Chapter 187
Who could possibly stop him?
The Queen of Insects, the Plague Monarch.
With Querehsha’s blessing on Suho’s side—
[Quay uses ‘Debuff: Paralysis Poison’.]
[Quay uses ‘Debuff: Sleep Poison’.]
[Quay is…….]
As Suho started blatantly manipulating the outcome, the underground arena’s match began to turn extremely one-sided.
“W-What the hell!”
“Why did that human suddenly start limping?!”
“Hmm. Looks like he twisted his ankle or something. Humans really are fragile.”
“Wait! Why did he suddenly get all dazed when he was fighting fine just now?!”
“Hmm. Must’ve had a rough night. Humans really are fragile.”
“……?”
“……?”
“Hmm. Looks like another win for me.”
Sliiide.
With an expression that was either shameless or dignified, Suho calmly pulled the pile of wagered stardust on the table toward himself.
Watching the pouches of stardust steadily piling up in front of Suho…
“Th-This can’t be happening.”
The demons who lost their bets could only look devastated.
Amidst this atmosphere, Suho calmly assessed the situation and spoke with Esil.
[……Surprisingly, they’re not making them fight to the death like a colosseum. They even have healers ready.]
‘Of course. If someone actually dies here, rumors would spread about Hunters going missing in Yangpyeong. The Black Market wouldn’t want that either.’
[Then what’s their real goal? If they’re not using the corpses of dead Hunters as ingredients for stardust……]
‘Isn’t that what we’re trying to find out with all this?’
No matter what, all the demons here were nothing more than lower-ranked ones, far weaker than Suho.
And yet, the reason Suho wasn’t killing them outright and instead resorted to these roundabout methods—
‘Demons don’t yield souls when killed.’
Unlike with Quay or Harmakan, demons couldn’t be killed and then questioned afterward.
That’s why he had to keep them alive as much as possible and create an atmosphere where they’d spill the truth themselves.
And there was one more reason.
While the demons in the Black Market gradually turned their attention to the gambling den, Beru was diligently searching for the Sacred Pill.
And occasionally—
Crunch.
“Huh? Where did the mana stone that was here go?”
“A-A thief…?!”
Avoiding the eyes of the crowd, he would stealthily grab and munch on the mana stones displayed on the stalls.
‘Looks like we’re starting to get a reaction.’
Just as Suho said, Roto was watching the situation unfold with a complicated expression, biting his lip.
‘How… how could this happen……’
He was clearly flustered.
Originally, Hunters who entered the underground arena all fought unarmed and were matched by rank and physique.
This made the fights more intense, and even a momentary lapse in condition could overturn the outcome.
But the issue of “condition” was just too… suspicious.
‘How is it that every single person predicted to lose by Vulcan ends up in poor condition?’
Was this the keen insight of a true demon noble?
‘No.’
No, it was far too blatantly suspicious for that.
“Come now, you go ahead and choose first again.”
“…….”
“…….”
That’s right.
Not once had Vulcan ever chosen a match opponent first.
He always waited until all the demons had placed their bets on either side, and only then would he bet—always on the underdog with the higher payout.
As if he already knew the result of the match beforehand, and he did so shamelessly.
The result?
In front of Suho now sat over three times the amount of stardust pouches he had when he first entered this place.
……Heh.
Roto ground his teeth.
‘He’s clearly pulling something… but what the hell is his goal?’
Vulcan had been flaunting his antics from the start.
If he were going to cheat, at least he should’ve mixed in some losses. But winning every single match like this?
The problem was…
There was no justification to call him out first.
Because they were the ones who started cheating in the first place.
Yet even though the organizers were using Blood Frenzy Toxin to deliberately rig the outcomes, the winner was always the human Vulcan bet on.
‘And now the humans they poisoned are somehow fully detoxified. There were no rumors of Vulcan having such an ability…’
Right. At this point, they had to acknowledge it.
From the very beginning, he didn’t need to resort to tricks. If he wanted, he could have easily torn them apart and devoured them.
Which only made his intentions more suspect.
‘Don’t tell me… he knew everything and came here on purpose?’
Roto’s eyes narrowed as he stared at Vulcan.
A rumor widely known among demons—
Vulcan was once a pitiful, lowly creature that couldn’t even speak.
Then, by sheer luck, he picked up a leaf of the World Tree and suddenly rose to become the ruler of a region—a demon noble.
That was the origin of Vulcan.
And now, the half-blooded demon noble thought to have died in the war not only reappeared with the ability to create Bloodstones but also could speak?
‘……It’s not just that he can talk. His intelligence has evolved.’
He had come here out of nowhere and instantly seized control of the gambling den’s atmosphere with a level of calculation and depth—
‘Is he still evolving?’
‘Did the blessing of the World Tree let him survive that war?’
‘If it’s the World Tree that created the Rulers, then maybe it’s not so far-fetched……’
A whirl of thoughts floated through Roto’s mind.
And at the end of it, Roto finally made a decision to back down.
“Hoo. Understood, Lord Vulcan.”
“……Hmm?”
As Roto suddenly spoke, Suho turned his head while still happily sweeping up stardust.
“If it’s the Bloodstone you seek, then you’re saying we should reveal our hand first, yes?”
“……”
At those words, Suho silently stared at him.
Roto looked at the mountain of stardust in front of Suho and let out a bitter smile.
“If that’s what you wanted, you could’ve just said so from the beginning. There was no need for all these mischievous games.”
“……”
“You came here for the Star Fragment, didn’t you?”
‘Star Fragment?’
[Star Fragment?]
A question mark popped into Suho’s head, but he didn’t let it show.
Then Roto suddenly ripped open his upper garment, revealing a blue gem implanted in the center of his chest.
“That’s right. As Lord Vulcan suspected, our true item of trade is the Star Fragment. It’s an entirely different class from that incomplete stardust.”
[So what exactly is a Star Fragment?]
‘Dunno. But I doubt they’d be showing off like this if it were just solidified stardust.’
Answering Esil, Suho kept his expression as indifferent as possible.
They were finally getting to some useful information.
Now it was time for the real game to begin.
Suho spoke in a bored voice.
“Star Fragment, huh… In the end, it’s just a substitute for a Bloodstone.”
“Hoho. Is that so? And yet, you still seem curious enough to say that. Curious about just how effective a Star Fragment is.”
Roto stroked the Star Fragment embedded in his chest with an endlessly smug look.
“If you’ve seen those stardust necklaces we spread among humans, then you’re gravely mistaken. Those trinkets are nothing more than the by-products of the refinement process. Though, they do have their uses.”
‘Uses? So aside from being a Black Market pass, they have other functions too?’
Suho maintained his relaxed demeanor, but his mind was rapidly processing the information.
“Well, at first we only started researching them to mimic Bloodstones. After all, what demon wouldn’t be curious? What kind of synergy would occur when the divine power of the Outer Gods merges with demonic blood?”
The divine power of the Outer Gods—
That referred to the blue mist leaking from the Gates.
Blue mist was mana sent from the Outer Realm to dissolve the dimensional barrier—in other words, the power of the Outer Gods.
“Well, fine.”
Leaning back lazily again, Suho pointed with his chin at the mountain of stardust piled in front of him.
“Then I’ll wager all of this. You wager that fancy Star Fragment of yours.”
“Haha. That might be a little difficult. No matter how much stardust you have, it can’t compare to the value of a Star Fragment. They aren’t even in the same league.”
[Trade?]
Twitch.
Esil’s voice trembled with fury in Suho’s mind at that word.
If this was how nobles thought, Suho decided to follow Esil’s heart.
“……Trade, huh. That’s a funny word.”
The moment Suho’s lips twisted into a cold smirk—
[Skill: Killing Intent is being used.]
Fwoooosh—!
“……K-Kh?!”
The overwhelming bloodlust radiating from Suho made Roto stumble backward, his face pale.
Other demons flinched in fear and crouched low in panic.
One demon even collapsed to the floor and bowed in terror.
“……Some things never change, no matter how the world turns.”
Suho slowly rose to his feet.
And with an indifferent expression, he walked toward Roto.
“A noble does not negotiate. He commands.”
“……”
Tremble.
Even as Suho’s hand tapped the Star Fragment embedded in his chest, Roto couldn’t move an inch, crushed by the pressure.
It felt like Suho might rip it out and chew it right there.
But Suho didn’t.
If Roto died, he’d lose his only source of further information.
Retracting his hand, Suho spoke.
“The only reason I’m playing along with your little games is for amusement. If I were hungry…”
Grrrgle.
Right on cue, Suho’s stomach let out a loud growl, and all the demons in the gambling den stiffened in terror.
‘Th-This is bad!’
‘Vulcan is hungry!’
‘We’re going to get eaten…!’
To low-ranked demons, the gluttony of the Demon of Greed, Vulcan, was the stuff of nightmares.
But Suho himself—
‘Oh. Now that I think of it, I skipped a meal today. I didn’t plan this at all.’
Now fully immersed in Vulcan’s method acting, Suho felt slightly awkward.
Still, since things turned out this way—
Lick.
Suho casually smacked his lips.
“……!”
In that moment, Roto had to wrestle with every ounce of instinct not to run screaming out of the gambling den.
‘N-No! If Vulcan really wanted to eat me, I’d already be dead! He must’ve come here for something else…’
Gulp.
‘S-Something…’
Vulcan swallowed his saliva again.
‘…right?’
The Demon of Greed, Vulcan, was the kind who would eat first and ask questions never.
“I-I understand!”
Roto finally shouted, eyes squeezed shut, clutching his chest like the Star Fragment was his very soul.
“In that case, how about wagering the Star Fragment in a Duel of Champions? I’m sure that would be an entertaining diversion as well!”
“A Duel of Champions?”
Stop.
At those words, Suho’s killing intent instantly subsided.
“Yes. We’ve implanted Star Fragments in several Hunters as test subjects! Choose one of them and—”
“You implanted Star Fragments in humans?!”
“……!”
In that instant, Suho’s furious hand seized Roto by the throat.
Roto shrieked as if struck by lightning.
“I-It was regrettable, but all for the sake of research! The Outer Faith gave their approval!”
Freeze.
‘Got them.’
Suho’s eyes flashed.
