The next day, a breaking news hit the whole world.
A Mental Realm appeared in the center of Tokyoâs downtown.
Normally, if a Mental Realm appeared, some capable collectors would step up and clear it, but this time it was quite different.
The Mental Realm that appeared in Tokyo was not one.
It was a strange form that had never been seen before, where as many as five worlds of thought overlapped.
It was several times bigger and several times more powerful than the usual Mental Realm, and the phantasms that showed themselves were also more formidable.
In an instant, a nationwide evacuation order was issued, and the center of Tokyo was turned into a wasteland by the rampaging phantasms.
Tutatata!
A helicopter from a broadcasting station flew in the air and filmed the scene of the rampage.
Unlike the entrance of a normal Mental Realm, the entrance that had five oval shapes weirdly overlapping was pulsating like a giant monsterâs heart and spewing out phantasms.
The scene was broadcast live to various parts of the world.
People were confused.
There were very few cases where multiple stories came together and created a Mental Realm, but they certainly existed.
However, there was no precedent for separate worlds of thought to merge into one.
ââŠWas this what they were aiming for?â
Yu-hyun muttered as he looked at the landscape beyond the TV screen.
He didnât think that Mental Realm was naturally created. He had never seen anything like that in his previous life.
That Mental Realm was artificially made by someone.
And Yu-hyun knew who they were, the ones who made artificial worlds of thought.
âUnleashed. I wondered what they were up to, but they made something like combining several worlds of thought at once.â
He should have noticed it when they made a Mental Realm inside another Mental Realm.
The thing in Tokyo was completely different from the fusion-type Mental Realm.
The fusion-type Mental Realm was when multiple stories blended naturally and created one big story, but the thing that Unleashed made was literally like stitching together scraps.
Thatâs why the phantasms that came out of the Mental Realm also looked like grotesque combinations of two or three worlds of thought phantasms.
They were commonly called synthetic numbers, and they appeared in more dangerous forms than the original ones.
Horrible creatures created by human greed.
The result was the five-fold Mental Realm that appeared in Tokyo.
âIâll get a summons right away.â
Sure enough, Yu-hyunâs phone rang immediately.
It was happening in Japan, a neighboring country, but Korea couldnât ignore the situation either.
There was no guarantee that something similar wouldnât happen in Korea.
âThe meeting place is the associationâs conference room. A lot of people will gather this time.â
The summons text must have been sent to all kinds of collectors.
Among them, those who could attend the meeting would be mainly from large clans and high-ranked collectors.
And Yu-hyun, Kang Hye-rim, and Kwon Jia were also one of them.
â***
The entrance of the association was already crowded with people.
Most of them were reporters or journalists from broadcasting stations, and some were citizens who came to see what might happen.
They looked at the collectors who entered the association and took pictures or shouted questions about the current situation.
Most of the association staff came out to prepare for any possible situation and guarded the area thoroughly with guard lines.
âItâs crazy.â
Joo Kyungseo also didnât want to miss such a big event and came to the association, but she had to give up as soon as she saw the crowd in front of the gate.
She was sitting in a nearby cafe where she could see the entrance well and watching the scene.
âOh, editor-in-chief. What do we do then?â
A young subordinate who followed her asked that.
âWhat do you mean what do we do? Weâre just watching.â
âDonât we have to do any interviews?â
âWeâre magazine people, not reporters who post articles. Besides, even if you want to do it now, can you? Look over there. The collectors are all going inside as soon as they arrive.â
âWhat are they going to do inside?â
âWhat else? A meeting. Judging by the fact that filming is not allowed, it seems like a serious matter that shouldnât be revealed. Thatâs why all those reporters and broadcasting station people are waiting there.â
âYou mean the Mental Realm that happened in Japan? I heard it. Itâs unprecedented, the worst Mental Realm ever.â
âThatâs right.â
Five-fold Mental Realm.
An unprecedented situation where as many as five worlds of thought merged into one.
Whatâs more, a bigger problem was that Japanâs initial response was too late, so the erosion of the Mental Realm progressed considerably and more powerful phantasms appeared.
They responded later, but the situation looked difficult as the atmosphere had already tilted.
If they left it like this, Japan would have to abandon Tokyo and move the capital.
âBut itâs a bit of a relief.â
âHey. People are dying right now, and you say that?â
As Ju Kyung-seo glared at him with a tingling sensation, the subordinate employee shrank his shoulders, but he didnât close his mouth.
âStill, think about what those Japanese guys have done to us. They always try to trip us up and mess with us whenever they can. They try to steal our famous collectors behind the scenes. They pick a lot of fights with us. The incident that happened in Tokyo was also their fault in fact. If they had taken proper measures at the beginning, the situation wouldnât have gotten this big.â
âI know what youâre thinking, but this is a matter of life and death for people. Donât say things like that in front of others.â
âHey. I donât say things like this to others.â
âAnd even if you say itâs divine punishment or whatever, the ones who die are innocent and good citizens. The few people who caused this incident have already escaped before anyone else. They are the ones who should pay for their sins.â
ââŠYouâre right. I was short-sighted.â
Ju Kyung-seo didnât blame him any further.
She couldnât blame him because there were many people who had similar thoughts.
Japan had always been a country that picked on Korea whenever they could, even before and after the integration of consciousness.
Their attitude didnât change at all.
Rather, they couldnât stand the fact that the country they thought was inferior to them became stronger, and they acted even more spitefully.
âBut there was never any serious diplomatic problem.â
It was inevitable that the Korean people would have negative feelings toward Japan.
The same was true for the Japanese consciousness world crisis that happened this time.
Itâs divine punishment, it serves them right, we should never help them.
There were already opinions like that on the internet.
Especially after it was revealed that the situation got worse because of the late response of the Japanese authorities, most people said it was their own fault and turned their backs on them.
In the end, it was always a few powerful people who started the trouble, and the innocent majority had no choice but to bear the damage.
âWell, judging by the fact that the association called everyone in for a meeting this time, they seem to want to help.â
The association was not just affiliated with one country.
Every country had its own collector association, and behind each countryâs association was the world association.
The world association would surely step in to resolve the situation in Japan.
That was their reason for existence.
âOh, editor-in-chief. Look over there. The senior collectors are arriving one by one.â
At the entrance of the association building, countless camera flashes were exploding, which could be seen from here.
Famous collectors whose names he had heard somewhere were arriving one by one and entering the association building.
Senior collectors had almost celebrity-like popularity, so not only reporters but also citizens who came to see them reacted warmly.
There were screams everywhere that echoed inside the cafe.
âWow. Is this place a concert hall or something?â
The moment the subordinate employee got annoyed by that, suddenly the outside noise stopped abruptly.
What? It suddenly got quiet.
He wondered if a monster had appeared or something and checked outside again. He couldnât help but swallow his breath.
It was the same for Ju Kyung-seo.
âOh my god.â
There were three people who had just arrived at the entrance.
A man in a neat black suit and two beauties standing on either side of him.
Ju Kyung-seo couldnât not know them. But what surprised her was their atmosphere.
âTheyâve overwhelmed everyone who was making noise until now.â
Thousands of people gathered near the association building were pushed back by the aura of just three people. đđżeeđđČđŻđ§ođel.đođ
Even reporters who were always shameless in any situation couldnât ask Yu-hyun any questions.
Yu-hyun had always had a unique aura, but this time it was incomparable to before.
He cleared Don Quixoteâs consciousness world and earned the title of The Last Knight.
He overcame his own nightmare and gained the power of one of the four great demons and Aporiaâs demon power.
The result was right now.
His existence level rose too much, and his unintentional aura made people around him instinctively feel awe.
In case of any trouble, even the association staff who set up guards looked at this strange situation with wide eyes.
They quietly subdued this noisy place with just three people, without saying or doing anything.
Yu-hyunâs aura was also an aura, but Kang Hye-rim and Kwon Jiah were not easy either.
Kang Hye-rimâs eyes became more upright and intelligent than before, and Kwon Jiahâs changed into something more ferocious like a beastâs, giving off an atmosphere that she would bite if approached.
Until those three hid their figures inside the association building,
The entrance was quiet as if cold water had been poured on it.
âWow, what was that?â
âI forgot to breathe for a moment.â
People opened their mouths one by one belatedly, but their expressions were still flustered.
As if they had been dreaming.
Lim Gunwoo did not abandon his fashion of baggy shorts and aloha shirts even in this kind of place. He was a man who had some loyalty, in a way.
âDid you enjoy the view from inside? You were impressive, taking over the atmosphere as soon as you appeared.â
âI didnât do it on purpose.â
Yu-hyun gave a bitter smile at the fact that he had unintentionally left a strong impression on people.
âBy the way, why are you waiting here, Collector Lim Gunwoo?â
âMe? Well. The mood inside was a bit heavy, so I was going to go in with someone I know. Oh, by the way, we havenât met before, right? Youâre Sword Empress Kang Hye-rim, and youâre Mad dog Kwon Jia. Nice to meet you. Iâm Lim Gunwoo.â
âIâm Kang Hye-rim.â
âIâm Kwon Jia.â
âWow.â
Lim Gunwooâs eyes sparkled as he saw Kang Hye-rim and Kwon Jia.
He also recognized how amazing they were as high-level collectors.
âIf I fight them seriously, Iâll definitely lose.â
High-level collectors were those who had reached level 80 or higher by the recent standards.
Lim Gunwoo had also surpassed level 80, but his actual combat power varied greatly depending on his trait.
The more his opponents underestimated and ignored him, the stronger he became. But if they didnât, his power increase was practically nonexistent.
The moment he met their eyes, which looked at him seriously, Lim Gunwoo saw his future of losing as soon as he fought.
âWhere did he find such monstrous talents?â
The most frightening thing was Yu-hyunâs eye for talent.
He knew that those two were the first and second ones. And he also knew the third one from the academy entrance ceremony.
They all had unbelievable talents.
What was even more amazing was that Yu-hyun himself had become stronger than when he saw him last time.
âI know he hid his full power back then, but now heâs beyond my reach.â
Lim Gunwoo was a man who had a keen eye and a deep mind, even though he acted like a thug on the outside.
He engraved in his bones the fact that he should never antagonize that man as soon as he faced Yu-hyun.
âCome on. Letâs not do this here and go inside the conference room. There are already a lot of people there.â
âThatâs right.â
As soon as the five of them entered the conference room, countless eyes flew and stuck to them.
âThat person⊠no, is he Teller?â
âIâve heard rumors, but this is the first time Iâve seen him in person.â
âHeâs strong. Stronger than most of the people here.â
The people gathered in the conference room were all carefully selected by the associationâs strict screening.
Of course, they also had an eye for people.
Some of them had planned to give Yu-hyun some trouble for coming to this place as Teller in advance, but
As soon as they saw his face, that thought disappeared.
Donât mess with him. That was the common feeling that everyone in this place had.
âIâm sorry for being late.â
âNot at all. Thereâs still time left, so please take your seats.â
And the person who was in charge of this meeting was none other than Choi Jung-mo.
He had solved several incidents recently and his position in the association had risen tremendously.
He was almost like President Baji or no different from the current association president, and he had the highest possibility of becoming the next association president.
Choi Jung-mo shook his head as if to say donât worry when everyone looked at him.
âDonât worry. Weâre not going to step up.â
Everyoneâs eyes questioned his reaction, as if he had another way.
âI have something to introduce to you at this opportunity. Take a look.â
The screen of the large screen in the center of the conference room changed with a click.
What it showed was a metallic cylinder shining silver.
Only Yu-hyun recognized it in this place.
âI introduce you to the secret weapon of the World Association. [Text Shredder].â