A New Ancient Gear (1)

I stepped into Flame's archives.

Soso had summoned me there. She'd sent a message saying there were documents that needed sorting.

But why call me here of all places?

She'd summoned me — and then said nothing at all.

Her outfit today was unusual, too. A tight gray dress that traced every line of her figure, a beige cardigan thrown over it. She sat in a chair in the archives just like that, watching me in silence and nothing else.

The atmosphere feels... off.

Since the last business trip, Soso's demeanor had clearly changed. And within her, the Blood Demon that had vanished had come back to life.

Don't tell me the Blood Demon has taken Soso?

An instinctive unease rose in me, but she wasn't actually doing anything, so I raised my guard only slightly and started tidying the archives.

The place was already well organized, though; there wasn't much to do. Then I stopped in front of a file, reading the name on its cover.

The moment I saw that title, my body went rigid.

Flame's archives required access clearance. Soso was a core member of Flame, so her being here wasn't a problem, and she'd brought me along — but this material was Flame's classified information, never released to the outside.

I glanced at Soso. She was looking at me in front of that file, saying nothing.

I suppose that means I'm allowed to look.

I opened the file. And there it was — the record of those unforgettable few days. Fortunately, there was no part where my memory had distorted the truth.

I had been unconscious for a year, and two years had already passed, but the memory of the Tragedy of Eins remained vivid.

I compared that memory in detail against the documents inside the file. The one difference was the record concerning Soso.

The author of this document was Yuri. So the account of when I had broken through Yuri's millennial barrier and rushed out, only to confront Soso, was not as detailed as the rest.

When Soso and I — no, when the Blood Demon and I — had faced each other, only the two of us had been there. That a record remained at all meant Yuri had taken Soso's testimony.

That was the gist of it. But the reason Soso had awakened as the Blood Demon was ultimately me, not the Doubtful Monster.

Whether Yuri knew that or not, I couldn't say. Even if she did, she would never have recorded the shame of the Young Heavenly Demon — heir to a great house of Muguk — as it truly was.

The combat records after that matched what I remembered.

Soso, awakened as the Blood Demon, and her Heavenly Demon Divine Art. Before that tyrannical swordsmanship, I had had to stake my life. Still, I had managed to push the Blood Demon back by a hair, and in the end I had persuaded Soso.

To turn back the heart of Soso, who had not yet had her entire consciousness stolen by the Blood Demon, I had held her tight.

That part isn't in the record.

I still remembered the words the Blood Demon had shouted then.

What I had attempted then was a kiss. Just as, when I had first joined Flame, I had been able to stop the awakened Blood Demon with a kiss.

I still remembered the Blood Demon's eyes and presence from that moment. A dangerous gaze overflowing with killing intent — and yet a beautiful, seductive atmosphere that seemed capable of enticing any man in an instant.

And Soso now?

I glanced back at her. An outfit and a face that would make anyone turn their head on the street. But it was nothing like her usual, somewhat vacant air.

An infinitely serious expression. Fortunately, though, there was none of the Blood Demon's distinctive, chilling presence I had felt a month ago. This was definitely Soso.

And in that moment, her eyes met mine, and she finally opened her mouth.

"You are a truly frivolous man."

The moment I heard those words, I was thrown.

I'm frivolous?

I couldn't understand what she meant, and I hesitated. In that time, Soso stood up from her seat. She approached the archives door and locked it.

"Now you won't be able to run away like a coward."

It was a remark as if she intended to imprison me. Having said that, she came toward me again. I tried to shout at her, but the words wouldn't come out.

She pinned my body... with mana?

As if caught in sleep paralysis. I couldn't move an inch. I could feel mana boiling thickly around Soso's body.

An A-Rank awakened. And the highest-tier mana acceleration method — an A-Rank hunter who had mastered the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.

I was in a state where I could use some mana now, but I couldn't reverse the difference in weight class at this moment.

More than anything, the atmosphere radiating from Soso — so unwholesome it felt wicked — called to mind that familiar name.

The Blood Demon?

Otherwise, there was no explaining this sudden behavior. For a moment, the Blood Demon might have taken control of Soso.

"Stay still, just like that."

Soso shoved my body as she was. The table in front of the chair she had been sitting in — she drove me toward it and sat me ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on top of it.

Then she — whether Soso or the Blood Demon, I couldn't tell — lightly toyed with my lips with the tip of her finger.

Then she seized the necktie I had been wearing over my shirt, gripping it tight.

Soon our faces were pressed close. And she spoke in a low, sunken voice.

"Back when you attended Eins, you used this wench Yeon Soso's affection to grow even closer to Yuri Tarkovskaya. I thought you were a man so desperately fallen for one woman that you'd freely use another's heart. And now you go playing around, kissing some other woman. Not even Yuri — some other woman."

In that instant, I understood why Soso was doing this. She had changed starting from the last business trip.

She must have witnessed the kiss Arin and I had shared that night in the dungeon.

Why was Soso there?

Of course Soso had participated in the dungeon for supervision, but there was no reason for her to come find me secretly at night.

No — she might have had a reason. Just as she had held my hand on the Hong Kong trip. Soso still had feelings for me.

So... seeing me with Arin, the Blood Demon came back...

If that was the case, it was dangerous. The instinctive terror I had felt from the murderer Doubtful Monster. But compared to Soso, born under the fate of the Heavenly Killing Star, the source of that terror was incomparable.

Pursuing slaughter for pleasure, versus existing for slaughter itself — their vessels of fate were different from the start.

I have to stop Soso.

But my body still wouldn't move. Still gripping the necktie, Soso pressed the tip of her other hand to my lips again. She kept toying with them.

Then at last she brought her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠own lips to mine. Our lips met. I felt all of Soso's breath.

After a light kiss, she spoke to me.

"Haa... Yes. These lips are exactly what I wanted... No. What I desired was you. This lady has wanted you for a very long time."

I moved my body as if to resist again. But Soso — no, the Blood Demon — increased her dominance over my body even further.

"There is no need to resist. If you quietly accept my heart, I shall not harm you. This lady likes you. No — I love you. So much that if I cannot have you, I would want to destroy every last part of you. Haa..."

And she pressed her lips to mine again. A moment later she pulled away, then toyed with my earlobe as she continued.

"I know your situation. That with your personality, you surely feel guilt toward this wench. And that for the sake of your revenge, this wench's sword — her Heavenly Demon Divine Art — is desperately necessary."

With an even more viscous gaze, the Blood Demon looked into my eyes.

A seductive face I could never associate with the usual Soso. I wanted to escape her. And at the same time, I wanted to be bound by her.

What... am I thinking right now...?

It wasn't just my body. Soso's — no, the Blood Demon's — mana had entered my mana roads.

Previously, because of Elder Yeon Moon-woo's secret technique, she had directly examined my mana roads, so it wouldn't be difficult.

So the Blood Demon might be placing a suggestion as if to control my heart. But deep inside, I couldn't deny her words.

My guilt toward Soso was great. And yet, to take revenge on Red Lake, I desperately needed her power. All of that was true.

Those ignoble feelings, the Blood Demon's words bound like chains. But I snapped my mind to attention.

And I grew afraid that the Blood Demon might harm Yuri and Arin.

Resisting that feeling of being unconsciously enchanted by her, I barely opened my mouth and cried out.

"Don't... say weird things... Yuri... and Arin. They have nothing to do with me..."

At those words, the Blood Demon gripped the necktie even harder.

"What a cute lie. I am not as soft as this wench Yeon Soso. How dare you lie before this lady..."

"Kh... That's not it. Until I put all of... all of Red Lake on the gallows. I decided... I wouldn't give my heart to anyone... Don't... misunderstand..."

In that moment, the ominous energy filling the Blood Demon eased slightly.

"...Those words. They aren't a lie, are they?"

"Like this... I'm dominating your mana roads... so you can feel it. Whether my words are a lie or not..."

Just as those words said. The feelings for Yuri and Arin, and for Soso, were clearly inside me.

But I had resolved that no one, no emotion, would cross a certain line. That was my atonement for causing the death of the most beautiful lover in the world.

Si-woo and... Min-ah...

Then she truly injected mana, and the Blood Demon directly confirmed my breathing, the tremor of that mana.

Soon the pressure that had been constricting me began to ease. I thought I could at least speak now.

"It truly isn't a lie. Then the other day... why did you kiss Seong Arin...?"

I couldn't answer that. That kiss had been the maximum I could offer in response to Arin's devotion.

And I didn't particularly want to tell the Blood Demon that fact.

"I'm a man too. Even if you're not dating, if the mood is right, that kind of thing can happen. In this day and age."

At those words, the Blood Demon's gaze trembled for an instant. But she soon threw me a provocative look.

"You speak like a playboy. Well, that's fine. If you really are that frivolous a man, then even this worthless wench has a chance."

"Enough nonsense. Stop this game and let Soso go. It's work hours right now."

"I don't want to. It's a rare moment with you. This lady wants to have more fun... If you insist."

Then she smiled seductively and wrapped her arm around my neck. Her upper body pressed down on me firmly.

"Well, if you show me some sincerity, it's not as if I can't listen. And as I already said, you owe this wench a debt, do you not?"

The Blood Demon's breath was right there. And the arm embracing my neck was as unyielding as hell itself, inescapable.

Damn it. I have no choice.

I knew what the Blood Demon wanted. And I knew that leaving her out this long wasn't good for Soso.

In the end, I wrapped my arms around her neck. And then the kiss of the two embracing people began.

A deep kiss, lips crossing over each other. The demonic aura the Blood Demon emitted grew even thicker.

For a moment, I nearly had my heart shaken by her breath, so wickedly beautiful — but I held on desperately.

After that long kiss continued, the Blood Demon finally vanished. I held Soso tight as she lost consciousness and collapsed into my arms.

"Reaping... what I sowed, I guess."

I let out a deep sigh. And I waited until Soso regained consciousness.

Soso and I had a business trip scheduled for the afternoon, after all.

That afternoon, Yeon Soso's feelings were a tangle.

She was riding in a car with Lee Minsu, Flame's intern — no, now confirmed for conversion to a full employee.

The other interns had completed their Ancient Gear purchases, but Minsu hadn't used that budget on the Hong Kong trip.

However, because of the Ancient Gear he had obtained as a reward and through a wager during this intern program trip, they needed to stop by Pyongyang, in what had once been North Korea.

It seemed that besides selling that gear, there was an Ancient Gear there that Minsu needed.

The two who had departed from Seoul were already about halfway there. Minsu, who was driving, spoke to Soso sitting in the passenger seat.

"If you're tired, you're welcome to rest your eyes. If you're bored, shall I put on some music?"

"I am fine. You, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠who are driving, must be the more tired."

"Understood. Ah, there's a rest stop coming up soon. Shall we stop by briefly? Even just a simple snack..."

"...Th-that would be good."

She could hardly bring herself to speak first to Minsu, riding in the car together. For Soso, that was only natural. There was what she had done to him.

Because of what had happened that morning in the archives at Flame Guild Headquarters, Soso kept calling the Blood Demon. But the Blood Demon remained silent for a long time.

Finally, just as she was about to give up on getting an answer, Soso ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠heard a surprisingly cold voice from within her heart.

Soso's heart sank. The Blood Demon continued.