Chapter 74
Chapter 74: Hero (2)
There is one thing that must never be done in the Empire.
That is to challenge the authority of the supreme Emperor.
It was only natural for the Emperor to be placed in a position above all.
How natural was it?
The Imperial Law contained not a single law related to the Emperor.
There wasn't even a law against defamation.
The reason was that the Emperor in the Empire was such an absolute existence that there was no need to document it.
'His Majesty permitted this....'
Today, that premise was shattered.
The nobility of the Empire are servants of the Emperor.
So what did it mean for a Saint of the Religious Order to verify them with Divine Power?
"Please bow your head. I must make direct contact with your head to bestow blessings."
A massive man walked before the nobles, radiating brilliant light.
Even the Northern Archduke unhesitatingly offered his head, making it difficult for those of lower rank to refuse.
"-Blessing."
Even the blessing prayer was half-hearted.
Far from sincere, it was just uttered carelessly.
The nobles felt a sense of humiliation.
'That guy, spouting blessings like that....'
As increasingly sharp gazes turned toward Erik.
"-You, you dare! Are you challenging His Majesty's authority!"
A noble shouted from her turn.
'Oh, so the Southern nobility made their move first.'
The one with long chestnut hair, the Southern Countess Roben Ailand, was the protagonist.
The characteristic of Southern nobility was weak military power but exceptional wealth.
True to those responsible for the Empire's food supply, they had high pride.
She shouted at Erik as if shooting arrows.
"You're just a young boy! Hey! What do you take the Empire's nobility for!"
"Tch!"
Erik gave a short retort to the pointing Countess Roben and extended his hand—
"Kyaaah!!! How dare you touch a noble's body without permission!"
Countess Roben hastily pulled her body back from that hand.
The way she wrapped her arms around her chest made it look as if she had suffered sexual harassment.
Everyone's eyes widened at the sharp sound.
"What, what are you trying to touch! You shameless guy!"
Erik's trapezius muscles twitched.
However, he exercised patience and slightly turned his head toward the Emperor.
Fortunately, the Emperor supported Erik's hand.
"You speak of the Emperor's authority while disobeying the Emperor's command. Countess Roben, isn't that a contradiction?"
The Emperor asked as if nothing had happened.
Countess Roben clenched her mouth shut.
'Hmm.'
As the Emperor stroked his chin and murmured languidly.
"Ughhhh....."
Countess Roben tried to rise from her seat.
She was so startled that her hair stood on end like a lion's mane.
However, she couldn't get up.
Before she could rise, Erik pressed her head down with a rough hand.
Thump!
Countess Roben seated in her chair again.
Her eyes wavered.
Erik applied force to his hand to keep her completely still and recited two crude syllables.
"-Blessing."
A faint holiness emanated from his fingertips.
Immediately after.
"Kyaaaack-!!!"
Countess Roben twisted her body and let out a scream.
White smoke rose from above her head.
'I, I didn't do anything wrong—.'
From her perspective, it was enough to drive her mad with injustice.
Lucky enough to be possessed as Southern nobility, she had distanced herself from the capital.
However, the Great Cataclysm Patch opened a state emergency council, and she had to go to the capital for the duty of nobility.
'What rotten luck—.'
Countess Roben Ailand, or rather possessor Kang Seo-hyun, lamented to herself.
'Why did I have to meet a Saint at this point....'
She had just been enjoying the game, but was suddenly dragged into that world.
After possession, far from being overpowered, it was a world where discovery meant being treated as a continental enemy and burned at the stake.
"I, I'm really innocent! Huhhhh."
Kang Seo-hyun lived desperately.
She gathered information and learned the habits and behaviors of the possessed body.
Through conversations with subordinates, she eliminated as much unnaturalness as possible.
She was even lucky enough to discover Countess Roben's diary, learning her true thoughts and hidden secrets.
'I even desperately managed the territory—.'
Thick tears rolled down her cheeks.
"It just so happens that we need someone of managerial rank at the Possessor Detention Camp."
However, Erik ignored her grievance.
He merely uttered a cold remark.
Shortly after Erik finished speaking, security forces in black uniforms dragged her away.
The remaining nobles swallowed hard.
'What, what is this....'
A real possessor had appeared?
Following Marquis Aaron, the third-ranked figure of the Mage Union composed of magicians, even a weakly-powered Southern noble was a possessor?
That meant.
Factions had become meaningless in the possessor incident.
'Now that I think about it, that guy seemed different....'
Everyone began casting suspicious glances at the person next to them.
"Next."
As the atmosphere grew unsettled, Erik picked up speed.
He had established sufficient weight; now he intended to quickly identify only the possessors.
Erik skipped several people at a time and designated specific individuals.
His eyes were tinted golden.
'Two more and we're done.'
Erik moved freely among the nobility.
The possessor identification work was completed in an instant.
Erik could see through the status window of possessors.
"Ahhhhh-! What happened!"
"Ha...... God."
Watching the remaining possessors being dragged away by security forces, Erik let out a sigh of relief.
'It's fortunate there are only three possessors, but....'
In a gathering of all Imperial nobility.
The number of identified possessors was fewer than expected.
However, the fact that three had gone undetected so far suggested something more serious than anticipated.
The identified possessors had two things in common.
The fact that all identified possessors were Southern nobility and that more than a year had passed since their possession.
'The community teaches them to be careful about exposure quickly.'
Managing territory without being detected?
That was remarkable in itself.
Moreover, the noble doing only territory management was from the Southern nobility.
As such thoughts occupied him.
"Let us begin the next agenda."
The Emperor immediately resumed the state emergency council.
The detection of possessors was over.
What was to be discussed now was.
"I shall announce the judgment regarding the misconduct of Duke Raffin and the Mage Union."
It was about responsibility for leaving Marquis Aaron unattended.
***
"......That, Roben, no, I am Kang Seo-hyun."
"Pleased to meet you. I am Park Chang-ho."
Kang Seo-hyun, who had lived as Countess Roben, began a conversation befitting a civilized person for the first time in a long while.
"Oh, weren't you a fencing athlete? The one who did that waffle commercial?"
"Ah, you recognize me. It feels like ancient history already......"
"Of course. I followed too!"
Even though she was confined to a cell about 6 square feet, bound in restraints by security forces, Kang Seo-hyun felt alive.
It was thanks to the small conversations she had with Park Chang-ho across the bars of the cell.
"Um, what's your profession, Seo-hyun?"
"I, the Countess of the Southern territories—."
"No, on Earth."
"Sorry! I learned it almost obsessively. Phew. I just did some small business."
"Ooh. A boss?"
"It's flattering to call it that. Not a huge success, not a failure either, just a small consulting firm that paid the bills."
The two felt as if they had returned to Earth.
Especially Park Chang-ho's sentiment was more profound.
'Someone who lived as a nobility is different.'
Unlike the detention camp colleagues who only complained every day, conversation with her felt genuinely fresh.
Even Nishida Ryo was currently under disciplinary confinement in solitary.
'And Pung-ho was also called away by that Priest....'
Kang Pung-ho was no better than Nishida, having his own peculiarities.
In the midst of this, a conversation with such a normal Earth person, and a Korean at that, was like rain during drought.
Park Chang-ho wanted to continue this conversation.
"Still, you're a boss after all."
"Aww. How could you compare me to an Olympic gold medalist who even did waffle commercials?"
While mutually flattering and building rapport.
Suddenly, Kang Seo-hyun noticed something strange.
"Oh, come to think of it, this is the first Eastern person I've seen among possessors!"
"Ah, haha. Yes."
Park Chang-ho felt awkward.
"Well, I've never seen a yellow person before either."
It was a world apart from Jang Du-sik, who used to pull at cheeks saying
'How can a person be yellow?'
"Wow, I really wanted to return to my original body too."
"Possessor Appearance Change Ticket—."
"Ah! I saw that on the community. So you really do return to your Earth appearance."
"Yes."
Looking at the somewhat forlorn Park Chang-ho, Kang Seo-hyun asked something she had been curious about.
"So then...... Um, is it true that Divine Power recognizes possessors?"
Community opinion was divided.
That made sense, since they had never heard of such a thing before.
For possessors to be recognized by Divine Power was something so remarkable that it was difficult to believe based on mere photo verification.
Moreover, that verification was...
"Ah, exactly. Because they wrote like a lunatic, the author is now locked in solitary."
"I, is that so?"
Kang Seo-hyun felt something was odd.
Hadn't she seen a post written by Park Chang-ho in the verification photos before?
'That person might look fine on the outside but be strange inside....'
Though Nishida had impersonated him, Kang Seo-hyun, unaware of this, had reason to be suspicious.
Seo-hyun slightly stepped back from the bars of the cell.
'Right, it's hard to believe such nonsense about a protagonist and all.'
Park Chang-ho interpreted her reaction in his own way and quickly told her the truth.
"That's right. I can really receive divine blessings."
Watching Park Chang-ho's subsequent actions, Kang Seo-hyun's mouth fell open.
"Wooow....."
She forgot her previous suspicions, so surprised was she.
"Kgh. Holy water is really delicious. I didn't know when I was captured by the Intelligence Bureau and tortured......"
Because Park Chang-ho gulped down the holy water after finishing speaking.
He just did a full shot.
"See? It's fine, right?"
He was completely fine.
Even had the look of wanting to open another bottle and drink it.
'Jealous......'
As Kang Seo-hyun stared blankly at Park Chang-ho—
"Ah, so. Does Director Erik have anything special to assign to Seo-hyun?"
Park Chang-ho brought up the main topic.
'Maybe he'll assign me something like territory management—.'
Real possessors who had lived as nobility were very rare.
In response to Park Chang-ho's question, Kang Seo-hyun bristled and shouted.
"Ah, that bastard!"
"Excuse me? What?"
"If, if it wasn't for that damn Erik, I wouldn't have been discovered."
Kang Seo-hyun tried to join in complaining, but felt something odd and stopped speaking.
Looking outside the bars.
"How dare you!"
Park Chang-ho was glaring at her with a completely twisted face.
'Is, is it bipolar disorder?'
Just moments ago he was chattering away happily, but suddenly his attitude did a complete 180.
Swoosh!
A massive shadow fell over the cell.
"What did you say?"
Erik looked down at her, emitting brilliant radiance.
"Ah, but we're still in the middle of the state emergency council, so how, how—."
The Imperial state emergency council is absolute.
Moreover, wasn't Erik directly involved in numerous items on the agenda?
'Why, already out—.'
Kang Seo-hyun hastily stepped backward, but in a 6 square foot prison, there was nowhere to run.
"Tch, maybe I should have you do Labyrinth conquests instead of managerial work—."
Fortunately, Erik lost interest in her.
Leaving the terrified her alone, Erik turned his gaze to Park Chang-ho.
"Park Chang-ho, is personnel selection complete?"
"Yes! I've recruited 13 Necromancer-class possessors and 9 construction workers!"
Park Chang-ho's report continued as he maintained a at-ease stance like a soldier.
Erik nodded with satisfaction at his words.
"Assemble everyone and prepare to depart."
No word of where or what to do.
And Park Chang-ho asked no questions either.
'Taking possessors out...?'
Kang Seo-hyun watching this was dying of curiosity.
Whirrrr!
The detention camp cell opened and Park Chang-ho gathered the selected possessors and assembled them at the center of the camp.
The possessors walking out one by one wore excited expressions.
"Is, is this really happening? Going outside?"
"The day Necromancers see the light is coming......"
Watching the excited possessors, Kang Seo-hyun's heart grew troubled.
'Why are they so happy about that? Ah, I should have been more careful with my words—.'
As Kang Seo-hyun lamented having tarnished her first impression with noble pretense.
"Mm. Bring Kang Seo-hyun along too."
"Yes! Understood!"
Erik reluctantly summoned her.
***
Beneath towering walls, a dim landscape unfurled.
Dirty odors and shadowed alleys, fetid underground passages overflowed with sewage flowing down from District 1.
A place filled with stench that should cover one's nose.
But!
"Woaaah!!!"
The possessors were in ecstasy.
Like someone who won the lottery, they rejoiced greatly, even shedding tears.
"This, this is real, sir? Such vast land—."
"Director Erik's words are truth."
Kang Seo-hyun felt the same way.
She felt hope looking at the contaminated land.
District 5, the dirtiest and lowest land in Imperial Capital Arman, but boasting maximum area.
"We, we're building a city of possessors to the horizon?"
"From what I heard, they're turning about a quarter of District 5 into Earthtown."
The western part of District 5 had all become Erik's land.
Looking at the dumbfounded possessors, Erik felt that the true beginning was now.
'Thanks to the Emperor being generous.'
So far, Erik had done many things for the Empire.
Of course, he himself had things to gain, but even so, Erik had a cause.
Each of the tasks he had accomplished was a momentous event.
The Emperor was a generous man who recognized this.
"Land, power, and money is what you wanted, correct?"
During the recess of the conference, the Emperor summoned Erik and commended his efforts.
As a result.
'Giving him an entire district of the capital.'
He had become the owner of vast land stretching beyond the horizon.
The original plan was to establish a city of possessors in Imperial Court directly under the Imperial Family next to the capital.
However, thanks to Erik's great achievements, he had obtained land in the Imperial Capital.
'Considering the scale of the capital....'
In Earth terms, it was equivalent to becoming the owner of territory as large as the combined Eunpyeong and Mapo districts.
Erik had become the only being to possess substantial territory in the Imperial Capital.
'And I've obtained authority without responsibility.'
The Emperor had bestowed upon Erik power equivalent to the land he granted.
That is, nothing now restrained Erik.
Boom!
Erik took a step forward.
The landscape of District 5 visible below the city wall was not a pleasant sight.
'From there to apartments, shops on this side....'
In Erik's eyes, a completely different landscape was visible.
Swoosh!
As the ambitious Erik raised his hand, the possessors who had just been marveling immediately lined up in rows and columns.
Erik announced his ambition to them.
"From this moment, we begin the redevelopment of District 5 in the Imperial Capital."
Not even a day had passed since emerging from the Labyrinth.
Erik had become a great landowner and master of a special district in the Imperial Capital.