Preparatory Work

One week.
It was the time Yu Seha took to train [Contractor of All Things] against Barbados.

Only seven days, but for someone like Yu Seha—a five-star, one of the greatest of all time—that was fairly long.

It was also proof that [Contractor of All Things] could veer in unpredictable directions.

‘Not easy.’

The biggest problem was the gap between what [Contractor of All Things] aimed for and what Yu Seha wanted.

“Sniff!”
“…?! Barbados!”

Yu Seha batted away all of Barbados’s attacks with his fingers without flinching. When Barbados tried to release killing intent, she immediately convulsed all over.

“Stop!”

Barbados’s convulsions finally eased at Yu Seha’s roar. He sighed, scooped up the collapsed creature in a princess carry, and carried her to the lounge.

Right, this was the problem. Special skills inherently had a degree of will.

‘Something like Monster Strength Rampage would be a representative case.’

But this was the first time he’d met one with such a strong ego. It acted like a fanatic worshipping Yu Seha as a god. He recognized all of this as the result of his own inexperience.

‘Still, it’s getting better.’

If he practiced a few more days, this kind of accident wouldn’t happen again.

Swoosh.

Yu Seha laid the limp creature on the bed.

“Ugh, mmm… Master. Hehe, I’m safe today…”
“Sss…”

No matter how he looked at it, she seemed up to tricks, but he let it slide. Thanks to her, not only he but Ju Na-young were steadily improving.

‘You said it was almost complete.’

<Dragon Form>.
Compared to a real dragon it was immature in many ways, but it was encouraging that an ordinary descendant could approximate a dragon’s form.

Yu Seha explained the possibility to Ju Na-young. She grabbed his hands the moment she heard it.

“Y-yong! I-I want to! I want to do it! Me too, me too…”

I want to get stronger!

Ju Na-young said she could practice [Contractor of All Things] on herself, but that wasn’t possible—like before, you never knew when something dangerous might happen.

In that sense, Yu Seha was thankful to Barbados. Even with a ‘divine beast’’s robustness and regenerative power, Barbados was taking on the hardships.

It was also Barbados’s role to teach Ju Na-young tips every night. Surprisingly good at leadership, Ju Na-young quickly mastered the options Yu Seha had set on [Contractor of All Things].

Yu Seha stroked Barbados’s head. She, who had been smirking lecherously, pressed her face to his and made a big fuss.

“Hehe, Master…”
“…”

If he’d known her personality was like this, he’d have hesitated about the contract. Yu Seha shook his head and subtly asked her to get up.

“So how’s the other side?”

Barbados opened one eye at his question. When their gazes met, she gave a cute wink.

“You’re talking about Ju Yuri, right? Maybe because of her experience, she learned faster.”
“Hmm…”
“Don’t worry, I’ve set it up so she absolutely can’t do anything stupid. She’s the kind who understands reality quickly and knows her place, so she won’t act like an idiot.”
“…If she weren’t foolish, she wouldn’t have cooperated with Tartarus in the first place.”
“Well, that’s true.”

Ju Na-young wasn’t the only one receiving Barbados’s instruction. Even Ju Yuri was being taught.

“I will cooperate to the best of my ability.”

Ju Yuri bowed to Yu Seha. Dressed in dark green prisoner’s attire, with a mechanical chip activated on her cervical spine and a bomb necklace that could blow her head off at any time, she looked every bit the controlled prisoner.

Ju Yuri herself didn’t know her name was on the [Contractor of All Things] <Servitude> list. If Yu Seha wished, he could command her like a puppet; with a flick of his hand he could kill her.

“Please take care of me.”

Yu Seha unlocked Ju Yuri’s handcuffs and shook her hand. It hadn’t been him who brought her out, though.

“Dra… hey, Yu Seha? About that <Dragon Form>… uh, could you bring my sister to try it too?”
“Ju Na-young, are you crazy?”
“Ah, I know! I know… but like you said, the final battle is coming soon. We need at least one person who can fight. In that sense, Yuri sister is excellent. You can’t easily find an awakened like her.”
“…An ally with instability is more dangerous.”
“Th-that’s okay! With your power, Yu Seha, you could make her obey unconditionally… you could block any suspicious actions. It’s literally childlike power!”
“Well, that’s true, but…”

Sighing, Yu Seha said he’d do it if he got Ju Ye-young’s permission, and Ju Na-young somehow secured their mother’s consent.

‘I heard she got very angry…’

The decisive reason was probably that life-and-death control could be exercised at any time.

Anyway, thanks to that, Ju Yuri could come out briefly, and she pledged to participate in the final battle in exchange for a reduced sentence.

“Unnie, first let’s eat—my soup restaurant is good, I know.”
“…Na-young.”
“Don’t make that face… I’m not forgiving you completely. You’ll atone for life. But… I’ll take care of your meals.”
“…Okay.”

Ju Yuri would have to atone for her sins for life. In whatever form, she wouldn’t escape it until she died; they wouldn’t let her.

‘…This will do.’

For now.

Anyway, with this, all the power he held had been brought under control. Moreover, their kids had grown enough to actually level up.

‘What we need now is…’

Public opinion and the cooperation of many groups to mobilize quickly when the final battle broke out. There was something that absolutely had to be done for that.

Yu Seha picked up the phone that had been in his arms.

“Yes, Su Ok-bin noona.”

I’ll come right away today as promised.

One month later.

-……!!!

An indescribably bizarre scream echoed. A gigantic being, presumed to be the source, knelt down. It was so huge Yu Seha had to tilt his head back.

About 120 meters. Even without abilities, that size was threatening. Surprisingly, this creature was a <Magician> type.

‘<Anubis>.’

Pitch-black skin, a strangely emaciated body with protruding ribs, red hieroglyphs on its back like an avatar, and a canine head commonly called a hound dog.

The ‘Tombkeeper’s Demon’, Anubis: an S-rank field boss living in Egypt.

The Egyptian government had given up trying to subdue it—a lord monster dwelling in Cairo. It wasn’t just this creature roaming; countless monsters born under Anubis’s influence swarmed around.

Yu Seha defeated the boss there. He flew alone and subdued it in just an hour.

A huge hole had been torn in Anubis’s torso. If you looked closely, fist marks were etched around the gaping wound.

That’s right. Without even drawing his primary sword, he had crushed its life in an instant with punches using Complete Devour. It was strength on a different level from ordinary hunters.

Yu Seha took a portion of Anubis’s body into himself with an indifferent expression, storing it in the Complete Devour list. A hunter dispatched by the Egyptian government approached and offered thanks, teary-eyed, but to Yu Seha they were just a tiresome bother.

Then a perceptive voice answered quickly.

“I’ll handle the response!”

A clear, ringing voice echoed in his head, and Barbados popped up dressed as a secretary. She shook hands in his stead with a businesslike smile, then skillfully steered the political talk and negotiation, showing considerable competence.

Yu Seha glanced at Barbados and checked his phone. He called Su Ok-bin.

Click.

“Su Ok-bin noona, it’s handled. I left the negotiation to Barbados. I think we can get the terms you requested.”
“You did well.”
“Will this be enough?”

On the other end came Su Ok-bin’s radiant laugh.

“Yes, more than enough. With this there will be no organization that can ignore Yu Seha’s influence.”
“It’s not my influence, it’s yours, Su Ok-bin noona.”
“Oh my~ My influence is essentially Yu Seha’s influence.”

They shared a childish, delighted snort.

Why had Yu Seha come to a foreign land and personally dealt with a disaster the government had abandoned? Was it a show of strength? Of course not. He had no interest in fame. He did it simply because it was necessary.

A week earlier, Yu Seha had visited Su Ok-bin and made a proposal.

“…Yes? An S, S-rank subjugation?”
“Yes.”

Su Ok-bin was taken aback by his bold statement. Four magical zones in Korea were called impregnable. Two were unimportant, but the other two, if subjugated, would grant advantages in food supply and land routes. The government had long planned subjugations, but S-rank monsters are S-rank for a reason.

“I will subjugate the S-rank boss there and return.”

He also planned to visit allied territories on a little sortie.

“I’ll leave it to Su Ok-bin noona to choose which site will yield the most benefit.”

The proposition was sudden—uncharacteristic of Yu Seha. Su Ok-bin’s eyes lit up; she grabbed his hand.

“Oh, are you thinking of accepting my proposal?”

Su Ok-bin’s proposal was, in essence, deification—making Yu Seha a public focal point, an idol of sorts. The idea wasn’t absurd; it had come from the Order, supported by Natsu and Yuri the Saintesses, and fueled by Su Ok-bin’s machinations spreading ideology. An Order that worshipped a deity would acknowledge it.

The possibility overflowed. By becoming a ‘higher’ being, Yu Seha could qualify for a divine seat. Considering his powers including <Sharing>, gathering divinity and followers was actually possible.

Su Ok-bin held his hand like someone praying to a god—no, like an Elf.

“Even if there’s strong initial backlash, with Yu Seha’s infinitely spreading power, it’s more likely that nothing will be impossible.”

And since scheming or force wouldn’t work… there was nothing better for expanding power.

The hunter Ji Han-seong was a legend in present-day Korea. It was possible to surpass him. Su Ok-bin had always wished for an absolute hero, a benevolent being to reign above. She earnestly asked Yu Seha to become the country’s shining symbol.

Her gaze was heavy. Yu Seha smiled wryly and gently withdrew Su Ok-bin’s hand, brushing the back of it as if to show he was only human.

“I’m sorry, I still don’t want that.”

If he rose to such a position and began seeing people as resources or toys, it frightened him.

“…! Yu Seha, you’re absolutely not that kind of person.”
“Yes, I know, but… you never know about people.”

Yu Seha’s lifespan was close to infinite. Having transcended rank, he was no longer mortal. After countless ages, he might deteriorate in some way.

Su Ok-bin pouted; Yu Seha smiled because she looked cute.

“…So, why the sudden proposal to subjugate?”
“I heard that you’re trying to enter politics, sister.”
“Ah, yes, that’s right.”

It wasn’t easy. She’d been discriminated against for being mixed-blood and, as association president, faced many wary obstructors. Given time, Su Ok-bin would succeed.

“I’ll accelerate that for you.”

Su Ok-bin was clever, bright, and farsighted. The silent woman grew serious.

“…So it’s about to start, huh.”
“Yes, we’ll certainly make an impact within this year.”

Sword Ghost So Hang-woo. Demon King Moon Ha-yeon.

Su Ok-bin swallowed hard.

“Currently, we’ve cut off all overseas routes with Ju Ye-young. They can’t get out, receive supplies, or bring in villains.”
“Yes, I know. Those two have been handling groundwork, but there are limits. And I have ears. I’ve heard many use this as an excuse to interfere constantly.”
“…Embarrassingly, it’s certainly not an easy situation because of that.”
“I’ll clear all of that away for you.”

A long-standing thorn in Korea’s side: cleaning up magical zones and eliminating S-rank bosses. Yu Seha accomplishing it single-handedly, and Su Ok-bin supported by him.

“With this, Su Ok-bin noona should be able to operate freely without issue.”

Instead…

“Please prepare with all your might… to receive the two.”

About two weeks.
It took Yu Seha about two weeks to single-handedly smash Korea’s magical zones.

Countless factions tangled into a fierce mud fight, but Yu Seha didn’t care.

He spent most of his time training—meditating, moving, recalling who he was—and he spent precious time with the kids every day.

“Dragon~ Yu Seha! Tonight’s dinner is pineapple kimchi stew!”
“Se-ha~ There’s also mint-choco rolled omelet~”
“Mwah~ Se-ha, did you wash your hands? Oh right. There’s a letter from Professor Peng Jin-ah!”

About four months.
With all preparations complete, Yu Seha stared straight at the black pillar of light visible beyond the window.

To others it might look like a sheer outpouring of power, but he understood.

“…Yes, the carriage is coming soon.”

It meant an invitation from the two. It was the beginning of the final chapter leading to the last battle.