Kim Woo-bin's sudden prostration startled the staff member, who immediately moved to help him up.
Before they could react, however, two Shadowkhans materialized on either side and lifted Kim Woo-bin to his feet.
Azrael's voice cut through the tension. "You can leave now."
"Yes, sir."
Realizing it was inappropriate to continue listening, the staff member bowed slightly before turning and disappearing into the elevator.
The door slid shut, leaving Azrael and Kim Woo-bin alone in the office.
After a long moment, Azrael sighed. "It really is you. When Beijing contacted me, I thought they were joking." He paused, studying Kim Woo-bin carefully. "But I'm not your benefactor. What happened back then was just a business transaction."
Kim Woo-bin, who had been keeping his head lowered, suddenly looked up with fierce determination. "You're being too modest, benefactor. Without your support, I wouldn't be where I am today."
Indeed, Kim Woo-bin was the same passerby Azrael had casually asked for directions after being transported to Korea by Shawn. The young man had explained that his people were being held captive by demons and begged for help. Unfortunately, Azrael had been in a hurry to return to Donglai and had no time to play hero in a foreign land, so he'd simply left Kim Woo-bin a few Black Iron-grade materials to strengthen himself.
Of course, Azrael believed part of his motivation had been to compensate him for the directions.
Besides, a few Black Iron-grade materials meant nothing to him, he'd completely forgotten about them afterward.
But Kim Woo-bin saw things differently. As a human held captive by demons at the time, even a few Black Iron-grade materials had been an unimaginable gift.
What Azrael had conveniently overlooked was that he'd been drowning in debt from Lore Cardian loans ever since his transmigration.
He studied the man before him and sighed, then brushed the subject aside. "You're a Gold-level Lore Cardian now. What brings you to the Empire?"
"Seeking assistance?"
It hadn't occurred to Azrael that his casual act of kindness would result in a Gold-level Lore Cardian. Kim Woo-bin had been just an ordinary civilian before their meeting, his rise to Gold-level would have made him a minor genius even in the Empire of Aetherlight.
But Gold-level alone wasn't enough to face the Emerald and Diamond-level demons occupying the peninsula.
It was only natural to assume Kim Woo-bin was seeking aid from the Empire. Now that the Demon Army threat had been eliminated, the Empire could indeed consider helping to clear out the demons entrenched in Korea.
Even as the thought crossed his mind, Kim Woo-bin slowly shook his head. "If the Empire is willing to send troops, our people will naturally be grateful."
"But..."
"That's not why I'm here."
Azrael frowned slightly.
When Beijing had contacted him earlier, they'd only mentioned a Korean was looking for him. After viewing Kim Woo-bin's photograph, Azrael had instructed them to bring him to Riverock.
As for the man's purpose, Azrael had only been speculating.
Fortunately, Kim Woo-bin didn't make him wait long. "Benefactor, a few days ago, a Master-level demon appeared in our territory and unified all the demons within our borders. It seems intent on striking against the Empire."
He hesitated, then quickly continued, "Also, according to reports from my subordinates, some blond, blue-eyed foreigners have appeared within our borders."
Azrael straightened immediately.
He'd never expected the Korean man standing before him to bring such explosive intelligence.
After a moment's consideration, Azrael asked, "Any clear sightings of this Master-level demon? Does it resemble a fox?"
Before Kim Woo-bin could respond, Azrael dismissed his own suspicion.
After all, according to intelligence, the nation-destroying fox demon possessed its own formidable power and had no reason to concern itself with Korea's demons.
As expected, Kim Woo-bin's response confirmed Azrael's thoughts. "Sightings are rare, but the Master-level demon doesn't appear to be a fox."
Azrael's brow furrowed, a headache forming.
Who could have imagined that just after the Empire had annihilated the Demon Army, so many Master-level demons would emerge in the surrounding regions?
Two on Velkairos's coast, one in Korea, and the demon fox that had temporarily gone into hiding.
That made four Master-level demons, nearly matching the Demon Army's five commanders.
The difference was that these demons had looser connections with each other.
But that didn't make them less dangerous. City Within a City in Australia was still eyeing them greedily, and the situation in Antarctica remained unclear.
'I'm exhausted. Let's just destroy everything.'
Azrael felt like Earth had become one enormous mess.
Unable to suppress a silent sigh, he told Kim Woo-bin, "You should stay in the Empire for now. We'll handle the Korea situation soon enough."
Azrael didn't press for more details. The reason was simple, as a Gold-level Lore Cardian, Kim Woo-bin was fortunate to have learned of the Master-level demon's appearance at all. Azrael couldn't expect him to cross three power levels and actually fight the thing, could he?
After all, even Azrael himself couldn't pull off something like that.
Faced with such consideration, Kim Woo-bin firmly refused. "Thank you for your kindness, benefactor, but I must return."
"My people are waiting for me."
Azrael instinctively opened his mouth to argue, what good would a Gold-level fighter do against such odds?, but he swallowed the words.
A true man knew when to act and when to refrain. There was no need to discourage him. Besides, even if Azrael tried, it probably wouldn't change Kim Woo-bin's mind.
With this thought, Azrael pulled out several sub-Gold-level materials. "As thanks for this intelligence, Mr. Kim, take these with you."
This was perfectly reasonable. After all, the Empire had focused most of its attention on the Demon Army and had been completely unaware of a Master-level demon's appearance on the peninsula.
Even if they would have discovered its presence eventually, who knew whether this unknown Master-level demon would have brazenly attacked the Empire before then?
"Benefactor, this..." Kim Woo-bin's face flickered with anxiety as he waved his hands. "No, I'm just trying to repay your kindness."
Azrael couldn't help twitching his lips.
He felt like he'd become GGbond, not far from turning into the sun itself.
Suppressing his wandering thoughts, Azrael forced the materials into Kim Woo-bin's hands. "Mr. Kim, you don't want your people to lack materials, do you?"
With that said, Kim Woo-bin had no room to refuse.
He gritted his teeth, accepted the materials, then knelt. "I will remember your kindness and obey your orders from this day forward."
Azrael waved his hand somewhat helplessly, ordering the Shadowkhan to quickly help him stand.
Kim Woo-bin rose, bowed deeply, then strode into the elevator.
Now alone in the office, Azrael took a deep breath and organized the intelligence. Then he pulled out his communication device and began contacting Lucian and other high-ranking officials of the Empire.
This matter was far too important to handle alone.
Australia, City Within a City.
The familiar faces remained, Jin and two other Master-level Lore Cardians, each wearing different expressions, sat at the faction's head.
The three of them were in much better condition now, at least appearing outwardly normal.
The Skinner broke the silence first, looking at Jin with a peculiar expression. "President Jin, a while ago, the Empire announced that your traitor had reached Master level."
"What are your thoughts?"
She wasn't trying to provoke Jin, she wasn't Chris. But if this were true, the Empire would now have four Master-level Lore Cardians and one Sovereign-level Lore Cardian.
The Skinner wanted to know if Jin had any countermeasures.
Jin's face darkened with anger. "We all know the Empire's tricks, they're just trying to appease people."
"After all, that little creature did defeat a Master-level demon head-on."
"As for whether he's actually reached Master level..."
"Don't speak such nonsense."
A glimmer of darkness flashed through the old man's eyes.
Honestly, he couldn't imagine how powerful Azrael would become if he truly reached Master level. They'd be in serious trouble then.
Fortunately, there was still time.
They just had to accelerate their plans before Azrael became a true Master-level Lore Cardian.
'That little bastard!' Jin cursed inwardly. 'Even Lord Lioren didn't put this much pressure on me when he was young.'
As soon as he finished expressing his opinion, an eerie silence descended upon the room.
Needless to say, Marcus's black faction was mostly lost in thought, contemplating their grim prospects.
The white men behind Jin, upon hearing Azrael's name, wore strange expressions mixing fear and hatred.
They were former members of the Fallen Cult.
Their expressions naturally stemmed from thoughts of Chris. Unfortunately, they probably couldn't avenge their leader on their own.
That was why they'd so willingly signed Jin's contract.
Perhaps part of it stemmed from the old man's pressure, but more came from hoping he would avenge Chris.
It was grimly ironic, when Chris was alive, he'd been most at odds with Jin among City Within a City's Master-level Lore Cardians. Yet now that he was dead, they were counting on Jin for revenge.
One wondered what expression the man would wear if he learned of this from beyond the grave.
As for the Skinner, she was the calmest person in City Within a City. After all, unlike Jin and Marcus, she had a fallback plan as a member of the Indo-American Federation.
After a moment's silence, the Skinner spoke again. "President Jin, how are the preparations in Korea progressing?"
"Almost complete. The experiment has basically gained control of Korea." Seeing the conversation return to business, Jin regained his composure. "But the Empire should react soon, now that the Demon Army is gone."
The mention of the Demon Army intensified Jin's fury.
How could five Master-level demons be wiped out in a single battle?
If they hadn't been, things wouldn't have reached this point.
Even if Tempest had killed Azrael, their current pressure wouldn't be so intense.
Having learned their lesson, the Masters of City Within a City wouldn't drag things out like the Demon Army had.
The Skinner closed her eyes and folded her arms. "Then we must act quickly. We're just one secret realm short on Velkairos's coast."
They'd already opened two Master-level secret realms on Velkairos's coast, leaving them one short of summoning the Four Evil Gods.
Unfortunately, Jin had already exhausted all his previously contracted secret realms to open the second Master-level realm.
At this moment, both the old man and the feather-crowned woman simultaneously thought of the same possibility and cast their gazes toward Marcus, who was intently gnawing on a bone.
As if sensing their stares, Marcus paused and raised his head in confusion. "?"
Jin and the Skinner immediately averted their gazes and exchanged a knowing glance.
Then the two casually discussed other matters.
"We'll time it for when the Empire sends troops to Korea. To deal with the experiment, they should dispatch at least two Masters. That's when we'll have our opening. Before then, let's have the experiment make some noise."
"Then we'll follow President Jin's plan. Oh, and remember to get that foolish fox to contribute as well."
"Of course."
"Chew, chew, chew."
Unfortunately, what City Within a City's Master-level Lore Cardians didn't know was that the Empire had discovered Korea's anomaly much earlier than they'd imagined.
But the world was like this, plans could never keep up with changes.
Just like City Within a City's plans.
Just like the Empire's plans.
"I didn't expect this development."
At this moment, Lord Lioren and the others in the Empire looked grimly at the intelligence in their hands.
After Azrael informed them of Kim Woo-bin's news, the Empire had dispatched Lore Cardians skilled in intelligence gathering to Korea.
As expected, just as Kim Woo-bin had reported, Korea's demons had been unified by a Master-level demon who had never appeared before.
"Thank goodness Azrael is so kind-hearted, otherwise we wouldn't have discovered this threat until it attacked."
Master Tempest breathed a sigh of relief, looking at Azrael with obvious gratitude.
According to investigations, the Master-level demon currently in Korea was extremely skilled in concealment. The Lore Cardians who'd gone to investigate had only detected any clues because they'd known of its presence in advance.
Therefore, if Azrael hadn't established a good relationship with Kim Woo-bin beforehand, leading the Korean to risk his life delivering this message to the Empire, it was hard to say what would have happened next.
As for how Kim Woo-bin and the other Korean Lore Cardians had discovered the demon, although the Master-level creature excelled at concealment, it had still revealed some flaws while integrating Korea's demons.
That was how Korea's Lore Cardians had discovered its presence.
"Cough." Lord Lioren coughed, covering his mouth, then spoke weakly. "Regarding Korea, I'd like to ask Azrael and Uncle Tempest to lead your forces there."
This was indeed a reasonable arrangement. Among the Empire's current Master-level fighters, Lucian was too elderly to risk combat away from home, and Master Fujimaru hadn't fully recovered from injuries sustained in the previous battle against the Demon Army.
Therefore, only Azrael and Master Tempest could undertake this mission.
Upon hearing this, Azrael and Master Tempest exchanged a glance and nodded.
"Understood."