The Fragment of Memories
Zwaaaaaang!
Thud.
"Do-ha!"
"Do-ha-ssi."
"Do-ha-nim."
A massive portal tore open, and as Baek Do-ha descended, Canteas and Selenia—who had been waiting—rushed forward along with Kang Ji-hwan and Han Se-ah.
It had already been two full days since he crossed into Heaven carrying the corpse of a fallen angel. They had reclaimed the entire Ghost City a day earlier and spent the remaining time simply waiting for his return.
"What's this? Why is everyone here?"
"We were waiting for you."
"Worried the angels might have gotten the better of me?"
"……"
At Do-ha's words, the people around him scratched their heads. They knew full well how powerful he was, yet how could they not worry when he had gone alone into Heaven? More than that, they knew his personality too well—they had fully expected a war might break out at the slightest provocation.
"There's no way I'd lose to a bunch of angels."
"Still, crossing into Heaven was far too dangerous."
Canteas shook his head. Only because it was Do-ha did everything look equal and weak; Heaven's power was immense in its own right. How else could Heaven have warred with Hell for so many ages? Principal Angels of the Fourth Sphere and above were not opponents even high-ranking demon nobles could casually face. And Metatron was strong enough that even the Demon Kings kept a wary eye on him. That was why Do-ha's decision to enter Heaven had been genuinely reckless—especially since he had taken Silchemis's corpse with him. Even if the angel had fallen, bringing him along had been a reckless move.
"I needed to let Heaven know I was still alive."
"You… you did that on purpose?"
Canteas's mouth fell open at Do-ha's words. By now Hell would already know Do-ha lived. That left only one place—Heaven. In truth, one could never claim Heaven was unconditionally friendly toward humanity.
It's not just because I'm a Lich that I hate them.
Angels were the sort who would abandon the middle realm and flee back to Heaven the moment they felt threatened. Always saying one thing and doing another. That was why humanity's enemies included not only demons, but angels as well.
"Now that they know I'm alive, any angels operating on Earth or in Belhart will go into hiding."
"So Do-ha-ssi becomes a deterrent."
Selenia brushed the dust from Do-ha's clothes. Judging by how thoroughly his garments were torn, he must have fought hard in Heaven.
"By the way, did you actually get compensation?"
He had restored Silchemis's corpse to a certain degree, then marched straight into Heaven demanding payment. And since he had returned like this, he must have received something.
"This."
With a smooth motion, Do-ha produced the Fragment of Memories from his coat.
"Huh… I've seen that somewhere before."
"Isn't that the one Lurke used to carry?"
While Canteas tilted his head, Selenia recognized the Fragment of Memories. Lurke, the Principal Angel of the Fourth Sphere and deputy commander—the angel who had once led troops against the demons when they attacked the Heavenly God Cult.
"It looks exactly like the one Lurke was holding back then."
"That's right. It belonged to that guy."
"So it's common?"
"There's only one Fragment of Memories."
"They gave you the only one? Those stingy pigeons?"
"Why would they hand over the only one?"
"……Because it's useless."
"Exactly."
Canteas furrowed his brow at Do-ha's words. Why go all the way to Heaven just to come back with something so worthless? Even the name was strange. What was a Fragment of Memories supposed to be?
Beep-beep.
"Ah, a call from the Association."
"Do-ha-nim, please keep talking. We'll go report the situation and come back."
"Sure."
Do-ha nodded, and Kang Ji-hwan and Han Se-ah launched themselves into the air and vanished. Watching them go, Do-ha allowed a faint smile.
Bringing them along was the right call after all. They've gotten stronger in the meantime.
Hunting the mutant wyvern and the monsters scattered throughout the city had clearly thickened the aura they carried.
Suddenly—
"Whoa!"
Canteas shoved his face right up to Do-ha's, making him flinch. This damn skeleton—where did he get off sticking his face in like that?
"Be honest. That thing has a hidden ability, doesn't it?"
"There's no way Do-ha-ssi would bring back something useless."
Selenia and Canteas both fixed him with steady stares. They had watched Baek Do-ha for over forty years. What kind of man was Baek Do-ha? A man more demonic than any Demon King. A man who made even demons shudder. A man even the Demon God kept under watch.
"A vicious, detestable bastard who would squeeze the liver out of a flea!"
"……"
"……"
At Canteas's declaration, both Do-ha and Selenia fell silent at the same time.
"Ah, was that too much?"
Smack!
In the end Canteas took a solid hit and trembled.
"But why did you really accept this?"
"When I met Alteir, the boss of New Age, I told him to stop his activities, remember?"
"Because of that, the Demon God Cult has been growing even larger."
"So I need to shrink the other side at least."
"The other side?"
She tilted her head. The other side? What was he talking about?
"The Demon God Cult isn't just its cultists."
"Ah!"
"The demons of Hell!"
She and Canteas clapped their hands at the same time. Just as Do-ha said, the Demon God Cult included not only its members but the demons themselves as part of its force.
"So you're saying you'll reduce Hell's military strength."
"Right. And Heaven's forces while I'm at it."
"Huh? What do you mean…"
"Don't tell me… you're going to make Heaven and Hell go to war?"
"Exactly."
Do-ha nodded at Selenia's words. As he had said earlier, humanity's enemies were not limited to demons. One could not declare Heaven an enemy outright, yet it was clearly a force that could become an enemy at any moment.
"Bringing that means you can use it to make the two sides fight?"
"I'll have to guide the situation myself, but yes—it's possible."
"What on earth is it?"
"This was originally made by a vampire."
The Fragment of Memories was an ancient relic created long ago by a Vampire Lord. An angel who fought that Lord claimed it as a trophy after victory and treated it as a sacred treasure of Heaven.
"What kind of ability does it have?"
"Heaven believes it's a holy relic that lets them observe whatever a chosen target is doing."
But that was only a tiny fraction of its power. Think of it like unlocking a phone's lock screen. Just because you unlocked the screen, had you seen every function the phone possessed? No. There was a camera, phone calls, games. Likewise, the Fragment of Memories held further abilities.
"If I use this, I can observe whoever I want—but that's only the activation stage."
"And if you use the ability properly?"
"I can link the place where the person I'm observing is with the location engraved on this object. It's single-use, though."
"Aww, what…"
Canteas's expression turned indifferent. He had expected something grand, but it was just a teleportation artifact. He could make something like that himself. He could even craft artifacts that generated portals.
"Can it make a portal that connects different dimensions? Say, something that links Heaven and Hell."
"……Don't tell me that thing can do it?"
"With this, it can."
"Good heavens."
Canteas's eyes went wide. Connecting Heaven and Hell—that was literally a way to create hell itself.
"I've already engraved Heaven's 6th District onto it."
"The place where the Heavenly God resides?!"
"Not resides—the place where one meets him. There was an altar."
"You went inside there?!"
Selenia jumped in shock. They said no one could just walk into the 6th District. Had he really gone there? If he had, the angels would never have stayed quiet.
"I went with Metatron. Don't worry."
"……Just what did you do in Heaven?"
Canteas looked completely dumbfounded. What had he done after crossing into Heaven that he could stroll into the 6th District with Metatron? Judging by how he returned without a scratch, he hadn't fought.
"But to connect it, don't you need to observe someone in Hell?"
"Right."
"Does just thinking of them let you observe?"
"No. You have to inject the target's coordinates or aura into this."
"How are you going to do that? Go to Hell yourself?"
"Then it would be obvious I was the one who connected Heaven and Hell."
"You have a method?"
"I do."
Do-ha's lips curved into a sly smile.
"Yo~"
A place where fire burned in every direction. Do-ha arrived at the location where Baal was bound.
"You practically live here, don't you?"
"Hehe."
Baal's daughter Eilas offered a shy smile. She wanted to stay close to her father, so she spent all her time here.
"A lot of the chains have broken, huh?"
Thanks to the counterfeit Longinus, more than half of the chains that had hung all over him had vanished. At this rate, another month or two and he would be completely free.
"In a month or two you'll be free. How does that feel?"
"Nothing special."
"Come on, liar."
"Hmph. Why are you here again?"
"Can't you be a little more cooperative? We even made a contract."
"You mean the contract you tricked me into?"
Baal glared at Do-ha. He could not even cancel the contract already sealed, and it infuriated him.
"Ah, now that I think about it, once the chains come off there's something I need to do."
"What?"
"I'll wring that neck of yours."
"You won't be able to harm me, though."
"I'll find a way somehow."
"Ugh. Hey, why is your dad's temper like this?"
"Haha…"
Eilas scratched her cheek as she watched the two of them. Still, thanks to the Absolute Being's visits, her father seemed to have recovered some spirit. Lately he had spent most of his time staring blankly except when speaking with her; now he was showing energy again. Of course, that energy was pure rage, but still.
"You remember Mammon's location or aura, right? I need it."
"The Demon King of Greed?"
"Yeah."
"I don't know."
"Stop joking around…"
"I truly don't. The only one I know is Asmodeus."
"Damn it. That won't work."
Do-ha frowned at Baal's answer. This threw the plan off. He needed Mammon, who commanded vast forces—not Asmodeus. True to his domain of greed, Mammon possessed an enormous army. Combining the forces of nearly three Demon Kings was required just to match Mammon alone.
"Just what scheme are you cooking up?"
"I've got something in mind."
"It must be some horrific plan."
Baal, who already knew Baek Do-ha far too well, shook his head. Whatever it was, it would not be trivial.
"Why not just ask that demon friend of yours?"
"Ah!!!"
Do-ha clapped his hands at Baal's words. Right. That guy existed!
"And Valac is even under Mammon's direct command!"
"Valac? The Valac I know?? That friend you mentioned was Valac?"
Whooooosh.
Ignoring Baal's rambling, Do-ha immediately summoned Valac. When the cardinal had summoned him before, Do-ha had injected his aura into Valac.
Shuuuuu.
Pop!
"Huh?"
Valac, still holding a spoon, appeared in the completely unexpected place and wore a blank expression. He had been eating—what was this situation?
"Valac, you bastard! I missed you!"
Grab.
"Ah… right…"
As Do-ha seized his shoulders and shook him, Valac's face crumpled into a miserable pout. Come to think of it, last time this damn Absolute Being had put a collar on him…
What a miserable world.
Just go to hell already.