D.I.O

*** Independence Day ***

“Is there still no progress?”

The atmosphere in the room was tense. No, to be precise, it was heavy.

The air in the room seemed sticky, and those inside felt like they were surrounded by a viscous liquid. If a person didn’t have the strength to protect themself, they might soon suffocate and lose their life in such an environment.

Buried deep in a sofa, Tan was visibly angry.

The problem was that this atmospheric phenomenon did not originate from an overwhelming and suffocating sort of momentum aura or pressure but a [phenomenon] in which the actual air in the room actually became viscous.

‘The effects are getting stronger and stronger…’

Tan wasn’t doing anything on purpose; it was just that he was in a bad mood. The current phenomenon, which violated the laws of physics, occurred whenever his mood became dark.

Being able to have such an impact on the material world with just a change in his emotional state meant that Tan was at a different power level from before.

‘Has he regained his past powers? But how?’

Tan, who was called the [Demonic Dragon of the Apocalypse], was the king of kings, the top of the food chain. He had belonged to the highest rank in the Noblesse since birth. However, the crime he committed in the past had been so great that he was punished and lost most of his powers permanently.

Melton, a Persian-looking cat with black fur and golden eyes, organized his complex thoughts and said, “Remote access is progressing, albeit slowly. Even though it’s frustrating and tedious, I advise that we wait and observe a bit longer…”

“You want to wait? For how much longer?”

Melton felt the sticky air hardening, but his opinion did not change.

“Tan, you know very well that there’s no other choice. The Reaper Organization has already set up a special surveillance network, and the enforcers of Union Law have gone to work to build a case. Unless you’re planning on waging a war with the Netherworld, you have to be careful.”

It was best to avoid colliding with the Netherworld. The Netherworld was restricted and bound by all sorts of laws and agreements, but it was widely known throughout the universe that the power level of the Netherworld was only second to the Godly world.

That wasn’t all.

The Elohim were in the same Union alliance, but they weren’t on good terms with the Noblesse. Thus, the Elohim were always looking for an opportunity to embarrass and weaken the Noblesse. If word were to get out that the Noblesse had done something wrong, the Elohim would pounce on the opportunity and drive the narrative to make it into something much worse.

“So, you’re saying that we should leave DIO alone? You know that the budget that went into making DIO is equivalent to half of the Union’s annual budget, right?”

The Noblesse, who can be said to be the backbone group within the Union, had spent a considerable number of resources to make DIO. The number was so astronomical that it would drain the blood of anyone who heard the figure.

The expended resources and money were enough to buy dozens of habitable planets, so even Tan—who held a high-ranking position in the Noblesse—wouldn’t be able to avoid taking responsibility for it or suffering potential backlash if this investment were lost.

However, Melton soon shook his head.

“It’s not like we’ll lose control over DIO if we wait and let it run without oversight for a bit. Anyway, now that the Empress of Magic is dead, we’re the only ones who have the authority to operate DIO.”

Of course, even the Noblesse had yet to gain full authority over DIO.

However, the Noblesse—who had the most great mages in the universe—were confident that they’d eventually gain control of the main system no matter how perfect the Empress of Magic’s firewall was.

Time was the only issue, so there didn’t seem to be a need to fret.

“…!”

“…!”

Yet at that moment, Melton’s and Tan’s expressions hardened simultaneously.

“Nonsense. How?” Melton groaned at the incoming news.

DIO’s emergency mode was canceled. The impossible had happened.

It was already unthinkable that Merlin or Cruze could put DIO into emergency mode and block the Noblesse’s administrative access. However, releasing it after it had already entered emergency mode was a problem of a completely different dimension.

‘Does that mean he’s got Level 1 system access authorization? I never thought that could be possible… In the worst case, I thought he’d only be able to obtain limited privileges…

Melton was at a total loss.

DIO’s system firewall was such a complex puzzle that even the many great mages within the rank and file of the Noblesse had not been able to crack it up to now. So how did a human, who had lived less than a few decades, manage to disable it and access the main system? Moreover, in such a short period of time?

Nevertheless, even in this unlikely situation, Tan wasn’t surprised.

No, actually, he got up from his seat with a chilling smile as if something was going according to plan.

“Melton. Call Igniz.”

“You’re going to use Igniz as a throwaway knight? Igniz is a selfish criminal! There’s no way that Igniz would agree, and also…”

Melton shouted passionately, but Tan cut him off.

“Tell Igniz we’ll erase Igniz’s name from the Killing Division list and hand Muspelheim over to Igniz. Since Igniz has already been apprehended, we can’t stop the trial. But if we state that Igniz acted alone, Igniz will probably only face a 300-year sentence.”

“Tan?”

“Igniz will get a transcendent weapon in exchange for taking a break for 300 years, so it’s not a bad deal. Igniz has no choice but to agree.”

Saying so, Tan closed his eyes. Then the space around him began to stir.

He added, “Moreover, as you mentioned, Igniz is a selfish criminal.”

Tan’s figure disappeared.

***

[Did you start?]

[Yes. But is it really okay for you to go alone?]

The video started, and Arthur’s figure was soon revealed. He’d left a strong impression on everyone on Earth after overthrowing Japan all by himself.

The place where he was currently standing was a vast open sea where the horizon was all that could be seen around him. However, the most surprising thing was that Arthur and a mysterious woman, who was presumably filming him, were standing atop the sea without any issue.

[Don’t talk nonsense. Take care of yourself.]

Speaking coolly, Arthur turned around. Unlike his usual light and casual outfit, Arthur was currently wearing a white full-plate armor that protected his entire body.

The armor covered Arthur’s entire body—just like the armor of Arc, Eunhye’s DIO avatar. It was to the extent that an observer wouldn’t be able to tell his gender, let alone his identity, even if the observer were someone close to him.

“It’s not one of my reinforced item creations, but considering the quality of Arthur’s gear… It doesn’t seem like any normal drop item either.”

“Is it a strong piece of gear?” Eunhye asked.

Merlin nodded.

Merlin, Eunhye, and Youngmin were watching TV.

“I’m not totally sure because it’s a low-quality video feed, but I think it’s an SS Class legendary item… But why is he wearing such a powerful…?” Yongno said.

He grasped the mana waves emanating from Arthur’s armor and tilted his head in confusion.

Arthur had already entered the transcendent realm, so no one on Earth could possibly contend against him. No, the reality was that Arthur could wipe out the whole Earth and defeat every earthling on the planet, even if he fought alone. So why did he need to wear Legendary-rated gear?

As a transcendent being, Arthur was strong enough to take on anything and everything on Earth even with his earthling body. Moreover, there was no longer any need for him to manifest to utilize his powers.

“Bro, maybe it’s his style? Based on the atmosphere, it seems that Arthur is leading the video shoot himself, so maybe he’s being mindful of how he looks.”

“Stop talking nonsense.”

Merlin couldn’t understand why Arthur was wearing such powerful gear.

Arthur’s gear was a Legendary-rated item. It was just below the Divine Weapon rating status, so in some ways, it was more powerful than a newly created Master Weapon.

The power that the Grotesque and Legion could use on Earth as transcendent beings was limited. Arthur, on the other hand, would still be an overpowering figure that couldn’t be matched even if he went into battle naked.

A naked Arthur could just protect his body with a self-defense technique, go into the enemy’s ranks at the speed of light, and wield his undefeatable sword to defeat his opponents.

Woong!

At that moment, the video showed Arthur’s Divine Weapon, Excalibur, dazzle and exude an aura.

Among the hundreds of millions of internal energy users, Arthur—who had acquired the attribute of light—was the only one who could do this.

Suddenly, his figure became momentarily blurry.

Crack!

Accompanied by a thunderbolt-like flash of light, Arthur left a long trail of afterglow in the empty air.

“He entered a subspace.”

“Moreover, he didn’t use magic. That’s probably what’s called the Dimension Terminal, which is what the Legion mainly use to cross over to our dimension.”

The screen changed as Merlin spoke aloud. Arthur and the camera rushed through the gap in the cracked space.

Beep!

With a sharp warning sound, hundreds of mechanical soldiers and armored vehicles started pouring out, firing countless artillery rounds and beam missiles at him.

The firepower was so overwhelmingly strong that it could instantly wipe out an entire city, but Arthur calmly swung his sword.

Flash!

A wave of light seemed to radiate out, sweeping away all the Legion forces in front of him.

Hundreds of mechanized soldiers were swept away like autumn leaves in the wind after Arthur’s signature skill, Thousand Light, swept past them.

Flash!

Then Arthur went straight into the thick of the enemy forces and wielded his sword of light. Instantly, hundreds of Legion forces were rendered useless and became pieces of junk that scattered in all directions. The force of Arthur’s attack could easily wipe out a country or two on Earth. Observing this on TV, everything looked surreal.

“Damn, he’s amazing. It’s already scary how he’s able to create thousands of waves of light in an instant, but for him to be able to control those thousands of slashes individually… His sword strikes are so perfect that whenever he sends out an attack, at least 500 individual Legion forces are wiped away instantly.”

Youngmin was watching the unfolding scene on TV with determined and focused eyes. If he could, he’d probably enter the TV screen and observe Arthur’s handiwork from the battlefield. Perhaps many others around the world were looking at Arthur with the same passionate gaze.

Whirl!

Then the subspace slowly began to collapse with a heavy sound like that of a giant motor turning.

The high-ranking being, who had been constantly [producing] the mechanical soldiers, finally gave up on maintaining the subspace and revealed its existence.

“Hmm? Bro, what is that? It seems like something powerful-looking appeared.”

“Named.”

“Eh, Ms. Eunhye?”

“Eunhye?”

Youngmin and Yongno both turned their heads in surprise after hearing Eunhye, who had remained quiet, speak with an expressionless face.

“They’re beings who have [perfected] their souls and received names.”

The Legion originated from an artificial intelligence that had gained self-consciousness.

Compared to living beings, the Legion was a kind of mutant species that possessed self-consciousness and questions about their existence, as well as spirituality.

Although their souls were fragmented and unstable, they were starting to sprout.

“Where did you get that information?”

“Well… I don’t know. I think I heard it from someone... but I’m not sure who.”

Yongno fell into thought for a while. Eunhye certainly wasn’t hiding anything from him.

If she was hiding something from him, she wouldn’t have acted so clumsily and spoken out.

‘Then… perhaps she accessed some erased memories?’

After thinking for a while, Merlin spoke to Eunhye.