[Translator - Helga ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]
Chapter 132: The Gap (2)
As soon as he succeeded in dominating Kosmina Blaga, familiar messages surfaced.
“Still a long way to go.”
Though he had been steadily fulfilling the conditions for Manifestation while roaming through the Blaga family, there was still much left to do.
Kosmina Blaga, who had been dazed, suddenly flinched and looked at Kwon Hanul. He addressed her.
“Keep the fact that I have the Vassal Bloodline a secret. Also, tell the other Elders that you successfully tampered with my mental state as planned.”
Kosmina Blaga didn't question his order. She simply obeyed.
But she didn’t comply immediately. As Kosmina hesitated, Kwon Hanul had to ask again.
“Will you be keeping that child by your side?”
She pointed to Tarkleant. Kwon Hanul replied nonchalantly, “You can take him. I’ll return the right of control to you, so don’t worry.”
The reason he could give orders to Tarkleant now was due to the power he had recently acquired:
A power that lets one usurp the position of master in a hierarchical relationship.
Its strength lay in the fact that it could not only dominate blood bounds under the Vassal Bloodline but also beings like summoned creatures.
Kosmina expressed her gratitude and left with Tarkleant.
Once she departed, silence fell over the mansion.
The blood bounds who had been monitoring Kwon Hanul had temporarily withdrawn upon hearing Kosmina would be coming.
Kwon Hanul sat on a garden bench and began reviewing intel on the other elders.
Although Simon had given him a heads-up about who would visit next, it didn’t hurt to be prepared.
Then the front gate burst open, and Rabbit came running in.
Her voice was so frantic it startled Kwon Hanul.
"You—you need to run, now! Hyukcheon is attacking the Blaga estate!"
He was stunned. He had thought they might come to rescue him—but this soon?
"I’ll explain everything later! You need to evacuate now!"
To that, Kwon Hanul asked, incredulously, "Why would I need to run?"
Rabbit's voice trailed off. Even she realized how odd it sounded.
"You're right… there’s no reason for you to run, Master."
Actually, this was perfect. Now he wouldn’t need to bother with devising an escape plan from the Blaga family.
Kwon Hanul stood, storing the elders’ intel back into subspace.
"Master? Where are you going?"
He expanded his senses. From the west, he could feel the energy of the Black Dragon Bloodline. He was about to move when—
Rabbit grabbed his sleeve. Her eyes quivered as she asked, "Wh-what about me…? No, us? What’s going to happen to us?"
At first, he didn’t understand what she meant.
"You accepted us under your wing… but now you’re just going to abandon us?"
Something stirred within him. The Vassal Bloodline responded.
It was the same as with the Superhuman Bloodline.
The Superhuman Bloodline prohibited killing its own kin, which was why Kwon Hanul had been forced to let members of the Sanchez family live.
That same restriction now applied to the Vassal Bloodline.
"You seem to be mistaken."
He pried her hand off his sleeve.
Fortunately, unlike the Superhuman Bloodline, the Vassal Bloodline didn’t enforce this sense of duty—it only voiced its displeasure.
"I was never a member of the Blaga family to begin with."
In fact, one could say he was their enemy.
He had no intention of forgiving what Catalina Blaga had done.
"You don’t have to follow me anymore."
He weakened the authority of the Vassal Bloodline. Rabbit's eyes widened in panic.
"Take care of yourself."
"Where do you think you’re going?"
A deep voice echoed. A man stood at the main gate.
"I stepped out briefly when Lady Kosmina Blaga said she was coming… and now I return to find this absurd conversation taking place."
Troy’s face slowly contorted.
"Rabbit. I didn’t expect you to side with Kwon Hanul. This won’t be forgotten. And Kwon Hanul…"
Killing intent radiated from Troy’s entire body. A savage aura filled the air.
"You’re not going anywhere. That is Lady Catalina Blaga’s decree."
"But my will is different. I intend to leave."
"I told you that wasn’t allowed!"
Troy reached out to seize him, clearly intending to use force.
At that moment, Kwon Hanul spoke.
Troy’s hand froze midair. Not just his hand—his entire body was immobilized.
"My powers have grown quite a bit these past few days."
That’s when Troy realized Kwon Hanul’s eyes had turned crimson.
"Even those near the peak of power—if they’re blood bounds, I can command them without resistance."
Kwon Hanul placed his palm over Troy’s face and invoked his authority.
"Don’t try to stop me. And forget everything you just saw."
He withdrew his hand. Troy nodded blankly.
Kwon Hanul walked past him toward the gate. Before crossing the threshold, he looked back.
There stood Rabbit, utterly lost and bewildered.
"Take care of yourself."
With that final farewell, Kwon Hanul vanished.
The moment he stepped out of the mansion, explosions rang out.
Buildings were collapsing in multiple locations.
"What kind of unit did they send in?"
Even from this distance, he could feel the overwhelming strength of the attackers.
"Did Hayun and the others come too?"
He had only been away for a few days, yet the longing hit him hard. He quickened his pace.
Suddenly, he stopped in front of a building.
It was the keep where Catalina Blaga stored her collection.
Due to the chaos caused by Hyukcheon, the keep appeared unguarded.
Kwon Hanul hesitated.
Not because he wanted the artifacts inside.
But because something within was calling to him—or rather, calling to the Vassal Bloodline.
He sprinted inside. The security was unexpectedly lax, and he quickly reached the storage room.
He ignored everything else, searching for the item drawing the Vassal Bloodline.
He found a door behind a curtain. Opening it, he stepped into a small room.
Inside hung an ornate cloak.
He touched the cloak. It was exceptionally soft—clearly not ordinary fabric.
The cloak's threads began to unravel, dissolving and absorbing into his skin.
The more the cloak unraveled, the more foreign knowledge flowed into his mind.
The pain was splitting his head open. He wanted to stop, but forced himself to endure it.
He clutched his head, nauseated from the pain.
But it was worth it. The Vassal Bloodline had grown immensely stronger.
"I need to get out of here—fast."
Just as he exited the room, something else caught his eye.
The elixir of immortality once drunk by the gods. Instantly boosts any stat to SS-rank, regardless of its current level, or fully restores the body.
He hadn’t cared for the other artifacts—but this was different.
His biggest weakness right now was his low stats.
Thanks to the bloodlines, he could perform beyond his level—but if his stats improved, he could become far stronger.
"I have to take this."
He stored the obsidian flask containing Amrita in his subspace.
As he left the keep and entered the city—
"Where the hell is that bastard?!"
A familiar voice passed right in front of him.
Reflexively, he grabbed the man by the collar.
Kwon Jiseok slapped his hand away and gasped.
"Wha—why the hell are you here?!"
Kwon Hanul, confused, replied flatly, "Shouldn’t I be the one asking that? I never imagined you’d be the one to come save me."
Their relationship was far from good—built entirely on bad blood.
"This is not the time for crap like that!"
"Then what should I be saying? A thank you speech?"
"You think I came here to hear that crap?! Just shut up and follow me. We need to get out of here."
"You’re actually making sense for once. We’re behind enemy lines—we shouldn’t let our guard down. Let’s regroup with the main force."
"No, that’s not what I—ah, forget it."
Kwon Jiseok clenched his fists in frustration. Kwon Hanul was getting irritated, too.
But his mood changed instantly with Jiseok’s next words:
"Do you know who else is on this island? It’s the Black Aura Squad—Hyung-Kwon Chan-seong’s personal unit!"
A chill ran down Kwon Hanul’s spine.
"Yeah. Hyung came here to kill you."
"The Chairman approved deploying the Black Aura Squad?"
Something felt very wrong. Kwon Seonwoo had always had strong intel. He had to know how strained the relationship between Kwon Hyuk and Kwon Hanul was.
"Father sent Hyung first—he plans to report to the Chairman after the fact."
"It is. I don’t know what strings he pulled, but Father already knows the location of the Blaga family. He used ‘rescuing you’ as a pretext to send Hyung first, and then plans to inform the Chairman after you’ve been taken care of."
A shiver ran down his spine. The intent to kill from Kwon Hyuk was real—he could feel it.
"If Hyung finds you… no, even if anyone from the Black Aura Squad finds you, it’s over. We have to get out—now."
Jiseok gestured, but Kwon Hanul didn’t move.
"Why are you helping me?"
The Vassal Bloodline allowed him to sense that Jiseok meant what he said.
But he didn’t understand why. Jiseok was Kwon Hyuk’s son and Kwon Chan-seong’s younger brother.
"What kind of lame-ass question is that?"
"You and I—we’re both Hyukcheon."
[Translator - Helga ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]