Chapter 781

Rumble, rumble, rumble!

A roar shook everything around us.

At the same time, murky energy—light and darkness mixed together—poured out, engulfed the room, and hung over everyone’s heads.

Dark.

It was far too early for the sun to have set, yet the National Assembly building had already turned the first page of night.

A night without a bright moon or stars scattered across the sky.

And yet, in a haze fainter than moonlight, someone radiated a presence clearer than anything else.

Step. Step.

The air shifted with each slow step he took.

No, the air wasn’t the only thing that had changed.

His gray eyes were slowly turning black, like ink spreading through water.

The characteristically pale skin of a white man was covered in a thin membrane like leather, and his entire body—now longer and thicker—seemed to radiate strength and elasticity unlike anything he’d shown before.

As if…

He wasn’t human.

And yet, he wasn’t a monster, either.

The immense energy pouring from his body clearly held mana within it.

So what should I call that bastard—Michael Silbert?

His slow footsteps finally stopped.

My face, twisted with contempt, was reflected in his eyes, where darkness rippled.

“You monstrous bastard.”

I probably wasn’t the only one thinking that.

Shock spread across hundreds of faces.

The best fighters from countries all around the world had gathered here, but no one dared to speak or move.

Every one of them had reached a high realm. They could feel just how vast—and terrifyingly powerful—the aura Michael Silbert was giving off.

And with it, they understood the true meaning of what he’d said earlier.

The only person I fear isn’t here right now.

Even I had to admit it, at least to myself.

Michael Silbert hadn’t been arrogant after all.

No matter how vile and impure the source of his power was, its sheer scale was beyond anything I’d faced before.

If I had to name one person who came close, it would be the Southern Heaven Demon Empress.

But for all their similarities, there was a clear difference between them.

The Southern Heaven Demon Empress was constantly supplied with magical power flowing from the rift.

Michael Silbert, on the other hand, had found a way to make magical power coexist with mana—and had made it entirely his own.

Just how much magical power has he absorbed?

I fixed my eyes on Michael Silbert, my gaze sinking deep.

Something that was no longer human, but wasn’t a monster, either.

A monster that had spent decades building up its power while evading the notice of an absolute being stood before me.

Now he was revealing every last bit of the strength he’d kept hidden.

With a predator’s smile, he looked at me and everyone else before opening his tightly closed lips.

“I told you. As long as he’s not here, no one can stop me now.”

The air had gone cold. Eyes wavered around the room.

But not everyone here was overwhelmed by Michael Silbert’s aura.

“You’ve gotten a lot better at joking since I last saw you, Michael.”

Whoooosh.

A gust of wind suddenly swept through the room.

No—it wasn’t wind. It was so much mana that it felt like wind.

Dense smoke rose behind Magic Johnson, who had slung his staff over his shoulder like a steel pipe.

Crackle.

The last stub of his cigar was crushed beneath a military boot. Revived by a fresh dose of nicotine, Chuck Hagel spat out a glob of phlegm.

Flames streamed from his eyes as he glared at Michael Silbert.

“Say that again. Go on, you damned neo-Nazi bastard.”

And he wasn’t the only one.

Faye Chen had already drawn her bow, and Prince Felix unsheathed an ornate longsword set with brilliant jewels, his bearing full of dignity.

Team Leader Choi, however, did something different.

Shing.

At last, the [Hero’s Sword] slid free of its scabbard. He handed it to someone else.

“Please take it. It suits you better than it does me.”

The recipient blinked at this unexpected gesture of goodwill, then nodded in thanks.

He silently looked at the sword in his hands before suddenly speaking.

“It’s a little late to say this, but…”

The Skeleton King.

The King of the Dead stared at Michael Silbert and continued.

“From the moment I first saw you, I’ve never liked you.”

Kiiing.

A golden line crossed the Skeleton King’s pure-white forehead, tracing out a crown.

At the same time, a chilling aura at odds with that brilliant light flowed through his body. But this time, no one raised a weapon against him.

Now that the truth was out, it was clear who their enemy was.

Shhhhh.

Weapons and dazzling radiance cut through the murky darkness, all aimed at Michael Silbert.

But the smile on his face remained.

No—it grew broader and more vivid as he spoke.

“Oh, Fabian. You too?”

“……!”

The Guild Master of Kronos, unexpectedly called by name, clenched his jaw.

His eyelids trembled, and the blade in his hand wavered.

Michael Silbert laughed heartily at his obvious agitation, then turned to the others.

“Christopher, Fernando, Joanne, Marcel, Khalid…”

The names of powerful figures spilled from his lips, one after another.

The spark Michael Silbert had struck spread from the Guild Master of Kronos to people throughout the room.

Every one of them was either the head of a major Guild or an S-rank Hunter, yet they froze like statues just from hearing their names.

Race, nationality, gender, age—they differed in every way but one.

Until just a moment ago, they’d all been Michael Silbert’s supporters.

And the ties they’d built over so many years were more tangled and weighty than anyone could imagine.

“Even the shortest of our relationships goes back more than ten years. You all feel like old friends to me. Don’t I to you?”

No one answered. Michael Silbert smiled at those frozen in place.

“If this is what you’ve chosen, I won’t stop you… but think it over once more. Think about the trust and friendship we’ve shared all these years.”

I could feel unease and confusion spreading through the room.

This wasn’t simply an appeal to their affection.

Michael Silbert was pressuring the people who’d turned their backs on him.

Behind the words trust and friendship lurked the ugly secrets only those involved knew. He was using them as leverage.

The spark he’d tossed among them blazed up, feeding on the fear and anxiety hidden deep in their hearts.

Then he said something that made them forget even the little conscience they had left.

“If the whole truth came out, do you think you’d be safe?”

“……!”

“But you needn’t worry. History is the spoils of the victor, after all.”

Michael Silbert slowly turned his head to look at me and added,

“And not just history. The whole world.”

That was the finishing blow.

And just as Fabian, the Guild Master of Kronos, led the Hunters who made up nearly half the people present in lowering their weapons—

A voice slipped from my lips, cold and unfamiliar, as if it belonged to someone else.

“Yeah. I should thank you, actually. For showing yourselves like this, at least.”

“What?”

The confusion that crossed Michael Silbert’s face didn’t last long.

No—almost at once, someone’s scream swallowed his voice.

“Argh!”

“Urgh!”

Slash! Splatter!

Fountains of blood shot up amid overlapping screams.

The ambush began on all sides the instant the weapons came down. The Guild Master of Kronos realized what was happening a moment too late and shouted,

“You fucking—!”

“I regret it too, Fabian. I’d hoped it wouldn’t come to this.”

Magic Johnson had already risen into the air. He answered coolly as he gripped his staff.

Vmmmm.

The air trembled.

Fire and ice filled the sky on a massive surge of mana, then plunged toward the ground like streaks of light.

Toward the traitors who had once been his comrades-in-arms.

Whoosh! Thud-thud-thud!

“St—urgh!”

Three or four A-rank Hunters, relatively weaker than the others, dropped to their knees with dying groans.

Meanwhile, the Guild Master of Kronos, who had been about to hurl his weapon at Magic Johnson in midair, found someone else standing in his way.

“You’ve gone completely off the rails since I last saw you. Why’d you make such a stupid choice, Fabian, you dumb son of a bitch?”

Grimy military boots. The acrid smell of cigar smoke clinging to his whole body.

The Guild Master of Kronos clenched his jaw as he faced the white man, well past middle age and nearing old age.

“Chuck Hagel.”

He was no easy opponent.

No—he was dangerous.

Fabian looked back, hoping for help from his allies, but that hope was in vain.

Just a few steps away, the S-rank Hunters who’d turned to Michael Silbert’s side with him were struggling against other enemies.

Faye Chen, Prince Felix, the Skeleton King—who was already raising the dead Hunters and sending them charging—and Choi Minwoo.

There wasn’t a hint of hesitation in their swift movements.

“You bastards… You planned this from the start?”

“Once you start, you have to pull it up by the roots.”

With a ferocious laugh, Chuck Hagel charged at the Guild Master of Kronos.

Bang!

The air burst with their collision.

But the next moment, more crashes and screams surged in from every direction like waves, drowning it out. Red blood sprayed into the air.

Right. The enemies’ blood was red.

Human blood, not monster blood.

The red blood I’d never wanted to see in the world where I was born and raised soaked the National Assembly building and the enormous round table.

Maybe that was why my mouth tasted so bitter and my blood was boiling, even though I’d expected this.

Fwoosh.

The fire dragon coiled in my dantian surged up.

I felt heat like molten lava seep through every part of my body, and suddenly I spoke.

“Fucking awful sight, isn’t it?”

Michael Silbert had ignored everything happening around him and watched me in silence. Instead of answering, he asked,

“Is everything happening here your doing?”

“What if it is?”

“Then I applaud your bold decision.”

Bold decision.

The words pierced something in my chest like an awl.

But I kept it off my face and answered calmly.

“Then don’t just flap your gums. Clap your hands, you dumbass.”

“Sorry, but I can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“Because if I give you even the slightest opening, I have a feeling something will happen. Of course…”

Michael Silbert’s smile faded as he continued.

“That won’t happen.”

“Maybe. You sure about that?”

And just as silence fell for a moment—

Whoosh.

All the space between us vanished, and two immense forces shot toward each other.

Kwaaaang!