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Chapter 156

At their core, high-ranking heroes were still ultimately humans. If their family, lovers, or friends were threatened, they were bound to waver to some extent. And such threats, while predictable, were hard to counter. Se-Hoon had seen them work multiple times throughout his past life.

“Well, that is true...”

“Moreover, if someone who used to cling to you starts keeping their distance right after meeting one of the Ten Evils, it’s pretty suspicious, right?”

Usually, when someone was threatened by the Demon Force, they would just suddenly disappear one day rather than blatantly create distance from those around them.

“It wasn’t to the extent of clinging...”

“Anyway, the important thing is that I found out about your silly worries.”

Turning to the flustered Lea, Se-Hoon, who could not understand, had to ask, “ But more importantly, why were you swayed when you said you’d do your best from now on?”

It might be understandable if they hadn\'t committed to working together, but hadn’t they already boarded the same boat? Se-Hoon just could not comprehend how she was shaken by such common threats.

“...”

Lea took a sip of her nearly finished coffee.

“Because your talent is too precious,” she muttered quietly.

“...Did you think differently before?”

“That was before I saw the final mass-produced sword aura equipment. When I saw it... I started wondering if I should really act like normal around you.”

Upon witnessing the mass-produced sword aura that Se-Hoon had created by slightly modifying her enchantments, Lea had to reassess his talent.

I’m still not sure if I can ever defeat the Puppeteer alone, but... it’s a different story with this guy.

She could tell that the depth of his potential and the heights he could reach were fundamentally different. Hence, when Puppeteer used Se-Hoon\'s life to threaten her, she came to a rational conclusion to sacrifice herself.

“Rather than someone like me, who’s not even sure if I can defeat Puppeteer by myself, wouldn’t it be more beneficial for someone with greater talent to survive...?”

“Hmm...”

Se-Hoon frowned at Lea’s honest answer.

I thought she would insist on defeating Puppeteer herself... but it turns out she\'s more flexible than I thought.

Though she likely still preferred to defeat the Puppeteer herself, if the circumstances didn’t allow it, it seemed she would accept someone else doing so. It felt like she just wanted to stop Puppeteer now, rather than getting revenge, which Se-Hoon could somewhat understand.

After all, she is her mother.

At that thought, he grew curious about something.

Why did Lea’s mother, Reyna Claudel, suddenly go mad and kill her husband to become Puppeteer? He wasn’t sure about the details, but based on what he had heard, there seemed to be no prior indications of her outrage.

“Well, I wasn’t planning to just give myself in. I saw this as an opportunity to infiltrate their base, intending to go inside and test out various things,” Lea said, scratching her head.

“Infiltrate?”

“She told me to come work in the workshop she set up in the Pleasure District if I accepted the terms.”

“The Pleasure District...”

Unlike before, when the other Ten Evils weren’t on good terms with the Dream Demon, they seemed to have decided to cooperate to some extent this round.

...Wait a minute.

Chewing over Lea’s story, a few points popped into Se-Hoon’s head one by one: the Ten Evils\' strong individualism, the inherent discord between Puppeteer and the Dream Demon, and Lea’s invitation to the Pleasure District.

If we use this situation to create some confusion.... Perhaps they could create an opportunity to storm the Pleasure District.

Using all the knowledge he had, he started immediately starting outlining a new plan.

“Was there a deadline for her proposal?”

“I told her I would decide before the end of summer vacation.”

“So about three months, then.”

A month until the first semester’s evaluation exam, and then a two-month summer vacation. The long period was likely meant to force Lea to continuously ponder, whittling away at her synesthetic mindscape and will.

Everything seems to suggest Puppeteer doesn’t see her as mere material...

Of course, one couldn\'t trust a madman like Puppeteer entirely, but the immediate situation didn’t seem too bad.

“Okay. Let’s try to make use of this opportunity just like you said.”

“By infiltrating them?”

“Yes. But we can’t just recklessly charge into the mouth of a lion. That would be akin to surrendering right away.”

The immediate goal he had in mind was to create a gap in the Ten Evil’s defenses through Puppeteer. However, to utilize that gap properly, thorough preparation was needed.

I need to investigate those associated with the Pleasure District and establish a foundation for our plan through the insider, Amir, then.

And of course, securing enough time to carry out such a large plan was the most crucial part.

“First, try to act as you normally would. If Puppeteer approaches, delay her as much as possible by saying you need more time.”

“What if she loses patience and tries to forcefully kidnap me?”

“That won’t happen, not as long as you\'re within Babel anyway.”

A first mistake could be passed off as an accident, but the second would reveal one’s weakness. Ludwig would know that too, so unless something extraordinary happened, he wouldn\'t easily allow the Ten Evils to infiltrate again.

Lea glanced at him.

“...How about you? Will you be okay?”

The more impatient Puppeteer grew, the more danger the hostages she named would be in.

But at her question, Se-Hoon just smiled confidently and said, “She won’t be a problem for me.”

Perhaps he couldn’t before, but as he was now, he was certain he could handle Puppeteer to some extent, even if targeted directly.

For a while, Lea just stared at him before eventually nodding.

“Alright. I\'ll do as you say.”

Between Se-Hoon, who was on her side, and Puppeteer, who was her sworn enemy, it was obvious who she should listen to. Moreover, Se-Hoon\'s confidence inspired a strange sense of trust that things would indeed go well.

I guess if he\'s that confident...

Thanks to him, she felt the heavy burden of worry that had been weighing her down since the last attack lift, making her sigh with relief.

“Haa. I should have done this sooner... I was a fool, huh?”

“It’s fine. It\'s natural to have a narrow perspective when under threat, so just try to be more cautious next time.”

“Got it... but how do you know all this, junior?”

Despite being younger and admitted to Babel later, Se-Hoon acted like a seasoned hero with years of experience on the field. It was to the point Lea wondered if he had been part of a secret special unit before enrolling.

Taking a sip of his coffee first, Se-Hoon responded. “It\'s just talent.”

In truth, his knowledge was due to his life pre-regression, but it was easier to just say that.

She silently stared at him. Then, she eventually softly muttered, “What a jerk...”

She was honestly in awe at how he could phrase things so irritatingly.

Smirking at her annoyance, Se-Hoon placed his empty coffee cup down before casually asking, “So? What’s your say on the company?”

“Huh? Oh, right...”

Since she was to act normally, there was no need to keep a distance from Se-Hoon anymore. In that case...

“Hehe. Would you like more coffee, boss?”

She smiled brightly at her future boss.

***

Back in the dorms, evening had fallen by the time he finished his schedule for the day. With some free time now, Se-Hoon took out the documents related to the Barmuths that he had received from Erika.

These are pretty well organized.

The documents meticulously detailed the Barmuths’ clients, purchased materials, subcontractors, and employees, all compiled by the Inoue family. And although only a small portion, or possibly none, of that information would end up being necessary, he didn’t mind.

I’d be lucky if this is the only failure.

Unlike all of his works so far, which were successful because he was just recreating or adapting things he already knew, creating something new from unfamiliar materials was bound to involve some trial and error. Similarly, finding worthwhile information on the Barmuths would likely involve some failures and time.

“Still... this seems a bit too much.”

He had pulled out all of the boxes from Erika’s void pocket to get a rough idea about the quantity, and they ended up filling his entire dorm room. On top of that, each box contained numerous thick files, each the size of a finger joint.

Although the Frost Dog would have read through it all...

Wanting to find a faster and easier method, Se-Hoon was pondering while staring at the boxes when an idea suddenly struck him.

“Oh. Maybe...”

He couldn’t be sure, but it was worth a try. Channeling his mana into the back of his hand, Se-Hoon called for his servant.

Fwoosh!

Flames flared from the back of his hand and expanded in the air before soon dispersing to reveal the Vermillion Bird.

“Who do you think is a servant!!!”

The moment it had appeared, the Vermillion Bird’s entire body flared up in indignation.

Unfortunately for it, Se-Hoon waved his hand dismissively.

“Let\'s skip the pointless bickering and get straight to the point. It’s easier for both of us that way, isn’t it?”

“...”

His nonchalant dismissal was infuriating, but having learned, Vermillion Bird knew arguing wouldn’t lead to any apologies and would only cause more frustration. So, the Vermillion Bird sighed instead and gave in.

“So what do you need me to do this time? Should I burn all the trash around here?”

“It\'s something like that, but slightly different.”

Grabbing a file from one of the boxes nearby, Se-Hoon showed it to the Vermillion Bird.

“Can you absorb the information on these documents by burning them with your flames?”

The Vermillion Bird had the unique ability to absorb the power of what it burned. But depending on how “power” was defined, the task of going through all the documents could be significantly shortened.

The Vermillion Bird stared intently at the document.

“It should be possible since I’ve once increased my knowledge by burning down libraries in the past.”

“And can you transfer that knowledge to me?”

“Of course. However... uggh... it...”

Mid-response, the Vermillion Bird, who had been eager, suddenly twitched.

“Haaa... I can do it for you, but it\'s dangerous. It involves synchronizing your brain with the flames, so even if my flames have no ill intent, you could end up a vegetable.”

“I see... also, were you trying to hide that side effect just now?”

“...”

The Vermillion Bird turned its head. Seeing that, Se-Hoon swiftly grabbed and restrained its body.

“Screech... You brat!”

Like a roasted chicken, Se-Hoon tied up the Vermillion Bird’s wings and legs and then threw it onto a box.

“If you burn those documents, I’ll personally extinguish every single inch of your flames.”

“You... unfair... argh...!”

Unable to correct its twisted posture, the Vermillion Bird could only squirm.

Ignoring it, Se-Hoon began contemplating.

Transmitting the knowledge through the flames is possible, but my brain might not be able to handle it, huh...

What could be a suitable alternative? A brief consideration later, an alternate solution came to Se-Hoon\'s mind.

“Hold on a second.”

Placing his hand on his chest, he activated the Dream Storage and pulled out the Phantasmal Spyblade.

Fwoosh-

Seeing a dagger wrapped in purple flames emerge from Se-Hoon’s chest, the Vermillion Bird’s single eye enlarged.

“Those flames just now...”

“They’re Dream Flames. Anyway, do you think you can compress and transfer knowledge into this?”

“Hmm... I\'ll need to examine the flame first.”

Accepting, Se-Hoon separated a small portion of the Dream Flames from the dagger and placed it into the Vermillion Bird\'s beak.

Woong-

Swallowing it, the flame spread and dissipated within the Vermillion Bird\'s body. A while later, the Vermillion Bird bobbed its head.

“This is a nice flame. I think I can work with it.”

Though Se-Hoon was curious about why the Vermillion Bird’s voice trembled slightly, he moved on.

“Good. Then burn all these boxes and condense the information into this dagger. You can do at least that, right?”

“Of course. However... ahem.”

Still tied up, the Vermillion Bird glanced around nervously and carefully asked, “I might consume a bit of that Dream Flame in the process.... Is that acceptable?”

Now understanding, Se-Hoon made an exasperated expression but eventually agreed.

“As long as it\'s just a bit.”

“Good. I’ll get started then.”

With newfound motivation, the Vermillion Bird scattered its flames throughout the dorm room, burning the boxes and absorbing their contents.

Sss-

One by one, the letters on the documents floated above the Vermillion Bird’s body, confirming that the information was being absorbed correctly.

In the meantime, Se-Hoon extracted his own Fatestone.

Woong!

Observing that the stone was still the same cloudy stone mixed with impurities as before, Se-Hoon was about to feel disappointed at how useless it seemed when he paused.

Hmm, come to think about it, these impurities only appeared after I regressed.

Remembering his theory on the changes to his soul post-regression, he wondered if the impurities were related to it somehow. But he quickly shook his head.

I’ll think about this later.

He needed to deal with the information that Erika gave him first. Gripping his Fatestone, he waited for Vermillion Bird to finish the task.

A few minutes later, the Vermillion Bird, now twice its original size, approached him.

“Alright, it\'s done. Hold out the dagger.”

“Got it.”

Se-Hoon extended the Phantasmal Spyblade, and the Vermillion Bird enveloped it with its wings, infusing it with flames.

Fwoosh!

Dancing together, the Dream Flame and the Vermillion Bird’s flames merged as they spread around the dagger. It was only after a prolonged interaction that the Vermillion Bird, now back to its original size, separated its wings from the dagger.

“It’s complete.”

Satisfied, Se-Hoon examined the Phantasmal Spyblade, now filled with countless characters within the flames.

Woong-

He couldn’t discern their exact form, but they likely made up the condensed information the Vermillion Bird had processed.

“Whew...”

Taking a deep breath, he inserted his Fatestone into the Phantasmal Spyblade’s flames.

Fwoosh-

The Dream Flame burned away the impurities of the Fatestone, leaving behind only pure memories. Waiting, Se-Hoon watched until those memories mixed with the information the Vermillion Bird had transferred. And when they had, Se-Hoon reversed his grip on the dagger and stabbed it into his heart in one smooth motion.

Shank-!