Hesperon's eyes twitched as he observed the situation through his connection with Ken.
'Masquerade?'
A group of uninvited guests had barged into the Burning Torch gathering. They had uttered a very familiar name.
"That's definitely…"
A name he… or rather, Heinz, had mentioned only once. A fictional organization name he had casually thrown out after encountering Dr. in Europe, a high-ranking member of Cheonbuhoe, before eliminating him. He had made up the name half-jokingly and hadn't mentioned it since.
'But the fact that they know that name…'
Meant that Dr., whom he had killed on the spot, hadn't completely died and had successfully relayed information about Cheonbuhoe. …Of course, he had anticipated that possibility.
'Well, it doesn't change anything. A hypothesis has been confirmed. The important thing is those guys.'
His attention returned to the uninvited guests. 'Mimic', wearing the President's appearance, and the six figures with him. They all exuded a powerful aura, as if they had prepared a trap specifically for him.
'They're serious, aren't they? Even Ken, who's no slouch, is outmatched. And that one must be the Executioner…'
Hesperon frowned, looking at the man standing silently at the back, his face hidden by a hood, yet radiating an overwhelming presence. A being even Ken, with his enhanced senses, couldn't properly gauge. He didn't need to explain what that meant.
'…This won't be easy.'
While Hesperon was lost in thought, their conversation continued.
"Are you playing dumb? We know everything! About those behind you!"
"No, I'm telling you, this is the first time I'm hearing this… Hmm, is that what it was called?"
"…Huh?"
The bald man with the thinning hair yelled, frowning, while Ken nodded calmly, as if convinced. The Cheonbuhoe group looked dumbfounded, finally realizing he wasn't lying after he muttered that it was a pretty good name for an organization. At their level, discerning the truth in words wasn't difficult.
"So, you're saying you didn't even know the name of the organization you belonged to…?"
The Cheonbuhoe Southeast Asia Branch Manager trailed off, bewildered. If he was telling the truth, he wasn't even a low-ranking member. A freelancer? Contractor? Part-timer? Whatever he was, he was far below their target. The branch manager, who had suffered greatly for this operation, his already thinning hair paying the price, sounded understandably frustrated.
However…
The ones who should be truly frustrated were,
"—I don't care about the Masquerade or whatever."
A woman's voice, filled with suppressed rage, cut through the air from the midst of the Burning Torch executives huddled in the corner.
"I'm asking what happened to the President—to Frey—!"
A fierce aura erupted from the group as Ann shouted. 'Mimic', who had been staring at Ken with his arms crossed, turned to face them, the President's face directed towards them.
"Haa."
He sighed softly. Burning rage blazed from the other side, but the middle-aged man's expression remained indifferent,
Like a lion looking down at a barking puppy.
"Do I really have to spell it out? How incredibly stupid."
"What…? You…!"
"I have only one thing to say about that."
Immediately after,
The expressionless face of Mimic changed. All his facial muscles twisted into a grotesque, chilling smile. And from his distorted mouth, a chilling voice, tinged with amusement, emerged.
"—He was delicious."
"…"
He patted his stomach as he spoke. A heavy silence fell.
But it didn't last long.
"…You bastard!"
"How dare you!"
"I'll kill you—!"
It was understandable, considering that even Ann, who had communicated with him telepathically several times, hadn't noticed anything unusual until they met face-to-face. It was something impossible without possessing everything that constituted the President. But it was still painful for the truth to become reality.
"Frey… Ugh!"
He was the leader of Burning Torch, their spiritual pillar, and Ann's close friend. But to the one stressed from the failed plan, their rage was just a delicious treat.
"Oh? You ran away while Freddy stayed behind to buy you time, and now you pretend to care? Keuh! This is so ridiculous, it's funny!"
The Southeast Asia Branch Manager, who had clashed with them countless times, stepped forward and sneered.
"He was certainly impressive. He foiled our plans more than once. And he even managed to escape us several times, so he must have been confident."
The branch manager shrugged, praising his opponent, but the sneer on his lips betrayed his true intentions.
"His misfortune was being the leader of incompetent fools like you. Look! See what happened to him? It was hilarious. He didn't give up until the very end, and when he was about to die, he was so desperate…"
"Shut up! Viper! You, who have never defeated the President, are not worthy of insulting him!"
The branch manager's gloating was cut short by a roar from the other side. As if a sore spot had been touched. After a brief silence, he spoke again, his voice deeper.
"…Well, fine. The last one standing is the victor. And let me correct you. I'm not the Viper, I'm the Nagaraja."
"Ha! Nagaraja my ass. You're the Viper. You despicable, shameless bastard."
"Keuh huh huh… Good, very good. Let's see how long that bravado lasts."
The space vibrated with the escalating tension. It seemed like an equal standoff because one side was ready to die, but the actual power difference was vast.
'…This is beyond what I can handle with just willpower. I'll be instantly crushed if we fight.'
Ken, who finally learned the name of his supposed organization, calmly analyzed the situation, frowning. They had the advantage in numbers, but it was meaningless in this situation.
'There are six Transcendents in Burning Torch. Though I'm not sure since they're not demons, it seems like two Marquises and four Counts.'
And Ann and Malpi, the highest-ranked among them, didn't seem combat-oriented. Their actual fighting strength was probably equivalent to six Counts.
'It can't be helped. I heard they lost many combat-type Transcendents while escaping.'
On the other hand, Cheonbuhoe only had seven members, but they were all Marquis level or higher. The branch manager, Nagaraja, seemed to be a Duke, and the Executioner was beyond even Ken's ability to gauge. The odds were stacked against them, even with him joining the fight.
'…This is hopeless. I'll be lucky to escape, let alone help them. I need to get out of here.'
He had been summoned to Earth through some method. He could return to the Demon Realm anytime… if only he could cancel the summoning…?
He froze, his eyes darting around.
'Huh? Wait, is this…?'
Realizing the gravity of the situation, his eyebrows twitched. Another person voiced a similar lament at the same time.
"Ugh! Why, why won't the spatial lock release…?"
Malpi, who had created this secret space, closed her eyes tightly to focus. But no matter how much she used her administrator privileges, the locked space wouldn't open, like a broken door lock. She prided herself on her mastery of spatial magic, even using supplementary tools to minimize the burden, but this was unusual.
"Keuh huh, it's too late to run. This space is completely sealed. I put in some effort to ensure we could capture the Masquerade bastards."
After being repeatedly foiled by their escape methods, he had made thorough preparations this time. Nagaraja, noticing her expression, sneered and glared at Ken, as if annoyed that the only one caught in his carefully laid trap was such a small fry.
-Hey! Employer! I'm going to die! Do something! Just send me back!
But Ken didn't have the time to complain. He was busy communicating with the one who put him in this situation, desperately trying to escape. Fortunately, the 「Chains of Oath」 weren't affected by the spatial lock.
-Hmm, I see. It seems they're telling the truth. The summoning cancellation function is completely blocked. How did they do this? Reality anchoring? Causal reversal?
-Stop admiring them and do something! I'm going to die! For real! Do you think they'll just let me go?
-Of course not. They'll extract every last bit of information from your soul, then dismantle you from head to toe and take everything they can use.
-I know that!
They could even control a space created by someone else's power. And they also had a demon, so ordinary tricks wouldn't work. Knowing that, Hesperon couldn't afford to waste any more time.
-It can't be helped. Just hold on a little longer.
-…What? What is it? Why do I have such a bad feeliiiing… Ugh! Gah!
Ken's body began to convulse. An immense energy began to flow back through the 「Chains of Oath」 deeply embedded in his mind.
'Ugh! T-this is…!'
The curse that had tried to consume him, a branch of the energy separated from this body,
Was surging back towards him with terrifying force. As if trying to fill the void within Ken. His rank began to soar as he temporarily achieved unity of mind and body with the help of Hesperon's various skills.
"…Interesting."
The surge of energy was noticeable, and the others couldn't help but sense the change. Among them, the man who had been silently standing at the back of the Cheonbuhoe group reacted most strongly.
"I've seen a few demons from other places… but this is very interesting."
"…Hey?"
"He's mine."
The Executioner continued, ignoring Nagaraja's cautious call. Nagaraja closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and spoke as calmly as possible.
"You know, he's a pawn of the Masquerade. He might not be telling the truth, but we need to capture him intact and extract everything he knows…"
"If you interfere, I'll kill you."
"…Fine, do as you please."
He quickly gave up at the blunt reply. There was nothing he could do when that living nuke reacted like that. No one could change his mind unless the leader or the Oracle intervened personally.
"Then we'll deal with these stragglers, so please don't kill him? As long as he's alive, we can manage."
"I'll try."
The Executioner replied with an amused tone that didn't sound sincere and walked towards his prey, the one who could finally provide him with some entertainment after the boredom of capturing the President.
Crack!
The next moment, his appearance transformed. Black scales covering his entire body, his size exceeding three meters, sharp horns rising upwards, bat-like wings spread wide, and a long, whip-like tail with a sharp tip.
The Greater Demon, revealing its jagged teeth, grinned.
[I wonder how much fun you'll provide.]
Since inheriting the demon's karma—his record was 9,986 battles, 9,977 wins, and 9 losses. All victories except for the 9 losses against the Cheonbuhoe leader. The Executioner, Cheonbuhoe's strongest fighter, charged towards the otherworldly demon, who had just raised his head, with a ferocious grin.
In a secret space filled with machines,
'I've enhanced Ken as much as possible, but…'
Hesperon, sitting in a comfortable chair in the center, stared at his right arm, the bandages removed. Even with all his avatars, including Howard the dwarf, working together, it would take more time to complete the sealing tool. The power residing in his arm was beyond his level to handle.
'…But even with that, he won't be able to win.'
It was a temporary measure. It was just a forced enhancement using various loopholes, not a true breakthrough, so it had limits. Not only was the power incomplete, but the duration wouldn't be long either.
"But it should buy some time."
Hesperon stood up and stretched, his body stiff from sitting all day.
'Now then.'
He closed his eyes and checked the status of his other avatars.
"Let's send in some real reinforcements."
Powerful reinforcements that would herald the arrival of—
'Masquerade', onto the world stage.