Ch.212Chapter 212: Dark Ash (1).

# Chapter 212: Dark Assembly (1)

Woooooong…! KWAAAAA—!

Deep within the Southern Alliance fortress, at the Magical Engineering Research Institute.

Cold, dark magical energy erupted from five assembled components, shaking the interior of the laboratory and surging upward as if to pierce the ceiling.

This was no ordinary magical power.

It was an ominous, malevolent force that drained the vitality from its surroundings by its very existence, contaminating minds and making space itself scream.

The air froze instantly, and strange, incomprehensible whispers like curses burrowed into ears like auditory hallucinations, inciting madness.

The magical circuits engraved on the walls sparked and burned as the energy flowed backward through them.

“W-what in the world…!”

The elderly magical engineer overseeing the research was too shocked to continue speaking.

His face was pale, his hands trembling violently. This was a type of power that even the Southern Alliance’s top experts had never encountered in their lifetimes.

“This… this isn’t the magical power we know! From the ‘Life Water Storage Core’… how could such a forbidden power…!”

The other experts were equally panic-stricken.

Beyond realizing that the components weren’t parts of a water-producing device, they felt instinctive terror at the fundamental malevolence of the power being summoned.

The sinister magical energy seemed to corrode everything inside the laboratory.

Just then, the laboratory’s reinforced blast doors opened with a thunderous sound as elite Southern Alliance forces rushed in.

At their forefront, high-ranking Southern warriors surveyed the situation with sharp gazes.

But even they couldn’t hide their shock at the sight within the laboratory and the rising ominous energy.

They didn’t recognize this energy as ‘demonic energy.’ They only sensed it as something terrifying and dangerous beyond imagination.

“What’s this commotion! What is this energy…!”

Fear and confusion spread through the laboratory in an instant.

Soldiers backed away, and commanders issued orders in bewilderment. Some aimed their weapons at the sinister demonic energy but didn’t know how to deal with it.

The eerie demonic energy spread fiercely throughout the massive fortress city of Geruntia.

It was as if an invisible giant hand was gripping the entire city.

The once-peaceful fortress was instantly thrown into chaos. Emergency alarms blared deafeningly, and soldiers rushed in confusion toward the central laboratory, the source of the demonic energy.

Citizens trembled with anxiety, either hiding in their homes or fleeing to the plazas.

The demonic energy had not only physical effects but mental ones as well.

The weak collapsed screaming in sudden fear and despair, while some suffered from hallucinations and illusions.

Magitech devices planted throughout the fortress malfunctioned or exploded for unknown reasons, and parts of the fortress’s defense systems became contaminated with demonic energy, beginning to glow ominously.

A nauseating smell like otherworldly filth spread through the air.

Deep within Geruntia Fortress, sitting on a throne decorated with bone and steel, Kwan, the absolute ruler of the South, felt every nerve in his body stand on end as if struck by lightning.

His eyes gleamed coldly. This energy… a forbidden power he hadn’t felt in decades.

‘Demonic energy…?! Pure… otherworldly magic?! Why would such a thing be in my domain….’

Kwan sensed the demonic energy surging from the direction of the laboratory.

That place… where they had taken the components he had just received from Valt.

Components… demonic energy… he instantly realized there was a connection between the two. Cold fury rose on his face.

“These fools… how dare they?!”

Kwan’s voice was low but shook the entire room.

His highest-ranking servants cowered at Kwan’s rage.

Though they didn’t know what this ominous energy was, they instinctively sensed from Kwan’s reaction that it was a threat beyond imagination.

[Seal off the area around the laboratory immediately! Let no one approach or leave! Those inside the laboratory are to report the situation and identify the cause! There will be no exceptions!]

Kwan’s orders were absolute and resolute, delivered with the authority of the absolute ruler who had governed the South for decades.

[Torogin! Head to the laboratory immediately, assess the situation, and report back! If this is… Duron’s doing… be prepared to overturn the continent!]

Kwan’s final words were not a mere warning. They were a declaration.

Those who dealt with the forbidden power of ‘demonic energy’ were enemies not just of Kwan, but of the entire continent.

Valt, who was rushing toward the components, also felt the hair all over his body stand on end.

Cold, malevolent energy that seemed to contaminate the mind by its very existence. It was undoubtedly… demonic energy.

Like what the Dark Assembly executive had used at the 5th Workshop, but far more concentrated and powerful.

‘Damn it! I’m too late. How could there be this much demonic energy!’

The concentration of demonic energy was comparable to when Valt had faced the Death Knight.

At that moment, all the pieces in Valt’s mind came together to form a horrifying picture.

The Dark Assembly’s strange behavior, Duron’s desperate pursuit, Ramrpo confirming that the components “weren’t broken,” and the fact that experts had begun assembling the components.

And… the Dark Assembly’s true plan.

‘The components…! Those components were… devices related to demons?! Did those Dark Assembly bastards… disguise them as ‘Life Water Storage Cores’ to make Kwan take them?! They used me… my father… they used all of this!’

Valt’s face turned deathly pale.

His suspicion had transformed from a vague anxiety into a terrible truth.

The items he had delivered had led to this result. He had contributed to the start of this catastrophe.

The blood in his body seemed to run cold.

As he was engulfed in shock and self-loathing, Kwan’s icy voice, with an absolute presence that shook the entire fortress, resonated through the space.

It sounded even more ominous mixed with the confused shouts of Southern soldiers who didn’t know the term ‘demonic energy.’

“Damn it!”

Anger, self-blame, and worry about the impending disaster mixed together.

His companions were also shocked to feel the demonic energy.

Though some of them didn’t know exactly what demonic energy was, they could instinctively sense its malevolence and danger.

“This… this ominous energy!!”

Lati cried out in a trembling voice. As a princess of the Fairy Kingdom, she knew demonic energy better than anyone.

“Damn it! Things are going wrong!”

Solphin growled, gripping her claymore. Her beastkin instincts were warning her of danger.

Professor Liman’s expression was more serious than ever.

His aura sense was screaming at this evil energy covering the entire fortress.

“The Dark Assembly… those bastards, they played us.”

Professor Liman, like Valt, instinctively sensed the connection between the components and the demonic energy.

Yuria’s eyes gleamed eerily.

While others felt fear, her maddened instincts were drawn to this ‘disgusting yet intense’ energy.

“Kekeke… the smell of demonic energy… so disgusting yet… intense. This is getting interesting! The scent of death is overwhelming!”

The entire fortress had fallen into chaos and a state of alert.

Soldiers ran back and forth, screams and shouts mingled. Valt’s group rushed out of their quarters and turned toward the source of the demonic energy, the central laboratory.

The demonic energy pouring out from there was fierce, but it still felt more like the beginning of an intentionally released power rather than an uncontrollable disaster.

The Dark Assembly must have been waiting precisely for this moment.

‘What can I do now?! The components! I need to destroy the components! They’ll try to seize them!’

Judgment formed quickly in Valt’s mind alongside the shock.

He could no longer back down. The items he had delivered had led to this result.

He had to stop the Dark Assembly’s plan. Kwan would understand the danger of demonic energy and try to contain it, but the Dark Assembly would use this very chaos.

“Is everyone listening!”

Valt contacted his team members through Armlit. His voice carried resolute determination.

He set aside regret and self-blame for now. It was time to act.

“It’s coming from the laboratory! The source of the demonic energy! We need to assess the situation and… stop that demonic energy by any means necessary!”

His friends didn’t hesitate.

They immediately prepared for battle and readied themselves to rush toward the source of the demonic energy, into the chaos of Geruntia Fortress.

Professor Liman drew his sword, while Solphin and Yuria were already poised to move forward.

Lati and Liris prepared magical support, and Ramrpo steeled himself to follow them despite his fear.

A massive shadow of demonic energy was falling over the red earth of Geruntia Fortress.

And into that shadow, Valt and his companions were about to throw themselves into danger to stop the catastrophe they had helped bring about.

And the Dark Assembly… at this very moment, they would have begun to move to achieve their true purpose amid the chaos. It was the moment when the sticky plot finally revealed itself in the heart of the Southern Alliance.

***

“Kukuk, things have gotten interesting.”

“Indeed, Master.”

“It was a good strategy, Gunsa. Yes. This is how you should use your head. Just inflicting minor damage on Ramrpo Trading Company and Duron isn’t enough.”

“You flatter me. Everything is according to your will, Master.”

On a rocky mountain some distance from Geruntia.

There, the one called the Master of the Dark Assembly was watching this spectacle.

“Huhuhuh, I wonder how Kwan will react. Deploy the troops immediately.”

“As you command!”

The Master of the Dark Assembly, who had been veiled in secrecy until now, had begun to take action.