Chapter 735

A middle-aged man in a thin silk robe gazed out the window.

Clouds carrying January’s chill swept past, so close he could almost touch them. Far below, he could make out buildings and plazas laid out in separate districts.

A great city steeped in history. Countless people moved through it, reduced to tiny dots.

The gloomy gray sky and mist-shrouded streets hardly suited Paris’s name, the City of Light. But the middle-aged man didn’t care.

He loved everything about this city—about Paris.

From a skyscraper too high for even the mist to reach, the world was always beautiful.

Especially on a day like today.

Ding. Deeeeng—

Bells rang out across the plaza, announcing seven in the morning. The middle-aged man turned slowly from the wall of windows.

Behind him lay a vast study.

At the round table in its center, over ten figures waited for him, appearing amid the green glow unique to holograms.

“It’s been a long time since we all gathered like this. Our last meeting was, what… three years ago?”

The corners of the people’s mouths, visible beneath their masks, curled slightly at the joke the middle-aged man made as soon as he took the seat of honor.

Three years?

They had held a secret meeting just two nights ago.

“If I remember correctly, it was ten years ago.”

“Ten years? Already?”

“Wasn’t it closer to thirty?”

“Damn it. Thirty years ago was the Great Cataclysm. I don’t even want to remember the hell we went through, so drop it.”

Quiet laughter mingled with their conversation.

The middle-aged man watched them with a gentle smile.

“You all seem to be in good spirits. Yes, it’s nice to indulge in idle chatter now and then.”

“…!”

“…!”

Silence fell at his quiet words.

They all closed their mouths at once, as though on cue. Still smiling, the middle-aged man went on.

“I did not call this meeting to listen to pointless nonsense or trashy small talk like this… What does everyone think?”

Their eyes wavered at each breath he took, each slight movement of his fingertips.

Even through a hologram, his overwhelming presence—and his aura—reached them.

Everyone at the meeting was a major figure. None could hope to rival him.

The reason was simple.

The man before them was the master of Odin Guild, known as the greatest Guild in the world, and one of the absolute beings capable of controlling the world.

“I-I apologize, Michael. I was pleased that everything was proceeding without a hitch, and…”

“I wasn’t asking for excuses.”

Michael cut him off.

“I simply found it pathetic to see you all relaxing as though everything were over.”

“……”

“Our opponent is more daring than we expected. How else could they have done something so insane?”

No one at the table needed to ask what he meant. By now, the whole world knew.

The public release of the Mana Cultivation Method.

To a tiny number of people, it was an act of madness that threatened to overturn the established order. Their opponent had made it happen anyway.

“I sent Huginn, and they still didn’t get the message. Reckless beyond belief… but I suppose that means they’re confident.”

One of them spoke cautiously.

“If, hypothetically, they’re counting on Sky…”

“I believe I already told you not to concern yourselves with him.”

“…Understood.”

The reply lacked conviction.

Until now, Michael’s word had been law to all of them.

Once he had spoken with such certainty, they had no choice but to dig a hole for any lingering doubts deep in their hearts and bury them there.

But this time, none of them could stop turning the question over.

Because the person in question was none other than Cheon Taemin.

Even so, how can he tell us not to worry about something this serious?

What happens if Sky gets involved?

Where did he get his information…?

The questions kept circling through their minds.

Michael’s information had always been reliable. No one knew who provided it or what methods he used to obtain it, but as long as they trusted and acted on the information he brought them, they profited.

Immense wealth and fame. Lofty social status.

Yet even the highest, strongest wall could fall in an instant.

And the name Cheon Taemin was not something they could simply bury through faith. The sense of crisis they felt was conveyed in its entirety to one person.

Tap. Tap.

A finger drummed slowly on the round table. Waves of powerful mana rolled over them, pulling them from their thoughts.

“You seem uneasy.”

They hurried to answer his gentle voice.

“Not at all.”

“How could we be?”

“Our alliance is powerful. We won’t lose to brats like them.”

They kept the qualification to themselves: As long as Cheon Taemin stays out of it.

For now, they could only trust Michael. Judging by the power and ability he had shown them all this time, those mere fledglings would not be opponents at all, just as one of them had said.

“Choi, that young man, is resourceful, but his limitations are equally clear.”

“The same goes for Jin Taekyung. However strong he is, he can’t get past the walls we’ve built.”

There had certainly been a time when such a thing was possible.

A time so cruel and chaotic that it could only be called the Great Cataclysm.

Humans slaughtered monsters. Monsters slaughtered humans. And humans slaughtered other humans like livestock.

It was a turbulent period when nothing seemed strange, no matter what happened.

But the Great Cataclysm was over.

On a sea lashed by storms, nothing that happened would seem strange. But in a peaceful world like this one, a mere ripple could not bring about change.

The Mana Cultivation Method they had released was no different.

“Their decision to make the Mana Cultivation Method public has cost us dearly. But we’ve dealt with the immediate crisis. There’s no reason to worry.”

“Exactly. The media didn’t dare criticize us, and above all, you acted quickly, Guild Master.”

Michael nodded without a word.

News of the Mana Cultivation Method Odin Guild had unveiled at sunrise was even now spreading across the world through every kind of media.

Public criticism of the established major Guilds would gradually die down. And the fledglings who had ignored his generous offer would soon regret it.

This time, he would not settle for words. He would show them directly through his actions.

How foolish.

Michael muttered inwardly.

In today’s world, a Mana Cultivation Method was a treasure beyond price. A Guild’s standing and a nation’s influence depended on the strength of their Hunters, yet those fools had given one away to the entire world.

They should have asked themselves why no one had ever done it before.

Others had stepped forward in the past, armed with nothing but morality and a sense of justice. Powerful people recognized around the world, they had wanted to share their special abilities with everyone.

That was why they had died.

And this time will end the same way.

History repeated itself.

Although the Mana Cultivation Method had been made public because of their opponent’s unexpected and impulsive act, they would have to pay the price for their foolishness.

That was how the world worked.

There was only one thing that continued to bother him: the young man who had caused the greatest change in recent times.

Jin Taekyung.

Unlike Choi Minwoo, whom Michael still considered a fledgling, that bastard was a powerful figure no one could deny.

In less than a year, he had amassed countless achievements and considerable fame. Recently, he had brought down Ares Guild’s headquarters single-handedly, despite the hundreds of Hunters waiting there, Go Jun among them.

And that was not all.

The world didn’t know it yet, but Michael knew Jin Taekyung had recently wiped out terrorist organizations and rebel groups.

Power that ranks among the best even among S-rank Hunters. And daring.

Not one of the people chattering before him could match that.

An S-rank Hunter who led a major Guild known around the world. A politician who could sway a powerful nation. A tycoon who owned hundreds of Gates and oil fields…

Every one of them deserved to be called a major figure. To Michael, they were all greedy idiots.

Of course, they’re the reason I was able to make Odin Guild the greatest in the world.

Michael muttered inwardly and clicked his tongue softly.

Tsk.

The chatter stopped. Every eye turned to him.

He looked over them one by one. Then he sensed someone approaching from a distance.

“It seems we have a guest.”

“Ah, then…”

“I will notify you separately about the next meeting.”

Bzzzt.

That was all.

The instant Michael spoke, the holograms melted away and disappeared. At the same time, the study’s tightly closed doors swung wide open at a gesture from him.

“So, did you enjoy your trip?”

The man in old-fashioned clothes answered Michael’s waiting question.

“I was merely following orders.”

“You’re always so stiff. Come in, Huginn.”

“Thank you.”

Thud.

Huginn took off his hat, gave it a few taps, and stepped into the study.

Michael saw grains of sand scattered near the door and smiled calmly.

“You’ve been getting around.”

“The schedule was rather tight.”

“You went a long way. It must have been difficult. Did you encounter any problems?”

“There were some, but I took care of them.”

His answer was curt, but the heat in Huginn’s eyes still held traces of battle.

Michael nodded without showing any particular reaction.

He had personally selected and trained Huginn. As a fixer, the man was without equal, and he carried out every assignment perfectly.

This one included.

“Did you bring your friends?”

“Yes. When they heard why I’d come, they volunteered to help. Unlike the reception I got in Korea, everyone treated me kindly.”

“How good of them to come all that way. Where are they now?”

“They should all be on their way to their destinations.”

“And the gifts?”

“I made certain they were handed over.”

Huginn drew a pocket watch from his coat and checked it.

“There is about an hour left until the first gift is delivered.”

“An hour. Good. Coffee while we wait?”

“If possible, I would prefer black tea.”

Michael smiled and made them a cup of each.

Exactly one hour later, he confirmed with his own eyes that his orders had been carried out without fail.

BOOOOM!

Beneath the pale clouds, red flames surged upward with a deafening roar. And then…

Whooosh!

The air slowly began to warp. Michael watched it and murmured lightly,

“As expected, it is a beautiful city.”

A building was engulfed in flames.

With Ares Guild’s Paris branch at its center, space began to tear apart.