There was a space with an area measuring about 39 square meters. The walls were decorated with orchids and flower pots while the middle of the room carried an old-fashioned desk.
Sitting at the desk was a man in his early 30s with his eyes closed. His face, however, was not unfamiliar, as it closely resembled that of Sayogi. His closed eyes instilled a feeling of stillness and calmness.
Shhh!
The man opened his eyes and looked at the entrance.
Wheing!
The automatic door at the front of the room opened and someone entered. It was a woman wearing white research coat and a silver mask with only two eyes and the letter ‘C’ on it. The woman in the mask said to the man who was sitting,
“Elder Cho.”
Was she calling such a younger man an Elder?
“It’s difficult getting used to calling you elder; it’s really awkward.”
“If that’s too hard, just call me Sir Yushin.”
At his words and tone, the woman in the mask seemed flustered. He was speaking in a kind voice that masked the obvious fact that he wasn’t such a nice human being.
‘He’s trying to test me.’
Elder Cho didn’t give his name to just anyone. In fact, even the 10 executives never mentioned his name, but despite this he still held the position of commander.
“How could I ever do that?”
“Huhuhu.”
In contrast with his youthful appearance, he burst into laughter reminiscent of an old man. The man was indeed Cho Yushin, not long ago he looked much closer to his age.
‘His body went through reconstruction, or exuviation, by activating and reversing his aging cells. By comparing his blood samples this time, we’ll definitely understand the process.’
Her eyes were smiling. By studying Elder Cho, they managed to make a lot of progress and actually had a chance to get their desired results this time.
“Alright. What do you have to say after coming here and ending my meditation?”
She promptly answered his question,
“I was told to bring the guests from the guesthouse.”
“Oh, the guests?”
“Yes.”
Elder Cho stroked his chin, shaking his head in disappointment at his beardless chin.
“Huhuhu. I can never get used to this.”
Elder Cho felt weird that his beard didn’t exist anymore and said,
“The new non-humans will also come?”
“Yes.”
Elder Cho, seemingly interested in that answer, got up from his seat. At that, C masked woman immediately guided him into the mechanical corridors reminiscent of a ship’s that were equipped with automatic movement devices. After moving along for 10 minutes, a large entrance with a colorful pattern engraved with the word MS suddenly appeared.
-Wheing!
The doors opened on both sides.
Upon entering was a round table with five people waiting. Elder Cho looked at a figure wearing a hood who was sitting at the top, noticing another one in an old European blue robe.
“It’s funny seeing you without your usual flair. Hehe.”
At Elder Cho’s words, the person in the hood spoke in a puzzled voice,
“Human… you look younger.”
“Younger is better. There is a difference in movement.”
“…”
The eyes from the hood seemed sharper.
‘He seems to have gotten stronger.’
The hooded man’s eyes were clearly on alert. These two beings had crossed with one another before, and the interaction was so violent that not a sector but an entire area was blown away.
“Sit down, Elder Cho.”
C intervened between them, guiding Elder Cho to an empty seat. On top of the round table was a nameplate made of crystal, engraved with the name 1st Guest. There were four such plates numbered until the 4th Guest.
At that moment, the back screen in the back of the room turned on and someone appeared.
“Commander.”
C, who was standing, bowed her head to A, the man on the screen. Seeing A, the middle-aged man in red with sunglasses in front of the crystal plate naming him 2nd Guest, said,
“Why must I see your face through this screen again, Commander?”
Hearing the 2nd Guest, A bowed his head and said.
“We ask for your understanding for our communication through virtual imaging, but it is because there is a problem.”
He was apologizing but with a stiff tone. There was no change in emotion, but everyone seemed fine with the apology. On the other hand, Elder Cho was looking at A questioningly.
“What were we called for, human?”
The person in the hooded cloak asked A with an unwelcome voice. In response, on the screen displaying A, the display changed to show the word ‘Demon’ engraved in red on someone’s face.
“This…”
The attention of Elder Cho went to the man on the screen: Chun Yeowun, a tall young man with white face and sharp eyes. He was known to them as Chun Mu-seong of the Yongchun Group.
“Demonic Cult.”
The word ‘Demon’ was a mark for those from the Sky Demon Order. In addition to Elder Cho, the man in glasses seemed interested in the man as well.
Conversely, the woman wearing two contrasting colors who sat in front of the hooded cloak, sitting undeniably behind the crystal plate saying 3rd Guest, remained indifferent.
“What about him?”
A answered Elder Cho’s question.
-This person is Chun Mu-seong, the real leader of the current Demonic Cult, and he is the Chun Ma.
“Chun Ma!?”
Elder Cho was shocked at the mention of the title. C, too, was puzzled because it was her first time hearing this news.
“Hehehe, the Chun Ma was born on this land amidst those filthy people?”
Elder Cho couldn’t believe it; the Demonic Cult was way too weak compared to the past, and he believed that they weren’t even worth dealing with.
Pik!
Then, A changed the large screen to display numerous photos.
They were photos taken directly on the location where MS Group and Chun Yeowun had fought in the past, and among them, one image caught Elder Cho’s eyes.
‘Sayogi?’
The old man’s expression hardened at the image of Sayogi fighting giant monsters.
‘He was fighting a Gate entity?’
Elder Cho was the one who took interest in Sayogi for a very long time, raising and teaching him enough to rival against Murim’s strongest warriors. However, the range of images showed his defeat.
‘Is that… Sayogi?’
In addition, Chun Yeowun had taken down the worst TRA entity. Red light shone in Elder Cho’s eyes.
“The Sky Demon Sword!”
He didn’t really trust *A’*s words initially, but the moment he saw this sword, he knew he was speaking the truth.
‘He… must have killed Sayogi.’
As the red light coming from Elder Cho’s eyes flickered, the air around him became noticeably heavy. The aura was dangerous enough to make normal people faint, but the guests didn’t falter.
“Arisha’s Sword!”
At that moment, the figure in the hood jumped up. His two eyes, which were indifferent until then, couldn’t move from the sword in Chun Yeowun’s hand.
“What is that sword?”
The man in the European-style attire, who was behind the hooded figure, was also surprised. The two of them looked at each other.
Pick!
Numerous images flew in succession, allowing them to keep observing Chun Yeowun. The last image displayed an analysis of Chun Yeowun’s ability.
[Chun Mu-seong
Social status: Vice chairman of Yongchun Group
Demonic Cult status: Chun Ma
Level: Estimated to be a Heavenly Master
Weapon: Sword seems like his main weapon but also handles blades. In addition, he’s also good at close combat
Abilities: Ability to hack and track machines he comes in contact with, and the ability to move through space
Others: Can handle Thunder Qi, Fire Qi and Ice Qi.]
Although it was a simple analysis, it was a no-brainer that he was a monster. Even Elder Cho couldn’t take his eyes off the Heavenly Master level; it was said that only five people in the history of Murim were able to climb to that level, and this man was one of them?
“Heavenly Master level…? Are you saying that a monster this powerful was never found before?”
The red-haired man in sunglasses asked. His shocked eyes told everyone that he knew what this all meant. It was intimidating that one person possessed such dangerous abilities.
“Why are you showing us this person?”
In response to the question, A said,
-This person cannot coexist with our group. Therefore, MS Group has officially declared war with him.
‘War!?’
‘War’ carried a huge meaning. Of course, words like ‘kill’ would have made more sense, but ‘war’ meant that this man was their strongest opponent thus far. The woman with two unique colors opened her lips as she crossed her legs, exposing her thighs.
“So, the bottom line is that you want us to join this war?”
-Yes.
They were the 4 Guests.
Officially, the ‘4 Guests’ name was given to them by MS Group, but they were also called the Untouchables; they weren’t in a relationship where the MS Group could order them around, but rather in one based on each other’s conditions.
If they refused, MS Group would just wage war against Chun Yeowun and the Cult on its own.
“It doesn’t look appealing to me.”
The woman said as if she wasn’t interested. It was the first refusal, and the middle-aged man in red hair shook his head right after.
“I think you’re aware that this exceeds the terms of our agreement.”
He, too, refused. Coincidentally, the other two others spoke at the same time.
“I’ll take care of that human.”
“Let this old man handle it.”
Elder Cho and the hooded man sounded their confirmations. The two looked at each other with disgust, leaking their hate for each other.
“That human possesses an item of our clan. This isn’t for you, human.”
“No. If that person is the Chun Ma, I can’t yield in this matter.”
“Is that so?”
Woong!
The round table in the conference room was split in half at the tremendous energy emitted by two different people.
As the atmosphere filled with their intent to fight, C tried to intervene as A took charge.
-He is a person who can use spatial movement, so we can’t guess where he is headed. How about the one who finds him first handles him?
The two rivals looked at the screen. As A said, the person who found him first would get to handle him.
Back in Shanghai.
“Baekgi!”
“Enough.”
At first, the two hugged each other because they were moved by the face they hadn’t seen for a long time, but not long after, Baekgi seemed to have had enough of it and told Hu Bong to stop.
“You’re being too much. I haven’t seen you for so long, don’t blame me!”
Hu Bong didn’t hide his emotions as tears flowed from his eyes while looking at his friend.
-Ugh, that red-haired guy. Tsk.
Looking at Hu Bong, the golden fox clicked her tongue. However, the position where this dangerous fox was on was on the head of Bi Mak-heon.
‘W-what?’
Bi Mak-heon knew about her identity, but he still felt strange. A weird energy manifested in the atmosphere.
’!?’
“Move back everyone!”
Baekgi shouted right away to everyone as Hu Bong, Mak-heon, Yu So-hwa and Im So-hye stepped back.
Woong!
The space shook and a person appeared. It wasn’t just one person, but actually two people and a Ghost.
“Lord!”
Hu Bong and Baekgi shouted at the same time. The two people were Chun Yeowun and H, who was wearing a white research coat.
-Chun Ma!
Phat!
“Uk!”
The fox kicked Bi Mak-heon’s arms to jump into the arms of Chun Yeowun, who took away the fox rubbing its body on his and put it on his shoulder; the fox proceeded to say that it liked this place as well.
“Tsk.”
Chun Yeowun clicked his tongue, using the Sky Demon Sword to absorb the E‘s Ghost into his wrist guard. He was skeptical at first, but once E became a Ghost, Chun Yeowun now had the ability to move through space and could move other people at Chun Yeowun’s will.
‘What an effective means of transportation.’
It was his favourite achievement so far. Looking at H, Hu Bong asked,
“Lord, who is he?”
“Oh Hyun-gu, a new researcher in our cult.”
H’s real name was Oh Hyun-gu. He, too, was a researcher who published his findings in major journals. Since he was abandoned by MS Group, he swore allegiance to Chun Yeowun and bowed.
“I am Oh Hyun-gu, please take good care of me.”
Baekgi frowned at the unfamiliar face and just nodded his head. He suddenly got on his knees and apologized to Chun Yeowun.
“Lord. It was because I was incompetent that I couldn’t carry out the orders given by Lord, so please punish me.”
“Punish? For what?”
Chun Yeowun was puzzled when Baekgi pointed somewhere. There was an object covered with a black cloth, and beneath the cloth was a corpse without arms or a neck.
“This was the one on the ship.”
The owner of the body was Chae Mun-tak. Baekgi was looking for Ark Young, who suddenly disappeared, and found Chae Mun-tak on a speedboat. However, Chae Mun-tak shortly had a seizure right before his head exploded.
H, or Oh Hyun-gu, heard that and thought,
‘I would have turned like that too.’
H had only survived because his life was saved by Chun Yeowun. The nano explosions weren’t something Baekgi could prevent, so Chun Yeowun told him not to worry. However, even the executives could be removed by A this easily and thoughtlessly, Chun Yeowun figured that there must be more secrets beyond what he knew so far.
‘Annoying.’
“However, my Lord…”
“Hm?”
Hu Bong, who joined them later, was curious about what happened to Baekgi because he was acting weird. When Hu Bong asked, Baekgi told him not to worry so he just waited first, but he couldn’t wait any longer.
“What happened—”
“Lord Chun Ma, look at this.”
Bi Mak-heon suddenly intervened.
“What?”
At Chun Yeowun’s confusion, Bi Mak-heon showed him his phone screen. An unexpected message was written on the screen along the word, “EMERGENCY”:
[Raid by Blade Six]
