Chapter 92

A contract with a witch is absolute.

Cheating them out of money or running away is unforgivable.

Even now, Norkel’s smartwatch was ringing with messages repeating, “We will enforce collection! We will enforce collection!”

I quickly contacted Rubietta to initiate a revolving hold, but there wasn’t much time to waste.

Hurriedly releasing Extreme Magic, I descended to the ground.

And the moment I opened a Spatial Shift, I arrived at none other than the Necropolis.

Arriving at the tentacle paradise, I called out to someone while avoiding the other Special Unit agents’ eyes.

The price to be paid for purchasing the handkerchief from the witches.

The 86th tentacle, the Tentacle of Digestion.

—Die, you wicked tentacles!

—Damn it, I just got back and these bastards swarm me as soon as they see me! I can’t get into the temple!

—Senior Kang Ha-neul! Senior’s been captured!

In the center of the city, the battle between the Special Unit agents and the tentacles was still raging.

The newbies, who weren’t yet allowed to enter the temple by the gatekeepers, had to hunt tentacles to qualify, rapidly improving their skills.

A man resembling Kang Ha-neul passed by, bitten by a transparent tentacle.

Before our eyes met, I hastily pulled my robe over my head and quietly called out for Digestion amidst the writhing tentacles.

“Digestion, are you there?”

No answer came.

It seemed that it wasn’t nearby.

Pondering, I headed toward the outskirts of the city.

There was a massive tentacle, thrashing its whole body and flattening the city walls.

Even Special Unit agents fighting other tentacles dared not approach it recklessly.

The moment it noticed me, it slowly lifted its head.

“Beomram, where’s Deluge?”

Kieeeek!

A deafening roar echoed through the surroundings.

Translated: “I have no idea.”

“Alright, keep playing then. Tell me if it’s nearby.”

Kieeeek!

Hunted tentacles left only corpses behind—they didn’t drop mana stones or loot.

Perhaps for that reason, the Special Unit didn’t bother touching them.

The one who seemed most satisfied with life since arriving at the Necropolis rubbed its body against the walls and enjoyed a sand bath.

Leaving Deluge behind, I resumed forming the pact and headed underground toward the temple.

Even Special Unit agents qualified to enter the temple were strictly forbidden from entering its innermost depths.

In the dark cavern lay the enormous main body of Velada, sealed.

The Four kights who had served Baek-seon were frozen, each weapon embedded into the forehead of the black mountain goat.

Additionally, the Binding Tentacle had wrapped them entirely in its coils.

I asked the tentacle:

“Binding, how have you been lately?”

Kkiiiiik!!

“Glad to hear you’re doing well. By the way, have you seen Digestion?”

Kkiik!!

So it hadn’t seen it either.

Then where on earth had Digestion gone?

While I pondered, the tentacle suddenly “spoke” again.

It conveyed that it had recently met and talked with Digestion.

Kkiiiik!

“The Sea of Decay… or, the West Sea? Really?”

Kkiiiik!

Digestion had once said that when it became free, it wanted to swim freely through the sea.

I immediately formed the pact.

No matter how much I had piled up, I couldn’t just let it leave without a proper farewell.

I would never let it retire before I did.

“Surely we won’t be parted forever like this, right?”

『Fear not!?』

“This is all because Mala-nim handed over the Star Scar to it without permission, isn’t it? I already have a headache chasing down those with Star Scars from the Archdukes and the Outer Gods, and now if you add a runaway tentacle on top of that, even with three identities, it’s going to be tough.”

『Fear not…』

Surprisingly, Mala-nim offered a straightforward apology.

Even if it weren’t a tentacle, the danger of unleashing a powerful monster was beyond words.

That was why I had only given as many Star Scars as I could strictly control.

Now, the creature had become unpredictable, whether in intelligence or in ability.

I checked the time.

The black mages on the express train would be arriving in Seoul soon.

Since I already had the handkerchief, I decided to put out their urgent fire first.

Arriving at the West Sea, I approached the remaining tentacle turrets to prepare for the landing of the undead.

“You guys, if you see Digestion, cause a malfunction or whatever you need to and alert me. We have to catch it faster than the Special Unit, so don’t just lie there—move around and find it.”

『.』

『.』

『.』

“Got it? If you understand, respond.”

『Kieeeek!』

『Kieeek!』

『Kieek!』

Just like during the test, the tentacles fused into the turrets responded through the channel.

Soon, the lower units buried in the white sand began to stir, and the turrets started moving on their own.

“Alright. If things go well, I’ll tell Commander Cheon So-baek we’re swapping out parts later and rotate you with the ones in Necropolis.”

After assigning the mobile turret tentacles to search for Digestion, I used Spatial Shift again—who even knew how many times today.

A fair amount of mana had been drained, and fatigue crept in, but for someone who fought Archdukes head-on, it was nothing serious.

More than enough to deal with a few black mages.

No matter how unexpectedly strong Patel was, exerting power on the level of an Apostle of an Outer God would be ridiculous, so this could even be called a reasonable balance patch.

“I’ll just adjust my output and wipe them out cleanly. Norkel looks motivated enough, so I’ll leave the small fry to her.”

『Fear not?』

“You’re asking what I’ll do if I can’t find Digestion?”

I paused to think.

Without Digestion, I wouldn’t be able to pay the witches for the handkerchief.

That would mean Norkel’s entire accumulated fortune would be seized instead.

If I weren’t the righteous and pure Light Mage Sae Hayan, but the vile and dirty black mage Patel, what choice would I make then?

After a moment’s thought, I answered Mala-nim.

“I’d run.”

“There! Get him!!”

“Don’t let him escape! Don’t let him cast any spells!”

The black mages of the Hand of Oblivion.

They were chasing a Special Unit agent who was fleeing with the handkerchief.

Instead of showing his face, he used a strange avatar, making tracking difficult, but since he was streaming outdoors, his general location was easy enough to pinpoint.

The moment they got off the train, the black mages moved in perfect coordination, and soon they spotted him.

The instant he realized he’d been noticed, Sae Hayan started running, waving the handkerchief as he headed toward an abandoned industrial complex that had stopped operating long ago.

“Looks like today’s stream ends here! Please look forward to the upcoming merch! Alright, takoyaki folks, chok-bye!”

“Damn it, why is he so fast?!”

Even while throwing out a casual sign-off, the mage looked utterly relaxed, and the black mages rushed into the factory after him.

Jeres, the black mage leading the Hand of Oblivion, immediately formed a seal.

He couldn’t let the precious handkerchief burn, so he needed to subdue the Special Unit agent with as little damage as possible.

Black magic, Hand of Darkness.

A spell anyone from the Black Tower could use, a third hand controlled through mental imagery that inflicted curses on whatever it touched.

“End of the line.”

The curses he applied were ‘Unmoving Step,’ ‘Mana Suppression,’ and ‘Total Body Weakening.’

The ink-dark hand, layered with three curses, shot toward its target at blinding speed.

Then—bang! With a loud crash, Haeyan tumbled through the factory doors and collapsed.

In an instant, the black mages surrounded him and snatched the Handkerchief of Bewitchment from his grasp.

“Finally caught him.”

“Fast little bastard, made us work for it.”

“How the hell did this guy even get his hands on this relic?”

“Did the Nightmare Demon lose it?”

They had already confirmed it through the stream, but the handkerchief was undeniably genuine.

A special-grade relic crafted by Gremory.

Whoever possessed it would be loved endlessly by others and accepted as anything they claimed to be.

It meant that even if they openly bragged about being from the Black Tower, they wouldn’t be arrested—and in Busan, where they were currently active, they could even get elected as mayor.

Of course, with the current mayor of Busan, “The Destroyer of Dedication” Park Mak-rye, reigning supreme, there wouldn’t exactly be a fair election, but still.

Just obtaining this brought them one step closer to rebuilding the Black Tower.

As Jeres secured the handkerchief, his subordinates asked him,

“What should we do with this guy?”

“If we mess with the Special Unit, it’ll come back to bite us.”

“Doesn’t matter. Dispose of him.”

They had no plans to operate in Seoul for the time being.

After ordering the execution without hesitation, Jeres stopped walking and lifted Haeyan with the Hand of Darkness.

“No. I’ll drag him to the Bureau myself and kill him there.”

“Are you serious?”

“We’ll use this corpse as the signal flare for the rebirth of the Black Tower’s heirs. While we’re at it, I’d like to test the handkerchief’s power.”

It would send a powerful message, not just to humans, but to the demons as well.

Revealing their existence carried risks, but on the other hand, it might earn them invitations to the demons’ secret gatherings on the surface.

According to information from the witches, a black mage from the Black Tower had recently entered the “Council.”

“His name was definitely Patel, I think…”

Jeres, who had once risen to the core upper ranks of the Black Tower, didn’t recognize the name.

At best, he must have been a greenhorn, barely low-ranked when the Tower collapsed.

The idea that such a nobody had already joined a group he himself hadn’t been invited to made no sense.

Planning to kill the captured Special Unit agent immediately and then deal with the Nightmare Demon who was likely searching for the witches’ handkerchief, Jeres suddenly noticed something strange.

Haeyan’s head lolled limply in his grip, and only faint breathing sounds came from his nose.

“This is….”

“He’s sleeping?”

“Wasn’t this your curse, sir?”

No.

The curses embedded in the Hand of Darkness were immobilization, magic interference, and total exhaustion.

Among those curses, “sleep” was not included.

As they sensed something unusual, magic was drawn—and at that moment, all of Jeres’s subordinates collapsed, unconscious, onto the floor.

A deep darkness descended across the entire building.

Through the violet mist, a familiar face emerged.

“You’ve walked right into it.”

“Norkel!”

“Foolish as ever. Did you really think we would leave someone like you, showing your teeth, unscathed?”

“A lowly demon like you…!”

Jeres scanned the area, trying to sense any demons besides Norkel.

He felt the magic—but there was no physical presence.

She had pulled his subordinates into the dream world.

He was the only one left awake.

A twisted smile formed on his lips.

“Even the princess of the Nightmare Demons can’t seem to subdue someone who possesses the relic of the Archduke of Bewitchment, can she?”

“Honestly, that’s true. Even if I drag you into a dream, I’d only be the one tempted.”

Then there was no problem.

A Nightmare Demon who wields illusions and dreams freely cannot exert real power in the physical world.

The handkerchief being here meant it had already been purchased at a high price from the guild.

There wouldn’t be any funds left to summon demons either.

“But that’s not the only reason.”

“What…?”

“I don’t need to deal with you personally.”

Yet just as Jeres was confident of victory, Norkel stepped aside.

Her long pink hair, tied into two strands, almost brushed the ground as she bowed deeply.

“This is our new master, whom we are to serve until the Archduke of Bewitchment manifests in the present world.”

“You’re…”

“My name is Patel. Pleased to meet you, senior.”

And then, the figure revealed himself: a black-robed, masked black mage, identical to him.