Chapter 14
After finishing off the remaining devils alongside the members of Extermination Division, Section 5, Han Seorin left the Gate.
She was still spellbound by Baek Seol-a's performance, deeply impressed.
Though Han Seorin had fought devils as well as any C-Rank Devil Hunter, compared to Baek Seol-a, she felt like little more than a background extra.
“Whew, that's one job taken care of. What was your next assignment, Ms. Han Seorin? Are you handling a Gate?”
“Oh, I'm assigned to city security.”
“What a shame. I guess we're parting ways here. I wanted to see more of your potential, Ms. Han Seorin.”
“……”
“Once my mission is over, I'll write you a recommendation for B-Rank Devil Hunter. I was impressed by how you charged ahead earlier, risking your life.”
Baek Seol-a stood beside Han Seorin, smiling as she praised her without reservation.
Han Seorin felt awkward being praised by the next S-Rank Devil Hunter.
She forced the corners of her mouth upward and replied.
“Th-Thank you, Team Leader…… for looking after someone as insignificant as me……”
“Hehe, it's an investment in the future. I'm sure you'll grow into a B-Rank Devil Hunter or higher, Ms. Han Seorin. Well, enough idle chatter. Let's head out. Ms. Han Seorin.”
“Oh, right……!”
At Baek Seol-a's words, Han Seorin started awkwardly jogging toward the next operation site.
And just like that, the apartment complex fell silent.
Watching Han Seorin's clumsy retreating figure, Baek Seol-a slowly let her smile fade and fell into thought.
‘……Her eyes turned red, and a black aura rose from her body. Could it be some kind of simple physical enhancement ability? But the mana detector didn't react at all.’
Baek Seol-a soon pushed up the frame of her glasses.
Just as Han Seorin had been impressed by her, she was impressed by Han Seorin's power.
Baek Seol-a furrowed her brow slightly and continued to think, a hint of jealousy creeping in.
‘Seeing it up close makes it even more incredible. Han Seorin, what exactly is that power? I'm going to investigate that monstrous strength thoroughly and make it my own.’
Baek Seol-a strove for perfection in the organization, yet also harbored ambitions for power that could influence it.
She decided to use Han Seorin to climb to a higher position.
……So she could become a central figure in the Association.
*
Meanwhile, in the pitch-black space where nothing existed but the mirror.
After seeing Baek Seol-a's brow furrow slightly through the mirror, I was finally sure.
“As I thought, she's planning to use Han Seorin too.”
Baek Seol-a had been watching Han Seorin throughout the entire operation.
She'd deliberately killed the devils slowly to give Han Seorin a chance to shine, and hadn't hesitated to take out a mana detector behind her back.
For Baek Seol-a, the entire operation had been nothing more than a test to experiment on Han Seorin.
I tried pressing all sorts of buttons in the status window to see if I could make a contract with Baek Seol-a, but in the end, it was impossible.
She didn't seem to be in any danger of losing her life in the first place.
I'd also tried to make contracts with Devil Hunters other than Baek Seol-a, but……
It seemed I couldn't offer a contract to people who didn't have a strong survival instinct.
In other words, I couldn't make a contract with someone unless they were on the brink of death.
“If I made a contract with her, I could get a soul for free. What a shame.”
Putting that disappointment behind me, I spent the day watching Han Seorin hunt devils.
Just as promised, she started exterminating low-rank devils without using the devil's power.
This idiot's finally listening……!
“Oh, Han Seorin. I'm surprised.”
“By what?”
“You're holding back the devil's power while you fight. That's amazing! I can't give you a reward or anything, but I'll give you a praise sticker instead!”
“……I don't need one. Besides, I don't exactly want to become a devil, either. I have my younger siblings to think about.”
“Tch, what a boring person. You'll regret not taking my praise sticker today.”
“I guess I should take it, just in case.”
“……You're an interesting one!”
Maybe she'd picked up a few tricks from fighting devils all this time, because Han Seorin was doing a decent job of exterminating low-rank devils without using the devil's power.
Whenever Han Seorin moved to the next operation site, I occasionally checked in on Lee Minjeong too……
She seemed busy talking with Junhwi about Featherman at a figurine shop.
While Lee Minjeong was engrossed in the conversation, I decided to play a prank on her.
“……Achoo!”
“Waaaaah……! Th-That scared me……!”
“Huh? What's wrong, Noona?”
“Ahaha, n-no, it's nothing.”
……Oh, what a delicious reaction.
I forced out a sneeze and smirked at how Lee Minjeong jumped in surprise.
But then I immediately started to feel ridiculous.
What am I even doing……
Maybe being trapped in this pitch-black space was slowly making me weird.
How many hours passed after that?
In the mirror, Han Seorin had exterminated a flytrap-like devil on a rooftop and was leaning against the railing, gazing up at the evening sky.
While she looked up at the sky, I took the opportunity to check the status window.
[Souls in Possession]
[Low-Rank Souls: 321]
[Mid-Rank Souls: 39]
‘No high-rank souls. Does that mean I can't claim the souls of devils Baek Seol-a exterminated?’
Meanwhile, Han Seorin rested her elbows on the railing, propped up her chin, and spoke as if murmuring to herself.
“……Lord Asmode. Are you watching?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“No reason. The moon's so beautiful tonight. Why don't you take a look too, Lord Asmode?”
“……”
At Han Seorin's suggestion, I looked at the moon through the mirror.
……It had been a long time since I'd seen the moon.
“It's a full moon. Is that the Big Dipper beside it? Hmph, it's pretty, considering the human world is full of useless people. I wish I could take a picture.”
“……”
I tried to answer as naturally as possible, hoping she wouldn't realize I'd once been human.
Fortunately, this time no status window popped up about some kind of little devil's dignity.
Han Seorin listened to me and smiled faintly.
“If things had gone as they should, I wouldn't have been able to see this full moon at all. It's only because you saved me, Lord Asmode, that I'm still alive.”
“……Han Seorin.”
“I don't really know what kind of devil you are, Lord Asmode, but I don't think you're a bad devil. How should I put it? It seems like you have your reasons.”
Han Seorin tapped the railing lightly with her fingers and continued.
“I've been thinking about it. Actually, aren't you the one who wants power, Lord Asmode?”
“……”
-Do you desire power?
I remembered the first words I'd ever said to her.
Han Seorin was turning those words back on me, stirring my heart.
……I needed power.
The power to save my contractors.
And the power to get me out of this hell.
Just then, she smiled alluringly and continued in a sweet voice.
“I can't share my power with you, Lord Asmode, but I can be your strength. So couldn't you trust me just a little, too?”
“……Trust you? What do you mean?”
“Give me stronger power. Enough to easily outclass Baek Seol-a.”
“Oh, for crying out loud! I was wondering what you were getting at. No!”
Had she lost her mind……?
I nearly fell for that sob story.
She was already a headache with her soul erosion rate so high, and now she was making a request like this?
……She had absolutely no shame.
Han Seorin lowered her head in disappointment, wearing a disgruntled expression after hearing my answer.
“Tch……”
“I'm doing this for your sake. So don't get greedy—live within your means as a C-Rank Devil Hunter.”
After saying that, I opened the status window and checked Han Seorin's soul erosion rate.
[‘Han Seorin’s’ soul erosion rate: 35%]
[‘Lee Minjeong’s’ soul erosion rate: 8%]
As I thought, this was a situation I absolutely couldn't approve of.
After I turned her down, Han Seorin immediately left the rooftop and headed down out of the building.
Without saying a word, she started back to the Devil Hunter Association's suite.
Feeling frustrated, I cut off the communication and gnawed on my nails in anger.
“Haah, someone like that needs a good, sharp punishment. Is there no Authority for that?”
[Soul Shop]
[Contractor Torture & Discipline Authority Unlocked]
[Price: 1,000 Low-Rank Souls]
“Huh? Why is that actually a thing……?”
……I did my best to ignore the item that had suddenly appeared like a pop-up and closed the status window.
I sighed. I desperately wanted to do something to lower her soul erosion rate, but……
For now, it seemed there was nothing I could do.
……I had no choice but to wait for a chance to choose a growth reward.
*
[Time Until Bodily Collapse: 1 day 3 hours 58 minutes 43 seconds]
The next morning.
In the mirror, Han Seorin finished breakfast and showering as usual, then headed out of the Association headquarters.
Soon, she climbed into the passenger seat of a white sedan parked in front of the headquarters.
Baek Seol-a was sitting in the driver's seat.
The team leader was personally escorting a mere team member.
……It was blatant favoritism.
She tapped Han Seorin on the shoulder and spoke to her.
“Good morning, Ms. Han Seorin. Did you sleep well?”
“Oh, yes. I've been sleeping well, thanks to you. The suite is really nice.”
“I'm glad you're enjoying it, Ms. Han Seorin. Today, the two of us will be going around sealing Gates.”
“Don't tell me…… Is it because I acted too rashly yesterday and the other Devil Hunters don't want to work with me?”
“What? Haha, no, that's not it. It just so happened that the two of us were assigned together. The number of people assigned depends on the Gate's location, time, and type.”
“……I see. Understood. I'll do my best not to cause you any trouble, Team Leader.”
“Sounds good. Let's do our best together~!”
A little while later, the sedan started climbing a mountain road on the outskirts of Seoul.
Han Seorin and Baek Seol-a arrived at the top of the mountain.
They got out of the car and stopped in front of a green Gate near a spring.
“Ms. Han Seorin, are you ready? Don't feel pressured. Just do what you normally do.”
“Yes. Understood.”
Han Seorin stepped forward first and entered the Gate.
-Wooooong!
When Han Seorin came to, she was standing in a forest blanketed in thick fog.
“Team Leader, the fog is really thick.”
“……”
“I can't see very far, so maybe we should stay close to each other……”
Feeling an ominous chill, Han Seorin turned to look beside her.
“Team Leader……?”
Baek Seol-a was nowhere around Han Seorin.
Meanwhile, I watched the situation from beyond the mirror.
Uneasy, I manipulated the mirror and searched the forest, but I couldn't sense Baek Seol-a anywhere.
“What is this……?”
Just as I was growing flustered.
-Zing.
A status window appeared before my eyes.
[Remaining Survival Time: 6 minutes 32 seconds]
“This is……!”
Soon, the sound of rustling brush began to come from every direction.
-Swish. Swish.
-Swish. Swish.
-Swish. Swish.
……An ominous presence hung over the forest.
It seemed the time had come for her to use the devil's power.