Chapter 332
Chapter 332: Banquet of the Seven Lords
[Invitation of the Seven Lords]
[Grade: Special.]
[Upon use, you can enter the Banquet of the Seven Lords on the top floor of District 1. Participation is optional.]
[Remaining time available for use: 1 day]
Kim Minwoo stared at the invitation.
One day.
If he didn't use it by tomorrow, his qualification to participate in the meeting would fly away.
A guy who became one of the Seven Lords but didn't even show up to the first meeting.
Setting aside getting branded like that, it was a waste to blow away the opportunity to gather information.
‘There is a risk, though.’
The cooldown for Guidance of Destiny was two months.
Even though he could use Descent, it was practically like missing a card to escape from a true dead-end situation.
District 1 was the territory of the Seven Lords.
If a head-on collision occurred there, it would get tiring.
However…….
‘All of the Seven Lords are gathering.’
The corners of his mouth went up slightly.
Witch Medea, Heavenly Demon Yoo Honbi, Time Observer Chronos, Rifter Nasrak, Steel Emperor Balder, and even Succubus Queen Lilith.
He could see the faces of the guys he had only heard the names of directly.
Expressions, manner of speech, where their gazes headed. The information he could read from those things was more valuable than a hundred pages of documents.
On top of that, Medea.
‘We made a deal.’
Now that he had become one of the Seven Lords, he was curious what kind of attitude she would take. Whether she would treat him as a collaborator, or see him as new prey.
Furthermore, Lilith…….
‘Is practically a blood ally.’
She bet on this side.
If something happened, she wouldn't just leave alone the coin that had skyrocketed. Even if she was the lowest military power among the Seven Lords, the Seven Lords were the Seven Lords.
She would be of help.
Decisively…….
Kim Minwoo's hand fumbled inside his inner pocket.
A cold metallic texture touched the tips of his fingers.
Heavenly City Free Pass.
Free movement from District 1 to District 9.
No penalty for three months.
‘If push comes to shove, I can just run away, right?’
No matter how much the Seven Lords ran wild, as long as he had this pass, a hole to escape through was open.
It was not a head-on match, but a reconnaissance battle. A political battle.
Show his face, scrape together information, and just pull out depending on the situation.
If he used Descent, buying some time wouldn't be difficult.
“I'm going.”
The conclusion was simple.
He turned his head while putting the invitation in his pocket.
Cedric was waiting.
“Tomorrow I'm going up to District 1. Seven Lords meeting.”
Cedric's eyebrows twitched.
―Is it a place where all of the Seven Lords are gathering?
“Right.”
―Interesting.
“Anyway, you're crazy about fighting. There's no difference between Vulcan and you.”
―Comparing me with that ignoramus is a disgrace to a knight.
Chuckling, Kim Minwoo looked out the window.
The ruins of District 6 could be seen below.
Kim Minwoo's black pupils shone.
‘It's reconnaissance. It's a political battle.’
He repeated to himself.
‘But well, if they pick a fight first, it can't be helped then.’
＊ ＊ ＊
District 1 top floor.
The space where the meeting of the Seven Lords was held.
Seven chairs were placed around a massive round table. One among them was empty.
The place that used to be Lupus's seat.
Gazes went back and forth between the chairs.
Steel Emperor Balder propped his chin.
A finger covered in metal tapped the table.
“The invitation has been sent…….”
A heavy voice rang out.
“Just how well the new Seven Lords does…….”
His finger stopped.
“Shall we see his face for a bit.”
＊ ＊ ＊
[Using the Invitation of the Seven Lords.]
The moment the system window popped up, the ground beneath his feet disappeared.
No, it didn't disappear.
Space itself folded.
The ruins of District 6 crumpled like paper, and his entire vision was dyed pitch-black.
Kung.
His heart skipped a beat.
The newly fused Death Emperor's Heart pulsated heavily.
And when he opened his eyes.
‘……It's different.’
The first thing he felt was the air.
There was neither the bloody stench of District 6, nor the dusty smell of District 7. Cold, heavy, and refined air. It was as if he had entered deep inside a temple.
Every time he inhaled, a pressure that felt like his lungs were being crushed washed over him.
Black marble was laid out beneath his feet.
Golden patterns were engraved on the surface, and those patterns were pulsating faintly. As if they were alive.
He raised his head.
The ceiling could not be seen.
In the endlessly high darkness, things like starlight were shining like dots. It was impossible to distinguish whether it was the sky, a ceiling, or a rift to another dimension.
And beneath it was a round table.
Seven chairs.
Among them, six were already filled.
Gazes locked on.
Simultaneously, six pairs of eyes turned toward Kim Minwoo.
First.
Blood-red.
Red lips curved sluggishly.
Crimson pupils swept over Kim Minwoo's nape.
It smelled of blood.
No, the smell of blood was rising from her.
A gaze full of interest, Medea.
Second.
Coldness.
Blood-colored pupils narrowed.
An emotionless face.
However, calculations could be seen running within it.
A momentum like a chilling sword rose above her body.
Sharp, and dangerous.
It was Heavenly Demon Yoo Honbi.
Third.
Pink.
“Oh my, look who it is. Has the new superstar arrived?”
The corners of Lilith's mouth went up to her ears.
Her blue pupils curved like half-moons.
An expression of someone familiar arriving.
Massive horns shone softly under the candlelight.
Succubus Queen Lilith.
Fourth.
Steel.
Metal armor reflected the light.
Platinum blonde hair.
An expressionless face like a statue.
Ash-gray pupils scanned Kim Minwoo as if measuring him.
Balder.
The intimidating presence of an emperor holding open a code of laws could be felt.
Steel Emperor Balder.
Fifth.
Time.
Half of his face was hidden by a hood.
There was neither a smile nor displeasure on his exposed mouth.
A finger was tapping on an hourglass on the table.
Time Observer Chronos.
The sand inside the hourglass on the table was flowing backwards.
Sixth.
Rift.
His form wavered.
An afterimage remained.
Particles like starlight were floating behind his back. Empty black pupils stared at Kim Minwoo. His existence itself was an unstable boundary line.
Rifter Nasrak.
Silence.
Kim Minwoo stood in front of the round table.
Six gazes pressed down with weight.
The Seven Lords. The apex of the Heavenly City.
Monsters who had lived for hundreds of years.
Amidst that pressure, Kim Minwoo stroked his cheek.
“Yo.”
A languid voice flowed out.
“Seems you all have been waiting?”
Lilith clapped her hands.
“Welcome, our Death Lord!”
“……Death Lord?”
Kim Minwoo's eyebrows went up.
“Yeah! It's an alias we made for you.”
Lilith flicked her finger. Her pink pupils shone with playfulness.
“How is it? You like it, right?”
Kim Minwoo's hand, which had been stroking his cheek, stopped.
The corners of his mouth went up slightly.
“Well, it's not bad.”
When you look into the abyss, the abyss also looks into you.
Six pairs of eyes were dissecting Kim Minwoo.
What was contained in their gazes varied. Interest, wariness, calculation, or complex emotions where all of those were mixed.
Only Lilith was relaxed.
It was the face of a gambler who had already checked the hand they held.
The rest were different.
Medea's crimson pupils slowly swept from Kim Minwoo's nape to his fingertips.
The sight of her wetting her lips with the tip of her tongue was a predator itself.
Chronos's finger tapped the hourglass. The sand was flowing backwards.
Whether he was rewinding time, or pulling the future.
Nasrak's form wavered.
Afterimages overlapped and disappeared.
Only his empty black pupils remained fixed, staring at Kim Minwoo.
Balder did not move.
His ash-gray pupils measured Kim Minwoo as if reading data. Emotionless analysis.
Mechanical evaluation.
And…….
“Hmph.”
A snort erupted.
It was Yoo Honbi.
Her blood-colored pupils narrowed.
Sitting leaning deeply into her chair with her arms crossed, her appearance was arrogance itself.
“I wondered what you were since they said you caught Lupus.”
Her gaze swept Kim Minwoo up and down.
“You're nothing special.”
Silence.
Lilith's eyebrows twitched.
The corners of Medea's mouth went up.
It was an expression saying an interesting spectacle had arisen.
Kim Minwoo stroked his cheek.
“A treasured sword is scariest when it is drawn.”
It was a languid voice.
“Because when sheathed in a scabbard, they all tend to look similar.”
Yoo Honbi's eyebrows twitched.
“Ah, so…….”
She leaned her body forward.
A chilling aura rose above her shoulders.
“You are a treasured sword, you mean?”
“Curious?”
Kim Minwoo smiled beamingly.
It wasn't just the corners of his mouth that went up.
In the depths of his black pupils, darkness wavered.
The aura of death leaked out faintly.
Yoo Honbi's eyes narrowed.
“A bit.”
Her finger tapped the table.
“I'm curious.”
A chilling voice flowed out.
“Even though that mutt Lupus was stupid, his physical body was quite decent in its own way.”
Her finger stopped.
“You cleft that in two, you say?”
“I cleft it.”
It was a provocation.
Yoo Honbi's pupils were dyed blood-red.
Slowly, a domineering aura rose.
Black mist surged from beneath her feet.
The round table vibrated.
The chairs rattled.
The air became endlessly heavy.
The pressure rushed in like a tidal wave.
The crown above Kim Minwoo's head shone faintly.
The mist of death rose from beneath his feet and collided with the Heavenly Demon's aura.
The two powers clashed above the round table.
Jjijijik—.
The sound of space splitting rang out.
Medea propped her chin.
Lilith curved her eyes like half-moons.
Chronos's finger stopped.
Nasrak's form wavered even more.
And…….
“Enough.”
A heavy voice rang out.
It was Balder.
The massive figure clad in metal armor raised his hand.
It was a simple gesture. However, at that moment, the entire space froze.
“We did not gather to fight.”
His ash-gray pupils scanned Yoo Honbi and Kim Minwoo alternately.
“This is a ‘banquet’. Do not forget that.”
His finger tapped the table.
Kung.
Just a single strike.
Jjiiing—!
A system window popped up.
[Article 7 of the Law Activated]
[The current space has been designated as a ‘banquet’.]
[All hostile acts are prohibited.]
[Upon violation, all stats decrease by 90%.]
[Upon violation, forced eviction.]
Yoo Honbi's eyes narrowed.
Her blood-colored pupils turned toward Balder.
“Uninteresting bastard.”
As if her mood was ruined, she slumped back down.
Kim Minwoo's eyebrows went up.
‘Hoh.’
It was interesting.
The ability to engrave laws into the space itself.
The authority to declare a rule, and grant a penalty if that rule is broken.
‘So that is the Steel Emperor's power.’
The evaluation of being the strongest in head-on combat did not come out for nothing. To think it's an authority that cuts down the opponent's stats even before fighting.
The corners of his mouth went up slightly.
“That's a fun ability.”
Balder's ash-gray pupils turned toward Kim Minwoo.
“Within my territory, everything is subordinated to the law.”
It was an emotionless voice.
“You are no exception either, Death Lord. Then, let us begin the banquet.”
Along with those words, the hall darkened.