The Handsomer You Are, the Stronger You Become-Chapter 153: Friends (14)

A vast underground cavern illuminated by eerie, multicolored torches.

The voices of the Lords of the Abyss echoed through the darkness.

"Fool. He was so confident, and yet, he failed."

"This is why we were reluctant to go all out. The entire operation has fallen apart."

"It will take even longer to unseal our high-level monsters now. Our arrival will be delayed further as well."

Their words were filled with frustration.

They reviewed everything that had happened.

But in the end—

"The plan itself had merit, but the variables were too unpredictable. Who would have thought the Inheritor of Lust had grown so much?"

"And the hunters have progressed beyond expectations. The damage should have been far greater."

"The real issue is that we have no one to replace Joo Ho-seong. Finding a new hunter to contract would take too long, and none possess the talent for spatial magic. Not to mention, the remaining Frontier members have all fled."

No answers.

Joo Ho-seong had been reckless. His punishment had been justified.

Their hesitations about launching an all-out war had been correct.

But none of that mattered now.

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They had no one left to accelerate the unsealing process.

Long ago, the Lords of the Abyss had been sealed away by a divine entity.

After ages in confinement, an opportunity had finally come.

The seal was weakening, layer by layer, with the Lords being the last to be freed.

Luckily, they were powerful enough to project their consciousness beyond the seal.

But the process needed a human intermediary to speed up their release.

Joo Ho-seong had been performing that role—stealing the life force of awakened humans and feeding it to the Abyss.

Now, that was impossible.

Of course, not all their human pawns were gone.

Frontier still existed.

The organization Joo Ho-seong had created to bring about a "New Humanity" was still intact—at least in name.

However, it had fewer than fifty members. And the moment Joo Ho-seong’s failure became apparent, they had scattered and vanished.

Not surprising.

None of them had spatial magic.

None of them had Joo Ho-seong’s fanatical resolve.

They had been coerced into contracts, not born with the desire to rule over others.

At the very least, the Lords of the Abyss could still punish them.

Joo Ho-seong had been disposed of before he could leak any secrets.

But they would not execute the rest of Frontier.

To fully break the seal, they still needed humans.

"Hah... We’ll have to start by approaching high-ranking officials."

"Should we abandon our reliance on humans?"

"That would delay our release by at least another hundred years. By then, awakened hunters will be so powerful they may attempt to conquer the Abyss itself. Just like... that one."

There was no other option.

Fwoooosh!

The cavern’s torches flared with dark flames.

Just as they were about to expand their search for a replacement—

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Footsteps echoed from the cavern’s entrance.

"......?"

The Lords of the Abyss fell silent.

With Joo Ho-seong dead and Frontier scattered, no one should be able to reach this place.

Besides, they had guardians posted at the entrance—how had this person gotten past?

Then, they saw him.

"Phew, looks like I found the right place."

At the entrance stood a bald man, cracking his knuckles as he surveyed the cavern.

His physique was immediately imposing.

His presence radiated raw strength.

The Lords of the Abyss examined him closely.

"...A hunter?"

"Seems like it."

"Who are you? And how did you find this place?"

Judging by the aura surrounding him, he was clearly awakened.

But how had he gotten here? And why had he come?

His answer was immediate.

Hearing their voices, he—

"Three voices... Looks like I’m in the right place! HAHAHAHA!!"

—burst into laughter like a madman.

He strode toward the center of the cavern, where three torches blazed on an altar.

Then, he clenched his fists and released a surge of crimson energy.

"I heard about you from those Frontier bastards! Quit hiding and show yourselves, Lords of the Abyss!"

FWOOSH!

A surge of blood-red aura ignited around his hands.

The Lords of the Abyss recoiled in shock.

"That energy...!"

"It’s unmistakable—Wrath's Inheritor!!"

"How did an Inheritor of Sin find us?!"

Iron, the Inheritor of Wrath.

The moment they recognized his identity, the torches flared violently, filling the cavern with defensive energy.

A Seven Deadly Sins inheritor—especially one like Wrath—was highly likely to oppose them.

After all, Lust’s Inheritor, Kang Hyunsoo, had already proved himself a major threat.

But something was... off.

"Huh? What's wrong?"

Iron tilted his head in confusion at their hostility.

The Lords of the Abyss were equally perplexed.

"Wait... did he not come here to fight us?"

"Fight? What the hell are you talking about? I’m here to get stronger."

"You... want to become stronger?"

"Yeah. Those Frontier bastards said you could make me stronger. Was that a lie?"

The Lords of the Abyss hesitated.

They understood what he wanted.

But their suspicion remained.

Wrath’s Inheritor should have known they were Lords of the Abyss.

Did he truly intend to make a deal with them?

Or was he deceiving them to lower their guard?

However, Iron's eyes and the next words out of his mouth suggested otherwise.

"Yeah, I know what you are. But right now, I don’t give a shit if humanity burns."

His crimson aura flared violently.

"I only care about one thing. There’s someone I need to kill. And if I have to make a deal with the devil to do it—"

A sharp-toothed grin spread across his face.

"—then so be it."

Vengeance.

Iron had come to the Lords of the Abyss for one reason—revenge.

The Wrath Sin burned fiercely upon his knuckles, fueled by ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) unrelenting hatred.

And the Lords of the Abyss could see it.

"Revenge... now that is a magnificent emotion."

"We shall grant you what you desire."

"Perhaps... we might become the best of friends!"

Their delighted voices echoed through the cavern.

And with that—a new Apostle was born.

＊ ＊ ＊

Time had passed since Kang Hyunsoo’s regression.

By now, he had adapted to the changes in his life.

The daily flood of news articles.

The endless discussions about him across online communities.

The offers from world leaders seeking alliances.

Everything was different from his past life, but the repetition had made it normal.

Still, there was one thing he could never get used to—

"Kyaaa!! It's Kang Hyunsoo, the hunter!!"

"You're amazing! Please look this way!!"

"Hyunsoo oppa!!"

—His fanclub.

In his previous life, even as the Sword Emperor, he had attracted almost no women.

But after becoming handsome, swarms of admirers followed him everywhere—even waiting outside his residence.

And now?

He had just arrived at the airport to depart for Japan, and the crowd was already there.

The moment he stepped out of the car, a wave of people surged toward him—journalists, fans, and onlookers alike.

It was suffocating.

Though, at least it wasn’t completely obstructive.

"Step back! Maintain a safe distance!"

"This way, Kang Hyunsoo Hunter-nim."

Both the Hunter Bureau and the airport security had deployed hundreds of personnel to clear a path.

—"Tch, back in our past life, we could travel overseas in peace. But now, it's like the apocalypse itself has arrived. Truly, the world has turned upside down, Master."

Swallow chuckled from his shoulder.

Hyunsoo ignored him.

Instead, his attention was drawn to something else entirely.

"Seoyun-unnie, I should sit next to Hyunsoo-oppa on the plane."

"...Huh? Why?"

"Because I’ve known him longer. I even remember what he looked like before he became handsome."

"Excuse me? I was with him since the D-rank dungeon. And if we count the hours spent together, I’ve been in raids with him for far longer."

—A seating battle between Yuhana and Jin Seoyun.

Normally, they worked well together, leveling up side by side.

But now, they were at war over who got to sit next to him on the flight to Japan.

Hyunsoo had invited both of them to join the expedition.

Not only would multiple people be useful for finding the Sloth Sin Inheritor, but there were also Hidden Pieces and the Sword Emperor Title Quest involved.

Yet rather than strategizing, the two were locked in a petty squabble over seats.

And they weren’t the only ones.

After boarding, Hyunsoo noticed something strange.

The entire plane was empty—except for him, Yuhana, and Seoyun.

‘Wait... did the government book me a private jet?’

That didn’t make sense.

The trip had been rushed, and he had been told they would be using a commercial flight.

The truth was revealed moments later.

While scratching his cheek in confusion, someone emerged from the rear of the cabin.

"Tsk, it’s getting harder to meet you these days. Popularity is such a hassle."

A teasing voice.

A fan snapped open with a whoosh, covering the lower half of her face.

“Ha Yuri...?”

—The Inheritor of Greed.

She gracefully approached, smirking beneath her fan.

Her sudden appearance was shocking enough.

But her explanation was even worse.

"What the hell are you doing here? Don’t tell me this plane—"

"Oh, that? Yeah, I bought all the tickets."

Hyunsoo's eyebrow twitched.

"What."

"I heard you were heading to find Sloth’s Inheritor. No way I’m missing out on that."

She flashed a crescent-eyed smile.

Hyunsoo sighed deeply.

This trip just became a lot more complicated.