Chapter 73
Chapter 73
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: New Order (3)
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Bang—! Bang bang—!
"Damn it all! Why the hell is the Hahoe Mask showing up here?! I thought he was busy chasing down brutal criminals all over Seoul!"
"Shut your trap and drop the gun! You really think that crap works on him?"
Their main gig was small-time robberies to scrape together some cash, so they genuinely believed they weren't the kind of scum who'd draw the Hahoe Mask's attention.
Which made their current predicament feel incredibly unfair. But the deed was done, and with barriers sealing off every direction, they had nowhere to run.
That didn't mean they could just sit there and take it, though.
"Hah!"
Thud—!
One of them shot forward like lightning, planting his foot in a solid stance and channeling the full force of the impact into a punch straight at the Hahoe Mask.
His comrades joined in at once, unleashing everything they had in a coordinated assault.
Boom—!
The barrage of immense energy crashing in from all sides made the black protective barrier ripple, but that was it.
If anything, darkness suddenly surged from the floor, wrapping around their bodies and freezing them in place.
"Ngh..."
"Shit!"
Not just them—the entire area was now engulfed in sticky, viscous darkness.
It was like someone had ripped the abyss of hell straight into reality.
And right in front of them stood the masked figure, radiating pitch-black energy from his entire body...
Staring silently at them, just as he had from the start.
"Heh heh heh... damn, even the Demonic Cult's leader wasn't this intense..."
Just being looked at made their hearts shrivel up—an overwhelming pressure.
Feeling the shadows creeping over their faces, they all had the same thought at once.
...A 'Demon King' had descended upon Earth.
***
"So I told him straight up! 'Senior, that doesn't seem right!' And he just bulged his eyes at me and..."
The drinking session with Taesan dragged on well into the dawn.
I'd figured he'd pass out after a bit and I could just tuck him in, but the guy had clearly been bottling up a grudge against booze he hadn't touched in ages. He showed zero signs of stopping.
'Guy's got a stupidly high tolerance for no damn reason...!'
I was even considering faking a blackout myself when a sudden idea hit me.
I had a dilemma on my mind anyway, and with him this sloshed, now was the perfect chance to float anything without backlash.
'Could use some outside ideas anyway.'
I waited for a lull in his rant and casually slipped it in like it was no big deal.
"Hey, Taesan. So, I've been thinking of trying my hand at writing a novel as a hobby lately."
It came out of left field, but with alcohol fully in charge of his brain, it barely registered as an issue.
"Oh? A novel? From you? What's gotten into you? Alright, what's the plot?"
"Thinking of doing a classic Demon King versus Hero story."
"Classics are solid. Hell, I tried writing one back in the day myself!"
Back in middle school, when his emotions were all over the place, he'd holed up scribbling in a notebook all day, declaring he was gonna be a novelist.
Of course, whatever abysmal puberty-fueled mess he'd produced was probably gathering dust somewhere, but that experience might still spark something useful.
I quickly added a brief rundown.
The core plot: the protagonist embarks on a journey to defeat an evil Demon King revived on the continent, resolving the chaos he unleashes along the way and rising as a hero.
"But even if it's fiction, I feel weird writing about innocent folks getting hurt."
"Hmm... well, if that's how you see it."
He'd been a victim himself not long ago, so Taesan just nodded along without pushback.
"That's why I'd love episodes where the Demon King only crushes bad guys but still builds his infamy. Just can't come up with any."
"Yeah. A wicked Demon King picking and choosing who to kill does feel off."
"Exactly why I've been racking my brain. What do you think would work?"
"Hmm... nothing jumping out right away. Need to mull it over. Anyway, you're still outlining the plot, right? Got names for the characters yet?"
"Uh? N-not yet?"
Names seemed harmless enough to share, but I didn't want to get too detailed, so I brushed it off vaguely.
"Anything but, the hero and Demon King need impactful, cool names. Stuff like Michael, John, or Hans is a total no-go!"
I flinched.
"H-hmm. So, Demon King Hans might be a bit off?"
"Duh! Demon King Hans? Worst ever!"
"B-but I kinda like it. Gives a twist vibe?"
"Twist my ass—it's just lame! This ain't some background extra. Zero impact, like none at all!"
Taesan argued fiercely, his face flushed with excitement.
It was like alcohol flipped a switch in him.
"Picture it: Demon King shows up! But the crowd's like, 'Demon King Hans is here! Run!' Or him going, 'Muahaha! I am Demon King Hans!' Total embarrassment! Laughingstock!"
"I-is it that bad?"
I hadn't dwelled on it before, but hearing his passionate plea started shaking my resolve.
'Wait, he's making way too much sense.'
Austerica's calamity, Immortal King Hans.
Hans was such a common name, there was basically one in every village.
Not exactly befitting the continent's ultimate evil, weight-wise.
'Problem is, the Church already knows that name...'
My ears twitched wildly, but it was too late to change it now.
"If you love it that much, use a nickname or abbreviation. Make the full name badass."
"Oh? Like what?"
"Say, for Hans... Han, S... Hmm... Got it! 'Hannibal Strauss'—super cool, right?"
He dove in like his middle-school passion had reignited, snorting with enthusiasm.
The issue was, I actually thought it sounded pretty good.
With all the booze piling up, a slight buzz settling in, Taesan's fire ignited my own dormant teen angst.
...Yeah, it made perfect sense.
Hans's blanket-kicking antics were part of me, after all.
"And for Demon King army execs, like the Four Heavenly Kings..."
"Then how about..."
And so, we spent the night drinking and passionately brainstorming.
***
'Damn! Dammit all—!'
A lone figure raced through pitch-black darkness.
He kept cursing under his breath, glancing back while stifling his presence as much as possible to muffle his breathing.
'How the hell is there a monster like that?! That's no level 7—that's gotta be 8! The rumors were true?!'
All his comrades, aligned with his cause, had been slaughtered by that one guy.
If not for his evasion-specialized unique skill, he'd have burned up right there with them.
'Goddamn it... Thought we'd finally be free with Alpha gone! But now an even worse bastard shows up!'
He'd enjoyed privileges as the hardliners' Gamma, sure, but what he craved more was freedom.
Living under constant scrutiny in the organization had been hellishly stressful.
'That's why I jumped at the chance when the hardliners collapsed.'
All those summoned to the villa that day were dead and gone.
Lucky to have dodged it, he'd seized the moment, rallying his followers and breaking off immediately.
'Heterosis? Aligning with the moderates? That's even more rules than before! I can't live like that!'
Subjugating to a new lord and no free feeding? Horrifying.
'I'm strong enough for more freedom—why should I bow?'
With Seoul too hot thanks to the Hahoe Mask, they'd holed up in the sticks, operating low-key...
Until somehow their location got leaked.
Today, Heterosis's lord showed up personally.
Right in the middle of a tasting party with their favorite kidnapped humans.
And now, all his underlings were ash. He alone had slipped away.
'This distance should shake him off.'
Even his unique skill was reaching its limit.
His ability to temporarily erase his own existence was powerful but short-duration.
Maxed out, even the sharpest senses missed him up close, letting him ignore barriers and escape—his lifeline so far.
"Hoo... hoo... damn, what a mess."
He'd pushed the skill to its brink, suppressing his aura in constant tension, so he collapsed in place to catch his breath.
Escape successful, but his paths forward were few.
Feeling lost, he sighed deeply and stood to move again when...
"So here you are."
A cold voice froze his thoughts.
"Wh-what?! How...!"
"Impressive skill. Existence just vanishes in an instant. I almost thought I'd lost you until you popped up here."
Heinz 2nd, appearing beside him out of nowhere, approached calmly.
"You tracked my emergence spot...? That's gotta be over 10 kilometers!"
His skill left zero traces, like footprints.
Meaning he'd zeroed in from the disappearance point with no clues...
"What's the problem?"
Heinz shrugged it off nonchalantly.
With his repeated evolutions plus Insight, his transcendent senses wouldn't lose someone he'd already encountered at this range.
"Ha... haha... hahaha."
Unaware, his foe could only laugh hollowly.
"Begging for mercy won't... work, huh?"
"No. You're far too late."
Forcing submission would just breed endless headaches.
His ability was decent, but not the self-managing talent Heinz wanted for Heterosis.
"Can't go down without a fight, though—ghk!"
Stab—
As he gathered power to resist, Heinz's handblade had already pierced his heart deep.
"Why... go this far..."
"That's the new order. Refuse to follow? You're out."
As his foe crumbled to ash, blood drained away, Heinz answered flatly to the final question.
A fleeting look of protest scattered, and silence fell.
'This side's wrapped up. Time to head back.'
Busy day again.
Sensing dawn breaking, Heinz launched toward Seoul.
***
"Welcome back, Lord. Good work."
"Yeah. Any more issues?"
"Nothing pressing. Thanks to all your attention lately, Heterosis has fully taken root in the Blood Alliance."
"I see..."
Dawn, sun rising.
Heinz sank into a chair in Jinsoran's office.
Three weeks plus since founding Heterosis.
His tireless legwork day and night had built enough self-sufficiency for minor issues.
Big threats preemptively handled; henceforth, only intervene on what underlings couldn't manage.
'Meaning my Earth tasks are basically done.'
Prime objective—Heterosis stabilization—complete.
Blood Alliance influence in the underworld proceeding smoothly; goals exceeded.
Seoul now under new order via Hans and Heinz.
Soon to spread nationwide.
'Now Heinz can focus on Austerica.'
Time for separate factions in the otherworld to advance the scenario.
He was perfect for intel-gathering from the shadows.
Having swallowed one organization whole already, confidence ran high for better results.
"Alright, I'm off then. Taking a break for a bit—contact me if something comes up."
"Pardon? You're not coming around anymore?"
"Got personal business. I'll show when needed. Handle the rest yourselves."
That's why she was there.
Heinz 2nd left the office with lighter steps.
Savoring the boss vibe with competent staff...