CH 73

Ash remembered what Rieul had said.

“Is it delicious? Do you want one more?”

“Wow, Ash is really quick with his hands.”

“Okay … It must have been hard …. As long as you’re fine with it, you can stay here.”

She often smiled softly when she saw Ash, even when she was devastated by the work in front of her. There were many times when she patted his head or treated him like a child.

She muttered to herself that it was the 8th Grade syndrome, but he didn’t know what the 8th Grade syndrome was.

In particular, when she looked at him with her affectionate expression and stroked his head, his anger rose.

She treats him like a weak child!

He felt like his heart was filled with unwanted warm and touching things. He knew it instinctively. This warm thing will fall like a drizzle and weaken himself. That’s why he wanted to use his magic to scare her, but on the other hand, he also wanted everything to stay the same.

‘The man with black eyes was unpleasant, but…….’

Today, he also met human children who have quite good senses. They have eyes that could recognize the strong, so they’re pretty good for a human being.

It was fun to make dalgona for the first time. As soon as his dalgona swelled up, it was funny that the woman next to him liked it more than himself.

And he hates to admit it, but…….

He really doesn’t want to admit it, but…….

Working part-time was more fun than he thought. Receiving and delivering orders from the endless customers. Every time he cleaned up the pile of work, the woman widened her big eyes and admired him.

“Ash is definitely a genius!”

“……this is not a big deal.”

He said that, but he didn’t feel bad.

He washed the cups and saucers thoroughly and put them back in place. When he looked at the neatly organized counter after finishing all his work, he felt proud.

Ash is an incarnation made with the magical power of a Demon who was originally sleeping in the Abyss.

To him, the memories and experiences of individual are meaningless. If he disappears someday and returns to his main body, it will all be a memory that will disappear.

There are busy part-time job, children who can communicate well, and a woman who smiles with a sad expression. These are all memories that will disappear when this body dies, but somehow … he loathed it.

That’s all.

Ash laid his body on the futon. Next to his pillow was a large, bright red slime-shaped cushion. The woman with a foolish face left it here because she thought he would feel lonely sleeping alone.

“Now, you wouldn’t be lonely if you have this, right?”

Involuntarily, he touched his forehead again. Even though the warmth has already cooled down, the hand that traces the lost warmth is soft. The bright smile of the woman came to his mind.

“….shit.”

Let’s wait a little longer.

He hasn’t recovered all of his mana yet. Let’s kill her when he completely recovers his mana.

Yeah, it’s because of his mana recovery.

That’s all. Really.

***

“You missed the incarnation?”

The top floor of C&L Corporation, in the CEO office.

After hearing Lee Sein’s words, her secretary, Aeon, frowned slightly. It is a change of expression that is hard to notice if you don’t look closely. However, it was a rare expression for him, who always had a calm and refined smile.

“Yes, the box was empty. The area has been searched, but it hasn’t been found yet.”

Lee Sein looked over her subordinate’s report again and spoke.

There was something strange about the report. The disappearance of the incarnation. A missing body.

Choi Cedric, who was at the scene disguised as a bodyguard, said everyone was dead and no one survived except him.

There’s no way Choi Cedric would lie to her. However, no matter how many times she counted, one corpse was missing.

‘Was there one less person than planned from the start?’

Lee Sein decided to forget about the number of corpses first. Those guys were so arrogant, they might not have reported the change in personnel. Dealing with the survivor, if there’s any, can be done later.

The more important thing is the whereabouts of the incarnation.

“You must find it. You know what it is. For our plan, we really need the incarnation of the Daemon Azathoth.”

“I know, but where did it disappear … I don’t see a clue.”

It was a long-planned plan. First, the Holy Beast, the Long-tailed Phoenix, was captured and used as a vessel to summon the incarnation. Then, the dark ether was poured in little by little until the Holy Beast was completely corrupted.

In order to obtain the dark ether without leaving a trace, they had to take a detour route. It has been several months since they used the Neo-Crown Party to collect the dark ethers.

By sacrificing the completely blackened Holy Beast, they succeeded in summoning the incarnation. They dealt with all the people involved in this work, kept their mouths shut, and the access route was washed clean as well.

The incarnation was not yet complete, but it didn’t matter. Lee Sein’s only purpose was to forcibly seize the incarnation, then extract and use its infinite mana.

‘If only I had that power … I can make Choi Cedric the No. 1 in the Rankings.’

In addition, it is possible to shake off their disgusting competitors and put “C&L Corporation” in the top spot, in name and reality.

It was all a plan presented by the competent secretary in front of her.

Aeon was such a perfect secretary. All the secret measures he suggested were novel and achieved perfect results. Thanks to Aeon’s advice, C&L Corporation was able to grow from a powerless small guild to its current position.

Again, the plan was perfect and the execution went smoothly.

However, the whereabouts of the incarnation are ambiguous.

‘If I can’t find it….’

Lee Sein tapped nervously on the desk. If the incarnation was found by someone else, not only would the efforts so far be in vain, but the guild could also be in danger.

“What’s the way … do you have any idea?”

The secretary Aeon, who had a beautiful smile like a painting, gave her the answer again this time. His eyes, resembling imitation jewels, shone strangely.

“Of course there is a way.”

“Really?”

So far, there has been no problem that has not been resolved just by listening to Aeon. Lee Sein looked at Aeon with trust and expectation.

“This is it.”

Aeon took a small golden box out of his arms and handed it to Lee Sein.

Click.

When she opened it, she found a strange little object that looked like two pyramids joined together.

“What is this……?”

“It’s modeled after a great artifact. It’s an imitation, but it’s definitely effective.”

It’s ominous.

She didn’t know what it was. Nevertheless, she felt a very strange force in the object. When she looked at the center of the object, she felt her head throbbing and there’s also a feeling of nausea.

“It’s an item that causes rifts.”

“……! What?”

“You don’t have to be so surprised, CEO-nim.”

He gave a gentle smile that didn’t match what he just said.

The incarnation is the alter ego of a Demon made with mana. If it has escaped, they will only have to create a new body and summon it.

However, there is only one incarnation that can be summoned at the same time.

In order to summon a new incarnation, the previous incarnation must be handled, in other words, it must be killed.

This item is a rift generator that summons monsters of the Outer World. The summoned monsters will take care of the escaped incarnation after chasing the smell of mana.

“Fufu, it’s simple, isn’t it? There is no need for CEO-nim to get her hands dirty. I will prepare the new incarnation summons. All you have to do is break this, CEO-nim.”

Aeon grabbed Lee Sein’s hand and pulled it up onto the pyramids. With a slight press, this little object already felt like it was about to break.

“……!”

Surprised, Lee Sein pushed the box away. Her hands trembled.

“Ah … no matter what, I can’t do such thing. The damage … the damage will be great.”

“Then, I will entrust this box to CEO-nim, so think about it carefully.”

Aeon added with a smile.

“You’ll soon realize that I’m right. Don’t forget. All you have to do is break it. You need the magic power of the incarnation, don’t you?”

“…….”

Click. Aeon closed the door and went outside.

Lee Sein, who was startled, tried to put the box out of sight right away.

No, she can’t. She can’t do such a thing.

But … But maybe…….

***

“…..CEO-nim?”

Choi Cedric was surprised and stopped walking. Lee Sein, with a blank expression on her face, was walking down the hallway.

Lee Sein did not notice the existence of Choi Cedric standing right in front of her. It’s strange. Choi Cedric came closer and called her louder.

“CEO-nim, where are you going?”

“……! Ah, Cedric.”

Lee Sein is surprised as if she just woke up from a dream. She tried to smile, she needed to tell him that it’s nothing, but her lips were stiff.

“What is this?”

Choi Cedric asked, pointing to a box protruding obliquely from Lee Sein’s suit pocket.

“……!”

Tak!

Before Choi Cedric could reach it, Lee Sein slapped his hand away. Only the sound of the slap echoed loudly in the empty hallway.

“Ah, I’m just curious because it’s something I haven’t seen before…..”

Lee Sein apologized as she hurriedly wrapped the box in her arms.

“I was a little oversensitive because it was an important item. I’m sorry.”

“It’s all right.”

Then, silence. An awkward current flows.

After hesitating, Choi Cedric opened his mouth first.

“I … CEO-nim, I have a question for you, can you spare a moment?”

“I’m sorry. I need to attend the Guild Leaders meeting soon … let’s talk next time.”

Without waiting for Choi Cedric’s reply, Lee Sein left with a busy pace across the hallway.

Choi Cedric, who was left alone, sat on the sofa at the end of the hallway. He took his phone out of his pocket and looked into it. He pressed a number, but he eventually put it back down without pressing the call button.

“Ha…..”

His chest was tight.

CEO Lee Sein has been strange these days. It’s already been a few days, and when he asked her what’s going on, she didn’t give him an answer.

She didn’t say anything about the black monster that escaped from the box. She just asked several times if the number of bodies was correct.

Feeling uncomfortable, Choi Cedric hid the existence of the survivor. It was just a hunch. Somehow, he felt like he should do that.

That survivor, a Hunter with an unusual name, Jijon, said he’d quit his job as a Hunter, so it wouldn’t matter….

‘What the hell are you doing…….’

No, not just this time.

At some point, Lee Sein has more things to hide from him.

At first, he took it for granted that the management of the guild was Lee Sein’s responsibility. He didn’t know much about the complicated stories, so he had to be faithful to his role: raiding the dungeons.

Choi Cedric’s first Grade when his awakening happened was Grade A. Currently, he’s an S-class. It is undeniable that the guild’s full support has greatly helped him to rise to his current position.

So, in order to become a necessary Hunter for the guild, he moved according to Lee Sein’s orders.

However, little by little, more and more things inside the guild that he did not know increased.

It’s a ridiculous imagination, but…….

Sometimes, he even thought he was just a scarecrow who drew the attention of the public.

Since when it started….

In retrospect … it has been since the secretary appeared.

Choi Cedric wanted to vomit this sense of discomfort somewhere.

However, who on earth can he talk to?