Jeong Sua was an awakened individual responsible for escorting the Commander.
Originally, she had been the leader of the reconnaissance squad.
Using those abilities, she had managed to continue observing the Commander even after he was forcibly transferred to another location.
'Though it’s still surprising the Commander even allowed observation that far.'
What mattered was—
That thanks to her abilities, they had discovered where the Commander had been taken.
And where the enemy’s true stronghold was located.
Of course—
Ordinarily, that would have been the end of it.
After the Commander joined the enemy side, even she could no longer observe him.
And even if they knew a place existed that could be considered the enemy headquarters—
There would have been no way to investigate it in detail.
But—
—Coordinates.......
Things were a little different now.
After climbing that [Path Ascending to the Sky] once—
Jeong Sua sharpened her eyes and searched for something.
And as a result—
“It’s confirmed.”
“There should be a massive hidden facility underground here.”
She had successfully identified both the exact location and scale of the secret underground space.
***
An underground facility.......
Standing at the outermost edge of the [Inner Sanctuary].
Even if this place was remote, it was still part of the Order’s territory.
Ordinarily, sneaking into a place like this would have been impossible.
There were several reasons they could stand here now.
[War Chef’s Care-Infused Jelly of Turbulent Water Droplets]
First—
As expected, it was because of food.
A dish that assimilated the consumer into the surrounding environment.
Since the Commander himself, who possessed [Absolute Taste], was not the one using it, the effect did not reach full invisibility.
Even so, it greatly suppressed their presence.
And also—
KUUUNG...... PUBUBUBUNG...... KWAAANG.......
The violent sounds echoing from far away.
The war against the Legion invading the Order’s territory.
In order to win that war, much of the Order’s manpower had been concentrated there.
As a result, significant gaps had appeared in the internal defenses.
And—
The final reason.......
Srrrrk.......
Was that the black military uniforms worn by all of them—
Rippled like mist as they blended into the darkness itself.
“There’s definitely a strange energy coming from inside.”
“Then I’ll dig.”
Pababak!
The man with dog ears lowered his head and began digging through the earth at tremendous speed.
Though he was supposedly a man who wielded a greatsword, he looked far too accustomed to digging with his bare hands.
And meanwhile—
The Legion’s production squad leader, Lee Sanga, watched the scene and thought:
‘Technically speaking, the side currently waging the war is the Legion’s main force.’
The majority of the Legion’s strength was concentrated there.
But—
Large military organizations rarely operated using only a single main army.
As for this side......
‘Maybe calling it a special operations unit would fit.’
A special operations unit.
Yes, exactly as the name implied.
The people gathered here were operating for a specialized mission.
“It’s open.”
It had not even been that long since he began digging downward.
The sturdy-looking man poked his dirt-covered face out of the hole.
The others gathered around the opening and spoke.
“Th-Then according to plan.......”
“We’ll head inside first.”
“Whether you follow afterward or not......”
The woman who moved last—
Covering her mouth with a fan, she looked toward Lee Sanga and said:
“That decision...... is yours to make.”
“.......”
At those words—
Lee Sanga cautiously approached the hole and looked down.
A pit so deep its bottom was invisible.
'Deep.'
If even an awakened individual’s eyesight could not see the bottom—
Then the depth must have been unimaginable.
But—
She let out a sigh and muttered:
“We don’t know what’s waiting inside...... we can’t leave everything to outsiders.”
Then—
Tuk.
With a light jump—
She threw herself into the hole.
Huuuuuuuuung.......
Her body fell into the deep darkness.
How deep was this place?
Even after falling for what felt like an eternity, she was still descending.
'An ordinary human would die instantly from this height.'
When the others jumped in earlier—
The reason they gave her the choice of whether to follow or not had been precisely because of this.
According to Squad Leader Jeong Sua’s report—
A strange power spread throughout the underground facility.
‘A force that turns every awakened individual except those affiliated with the Order back into ordinary humans.’
An utterly absurd ability.
Because of that power, even their Commander had fallen to the enemy.
And then—
Kuuung.......
As she continued falling, she felt the surrounding air change.
Lee Sanga instinctively realized it.
'This is it......!'
This was—
The zone where awakened abilities could no longer be used.
And at the same time—
The floor below finally became visible.
KUUUNG!!!
Her body, plummeting at terrifying speed, slammed into the ground.
***
“......!”
When something massive crashed down with a heavy boom—
The five beastkin who had already infiltrated the facility turned toward the sound in surprise.
Pahaaaaash.......
Perhaps few people ever came here.
Dust had accumulated thickly throughout the corridor.
The impact stirred the dust violently—
And once it settled, the figure revealed there was......
“Cough, cough...... what is with all this dust......!”
Lee Sanga, brushing dirt off herself.
“......What? You actually succeeded?”
The beastkin widened their eyes in shock.
And understandably so.
They too could feel the strange power flowing through this place.
The supernatural force that stripped awakened individuals of their abilities.
Most awakened individuals became no different from ordinary civilians the moment that power took effect.
That was also why no other awakened members of the Legion had accompanied them here.
“I thought it might work, but......”
However—
“Somehow...... it seems to have worked.”
Despite falling from a height that should have instantly killed any normal person—
She appeared completely unharmed aside from the dust clinging to her body.
Watching her, the beastkin muttered:
“So it really is because of that outfit.......”
“Cough...... I suppose so.”
[Maxim], the force that stripped awakened individuals of their abilities.
There was only one reason she could evade its effects.
[Custom Black Ops Military Uniform Crafted with a Supreme Artisan’s Utmost Effort]
The same black ops uniforms worn by the beastkin as well.
‘Honestly, I couldn’t help being shocked after putting it on.’
When Lee Sanga handed those garments to the five beastkin—
They had been utterly stunned.
'Even the imperial royal tailors couldn’t create masterpieces like this.'
'Could even the legendary Heavenly Silkworm Garments reach such a level......?'
Clothing containing power beyond what even the highest emperor in their world could have worn.
Garments that seemed fit only for celestial rulers themselves.
The basic effect woven into the uniforms was the extreme suppression of presence.
Thanks to that, even they—who possessed no particular talent for infiltration—had managed to avoid the Order’s patrol forces and reach this place.
That alone was already an overwhelming effect.
[Lv.36 Battlefield Tailor.]
Naturally—
While traveling across Seoul and the lands of China...... Staff Sergeant Shin Youngjun had not been the only one growing stronger during that time.
[Skill]
[Custom Tailoring]
[As time progressed, mass-produced clothing became the domain of industrial factories.]
[But does that mean tailors lost their place? Absolutely not!]
[Exceptional tailors can create custom garments impossible for mass production to imitate!]
[When producing clothing specifically for a single individual, the garment’s effects are greatly amplified.]
To begin with—
Even back when most humans did not yet know the secrets of awakening, she had already reached a level comparable to the Legion’s executive-class soldiers.
And afterward, the production classes had experienced the fastest growth within the Legion.
And she—
Was the one overseeing them all.
There was no way her growth could have been slow.
'......Though until recently, this still would’ve been impossible.'
She let out a relieved sigh internally.
She had steadily grown stronger in her own way.
But most of that growth had remained focused purely on ‘production.’
Naturally, as a production-class awakened individual, there had rarely been any reason for her to personally enter dangerous locations like this.
But things were slightly different now.
Not long ago—
A small fragment of a map had appeared before them.
After following the route indicated by that map fragment—
She had succeeded in awakening her potential in a wider variety of directions.
And one of those developments was this.
[Trait]
[Professional Fitting]
[If there are those who excel at making clothes, then there are also those who wear them better than anyone else!]
[Among exceptional tailors, some become renowned not only as master designers, but also as the greatest models themselves.]
[For yourself only, the effects of clothing personally worn by you are greatly amplified.]
Originally, she had specialized in crafting clothing for others.
But after expanding her talents into fully embodying and utilizing the clothing herself—
The effects of that skill had surpassed even her imagination.
[Custom Black Ops Military Uniform Crafted with a Supreme Artisan’s Utmost Effort]
[Specially crafted clothing made for yourself. Effects greatly increased!]
[You are wearing this outfit better than anyone else. Effects greatly increased!]
Originally—
The effect would have been limited to merely hiding her presence from others.
But now—
[You are capable of ‘hiding’ your body not only from most beings, but even from certain supernatural abilities.]
Not merely from sight—
But even from the effects of supernatural powers themselves.
When she first awakened this ability—
What came to mind was a certain power the Commander had already awakened long ago.
Only after climbing that [Path] had she finally realized and acquired this strength—
Yet their Commander had already mastered it far earlier.
'......If the Commander had known in advance, he probably could’ve dealt with it this way too.'
Had he known beforehand, he likely could have avoided even this supernatural ability.
But an ability capable of stripping awakened individuals of their powers was something nobody could have predicted.
And so, the Commander had fallen victim to it.
However—
Now that they possessed that information—
“Let’s move.”
There was always—
A way to overcome something.
The Legion’s forces had begun their invasion of the Order.
But ultimately, the true core of the Order was this Inner Sanctuary.
And inside it existed [Maxim], which nullified awakened abilities.
No matter how powerful the Legion’s non-awakened allied forces were—
Other than figures like the Queen, the Legion’s primary strength still lay with its awakened soldiers.
Even if they somehow broke through the defensive lines, their combat power would be cut in half within the Inner Sanctuary.
The only ones who could still function effectively here were likely the five beastkin.
But their existence was already known to the Commander.
And since it was obvious the Commander would prepare countermeasures against them, they alone could never subdue him.
'We can’t reclaim the Commander that way.'
Which was why this was a special operations unit.
Exactly as the name implied—a group formed to carry out a specialized mission.
The reason they had risked everything to come here was simple.
Sniff, sniff.......
“The scent of that energy grows stronger.......”
“This way.”
The supernatural ability that stripped awakened individuals of their powers......
And the mysterious object called a holy relic that activated that ability.
To destroy [Maxim of Rothar].
