Chapter 435
Many important factors played a part in shaping a promising up-and-coming individual into a proper hero. The right education, a stable environment, diverse experiences—there were so many that it was hard to pick just one.
However, Se-Hoon could. He believed that of them all, well-timed praise was the most significant.
Before the appearance of the Towers of Heroes and the Abyss of Demons, perhaps that wouldn’t have been true. But in a time where even minor growth could trigger notification messages? If someone was labeled as promising, they likely already had the basics down. With them, as long as they were motivated, growth came naturally.
It was for that very reason that Se-Hoon believed the key was praise, doled out at just the right moments to make sure that motivation didn’t falter.
“I can’t believe how skilled you’ve become in such a short time! Truly impressive!”
“Ahem. This much is easy for me.”
And just as he expected, Earthweaver was growing at an incredible pace.
Clack, clack, clack!
With dazzling hand movements, Earthweaver manipulated the loom several times faster than before, weaving a new ley line that surged powerfully.
Woong!
Unlike the previous ley lines, which were a uniform light brown, it was embroidered with all sorts of intricate patterns. And at a glance, that was all—at least until the ley line fused with the earth.
Rumble!
The moment the new ley line sank into the ground, the entire building trembled.
Crash!
At the thunderous sound, whatever it was, which clearly indicated the tremor had destroyed something, Se-Hoon immediately linked his vision to the skeleton guards stationed around the industrial complex and projected their viewpoint like a floating screen.
Crunch!
A massive chunk of earth had burst through a nearly completed building’s roof, soaring high into the sky. It sent the workers on site into a string of curses, all of them bolting away. And once the area was clear, the airborne mass of dirt began changing.
Craaaaack!
Cracks spread across the surface. Then, like the shell of an egg breaking apart, chunks fell away to reveal the form within: a massive bear statue made of soil and stone. The figure towering twenty meters tall swayed for a moment, then blinked and surveyed its surroundings.
「Grrrrrrrr.」
Its deep, rumbling growl echoed like thunder off a mountaintop. Making no movements, the towering statue just blinked before awakening its remaining body parts and moving naturally, as though genuinely alive.
Then it paused again, gazing at a nearby building with interest.
「Roar!」
And with a cry, it swung its enormous paw.
BOOM!
「Ahh...」
The building, already half-destroyed, crumbled entirely. Just like that, the research lab, which had been scheduled for completion tomorrow, turned into a pile of rubble.
「Haaaaaa...」
「Yeah, it’s completely toast.」
From nearby, the workers who’d fled to the skeleton guards’ side all sighed in despair at the sight of weeks of labor vanishing in a split second.
In contrast, the stone bear let out a contented smile and lay down on top of the wreckage, sighing happily and relaxing its body.
Rumble-!
The massive statue then collapsed, completely burying what remained of the demolished building.
「When the hell are we going to clean that up...」
「Hell if I know. Let’s just grab whatever we can and get it over with.」
Grumbling, the workers headed back to the site.
Meanwhile, watching the screen back underground, Earthweaver’s eyes were sparkling.
“Did you see that? I made the whole body move properly this time!”
Despite having just destroyed a cutting-edge research lab that had cost a fortune, Earthweaver beamed with pride. Of course, Se-Hoon also kept pouring on the praise.
“To think you could create such a detailed living entity from a single ley line... This is truly something only you can do.”
“Oh, it’s nothing...”
“Nothing? I doubt anyone out there could advance this much in just five days.”
“Come on, don’t butter me up like that~”
Even as it waved a hand dismissively, Earthweaver couldn’t hide the smirk tugging at its lips.
And upon seeing that goofy grin, Se-Hoon chuckled.
He’s far too easy to trick.
At first, Earthweaver used to bristle, thinking the compliments were sarcasm. But upon noticing they weren’t just mindless flattery—from how Se-Hoon always pointed out specifics—that completely disappeared. Earthweaver had felt the sincerity and let its guard down.
Being able to feel that he’s getting better himself must’ve also put him in a good mood too.
Over the past five days, Earthweaver’s weaving had evolved so much that saying “he’s become a different person” wouldn’t be an exaggeration. Not only had it started tweaking its ley lines to achieve desired effects, now, it had even succeeded at creating an artificial lifeform like that stone bear.
To others, such improvement would be as absurd as a fish growing wings and taking flight.
“But... was it okay to destroy that building?” Now somewhat calmer, Earthweaver looked awkwardly at the ruined lab.
“Of course. Don’t worr—”
“Mr. Lee.”
At the deep, low voice interrupting him from behind, Se-Hoon turned around and found Caden standing there, face stiff with displeasure.
“May we talk for a moment?” With that curtly asked question, he walked out without another word.
Watching him go, Se-Hoon shrugged.
“I’ll be right back.”
“Mmm. Alright.”
Heading out after Caden, Se-Hoon left the underground power plant and climbed up to the ground floor where Caden was waiting.
“What’s the matter?”
“Are you really asking me that?” Caden turned sharply, his eyes narrowing like blades. “Have you still not realized what you’ve done wrong after looking outside?”
Prompted by Caden’s words, Se-Hoon glanced out the window at the area around the plant. More than half the buildings nearing completion had been reduced to ruins, and even the remaining ones had partially collapsed and were undergoing repairs. It looked like a natural disaster had passed through.
Yet, even though Se-Hoon had taken in the devastation, he looked Caden straight in the eyes and asked, “What about it?”
It was a shameless reply that immediately made Caden’s eye twitch, but he took a deep breath and forced himself to calm.
“This all happened because you tampered with the Earth-Weaving Loom.”
Ever since Se-Hoon encouraged Earthweaver to try something new, the Chinese Hextech Academy’s nearly finished completion rate had plummeted from ninety percent to forty percent. After all, every time Earthweaver’s ley line had fused with the land, some new creature—like that stone bear—would burst forth and wreak havoc.
It left Caden, being the one in charge, at his wit’s end.
“If you really think I’m the reason for all this, that’s disappointing.”
However, Se-Hoon still had something to say to that.
“What do you mean...?”
“I clearly suggested a solution beforehand, didn’t I? Move the Earth-Weaving Loom to another location for a while.”
In truth, Caden had already confronted him once before. And back then, Se-Hoon hadn’t hidden anything. He had explained in detail everything about Earthweaver and its capabilities. There were some who had even seen their conversation.
“I’ll admit responsibility for the first building that collapsed. That one’s on me for not reacting fast enough.”
Back then, Caden had set a trap with the loom and forced Se-Hoon to make a choice. Because of that, Se-Hoon, instead of reacting passively, had done his best to use Earthweaver to drag Caden in and effectively turn the tables.
“But for the rest? That’s on you, who ignored my advice and left the Earth-Weaving Loom running.”
Everything happening now was due to Earthweaver’s inexperience with its new weaving techniques. Like Se-Hoon said, if the loom had been relocated temporarily, the problem would’ve been easily avoided.
But Caden had chosen not—no, rather, he couldn’t do that. Moving the loom, which was central to the Offering Ritual, would cause serious disruption to the entire plan.
It might not just weaken the ritual, it could make its entire activation impossible altogether.
If the ritual was ruined, Caden’s entire plan would collapse by his own hands. So, he simply couldn’t touch the loom.
However, at the same time, that meant Caden had to endure suspicions from others for keeping Earthweaver where it was and letting it wreck the facilities. In other words, the decision he had previously delegated to Se-Hoon had now returned to haunt him.
“...”
Speechless, Caden remained silent for a while, then finally backed off in a subdued voice. “Please help us find another solution. As soon as possible.”
No matter how Se-Hoon saw him, Caden was in a difficult situation.
“I’ll do what I can.”
So with that vague response, Se-Hoon headed back underground to the power plant under Caden’s watch.
A beat later, Caden turned and returned to the administration building—
Rumble!
The ground shook once more, and a small lump of earth erupted from the parking lot and crushed a single luxury sedan.
Boom!
Flames engulfed the vehicle, now buried in dirt. And when Caden realized it was his own car, his face turned to stone.
“...”
Whether it was an order from Se-Hoon or an autonomous act from his master’s clone, it didn’t matter. What mattered was that the Earth Weaving Loom now protected Se-Hoon and had grown openly hostile toward him.
Is this step really the end?
They had just barely managed to withstand the Three Dogs’ assault, but the facilities were already nearing their limits. Worst of all, the Heroes Association’s suspicions were escalating, which put the Seven Saints more and more on edge. If the situation continued as it was, there was no telling what desperate moves the Seven Saints might make.
Assessing the situation, Caden sighed—half in frustration, half in admiration.
He really is... beyond imagination.
He already knew how mysterious Se-Hoon was—from what the Tuner had told him and from what he saw atop the Silent Volcano—which was why he’d prepared for everything, determined not to fail like the others.
But here he was, watching everything fall apart so easily. Seeing it all, Caden couldn’t help but feel like he’d been dancing in Se-Hoon’s palm this entire time.
Maybe I really was...
If Se-Hoon had known all along—about his identity, about his plans—and had used the Three Dogs to dismantle everything slowly...
Caden looked back at the parking lot.
Hiss!
Staff had rushed in to put out the fire, but nothing remained except the scorched skeleton of the car and the mound of earth atop it.
“...”
Staring at the desolate wreck, Caden slowly closed his eyes.
“Perhaps this really is for the best.”
With that quiet murmur, he stepped inside the building.
***
Late at night, the construction site was swallowed in pitch-black darkness; the lights that used to be kept on throughout the entire night were all dark.
At long last, all the workers had left after Caden finally gave the order to stop all construction.
Looks like a ghost town from up here.
From high above, Se-Hoon was surveying the bleak landscape when a small light caught his eye.
“Hm? What’s that...?”
Moving down the road that led from the administration building to the power plant, a tiny spark, akin to a firefly, drifted along. When Se-Hoon squinted his eyes, he realized it was the tip of a cigarette in someone’s mouth.
“...”
The cigarette moved slowly, as if beckoning him. And after a moment’s thought, Se-Hoon descended toward the moving light.
“You’re late.”
It was Caden, a cigarette in his mouth. Landing beside him, Se-Hoon matched his pace and responded evenly. “I’m not a fan of cigarette smoke.”
“Funny. I don’t particularly like it either.”
Then why was he smoking? Wondering, Se-Hoon was about to ask when a breeze carried the scent his way. It was clean and refreshing, a sharp scent that cleared his head—a reminiscent scent that made Se-Hoon’s eyes widen.
Caden chuckled.
“Got it from someone I know. It doesn’t smell too bad, does it?”
“Yes... indeed.”
Se-Hoon’s expression turned complicated. Before coming to China, he had tried contacting his master, Meirin, to warn her not to get involved since he suspected Offering would end up destroyed.
But she never answered, vanishing completely. That, more than anything, weighed on his mind.
I doubt she was kidnapped...
Why had she disappeared without a word? While Se-Hoon was lost in thought, Caden silently puffed a cloud of white smoke.
“Mr. Lee.””
“Yes?”
“Do you know what you’re supposed to do when you face an opponent you absolutely cannot defeat?”
A sudden question. Se-Hoon glanced at him.
Yet Caden ignored his gaze, just continuing to walk while waiting for an answer.
So, after a pause, Se-Hoon calmly gave him one.
“You get help.”
“Ask for help... that’s not a bad answer.” Caden smiled bitterly. “But I guess my personality gets in the way. Depending on the person I’m asking... it’s quite embarrassing. Or maybe I just don’t trust anyone enough.”
His cigarette burned down to the end, and the last puff he took scattered into the darkness.
“So I kept debating: should I keep going or give up?”
He stopped in front of the power plant and flicked the cigarette butt to the ground.
“And then I thought of a third option.”
Caden crushed the glowing ember with his shoe. As the light died, total darkness swallowed them both.
“To throw away everything—and still come out victorious.”
In the darkness, their eyes locked.
“That’s my choice.”
BOOM!
Caden’s head exploded, and a transparent flame—a Sacred Flame—burst forth.