Looking into Han Eunyeong's eyes, gleaming with madness, Sungshik thought.

‘This seems dangerous.’

Every cell in his body was telling him that this was a crisis.

Gulp.

He swallowed dryly. A quick glance at the remaining duration of the Future Foresight debuff showed about eleven hours left. Only about two hours had passed since he left the gate.

“I will leave quietly without making a fuss.”

Han Eunyeong, who had been stepping toward Sungshik after locking the door, suddenly stopped.

“Hmm, correct. That’s the right answer.”

She smiled at his response. It wasn’t a beautiful smile, but it eased the tension for a moment.

‘Is she going to let this slide…? No, that’s not it.’

But seeing the madness still flickering in Han Eunyeong’s eyes, it was clear things wouldn’t end so easily.

Click.

He clicked his tongue inwardly, preparing to use ‘Puyan’s Feather’ at any moment.

‘Running away is also a legitimate strategy.’

In his current condition, facing a 6-star ranker—especially one who was once counted among the future 11 Thrones—was not an option. It would be better to recover his full strength and deal with this later.

‘Besides, Han Eunyeong’s ability is…’

Thinking about her power made Sungshik frown.

The trait she possessed: [SS-Rank] Army of Death. Just from the name alone, it was clear what kind of power she wielded—she was a necromancer.

A terrifying ability that embodied the might of a one-person army. Against those weaker than her, she was virtually invincible.

‘There’s no winning against sheer numbers.’

Of course, things changed when the 11 Thrones reached the 8-star level. Up until 7 stars, Han Eunyeong had been considered top-tier among them, precisely because of her ability to summon an ‘army.’

But at the threshold of 8 stars, where they began breaking through their limits, numbers became meaningless.

‘That’s why she fell from being the brightest star to the weakest of the 11 Thrones.’

She had once been the highest among them but ended up the lowest-ranked.

‘That was the limit of a necromancer.’

No matter how invincible a necromancer seemed, their power ultimately depended on their summoned creatures rather than their own strength. And at 8 stars, summons could no longer contend with the level of power that existed.

That led to disaster. Unable to accept her own downfall, she did something insane.

‘She tried to turn the Sword Emperor and Martial Emperor into her puppets.’

Even now, thinking about it made him see her as a lunatic. Because of her madness, six of the 11 Thrones, including the Sword Emperor and Martial Emperor, were lost in the battle against the ruler of the Fifth Night. Ultimately, that was the reason humanity collapsed in the Sixth Night.

‘Even if all the 11 Thrones had survived, I’m not sure we could have stopped the ruler of the Sixth Night…’

Regardless, she was the worst of the worst, having doomed all of humanity for her own greed and ambition. That was why Sungshik could never tolerate her.

‘Damn it, if not for this debuff, I’d fight her right here and now.’

Right now, she was only at 6 stars. While she had displayed overwhelming prowess up to 7 stars, Sungshik was confident.

‘Even at the same 6-star level, my power isn’t ordinary.’

Yes. Sungshik was one of the true rule-breakers. No matter how powerful Han Eunyeong was up to 7 stars, she wouldn’t match him.

‘I should’ve taken care of her while we were still alone.’

His hatred for her wasn’t just because of the Fifth Night’s events. She had committed countless atrocities that were morally unforgivable.

Humanity had turned a blind eye to her crimes, fearing her power and prioritizing survival.

As Sungshik recalled her deeds, she spoke again.

“But I can’t just take your word for it and let you go, can I?”

Then, she pulled out a dirt-colored paper from her inventory. Sungshik immediately recognized it.

‘This crazy woman…’

It was none other than the ‘Contract of Soul Enslavement.’

Han Eunyeong had used this method to turn handsome and strong male Awakened into her personal collection of puppets. In the past, she had even attempted to use it on the Sword Emperor and Martial Emperor, leading to their collective downfall.

“What is this?”

Feigning ignorance, Sungshik asked to see how she would respond.

“It’s a contract.”

“A contract?”

“A contract that permanently prevents you from speaking about this incident.”

Hearing her words, Sungshik swallowed down his anger.

‘As if I’d fall for that.’

It was laughable how brazenly she lied. Everyone knew that signing a magic-infused contract carelessly could lead to ruin. Even ordinary people understood that. And yet, she expected him to sign without suspicion.

Of course, the Awakened who had fallen under her control hadn’t signed voluntarily. She had always subdued them first, stripping them of their will before forcing them to sign.

“You just need to pour your mana into this and sign.”

She smiled at him, her expression reminiscent of a serpent’s. The sight of it made his skin crawl.

‘Like hell I’m signing that.’

“Hmm, I wouldn’t mind signing if that’s all it takes… but can I take a break first?”

He threw the words out there, hoping to buy time. Unexpectedly, Han Eunyeong looked slightly surprised.

He could guess why.

‘Yeah, most people probably started cursing at this point.’

Most likely, whenever she showed this contract, her victims had responded with furious resistance.

‘If they refused, she probably just overpowered them, stripped them of their sanity, and forced them to sign.’

Really, she was an utterly vile woman.

“Of course. I’ll give you plenty of time to think.”

She responded cheerfully, as if pleased. Did she have some sort of twisted romance about making people sign willingly?

‘Her thoughts are easy to read, yet utterly incomprehensible.’

As he cursed her in his mind, Sungshik felt relieved that he had bought some time.

Growl—

At that moment, his stomach rumbled. Now that he thought about it, he hadn’t eaten properly after clearing the gate.

“Ah, you must be hungry since you came straight from clearing the gate. Silly me. Why don’t we go have a meal first?”

“That would be great.”

For the first time, Sungshik readily responded with a willing heart. Along with the thought that he might be able to buy even more time than expected.

Han Eunyeong. The Witch of Hallasan. A superhuman with the trait [SS Rank] Army of the Dead. Given that she would rise to become one of the Eleven Thrones in the future, her trait was truly astonishing.

The ability to create an army of the dead. It didn’t matter whether they were monsters or superhumans.

Although they couldn’t exert their full strength as they did in life, this wasn’t much of an issue when they formed a proper army. The flaw of not being able to utilize their full power was somewhat compensated by their reckless, suicidal attacks that disregarded death.

However, one of her more twisted hobbies was possessing living superhumans.

The method was simple. Among the skills derived from [SS Rank] Army of the Dead, there was one called “Contract of Soul Enslavement.” As the name suggested, it was a skill that placed a brand upon the opponent’s soul.

But such a skill couldn’t be used easily. It would only activate if the target willingly signed the contract using their own mana.

Some might look at this skill and ask,

“Who in their right mind would voluntarily sign that?”

And they’d be right. No one would willingly sign such an ominous contract.

So Han Eunyeong pondered over it extensively—how to properly utilize this skill. And eventually, she found the answer.

That answer was Soul Drain. A technique that stripped away a person’s intelligence. First, she would subdue her target to the brink of death through sheer force, and then she would use Soul Drain. Unless they possessed an unyielding will, nine times out of ten, they would fall victim to it.

After that, things became simple. Before the effects of Soul Drain wore off, she would imprint the brand upon their soul using the Contract of Soul Enslavement. It was a sort of loophole, but by using this method, she was able to satisfy her desires.

That desire was none other than collecting exceptionally handsome male superhumans as her puppets. Born with a naturally unappealing charm, Han Eunyeong had never once received affection or attention from men. That was why she became obsessed with “collecting” attractive men.

And Sungshik was among those chosen.

‘Should I be flattered or disgusted?’

Thinking about it, it was truly a horrifying situation, but at this moment, it was actually working to his advantage by giving him more time.

Furthermore, Sungshik had suspected it, but Han Eunyeong truly did have a romanticized fantasy about this. She had an obsession—a twisted fixation born from her lack of romantic experiences—of making her chosen collection willingly sign the subjugation scroll.

And now, once again, she was pressing him for an answer.

“Now then, I’ve given you plenty of time to think. You’re going to sign it, right?”

Han Eunyeong pushed the ominous, dirt-colored contract toward him, its eerie energy swirling.

“Hmm.”

Sungshik responded with an indifferent attitude. Seeing this, the madness in her eyes began to flicker back to life.

“I believe I’ve given you more than enough time?”

The once amicable atmosphere instantly chilled, as if ice was forming in the air. In that tension, Sungshik finally spoke, word by word, the words he had been holding back.

“No matter how I think about it…”

He rolled his shoulders, loosening up his body.

“This contract radiates an ominous aura, covered in strange, unreadable inscriptions.”

He rotated his neck from side to side, stretching out his limbs.

“What kind of lunatic would blindly sign something like that? Huh?”

After interlocking his fingers and stretching his arms out, Sungshik completed his warm-up.

“Don’t you agree, you crazy bitch?”

With those words, he met Han Eunyeong’s maddened gaze head-on and spat out exactly what he wanted to say.

Grrr…

“…What did you just say?”

Her presence erupted like an inferno, thick clouds of dark energy swirling visibly around her.

“Want me to say it again? I’m not signing this. I’d rather die than put my name on this bullshit.”

Rip—

With that, he grabbed the contract lying on the table and tore it clean in half. The shredded Contract of Soul Enslavement immediately dissolved into a dark haze and scattered.

Crack—

“…So that’s the answer you came up with after half a day of thinking? I see now. You’re just another fool who doesn’t listen to reason.”

That’s right. The reason Sungshik no longer hesitated or held back his words.

—The debuff from Future Insight has ended.

—All stats and skills have been restored to normal.

Power surged back into his entire body, the sensation of being unshackled from heavy chains. With the debuff lifted, all his abilities had returned to their peak state.

“You’re just like the others. I’ll have to break you in personally.”

Han Eunyeong’s eyes gleamed with malice as she approached him, unaware of the drastic shift in the situation.

“Yeah, go ahead and do that—in hell.”

Swish!

With those words, the Heaven-Splitting Divine Sword sliced through the air, aiming straight for her neck.