The Branch Leader of New Age
Flutter.
Tsk… Not as much money as I thought.
The man counting cash in his own office clicked his tongue and looked out the window.
Lately, the money coming in had dropped off sharply.
"I could expand my territory into other regions, but…"
If he pushed any further from here, someone would step on his tail for sure. He was still staying under the Hunter Association's radar for now, but that couldn't last forever.
"There's a curse on me, so my identity won't get exposed, but…"
If the Association started moving, things would get messy fast.
"Come to think of it, didn't they say Paju had stopped being a ghost town? I should get some work done there first."
Just then—
Bang!
Thud!
The office door flew open and Do-ha walked straight in.
"?"
"Whoa. Living like a king, aren't we?"
Scrape. Plop.
As Do-ha casually dropped into a chair, Hwang Man-soo let out a hollow laugh.
Did this guy even know where he'd just walked into?
"A second ago you were talking about getting some work done in Paju. Think that's going to work out for you?"
"Heh. I don't know who you are, but if I want something, it happens. Paju is unclaimed territory anyway. Nothing says I can't become its master."
"This guy's completely out of his mind. Why would Paju be unclaimed? Don't you know the owner there is a Cheon-oe-cheon?"
"Keh-heh-heh. You think I'd fight a Cheon-oe-cheon to take the land? That guy will put the property up for sale within a few months. He'll need the money. I'll just slip in among the merchants already there."
"If the Cheon-oe-cheon finds out, he won't just sit still."
"Don't worry. Once I kill you right here, the Cheon-oe-cheon will never know about my plans."
A sinister smile spread across Hwang Man-soo's face as killing intent began to pour off him in waves.
"But what do we do about this? The Cheon-oe-cheon already knows about your plans."
"……What?"
Do-ha casually pulled a Hunter ID from inside his coat and set it on the desk.
"……"
Gold.
Staring at the Hunter ID glittering gold, Hwang Man-soo's face gradually hardened. For a brief moment he wondered if it might be a forgery, but the odds of that were vanishingly low. More importantly, the known description matched the man standing right in front of him.
"You've been up to some pretty unamusing things, haven't you?"
"……"
Hwang Man-soo's eyes sank colder than before. He didn't know how much this man already knew, but one slip here and he was truly finished.
"I don't know what you mean…"
"Don't play dumb. The merchants in the food alley."
"I was merely collecting rent from them…"
"Ah~ using a snare curse for that?"
"……"
"Hey, Demon God follower. I can hear the gears turning in your head from here."
Twitch.
"Don't."
Clang!
Slash—!
Thud.
"Gyaaaaah!"
The instant Hwang Man-soo's hand twitched, Do-ha was a step faster—drawing his sword and severing the man's arm clean off.
Gurgle. Splash!
"Haa… haa…"
"Oh? Ultra-high-speed regeneration."
As Hwang Man-soo's arm regrew in an instant, Do-ha narrowed his eyes. Regenerating at that speed meant the man had received a baptism of power from a fairly high-ranking demon.
"Back in the day, you know, they didn't just hand out baptisms to anyone. Want to know why? If the baptized one died, the demon who passed on that power took a hit too. So baptisms were always selective—only the strong got them."
"……You, just what…"
"I wonder which demon will take the hit when I kill you?"
Then—
Rumbling footsteps. Bang!
"Boss!!"
Hearing the scream, his subordinates came pouring into the room. Not a single ordinary person among them—every last one was Awakened.
This Hwang Man-soo… is his position high within the cult?
How were all his subordinates Awakened? Even if they were low-rank, keeping this many Awakened under him meant he had to hold a high rank within the cult.
"This bastard dares to come in here not knowing where he is! You think you can touch New Age and walk away alive?!"
"New Age?"
The unexpected words made Do-ha's eyes widen slightly. New Age—wasn't that the criminal syndicate composed of Awakened? The same group that had murdered the SSS-Rank Hunter Brian.
Oh?
Do-ha turned his head to look at Hwang Man-soo. It seemed the New Age members here didn't know this man belonged to the Demon God Cult. If they were all cultists, they wouldn't be invoking New Age—they'd be shouting "Glory to the Demon God!"
"Kill him!"
Hwang Man-soo gestured, barking the order at his subordinates.
"Hey. Do you really think those guys can do anything to me?"
"……"
At Do-ha's question, Hwang Man-soo shut his mouth. Did he think they could? Of course not. Those guys over there were D-Rank at best, no matter how strong they got. What wound could they possibly inflict by charging an SSS-Rank Hunter?
He hadn't given this order to kill the Cheon-oe-cheon.
One second… I just need one second of an opening.
On his desk sat a teleport scroll. Tear it, and he'd be transported straight to his villa.
"I told you earlier. I can hear the gears turning in your head."
With a sly smile, Do-ha glanced at the scroll sitting in the corner of the desk.
"Th-this—!"
"Don't worry. I won't touch it, so go ahead and tear it."
"……What?"
Hwang Man-soo, who had been moving frantically in alarm, froze in an awkward pose. He'd noticed the scroll—but he was just going to leave it alone?
"I'll really just sit here. Tear that scroll and use it."
"……What kind of trick is this?"
"Trick? Nothing of the sort. You've been staring at that scroll so pitifully I figured I'd just tell you to use it."
"……"
Warily, Hwang Man-soo slowly picked up the scroll.
"And you lot—if you came in here saying you'd kill me, you should be attacking. Why are you just standing there?"
Do-ha turned his head toward the New Age members standing by the door. They seemed to be waiting because he was talking with Hwang Man-soo. How could they be this stupid?
"You idiot. That choice you just made—that was a mistake."
Riiip.
The moment Do-ha turned his head, Hwang Man-soo immediately tore the scroll.
Shaaaaa!
"Keh-heh-heh. See you later."
Whooosh—
"……Huh?"
As the light pouring from the scroll gradually faded, Hwang Man-soo's face filled with panic. By now his body should have been at the villa. So why was he still standing in place?? The scroll had clearly activated normally!
"Why are you still here? Did you stick around because you wanted to keep chatting with me?"
"Th-this can't be!"
Rip! Riiip!
In desperation, Hwang Man-soo shredded the already-torn scroll into pieces. But there was no further reaction.
"Wh-what kind of trick did you pull?!"
"Come on, I just sat here. What trick could I have pulled? Someone outside, maybe—but not me."
Looking at Hwang Man-soo's face, Do-ha wore a sly smile.
Outside, Canteas had cast a spatial distortion spell around the building. Any teleport used from inside would simply return the user to their original position. That was why the scroll had activated normally, yet Hwang Man-soo remained right where he was.
"You're Awakened too, so you should've figured out the situation by now."
"K-kill that bastard!"
As Do-ha adjusted his grip on his sword and looked their way, the twenty New Age members at the door charged as one.
"New Age in Korea… why are there so many pests that need exterminating?"
With a sigh, Do-ha moved smoothly and cut the foremost man cleanly in half.
From the Demon God Cult to New Age. Coming back to Earth, there were so many bugs that needed to be wiped out.
Slash—!
Thud.
"Whew. These guys held out pretty well for Awakened."
Covered head to toe in blood, Do-ha looked at Hwang Man-soo with cold eyes.
"U… uwaaagh!"
Clatter.
As Do-ha's gaze fell on him, Hwang Man-soo collapsed on the spot in terror. Covered in bright red blood from head to toe, the figure before him was more grotesque and terrifying than any demon.
"Hey, Hwang Man-soo."
"H-hiiik!"
"You received a baptism from a high-ranking demon and you're just going to sit there? Come at me. Let me see what kind of power you've got."
"……S-spare me…"
Hwang Man-soo forced the words out through trembling lips.
"Demonize and attack me."
"I… I didn't receive a… a baptism…"
"Bullshit."
Using a demon's power without receiving a baptism? That was impossible. Even the Pope of the Demon God Cult couldn't do that. To use a demon's power, you had to receive a baptism and form a contract with a demon.
"It's true… They wouldn't baptize me because I was too weak…"
"And yet you use a demon's power?"
"That's th-thanks to an… an artifact…"
"An artifact?"
At Hwang Man-soo's words, Do-ha's brow furrowed. An artifact containing a demon's power existed?
"Take it out."
"……"
"Take out the artifact, and I'll spare your life."
"R-really?"
"So take it out."
Rustle. Plop.
Swallowing hard, Hwang Man-soo pulled a round object from his inner pocket and set it on the desk. A red gem was set in the center, surrounded by writing in the language demons used. Neither particularly special nor crude in appearance.
Handing out baptisms freely, making artifacts that hold demonic power…
This was completely different from the Demon God Cult's behavior as he knew it. But who was there to blame? It was his own fault for thinning out the demon forces.
"The New Age branches in Korea. Tell me where they all are."
"I… I don't know."
"You want to die painfully, is that it?"
"I really don't know! They always contact me first!"
"You really don't know? Well… fine."
Shing. Click.
Shrugging, Do-ha sheathed his sword.
Clean
"Much better."
Having washed the blood away with Clean magic, Do-ha pocketed the artifact and turned his back.
"I'll be heading back now."
"……What?"
"What? Disappointed that I'm leaving?"
"……"
Hwang Man-soo's face went blank with shock as he stared at Do-ha. He was really leaving…? For real? Had the promise to spare him been genuine?
"I told you. I would spare you."
"Wait… me?"
At that moment, a purple magic circle began forming across the floor of Hwang Man-soo's office.
Gurgle. Gurgling—
Then the corpses of the dead Awakened began joining together one by one, rising in grotesque forms.
"Wh-what is this!!"
As multiple corpses fused into a horrific monster, Hwang Man-soo screamed.
"Uwaaaaagh! S-spare me!!"
Crunch!
Crack!
Along with Hwang Man-soo's scream, terrible sounds echoed through the entire building.
"Canteas. When that guy dies, grab his soul and find out the branch locations."
"Okay."
Stepping out the door, Do-ha gave a simple order. Canteas nodded and headed into the building.