Baal's Daughter Emerges
Crack.
Thud.
"Hah. It's over."
Inside the cult compound, Canteas dusted off his hands after finishing every last cultist. He had cleaned up even the final remaining believer without leaving a single one standing.
"But there's no information here at all."
While hunting down the cult members, he had rummaged through everything in hopes of finding intel on other branches. Nothing useful turned up. At best, a few papers scribbled with some kind of summoning plan.
"What exactly are they trying to summon?"
Canteas tilted his head as he examined the documents. Just a demon? Then what was this "Gate of the Underworld" written here?
Rumble…
"Huh? This energy…"
Sensing Do-ha's Talhon-heupseong-daebup, Canteas started walking.
Whoosh.
"Do-ha!"
"Done?"
Do-ha, holding the cardinal who had withered into something resembling a mummy, looked over at Canteas. There had been quite a few believers inside the cult, yet it seemed he had handled them without any trouble.
"Huh? That guy…"
Even reduced to a mummy, the features were still recognizable. A dark elf who had long since vanished from history.
"The dark elf was a cardinal?"
"Yeah. I didn't know either."
"Did you absorb his energy?"
"No. I poured it all in here."
Do-ha held up the cocoon in his hand. It was the one where Baal's daughter slept; he had injected every last drop of the cardinal's demonic energy into it. Thanks to that, the heartbeat of Baal's daughter inside had stabilized.
"She's not waking up right away?"
"The unstable energy has settled, so if we leave her alone she'll wake up on her own."
"Time to go threaten Baal, then?"
"Threaten… it's a contract."
"No. It's a threat. Even if you walk up and say 'let's make a contract,' it's still a threat."
"…"
At Canteas's blunt declaration, Do-ha's face turned into a pout. Why had his image ended up like this? He had lived a perfectly gentle, gentlemanly life.
Then—
"Someone's coming."
"I know."
As a figure approached at high speed from the distance, Do-ha slipped on his mask.
"So it was you."
The one who came up beside Do-ha was Saudi Cheon-oe-cheon Al Hashir. He offered a polite greeting. An emergency alert had gone out, so he had rushed over wondering what was happening—only to find two unidentified people unleashing tremendous power in a fight. Fortunately no civilians were nearby, so he had simply watched until the battle ended and then approached.
"A pleasure. I'm A."
"I am Al Hashir. I'm finally able to greet you properly after missing the chance at the dinner party."
"Indeed."
"Would you be able to tell me what exactly happened here?"
When Al Hashir asked, Do-ha explained about the cult. He deliberately left out anything concerning the cardinal. It was not that he distrusted Al Hashir; he simply did not want word of the cardinal's death spreading yet.
If they learn even a cardinal is dead, these people might start acting recklessly.
A cardinal stood directly beneath the pope. There were surely other cardinals still alive, but the man had been important enough within the cult that news of his death would only provoke them.
"The cult… so they extended their reach all the way to Egypt."
"Which is why I dealt with them."
"On top of the help you already gave last time, I've incurred yet another enormous debt."
"Not at all."
"But how did you know a cult was here, Mr. A?"
Al Hashir tilted his head, studying Do-ha. He was not probing out of suspicion—he was simply curious. If there was a method for locating them, he wanted to learn it.
"I didn't find them. They revealed themselves."
"Revealed themselves…?"
"Yes. I was briefly visiting the area for leisure, and they tried to recruit me. So I found them."
"Oh my."
Hearing that, Al Hashir let out a hollow laugh. Of all people, they had tried missionary work on a Cheon-oe-cheon.
"For now, let's move somewhere else to talk. The Egyptian Association side will likely have a great deal to say."
"Understood."
At his words, Do-ha and Canteas relocated.
"What is this nonsense."
Canteas tilted his head at the bizarre article. Every single day it was black pants, black T-shirt, black jacket. What fashion were they even talking about?
"Anyway, Egypt is disappointing."
"Why?"
Do-ha looked over at Canteas's sudden complaint. Why was Egypt disappointing out of nowhere?
"We took care of a cardinal and they only give a hundred billion."
"The Egyptian side has no idea the one I killed was a cardinal."
"True, but we cleaned out the whole cult too."
"Speaking of which…"
"?"
Whoosh!
Thwack!
Do-ha snatched the ballpoint pen from the floor and flung it at Canteas.
"Ow! Why throw a pen?! I thought it was a hidden weapon!"
"It's your fault we only got a hundred billion."
If they had left a few corpses inside the cult, they could have shown off to the Egyptian government. Because they had cleanly collected every body without leaving so much as a drop of blood, the fight had been judged as nothing difficult. In that light, a hundred billion was actually quite generous.
"I… I still left a few bodies!"
"Only the ones you wrecked with bad aim. Ones that couldn't even be used as undead."
"…"
Canteas coughed awkwardly while staring out the window. The weather really was… something today.
Then—
Beep-beep-beep.
Someone punched in the front-door password and stepped inside.
Creak.
"I'm here."
"Welcome."
It was Manager Han. No—Director Han Jeong-soo.
"I still can't get used to you being a director."
"Haha, same here."
Han Jeong-soo sat down with a smile.
"Did you look into what I asked?"
"Yes. I've been recording every visitor to the branch each year."
Do-ha picked up the thick stack of documents and began reading.
I need to find out who left the dragon egg.
It was definitely New Age, but the specific person remained unknown.
Flutter.
"There may be so many visitors that it's hard to narrow down."
"No. It'll be easy."
"Pardon?"
At Do-ha's confident tone, Han Jeong-soo tilted his head. A great many people visited New Age branches. Even as a criminal syndicate operating in the shadows, they still met and dealt with all sorts of parties.
"Among everyone who visited the Gwangmyeong branch, just find the strong ones."
"Only the strong ones?"
"Yeah. Someone strong enough to drop off a dragon egg and a Dragon Heart."
"Ah, that makes— wait, what?"
Han Jeong-soo, who had been nodding along, suddenly jolted upright. What had they left behind…? A dragon egg and a Dragon Heart???
Well, a Dragon Heart he could almost accept. They occasionally appeared at auctions and had been sold on the black market. But a dragon egg? Why would something that dangerous be sitting in the Gwangmyeong branch? It was practically the same as planting a nuclear warhead.
"Hmm? It says the boss visited on this day."
"Ah, yes. Back then we still didn't know the New Age boss was Alteir."
These days Alteir openly showed his face and made his name known, but at the time he had kept his identity hidden—so thoroughly that even members of the same organization had not known his name.
"Who's the one listed as 'guest' next to him?"
"Ah, at that time Alteir and the second-in-command Durandor arrived with someone. They simply told the Gwangmyeong branch manager it was a guest, so I wrote down exactly what I heard."
"So it's that guy."
"Looks like it."
Do-ha nodded at Canteas's words. The one who had cast eighth-circle Veil magic was this so-called guest. Having already met Alteir, Do-ha knew the man was no mage.
Flutter.
Hmm. What now?
Do-ha set the entry records down, crossed his arms, and sank into thought. He already knew Alteir's location, so he could simply go ask. The man would be defiant, but a little capture and torture would pry the answer out. The problem was that doing so would eliminate an excellent breakwater keeping the cult in check.
Even now, about ten cultists die every single day.
Thanks to that, he enjoyed the comfortable luxury of not having to roam around destroying cults himself.
"Why not just leave him for now?"
"Hmm?"
Canteas, who had read Do-ha's thoughts, spoke carefully. Even if they learned Yong-yong's origin right this moment, what could they actually do? Yong-yong was already with them, and the Dragon Heart had already been used.
"We can leave Alteir alone and clean him up later when he's no longer useful."
"Hmm… maybe so."
Hearing Canteas, the suggestion made sense. Nothing would change even if they found out immediately.
"Good work."
"Not at all. It was nothing."
"And I deposited ten billion into your account."
"What?!!"
At the mention of ten billion, Han Jeong-soo nearly leapt out of his seat. Ten billion was the price of a single SS-rank mana stone, wasn't it?! No—selling an SS-rank mana stone meant taxes were deducted, so the amount that had just landed in his account was far larger.
"I told you. Stick with me and I'll give you power and money."
"Ah… right."
Han Jeong-soo scratched his head. Lately, though, his thinking had shifted a little. Originally he had attached himself to Do-ha for money and power, but these days simply working for the man had become genuinely enjoyable. The days were busy and exhausting, yet his heart felt far lighter than it ever had in New Age. On top of that, he was being promoted and recognized at the Association.
"Um, Mr. Do-ha."
"?"
"I'll continue the double-agent work. But please just use the money yourself. You don't need to give it to me."
"Hmm~"
Do-ha narrowed his eyes and smiled. He understood exactly why Han Jeong-soo was suddenly saying this. Back in the world of Belhart, most of the people he had planted had changed the same way. Even the assassin he had once spared had become a teacher who gave free lectures to children.
"Take the money."
"No, I really—"
"When people have no money and fall into poverty, their hearts change. More than anything, if you're going to use people, never skimp on wages. Skimp on that and you only end up bleeding for it."
"He's right."
"What do you mean 'he's right'? You summon skeletons every day."
"And you work me every single day."
"Of course. You're free labor."
"Wow… look at that personality."
"…"
Han Jeong-soo looked at the two of them and let out a quiet snicker.
At that moment—
Riiip.
From somewhere came a sound like leather tearing.
"Mr. Do-ha, what was that sound just n—"
Zaaaaang!
While Han Jeong-soo was still tilting his head, Do-ha instantly threw a shield around him. Baal's daughter was emerging from the cocoon.
Shwaaaaaa!
"Ugh… the demonic energy…"
"Whew. Good thing I shielded Han Jeong-soo."
The cocoon swelled, tore open, and a tremendous wave of demonic energy poured out.
Baal's daughter stepped free of the cocoon and looked around in silence, saying nothing.
Ssssss…
"Mr. Do-ha… th-that person…"
"?"
Han Jeong-soo's expression went hazy, as if he had fallen under hypnosis.
"Do-ha. This one is almost Asmodeus-class…?"
A sweet scent and an alluring aura began to radiate from Baal's daughter. It was not something she was doing consciously. It simply poured out of her as naturally as breathing. The energy was so potent that even Han Jeong-soo, protected inside the shield, was on the verge of succumbing. Plenty of demons specialized in seduction, but power of this magnitude belonged only to Asmodeus, Demon King of Lust. Yet Baal's daughter carried an aura strong enough to be mistaken for a Demon King herself.