Although the Management Bureau was referred to as a "bureau," its status was on par with that of a ministry.

In some respects, it even surpassed the influence once held by the old intelligence agency.

Naturally, the director of the Management Bureau, despite the title, received treatment equivalent to that of a cabinet minister.

Lee Myung-seop, the director of such an institution, rushed to the scene in broad daylight. The Channel Safety Team had issued an emergency response request at level 5.

“No, we are still in the process of verifying. Yes, yes. I will check on-site personally…”

“It seems difficult to obtain cooperation from the guilds as a whole, but I will reach out to a few pro-government guilds for assistance. As for the National Security Advisor…”

“I received a call from the field staff. They said they would report the casualty status as soon as updates come in…”

His phone was ringing nonstop on the way to the site. And when he finally arrived—

He asked again, somewhat incredulously.

“What do you mean by that?”

“It’s exactly as I said… No monsters have been summoned.”

“Wasn’t the 12-K98 Gate rated A-class?”

“It was.”

“And yet, even after the explosion, no monsters have been summoned?”

Even F-class channels and gates summon monsters after an explosion. But the 12-K98 Gate was A-class.

Noticing his disbelief, the staff member continued.

“It seems to have been sealed naturally.”

“A natural seal? Has there ever been a case like that… Ah!”

There was. A similar incident occurred in Ghana two years ago.

After a gate explosion, a massive summoning was expected—but nothing happened.

‘If it has become a dormant volcano, that would be fortunate…’

But he couldn’t let his guard down just yet.

“Is there a possibility it could still summon monsters later?”

“The ether levels have stabilized.”

“Meaning…?”

“As of now, the probability of monsters being summoned is practically zero.”

“So in other words, it has returned to its pre-explosion state.”

It wasn’t quite extinct, but it had become dormant.

“Still, just in case, make sure the surrounding area remains secured and send in a research team for an investigation. Something will turn up.”

The same thing happened in Ghana.

The research team entered the site and discovered a type of magic crystal that had never been recorded before.

Scientists speculated that the ether from this magic crystal clashed with the gate’s unique ether, blocking the summoning of monsters.

It was likely the same case for the 12-K98 Gate.

But then—

“Well…”

“What is it?”

“Before you arrived, agents attempted to enter and investigate, but they were unable to get in.”

“What do you mean, unable to enter?”

“A high-intensity barrier has been placed around it.”

“A barrier?”

Frowning in confusion, the director approached the site. Barriers typically emitted a blue or cyan glow.

But there was nothing visible.

“What barrier? I don’t see—huh?”

Thud. Thud.

The gate was right in front of him, yet he felt as if an invisible wall blocked his way.

“Have you attempted to break it?”

“Yes, but it didn’t budge.”

“Who attempted it?”

“Team Leader Go Min-ji from Safety Management Team 4.”

“Even Team Leader Go failed to break it?”

“Yes.”

Lee Myung-seop’s expression shifted slightly in surprise.

She was an A-class awakened with specialized abilities in barrier dismantling.

If even she couldn’t break through, then the one who placed this barrier had to be someone beyond her level.

“Could it have been done by a specific guild?”

Although the Management Bureau wielded power comparable to a government ministry, it still wasn’t on the same level as the guilds.

The relationship between the Bureau and the guilds was like that of a crocodile and a plover bird—mutually beneficial, but when push came to shove, the crocodile wouldn’t hesitate to devour the bird.

‘We should have tamed them properly from the start…’

This problem dated back to the early days of the upheaval.

At first, even a single awakened individual was precious, so the government granted a high degree of freedom even to F-class awakened.

This freedom included immunity from certain crimes.

In the beginning, this flexibility served as an incentive to enlist awakened individuals.

But once stability was achieved, the situation changed.

Those who had already developed a sense of entitlement were difficult to hold accountable under the law.

Using force to suppress them was even harder.

Eventually, after negotiations, a special law was enacted for awakened individuals, allowing the government to regulate lower-ranked awakeners.

However, those of a certain rank or higher still operated in a legal gray area.

They accumulated wealth through both loopholes and outright illegal means.

That was the context behind the employee’s suggestion.

However, there was a contradiction—

“Would there be any reason to do that?”

“Excuse me?”

“The 12-K98 Gate failed to undergo dungeonization, didn’t it? I don’t see why any guild would go out of their way to take such a risk.”

If a guild had indeed placed a barrier around the 12-K98 Gate, it was likely for negotiation purposes with the government.

For example, to secure ownership of the gate upon dungeonization, or to negotiate a share of its resources with the government.

But the 12-K98 Gate had failed to dungeonize.

If it were a C-class gate, it could be cleared, but an A-class gate was another story.

No guild would take such a risk.

“Compile a list of awakened individuals capable of breaking barriers nationwide. If none of our own can handle it, we’ll have to request cooperation from the guilds.”

“Understood.”

Lee Myung-seop clicked his tongue as he stared at the invisible barrier.

Karanto gazed at Seo-jun with reverence before kneeling.

“Chwiik! My Demon God…!”

Indeed, He Was the Demon God Who Ruled Over Ten Thousand Demons

He had witnessed it with his own eyes.

Up until the moment he entered this place with the Demon God, avoiding the eyes of humans, there had been nothing inside.

Only pitch-black darkness had existed.

But with just a few gestures from the Demon God…

Rumble—!

A mountain rose up. With another gesture…

Trickle, trickle—

A stream was born.

Then came the grasslands… the jungle… and finally, the sky.

'Lord Barunk was right!'

Lord Barunk had confidently claimed that if the Demon God invaded the Celestial Realm, they would be able to enslave the Celestials.

Karantho had been half in doubt, but now, he believed it with unwavering conviction.

To create heaven and earth!

However, the one who had supposedly "created" heaven and earth, Seo-jun, felt no particular emotion.

Making mountains rise, forming jungles, and creating streams—none of it was difficult.

'It's merely a distortion.'

It was nothing more than an illusion, a visualization of dense demonic energy. Of course, to Karantho, it would feel completely real.

However, no fish could live in that stream.

No deer or roe deer could dwell in those mountains, and no crops could grow in those grasslands.

“I’ve even set up a barrier so that outsiders cannot approach. You should be able to live here comfortably.”

“Chwiik! I am unworthy of such grace!”

“But…”

“Chwiik! Yes?”

“Is that really okay for your meals?”

Where Seo-jun was pointing, several boxes of instant noodles were stacked.

“Chwiik! It is food from Valhalla! How could it not be fine?!”

Why do they keep calling it food from Valhalla?

Suppressing a sigh, Seo-jun spoke.

“Take care. I’ll return.”

“Chwiik! Until the Demon God returns, we shall collect as many Arutus eggs as possible!”

“Good.”

Nodding, Seo-jun left the 12-K98 gate… no, the poultry farm.

'I won’t have to worry about Arutus eggs anymore.'

Feeling satisfied, Seo-jun returned to his shop.

As soon as he entered, Park Yeon made a fuss.

“Demon King! Demon King!”

Without warning, Park Yeon dragged him to the TV. Then, squinting his eyes sharply, he said,

“That was your doing, wasn’t it?”

The TV was broadcasting a breaking news report.

-What could be the meaning of this barrier? Why has a barrier that was never reported before suddenly appeared? Could this also be related to the gates? We will now bring in an expert to discuss.

“No.”

“There’s no way it wasn’t you.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“You told me not to use my strength even if I ran into ruffians.”

“I did.”

“But unlike me, you went ahead and pulled off something incredible.”

“So what are you trying to say?”

“What do you mean, 'so what'? This is unfair! I’ve been faithfully keeping my end of our agreement, but you…”

Smack!

Park Yeon rubbed her forehead after an unexpected flick to the forehead.

“Why did you hit me?!”

“There was a mosquito on your forehead. Earth’s mosquitoes are more vicious than the ones on the continent.”

“There are no mosquitoes in this shop!”

“Then I must have been mistaken. My apologies.”

…It didn’t seem like a mistake.

Grumbling, Park Yeon rubbed her forehead and pointed at the TV.

“Anyway, about that!”

“What about it?”

“That!”

“You didn’t just use physical force; you also set up a barrier. At that level of purity, the people here won’t be able to break through it, right? Am I wrong?”

A barrier is meant to hide or protect something from others. Naturally, it should be impenetrable.

When Seo-jun nodded, Park Yeon grinned triumphantly.

“That’s as good as announcing to the world that you’re here. 'The Demon King is here!' Meanwhile, you told me not to use my strength…”

“Hmm?”

“Where in the world is there such an unfair contract? Therefore…”

By this point, Seo-jun was genuinely curious. What was Park Yeon getting at?

And then, he declared—

“Let’s settle this with two cans of cola.”

So that’s what this was about. He was just pretending to be mad for this. As expected, he was rather sloppy for a hero.

Seo-jun chuckled and said,

“No.”

his plan having failed, Park Yeon looked flustered.

'What should I do… One can doesn’t feel like enough.'

His eyes darted around as he deliberated.

Then, Seo-jun thought of a simple way to get rid of him.

“Seo-woo was looking for you earlier.”

“So, two cans— Wait, what? Who was looking for me? Seo-woo? Who? Me?”

“Yes.”

His expression was suddenly filled with emotion. Then, shouting Seo-woo’s name, he dashed out of the shop.

Truly, he was a sloppy hero.

Shaking his head, Seo-jun retrieved an Arutus from his subspace.

While Arutus eggs looked indistinguishable from regular eggs when made into a fried egg roll, Arutus itself was a different story.

Its legs alone were several times larger than a turkey’s, and its wings were far too massive to be sold.

One look, and it was obvious it was a monster. But just because it couldn’t be sold didn’t mean it couldn’t be eaten.

Today, he planned to make braised Arutus.

On his way back, he had bought potatoes and glass noodles as well.

“Alright, then.”

Cooking was always a joyful task, whether for himself or for others.

Feeling content, Seo-jun began preparing the meal.

Braised chicken was an extraordinary dish.

Despite not having a particularly long history, it had spread rapidly across the country, much like tteokbokki.

However, the cooking process was quite intricate.

Especially when it came to eliminating the gamey smell—one could say that was the key to making braised chicken.

Fortunately, Arutus had less of a gamey smell than regular chicken, but it wasn’t completely odorless.

“Let’s get started.”