Moving Darkness (1)

‘Wow…’

I knew it, but this was truly an unbelievable power.

[Path of Devour].

The ultimate reward given to Yu Seha, as mentioned by <Rank 1>.

In essence, it was nearly a perfect superior version of the selection method of [Eyes of Reversed Heaven] activated so far.

There were no restrictions on the grade selected.
I could see the entire list.
Among them, I could choose one myself and seize it.

‘This is exactly what power copying is.’

There was one more advantage here, which was that it could be activated definitively.

‘Originally, I wouldn’t have been able to obtain anything from the <Sea Dragon>.’

As proof, not even <Choice>.
Nor the basic [Eyes of Reversed Heaven] were activated.

Naturally, the techniques handled by the <Sea Dragon> were too advanced for mere imitation.

But <Devour> was an auxiliary ability that activated according to my will.

In other words, it meant I could activate it when I had a strong desire to acquire a skill from a particular being.

‘Yes, now, with a powerful being like the <Sea Dragon>.’

However, as groundbreaking as the ability was, there were also various restrictions.

The cooldown was a whopping 30 days…

‘It must contribute to killing the target.’

It had to play a decisive role in cutting off the target’s breath to be used.

Of course, such a drawback was not a problem due to its overwhelming advantages.

‘…Is this what it means for Yu Seha to truly take off?’

Indeed, just hearing about it and then embodying it with my own body made me think, ‘This is insanely overpowered…’
No wonder we couldn’t win no matter how much our Meowi tried.

Anyway, enough with the digressions.
It was time to choose.

‘Hmm.’

In fact, the list had nine options, but I only had to consider two.

The rest were mostly unattainable due to structural differences in my body.

Currently, the skills I could acquire were [Dragon Fear] and [Rising Dragon Tidal Wave].
Both were Epic-grade skills.

‘…Hmm.’

I leaned my back against the wall and pondered for a moment.

Both abilities had clear direction and performance.

Whichever I chose, it would have its own use.

‘…Still, I should choose this one for now.’

“Woohoo~”

As expected, it was growth befitting the core ability of the <Sea Dragon>.

What I chose was [Rising Dragon’s Tidal Wave], known as the pinnacle of <Water Attribute> abilities.

The whirlpool and water wall used by the [Sea Dragon], among other things…

All abilities using water were derived skills of [Rising Dragon’s Tidal Wave].

Among them, the one I acquired was [Tsunami].

From the brief explanation, it seemed to be a powerful [Area Skill] that attacks by creating a water-based tidal wave towards the front.

With this, I completed the update of all [Information Windows].

“Phew…”

Should I say it felt like crossing a big mountain?
I let out a small sigh in a strange sense of relief.

A feeling of excitement surged from deep within my chest.

‘I have become stronger.’

That fact both thrilled and worried me.

‘From now on, the future will change completely.’

All the opportunities that were to go to [Tartarus] vanished entirely due to my intervention.

Naturally, the [Direction] they would take would also be completely different from now on.

I didn’t regret it.
I had made my resolve long ago, and I was confident this would lead to better outcomes in the future.

‘But…’

To say I wasn’t afraid would be a lie.

I didn’t care about getting hurt or even dying.

‘But my children…’

Ju Na-young.
Moon Bora.
Senior Choi Mari.
Master Peng Jin-ah.
Lastly… I was scared that our angelic Meowi might get hurt.

“……”

Bzzzz!

“Hmm?”

It was then.
Suddenly, my phone vibrated.

A group chat where I conversed with everyone.
A photo had been uploaded there.

The location was the <Academy>’s exclusive VIP hospital room.

First was our cute Meowi smiling ‘Meow~’.

Second was clearly Moon Bora, mixing some incredibly strong medicine on a spoon, trying to feed it to Ju Na-young.

Lastly, Ju Na-young making a face of disgust, ‘Yuck…’ not wanting to eat it.

【Meow】: Meow~ Seha. We’re having a snack party at the hospital today. Come quickly!

“……”

A smile naturally formed on my lips.
A part of my chest warmed up.
The worries I had just a moment ago disappeared in an instant.

I stood up from my seat.
And headed straight to where my precious companions were.

Ah, by the way…

I thought I should buy some more snacks on the way.

About two weeks after Yu Seha’s party successfully cleared the <Sea Dragon Temple>.

In a city far from the <Academy>.

An abandoned factory that had long been closed and no one visited.

“Argh, ugh!!”

A man who appeared to be in his mid-40s was groaning in pain.

Judging by his uniform, he appeared to be a janitor from the <Academy>.

On the surface, he seemed like an ordinary civilian with no special powers, but in reality, he was a spy for the criminal clan <Tartarus>.

Exploiting his apparent lack of strength, he had infiltrated the <Academy> for a full three years.

Although he was loyal to his organization, bringing back various pieces of information,

He found himself in a life-threatening situation, completely unrelated to all that.

Crack!

“Ugh, ugh! Please, have mercy…!”
“Mercy? For trash like you?”

A woman was lifting him by his neck.

Her identity was none other than Moon Ha-yeon.

She was a high-ranking member of <Tartarus> and a ruthless criminal known by the nickname <Wings of Destruction>.

With her deep purple hair, she wore a beautiful smile, but the aura in her eyes was more menacing than anything else.

Right now, Moon Ha-yeon was seething with cold fury.
The guy she planted to extract information…
Only reported that he got caught without achieving anything, so it was natural for anger to surge.

Such emotions of Moon Ha-yeon led to the manifestation of her inner abilities.

Crack!

“…?! P-Please, have mercy! S-Save m—”

Those were his last words.

The janitor, who was instantly frozen, died on the spot while emitting cold breath.

But this ice wasn’t ordinary.

Amazingly, it was radiating intense heat.

As proof, the frozen body of the janitor burned to ashes.

Hot ice…

Moon Ha-yeon, who twisted the conventional laws of nature, demonstrated the manifestation of power.

Still not relieved, she grabbed her head and screamed as if in agony.

Damn, damn, damn!!!

“Damn it!!!”

Bang!

The innocent storage shelf froze, burned, and turned to ashes.

Soon, Moon Ha-yeon turned her gaze to the boy who had been bowing his head in silence for a while.

<Gonis Hunter Academy> first-year, mid-tier hunter.
His real identity was <Senior Clan Member> Kim Minsu.

“…Minsu? Our Minsu?”
“Yes, Moon Ha-yeon.”

Moon Ha-yeon clenched her fist tightly.
She slowly approached and grabbed his shoulder.

“…Minsu. You know, right? How important the <Sea Dragon Temple> was for my future. I tried to become the <Deputy Master> with the [Dragon Heart] that would come out from there… You know, right? Huh? You know, you bastard?”

“…Yes, I know well.”

“Good, you know well. And now you tell me after you’ve been caught? And only after that 40-year-old, pretending-to-be-cute, filthy whore of a chairman registered the <Trial>? Huh?”

“…I’m sorry. I have no excuse.”

Thud!

Her punch was so swift that Kim Minsu couldn’t even react. His jaw twisted as he collapsed.

Moon Ha-yeon, her rage unrelenting, kicked him while he was down.

“Minsu, Minsu!!! I told you! It affects my future. You know my dream.”

More than anything, to tear off the hypocritical faces of those <Hunters>.
To dominate the underworld and proudly reveal their ugly faces.

“My dream of creating a world where everyone is genuine… you know it well!!!”
“…I’m sorry.”
“You, you damned…!!!”

Moon Ha-yeon stopped just before stomping again.

The difference in abilities between her and Kim Minsu was significant.

If she stomped one more time, he might really cough up his guts and die.

“Cough… cough…”
“……”

Kim Minsu was quite useful.

The [Intrinsic Skill] he had was a hidden card that could overturn the <Academy>.

Moon Ha-yeon placed a hand on her forehead.

How on earth should I handle this…?

Surely, ‘that woman’ will come to sneer at me once she finds out.

Gnaw, gnaw.

Moon Ha-yeon unconsciously bit her thumb.

She flinched at the sound of approaching footsteps.

‘…Damn it.’

Speak of the devil.
I never thought she’d come this quickly.
She must have flown over the moment she heard the news, laughing, ‘Oh-ho-ho~’.

Soon, a woman appeared inside the warehouse.

The woman glanced at the charred corpse of the janitor.

“Hmm~ How barbaric…”
“……”

The woman, with her face covered by a veil, exuded an overwhelming sensuality alongside her voluptuous figure.

An allure so strong that most men would lose control on the spot.

And her attire was equally provocative…

She wore an outfit that looked like something an Eastern courtesan might wear.

“Hmm?”

The woman with a seductive smile removed the pipe from her mouth and slowly stopped in front of Moon Ha-yeon.

Then she blew cigarette smoke in Moon Ha-yeon’s face with a ‘hoo~’.

Clear mockery and disdain.

The strong smell of smoke made Moon Ha-yeon’s lips twitch slightly.

“Long time no see? Our Ha-yeon.”
“……”

Meanwhile, Kim Minsu, who was beaten and bleeding.

Seeing the humiliating scene directed at his superior, Moon Ha-yeon, his eyes flipped.

With a murderous look in his eyes, he stood up, ready to kill the approaching woman.

Thunk!

Of course, Moon Ha-yeon stepped on him to stop him, so that didn’t happen.

“Ha-yeon. Relax your eyes a bit, will you? If you frown like that at such a young age, you’ll get wrinkles. Hey~”
“……”

Tap, tap.

The woman tapped Moon Ha-yeon’s chin with her pipe.

She chuckled and spoke in a low voice.

“…Your sights are set too high?”

Moon Ha-yeon clenched her fist.

But only for a moment.

Soon, she bent one knee and greeted with utmost courtesy.

“…I greet you, <Deputy Master>.”

A woman who smiled at those words.
The Deputy Master of <Tartarus>.
It was the appearance of ‘Thousand Transformations’ Tang Pyo-rim.