“Hey, you’ve got some guts. Calling us all the way here.”
A man with a massive build.
He appeared to be nearly three meters tall.
It was as if Kang Hanul had been born a Westerner.
His thick, golden mane-like hair and beard were striking.
“This is an important matter. But I still appreciate it.”
Eli bowed his head as he spoke.
At that, the expressions of those gathered slightly stiffened.
As fellow Level 9 Awakeners, they were all well aware of Eli’s pride.
Even among those present, no one ever bowed their head easily to another.
“Sir Eli, for you to say this much, I am quite curious. You called us together in urgency but have yet to provide a proper explanation.”
Another Level 9 Awakener, Katrina, who had teleported from the United States, spoke up.
“I believe no one here is unaware of my ability.”
At Eli’s words, the others nodded.
There were five in total. All of them were Level 9 Awakeners.
For five Level 9 Awakeners, scattered across different nations, to gather in one place was extremely rare.
Thus, everyone was slightly tense, each speculating about the reason behind Eli’s summons.
“The reason I called you all here is because I received a certain message.”
“I heard the news last time. The Seven Deadly Sins disappeared, right? You only informed us belatedly, so we rushed to investigate in the U.S.”
The Seven Deadly Sins dungeon was extremely dangerous, and great caution was taken before entering.
That was why it was impossible to confirm anything until Eli received the message and relayed the information to the U.S.
At the same time, he also informed the European Union that the Wrath of the Seven Deadly Sins had vanished.
As a result, both the United States and Europe were in utter chaos.
“This is definitely a matter worth gathering for. Not just one, but two of the Seven Deadly Sins have disappeared.”
“But I heard it wasn’t a dungeon break? They just vanished into thin air, didn’t they?”
“The problem is that we don’t know where they went. Even if a single one were to be released, civilization could be reset.”
“Come on, even so, we’re here. Would it really go that far?”
As opinions clashed, Eli raised his hand, drawing everyone’s attention.
“The reason I summoned you isn’t because of the Seven Deadly Sins.”
“What? Then why did you call us?”
The man with the mane, Lion King Rauler, frowned and asked.
But the others flinched instead.
Even when the Seven Deadly Sins disappeared, Eli hadn’t called for a gathering.
Yet now, he had assembled all the Level 9 Awakeners, meaning the situation was even more serious.
“What exactly is going on?”
Katrina urged him.
Eli spoke in a low voice.
“This may seem sudden… but a message has appeared stating that the Demon King and the Hero have been chosen.”
“The Demon King and the Hero…?”
Just as Eli said, it was indeed an abrupt revelation.
However, in a world where dungeons and Awakeners existed, where monsters and the Seven Deadly Sins roamed…
It wasn’t particularly strange for a Hero and a Demon King to appear.
“When the Seven Deadly Sins first appeared, a message mentioned that causality was in motion. The same phrase appeared this time.”
“……”
There was one clear inference to be made.
The selection of the Demon King and the Hero held a similar level of importance to the emergence of the Seven Deadly Sins.
“The Demon King and the Hero? This isn’t some children’s fantasy story.”
“That would be a naive assumption. Right now, even the so-called ‘Seven Deadly Sins’—a ridiculously childish name—are unstoppable.”
“Instead of dismissing it, shouldn’t we first try to understand what the Demon King and Hero actually mean?”
Everyone put their heads together.
But without concrete information, there wasn’t much they could deduce.
“Could it be that another type of monster has emerged? One with the titles of Demon King and Hero?”
“If that were the case, would there be a need for opposing forces? I think the Demon King is a monster, while the Hero is an Awakener.”
“Hmm, by that logic, they could both be Awakeners—one with the abilities of a Demon King and the other with those of a Hero.”
Various opinions were exchanged.
In the end, the only immediate course of action was to check whether any newly Awakened individuals exhibited powers related to the Demon King or the Hero.
“This is turning into a major workload.”
Contacting each country and verifying all recent Awakenings would take considerable time.
Moreover, there was a chance the abilities wouldn’t be explicitly named “Demon King” or “Hero.”
“This is troublesome.”
“We should also confirm whether any new high-tier dungeons have appeared. It’s best to notify each government and have them investigate.”
At that moment—
Katrina, who had been quietly listening, suddenly recalled something.
‘Lee Kyu-seong.’
The disappearance of the Seven Deadly Sins?
That wasn’t surprising.
She already knew exactly where they had gone.
And she had no intention of mentioning it.
She had no desire to make an enemy out of Kyu-seong.
If he wanted to, he could wipe out everyone in this room.
Not only that.
If he truly wished, conquering the world would be a mere trifle for him and his familiars.
It wasn’t just one or two—he controlled three of the Seven Deadly Sins.
Of course, this had only happened because Katrina hadn’t realized that Ara was also one of them.
If she ever learned the truth, she wouldn’t even be shocked anymore—just nodding in silent acceptance.
But what truly made her think of Lee Kyu-seong now—
Was the suspicion that he might be involved in this new incident.
‘He has three of the Seven Deadly Sins under his command. Could it be that Lee Kyu-seong possesses abilities related to the Demon King?’
The more she thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.
It didn’t make sense that such overwhelming creatures would all flock to Kyu-seong alone—let alone be tamed as his familiars.
Of course, Ara’s connections and the absurdly delicious crops had lured them in, but Katrina couldn’t even begin to fathom such an outlandish scenario.
“Since we’re all gathered here, how about we hold discussions for a few days? We can send out inquiries to governments and get immediate confirmations.”
“Hmm, we’re all busy, but that’s a reasonable suggestion. It’s not easy to gather five Level 9 Awakeners in one place.”
“This is such a bizarre situation. The Demon King and the Hero…”
In truth, it wasn’t the message about the Demon King and Hero that had caused this turmoil—it was the fact that causality had been triggered.
Understanding the severity of the situation, the Level 9 Awakeners decided to use their influence to assess matters carefully.
After all, these were the people who essentially governed the world.
“By the way, has anyone been able to contact Kyler?”
“Why? Looking for another fight?”
“That wouldn’t be so bad.”
At the mention of Kyler, everyone naturally turned their gazes toward Katrina.
It was widely known that, as a fellow American, she had connections with him.
“I heard he hasn’t been around much lately…”
“I don’t know where he is.”
Katrina immediately feigned ignorance.
She knew he had gone into Kyu-seong’s dungeon. She even knew that he had taken his daughter along, despite trying to keep her existence hidden.
But now, Kyler belonged to Kyu-seong.
And Katrina had no intention of discussing anything related to Kyu-seong.
No—never! She absolutely wouldn’t bring it up.
Besides, the sculptures she had recently become obsessed with also came from Kyu-seong’s dungeon, so she wanted to keep all this knowledge to herself.
“Hmm…”
Eli gave Katrina a knowing look, as if he suspected something, but she ignored him completely.
‘It feels like he’s seen some kind of message, but it wasn’t detailed.’
Eli’s abilities were undeniably terrifying.
He had monopolized information using his power, becoming the first to reach Level 9 Awakener status.
Moreover—
He also controlled the knowledge that clearing all quests would allow one to become a Level 9 Awakener.
Any Awakener, even a 1st-tier one, could theoretically reach the Level 9 if they completed all their quests.
Of course, lower-tier Awakeners had significantly more quests, and they were far more difficult, but it was still possible.
Eli had kept this information hidden.
In reality, he had only been a Level 2 Awakener when he first started.
“Kyler isn’t necessary anyway, right? Even if he were here, he’d just end up fighting that guy.”
“Exactly. We need to settle this once and for all.”
Lion King Rauler grinned.
A minor grudge had escalated into a full-blown rivalry where they were constantly at each other’s throats.
With Kyler out of the picture, only one other Level 9 Awakener remained.
“Alright, someone needs to contact the last one.”
Once again, all eyes turned to Katrina.
She sighed, exasperated.
“Why do I always get stuck with this kind of thing?”
“Because your abilities are the most versatile.”
“Hah!”
She let out an incredulous laugh, but in the end, she naturally ended up taking on the task.
The last remaining Level 9 Awakener was in China.
He was an extremely combative individual, difficult to deal with.
To make matters worse, he was currently inside a dungeon, which was why he hadn’t attended this meeting.
“Fine, fine. I’ll go!”
“Hahaha! That’s the Katrina we know!”
“But this counts as a debt! You all owe me for this!”
With those words, Katrina suddenly vanished.
Eli chuckled and called after her.
“Make sure you attend tomorrow’s meeting!”
***
While the Level 9 Awakeners were having their serious discussion about the Demon King and the Hero—
Kyu-seong was busy checking the loot he had brought back from the autumn forest.
Rumble.
Chestnuts and various nuts tumbled down in a heap.
He carefully sorted through them one by one.
“There are a lot of chestnuts.”
But there was no shortage of the others either.
Gomgom had performed exceptionally well this time, using its talent for harvesting World Tree mushrooms to dig up peanut-like nuts from underground.
“A long one!”
“Yeah, keep those separate.”
He continued the sorting process with the kids.
Since they had gathered everything in a rush, it was taking longer than expected.
In fact, they had brought back so much that an outsider might have thought they had stripped the entire forest bare.
“This is a lot of work.”
Seon-ah grumbled, and Jae-seong gave a wry smile.
“At least with this, we can make acorn jelly, which you love.”
“Acorn jelly! I love it!”
Her mood brightened immediately, and she resumed sorting with enthusiasm.
Everyone burst into laughter at her simple-minded excitement.
“Lee Seon-ah, Seon-ah, what is acorn jelly?”
“It’s jelly made from acorns. Hmm, let’s ask Jae-seong oppa to make some later.”
“Ooooh! That sounds exciting!”
About an hour passed.
Fortunately, with so many hands at work, the task was completed faster than expected.
This was thanks to the breeding tribe that Ashu had brought over to help with village construction.
“Is the village coming along?”
“Ashu’s magnificent breeding paradise is taking shape!”
That wording sounded a little strange.
Kyu-seong had caught a glimpse of it before—it looked like a cross between the Shire from <The Lord of the Rings> and <Teletubby Land>.
A beautiful village, distinct from the Slime, Fairy, and Goblin villages. The dungeon was becoming more diverse with each passing day.
“Our house has just been completed.”
“Oh? Why didn’t you mention it sooner?”
At Kyler’s words, Kyu-seong’s face lit up with excitement.
Kyler scratched his head sheepishly.
“I wanted to show it off, but it felt awkward to bring it up when you had just returned.”
“Ah, then we should have a grand housewarming party today!”
Lee Hyun-woo, Kyu-seong’s father, shouted in excitement.
Seeing him eagerly find an excuse to drink, everyone chuckled.
“Drink in moderation.”
“Of course, of course!”
“Grand Lord enjoys alcohol! Is it delicious?”
“Ara, you’re not allowed to drink yet!”
“Why not?”
As laughter and chatter filled the air, Jae-seong stood up, gathering a few ingredients.
“Then let’s have a housewarming party for Kyler today. I’ll get the food ready in advance.”
“Oh, really? Thanks, Jae-seong.”
“Wow! I’m excited!”
Cheong, who rarely spoke up, exclaimed with sparkling eyes.
Cliche Novel 