Chapter 140
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 140
Chapter Title: War Between Two Powers (2)
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Afterward, Della tried to answer Lucas's questions faithfully, but it wasn't easy.
One of the clauses in the contract stated that she could not betray Lee Seongmin or those around him.
So even when Lucas asked about ways to capture the Healer or her location, Della couldn't respond.
"It seems she can't answer questions related to the Healer."
Lucas was able to grasp the rules after asking Della a few questions.
Moreover, he could tell from her honest answers to unrestricted questions that she had no other motives.
"Let's start by lifting the curse Della mentioned. Go bring Ben here."
"You're finally going to release me."
Ben, the one Lucas mentioned, was a villain who possessed an innate ability related to curses.
He ranked around 40th, but his knowledge of curses was so profound that he was called an expert in the field.
"Ben's here too?"
"He's at his own house."
Della nodded nonchalantly at the mention that Ben was at his home.
Just as Instructor Cha Serin of the Hero Officer Academy had mobility-related abilities, the Villain Alliance also had members with such powers.
"It'll take a little time. Oh, how are the Geneva Cult bastards moving?"
"They requested cooperation from the country, found the branch locations, and are smashing them one by one."
Raymond, ranked 2nd, spoke after Lucas's response.
"Over 20 branches have already vanished. And those captured by the cult won't be alive either."
Fortunately, the Villain Alliance operated in a decentralized manner.
So losing a few branches wasn't a huge blow, but the problem was the atmosphere.
"The atmosphere?"
"Of course it's bad. Some are even leaving the Villain Alliance and turning themselves in."
People were emerging who preferred the Villain Detention Center over being caught by the Geneva Cult.
Della realized the situation was more serious than she thought, but the key S-rank members hadn't moved yet.
"What do you plan to do?"
"Well, Lucas must have some ideas, right?"
Della looked at Lucas, but he just sat there silently.
"By the way, Lucas. I heard you lost to the Destroyer. Is that true?"
"It's true. It seems like it'll take considerable preparation to kill him."
Della, Lydia, and Lorella all showed subtle surprise at Lucas's answer.
Of course, they'd heard about it from the Villain Alliance before surrendering to the Healer, but hearing it directly from him felt different.
"Was it a close call or just bad luck?"
"If I fought without preparation, the odds of me losing are high."
In short, the Destroyer had beaten Lucas purely on skill.
As Della pondered if that was even possible, someone entered the meeting room from outside.
"You called for me."
He was a skinny man in his thirties with a gloomy aura—Ben.
He arrived at the hideout meeting room in less than ten minutes and looked surprised to see Della and the others.
"Oh, Della. I heard you were dead, but you're alive and well."
"Instead, I got hit with something like a curse. I want you to lift it."
"A curse? As you know, curses are harder to lift than to cast."
Ben grinned darkly, saying it wouldn't be easy.
"But you said it's possible, right?"
"That's true."
Ben replied confidently.
He was so dedicated to curses that he'd learned curse-related magic alongside his innate ability.
"Let me take a look."
Ben first used his innate ability to check what curse was on Della.
Upon discovering something on Della's body, Ben frowned momentarily.
"This... it'll be tough."
"Tough how?"
"Some curses are imposed unilaterally on the target, while others form through mutual consent. This is the latter."
Ben explained that since the curse was placed with mutual agreement between the Healer and Della, it was hard to lift.
To be precise, it was just signing the contract the Healer presented, but that alone constituted mutual consent.
"Is it too much for you?"
When Lucas, who had been listening, asked, Ben replied with a troubled expression.
"Think of it as strings. A unilateral curse has strings draped over the target. But a mutual one binds them tightly together."
"So the strings you mentioned are tied so tightly that it's hard to untie."
"Exactly. If it's just draped, I can unravel it or overwrite it with a stronger curse. But when bound this solidly, even I can't do it easily."
Lucas nodded, roughly understanding.
"Not easy, but not impossible. Then stay here and lift their curses."
"It won't be done in a day or two."
"While you're lifting the curses, I'll get you something you'll like."
At the mention of something he'd like, Ben tilted his head.
Of course, Ben had a hobby of collecting curse-related skill stones and artifacts.
"Alright, I'll give it a try."
Della let out a small sigh, realizing it wouldn't be easy to nullify the contract with the Healer.
"Lucas, don't you have an artifact that removes curses?"
"I do, but it's single-use. I can't waste it on just one of you, so endure it."
"......"
With everyone gathered, Lucas decided to proceed with the plan he'd been mulling over.
"Della, I obtained information that a Geneva Cult archbishop headed to Japan."
"Archbishop?"
"Probably for a ritual. Go there and collect evidence."
Della quickly grasped Lucas's intent.
"You plan to expose the Geneva Cult's atrocities to the world."
"We need to restrict their activities."
"Got it. But you're not planning to use me as a discard pawn, are you?"
"Others will move to collect evidence too. One piece isn't enough to make an impact."
Della agreed that a single piece of evidence wouldn't topple the image the Geneva Cult had built up.
They could dismiss it as an individual's deviation and cut ties, so gathering multiple and releasing them all at once was best.
"Understood."
After class ended, I headed to Instructor Kang Ju-young's private office before going to the clubroom.
She'd been silent so far, but now it was time to claim the 500 points Joo Tae-ho had promised.
Knock knock—
I knocked on the door of her private office, and a curt voice came from inside.
-Come in.
I'd sensed her presence inside using Spatial Grasp from the start, so I knew she was there.
After a brief "Coming in," I opened the door and entered Kang Ju-young's private office.
"Lee Seongmin. What do you want?"
"The 500 points haven't come through yet."
"Points are meaningless to you, aren't they?"
Does meaningless mean you won't give them?
"If they're meaningless, wouldn't it be fine to give them?"
"All other cadets compete in good faith to earn points. Some even starve to save up."
On the flip side, I ate better than anyone and still earned points, so it sounded like she wanted me to yield.
Truth be told, I didn't care about the 500 points, but since I planned to contract a new spirit, it was better to get them.
"Actually, I need something like glacial spirit stones or thunder spirit stones to contract a spirit. That's why I need the 500 points."
"Glacial spirit stone? If memory serves, it's around 800 points. You could buy one next month."
"If I get the 500 points, yeah."
"......"
Kang Ju-young stared at me intently, as if pondering something, then nodded with a resigned expression.
"Feels like giving too many points to one person, but no helping it."
She seemed finally ready to give the 500 points.
"Instead of 500 points, I'll give you a glacial spirit stone."
"Pardon?"
"You're after the glacial spirit stone anyway, so I'll give you that."
From her tone, she suspected I needed glacial or thunder spirit stones.
Not knowing what I'd do with the points, she figured handing over the stone directly was safer.
"Isn't that even better?"
But as Kang Ju-young said, it was better for me.
"Yes, perfect. So when can I get the glacial spirit stone?"
"Come by tomorrow at this time. I'll give it to you then."
I nodded at "tomorrow" and was about to leave when something occurred to me.
"Oh, still, give Cheon Seo-yun the 500 points."
"I already gave it to her that evening."
"......"
She'd already received it.
Felt a bit discriminatory, but since things worked out, I let it slide.
Kang Ju-young hadn't given me points to prevent excessive concentration on one person.
"Yes. See you tomorrow then."
As I left the office, Lee Seojun spoke with a thoughtful tone.
-You can get glacial spirit stones easily on the black market.
"Getting one isn't hard. But to contract a spirit, I need Joo Ha-yeon's help."
-You want to show Joo Ha-yeon a solid source for the glacial spirit stone.
"Exactly. If she asks where I got it, I'd have nothing to say."
With that, I pulled out my tablet and checked the news.
[Geneva Cult's Triumph! Villains Surrendering Voluntarily!]
[Crime Rate Plummets! The Influence of the Geneva Cult.]
[We Will Punish the Villain Alliance. Archbishop Andrei's Declaration!]
"The Geneva Cult is rampaging freely."
-Yeah. The Villain Alliance is too quiet; they must be preparing something.
"If their preparations fall short, maybe I should step in."
Lee Seojun had said the Geneva Cult had a total of 10 holy grails, so I considered snatching them all.
Just taking one sparked a war with the Villain Alliance, so I wondered what all ten would do.
'But I should wait and see.'
The Villain Alliance was just another target for me.
No need to rush since the Geneva Cult was handling it.
'Unless the Villain Alliance gets pushed too far.'
With that thought, I headed to the clubroom.