The decision to march on Seoul sent a shockwave through the Jagarchi Abyss. To the criminal syndicates, it was suicide; to Yeon-hee, it was a masterful stroke of madness.
"You're not just fighting the Pale King," Yeon-hee said, her paper butterflies fluttering nervously around the hold of the armored transport ship. "You're invading the most fortified city in the country while an Abyssal Legion is breathing down your neck. If the Association and the Pale March sandwich us in the capital, there's no escape."
"I'm not going there to hold a line, Yeon-hee," Kang-woo replied, his eyes fixed on the holographic map of the Seoul metropolitan area. "I'm going there to change the rules of the game."
[Current Status: Sovereign of the Abyss (Lesser)][Knight-Commander Status: Rank-A (Evolution Imminent)]
Kang-woo's plan was a 'Double Audit.' By moving his presence to Seoul, he would force the Association to choose: fight the 'Terrorist' Kang-woo and let the Pale March destroy Busan, or cooperate with him to save the capital.
But Kang-woo knew Director Kim. Kim wouldn't cooperate. He would try to kill everyone and sort the mana out later.
"Seol-ah is the key," Kang-woo whispered.
He activated the private channel on his burner. "Seol-ah. I'm four hours out. The Pale King is coming for you. The Association knows this, and they're going to use you as bait."
There was a long pause. When her voice came through, it was distorted by the Association's jamming fields, but her tone was firm.
[Seol-ah]: I know. Director Kim just moved me to the 'Heaven's Gate' bunker under the Blue House. They've surrounded me with the 'Paladins'—the Association's secret S-rank guard. Kang-woo... they aren't here to protect me. They have a mana-leeching device attached to my heart.
Kang-woo's grip on the table tightened until the reinforced steel groaned and buckled. The silver light in his eyes flared, turning into a cold, murderous mercury.
"Hold on," Kang-woo said. "I'm bringing the Abyss to their doorstep."
The fleet didn't head north by land. Kang-woo used the Abyssal Knight-Commander to generate a massive, localized fog bank that hid their movements from radar. They sailed through the shadows of the coastline, arriving at the Incheon Port under the cover of a magical eclipse.
As the ships docked, the sky over Seoul began to fracture.
The 'Pale March' wasn't waiting for the sunset in Busan. The Diplomat of Bones had lied. The moment Kang-woo left Busan, the rift opened over Seoul.
[Warning: Dimensional Rupture in Gangnam District.][Class: Disaster Level.]
White, skeletal towers began to erupt from the asphalt of the city's financial district. Thousands of 'Parchment Thralls' poured out, turning the heart of the city into a field of bleached bone and screaming metal.
"The Association is paralyzed," Yeon-hee reported, monitoring the emergency frequencies. "They're being hit from the inside. Kim is ordering the Paladins to activate the 'Goddess Protocol'—they're going to drain Seol-ah to power the city's defensive shield!"
"They're trying to use my creditor as a battery again," Kang-woo growled.
He stepped off the ship, his boots hitting the pavement. Behind him, the three thousand 'Hollow-hearts'—the mercenaries of Busan—emerged. They weren't fighting for justice. They were fighting for the man who had promised them a future.
"Yeon-hee, take the Hells and hit the Pale March's flank. Make it look like we're helping the city."
"And you?"
"I'm going to the bunker," Kang-woo said.
He didn't walk. He didn't run. He unleashed the Sovereign's Presence at full power. The shadows of the Incheon buildings stretched toward Seoul, forming a dark, high-speed highway that defied the laws of physics.
[Skill: 'Abyssal Step' (Grand Scale) activated.]
In a flicker of black ink, Kang-woo vanished.
He materialized in the middle of the Blue House plaza. The 'Paladins'—six S-rank hunters in glowing white armor—were already waiting. In the center of their formation was a glass cylinder. Inside was Seol-ah, her skin pale, wires connected to her chest, her silver mana being sucked into a massive machine.
"Halt, Sovereign!" the lead Paladin roared, raising a sword of pure light. "By order of Director Kim, you are to be executed for—"
Kang-woo didn't let him finish. He reached out his hand, and the black crown on his chest erupted.
"Audit... Denied."
The shadows of the Paladins themselves rose up, grabbing their masters' throats. At the same time, the sky above them turned violet as the First Citadel of the Pale March appeared directly over the Blue House.
The war for the soul of the city had begun.