Chapter 69 – Day 69

Day 69

“Let’s see.”

Cheon Seoa looked down at the heart in her hand and muttered.

With this….

“To create a useful spirit orb, I’ll need a few ingredients.”

The heart alone would only make a Heart Devourer.
She couldn’t refine a spirit orb that would be helpful to that child.

To refine a useful spirit orb, one needs materials worthy of it.

That’s why Cheon Seoa said.

“I guess I’ll have to visit Tartarus after a long time.”

Tartarus.
The worst prison on earth where villains deemed particularly heinous among villains are incarcerated.

With the ‘materials’ there, she should be able to refine a somewhat useful spirit orb.

Having made her decision, Cheon Seoa drew her hand down through the air, tearing open space.
Beyond the torn space, the landscape of Tartarus, the worst prison on earth, was revealed.

Cheon Seoa silently gazed at the scene before stepping through the torn space without hesitation.

And so, as Cheon Seoa disappeared, the torn space sealed itself as if nothing had happened.

* * *

Tartarus.
The worst prison on earth.
Named after the hellish prison from Greek and Roman mythology, it still held numerous villains.

However, the atmosphere had changed considerably compared to when Cheon Seoa was first ‘incarcerated’.

Back when Cheon Seoa was incarcerated, Tartarus had a somewhat free atmosphere, but.

In the past, with Cheon Seoa’s escape and the Agent’s attack, along with the revelation that the warden of Tartarus was actually a subordinate of the Agent, many things changed.

Due to useless ‘human rights organizations’, even the villains imprisoned in Tartarus were guaranteed some level of human rights.

However, due to Cheon Seoa’s escape, the Agent’s attack, and the fact that the warden was actually a villain, the villains imprisoned in Tartarus were no longer treated as ‘humans’.

Cheon Seoa, who revisited Tartarus, also noticed this fact.

“It’s none of my business.”

Cheon Seoa muttered.

The powerful oppress the powerless.
Why deny such an obvious truth?

She just needed to.

“I just need to take the materials and leave.”

Muttering this, Cheon Seoa slowly descended towards Tartarus.

It was then, as the angel-like Cheon Seoa who had appeared in the high sky overlooking Tartarus was slowly descending to the ground.

Crack-!

“Hm?”

Cheon Seoa tilted her head.

A faint spark flew around her, and then.
A strong repulsive force was created, pushing her away.

Feeling puzzled by this, Cheon Seoa focused her gaze on Tartarus.

As a gloomy darkness flowed from her two eyes.

“Ah! So they’ve prepared some countermeasures, I see.”

Dark, gloomy eyes gazed upon Tartarus, where a single massive barrier was spread out.

This barrier was of a kind that only cultivators who had trained in orthodox methods could create, something that ability users couldn’t even imitate.

The reason such a barrier was deployed in Tartarus was probably due to the Ascension Gate’s intervention, having become wary after past incidents like Cheon Seoa’s escape and the proxy’s attack.

Even so.

“It’s quite a sloppy barrier, isn’t it?”

Cheon Seoa muttered with a slight smile.

The barrier spread across all of Tartarus had only two effects.

One was to prevent intrusion from the outside.
The other was to suppress the powers of the ability users inside.

However, its effects were far too weak.

It might be enough to suppress the powers of those who, despite possessing abilities, were still just ordinary people.

But if the opponent was a proper cultivator, the effect would be merely smoke and mirrors. At best, it would only work on cultivators below the 6-star realm.

Well, come to think of it….

“It makes sense, I suppose.”

To a cultivator, even the most powerful ability user would appear as nothing more than an ordinary person.
They wouldn’t have deployed a high-level barrier just to suppress such ability users.

Or.

“They might not have had the materials.”

Naturally, to deploy a barrier, one needs appropriate materials.
And all of those materials can only be obtained from the Cultivation World, not Earth.

Thus, when you think about it, the barriers set up by Bihwamun or Eumyangmun to protect their sects were not something they would invest in just to suppress ordinary criminals.

The Repairers were not such a group.

So.

“This is how easily it crumbles.”

Crack-!

As Cheon Seoa lightly touched the barrier covering Tartarus, it collapsed so pathetically.

Like glass shattering, the barrier crumbled with countless cracks appearing in an instant.

As a result, the villains imprisoned in Tartarus realized.

That the ‘strange force’ suppressing their powers had disappeared.
That the ‘strange force’ interfering with the manifestation of their abilities had vanished without a trace at some point.

As a result….

“Freedom!”
“Damn! My power is back!”
“Kill them all!”

Tartarus had made the worst mistake.

Relying only on the barrier installed through the intervention of the Repairers, they failed to put restraints on the prisoners of Tartarus to suppress their powers.

This is the result of that.

The moment the barrier was shattered by Cheon Seoa, the villains who regained their powers went berserk.

Of course, the guards of Tartarus are all exceptional ability users.
However, these guards alone were not enough to stop the rampage of the villains.

That reason was simple.

It was due to the overwhelming difference in numbers.

As flames rose and explosions occurred throughout Tartarus.

“Let’s see, I need to find some useful materials.”

Cheon Seoa slowly walked through the center of the rampaging villains.

“Oh?”

A rampaging villain noticed Cheon Seoa passing by.

“Why is there a kid here?”

That question only lasted for a moment.
Soon, the villain showed a sinister smile.

It didn’t matter why the kid was there.
What mattered was that the kid was right in front of them.

The villain who thought so glanced around.
Around them were only villains still too drunk on freedom to notice the kid.

If that’s the case.

‘Is this mine?’

As the villain who made that judgment slowly reached out towards Cheon Seoa with a sinister smile.

“First, one.”

Huh…?
What’s this?
What’s going on?
Why is my vision getting lower and lower?

With that, the villain’s body, now lifeless, rolled on the floor.
Passing by the villain, Cheon Seoa’s hand held a still-beating heart.

And this wasn’t a one-time occurrence.

Slowly walking forward, Cheon Seoa headed towards the underground of Tartarus.
Villains who happened to discover Cheon Seoa rushed at her, but they all ended up as ‘materials’ with their hearts ripped out, just like the first one.

Meanwhile, Cheon Seoa, who was collecting materials as if taking a stroll through Tartarus filled with rampaging villains, eventually arrived underground.

This was the place where the most vicious and dangerous villains among those imprisoned in Tartarus were kept.

Perhaps that’s why the skills of the guards stationed there were incomparable to those above ground.

“Damn it! When is backup coming?”
“What the hell is going on all of a sudden!”

Only about five guards were trying to hold back dozens of rampaging villains.

There were some visible wounds on their bodies, but none seemed life-threatening.

In contrast, some of the rampaging villains had already died, becoming cold corpses.

“Wow, there are useful materials scattered everywhere.”

Startled-!

Amidst the fight between the rampaging villains and the guards trying to subdue them, an incredibly innocent and naive voice echoed.

At that, both villains and guards alike.
All turned in unison towards the source of that voice.

There stood a ‘girl’ who didn’t seem to belong in Tartarus.

The girl, Cheon Seoa, smiled brightly as everyone’s attention focused on her and said.

“I’ll just collect the materials and leave, so don’t worry too much.”

What nonsense is that?

At Cheon Seoa’s words, some villains harbored such thoughts.

Collecting materials?
Is there anything here worth collecting?

No, no.
That’s not what’s important.
What’s important is.

“Catch her-!”

One villain shouted abruptly.

They didn’t know why the girl suddenly appeared, but if they could capture her as a hostage, the guards wouldn’t be able to move anymore.

With that judgment, several villains had already started moving before someone shouted ‘Catch her!’

“Exactly 55. Combined with what I collected on the surface, it’s exactly a hundred.”

Thud-.
Clatter.

Cheon Seoa spoke as if she was enjoying herself.
At the same time, all the villains around Cheon Seoa tumbled to the ground.

There were only empty holes pierced through their chests.
As Cheon Seoa approached, a total of one hundred pulsating hearts were floating and settling around her.

The five guards showed stunned expressions at this eerie, bizarre, and surreal sight.

“Well then, I’ll be on my way now.”

Cheon Seoa said with a smile towards the guards as she disappeared, tearing through space.