“To be precise, that friend isn’t exactly dead. But the shock I felt was probably greater than hearing about his death.”
Karma.
There were many kinds of karma, but Park Woo-man possessed an unusual ability—he took the deaths of others as his own karma. The closer someone was to him, the stronger he became upon their passing.
Just an acquaintance.
Someone he occasionally shared a meal with.
A colleague.
A dear friend with whom he shared joy and sorrow.
Beloved parents.
A child more precious than life itself.
And his wife.
It wasn’t his choice. Park Woo-man had never wished for such an ability. Who would want such a horrifying power, where the death of others became their nourishment?
“I’m still getting stronger.”
Ironically, that ability had placed him among the strongest.
“The deaths of those I love have made me even stronger. I carry everyone’s karma as I live on.”
Suddenly, Park Woo-man threw a punch.
A plain, unimpressive motion. Yet, in that instant, Lee Taeseong instinctively drew his sword. The alarm bells in his mind rang urgently.
“This is why I was able to become an Alpha-grade Administrator.”
Kwaaaang!
Lee Taeseong’s body was hurled high into the sky. Even though he had swung Sisan Hyulhae to counter the impact, he couldn’t block it completely.
“Urgh!”
Regaining his balance midair, Lee Taeseong spat out blood mixed with bits of his ruptured organs. Just one strike had crushed several of his ribs and torn through his insides.
And all Park Woo-man had done was lightly swing his fist in place, without any preparatory movement…He hadn’t even been able to react.
‘What… was that just now? A shockwave? No, it wasn’t that kind of attack. Could it be… he folded space itself to throw his punch?!’
Park Woo-man’s voice echoed.
“We haven’t even started yet, Administrator Lee Taeseong. If you back down from just this, that would be a problem for me. I was hoping to get a good workout, but if my excitement dies out already, where am I supposed to vent all this energy?”
“…That tickled.”
“Uwahaha! That’s the spirit! A man should never show weakness, even when he’s in pain!”
Park Woo-man casually raised his leg and stomped the ground. In that instant, an invisible force descended upon Taeseong from above, crushing him.
“…Guh!”
The pressure was so overwhelming that if he loosened his focus even slightly, his entire body might be pulverized and scattered. But Taeseong didn’t yield—he condensed the energy of Sisan Hyulhae and slashed diagonally.
Chwaak!
The crescent-shaped sword energy sliced through the formless force. The brief clash left deep imprints of Taeseong’s feet on the ground.
“Well, since I am the Branch Leader, I suppose I should give you a handicap. Alright then, if you can leave so much as a scratch on me, you win. Of course, you’ll receive a suitable reward for it. Does that motivate you?”
Lee Taeseong’s crimson eyes glowed ominously.
“Branch Director.”
“Speak freely.”
“May I kill you?”
“…….”
Silence fell.
Staring at Taeseong with a stunned expression, Park Woo-man suddenly burst into laughter.
“Puahahaha! Now that is interesting! Alright, if you can kill me, go ahead. If you do, then you’ll become the Branch Leader.”
“I’ll pass on that.”
It wasn’t exactly an enticing offer, but it had been a long time since he’d felt this competitive. Opportunities to fight a warrior of this caliber were rare.
Thanks to the Aokigahara mission, Taeseong had grown astonishingly strong. Even he wasn’t sure how much stronger he had become.
So he welcomed this chance. What better way to gauge his current level than this?
“Wairang.”
[Krrrgh!]
At his call, a massive wolf formed of black smoke emerged from the shadows.
“Oh? You can summon beings from another realm too? You really have a variety of abilities.”
Park Woo-man remained relaxed, watching Wairang like a master amused by his disciple’s performance. Even with his round belly, he exuded an overwhelming presence—like an immovable mountain.
But Taeseong did not believe that mountain was higher than himself.
“Tear him apart.”
[Krrrgh!]
Having bulked up in Aokigahara, Wairang was now incomparably larger and stronger than before.
“Disobedient dogs need a beating.”
Wairang lunged, jaws bared for Park Woo-man’s head.
Zzzeooong!
With a casual kick, Park Woo-man shredded Wairang’s body like paper.
[Kyiing…]
But Wairang was immune to physical attacks. Knowing this, Taeseong had already closed in behind Park Woo-man.
“Too slow.”
Taeseong swung Sisan Hyulhae, sending a torrent of blood-red sword energy toward him.
With a snap of his fingers, Park Woo-man summoned a fierce gust that instantly erased the attack.
“…!”
Even Wairang, who should have been unaffected by physical forces, had been scattered across the ground.
“Don’t disappoint me.”
“You really don’t stop talking.”
“I hear that a lot.”
A radius of one kilometer around Taeseong rapidly froze over.
Kkadeudeuk!
As frost crept toward Park Woo-man’s feet, he muttered,
“A bit chilly.”
With an idle flick of his foot, the rapidly advancing ice crumbled into nothingness. Despite the entire area being frozen, Park Woo-man remained completely unscathed.
‘Incredible!’
Riding the momentum, Taeseong launched a relentless barrage of attacks. The flames of Ignost engulfed the ground, and massive ice spears rained from the sky.
It was like witnessing a natural disaster. Yet Park Woo-man remained rooted in place, fending off every assault without moving a step.
With just the flick of his fingers, Taeseong’s attacks vanished into thin air. A mere gust of wind from his fingertips had nullified supernatural powers.
“…….”
The density of power was on a different level.
It was absurd that attacks akin to natural disasters could be erased with a mere flick of the fingers, but Taeseong only moved faster.
‘Whether it’s mana cultivation or internal energy techniques, the names may differ, but their essence is the same.’
Inside Lee Taeseong’s body, all kinds of energies were chaotically mixed.
For an ordinary human, such a state would have long meant crossing the Sanzu River, but thanks to the influence of Devourer, he was able to maintain this condition.
He explosively unleashed his internal energy, accelerating his body.
Time was shattered into finer fragments and compressed to its limits.
With his heightened perception stepping into an unknown realm, the world seemed to move in slow motion.
In truth, time flowed as usual, but his senses were so sharpened that everything appeared relatively slower.
That was enough.
Taeseong, who already possessed unparalleled physical abilities, had effectively removed his own limiter—an effect that even exceeded Park Woo-man’s expectations.
“……!”
Sisan Hyulhae tore through the air, surging forward like a flash of light.
Even the mere wind pressure from swinging his sword stripped the golden plains bare in an instant.
For the first time, Park Woo-man was forced to step back.
Lee Taeseong’s speed had suddenly accelerated to the point where even he struggled to grasp the timing.
‘What is this guy? No matter how powerful a Sigma-grade individual is, is this level of growth even possible?’
Sigma wasn’t just a rank measuring an individual’s strength.
It was a provisional classification for irregulars—singularities—so unpredictable that even “Mother” couldn’t assign them a comprehensive risk assessment.
That was the nature of the Sigma grade.
Thus, reassessments were mandatory.
Some individuals, upon re-evaluation, turned out to have been overestimated.
But far more often, the opposite was true.
‘It’s a relief the Japan Branch didn’t get their hands on him.’
Like a wolf relentlessly hunting its prey, Taeseong pressed forward.
As time passed, his sword grew even faster.
Park Woo-man, gradually being pushed back, had no choice but to reveal a fraction of his true strength.
“This might sting a little.”
Unlike before, where he used no preparatory movements, this time was different.
Planting his front foot firmly, he pivoted in a smooth arc.
His back leg extended, tracing a graceful trajectory as it tore through the sky.
Slaaash!
A simple spinning back kick.
An elementary move.
Something anyone who had attended a Taekwondo class as a child would have tried at least once.
Yet, like Moses parting the sea, everything along the path of his foot was ripped apart—space itself included.
And that destruction encompassed half of Lee Taeseong’s upper body.
His right arm, the one holding Sisan Hyulhae, was completely erased along with his shoulder.
“I’ve seen enough of your skills. Let’s end this—”
It was then.
A thin red line appeared across Park Woo-man’s nape.
Blood trickled from the wound.
Startled, Park Woo-man raised a hand to touch his neck.
The cut wasn’t deep, but it was enough to stain his fingers red.
‘When…?’
He lifted his gaze to Lee Taeseong.
Seeing the ashen blade in Taeseong’s opposite hand, Park Woo-man finally understood what had happened.
“What a shame. If it had gone just a little deeper, I would have taken your head.”
“In that fleeting moment… you cut my throat?”
“Yes. My balance shifted, so the sword wavered a bit.”
A shiver ran down Park Woo-man’s spine.
It was astounding enough that Taeseong could swing a sword in a life-or-death situation.
But what shocked him more was the fact that even he, the one who had been cut, hadn’t realized it had happened.
‘Even though I was holding back, was he truly fast enough that I couldn’t react?’
He hadn’t been fighting at full strength, but he never expected anyone to push him this far.
And from what he could tell, Taeseong had yet to reveal his full power either.
‘He is already a completed warrior.’
The conditions for an Alpha-grade Administrator…
By Park Woo-man’s judgment, Lee Taeseong fit both criteria.
‘And yet, he will only grow stronger.’
Even though he had already reached completion—
“I concede.”
He was a true monster, destined to evolve further.
“As promised, I will recommend you as the next Branch Leader.
And I will formally propose your promotion to Alpha grade as soon as possible.”
This man was the future of the Korea Branch.
