Chapter 45: A Wolf Running Into a Flock of Sheep

I thought it was a fox den.  

But rubbing my eyes and looking again, it was a tiger’s lair.  

Not far away.  

The mages are moving.  

Not just one or two.  

Dozens, no, hundreds.  

Through my expanded senses, I could clearly feel the movements approaching the research facility.  

They formed a layered encirclement around the lab.  

“They anticipated this.”  

What I could infer from this movement.  

The enemy—the mastermind behind this maneuver—is extremely cunning.  

The way they formed concentric encirclements was a strategy that anticipated the failure at the Elixir Research Institute, thinking at least two steps ahead.  

Because of that—  

“Use Donghwa.”  

I immediately warned Kim Chaun.  

“…What?”  

Kim Chaun, who was watching the unfolding situation blankly, questioned.  

“The encirclement has been set. Soon, Hell’s Gate will open. Given your ability, you should be able to secure at least some safe zone during the battle.”  

“W-what do you mean, Hell’s Gate? Are you saying that monsters like these will appear again…?”  

He mentioned monsters.  

Well, even with their upper and lower halves separated, they had merged again.  

No matter how oblivious someone was, it wasn’t difficult to guess that those inside this lab were monsters.  

“This is just the beginning.”  

I expected him to leap back in shock.  

But instead—  

“Not at all.”  

With a rather serious expression, he pressed his phone from inside his coat and tried to make contact.  

“Yes, this is Kim Chaun. Code Red. We urgently need an escape plan from New York.”  

The call was brief and to the point.  

“…Prepare immediately.”  

The voice on the other end was none other than Acting President Hosik Jeong.  

He was effectively the pinnacle of power, widely believed to become the new president.  

The call didn’t last long.  

Only a few words exchanged, then—  

“Kim Si-won.”  

He looked at me seriously and spoke.  

“In preparation for all eventualities, we have prepared an emergency escape plan from New York.”  

Numbers.  

You can’t just prepare them out of thin air.  

It seemed the government wasn’t incompetent in setting up a system to protect me even before I arrived in New York.  

The problem was just with the people.  

The enterprising Hosik Jeong was leading the government as he promised me.  

And I was at the heart of his plan.  

“You’re currently in central Manhattan. From here, move to Brooklyn at the southeastern edge…”  

It wasn’t only the enemy’s mastermind who was two steps ahead.  

That method was based on using my abilities.  

It wasn’t a large-scale portal like in Japan.  

But they had contracted an Awakener who could open a two-way spatial gate at desired points, creating an escape route from New York.  

The only drawback was that the coordinates they held were limited to Brooklyn, so I had to travel quite a distance from Manhattan to Brooklyn.  

“No matter what anyone says, Kim Si-won, you are the pillar of the Republic of Korea.”  

Kim Chaun, while explaining the route, started to say something unexpected.  

“To be honest, until recently, I only wanted to work as much as my salary paid, thinking my life was the most precious thing.”  

Kim Chaun was a selfish man.  

No, in fact, everyone is selfish to some degree.  

Their own situation feels the hardest.  

Their own life is the most precious.  

And he was nothing more than a useless employee, a so-called “salary thief,” who avoided work whenever possible.  

But—  

“Watching your actions up close, for the first time, I felt my heart burn with passion. Maybe that’s what you call patriotism. Isn’t it ironic? Just the other day, I was complaining about Koreans and thinking about emigrating. But somehow, through you, Kim Si-won, I feel hope. I believe a brilliant future will come for this country, for the Republic of Korea.”  

Though awakened, Kim Chaun was just an ordinary Korean man.  

Someone who criticized a country with no outstanding qualities.  

In truth, the political circles of the Republic of Korea deserved their harsh words—they were fools who squandered a hard-won opportunity.  

But criticism and curses are fine if I do them; if others do, they are intolerable.  

Within him was an unrecognized loyalty and patriotism for his homeland, the Republic of Korea.  

“That’s why I have the duty to protect you, Kim Si-won. Even if it costs me my life, I will not hesitate for the sake of the Republic of Korea, for that brilliant future.”  

He wasn’t saying this to me.  

He was muttering these words to steel himself in the face of danger.  

“I will do my best to assist you in returning to the Republic of Korea.”  

That was all the powerless Kim Chaun could promise.  

A sincere plea for me to overcome this crisis and come back safely to Korea.  

“You worry needlessly.”  

He said so, but the situation was undeniably worrying.  

Step by step.  

The number of people closing in around the research facility increased.  

Office workers with neat suits and brown hair.  

A woman in a chain store uniform, perhaps finishing a part-time job.  

A mother carrying a bag to pick up her child from school.  

They looked ordinary at first glance.  

But beneath that, they were demons radiating a fierce malice energy.  

‘Doppelgangers.’  

These were the same doppelgangers I had faced at the Elixir Korea branch.  

But they were different from him.  

These doppelgangers, the longer they survived, the stronger their powers grew.  

If Slimes accumulate strength through absorption, doppelgangers do so for a different reason.  

They acquire the abilities, memories, and experiences of the beings they transform into (their prey).  

So, surviving longer means gaining the powers and experiences of many humans or creatures.  

Based on that diverse pool of power and experience, they either pursue their own unique path or—  

Like now, transform into the most powerful entity and unleash their peak strength.  

“Ch-Chulwoo Shin?”  Kim Chaun, watching the scene beside me, let out a scream.  

Amazingly, the transformed figure was Chulwoo Shin of the Shinhwa Guild, who had met death by my hand, Lu Hong of Pacheon Guild, and Ikeda Kaito of Oni Guild.  

Even more—  

“…Ha Yeon Lee!”  

He whispered her name, sneaking a glance at me.  

Certainly.  

‘…Unpleasant.’  

There was no doubt about the copy.  

Because I knew their nature better than anyone else.  

The upper-tier doppelgangers can perfectly copy a target just by consuming their blood.  

Lower-tier doppelgangers can only copy their prey, but the upper tier is different.  

By consuming a body part, hair, or blood, they can create a flawless copy.  

And of all people, it had to be Ha Yeon Lee.  

Disgusting.  

Even now, remnants of lingering emotions surged just by looking at that face.  

“Killed…”  

As soon as the doppelganger copying Ha Yeon Lee opened its mouth—  

“Pat!”  

Like an arm extending, a black streak shot straight forward—  

“Screeeech!”  

It split the doppelganger in half.  

“Ughhh!”  

A sticky fluid held the split parts together in a bizarre way.  

Like Slimes, doppelgangers have strong resistance to slashing attacks.  

So even if their bodies split in half, they can recover.  

However—  

“swish-swish!”

Following the sword strike—  

Like the Slimes, it liquefied and inevitably vanished.  

But—  

Step by step.  

Another doppelganger replaced the fallen one.  

Losing one wouldn’t loosen the encirclement.  

Because around us, a massive number of doppelgangers had already formed the perimeter.  

It was like a crowd gathered to see a famous singer’s concert—the procession was endless.  

No, what could be seen was not everything.  

I could sense it.  

The demons forming layers around Manhattan, the flawless encirclement.  

‘Heavenly Net of Earth and Sky.’  

It was similar to the Heavenly Net of Earth and Sky the Asran Kingdom once used to falsely accuse and destroy the Malice Family, to which I belonged.  

‘It doesn’t matter.’  

An inescapable encirclement?  

There is no such thing as “absolute” in this world.  

Of course, even with my current power—having regained my Knight’s vigor and malice—it would not be easy to break through this Heavenly Net of Earth and Sky surrounding all of New York.  

But impossible and difficult are distinctly different realms.  

I had the means to break through this encirclement.  

Potential Power Explosion  

The armor I was wearing.  

The Umbra I received as a Knight assigned to the Galia Empire’s Intelligence Bureau was not simply for stealth.  

“Wooooooong!”  

The hot heat of a volcano filled my body.  

It coursed through my blood, spreading everywhere.  

Along with it came power.  

And that power surged through my hand, through the sword of destruction, Excidium.  

“Swoosh!”  

With a single terrible sound of flesh being cut—  

“Thud, thud!”  

Hundreds of doppelgangers, cleanly sliced in two, crumbled like straw.  

Recovery?  

None.  

Rather—  

“Pshh!”  

With the sound of air escaping, the liquefied doppelgangers vanished instantly.  

This happened because the power within Excidium far surpassed the doppelgangers’ resistance to slashing and their regeneration.  

It was possible thanks to a special magic embedded in the armor—the Potential Power Explosion.  

This magic explosively activates the wearer’s latent abilities, unleashing tremendous power in an instant.  

Espionage is extremely dangerous work, infiltrating deep into enemy territory.  

You can extract information but risk exposure and capture at any time.  

Therefore, the Potential Power Explosion magic was given.  

It causes severe bodily harm after use, but grants immense power for a moment.  

It’s like a soldier who has served their purpose and self-destructs, wreaking havoc in enemy lines when exposed.  

Of course, the duration isn’t long.  

With my current ability, five minutes at most.  

After five minutes, my strength would vanish, and I’d collapse.  

But I had no worries about that now.  

“Suuuuu!”  

The malice energy emitted from the doppelgangers I had mercilessly killed was absorbed into my body.  

The energy leaking out from the Potential Power Explosion was replenished by that vitality.  

No, I felt even more power than before.  

The Potential Power Explosion replaced the constantly escaping energy with the malice absorbed by killing demons.  

In theory, this allows the Potential Power Explosion to be sustained indefinitely.  

Of course, it would require an enormous number of enemies.  

“Step, step, step.”

The condition was met.  

Demons who had replaced the hundreds of fallen doppelgangers once again formed the encirclement.  

They probably believed they had perfectly trapped their prey.  

But that was a clear misconception.   

I clenched the handle of Excidium tightly.  

I’m not trapped.  

This is the hunt.  

“Splat!”  

I unleashed a sword strike, now even stronger thanks to the Potential Power Explosion.  

“Splatter!”  

Doppelgangers fell one after another without even resisting.  

“Slash, slash, slash!”

Cutting, cutting, cutting again.  

The manifestation of the high-speed movement I had just demonstrated.  

They collapsed.  

Surrounded by doppelgangers.  

Like a wolf running into a flock of sheep, unstoppable.  

This was hunting.  

Hunting demons who couldn’t even put up a fight.