Chapter 154

Chapter 154

Chapter 154 – Seoul Restoration (5)

“Sora-nim, did you truly need to take things to such an extreme?”

Jung Sora offered a serene grin in response to her closest confidants’ inquiries.

“Do you not see the immense benefits we have secured in exchange?”

“Well, that is…”

Following her remark, her subordinates surveyed their surroundings.

The makeshift lodging assigned to their group was overflowing with a bounty of provisions.

Prepackaged rice, instant ramen, dried seaweed, sweet snacks—there was more than enough sustenance to feed everyone present.

They had brought along several thousand individuals who had been integrated into the vanguard led by Kim Jae-hyun, in addition to the tens of thousands of refugees remaining at their primary stronghold.

Even so, the food and drink stockpiled here were more than enough to feed that massive gathering.

Yet, what truly defied belief was that this location possessed both active electrical power and running water.

Ever since the beasts had emerged, the metropolitan power grid had lay in ruins, leaving the city in darkness for a very long time.

For such utilities to function, either this structure possessed an independent backup generator, or some supernatural talent was actively maintaining them. In this scenario, the latter seemed far more plausible.

“…So the reports were entirely accurate.”

The data they had gathered was something both Jung Sora and her primary officers had already studied.

Even so, the bulk of those reports had sounded too absurd to be genuine—mere hyperbole, or perhaps the consequences of mental manipulation and suggestion.

“Ji-woong, do you detect any unnatural interference with our thoughts right now?”

Park Ji-woong’s awakened talent was that of a master of illusions, allowing him to craft fabrications so tangible they felt indistinguishable from reality.

Because his capabilities were deeply connected to the subconscious, he possessed an incredibly high defiance against psychic assaults.

He replied with absolute confidence.

“…There is no interference whatsoever. Every single thing we are perceiving and experiencing is genuine.”

Jung Sora stared down at the paper container holding her warm drink and murmured,

“We have already verified it. There was no psychological tampering discovered within our operatives’ minds. Furthermore, the vast majority of them traveled here alongside their companions, friends, or relatives.”

Taking a small sip, she surveyed the relief supplies and the modern conveniences like the nearby microwaves, her expression turning somber.

“They described this place as merely a provisional staging zone. Yet, observe the sheer scale of the preparation. It is a completely different world compared to our faction, where everyone was slowly starving to death in unison. No… comparing it to the difference between the heavens and the earth would be entirely accurate.”

“……”

A heavy silence descended upon them as they recollected the testimony their intelligence operative had delivered in their presence.

“…But given the immense strength you command, Sora-nim, would it not have been possible to treat with them on equal terms?”

Jung Sora let out a soft, amused chuckle at the suggestion.

“Equal terms… is that truly how you perceive things?”

In the beginning, she had harbored the exact same assumption.

As she compiled the various field reports, she had convinced herself that the faction operating out of Busan had achieved a miracle through the collective efforts of multiple individuals whose talents were at least on par with her own—if not superior.

Talents capable of marking secure territories, producing electricity, managing water supplies, multiplying food, and so forth.

In contrast to Seoul, Busan had apparently gathered highly capable figures into a tightly integrated cooperative, maximizing their collective potential.

But that assumption was entirely incorrect.

Jung Sora closed her eyes briefly, visualizing the spectacle she had seen.

In truth, she had been thoroughly intimidated long before she ever stood in front of Kim Jae-hyun.

An immense, awe-inspiring wall ran across the expansive Han River, even enclosing the Hannam Bridge within its perimeter.

It appeared that no one else among her followers had truly comprehended the reality of its existence.

‘The rumors were true.’

At first, she had dismissed the whispers of Busan being encircled by a colossal barrier as mere wild exaggeration.

Yet, the moment she stood beneath that very structure, she understood—instinctively and without a doubt.

‘Busan must be protected by an even more formidable wall than this.’

Her subordinate’s notion that they could negotiate “as equals” now sounded incredibly naive.

Even after meeting Kim Jae-hyun face-to-face, they still possessed no real understanding of the true scale of his authority.

Owing to her deep bond with spirits, Jung Sora had been uniquely capable of sensing the overwhelming aura radiating from that barrier.

And when she finally stood before Kim Jae-hyun, bowing her head had felt like the most natural act in the world.

Just as prehistoric humanity bowed before the terrifying grandeur of natural disasters, yielding to an incomprehensible dominion was the only sensible choice.

Unlike Cha Hyun-seung, who had focused primarily on Kim Jae-hyun’s physical capabilities, Jung Sora—whose power relied on spirits—was sensitive exclusively to his spiritual essence.

Consequently—

Wooooong—!

A dazzling glow erupted all around her.

“Ah!”

Jung Sora gasped as she felt the dark-colored light merging directly into her physical form, once again perceiving the vastness of Kim Jae-hyun’s existence.

Wooooong!

Before the remaining ambient light could finish merging, a majestic radiance began to encircle her body in a swirling pattern.

[Citizen Jung Sora’s Loyalty has reached 100.]

[Citizen Jung Sora has been registered as a Vassal.]

[The Vassal limit has increased.]

[Citizen Jung Sora’s Trust has increased.]

[Citizen Jung Sora’s Trust has reached 100.]

[‘Blessing of the Four Great Spirits’ has been acquired.]

‘Oh?’

A succession of system alerts manifested.

‘Already?’

From the very moment she was processed, Jung Sora had maintained incredibly high ratings in both her trust and loyalty metrics.

That fact had left him feeling quite intrigued.

‘Cha Hyun-seung has barely begun to show any real loyalty…’

Cha Hyun-seung’s devotion remained at the absolute bottom, which kept him from being registered as a vassal.

Jung Sora, by contrast, had met the requirements to become a vassal from the very beginning.

However, since he had not yet formally extended the invitation, her registration had not been finalized.

Yet now, her loyalty had abruptly surged to maximum, and she had transitioned into a vassal through her own actions.

‘I should probably look into this at a later time.’

His hypothesis that superior power levels and sturdier mental defenses required unique catalysts to cultivate trust and devotion had just been disproven.

‘Perhaps it is simply determined by individual character? I cannot say for sure.’

Regardless, the outcome was highly favorable.

An exceptionally strong individual was now counted among his vassals.

Upon inspecting the citizen registry interface, her level had ascended to 50, and her SR-grade Blessing of the Four Great Spirits had transitioned into the SSR-grade Protection of the Four Great Spirits.

Her overall combat capability had experienced a massive leap.

At that exact instant—

[Protection of the Four Great Spirits reacts with World Tree’s Vitality.]

An entirely unfamiliar alert manifested.

[Protection of the Four Great Spirits has been elevated to Companion of the Four Great Spirit Kings.]

In tandem with this—

“!”

His perception of his surroundings dissolved.

An environment of unblemished white materialized in every direction.

Within this space—

{Who might you be?}

A query, laced with annoyance, echoed through the void.

Fwoosh—!

An intense blaze erupted on his left side.

Yet it lasted only a brief moment.

Sizzle—

A freezing barrier of water surged upward, extinguishing the heat.

{What exactly do you think you are doing?}

{This individual is not one selected by the World Tree.}

{And why should that concern us?}

While the shapeless manifestations of fire and water confronted one another, a sudden gust of wind swept through, tossing his hair.

{My, my~ Does it truly make a difference~?}

At the exact same time—

Rumble—

The pristine white floor began to vibrate.

Then, once more, the breeze wrapped itself around him.

{See~? Even Trowell is fond of him~}

In response to this, the flames flared up with renewed fury.

{Sylphid. You wouldn’t mind either way, would you?}

The freezing water instantly neutralized the fire once more.

{It appears you are the sole dissenter here, Salion.}

The wind shifted playfully once again.

{Aha~ As long as it proves entertaining, nothing else matters~!}

Just then—

[Advanced Fire Magic reacts.]

Without warning, pillars of fire erupted around him.

This was the flame magic that had steadily progressed in tandem with his mystical companion, the Three-legged Crow.

It seemed to have automatically triggered in response to the presence of the Fire Spirit King.

{Could this be…?}

At that very moment—

Woooong!

An immense shockwave of energy rippled outward from him, blanketing the entire area.

[A divine presence favorable to the Absolute Dweller has been detected.]

[Absorbing the lesser divine presence.]

Fwoosh!

The blazing inferno was the first to shrink.

「Salion (Lv. 1)」

The Fire Spirit King.

Once an immense and terrifying conflagration, it had now dwindled into a minor ball of fire, scarcely larger than a basketball.

{What?}

{Oh my~?}

The exact same phenomenon befell the other entities.

Swooosh—!

Boom!

Water and wind underwent the transformation.

「Elquines (Lv. 1)」

The Water Spirit King.

「Sylphid (Lv. 1)」

The Wind Spirit King.

Each of them manifested as a charming young girl composed of water and air, respectively.

Lastly—

Rumble!

The pale ground shook with immense force.

「Trowell (Lv. 1)」

The Earth Spirit King.

It had reconstituted itself as a miniature golem.

Then—

Flash!

His vision cleared, and he was standing back inside Seoul Station.

“What… What just took place?!”

“Hehe~ This is quite amusing~”

“Kurrk?”

Elquines gaped in utter bewilderment, whereas Sylphid had already adjusted to her new reality and was drifting lazily through the air. Trowell, meanwhile, simply kept his eyes fixed on him.

‘…What on earth is happening here?’

The events had unfolded with such speed that he struggled to comprehend the situation.

Then—

Fwoosh—!

A small fireball impacted his chest.

Curiously, it did not emit any heat whatsoever.

[You rascal! You have stripped away our power! And you still presume to call yourself our companion?!]

Hearing those words, the truth dawned on him.

The Four Great Spirit Kings had been refashioned into his familiars.

‘Is this similar to what occurred with Lilith?’

The primary distinction lay in the fact that they bore no malice toward him.

Unlike Lilith, whose consciousness had fractured upon her conversion into a mystical beast, their minds remained completely whole.

“…You all look incredibly charming now.”

“Y-You think I am charming?!”

“Ahaha~”

The spirits of water, wind, and earth reacted with complete ease.

Only the Fire Spirit King, Salion, appeared deeply troubled by their current predicament.

[Everyone, snap out of it! This is an emergency! Our power has been entirely drained!]

Yet none of the others paid any heed to Salion’s protests.

“Listen up, everyone, gather around for a moment.”

“Understood~”

“Yes~!”

“Kurrk.”

[W-Why is my physical form moving against my will?!]

It was just as he suspected.

All familiars were bound to obey his directives.

He had not paid close attention to it previously, but observing Salion’s behavior, there was clearly an absolute geas at work.

If they complied of their own volition, nothing happened.

However, if they attempted to defy him, the systemic compulsion took control.

‘World Tree’s Vitality.’

He channeled this energy directly into them.

After all, it was the World Tree’s Vitality that had initiated his contact with the Spirit Kings to begin with.

Even the opening remarks of the Fire Spirit King had been centered around the World Tree.

Thus, he chose to share this life force with them.

Immediately—

“Oh~”

“So incredibly cozy~”

“Kurrk.”

The Spirit Kings beamed with delight.

[Hmph. Do not assume you can win me over with such gestures.]

Even so, the Fire Spirit King was clearly enjoying the sensation.

He persisted in channeling the World Tree’s Vitality into their forms for several minutes.

“Ah, s-stop! I cannot hold any more!”

“Me as well~”

Just as they reached their absolute capacity—

[Sylphid’s level has increased.]

[Wind power within the domain has increased by 100%.]

[Elquines’ level has increased.]

[Water power within the domain has increased by 100%.]

[Trowell’s level has increased.]

[Earth power within the domain has increased by 100%.]

[Salion’s level has increased.]

[Fire power within the domain has increased by 100%.]

The Spirit Kings had all advanced in level simultaneously.

“How do you feel? Do you feel your strength returning?”

“Yes-!”

“It feels somewhat like that, but also not quite~”

“Kurgh.”

[Hmph, humph!]

It appeared he would need to consistently feed them with the life force of the World Tree.

‘After all… I do feel a slight sense of responsibility.’

Until they reached at least level 10, he intended to supply them with vitality regularly.

Even if it had occurred automatically, he had still stripped them of their vast powers in an instant.

‘Though it looks like none of them really mind, aside from Salion.’

He paused to reflect deeply on the situation.

‘Can I truly claim this authority as my own?’

The system had prioritized his personal intent above everything else.

‘The notification I just received referred to it as a “friendly divinity.”‘

Unlike Lilith, they had not harbored any active malice toward him.

Yet, the system had forcefully extracted their power anyway.

‘What is the system’s ultimate objective? The consumption of divine entities?’

If there was a clear hierarchy of higher and lower divinities, it implied that ranks existed among them. Perhaps the system aimed to elevate itself to a higher state of existence.

‘If consuming other divine forces is required for that evolution…’

What would the system do once it achieved its ultimate purpose?

Would it guarantee the safety of himself and his followers?

There were still far too many unknowns.

Right then—

“Jae-hyun-nim. Park Sung-hyun is making his way toward Konkuk University Entrance Station with his forces.”

Since Commander Lee Hak-gi had personally advised him to remain vigilant regarding this individual, he had been monitoring his movements closely.

He had preferred to maintain a peaceful relationship if possible, but the man was nothing more than a monster who viewed taking human lives as a trivial matter.

Whether he had always possessed such a nature or had been corrupted by his associates remained unclear. However, the majority of his faction’s leadership possessed the exact same bloodthirsty mentality.

The sole reason he had allowed them to survive up to this point was the concern that his death would throw the lives of the tens of thousands of survivors under his rule into chaos.

But that was no longer an obstacle.

Now that the Count’s domain centered around Seoul Station had been fully established, they could absorb those survivors without any issues.

‘Absolute Dweller’s Eye.’

Monitoring the situation through Seo Ye-jin’s rats, he confirmed that they were indeed keeping a close watch on Park Sung-hyun’s unit.

Having verified their position, he channeled his energy into the Ring of Communication.

[Lee Jun-hyuk, Park Sung-hyun is currently approaching Konkuk University Entrance Station.]

“We are fully prepared.”

Upon receiving confirmation of their readiness—

‘Open the North Gate.’

He unlocked the passage.