**Chapter184 — The Seventh Lord, Basara**
—
When the promised fourteen days had passed, Issera couldn’t help but knit his brows.
“Union has disappeared?”
“Yes, Commander!”
“It suddenly vanished along with the fortress.”
“We’re sorry!”
The demons assigned to monitor Union bowed their heads, sweating profusely.
They were demons specialized in surveillance and tracking. Yet even they could not uncover the whereabouts of Union, who had disappeared without a trace.
A deep shadow formed between Issera’s brows.
*‘He stalled for time and disappeared. Did he have another motive?’*
Issera knew that Union had forcibly sealed away his own power.
But even so, Issera couldn’t understand why Union would choose to hide instead of retrieving his strength—if he truly had another plan.
At the very least, his hatred toward the Otherworld—Earth—had seemed genuine.
However—
*‘Good thing I didn’t trust him from the beginning and made my own preparations.’*
There had never been trust.
That was why the task of finding the Dragon God had not been entrusted solely to Union.
Issera had been pursuing another route to summon the Dragon God as well.
Just as his elder sister, Basara, had warned—humans of the Empire were unreadable.
“He won’t stay hidden for long anyway. I have his *soul* as collateral.”
More importantly, Issera had a perfect guarantee.
Union’s soul was already in Issera’s grasp. If he wished it, he could kill him at any time.
Issera wasn’t killing him yet only because he wanted a definitive answer.
The reason Union—who Issera believed would never betray him—was acting contrary to his expectations.
That as well could serve as valuable information.
Either way, as long as Issera held his soul, Union would have no choice but to resurface soon.
Clicking his tongue, Issera spoke.
“Have you located the ‘Dragon Veins’?”
“We have found eight likely locations!”
A high-rank demon in a robe responded from nearby.
There was more than one method to locate the Dragon God—distorting the balance was not the only way.
Dragon Veins. Destroying the veins that connected to the Dragon’s Nest would also force the Dragon God to appear.
Eight locations, though.
Issera had hoped to eliminate the Dragon God without battle if possible—
*‘Two days should be enough.’*
Now that things had come to this, there was no choice.
Issera nodded and commanded:
“Destroy every suspected location.”
—
—
*Slurp.*
A woman in sunglasses leaned back leisurely, sipping hot coffee as she gazed out the window.
“Hm, this world is truly peaceful.”
She was Basara.
Issera’s blood relative—and the Lord of the Seventh Hell.
When she first crossed to Earth, she had possessed the body of a low-rank demon. Now, she had robbed a human woman of her consciousness and taken over her body.
Not only that—by cycling through several human minds, she had been acquiring their *memories*.
*‘A world where a simple point of a finger lets you do and learn everything.’*
She had even learned of Earth’s convenience.
To her, Earth was a very fascinating place.
Highly developed civilization. Humanity evolving in a completely different way from Pangaenia.
Everything simple. Minimalized. Swift.
Because of that, Basara easily found whatever information she desired.
“··· He must be somewhere around here.”
Including the information on the one she was now seeking.
Basara was currently in South Korea.
In a café in Eunpyeong District.
A place with a direct view of the spot where Hydragon had once been summoned!
She was the only being who had fully grasped Wilhelm’s techniques and had come close to mastering them herself—so the moment she saw the man who summoned Hydragon, she instantly knew *it was him*.
Of course, she was the only existence in this world who would think of *Wilhelm* from that scene.
Only she could recognize *his* consciousness.
Even if, in this body, she could do nothing for now—
*‘I simply want to see him. The only human who killed me—his true face.’*
Basara smiled slyly.
Just the thought, just the imagination, made her lips curve naturally.
What would he look like now?
That delicate and impossibly elegant being, who allowed not a single moment of imperfection.
Had he become stronger?
Weaker?
Or had he yet to fully recover?
It was then—
*Fwoooooooooosh!*
*Ruuuuuuuuumble!*
Countless fireballs flying from afar.
“Arghhh!”
“W-what the hell?!”
“Run!”
Hundreds of warps opened. From them, demons emerged and began slaughtering civilians.
Buildings crumbled one after another—the city turned to chaos in an instant.
“Hm.”
Basara tilted her head.
Wasn’t finding and killing the Dragon God supposed to come first?
Union—did he betray them?
“H-hey! Miss! What are you doing there? Run away—!”
A man shouted when he saw Basara still sitting calmly by the café window.
But his shout did not last long.
“Kill every human!”
Demons appeared at the entrance.
Upon arrival, they immediately butchered people.
And when they approached Basara—
“Stop.”
Still seated, Basara spoke.
The approaching demon frowned.
“You’ve lost your fear.”
“Tsk. Dogs that cannot even recognize their own master.”
Basara eventually stood from her seat.
Changing to a human body was one thing—but demons failing to recognize her?
Yet the moment they looked into her eyes, everything changed.
“You’re…?”
“Kneel.”
*THUD!*
Every demon who met her gaze fell to both knees—unable to resist.
“What is Issera’s reason for changing the plan?”
“T-to find the Dragon Veins…”
“Dragon Veins?”
“Yes!”
Their answers came the same way.
All intellect and will completely subjugated to her.
Only one existence could create such a feeling.
“Y-you… are you perhaps…”
Basara.
Without a doubt—the absolute one who possessed the power of *Divine Dragon Speech*.
But they could not bring themselves to speak her name.
There was only one being in all worlds capable of calling Basara by name to her face—
Her younger brother, Issera.
Anyone else who spoke her name directly would never see the next sunrise.
Even the Demon King himself did not say Basara’s name aloud.
*‘Issera. You’ve changed the plan.’*
He had mentioned the Dragon Veins.
Since he prepared to destroy them directly, it meant Union had failed to fulfill his role.
*‘Dragon Veins are hidden in the densely populated places.’*
Korea was undoubtedly one of those candidates.
Korea—especially Seoul—ranked among the world’s most densely populated regions.
*‘Slaughter everyone, and the Blood Flow will open, revealing the Dragon Veins.’*
Destroy that Dragon Vein as well, and the Dragon God would be forced to appear.
In other words—
They intended to annihilate all humans in the selected candidate regions.
Then, once the Dragon God was found and killed, demons who crossed dimensions could use their full strength.
Invading and ruling the world would become far easier.
Humanity would not even be able to properly resist.
After arranging her thoughts, Basara spoke.
“Tell Issera this: There are no Dragon Veins here.”
“B-but…! The Commander’s orders are absolute!”
Orders issued for an invasion were absolute.
Basara’s command—through a borrowed body—technically ranked lower than Issera’s.
However, she was no ordinary lord—she was *Basara*.
*‘Issera… did he forget the formation conditions of a Dragon Vein?’*
And he was uncharacteristically agitated.
This reckless approach was unlike Issera.
What had shaken him?
Union’s betrayal? The thought that his judgment had failed?
Or had he been swallowed by his own duty?
“I won’t say it twice. Deliver the message to Issera.”
“Y-yes!”
Under her forceful command, the demons hesitantly retreated.
Before long, all demons who had initiated the invasion vanished into their warp gates.
“W-what happened?”
“The monsters are retreating!”
“We’re alive! We’re alive!”
Issera had obeyed Basara’s words.
But then—Basara tilted her head.
《The contents of ‘Main Quest 10’ have been altered!》
《‘Trial of the Light Dragon Einhassar’ has been changed to ‘Trial of the Dragon God Einhassar.’》
······ Words suddenly appeared before her eyes.
Only then did she recall—this body belonged to a *player*.
Though the level was low, Basara could discern the relevant information.
*‘Einhassar lifted the Curse of Ruin?’*
Suddenly.
Without warning.
He had undone a curse that was supposed to be impossible to break.
He couldn’t have done it alone—someone must have helped him.
If Einhassar had regained the rank of Dragon God, that was far from welcome news for demons.
But that wasn’t what drew her interest.
Instead—
“Oh my.”
Something else intrigued her far more.
Her eyes shone in golden light as she looked up toward the sky.
Not far away, a golden current flowed.
That current appeared only when the *Wish Orb of the Dragon God* was used.
There was no way the Dragon God himself was here, yet the Wish Orb had been invoked.
And if that current had manifested—
“······ A Dragon Vein has formed here?”
Einhassar regained his rank as Guardian.
The Wish Orb appeared on Earth.
Together, the conditions for the formation of Dragon Veins were satisfied.
None of this was coincidence.
The connecting thread—who made it all possible—
*‘Wilhelm. Or… Randolph, now?’*
It meant *he* was there.
Not only that—he had immediately used the Wish Orb, forming a Dragon Vein.
Why?
For what purpose?
*‘You intend to capture my brother, Issera… don’t you?’*
A Dragon Vein was the Dragon’s dwelling—the center of the world.
The balance itself.
As long as it existed, demons invading another world would be weakened.
To create it was to declare the will to capture Issera.
But—could he truly face Issera alone?
Even with an additional Dragon Vein, Issera had grown far stronger than before.
And Randolph did not lead the players of this world.
He acted silently, always alone.
It was a completely different path from Wilhelm—who launched the Great Conquest, fighting alongside countless companions.
Even when facing Issera, numerous lives had been sacrificed over long periods to expose his vulnerability.
How would he face him alone?
*‘Wilhelm. Has your growth already reached that point?’*
One thing was certain—
She could feel him.
This aura. He had inherited Einhassar’s Wish Orb—there was no mistake.
A Dragon God would never pass the Wish Orb to another under ordinary circumstances.
An artifact that grew together with him throughout a lifetime—a second life itself.
To give it away meant the recipient had accumulated a rank worthy of that trust.
And if he even lifted the Curse of Ruin—
*‘His growth rate is terrifying.’*
A smile spread across Basara’s lips.
As expected of Wilhelm—always surpassing her imagination.
Only he had ever given her this much interest and amusement.
Still—she had thought he would not have grown enough to challenge Issera.
Basara’s eyes sparkled with fierce fascination.
*Tap. Step.*
She took a step—heading toward the newly formed Dragon Vein.
With the anticipation that she would finally be able to meet him.
—
