News of the battle between Yeon-woo and the mercenaries spread like fire to the players on the twentieth floor.

“The Hoarder? Hoho. So the Hoarder is here?” Faceless, the monster covered in bandages, laughed in a seductive voice. They stood elegantly, as though they were a noblewoman. However, when Faceless spoke again, a warrior’s voice came growling out. “Yes. There’s no way any of these incidents would happen without that hyena around.”

The voice changed again. This time, it was the voice of a bright child looking forward to a delicious meal. “Heeheehee! Why don’t we make that guy our friend? I’m curious to learn what kind of soul he has. I hope it tastes good.”

Then, Faceless whipped around to turn to their subordinates, the Chest of Souls. They were a large group that was considered one of the emerging clans. “We’ll pause our search for Blood Sword. Look for the Hoarder now. It’s clear which key he holds.”

The subordinates bowed and quietly left. Faceless’s eyes glittered through the bandages. They were as calm as a researcher observing subjects.

* * *

There were also other groups moving as quickly as the Chest of Souls.

“Victoria is the only clue to Blood Sword’s location! Cast search magic! Hurry!” At Doctor Doom’s orders, Necropolis quickly scattered around the stage, casting spells.

“Torca is dead. The Hoarder is now our enemy, so until you bring his head back on a platter, don’t think of returning to me.”

Iron Lion Clan ground their teeth in fury.

“The Hoarder?”

“Yeah. There are rumors that he might have Bian studies, too.”

“That means that he might have pieces of the Ruyi Bang, as well.”

“We’ll see when we meet him.”

A few shadows began to move.

* * *

Yeon-woo’s party quickly left the battlefield and reached a remote location that was far enough that the restrictions of the stage wouldn’t affect them.

“The fight that just occurred was only a cover for something else.” The Ice King began to explain what was going on to Yeon-woo. He didn’t appear to be concealing information.

“Something else?”

“Like this.” The Ice King dug around in his breast pocket and pulled a piece of golden metal out. It was a piece of the Ruyi Bang.

Urrrng! The pieces of the Ruyi Bang Yeon-woo had shook and floated out. Yeon-woo’s eyes widened. “You are a successor of the Monkey King, too?”

“Yes. Only partially, though.”

“Partially?”

“Just by owning a piece of the Ruyi Bang, I’ve gained the title ‘Successor of the Monkey King’ but…I don’t have much to be proud of.” The Ice King laughed bitterly.

Yeon-woo didn’t force the subject. “But how?”

“How was I able to hide it?”

Yeon-woo nodded. Pieces of the Ruyi Bang resonated with each other whenever they were in close proximity. It was how the successors of the Monkey King recognized each other.

However, Yeon-woo hadn’t met any other successors until the Ice King, and he hadn’t felt anything from him. during the attack on Walpurgisnacht. The Ice King laughed with a slightly mischievous expression.

“Do you remember what I said about seeing you again if we got the chance?”

Yeon-woo remembered when the Ice King had smiled at him while conversing with the Martial King. At the time, Yeon-woo thought he was just being polite, but it seemed like there had been more to it. “Then?”

“Yes. Actually, at that time, I already knew you were also a successor of the Monkey King because of this.” The Ice King pointed at the shaking Ruyi Bang piece.

“But…”

“Right. You couldn’t feel it. I always keep this bound so that it can’t resonate with other pieces. Of course, it’s impossible to hide it completely.”

Yeon-woo clucked his tongue. He realized why he hadn’t been able to find any successors of the Monkey King. If they had all hidden the resonance, they would have remained secret to him. However, he also realized something important. ‘A few others might’ve recognized me.’ He’d made a mistake.

“I know what you’re thinking, but don’t worry. There aren’t any people with pieces on the lower floors.”

“Are they all on the higher floors?”

“It’s already been a thousand years since the pieces of the Ruyi Bang scattered due to the Monkey King’s whim. Most of the pieces have been discovered by now, and they’re in the possession of rankers.”

Yeon-woo nodded in understanding. That meant things would be fine as long as he was careful.

“Anyway, back to the subject at hand. The fight right now is…”

“A scramble for pieces.”

“Right.” The Ice King nodded heavily. “It’s been a long time since there’s been a scramble like this. Successors are trying to steal each other’s pieces. Most of the players here are successors. Blood Sword called us here, and we came even though we knew we would enter hell, like moths drawn to a flame.”

The Ice King considered all those who had shown up little more than moths. “I told you I was only a partial successor, right?”

“Yes.”

“In fact, most successors are like me. So what if you have a piece? They don’t know how to control it and can’t use it as an artifact anyway. It’s just an expensive accessory.” The Ice King rubbed his piece in a loving manner. “To use this, you have to have the Seventy-Two Bian, the thing that raised the Monkey King to his holy position.”

Yeon-woo was starting to get the picture. “So, the person who spread the rumors about the discovery of Bian studies was…Kahn.”

“Indeed.”

Successors not only needed to collect more pieces of the Ruyi Bang, they also needed the Seventy-Two Bian in order to be true successors. Kahn knew this, and he’d gathered the successors of the Monkey King in a constrained area that would limit their abilities but where he would have the advantage. ‘And…the twentieth floor was the perfect place.’ Since Kahn had lived here as a Sadhu for a long time, he knew it well. ‘So Kahn isn’t the prey but the predator instead?’

He wasn’t being chased; he had invited the players to seek him out. There was a huge difference.

“The problem is that it’s not just the successors who have come but also those interested in the Seventy-Two Bian.” They came from different Magic Towers who needed to learn new fields of magic to alchemist clans to Iron Lion, who were trying to force their runaway young master home. Even Faceless and the Chest of Souls had joined, clearly hiding something up their sleeves.

“Everyone’s jumped in, even mercenaries like Twice and Nocturn, whom you’ve met before. It’s pandemonium.” Trouble was likely to accompany all the chaos. “Here, we’re not the hunters.” The Ice King’s eyes darkened. “It’s Blood Sword.”

* * *

『Son of a bitch!』 With bloodshot eyes, the ranker Sardia glared at the opponent who had killed the comrades he considered his brothers. Even if he died, he didn’t want to show any weakness.

『If you had the intention of hurting someone, you should have realized that you might be the one getting hurt instead.』

Thwack! Sardia’s head fell to the ground as a blade slashed out. Kahn wiped his bloody face with the back of his hand—a gesture that he’d grown used to recently. Fighting and killing were now common actions to him, along with the all-important collection. He stretched his hand out and pieces of the Ruyi Bang floated out of the corpses, combining with the piece he had.

Clack, clack! The combined pieces became a large bead that was around the size of his palm. Although he should have been pleased at gathering so many pieces, his eyes were cold. 『I guess I’ve gathered enough for it to be useful now.』

At that moment, a shadow popped up behind Kahn and took the form of a mischievous-looking child. It was Kindred, the Second Bishop of the Devil Army. He smiled greedily and rubbed the bead.

『I’ve gathered over 200 pieces now.』 Kahn said to Kindred’s back. However, Kindred didn’t turn around.

『So?』

Kahn bit his lower lip. 『That should be enough for him to descend!』

『No.』 Kindred cut Kahn off mercilessly. 『Do you think descending is that easy? Do you think the great Heavenly Demon is the same as the minor gods on the ninety-eighth floor?』

Many gods and demons would be horrified to hear themselves described in that way, but since the Devil Army followed only the Heavenly Demon, Kindred could think of no other way to describe the other gods.

Those beings were just birds trapped in cages, easy prey for the Heavenly Demon when he finally woke up. The minor gods could manifest in the lower world through Apostles or Primeval Bodies because that was all their vessels were worth.

However, the Heavenly Demon was different. He needed a large vessel, and one of the great artifacts required for the descent was the Ruyi Bang. The more pieces, the better, which was why Kindred was forcing Kahn to gather them.

Kahn’s fingers trembled as he watched Kindred rubbing the pieces. He’d lost count of all the times he wanted to stab Kindred in the back. However, Doyle’s life was in their hands, and he didn’t have any power to save Doyle at the moment. He had only one option: become the Devil Army’s marionette.

『Why don’t you attack me? I’m sure you want to.』 Kindred smiled coldly as if he could read Kahn’s mind.

Kahn bowed. 『I don’t have any disrespectful intentions. I apologize if you feel that way, sir.』

『You’re no fun. Back when we were Sadhu, you were pretty amusing.』 Kindred smirked. 『Anyway, as you said, we’ve gathered quite a bit now. If we gather just a little more, I expect it will be enough to function as a sacrificial vessel.』

Kahn clenched his fists. The moment he had been waiting for had come. They were trying to create a sacrificial vessel for the Heavenly Demon with the pieces of the Ruyi Bang.

『With this much, the Heavenly Demon’s other face and the Heavenly Demon’s friend will be satisfied.』 Kindred had been searching for the Monkey King’s exuviae for ten years with all his senses blocked. If he could serve the one inside the Monkey King’s Palace…

Since the Heavenly Demon was in a deep slumber, they could serve another being who would lead the Devil Army instead. This was the Devil Army’s eternal mission. Because they were a cult, the fact that their god was in a deep slumber affected them greatly.

However, after Kindred met the exuviae of the Monkey King, he found out that the exuviae couldn’t lead them because it had already become one with the palace. There was no way for him to leave.

The bishops put all their heads together to come up with a solution, and they discovered a loophole. If they used a vessel, they could gather the exuviae and move him out. Kindred had thought of using the Ruyi Bang for this purpose, but the Devil Army was already using their own pieces of the Ruyi Bang. They had to gather other pieces.

It was at that time that Kahn began to move. Doyle was bound to the Devil Army, and Kahn had made a deal with them to rescue Doyle. He would become their faithful dog if they gave Doyle to him after Doyle had fulfilled his task.

『Work harder.』 Kindred took all the pieces and disappeared to return to the palace to appease the exuviae. There were footprints of blood in the spot where he’d just been standing, and corpses were piled up on the ground.

『I’m sorry.』 Kahn’s quiet words were blown away by the wind.