Chapter 234: A Leader’s Warning

It was a single sentence, tossed out without preamble, but Paul understood.

So, she had known about Sia’s whereabouts all along. Probably from ages ago.

“Iram… Iram, Iram…”

…

“Why would you do that?”

The voice was closer to a lament.

Betrayal surged through him, but there was no anger. Sadness overshadowed the fury.

“Knowing full well what role Sia plays for me.”

Sia’s existence couldn’t be judged on a whim.

To Paul, who had been hurt countless times by fellow humans, Sia was the last vestige of humanity left in his desensitized slum-dweller heart—a seed, a root. As the leader of the Revolutionary Army, no one should ever take Sia away from him.

And yet, an insider did.

…I…”

Iram, who had been listening silently, finally spoke.

“I wanted to eliminate your weakness.”

…

“The previous leader, Daniel, devoted his entire life to his mother and lived for her, so it couldn’t be helped, but you’re different. You’re doing just fine even without that girl now.”

“Haha.”

A dry chuckle filled the room.

Followed by a voice that sounded somewhat enraged, simmering with suppressed anger.

“Why is Iram-ssi making that judgment?”

…

“What if I really lose it because of this?”

He had been too lenient with someone who was not only the previous leader and his mentor but also a person his hyung had kept as a close aide.

How little did she think of him to do something like this?

Paul picked up a piece of paper from the desk and fluttered it in the air.

“Iram-ssi, do you know what kind of document this is?”

…?

“It’s a document that analyzes the current situation and outlines the direction we should take. The latest version. You could say it’s a temporary policy to be implemented in the intermediate stage, putting aside the ‘policies to be implemented after the revolution’ that Daniel hyung envisioned.”

He understood that it was a very important document…

But so what? What was her point? Doubt clouded Iram’s eyes.

Paul met her gaze, grinned, and demonstratively grabbed the document with both hands. An emotion, whether anger or resentment, was suppressed, giving his smile an ominous edge that made Iram flinch. Rip—! The paper tore in two.

…!

Iram’s eyes widened.

Paul didn’t stop there. He layered the torn pieces and tore them again and again, shredding the document multiple times. It was practically pulverized.

Only when Paul gathered the shredded paper in both hands did Iram, finally regaining her senses, belatedly grab his wrist.

“Wh-what are you doing! That important document!”

“Let go.”

…

“Let go, Iram-ssi.”

Thud. The hand gripping his wrist fell limply.

Paul demonstratively scattered the paper shreds in front of her eyes. An untimely snow flurry filled the room.

Iram stared blankly at the scene. She couldn’t easily process this composed fury from someone who had silently performed her role until now.

…She understood what this action meant. He was warning her.

If she wanted him to act like a proper leader, she should start by finding out Sia’s location. And it was also a warning not to pull such a stunt again.

“There won’t be a next time, Iram-ssi. This is the last.”

…

“Where is Sia?”

Ah.

Daniel’s little tag-along kid was still vivid in her mind, but when had she grown so much?

The gaze, carrying the aura of a leader who commanded a group, was directed straight at her. Iram met his gaze for a moment before slowly opening her mouth.

“…Honestly, since the war with the Demon Realm became full-scale and things got quite hectic, I haven’t had the leeway to pay attention to that child, so I’m not certain. But if I were to tell you the last location I confirmed…”

…

…It was the Demon Church.”

“…What?”

***

This is a scam.

Deon, who had been subjecting the 8th Corps Commander, Hel, to various questions and ability tests, couldn’t contain his shock, which grew into near-disbelief, and ended up blurting out without realizing it.

“No way…”

“…As expected… I’m beyond saving…”

“No, not in that sense… I mean, your abilities are ridiculously good.”

To the point where I feel threatened.

Is it really okay to unleash this in the Human Realm? It feels like news of complete subjugation will arrive soon. Deon fell into serious contemplation.

“Truly… you’re an all-rounder…”

“…Thank… you…?”

“…Yeah, well, consider it a compliment for now.”

The 8th Corps Commander, Hel, was a demon proficient in all kinds of weapon skills. That alone was threatening, but as a demon born from magic power dwelling in shadows, even her unique ability was dangerous.

Melting into shadows and moving through them.

Moreover, the restrictions on it were almost completely lifted, similar to the Demon Realm. Thinking back to how she had instantly moved and dealt with targets as soon as she heard Develania’s report long ago, it was an absurd situation.

There was a distance limit, albeit a loose one, but even so, what kind of insane ability was this?

“Anyway… good work.”

I should eliminate her as soon as possible.

“Thank you.”

…

A clear greeting returned.

The bloodstains shimmering on the floor today were particularly irritating. Deon rummaged through his pockets, pulled out a cigarette, and told her to go in and rest.

As he turned around, Ed and Dan naturally followed behind him.

Deon paused in front of the door that they had reached and turned to look at Ed.

Their eyes met, and Ed’s gaze lowered as if resigned, knowing what he was about to say. Deon, who had reflexively opened his mouth, closed it again for a moment before finally opening it and saying what he had intended.

“You too, good work.”

…

A subtle dismissal, meaning to tell him to leave now.

Ed was silent, glancing at Dan before bowing his head without a word and stepping back. Deon cast a glance at his retreating figure before indifferently turning away and placing his hand on the doorknob.

As he opened the door, the carnivorous plant by the window, propped up as if resting its chin, greeted him with a ‘Kkyiaek’ cry and swayed its leaves as if saying hello.

“Oh, yeah. Hello.”

“Kkul.”

As he stepped inside, a vine slithered over towards him.

How far can that thing stretch? Deon watched the vine, which lengthened and shortened freely, with suspicious eyes and snatched the plant, making sure not to break the flowerpot, as it wrapped around his waist and hung on.

“…What is it?”

“Kkyiaek.”

“You look unhappy?”

“Kkyiaeeeek!”

“Ah, that too, but it’s because you smell like cigarettes?”

“Kkyiaek!”

“…Plants can smell… no, before that, how are we even communicating?”

Dan’s expression, subtly distorted as if he couldn’t understand, was quite amusing, and Deon chuckled, placing the flowerpot on the table. He stroked the thick vine, which could be called the torso of the creature, with his fingers as it knowingly retracted the vine that had wrapped around his waist. With a more relaxed attitude than before, he playfully said,

“Just, by feeling?”

“…Really?”

“It’s not entirely a lie… simple communication is like that, but usually, it expresses quite detailed intentions with its vines. Anyone can tell.”

“I see…”

“Anyway.”

Deon, sitting on the edge of the bed, opened his mouth as if muttering to himself.

“The 8th Corps Commander… I should kill her after all.”

“How?”

Dan, who had been poking the carnivorous plant on the table with a curious expression, calmly asked back.

He wasn’t surprised. He had expected it to some extent.

Deon raised his hand and fiddled with his mouth, then gnawed gently on the joint of his finger and mumbled.

“That’s the thing. How should I do it? I can’t kill her myself…”

Ideally, it would be clean if Deon, the Hero, killed her directly, but he couldn’t do that. If he killed her directly, he would definitely be exposed.

There are many who are paying attention to Deon Hart even within the Demon King’s castle. Even the Demon King himself is paying more attention to Deon than to other demons. It would be difficult even to avoid the Demon King’s attention, let alone put other demons as a lower priority.

Deon, who planned to reduce the number of legion commanders steadily, didn’t want to take risks just to kill one when he was only just starting.

“If you don’t have any particularly good ideas right now, taking a break might not be a bad idea… Ack!”

Snap. The carnivorous plant finally bit his finger.

Dan hastily shook his hand, checked the wound where blood was beading, and made a dumbfounded expression.

“Why are there teeth inside the flower bud…”

“Pfft!”

“…Is it funny?”

“Yeah, very. Even its owner bites, so of course, it would bite someone like you.”

…

“It’s not poisonous, so don’t worry too much. Then who told you to touch it carelessly?”

Deon chuckled. Dan wore a sulky expression and rummaged through his pockets for a handkerchief.

He had no intention of continuing this pointless and embarrassing conversation. He roughly wiped the blood and brought up the business for which he had come to find Deon in the first place.

“…I found Sia, whom Master was looking for. A girl from the slums who used to be with the Salvation Church. In addition to the name, these three conditions also match, so it’s probably her. She’s with the Demon Church now.”

In many ways, she had been grating on the Revolutionary Army and its leader, so he thought there would be some reaction to this news. Especially since the person they had been searching so desperately for was in the Demon Church, it would be even more absurd.

However, Deon showed no particular reaction, instead simply lying down on the bed.

“I know.”

“…Pardon?”

“It was right under our noses. Unfortunately, we were a step too late.”

His gaze, looking at the ceiling, became hazy.

“Her contractor is the 8th Corps Commander.”

“…Ah?”

“It’s not like I was spacing out for no reason.”

How dejected and dumbfounded he felt. Honestly, even now, after managing to gather his wits somewhat, it was still absurd.

Dan seemed to be the same, as he opened his mouth haltingly with a slightly dazed expression.

“…Oh… well… that’s a bit… very surprising indeed.”

…

“So… um, what will you do? Since she belongs to the Demon Church, telling Lirinel would solve it quickly.”

Her blind and proactive attitude meant that she would definitely realize any order, anything Deon said.

Dan and Deon both knew that very well.

Perhaps that was why.

…

Deon, who had raised his upper body and opened his mouth as if to say something, paused—and closed his mouth again. His hand covered his face, which was etched with self-loathing and self-reproach.

Not satisfied with just wiping his face once, he rubbed his face a couple more times as if washing it dryly before slowly lifting his head. A sigh-laden voice flowed out heavily.

“I think I’ve become too tainted by war.”

…

“To see my way of thinking starting to resemble that damn bastard’s method.”

The purple pen on the desk, within his sight, grated on his nerves.

He stood up from his seat, picked up the pen, and snapped it in half. Carrying it back to the bed, he tossed it roughly onto the table where the flowerpot was placed. The carnivorous plant ‘Kkyiaek!’ and slapped it with its vine.

Dan, at the absurd sight, involuntarily closed his mouth which he had opened.

…

“…It’s quite perceptive.”

“Kkyiaek!”

The carnivorous plant curled its thumb… no, its leaf, and raised it.

Its antics were pathetic and ridiculous, but thanks to it, his mood improved a little. Deon chuckled and said.

“Well, that… let’s think about it a bit later. It’s not something we need to decide right now, so let’s postpone it for a bit.”

“…Indeed. That child is the 8th Corps Commander’s contractor, so even if we do something rashly, all we’ll get is suspicion. It would be better to handle it with some leeway.”

“Right. I didn’t exactly proceed secretly when I was looking for Sia. Probably all the demons know about it. In that situation, if that girl dies, the first one to be suspected will be me…”

In fact, Dan had noticed what Deon was thinking. Deon probably also guessed that he had noticed.

So, this was just an exercise in futility.

Nevertheless, Dan had no intention of ruining the atmosphere that had finally improved, so he just agreed, and Deon nodded, wanting to avoid ruining his current mood and needing time to find a better method.

A strange atmosphere, seemingly amicable but not really, flowed between the two.

In the ambiguous silence, Dan, who had been rolling his eyes around, exclaimed as if something had come to mind.

“…Ah, and there’s a rumor I heard while looking for Sia.”

“What is it?”

“It’s a rumor popular among commoners in the Human Realm these days. A story of a true green-haired hero who wanders, caring for the lowly, not the highborn.”

Green hair, hero.

Without even needing to think, one name popped out of his mouth.

“…Stigma, Senior.”