Chapter 276: Hahoe Mask Returns (1)

Deep within the Abyss.

The entity was carefully observing the lifeform that had suddenly entered its domain.

Even though the concept of time was meaningless to it, it was not completely devoid of the emotion of boredom.

In the midst of that, it was only natural to be interested in the irregular that had suddenly appeared.

"Could it be a god? A god who is trapped in a place like this. Hmm, in that case…"

Firstly, it was passable simply for maintaining its form in this space.

Not only its body, but also the level of the existence was perfect.

It decided to play a little prank, with its curiosity rising slightly.

Kooom—

A surging wave of chaos swept through the area.

Even so, the lifeform, the leader of Beoncheonhoe, didn't even blink.

It simply let it flow away naturally, as if it had distorted the surrounding space itself.

"…Is this the kind of world here? This is troublesome. I prefer a hands-off approach."

Even in the midst of that, the leader of Beoncheonhoe was calmly muttering something.

However, the entity that ruled this place was equally disinterested in what the other party was saying.

It had been quite a long time since it had paid attention to a mortal's personality or ego.

Therefore, it had no hesitation in its next action.

-Ah, my master! My god—

Its own possession, slave, and toy.

It took out one of the souls that had been copied and stored and forced it into the other party's body.

If it worked out and it managed to get its hands on that body terminal, wouldn't it be faster to retry the thing it had failed at a while ago?

'Anyway, the gods are always dogmatic, no matter which world they are in.'

The leader of Beoncheonhoe, who had narrowed his eyes at that.

"Tsk, useless meddling."

-Kyahhh—!

He tore the foreign object that had entered his body to pieces.

And at the same time, a pair of huge wings, each over 3 meters long, appeared behind his back.

Whirr—

Immediately, a sunset glow spread out, pushing back the chaos and the abyss that covered all sides.

It was an alien divine power that could not be seen in this world.

Twitch—

The surrounding space twitched, as if it were displeased.

The soul of the torn slave was not a big deal since there were still many copies left.

What had upset it was that annoying energy.

Divine power in its territory?

However, at the same time as feeling anger, it also felt curious.

A divine power it had never seen before.

That energy was definitely from an outer god, and not from here in Auterica.

However, that life form was emitting it from itself, instead of borrowing it from someone else.

That meant that the other party was a being with divinity.

Even so, that meant that it had at least the minimum qualifications to face it.

-Kyah— Ah… my god…

Even amidst that, the copied soul called out to it until the very end before crumbling and disappearing, but it was no longer paying attention to that side.

"A god… from the looks of it, it seems like you were chased out of that position."

Whoosh—

As if having touched its sore spot, the space was shaken and reacted violently.

Even if it had fallen, a god was still a god.

The space was distorted by the sheer force of its presence, even by simply expressing emotions.

However, even amidst that turmoil, the leader of Beoncheonhoe continued to speak without batting an eye.

"Before you get excited, how about we have a little chat? If you act like that, I'll just leave as I am."

And then, he stared at the entity that had sunk deep into this place with strange, shining eyes.

He didn't like the kind of beings that were called gods, but that entity, stuck in this place… he couldn't say that it was a proper god now, unlike in the past.

It seemed like it had long been chased out of its godhood and sealed.

And that meant—.

'That means he also has something he regrets. I can take advantage of this.'

If he did that, it was certain that it would be of considerable help in finishing his business here.

Of course, the problem was that the place he had entered happened to be like a prison and a trash can of this dimension.

'It seems like it'll take longer than I expected. But…'

His brow furrowed slightly as he quietly looked around.

The energy contained in the turbulent currents of chaotic energy that swept around him felt strangely familiar.

'…Hmm. Is it just my imagination?'

But he soon shrugged it off.

In the first place, the scraps of the world were all similar everywhere, and he did not have the time to pay attention to such things right now.

And so, within the abyss that covered all sides.

The black hands of the two worlds met.

The online site, Dawn's Seonangdang, which was rapidly increasing its members.

Even that site, which had been growing at an alarming rate since its initial opening, had recently seen its growth slow down.

One of the reasons for this was that everyone who was worth joining had already joined, but the long disappearance of the one who had become their center had also had a significant effect.

'Well, it's a fan site, so it can't be helped.'

They were all people who had gathered together because they were impressed by the exploits of the dark hero "Hahoe Mask", but the person himself had suddenly disappeared, so it was only natural.

Because of that, unrest was slowly spreading even among those who had been constantly wishing for his return.

-(link) There are also pictures of what's claimed to be evidence, like a broken Hahoe Mask mask and robe, with blood on it. Is this true?

-No no no, it's fake fake fake

-How long has it been since Hahoe Mask went underground? It seems to be more than a week. Hasn't it been about two weeks? Could it really be...

-No, it's not even a month. You guys are making such a fuss over him taking a short break;;

└To be honest, if he had taken a break after clearing things up in Japan, we'd think that he just wanted to rest, but isn't it reasonable to be suspicious that he stopped halfway without finishing everything?

└ㅜㅜ And there's no sighting of him in Korea either. Even if he's not dead, is he really not hurt somewhere?

└Ah, if he's alive, at least report his survival! We'll let him rest, so pleaseㅠㅠ

There were more people supporting him than expected, thanks to his uncompromising judgments of criminals and the improved domestic security as a result, as well as his work overseas and his appearances in the mass media.

It was easy to find people who followed him not only on that fan site, but also in other communities.

And with that, people also began to connect him with Heinz II, 'Phantom', who had recently started making a name for himself.

Of course, they weren't just questioning their relationship...

-Who is it thanks to that Korea is so peaceful right now? Seeing you guys switch over as soon as that guy wearing an opera phantom mask is making the rounds is so disappointing;;

There were quite a few people who were over-immersed and perceived them as if they were rivals.

Those who had received direct help from Hahoe Mask or had somehow benefited from him.

But not many people responded to such reactions.

-It is a bit like that. They're cutting down on Hahoe Mask while taking advantage of this situation.

-No, but did Hahoe Mask patent his persona? It's fine if we're all a little safer because of someone, why are you guys making a fuss about everything

└Fr. whether it's a yellow cow or a black cow, if they do their job well, that should be enough right?

-Thank you for your hard work so far, but honestly, the former dark magic user makes me a little uneasy..hehe;

└Ah, me too. What if he went underground somewhere because his dark magic went berserk? What if he suddenly turns into a villain because he snaps.

└Wow.. that might actually be the case;

└Ugh, the media play that those opera house guys are doing is so disgusting

Originally, the reason why Hahoe Mask was able to gain so much support was all thanks to his contributions to public security. And the fan site of Phantom, "Opera House", which had recently opened and was starting to grow, also actively protested against that.

'Hmm, the growth of the Heinz fandom is faster than I expected. Is it because he did not care about things like cameras from the beginning and was active?'

It was impossible for Heinz to teleport in the blink of an eye like Hans, but his range of activity was not narrow either.

If it was within Seoul, he had the mobility to arrive anywhere within a few minutes.

In addition, he was not related to the dark magic that many people were uneasy about, and all the things that could make people suspect that he was a vampire could be thoroughly hidden with "Existence Denial", and most of all…

<5th Day of the 1 Day 1 Phantom Divine Visage Adoration Prayer>

Unlike Hans, the fact that he had a very outstanding appearance also had a very big impact.

The trigger was a single picture that had been taken by chance right after an execution.

The problem was that his beauty in that photo was so overwhelming that an opera mask could not fully conceal it.

'That was definitely… amazing even for me.'

A picture that had become a hot topic on the internet with just a single shot.

It was a picture of Heinz II, with the moonlight pouring down on him, wearing a white half-mask, while wearing a handsome, high-end suit, as he looked back at the person taking the photo.

Even though he hadn't stopped them from taking the picture, or even posed for them, it seemed the person who had taken the picture was an industry professional. The picture had turned into a photo shoot-like scene even though it was a zoomed-in picture taken from a considerable distance.

'And it seems that "Bewilderment" is slightly contained in the picture.'

It seemed that the effects, which had become stronger as Heinz's level had increased, had naturally affected even the picture.

He had gained it right after dealing with Alpha, but he had mostly forgotten about it because there had been nothing to use it for.

Because of that, the criminals scattered around seemed to be a part of the props, emphasizing his dangerous yet lethal charm.

'He definitely can't help but be compared with the gloomy dark magic user, Hahoe Mask, who's completely wrapped up.'

Perhaps the reason why the popularity of the charming man, Heinz II, was spreading rapidly among women was because of that.

It was a sad reality that was plagued by lookism, but it was the reality he had to face.

'Well, it's me in both cases, so it doesn't matter. How about forming an openly masked secret organization with this opportunity and being active with it?'

The name should be, something like… Masquerade?

Now that things have come to this, how about gathering all the other avatars, including Heinrich…

'No, let's think about that later.'

He gathered his thoughts again as he pulled himself out of the thoughts that were going astray and focused on the upcoming schedule.

There was an important plan that was about to start.

Whoosh—

In the stillness, the sound of cutting through the wind swept violently through the surroundings.

A night where even the moonlight held its breath.

The waves of the sea, which had been faintly visible below, soon changed into the night view of a gorgeous downtown area.

Into a fantastic city that shined beautifully with colorful hues.

'Let's see. The location is…'

At a certain point in the sky above Shanghai, the city that he had arrived at after crossing the sea.

[...Found it.]

Hans, who had used "Eyes of the Abyss" to pinpoint the target's exact location, coldly chanted.

A level of security that would have been impossible to notice without prior information.

An all-too-familiar presence was detected within it.

'Yullyeongja, Head of the East Asia Branch of Beoncheonhoe.'

There was no need to hesitate any further.

If they were at a certain level, they would have already noticed that he had appeared in Shanghai.

From now on, everything would be done swiftly.

Hans's body was falling faster than he had been flying so far.

And finally.

Kwoooom—!

The barrier that had been blocking the way was smashed, and a loud explosion burst out.

It was a magnificent celebration to announce the resurrection of Hahoe Mask.

A luxurious office, with fancy decorations and a night view.

"Phew."

Yullyeongja, who had finished his discussion with Scribe, the head of the North American branch, sank deep into his chair.

And he turned it towards the window and stretched his right hand to the side to grab his teacup.

Slurp—

A relaxing break time with a great night view.

His gaze, which was blankly staring out the window, was suddenly drawn to his right arm, and his face naturally crumpled.

At the end of his five fingers, several thin metal wires connected from the back of his neck branched out and extended.

This was the cutting-edge magic tool that Dr. had made for him after he lost his arm in Hahoe Mask's mental world. It was designed to forcefully move his body according to his will.

'Hahoe Mask…'

He slowly fiddled his fingers as he fell deep into thought while looking at it.

The disappearance of their nemesis after he had disappeared in Japan, until now, when quite a bit of time had passed.

At this point, he must have gone wrong somewhere from what had happened at that time.

It meant that it was not a unilateral loss on their side.

Thinking that, his crumpled face relaxed slightly.

'I am also preparing countermeasures against him, one by one. If the cooperation with Scribe ends properly this time, I will definitely…'

However.

There is an old saying that goes like this, isn't there?

Speak of the devil, and he'll appear.

Even a tiger is like that, so if it were a demon king of a world…

Beep—! Beep—! Beep—!

It would not be that strange if he were to appear simply by thinking about him.

-Yullyeongja-nim! Something big happened! Right now, in Shanghai's airspace…!

The alarm system that was installed at the base was ringing loudly.

An urgent communication came from his subordinate in the security room.

And at the same time.

<...>

A blood-red message flowed down his left prosthetic eye.

Clang—!

The teacup that had fallen from his hand shattered loudly, but with the help of the assist device, he jumped up and didn't even look at it.

No, he couldn't.

Kwoooom—!

Followed by the loud impact that shook the building.

[Keheheh— Well then, it's really been a long time.]

The voice that he had been thinking about until a while ago.

A voice that had come from the abyss, froze the space.