Chapter 434. To Hell With It (8)
The sky was clear and calm, but Shalyh had been bustling with activity since the morning. Whether the Demon Empire would stay in Shalyh or be driven out—everything was going to be decided today. Although it had been a pivotal matter garnering most of the attention of the city’s residents, it wasn’t the only reason there had been such a hubbub since the start of the day; the matter no longer concerned only the Demon Empire.
Chi-Hyun and Chi-Woo. When asked who were the most well-known human heroes at the moment, every single person would name Chi-Hyun and Chi-Woo. One was a legendary hero admired by all heroes, and the other was a self-made pioneer who had made contributions that no one could replicate, albeit only limited to Liber. Moreover, Chi-Woo was not alone. He led an organization called Seven Stars that even Ho Lactea had to make way and step down for. The Seven Stars members were also renowned and amazing in their own way. Starting from Ru Amuh and Yunael Tania, who were called the rising supernovae of the Celestial Realm, there were also the Celestial Lights, Emmanuel Luciano Eustitia and Yerial Lily Dula Mariaju. And not to be left out was Onorables Evelyn, who had an esteemed reputation as the White Horse General’s saintess.
Shortly after Chi-Woo’s public announcement, Seven Stars strengthened their surveillance in the Demon Empire’s zone—no, ‘strengthened’ didn’t even begin to cover it. Their actions only meant one thing, and it was that they all agreed to follow Chi-Woo’s will. In short, Chi-Hyun’s actions could be interpreted as putting brakes on the decision made by Seven Stars, but the entire Seven Stars as a whole made it clear their rejection to that.
As a result, the two giants boasting of great size and power were beginning to show signs of a full-fledged collision. Given the situation, the heroes as well as the natives and the League paid great attention to this matter. Of course, most of the residents of Shalyh were certain of Chi-Hyun’s victory. In the first place, Chi-Hyun was a hero with absolute power that even the Last Dragon dared not to cross in matters related to Shalyh. One could tell just by looking at the other Celestial Lights, including Ho Lactea. Although the Celestial Lights had received immeasurable attention when they first entered Liber, the attention did not last as long as they thought it would. There was also the unique situation on Liber, where hordes of heroes entered one single world when normally one should be enough. Frankly speaking, however, it was mostly because when it came to Chi-Hyun, everyone else was simply trying to play catch-up.
Chi-Hyun was a hero who had enough power and capacity to push ahead with a plan even if all the members of Shalyh opposed it. Moreover, he had the support of the majority of the residents this time. Therefore, many people talked about how even Seven Stars wouldn’t be able to win this time and said, ‘they had been too hasty’, ‘it was too premature’, and other comments of the same vein. It was to the extent that some would joke, ‘The enemy coalition was actually the fake boss, and the real boss has finally appeared.’ Anyway, the die had been thrown and the water had been spilled. At the central tower, Apertum, the fate of the Demon Empire as well as the direction the two heroes would take would be decided this afternoon.
Time flew by, and the sun in the middle of the sky slowly set and turned tangerine. It wasn’t long before the city sank into the twilight sea. People began to gather in twos and threes in the colossal tower at the center of Shalyh.
* * *
“It’s done.” Evelyn fixed Chi-Woo’s clothes neatly and gave him a satisfied smile. “It’s an important occasion. You should dress appropriately.”
“Thank you.” Chi-Woo also responded with a soft smile, but the smile soon disappeared, and a dark cloud fell over his expression.
Evelyn tilted her head and softly curved her eyes. “What, you’re back to speaking politely? Weren’t you going to speak informally to everyone?”
“It’s a private setting.”
“You talk informally to the others in private as well.”
“But Lady Evelyn, you’re older than them—”
“Hm?”
Chi-Woo paused for a moment.
“What did you just say?” Evelyn smiled brightly.
Although she had an alluring smile on her face that would mesmerize all onlookers, Chi-Woo couldn’t help but shudder. It was only for a moment, but he got goosebumps all over his body. It was even more pressure than when he faced Bael head-on. Chi-Woo thought for a second that Evelyn had gone back to her Abyss Witch days even though he knew that was impossible.
“That’s so mean. How can you say that when you’re the one who brought me back to life as a human?” Evelyn glared at Chi-Woo when he said nothing. “You should consider my age when I died as my current age. At that time, I was a beautiful maiden at the tender age of eighteen.”
Chi-Woo wanted to say, ‘the age of your body may be so, but the age of your soul is—,‘ but he obediently nodded. Even Chi-Woo with all his denseness knew that in cases like this, his only response should be ‘yeah lol’.
“And about speaking formally only to me in private—it’s nice because it feels like I’m receiving special treatment, but you should at least leave out Lady and just call me Evelyn.”
“Then what about Ms. Evelyn?”
“No.”
“What about Ms. Onorables?”
“That’s even worse.”
“…I see, Evelyn.”
“Good. Good boy.” Only then was Evelyn satisfied, and she stood on tippy toes to pat Chi-Woo’s head.
How dare she pat the leader of an organization on the head like a dog? Chi-Woo was about to assert his dignity as the Seven Star leader, but gave up because Evelyn was way too pretty. He had the thought every time he looked at her, but she really was a mesmerizing woman. That had been true when she was a witch, and it was still the same after she was resurrected as a saintess. It was to the extent that he wanted to request a portrait of her and made it a family heirloom to be passed down generation after generation.
Evelyn smiled, and after dropping her hands, she continued, “I should reward a good boy like you.”
She leaned close to Chi-Woo, making him nervous, and then whispered something into his ears as if she was sharing a secret. When Evelyn moved away from him, Chi-Woo’s eyes widened.
“Really?”
“Well, I can’t completely guarantee it, but there’s a high possibility… So how about it, do you think it’ll help?”
“Yes, I think it’ll be worth a try to bring it up.”
“That’s a relief. It was worth the risk.”
Chi-Woo nodded as he stared at Evelyn’s bright beam. Frankly, Chi-Woo had always trusted Evelyn. It wasn’t just because she was beautiful. She was the one member of Seven Stars who knew his will and understood him better than anyone, and she devoted herself to helping him. In fact, Philip had also told him recently that Chi-Woo had been benefiting from Evelyn as she had consistently and continuously cared for the natives and raised Seven Stars’ favor among them.
“Now that we’re ready, shall we go?” Evelyn spun around and slapped Chi-Woo on the back. Chi-Woo began moving. When he went outside, everyone was waiting for him with Eval Sevaru in the lead. They all looked nervous, and in particular, Eshnunna and Hawa were maintaining their positions like trained soldiers. Chi-Woo didn’t particularly glance at them, and after exchanging a look with Eval Sevaru, they left the main gate with the members following behind him. Numerous gazes fell on them as they went their way, but Chi-Woo walked forward with his eyes never straying from the front.
Soon after, a magnificent tower appeared. Chi-Woo’s expression became determined as the entrance of Apertum slowly became closer. He was going to win. And conquer.
* * *
Apertum. It was the tower built by Zelit as a space open for everyone; the number of visitors to Apertum was several fold more than those who went to the official residence. It was a place where one’s rank determined their level of privileges, while it was also an extrajudicial place where no one could use that to exercise their authority. This was also the reason Eval Sevaru had changed the venue of the general meeting from the official residence to Apertum. The official residence was the building where Chi-Hyun resided, and naturally, there was a symbolic meaning to the place the legend lived in. Since going to the official residence was equivalent to crossing enemy lines, Eval Sevaru thought Apertum with its neutral status was the better choice for the meeting.
Chi-Hyun accepted Seven Stars' requests to change locations. However, it wasn’t without condition. In exchange for moving the general assembly to Apertum, Chi-Hyun would use his innate ability, image representation, at the venue. In other words, Chi-Hyun was explicitly declaring that he would make the venue his territory. Of course, Eval Sevaru vehemently opposed it, but he had no choice but to accept the additional term after hearing Chi-Hyun’s justification:
‘This matter is being watched with keen interest by all residents of Shalyh.’
‘Even if it is difficult to hear everyone’s opinions, allowing them to observe the process and make them understand the outcome will prevent further problems from developing later on.’
‘However, Apertum isn’t big enough to accommodate everyone, so what’s the problem with arbitrarily expanding the capacity?’
In short, Chi-Hyun was saying that he would have done the same even if the general assembly had been held at the official residence, so Eval Sevaru had no choice but to bite down his opposition and accept Chi-Hyun’s term. Anyway, it already made a significant difference that the location had changed from the official residence to Apertum. As a result, the top floor of Apertum where the general assembly was to be held was currently abuzz with great commotion. It wasn’t only the Celestial Realm heroes; the League and the majority of the natives had also entered.
If the enemy attacked and blew up Apertum now, 70-80% of the population of Shalyh would die then and there. Moreover, as Chi-Hyun declared previously, the top floor of Apertum had been changed according to Chi-Hyun’s taste. Under such circumstances, Zelit’s schedule was extremely hectic. Today, at the request of Chi-Hyun, he was in charge of the overall hosting of the meeting. Besides the hosting, it was the first time that so many people were coming in, so there were many things that he needed to pay attention to. And among this frenzy, he received a notification. Zelit’s eyes widened when he hurriedly checked the message. Then he cleared his throat and spoke up.
—Quiet!
A voice amplified with mana rang out.
—The general assembly is about to begin. Everyone, please be quiet!
Zelit spoke as loud as he could, but his cry only echoed hollowly. Since there were so many people, he couldn’t control them at all. Then at that moment…
—Everyone.
Suddenly, someone spoke from a higher place.
—Silence.
A heavy and solemn voice with far more powerful mana than Zelit’s rang out—it was Chi-Hyun. Since it was a space he created, Chi-Hyun’s voice clearly reached everyone, even those sitting at the furthest corner. As a result, what had been like a bustling marketplace instantly quieted. The heavy silence brought indescribable pressure, and Zelit gulped. A word. A single word was all it took to make everyone shut their mouths as if they had all rehearsed it beforehand. This was proof that Chi-Hyun had completely taken control of the space. Just how far could he go in this space…? Zelit fell into thought and shook his elongated head.
He wanted to help Chi-Woo, but he couldn’t. The host must be fairer and more neutral than anyone else. In the midst of this silence, everyone suddenly heard footsteps, and they turned to where the sounds were coming from. Following the approaching footsteps, a figure appeared at the entrance.
The moment he entered Chi-Hyun’s image representation, Chi-Woo’s view changed completely. The huge circular space, reminiscent of a dome stadium, was quite dim. Excluding the Celestial Lights and the top leaders of the League, who had been treated as some sort of VIPs and seated closer to the front, it was hard to make out who were sitting in the filled stairwell seats in all directions. There was only one place where the light shone. It was the towering round stage in the center.
However, the central stage was higher than expected; so much so that it allowed Chi-Hyun to look down on everything. Chi-Woo tilted his head and looked up, frowning when he saw his brother standing tall on the central platform and looking down at him. At the perfect timing, he saw a long staircase going up to the stage right in front of him. Was his brother telling him to go up there? As he was about to take a step forward—
Flash! Suddenly, the light went off, then another spot was illuminated; not the stage but way below, or more precisely, the bottom of the stairs.
Chi-Woo narrowed his eyes. He clearly understood Chi-Hyun’s actions, which meant, ‘This is where you stand in this space.’ His brother was looking down on him, but Chi-Woo had no choice but to look up at his brother. The intention behind Chi-Hyun’s action was crystal clear. Though it was a treatment that made his lips twist into a bitter smile, Chi-Woo started moving without causing a scene. He stood where the light shone on and looked up confidently.
‘It doesn’t matter.’ If he wanted to be the one standing up there, he could just climb up and steal it from Chi-Hyun, so his current position was irrelevant. As soon as this general assembly was over, their positions would be reversed. He had come here with that intention in the first place.
There was a bit of a stir at Chi-Woo’s entrance, but soon, a dead silence returned to the hall. The indescribable tension it brought broke Zelit out of his reverie. He came back to his senses, took a deep breath, and finally opened his mouth.
—Then starting from now.
—We will begin the general assembly on the agenda of the reexamination and treatment of the Demon Empire’s survivors after their entry.
And like this, the clash between Choi Chi-Hyun and Choi Chi-Hyun, not as two brothers but two giants, officially began.
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