Chapter 82: Incarnation of War (1)
The tallest tower in Washington D.C., the headquarters of the American Awakener Association.
On the top floor, in the conference room, several hunters had gathered.
Association President Kyle Anderson, the masters of America’s major guilds, Federation Chairman Hannah Adams, and Intelligence Department Director Lily Dalton.
Excluding the prophet Michelle Graham, the core hunters of the United States were all assembled in one place.
Association President Kyle opened the discussion.
“Have there been any unusual phenomena in the dungeons recently?”
At his question, the guild masters began speaking one by one.
“There haven’t been any anomalies occurring directly inside the dungeons themselves, but lately the rate of dungeon appearances has been increasing significantly.”
“That’s right. At this point, American hunters alone are struggling to cover the entire country.”
“On top of that, GODS’s terrorist activities can’t be ignored anymore. We’re seriously short on manpower.”
For the so-called strongest hunter nation in the world to be suffering from a manpower shortage was no trivial matter.
Excluding the early days of the Great Cataclysm, the United States had almost never postponed raids due to a lack of hunters.
After listening to the guild masters, Hannah spoke up.
“Why do you all assume that only American hunters have to handle everything?”
“Well… because these incidents are happening in America.”
“Asking for help from other countries would be the same as admitting America’s weakness.”
“……”
At the guild masters’ responses, Hannah’s expression grew thoughtful.
Still, she wasn’t unable to understand their position.
Aside from the initial chaotic period, the United States had never suffered major damage.
Whenever crises arose, they had always overcome them. That history had instilled a deep sense of national pride in being American.
It was precisely for that reason that Kyle had initially acted so confidently—even arrogantly—toward the Korean secret agent at the conference.
“Now we have to admit it. America can no longer solve everything on its own.”
Kyle, who had been thoroughly humbled at the conference, spoke those words.
Everyone present had heard about what happened there, so they could feel the weight behind his statement.
Hannah added,
“From now on, the Federation’s role will become crucial. The World Dungeon Control Organization under it will be busier than ever too. We need active participation from the major guilds.”
“We’ll strongly encourage our guild members to join.”
The guild masters nodded and showed positive reactions.
But whether they would actually follow through once they left the room was another question entirely.
If they accepted help from the Federation to complete raids, they would have to share the rewards.
It was uncertain whether profit-driven guilds would willingly comply.
After exchanging a few more words, the guild masters left the conference room first.
Only Association President Kyle, Hannah, and Intelligence Department Director Lily remained seated.
Lily spoke first.
“We’ve successfully concluded negotiations with the Director of the Korean National Intelligence Service. From now on, American agents and Korean agents will be jointly dispatched to operational zones.”
“Operational zones—where exactly?” Kyle asked.
“Islands that GODS internally refers to as ‘relay zones.’ Sri Lanka, Iceland, Cyprus, and Puerto Rico.”
“Similar to Taiwan, then.”
“Exactly. If any suspicious GODS activity or anomalies are detected on those islands, it will be reported immediately to both the American and Korean intelligence agencies.”
“Puerto Rico aside, the others won’t be easy.”
Hannah’s comment drew nods from the others.
Puerto Rico was already a U.S. territory and geographically quite close.
Thanks to substantial American support, it was a relatively safe area from dungeons.
In truth, simply purifying the contaminated zones would easily disrupt GODS’s plans, but gathering hunters for the task was the biggest obstacle.
No one would willingly take on work that offered little profit relative to the danger.
Moreover, since it wasn’t the U.S. mainland—and only a U.S. territory—few hunters were stepping up proactively.
Still, it was undeniably far safer compared to the other islands.
“Among them, Iceland is likely to be in the worst condition,” Hannah said.
While Cyprus and Sri Lanka were still somehow maintaining themselves as nations, Iceland had truly become a deserted island.
The government had collapsed, and the entire population had either fled or perished.
It was literally called the “Island of Death.”
With all infrastructure severed and no way to sustain basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter, long-term stays were nearly impossible.
“That’s why we plan to dispatch several elite agents to Iceland on a rotating basis. GODS likely considers it one of their most critical zones.”
At Lily’s words, the other two nodded.
Thanks to what the secret agent had said at the conference, everyone’s attention had been fixated on the “disasters,” but the relay zones were no less important.
Of course, no direct threat quite matched the scale of a disaster.
“I’ve heard strange phenomena keep occurring in Russia’s Volgograd Contaminated Zone. What about the Hamilton Contaminated Zone?”
To Hannah’s question, Lily replied.
“So far, there haven’t been any notable anomalies. Our agents are keeping constant watch, so there’s no need to worry…”
Knock knock.
At that moment, a knock sounded on the conference room door.
“There shouldn’t be anyone coming to see us right now.”
Kyle furrowed his brow as he spoke.
No one had given permission to enter, yet a woman with red hair opened the door and stepped inside.
It was none other than the prophet Michelle Graham.
“Michelle?”
Hannah, her close friend, reacted first.
The unexpected visit from the prophet filled the others with unease.
For her to come in person meant something serious was afoot.
And sure enough.
The moment Michelle opened her mouth, everyone’s faces stiffened.
“The Godfather will start moving again soon.”
***
Jin-young, who had flown swiftly to Moscow aboard a private jet.
They had landed at a personal airport used exclusively by Vladimir Zhukov and his staff.
“Any further updates on the Volgograd Contaminated Zone?”
Shin Soo-jeong translated and relayed Jin-young’s question.
Just a few hours earlier, they had received word that a boundary outpost in the Volgograd Contaminated Zone had been destroyed.
“Fortunately, there have been no reports of additional casualties.”
Still, they couldn’t afford to let their guard down, so Igor continued with an urgent expression.
“The twenty 1st-grade mana stones have just arrived at the front of the airport. Shall we head out right away?”
“They work fast.”
Jin-young nodded as he spoke.
While he had been flying to Russia, the 1 trillion won had already been transferred.
It had nothing to do with the national budget—Vladimir had paid it out of his personal funds.
They said he had accumulated vast wealth, and apparently 1 trillion won was pocket change to him.
Following Igor, Jin-young arrived at a warehouse tucked in a corner of the airport.
As promised, twenty 1st-grade mana stones were packed inside large crates.
Ten blue and ten red, exactly as Jin-young had requested.
“Step outside for a bit. I need to absorb the mana stones.”
At his words, everyone exited the warehouse.
Chwaaaak—
Immediately, black tentacles burst out from his chest.
‘No time to waste—let’s eat them all at once.’
『Good.』
Chwararak—
As if it had been waiting, the tentacle promptly enveloped all twenty mana stones.
Kwaaaaa—
In an instant, it sucked in the energy of the mana stones, and a massive mana storm erupted around Jin-young.
Absorbing too many mana stones at once usually destroyed the mana vessel or overloaded the body, leading to death.
But Jin-young had already mastered the technique through repeated absorptions.
He could fully extract every bit of the mana stones’ energy without straining his mana vessel or body in the slightest.
Shwooooooo—
Moreover, with the tentacle’s assistance added on top, the process was as stable as it could possibly be.
He could feel his body growing lighter and power overflowing in real time.
His mana vessel expanded naturally without any risk of breaking.
Then, among the mana stone energy being absorbed and circulated within his body, a portion began heading toward his head.
Shusss…
The mana stone energy flowed into Jin-young’s mental world.
The moment it encountered Cyclic energy, the latter began spinning at an even faster rate.
In turn, his psionic energy was stimulated as well.
‘So mana stones affect Cyclic energy too.’
It hadn’t been Jin-young’s intention—the mana stone energy had simply been drawn in by the Cyclic energy.
The Cyclic energy, which couldn’t recover on its own, was now returning to its original state.
Having realized he could restore Cyclic energy using mana stones, Jin-young decided he would rely heavily on this method for the time being.
In his mental world, psionic energy raged like a typhoon at terrifying speed.
When he stepped out of the warehouse with a refreshed expression, Igor approached as if he had been waiting.
“The helicopter is ready.”
***
Jjeojeojeok—
A wall made of bluish biological tissue split open, forming an entrance.
A figure composed entirely of black shadow stepped inside.
The scene looked as though someone were walking through the innards of a massive living organism.
The shadow came to a stop in the center of a sealed biological compartment.
There was nothing—no objects, no people—in this completely enclosed space, yet the shadow began speaking without hesitation.
“Among the seven prophets, Yoshida Satoru and Talida Abdullah have died. Lyle Umkaba is missing. Effectively, three positions are vacant.”
Roughly half of GODS’s maximum combat power had vanished.
Though murmurs had begun to spread among the prophets, their blind faith in the Godfather prevented any outright division.
The lower-ranking members, however, were a different story.
“Divisions are occurring among the followers of the three missing prophets. Countless numbers are abandoning their missions and fleeing.”
No reply came, but the shadow continued.
“The majority of these losses are due to the unidentified hunter who recently appeared in Korea. We had almost no information on him, but fortunately, we obtained footage recorded by the spy who infiltrated the last conference.”
Chwaaaak—
Pale smoke billowed into the air, then coalesced into a video-like replay of the events at the conference.
It wasn’t captured by a camera—it was a direct visualization of what the spy had seen.
The image quality wasn’t perfect, but it was clear enough to recognize.
The recording began from the moment Prophet Lyle appeared at the conference and cut off right after the hellfire was compressed into a small orb.
The recorder had either lost consciousness or died.
“From this alone, it’s hard to gauge his exact level, but it’s certain he is an entity beyond what the prophets can handle. Without taking extraordinary measures, securing the relay zones will remain impossible moving forward.”
Just as his words concluded—
Tz-tz— Tz-tz-tz-tz!
A crack appeared in midair, and a single massive eyeball emerged.
Its red pupil fixed directly on the shadow.
『After seeing the footage, it seems we have no choice but to change the plan. Wear the crown. And once again, take on the role in my stead.』
“……”
Shuuut—
The shadow summoned a silver crown in front of him and immediately placed it on his head.
Shusss…
Flesh began to layer over the black shadow, followed by clothing, transforming it in an instant into a normal human appearance.
A black coat, fedora, sunglasses, and black hood completely concealed his face.
It was the exact appearance of the Godfather that the prophets and other high-ranking GODS members had encountered.
『First, meet the prophet currently operating in Russia and bestow upon him the power of the Abyss.』
“If the prophet cannot endure it, what should be done?”
『If he cannot endure and dies, that is the end of him. The new world has no need for the weak.』
“I will keep that in mind.”
The shadow—now the Godfather—bowed his head in acknowledgment, then left the compartment as it was.
The remaining eyeball stared silently at the footage still playing in midair and muttered.
『If it really is that guy… then it can only be called the whim of fate.』
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