Masquerade (1)
Hesperon’s eyes twitched as he watched the situation in real time through the senses connected to Ken.
‘Masquerade?’
A group of intruders crash the blazing torch rally.
It was because of the very familiar name that suddenly came out of their mouths.
“That’s definitely···.”
It was a name that Heinz had mentioned only once.
A fictitious name of an organization that was blurted out without much thought immediately after meeting the Doctor, the highest-ranking member of the Burning Crusade in Europe, before dealing with him.
It was a name I made up half in jest, so I never said it out loud since then.
‘But what does it mean that they know that…’
There was news that the doctor who had been killed at the scene had not died completely but had come back to life and successfully relayed relevant information to the Bancheonhoe.
···Of course, I had expected that it might happen.
‘Well, nothing’s really different now. It’s just that what we had assumed as a hypothesis has turned out to be true. What’s more important now is those guys.’
His attention, which had been distracted for a moment, was once again focused on the intruders.
The ‘Mimic’, who has the appearance of the President turned upside down, and the six figures who joined him.
As if to prove that they were traps prepared with the intention of targeting him, they all exuded a powerful aura.
‘You really are determined, aren’t you? Kendo isn’t that bad, but there’s no one worse than him. And that guy over there seems to be the executioner demon I’ve only heard about…’
Hesperon frowned involuntarily as he noticed the man standing silently behind them with his hood pulled down low, yet exuding an overwhelming presence.
An entity that even Ken’s fully developed senses cannot properly gauge.
There was no need to explain what that meant.
‘···This won’t be easy.’
Even as Hesperon was distracted for a moment, their conversation continued.
***
“Huh? Are you trying to act like a fool, you punk? I already know! That those guys are behind you!”
“No, that’s not it. This is the first time I’ve heard of it… Hmm, is that so? Was that the name?”
“···under?”
A bald-haired man shouting with a frowning face, and Ken nodding his head as if he understood what he said.
As he muttered that the organization name was more plausible than he thought, the faces of the members of the Bancheonhoe present took on a look of bewilderment, as if they finally realized that it wasn’t a lie.
This was especially true because at their level, it was not difficult to discern the truth contained in words.
“What? So you don’t even know the name of the organization you were a part of···.”
The Southeast Asia branch manager of the Buncheonhoe was trailing off, as if something was off.
If what I say is true, it is not even at the level of something that can be dismissed as mere trivial.
Outsourcing? Contract work? Part-time job?
Whatever you call it, it still falls far short of their original goal.
It was not surprising that his voice was filled with resentment, having had to go through so much trouble to the point of sacrificing his already lacking skills for this task.
however···.
In fact, there were people who really needed to vent their anger at this place.
“—Masquerade, Nabal, whatever, it’s good.”
Suddenly, a growling female voice emerged from the center of the blazing torch executives who had been huddled together, retreating behind them.
A single word filled with deep emotion, as if spitting out pent-up anger.
“The President—is asking what happened to Frey—!”
With the shouts from within, a ferocious momentum surged from where they were gathered, as if it was about to explode.
‘Mimic’, who had been staring at Ken with his arms crossed, turned his head to face the President.
“ha.”
Then a short sigh escaped.
Over there, the seething anger was taking shape and burning hot, but the middle-aged man’s expression showed not a shred of emotion about it.
As if a lion were looking down at a barking puppy right in front of its nose.
“Do you really have to say it out loud to know? You’re so stupid.”
“What···? You···!”
“I have only one thing to say about him.”
Immediately after those words were spoken.
After his identity was revealed, his face, which had always been expressionless, changed.
A grotesque, almost eerie smile appeared on his face, every muscle in his face convulsing.
And from the mouth of the Mimic, who had that distorted smile on her face, a voice with a strange, heated laugh flowed out.
“—I ate well.”
“······!”
A word said while caressing her stomach with one hand.
For a moment, a heavy silence swept over the area.
But the silence didn’t last long.
“···Nenoum!”
“How dare you!”
“I’ll kill you—!”
Considering that even Ahn, who had exchanged telepathy several times before, had not noticed anything unusual until they met face to face, it was actually natural.
That would be impossible without retaining everything that made up the President.
But when something I had only guessed at actually became a reality, I couldn’t help but feel it was even more painful.
“Pre… ugh!”
He was the leader and spiritual leader who formed the Blazing Torch and led them until now, and he was also Ahn’s close friend.
However, to someone who was extremely stressed out because things were going wrong, the anger of those victims felt like tasty prey.
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“What the heck? Those guys who fled like crazy while Freddy stayed behind to buy time are now acting worried. Hehe! This is so ridiculous, I can’t help but laugh!”
As if things were going well, the Southeast Asian branch manager, who had been at odds with them countless times, stepped forward and muttered.
“He was definitely a great guy. Our plans have failed more than once because of him. He’s already managed to escape from us several times, so he must have been confident.”
The branch manager shrugs his shoulders and praises others as if acknowledging them.
But the sneer on his lips clearly showed that it was not a kind word.
“If he had any misfortune, it would be that he was your incompetent leader. Look! This is what he ended up with. Man, it was really funny. The guy who never gave up until the very end gave up when he was on the verge of death and…”
“Shut up! Viper! You have never defeated the President before, so you are not the one to insult him!”
The branch manager, who was talking excitedly, was suddenly cut off by the loud voice coming from the other side.
It was as if he had touched a sensitive spot that I had been secretly concerned about.
After a moment of silence, he opened his mouth again in a more subdued voice.
“···Whew, that’s fine. After all, the one who remains at the end is the ultimate winner. And let me correct one thing. This body is not a poisonous snake, but a Nagaraja.”
“Ha! You’re talking like a naga-ra-ja. You’re just like a viper. You shameless, vile bastard.”
“Kupuhuhh …
The space began to vibrate with the boiling momentum from both sides.
Because one side was prepared to die, it appeared as if a dragon and a tiger were fighting, but in reality, the gap in power was so great that such a distance would not have been possible.
‘···Ah, this is beyond what I can handle with just tenacity. I’ll be knocked out in an instant if I fight him.’
Thanks to the enemy, Ken finally learns the name of the organization he belongs to.
He, who was in the most objective position in this situation, frowned and calmly analyzed the situation.
In terms of sheer numbers, this side had the upper hand, but in the current situation, that indicator was of little significance.
‘There are six beings that have crossed the wall from the direction of the blazing torch. I’m not sure if they are the same demons, but I think it’s roughly around two at the level of a marquis and four at the level of a count?’
Even An and Malpi, who seemed to be the most high-ranking, seemed to be far removed from the combat type.
In terms of actual combat power, it should be considered as six count-level units.
‘It can’t be helped. I heard that many combat-type Transcendents were sacrificed in the process of shaking off the pursuit.’
On the other hand, although the total number of members of the Bancheonhoe was only seven, all of them were of the rank of marquis or higher.
Even the branch manager, Nagaraja, seemed to be of the level of a duke, and the demon known as the Executioner was a level that even Ken could not properly measure.
In fact, even if he joined, the odds were already so tilted that there was nothing he could do.
‘···This is a mistake. It’ll be hard to even save myself, let alone help them. I have to get out of here right now.’
Now he has been summoned to this Earth through some means.
If I could just release the summons, I could return to the Demon World whenever I wanted… right?
His body, which had been slowly looking around, suddenly stopped.
‘Huh? What is this? Could this be?’
Then, realizing the seriousness of the situation, his eyebrows trembled.
At that moment, there was another person who sighed for the same reason as Ken.
“Ugh! Why, why is it that everything else works but the spatial blockade doesn’t get lifted···?”
Malfi, the person who created this secret space.
She squeezed her eyes shut to concentrate and tried to connect again.
But no matter how many appropriate administrator rights were applied, the tightly closed space refused to open like a broken door lock.
Even though she had actively used auxiliary magical tools to minimize the burden on the caster, the current situation was by no means ordinary for her, who prided herself on being well-versed in this field.
“Kuhuhu, there’s no use trying to escape now. This space is already completely sealed. I’ve been paying attention to making sure to hunt down those Masquerade guys.”
They’ve already been fooled several times by their escape methods, so this time they’ve put in a lot of effort into their preparations.
Nagaraja, who seemed to have noticed her expression, continued speaking with a laugh, then glared at Ken with a slightly annoyed look.
Despite all the effort, he was giving off the impression that this was the only fish he had caught.
-Hey! Employer! I’m really going to die if this keeps up! Hurry up and do something about it! Just send me back!
But Ken didn’t even have time to complain about the unfair treatment.
Because he was busy exchanging constant communications with the person who had forced him into this situation in order to somehow escape from it.
Fortunately, even though the space was sealed, there was no problem communicating through the “Chain of Oath”.
– Hmm, indeed. It seems like what they said is true. The summoning release function has been completely blocked. How did they do it? Fixed the phenomenon? Reversed causality?
-Don’t just admire me! I’m going to die like this! Seriously! Do you think they’ll just leave me alone?
-Of course they won’t leave it alone. They’ll squeeze your soul to the limit, extract all the information, and then disassemble you from head to toe, stripping away every last bit of material that can be recycled.
-If you know that, please!
They are the ones who control the space created by other people’s abilities as they please.
Even the other side has demons, so any tricks won’t work.
Hesperon knew that too, so he couldn’t hesitate any longer.
-There’s nothing you can do. Then just bear with it for a little longer.
-···What is it? What is it? What are you trying to do that’s so ominous… Ugh!
Ken’s body began to twitch. Before he knew it, an enormous amount of energy began to flow back through the “Chain of Oath” that had been deeply embedded in his mind.
‘Whoa! This, this is···!’
A curse that once tried to swallow him whole, and a branch of energy that split off from this body.
It was rushing towards him with incredible momentum.
As if trying to somehow fill the void that Ken had.
With the help of Hesperon’s various skills, his status began to rise to a high level as he achieved a temporary unity of energy and body.
“···Hoo? You’re doing something interesting.”
Since the energy was so obviously running high, it was only natural that others would notice the change.
Among them, the man who had been standing quietly at the back of the group without saying a word showed a particularly big reaction.
“I’ve seen demons from other places before… but this is really interesting.”
“···hey?”
“He’s mine.”
Despite Nagaraja’s cautious calls, the hooded man, the executioner, paid no attention and continued to speak his mind.
Nagaraja closed his eyes tightly, took a deep breath, and opened his mouth as softly as possible.
“You know that, right? That guy is a masquerade’s underling. It may be a little embarrassing to say, but since that line is definitely connected, you know that we need to grab hold of him as much as possible and squeeze out everything we know…”
“If you interfere, you will be killed.”
“···Okay, do whatever you want.”
And then I quickly gave up on the curt reply.
There was nothing he could do when that living nuclear bomb reacted like that.
Unless the Oracle or the guild leader himself steps in, no one will be able to break that guy’s will.
“Then we’ll be cleaning up those bastards, so please don’t kill them? As long as you’re still breathing, we’ll do something about it.”
“I’ll try.”
The executioner, speaking in a voice that was completely disbelieving and even humorous, walked forward with a thumping pace.
After capturing the President, he went towards a prey that would entertain him as he spent his days bored.
Thud thud—!
The next moment, his appearance changed completely.
It has pitch-black scales all over its body, a large body that is over 3 meters long, four sharp horns that shoot upward, a pair of bat wings that are spread out, and a long tail that swings like a whip with a sharp tip like a spear point.
The great devil grinned, revealing his saw-toothed teeth.
[How much pleasure can you make me?]
Since inheriting the devil’s karma—total record: 9,986 matches, 9,977 wins, 9 losses.
He attacked the King of Heaven whenever he had the chance, and except for the 9 losses in which he was crushed, he won all his fights.
The strongest fighter in the Burning Clan—the Executioner laughed ferociously and rushed at the two-dimensional demon who had just raised his head.
***
A secret space filled with machines everywhere.
‘I did strengthen Ken as much as possible, but…’
Hesperon, sitting in the armchair in the center, stared blankly at his right arm, the bandages of which had come loose.
Even though all the Avatars, led by Dwarf Howard, were working together to create the seal, it still took some time to complete.
The power contained within that arm was so immense that it would be an understatement to say that it was beyond his ability to handle.
‘···Still, it’ll be hard to beat him with that.’
Even so, it’s only a temporary measure.
It was only natural that there were limitations, as it was not a case of properly overcoming the wall, but rather a case of forcibly inserting a reinforcing agent using various tricks.
Not only is the power not perfect, but the duration of its use is also not very long.
“But it will still be a way to buy some time.”
Hesperon stood up from his seat and twisted his limbs to relax his body, which had become stiff from lying down all day.
‘Okay, then.’
And then he closed his eyes tightly and checked the status of his other avatars.
“Let’s send some real, proper reinforcements.”
It will be revealed to the world in earnest—.
A strong support force that will become the starting point of ‘Masquerade’.
