Chapter 752

Leviathan.

The news that the nightmare of the sea—long thought to have faded into the flow of time—had returned drew the world’s attention, more than any of the monster waves that erupted the same day.

[Breaking News: Leviathan Appears, Disaster Looms Over Japan.]

[Asia’s Star Jin Taekyung, Who Saved Japan Amidst Numerous Doubts, Injured and Leviathan Disappears.]

[Anonymous High-Ranking Official B, “There was a sufficient possibility to slay Leviathan. If the Defense Minister hadn’t suddenly caused a mess…” The complacency of the H Defense Ministry.]

[Confirmed casualties so far already number W. The Archipelago in Crisis.]

[B Defense Minister Fujiwara, “I will stake my life to protect the imperial subjects—no, the citizens.” The true intentions of an imperialist relic failing to keep up with the times.]

[Defense Minister Fujiwara leaving the press conference as if fleeing (photo)]

[Prime Minister S’s Resolute Declaration. “I will kill that monster within four days and show the power of the archipelago.” To a foreign journalist’s question about the method, with a faint smile, “I will definitely do it. Because that is the promise.”]

[B Netizens, “Please shut the Prime Minister’s mouth.” In unison…]

[The Peninsula’s Young Hero Who Saved the Archipelago. Yet the Light and Shadow Surrounding the Hero.]

[Chinese Chairman Xiao Yang, “Mr. Jin is a true hero. Only the cowardly and narrow-minded vilify him.”]

[Operator of Largest Anti-Jin Taekyung Site in China, Arrested by Public Security. The charge: being a petty person.]

[Leviathan Disappears Again. Yet the Unceasing Terror and Monster Waves.]

[Michael Silbert and the Odin Guild, Suppress Third Monster Wave in Just One Day. Praise pours in from around the world, and questions are directed at Sky. “Why does he not appear?”]

Thud.

Huginn set the tablet down and thought.

‘As expected. Not good.’

Public opinion was slowly shifting. Leviathan’s escape was increasingly being pinned on the Japanese Defense Ministry’s incompetence, and even the media that had been scrambling to vilify Jin Taekyung was subtly changing its stance.

‘In this situation, what if Jin Taekyung really does slay Leviathan?’

Everything the media campaign had chipped away at so far could be restored in an instant.

And if that happened, it was only natural that a hitch would occur in the plan—one for which all preparations had already been completed.

Having gone that far, Huginn turned his head toward his superior. Michael Silbert, who had been making coffee with his back to him, spoke without turning around.

“My back of the head suddenly feels prickly. Is it just my imagination?”

“…It’s probably not.”

“If you have something to say, go ahead. However, if it concerns Jin Taekyung, hold onto it.”

Under normal circumstances, he would have quietly followed his superior’s lead.

But Huginn still carried the heat of the battle that had ended just thirty minutes ago, and he couldn’t ignore the sense that Japan’s situation was flowing in a strange direction.

“Have you not heard the news yet?”

At Huginn’s question, tinged with frustration, Michael chuckled softly and lifted his coffee cup.

“Huginn, my friend. Do you think I wouldn’t know what you know?”

“Then why—”

“The aroma is particularly good today. Shall I make you a cup as well?”

“…Guild Master. If Jin Taekyung slays Leviathan, the aftermath will be troublesome.”

Clack.

Michael set the cup down and leaned back into the leather sofa.

Inside the tent, enchanted with Space Expansion Magic, the interior was as luxurious as a seven-star hotel suite, and an air of leisure clung to him—hard to believe he had just felled an S-Class monster.

“Huginn. I’ll only say this once, so listen well.”

“Yes.”

“There is nothing to be problematic. All conditions are already in place, and Leviathan is not a creature that can be slain so easily.”

“But…”

“I hope Jin Taekyung and Leviathan each do their best. Struggling with all their might to kill each other, to survive. That is all I hope for.”

“Ah, of course, if Jin Taekyung dies in the process, that would be the best outcome.”

The moment Michael—winking at the bewildered Huginn—reached for the cup he had set aside,

Clack, splash.

Coffee spilled across the table, sending up hot steam.

Huginn, startled, asked with wide eyes.

“Are you alright?”

“Guild Master?”

“Ah.”

Michael’s face, hardened like stone, softened again. Regaining his usual composure in an instant, he replied.

“No problem. It seems I’m slightly fatigued from engaging in intense battles multiple times.”

But the loyal servant who had stood by his side for many long years didn’t take those words at face value.

After a glance at Michael’s trembling fingers, Huginn spoke with sincere concern.

“It seems your training has been too excessive these past few months.”

“Did it seem that way?”

“Yes. Especially since learning about Jin Taekyung, you’ve noticeably…”

Huginn trailed off. Feeling Michael’s gaze fix on him, he bowed his head.

“I spoke out of turn.”

A heavy silence settled between them. Michael was the one who broke it.

“Is the press conference prepared?”

“Yes. They’ve been on standby since an hour ago.”

“Let it start in thirty minutes. I will depart as soon as the conference concludes, so finish the preparations to leave by then.”

“Understood, Guild Master.”

There wasn’t a hint of hesitation in the reply. Huginn didn’t ask why they were already preparing to leave, nor where they were headed.

He would naturally find out by the time withdrawal preparations were complete.

Another terror. Another monster wave. And another glory and fame waiting somewhere.

In this brutally well-scripted scenario, the Odin Guild always moved one step ahead, piling up immortal renown.

“I will come to escort you shortly.”

After Huginn bowed politely and left, Michael Silbert, now alone, murmured.

“You were right, Huginn. It really might be so.”

Jin Taekyung.

From the moment he first learned that man existed, an inexplicable emotion had surged in his chest.

The name of that hazy, indistinct emotion was impatience—and anxiety.

Then an old memory surfaced.

The wretched version of himself, with nothing but ambition. The humiliation of those days when he could only lie flat on the ground to avoid Cheon Tae-min’s gaze.

But…

“Ultimately, the only one who wins is me.”

The words slipped out in a low murmur.

Feeling the powerful energy filling his entire body, Michael Silbert was certain the day of victory was close.

Whoooooosh.

A wind carrying a salty scent swept in from afar.

Near the Philippine Sea, close to the archipelago, a whale surfaced amid the rolling swells and blinked its large eyes.

Today’s sea was quiet—strangely so, even to this enormous creature.

Despite hours of patrolling, it hadn’t seen a single ordinary fishing boat, let alone a whaling ship.

Fwoooosh!

The whale spouted a stream of water into the empty sky, then sank back into the deep. Hundreds of fish swimming in a school followed its movement.

Swoooosh.

They moved as if naturally drawn together, swimming without rest.

Not to a farther place, but to a deeper place—following the resonance calling them from somewhere in the abyss, submerged in thick darkness.

Grooooooan.

Hundreds became thousands, and the kinds multiplied into all shapes and forms.

Yet the marine creatures swimming after that resonance found nothing strange.

Not even when an enormous darkness they had never seen before enveloped them like a net.

Grrrrr. Crunch!

And that was the end.

Teeth harder than steel sliced through whale and shark alike, sucking in thousands of fish.

The monster opened its huge maw, chewed and swallowed everything, and savored the taste for a moment.

No—it absorbed all the energy and memories they carried.

Swooooooosh.

In the place called the deep sea, a hazy light bloomed. Yet despite the fresh energy it had taken in, the monster’s eyes were still filled with hunger.

‘To think this paltry amount is all.’

It hadn’t been like this when it roamed the five oceans at its master’s command.

Land and sea alike—ever since the Demon King Asmodeus descended, the world had been saturated with delectable Magical Power, and even the smallest fish carried a trace of it.

But now everything had changed.

That once-great master had vanished, and the monster that had ruled every sea of this world had to hide once more in the deep, avoiding human eyes.

And it was doing so while grievously wounded.

Green blood seeped from wounds that would not heal, mixing with seawater. Seized by unbearable rage, Leviathan trembled its massive body.

‘How dare. How dare mere humans…’

But what Leviathan carried now wasn’t rage alone.

Fear.

That detestable emotion it had felt from one infinitely tiny human was binding this powerful monster to the deep sea.

‘What in the world is it? How can a mere insignificant human possess such power?’

Leviathan couldn’t understand it.

It was Leviathan—Leviathan, which had absorbed every last lump of Magical Power contained in the S-Class Magic Crystal Stones over the course of just a little more than a day.

With the healing power of water and the addition of new Magical Power, it had been confident any injury would wash away without a trace.

Yet everything was sliding toward the worst outcome.

‘The moment I leave the deep sea, I become the target of humans. It would be better to store up power here as much as possible, then slip away…’

At that moment, the huge eyeballs that had been roaming the empty sky above stopped.

Because of a strange, unfamiliar memory that flashed through its mind—one that wasn’t its own.

‘This is…’

The doubt lasted only an instant. The memories of the countless marine creatures Leviathan had just swallowed surged into its mind like a wave.

A blue sky. A quiet sea without a single fishing boat in sight.

And…

‘What is that?’

In waters that had been packed with human warships and submarines only hours ago, the image of a single small boat drifting alone was etched into its memory.

A distance of only a few hundred kilometers. That boat, lingering near an unnamed uninhabited island, had been discovered by a school of fish an hour ago.

‘The distance is too close. And the sea has become too quiet.’

Leviathan realized at once—this was a trap laid by humans, and it sneered.

‘Stupid fools. Do you think you can deceive this body—’

The thought cut off.

Without realizing it, Leviathan had turned its head toward the surface, all five senses stretched taut as they drank in the mesmerizing scent that had reached even the deep sea, riding the waves.

‘Magical Power. Tremendous Magical Power.’

With that realization, an extreme craving seized Leviathan’s entire body.

If only it had that—if it could make that enormous energy, greater even than what it had absorbed earlier, its own—then this paltry injury would be nothing.

It could even kill, in a single breath, the human who had inflicted this disgrace upon it.

Leviathan ground its teeth, murmuring as if bewitched.

‘I must not be fooled. It’s definitely a trap prepared by humans.’

But the resolve didn’t last long before it crumbled.

According to the memories carried in, there were no humans anywhere. And the information being carried through the waves at this very moment was the same.

‘I don’t sense the unique vitality of humans. Then…?’

Leviathan decided.

It would head straight into the trap they had prepared—willingly.

Swoooosh!

Its massive body split the deep sea currents and surged upward.