Seong Jihan doubted his ears when he heard the Martial God's words.
No intention to fight? What on earth did this mean?
As he was questioning this, the Martial God continued.
[While you are the main culprit who ruined my plans… I have now found complete freedom. I no longer need to do infinite regressions, nor do I have a reason to rise as a permanent Administrator.]
"…"
[Of course, if you want to fight, I'll accept anytime. But is there really a reason for us to fight now?]
"Hmm…"
[Rather, as long as the Red Administrator keeps you in check. It's better for me if you remain.]
In a way, that made sense.
Seong Jihan thought coldly.
'To subdue the Martial God, there's a big risk on our side too. Especially, beyond the Martial God, Dongbang Sak is the problem.'
Considering the future scene where his neck was cut off,
The Martial God had Dongbang Sak as his strongest sword.
He'd have to defeat him to challenge the Martial God.
Even if a situation came where he could beat Dongbang Sak, by the time he got to the Martial God, he'd probably be in tatters.
'Of course, Ashoka said Dongbang Sak would regain his memories if he drew the Taiji Sword… but is that worth risking my life for?'
A battle with the Martial God.
Even for Seong Jihan, who had become the Blue Administrator,
The odds of winning right now were very slim.
He had only recently become an Administrator, so his authority was still weak.
The void on his face was always pressing on him like a tumor.
But.
'If I'm given time… the longer this goes, the more advantageous it is for me.'
The void on his face could be eliminated through the World Tree sealed in the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams.
The Administrator's authority, Blue, was just beginning, so he could keep developing it.
It might have been a problem when the void was an issue.
But now that he had a means to solve it, time was on Seong Jihan's side.
'Of course, this guy isn't someone to be trusted.'
As seen when the Red Administrator died,
The Martial God was absolutely not someone to be trusted.
He could say things like this on the surface, but could launch a surprise attack at any time.
'So, while being as cautious as possible… I need to buy time.'
Anyway, for now, it's better not to fight.
Seong Jihan concluded his thoughts and turned the angle of the BattleTube he had left on to himself.
"Fine. If you don't intend to invade, I have no intention to fight either."
[A wise decision, Blue Administrator.]
As the Blue Administrator and the Martial God confirmed through BattleTube that they had no intention to fight,
-What? They're not fighting?
-That's disappointing…
-Well, honestly, if they fought, they'd only hurt themselves. Their domains don't even overlap.
-Come on, they should fight up there so we can rise from down here.
-Anyway, they're already so far above us, it doesn't matter.
While the alien viewers showed disappointed reactions,
-Oh… good, one bomb has disappeared.
-Does this mean humanity can just stay on BattleNet? It's like a peace treaty has been signed.
-Yeah, now we can just stay and reap the benefits
-Let's just stay and evolve!
-But can we trust the Martial God…? Isn't he likely to betray after this?
-I'm sure Seong Jihan-nim will prepare for that lol
The human viewers greatly welcomed this peace agreement.
The variable of the Martial God that many BattleNet experts had pointed out,
Had been somewhat resolved through today's broadcast.
And the opinion that it would be better to continue staying on BattleNet,
Began to spread instantly.
'It's just words for now, a ceasefire that we can't be sure will be kept. Yet they're already talking about staying based on just that.'
It seems like people who originally wanted to stay on BattleNet are just raising their voices using this as an opportunity.
As Seong Jihan glanced at the chat window to gauge public opinion,
[Then, return, Dongbang Sak. We have much to do from now on.]
"Understood, my master."
The Martial God called Dongbang Sak back.
"The seal… shall I completely destroy it?"
[Leave it. We'll have many official activities in the future, there's no need to receive more penalties unnecessarily.]
"Understood."
After eliminating the Red Administrator who had built the encirclement,
Dongbang Sak calmly disappeared back into the darkness-sealed Tuseong.
"Hey… that old man's gone too, should I turn this off now?"
Swish.
And as the skull head, Karlein, appeared on the screen,
Seong Jihan nodded.
"Yes. Good work."
"Well, my body got pretty burned up, but thanks to that, the brand is gone…"
Karlein, who had been set ablaze by the Red Administrator while filming the fight.
But thanks to that, the Sun King's slave brand had disappeared.
For him, in the end, he had gained more than he lost.
And.
The one who gained the most today was Seong Jihan.
'I just watched, but how many times did I upgrade?'
All he did was watch the fight between the Red Administrator and Dongbang Sak.
As Dongbang Sak on the screen gained insight into Blue and developed Martial Soul,
He ended up upgrading Seong Jihan's power as well.
'It would have been nice if they fought a bit longer. That Red guy was too weak… what a shame.'
For an Administrator to be eliminated so easily.
Seong Jihan clicked his tongue in regret as he manifested blue energy.
'I wonder if he won't train in there.'
As Seong Jihan was thinking this,
[Martial Soul's distortion decreases by 1.]
[The connection point between Blue and Martial Soul weakens.]
A message appeared before his eyes.
* * *
The distortion of Martial Soul that had been continuously rising decreased as soon as Dongbang Sak entered Tuseong.
'…Is this the Martial God's intervention?'
Although the Martial God rejected the Red Administrator's proposal and subdued him instead,
It seemed he took note of some of his words.
[Blue is not an ability that ends with subduing red. Its essence is the dismantling of distortions.]
[This means that your method of controlling him could naturally be nullified as Blue develops.]
The point that as Dongbang Sak develops Blue, his control might be broken.
It seems he took that seriously and was doing some modification work inside Tuseong.
'I'm not sure exactly what he's doing in there… but does this mean my increased abilities will decrease too?'
That would be a shame.
Seong Jihan thought this as he watched the distortion decrease, but.
['Blue' is the Administrator's jurisdiction ability.]
[This effect does not apply to Administrators.]
Fortunately, while he shared the upgrade effect, it seemed the downgrade didn't apply.
'Being an Administrator is good at times like this.'
Only gaining benefits without losses.
Is this kind of one-sided exchange possible when you become an Administrator?
Seong Jihan was satisfied with this result, but.
'Still, since I don't know when it might decrease, I should train to completely make these increased abilities my own.'
He decided to train to solidify his abilities.
'Hmm… but the Void Training Room feels a bit uncomfortable.'
The Void Training Room that the Arena Owner had modified several times.
He used it well before becoming an Administrator, but.
After learning that the Arena Owner had sided with Red, he felt uncomfortable and didn't use that place.
'But now that I have power, it should be fine.'
Seong Jihan thought this and tried to enter the Void Training Room, but.
['Void Training Room' has been closed.]
[Unable to enter the training ground.]
Only a message saying he couldn't enter appeared.
'Closed. Because of the Arena Owner, I suppose.'
It was nice that time passed slowly there, what a shame.
Seong Jihan clicked his tongue at the closure of the training ground.
This would make finding a place to train another task.
'For now, I'll have to handle the urgent matters in the training center at home.'
He got up and walked towards the training room inside his penthouse that he hadn't used in a while.
At that moment,
A shadow spread from the floor.
Swish…
"It's a once-in-a-lifetime request. Childhood photos! With just those, I can make a viral video."
[Ah. Really. Did you get permission from him?]
"Permission? Of course he'll give it. He's the main investor in our channel."
[…Get permission first.]
The Shadow Queen and Seong Jiah suddenly appeared from within.
[Oh, Jihan.]
"Oh. Administrator! Perfect timing. I have something to ask your permission for."
"…What is it?"
"May I use some of your childhood photos?"
"What?"
What was she talking about?
As Seong Jihan frowned, the Shadow Queen's eyes sparkled.
"Do you know that all of BattleTube is focusing on you right now?"
"Well, yeah. I'm always in the trending videos, aren't I?"
"That's right. What's difficult for other players to achieve even once, you're doing every time. That's how much attention is focused on the 'Blue Administrator' who has only recently appeared on BattleNet."
"…And?"
As Seong Jihan responded in a dry tone, the Shadow Queen's eyes grew even more intense.
"This is the opportunity! We'll air a Blue Administrator special! Starting from your childhood photos, we'll create a biography looking back on Seong Jihan's life!"
"…Wasn't I pretty ordinary as a kid? I was average in both studies and sports."
[Well… but you were an energetic child!]
It seemed like she was trying hard to add something positive when there was nothing to praise.
Seong Jihan chuckled and then waved his hand.
"Don't make weird specials, just do what you were doing before."
"Ugh… but this is really a blockbuster item! Aren't you disappointed? We should strike while the iron is hot!"
"Nah. I'm an Administrator now, so I have nothing to be disappointed about."
"Kuk… It's too high a level to even envy now…"
The Shadow Queen expressed her disappointment at Seong Jihan's refusal.
He watched her for a moment, then turned his head.
"By the way, sis."
[Yes?]
"Can you teach me how to use the divine eye?"
[…The divine eye?]
"Yeah. I received one, but I don't know how to activate it."
Tap. Tap.
Seong Jihan pointed to his forehead as he said this.
[I thought something felt strange… Alright. I'll teach you right away.]
Seong Jiah nodded.
* * *
The Martial God's star, Tuseong.
Dongbang Sak was kneeling before the Martial God with a haggard face.
[Have you forgotten your idle thoughts about Blue?]
"…Yes, master. I have forgotten."
[No. There are still many remnants left. It will take some time to wash them away.]
"I understand. I will forget again…"
[Good.]
Whoosh…
Smoke rose from the Martial God's body.
A snake-like form appeared and swallowed Dongbang Sak whole.
Dongbang Sak, who had partially understood Blue.
Before he could learn more about it and break the mental control on his own,
It had to be made to forget.
So the Martial God, who was trying to completely remove Blue from him by swallowing Dongbang Sak over and over again, but.
'It's not disappearing easily.'
Perhaps the insight into Blue had a significant impact on Dongbang Sak.
Erasing the memory of it was not as easy as expected.
'With this body alone, the power is insufficient.'
Swish…
Dark red energy surged from the Martial God's body and connected with the Constellation relics in the sky.
To more perfectly erase Blue, the Martial God was even using the power contained in the Constellation relics.
He was that serious about this task.
[It must be erased completely… Then it won't waver.]
Swish…
From the snake's head, dark red energy gushed out more intensely.
[When their guard is down… I will retrieve the World Tree.]
Inside, the Martial God's voice echoed ominously.