Chapter 159

“Now, for the last one…”

It was time to verify Harmakan’s third ability.

“Harmakan, explain Instance Dungeon to me.”

Instance Dungeon.

This was the ability Harmakan had used to transform Yamiri Village into a dungeon-like world.

According to Harmakan, he had mastered this skill after extensively studying Kandiaru’s legacy, which he had stumbled upon by chance.

That was why he proudly called himself Kandiaru’s disciple.

As Suho asked, Harmakan—his body battered from the earlier beating—gathered himself and answered.

[Yes, my lord. Instance Dungeon is a type of sorcery that distorts an existing dimension to create a ‘Parallel World.’]

“A Parallel World?”

[Think of it as… a world beyond a mirror. It resembles the current environment, but it is, in essence, a completely separate, fabricated dimension. Ah, now that I think about it…!]

Suddenly, Harmakan’s eyes widened in realization as he looked around.

Where were they right now?

The Sanctuary of Rest, a realm beyond Suho’s shadow—this Shadow Dungeon itself.

The ruins within this monochrome world bore a striking resemblance to an Instance Dungeon in concept.

While it mirrored Earth’s landscapes, it was also a completely different realm.

With a shudder, Harmakan abruptly withdrew his earlier words and corrected himself.

[Ah! Forgive me, my lord! I misspoke! It’s not beyond a mirror—it’s beyond a shadow!]

A realization struck him like a bolt of lightning.

He finally understood where Kandiaru had drawn inspiration from when creating the Instance Dungeon spell.

[The order of things was reversed from the very beginning! Kandiaru must have modeled Instance Dungeons after this Shadow Realm! And the ultimate purpose of his research was…!]

“Leveling up.”

Suho interjected, nodding in understanding.

“He must have developed it for my father’s level-up system.”

[That seems to be the case!]

Until now, Harmakan had mistakenly believed that Instance Dungeons were meant for creating a world of one’s own.

After all, within the center of such a fabricated world, he could reign as its absolute ruler.

But that assumption was wrong.

He was never meant to be a king.

He was simply a boss monster.

A tool designed to grant massive EXP to players clearing the dungeon!

[And after further inspection, that pyramid over there is the same.]

Harmakan pointed toward Ammit’s Pyramid.

[That pyramid, too, is filled with remnants of Kandiaru’s research, all designed to nurture the Shadow Monarch’s vessel.]

“That makes sense.”

Suho nodded in agreement.

The Body Strengthening Technique Training Grounds and the Instance Dungeon…

After extensive research, Kandiaru had ultimately perfected the leveling system that Suho’s father had once utilized.

And ironically, all the unfinished remnants of Kandiaru’s efforts were now falling into Suho’s hands one by one.

And as a result—

[My lord, the Instance Dungeon I personally developed has a particular trait: It attracts beings with wicked souls.]

“Wicked souls? Like villains?”

[Yes. While a person can lie with their words, they cannot deceive their own soul. I assure you, no sorcery is better at detecting evil souls than mine.]

Harmakan bared his teeth in a sinister grin, evidently delighted by his own craft.

[In other words, if you use my Instance Dungeon, my lord, you can easily gather villains in one place for convenient hunting.]

[How splendid! I thought you were just another devious one, but you actually have useful talents!]

Beru suddenly materialized, nodding with great satisfaction.

Then, flashing an even more sinister smile than Harmakan’s, he eagerly urged Suho forward.

[Young Lord! This is perfect! The leveling-up pace has been far too slow, but now, you can go all out! From now on, whether they are villains or evil spirits, just slaughter them all and grow stronger!]

“Arsha.”

Ignoring Beru’s enthusiastic rambling, Suho tilted his head upward.

Above him, a swarm of bees condensed into the shape of a small doll.

[Yes, Suho-nim? Did you call for me?]

“What about the search?”

[I have already scattered my worker bees across the country, but I haven’t found any trace of Hwang Dongsoo yet. However, thinking he might be involved, I’ve pinpointed the locations of several villains…]

[Screeeeech!]

[Eek?!]

Before she could finish, Beru snatched Arsha midair, holding her up like a trophy.

Arsha let out a shrill scream.

Beaming, Beru raised her high and showered her with praise.

[Truly commendable! What a useful little honeybee! Young Lord! At long last, your forces are finally working together seamlessly! Now, let’s go level up at once!]

“Do we really need to?”

[Kieek?]

Beru flinched at Suho’s unexpected response.

[Y-Young Lord, are you… not going to level up?]

“Of course I am. But the original purpose of hunting villains has already been achieved. If it’s just for leveling up, clearing dungeons is far more efficient.”

That was right.

Like any other hunter, Suho had now reached a point where acting as a bounty hunter was no longer an efficient way to gain experience.

However, that didn’t mean he should simply ignore the villains they had already located.

With a sly grin, Suho stated—

“Besides, as long as Shadow Soldiers kill them, I still get all the experience points, right?”

[Kieeek! Of course, Young Lord!]

“In that case, let’s split into two teams. I’ll head into the dungeons for hunting, and as for the villains…”

The Shadow Soldiers instantly tensed as Suho’s gaze slowly scanned over them.

They stood stiffly, awaiting his next command.

“Quay.”

[Yes, my master!]

At Suho’s call, Shadow Lancer Quay immediately stepped forward, kneeling on one knee.

“I’ll leave the villains to you. Take Harmakan and Kira with you and clean them up. Can you handle it?”

“T-That…! My lord, of course! If you entrust me with this task, I will see it through to perfection! I shall extract every last piece of information from them before executing them, ensuring we track down Hwang Dongsoo as well!]

At Suho’s command, Quay trembled with excitement.

To think that someone of his mere Knight rank was given authority over Harmakan, a high-ranking Elite Knight!

Quay turned to the new recruit, looking down on him with a smug grin.

[Hahaha! Do you see this? I am Quay, Master’s first knight!] (T/N: They are sooo cute. They have more personality than his father’s shadows lol.)

[Th-This cannot be…!]

The sheer humiliation of it all made Harmakan’s insides churn.

As Quay reveled in his moment of superiority, Harmakan seethed in silent frustration.

Meanwhile, standing beside them, Kira simply let out a quiet chuckle.

[…Murder…]

—

Around the same time, amidst the public outcry over the Jisan Prison incident, a dark shadow was cast over villains nationwide.

“…So, in the end, the capital region really is too dangerous.”

“That’s what I’m saying, haha.”

“Every hunter who makes real money eventually moves to Seoul anyway. The Hunter Association Headquarters is in Gangnam, after all.”

“Exactly. If you want to do villain work, it’s safer to stay on the move like us, hopping between the rural areas.”

Far from Seoul, on the outskirts of a quiet countryside town, a group of villains sat idly in a bustling local market.

Despite the massacre they had just committed, they lounged casually, chatting amongst themselves.

“Mmm. The weather’s nice today.”

Crunch.

One of them took a huge bite out of a fresh apple, his expression utterly relaxed as he gazed up at the clear blue sky.

The warm sunlight.

The gentle breeze.

Ah, this was happiness.

Well…

Aside from the stench of blood carried on the wind.

…!

The marketplace was soaked in red.

Corpses lay scattered across the stalls.

A place that had been peaceful just that morning had turned into hell on earth, all because of a few villains.

Yet the perpetrators sat there, completely unfazed, chatting away as if nothing had happened.

“Ugh… You monsters…”

“Huh? We still got a survivor? Damn, you’re a tough one.”

One villain smirked, watching a bloodied survivor crawl feebly across the ground.

Then—

Squelch.

“Alright, now it’s over.”

With a single stab, the villain finished him off, then calmly resumed eating his apple.

Crunch.

“Seriously, the ones who got caught were just idiots. As long as we kill every witness, how would anyone ever—”

Then.

A chill ran down his spine.

The apple nearly slipped from his fingers.

“…? What the hell…?”

The breeze had stopped.

The sunlight felt unnatural.

Something was off.

“What the hell is this?!”

“Oi, what’s with you all of a sudden?”

The other villains looked at him with confusion.

To them, nothing had changed.

The smell of blood.

The scattered corpses.

The familiar faces of their fellow criminals.

And yet… something had changed.

“Sh-Shit! What the hell is THAT?!”

“The fuck are you talking about?!”

One villain stared at his companion, confused—

And then.

Slash.

“…Huh?”

His head was suddenly gone.

Thud.

It rolled across the ground.

“Wh-What the fuck?!”

“A-Aaargh!!”

Panic spread.

The villains jumped to their feet, weapons drawn, frantically searching for the unseen threat.

Then.

A voice whispered past their ears.

[One.]

“Wh-Who’s there?!”

Slash.

Another head fell.

[Now, two.]

The voice dripped with amusement.

“A-Aaagh!! We’re under attack!! It’s an assassin-type hunter!!”

“Use detection skills! Find them!”

“Shit, what the hell is THAT?!”

A new horror unfolded.

From the mangled corpses, ethereal figures began to rise, their distorted faces filled with malice.

The villains froze in terror.

[Hehehe. Seems you’ve made plenty of enemies in death.]

Necromancy.

Harmakan’s sinister laughter rang out as the vengeful spirits latched onto the villains, their spectral hands strangling and dragging them down.

“G-Ghosts?!”

“D-Damn it! Whatever they are, we need to run—”

[That’s not an option.]

Whoosh!

“Gaaah!!”

A spear impaled a villain’s leg just as he tried to flee.

Quay yanked him up by the hair, staring into his eyes with a wicked grin.

[I don’t like talkative ones.]

“H-Hiiiik…!”

The villain’s face turned pale, his body shaking violently.

Quay’s gaze had reverted to that of his past self—Lee Minseong, former Vice Master of the Reaper Guild and a notorious A-rank villain.

Grin.

Quay leaned in closer.

[Now, start talking. Tell me everything you know. If you stop… I’ll rip your tongue out.]

Meanwhile, behind him—

Harmakan grinned maliciously, gripping the soul of a villain who had just died.

[Kukuku. That’s why knights are so slow. You don’t need to interrogate them—you can just ask the dead.]

[…]

Quay clenched his teeth.

—

Meanwhile…

Ding!

[You have leveled up!]

“Huh? Already?”

Suho blinked in surprise.

He had been sitting in an office, handling guild registration paperwork with Yoo Jinho’s secretary team.

Scratching his head, he muttered—

“…Just how many are they killing out there?”

Unbeknownst to him, South Korea was rapidly transforming into a villain-free nation.