Translator: miraclerifle
May 7th, in Kyoto's Arashiyama.
Luggage boy Yoo Jaeha who had taken a day long flight from New York to Japan was huffing.
“Ah, it’s so hot. It’s not even summer yet.”
However, Ju-Heon who was looking around like a land speculator clicked his tongue.
“That’s why I told you to come with me to the gym. Develop your stamina. You're so weak even though you don't look like it.”
Yoo Jaeha started to grumble.
“Grr, what the hell! Captain-nim, you're not holding anything! I'm in charge of baggage! But why the hell do I have to carry your stuff too...!”
“You brought it upon yourself. So who told you to make a bet like that for no reason?”
“D, damn it. I didn’t know I would lo...no wait, you said a gym? Who was the one that went there and ended up getting ruthlessly beaten?”
“You go to a ring to get hit not to dance.”
“......”
As Yoo Jaeha thought that there was no way to defeat Ju-Heon in a battle of words...
“Charge!”
They heard the Japanese Police shouting from a distance.
Yoo Jaeha looked around in shock. They seemed to be charging toward the dense bamboo forest nearby.
The news said that this bamboo forest was where the cult’s base was located. Yoo Jaeha, who knew that was the case, started to ask urgently.
“Do you think they came to arrest the cult leader? You know, as the perpetrator for the missing women incident......”
Yoo Jaeha was mentioning the disappearances but Ju-Heon started to frown for a different reason.
‘My artifact is in danger!’
“You stay here, I’ll go take a look.”
“Excuse me? Ah, wait! That’s a restricted area!”
But Ju-Heon didn’t care whether Yoo Jaeha was shocked or not and walked into the bamboo forest alone.
The nearby area was restricted with special forces and police barricading the area, but who cares?
It was fine as long as he didn't get caught. In addition...
‘That harem artifact is mine.’
He wouldn't let anybody else touch it!
Ju-Heon's gaze turned cold as he had that thought.
And then...
“Ugh!”
"Wait, what! Ugh!”
Pow!
Ju-Heon knocked everybody in his way unconscious as he almost instantly made it deep into the forest.
There were no issues as he had not seen anything special around here when he looked earlier.
It was only the Japanese Police and special forces who had been randomly attacked almost instantly shouting out in anger.
“R, reporting in! Some weird bastard suddenly showed up and is attacking......ahh!”
“Shut up. Nobody can touch my harem artifact.”
However, the people who were lying on the ground were upset.
“What do you mean by artifact? We are just here after receiving a missing person's report......!”
“Well, okay then.”
Ju-Heon beat them down anyway as they were getting in his way and continued to move.
Ju-Heon saw an odd sight when he made it to the shrine at the center.
Japan must have asked for help as Pandora soldiers were standing there with the Japanese police. They seemed to have called the experts as this incident seemed to be related to tombs.
Ju-Heon quickly hid behind one of the shrine’s pillars.
They were grinding their teeth.
“We must make it inside the shrine today!”
“We must go in and confirm whether the missing people are in there!”
“Damn it, I heard a congressman’s daughter was kidnapped too, what the hell is going on?”
“How can they all disappear after going on a school trip......?!”
Their hands were shaking.
All women in Kyoto, including the students who disappeared after coming here for their school trip, the residents, tourists, celebrities, film crews, seemed to have been kidnapped.
Well, should the culprit at least be praised for not taking elementary students?
‘Anyway, I guess it became this big of a mess because a congressman’s daughter disappeared.’
He expected that the religious leader here had King Uija’s artifact as he was famous for his 3,000 palace women or the artifact of Venice’s < Giovanni Giacomo Casanova >.
Yes, it could be that famous Casanova's artifact.
There were many artifacts for leading the masses, but that might be one of the few artifacts to be this effective with women.
The Pandora soldiers and the armed Japanese police started to forcibly break through at that moment.
“Get through!”
Tang tang tang!
However...
“Ahhhhhhh!”
“Ahhh!”
The numerous armed men trying to plow through fell over in pain. They had not just fallen down.
They didn't look injured but all of the men were dead.
The people still alive stepped back in shock.
“Fck! Again?!” "They’re all dead again!” “Motherfcker, this is why we can't get inside!”
“Isn't this because of an artifact?!”
“No! I don’t feel any aura!”
Ju-Heon who was hiding between bamboos at a distance started to scrunch his eyes to observe them.
‘I did not feel any aura of an artifact being used.’
That was why even Ju-Heon was shocked right now.
This meant that the person was extremely skilled.
‘Who the hell could it be?’
An Asian woman appeared in front of the chaotic soldiers as if to answer his question.
The woman was wearing a black rider’s jacket and short hotpants, and although he couldn't see her face clearly, she had a sexy body.
The soldiers were about to become bewitched by her skinny and sleek legs before snapping out of it and starting to shout.
“Fire! There's no need to go easy! She’s the religious leader’s informant!”
The woman started to frown as if she found them to be ridiculous.
“I warned you so many times not to come.”
Ju-Heon was shocked by what he heard.
‘Korean?’
She was not Japanese.
That was why Ju-Heon became shocked after focusing his gaze on her face once more.
‘Lee Seol-A?’
It was only natural that he was shocked. She had been one of his subordinates like Yoo Jaeha, one of the members of his Tomb raiding team. She was also an extremely beautiful girl.
As for her personality......well, it wasn't like there were any gentle people on his Tomb raiding team.
‘This punk, I've been wondering what she was up to during this time.’
Similar to how it had been with Julian, Ju-Heon was happy to see her even though that feeling was not visible on his face at all. Ju-Heon and Lee Seol-A had been quite close in the past.
‘But for her to be working under a cult leader...’
All the men screamed and fell down before they could even gasp in shock. She had not done anything. It seemed as if the soldiers had been injured and fallen by something invisible.
That invisible thing appeared behind her once all the men were out.
It looked like a goblin.
Ju-Heon thought he knew the identity of this goblin.
‘Gildal!’
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This was the name for the goblin who was subordinate to King Jinji of Silla’s son, Bi Hyung who was said to control ghosts.
‘That punk had Gildal's artifact during this time?’
Ju-Heon now felt like he could understand why the soldiers suddenly died. To be more accurate, they had their souls stolen by that goblin.
That was how soul-type artifacts worked.
Her supreme ability to handle soul-type artifacts that got her the name Ultimate Necromancer was still praiseworthy.
‘Tsk, soul-type artifacts are annoying to handle.’
Lee Seol-A was his loyal subordinate, but that was in his past life. She was an enemy right now.
Furthermore, even Ju-Heon could not deal with a soul-type artifact. Even Monarch-Grade artifact users could not deal with their soul being sucked out.
All humans were equal in the face of death.
That was why the conclusion was simple.
‘Let’s retreat for now.’
But as Ju-Heon calmly tried to use an artifact to escape...
[The aura of the large tomb surrounding this shrine is hindering your artifact usage.]
[Unauthorized individuals are not allowed to use artifacts.]
‘Tsk.”
It seemed as if this central region he was in right now was being influenced by the tomb.
He was certain that one of the 7 Great Tombs was located here. And these great tombs were called great tombs for a reason.
They were high-grade difficulty tombs where artifacts did not work.
But how could these cult bastards use their artifacts? Had they paid tribute to the great tomb?
It was at that moment.
“Did you think I wouldn't notice if you hid like a damn rat?!”
Lee Seol-A noticed Ju-Heon and turned her head. Ju-Heon scoffed after having his location discovered.
‘My goodness, I taught them but my subordinates are all so reliable.’
She then started to call for backup.
“Intruder! Come here and capture the intruder!
Hand the intruder over to the leader!”
Female believers ran out at Lee Seol-A's calling. However, Ju-Heon started to smirk and used his specialty toward these energetic women.
And that was...
“Kyaaaa!”
Taking hostages!
He picked one of the believers who was close to him and took her as hostage! Something like this was like taking candy from a baby for the Monarch of Crime.
“T, that bastard!”
The women became anxious but Ju-Heon put a small dagger up by the woman’s neck and addressed Lee Seol-A.
“Alright, here is one of your leader’s precious believers. Get rid of that ridiculous artifact and step aside if you don’t want to see her get hurt.”
Gildal's artifact was an A-Grade soul-type artifact.
It’s natural enemy, an exorcism-type artifact was required to fight against it, but Ju-Heon didn't have such an artifact on him.
That was why this was his only way to get out of this unexpected situation.
“Alright, move.”
Lee Seol-A looked at Ju-Heon in disbelief.
“This shameless thief!”
However, Ju-Heon snorted and dragged the hostage with him as he escaped into the shrine.
Gildal’s artifact seemed to be a summoning type.
It had a short range to materialize and harm the enemy. It could not move far away from its master.
Ju-Heon recalled the battle just now and scrunched his eyes.
‘I would say the range is about 3m.’
He could work around that. The experienced Ju-Heon leisurely dragged the hostage and hid in a room with nobody around.
Boom!
He then pointed the dagger at the hostage and started to speak.
“Alright, tell me where the hidden exit is while I am asking nicely.”
He then seemed to have remembered something and changed his question.
“No, nevermind. Tell me where the leader’s room is located.”
They would become warier and it would be harder for him to come back in if he left right now.
He might as well take care of business since he was in here already.
The hostage who seemed to be a high schooler started to shake in fear.
At the same time, the inside of the shrine was a mess.
“A man has infiltrated the shrine!”
“The leader might be in danger! Hurry up and catch him!”
The believers who were under the harem artifact’s hypnosis were worried about the leader as they asked Lee Seol-A a question.
“Boss, do you think it'll be okay? What if the believer taken hostage sells information about the leader?!”
Lee Seol-A who was the only one in this cult who was not hypnotized started to smile.
“There are no believers here who would betray the leader.”
“I guess that is true, ma'am.”
That was indeed true.
The believers didn't know about the harem artifact but the leader’s harem artifact was strong as it was a S-Grade artifact. It cast a strong hypnosis that would not easily be broken.
‘These believers would even kill themselves to protect the leader.’
The believers’ loyalty was amazing even if they were being threatened with a knife.
That was why Ju-Heon who took a hostage would be wasting his time.
‘What an idiot.’
Lee Seol-A smiled wickedly while looking forward to what would happen.
“I'll make him regret walking in here with his own two feet.”
At the same time, Ju-Heon who was asking the hostage about the leader was still pointing his dagger. However, the hostage was not easily opening her mouth.
Ju-Heon sighed while looking at her.
‘I guess it’s not easy because of the harem artifact's hypnosis.’
He had expected this but it seemed he had no choice but to do a frontal breakthrough.
But at that moment...
Something unexpected happened.
“Umm, uhh......”
The girl who was speaking Japanese started to speak as if she knew Ju-Heon.
“Are you perhaps Ju-Heon-nim?”
“Huh?”
And then something shocking happened!
[The opponent’s emotion is becoming intense.]
[Thanks to that, the harem artifact’s hypnosis has been broken.]
[You have surpassed the harem artifact user.]
Ju-Heon questioned his eyes while looking at those messages.
‘That’s crazy! The harem's hypnosis has been broken? But why did that happen all of a sudden?’
This was something Ju-Heon could not understand at all.
Ju-Heon who was rarely this flustered started to become wary.
"What the, who the hell are you?”
Her face was neat and clean without any makeup.
Ju-Heon was the type to remember even the faces of people he just walked past.
But he could not recall this woman’s face no matter how hard he tried.
However, the woman started to smile even brighter after hearing Ju-Heon's voice.
“It’s me! It’s Sasaki, you know, the girl who had Prince Shotoku's Future Diary! Don’t you remember me?”
“!”
Ju-Heon gasped in shock.
‘What? Who is who?’