Chapter 25
Terminally Ill, but It's Okay — Episode 25
As time passed, I returned to my usual state.
The words "calamity" and "Seven Deadly Sins" were a little much, but I wasn't in any position to be picky.
And so what if it made me a villain?
If anything, I welcomed it with open arms.
It was as if the one lifeline that could end this wretched limited-lifespan existence had finally been lowered to me.
"If I use it in moderation, it shouldn't be a big problem."
Steeling myself, I read through the additional messages that had appeared.
▶The Seventh Calamity of the Seven Deadly Sins, Greed
[Subsidiary Power 1] Absorption
-Can swallow an opponent's non-physical attacks up to the permitted amount.
[Subsidiary Power 2] ???
-Inactive
[Subsidiary Power 3] ???
-Inactive
[You can absorb Demonic Energy to release the seal on Greed.]
[The higher the quality of the Demonic Energy, the greater the release rate.]
To sum it up simply.......
First, [Subsidiary Power 1] Absorption seemed to be a type of defensive power that blocked non-physical attacks like Magic or Sorcery.
As long as it didn't consume mana, it seemed like it would be quite useful in actual combat.
And [Subsidiary Power 2] and [Subsidiary Power 3]
To activate them, the answer, as always, was hunting Monsters.
Even if it was murky, the energy those things possessed was Demonic Energy itself.
Fortunately, the fourth episode was right around the corner.
Civilian support.
We were scheduled to leave Taehak this weekend because of a sudden request for assistance.
Class A's assignment was simple patrol and evidence collection, but things wouldn't go as intended. They would get caught up in another incident.
Baek Sa-young was the lead again this time, and the final villain was another of this world's threats—one I'd finally get to meet.
A Demonkin.
They were humans, but Demon blood ran through their veins, said to be a distinctive dark red.
Their ferocious demonic nature and bizarre inborn abilities had also earned them the name demon race—the common enemy of humanity.
True to their reputation for every kind of crime, their first appearance involved a rather extravagant ritual.
"That's probably what they were preparing this time."
Something suddenly clicked, so I went over the original novel once more.
Sure enough....... Even after going over it again, I was right.
The Essence of Demonic Energy.
It was the material for the forbidden ritual the Demonkin were carrying out—a concentrate of Demonic Energy created by sacrificing Monsters.
Originally, I wouldn't have even glanced at that disgusting stuff.......
"But now it's different. I've got something to nurture."
What if I snatched it midway and fed it to 'Greed'?
There would be no better tonic for releasing the seal.
For the first time in a while, I grabbed a cigarette and stepped out onto the balcony.
I'd been so busy I hadn't had a moment to spare, so it had been a long time since I'd smoked.
"The moon's pretty big."
I hated sentimental nonsense, but the night sky I happened to glance up at shone especially brightly.
Was it because I'd heard the name Leah for the first time in so long?
With no one around to hear me, I found myself muttering.
"Are you doing well?"
.......
Of course, there was no answer.
"God, I'm an idiot."
When I felt bitter, nothing beat a cigarette, so I was just about to light it.
['Greed' asks if your name is Dumbass.]
"......What now?"
-Plop.
The cigarette I'd been holding between my lips fell limply.
* * *
By nature, I'm someone who's comfortable alone.
Maybe because of the memory of being abandoned as a child, I preferred drawing over friends and silence over conversation, and I lived that way for twenty-eight years.
Because of that, I naturally built walls.
You could call it a kind of defense mechanism.
Casual familiarity.
I drew the line at exactly that level, and if anyone tried to cross it, I cut them off immediately.
I maintained those relationships as rigorously as a well-designed system.
The only exception was Yoo So-young, who had come in before the walls went up.
......But.
Today, for the first time, I realized there was someone even that ironclad system couldn't handle.
Wednesday morning.
On my way to the lecture hall for a Sorcery Track class.
Unlike the students moving briskly around me, my steps kept stopping.
['Greed' asks if it can eat that.]
No.
['Greed' asks if it can eat this.]
Not that either.
['Greed'.......]
"No! I said no, you bastard!"
No, why the hell was this lunatic throwing a fit about eating people—
[Greed warns you not to ignore it.]
[Originally, Greed is a primal desire that began at the dawn of time......]
"Shut up!"
[.......]
Ugh, seriously.
It had planted itself inside me like a virus, so I couldn't ignore it.......
And it asked every time I encountered something, so it was enough to drive me up the wall.
I raised my right hand and muttered as if pleading.
"Please, just be quiet......."
"Excuse me?"
That was when I heard a familiar voice.
Joo A-rin had approached without my noticing and was wearing a slightly sulky expression.
['Greed' says that woman is......]
Do you really want to die?
[......'Greed' says she's pretty.]
I frowned without meaning to, but the same went for her.
"......I guess people do become mentally unstable after mana exhaustion, don't they?"
"What are you talking about? I'm completely fine."
"They all say that. The problem is that they're usually not actually fine......."
"I'm not like that. My body comes first, so if anything feels even a little off, I rest right away."
"Well, that does make sense."
Joo A-rin nodded with a rather serious expression.
Why did she accept that so readily?
Just as I was about to respond, Joo A-rin spoke first.
"Did you check your text?"
"Text?"
When I asked as if I had no idea, Joo A-rin let out a soft sigh.
"The department office sent a text this morning about the civilian support operation."
"Ah. Hold on. I've been out of it since morning."
I clenched my right hand with an audible crack, then checked my messages.
As expected, there had been a series of disappearances near Wonju, Gangwon Province.
The government had requested assistance to stabilize public welfare, and Class A had been selected to help.
When my gaze left my phone, Joo A-rin continued as if she'd been waiting.
"The support period is three days total. Departure is tomorrow, and the patrol teams were organized according to the live-combat training teams."
"So that's why you came looking for me first thing in the morning."
"As team leader, I need to confirm my team members' participation. But are you really okay?"
"My body? Of course."
I held up my arm for no real reason. It didn't have much effect.
A crease briefly formed between Joo A-rin's brows.
"......I'll take it that you're participating for now."
"Yeah."
"Just in case, make sure to visit the infirmary too."
"I'm telling you, I'm really fine."
"Then I'll be going."
Joo A-rin glanced at her wristwatch as if she were busy, then walked away without hesitation.
Good grief.
Well, whatever she thought wasn't my business.......
But a thought suddenly occurred to me.
What if I actually slipped away midway using my physical condition as an excuse?
If I needed to act in secret, that could make a decent alibi.
I smiled with satisfaction and went online to look up articles about the disappearances.
[Wonju on edge over series of missing persons.......]
[Shock as Wonju missing persons include 7-year-old girl.......]
The breaking stories were fresh enough to catch my eye immediately.
Most outlets focused on the lack of any common factor among the missing and reported the cases as random attacks by local Monsters.
"What a load of nonsense."
Knowing the truth, I couldn't help but scoff.
This was a far more serious incident than it seemed.
The Demonkin were a problem, but the actual number of missing people was well over twenty, and the surrounding Monsters had already been wiped out—an incident of that scale.......
Anyway, thinking about meeting them soon, I felt more excitement than fear.
Baek Sa-young was the lead in this episode too, but I'd be the one staging it.......
My policy was to avoid adapting the original work as much as possible, but this time was an exception.
The Essence of Demonic Energy was one reason, and without taking a roundabout route I wouldn't be able to insert myself into the episode at all.
So what choice did I have?
Since I was doing it anyway, I might as well set the stage properly.
"Soon, I'll feed you until your stomach bursts. So stop asking. Got it?"
['Greed' nods its head vigorously.]
* * *
An unnamed sorrowful realm nestled in Chiaksan Mountain, Wonju, Gangwon Province
"S-sa... save."
"Aaaaaaah—"
Among the people trembling like aspen leaves, a massive serpent—a Grade 8 Monster—slithered.
Crackle. Crackle.
The massive serpent was a dull black, its heavy color matching its imposing bulk as it carefully searched for prey.
Once it had apparently made its choice, it stopped in front of a little girl in a pretty red dress.
"Hic."
The child had lost her wits and couldn't even speak, but the serpent paid no mind.
Rather, to swallow her in one gulp, it opened its maw, easily twice her size, wide—
"Stop."
—but at the voice that suddenly rang out, it couldn't close it.
The one who had saved the girl was a slender, pale-skinned man.
His striking feature was a pair of narrow, slit-like eyes.
"I told you to scare them. When did I say you could eat them?"
The man spread his arms affectionately and called the serpent to him.
The serpent, which had been ferociously driving the people into a corner, darted into his embrace as if it had never done any such thing and rubbed its huge head against him.
The man stroked the serpent's head and quietly scolded it.
"I've kept you for years. But if instinct comes before my orders, that puts me in a rather bad mood, don't you think?"
That was their last conversation.
The hand that had been affectionately stroking suddenly burrowed into the serpent's skull.
Squelch.
With the sound of its head bursting, red blood and yellowish brain matter scattered in all directions.
The man, drenched in all of it as if it were only natural, grinned and muttered.
"If you bring shame to your master's name, you have to die. Don't you agree?"
It was a verdict only that man could deliver.
It was possible because Kiat himself was a Demonkin born with snake traits.......
Kiat carelessly tossed aside the limp serpent and approached the child.
He reached out a hand smeared with saliva and stroked her head, and the child trembled violently as if she were about to lose her mind.
"...S-save... me."
"Why? Do you hate me too because I'm a Demonkin?"
It was just as Kiat's pupils narrowed thinly like a snake's.
"Kiat."
A man with a massive build that seemed to weigh down the room entered, disrupting the atmosphere.
The mere fact that he had spoken Kiat's name so casually was proof enough of his standing.
The man's name was Midas.
He, too, was a Demonkin with a distinctive alias.
Midas swept his gaze around the room, which had become a wreck, and spoke in an indifferent tone.
"The extraction work will be finished by tomorrow. Let's talk while we watch."
"Now?"
Midas nodded and led the way. Kiat smacked his lips and followed.
They went outside and entered another building, where yet more hideous screams rang out.
The source of the screams was a massive Erlenmeyer flask containing dozens of Monsters.
Blink—
As the magic circle engraved on the floor flickered repeatedly, a scene no different from a living hell unfolded inside the flask.
Forced extraction of Demonic Energy.
The Monsters, writhing in agony as if their living flesh were being torn out, began to collapse to the floor one by one.
In contrast, the extracted Demonic Energy rose with an even deeper black light and gathered toward the narrow mouth of the flask.
As the process repeated, a black droplet finally formed at the end like a flower blooming.
The Essence of Demonic Energy.
A high-purity concentrate created only by compressing Demonic Energy steeped in resentment again and again.
When the material they were harvesting finally took form, Kiat asked.
"How much is left until the target amount?"
"Five percent. By tomorrow, this tiresome process will finally be over. Next is the humans' turn."
"Five percent?"
Kiat frowned slightly.
It was because he judged that the remaining number of Monsters wasn't enough to fill five percent.
"This is annoying. I'll have to take the Mangnyang out once more."
"I'm counting on you."
"Is it still quiet outside?"
"Not exactly. A few humans have been patrolling the area since the morning."
"Yosal Corps?"
"No."
"Then?"
"Taehak."
"Taehak?"
A sneer suddenly tugged at Kiat's lips as he repeated the name.
Even the Yosal Corps wouldn't be enough.
With those brats' abilities, they couldn't even discover this specially created place.......
"Even if they somehow get lucky and come in, we can just kill them."
Midas spoke flatly, as if dealing with bothersome insects.
Kiat, who had been cackling, soon erased the name Taehak from his mind as well.
"I'm curious, though. A combination of serum and essence."
"Do you not trust the brokers?"
"No, that's not what I meant. It's just interesting. If we can raise our standing with such a simple method, things will get very entertaining from now on, won't they?"
His already narrow eyes bent into an even sharper line.