Chapter 19
Although I couldn't get Sophia out of the mansion, the time until my bodily collapse was extended by three days.
In a pitch-black space where nothing else existed.
After cutting off communication with Sophia, I immediately started browsing the Soul Shop.
Maybe there was a clue here that could help Sophia escape.
I slowly scrolled down, taking in the items one by one and considering every possibility.
[Soul Shop]
[Unlock Contractor Torture & Training Authority]
[Price: 1,000 Low-Rank Souls]
“Why does it keep recommending this……!”
But no matter how thoroughly I searched the Soul Shop, I couldn't find anything suitable for saving Sophia.
Almost all of the items either unlocked contractors' Authorities or unlocked my own.
……Was there really no way to save Sophia?
“No. This time, I know for sure.”
I twisted a lock of hair around my finger, then fixed my reflection in the mirror with a resolute gaze.
The answer lay with me.
I had to unlock my Authority and grow stronger as quickly as possible.
Not just to save Sophia, but to overcome the bodily collapse phenomenon, too, I needed to grow stronger.
Right now, I was nothing more than a C-Rank devil.
I didn't know how a C-Rank devil like me was lending Han Seorin enough power to make her a future S-Rank, but whatever the case, I was a C-Rank devil.
If I mastered my Authority, raised my rank, and became able to control the devil's power dwelling within my contractors…….
Wouldn't I basically become a constellation wearing the guise of a little devil?
Just as I was thinking that, a status window appeared before my eyes.
[Growth Reward cooldown has been refreshed!]
[Low-Rank Souls required for next growth stage: 328/200]
[Growth stage value has exceeded its maximum. You may choose one of the following rewards!]
[1. Unlock a new Authority]
[2. Reduce a contractor's soul erosion rate]
[3. Extend time until bodily collapse]
“Perfect timing.”
Having realized how necessary growth was, I was about to select option 1 without hesitation.
But then Han Seorin's soul erosion rate flashed through my mind.
[Han Seorin's Soul Erosion Rate: 56%]
……Would it be all right to leave Han Seorin as she was and unlock a new Authority?
“Aah, seriously! Why can't you just give me all of them?!”
I'd definitely decided that if I received a growth reward next time, I'd reduce her soul erosion rate.
Just as I wondered if I had to give up an Authority again this time,
Han Seorin's voice rang clearly in my ears.
-I'm the one asking you. Please trust me just once.
“Han Seorin's in the hospital anyway. Now's the time for me to trust you once.”
In the end, I made up my mind and decided to unlock a new Authority.
-Click!
[Notification: Unlocking a new Authority for the Little Devil!]
[New Authority: Space Restoration (C-Rank)]
[The Contract Space is the source that sustains your soul and body.]
[Use souls to restore the Contract Space and unlock the Little Devil's unique Authority.]
[Each increase in domain stability reduces the rate of bodily collapse.]
[When domain stability reaches its maximum, bodily collapse will stop completely.]
[Maximum growth stage value increased to 500!]
“I-It finally……!”
Seeing the words saying bodily collapse would stop completely, I let out a triumphant cry in my heart.
Now, let's check the conditions.
“So, I stop bodily collapse by restoring this space that has nothing but mirrors? Is that what it means?”
I thought I'd more or less understood it perfectly.
Then, what was this domain's stability right now……?
[Current Domain Stability: 0%]
“I knew it. Of course it wouldn't be that easy.”
I let out a heavy sigh and started walking through the pitch-black space.
Just as I was wondering how to use Space Restoration,
I noticed that there was a surface at the edge of the space, cracked like a pane of glass.
When I ran my finger over the crack etched into thin air, a status window popped up.
[Would you like to use souls to restore the Contract Space?]
[Souls Required]
[300 Low-Rank Souls]
[30 Mid-Rank Souls]
[Yes / No]
“I'd like to save my Low-Rank Souls, but I can just put Lee Minjeong to work.”
After a bit of thought, I selected Yes.
-Crash!
With the sound of shattering glass, the black wall in front of me crumbled away.
And a vast space was revealed behind it.
Walls and floors made of fine wood.
A splendid chandelier.
And bookshelves that filled the room to the brim.
Stunned, I stared at the room that had appeared, like something out of a library.
……Was a room like this hidden in a space that had nothing but mirrors?
[Domain Stability: 5%]
[10 days have been added to the time until bodily collapse!]
[Time Until Bodily Collapse: 13 days 2 hours 43 minutes 21 seconds]
[Space Restoration is now on cooldown!]
“Eeeek……!?”
On top of that, simply restoring the space added ten whole days before my bodily collapse……?
This is insanely good!
No, this isn't exactly something to celebrate.
For starters, why is my body supposed to collapse?
“Still, with this, I might not have to take on a contractor for a while.”
Feeling relieved that an annoying task had been put off, I entered the library-like room.
The calming room smelled of books and fragrant oils.
The bookshelves were lined with colorful books.
When I pulled a red book from the shelf, it opened by itself, and a status window appeared above it.
[Notification: Would you like to learn the Unique Authority ‘Wrath of the God of Destruction’ (EX-Rank)?]
[Souls Required]
[500 High-Rank Souls]
[50 Supreme-Rank Souls]
[Yes / No]
“Aha, so that's how it works!”
Apparently, this library was a place where I could spend souls to obtain a devil's unique Authority.
I didn't have a single Supreme-Rank Soul, and I had only one High-Rank Soul, so I had no choice but to close the book.
[Souls in Possession]
[Low-Rank Souls: 28]
[Mid-Rank Souls: 12]
[High-Rank Souls: 1]
“I'm practically a total beggar.”
Still, I was secretly in a good mood, and despite my grumbling, a smile naturally spread across my face.
An Authority that could restore the Contract Space itself.
With this Authority, I might be able to protect both my contractors' lives and my own.
It was the moment a ray of light appeared in the bleak path ahead of me as a devil.
*
Meanwhile, in a busy district on the outskirts of Seoul.
Today, too, Lee Minjeong was trying to hunt devils as she soared through the sky wearing her Featherman mask.
Lee Minjeong finally arrived at the scene.
She landed dramatically, spreading her wings wide as she looked up at the devil.
“The hero of justice, Feathergirl, has arrived!”
-Krik. Krik…….
Before her stood a black Stone Golem as tall as a streetlight.
She immediately took the longbow from her back, nocked an arrow, and activated Devil's Eye.
A red dot appeared superimposed over the Stone Golem's purple pupil.
She took a calm, deep breath, drew the bowstring, and fired.
-Fwoooooosh!
The moment Lee Minjeong's arrow struck the Stone Golem right in the eye.
-Boom!
The Stone Golem immediately slammed into the ground and shattered into several pieces.
Lee Minjeong wiped the sweat beading on her forehead and breathed a sigh of relief.
After confirming that no one nearby was hurt, she flapped her wings and took off again.
“As the devil said, I definitely feel less tense when I work alone…….”
When she was with Reconnaissance Division, Section 3, she was always on edge, worrying about what her seniors thought of her.
No matter how hard she tried not to make mistakes, she made them anyway, and because she was so bad at reading the room, her teammates ended up disliking her.
Lee Minjeong had been the team's problem child.
She knew it herself, so she was often intimidated and always tense.
But…….
After all the members of Reconnaissance Division, Section 3 died, something changed in Lee Minjeong.
She realized that she had to become a better person, to make up for everything she hadn't been able to do until then.
-I'll keep watching over you until the very end. So don't give up here.
At first, she'd tried to give up on everything and accept death, but thanks to Asmode, she was able to stand back up.
Lee Minjeong had been hunting devils to provide souls to Asmode while also living out her life as a hero.
She searched for devils as she looked down over the city from the sky, but couldn't find any at all.
“There aren't many devils around today. I wonder why. It's a good thing, but…….”
She stopped gliding and beat her wings in place.
Before she knew it, the sky around her had turned the color of sunset.
“Can't be helped. Let's head back for today.”
In the end, she landed, made her wings disappear, slung her longbow over her back, and started walking home.
After taking off her mask and entering an alley near her house, Lee Minjeong happened to notice something black lying on the concrete ground.
“What is this……?”
It felt wet and squishy. It was none other than a piece of devil flesh.
“Eek……!”
Startled by the devil flesh she'd touched, Lee Minjeong tossed it away.
At that moment.
-Fwhip!
A black hawk flew swiftly out of nowhere, snatched up the piece of flesh, and flew off in the opposite direction.
Confused by the sudden turn of events, Lee Minjeong scratched her head.
“……What was that? Are hawks like that flying around the city these days?”
Lee Minjeong grumbled as she scratched the back of her head.
It was then that she thought today had been a particularly strange day.
*
Meanwhile, Asmode was picking up books in the library and inspecting them one by one.
Suddenly, a status window appeared before her eyes.
[Notification: A contractor has exterminated a devil!]
[Recovering the souls of the devils exterminated.]
[Souls Recovered]
[Low-Rank Souls: 485]
[Mid-Rank Souls: 142]
[Souls in Possession]
[Low-Rank Souls: 513]
[Mid-Rank Souls: 154]
[High-Rank Souls: 1]
“……Huh?”
Asmode was dumbfounded as she looked at the amount of souls recovered, far more than usual.