Chapter 163

The location where the Star Scar was presumed to have dropped was Sector 7 of Ground Zero.

Since it was on the exact opposite side from Sector 4, where the Cult of the Void was located, I didn’t have to worry about engaging in a second round against the orphans.

Instead, what awaited us were the terrifying anomalies embedded deep within the Seed of Calamity.

“What time is it now?”

“Around one-thirty.”

“It should be coming soon. Let’s get ready.”

“Right.”

Confirming the position of the sun relative to the walls, the Division 5 agents pulled out massive sunshields.

It was a measure to prepare against the anomaly known as the ‘Severed Neck Shadow.’

It was one of the frequently occurring phenomena in this sector. If you walked while exposed to the sunlight, there would come a moment when the neck of your shadow reflected on the ground would begin to dangle loosely.

If you kept walking in that state, the torn section would gradually widen until, terrifyingly, your actual head would drop right off.

Even if they couldn’t counter every single anomaly in Ground Zero, it was evident that Division 5 had prepared quite thoroughly.

Gently declining the kindness of an agent who approached to hold a sunshade over her, Cheon So-baek pressed close to my side.

“I’m fine. I’m going to share with him.”

“…”

“Right?”

She could have easily used magic to create a patch of shade, but she was deliberately going out of her way because she wanted to see my reaction.

“I will hold it over you.”

“…”

“Is something the matter?”

“Never mind.”

I had clearly held the sunshade over her just as she wanted, so what on earth was the issue now?

Was the problem that I tilted the shade more toward her side while instinctively widening the physical distance between us?

At this rate, I might fail to secure the Star Scar right under Division 5’s nose.

Just as I was about to analyze the cause, something squirmed deep inside my sleeve.

It was that leech-like Digestion, who was still hanging around even after tearing away a Star Scar from me last time.

‘Kkiiieeek!?’

‘What now? Do you still have business with me?’

‘Kyack, kyack!’

Though she spoke, she couldn’t smoothly convey her thoughts through a Channel the way Mala-nim used to, but translating her words amounted to this:

Why is it that you always adopt an insufferable attitude toward me, other demons, and even Archdukes—looking down on everyone as if they’re beneath your feet—yet you act so uniquely spineless whenever you’re in front of those three?

Since her true essence was that of a monster, it seemed she didn’t enjoy watching her own master, who was practically her sovereign, get pushed around.

However, there was a deep and dark history behind this.

‘That’s obviously because my soul is simply too pure and innocent.’

‘Blegh, ptooey—!’

‘Don’t fake a gagging noise. I was taught to act this way from the very beginning.’

To be precise, it was an evolutionary trait I developed because behaving that way was the only method for survival.

In Ground Zero, where it wasn’t the strong who survived, but those who survived who were strong.

Possessing no strength, abilities, or backing at the time, I had no choice but to latch onto my childhood friend, who was stronger than anyone else here.

Flattening myself like wet cardboard, occasionally licking their boots.

It seemed that the survival tactics I learned back then while surviving by their side were a bit grating to those around me sometimes.

Not just Digestion, but Cheon So-baek, whose mood seemed rather low, was also starting to rev her engines.

As I knew from having observed her for a long time, she possessed a personality that bluntly blurted out whatever she was feeling.

“Hey, why don’t you push me around aggressively like you did back then?”

“Back then?”

“You know, when we went on our date.”

“That was just because the inner ‘Blackie’ slipped out for a brief moment.”

Come to think of it, was the situation back then similar to how things were now?

Though I had been dragged around here and there as payment for having my weakness seized, I hadn’t fully adjusted to the Special Unit back then, having only recently returned from the Demon Realm.

Was she saying it would be better to show a sharp side, just like how I usually dealt with demons?

As I deliberated, Cheon So-baek tugged on my arm.

“Romance needs the thrill of a push-and-pull. It’s no fun if you’re the only one holding the reins and shaking things up all the time.”

“…”

“Will he come out again if I do this? Yah, yah!”

As the arm holding the umbrella shook, the shadow wavered, and for a fleeting second, her neck was exposed to the sunlight.

Immediately catching sight of a fracture about to form in the shadow cast upon the ground, I swiftly slammed Cheon So-baek against a shaded wall.

With a heavy thud, a few bricks tumbled down, causing the Division 5 agents walking ahead to spin around in sheer surprise.

“Commander Cheon So-baek?”

“Are you alright?”

“Ah, haha, I’m fine…”

Behind the weathered wall hidden from their line of sight, Cheon So-baek extended her hand to signal that everything was alright.

“I merely lost my footing for a moment.”

Her face was thoroughly flushed as she struggled to support herself against my hand pressing into her cheek and my knee wedged directly between her legs.

After walking for roughly another hour, we finally arrived at Sector 7.

With buildings showing signs of repair and entryways plunging into recently constructed underground passages, Sector 7 maintained a fair semblance of an old downtown area, completely unlike the other sectors that were no better than ruins.

“This is a fact we established through our recent investigation, but it appears that no traces of an Archduke remain within Sector 0 at present.”

“…”

“It seems the core composing the Seed of Calamity has dissolved entirely. However, it is far too early to let our guard down, as the cause has yet to be clearly defined… Commander Cheon So-baek?”

“Y-Yes, hehe!?”

Seated inside a nearby disguised outpost where he had been waiting in advance, Kim Seong-gon found Cheon So-baek’s lack of response strange and questioned her.

“Are you unwell somewhere? You’re usually quite talkative.”

“What’s wrong with me being quiet? We are strictly inside a Seed of Calamity right now. Maintaining operational stealth is vital.”

“That may be true, but… what happened to your neck?”

It was a handprint left behind from when she slammed into the wall earlier.

Because her skin was sensitive—and because I had pushed her away rather forcefully—a red mark had been left behind.

She could have easily erased it using magic, but after pulling out a mirror and looking at it, she left it exactly as it was, a uniquely flushed expression crossing her features.

“Ahaha, this is just… because of an anomaly I encountered earlier.”

“As far as I am aware, no such anomaly existed on the path here…”

“Why, what about it?”

“Just as you said, this is the interior of a Seed of Calamity, not a playground. Keep that single fact engraved in your mind.”

Perhaps because he didn’t want to create unnecessary friction, Kim Seong-gon left it at a light warning and dropped the matter.

Though he did shoot a sharp glare toward me, standing right behind her.

And so, the Star Scar recovery operation inside Ground Zero officially commenced.

Surprisingly, our opponent wasn’t an anomaly.

“Are you familiar with the Black Serpent’s Shedded?”

“I think I’ve at least heard the name before.”

“And you?”

“I am aware of them. They are a criminal organization that rules over Ground Zero.”

While there were numerous criminal organizations in Seoul, places that established their headquarters deep within a Seed of Calamity were rare.

The Black Serpent’s Shedded was an object of terror to the guilds and ordinary civilians who frequented Ground Zero.

Though their exact scale couldn’t be pinned down, they were at least large enough to rival the Hand of Oblivion, which operated back and forth between Seoul and Busan.

Above all, the Black Serpent’s Shedded was an organization created by my childhood friend—someone who had already passed away, leaving not a single cell behind in this existential plane.

No, someone who absolutely must never have anything remaining of them.

Their play house, which had undoubtedly started as a light distraction to kill time, had begun to lay down a full-fledged foundation as a criminal organization around the time I turned fifteen.

Right when I was kicked out of the orphanage and started working manual labor mining mana stones.

“Their stronghold is right over there. To recover the Star Scar, we absolutely must infiltrate the interior.”

The criminal organization in Sector 7 wasn’t limited to the Black Serpent’s Shedded.

Because the variety of anomalies was on the lower side even within Ground Zero, that place was a sort of lawless territory where all kinds of criminals ran rampant.

“The issue is that no matter who they are, none of them will welcome our presence.”

“Cooperation will be difficult, then.”

It was impossible for the Special Unit and a criminal organization to collaborate.

The exact moment such a fact came to light, the Bureau would face an astronomical amount of public condemnation.

“Even so, piercing through from the front carries too much risk. Not only is the area riddled with all sorts of anomalies, but a Star Scar dropped there as well.”

“Hmm, so?”

“The best method is infiltration. Armed conflict must remain a last resort.”

That was why they had dispatched only a small elite squad, including two Commanders—Kim Seong-gon, who could move covertly, and Cheon So-baek, who could recover the Star Scar with magic and escape in case of an emergency.

“Wear this.”

“Gross, I don’t need something like that.”

“I am fine as well.”

Expressing sheer disgust toward Kim Seong-gon as he handed over a mask that looked exactly like real human skin, Cheon So-baek stated she could alter her appearance using magic.

I also possessed Disguise Mastery, so infiltration wasn’t an issue.

If the entity inside my sleeve had been Mala-nim, it would have taken at least two hours just to persuade her that we needed to restrict ourselves to only two eyes for starters, but right now I had Digestion, who possessed an excellent aesthetic sense.

Receiving her assistance, a remarkably pleasant-looking man was born in an instant.

‘Oho, quite excellent. Well done, Digestion.’

‘Kkiiieeek~!’

‘But with this, it’s going to be difficult to completely hide the aura of Light Mage… Surely, we won’t get caught, right?’

‘Bleeeegh!’

Stowing her back into my sleeve as she continuously dry-heaved—as if she were suffering from acid reflux—I stepped outside.

The others had finished their preparations as well, having all changed out of their Special Unit uniforms into clothes that made them look no better than vagrants.

Cheon So-baek had also donned a tattered, weathered cloak in place of her luxurious robe that could be recognized from a hundred meters away.

“How is it? It suits me well even if I change things up like this, right?”

Though her face and hair color had been transformed into something ordinary, it seemed she couldn’t mimic the distinct stench of a Ground Zero native—a smell akin to a rotting sewer—as a wonderful fragrance drifted over the moment she drew close.

Recalling what had occurred a moment ago, I pressed my nose against her neck, sniffing the scent as I spoke.

“Erase the scent with magic. We’ll get caught instantly like this.”

“Ah, yes…”

She quieted down in an instant.

Every time her gaze—usually brimming with composure—grew hazy, it felt as though she was egging me on to treat her restrictively.

Surely the other two didn’t want something like this as well, right?

Right before stepping inside the walls with an underlying anxiety, Kim Seong-gon spoke.

“Keep this engraved in your minds. The exact moment they realize we are the Special Unit, the mission is over.”

It was only natural.

The moment word spread that the Special Unit had set foot right in the middle of Ground Zero, we were bound to be assaulted by every single criminal organization inside.

The exact moment we all nodded with one mind and set foot past the walls.

A man emerged from a dark alleyway.

“Hmm?”

Clad in a black coat, he looked as though he was rushing somewhere in a hurry, but the exact moment our eyes met, he turned his steps around and approached us.

While the others were exchanging glances, unable to comprehend the situation, I recognized his identity instantly.

Please, just walk past.

“What’s this? You’re Sae Hayan. What did you come to buy this time? More importantly, was the Special Unit even allowed to come all the way in here?”

However, with the very first sentence uttered by the man—who had even lowered the lit cigarette clamped between his lips—everyone’s mission right then and there came to a grinding halt.