Chapter 6
Meanwhile, in the darkened bedroom of the suite.
Han Seorin entered in a bathrobe, saw her younger siblings asleep, and flopped onto the bed.
Still unable to believe she was staying in such a luxurious home, she tossed and turned.
‘……I’m uncomfortable.’
The bed was unbelievably soft, but she felt even more uncomfortable than when she lay on a moldy floor.
Han Seorin’s smooth legs kept brushing against each other beneath the covers.
She gave up on falling asleep and sat up.
Then she gazed quietly down at her younger siblings sleeping in bed and steeled herself.
‘I’m uncomfortable, but I have to protect this life somehow.’
Han Seorin suddenly remembered the past.
Even before devils appeared in the world, devils had existed for Han Seorin and her younger siblings.
……Devils in the guise of parents.
They were always drunk, fighting, or abusing their own children.
It was all because of money.
Her parents took out the stress of their poverty on their children.
They beat Han Seorin and her siblings until they were bruised, or hurled curses at them.
In the end, unable to keep living under those parents, Han Seorin decided to strike out on her own with her younger siblings.
From that day on, Han Seorin walked the path of a Devil Hunter to support them.
It was all because of money.
That was why she risked her life fighting devils.
……As it happened, awakening had enhanced Han Seorin’s physical abilities.
Although she lacked the unique abilities of high-ranking Devil Hunters, she doggedly fought devils and steadily built up her stats.
She had clawed her way up from an F-rank Devil Hunter to C-rank.
Countless comrades had died, and countless citizens had been killed before her eyes, but Han Seorin never gave up fighting devils.
As a result, Han Seorin had managed to secure a shabby villa where she and her siblings could live, along with enough money to get by.
Her siblings were still of compulsory-school age, so her C-rank Devil Hunter salary was enough to keep her family fed, more or less.
Just when life seemed to be going smoothly, disaster struck.
On the day of parent observation classes, a Gate phenomenon occurred at the school her younger siblings attended.
And then, the voice of a girl echoed in her head.
-Do you desire power?
‘……’
Han Seorin closed her eyes, recalling that voice.
Devils were beings she had to be wary of, and they threatened the younger siblings she cherished, but……
For some reason, Asmode felt different from the devils she had seen until then.
‘I mustn’t let my guard down. Asmode could betray me at any moment. I’m only using Asmode. I feel nothing more.’
With conflicting feelings churning inside her, she pushed her worries aside, lay back down, and tried to sleep.
It was then that the sheets, which had felt nothing but uncomfortable moments earlier, began to feel comfortable.
*
A room where nothing but darkness existed.
I woke to the light shining from the mirror, rubbed my eyes, and sat up.
After sleeping, my whole body felt sore.
I wish this place at least had some linoleum.
‘Ugh, my whole body aches…….’
As soon as I got up, I checked my status window.
To see how long I had until my body collapsed.
[Time until current body collapses: 5 days 20 hours 49 minutes 10 seconds]
‘……Good. I still have plenty of time. I need to make a contract with someone else soon and extend the time until my body collapses.’
Of course, I could keep extending the time until my body collapsed like I did yesterday and maintain the status quo.
‘A hundred low-rank souls buys me five days. That’s good, but I can’t go on living under this constant time pressure.’
Who knew when the status window might change its wording again?
So before that happened, shouldn’t I grow quickly and find a way to overcome my body’s collapse?
I couldn’t be sure that growing stronger would let me overcome it, but I had to try something.
‘First, should I pester Han Seorin to hunt devils?’
I stood up and watched Han Seorin through the mirror.
Han Seorin passed through the lounge, left the Association, and headed somewhere on foot.
……Her expression looked rather urgent, so I had no choice but to ask her.
“Han Seorin, where are you going?”
“……Lady Asmode? Um, no matter how many times I called, you didn’t answer.”
“I was asleep. Even devils need sleep.”
“G-good morning…….”
Han Seorin answered me in a small voice, mindful of the people on the street.
The moment there was no one around her, she whispered softly.
“Ah, Extermination Division, Section 5 issued a deployment order, so I’m heading to the site. It looks like we’ll finally be working as a team today.”
“Really? That’s good. Extermination Division, Section 5. I hear they strive for perfection, so they might be a little cliquish.”
“……”
Han Seorin started to ask how I knew about Extermination Division, Section 5, then shut her mouth.
People had started passing by her again.
“Anyway, let me know when you arrive. I’ll go back to sleep in the meantime. Don’t let a devil get you because you didn’t wake me, okay?”
She silently nodded at my words.
In truth, saying I was going to sleep was a lie. I was just being considerate so she wouldn’t have to report everything to me.
How many minutes passed after that?
At last, when she reached the site, she quietly whispered my name.
“……Lady Asmode. I’m here.”
“Yeah, okay. Let’s have a look.”
I looked around at the scenery beyond the mirror.
Han Seorin had arrived at a construction site where steel rebar was piled high.
Across from her stood people dressed in the same black uniforms and berets as she was.
Han Seorin edged toward them.
When they eyed Han Seorin warily as she suddenly approached, she bowed and greeted them.
“N-nice to meet you. I’m Han Seorin, a C-rank Devil Hunter joining Extermination Division, Section 5 as of today. I look forward to working with you……”
“……”
At Han Seorin’s stiff tone, they wore indifferent expressions and ignored her.
A little while later, a man among them who was smoking addressed her sharply.
“……So you’re the one. The lucky one who got in despite being near the bottom of the C-rank Devil Hunters. I heard you nearly got killed by D-rank devils.”
“That was……. I injured my shoulder protecting my younger siblings. Normally, I would have handled grunts like that……”
“Ha, younger siblings? When devils show up, are you just going to stay glued to your siblings’ heels?”
“How can you say something like that……!”
“We’re Devil Hunters who protect this city. The city’s peace comes before family.”
“Well, you’re not wrong, but……”
While Han Seorin stammered, they began laughing one after another and excluded her.
Watching the scene through the mirror, I crossed my arms over my chest and sighed.
“Hah, see? I told you, didn’t I? They’re a little cliquish.”
They were doing nothing but undermining their teammate’s morale.
It was obvious they were trying to intimidate the new recruit and pad their own accomplishments.
“They’re probably just small fry. Looks like they’re all C-rank Devil Hunters like you, so prove yourself with your skills.”
“……”
Han Seorin’s eyes took on a resolute look at my words.
At that moment……
-Crack!
A rift appeared on the top floor of the building under construction, and a Gate opened there.
Hearing the sound, Han Seorin and the other Devil Hunters straightened their clothes and steeled their gazes.
“……We don’t have time to run our mouths. Rookie, don’t get in our way.”
“Yes, understood.”
With that, they began hurrying up the building’s stairs toward the top floor.
As they passed the middle floors, they came face-to-face with devils descending the stairs.
-Clack. Clack.
Devils in the form of clown dolls, wearing red clown hats, with blades for hands and feet.
The moment they saw the Devil Hunters, they twisted their bodies grotesquely and charged.
The Devil Hunters drew their swords and guns, ready to take on the devils, when……
-Sshk!
Han Seorin, at the very end of the group, sprang forward and began swinging her whip.
-Sshk! Sshk!
-Clack!
Her eyes turned red, and she displayed incredible concentration, splitting the clown-doll devils’ torsos in half.
Then, whenever they swung their blades, she swiftly dodged and counterattacked.
-Sshk!
At last, the moment she swiftly took down the final devil, the other Devil Hunters swallowed hard.
They were surprised that the rookie Devil Hunter they had looked down on had taken out the devils so quickly.
But more than that, they had seen a faint black aura emanating from her body.
“This can’t be……!”
“That power…… What is it?”
“……Didn’t you say we didn’t have time to run our mouths? Let’s hurry upstairs.”
Han Seorin threw the words one of the Devil Hunters had just said back at them, then headed upstairs first.
The Devil Hunters exchanged meaningful glances, their expressions awkward.
““……””
Realizing they’d been shown up by the rookie, they followed her upstairs.
Meanwhile, the moment she single-handedly took down the devils on the upper floor, too……
A status window appeared before my eyes.
[Notification: Your contractor has defeated a devil!]
[Recovering the souls of the defeated devils.]
[You have acquired 31 low-rank devil souls!]
[Souls in Possession]
[Low-Rank Souls: 68]
“That’s right. Prove yourself with your skills. Those guys can’t say a word to you now, can they?”
“Lady Asmode. There’s something I’d like to ask you.”
“What is it? Ask me anything.”
“What should I do if the other Devil Hunters realize the power I used was a devil’s power?”
“……”
I was at a loss for words at Han Seorin’s sudden question……
-Click.
Someone pressed the muzzle of a pistol against the back of Han Seorin’s head and raised the corners of their lips.
……It was none other than A-rank Hunter Baek Seol-a.
“Ms. Han Seorin. I wondered how you survived with devil poison spreading through your body, but it seems you were using an abnormal power after all.”
“……”
“I’m taking you to the laboratory on the Association’s fourth basement floor, on the grounds that you’ve undergone a second awakening.”
Even the Devil Hunters who had been with Han Seorin aimed their guns at her from behind Baek Seol-a.
‘W-what kind of situation is this all of a sudden……?’
……Could the recruitment offer itself have been a trap?
I was still reeling from Baek Seol-a’s sudden, bizarre behavior when……