Chapter 255  

"Moreover, it seems that Helen is up to something in the United States,” Eveheim muttered.

Helen, known as the Miraculous Alchemist, initially had some connection with the Demon King Worshipers due to various objectives. However, she now appeared to have completely sided with Yu-Seong and had invented something extraordinary.

The problem was that even Eveheim could not access the new invention she had made.

‘Also, gaining information is not easy…’

This was primarily because the Hidden Team fully aligned their actions with Yu-Seong's intentions. The exact amount of money Yu-Seong was investing remained unclear, but it appeared to be substantial.

Whenever Demon King Worshipers were involved, the Hidden Team would emerge as guardians of justice, disrupting their plans and making it challenging for them to proceed smoothly. Naturally, in response, Eveheim had also been pouring in a considerable amount of money, but a very simple physical limit had been reached.

‘It’s because there are far more ordinary saints than villains.’

In this world, regardless, there were more ordinary people than villains. And among ordinary people, those who would become villains were extremely rare. No matter how much money one had, it could not be used if there weren't enough people.

Grimacing, Eveheim tilted his whiskey glass. He could only click his tongue at the suffocating reality.

‘That little kiddo has grown this much.’?

He shouldn't let his guard down. It was no longer just a matter of competition on that level. Before he realized it, Yu-Seong's level had caught up to his own or even overwhelmed him.

Even the plans Eveheim had envisioned from long ago were not going as planned. Thus, Eveheim decided to gamble by openly provoking Yu-Seong.

In this situation, Eveheim had two things to consider.

"Should I take a decisive advantage from here..."

This was another gamble. Betting on the certainty that Yu-Seong was not in Korea, he could seize the opportunity.

"Or should I play it safe and flush him out..."

In fact, this choice was safer than taking a gamble. From Eveheim's perspective, whether Yu-Seong was in England or anywhere in Europe, he would still be able to confront him at his home base. All Eveheim had to do was choose one option from the two available choices.

‘After all, it will be quite easy to read Choi Yu-Seong's movements…’

All he needed was a big move prepared for this moment. Eveheim, licking his lips with the tip of his tongue, looked up at the ceiling while supporting his forehead. No matter what he chose, this would be the last decision to be made.

‘It's a showdown, Choi Yu-Seong.’

Eveheim's purple eyes shone brightly.

***

In fact, to deceive the opponent, one must not do it half-heartedly. Yu-Seong decided that the only person who would know the main outline of this operation would be Yu-Ri. Additionally, he called Jin-Hwan and Jin-Young to film several dungeon hunting videos in a single day.

"Please keep the fact that I've attacked several dungeons today a secret for a while. Also, change the dates on the videos."

The two didn't know why, but they decided to follow Yu-Seong's instructions.

With the help of Woo-Jae, Yu-Seong also directly contacted the Association Chairman and had the records deleted.

With all the necessary preparations complete, the next day, Yu-Seong opened a portal to head to England.

"Are you really going alone?" Yu-Ri, who was standing right behind him, asked.

"Yeah."

"But you said it could be a trap," Yu-Ri said.

"That's why I'm going alone. If Eveheim targets Seoul when I'm away, it'll be the worst-case scenario."

Even though he had prepared an elaborate deception, Yu-Seong couldn't afford to be complacent. It was wise to assume that Eveheim also had a backup plan prepared.

‘In that case, it's better to go alone and appear solo.’

This decision was aimed at enticing Eveheim, who wouldn't want to miss the opportunity to capture his prey that had entered his territory alone. For Yu-Seong, the most undesirable situation was Eveheim coming to Seoul. ‘I can't know what choice Eveheim will make.’

Therefore, the ideal situation would be after Do-Jin and Bernard Yoo emerge from the training room. Most of Yu-Seong's plans up until now had been based on after the two of them came out of the room. However, he couldn't simply ignore this situation, especially when he had been openly provoked like this.

‘Right. When has the world ever gone my way?’

Yu-Seong looked around at the people standing before him. He waved his hand and said, "I'll be back."

"This isn't going to be another situation where we can't see you for years, is it?"

They seemed anxious due to the incident from before, but Yu-Seong confidently nodded in response. He reassured them, saying, "I promise."

There would absolutely not be a situation like last time.

"We'll see each other again in a few days."

With a firm promise made to everyone, Yu-Seong flung himself into the portal.

***

If he exerted himself, he could open portals continuously and reach England in less than an hour. However, Yu-Seong made a conscious decision to take a bit more time. Once he entered a nearby area in Europe through the portal, he chose to board a flight instead.

‘The portal magic emits large magical waves and could easily be detected if I'm not careful.’

That would render all the work he had done in Korea meaningless, wouldn't it? With a temporarily prepared fake ID, he boarded a plane and crossed over to England. For Yu-Seong, using appearance modification and illusion magic to enter and leave countries was as easy as eating a meal.

‘I'll approach quietly and find out for sure.’

Yu-Seong mused while working out his plan. Then, an unexpected breaking news appeared on the massive TV at the airport.

'What?'?

The Tower of Heaven in Moscow, Russia, had collapsed. The Tower had never shaken or even trembled in the face of any mana device or threat. And yet, the fact that it had now collapsed made Yu-Seong jump up from his seat.

‘Eveheim!’

In the original novel, there hadn’t been an event where the Tower of Heaven had collapsed. However, Yu-Seong wasn’t completely clueless about how that could happen. He had heard about it from Loki.

In each major city on Earth where the Towers of Heaven suddenly descended, there existed characters that could be called 'administrators.' Although they mostly lived in secrecy, performing NPC roles, their deaths would result in catastrophic events leading to the collapse of the tower.

'And the moment the Tower collapses, the mana that maintained the Tower would explode.'

It would be similar to a nuclear explosion and inevitably, countless lives would be lost.

Therefore, Yu-Seong had instinctively jumped up from his seat suddenly, but, there hadn’t been any reports of a massive explosion or numerous casualties. From the perspective of the hastily reporting helicopter, no explosion could be seen.

'What's going on?'?

It was a situation different from what he'd heard. Where had the mana that had resided in the fallen Tower of Heaven disappeared to? Beyond the thick dust visible beyond the camera, Yu-Seong noticed something black writhing, and he soon found the answer.

'No way, Eveheim you...!'?

Then, something black rose high into the sky, piercing and shattering the helicopter, causing the camera screen to darken instantly. A tremendous scream erupted from the mouth of the reporter who had been broadcasting the breaking news.

Amidst immense chaos, a bone-chilling and hair-raising voice echoed from beyond the microphone.

[Wait for me, humans. Finally, our era is coming, and I, Luxuria, will engulf the world.]

The sinister laughter of Luxuria, the Demon King of Lust, threw the entire airport into a panic. Seeing the situation, Yu-Seong clenched his teeth.

'Demon King Worshipers have known how to summon the Demon King for a very long time.'?

The only thing that had stopped them was that it was difficult for them to gather sufficient mana to summon the Demon King. That was why they had been gathering dark mana from mass murders. At least, that had been the assumption; Yu-Seong had been wrong.

'From the beginning, Eveheim was planning to bring down the Tower of Heaven!'?

Eveheim had planned to summon the Demon King by using the massive mana explosion. Yu-Seong finally understands the reason for the unusually high activity of the Demon King Worshipers in cities where the Tower of Heaven was located.

Realizing the truth, Yu-Seong's entire body was covered in goosebumps in an instant.

'Moscow is just the beginning. From the very start, Eveheim has been trying to...'

Eveheim had been preparing until now for this one big move.

Yu-Seong hurriedly opened his smartphone, launching the Internet news page.

'Shanghai, China, too...!'?

With the collapse of the Tower of Heaven in Shanghai, a Demon King descended. It looked like a sea dragon as it dove into the ocean, yet, its size was so colossal that its face soared up, piercing through the clouds.

As the dragon unleashed a savage roar and breathed out, a tenth of Shanghai vanished in a blink. Surprisingly, it happened in less than 10 seconds.

'Invidia, the Demon King of Envy!'?

Recognizing the opponent’s identity, the next news article caught Yu-Seong's eye. In the center of Paris, France, a demon with the face of a dragon on a red blood field appeared, and thousands of monsters started pouring out from the dungeon.

'Ira, the Demon King of Wrath...'?

Among the Seven Demon Kings of the Apocalypse, the second in rank had also made an appearance.

If Yu-Seong simply left this situation as it was, all of Europe would turn into a massive battlefield. Moreover, the mana collected from this slaughter would eventually summon Superbia, referred to as the strongest and the worst among the Demon Kings. If four Demon Kings, including Superbia, descended upon the world all at once, then even Yu-Seong wouldn’t be able to guarantee victory.

'Eveheim, you madman. If you can't have your way, then are you intending to destroy the entire world?'?

Heat surged to the tips of his hair, anger threatening to override his reason, but Yu-Seong couldn't afford to act recklessly. Especially in such times, he had to calmly assess the situation. Yu-Seong losing composure and becoming agitated was exactly what Eveheim greatly favored.

'I want to rush to Shanghai, which could potentially become a threat to the Korean Peninsula but...'?

In fact, Paris was the more urgent concern. Moreover, Yu-Seong was currently stepping foot in Europe.

‘I have to trust my colleagues.’

There were also many powerful players in China. If they had just a bit more power to support them, they could indeed take down Invidia, who had descended upon Shanghai. Making his decision, Yu-Seong quickly picked up the phone.

- Yu-Seong oppa.

Yu-Seong nodded in response to Yu-Ri’s voice.

"I want all members of Hunting Team 8 to go to Shanghai."

- And what about Moscow?

While it was also far from the Korean Peninsula, it was still in Asia.

'And Russia has a relatively weak awakened force.’

As if to soothe his worry, a message popped up on his phone.

'Helen?'?

The message said that both she and Rachel were heading to Moscow.

Despite feeling relieved, Yu-Seong knew that such a force would still be insufficient. The demon king, Luxuria, who had descended upon Moscow, was ranked third after Superbia and Ira.

"I'm counting on you. Please, stay alive," he said.

- Of course. See you alive.

After hanging up the phone, Yu-Seong was about to call the next person when he was interrupted by a ringing.

"Ji-Ho hyung-nim," he began.

- I suddenly had a vision this morning and was able to foresee that this situation would happen. I am currently on my way to Moscow with Mi-Na and Captain Baek.

"Ah... Thank you." Yu-Seong let out a small sigh of relief without realizing it.

'If it's Helen and Rachel, Ji-Ho hyung-nim, Mi-Na noona, and Captain Baek Cheol...'?

Then, finally, it was enough to give him relief. Now, Yu-Seong could focus on Ira, the Demon King of Wrath, who had descended upon Europe with a clear mind.