Masquerade (1)
Hesperon’s eyes twitched as he monitored the situation in real-time through the sensory connection with Ken.
‘Masquerade?’
A group of uninvited guests had barged into the Burning Flame gathering.
It was due to a very familiar name that suddenly popped out of their mouths.
“That name is definitely···.”
It was a name that he had mentioned only once—specifically, one that Han had mentioned after encountering the Doctor, the top of the Buncheon Society in Europe, right before dealing with him, without thinking much about it.
Since it was a name he coined half-jokingly, he hadn’t uttered it ever since.
‘But the fact that they know it means···.’
It implied that the Doctor he had shot on-site hadn’t completely died and had successfully relayed information about Buncheon Society.
…Of course, he had suspected that might happen.
‘Huh, at this point, it won’t change much. It’s just confirming what I had speculated. The important thing now is those guys.’
He focused his attention back on the intruders, who had momentarily diverted his nerves elsewhere.
The ‘Mimic’ dressed in the Führer’s appearance, along with the six avatars who had joined him.
As if to prove that they were indeed a trap aimed directly at him, they all exuded a powerful energy.
‘Looks like they’ve made up their minds, huh? Ken’s not someone who gets caught easily, but not a single one is below him. And there, that guy seems to be the Executioner demon I’ve only heard about···.’
Hesperon frowned unconsciously as he recognized the man standing quietly at the back, with his hood pulled low, yet overwhelming the others with his presence.
An entity that even Ken’s heightened senses couldn’t properly gauge.
There was no need to say what that implied.
‘···This isn’t going to be easy.’
While Hesperon was lost in thought for a moment, their conversation continued.
*
“What? Are you playing dumb? I already know everything! That they’re behind you!”
“No, it’s not that. I’m really hearing this for the first time···. Hmm, was that the name?”
“···Huh?”
The sharp-headed man yelled with a scowl, while Ken nodded along, seemingly in agreement with what he said.
Finally feeling that it wasn’t a lie when he muttered that it was a rather credible organization name, a look of disbelief crossed the faces of the Buncheon Society members present.
At their level, figuring out the truth behind spoken words was no difficult feat.
“So, you didn’t even know the name of the organization you belong to…”
The Southeast Asia branch director of the Buncheon Society frowned, as if something was amiss.
If that were true, that would mean he wasn’t just a minor figure.
Outsource? Contract work? Part-time job?
No matter how you looked at it, it didn’t change the fact that they were far from their original target.
Thus, it was no wonder that the frustration in his voice was palpable, having sacrificed a lot for this mission with limited resources.
However…
The ones who really should have been blowing their tops in this situation were different.
“—I don’t care about Masquerade or anything else.”
From within the circle of the Burning Flame’s executives, a woman’s voice growled out, cutting through the growing tension.
Her words, lashed out like someone spitting out suppressed anger.
“The Führer—Freddy, what happened to him—!”
With An’s outburst, a fierce energy seemed ready to explode from their group.
The ‘Mimic,’ arms crossed and gazing at Ken, turned his head towards the Führer’s direction.
“Huh.”
A short sigh escaped him.
Where they were simmering in seething rage, the middle-aged man showed not a hint of interest.
It was as if he were looking down at a puppy barking in front of a lion.
“Do I really have to say it for you to understand? You’re unbelievably stupid.”
“What…?! You bastard…!”
“The only thing I’ll tell you about that is one.”
Immediately after he finished that sentence, a change occurred on his previously expressionless face.
His facial muscles twitched as a grotesque smile surfaced, looking quite unnerving.
And from that twisted grin, a curious voice laced with laughter flowed out.
“—That was delicious.”
“······!”
With one hand patting his belly, he uttered that line.
An oppressive silence enveloped the space.
But it didn’t last long.
“…You bastard!”
“How dare you!”
“I’ll kill you—!”
Considering that even An, who had earlier communicated telepathically several times, hadn’t sensed anything odd until facing him directly, it was quite natural.
It was an impossible scenario if everything constituting the Führer wasn’t in their possession.
Yet, realizing what he had only suspected made it all the more painful.
“Freddy… Cough!”
He was the leader and spiritual pillar of the Burning Flame, and personally a close friend of An.
However, the fury of those victims seemed only like a delicious meal to someone who was stressed at how things were going.
“Oh? So, the scoundrels worry now that Freddy buys time for them? Kuhuhut! It’s almost funny!”
At that moment, the Southeast Asia branch director, who had clashed with them countless times, stepped forward, smirking.
“Indeed, he was impressive. Thanks to him, our plans have failed more than once. He’d likely gained confidence after successfully escaping several times against us.”
While praising the opponent and shrugging his shoulders, the chuckle on his lips clearly indicated that this wasn’t coming from a place of goodwill.
“If there’s misfortune for him, it’s that he happened to be your incompetent leader. So, look! This is how it ends, right? Haha—really amusing. The guy who didn’t give up until the end ended up giving up at the last moment…”
“Shut up! You serpent! You don’t have the right to insult someone who has never lost to you!”
The branch director, who had been enjoying himself, was abruptly cut off by the loud voice coming from the opposing side.
It felt like he’d touched a nerve he hadn’t intended.
After a brief silence, the director lowered his voice and spoke again.
“…Huh, whatever. In any case, the one who survives till the end is the final victor. By the way, let me correct that. I’m not a serpent; I’m a Nagaraja.”
“Ha! You’re just a serpent. You cowardly, shameless bastard.”
“Kuhuhut. Fine, I’ll enjoy this. Now, let’s see how long your spirit lasts.”
The atmosphere began to vibrate as tensions flared on both sides.
One side appeared ready to face death, making it seem like an even match, but the gap in actual power was so vast that the battle itself felt absurd.
‘…Ah, this situation is beyond what sheer willpower can handle? If I engage, I’ll be done in no time.’
Thanks to the enemy, Ken finally learned the name of the organization he belonged to.
At the most objective position in the room, he frowned as he calmly analyzed the situation.
In terms of sheer numbers, they had the advantage, but in the current situation, that wasn’t of much significance.
‘There are six notable figures on the Burning Flame side. They aren’t all demons, but let’s say for the sake of approximation, two mid-ranking and four lower-ranking.’
Moreover, the two who appeared to hold the highest rank, An and Malfi, seemed far from combat-oriented.
When you factor in their actual battle prowess, they could be seen as six lower ranks.
‘It was inevitable. I heard that many combat transcendents were lost in the process of ditching their pursuers.’
In contrast, Buncheon Society’s total number was only seven, but all of them were above mid-ranking.
The branch director, Nagaraja, appeared to be a duke level, and that Executioner demon was impossible for Ken to gauge.
Essentially, even if he joined, the battle was already hopelessly tilted.
‘…This looks bad. I won’t be able to help them, let alone save myself. I need to get out of here immediately.’
He was summoned to this earth through some means.
If only he could cancel the summoning, he should have been able to return to the Demon Realm at any time…
His body, which had been cautiously scanning, suddenly froze.
‘Oh? What is this? Could it be?’
Then his eyebrows twitched as he realized the severity of the situation.
Coincidentally, there was another person who gave a sigh at the same moment out of the same reason.
“Ugh! Why is it that everything works except releasing the space lockdown…?”
Malfi, the one who had built the current secret space, closed her eyes tightly to concentrate.
She attempted to reconnect, but no matter how much valid administrator privileges she wielded, the tightly shut space refused to budge like a broken doorknob.
Even when she actively used support magical equipment to lessen the burden on the caster, this situation was anything but ordinary for someone boasting mastery in her domain.
“Kuhuhut, it’s no use trying to run now. This space is completely sealed. I made sure to cover my bases to hunt down the Masquerade dregs for good.”
Having been thwarted several times in their escape, she had prepared thoroughly this time.
Seemingly sensing Malfi’s expression, Nagaraja scoffed and looked at Ken with slight annoyance.
Despite her efforts, she was left fishing for mere minnows like these.
“Hey! Client! At this rate, I’m really gonna die! Hurry up and do something! Just send me back!”
But Ken didn’t even have the leisure to lament that unfair treatment.
Desperate to escape the current scenario, he was caught up communicating non-stop with the one responsible for putting him into this situation.
Fortunately, despite the spatial lockdown, communication through the ‘Chain of Pact’ had no issues.
“Hm, indeed. It seems their words are true. The summoning release function is completely blocked. How did this happen? Spatial fixation? Reversal of causality?”
“Stop admiring and help me! I’m seriously dying! They’re not going to let me go peacefully!”
“Of course, they won’t. They’ll squeeze my soul for information until they can get nothing more out of me, then completely dismantle me from head to toe, scavenging through every bit they can find.”
“If you know that, do something!”
They were the type to whimsically control spaces created by someone else’s abilities.
And since they had a demon on their side, even ordinary tricks wouldn’t work on them.
Hesperon understood that well enough that he could no longer drag his feet.
“It can’t be helped. Then just bear with it for a little longer.”
“…What? What’s going on? What’re you trying to do that sounds ominous… Cough!”
Ken’s body began to twitch. Through the ‘Chain of Pact,’ tremendous energy surged back toward him from deep within his consciousness.
‘Ugh! This is…!’
It was once a curse that tried to engulf him entirely, a strand of energy that had split from his very being.
It rushed toward him with overwhelming force.
As if trying to fill the deficiencies of Ken’s existence.
With Hesperon’s various skills aiding him, he began to ascend to a higher realm of temporary unity between his ki and body.
“…Oh? You’re doing something interesting.”
Naturally, others couldn’t miss the spike in his energy.
Among them, the man who had remained silent at the back of the Buncheon Society suddenly showed a significant reaction.
“I’ve seen demons from other places a few times, but this is quite fascinating.”
“…Hey?”
“That one is mine.”
Ignoring Nagaraja’s cautious call, the Executioner continued to express only his own thoughts.
With a gentle breath, Nagaraja closed his eyes and opened his mouth as softly as possible.
“You know? He’s an underling of Masquerade. While it does sound a bit shady, as long as there’s a line connecting him, you know we have to capture him intact and squeeze everything he knows out of him…”
“If you interfere, I’ll kill you.”
“…Alright, do as you please.”
With that blunt response, Nagaraja resigned quickly.
When a living nuclear bomb reacted like that, there was nothing he could do.
Unless the Head or Oracle intervened directly, no one could bend that creature’s will.
“Then we’ll take care of these dregs, so please don’t kill him, alright? As long as he’s breathing, we can work things out somehow.”
“Good luck with that.”
The Executioner moved away, his voice laced with disbelief and amusement.
Towards the prey that would entertain him after being bored since capturing the Führer.
Brudududuk—!
In the next moment, his appearance changed dramatically.
From all over his body erupted pitch-black scales, towering over three meters, pointed sharp horns shooting up, a pair of bat wings spread wide, and a long tail whipping around with a spear sharp tip.
The Great Demon, exposing his serrated teeth, wore a grin.
[Just how much fun will you give me?]
Inherited from the demon’s tasks—after a record of 9,986 battles with 9,977 wins and 9 losses.
Except for the nine losses when he challenged the Buncheon head only to be smashed, he had won every fight.
The strongest warrior of the Buncheon Society—the Executioner grinned fiercely and lunged at the multidimensional demon.
*
In a secret space filled with machinery.
‘For now, I’ve enhanced Ken as much as I could…’
Hesperon sat in a central armchair, staring at his unwrapped bandaged right arm.
Though all avatars had collaborated—centered around Dwarf Howard—in construction, they still needed more time to complete the seal.
The power dwelling within that arm was too enormous for him to handle at his current level.
‘…Still, it likely won’t be enough to defeat him.’
Even so, it was a temporary fix.
He hadn’t truly surpassed the limits; it was merely forcefully employed enhancement via various tricks.
It was only natural that it had its limits, including incomplete power and lacking a long duration.
“Still, it should buy some time.”
Rising from his seat, Hesperon stretched his limbs, loosening his body that had stiffened from lying down all day.
‘Now then.’
He closed his eyes and began to inspect the status of his other avatars.
“Let’s send some real reinforcements.”
Set to debut in the world—.
A reliable force to serve as the declaration of war for ‘Masquerade.’
