Chapter 425
Fwoosh!
Deep beneath Babel was a vast cavern. According to official records, it was simply an unused area. However, within that hidden cavern, there was a crimson sphere burning brightly: the Vermilion Bird, engulfed in flames.
In that cavern, the Vermillion Bird—just by breathing—released energy equivalent to what was generated by dozens of power plants. And that energy, having been harnessed, surged through the pipelines covering the chamber before spreading out across all of Babel.
Compared to my previous self, I’ve become unbelievably powerful.
Observing the intense flames flowing out from its own body, the Vermilion Bird couldn’t not recognize how much it had grown. Before being hunted down by heroes, it had already earned notoriety as one of the Four Sacred Beasts, feared for its impenetrable barrier magic. Yet it had only been classified as an S-rank demon beast.
However, comparing its current self to then was pointless. Having gained a vast amount of knowledge, absorbed the Sacred Flame, and received the mysterious energy given by the Towers of Heroes, it had transcended. Now, it was a monster capable of destroying entire worlds—greater than even the Planet Devourers, the consumers of stars.
With a touch of exaggeration, one could practically say the Vermilion Bird was inching closer to the realm of the Perfect Ones.
At this rate, I should be able to even roast that damn Azure Dragon alive.
If it could just escape, the Vermillion Bird thought it had a good chance to burn down an entire continent and claim it as its own domain. Just imagining it made its heart swell with pride.
Alas, such a bold fantasy could never come true for the Vermillion Bird.
“It’s lukewarm.”
The Vermillion Bird flinched at the stern murmur of the old man in a crimson martial robe: Li Kenxie.
“S-sorry!”
Snapping out of its daydream, the Vermilion Bird hurriedly intensified its flames. The already-scorching chamber grew even hotter, now glowing faintly red. With the cavern now saturated with the Vermillion Bird’s presence, it naturally began resonating with the Vermillion Bird.
Fwoosh!
The Vermillion’s Bird’s unique barrier magic, Vermillion Sky, turned the cavern into a world of flames. In such a place, anybody without high heat resistance would burn to ash in seconds. Here, even S-rank heroes were no exception.
Fwoosh-
But of course, Li Kenxie was not affected in the slightest. Before him, the blistering flames that would’ve scorched anything but their owner hesitated. And in the end, they slowly circled back around the beast.
Like small fires consumed by a greater blaze, the flames of Vermillion Sky bent to Li Kenxie’s will and turned against the Vermilion Bird.
Damn it...
Although the backlash from the stolen barrier threatened its control, the Vermilion Bird accepted it without resistance. The man before it was not like its deranged contract-holder who stabbed at its heart like a sponge. He was different. Losing didn’t fill the Vermillion Bird with humiliation.
“...”
The man before it, Li Kenxie, was staring silently at the furnace—the one he had once used before becoming a Perfect One—under it. To beings of flesh and blood, Li Kenxie looked like a stern old man. But to the Vermilion Bird, a being of flames, he was something else entirely.
Flicker-
In its senses, the transparent flame that was burning quietly within Li Kenxie’s human shell was all too clear—it was an all-devouring fire of nothingness that made the Vermillion Bird feel primal fear.
The Vermillion Bird had a strong feeling: even if it could one day consume the sun itself, it could never resist that flame.
It felt like some unbreakable law, making the Vermillion Bird show more respect to Li Kenxie than even Ludwig, the man holding its life in his hands. Alas, Li Kenxie didn’t seem to care.
“Hot, yes. But these flames are just crude. Is this really your best?”
“I-I’ll adjust it right now.”
At the sharp critique, the Vermilion Bird focused all its strength to refine the flame.
Yet even then, Li Kenxie frowned.
Its flame never seems to improve.... It must be due to its lack of foundation.
At Ludwig’s request, he had been teaching the Vermilion Bird about flames—or more accurately, the power of Anatta. And the results were poor. The powers of the Perfect Ones simply weren’t something that could be taught, and on top of that, the beast’s very nature as a demon beast was a limitation.
A creature born from the Abyss of Demons can only go so far.
While it had somehow expanded its limits by absorbing Se-Hoon’s Sacred Flame, it failed to transcend those limits. Now it floundered, desperately trying to reach the realm of Perfect Ones, without knowing which way to go.
“Urgh...”
Struggling to control the flames, the Vermilion Bird let out a pained groan that prompted a strange look from Li Kenxie.
I suppose I must have looked like that before. He thought, reminded of his own struggles before conquering the Tower of Heroes upon seeing the beast slamming into a wall of its own.
He still remembered everything clearly, yet... the emotions felt distant, like it was someone else’s life. As he chewed over that peculiar memory, he turned his gaze to his granddaughter, standing not far away.
“Phew...”
Li Fei stood with her hands over her chest, taking deep breaths. The temperature in the chamber, heated further by the Vermilion Bird, was far beyond what a six-year-old could endure.
Li Fei, though, was different. She had been blessed with Sacred Flames from birth.
Woong!
A transparent flame gently enveloped her body, blocking not just the heat but even the effects of Vermillion Sky.
So she’s fully mastered how to summon Sacred Flames.
While she lacked martial power, her control over the power of Anatta had already surpassed the Vermilion Bird’s.
Yet Li Kenxie neither praised her nor lamented for her. He was like a farmer assessing a ripening fruit, his quiet assessment said to only himself.
“Perhaps I don’t have to wait much longer...”
Fwoosh-
Just as his murmur rang out, a change swept over Li Fei. The Sacred Flame protecting her began merging with her body, making her hair shimmered with the tips flickering like flames—just like Eun-Ha.
Recognizing the resemblance, Li Kenxie’s eyes widened. Then, he barked out a command to the Vermilion Bird. “Withdraw your flames.”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
Not daring to waste even a moment, the Vermilion Bird rushed to gather its flames, and the furnace-like cavern cooled rapidly.
Woosh!
Its fuel gone, the Sacred Flame fusing with Li Fei paused before disappearing without a trace, like nothing had happened.
“...”
Li Kenxie’s expression stiffened.
Meanwhile, Li Fei slowly opened her eyes and turned her head. “Is it already over?”
Wanting to use the Sacred Flames just a bit longer, she looked up at her grandfather.
Alas, after a brief pause, her grandfather denied her with a nod. “That’s more than enough for today. Let’s head back.”
“Ummm...” Hesitating, Li Fei cautiously spoke up. “I want to play with the Vermillion Bird a little longer, though.... Can’t we stay just a bit more?”
“...”
Immediately, Li Kenxie’s eyes narrowed into a glare. And upon being subjected to it, the Vermilion Bird, clearly distressed, wanted to cry.
I don’t want to play with that little brat either...!
If something happened to her—even if it was just a little—the monster in front of it might roast it alive on the spot. Wanting to avoid such a thing, the Vermilion Bird silently begged Li Kenxie to take her away.
But unfortunately for it, the old man clicked his tongue and agreed.
“Just until lunch.”
“Yes!”
“W-Wait! If you get too close, you’ll—damn it!”
Seeing Li Fei charging in with a bright grin, the Vermilion Bird frantically suppressed its flames—and that didn’t go unnoticed.
She should be fine for a little while.
Unless the Vermillion Bird had a death wish, Li Kenxie knew it’d take proper care of her.
He watched his granddaughter cling to the now-miserable Vermilion Bird for a while longer, then opened his mouth and talked to the air.
“Where’s that guy?”
“He should be in the workshop.”
An instant reply from Ludwig. Briefly mulling over it, Li Kenxie decided where to go next.
“Send me there, then.”
Whoosh!
In the blink of an eye, the scenery before him was now a clearing on the mountainside. Turning his head, Li Kenxie walked toward S-Hoon’s workshop and reached out to the door—
Clang!
The sound of a hammer rang from inside. To most, it was just a clear, resonant strike. In Li Kenxie’s ears, however, the dense synesthetic mindscape infused within rang loudly. Still and serene, like a mirror-still lake—one where even one movement could send ripples across its surface.
There was a delicate balance, making Li Kenxie halt his hand.
He’s in the middle of something.
If this were any other time, he would just walk in.
“...Tsk.”
Clicking his tongue, Li Kenxie called out to Ludwig and returned to the underground cavern.
“Phew...”
Back in the workshop, Se-Hoon let out a quiet sigh of relief and stopped hammering on the empty anvil.
He’d rushed a bit and left some rough patches, but it had still worked out. He had successfully fooled Li Kenxie.
“Is he gone...?” Terra asked cautiously, having been holding her breath beside him.
“Yeah. I don’t think he will be back again today.”
He’d made it clear he was doing important work, so Li Kenxie likely wouldn’t check again until tomorrow or the day after. Relaxing, Se-Hoon set aside concerns about Li Kenxie and turned his gaze to Terra, who sat atop a complex magic array.
“How’s it going on your end?”
“Oh! No problems at all! Don’t worry!”
“Good. Let me know if anything comes up.”
“Yep! Safe travels!”
Closing his eyes and reopening them, the workshop before Se-Hoon vanished. He was now on the rooftop of a building overlooking a cityscape. The loose connection with the Warhound he left in Babel disconnected naturally, returning his awareness back to his body in Beijing.
“Hmm...”
Taking a moment, Se-Hoon checked himself to make sure nothing had gone awry during the brief connection, and soon his brow furrowed.
The aftereffects are worse than I thought.
There was a slight mismatch in his senses, making him faintly feel disconnected from his body, as though he were still controlling the Warhound. Wasting no time, he adjusted his perception and pulled up the information message of the skill he just used.
[Unity of Mind and Body]『S』
[A skill that helps fuse one’s body and mind.
By using Silver River to integrate the body and mind, the output of the user’s synesthetic mindscape is maximized.
Depending on the nature of the synesthetic mindscape used as the base, the usage changes.
The longer the duration, the stronger the side effects.
*Integrates the body and mind to amplify one’s synesthetic mindscape
*The more concrete the synesthetic mindscape, the greater the power at the cost of higher usage of stamina and mana
*Forced separation of the integrated body and mind may result in permanent damage]
It said the side effects increase the longer the skill is activated, but I didn’t think just one minute would hit this hard...
The skill had worked perfectly, even fooling Li Kenxie’s keen senses. But it had come with a price. That was why, until he had a proper countermeasure, Se-Hoon resolved to keep its usage under a minute.
With that done, Se-Hoon dismissed the message and turned his gaze.
Everything seems to be back in place now. Okay, time to begin.
His eyes narrowed as he looked toward a dazzling building in the heart of Beijing: the Heroes Association’s Beijing branch. As with all Heroes Association facilities, its security—both visible and hidden measures—was airtight.
Yet even then, the Beijing branch seemed to be on another level.
Looks like the government and the Heroes Association are especially close here.
On paper, the nearby buildings were run by ordinary people, but in actuality, the entire area was under heavy surveillance. Together, the buildings had a vast number of personnel and detection systems that formed a network surrounding the branch like a fortress.
All this just to monitor Li Wen.... That’s absurd in its own way.
There were close to a hundred A-rank heroes posted in the area. Of them, five were likely S-rank or nearly there—and all were inside the Beijing branch. However, their formation was chaotic. They were clearly trying to outshine the other rather than work together or hide their presence.
And that made it obvious to Se-Hoon who they were.
The Sacred Flame Squad, huh?
They were a group of top-tier heroes eager to win Li Kenxie’s favor and be granted a Sacred Artifact. On record, they were part of the Chinese government but were actually more like mercenaries.
These mutts are just waiting for something to go wrong.
Se-Hoon now understood why Amir had passed the job to him. Even with Amir’s recent growth, it would’ve been near-impossible for him to break through the perimeter and extract Li Wen safely.
Kidnapping... Surprisingly, this isn’t something I’ve done much.
Although he’d been dragged into assassinations and sabotages by the Three Dogs countless times, he was still about to experience his first proper kidnapping mission.
Staying cautious, Se-Hoon lightly pushed off the rooftop and soared into the sky above the Beijing branch.
Let’s see...
Hiding himself between dreams and reality, Se-Hoon effortlessly bypassed the entire network of surveillance and began scanning the branch to locate Li Wen.
The place was massive, with countless people inside as well. However, the Sacred Flame Squad’s deployment thankfully revealed his target’s location.
Whoosh-
Zeroing in on it, Se-Hoon cloaked himself entirely in a Veil of Whitespace and shot into the building’s interior. Every defense the Beijing branch had—magical, physical, and spiritual—fell completely useless before the Veil. Even the Sacred Flame Squad’s personal enchantments and charms were powerless.
And thanks to that, in under thirty seconds, Se-Hoon infiltrated the branch and successfully arrived at the room where Li Wen was being held.
Step- step- step- step- step-
Inside a lavish yet windowless room, Li Wen was pacing nervously.
Isn’t this... way too easy?
Se-Hoon scowled at the sight of his target.
If he just grabbed and dragged Li Weninto the dream realm, then left the way he came, it would be over. The absurd simplicity of it all finally made him understand why Amir had said he was perfect for the job—to his chagrin.
I see... It’s because there’s no one I can’t kidnap if I set my mind to it!
He’d expected infiltration to be easier than before, but not as ridiculously one-sided as it had been. It was a newfound talent for him, making Se-Hoon unable to help but marvel with a mix of satisfaction and discomfort—
Knock, knock!
Both Se-Hoon and Li Wen’s heads snapped toward the door.
“I’m coming in.”
Following those words, the person responsible for Li Wen’s captivity under Li Kenxie’s orders walked in.
The head of Offering, Caden Miller, appeared.