Meanwhile, in the United States.
Although it wasn’t publicly known, the U.S. Department of Defense and various organizations were in a state of emergency.
“Where on earth did it go?!”
The boss monster of the Seven Deadly Sins dungeon had vanished without warning.
Not only the boss but its subordinate monsters had disappeared as if they had evaporated.
At first, it was assumed that they had merely relocated within the dungeon.
However, as time passed without any sign of them, a cautious search was initiated.
But it didn’t take long for them to confirm the truth:
The dungeon’s boss, The White Nightmare, and its subordinates had completely vanished.
“Dungeon break?”
“But the dungeon is intact.”
“This could be a new type of dungeon break. You can’t treat the Seven Deadly Sins like any other dungeon.”
Speculation that The White Nightmare had escaped to the outside world threw the U.S. government into chaos.
In response, the most elite guilds and influential Awakeners in the country gathered in one place.
“What’s the situation?”
“We’re currently mobilizing all personnel to locate the target.”
“After thoroughly investigating the dungeon’s interior, we’ve confirmed that there is absolutely nothing left.”
The responses came one after another to Katrina’s questions.
Everyone presented detailed reports, complete with well-prepared slides.
However, Katrina, the most influential Awakener present, seemed indifferent.
She already knew where The White Nightmare was.
‘I knew this would happen.’
Katrina let out a long sigh.
Those who misinterpreted her sigh grew increasingly nervous.
“To expand our search, we’ll hire mercenaries.”
“We’ll do whatever it takes to find The White Nightmare. Luckily, there haven’t been any casualties or unusual incidents yet, so if we can locate it quickly—”
Katrina raised her hand to silence the growing clamor.
She then quietly asked,
“And if you find it?”
“…What?”
“If you find it, what will you do? Are you planning to capture it?”
“Well, um… If everyone here works together, we might be able to—”
“Do you think combining the efforts of everyone here will be enough to subdue it?”
“…”
The Awakener present fell silent.
Most had only heard of The White Nightmare’s infamy and had never faced it firsthand.
“Listen carefully to what I’m about to say.”
“Gulp.”
“We can’t capture The White Nightmare ourselves. Sure, if we fought to the death, we might barely win—though more than half of us would be meeting God in the process.”
Katrina’s words hung heavily in the air, and everyone listened with bated breath.
Of all those present, only Katrina and two or three other Awakeners had ever faced The White Nightmare directly.
And those few nodded grimly in agreement with Katrina’s assessment.
“But The White Nightmare isn’t stupid. If we engage it head-on, sure, we might win. But do you think it will let us?”
“Ah…”
“Moreover, its greatest strength is its speed. If it decides to run, there’s no way we can catch it—not with our current abilities.”
As Katrina continued, the severity of the situation and the true danger of The White Nightmare became painfully clear to everyone.
“Then… What should we do?”
“Why stir up trouble unnecessarily?”
“Are you saying we should just leave it alone?”
At that moment, a government official, unable to contain himself, shot to his feet and shouted,
“You’re suggesting we do nothing while The Seven Deadly Sins might be right in the middle of Washington, D.C.?”
“Then go ahead and find it yourself.”
“How can you be so irresponsible?! You’re America’s most prominent Awakener!”
“Let me ask you something. Suppose there’s a fire at a nuclear power plant, and we have a firefighter representing America. Would you ask that person to go put it out?”
“T-that’s a completely different situation!”
“How is it different? The Seven Deadly Sins is a disaster beyond human control. Are you demanding that we stop a natural disaster ourselves?”
“Ugh…”
The government official broke into a sweat, unable to respond.
If Katrina, of all people, was speaking this way, there was nothing the other Awakener could say.
“I understand the need to locate it. But don’t provoke it unnecessarily. And if things escalate, don’t expect me to intervene. Let me be clear: I cannot stop The White Nightmare.”
With that, the meeting ended.
After much discussion, the conclusion was to side with Katrina’s recommendation: if The White Nightmare was found, it would not be provoked.
But Katrina knew the truth. They wouldn’t even be able to find The White Nightmare.
And for good reason—it was currently in South Korea.
Who would ever associate The White Nightmare with a small, unrelated country in the far East?
But that wasn’t the only problem.
The White Nightmare wasn’t the only monster by Lee Kyu-seong’s side.
“Phew.”
Katrina brushed off the goosebumps on her arm.
Among the 9th-level Awakener in other countries, there were some who had never experienced The Seven Deadly Sins.
Those individuals, intoxicated by their own power, tended to underestimate The Seven Deadly Sins, but Katrina could only sneer at them.
She already knew that even the combined forces of all 9th-level Awakener wouldn’t be enough to handle a single one of The Seven Deadly Sins.
And yet, Lee Kyu-seong had three or four of them under his command.
He was the strongest Awakener alive.
A walking nuclear bomb.
Or perhaps even more than that.
He might very well be capable of destroying the world on his own.
To make matters worse, one of the 9th-level Awakener, Kyler, had now fallen into Lee Kyu-seong’s hands.
“Maybe I should check in with him after a long time. Hmph!”
With trembling hands, Katrina began typing a message on her phone, only to erase it and start over multiple times.
***
The filming location was in a sprawling countryside.
But it wasn’t just any countryside—it was a fully constructed set.
“Wow.”
The sheer scale of it was breathtaking.
How much must they have spent on producing just one episode of this show?
As I looked around in awe, I noticed the cast members who had arrived early.
They were all famous figures—celebrities nicknamed the “nation’s MC,” actors and singers everyone would recognize, and even idols.
Even I, who didn’t usually follow TV, found myself exclaiming, “Oh, I know that person!”
Among them were Awakeners, though they felt like an afterthought to me.
Were we really allowed to come here as visitors?
As I worried, I noticed the cast whispering among themselves while glancing our way.
‘Are we not allowed after all?’
Nervous, I turned to find Kim Tae-yang.
But Kim Tae-yang was already surrounded by a group of staff members, being prepped for filming.
I’d heard he’d be shooting briefly, but I hadn’t realized it was serious.
“Wow, Awakener Kim Tae-yang is really here!”
At that moment, one of the actors from the group suddenly stepped forward and bowed deeply.
“Ah, Actor Jung Soo-hyun. We last met during that meeting. How have you been?”
“I’ve been well, thank you. By the way, congratulations on becoming the president of Iron Blood.”
“Thank you.”
“But I never expected you’d appear on a show. I mean, you’ve been on TV occasionally, but still.”
Kim Tae-yang smiled and turned to look at me.
Why was he looking at me?
“Our VVVIP has come to observe the shoot today. I’m personally escorting them. While we’re here, I thought I’d join the filming.”
“Your VVVIP…”
There he went again, teasing me.
I looked around, wishing I could vanish into thin air, avoiding their gaze.
But my efforts were in vain as Ara boldly stepped forward.
“It is I, the VVVIP!”
“Huh? Ara? Is that you? Wow! It really is Ara!”
Oh, they recognized Ara?
Suddenly, my sense of connection with them skyrocketed by 200%.
“Jung Soo-hyun… I absolutely loved Spring With You and Me, Seoul’s Flower Language, and The End of Appetite! I watched all three!”
Emily, who seemed to know more about Korean dramas and movies than I did, quickly pulled out her phone, rushed forward, and bowed deeply.
“Could I please get a picture with you?”
That might be a bit overwhelming…
But contrary to my expectations, Jung Soo-hyun smiled warmly and nodded.
“Of course.”
“Wow, thank you! Thank you so much!”
“I will join the photo as well. Ahem!”
Naturally, Cheong clung to my pants, hiding behind me as always.
What could I do with our shy little one?
Meanwhile, Kim Tae-yang, having finished his preparations, approached me.
“Shall we go introduce ourselves to the others?”
“Pardon? Oh, yes.”
It was only now that I began noticing something.
Everyone here seemed to be watching Kim Tae-yang carefully.
And then it hit me.
Kim Tae-yang might be the most famous person here.
‘Bloodborne Kim Tae-yang.’
One of only three Level 8 Awakener in the country.
One of them was the Annihilator Choi Seong-hyeok, and the other was Wind Wanderer Kim Hyeok.
Among them, Kim Hyeok was an Awakener who barely participated in activities, so he was practically excluded, leaving the other two as the de facto top figures.
However, in terms of public recognition, Kim Tae-yang undeniably held the highest spot.
As the CEO of an entertainment company, he frequently appeared in the media and was exposed to the public eye often.
I shouldn’t have been so surprised by the other celebrities here.
I was standing beside the most famous person in the country.
No wonder everyone was glancing in our direction—it was because of Kim Tae-yang.
“I’m Lee Kyu-seong, affiliated with the Ara Hongryeon Guild. I’ll make sure not to disrupt the filming.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“I heard you’re Ara’s guardian! Amazing! Are you Ara’s father?”
“I’m Neon, a singer. Please take care of me.”
The impact of Kim Tae-yang was massive.
Even though we were just here to observe, which might not have been very appealing to the others, everyone welcomed us warmly.
Still, I kept my guard up just in case, but then Ara appeared.
“Greetings. Greetings.”
“Oh, it’s Ara! It’s really her in person!”
“She’s so cute!”
Men and women alike were ecstatic.
I never expected such well-known people to recognize our Ara, leaving me speechless.
“I spread the word. About Ara’s charm.”
At that moment, Seo Ye-eun, who had finished her preparations, appeared with a wink and a V sign.
“Alright, everyone! Let’s start filming!”
The director clapped his hands, signaling everyone to get ready.
Soon, the shoot began, and we could watch it unfold in real time.
“Wow.”
Seeing it live was even more fun.
Even though it was a variety show, I thought they’d film it in short takes, but they captured it all raw and unedited.
It seemed like they only planned to add minimal edits later.
“Wow, amazing!”
“Zhoop, zhoop, zhoop! Incredible!”
After about two hours of shooting, a short break was granted.
Apparently, they usually filmed for around eight hours a day.
‘This is intense.’
Since the show involved plenty of physical activities, it seemed like they cleared the next day for everyone to rest.
Then, unexpectedly, the director approached me.
“Would it be alright if Ara appeared on the show?”
“What? All of a sudden?”
“Well, it’s the nature of variety shows to adapt on the spot. We urgently need an Awakener for the segment, and Ara is just too perfect to ignore!”
“Uh…”
“In fact, we could use more than just Ara. Would you, as an Awakener, also be willing to participate?”
The director looked at me with a hopeful and pleading gaze.
Ara participating wasn’t a bad idea.
Since it was a reality-based variety show, Ara’s unpredictable antics could actually add to the entertainment.
But me…?
‘I mean, I am a Level 3 Awakener.’
As I turned to think, my eyes landed on Emily, who was looking at me with sparkling eyes.
“How about this one?” I suggested.
“Oh? Is she an Awakener too?”
“Yes, her rank is even higher than mine.”
Since the public believed I was a Level 1 Awakener, naturally, she’d be ranked higher.
I wasn’t technically lying.
“Oh! That’s excellent! Even better!”
“Better?”
That kind of stung…
The director, now marveling at Emily, seemed elated.
Emily indeed had the kind of face that wouldn’t look out of place in the entertainment industry.
Coupled with our adorable Ara, they had both visuals and charm in spades.
The two little stars began their preparations right away.
“I’ll leave them in your hands,” I said to Kim Tae-yang, who was unexpectedly still filming.
Initially, he was supposed to participate briefly, but the flow of the shoot had kept him involved.
“Of course. Don’t worry.”
Barely had the words left his mouth when—
“Ahhh!”
“Run, take cover!”
“Ara is coming!!”
The resumed filming scene descended into chaos.
Director, please try to control our Ara!
“Heh! Heh! Heh! I am the successor of Hanul Hyungnim!”
Cliche Novel 