Chapter 430: A Festering Heart.
Chapter 430: A Festering Heart.
The soaring flames died down, and the thick smoke began to dissipate.
Soon, the image became clearer, revealing a scene where Mamon lay groaning on the ground as a man hoisted the demon up.
The view then panned out to show the entire landscape. It wasn't just one demon who had fallen, nor was there only one male User.
Nearly ten demons, with Mamon at the center, were scattered about in disarray. In front of them, groups of one to four Users were swarming each fallen demon, engaged in their own individual activities.
—You insect-like humans, how dare you…! Ah, aaargh! Aaaaargh!
—Uha, uhahaha! A demon, you say? This bitch has quite a special taste, doesn't she?
—Ah, it hurts! It huuurts!
—Kngh… This is fucking amazing. So good.
A female demon lay pinned to the ground, crying out as the Users who called her a bitch violated her. They took turns enjoying themselves to their heart's content before finally shoving a sword into her neck and slicing it open vertically with all their might. The female demon’s body twitched once, then moved no more.
—St-stop! Kgh, knghhh!
—Unni, unni! Look at this. This monster has horns and wings! Don't you think they'll be useful? Let's see… should we try tearing them off?
—Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!
—Forget that, just pull out its heart for now. The Clan Lord said we might be able to increase our stats if we consume it.
In another corner, a group was engrossed in dismantling a demon. They laughed and giggled as they cut off its head, pulled out its horns, tore off its wings, and ripped out its heart. The demon finally couldn't bear it any longer; its eyes rolled back and its tongue lolled out. It was a miserable end.
The video feed returned to Mamon and the man.
The man didn't seem to be in perfect condition either. Several parts of his body were scorched, and his left arm was bleeding profusely. But he was in better shape than the demon. Mamon's four limbs had already been severed, leaving only his head and torso.
—Hmm… Nice.
A gentle smile formed on the man’s lips as he looked around. He then turned back to Mamon and, without hesitation, reached for his chest. He tore roughly through the flesh, digging inside, and three seconds later, his hand shot back out, clutching something that dripped with black blood.
Suddenly, a clear flame began to engulf Mamon’s entire body. The man, with a look of disinterest, tossed the burning demon aside. Then, as if playing a game, he began tossing the heart in his hand up and down as he slowly started to walk away.
Fwoosh, fwoosh!
Flames and smoke once again filled the screen.
“That is all.”
The moment Satan’s voice rang out, the video vanished and the light from the magic circle died. Pitch-black darkness returned to the space, and with it, a heavy silence descended. All of the ‘Seven Great Demons’ were left speechless by what they had just witnessed.
As they all remained silent, Astaroth finally spoke, breaking the stillness.
“Wow… what a devilish bastard. He’s a truly evil one.”
“Demons. Us.”
Baal retorted, hugging her teddy bear tightly. Astaroth scratched his head lightly before speaking again.
“So… Asmodeus? How did things end up like that? I can understand the other demons, but… why on earth did you send Mamon?”
“Sending the demons led by Mamon was Asmodeus’s original plan. However…”
The answer came from Lucifer. The ‘Fallen Angel’ paused for a moment before letting out a short sigh and continuing.
“The order was reversed. Mamon was supposed to appear after our operation on the Western Continent succeeded and we had sufficiently sown our seeds on the Northern Continent.”
“But the Western Continent operation was a failure from the start.”
As Astaroth spoke with a tone of disbelief, Asmodeus bowed his head even lower, now tearing at his own hair.
“Kel… I know I was hasty. B-but! Mamon’s appearance was perfect. After all the time I spent preparing, it was flawless! I thought it was a decisive move to turn this frustrating situation around…”
“But you were completely shut down. I heard they stormed in the moment the summoning ritual ended, right? Ah~. So that’s how you were defeated so pathetically~.”
Asmodeus tried to argue, but when Lilith pointed it out with a mocking tone, he immediately shut his mouth with a “Kel.” However, his eyes flashed with lust as he glared at Lilith. The ‘Queen of the Night’ did not miss his gaze.
It was then that Satan spoke.
“There was certainly nothing wrong with the plan. Although it was a bit rushed, and I didn't agree with it… at the very least, there was no risk of the summoning being discovered. I certainly thought so, too.”
As Satan spoke, all eyes naturally turned to the ‘Adversary.’ Satan tapped lightly on the armrest and continued quietly.
“But as Lilith said, they stormed in the moment Mamon’s summoning ritual was complete. As if they were aiming for the moment we were at our weakest.”
“Secret. Leaked.”
“A traitor in our midst. That’s possible. But Baal, there’s another way to look at it.”
“Another way. How.”
Baal tilted her head. Satan smiled faintly and removed the hand that was resting on his forehead. He finally raised his head and looked over everyone present.
“Perhaps… that man knew the location of the summoning in advance.”
“Are you saying the angels told him?”
“We can’t rule out the possibility, but there were no signs. In fact, despite Mamon’s significant influence, we couldn’t find any particular fluctuations in the law of causality either.”
“Then…”
Astaroth asked, puzzled. He had not yet grasped the meaning of what Satan was trying to say.
“Well… In any case, let’s end the meeting here for now.”
At that moment, Satan slowly rose to his feet. He was barely over 180 cm tall. Judging by his physique alone, he was nothing more than an ordinary man.
“A-already? Hey, where are you going?” Astaroth shouted.
Step.
But as the ‘King of All Demons’ took a single step forward, the quiet space rippled violently. Satan stepped forward with his right foot, then leisurely with his left.
“My objective for today—showing you that video—has been achieved.”
“Even so.”
“It’s not enough yet. And… we can cooperate out of necessity, but are we not fundamentally independent beings?”
“…Just say you don’t know if you don’t know. Or that you’ll look into it. Why do you have to cut things off and be so cryptic and talk in circles…”
Astaroth grumbled under his breath. Satan offered no reply.
Soon after Satan vanished from the space, the remaining six demons also rose one by one.
*
Thwack!
A young man leaped as lightly as a bird, scaling a tree. The moment his hand touched a thick branch, he kicked off again, intending to use the momentum to propel himself higher into the air.
Crack!
But had he used too much force? The sound of a branch snapping echoed, and the young man’s body swayed from side to side. He flailed his arms frantically, trying to regain his balance, but in the end, he plummeted to the ground.
Thud!
The young man crashed onto the earth. He reflexively tried to push himself up, but he only collapsed again.
“Hyung-nim!”
He heard someone shout urgently as they ran toward him. The voice called him ‘Hyung-nim,’ so it was clearly a man, but his tone had a somewhat feminine quality.
“Hyung-nim! Hyun-hyung-nim! Are you okay?”
“…Ugh. I’m not dead.”
The young man, Ahn Hyun, managed to roll over and look up at the sky. A small head suddenly popped into his field of vision, its eyes filled with worry. Ahn Hyun smiled bitterly.
“Get out of the way, kid. I’m already dizzy… you’re giving me a headache.”
“A-are you okay?”
“I don’t know. Everything’s spinning. The sky is spinning. The moon is spinning. The stars are spinning.”
“H-hyung-nim…”
Seeing Baek Hangyul’s crestfallen expression, Ahn Hyun shot up to his feet. He let out a long sigh and quickly scanned his surroundings.
He saw a forest. That was all. Towering trees and dense undergrowth. The night, encountered in the middle of a forest, was accompanied by an eerie stillness and silence.
As Ahn Hyun surveyed the forest, his eyes were filled with exhaustion. They were sunken, his mouth was parched, and his clothes were little more than rags. It seemed his inability to get up right away wasn't just from the impact of the fall.
“Hyung-nim. What should we do now…?”
Perhaps his silence made him anxious. Baek Hangyul finally called out to Ahn Hyun cautiously. But Ahn Hyun didn't answer right away. He simply raised a hand, signaling for quiet, and after a moment, nodded his head.
“Good. No one’s here. We’re safe for now.”
“Th-then how about we rest for a bit? You’re really tired, Hyung-nim. Ever since we got out of there, you’ve been…”
“No. We can’t do that.”
“Ah, Hyung-nim…”
Baek Hangyul pleaded with a desperate voice, but Ahn Hyun shook his head firmly. Now that his head had cleared a little, he raised his black spear and remained vigilant.
“We’re not out yet. We just barely escaped the worst of it. As long as we’re on this mountain, resting isn’t really resting. This entire mountain is basically the enemy. Got it?”
“But we’ve been wandering this mountain for days. If we keep pushing ourselves like this…”
But Ahn Hyun seemed to have no intention of changing his mind. He lowered his spear and roughly ruffled Baek Hangyul’s hair.
“Hey, kid. When Soohyun-hyung led us, this was nothing. How can you be complaining already?”
“Th-that’s true, but.”
Not wanting to whine any further, Baek Hangyul forced a smile and replied.
The warm moment was fleeting. A moment later, the two young men had to face their grim reality once more.
“Hangyul-ah. Let’s get moving. For now, we just need to head down. No matter which direction, let’s focus on getting off this mountain.”
Ahn Hyun said. Baek Hangyul nodded and began to follow behind Ahn Hyun’s staggering steps.
Rustle, rustle. Rustle, rustle.
How long did they walk? The night grew darker, and the path became invisible. Ahn Hyun and Baek Hangyul walked steadily, but it felt like they were on a path with no end. The further they went, the more an inexplicable, chilling feeling crept over them. The only sound in the silent forest was the sound of their own footsteps.
Baek Hangyul’s eyes darted around before he spoke in a drained voice.
“We should have just listened to the Clan Lord-nim. We never should have come here…”
“I’m regretting it too. I should have listened when Hayeon-nunim tried to stop us.”
As Ahn Hyun agreed, Baek Hangyul spoke once more.
“Th-the Clan Lord-nim will be really angry when he gets back, won’t he?”
“Soohyun-hyung? Of course he will. We took a request without permission and failed spectacularly. We abandoned our clients and ran away. We tarnished our perfect 100% request completion rate. And on top of all that, he specifically told us not to take any interest or requests related to this place… He’s probably going to be more than just angry.”
As Ahn Hyun listed their mistakes one by one, Baek Hangyul flinched. He had seen the Clan Lord get angry a few times during his time with the Mercenary Clan. It would be better if he just hit them. Soohyun wasn't one to get angry easily, but Baek Hangyul knew all too well how fiercely he came down on you once you got on his bad side.
Sensing Baek Hangyul’s gloom, Ahn Hyun smiled bitterly.
“Don’t worry. It’s not your fault. I’m the one who dragged you into this… Anyway, let’s just find a way down. It’s better than dying, whether we get scolded or not.”
“……”
“Right?”
“……”
Ahn Hyun stopped walking. Suddenly, there was no reply, and the footsteps behind him had ceased.
He spun around quickly and saw Baek Hangyul standing blankly to one side. Ahn Hyun hurried over to him.
“What are you doing?”
“…Hyung-nim. Just a second.”
Baek Hangyul dazedly lifted his head and held out something in his hand. Ahn Hyun looked down and saw that he was holding a broken tree branch.
“What about it…?”
In that instant, a realization flashed through Ahn Hyun’s mind. He snapped his head up and began frantically looking around the forest.
Soon, Ahn Hyun’s gaze froze on one spot. His eyes were fixed on a particular tree.
The broken branch halfway up the tree, and the branch Baek Hangyul was now holding. It was the same tree Ahn Hyun had briefly climbed before he misstepped and fell. They had been walking in circles this whole time.
No, not everything was the same.
Creaak… Creaak…
A sound drifted toward them, the sound of something slowly swaying, of wood grinding against wood.
“Son of a…”
Ahn Hyun swore reflexively. His instincts screamed that something was terribly wrong. He slowly, very slowly, raised his gaze from the base of the tree.
The first thing he saw was the base of a tree, tinged dark blue.
The next thing he saw was something like black plastic, fluttering gently in the wind.
The next thing he saw looked like the feet of a corpse, so pale they were bluish-white, swaying slowly from side to side. It seemed to be hanging from a rope above, swinging back and forth like a pendulum.
Creaak… crunch… Creaak… crunch…
Ahn Hyun suddenly thought that it had gotten strangely dark. The moonlight, which had been faintly illuminating their surroundings just moments ago, had vanished in an instant.
Creaak… hehe… Creaak… hehe…
Ahn Hyun swallowed hard. Despite that, his throat was parched, creating a burning thirst.
Finally, Ahn Hyun raised his gaze completely and stared at the tree. And when he saw the hair so long it nearly touched the ground and a blood-tinged white dress…
CRACK!
With the sound of something shattering, the hanging thing shot down like the wind.
An eerie laugh and a piercing scream echoed through the dark forest.