“Shit! What the hell is going on? This situation is ridiculous!”
The leader of the White Light Cult spat out curses as he watched the scene unfold on the monitor.
In the lobby, dozens of armed followers were being easily overpowered by just two agents from the Security Bureau.
One of the agents with a cold and sharp expression on her face, displayed exceptional swordsmanship, but what was even more absurd was the other agent who looked dim-witted and had a pitiful face as she fired her gun.
Even though she looked like a completely incompetent person, every shot she fired hit its mark. Even the followers wearing bulletproof vests were hit in the limbs and screamed in pain as they collapsed.
What was even more astonishing was that, despite all the shooting, not a single person had died. Considering how much harder it is to subdue enemies without killing them on a battlefield where bullets are flying everywhere, it was nothing short of miraculous.
“Is that the real skill of a Security Bureau agent…?”
The leader had briefly felt complacent after the success of the kidnapping, but now, a long-forgotten fear began creeping up in his chest.
Any unregistered demon had an ingrained fear of the Security Bureau.
The arrogance he carried with him, always believing himself to be the hunter, now turned to horrible terror as he realized he had become the prey.
My own paradise that I worked so hard to build for years is really going to fall apart overnight?
Fear quickly morphed into anger, and that anger soon turned toward the devil he had made a contract with.
The cult leader slammed his fist down on the desk. The expensive mahogany desk shattered instantly.
“You! You said nothing would happen! You said all I had to do was watch! But what is this?! This isn’t what you promised!”
“…….”
“This can’t be happening! Do you know how hard I’ve worked to get this far? What if those women make it all the way to my office? Should I run away now? No, I can’t leave everything behind. I can’t spend my whole life running from the Security Bureau!”
The leader muttered to himself in a panic. His mind was a chaotic mess. He was torn between the urge to flee and the obsession with not losing everything he had built.
However, the devil had already lost interest in the rambling contractor.
Just yesterday, for reasons unknown, the boundary between Earth and Hell had loosened, and the oppressive force weighing down on the devil had lightened considerably.
It was as if this world had shifted its focus away from him to something even more powerful.
Thanks to that, the devil was able to regain a significant portion of the power that had been suppressed when he came over to Earth.
But why?
Even with this newfound strength, he still couldn’t subdue that clueless-looking agent.
In fact, he hadn’t even touched a single hair on her. The mental barrier surrounding the woman’s mind was so solid that there wasn’t a crack to exploit.
It was as if it was her domain, and she was warning him not to dare intrude.
There was only one possible conclusion. That woman wasn’t just an ordinary Security Bureau agent. She had made a contract with a devil, and it had to be a powerful one that was protecting her.
This was an unexpected complication. He had heard that there weren’t many nationally recognized devils in the Security Bureau, so why would someone of her caliber be patrolling the streets? It was like casting a line in fresh water only to hook a shark by surprise.
Though his plan to slowly infiltrate the Bureau from the ground up had to be revised…. it didn’t matter. This place was the nest he had spent years carefully building.
It looks like I’ll have to handle this myself.
There was no way a mere devil, even one skilled in mental powers, could stand against someone like him whose mental abilities were equally if not more powerful.
It wouldn’t be a bad idea to teach this devil a lesson about what happens when you recklessly step into someone else’s domain. Of course, the price of that education would be its soul.
While the devil remained silent, the cult leader’s anger continued to grow.
“Take responsibility! You have to take responsibility! You said everything would be fine! This isn’t what we agreed on! A devil should at least keep its promises! Do something! Get out there and fix this!”
He shouted desperately at the devil, believing that the creature standing before him was the only way out of his dire situation.
This had nothing to do with him. Wasn’t it all the devil’s doing in the first place? So naturally, the one who should take the blame was the devil.
At that moment, the devil opened his mouth and a mocking smile played on his lips.
“You fool.”
“What…”
“When did I ever make a promise to you? I told you to just watch. You were the one who agreed to that, no one else.”
“What, what kind of nonsense is that—”
The cult leader’s voice was frantic, but the devil responded calmly and coldly.
“Nonsense or not, you should have judged for yourself instead of interpreting a devil’s words in a way that suited you. Then again, it’s pointless to say that to an idiot who still thinks I’m just some hypnotic devil.”
“Wh-What did you say?”
The devil drove his point home.
“Did I ever once claim to be a hypnotic devil? That was all your assumption. Foolish contractor, I’m not a hypnotic devil, I’m a ‘vampiric devil’. What you thought was hypnosis all this time was just one of the many abilities a vampire possesses.”
“A v-vampire!?”
“Did you really never doubt it? That your power grew so strong, that your body became immune to blade; did you think that was just the effect of self-hypnosis? Impossible. You and your subordinates stopped being human a long time ago.”
The cult leader’s expression hardened.
“Th-That can’t be. Are you saying I’m a vampire?”
“Kuku, a vampire? You really dream big for your place.”
With those words, the devil slowly emerged from the shadows.
“Ah…!”
The devil’s true form, something the cult leader was seeing for the first time, was far from the elegant vampires depicted in popular media.
It had the grotesque appearance of a giant bipedal bat. Its skin was so pale that it had turned a sickly, bluish color like it was completely devoid of any blood. And sharp fangs that were capable of tearing through steel with ease lined its mouth.
It was the very embodiment of a devil as humans imagined it.
“You’re nothing more than a mere ghoul. While you may not be affected by sunlight, you can’t wield a single one of the great abilities of a true vampire.”
The vampiric devil sneered as he spoke.
“I put some effort into creating you, so you might be the leader of the lowly ones, but I’m tired of watching you strut around thinking the power I gave you was your own.”
The cult leader staggered backward in shock at the devil’s words.
“A ghoul? I’m a ghoul? No, I’m human! I gained this power on my own, I built this cult with my strength, I achieved everything with my own hands! This is my power!”
“Is that so? Then go ahead, tell me that your body rotting away is also thanks to your power.”
“What—ugh, urgh, uuuugh!”
When the devil’s pale hand lightly waved through the air, the cult leader’s body began to change rapidly.
The cult leader’s face and limbs swelled grotesquely, and his flesh rotted away. His eyes rolled back so that only the whites were visible, and a strange, guttural sound escaped from his mouth.
The cult leader who was now transformed into a ghoul, lost all traces of humanity. He was reduced to nothing more than a hulking mass of muscle driven by pure, monstrous instinct.
“You look much better than before.”
The devil mocked the ghoul for a while before turning his attention back to the monitor. On the screen, two agents were still effortlessly overpowering the cult’s followers.
“Useless fools.”
The White Light Cult was no longer of any use. The devil decided to abandon the carefully constructed nest without hesitation. He chose to make the Security Bureau his new stronghold instead.
Once he took control of that place, all the souls in this country would eventually fall into his grasp.
The devil twisted his lips into a grotesque grin and led the ghoul-turned-cult-leader down below.
***
The situation in the lobby had nearly been resolved.
Most of the cult followers had already lost the will to fight and were lying sprawled across the floor.
In Ha-young and Shin Na-yoon were fine without any noticeable injuries despite their fierce battle. And honestly, In Ha-young didn’t think it was because of her own abilities.
“Thank you. I owe my life to you today, Na-yoon-ssi.”
“Huh? Me? Someone like me…?”
“Don’t say that. Just like when we were first kidnapped, having you here today was a real blessing. I intended to teach you the ropes, but I ended up getting a lot more help instead.”
“R-Really? Hehehe…”
Shin Na-yoon was flustered and didn’t know how to react. It was the first time someone as impressive as In Ha-young had ever said something like that to her.
Even though she had used the power of the devil… and the thought of the price she’d have to pay when she got home made her dizzy… Still, at this moment, she felt glad that she had used her ability.
“Let’s head back. There’s a lot we need to report once we return to headquarters.”
“Huh? Huh? Is it okay to just leave things as they are here?”
“The police or the relevant department will come clean up anyway. Sure, we went a bit overboard, but if you think about it, we were caught up in the incident too. It’s much better to let a proper support team take over than for the two of us to take any more risks in this situation.”
“I-I see. But what if, in the meantime, the cult leader manages to escape?”
When In Ha-young suggested they head back, Shin Na-yoon was of course more than happy to agree. She had grown completely sick of the gunfights by now.
However, the fact that they had caused such a commotion yet failed to catch the cult leader—the worst of the bad guys—left her feeling a bit uneasy. It was as if the job wasn’t fully done.
But In Ha-young smiled, as if there was no need to worry.
“It’s fine. We’re living proof that the White Light Cult is connected to devils, right? Now that we have evidence, no matter where the leader runs, there’s no way he can escape the Security Bureau’s pursuit.”
“Oh… that’s really good to hear…?”
It wasn’t something she could fully rejoice in. The idea that no one could escape the Bureau’s tracking meant that, eventually, the devil attached to her would be discovered too, didn’t it?
Maybe it was still better to turn herself in now? As these thoughts ran through her mind, Shin Na-yoon forced a shaky smile.
In Ha-young spoke up as if she suddenly remembered something.
“Come to think of it, we never did get to eat lunch. How about we grab something nice after we report back to headquarters? Actually, since you saved me today, I’d like to repay you somehow. Is there anything you want?”
“Uh, in that case… an Angel’s Pizza gift card?”
“…I mean, I don’t mind, but are you sure that’s all you want?”
“Of course!”
Shin Na-yoon answered in the most cheerful voice she had used all day.
When she was first kidnapped, she had been terrified, but the fight had ended without any injuries, and now that everything had been resolved safely, she felt nothing but relief. Though the area around her was drenched in blood, of course.
Just as Shin Na-yoon finally let her guard down, it happened.
Booom! The ceiling above them collapsed, sending concrete and cement debris raining down. Along with the falling debris, a huge muscular monster came crashing down toward the two of them.
“Na-yoon-ssi!”
“Huh?”
In Ha-young instinctively kicked Shin Na-yoon to push her out of the way, and quickly threw herself in the opposite direction. Shin Na-yoon let out a strange groan, “Gehk—!” as she rolled across the floor.
It was a narrow escape. The spot where the two had been standing just moments ago was instantly buried under the rubble. The huge muscular monster that had broken through the ceiling clawed its way out of the debris before letting out a monstrous roar.
And above them, through the gaping ceiling, a devil that they had never seen before slowly landed with its bat-like wings spread out. In Ha-young’s face tensed with anxiety.
“A devil…!”
“Demon. Summon the devil you’ve made a contract with.”
Like a hungry beast capturing its prey, its bulging red eyes glared at the two of them eerily.
“Or you will die.”
The vampire-like devil stretched its mouth into a grotesque grin. The corners of its lips reached all the way to its ears as it let out a chilling laugh.
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