Chapter 45
Grave Mountain.
Kang Ha-min reached the summit
and lightly exhaled.
The first time,
he had almost died climbing up here.
Now,
he had reached the summit without even losing his breath.
That alone showed how much stronger he had become.
Once he reached the top,
he saw countless gravestones again.
Gravestones without names.
Like Baek Cheon-myeong,
all of them belonged to people buried in other worlds.
And all of them must have challenged the Tower.
To be honest,
Kang Ha-min was worried.
Baek Cheon-myeong always placed his master above everything else.
Sometimes he acted recklessly,
but Kang Ha-min still came first.
Would another corpse be the same?
Even if they follow my orders...
Not everyone had the same personality.
There was no telling what kind of unexpected behavior another person might show.
Maybe because of that,
Kang Ha-min felt slightly nervous
and carefully examined the gravestones.
Was there any clue?
"Master, the corpse raised from Grave Mountain will ultimately be the person Master needs most."
"So rather than overthinking it, trust your instincts."
He remembered Baek Cheon-myeong's words.
My instincts.
Kang Ha-min had always been timid and afraid.
His instincts had always focused entirely on safety and running away.
At least my instincts for escaping danger are probably highly developed.
Hmmmmmm.
He stared at the gravestones for a long time,
but still couldn't decide.
Fine.
In the end,
he had to trust his instincts.
He had trusted those instincts when choosing Baek Cheon-myeong,
and that had been the greatest possible choice.
Surely this time would be just as good.
"This one."
Kang Ha-min placed his hand on a gravestone that rose unusually high.
[The Blood Moon Chalice activates.]
The Blood Moon Chalice suddenly activated.
The Chalice, which had been stored inside the Black Coffin,
began releasing light.
A blood-red glow.
The light shot forward
and touched the gravestone beneath Kang Ha-min's hand.
He felt a strange pull.
"You're saying this one too?"
The mysterious reward,
the Blood Moon Chalice.
Even that seemed to say Kang Ha-min's choice was correct.
In that case...
"Rise of the Dead."
He should raise them.
The grave split open in response to his call.
A luxurious coffin rose from within.
Its surface shone like obsidian.
The black color carried a cold, noble pressure.
Then...
Click.
The coffin lid slowly opened.
A cold and eerie energy flowed from within.
Even the surrounding air instantly grew heavy.
A woman stepped out of the darkness.
Tap.
The hem of a pure white dress brushed the ground.
At the same time,
silver hair poured down across the white fabric like a waterfall.
Every step she took scattered silver light like moonlight.
Finally,
she raised her head.
A red moon seemed to float inside her left eye.
It was different from blood-red.
Within the clear crimson color
was a glow like moonlight.
It carried the quiet stillness of a red moon ruling the night sky.
Her right eye was even more unusual.
A brilliant golden color,
as though molten gold had been placed directly inside it.
A red moon and a golden sun.
It was as though both celestial bodies existed together within one person's eyes.
And beyond that,
she was breathtakingly beautiful.
[True Ancestor (眞祖)]
[Vampire Queen]
[Siriel Nosferatu answers your call.]
When Baek Cheon-myeong had appeared,
Kang Ha-min had felt overwhelming killing intent.
This time,
he felt a deep charm intense enough to make his chest ache.
The woman wore a frighteningly beautiful smile.
She slowly placed a hand over her chest
and bowed.
"Lord, you've finally summoned me."
She was extremely obedient.
This had to be another jackpot,
right?
The light from the Blood Moon Chalice disappeared.
Had the Tower given him the Blood Moon Chalice specifically to summon her?
Kang Ha-min returned the now-dark Chalice to the Black Coffin.
"Hello. Nice to meet you. My name is Kang Ha-min."
Kang Ha-min greeted her first.
Siriel smiled brightly and clasped both hands together.
"My, Kang Ha-min. What a wonderful name. A name perfectly suited to my Lord!"
Was it?
No one had ever said that before.
Kang Ha-min felt strangely embarrassed.
"Then, Lord, for what purpose did you summon me?"
"Ah, well..."
He should probably explain the situation first.
Kang Ha-min spent some time carefully explaining everything that had happened.
Siriel listened for a long time
before nodding as if she understood.
"I see."
Had she really understood everything?
"Then all I need to do is give the world to my Lord!"
What?
"W, what do you mean all of a sudden?"
"There are people targeting Lord, aren't there?"
There were.
The United States and China.
Probably other countries too.
"Then I'll simply turn all of them into my thralls."
"After that, no one will ever target Lord again."
"Lord will be perfectly safe!"
What the hell was she talking about?
But Siriel's eyes sparkled brightly.
She was completely serious.
"Don't worry, Lord."
Siriel's seductive smile filled Kang Ha-min's vision.
"I already have experience doing this in my own world."
"I won't leave a single obstacle behind."
She had already done it in her own world?
Kang Ha-min felt intense discomfort.
His instincts screamed that this was someone he shouldn't become involved with.
Had he summoned a dangerous corpse?
Cold sweat formed on his forehead.
At that moment,
Grave Mountain began collapsing.
Everything was returning to reality.
Kang Ha-min quickly raised his head.
"No! You can't do that!"
"Don't worry, Lord. You can leave everything to me!"
No!
He had literally just said she couldn't!
Now Kang Ha-min understood.
Father Baek Cheon-myeong.
Baek Cheon-myeong had actually been an incredibly cooperative corpse!
Siriel clearly placed Kang Ha-min above everything else.
But separately from that,
if she believed something would help Kang Ha-min,
she showed absolutely no hesitation.
It's for Lord, so it's fine!
That seemed to be her logic.
She would stubbornly carry out whatever she believed was best for him.
Unease filled Kang Ha-min's face.
Would this really be okay?
Could he safely bring Siriel into reality?
But there was no longer a choice.
He had already summoned her.
There was no undoing it.
BOOM.
The room returned.
"Mr. Baek Cheon-myeong!"
Kang Ha-min immediately shouted.
Baek Cheon-myeong was already waiting there.
The moment Kang Ha-min saw him,
his eyes lit up.
"Grab Siriel!"
Baek Cheon-myeong looked confused for a moment.
Then he saw the woman rising from Kang Ha-min's shadow
and clicked his tongue.
"Of all people."
Baek Cheon-myeong kicked off the floor.
"Master, open the Tower floor!"
The moment Siriel fully emerged from the shadow,
Baek Cheon-myeong grabbed her.
A door opened.
Baek Cheon-myeong spun his body with all his strength
and threw himself together with Siriel into the Tower's hidden space.
"Kyaa!"
With a short scream,
the two disappeared inside.
Kang Ha-min hurried after them into the Heavenly Spirit Medicinal Forest.
The forest appeared before his eyes.
Baek Cheon-myeong was holding Siriel down from above
while drawing his wooden sword.
Siriel looked completely confused.
But the moment she properly saw Baek Cheon-myeong,
her expression slowly twisted.
"Heavenly Slaughter Star? You came out before me?"
"Yes, bat. This body came first."
"Ah, of course someone like you would appear first and make things difficult for Lord."
"Shut up. There's no corpse more troublesome than you."
Apparently,
the two already knew each other.
So there really was another Gravekeeper before me.
Kang Ha-min didn't know the details,
but the two clearly didn't get along.
"More importantly, how long are you planning to stay on top of me?"
"The only person allowed above me is Lord."
The shadow beneath Siriel suddenly rose.
Baek Cheon-myeong knocked it aside
and retreated from her.
Baek Cheon-myeong had chosen to retreat rather than simply counterattack.
That alone indirectly showed how strong Siriel was.
"Someone like you is useless to Lord."
"It would probably be better if I erased you."
"For once, this body agrees with you."
"It would be beneficial to bury you again."
The entire Heavenly Spirit Medicinal Forest began shaking under their killing intent.
Even Kang Ha-min struggled to breathe beneath the overwhelming pressure.
The air and wind themselves seemed to reverse direction
as if trying to escape the two of them.
At this rate,
the Heavenly Spirit Medicinal Forest itself might disappear today.
"Stop! Both of you, stop!"
Kang Ha-min hurried between them.
"Ms. Siriel, put the shadow away!"
"Mr. Baek Cheon-myeong, put away your wooden sword too!"
Kang Ha-min shouted fiercely.
No matter what,
the master's command still came first.
Siriel obediently withdrew her shadow.
Baek Cheon-myeong put away his sword.
Their killing intent finally settled.
This confirmed it.
These two were absolutely enemies.
"Master, that Returnee is coming."
Ah.
Of course.
He must have felt the killing intent.
He was probably terrified.
Kang Ha-min hurriedly put on his mask.
A moment later,
Ha Cheol-ryong appeared.
Aji, who had been inside the Heavenly Spirit Medicinal Forest today, came with him.
"Woof!"
"Aji."
Kang Ha-min caught Aji as he jumped into his arms.
The soft, fluffy feeling was at least a little healing.
Meanwhile,
Ha Cheol-ryong looked extremely nervous as he cautiously spoke.
"Um..."
"Ah, Mr. Ha Cheol-ryong, it's nothing serious. We have a new companion."
"...A companion?"
Ha Cheol-ryong slowly turned his head.
Then he froze.
A woman with beauty beyond anything human stood there.
He had been shocked by Baek Cheon-myeong's appearance too.
But Baek Cheon-myeong was still a man,
so Ha Cheol-ryong had been able to handle it.
Now,
however,
there was a woman whose beauty was impossible to ignore.
Ha Cheol-ryong felt his heart drop.
And yet,
something deep inside him screamed with discomfort.
A dangerous being he should never approach.
That warning rang endlessly through his mind.
His instincts told him the truth.
That woman belonged to the same category of monster as Baek Cheon-myeong.
"My."
Siriel smiled softly.
"What a sharp little insect."
She casually called him an insect.
Her attitude was like that of an unbelievably arrogant queen.
But this was something Kang Ha-min couldn't tolerate.
"Ms. Siriel, what did you just say?"
Anger appeared in Kang Ha-min's eyes for the first time.
He had spent his entire life in Korean society,
where basic manners were important.
He absolutely couldn't tolerate someone refusing even the minimum amount of respect.
Baek Cheon-myeong generally looked down on other people too.
But at least he didn't openly treat them as insects.
That kept him barely inside Kang Ha-min's acceptable line.
Siriel had crossed it.
"What? Lord, I..."
"Mr. Ha Cheol-ryong is a resident I accepted."
"You'll be seeing him often from now on."
"You called someone like that an insect."
"Are you trying to disgrace me?"
Kang Ha-min was definitely timid.
But even a Shih Tzu bit when it became angry.
Its jaw might be weak,
and its bite might not cause much damage.
But it still bit.
"L, Lord..."
Siriel's face began turning pale.
When a timid person finally became angry,
it meant you had crossed a line that was difficult to return from.
For a corpse,
the master's anger was like lightning from a clear sky.
"I'm sorry!"
"I'll never say anything like that again!"
"I was wrong!"
Siriel immediately sat down and apologized.
But Kang Ha-min was merciless.
"I'm not the one you should apologize to."
"Apologize to Mr. Ha Cheol-ryong."
"...I'm sorry."
"I, it's fine."
Ha Cheol-ryong responded awkwardly.
Watching such a monstrous existence panic before Kang Ha-min
made the entire scene feel unreal.
At the same time,
a strange fear toward Kang Ha-min began growing inside Ha Cheol-ryong.
The power he could actually sense from Kang Ha-min wasn't comparable to Baek Cheon-myeong or Siriel.
But appearances weren't everything.
He's so powerful that I'm not even capable of sensing his true level.
In reality,
their thoughts were moving in completely different directions.
But Ha Cheol-ryong had no way of knowing that.
Among the Returnees,
Kang Ha-min was unintentionally becoming an increasingly terrifying monster.
