บท 551: Chapter 551
'Now the problem is where to take her.'
The Shadow Queen was too risky to bring directly to Earth.
Should he blow up another D-rank World Tree planet while questioning her?
As Seong Jihan was pondering where to go,
[Blue Administrator. Come to my hideout if you haven't decided where to go.]
'Your hideout?'
[Yes. The reason I've been able to operate secretly until now is largely thanks to my hideout.]
The Red Administrator had been actively operating even after being stripped of his Administrator position.
So, the driving force that allowed him to move like that was his hideout.
'But wasn't the White Administrator who cared for you?'
[That's true too. So most of the hideouts I've been in have White's influence. However, the place I prepared at the last moment is somewhere even the White Administrator doesn't know about.]
A place the White Administrator didn't know about.
Then, it might be usable.
'Where is it?'
[Just a moment, I'll use some power.]
Zing...
Several screens appeared and disappeared in front of Seong Jihan's eyes.
[The coordinates have been changed to this.]
The Red Administrator specified the hideout's location and passed it to Seong Jihan.
'The coordinates change for a hideout?'
[It's because it's a place that keeps moving. You'll understand when you get there.]
'Hmm...'
A moving hideout.
Seong Jihan looked at the hideout coordinates the Red provided.
'I don't think this guy would set a trap at this point.'
If he was going to set a trap, he would have done it when Red exceeded 700.
He was going to interrogate the Shadow Queen anyway.
He should trust him and go.
Zing...
Seong Jihan opened a portal and moved to the coordinates he had provided.
'Is this the Red's hideout?'
He arrived at a location where a black wasteland stretched out.
The barren earth was full of bones of various sizes.
From human-sized creatures,
To huge dragon-class specimens mixed in.
'It looks more like a bone graveyard than a hideout. Is this really the place?'
[It's certain.]
Seong Jihan briefly surveyed the surroundings.
Indeed, it was a hideout where no other presence could be felt.
It was a suitable place for quietly conducting business.
'Well then, I should proceed with the task.'
Thinking this, Seong Jihan looked at the Shadow Queen he was holding.
Even though she was taken out of the test tube, she was still unconscious.
'Her body seems normal, but is she lacking shadow energy?'
Swish...
Seong Jihan infused her with shadow energy.
Then,
"Ugh... ugh..."
The Shadow Queen's eyelids trembled, and she slowly opened her eyes.
And looking towards Seong Jihan, she spoke with a trembling voice.
"This power... Could you be the Blue Administrator?"
The Shadow Queen thought he was the Blue Administrator even though his whole body was on fire.
Seong Jihan could quickly understand how she sensed it.
"You recognized it through the shadow energy, I see."
"...That's right. The nature of this energy is something only the Blue Administrator can emit. Even the Red Administrator couldn't imitate it exactly."
As expected of the Shadow Queen, she was good at distinguishing energy.
Seong Jihan crossed his arms and asked.
"Enough of that. So. What's the 'evidence'?"
"Evidence...?"
"The evidence that you're my lover."
"Ah. Ah. That..."
At those words, as the Shadow Queen slightly averted her gaze,
Whoosh...!
Flames rose up in front of her.
"Confess while I'm asking nicely."
"Th-that... I'm, I'm sorry! I, I had no choice. To survive. The Alliance was about to tear me apart completely..."
"Well, I can understand your efforts to survive. But what I'm curious about is the evidence. What did you provide to the World Tree Alliance so they could believe the lover story?"
"That..."
The Shadow Queen trailed off and fell silent.
But,
"Seeing how you can't speak, I guess I need to hear more."
Screech...!
As her skin burst into flames all at once,
"Ah, aaagh...! I'll, I'll talk!"
She couldn't keep her mouth shut forever.
She looked at Seong Jihan nervously,
And stuttered as she opened her mouth.
"I... handed over... your biological information..."
* * *
Biological information.
Seong Jihan's eyes widened.
"What? How did you have that?"
"Wasn't I in your hands? At that time, there was biological data that I automatically acquired..."
[There's no way it was automatically acquired. She probably actively collected the data while being a sword.]
As the Red Administrator said,
The idea that Seong Jihan's data flowed in automatically was nonsense.
She probably tried to gather information on what kind of human he was when the human player started to stand out.
The dark sword Eclipse was always connected to his hand.
It wouldn't have been difficult to do it secretly without Seong Jihan knowing.
Especially back then, Seong Jihan wasn't an Administrator yet, just a player.
"Huh. I freed you from confinement... and this is how you repay the favor. No wonder the World Tree Alliance was treating you better than before. You sold my information, didn't you?"
Whoosh...
As flames rose from Seong Jihan's body,
The Shadow Queen hastily said.
"But, but I didn't hand over all the information I had. That's why... the male half-elves who came to the junkyard were only 'recyclable trash' level!"
At those words, Seong Jihan recalled when he was summoned to the junkyard as Kim Jihun.
-...Still, recyclable trash.
The voice that made him realize the Shadow Queen was in the junkyard.
When they said recyclable trash back then, was it because the level of the male half-elves was only that much?
"If you had handed over more information, they wouldn't have been trash level?"
"Yes... that's right! The male half-elves. Aren't they clumsily similar to you...? If I had handed everything over, they would have been identical."
"You did so well."
Seong Jihan said this and,
Swish...
Summoned Blue and Red in his right hand.
"Um. Is that sword..."
"You handed over my information, so you have to die."
The biological information of Seong Jihan that the Shadow Queen handed over.
It was certainly used to create the male half-elves.
As soon as he returned to Earth, the clumsy fakes he saw were all produced because of this Shadow Queen.
This was an absolutely unforgivable situation.
"I, I'm really sorry! But, I, I had no choice because I had Shadow Elves for whom I was responsible... Now that I'm free, I'll, I'll help you again! I'll help you with my life on the line to atone for my sins!"
"If you're prepared to do that, just die now."
Not only did she secretly extract Seong Jihan's physical data, but she also handed it over to the World Tree Alliance to survive.
He could no longer trust her.
Moreover, she now knew that the one pretending to be the 'Red Administrator' was actually Seong Jihan after receiving the shadow energy.
He needed to clean this up here for sure.
As he was about to extend his sword,
[Do you have deep resentment towards her?]
The Red Administrator sent a mental message to Seong Jihan.
'Not to that extent. I just can't trust someone who betrayed me.'
[Then how about using her as your personal shadow?]
'As a shadow?'
[Yes. She could be useful in controlling the new profile you created, Kim Jihun. Depending on how you operate the shadow, you can move your main body and Kim Jihun simultaneously.]
'Hmm... You're saying to make her belong to me?'
[That's right. The Shadow Elves are a unique species among many races, primarily composed of spirit bodies... Using this as a medium to move Kim Jihun would be more efficient than using other means.]
Seong Jihan and Kim Jihun.
Although the governor's suspicions have eased for now, they might need to move simultaneously again in the future.
[Moreover, Kim Jihun conveniently has Void now. Even if the shadow dwells in it, they won't detect it.]
'That's good. But wouldn't there be situations where the shadow might betray again?'
[Hehe. Just don't leave her with that power. You can eliminate or seal the queen's soul.]
'Hmm...'
Then, using her as a shadow rather than just killing her would be better.
Stab!
Seong Jihan raised Blue and Red and stabbed the Shadow Queen.
Then,
"Ugh. Uugh... You really... stabbed me."
"You started this first."
The Shadow Queen looked at the sword that stabbed her with wide eyes, and then,
Whoosh...
She transformed into black smoke and was sucked into the sword.
['Shadow Queen' is being assimilated as part of the shadow...]
[Do you want to seal the Shadow Queen's soul?]
"Can't it be eliminated?"
[If the Shadow Queen's soul is destroyed, there's a chance the assimilated shadow will scatter.]
Then he should seal it for now.
Later, if the shadow settled well, he could eliminate the soul then.
"Seal it then."
As his permission was given,
[100 Stat Red is consumed...]
A considerable amount of stats was consumed, and then,
Whoosh...
New shadow energy settled inside Seong Jihan.
'This is definitely stable. It should be usable as an Administrator's shadow.'
He had considered various ways to operate Seong Jihan and Kim Jihun simultaneously, but,
Since Seong Jihan, who would be the main subject, was already too high-ranked as an Administrator and was traveling throughout the universe, this proved to be more difficult than expected.
However, the new shadow created using the Constellation level 7 Shadow Queen as material,
Was certainly efficient enough to become an Administrator's shadow.
'I should go back and implant the shadow in Kim Jihun, and keep the sealed soul with me.'
After Seong Jihan put the Shadow Queen's soul in his inventory and finished organizing,
He looked around.
'But what is this place for?'
[It's a hideout created to escape the White Administrator's eyes. You might be able to recognize it too.]
'Me recognizing... this place?'
Seong Jihan couldn't hide his puzzlement at those words.
What would he know about this land of nothing but bones?
At that moment,
Click. Click...
Beyond the space Seong Jihan had taken control of,
The bones started to twitch one by one and began to rise.
[Ooooh...]
[Master...]
[You've finally... come!]
The skeleton army cheered, calling him master as they saw Seong Jihan acting as the Red Administrator.
Regardless of whether they were as big as dragons or as small as humans,
They all moved excitedly in a way that seemed quite frivolous for undead to show.
'They possess considerable power.'
Although they looked incredibly light on the outside,
The power each of them possessed was surprisingly strong.
To create an undead army of this level, a considerably high-ranking Constellation would need to use their power...
'A high-ranking Constellation who deals with undead.'
He did know one such being.
As that individual crossed Seong Jihan's mind,
Swish...
Beyond Seong Jihan's domain,
A black skull began to rise.
Although it was just a head, it was stronger than any undead present here.
[Master!]
Click. Click.
It quickly clacked its teeth and spoke to the Red Administrator emotionally.
[You've overcome my head and successfully descended like this!]
The Constellation of the Dead Star who always urged Seong Jihan to take his head.
The final hideout that the Red Administrator had prepared was his star,
The 'Dead Star'.
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