Chapter 188
“…The Outer Faith, huh.”
Suho’s expression rapidly turned cold upon hearing Roto’s words.
Countless thoughts raced through his mind, but he knew he had to remain calm for now.
“Interesting.”
Tap.
As Suho released his grip, Roto collapsed to the floor like a crumbling heap.
“Huuk!”
Roto frantically checked that his head was still attached, then looked up at Suho with a pathetic, submissive expression.
Suho looked down at him with a noble gaze and thought to himself.
The demons here clearly assumed that “Vulcan” already knew everything.
So what should he do in this situation?
‘I just have to speak as little as possible and keep parroting whatever they say.’
“The Outer Faith… agreed to this?”
“Y-Yes! Since cooperating with us would help them increase their number of followers on Earth!”
“Recruiting followers, huh… and all you have to show for it is this?”
Suho glanced around at the chaos that was the gambling den.
Roto, the manager here, looked a bit offended and replied.
“This is hardly all! The Black Market isn’t limited to just this location! Even now, we’re working with the Outer Faith to distribute stardust all over the world using various methods—!”
“Cooperation, you say.”
Suho curled his lips into a cold smirk and provoked him.
“Looks to me like you’re just their slaves.”
“…We’re not!”
Was that the trigger?
Roto forgot that he had just been begging for his life and shouted in indignation.
“We were the ones who developed stardust first! And we were the ones who succeeded in creating the Star Fragments! It’s those bastards who are being used by us demons!”
“Do you truly believe that?”
“Y-Yes!”
“Hmph.”
At last, a satisfied smile crept onto Suho’s lips.
He looked at Roto with an expression that seemed to say, how admirable, and he meant it sincerely.
How could he not?
‘Thanks to this guy, I’ve learned quite a lot.’
[You’re kinda good at this?]
‘Where’d you even learn to say that?’
[From the internet.]
Esil sounded genuinely impressed.
At this point, anyone would believe Suho was a real demon noble, not a human.
[Be honest. You’re actually Vulcan, aren’t you?]
‘Shut up. Now it’s about to get serious.’
Brushing off Esil’s comment, Suho used the Ruler’s Authority to raise Roto’s body back to its feet.
Only then did Roto realize he had just raised his voice to a demon noble, and his face turned deathly pale.
“If that’s truly what you believe…”
Suho commanded in a stern voice.
“Lead me. Now.”
“…!”
“I will meet the Outer Faith myself.”
Roto clenched his eyes shut, as if he had been expecting this.
But at the same time, calculations spun quickly in his mind.
‘…No, this might actually work out. They’ve been getting harder to control lately anyway. Vulcan must’ve known everything from the beginning and came to us on purpose.’
In the end, he answered.
“I will guide you immediately. To the Outer Faith’s temple.”
“No need.”
……!
“They’ve already arrived.”
At that moment, a group of figures radiating overwhelming presence suddenly entered the gambling den.
* * *
[Hunter Association]
—Yangpyeong Branch—
“…Is that true?”
Having rushed over after receiving Suho’s call, Team Leader Han Jaehyuk was shocked as he was briefed on what happened at the Yangpyeong branch.
Weeeeng—
Swarms of bees flew in tight formation around the building.
Among them, a woman—Arsha’s clone—gently tapped a bee with her fingertip, smiling enchantingly as she nodded at Han Jaehyuk’s words.
[Yes, it’s all true. Isn’t that right, everyone?]
Hiccup.
When Arsha turned around, the staff members huddled together in the back all shuddered in unison.
Weeeeng—
The bees circling them like piranhas buzzed ominously.
Each one radiated a distinct, threatening magical energy, and it was clear that at the slightest gesture from that woman, they would immediately strike and inject venom into every vein in their bodies.
‘W-What kind of skill is this…?’
‘Who the hell is this woman, and where did she come from…?’
Because of the “skill” Arsha used after Suho left for the Black Market, the staff had been effectively confined in the Yangpyeong branch all this time.
Until the Association’s Monitoring Division arrived to make arrests.
This was Suho’s way of ensuring that no one secretly tied to the Black Market could escape.
[Oh dear, Branch Chief? I asked you a question. You need to answer, okay?]
“Y-Yes! It’s all true!”
Branch Chief Min Daeseok, pale as a sheet, nodded repeatedly under Arsha’s sweet tone.
Seeing that, Han Jaehyuk sighed and pinched his throbbing forehead.
“…Arrest them all.”
“Yes, sir!”
At his command, the Monitoring Division Hunters who had come with him detained the entire Yangpyeong branch staff.
‘How could something like this happen…’
Even after being fully briefed, Han Jaehyuk still couldn’t believe it.
An Association branch harboring a black market?
‘This Association is really falling apart. How long has it even been since the Chairman left…’
Of course, it wasn’t unheard of for any large organization to rot from the inside and be plagued by corruption.
But the Hunter Association had only been established for two years.
For something like this to happen so soon was utterly absurd.
It was enough to make him wonder if someone had deliberately infiltrated the Association’s ranks.
“To think… those stardust necklaces were actually made to serve as Black Market passes.”
Han Jaehyuk muttered with a sigh, then glanced downward.
Clutching the necklace around his own neck, he began pulling to rip it off.
The stardust necklaces—originally created to memorialize those lost to stardust—had been a movement actively encouraged by the Association itself.
Of course, it wasn’t an official initiative by the Association, but as they say—people started wearing the stardust necklaces of their own volition, without anyone prompting them.
…But then—
Pause.
For some reason…
“……”
Just as he was about to take off the necklace, Han Jaehyuk’s hand froze in midair.
And at the same time, a thought popped into his mind.
‘…I did pay for it with my own money, so maybe I’ll just keep wearing it? Besides, I might need it later if I have to infiltrate the Black Market.’
[Hmm. Why is the team leader hesitating? It’s like he suddenly doesn’t want to part with that necklace.]
“…!”
Flinch.
The sultry voice that pierced his ear made Han Jaehyuk widen his eyes and jerk his head up.
Right in front of him, Arsha stood smiling enigmatically, as if she had just read his mind.
She whispered to him gently, as if confirming his innermost thoughts.
[Have you ever thought about this? If it were really just for memorial purposes, people could’ve just bought the necklace and left it at home. Why go through the hassle of wearing it all the time?]
As she spoke, Arsha softly ran her fingers along the stardust necklace around Han Jaehyuk’s neck.
Snap.
With that light touch, the necklace was forcibly torn off, and a flicker of regret flashed across Han Jaehyuk’s eyes.
[You seem pretty upset about it.]
“…Huh?!”
It was only then that Han Jaehyuk snapped back to his senses, his eyes going wide.
Seeing that, Arsha playfully wrinkled her nose and waved the necklace in front of his face.
[Stay sharp. When someone of lower standing gets ahold of this necklace, it ensnares them.]
Even while talking to Arsha, Han Jaehyuk wore a dazed expression.
A cold chill ran down his spine.
Reflecting on that brief emotional moment just now, it struck him as deeply unnatural.
‘…I wanted to take it back. I didn’t want to lose the necklace.’
[Still, don’t worry too much. According to what Lord Suho found out, the effect of the stardust necklace fades quickly once it’s away from your body.]
This was merely a clone of Arsha.
Her real body was currently inside Suho’s shadow, posing as Vulcan in the Black Market.
Thanks to that, Arsha was able to relay the information Suho had uncovered directly to Han Jaehyuk.
[It seems that stardust necklaces are by-products of the Star Fragment refinement process. Even if faint, when in the hands of ordinary humans, they spark a strong compulsion to keep it nearby—and a vague sense of devotion. After all, the Outer God Itarim is, quite literally, a “god.”]
That’s why humans who come into direct contact with divine power begin to foster belief in that mysterious godlike being.
“…Wait. Outer God?”
Suddenly, a memory flashed in Han Jaehyuk’s mind.
“Outer God? I’m sure I’ve heard that term somewhere before…”
[You mean the Outer Faith?]
Arsha’s eyes glinted as she responded to his muttering.
[You’ve heard of the Outer Faith before, Team Leader?]
“Outer God? Outer Faith? Oh—Outer Faith!”
Han Jaehyuk’s eyes shot open, and he looked around in realization.
Where was this?
The Hunter Association’s Yangpyeong Branch!
Then he turned toward Branch Chief Min Daeseok, who was currently detained by the Monitoring Division.
“C-Come to think of it!”
Min Daeseok had suddenly been transferred to this position just a few months ago.
The reason? The previous branch chief had abruptly resigned from the Association due to “personal reasons.”
That former chief—
He was an A-rank Hunter handpicked by Chairman Woo Jincheol himself to manage the Yangpyeong branch—a senior whom Han Jaehyuk deeply respected.
[…Why did the previous chief resign?]
Hearing Han Jaehyuk’s muttering, Arsha tilted her head and asked curiously. Han Jaehyuk clenched his teeth as he recalled.
“I only heard the rumors, but… apparently, he got caught up in some cult and then disappeared…”
[Hmm?]
An A-rank Hunter fell into a cult?
It sounded ridiculous at first, but if the cult in question was the Outer Faith, that changed everything.
“He was always such a kind man. But then, all of a sudden…”
* * *
The Outer Faith.
Suho coldly scanned the individuals who had just entered the gambling den.
People wearing priestly robes.
Each of their foreheads had a blue Star Fragment embedded in it.
Among them, a middle-aged man stepped forward and looked at Suho with an endlessly gentle smile.
“Welcome. You must be the demon noble known as Vulcan?”
“And you are?”
“I am a priest of the great Outer Faith. In the secular world, I once went by the name Kim Cheol.”
[Kiiek?!]
Just then—
Beru, who had returned from scouting the area, suddenly shouted with the brightest smile imaginable.
[Iron has returned!]
