Chapter 98
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 098
Chapter Title: Business Ethics
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"Uh, no... that."
"What's wrong with you guys."
Kyle flashed a sly smile at them as they faltered, unable to continue.
"I told you to keep going?"
His expression hardened into a cold glare.
"Do what you were doing."
"!!"
"Son of a bitch!"
At that moment, a high-pitched whine rang out as the broker's right foot accelerated at blinding speed.
In the blink of an eye, a high kick rocketed straight for Kyle's face.
Boom!!
The speed was so ferocious that the impact sent dust billowing through the warehouse with a dull thud.
But the two men could only gape in shock moments later.
There stood Kyle, casually blocking the heavy blow with one hand, as if it were nothing more than a child's playful tap.
In that instant, crackling sparks raced across his body—the unmistakable aura of the dragon.
He opened his mouth.
"Impressive."
"......!"
"Even in a neutral zone close to the surface, the lower layers are still the lower layers, huh."
To think even the broker could unleash an attack with this much power.
If Kyle's level hadn't risen much, or if he lacked [Dragon's Manifestation], he might not have blocked it so easily.
But now, he was different.
Grip tightening on the broker's foot.
Crunch!
"Gah!!"
A crumpling sound echoed as the broker desperately tried to yank his foot free, but it wouldn't budge an inch.
"Damn it!"
Panicking, he spun on the spot and swung his other foot.
But Kyle had already reacted half a second earlier.
A slight tilt of the head backward was all it took to make the strike whiff harmlessly.
Whoosh!!
Kyle whipped the captured leg sideways, slicing through empty air with the heel.
"Gyaaah!?"
Kaboom!!
Like a ragdoll, the broker hurtled through the air in a flashy arc before slamming into the wall.
"You bastard...!!"
At that instant, a sharp shing cut the air as a dagger hurtled toward Kyle.
He sidestepped without even looking, evading it effortlessly.
Turning his gaze, he saw a man in a suit aiming a monomolecular cutter—a priceless dagger that could slice steel like butter.
"Oh, you've got some spirit."
Kyle smirked and crooked a beckoning finger.
"Come at me."
"Raaah!!"
Unlike his clean-cut appearance, the man fought like a true denizen of the lower layers.
The slashing blade was sharp enough.
As Kyle twisted aside to dodge...
"Die!!"
A sudden whine—his arm implant rocketing into overdrive.
"Oh."
The blade veered ninety degrees in a lethal ambush.
"...What?!"
But Kyle flicked the man's wrist aside with a casual tap, deflecting it effortlessly.
"Y-You bastard!!"
Undeterred, a flurry of rapid strikes followed—proficient dagger work paired with erratic implant bursts that set it apart from surface-level thugs.
But that was it.
To the current Kyle, it was all something he could parry, deflect, and swat away with one hand.
'His dagger skills are intriguing, sure...'
Kyle gauged his opponent's level and thought.
'But not quite worth dying for.'
In that moment, the dagger—now gripped in reverse—lunged for his carotid.
Kyle blocked the wrist with his right hand, then yanked the arm inward.
"?!"
The suited man's balance shattered as he lurched forward.
A fluid punch smashed his nasal bone to pieces.
Crunch!
Short, but devastatingly heavy.
"Aaaagh!!"
As blood fountained from his nose, Kyle shook out his hand and asked casually.
"So, that Demonic Knight told you to find me?"
"W-Wait! Just a second...!"
"Is that right?"
"Gah?!"
Kyle swept the man's legs, forcing him to his knees, then roughly seized his jaw.
"Guh... ack...!"
'W-What the hell...!'
The man's eyes trembled violently.
'I can't... follow his movements... at all...!'
It felt like a child facing an adult.
The overwhelming gap plunged him into horror and confusion.
'This guy... is he really from the surface?!'
Kyle pressed him again.
"Answer me. Is that right?"
"Y-Yes! Yes! That's right! A Demonic Knight who arrived in Sector 20 recently... asked the sector chief to track down your location...!"
"Ah."
'They're after me because I took down one of their comrades... that makes sense. But...'
Kyle's eyes narrowed.
'They knew I'd come to the lower layers.'
For some reason, the pale-faced man he'd seen through [Heavenly Eye] flashed in his mind.
'The Herald... was it?'
Maybe the name itself hinted at the man's true nature.
"So, what's the meeting place and time?"
"I-I don't know that! I swear!"
"You don't know?"
Kyle's eyes gleamed murderously.
[Heavenly Eye]
"Don't lie to me. You know."
"...!!"
Sparks of lightning mana crackled before his eyes.
The suited man blanched and screamed.
"Br-Brahman Sector!"
"Brahman Sector?"
He nodded frantically.
"A bloodkin tribute negotiation at the Conventus Hall in the upper levels of Brahman Sector! Th-The time is three-thirty in two days...!"
Swallowing hard, he continued.
"B-But even if you know, it's useless. Brahman Sector isn't a place anyone can just enter. Especially breaking through their tight security..."
"Hey, that's not for you to worry about."
Kyle leaned down, staring him straight in the eye.
"I'll decide that."
"H-Hiiik...!"
"One more thing."
Tightening his grip on the man's jaw, Kyle continued.
"I'm letting you live right now for one reason."
"...!!"
"You're a civil servant at the district office, right?"
The man's eyes bulged.
"H-How did you...?"
"Never mind. Listen up."
Kyle's eyes burned fiercely.
"When it's time to clock in, act like nothing happened today. You were never summoned by that broker tonight. You never met me. Got it?"
He warned the man further.
"If you go blabbing about me... wonder what might happen?"
The man shook his head vigorously.
"N-No, no!"
"Smart choice. I wouldn't want to know either, if I were you."
The man gulped.
"For the next two days, just pretend to work. If anyone asks about me, brush it off. Sure, you might get called incompetent, but that's better than seeing my face again, right?"
The man nodded like his life depended on it.
"I-I'll play dumb. Yes!"
"Good. This isn't just talk. I hope you heed my sincere advice."
"Yes! Yes!! Understood! I'll keep it in mind—burn it into my soul!"
"...Hmm. No. I still can't trust you with just that."
Grabbing his collar and yanking him up, Kyle said.
"Let's make it stick."
"...Pardon?"
[Amon's Terror Curse]
"A-Aaaah! Nooo!!"
Branded with absolute terror, a piercing scream echoed through the alley.
Clatter, clatter.
The rumble of the carriage mingled with a chill wind seeping through ragged clothes.
On the road to Sector 20's neutral zone.
Surrounded by bloodkin rabble, the demon girl trembled inside the iron-barred carriage and burst into tears.
"Sis..."
"It's okay, Nien. It's okay. I'm right here."
Her sister hugged her tight and whispered softly.
"Shh. It's fine. Don't be scared. Everything's gonna be alright."
But her hidden expression in the darkness told a different story.
It had been two days since they left Sector 21, ruled by the bloodkin.
At this pace, they'd reach the neutral zone soon.
'And then...'
They'd be handed straight to the Demonic Knights and dragged back to hellish Sector 23.
What came after was all too predictable.
Shuddering at the thought, she squeezed her eyes shut.
The Traitor Demon King was infamous for showing no mercy to fleeing demons.
He'd have his Demonic Knights drag them into the abyss and toss them in.
And that would be the end.
They'd lose their demonic identity in the darkness, reborn as mindless "demonic thralls."
Gazing at her little sister in her arms, she thought.
'Not that... anything but that...!'
Most demonic thralls had no sense of self.
Only knight-class and their elite attendants were granted egos.
Demonic thralls were puppets bound to the Demon King's hive mind of darkness, obeying its will alone.
Once turned, they could never return—not until the Demon King's darkness vanished.
Clatter, clatter.
In the heavy silence, only the creak of wheels pierced their ears.
"Sis..."
The demon girl burrowed deeper into her sister's embrace and murmured.
"When's the Hero coming...?"
"......"
"Grandpa said the late great Demon King promised that the Hero would come soon and save us all. But when? Wh-What if we die before he gets here?"
"Nien, that's..."
The girl sniffled softly.
"I'm... so scared, sis..."
As she groped for words to comfort her shaking sister, a handcuffed demon youth across from them scoffed.
"Hah, still babbling about the Hero?"
"...Gwen!"
"You still believe that nonsense?"
"!!"
Gwen glared at the girl.
"Hah, the Hero? Listen up, Nien. That's just fairy tales our pathetic ancestors cooked up for false hope."
"G-Gwen, bro?"
"No Hero exists. No one's saving us. We'll either get dragged to the Demon King's castle, crushed like bugs by the Traitor, or stripped of our egos and turned into thralls. Got it?"
The woman raised her voice.
"Gwen! Enough!"
"Lunien! How long are you gonna peddle those lies?!"
"What?"
"Until Nien's thrown into the dark by those bastards? Pretending the slaughtered previous Demon King left some prophecy?!"
"That's...!"
Tears welling, Nien glared back at Gwen.
"No."
"No what?"
"No! The Hero exists! He'll come save us soon!"
"Cut the crap! I'm sick of hearing about your damn Hero!"
"No! No! Stupid bro! The Hero will save us! Right, sis? You think so too, right?"
Lunien faltered at her sister's pleading eyes.
Should she tell this innocent child the harsh truth?
Or give her this meaningless hope, even if it changed nothing?
Just then, a middle-aged demon by the bars, eyes closed, warned.
"Lady Lunien! Sir Gwen! They're coming!"
"...!!"
Lunien swiftly clamped a hand over her sister's mouth.
A thick stench of blood assaulted their noses.
A bloodkin rabble parted the tent and climbed atop the prison-packed carriage, eyes narrowed.
In his hand dangled a human neck, drained dry.
"...A warning. Don't try anything stupid."
He strode between the bars.
"You're to be kept alive, but not necessarily intact."
"...!"
His red eyes peered at the trembling demons.
"Demons are tough. Losing a limb or two won't kill you, right?"
Nien shuddered, eyes squeezed shut at the eerie voice.
"So stay quiet as mice. Before I pick a demonstration."
The demons shrank in terror.
"Hahaha! Ahahaha!!"
Lunien hugged her sister tighter amid the rabble's satisfied laughter.
There was no Hero. She could say it with certainty.
No proof the previous Demon King ever spoke those words before dying.
Most who passed on the tale were long dead or enthralled.
Even among them, few truly believed the prophecy.
But right now, she clung to any straw.
'If by some miracle... if that prophecy was real...'
The previous Demon King's words echoed in her mind.
"Mourn not."
"Soon, the chosen Hero shall descend upon this land and deliver our salvation."
"His holy sword shall fell the knights of darkness and redeem even their fallen souls."
"Endure and wait."
"Until the day the Savior unleashes the sealed power of our kin in the shadows and leads us into a new era."
⟨ Prophecy of the Previous Demon King ⟩
'I don't care what happens to me. Please...'
Lunien gazed sadly at her little sister.
'Just save Nien, at least.'
No, she didn't even need a Hero.
'Anyone... please...'
But her desperate wish dissolved into the lower layers' darkness.
Just clatter, clatter.
The carriage wheels echoed quietly under the night sky.
"Jeez."
Meanwhile, at a neutral zone inn.
Walter stared at the bound and battered broker in disbelief.
"Doesn't this broker scum have any business ethics?"