After some time passed, I returned to a state no different from usual.
The wording “Calamity” and “Seven Deadly Sins” was a little concerning, but I was in no position to be picky.
And what did it matter if I became a villain?
I should have welcomed it with open arms.
After all, it was the only lifeline that had been lowered to end this tiresome terminal life of mine.
“If I use it in moderation, there should not be any major problems.”
Steeling myself, I read through the additional messages that had appeared.
───────────────
▶The Seventh Calamity of the Seven Deadly Sins: Greed
[Sub-Authority 1] Absorption
-Can devour an opponent’s nonphysical attacks up to its limit.
[Sub-Authority 2] ???
-Inactive
[Sub-Authority 3] ???
-Inactive
───────────────
[You may absorb Demonic Energy to undo Greed’s seal.]
[The higher the quality of Demonic Energy, the greater the release rate.]
To summarize simply......
First, [Sub-Authority 1], Absorption, seemed to be a defensive Authority that blocked nonphysical attacks such as magic or Sorcery Arts.
If it did not consume mana, it seemed as though it would be quite useful in real combat.
And [Sub-Authority 2] and [Sub-Authority 3].
As always, hunting Magical Beasts was the answer to activating them.
Though it was turbid, the energy they possessed was Demonic Energy itself.
It was fortunate that the fourth episode was right around the corner.
Public Assistance.
This weekend, I was scheduled to leave Taehak because of a sudden request for assistance.
Class A’s assigned mission was simple patrols and evidence collection, but contrary to its intention, they would become entangled in another incident.
Once again, Baek Sayoung was the lead, and the final villain was another menace he would finally encounter.
A Demonic Being.
They were human, but demon blood, unusually dark crimson, flowed through their veins.
Because of their vicious demonic nature and the bizarre abilities they possessed from birth, they were also called the Demonic Race, public enemies of humanity.
True to being a breeding ground for every kind of crime, they began with a rather ostentatious ritual.
“That must be what they were preparing this time.”
Something came to mind, and I reviewed the original story once more.
Just as I thought...... Even after recalling it again, that was right.
Essence of Demonic Energy.
It was a highly concentrated solution of Demonic Energy, created by using Magical Beasts as sacrifices and used as material for the forbidden ritual the Demonic Beings were conducting.
Ordinarily, I would not have given that disgusting thing a second glance......
“But things are different now. I have something to raise.”
What if I snatched it midway and fed it to Greed?
There could be no better tonic for unsealing it.
For the first time in a while, I took a cigarette and stepped onto the balcony.
I had been so busy that it had been a long time since I smoked.
“The moon’s quite large.”
I hated this kind of pathetic sentimentality, but the night sky I happened to look up at was exceptionally bright.
Was it because I had heard the name Lea again after so long?
With no one watching, I involuntarily muttered,
“Are you doing well?”
......
Of course, there was no answer.
“Damn idiot.”
Nothing was better than a cigarette when I felt bitter, and I was just about to light one when,
[“Greed” asks whether your name is “Idiot.”]
“......What is this now?”
TAP.
The cigarette hanging from my lips fell limply.
***
I was fundamentally someone who felt more comfortable alone.
Perhaps because of the memory of being abandoned as a child, I had spent twenty-eight years preferring paintings to friends and silence to conversation.
As a result, I naturally built a wall.
A defense mechanism of sorts, I suppose.
A suitable degree of familiarity.
I drew the line there, and if anyone tried to cross it, I would immediately sever the connection.
This type of relationship had been meticulously maintained, like a well-constructed system.
The only exception was Yoo Soyoung, who had entered before the wall was built.
......But.
Today, I realized for the first time that there was a being even that ironclad system could not handle.
Wednesday morning.
On my way to the classroom for a Sorcery Arts System lecture.
Unlike the students moving busily around me, my steps kept stopping.
[“Greed” asks whether it can eat that.]
No.
[“Greed” asks whether it can eat this.]
Not that either.
[“Greed”......]
“No! I said no, you bastard!”
Why the hell was this insane bastard throwing a fit about eating people......?
[Greed warns you not to ignore it.]
[Greed is, by nature, a primordial desire that has existed since the beginning......]
“Shut up!”
[......]
God, seriously.
It had planted itself firmly inside me like a virus, so I could not ignore it......
And it asked every time we passed someone, enough to drive me completely mad.
I raised my right hand and muttered almost pleadingly,
“Please be quiet......”
“Excuse me?”
It was then that I heard a familiar voice.
Joo Arin, who had approached without me noticing, wore a prim expression.
[“Greed” says that woman is......]
Do you really want to die?
[......It says she is pretty.]
I inadvertently frowned, but she did the same.
“......I suppose Mana Exhaustion can make one mentally unstable as well?”
“What are you talking about? I’m completely fine.”
“That’s what everyone concerned says. The problem is that it’s not actually true......”
“I’m not like that. My body comes first, so if anything is even a little wrong, I’m the type to rest immediately.”
“I suppose that makes sense, too.”
Joo Arin nodded with a rather serious expression.
Why did she accept that right away?
Just as I was about to reply, Joo Arin spoke first.
“Did you check the message?”
“The message?”
When I asked back as though I did not know, Joo Arin let out a quiet sigh.
“The department office sent a text message this morning regarding Public Assistance.”
“Ah, wait a moment. My mind has been hectic since this morning.”
I clenched my right hand with an audible CRACK, then checked the text message.
Just as expected, it stated that a series of disappearances had recently occurred near Wonju, Gangwon Province.
The government had requested cooperation to stabilize civilian life, and Class A had been selected to provide support.
As soon as my eyes left the phone, Joo Arin continued as though she had been waiting.
“The support period is three days in total. We leave tomorrow, and the patrol teams have been organized according to our Practical Combat Training teams.”
“So that is why you came looking for me so early in the morning.”
“As the team leader, I need to know whether the team members will participate. But are you really all right?”
“My body? Of course.”
I needlessly raised my arm.
The effect was not very good.
A crease suddenly appeared between Joo Arin’s previously smooth brows.
“......I’ll take it that you’re participating for now.”
“Yeah.”
“Just in case, be sure to visit the infirmary, too.”
“I’m really fine.”
“Then I will be going.”
Joo Arin glanced at her wristwatch as though she were busy, then walked away without hesitation.
Goodness.
Well, it was none of my concern what she thought, but......
Suddenly, a thought came to mind.
What if I actually excused myself halfway through by citing my health?
If I were to secretly arrange something, that would make a fairly useful alibi.
With a satisfied smile, I went online and looked for articles about the disappearances.
[Wonju on Alert After Series of Disappearances......]
[Wonju Disappearances Include a Seven-Year-Old Girl, Causing Shock......]
The breaking news was fresh, so it quickly caught my eye.
Most of the media focused on the lack of commonality between the missing persons, reporting it as the simple, random crimes of local Magical Beasts.
“Complete nonsense.”
Knowing the truth, I could not help but laugh.
This was a much more serious case than it appeared.
The Demonic Beings were a problem, but the actual number of missing people was well over twenty, and the scale was so large that the surrounding Magical Beasts had already nearly been wiped out......
In any case, as I thought of meeting them soon, excitement outweighed fear.
Baek Sayoung would once again be the lead of this episode, but I would be its producer......
I usually tried to avoid adapting the original story, but this time was an exception.
The Essence of Demonic Energy was one reason, and unless I took a detour, I would not be able to insert myself into the episode itself.
So what choice did I have?
If I was going to do it, I had no choice but to set the stage properly.
“I’ll feed you until you’re fit to burst soon, so do not ask me any more questions. Got it?”
[“Greed” nods vigorously.]
***
An unnamed tragic realm located on Chiaksan Mountain in Wonju, Gangwon Province.
“S-save......”
“SCREEEECH—!”
Among people shaking like aspen leaves, a Rank 8 Magical Beast, a huge snake, glided through the area.
CHIZZZT CHIZZZT.
The huge snake, as dark and dull in color as it was heavy, carefully searched for prey to choose.
Having made its decision, it stopped before a little girl prettily dressed in a red dress.
“Hic.”
The girl was so out of her mind that she could not even speak, but the snake did not care.
Instead, to swallow her in a single bite, it opened jaws at least twice her size wiiiiiide—
“Stop.”
It began to open its jaws, but at the suddenly heard voice, it could not close them.
The one who saved the girl was a man with a slender build and pale skin.
His narrow, slitted eyes were striking.
“I told you to scare them. When did I tell you to eat them?”
The man opened his hand gently and beckoned the huge snake over.
The huge snake, which had just been ferociously herding people about, swiftly entered his arms as though nothing had happened and rubbed its large head against him.
The man stroked its head and quietly reprimanded it.
“I have kept you for years. But when your instincts come before my commands, it does not make me feel very good, does it?”
That was their final conversation.
The man’s hand, which had been stroking it affectionately, suddenly plunged into the huge snake’s head.
SPLAT.
With the sound of a smashed gourd, red blood and yellow brains sprayed in every direction.
Naturally, the man who had been covered in all of it grinned and muttered,
“If you make your master’s childhood name look shabby, you should die. Is that not right?”
It was a judgment only that man could pass.
It was possible only because he was Kiat, a Demonic Being born with a snake’s traits......
Kiat carelessly threw aside the limp huge snake, then approached the girl.
When he extended a hand covered in saliva and stroked her head, the girl trembled as though she would lose her mind.
“P-please save......”
“Why? Do you dislike me too because I am a Demonic Being?”
It was then that Kiat’s pupils narrowed like a snake’s.
“Kiat.”
A man with a build massive enough to weigh down the space itself entered, disrupting the atmosphere in the room.
The fact that he spoke Kiat’s name so easily was itself proof that he had the standing to do so.
The man’s name was Midas.
He, too, was a Demonic Being with a particular childhood name.
Midas swept a dispassionate gaze over the scene, which had become a complete mess.
“The clearing operation will be finished by tomorrow. Let us watch and talk together.”
“Now?”
When Midas nodded and walked ahead, Kiat smacked his lips and followed him.
After exiting and entering another building, they found other monstrous screams pouring down.
The source of the sound was a huge Erlenmeyer flask containing dozens of Magical Beasts.
BLINK.
As the magic circle carved into the floor flashed repeatedly, a catastrophe no different from a killing hell unfolded inside.
Forced Extraction of Demonic Energy.
Wriggling in agony as though their living flesh were being pulled out, the Magical Beasts began to collapse onto the floor one by one.
On the other hand, the extracted Demonic Energy rose in an even deeper black light and gathered at the flask’s narrow mouth.
As this process repeated, a black droplet finally formed at its end, like a flower blooming.
Essence of Demonic Energy.
It was a highly pure concentrate that could only be born after Demonic Energy filled with resentment was compressed, then compressed again.
Once the material being harvested revealed its identity, Kiat asked,
“How much remains until the target amount?”
“Five percent. By tomorrow, even this tiresome process will finally end. Then it will be humanity’s turn.”
“Five percent?”
Kiat’s brow furrowed slightly.
He thought the number of Magical Beasts remaining would not be enough to fill that five percent.
“This is troublesome. I will have to take the Mangnyang out once more.”
“Please do.”
“Is it still quiet outside?”
“Not exactly. Some humans have been patrolling this area since morning.”
“The Monster-Slaying Corps?”
“No.”
“Then?”
“Taehak.”
“Taehak?”
A sneer suddenly touched Kiat’s lips as he repeated the name.
Even the Monster-Slaying Corps would not have been enough.
With those brats’ abilities, they could neither discover this specially created place nor......
“Even if they enter by luck, we only have to kill them.”
Midas spoke calmly, as though dealing with nothing more than bothersome insects.
Kiat, who had been chuckling, soon erased the name Taehak from his mind as well.
“Anyway, I am curious. A combination of serum and Essence of Demonic Energy.”
“Do you not trust the brokers?”
“No, I do not mean that. I merely find it interesting. If such a simple method can raise our standing, things will become very entertaining from now on, will they not?”
His unusually narrow slitted eyes twisted into an even more razor-sharp curve.