Chapter 125

“Try molding it properly. You saw how Digestion did it last time.”

『Fear not?』

“No, don’t give me two noses. I told you, two eyes, one mouth, and one nose.”

『Not!』

With Mala-nim’s help, I used the Disguise Mastery I’d learned at Yoo Se-byeol’s mansion to reshape my face into Patel’s. Walking around in a mask during this chaos would draw too much attention from both demons and humans alike.

The Red Tower was successfully defended; now, all that remained was to recover the two Star Scars gathering at the Yellow Tower. However, there was a place I had to stop by first.

“Patel! What took you so long!”

As I headed toward the Cult of the Void, Velada—who had been hiding in the chapel—came scurrying out as if she’d sensed my arrival. She froze for a moment upon seeing my unmasked face, then immediately began her usual nagging.

“It seems you’ve been eating quite well while leaving your contractor stranded in this remote backwater. You’ve put on so much weight I almost didn’t recognize you.”

“Is that so?”

I suppose it was still difficult to recreate a perfect face given Mala-nim’s current aesthetic sense. Still, I seemed to resemble Patel enough for now.

Since it was better than trying to mold it myself, I gave a noncommittal response and stepped inside. Carcasses were strewn about the premises, suggesting that monsters had already breached the area.

“Which Seat attacked this place?”

“It’s impossible to tell since all three are opening Gates. I warned Norkel to leave this place alone, but they just grumbled about not being able to control every single battlefield.”

It was my mistake for expecting anything from those idiots—.

Velada climbed atop a wall and sighed. Behind her head, I could see a strangely protruding violet stone tower. To any observer, it was obvious that tower was the cause.

The Cult of the Void likely built it for Mala-nim, but since its form was similar to a Magic Tower, low-intelligence monsters would view it as just another target. Velada hopped down from the wall. It had been quite a while since I bought her shoes, yet she was barefoot again today.

“That Flauros prattled on with some nonsense before disappearing somewhere… well, at least you’re finally here. I’m leaving the orphanage to you. It would be troublesome for you if the children died, wouldn’t it?”

“Why?”

“Huh? What do you mean ‘why’…?”

I pulled the mask from my robe. As my hand brushed against it, I felt something hard I’d tucked away alongside it.

“I have to head to the Yellow Tower now. I can’t afford to idle here while the Archdukes are trying to drag down the Outer Gods and battling the Seven Immortals.”

“What? Then this orphanage…”

“It’s a facility that serves an Outer God. There was never a reason for me—or you—to protect this place from the start, was there?”

It was the truth, leaving her no room for protest. Even so, Velada paced restlessly, clearly wanting to hold me back by any means. I suppose she’d grown quite attached to the place.

Perhaps it was because she wasn’t a demon who had voluntarily sworn loyalty to Gamigin in the first place. Mala-nim had told me when we first met Velada in the sewers that if I showed her mercy, a time of choice would eventually come.

But that implied I would have to oppose Velada when the time came for me to stand on the side of humanity. Now, the situation was the exact opposite.

“Still! We haven’t even located the Apostle of the Outer God’s residence yet, and as long as I hold a firm grip on this orphanage, the possibility of using it as an advance outpost…!”

“…….”

“If you’re going to abandon it now, you might as well kill me before you go! Th-the children here have done nothing wrong!”

Well, I’m not so sure about that last part. If I added up the criminal records of those kids peeking through the windows right now, the total would probably reach at least three digits.

I grabbed the scruff of Velada’s neck as she clung to my pant leg and lifted her up. Then, I handed her the gift I’d prepared.

“Take it.”

“Eh? This is…”

“It’s your horn.”

“……!?”

Amidst the chaos, the reason I had come to Ground Zero was to return her power. Technically, it was the Mala-nim’s Star Scar now, but as long as she remained by my side, I could recover it whenever I wished.

Her eyes went wide as I handed over the horn, which was roughly the size of a forearm.

“How did you…!”

“I found it in the Tomb of Eternity.”

“But I feel like the size has shrunk a bit. Is it just my imagination?”

“Ahem, who knows? Maybe it weathered away as the years passed.”

In truth, it was because I’d used it a bit. Back when I pulled out the single-digit tentacles in the Thirteen Palaces of the Void. And occasionally, when spaghetti was served at the cafeteria, I’d grated some over it as a topping instead of cheese.

“But my horn isn’t supposed to be that soft…”

“Now that I think about it, it might be because the agents at Division 3 used it as a football during their last sports festival.”

“Aack! Those godforsaken humans!”

“Just take it. And this, too.”

Without dwelling on that fact, I handed her a grater I’d purchased from the Witch Trade Association. Since even Mala-nim—the original owner—took a long time to digest a Star Scar, she would need this to quickly reclaim her true strength.

“I’m leaving now. Guard this place yourself.”

“W-wait, Patel.”

“What is it?”

Velada caught me as I turned to leave after finishing my business. She looked up at me, clutching the horn in one hand and the grater in the other.

“Do you realize? With this, I no longer have to serve as a Familiar of the Archduke of Necromancy.”

“I see.”

“That means our contract will also be automatically nullified.”

Is that so?

As someone who didn’t know the specific details of the contract between the real Patel and Velada, I couldn’t be certain, but it was a strong possibility. Their relationship was originally a partnership aimed at summoning Gamigin into the world.

If the blood pact with the Archduke was shattered, a mere contract far below that rank would surely be torn like scrap paper. It already lacked meaning since the real Patel was dead, but from Velada’s perspective, she seemed to be hesitating.

“If I never get to see you again after today, or if we have to meet as enemies, then I…”

“I’m the one who gave you that horn, aren’t I?”

I spoke as if it were of no consequence.

“Do as you wish. If you gain power rivaling an Archduke, you’ll be able to redefine our relationship yourself.”

“Ah…”

A mere creature born from rotten earth spreads its wings to touch the stars. For a Special-Class monster that has established its own ego to obtain a Star Scar meant they were now qualified to challenge the position of Archduke once more.

“I see. So that’s what it meant.”

Recalling someone’s words, she gripped her horn with enough force to shatter it, her expression hardening with resolve. She quietly brought it to her lips and spoke.

“It’s Velada.”

“Hmm?”

“My name. I’ve never properly told you until now.”

Before we knew it, a swarm of monsters had gathered around the violet Magic Tower. Some turned their heads toward the nearby chapel buildings. Barriers shattered in various spots, and the monsters began pouring into the backyard where the two of us stood.

“The Hooves of the Statue are no more.”

Velada glared at the monsters with chilling eyes. She declared her intent as she crushed the horn with her teeth and swallowed.

“The only footsteps that shall descend upon this land are mine.”

At that moment, the massive leg of a beast slammed down from the heavens. It was the black-furred hoof of a mountain goat, the same one I had seen beneath the Eternal Temple. The countless hooves falling mercilessly trampled the monsters in an instant.

The Rank-3 and Rank-2 Gates vanished entirely the second they touched those hooves. Velada’s feet crushed everything equally—from the corrupted birds soaring through the sky to the insects crawling beneath the earth.

This was a being so burdensome to employ that even an Archduke had been forced to seal it away for centuries. It was the moment a Special-Class monster rivaling Gargantua manifested a portion of its true self.

“Go. I’ll handle things here.”

Velada, having completely flattened the surrounding area, spoke to me. I could feel a level of mana incomparable to before, yet her outward appearance remained that of a young child. Was it because she hadn’t formed a proper Incarnation yet?

Regardless, there was no reason for her to insist on staying in this form.

“Are you asking if I plan to keep looking like this? Of course I do.”

To my question, born of pure curiosity, she scratched her cheek and answered.

“In any other body, the shoes you bought me wouldn’t fit.”

Inside the Special Unit’s situation room.

Ha Yeri was receiving a non-stop stream of reports without personally joining the fray. The strategy of erecting makeshift Magic Towers was clearly proving effective. The demons, their targets divided, were repeatedly retreating after failing to pull the towers down.

Not only had the battlefield reached a stalemate, but the damage across the city was rapidly decreasing. Similar reports were flooding in from Magic Towers all over the world, not just in Seoul.

“What is the status in China and Japan, Deputy Commander Park Mu-cheol?”

“The damage on the mainland is notably low. It seems the Blade King and the White Lotus Union’s declaration of war against the Black Shadow Society left the demons with no energy to attack the towers.”

“That’s a relief.”

“The situation is the same in Japan. We weren’t aware, but apparently, the Sword Immortal is there.”

“Is that so?”

When—no, why did he go all the way there?

Ha Yeri questioned the Sword Immortal’s whereabouts. Though the reason was unknown, thanks to him, the Magic Towers near the hot springs where he was staying had successfully repelled the demon attacks.

Elsewhere, mysterious massive tentacles in Europe and the legs of a black mountain goat near Ground Zero were respectively devouring the monsters. Overall, humanity’s losses weren’t catastrophic, but it wasn’t time to relax just yet.

The most crucial battle—the fight against the Archduke—had yet to be decided.

“What about the Yellow Tower?”

“That is… a situation that’s difficult to explain.”

The Archduke, whose rank and name remained unknown, was still atop the tower. It was impossible to identify the being because ordinary people couldn’t even look at it with the naked eye.

Based on the reports from Upper Level Awakened coming through the comms, the Archduke’s appearance was described as a ‘Hand.’ Accompanied by the laughter of witches, a hand had emerged from a giant pointed hat and was slowly descending while clutching a star in the sky.

The mages claimed that the moment that star—presumed to be the Outer God of Salvation—touched the ground, the areas around every Yellow Tower in the world would be scorched. In some cases, the damage would be enough to vanish entire cities.

“We have no choice but to leave the combat to the Commander-in-Chief and Division 1. I’ll organize a reserve unit just in case.”

“Will that be alright? Their full strength hasn’t been revealed yet.”

“Full strength?”

“I’m talking about Patel. He hasn’t appeared on the battlefield yet.”

Park Mu-cheol and the others didn’t know that Patel was actually Hayan. Knowing that they wouldn’t be attacked even if Patel did show up, Ha Yeri continued directing the organization of the reserve unit.

“It’s fine. Tell all Awakened of Middle Level or higher—especially Division 3—to move toward the Yellow Tower as soon as their current battles conclude.”

“Understood.”

“And I’ll head out to the field myself, so I’m leaving this place to you.”

“Are you planning to fight the Archduke?”

“…No.”

Though she was an Upper Level Awakened, Ha Yeri had no intention of fighting the Archduke alongside Division 1. The reason she was leaving the situation room was because of a different entity altogether.

A truly hidden force of theirs that only she knew about, having entered the Council with Hayan.

“I’m just going on patrol.”

The Archduke of Flames had yet to make an appearance.