The Crimson Emissary didn't flinch as her ship began to dissolve into red mist. Instead, she let out a soft, chilling laugh. "A takeover? You truly are a creature of greed, Kang-woo. But remember, the Countess's dowry is paid in the blood of those who refuse her."
The Emissary vanished into a swarm of scarlet bats, leaving the scent of iron and expensive perfume lingering in the air.
"Marriage, mergers, and madness," Madame Blood muttered, her hand tight on her blade. "First the Pale King, now the Crimson Countess. We're running out of room to breathe."
"We don't need room," Kang-woo said, turning to Seol-ah. "We need leverage. Seol-ah, how's the Star-Slayer tracking?"
"The IHB orbital cannon is locked onto the Busan harbor," Seol-ah replied, her eyes glowing as she interfaced with the reclaimed satellite network. "They're waiting for the 'Pale March' to arrive. They plan to fire once the Abyssal Legion and our forces are clumped together. They want to wipe the slate clean in one shot."
[Warning: Orbital Strike Charging (72%)][Time to Impact: 12 Hours.]
"Good," Kang-woo said. "We're going to give them exactly what they want. But we're not going to be the ones standing under the light."
Kang-woo walked to the center of the shadow-sea. He summoned the Abyssal Knight-Commander, which had finally completed its evolution. It was now a towering monolith of black plate, its spear etched with the same bankruptcy runes that guarded the city.
[Entity Evolved: The Auditor of Ruin (Rank: S)]
"Auditor," Kang-woo commanded. "Open the Sub-Ledger."
Under Kang-woo's direction, the Knight-Commander didn't manifest a portal for an army. It began to weave the 'Abyssal Denarius'—the soul-currency Kang-woo had minted—into a massive, invisible net across the sky of Busan.
"What is that?" Yeon-hee asked, watching the obsidian coins dissolve into the atmosphere.
"A lightning rod," Kang-woo replied. "If the IHB fires that orbital cannon, the energy won't hit the city. It will hit the currency. And since the Denarius is a soul-debt, the energy will be converted into Liquidity."
Kang-woo's plan was terrifyingly simple: He was going to use the IHB's greatest weapon to fund his own expansion.
Suddenly, the horizon turned white.
The Pale March had arrived.
Tens of thousands of skeletal knights, riding steeds made of frost and bone, galloped across the surface of the sea. Leading them was not a diplomat, but a general—a being made of a thousand ribcages, wielding a banner that absorbed all light.
[Entity Identified: General Marrow (Rank: S+)][Status: Vanguard of the Pale King.]
"The Pale King is impatient," Kang-woo said. "He wants to finish this before the Crimson Countess can make her move."
"Kang-woo, the IHB has detected the General!" Seol-ah shouted. "The orbital cannon... the charge just jumped to 98%! They're firing!"
The sky above Busan didn't turn red or orange. It turned a blinding, sterile white. The Star-Slayer fired—a beam of concentrated mana-particles designed to disintegrate anything with a soul-signature.
"Brace for the Audit!" Kang-woo roared.
The beam hit the invisible net of Abyssal Denarius. For a second, the world went silent. Then, the black coins in the sky flared with a monochromatic brilliance. The white beam didn't explode; it was siphoned.
The energy was dragged down the black threads and channeled directly into the Auditor of Ruin.
[Audit in Progress...][Absorbing IHB Orbital Energy: 100,000 Units.][Conversion Rate: 1:1.]
The Knight-Commander let out a sound like grinding mountains. The stolen energy surged through the shadow-sea and back into the Jagarchi Abyss's forges.
"Now," Kang-woo said, looking at the approaching General Marrow. "Let's show the General how we spend our new budget."
Kang-woo didn't wait for the skeletons to hit the shore. He snapped his fingers, and the three thousand 'Hollow-hearts'—his mercenaries—didn't just charge. They were suddenly encased in 'Debt-Armor' made from the freshly converted orbital energy.
The mercenaries, who were barely Rank-B, were temporarily overclocked to Rank-A+. They slammed into the skeletal front lines like a tidal wave of black fire.
"Marcellus! Takagi!" Kang-woo called out to the two captured World-Rankers who were being held in the 'Bankruptcy' cells.
The two broken legends looked up as their cell doors melted away.
"I'm giving you a choice," Kang-woo said, tossing them two 'Abyssal Denarius' coins. "Die as unawakened trash, or take the debt and kill that General for me. Your ranks are returned for one hour. Spend them wisely."
Takagi grabbed the coin, his eyes reflecting a desperate, hungry light. He swallowed it whole.
"I have a lot of interest to pay back," the Sword Saint whispered, his katana manifesting in a flash of silver and black.