207: Secret Vault (2)

“There’s a hidden room?”

Kwon Hanul immediately relayed what Mei Hong had told him to Kwon Myung-woo.

At this point, the highest authority on-site was Kwon Myung-woo. That meant Hanul couldn’t act on this on his own.

“Now that’s a tempting story. Let’s go find it at once!”

Kwon Myung-woo, accompanied by a few Hyukcheon operatives, followed Hanul.

Kwon Biryuk seemed intrigued as well, but Kwon Myung-woo barked at him and drove him away.

“It’s this way.”

Mei Hong led the group. She was the only one who knew the path.

She brought them deep into the core of the vault. There, she began inspecting one of the walls carefully.

“It should be here… but I can’t quite see it.”

After thoroughly examining the wall, Mei Hong’s hand brushed against something. One section of the stone stuck out—just barely.

She pressed it with her palm. The square indentation sank inward.

With a dull click, the room began to tremble.

The floor split down the middle, revealing a staircase descending into darkness.

“Found it!” Mei Hong said proudly. Kwon Hanul praised her and led the group down the stairs.

“Wow…”

“Whoa…”

As soon as they reached the bottom, they were overwhelmed.

“Is that… the Pied Piper of Hamelin’s flute?”

“There’s a Great Elixir Pill here!”

Stacked throughout the vault were rare relics and elixirs—even by Hyukcheon Clan standards.

The party fanned out, exploring the hidden vault.

“...This is incredible.” Kwon Hanul muttered as he examined the artifacts.

He’d visited Hyukcheon’s vault several times before. Even so, the items stored here were rarely found even there.

“The Mei Clan… they were no joke.”

But the more he looked, the more disappointment began to settle in his heart.

These were all amazing treasures—but not what he truly sought.

Hanul had been hoping for a relic comparable to the equipment owned by Kwon Hyuk—or materials powerful enough to forge one.

But everything here, while valuable, was of a type that could still be found in Hyukcheon’s main vault.

Then suddenly, he stopped walking.

“…Hm?”

Just a wall. Nothing remarkable.

But for some reason, he couldn’t take his eyes off it.

“Master Hanul?”

Joo Hayun, standing beside him, tilted her head in confusion.

“Ah, well…”

Even as he spoke, Hanul continued to stare at the wall.

The longer he looked, the more something within him stirred.

“This wall… there’s something here…”

He reached out and brushed his hand along the surface—unconsciously applying pressure.

His magic burst out, pulverizing the entire wall. The thunderous noise startled everyone, who rushed over.

“What the hell was that?”

“Are there still Mei Clan survivors?”

Behind the crumbled wall was a hidden chamber.

Small. Cramped. Barely enough room for one person to stand inside.

Embedded in the floor were six weapons.

“…What is this.”

Even at a glance, they were anything but ordinary. As Hanul approached—

“Those are… the Warlord Shura’s armaments!”

Mei Hong, who had arrived unnoticed, shouted in shock.

“Legend says our ancestor defeated the Shura King and took his weapons…”

Mei Hong stared in disbelief.

“Everyone thought it was a myth. No one has used the Shura King's weapons since our founder…”

Hanul slowly reached out and gripped one of the weapons.

〈Shura Ghostblade 〉

Grade: ???

Description: One of six legendary armaments once wielded by the Shura King. Those without the right to claim it cannot even touch it. Said to drench the world in blood with a single swing.

Abilities:

???

???

???

With trembling eyes, Hanul examined the others.

Though their details were still unclear, he knew instantly—these were what he had been searching for.

“Hah…”

A voice called out behind him just then.

“So that’s what all the commotion was…”

Kwon Hanul turned to see Kwon Myung-woo.

“And here I thought it was just noise… you’ve found something extraordinary, Hanul.”

Even the famed Strongest Fist of Hyukcheon looked stunned by the armaments of the Shura King.

“In my entire life, I’ve seen maybe a handful of artifacts on this level.”

These weapons radiated such power that even Kwon Myung-woo couldn’t help but be impressed.

“Tch. And here I thought I had the greatest find…”

He took out a gourd-shaped vial and handed it to Hanul.

Pure white. Pristine. Small enough to sit in the palm of a hand.

“What is this?”

“An elixir called the Heavenly Dao Secret Brew. Probably never heard of it.”

Kwon Myung-woo shook the bottle lightly.

“Drinking it boosts one of your stats to SS-grade.”

Hanul’s eyes widened. The very SS-tier elixir he’d longed for… right in front of him.

“Why are you giving this to me?”

“Huh? Why else? I brought it for you to drink.”

“But shouldn’t you take it? It’ll help you recover from your injury faster.”

“What? You want me to waste an SS-tier elixir on a wound that’ll heal anyway? What kind of idiot would do that?”

Myung-woo shouted in disbelief.

“And besides—you deserve this. If it weren’t for you, we’d all be dead here. Me, the entire Hyukcheon Corps—everyone.”

He grabbed Hanul’s hand and placed the bottle directly in his palm.

* * *

Outside, near the vault entrance…

Hundreds of Hunters had gathered.

And yet, despite their numbers, the area was eerily silent. Not one dared to speak.

The reason was simple: Kwon So-ri and the Black Rice Brigade stood guard.

“Yaaaawn.”

So-ri let out a jaw-cracking yawn, lazily scanning the Hunters.

“This is boring. Everyone’s way too quiet.”

Her languid demeanor clashed starkly with the corpses strewn around her feet.

All Hunters who had shown hostility had been instantly slain by her.

These weren’t weaklings—they had traveled across the world to get here. But So-ri had crushed them like bugs.

“When is the Executive Director coming out, anyway?”

Suddenly, her gaze sharpened. She stood up abruptly, scanning the surroundings.

“...That’s odd. I just felt something strange.”

She tilted her head in confusion and sat back down.

* * *

Far from the vault’s entrance, a black portal opened.

From within, six figures emerged—men and women alike.

“Phew… that was close. Nearly got caught by Hyukcheon.”

One elderly man wiped the sweat from his brow. A younger man beside him replied, “They really are monsters. They can even detect magic activation…”

“Haven’t I warned you? No amount of caution is enough with them.”

The old man—Azeth Hermes—sat on a nearby rock.

“Damn it. Dragon Slayer is dead. That wasn’t part of the plan…”

With Odin gone, Aeon’s only reliable partner had been the Dragon Slayer.

Now that he was dead, Aeon’s position was worse than ever.

“That cursed Kwon Hanul… Why is he always the one interfering?”

Just then, one of the mages approached.

“Lord Azeth. We’ve received a message… from him.”

Him.

At those words, Azeth Hermes’ expression froze.

“...Are you certain?”

“Yes. He said to contact him once the situation at the vault was settled.”

Azeth sighed heavily and opened a dimensional rift, pulling out his smartphone and making the call.

After about five rings, the line connected.

“Oh, Director Azeth! A pleasure to hear from you.”

A bright voice came through the speaker.

But Azeth’s face twisted like he’d bitten into a bug.

“Vice Chairman Kwon Hyuk… You can’t just send orders out of the blue like that.”

“Hahaha, my apologies. I was just so curious how things turned out.”

“Well… there’s been a complication.”

“A complication?”

Azeth swallowed hard.

“Kwon Hanul… interfered with our plan.”

Silence.

Kwon Hyuk said nothing. Azeth licked his lips nervously.

“That brat killed both Mei Xiao and the Dragon Slayer.”

“Director Azeth. Just because I’m far away doesn’t mean you can lie to me.”

“It’s true! That monstrous kid killed them both!” Azeth shouted in frustration.

A groan came from the other end.

“…Even if he has the Vessel, this is too much.”

“I don’t even know anymore! Is it the Vessel that’s amazing or is the boy just a monster? Either way, what matters is that Mei Xiao and Dragon Slayer are dead—and that’s why Kwon Myung-woo survived!”

“…So Kwon Myung-woo is alive too?”

Kwon Hyuk’s voice dropped. Azeth felt a chill down his spine.

“N-Not completely. He took a direct hit to the heart from Mei Xiao’s sword aura. He’ll need a long time to recover…”

“And you think that’s something to brag about?”

“M-My apologies…”

Sweat streamed down Azeth’s face. He felt utterly humiliated groveling like this to someone so much younger—but he had no choice.

Kwon Hyuk could take his life with a word.

“How much of Hyukcheon’s fighting force was reduced?”

“Roughly 30%…”

“That’s far less than I expected.”

Kwon Hyuk’s voice grew sharper. Azeth’s anxiety spiked.

“Tch. Fine, I’ll overlook it. You did manage to take Kwon Myung-woo out of the field, after all.”

Only then did Azeth finally feel some relief.

“Now if you’ll excuse me, I have an experiment to participate in. Goodbye.”

The call ended. Azeth put the phone away and let out a deep breath.

“Director Azeth…”

The mages around him looked on with concern.

“How long do we have to keep following his orders?”

Ever since Kwon Hyuk approached Aeon, everything had changed.

His agents had stormed in and seized control of Aeon’s research and personnel.

So thorough, so precise—he had taken over in an instant.

Now even Azeth Hermes, Aeon’s leader, was running errands for him.

“Just endure a bit longer. Once we have Kwon Hanul, everything will change.”

These mages were Azeth’s most loyal. They were aware of the Vessel.

If they could secure it from Hanul, not even Kwon Hyuk could stand against them.

“But how are we supposed to subdue that monster who took down two Absolutes…”

They had seen it firsthand—Hanul stacking his overwhelming powers to defeat Mei Xiao and the Dragon Slayer.

That kind of force was beyond what Aeon could handle.

“There’s still one method left.”

Azeth’s gaze turned steely.

“A way to force Kwon Hanul into submission… and extract the Vessel from his body.”

The mages looked at him with skepticism.

If such a method existed, why hadn’t they used it already?

Azeth smirked.

“A trump card is only valuable… if it’s kept hidden.”

[Translator - Helga ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]