#73
A New Order (3)
Bang—! Bang bang—!
“This is bullsh*t! Why the hell is Hahoe Mask here? I thought he was busy chasing down criminals all over Seoul these days!”
“Shut up and drop the gun! Do you really think that’ll work on that guy?”
They believed that their petty thefts didn’t merit a visit from Hahoe Mask.
So, they felt terribly unjust about the situation, but the deed was done, and they were trapped in all directions by barriers with nowhere to escape.
But sitting still and taking it wasn’t an option.
Hah!
Thud—!
One of them lunged like lightning, stepping on the pressure point before delivering the shock straight into Hahoe Mask.
At the same time, his colleagues coordinated to launch a simultaneous attack with all their strength.
Thoooom—!
Massive energy-filled attacks surged from all directions, causing the black shield to ripple, but that was all it did.
Instead, darkness that had risen from the ground began to wrap around them, immobilizing them.
Gah…
“Damn it!”
No, they weren’t the only ones; darkness was now surrounding everything.
It was a scenery that looked like it was torn straight out of the abyss of Hell.
And before them stood a figure in a mask exuding dark energy all over…
Just like before, he was merely watching them quietly.
Puhuhuh… Sht, even the Demon Cult leader wasn’t this intense…*
The overwhelming intimidation made their hearts shrink.
Feeling the shadow creeping over their faces, they simultaneously thought…
…that a “Demon King” had descended upon Earth.
*
“So, I said it right! Hey, Senpai! That’s just not it! And then, he shot me a glare…”
The drinking session with Taesan lasted until dawn.
I had intended to let him drink a bit and then put him to bed, but after so long without drinking, he showed no sign of stopping.
What good is having a high tolerance…!
While I was thinking about pretending to pass out first, a sudden thought crossed my mind.
Wasn’t this a great opportunity to bring up the problem I had been mulling over?
‘I needed a lot of ideas from different people anyway.’
Seizing the moment during a pause in Taesan’s chatter, I casually brought it up.
“Hey, Taesan. Lately, I’ve been thinking about writing a novel as a hobby.”
It was an abrupt comment, but at that point, when alcohol was dominating our brains, it wasn’t a particularly important issue.
“Oh? A novel? What’s with you? What’s it about?”
“I’m thinking of writing a story about an ordinary Demon King and a Hero…”
“Classics are good too. I once dabbled in writing myself!”
Back in our middle school days, he had once grabbed a notebook all day long to scrawl something down.
Of course, I had no idea whatever happened to that passionate creation of a middle schooler.
I quickly added a short explanation.
The basic plot was about a protagonist embarking on a journey to defeat an evil Demon King who had resurrected in the continent, becoming a hero by solving the incidents caused by the Demon King.
“But even if it’s a novel, I feel uneasy about writing a story where innocent people get hurt.”
Hmmm… well, if that’s how you feel…
Considering I was the one in the victim’s shoes, Taesan’s agreement came without any hesitation.
“So, I’d like to have an episode where I can slay bad guys while making a name for myself as the Demon King, but I can’t think of any ideas.”
“That’s true. It’d be strange for a wicked Demon King to pick and choose who to kill.”
“Exactly! That’s what I’m struggling with. What do you think I should do?”
Hmmm… Nothing immediately comes to mind. I’ll have to think about it. Anyway, you’re just at the plotting stage, right? Have you decided on the names of the characters yet?
“Uh? Uh… not yet?”
While I thought mentioning the names might be fine, I hesitated to go into too much detail and just brushed it off.
“Whatever else, the protagonist and Demon King’s names need to be impactful and cool. Don’t use names like Michael, John, or Hans!”
Flinched!
“Huh… Is a name like Hans for a Demon King really that odd?”
“Of course! A Demon King named Hans? That’s the worst!”
“Uh… I think it might be okay. It has a twist vibe to it?”
A twist? That’s deadening, it’s just tacky! It wouldn’t even fit as a village extra, it’s lacking impact by far!
Taesan vehemently argued with a rosy face from excitement.
He seemed to have had a switch flipped after the drinks kicked in.
“Look, the Demon King appears! But then everyone around goes, ‘Demon King Hans has appeared! Run!’ What do you think of that? And then he goes, ‘Hahaha! I am the Demon King Hans!’ How ridiculous does that sound? It’d just become a laughingstock!”
“D-Does it…?”
I hadn’t thought deeply about it until now, but listening to his passionate voice started to waver my conviction.
‘No, thinking about it, he’s completely right!’
The disaster of Auterica, Undead King Hans.
The name Hans was common enough that you could assume there was one in every village.
It was a little lacking in gravitas to be called the ultimate evil of the continent.
‘The problem is that the organization already knows the name…’
My ears perked up, but it was too late to change names now.
“If you really like that name, just use it as a nickname or an abbreviation. Come up with something cool for the formal name.”
“Oh? Like what?”
“Let’s see, if it’s Hans… Hmm… Okay! How about ‘Hannibal Strauss’? Isn’t that super cool?”
He looked as if his middle school passion had been reignited, exhaling with fervor.
The problem was, I also thought that name wasn’t bad.
With the alcohol’s effect accumulating, a slight buzz settled in. Taesan’s enthusiasm ignited my teenage sensibilities within me.
…Yeah, it was pretty obvious.
Even Hans’s cringeworthy actions had a part of me within them.
“And as for the Demon King’s officers like the Four Heavenly Kings…”
“Then how about doing it like this…”
And so we spent the night drinking and having a passionate discussion.
*
Damn! Damaaan—!
A figure was sprinting through the pitch-black darkness.
He cursed repeatedly under his breath, glancing back, and held his breath to minimize his presence while running.
How could such a monster exist!? That’s not level 7! Is it really level 8? It can’t just be rumors!
All of his companions had been slaughtered by that one being.
Were it not for his unique skill specialized in escaping, he, too, would have perished there.
Damn it…! I thought I’d finally gotten free with Alpha gone! And now a monster even worse has appeared!
Although he had enjoyed privileges as part of the hardliner faction’s gamma, he craved freedom more than anything.
Living under the watchful eyes of others in the organization was stressful enough.
*So I took the opportunity of the hardliner’s collapse to make my move quickly.”
Everyone who gathered in the villa on that fateful day had perished.
Fortuitously escaping that place, he seized the chance, leading his followers to break free.
Heterosis? Aligning with the moderates? That just means being shackled by even stricter rules! I can’t live like that!
Being subject to a new lord while also being unable to freely feed was unbearable.
With my level, I could live more freely; why should I stick to those rules?
These days, it was said that Seoul was hardly breathable due to Hahoe Mask, so he had been hiding in the countryside, trying to continue his activities bit by bit…
But how did they know their location?
Today, the lord of Heterosis personally visited.
At a tasting party where they had kidnapped a variety of humans to indulge in their tastes.
The resulting situation was just what he was facing now.
All his followers had turned to ash, and he was alone in hiding and fleeing.
If I’ve distanced myself this much, they shouldn’t be able to chase me anymore?
He was reaching the limits of his unique skill as well.
The ability to temporarily erase one’s presence was powerful but had a short duration.
If activated to the max, even those with sharp senses couldn’t detect him up close, allowing him to bypass barriers and keeping him alive until now.
Hah… Hah… Damn, what a mess…
Having done his utmost to suppress his presence while maintaining a tense state to boost the skill’s effect, he finally sat down for a breather.
He had managed to escape, but his remaining paths were now limited.
Feeling lost and sighing deeply, just as he was about to rise and move again…
You were here.
A cold voice froze his thoughts.
W-What…? How…?
What an intriguing ability. To vanish so thoroughly for a moment. I thought I had lost track of you until you reappeared here.
Standing next to him was Heinz II, approaching him nonchalantly.
You sensed my location? I moved at least 10 kilometers!
While using a unique skill, there should have been no traces like footprints left behind.
Meaning, he had found this place directly from where he had disappeared, without a single clue.
What’s the problem with that?
But Heinz shrugged it off as nothing of significance.
With his transcendent senses honed from continuous evolution and the added ability of Insight, there was no way he could lose track of someone he had encountered once, even at this distance.
Hah… Hahaha.
His unaware companion could do nothing but let out a hollow laugh.
Even if you beg for your life… it won’t matter, will it?
Exactly. It’s already far too late for you.
Even if he forcibly rendered him subordinate, he would only bring countless issues and be a pain in the backside.
His potential seemed promising, but Heinz didn’t want a troublesome type among those he hoped would run Heterosis well.
Not that I’ll just sit back and take it… Ugh!
Whuuu—
Just as he attempted to summon strength to resist, Heinz’s hand had already pierced his heart deeply.
Gah, why, how could it…
That’s simply the new order. If you refuse to comply, you’ll be eliminated.
As he bled and began to turn to ash, Heinz answered his last question with an even tone.
The expression of wanting to object to something faded away as he disappeared, and the surroundings fell silent.
That’s all sorted out. I guess it’s time to head back.
Today had been busy again.
Feeling the dawn approaching, Heinz soared towards Seoul.
*
“Welcome back! Good job, Lord.”
“Yeah. Are there any problems?”
“There aren’t any immediate issues. Thanks to the Lord’s care, we can say that Heterosis has firmly established itself within the clan now.”
“Is that so…?”
The morning sun was rising.
Heinz sank into a chair in Jin So-Ran’s office.
It had been more than three weeks since he established Heterosis.
Thanks to his relentless efforts night and day, it now had enough self-sustainability to handle most problems.
He had already dealt with major issues in advance, meaning he would only need to step in for those that his subordinates couldn’t resolve.
‘If that’s the case, it means my tasks on Earth are nearly complete.’
Heinz’s priority had been to stabilize Heterosis, and that task had just concluded.
The operation to grow influence in the underworld through the blood alliance was also going smoothly, so one could say he had exceeded his initial goals.
Seoul was currently… a new order was being built through Hans and Heinz.
And that would soon spread to all of Korea.
‘Now I can focus on Auterica as well.’
It was time to gather distinct forces in the other world to progress the scenario.
Because he was best suited to drag out information from the darkness.
With experience devouring a whole organization, he felt confident he could do even better this time.
Well, I’ll be off now. I’ll take a break for a while, so contact me if anything comes up.
“Huh? Are you planning to head out now?”
I have personal matters to attend to. If you need me for something, I’ll come back then. Just handle the rest yourself.
That’s why he had been placed in that position.
Heinz II stepped out of the office with a lighter step.
He fully enjoyed the feeling of being the boss with a capable subordinate…
