Chapter 139: Black-Listed Villain (2)
“Korea? I thought that place was only filled with human trash.”
Black-listed villain Klaus Müller frowned as he spoke.
Liliana hid her sneer at his ignorance and shook her head.
“That’s not the case. The outside world has changed a lot in the three years you were sealed.”
“Hmm… You’re not talking about that rookie Yoon Soo-ho, are you? He did show some potential, but three years isn’t enough.”
Klaus had met Yoon Soo-ho only once.
At that time, the kid was young and only a 2nd grade Hunter, so he hadn’t even considered him an opponent.
“Yoon Soo-ho is now Zero-grade too, but the person I’m talking about is someone else entirely.”
“Whoever it is, I have no business with Korean trash. Tell me Godfather’s location. If you don’t want to die.”
Klaus’s only interest was Godfather.
Because only he could stir Klaus’s fighting spirit and competitive desire.
All other Hunters were nothing more than toys. He would play with them whenever he wanted, and discard them when they no longer pleased him or when they broke.
“But even Father is wary of him? You’re still not interested?”
At Liliana’s following words, Klaus’s eyes changed in an instant.
Kwadeuk-
He grabbed her by the collar at a speed she couldn’t even react to.
Liliana’s eyes widened as her breath was cut off.
The grip of the brutal hand was still overwhelmingly strong.
It was to the point where one would wonder if he was truly human.
Among all the Hunters she had seen so far, his physical ability and mana power could be considered the absolute strongest.
On top of that, he was the one and only Hunter who possessed four unique abilities.
It wasn’t for nothing that he had become the world’s first Zero-grade Hunter. Because of the countless atrocities he committed in Europe, his records had been erased, but.
“Your tongue is long, Belanov. If you don’t spit out Godfather’s location right now, I’ll start by ripping your throat out.”
“Khk…”
“What? I can’t hear you well. I thought you had gotten stronger, but this is all…”
It was then.
Marc, who had secretly moved behind Klaus, swung his twin blades.
Two pitch-black sword energies burst forth.
Shwaaaaek-
They flew at supersonic speed as if to slash Klaus’s back, but.
Shusut-
Klaus and Marc’s positions instantly swapped.
Pukwakwak-
Marc’s back was deeply carved in an X shape.
Liliana grabbed him as he appeared in front of her and activated her ability toward Klaus, who had swapped positions.
Chwaaaaak-
A black torrent erupted from the ground.
It seemed to wrap around Klaus’s body, but Marc was already in that position.
“Have you already forgotten about me?”
Klaus appeared in front of Belanov again and grabbed her by the collar.
It was one of his unique abilities and his trademark — ‘Position Swap’.
“I know… very well.”
Marc, wrapped in a water-based protective barrier, charged again.
Liliana had anticipated this and created a barrier instead of attacking.
Marc quickly approached from behind and swung his twin blades.
Anticipating the position swap again, he stopped his blades just before they touched Klaus’s back, but.
Pwooong!
The barrier exploded from Klaus’s punch and Marc was sent flying.
Klaus had used the opponent’s psychology against him and did not swap positions.
“What are you spacing out for? No matter how hard you try, you two can never reach me.”
Jiiing-
At that moment, twelve magic circles were drawn around Klaus.
Tsztsztztsut-
Above the magic circles engraved on the ground, twelve shadows appeared.
There was an archer holding a bow and a woman holding scales, as well as a bull standing on two legs and a lion.
They were summons modeled after the twelve zodiac signs.
It was Marc Diaby’s main ability, ‘Zodiac Summon’.
Each summon had different abilities, and every one of them possessed combat power surpassing 1st grade.
If the Zero-grade Marc joined them, it would effectively be a 13 vs 1 fight, but.
Tsztsztztsztz- Kwakwakwakwakwakwa!
Klaus instantly exploded the enormous amount of mana he had accumulated inside his body.
A mana tidal wave several times stronger than when he had wiped out an entire village swept the surroundings.
Marc fainted on the spot even though he didn’t die. The moment the connection with his master was severed, the summons were reverse-summoned.
Of course, even if they hadn’t been reverse-summoned, they would have been rendered combat incapable anyway.
“Those stupid summons are still below standard. If you had trained yourself instead of spending time controlling summons, things would have been different.”
Klaus stepped on the fallen Marc and crushed him into the ground.
Liliana was also hit directly by the mana tidal wave, but thanks to the Creep protective barrier wrapped around her body, she didn’t suffer major damage.
However, the problem was that she was still being held by the collar by Klaus.
The mana continuously flowing from his grip was interfering with her ability activation.
Still, she had enough strength left to speak.
“Psycho…”
“I’ve heard that word too many times. It doesn’t move me anymore.”
“…If you get caught by him… you won’t get off easy either. Absolutely…”
Thud.
Only then did Klaus release Liliana’s collar.
She sat down on the floor and rubbed her neck.
“So the strong one even Father is wary of is called Psycho?”
“Psycho… false prophet… that’s what he’s usually called.”
“Hehehehe…”
Klaus suddenly started laughing.
Just moments ago he had acted as if he had no interest in anything except Godfather, but now his attitude had completely changed.
“Now you’re interested?”
“Psycho. I like that name. So I want to take that arrogant bastard’s name away from him. You said he’s Korean?”
He changed his mind just because he liked the alias.
Liliana couldn’t understand his thought process, but since he had always been an incomprehensible human, she let it go.
“According to our information network, he hasn’t been staying in Korea much lately. He’ll probably appear in France soon.”
“France?”
Klaus looked suspicious at Liliana’s guess.
“You may not know, but Disaster-grade Dungeons are appearing there. Since Psycho is aiming for them, he will definitely show up.”
“By the way. Where the hell is this place?”
Klaus finally remembered the question he had momentarily forgotten.
“Saint Helena. It’s also Napoleon’s last place of exile.”
“Napoleon? I’m different from that weak human. I’ll prove why I am the strongest Hunter.”
Klaus clenched his fist tightly.
Liliana looked at him and inwardly cheered.
No matter who won, it would be beneficial for her.
***
“Did you enjoy your vacation enough?”
“Yes!”
Eun Ji-eun answered Jin-young’s question.
After clearing the Disaster-grade Dungeon in the Philippines and returning to Korea, she had taken a three-day vacation.
Of course, she hadn’t just rested — she had also trained steadily in between.
Since her physical ability was relatively weaker compared to her mana power, she had mainly focused on physical training.
Tsztsztzts-
When Jin-young began bending her arm with psychokinesis, Eun Ji-eun put all her strength into resisting.
It looked like arm wrestling. Of course, Eun Ji-eun was the only one struggling with all her might.
“Well, you’re still far from enough, but you’re definitely improving.”
Jin-young withdrew his psionic energy and spoke.
After clearing two Disaster-grade Dungeons together, Eun Ji-eun’s skill had improved by leaps and bounds.
Thanks to absorbing two Zero-grade mana stones and even a Dragon Heart mana stone, the amount of red mana she possessed had increased significantly.
She had gotten on track with handling red mana, but she was still lacking in various application methods.
“I’ll find a teacher for the advanced red mana stage soon, so just wait a little longer.”
“Is there someone else besides me who handles red mana?”
“There probably is.”
“Probably…?”
“If he doesn’t die, that is.”
Jin-young spoke while thinking of subject 78, who was engaged in a daily life-and-death struggle with Nidhogg in the sub-space.
That guy was far better than Eun Ji-eun when it came to handling red mana.
Recently, as he gained the ability to control his emotions, he was improving even further.
Once he survived Nidhogg and the tentacle’s mental domination stabilized, he would be able to pass on various things to Eun Ji-eun.
“Where are we going this time?”
“France.”
“Huk! France? I’ve always wanted to go to Europe so badly.”
Eun Ji-eun covered her mouth as she spoke.
“Now doesn’t seem like a good time to travel in Europe though.”
“Ah… is that so?”
“The Hunter leader of the European Union, Marc Diaby, has gone missing. Well, it’s not like Europe lacks talented Hunters. Anyway, it’s the perfect time for villains to run wild.”
At Jin-young’s words, Eun Ji-eun tilted her head.
“What does it matter to us if there are a lot of villains?”
“Hmm, that’s a good mindset.”
The weak and timid heart she had when they first met was now completely gone.
Jin-young nodded with great satisfaction.
“Before we go to France, let’s stop by India and Russia first.”
“Are there villains to deal with?”
“Well, something like that. They can’t even properly protect their own land and just keep getting beaten by GODS.”
“…Yes?”
Eun Ji-eun tilted her head, not fully understanding the meaning.
Instead of answering, Jin-young opened a portal and headed to Russia first.
***
The center of New Delhi, India.
If you follow the road from the India Gate triumphal arch, you will come across the presidential palace called Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Until recently, it had been called the ‘Imperial Palace’.
But after the Zero-grade Hunter Prasad Bachchan, who had reigned as emperor, declared his abdication, the name was changed again.
A new head of state was elected through presidential election, and Prasad completely withdrew from politics.
However, he did not leave Rashtrapati Bhavan.
It was because he had built his own ultra-luxurious training ground there.
The newly elected president, considering Prasad’s status and fame, did not bother to demolish it.
Of course, the bigger reason was fear of his military power.
“Huu… Huu…”
Today as well, Prasad Bachchan was sweating profusely and devoting himself to training in the ultra-luxurious training ground.
Whenever he recalled the defeat he suffered at the Federation General Assembly held in Kaesong, South Korea, he still felt a sense of shame.
But he had neither excuses nor any lingering resentment toward his opponent.
Only one thing mattered: the fact that he had lost because of his own weakness.
That was the reason he had even given up the throne he had been so obsessed with.
The sole desire to become stronger and defeat Psycho.
Thud thud.
At that moment, the sound of someone cautiously approaching was heard.
He had clearly warned that no one should enter during training.
After stepping down from the position of emperor, it seemed people were starting to crawl back up, which put him in a bad mood.
“What is it?”
Prasad asked without even turning to look at the person approaching.
“I’m sorry, Advisor. A guest has come to see you.”
Prasad, who held the nominal position of ‘Advisor’. Thanks to that, he also had a dedicated secretary.
The one who came to see him was none other than that secretary.
“A guest? You interrupted my training just for that?”
Prasad’s expression slightly twisted.
“T-that is…”
The secretary continued with a troubled expression.
“Psycho-nim has come to see you.”
“…….”
At the word “Psycho,” his expression relaxed.
Instead, bewilderment appeared.
Why on earth?
“What should I do?”
“What do you mean, what should I do? I’ll go out right away, so prepare.”
“Yes, Advisor-nim.”
Prasad immediately began preparing to go out, as if asking something obvious.
He didn’t want to offend Psycho’s mood and end up dead before he could even finish preparing for revenge.
Pat-
He lightly released mana to wash away the sweat and impurities on his skin, then changed his clothes.
When he headed to the reception room, a bear-like large man and a small woman caught his eye first.
“…Zhukov? Why are you here?”
Prasad’s mood worsened at the appearance of Russia’s Zero-grade Hunter, Vladimir Zhukov.
“I didn’t want to come either. But…”
Zhukov stopped speaking mid-sentence and shut his mouth with a flinch.
Prasad also swallowed his saliva at the presence he felt from behind.
“Why are you so late? I thought I was going to die of boredom waiting.”
It was a playful voice, but Prasad instantly felt killing intent.
After hearing the meaning through the secretary’s interpretation, he even felt a slight chill run down the back of his neck.
“I was training… so I was late. Sorry.”
“Wow, Zero-grade Hunters these days are really training hard. Do you want to kill someone? Godfather? Or…”
“…….”
Prasad couldn’t answer. Zhukov, even though it wasn’t about him, seemed to feel a sting and took a sharp breath.
To help the two who couldn’t even breathe properly, Psycho clapped his hands once and lightened the atmosphere.
“Just kidding, just kidding. Anyway, since everyone’s here, let’s get going.”
“…You mean the Disaster-grade Dungeon raid?”
Prasad had also heard the news not long ago that Psycho was clearing Disaster-grade Dungeons. Even while bringing Zero-grade Hunters with him.
He had wondered if Psycho might come to him too, but he hadn’t expected him to actually show up.
“It’s a raid, but. Do you remember?”
“What…”
“The black-listed villain who was sealed three years ago.”
At those words, Prasad tilted his head, then narrowed his brows and said,
“If you’re talking about Klaus Müller, I thought he was dead.”
“According to my information network, he was sighted in France not long ago.”
A smile curved at the corner of Psycho’s mouth.