The Shadow of the Demon Pill
Thanks to Han Jeong-soo recreating the proposal by imitating Shurike’s handwriting, everyone now knew exactly what conspiracy had been in play.
“It’s a complete circus out there.”
Sitting with Do-ha in a coffee shop, Han Jeong-soo clicked his tongue as he scrolled through the articles. He had never expected the board to be flipped this dramatically.
A few days earlier, Do-ha had openly fought in Haeundae, Busan, using Shurike’s corpse and soul clones. Even while fighting he had shouted about why New Age was in Korea, and the entire scene had been broadcast live—complete with information on the Demon God Cult as a bonus.
“You worked hard too.”
“Not at all.”
A soft gesture. A surge of light.
Great Heal
“Ah… thank you.”
The injuries that had lingered on his body vanished in an instant, and Han Jeong-soo’s face filled with genuine emotion. He had never even mentioned being hurt—how had Do-ha known?
Even if Alex specialized in assassination, they were both A-Rank; Han Jeong-soo had taken several serious wounds. Yet the injuries he had endured for days were now completely gone.
“You went and used power for my sake. That’s exactly why I didn’t say anything.”
“One spell isn’t enough to tire me out. More importantly, when you’re hurt, your breathing changes.”
True masters could keep their breathing and expression steady even while injured, but Han Jeong-soo had not yet reached that level. That was how Do-ha had noticed immediately.
“Anyway, we put out a fake article saying Shurike escaped… but I wonder if New Age will actually buy it.”
“They don’t have a choice right now. Have you contacted the Korean branches?”
“Yes. The moment the articles dropped and I reached them through the artifact, they all started babbling in a panic. Looks like they’d been waiting for my call.”
“Of course they were.”
New Age had just collided with a Cheonwaecheon. How could the other branch managers stay calm? Stationed in the same country, they had been fretting that they might be next, waiting desperately for word from the organization.
“What did you tell them?”
“I haven’t said anything yet. Just that I’d let them know the moment higher-ups made contact… What should I do? If I tell them to keep their heads down again, they’ll bury themselves completely…”
“You did fine. Call them tonight and tell them to gather in one place. Say an elder from New Age headquarters is coming down.”
“Will you be going, Do-ha-nim?”
“Yeah. I’ll handle it myself. And like I said before—their assets are yours.”
“Thank you.”
Han Jeong-soo bowed his head at Do-ha’s words.
Hurry up and move, you cult bastards.
Even after extracting the cult’s location from Shurike, Do-ha had stayed still for a reason: he was waiting for the two groups to clash. The cult and New Age were both targets that needed to die. The moment they decided to fight each other, he would go and wipe both out at once. Yet so far, silence.
The cult location Shurike knew was in Britain.
There had still been no British news about either the cult or New Age.
Tch. Guess I just have to wait a little longer.
Do-ha clicked his tongue lightly.
Then—
Footsteps hurried closer.
“Sorry I’m a bit late.”
The Association President wiped sweat from his brow as he entered the coffee shop. He had tried to wrap up the aftermath roughly, but things had grown more complicated than expected and eaten up quite a bit of time.
“Hm? You are…”
When the Association President saw Han Jeong-soo sitting across from Do-ha, his eyes widened. Why was the Dispatch Team Manager sitting with a Cheonwaecheon?
“A friend who’s been handling my affairs until now.”
“Huh… I see. Manager Han, you… I never took you for the sneaky type.”
“Haha… I’m sorry, President.”
“You never even mentioned you two knew each other.”
“We’ve known each other for a while.”
Do-ha lied without the slightest change in expression. If he revealed Han Jeong-soo’s true identity here, the Association President would try to arrest him on the spot. Even if told the man had switched sides, the President would remain suspicious and wary to the end. That would only create friction that did not need to exist.
“I haven’t used Manager Han to siphon Association secrets or anything like that.”
“Ah, I wasn’t worried about that at all.”
The Association President waved a hand as he took a seat. After everything Do-ha had done so far, what was there to worry about? If anything, he was considering sharing confidential information with Do-ha. It would only help with what was coming.
“Now that you two know each other’s identities, let’s work hard together.”
“Manager Han…”
“Yes?”
At the President’s sudden serious tone, Han Jeong-soo swallowed hard. Why the grave face all of a sudden? Had his New Age affiliation been exposed?
“From now on, you’ll handle all the paperwork related to Do-ha-nim for me.”
It was, without the slightest exaggeration, a living hell. He had already been drinking two liters of coffee a day; now it would easily exceed three.
“Yes…”
Han Jeong-soo, whose overtime had just been locked in, hung his head.
“By the way, what’s that?”
Do-ha eyed the documents the Association President was carrying. They looked like something brought specifically to show him, and he was curious about the contents.
“A report on the anomalous phenomena occurring across the world lately. I wondered if they might be connected to those two groups.”
“Anomalous phenomena?”
“Yes.”
The Association President flipped the report open for Do-ha. Not many cases had been filed yet, but they were far from negligible.
“Ordinary people who aren’t Awakened are suddenly gaining abilities.”
“If they gained abilities, doesn’t that make them Awakened?”
Han Jeong-soo tilted his head at the President’s words. An ordinary person gaining power was simply Awakening—why call it an anomaly?
“The problem is that it isn’t normal. They gain abilities, but the power doesn’t last. After a certain amount of time, it disappears.”
“The abilities vanish…”
Han Jeong-soo tilted his head again. Hearing it put that way, it truly was abnormal. Once Awakened, a hunter’s power never disappeared no matter what. Some even retained their abilities after death.
This… could it be…
A soft approach.
“This looks like Demon Pills.”
Canteas had appeared at some point and was reading the contents of the report. Ordinary people suddenly using abilities. Afterward, those who used the power lost it over time, and a few had turned into mummified husks as if every drop of moisture had been drained from their bodies. Anyone looking at this would recognize Demon Pills.
“And this gentleman is…?”
“Ah, Canteas-nim. You’ve arrived.”
“Canteas? Ah, so he’s Do-ha-nim’s companion.”
The Association President nodded. If Manager Han already knew him, he was surely one of Do-ha’s people.
“So what exactly is a Demon Pill?”
Manager Han tilted his head. He had never heard the term before.
“A pill that lets you use Seoncheon-jin-gi—Innate True Qi. Take a Demon Pill and even an ordinary person can suddenly wield power.”
Demon Pills were commonly known for enabling martial arts, but that was incorrect. Seoncheon-jin-gi was literally the use of life force itself, so it could power magic as well as martial techniques.
“But this part is new to me.”
Canteas pointed to a passage at the end of the document.
“Some of them had their eyes turn red, drooled, and wandered off in a daze?”
Ordinary Demon Pills did not produce that symptom. More precisely, bloodshot red eyes and bulging veins were normal, but the vacant, mindless state was not. Users simply kept fighting until their Seoncheon-jin-gi was completely exhausted.
“If Demon Pills are showing up… the Blood Cult must be moving in earnest.”
“I think so too.”
Canteas nodded at Do-ha’s words. Some people mistakenly believed the “Demon” character meant the pills were made by the Demon Cult, but Demon Pills were created by the Blood Cult through human sacrifice.
“Just from the reported numbers, fifty people already… that means over a hundred must have been sacrificed.”
“What? Sacrificed? What do you mean…?”
Han Jeong-soo tilted his head in confusion.
“Demon Pills are made by capturing ordinary people. They insert tubes into several parts of the body to drain blood. Then they torture them continuously. Fear, despair, agony, sorrow—every dark emotion soaks into the blood. They refine it with sorcery, combine it with dozens of medicinal ingredients, and that’s how the pill is created.”
The Association President ground his teeth at Canteas’s explanation. How could something wearing a human face commit such atrocities? Was this truly something the same species could do?
“President. Has anyone from the world of Belhart ever crossed over?”
“Dwarves and elves come and go, but no humans have crossed. Or more precisely—aside from His Majesty Emperor Dimerof, Martial Alliance Leader Namgung Je-u, and Emilton-nim—no one else yet.”
“So His Majesty has permitted the dwarves and elves to travel freely?”
Han Jeong-soo asked the Association President. Until now Belhart had maintained a defensive posture with little real exchange.
“Well, those two races are native to Belhart, after all.”
Looking at them, a thought suddenly occurred: perhaps the monsters inside the Gates were also originally from Belhart.
“But why do you ask?”
“I wondered if the Blood Cult might have crossed over to Earth.”
“No. We check that thoroughly.”
“Then there’s only one possibility left.”
At the President’s words, Canteas shrugged. The Blood Cult had not crossed over themselves, yet the Demon Pills were showing new characteristics.
“The Blood Cult has joined the Cult.”
The new symptoms were almost certainly caused by mixing in demon blood. People controlled by demons drooled and wandered in a vacant state. And those who took the Demon Pills were showing exactly that? It meant demon blood had been mixed into the pills.
“President. I’m crossing over to Belhart tomorrow. Just in case—only you and Manager Han should know.”
“Ah, yes. Understoo— wait, what? You’re… going there? To do what?”
The Association President, who had been nodding, jerked in shock. Crossing into another dimension?? That was far beyond anything he could cover. If something went wrong over there, the fallout would make international disputes look adorable by comparison.
“Don’t worry. I’m acquainted with the Emperor and the Martial Alliance Leader.”
“Ah, well, if that’s the case then that’s a reli—?”
What?
Why did he keep hearing things he could not understand? Hunter Baek Do-ha was acquainted with the Emperor and the Martial Alliance Leader? How…?
Come to think of it, when Emilton-nim first visited Earth, she had asked for a private conversation. At the time he had assumed she simply found meeting someone from another dimension fascinating and wanted to ask questions. Had it been because they already knew each other?
“Just what is Do-ha-nim’s true identity…”
“He’s a more complicated person than you’d think.”
Nod. Nod.
Hearing Do-ha toss the remark out as if it were nothing, Han Jeong-soo simply nodded. He had been desperately curious himself, but he had given up. What was the point of wondering about a man who kept a Lich as a subordinate?
“I’ll contact you later.”
“No need. I’ll contact you.”
“Alright.”
A couple of light taps. Since the New Age branch managers still needed to be dealt with, Han Jeong-soo nodded.
“By the way, Manager Han.”
“Yes, President.”
“Something just occurred to me—why do you use formal speech while Hunter Baek Do-ha uses casual speech…? You’re quite a bit older, aren’t you?”
Han Jeong-soo was thirty-five this year. Hunter Baek Do-ha was thirty-two.
“There’s a very complicated and deep story behind that. I can’t tell you.”
“Honestly, you two have far too many secrets.”
The Association President let out a hollow laugh as he rose from his seat.
For a moment Manager Han’s eyes had looked strangely distant…
Must have been his imagination.