101 — Chapter 101

After safely leaving the Red Tower, I checked the message I’d received from Seol Si-heon.

The message stated that if I intended to participate in the raid on the Thirteen Palaces of the Void, I needed to disguise my identity, so I should come to a branch of the guild, The Old Gods’ Wound.

The location was a branch office situated quite far from their main headquarters at Mount Cheonsan, likely to avoid prying eyes.

Following the complicated directions to an area dense with guild offices, I locked eyes with him while he was smoking a cigarette on the ground floor.

As soon as Seol Si-heon saw me, he handed over a thick stack of papers.

“Study this.”

“What is this?”

“Personal information on one of our guild members whom you’ll be impersonating. Did you submit a leave request to the Special Unit?”

“They’re short-staffed, so that wasn’t an option. But there’s no need to worry.”

I had already set up a double using my Tentacle of Mimicry, which was currently acting out a late-onset case of food poisoning. No one would notice I was gone.

The fellow was currently lying in the hospital bed next to Kang Ha-neul—who was admitted for fractures—busily munching on the fruit baskets brought for the spearman.

I looked at the first page of the documents Seol Si-heon gave me.

The identity was a swordsman from The Old Gods’ Wound who would be participating in the Thirteen Palaces of the Void raid. His name was “Sae Pa-ran.”¹

Did he pick a similar name just for me?

Since I wasn’t particularly fond of my own name, I was conflicted about whether to feel grateful or annoyed.

“Age 27, no special ability, but martial arts skill is at the Mid-tier level…”

“I created a cover identity with a physique and age as close to yours as possible. Memorize every single detail written there and act accordingly.”

“Will this be okay? I don’t even know how to use a sword.”

“The backstory is that you were a nepotism hire, so as long as you don’t act too conspicuously among the other swordsmen, you’ll be fine.”

“…….”

He hesitated for a moment, then spoke in a low voice as if conscious of his surroundings.

“When and where you reveal your true identity depends on your judgment, but depending on the situation, we might not be able to cover for you.”

“I’m aware.”

The “identity” he was referring to wasn’t Special Unit Agent Sae Hayan, but the Apostle of the Outer God.

The Sword Immortal’s request was to ensure that no one ascended the vacant throne after the King was slain.

Therefore, if I were to reveal my true form in front of everyone, it was inevitable that I would have to face them as the Apostle.

I had accepted the proposal with that resolve in the first place, but I still needed a minimum safety measure to hide my identity.

When I pulled out a newly purchased mask from my robe, Seol Si-heon shook his head.

“Wearing something like that will only make you more suspicious. Members of The Old Gods’ Wound don’t wear masks.”

“But I don’t really have any other way.”

“Why do you think I came to meet you in person? Come closer.”

I approached Seol Si-heon half-doubtingly as he gestured to me.

He placed both hands on my face and began to knead it like bread dough.

Accompanied by a dull pain, the sound of bones and muscles shifting echoed deep inside my head.

When I opened my eyes a moment later, I had become a person with a completely different face.

“This is…?”

“It’s one of the martial arts techniques called Disguise. You won’t have to worry about your identity being discovered until your internal energy runs out.”

“Is this also an internal energy technique?”

“That’s right. It only changes your face and cannot correct your voice or physique, so you must be careful, but still…”

“This is more than enough.”

After loosening my throat for a moment, I immediately spoke in the voice of a bright, young swordsman.

“I’ve observed the gait and habits unique to swordsmen quite a bit, so I can mimic them.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. I have a good intuition, you see.”

“…So it seems.”

I checked my reflection in the window of a nearby shop.

If I wore a training uniform and carried a sword instead of a robe, I looked exactly like a swordsman from The Old Gods’ Wound.

I wouldn’t be able to imitate the callouses on my hands or actual swordsmanship, but not many people would notice anything strange at first glance.

It seemed sufficient to deceive others while the raid was in progress.

Actually, this is pretty useful, isn’t it?

Unlike the Tentacle of Mimicry, it doesn’t unravel when I take a hit, and I can still use magic.

After adding Disguise to my list of candidate internal energy techniques to receive as a reward, I received weapons and equipment from Seol Si-heon.

Three days passed after I reverted my face and returned to the Special Unit.

Finally, the Thirteen Palaces of the Void manifested over the Korean Peninsula.

---

A black shadow loomed over Seoul.

Even though the sun was up in a cloudless sky, the surroundings were eerily dark, like dawn.

It felt as if something invisible was covering the sky overhead.

People who opened their windows and looked up in frustration soon realized that their bodies were floating.

“Wait, uh…!”

“What is this?”

“I’m flying!”

“Help me!”

The wheels of cars running on the roads spun uselessly, and birds stopped flapping their wings.

In some water and sewage systems, water began to flow backward, paralyzing parts of the city’s functions.

Park Mu-cheol, who was sitting in the Bureau’s command center in place of Ha Yeri—who was out in the field to participate in the raid—responded immediately.

“Issue a disaster alert right now. Tell all citizens to close their windows and stay inside.”

“Understood!”

Whatever a Seed of Calamity takes from humans, regardless of its form, becomes nourishment for the Seed.

The mages of the Magic Tower immediately began analyzing how the loss of gravity for those looking up at the sky would affect the interior of the Thirteen Palaces of the Void.

“Based on the atmospheric density analysis, the force of gravity is intensifying around the Seed of Calamity.”

“Does that mean movement inside will be restricted?”

“It’s highly likely. Awakened at the Middle Level or below will have difficulty drawing out their abilities.”

For now, it was only at the level where rifts were forming here and there, with fallen leaves and shriveled tentacles that had been piled in alleys floating around.

However, it was certain that the danger would only grow as time passed.

If gravity decreased beyond a certain point, the force holding the air in place would vanish, so they had to keep in mind the possibility that breathing itself might become impossible.

If that were to happen, the destruction of Seoul and Busan would be certain.

“Do not panic. In history, there has never been a case where the King wasn’t killed before the Thirteen Palaces of the Void completed a full rotation of the Earth,” Ha Yeri spoke calmly over the radio.

The raid party—consisting of South Korea’s major guilds, including her and Alexei—was currently standing before the Gate that led to the Thirteen Palaces of the Void.

I was wedged among them, retying the sword that kept slipping from my waist.

Seo Chae-rin, an executive of the Union who had come up from Busan, watched me and muttered with a look of pure patheticism.

“What’s with this guy?”

“Excuse me?”

“I can’t believe the Seoul bastards are actually thinking of sending a guy like this into a Seed of Calamity. How pathetic.”

“…….”

Let’s see. How was I supposed to respond in a situation like this?

I recalled the setting for the swordsman ‘Sae Pa-ran’ that I’d spent a week memorizing.

The papers Seol Si-heon gave me stated that he had designed the speech and behavior to be the polar opposite of my true self, so that no one would suspect my identity for even a second.

To use his words, I was a ‘serious, taciturn, and righteous warrior who cannot tolerate injustice.’

Did that mean Seol Si-heon viewed the real me as a ‘loud, frivolous, evil mage who hops onto injustice faster than anyone else’?

Good grief, he didn’t get a single thing right.

Pushing my complaints aside, I bowed my head to Seo Chae-rin.

It would be troublesome if I were branded as an incompetent raid member this early on.

“My name is Sae Pa-ran.”

“Oh, uh… right. I’m Seo Chae-rin…”

“There is no need to worry. No matter what happens inside, I will make sure to protect you.”

“Wh-what are you saying?! Who do you think you are!?”

Seo Chae-rin reacted with more surprise than I expected.

Inside her gaping mouth, I could see sharp fangs that looked like they’d hurt if they bit you.

Her epithet was ‘Mad Dog,’ wasn’t it?

I hadn’t seen her in action during my last trip to Busan, but she surely had a talent for combat.

“Worry about keeping track of your own sword before you say stuff like that! And I’m not happy at all hearing that from a Seoulite, got it!?”

“…….”

“Even your name is similar to that jerk Yeon-hwa-unnie is always whining about, it’s creeping me out… I-if anything, it’ll be safer if you stay by my side!”

It was an ambiguous answer—half rejection, half acceptance.

Still, it was much easier to read her true feelings compared to someone like No Yeon-hwa, who made her dislike blatantly obvious.

There were only three Awakened sent from the Union, including her.

Since their numbers were significantly lower than the other guilds and they lacked any real connections here, it would be difficult for them to escape if they became isolated on the battlefield.

I adjusted the sword at my waist once more and spoke to her.

“Then I shall do so.”

“Just… don’t fall behind!”

If nothing else, I had confirmed the effectiveness of the Disguise.

If she couldn’t recognize me from this close, I could rest easy.

Just as I finished my preparations by tightening the cord at my waist again, space began to fracture in front of the waiting forces.

“That’s…!”

“It’s finally here. Contact the Tower and confirm if this is the Gate we’ve been waiting for.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

The method for entering the Thirteen Palaces of the Void was very simple.

You just had to walk in.

This was because any Gate naturally generated when the King’s Palace passed overhead would lead to the interior of the Seed of Calamity rather than a standard dungeon.

The Gate appearing before us was also one the Magic Tower had identified in advance, observing that it would form at this exact time and place.

They had hand-picked one that could accommodate a large number of people, had a low risk of collapse, and would remain stable for as long as possible.

Finally, the Gate opened completely.

After receiving confirmation from the Tower that it was the correct Gate, Ha Yeri began the final briefing while looking at us.

It seemed she felt standing on a footstool in front of such a large crowd would wound her pride, as she was perched atop a tall rock instead.

She didn’t seem to realize the height only made her look smaller, but no one pointed it out.

“As I have explained several times, there is only one objective: enter the inner castle as quickly as possible and slay the King. Communication may be restricted inside, so please focus entirely on executing your assigned roles. And…”

The final warning, which everyone already knew.

It was none other than how to deal with those who entered through other Gates.

“Everyone outside of the people gathered here is an enemy. Even if you encounter someone from the same country, the same region, or even the same guild, you must remain on guard.”

Currently, the Bureau was controlling entry to all Gates that had appeared in Seoul.

Therefore, the objective of anyone who managed to force their way into the Thirteen Palaces of the Void could only be one thing.

“If the throne is taken, there is no turning back.”

With that warning concluded, the vanguard entered the Gate.

The raid had officially begun.