NOVEL NEXT Chapter 45
Buncheon Society (3)
After the battle in the mental realm, Hans dug through the brain of the Buncheon Society’s executive to extract information.
Though the mental realm was devastated by the battle’s aftermath, the physical brain wasn’t significantly damaged, so it was possible.
Of course, there was some degree of impact, resulting in considerable losses, but it had to be endured.
‘Hmm, still not as easy as I thought.’
The fight that occurred with the Buncheon Society’s top brass in the mental realm.
At first, I thought I could easily win with just the “Mind Hub,” but it seemed they had some unique skills related to it, making it quite tough to handle.
Well, those skills probably allowed them to implant restrictions in other people’s mental realms and roam around freely.
Their mental strength was impressive, but with the resources from my avatars focused on the fight, I didn’t fall behind.
However, every time I allowed their attacks, it caused “Clear Mind” to shake, and the volume of information in the “Mind Hub” surged, creating issues.
Hans was constantly operating the “Mind Hub” to counter the ongoing mental pollution transmitted from the “Fragment of the Undead King.”
As the enemy’s attacks piled up, the blocked information started to backflow, putting me in a dangerous situation.
‘So, I just let it go.’
During the war, there were rebellions breaking out internally and enemy invasions externally.
Why bother getting caught in the middle of it all?
I simply opened the path for the enemies to invade, guiding them straight to the rebels, while concentrating my troops on the other side to thoroughly block any advancement toward the homeland.
The unsuspecting enemy rushed toward the rebels instinctively…
The result was a clean victory for the rebels.
Even the sect labeled it as “mental pollution that no entity can overcome.”
There was no way the attacks from the fragment, a manifestation of evil, would work.
Although the mental world had become a wasteland due to the process, I wouldn’t care since they were doomed anyway.
Right, the very land where the war broke out was a colony of the enemy.
‘This whole thing was possible because it was someone else’s mental realm and I was in a spiritual state.’
But if the result is good, isn’t that what matters?
I leisurely watched the fight before being torn apart by a crazed black demon while narrowly escaping, and then calmly re-collared the fragment that lost its opponent.
‘Still, it’s a bit disappointing that I let it slip.’
Given how damaged the spirit was, it wouldn’t be unscathed, but the fact that I couldn’t finish it off was somewhat regrettable.
Moreover, besides the information I learned through conversation, there was no real gain, and damage had occurred to the memories I could extract from the executive’s brain.
However, pondering such sentiments felt premature.
《The entity has gained enlightenment by siphoning off the karma of others. Skill “Black Magic” evolves into the special skill “Path of Sorcery.”》
‘Huh? Suddenly?’
Of course, I had been feeling something reach its limits for a while, but I thought I needed a bit more time…
But soon I understood the cause.
[Oh, you absorbed the remnants of the spirit scattered throughout the mental realm. This was an unexpected gain, huh?]
While reading the executive’s memories using black magic, fragments of green spirits that were scattered in that mental realm came along for the ride.
Along with all sorts of knowledge and realizations.
And saying I siphoned off the karma means my growth diminished their level proportionally.
‘I wondered if there was a way to use it again… but it’s not exactly a typical method.’
Given that the opponent was damaged in a spirit state and that the scattered remnants in the mental realm were like a lifeless object that had lost its functions.
Additionally, it was complicated by the fact that their existence, being an undead, was forcibly connected to the mental realm through black magic.
Of course, this was also a dangerous endeavor that could lead to mental pollution, but as always, it had nothing to do with me.
‘Regardless of the other conditions, I need someone capable of invading another’s mind as a sacrifice… Such abilities aren’t common.’
The one who faced me this time would probably run away with their tail between their legs when we meet again.
This should be seen as an exceptional case.
Still, thanks to this, I could surpass the wall, so I should celebrate now.
Thanks to “Path of Sorcery,” I can now expand my reach not just with black magic but into other areas as well.
‘Of course, there are still matters to handle before that.’
Hooosh—
In an instant, black magic surged, and Hans, shrouded in darkness, jumped across space.
The target was the place I learned about this time.
The Buncheon Society’s Seoul branch.
*
While Heinz stayed at the villa managing the remaining remnants, Hans moved busily.
Though the coordinates extracted from the executive were damaged and I couldn’t go straight to the location, I was able to search the vicinity and find their stronghold.
During this process, the growth of magic due to “Path of Sorcery” was of great assistance.
However, their response was quicker than anticipated.
‘As soon as I read their memories, they headed straight this way, and the time spent delaying while searching the surroundings wasn’t that long…’
When I arrived, they were already busy packing up their base and preparing to flee.
“Crap… How are they already moving?”
“Ah, no way!”
Fortunately, it wasn’t too late, and I managed to capture the oblivious ones focused on incinerating the documents and extract their memories.
[Did the order come down already…?]
I realized that an evacuation order had been issued from higher up and that the executives had hidden away immediately.
They had shifted the task of burning documents to the low-ranking members and vanished.
Since each had hidden their traces personally, there was no information to be gathered from the remnants left behind.
‘Still, I’m glad to have caught one executive. I managed to salvage some information.’
“Grr, ggrrr…”
Hans looked down at the middle-aged man, struggling as he grabbed his head.
The director of the research lab at the Buncheon Society’s Seoul branch.
Unlike the other executives, he had been too greedy to grab at least one more piece of research data and missed his chance to escape, falling into Hans’s hands.
Thanks to that, I could recover most of the research data intact, for which I should be thankful.
Of course, that was separate from a peaceful death.
[Grr… kkk, heeheek…]
Hans glanced at the undead executive and examined the remaining documents.
Important things like recent operational orders had been prioritized for separate handling, while simpler topics like past operation outlines made up the bulk of the contents.
Still, it was a miracle that I managed to gather this information after I had intervened just as they were about to destroy the remaining documents using magic.
The research director seemed uninterested in anything outside his research, so he wasn’t of much help in other areas.
‘Still, it seems to be true that they’ve been active for a long time.’
Folders organized by year along with small USB drives attached to them.
However, according to information gleaned from inside their heads, it’s said that detailed content is reported back to the upper echelons and then discarded.
Which meant the materials held here were just outlines.
Hans decided to neatly collect the remaining items at the stronghold and move back to the villa where Heinz was waiting.
There were still plenty of remnants there from which I could extract information.
[As expected, but not a single one of them is better than the first guy I read.]
However, since the Buncheon Society seemed to be organized as a decentralized structure, there was no one with information exceeding that of the first executive I had read.
Of course, even among them, each individual’s learned skills and knowledge were helpful.
“Hmph, it seems like things are wrapped up to some extent. I’ve dealt with the leadership of the Blood League hardliners, and the Buncheon Society that supported them also tucked their tails and ran.”
[Kuhuhuh… Looking into the memory of that executive, it seems Alpha had been half affiliated with the Buncheon Society for a while. After this incident, he completely disappeared.]
Heinz licked his lips, disappointed.
He was regretful that he couldn’t eat the hardliner leader, Alpha.
Of course, considering how tight the trap was, if Alpha had been here, it was highly likely they would have fled instead of being defeated.
In that sense, this was also a stroke of luck.
Thanks to that, I could eat to the point of feeling overly stuffed.
Of course, if it were a high-level individual’s blood, I would still fine mearily consume it to the utmost despite having to throw up all the inferior blood.
“With the hardliners this thoroughly smashed, Alpha must know there’s no use coming back now. He’ll realize he’s got nowhere to go and will fully shift toward that side.”
[It would have been nice if I could track him down right away and finish him off for good. Such a shame.]
“The Buncheon Society seems to be an even larger force than expected. Based on the information so far, it doesn’t appear to be an organization limited to South Korea alone.”
[Speaking of which, I did collect some materials from their base. I’d better check again to see what schemes might be hidden in there.]
The dialogues exchanged between Hans and Heinz were akin to their thoughts being articulated.
Though it was practically like solitary mutterings in the process of organizing their thoughts, it didn’t matter right now.
After all, there was no one else alive here besides Heinz.
Hans laid out all the Buncheon Society branch’s materials he had gathered.
Since he had stored the filing cabinets and bookshelves filled with documents in the spatial dimension, it wasn’t hard to check the organized files.
Hans focused on inspecting the research journals while Heinz went through the operation outlines categorized by year.
While it was too much to check the attached USB drives right away, they were grasping the general contents when…
“…Huh?”
Heinz stopped abruptly upon discovering a document.
Hans, who was also inspecting the materials, froze like a robot powered down.
Where Heinz’s gaze landed fell upon:
[Operation Plan: August XX, Seoul Station]
A document bearing the date and location that Seong-hyun Han could never forget.
It was right there.
*
“Ah! Heinz, is that you?”
Just before dawn, Heinz went to find Jin So-Ran.
To inform her about the results of last night’s battle, and…
“…What? What happened to the hardliners? And you want to meet our leader…? No, wait a minute. Before that, can you say that again, just once more?”
“During last night, I dealt with most of the hardliner executives except for Alpha. A few Gamma dispatched to the provinces were missed, but they won’t impact the overall situation. I want to talk to the leader of the moderate faction regarding this.”
Heinz calmly repeated what he said mechanically.
Maybe it was because she’d abruptly encountered shocking information, Jin So-Ran looked briefly confused before cautiously observing Heinz’s demeanor.
“H-Heinz. First, I’ll report this, but um, I need time to verify the facts… and this feels too sudden…”
“Jin So-Ran.”
Heinz’s indifferent voice cut off her words.
An abrupt silence came over them.
Heinz silently looked down at her.
“…!”
A thick scent of blood permeated the air.
Last night, after feeding on countless vampires, the rapidly growing sanguine factors emanated tremendous blood magic.
The suffocating intimidation made Jin So-Ran freeze and swallow her breath.
‘I knew Heinz was strong, but not to this extent…!’
It wasn’t merely the quantity of blood magic that overwhelmed her.
Something was fundamentally different.
It was as if a predator was watching her, unleashing a fear that stimulated deeper instincts.
At some point, she realized her breath was becoming ragged.
‘At least level 7, or maybe higher… I can’t be the one to judge.’
She quickly assessed the situation and immediately changed her stance.
“I’ll contact them right now to schedule a meeting as quickly as possible!”
The leader of the moderate faction was level 7.
Even when meeting that leader, she hadn’t felt this way, so Heinz must be stronger than that.
She’d heard rumors that Alpha, the leader of the hardliners, had reached level 8, but that was unverified information since she had never seen him.
“Good. Then we should also discuss ways to strengthen the blood league’s military force. As well as how to deal with the remnants of the hardliners.”
“Yes, yes…?”
Now Heinz had a reason to quickly grow their forces.
In that regard, the blood league was a fitting organization.
Though the hardliners had been cut down and their military might diminished, they still had a base that had been around for a long time.
Their secrecy, intelligence, and influence were among the top rank of underground organizations in South Korea.
Moreover, now that he had the ability to put a leash on them, he would make sure to capitalize on it.
This was probably not a bad proposal from the moderate faction’s perspective either.
Depending on how they accepted it, they could steer the conversation toward a mutually beneficial direction.