Ding!
<You have entered the ‘Unrest’ Zone of Morgue’s Magical Warehouse.>
I landed lightly on the salt desert.
The scenery before me had changed significantly.
A straight path cut across the salt desert like a dried-up canal.
Blackened ground.
Charred corpses of zombies.
Black ash staining the surface of the salt.
It was as if the traces proved just how fierce the battle here had been.
At that moment, a massive shadow fell from beyond the black crack.
Boom!
The ground shook violently as salt exploded upward.
Dark red muscle was exposed beneath melted skin.
The black flames that had covered its entire body were gone without a trace.
From its left shoulder down to its pelvis, the flesh had melted into a mushy mess.
Sizzle sizzle sizzle sizzle sizzle—
A sound like cooking organs came from inside its body.
The Fierce God Evil Slayer.
The once-mighty S-rank magical beast now lay sprawled pathetically across the salt desert.
The giant of fire could not even twitch a single finger.
Then, a familiar voice called out.
“……Master!”
Jeanne, the Shadow Knights, and the General Zombie came running toward me.
Soon, Shadow Knight Yi Seonggye looked at the Fierce God Evil Slayer and spoke.
[Heh…… To think you defeated this monster. Warehouse Keeper, just what trick did you use?]
Jeanne nodded as if it were obvious.
“When Master gets serious, even powerful magical beasts are nothing more than insignificant creatures. The method doesn’t matter.”
The other Shadow Knights also clicked their tongues in awe as they looked at the giant’s miserable state.
It seemed they had gone through quite a lot while buying me time.
I recalled what had happened in the East Sea.
……Mrs. Luddite. She really was an absurd monster.
A+ rank No. 2 of the Korean Hunter Association, Mrs. Luddite.
I had heard rumors that she was one of Asia’s greatest powers on par with Lee Geuk, but I never expected her to be this strong.
The image of her toying with an S-rank magical beast from beginning to end like it was a child was still vivid in my mind.
The overwhelming power with which she casually poured hundreds of weapons onto it and finally used a satellite weapon to push the Fierce God Evil Slayer to the brink of death.
Normally, modern firearms could not inflict fatal wounds on magical beasts.
Even if you hit a lowly goblin point-blank with a K-2 rifle, it wouldn’t die.
This was because a magical beast’s body was protected by its mana field.
That was why an F-rank artifact like a ‘pine club’ was often more effective than a grenade.
However, the weapons Mrs. Luddite used had worked properly on the Fierce God Evil Slayer.
From bullets to shells, missiles, and laser weapons.
……She must have made anti-magical-beast weapons using materials from magical beasts.
When Mrs. Luddite unleashed her indiscriminate bombardment, I had faintly seen traces of mana from the missiles and shells.
And at the very last moment, right before the artificial satellite laser completely disintegrated it, I pulled the Fierce God Evil Slayer back into the warehouse.
Why had Mrs. Luddite personally shown up in the East Sea?
And so quickly at that.
Because she rarely appeared in the media, very few people had seen Mrs. Luddite in person.
It was even said she had skipped Hunter Association meetings for the past few years.
Suddenly, the conversation I had overheard between Bae Minji and Shin Sodam came to mind.
‘I’m currently investigating people around Mrs. Luddite. Deus Ex Machina has been involved in quite a few major incidents lately.’
‘Fire and metal. Are there any guilds more suitable to cooperate with Mrs. Luddite, the leading figure in the machinery industry? Melt iron with fire and supply it, then use that molten iron to make machines. From what I’ve found, it’s quite the mutually beneficial relationship where they thoroughly cover each other’s backs.’
‘It’s just business, okay? You think I wanted this? The guild elders decided it on their own, so what am I supposed to do about it?’
Hunter Surveillance Bureau investigator Bae Minji was keeping a close eye on Mrs. Luddite.
Well, anyway.
Thanks to Mrs. Luddite, things had gone much more smoothly.
I looked at the Fierce God Evil Slayer lying pathetically on the ground.
At this state, I could probably finish it off cleanly with one Gluttony Slash Secret Art.
That would mean I could monopolize the top-grade mana stones and artifacts dropped by an S-rank magical beast.
However.
……Unfortunately, it looks like I can’t do that.
A message window on the side of my vision caught my eye.
<WARNING!> <WARNING!> <WARNING!> <WARNING!> <WARNING!> <WARNING!> <WARNING!> <WARNING!>
An endless string of warning messages.
Below it was a message from the warehouse.
<The damage rate of stored entity MRG-293 has exceeded the critical threshold! — Damage Rate: 99.97%>
<Preserving stored entities in perfect condition is the Warehouse Keeper’s first principle.>
<If a stored item belonging to the Sorcerer Emperor ‘T’ is damaged due to the Warehouse Keeper’s negligence, the Keeper will be punished according to Imperial Decree No. 157.>
“Hmm.”
The point was that if MRG-293, the Fierce God Evil Slayer, was damaged, I would be held responsible.
I didn’t know exactly what Imperial Decree No. 157 said, but it definitely wouldn’t be pleasant.
I can’t risk gambling for a single S-rank artifact.
My original goal had been to reseal the Fierce God Evil Slayer anyway.
Then.
“Benefactor! Princess!”
Guard Captain Sen Hyal was running toward us from afar.
The High Priestess and soldiers followed behind her.
The moment they saw the Fierce God Evil Slayer, the faces of the High Priestess and Guard Captain turned deathly pale.
But Jeanne quickly explained the situation.
“There is no need to worry. Master has neutralized the evil god.”
“My goodness…… To think he defeated the primordial evil god.”
The High Priestess stared blankly at the Fierce God Evil Slayer.
Meanwhile, Guard Captain Sen Hyal’s eyes were filled with tears.
“I never doubted it for a second! I knew that if it was the Benefactor and the Princess, you would defeat the evil god! I knew you would save us! Thank you, thank you so much……”
Jeanne gently patted Sen Hyal’s shoulder.
At that moment, a new system window appeared before me.
Ding!
<The following materials are required for the maintenance of MRG-293.>
– 7 bones of the Fierce God Evil Slayer
– Fingernails of the Fierce God Evil Slayer
– Toenails of the Fierce God Evil Slayer
– Tendons of the Fierce God Evil Slayer
“Bones, fingernails, toenails, and tendons.”
The Fierce God Evil Slayer was conveniently sprawled out, ready to be harvested.
All the materials needed for the seal were prepared.
Now all that remained was crafting the sealing stones and cleanly sealing the Fierce God Evil Slayer.
“Alright, time to call in the specialists.”
Soon, a system window appeared.
Ding!
<Would you like to lend a stored entity from the warehouse?>
***
One hour later.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
The sound of hammering rang out loudly.
Blazing flames rose and disappeared.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Then a chilling cold air swept in, blowing away the heat.
The Armor of Flames and the Sword of Ice were forging the massive pillars.
Ding!
<Yama Raja Armor >
– Storage Number: MRG-21
– Storage Rank: Safe
<Tyrfing (Tyrfing)>
– Storage Number: MRG-22
– Storage Rank: Safe
The flame armor Yama Raja Armor and the frigid sword Tyrfing, which were stored in the Safe Zone, had once again been put to work on item forging.
Soon, Yama Raja Armor finished crafting the seventh pillar.
At the same time.
Thud—!
Yama Raja Armor and Tyrfing collapsed onto the salt desert.
[W-We are not blacksmiths……]
[I-I feel dizzy……]
Seven flawless black pillars with perfectly smooth surfaces.
Then, alchemist Paracelsus approached the pillars.
He sprinkled a bright yellow solution from a flask onto the pillars.
Sssssssss—
The bright yellow solution gently coated the surface of the pillars.
Paracelsus looked at me and said,
“Waterproofing, fireproofing, dustproofing, antibacterial, anti-rust, and cold resistance functions have been added.
With this, the pillars should not be damaged for at least a thousand years, Warehouse Keeper.”
“Thanks for your hard work.”
This should be fine for at least as long as I remained the Warehouse Keeper.
Then, the General Zombie flew up while carrying the pillars.
The General Zombie was in charge of inserting the sealing stones.
The Fierce God Evil Slayer lay sprawled across the salt desert.
Then.
Crunch!
The first sealing stone slammed into the salt desert.
It pierced the Fierce God Evil Slayer’s neck and drove into the ground.
But the Fierce God Evil Slayer did not move at all.
Its leg bones, arm bones, spine, and tendons had already been extracted, so it couldn’t move.
Bubble bubble bubble bubble—
Only black bubbles gushed out from the pierced skin.
Soon, the sealing stones began piercing the giant’s limbs one after another.
Both hands, both feet, neck and heart, waist.
Crunch! Crunch! Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!
All seven sealing stones were driven deep inside.
The remaining embers of the primordial giant of fire, the Fierce God Evil Slayer, burned fiercely.
Then.
Shrrrrrk—
The black flames were sucked into the sealing stones.
At the same time, the Fierce God Evil Slayer’s body sank beneath the salt desert.
Ding!
<The seal on MRG-293 has been reconstructed.>
“……Mission complete.”
The sealing procedure had been completed perfectly.
The people of Hecate who had been watching burst into cheers.
“F-Finally……!”
“We are free from the terror of the evil god!”
“Hurray! Long live the Benefactor! Long live the Princess~!”
The Hecate soldiers embraced each other and shed tears.
The High Priestess and Guard Captain quietly wiped their eyes as well.
Then.
Ding!
<A reward from Morgue Mu Featherback will be given to the Warehouse Keeper who perfectly completed the sealing procedure!>
“This is……”
<Breastplate ‘Symbiart’>
– Storage Number: MRG-580
– Storage Rank: Terror
The Breastplate ‘Symbiart’.
It was undoubtedly an S-rank artifact.